QUETTA: Balochistan’s Senior Minister and Minister for Local Gove­rnment and Rural Dev­e­lopment Sardar Muh­ammad Saleh Bhootani has said the proposed draft for a new local bodies’ system in the province will be prepared after forging consensus of all stakeholders and keeping in view the ground realities.

“It is not necessary to adopt the changes the other provinces are introducing in their local bodies’ system,” he said while speaking at a consultative conference held here to seek suggestions for changes in the existing local bodies system.

The participants of the conference, including representatives of local bodies, government officials and members of civil society, suggested that local bodies should be given more financial powers and allowed to work independently and that mayors and chairpersons of the local councils should be elected through direct elections.

Minister says ground realities will be kept in view while preparing draft for new local bodies’ system

The conference held under the aegis of the Ministry of Local Gov­ernment was attended, among others, by provincial Ministers Sardar Abdul Rehman Khetran and Muhammad Khan Lehri, MPAs Sanaullah Baloch, Ahmed Nawaz Baloch and Muhammad Asghar Khan, Additional Chief Secretary for Planning and Dev­elopment Sajjad Ahmed Bhutta and Secretary of Local Government Kambar Dashti.

The representatives of the local bodies suggested that the changes in the existing local bodies system should be made keeping in view local traditions and values to ensure smooth running of the institutions.

Mr Bhootani said that Balochistan would introduce a local bodies system which would boost traditional brotherhood and friendly environment among different segments of society.

He said that a committee would be formed, as suggested by the participants, to discuss and review all proposals for the preparation of a final draft of reforms to improve the existing local bodies system in the province.

Published in Dawn, October 27th, 2018

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LAHORE: The Lahore High Court directed on Friday a provincial law officer to submit a notification regarding constitution of an air pollution standing commission, as ordered by the Supreme Court.

Justice Ayesha A. Malik was hearing petitions filed by Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf leader Waleed Iqbal and others questioning the failure of the government to implement recommendations of a smog commission established by the high court in 2017.

Smog commission chairman Dr Pervez Hassan told the court that the apex court had constituted the air pollution standing commission to implement guidelines prepared by the smog commission.

He stated that Punjab had been divided into three zones — green, yellow and red. Green zones are those where smoke emission is less, yellow with moderate and red with large smoke emotion. He said no brick kilns would be closed in green zones while yellow areas would be monitored and analyzed for abrupt weather changes and all kilns using older forms of technology would be banned in red zones.

The judge adjourned hearing till Dec 16 and directed the law officer to produce the notification of the air pollution standing commission, if established by the government.

Earlier, advocate Sheraz Zaka representing Mr Iqbal said recommendations of smog commission had not been implemented. He said the chief secretary and the secretary of environment failed to perform their statutory obligations.

The lawyer that the entire province was adversely affected by spillover effects of smog. He said chief secretary and secretary environment should be directed to clamp down on commercial activities of factory owners established in residential areas in Lahore.

Published in Dawn, October 27th , 2018

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ISLAMABAD: The education ministry on Friday notified the appointment of heads for the three government universities in the capital.

Prof Dr Mohammad Ali has been appointed the vice chancellor of the Quaid-i-Azam University (QAU), Prof Dr Ziaul Qayyum VC of the Allama Iqbal Open University (AIOU) and Dr Masoom Yasinzai was appointed rector of the International Islamic University, Islamabad (IIUI).

Dr Ali was earlier serving as the vice chancellor of Government College University, Faisalabad, while Dr Qayyum was the VC of the University of Gujrat.

Dr Yasinzai had earlier this month completed his four-year term as IIUI rector and was picked for the position again. “We issued the notifications for the appointments after the approval of President Dr Arif Alvi, who is chancellor of the federal universities,” said Rafiq Tahir, the joint education adviser at the education ministry.

The appointment process had faced a delay of several weeks.

After conducting interviews, the education ministry had on Oct 8 moved a summary of nine shortlisted candidates, three for each position, to the Prime Minister’s Office for onward submission to the Presidency for approval.

Ministry officials told Dawn the new QAU VC will face several challenges as the varsity has remained in the headlines for the last few years due to a tug-of-war between faculty members and the former VC, Dr Javed Ashraf.

They advised that the new VC take all faculty members on board and discourage groupings.

“I would suggest he should not take sides, treat all faculty members equally and take all decisions on merit, without any fear,” an official said.

The ministry officials said the AIOU head will have to look into the issue of teacher promotions as some faculty members had said they were being denied of their due promotions.

They said Dr Yasinzai will not have any serious issues in running IIUI as he has already served on the position the last four years.

The officials said the IIUI rector has taken charge while the other two will take charge in the next few days.

Published in Dawn, October 27th, 2018

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LAHORE: The Punjab government’s plan to appoint an officer of the Intelligence Bureau (IB) against a key slot in police seems an ill-advised move that could pitch the two institutions against each other.

The issue surfaced when the Director General Intelligence Bureau recently surrendered BS-20 officer Moin Habib for his transfer to the Punjab police for the next important assignment.

An official who is privy to the development told Dawn that the move stirred a controversy after the name of the officer was discussed at the Central Police Office (CPO), Punjab, for his important posting in Special Branch.

He said the top slot of the department — additional IG, Special Branch Punjab — has been vacant since the transfer of DIG Farooq Mazhar last month to the IB.

The official revealed that Mr Moin Habib was being considered for the additional IG slot and it would be a clear-cut violation of a Supreme Court judgment (Crl.O.P. No 89/2011) if the officer is given a go-ahead.

The Supreme Court ruled that a non-cadre officer could not be appointed in police — not even under Sec 10 of Civil Servants Act.

