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Complainants told to submit evidence against CEOs of sugar mills

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KARACHI: A banking court on Wednesday directed the complainants to provide copies of documentary evidence against suspects involved in alleged pilferage of Rs11 billion worth of sugar stocks. The stocks had been pledged by eight sugar mills owned by the Omni Group to different banks against loans obtained by the group.

Ten suspects — including Khawaja Anver Majeed, Kha­waja Mustafa Zul­qarnain Majeed, Khawaja Ali Kamal Majeed, Khawaja Nimr Majeed, Rashid Ahmed Khan, Mohammad Zeeshan Khan and Sajjad Ahmed — have been accused of pilferage of the pledged sugar stocks by National Bank, Silk Bank, Summit Bank, and Sindh Bank. The banks had filed around 26 direct applications seeking registration of criminal cases against the CEOs/directors of eight sugar mills and imposition of penalties on them under Section 20 of the Institutions (Recovery of Finances) Ordinance, 2001.

On Wednesday, the matter was fixed before the banking court-III.

Judge Muhammad Saad Qureshi directed the complainants’ counsel to provide copies of the documentary evidence to the defence counsel for the suspects and fixed the matter on Nov 20 for their indictment. The court also repeated bailable warrants for arrest of the absconders.

The court granted interim pre-arrest bail to CEOs/directors of four mills — including Khawaja Mustafa Zulqarnain, Khawaja Salman, Ali Kamal — against a surety bond of Rs1m in the identical application. In the meanwhile, it also granted interim bail to Ashfaq Chaudhry, who was posted as muqaddam to look after the sugar stocks in these cases.­

Published in Dawn, November 15th, 2018


In Pakistan's interest to seek IMF programme despite help from other countries: Asad Umar

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Finance Minister Asad Umar has said it is still in Pakistan's interest to enter into a programme with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to stabilise its economy, despite the agreements for financial assistance with other countries.

Speaking on DawnNewsTV show News Wise on Wednesday, he said the financing arrangements made by the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) government have eliminated any foreseeable financing problems until June 30, 2019.

"But because it will take time to support and implement the basic reforms that we have to undertake, we think it is still a better option that an IMF programme is signed," Umar said while

He added, however, that such a programme will be entered into only if its conditions are in Pakistan's interest.

Answering a question regarding the talks currently being held with a visiting IMF mission, the minister acknowledged that it was "difficult" to negotiate with the lender but that the talks had only just begun.

"It will be a huge challenge if there is no headway in the negotiations in three or four days," he said.

The minister said he did not see any challenge regarding the direction he wants the IMF talks to proceed in, and that "the entire debate will be on the pace of [fiscal] adjustment".

Dismissing concerns that the government had delayed approaching the IMF for a bailout, Umar said he had called the lender 10 days after being appointed, and while keeping the options open, asked the IMF to send a mission to Pakistan to conduct analysis of the economy. While simultaneously carrying out bilateral discussions with other countries, the government had announced it was approaching the IMF days after it received the staff mission's report.

He said exploring both options simultaneously had meant that the government now has "room and time to negotiate" with the IMF.

Clarifying his earlier statement, Umar said he had stated that only the "immediate" economic crisis of the country was over, and that reforms have just been started to eliminate the actual crisis which forces Pakistan to seek bailout programmes repeatedly.

He said the country had accumulated a current account deficit of $19 billion last fiscal year and it faces payments worth $9bn for previously taken loans. However, the fiscal steps taken by the government and monetary policy actions announced by the State Bank have shrunk the current account deficit by $6bn.

"Where we stand today, the current account deficit may total $12-13bn this [fiscal] year, the minister predicted.

He said in order to mitigate the impact the measures to cut the fiscal deficit could have on the growth, the government wants to shift the economy's emphasis from "capital intensive" ventures such as highways and plants to "job-intensive" sectors such as tourism, small and medium enterprises, agriculture and housing.

Nevertheless, Umar said, the country's growth will inevitably fall in the first 1-2 years of reforms, and will start to rise when "we hopefully bring the system on a sustainable path".

Shahid Afridi clarifies remarks on Kashmir

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KARACHI: Former captain Shahid Afridi found himself in hot water on Wednesday over his controversial remarks about the Kashmir dispute.

While addressing students at the British parliament the cricketer had said: “The world has turned Kashmir into an issue. Kashmir is not an issue.”

In a video of his speech circulating on social media, Mr Afridi said: “I say...Pakistan does not want Kashmir. Don’t give it to India either. Let Kashmir become its own country. At least humanity should stay alive. The people who are dying, at least that [bloodshed] should not happen.”

“Pakistan is unable to take care of these four provinces. Do not give it to India either. Pakistan does not want Kashmir either. Humanity is a big thing. The people who are dying there, it hurts us. Any death, whichever religion they belong to, is painful,” he said.

The remarks were quick to spark a controversy in India and Pakistan and were reported by media outlets on both sides of the border.

However, the former skipper soon issued a statement on Twitter, clarifying that his remarks were being misinterpreted by Indian media and that the clip was incomplete.

“My comments are being misconstrued by Indian media! I’m passionate about my country and greatly value the struggles of Kashmiris. Humanity must prevail and they should get their rights,” Mr Afridi said in a series of tweets.

“My clip is incomplete & out of context as what I said before that is missing. Kashmir is unresolved dispute & under brutal Indian occupation. It must be resolved as per UN resolution. Myself along with every Pakistani support Kashmiri freedom struggle. Kashmir belongs to Pakistan,” he added.

Published in Dawn, November 15th, 2018

ECP orders re-election in Quetta's PB-26 constituency

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The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on Thursday ordered re-polling in Quetta's PB-26 constituency after declaring the election of Balochistan MPA Ahmed Ali Kohzad null and void.

Hazara Democratic Party's Kohzad had received 5,117 votes in the July 25 polls against Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal runner up Wali Muhammad's 3,242 votes.

The lawyers for both candidates were present before the ECP's two member commission today, which was headed by Sindh member Abdul Ghaffar Soomro.

According to a report, Kohzad is an Afghan national, Soomro said, adding that the PB-26 poll could be declared null and void.

The ECP Punjab member Altaf Ibrahim Qureshi mentioned a writ petition that had been submitted to the Balochistan High Court (BHC) by Wali Muhammad against Kohzad's election, alleging that he was an Afghan national.

Separately, Kohzad himself had also challenged the National Database and Registration Authority’s (Nadra) blocking of his computerised national identity card in the BHC. In an earlier hearing, the Quetta deputy commissioner submitted a report in court saying that the HDP leader was an Afghan national.

Wali Muhammad's lawyer today said that the BHC had already issued notices to the parties involved in the case. He had requested that the runner-up be declared the winner.

The ECP, however, rejected his request. "How can we impose you on those who have not given you a vote?" asked the ECP Punjab member.

Qureshi added that there was no provision within the law for declaring a runner-up winner after the elected candidate was disqualified.

Subsequently, the ECP declared Kohzad's election null and void and ordered re-polling in PB-26.

17-member PM's Task Force on IT and Telecom granted cabinet approval

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The cabinet has approved the formation of a 17-member task force on IT and telecommunications comprising prominent members of Pakistan's tech sector, it emerged on Thursday.

A notification to this effect, issued by the Ministry of IT on Nov 5, stated that the Prime Minister's Task Force on IT and Telecom was granted approval by the federal cabinet in an Oct 25 meeting.

The chairman of the committee is Information Technology and Telecommunication Minister Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui.

Notable members of the task force include P@SHA (Pakistan Software Houses Association) President and Nest I/O chief Jehan Ara, former Higher Education Commission chairman Dr Attaur Rehman, Teamup NIC Co-Founder Zohair Khaliq, Tameer Bank Chief Executive Officer Shahid Mustafa, and others.

Govt approves Rs660bn development projects

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ISLAMABAD: The Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (Ecnec) on Wednesday approved six development projects worth about Rs660 billion, five of them from the water and power sector.

The meeting presided over by Finance Minister Asad Umar jacked up the costs of the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf’s signature transport project for Peshawar — Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) — by 38pc and that of Diamer-Bhasha dam project by 1pc.