“If the government posts Mr Habib against the police cadre slot, this will lead to litigation as had happened in Sindh and it caused embarrassment to the government as well as the police department,” said the official.

He said such a decision would also create unrest in the police community.

“There are four Police Service of Pakistan (PSP) DIGs serving in the Special Branch Punjab,” he said, adding that the posting of non-police cadre officer could affect its functioning as the officers could resist the move.

The only such step was taken by the PML-N which after winning the 2008 election posted retired Col Ehsanur Rehman as additional IG, Special Branch Punjab, on a contract.

His posting had disturbed the police officers who questioned the provincial government for appointing a retired military officer against the post of an additional IGP.

Punjab IGP Amjad Javed Saleemi declined to comment on the issue.

Published in Dawn, October 27th , 2018

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ISLAMABAD: The capital administration has directed educational institutions to increase surveillance in and around their buildings to counter the sharp increase in the sale of drugs.

An officer of the capital administration said security measures were increased in and around educational institutions after the Army Public School, Peshawar massacre in Dec 2014.

He said there was now need for increased surveillance in and around universities, colleges and schools to curb the sale of drugs to students.

School managements have been asked to install CCTV cameras, especially in the canteens, and the same directives will soon be issued to colleges and universities as well, the officer said.

School managements to install CCTV cameras in a week, same directives to be issued to colleges, universities soon

The Islamabad deputy commissioner has asked the chairman of the All Pakistan Private Schools Association to have schools install CCTV cameras in their canteens and that the directive may be treated with priority.

The DC has also asked for a compliance report to be submitted to his office immediately, the capital administration officer said.

Another senior officer said schools had been given a week to install CCTV cameras and that capital administration teams, comprising a magistrate or assistant commissioner and police officers including superintendents of police, will visit schools after the deadline to check if the directive has been implemented in letter and spirit and that action will be taken otherwise.

The school administration is to keep an eye on activities in the canteen as well as on vendors operating around schools.

“In case they spot any suspicious activity, the school management will inform the police or the capital administration,” the officer said, adding that police and capital administration have also been asked to keep an eye on the sale of cigarettes around schools.

It has been proposed that the status of canteen operators in schools should be checked and discussions in this regard are being conducted with the All Pakistan Private School Association, the officer said.

He added that a strategy is being prepared for mounting surveillance at markets near educational institutions during school timings.

The officer said similar measures will soon be adopted for colleges and universities. Student volunteers will be asked to keep an eye out for suspicious activities.

A police officer said that on average, a drug peddler is arrested supplying drugs to students every two days. He said the more popular drugs are marijuana, heroin and opium and that ice and cocaine are also sold to students in elite institutions.

Published in Dawn, October 27th, 2018

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MULTAN: Lahore High Court Chief Justice Muhammad Anwarul Haq directed judges of the district judiciary not to display the green number plate on their private vehicles.

A notification in this regard was issued on Friday by Directorate of Judiciary Director General Bushra Zaman that stated that the chief justice has directed the judges of the district judiciary to quit the practice of displaying green number plates on their private vehicles.

“Non-compliance thereof may follow administrative consequences accordingly. You are therefore, required to ensure compliance of above directions by all members of the district judiciary in letter and spirit,” the letter concluded.

Published in Dawn, October 27th , 2018

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LAHORE: The Punjab capital may see hectic political activities during the next two days as ex-prime minister Nawaz Sharif, former president Asif Zardari and religious alliance MMA’s chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman will be active here to try forming an opposition alliance.

Maulana Fazl is working to convene a multi-party conference as a first step to carve out an alliance on the minimum possible common agenda but is failing to give a final date (and venue) for the purpose because Mr Sharif is apparently reluctant to ensure his physical presence at the proposed meet.

Though the MMA leader claimed here before the media on Friday that the ex-premier would be part of the MPC, a senior official of the PML-N said Mr Sharif had so far committed only sending a Raja Zafarul Haq-led delegation to the opposition’s conference.

Sources in the MMA say the N-League has been told that the MPC may fail to make any political impact unless Mr Sharif is seen sitting along with Mr Zardari.

The indecision on the part of Mr Sharif is delaying the formal announcement of holding the MPC, they say.

Zardari also arrives

Maulana Fazl says he has already met Mr Zardari and will try to call on the PML-N supremo in the next two days to finalize the moot.

Mr Zardari, who is in the city to attend a couple of PPP functions and meet the local leadership, has said a couple of days ago that talks may be held with Mr Sharif.

The former president had earlier been refusing to sit with the ex-prime minister and had even supported the ruling PTI in the Senate chairman polls to the disadvantage of the PML-N.

Earlier, Maulana Fazl told the media after a meeting of the Shura (consultative body) of the JUI faction led by him that there is strong consensus among opposition that the PTI government cannot run the country and all parties would join hands in the upcoming multi-party conference.

He said the PTI government had brought the country and economy to their knees in two months. The opposition feels obliged to play its due role in retrieving the country from those who “have stolen the mandate.”

Talking about legal problems of the opposition, which may make it difficult for him to bring them to one platform, he dispelled the impression, saying cases, jails and corruption charges were part of struggle against establishment and this game has been going on for 30 years – without any result. Had these charges, reserved only for politicians, been true, they could have resulted in end of corruption in the last three decades. The politicians have faced jails, exiles and cases all those years and continue doing so: such practices now cannot deter the opposition but would rather be an impetus, he told a questioner.

The politicians have two options: either resist or submit to the establishment. The opposition feels that submission is not an option.

“In that case, the establishment would keep the country on path to slavery and the country would end up nowhere,” he said and added: “The PTI has been claiming $200 billion in the Swiss Banks as proof of corruption for the last many years. Now they themselves say that those reports were not correct?”

Talking about recent economic aid from Saudi Arabia, he said that it could only be welcomed but one should keep in mind that it was meant to boost foreign reserves.

“Similarly, Pakistan may get some help from China but we need to think how we have been testing Chinese patience for the last three years and making things difficult for them,” he said.

Published in Dawn, October 27th , 2018

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PESHAWAR: The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly on Friday passed the Rs23.7 billion supplementary budget for financial year 2017-18 amid division between the treasury and opposition benches over the legality of the financial statement.

Awami National Party MPA Khushdil Khan challenged the constitutional status of the supplementary budget on a point of order before the approval of demand for grants for different departments.

He asked the treasury to explain whether the 2017-18 financial statement, especially Rs16.9 billion expenditures under the head of development, was supplementary or excess budget.

Treasury, opposition at odds over legality of financial statement

The lawmaker pointed out that the government couldn’t present excess budget under Article 124 of the Constitution.

“Approval of the excess budget by the house will be unconstitutional,” he said seeking a ruling from the chair to define the status of the supplementary budget.

Deputy Speaker Mahmood Jan chaired the sitting.

Inayatullah Khan of the Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal supported the mover and said the government didn’t follow rules to utilise excess budget.

He said the finance department couldn’t create new heads in the supplementary budget.

The MMA member said the government was demanding the house’s approval of the head of provision of gas and electrification in the irrigation sector.

He insisted that financial statement for the year 2017-18, particularly development budget, was excess and not supplementary.

Mr Inayatullah also said the government utilised budget before the end of the previous financial year and sought approval in Oct.

He said the government could seek supplementary grant before the end of June.

The opposition members put finance minister Taimur Saleem Jhagra in trouble.

He sought the help of the official galleries to resolve the matter. The minister tried in vain to satisfy the opposition. He admitted that he had lesser experience of the constitutional matters.

The minister heaved a sigh of relief when the chair adjourned the proceedings for 10 minutes to discuss the matter with legal brain. Law and parliamentary affairs Minister Barrister Sultan Mohammad Khan reached the house to rescue treasury benches.

After the break, the finance minister informed the lawmakers that the government could utilise funds due to unforeseen situation.

He said the supplementary budget was placed before the cabinet for approval before being presented in the assembly.

The minister said the successive governments presented supplementary budgets.

He termed the 2017-18 financial statement a supplementary budget and said the government won’t do anything unconstitutional.

Law minister Barrister Sultan said Article 124 of the Constitution addressed the matter and that it was the government’s prerogative to present supplementary budget.

He sought the chair’s ruling on the issue.

Deputy Speaker Mahmood Jan declared it supplementary budget and said Article 124 had been followed.

MPA Inayatullah said the matter couldn’t be discussed by the house after the chair’s ruling, while it could only be challenged in the court.

The budget was passed after the opposition withdrew cut motions.

Finance minister Taimur Jhagra in his concluding remarks assured the house that the province’s financial rights would be protected.

He said he was assured by Prime Minister Imran Khan and finance minister Asad Umar that KP would receive Rs65 billion arrears in the head of net hydel profit during the current financial year, which would be used for the development of the province.

The minister said the provincial government would prepare budget for newly merged seven tribal districts next year.

The sitting was adjourned until 10am on Monday.

Published in Dawn, October 27th, 2018

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ISLAMABAD: A petition has been filed for the disqualification of three PTI members as on the basis that they hold dual nationalities and concealed material facts from the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP).

The petitioners, Abdullah Khan from Islamabad and Chaudhry Mehmood Ali Hashim from Gujrat, filed their petition through their counsel, Ahmed Raza Kasuri.

They have sought the disqualification for PTI MNAs Maleeka Bokhari, Tashfeen Safdar and Kanwal Shauzab, saying that these incumbent lawmakers were dual nationals. The petition cites these three lawmakers and the ECP as respondents.

The lawmakers hold dual nationalities, concealed material facts from ECP, petition says

It says the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) identified Maleeka Bokhari as a UK passport holder. It says that through her affidavit in support of her nomination papers dated June 19, she confirmed that she had renounced her UK nationality and surrendered her passport and claimed that the UK Home Office also acknowledged that she has renounced her British nationality.

The petition says that Ms Bokhari had referred to email correspondence between herself, the first secretary justice and home affairs at the British High Commission in Islamabad and one Dave Walsh at the UK Home Office “in support of the duly signed and stamped declaration of renunciation”. The emails were dated June 11, 2018 and Ms Bokhari had submitted her nominations papers on June 10, 2018.

The petition says that on the deadline set by the ECP for the submission of nomination papers, she was still a dual national. It says that Tashfeen Safdar submitted her nomination papers on June 8 while an FIA report submitted to the ECP identified her as a British passport holder.

In her affidavit, Ms Safdar said she had “not ceased to be a citizen of Pakistan nor had [she] acquired or applied for the citizenship of a foreign state”.

“She had held a foreign passport/nationality when she surrendered vide a declaration of renunciation dated March 25, 2013; which was registered and effectuated/operative by the Home Office, UK on April 04, 2013,” the petition says.

It maintains that Ms Safdar had to disclose her renunciation in the affidavit dated June 8 and that “failure to do so [is] tantamount to mala fide, perjury and fabricating false evidence”.

The petition says Kanwal Shauzab contested the Senate election on a general seat from the federal capital in March 2018 and that she provided details of her registration as a voter in the federal capital. Ms Shauzab did not win the Senate election.

The petition says her permanent and present addresses are in Rawalpindi and Sargodha and maintains that Ms Shauzab has misled the ECP about her residence and registration of vote and that she was therefore ineligible for contesting the elections of holding a seat in the National Assembly.