The meeting approved a proposal of the Ministry of Water Resources to include Tangir Hydropower in the Diamer-Bhasha dam project that increased its cost by about Rs5bn — from previously approved cost of Rs474bn to new revised cost of Rs479.68bn.

Ecnec increases Peshawar mass transit project cost by 38pc

Informed sources said the additional cost for 15MW Tangir Hydropower Project was approved at the request of the Water and Power Development Authority to meet energy requirements during construction period of the Diamer-Bhasha dam. Wapda had estimated the cost of the small hydropower project at Rs6bn. But, the sources said, the Planning Commission had raised serious objections over the cost of the project, saying it was almost three times as costly as a normal hydropower project.

The Wapda management is reported to have taken up the issue with Prime Minister Imran Khan and told him that power supply from the national grid to Diamer-Bhasha over seven to eight years of construction period was estimated to cost about Rs10bn.

The Ecnec was updated on the Peshawar Sustainable Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) Corridor Project with a request to increase its cost by Rs38pc as referred by the Central Development Working Party (CDWP) last month.

The meeting approved the revised cost of the project of Rs66.43bn, with June 2019 as the stipulated month of completion of the project. The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government reported that some funds would be required for a soft opening of the project, to be held in March next year.

The project envisages construction of 27.37km dedicated signal-free BRT corridor, out of which 11.85km will be on ground, 12.26km elevated and 3.25km through underpasses. In addition to the main BRT corridor, additional elevated structures having total length of 2.1km will be constructed.

The CDWP had referred the Peshawar BRT project to Ecnec with a revised cost estimate of Rs67.95bn and with an advice for its cost rationalisation, which was now approved at Rs66.43bn against original approved cost of Rs49.3bn.

The project aims at building high-quality mass transit for Peshawar to trigger urban development, activities and density along the BRT corridor improving economic growth besides giving access into the city.

The project, originally planned to be executed in 12 months, is already beyond schedule and is expected to facilitate 472,000 people per day in its initial phase. It starts from Chamkani on G.T. Road and terminates at Karkhano Market on Jamrood Road. It was launched in December 2017 for completion in one year, but is now expected to be completed in March next year.

The meeting also approved a transmission line project for power evacuation from hydropower projects of 870MW Suki Kinari in KP’s Mansehra district, 1,124MW Kohala in Muzaffarabad district of Azad Jammu and Kashmir and 590MW Mahal in Bagh District in AJK, at a cost of Rs79.92bn. The main objective of the project is construction of 500kV transmission network involving a total distance of more than 750km up to Lahore to provide interconnection facilities for evacuation of electricity from the above mentioned projects being constructed under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor.

Ecnec also approved Sind Solar Energy Project at a cost of Rs12.84bn. The project aims to support the scale up of solar power in the province and increased access to electricity. The project is expected to also improve energy security and fulfil Pakistan’s international commitments on climate change.

The meeting directed the power division to furnish a report covering all facets relating to power production, its effective evacuation/transmission and distribution. The report, Ecnec observed, would help set a direction for undertaking power projects in future.

Ecnec also approved rehabilitation project of Dargai hydroelectric power station in Malakand, KP, at a cost Rs4.050bn. Completion of the project will help enhance the capacity of the power station to 22 MW.

The council also approved the Balochistan Water Resource Development Project (Zhob and Mula river basins) at a cost of Rs16.453bn. The project will benefit districts of Muslim Bagh, Qila Saifullah, Zhob, Khuzdar, Jhal Magsi and part of Kalat.

Published in Dawn, November 15th, 2018

Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry barred from Senate session

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Senate Chairman Sadiq Sanjrani on Thursday barred Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry from attending the ongoing Senate session over his failure to tender an apology to the upper house.

Over the past month, the information minister and opposition members have clashed bitterly in the parliament over the former's invective, forcing the latter to demand an apology, and briefly boycott the session.

After the Senate session began today, the opposition reiterated their demand for Chaudhry to apologise, with opposition leader Raja Zafarul Haq telling Sanjrani: "There has been a lot of bad blood in the house and it is affecting the house's pride.