The petition requests the court to direct these lawmakers to explain their position and that in case the court is not satisfied with their legality for holding their public offices, the ECP be directed to de-notify them under articles 62 and 63 of the Constitution.

Published in Dawn, October 27th, 2018

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GILGIT: The members of the task force on tourism are drafting recommendations aimed at boosting tourism, improving Pakistan’s image abroad and increasing the sector’s contribution to GDP.

Talking to Dawn, federal secretary of ministry of inter-provincial coordination Jamil Ahmed, who is also member of the task force, said the task force had representation from all the stakeholders from four provinces, Gilgit-Baltistan and Azad Jammu and Kashmir.

He said the task force members were hopeful that revival of tourism through implementation of the recommendations, including relaxation in visa policy for foreign tourists, developing new tourist destinations and uplift of infrastructure, will go a long way in exploiting the tourism potential of the region to the full.“It is the first task force constituted by Prime Minister Imran Khan, who heads the committee himself,” he said.

In its first meeting held on Sept 29 chaired by PM Imran Khan, members were asked to submit proposals and recommendations to devise a mechanism for promotion of tourism industry in the country, he said and added the members were currently preparing their recommendations.

He said on completion of the suggestions, these were put for discussion in the next meeting of the task force.

Under the TORs of the task force, the members have been tasked with floating proposals, including roles of federal, provincial and district governments in boosting tourism, he added.

Mr Ahmad said the task force would recommend developing 20 new tourist destinations in next five years. It will suggest possible role in projection of Pakistan as tourism destination of choice by embassies, commercial counselors, foreign missions to help bring Pakistan to eminence on the international tourism map, champion eco-tourism in places, including and beyond the northern areas of Pakistan, especially GB and AJK, along the Indus and historic religious sites, he maintained.

The federal secretary said the members would propose the fate of Pakistan Tourism Development Corporation.

The task force will devise mechanism for effective participation of federal, provincial, AJK and GB governments in international events, uplift of infrastructure, transport and other allied services for promotion of tourism, he explained.

Published in Dawn, October 27th, 2018

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ISLAMABAD: The country including Rawalpindi, Islamabad and the surrounding region is in the grip of dry spell.

The total rainfall in Rawalpindi and Islamabad during October had been less than 1mm whereas the average normal rainfall in this month is 31.7mm.

The Met Office had predicted 10pc rain across the country in October with two or three spells of light to moderate rains.

However, the weather pattern remained unpredictable and there was no sign of any downpour in the remaining days of the month in the region.

Normally, the twin cities received up to four days of rainfall but this year there was only one day of precipitation in Rawalpindi and Islamabad.

The situation was no different in Murree either where the total rainfall up to Oct 26 had been more than 80pc below normal rain, with only 13mm rainfall against the normal pattern of 63.1mm.

The hill station received only one day of rainfall during the month compared to the traditional rainfall pattern of four-and-a-half days.

The rainfall had been below normal in the previous month too, leading to water shortage in many parts of the country.

The Met Office has already issued a warning of a drought-like condition.

Some cities including Bahawalnagar, Mianwali, Sargodha, Dir, Ghari Dupatta, Chitral, Kohat, Karachi and Sibbi received higher than normal precipitation this month.

Meanwhile, in an effort to mitigate the impact of climate change, the National Highways Authority (NHA) has responded to the efforts of the government to plant trees.

A forestation programme has been finalised to plant trees along more than 1,200 kilometres of motorways and highways network under the jurisdiction of NHA.

The programme was inaugurated by Minister of State for Communications Murad Saeed on Friday.

Plantation along the highways and motorways would help reduce issues being faced by country due to climatic change.

Published in Dawn, October 27th, 2018

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KARACHI: Two weeks after making public his differences with the Bahadurabad group, disgruntled Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan leader Dr Farooq Sattar announced on Friday a 22-member ‘organisation restoration committee’ (ORC) to reorganise the party on what he called ideological lines as it was in 1986.

Dr Sattar also shared with media a 10-point charter of the ORC whose primary objective was to ensure holding of a workers’ assembly to amend the party constitution for holding of intra-party elections for electing a “central committee” instead of the coordination committee.

The MQM has not had a central committee since the last 25 years and the party affairs were being run during this period through a coordination committee formed by London-based founder Altaf Hussain in 1993.

Dr Sattar is the patron-in-chief of the ORC and most members are former federal and provincial lawmakers. However, the 22-member committee does not include the name of Kamran Tessori, said to be close to Dr Sattar, who was the main reason behind the Feb 5 split of the MQM-P.

Insists there is no division in the party; reiterates demand for intra-party polls

Speaking at a press conference at his PIB Colony residence, the senior leader alleged that a few people in the coordination committee were taking arbitrary decisions without taking into confidence the whole committee.

Dr Sattar did not take any name but it was clear that his target was MQM-P’s senior deputy convener Amir Khan when he said that the few people had held the party, including its convener Dr Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui, “hostage”.

He, however, made clear that he was not forming another faction within the MQM-P as all he wanted to do was “restore the past glory and discipline of the party.

“Our demand is [holding of] intra-party elections and restoration of all workers on Feb 5 position,” he said, adding: “There is no group, no faction and no division [within the MQM-P]. The ORC is a small committee and not a new party. We will make this MQM nazriati [ideological].”

Differences in the party had emerged on Feb 5 over distribution of tickets to party candidates for the March 11 Senate elections. Dr Sattar, then convener of the party, insisted on giving a ticket to Mr Tessori despite strong opposition.

Eventually, the differences caused the party to split into Bahadurabad and PIB factions. Dr Sattar was removed from the post of convener and Dr Siddiqui took his place. Four months later, both the factions reunited to contest the July 25 elections.

On Sept 13, Dr Sattar — who lost the general elections on two National Assembly seats — had resigned from the membership of the coordination committee and on Oct 12 he held a press conference and demanded intra-party elections and warned that he would work for an MQM-Nazriati if his demands were not met.

After his Oct 12 presser, the MQM-P contested and lost all three by-elections on NA-243, NA-247 and PS-111.

At Friday’s press conference, Dr Sattar also invited all workers, MNAs and MPAs of the party to join and work with him to make the party ideological.

He said that there was no need to convince him to end his differences. “I myself will go to Bahadurabad if [they] give importance and love to workers.”

He said that the “Nine Zero of ORC will be Pakistan Quarters and we will also set up a Mohajir Mazloom Syndicate”.

Dr Sattar also demanded immediate release of former senator Faisal Raza Abidi and said that all allegations against him were false.

Meanwhile, MQM-P convener Dr Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui has summoned a meeting of the coordination committee on Saturday (today) to review current “political and organisational situation”.

Published in Dawn, October 27th , 2018

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KARACHI: While there has been no official explanation yet on the source and true extent of a recent oil spill reportedly affecting coastal parts of Sindh and Balochistan, fishermen at Mubarak village — a coastal town worst hit by the disaster — desperately await damage-limitation and rehabilitation measures.

A visit to the village, located some 46km away from the main city at Sindh-Balochistan border and home to about 7,000 people, showed on Wednesday that the air was heavily polluted by hydrocarbon fumes and dark oily patches could be seen covering large parts of the beach.

Ignorant of how this disaster might affect their health, villagers were found more concerned about their fishing activities — their only source of income.

“It’s the only month when we get the largest catch. We have been ruined by the disaster, but no one has come to inquire about it. We think it might take a year or so for the whole area to rehabilitate,” said Sabir, a fisherman, voicing concerns of villagers, adding that fishermen in the open sea were returning empty handed.

The villagers demanded that the government hold an independent inquiry into the incident as they didn’t trust the Balochistan Environmental Protection Agency officials and that the government provide them with alternative employment.

Read more: PMSA begins cleanup of Mubarak Village oil spill: PDMA

Still no answers about source of spill

“This village is deprived of piped water supply, electricity, gas, health and educational facilities for many years. Now, we have lost our livelihood; the disaster is not only killing fish, but also ruining our fishing nets,” another villager said, adding that someone must take responsibility for the incident.

He also shared the concern that picnickers won’t visit this area for recreation this winter, contributing to fishermen’s financial woes.

According to villagers, the oil spill was initially reported near Churna Island on Wednesday and reached the village the following day. A number of marine animals, including turtles, fish and crabs, they said, were found dead on the beach.

Many of these animals, they said, were eaten up by stray dogs while they buried some of them. The oil stench was so intense on Thursday that they found breathing difficult.

Health hazards

Asked about how hydrocarbon fumes affect health, Dr Javaid Ahmed Khan, senior consultant pulmonologist at the Aga Khan University Hospital, said: “This could be seriously damaging for health especially for the respiratory system. The elderly having other health complications, for instance asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases, and children are most vulnerable.”

Damage to health due to inhalation of hydrocarbon fumes was well-documented, he said, calling for urgent action to protect the public health.

Sharing similar concerns, Naeem Mughal, a senior official of the Sindh Environmental Protection Agency (Sepa), said that a Sepa team had visited the site and measures were being planned by the government to contain oil spill damage.

“There is a need to fix responsibility because then the party concerned would be asked to support rehabilitation measures. It’s not a one-time damage. The whole marine ecology has been affected by this incident,” he said.

Meanwhile, Pakistan Maritime Security Agency held a meeting on oil spill, which was attended by all relevant officials of government departments and private organisations.

According to sources, the meeting remained inconclusive on the source of oil spill and it was suggested that all departments would pool resources to tackle the challenge.

Dr Nuzhat Khan representing the National Institute of Oceanography said that data was being collected to determine the scale and damage caused by the oil spill.

“We have taken samples of sediments, water and oil from various spots. It’s too early to say about the source of the oil spill. However, what I could say is that it’s emulsified oil,” she said.

It seemed that there was a large oil patch which broke up due to wind and currents and affected various coastal parts.

According to Dr Khan, the spilled oil has reached many locations including Cape Monze beach, Bhit Khori beach and Hawkesbay beach. Sunhera beach, however, was found clean during the visit.

“Oil spills have the potential to contaminate sediment, seawater and air due to many volatile compounds emitted by the spilled oil into the air. They have negative impacts on the residents of the affected areas and these effects can aggravate [due to] severe weather conditions,” she said.

No official of the Balochistan Environmental Protection Agency was available for comments.

Environmental disaster

Expressing serious concern over the devastation caused by the oil spill, the Word Wide Fund for Nature-Pakistan issued a statement according to which “a major oil spill occurred along the coast of Karachi, spreading from Mubarak village to Manora.

It also affected Sandspit beach.

“The oil seems to have weathered and has converted into semi-solid tar indicating that it might have released a few days back. A WWF-P team visited Mubarak village and Sandspit and found dead animals, including a turtle covered with oil on the rocky shore.

“The impact of the oil spill on other animals, birds and ecosystem has not been determined as yet but it is likely to have serious implications,” it says.

According to Muhammad Moazzam Khan, technical adviser on marine fisheries at WWF-P, the oil spill can have a severe impact on the marine ecosystem of the area as it has affected the rocky beaches.

“The incidence can lead to mortality of marine animals and plants inhabiting this important ecosystem. It can also have serious consequences for marine birds if they come in contact with this oil,” he said.