"We do not have any other solution to this than just walk out. Until an apology is tendered, the rest is all meaningless."

Senator Hasil Bizenjo was more assertive with the opposition's demand, saying: "Until this person comes here and asks the entire parliament for an apology, the opposition will not [attend]."

Leader of the House Shibli Faraz suggested that the record of Chaudhry and Senator Mushahidullah Khan's statements be analysed by a committee, and offered an apology on his fellow PTI leader's behalf.

Subsequently, the opposition staged a walkout, following which Chairman Sanjrani gave a ruling, directing Chaudhry to tender an apology.

PPP Senator Sherry Rehman concurred with her fellow opposition members, telling the Senate chair that "if the information minister thinks he can insult your [position] then we will not tolerate this and we will boycott the session".

Rehman took aim at Chaudhry's choice of words, saying: "Ministers do not talk like this. They are even insulting your honour. We did not even see such ruckus in Ziaul Haq's era. We will not let such behaviour become a norm."

She also demanded that Chaudhry apologise to the house or else "we will run the parliament outside the parliament".

At this, the chairman issued a ruling that "all members are bound to respect the chairman and leaders of the house and opposition."

Sanjrani ordered Chaudhry to come to the Senate and tender his apology, making it clear that failure to do so on the minister's part will get him banned from attending the session.

The federal minister's failure to oblige to the ruling led the chairman to impose the bar on him.

On October 3, matters had come to a head after a scathing verbal duel in the house between Chaudhry and Senator Mushahidullah Khan, with the latter insisting that the minister apologise over his comments about corruption that he made in the lower house of parliament the previous Thursday.

Following the barbed exchanges, the Senate had witnessed unprecedented scenes when the information minister was asked to leave the upper house of parliament after he refused to tender an apology over remarks that had offended the opposition.

PM Imran Khan to embark on Malaysian visit on November 20

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Prime Minister Imran Khan will embark on a two-day official tour of Malaysia on November 20, Radio Pakistan reported citing Foreign Office (FO) Spokesperson Dr Muhammad Faisal.

PM Khan, according to the national radio network, will become the first head of the state to visit the Southeast Asian country since Mahathir Mohammad became the Malaysian PM for a second time, earlier this year.

Radio Pakistan further reported that PM Khan and his Malaysian counterpart will hold a one-on-one meeting before the two countries' delegations delve into detailed discussions.

The prime minister's visit to Malaysia will be the last of his trio of planned foreign visits since assuming the top office.

The prime minister has already been to Saudi Arabia and China, both of whom had assured him of financial assistance in the face of Pakistan's mounting balance of payments crisis.

On October 18, PM Khan and Malaysian PM Mahathir had held a telephonic conversation, in which the former had emphasised Pakistan's "close and cordial" relations with Malaysia.

PM Khan, highlighting the "need of high-level bilateral exchanges" between the two countries, had said that Pakistan and Malaysia should collaborate at an "operational level" so that they could benefit from each other's expertise.

FM Qureshi meets Malaysian HC

Malaysian High Commissioner to Pakistan Ikram Bin Mohammad Ibrahim called on Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi, who expressed his desire to reinforce the two countries' relationship in "political and economic spheres" — Radio Pakistan reported.

During the meeting, FM Qureshi noted that "Pakistan and Malaysia enjoy close and cordial relations which are deep-rooted in common belief, heritage and history".

The foreign minister exchanged ideas on how to further bolster "trade, investment, and people-to-people contacts" between the two nations.


Fawad Chaudhry expresses 'disappointment' over being barred from Senate

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Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry on Thursday said the cabinet was "disappointed" by Senate chairman's ruling which barred him from attending the ongoing Senate session, adding that the government will form a strategy to tackle the matter.

During a press conference in Islamabad, Chaudhry said "no one [in the cabinet] was satisfied" by Chairman Sadiq Sanjrani's order, adding that the prime minister has asked Defence Minister Pervez Khattak to look into the matter.

"The prime minister has clearly said that no one has the right to humiliate federal ministers like this," Chaudhry said, adding that he, as well as the cabinet, was "disappointed" by Sanjrani's order.