The oil spill, according to him, has spread to Churna Island, which is one of the most sensitive habitats along Pakistan’s coast. This island is among a few areas where corals are found and is known to have diverse marine life.

“It is possibly the most important diving and snorkelling site along Pakistan’s coast. Cleaning beaches affected by oil spill is extremely difficult as its physical removal or use of dispersant is not easy,” he noted.

Published in Dawn, October 27th , 2018

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LAHORE: The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) says it is concerned about putting activist Gulalai Ismail on the exit control list (ECL) and confiscation of her travel documents.

An HRCP press release says Ms Ismail was taken into custody in Islamabad on Oct 12 in connection with a first information report filed in August against 19 leaders of the Pashtun Tahafuz Movement (PTM) – including Ms Ismail –for participating in a public gathering in Swabi.

The press release says that “freedom of movement is an internationally accepted fundamental right. Ms Gulalai has alleged that her name was placed on the ECL for having participated in ‘anti-state activities’. This has become an expedient label for human rights defenders, particularly those associated with the PTM. The right to peaceful dissent – especially when this means articulating ‘uncomfortable’ truths about curtailed rights and freedoms – should not be branded routinely as “anti-state".

“HRCP calls on the authorities to remove all restrictions on Ms Ismail’s freedom of movement and her other rights, and to avoid using the ECL as an arbitrary and often politically motivated tool to curb the work of human rights defenders in Pakistan.”

Published in Dawn, October 27th , 2018

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ISLAMABAD: The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (Unesco) in its new report recorded the killing of 182 journalists in 2016-17 — a slight decrease in the number of fatalities compared to the previous two-year period.

However, compared to ear­­lier periods — 2007 to 2011 — numbers remain ele­vated, according to the 2018 Director-General Report on the Safety of Journalists, rel­eased for the “Inter­nat­ional Day to End Impunity for Crimes against Journa­lists” to be observed on Nov 2.

In 2017, the largest number of fatal attacks (27 killings) took place in Asia and the Pacific region, representing 34 per cent of the total, followed by Latin America and the Caribbean with 28pc (22 killings). In the Arab states region, Unesco documented 18 killings, representing 22pc of killings of journalists registered worldwide.

Overall, it noted, the number of killings in 2016-17 was lower than that in the previous two-year period, when 213 killings were recorded. However, this trend did not appear to be confirmed in 2018, with 80 killings already condemned by the Unesco director general as of Oct 9 this year.

Unesco this year sent a request for information to 56 member states where it recorded killings of journalists between 2006 and 2017, and for which records showed no information that the judicial cases had been resolved. In 2017, 62 member states received such a request.

Pakistan did not submit information on specific cases of killings of journalists, but did submit detailed information on concrete measures targeted at improving safety of journalists and combating impunity, the report said.

In 2017, local journalists represented 90pc of those murdered and 94pc in 2016. Of the 14 foreign victims in 2016-17, half were killed in countries experiencing conflict.

Published in Dawn, October 27th , 2018

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HYDERABAD: Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah has said that Pakistan Peoples Party lawmakers and ministers are ready to face investigation by any law enforcement agency as long as it is carried out according to law while in reality action is being taken even over applications filed by anonymous complainants.

Mr Shah told journalists after offering condolence to PPP MPA Abdul Jabbar Khan on the death of his brother Abbas Khan here on Friday that he did not believe that the 18th Amendment could be rolled back that easily as it needed required numbers in parliament to amend the Constitution.

He said that everybody had the right to have his or her opinion about anything but he believed that people of Pakistan who had been granted provincial autonomy would not approve of its rollback. It appeared impossible, he said, adding that PPP had secured mandate of people of Sindh which could not be done away with.

Mr Shah said in answer to a question about chief justice of Pakistan that he would certainly appear before him as he did earlier.

“I was asked to appear before CJP and I conveyed to him that I was to attend closing ceremony of Shah Abdul Latif Bhitai’s urs that day in Bhitshah. Then I was told that I may appear today (Satur­day),” he said.

It was not right to say that Sindh was not sharing information with joint investigation team (JIT) probing money laundering as he believed the CJP might not have been briefed properly about Sindh government’s position on the issue, he said.

He said that Sindh government’s secretaries and chief secretary appeared before the CJP and showed him the documents sought by the JIT and the CJP appeared satisfied after he was briefed by advocate general of Sindh. That was why he remarked that the Sindh government should share information whenever desired by the JIT, he said.

Mr Shah said that he had expected the PTI government to bring improvement but he had not seen any so far though he had still hope.

He warned if the Council of Common Interests did not address Sindh’s complaints over water sharing then the province would move court as the next step. He had raised the issue in a meeting of the National Water Council held on Thursday and said either the issue be decided there or CCI should form a committee to be led by attorney general to decide it.

He said that he had forcefully raised the water issue in a CCI meeting chaired by then prime minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi. “The then premier observed afterwards that Sindh has technically proved that water sharing on the basis of historic usages is not correct and now only its legal aspect is to be decided,” he said.

He said the meeting had announced appointment of the committee but unfortunately it was never formed. “In Thursday’s meeting of the National Water Council, I raised the issue again and said that either it should be decided here or in the next meeting of CCI because Sindh wants a decision in ‘yes’ or ‘no’. If Sindh’s point is not accepted, then we will move court or raise it in parliament but we should not be kept on tenterhooks,” said Mr Shah.

About Darawat dam’s takeover involving federal water resource ministry, Mr Shah said federal minister Faisal Vawda failed to mention that the issue was discussed in the Oct 11 meeting.