On Wednesday, Chairman Sanjrani had told Chaudhry to leave the upper house of parliament after he failed to tender an apology for referring to opposition members as “robbers and thieves” in an earlier speech he delivered in the National Assembly. In that speech, Chaudhry had also accused Senator Mushahidullah Khan of indulging in nepotism.

Matters came to a head in Senate on Wednesday, after a scathing verbal duel in the House between Chaudhry and Senator Khan, with the latter insisting that the minister apologises over his comments. When Chaudhry refused to do so, he was asked by the chairman to leave the House.

When Thursday's session commenced, senators from opposition parties reiterated Khan's demand for an apology and threatened a walkout if it was not complied with. At this, the chairman issued a ruling that "all members are bound to respect the chairman and leaders of the house and opposition" and ordered Chaudhry to come to the Senate and tender his apology, making it clear that failure to do so on the minister's part will get him banned from attending the session.

The federal minister's failure to oblige to the ruling led the chairman to impose the ban on him.

During his press conference, Chaudhry defended his remarks, saying he had the right to question "where the previous governments had spent billions of rupees"?

"I don't understand this: Mushahidullah Khan does not have to apologise for his speech where he used extremely filthy language about the prime minister and myself, but we must apologise for talking about the poor," the minister said.

Responding to a question, Chaudhry said he had been elected into office directly by "hundreds and thousands of people" while Sanjrani had become Senate chairman through indirect elections of the upper house.

"If he (Sanjrani) cannot bring an equilibrium and balance [in the house], then the government will have to form a strategy in this regard," Chaudhry said.

'Son of Pakistan'

The information minister hailed the slain Superintendent of Police Tahir Khan Dawar — who was abducted from Islamabad on October 26 and was found dead in Afghanistan's Nangarhar province on Tuesday — as the "son of Pakistan".

When asked why the government had not issued any statement about SP Dawar's abduction for the past 19 days, the information minister said that the authorities could not publicise the steps that were being taken to recover the officer.

"We do not want the kidnappers to know [the steps being taken to find the SP]," he explained. He said that Dawar's discovery in Nangarhar and Afghanistan's reaction over the incident had raised a lot of questions.

Bureaucratic reforms

The information minister also touched upon some decisions taken by the federal cabinet in today's meeting, including reforms in bureaucracy. One of the recommendations, that were put forward during the cabinet meeting, was that the federal secretaries will be appointed to ministries on a six-month provisional period, Chaudhry said.

Once they complete the provisional period, the secretaries will serve for the next 2.5 years without any threat to their posts. The recommendation was made to ensure the job security of bureaucrats. A cabinet committee, that would be headed by Arbab Shahzad, will work on the proposal and bring forth further recommendations.

He also expressed the government's resolve to protect overseas Pakistani prisoners by providing them with legal aid. Chaudhry further said that the government was "committed" to bringing Aafia Siddiqui back to Pakistan.

PTI-backed Waleed Iqbal and Seemi Ezdi get elected to Senate from Punjab

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Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) backed candidates Waleed Iqbal and Seemi Ezdi were elected senators from Punjab in the Senate by-polls held at the Punjab Assembly in Lahore on Thursday.

Iqbal grabbed the general seat by securing 184 votes, while Ezdi won the reserved seat by obtaining 183 votes.

PML-N's Saud Majeed got 176 and Sara Afzal Tarar 175 votes, while nine votes were adjudged invalid.

The two seats of Senate from Punjab fell vacant after the Supreme Court last month disqualified PML-N senators Haroon Akhtar and Sadia Abbasi for holding dual nationalities at the time of filing their nomination papers for the upper house of the parliament.

Senator-elect Waleed Iqbal and Seemi Ezdi thanked PTI Chairman Imran Khan for showing trust in them. They were talking to the media outside the Punjab Assembly.

Earlier, Provincial Minister for Housing, Urban Development and Public Health Engineering Mian Mehmoodur Rasheed, while talking to the media, said that today's success in Senate by-elections proved all rumours wrong regarding a rift in the party.

PML-N again requisitions NA session

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ISLAMABAD: After submitting another requisition notice to the National Assembly secretariat for summoning of the session of the lower house of parliament, the opposition Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) is now awaiting the issuance of a production order for its president Shahbaz Sharif by Speaker Asad Qaiser.

Talking to Dawn here on Thursday, PML-N spokesperson Marriyum Aurangzeb said the requisition notice signed by 88 opposition members had been submitted soon after the prorogation of the assembly session on Nov 9 and they hoped the speaker would issue the production order of Mr Sharif as per parliamentary traditions and in accordance with the assembly rules like he did previously.

Ms Aurangzeb said that she had waited for long to personally meet the speaker, but he did not come to the office on that day, forcing her to hand over the request for Mr Sharif’s production order to the officials of the assembly secretariat.

Wants speaker to issue Shahbaz Sharif’s production order

She said they had submitted a five-point agenda with the notice for discussion during the requisitioned session.

The agenda includes a discussion on “use of National Accountability Bureau (NAB) as a tool for political coercion, government’s 100-day performance, economic situation in the country, especially the alarming price hikes and inflation, progress of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor and the law and order situation in the country”.

Under the rules, the speaker is bound to convene the session 14 days after submission of the requisition notice by Nov 23.

The PML-N spokesperson said the party had also decided to move an adjournment motion seeking discussion and explanation from the government over the martyrdom of Superintendent of Police (SP) Tahir Khan Dawar in Afghanistan.

SP Dawar, who was chief of Peshawar police’s rural circle, was kidnapped in the G-10/4 area of Islamabad on October 26, and his body was later found in a remote area of the Afghan province of Nangarhar.

Ms Aurangzeb ridiculed the government for blaming the faulty cameras of Islamabad’s Safe City Project for the incident, which had actually exposed its own failure to protect the life of a police officer.

Meanwhile, Chairman of the Senate Standing Committee on Law and Justice Javed Abbasi, who also belongs to the PML-N, on Thursday cancelled the committee’s meeting scheduled for Friday on the request of NAB chairman retired Justice Javed Iqbal who was to appear before the committee for a comprehensive briefing “regarding working and performance of the bureau”.

The committee had called the NAB chairman with the complete record and data of cases currently being investigated and disposed of by the bureau since its inception about 19 years ago, particularly in the last three years.

Talking to Dawn, Mr Abbasi said that he had received a request from NAB to delay the meeting for one week as the chairman would be busy in Lahore. Moreover, he said, some of the committee members had also already requested him to postpone the meeting as they wanted to go to their respective constituencies after the Senate session.

Published in Dawn, November 16th, 2018

Govt, Senate lock horns over ban on minister

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ISLAMABAD: A ruling by the Senate chairman on Thursday placing a ban on Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry from attending the ongoing session of the house unless he tenders an apology over his outburst against the opposition has invited the ire of the federal cabinet, apparently putting the executive on a collision course with parliament.

“Nobody has the right to humiliate members of the federal cabinet like this,” Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry quoted Prime Minister Imran Khan as saying during the cabinet meeting later in the day.

Briefing reporters about the cabinet meeting, the minister said the entire cabinet, including the prime minister, expressed annoyance over the ruling. “We will also have to formulate a strategy if the chairman cannot strike a balance (in the conduct of the house proceedings),” he said, hinting that the cabinet might boycott the Senate proceedings, if this issue was not addressed.

Mr Chaudhry said he was being asked to apologise for asking where trillions of rupees provided to Baloch­istan over the last 10 years had been spent. He also chided Senate Chairman Sadiq Sanjrani by saying that he (the minister) had been elected by securing a large number of votes while the Senate chairman had not been directly elected.

Nobody has right to humiliate cabinet members like this, Fawad quotes PM as saying in meeting

The minister said the prime minister had tasked Defence Minister Pervez Khatak to amicably resolve the issue with the Senate chairman.

A day after the opposition staged a walkout from the Senate as a mark of protest against the information minister’s remarks against top politicians — including Asif Ali Zardari, Mehmood Khan Achakzai and Maulana Fazlur Rehman — Leader of the Opposition Raja Zafarul Haq, at the very outset of the proceedings, said it had been decided on Wednesday that the minister would tender an apology.