He said in answer to a question that Sindh’s wind corridor, according to experts, had the potential to generate 50,000MW of energy and only 1,000MW was being produced. Letters of intent had been signed for the generation of another 2,000MW, he said.

Mr Shah said that it was the federal government’s job to add this energy to national grid with required infrastructure and he had taken up the issue with Nawaz Sharif, then Mr Abbasi and now he had raised it briefly before Imran Khan. He said that Sindh had carried out mining in Thar coal project on its own with the help of private sector and a power plant was being established with zero input from federal government.

Even for sovereign guarantee Sindh had submitted counter guarantee for this project. The federal government had, indeed, laid transmission line from Thar to Lahore, he said.

He said that another 100MW power plant was set up in Nooriabad but Hyderabad Electric Supply Company declined to purchase it on the ground that it had surplus power already.

Earlier, the chief minister told journalists after visiting Shah Abdul Latif Bhitai’s shrine that the accountability process was fine as long as it remained impartial. Accountability was primarily the provincial government’s job but if the National Accountability Bureau was doing it then it was also fine as long as nobody was victimised, he said.

He expressed regret over infants’ deaths in Tharparkar and said children’s mortality ratio needed to be checked. PPP government built road infrastructure and set up reverse osmosis plants in Thar which shut down briefly for non-payment by caretaker government, he said.

APP adds: Earlier, the chief minister along with provincial ministers laid wreaths and offered fateha on the grave of Shah Abdul Latif Bhitai. He also distributed clothes among widows and deserving women and listened to Bhitai’s ragas.

Published in Dawn, October 27th , 2018

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ISLAMABAD: An accountability court was requested on Friday to proceed against federal Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry for predicting outcome of the pending references against former prime minister Nawaz Sharif.

While appearing in the accountability court before the start of proceedings in the Flagship Investment reference, Advocate Zubair Khalid, counsel for Mr Sharif, drew attention of Judge Mohammad Arshad Malik towards Mr Chaudhry’s statement that Mr Sharif had to go to jail.

“How could a minister make such a claim?” wondered the defence counsel, while arguing that this was something against the prestige of the court.

Judge Malik responded by saying that he was not watching TV nowadays. When Advocate Khalid produced a transcript of the news report about Mr Chaudhry’s claim, the judge said he could file an application against the minister if he wanted to.

Accountability court tells Nawaz’s lawyer to file application

As the National Accountability Ordinance, 1999, empowered judges to take action against contemners, the counsel requested the court to proceed in this matter on its own. He said Section 16-B of the NAO stated: “The court shall have the power to punish for contempt of court with imprisonment for a term that may extend to six months and with fine which may extend to one million rupees any person who — abuses, interferes with or obstructs the process of the court in any way or disobeys any order or direction of the court; scandalizes the court or otherwise does anything which tends to bring the court or a person constituting the court into hatred, ridicule or contempt; does anything which tends to prejudice the determination of a matter pending or most likely to come up before the court; or does anything, which, by any other law, constitutes contempt of court.”

Later talking to Dawn, Khawaja Haris Ahmed, lead defence counsel for the ex-premier, said he would carefully examine the transcript of the programme where Mr Chaudhry made such a claim before filing an application.

However, National Accountability Bureau (NAB) special prosecutor Sardar Muzaffar Abbasi told the court that the prosecution believed the case against the ex-premier was very strong and he would eventually be convicted after conclusion of the trial.

Advocate Khalid reminded Mr Abbasi that the job of a special prosecutor was to assist the court. It was not “persecution” but the “prosecution”, he remarked.

The accountability court is conducting trial of Mr Sharif in the Al-Azizia and Flagship references. The former premier, his daughter Maryam Nawaz and son-in-law retired Captain Mohammad Safdar were convicted in another NAB reference related to Avenfield apartments, on July 6. The Islamabad High Court (IHC) last month suspended the sentence and ordered their release on bail.

After the court’s proceeding, the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) spokesperson said it appeared that two parallel courts were conducting the trial of the former PM. She said one of them was being headed by Judge Arshad Malik, while the other was led by PTI minister Fawad Chaudhry. It seemed Prime Minister Imran Khan and his cabinet members still felt as if they were standing on the containers which had been placed at D-Chowk some years ago in an attempt to overthrow the previous PML-N government, she said.

She said the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf government also levelled false allegations against all opposition parties and demanded that the relevant quarters take notice of the claims.

Published in Dawn, October 27th , 2018

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PESHAWAR: An appellate court has acquitted a suspected member of a proscribed militant outfit by setting aside his conviction by an assistant political agent on the charges of waging war against the state and attacking Nato containers bound for Afghanistan.

Exercising appellate powers under the Fata Interim Governance Regulation (FIGR), 2018, the additional commissioner accepted an appeal filed by the appellant Nama Jan, a resident of Bara, Khyber tribal district.

Under the FIGR, the court of a designated commissioner or additional commissioner is the second judicial forum hearing appeals originated out of the judgments of the political agents (now deputy commissioners) or assistant political agents (now assistant deputy commissioners).

Court also sets aside his conviction for attacking security personnel

The man was convicted by an assistant political agent in his capacity as the additional district magistrate had convicted the appellant on Aug 17, 2018, and sentenced him to seven years rigorous imprisonment with a fine of Rs200,000.

He was charged under Pakistan Penal Code’s Section 121 (waging war against the state) and 121-A (punishment for waging war) and Section 11 of the erstwhile Frontier Crimes Regulation.

Shabbir Hussain Gigyani, lawyer for the appellant, said his client was innocent and was falsely implicated in the case.

He said the appellant was taken into custody by the security forces on Oct 9, 2015, and after keeping him in illegal detention for over two years, he was handed over to the administration of Khyber Agency (now Khyber tribal district).