“There has been a lot of bad blood in the house and it is affecting the house’s pride,” he said.

“We do not have any other solution to this than just walk out until an apology is offered. The rest is all meaningless,” the opposition leader said.

Senator Hasil Bizenjo joined Raja Zafarul Huq in saying that the opposition would not attend the session unless the minister apologised to the house for his utterances.

Leader of the House Shibli Faraz suggested that the record of Fawad Chaudhry and Senator Mushahidullah Khan’s remarks be analysed by a committee to see whose remarks were more offensive. He also offered an apology on behalf of the information minister.

However, the entire opposition staged a walkout from the house during which the proceedings remained suspended for some time.

When the house reassembled, the chairman ruled that the information minister should come to the house and apologise over his remarks. “If he does not apologise I place a ban on him from attending rest of the sittings of the ongoing session under rule 13 (4) read with rule 264 (of the Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business in the Senate, 2012),” he said.

Referring to bitterness being witnessed in the house for some days, he said it was incumbent upon all to exercise caution. Mr Sanjrani said he had been saying that more responsibility lay on the government for smooth functioning of the house.

The ruling by the chairman was welcomed by the opposition. Describing the ruling as a historic decision, PPP parliamentary leader Sherry Rehman said such steps had been taken in the past as well. Criticising the use of objectionable language by government representatives, she regretted that the “status of lawmakers is questioned when they ask a question”.

Deploring that the government started calling the opposition “thief” and “dacoit” when questions were raised, she said that this was non-parliamentary attitude of a party which had entered corridors of power for the first time. “They want a media trial of the opposition while sitting in the parliament”, she remarked.

In a related development, Pervez Khatak called on the Senate chairman to deliver him a special message of the prime minister.

A press release issued by the Senate secretariat said views were exchanged on conducting the house proceedings with a spirit of conciliation.

The meeting was also attended by Shibli Faraz, Minister for Science and Technology Azam Swati and Chairman of the Senate standing committee on information Faisal Javed.

The press release appeared to be in contrast with the information minister’s briefing about the cabinet meeting as it said the defence minister assured the Senate chairman of his cooperation.

“Supremacy of parliament and promotion of democratic attitudes is prime responsibility of all. The prime minister’s role for supremacy of the parliament is appreciable”, it quoted Mr Sanjrani as saying.

Meanwhile, Minister of State for Interior Shaheryar Afridi, in a policy statement on the abduction and killing of SP Tahir Dawar in Afghanistan, disclosed that none of the over 1,800 closed-circuit cameras installed in the federal capital under the Safe City Project had the capability to read number plates of vehicles and recognise faces of commuters. He said 600 of these cameras were out of order.

He said 95 per cent of the amount had been released with the signing of the memorandum of understanding on the procurement of cameras and called for an inquiry to identify those who had received kickbacks in the deal.

On this, the chair remarked that it was the duty of the interior minister to hold an inquiry. The minister insisted that his ministry would hold an inquiry but then nobody should say that political victimisation was being committed.

The minister said that the culprits involved in the killing of the SP would be made an example for others, no matter where they were.

“The incident raises a question on the performance of police and on state and on all of us,” Mr Afridi said.

He said that some people from Afghanistan side wanted instability in Pakistan.

After the abduction of SP Dawar from Islamabad on Oct 26, he was kept in Punjab for one or two days and then shifted to Afghanistan while using the route through Mianwali district,” the minister said. There was no patrolling on the border from Afghanistan side, he added.

The opposition benches rejected the minister’s policy statement on the killing of SP Tahir Khan Dawar in Afghanistan that the dysfunctional cameras of Islamabad were the main cause of the police official’s kidnapping and then his shifting to Afghanistan.

The lawmakers said that the incident showed complete negligence and failure on part of the law enforcement agencies and the state institutions. They said if a police official was not safe in the capital, how common citizens could be safe. They said that the incident had demoralised the entire police and demanded that the martyred police official should be awarded the highest medal of the country. The termed it a dangerous trend and said that such incident could also happen with the politicians.