The lawyer said the only evidence against his client was a report of the joint investigation team, which claimed that the appellant belonged to a proscribed militant organisation and was involved in attacks against Nato conveys carrying goods to Afghanistan and waging of war against the state by attacking personnel of law-enforcement agencies.

He said the JIT report could be considered a charge sheet against the appellant and not evidence.

The lawyer said for convicting the appellant, the prosecution had to produce incontrovertible evidence, which was not available in the case.

He said it was on record that the appellant was kept in illegal confinement for over two years.

The lawyer said it had become a common practice that the suspects were held in illegal custody for years before being handed over to the administration of former tribal areas and convicted in cases without evidence.

Published in Dawn, October 27th, 2018

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KARACHI: Expressing displeasure with Karachi Mayor Wasim Akhtar with regard to the Oct 24 protest by residents of Pakistan Quarters during a police action to vacate government houses from them, Chief Justice of Pakistan Main Saqib Nisar on Friday observed that ethnic issues in Karachi must now come to an end.

The chief justice made this observation while heading a three-judge bench during the hearing of a set of suo motu proceedings and petitions at the Supreme Court’s Karachi registry.

The mayor was present in the courtroom when the CJP asked him why he did not bring the issue of Pakistan Quarters into his notice and sought more time or to make alternative arrangements before vacating the government houses without creating a law and order situation.

The mayor, however, replied that the action in Pakistan Quarters did not come under his domain.

The CJP was of the view that the politics on linguistic and ethnic lines in the city should be buried.

Joint anti-encroachment drive in Saddar ordered

The CJP directed all stakeholders to come up on Saturday (today) with joint efforts to remove encroachments from Karachi.

The chief justice also inquired from the mayor about removal of encroachments from parks and cleaning of storm-water drains.

Stakeholders asked to make Saddar area encroachment-free

Mayor Akhtar said that choking points of 38 big drains of the city had been cleared and work was still under way.

However, he once again complained that he lacked powers to launch a grand operation against encroachments. He added that he had taken action on Kashmir Road and other areas to remove encroachments.

About encroachments on footpaths, the CJP also expressed resentment with the provincial law officer who said pushcart owners earned a living there. The bench made clear that footpaths were only meant for pedestrians and the authorities should make alternative arrangements for pushcarts.

The CJP further observed that if footpaths were used to earn a living then why money was being spent to build such walkways.

The bench, which was hearing a matter against encroachments in public parks and conversion of amenity lands for commercial and residential purposes, was informed that public spaces including areas underneath flyovers had also been encroached upon.

The CJP summoned top officials of the Karachi Development Authority, Cantonment Board Karachi, Karachi Water & Sewerage Board, inspector general of police, city commissioner and others for Saturday (today) to conduct a joint exercise to remove encroachment from Empress Market and neighbouring areas in Saddar.

The area will serve as a model for the purpose of curbing the menace of encroachments in Karachi.

Details of private hospitals’ charges sought

Stressing the need for a regulatory body for private hospitals and an affordable healthcare system, the CJP directed some leading private hospitals of the city to come up with details of fees/rate list being charged from patients.

Referring to the apex court’s measures taken against those private hospitals which were overcharging patients in Lahore, he said that some ethics should also be applied in the heath sector here.

At one stage, the chief justice said that he could direct the authorities concerned to from a regulatory body after an official of a leading private hospital insisted that their charges were higher since they were providing high standard services.

In the previous hearing, the bench had summoned the officials of private hospitals during the suo motu proceedings on the tragic killing of 10-year-old girl Amal in Defence and also constituted a special committee to suggest composition of an inquiry team for identifying negligence on part of the police and private hospitals in dealing with emergency situations.

The bench was informed that the terms of reference had been finalised and the committee was holding its meetings.

Infants’ deaths in Thar

The bench directed the provincial law officer to submit a report about steps taken to improve the situation in Tharparkar in two weeks.

The CJP said that he along with two other members of the bench would also visit the drought-hit region.

When the bench took up the matter regarding death of over five infants at the Civil Hospital Mithi due to malnutrition and diseases, the advocate general Sindh submitted that the provincial authorities had taken various steps to improve the situation and long- and short-term plans were being prepared.

Audit of special initiatives dept ordered

The bench directed the Auditor General of Pakistan to conduct a forensic audit of the funds allocated for the special initiatives department, which had been dissolved on the directive of the apex court, within three weeks.

The CJP expressed surprise over allocation of a huge budget for the now disbanded department and directed the chief secretary to complete all the schemes and tasks which were returned to their original departments.

He said that the forensic audit was ordered to ascertain the proper utilisation of funds by the dissolved department.

Meanwhile, the CJP also heard many cases of human rights including missing persons, removal from service and non-payment of salaries.

Dozens of people staged demonstrations outside the apex court building for the recovery of their missing relatives, against demolition of their houses and removal from service from government and private organisations.

Published in Dawn, October 27th , 2018

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KARACHI: The Na­tio­nal Accountability Bureau (NAB) Karachi on Friday conducted a raid at offices of the Sindh Information Department, interrogated officers and seized relevant records in connection with three alleged corruption cases, Dawn has learnt.

Sources familiar with this development told Dawn that a NAB team raided the information department offices at the Sindh Secretariat.

The team comprising four officials of NAB visited the office of the director of advertisements and inquired about records.

The officials of the provincial government namely Zulfiqar Shah, Azeem Shah and others were interrogated.

“Currently, there are three inquiries pending with NAB against the information department,” revealed the sources.

During the raid, NAB officials had taken away a number of files related to inquiries.

Published in Dawn, October 27th , 2018

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