“The statement of the state minister has made joke of the house… I reject this non-serious report,” said PPP Senator Sherry Rehman and added that Prime Minister Imran Khan, having the portfolio of interior minister, should himself present the report in the house.

She stressed that the Foreign Office should not keep silence on the killing of SP Dawar and ask Afghanistan how its territory was used for this. She also sought a report from the Foreign Office on this incident.

Published in Dawn, November 16th, 2018

Only real representatives of people can run country properly: Zardari

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BADIN: In sharp remarks against Prime Minister Imran Khan-led PTI’s government, former president Asif Ali Zardari said on Thursday the “powers of Islamabad” were beginning to realise that only the real representatives of people could run the country properly.

The PPP leader said he was making a speech in Urdu, instead of Sindhi, simply because he wanted to convey a certain message to the “powers in Islamabad”.

“The leaders created by you can’t run this country [efficiently], no matter how much you help them,” he said, adding that it was quite evident how the powers that be were helping the government.

In thinly-veiled reference to cricketer-turned-politician Imran Khan, he said certain individuals might have made a name as sportsmen but running a country was way beyond such people.

Says Pakistan was created by common people, not elite

“There’s a lot of wealth inside the country, but the elite living in Islamabad doesn’t have faith in the people,” said Mr Zardari at a public meeting of PPP workers and elders of Lowari Sharif Jamaat at the residence of Pir of Lowari Sharif, Pir Sadiq Shah.

He said the elite living in Islamabad did not create Pakistan but it came into being after people’s representatives sitting in the Sindh and Bengal assemblies passed resolutions calling for a separate homeland for the Muslims of the subcontinent.

“I wish they had supported our government as well, during whose tenure both the industrial and agricultural sectors were performing well. In those days, the industrial units as well as agriculturists were making profits. But now everyone is making losses. Even cotton ginners are in loss,” he added.

People earning their livelihood by growing crops wanted that electricity, fertiliser and other material were provided to them on cheap rates, said the senior PPP leader. “They will only make profit when this happens.”

The Zulfikarabad scheme was a good project that aimed to resettle the people being affected by sea erosion, he said. “But some of our friends raised a hue and cry over it.”

Without naming the people responsible for wrongdoing, he said the politicians of Badin who had committed corruption would be made accountable. “They too will face audit.”

He said he was well aware of the issues of Badin district and other parts of lower Sindh.

Speaking on the occasion, provincial minister Mohammad Ismail Rahu said the PPP was united under the leadership of Mr Zardari and Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari and was not afraid of any threats hurled at it.

Pir Sadiq Shah thanked Mr Zardari for helping rebuild the shrines in Lowari Sharif and launching efforts to maintain peace in the tiny town.

Many important politicians of the region, including Mir Ghulam Ali Talpur, Syed Nasir Ali Shah, Mir Allah Bux Talpur, Basheer Ahmed Halepoto, Arbab Lutufullah, Mir Munawar Ali Talpur and Taj Mohammad Mallah, were present on the occasion.

Published in Dawn, November 16th, 2018

PTI bags both seats in Senate by-poll

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LAHORE: In a close contest, the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf managed to win two seats in the Senate by-election held in the Punjab Assembly on Thursday.

PTI’s Waleed Iqbal defeated PML-N’s Saud Majeed, former MNA and senator, on a general seat with a margin of 10 votes. Mr Iqbal polled 184 votes while Mr Majeed managed to secure 176.

Similarly, PTI’s Seemi Ezdi with 183 votes defeated PML-N’s former federal minister Saira Afzal Tarar who polled 175 votes. Ms Ezdi is the sister of former PTI secretary general Jahangir Tareen.

Seven votes for general seat and nine for women’s reserved seat were rejected.

The PTI had a claimed strength of 194 votes with the support of coalition partners and independents but Mr Iqbal and Ms Ezdi got 184 and 183 votes, respectively.

The PML-N had a claimed strength of 173 votes but Mr Majeed got 176 votes and Ms Tarar scored 175 votes. Mr Majeed claims that three out of seven rejected votes were polled for him as he was expecting 179 votes.

The vote was held on the seats which fell vacant owing to disqualification of two PML-N senators Haroon Akhtar Khan and Saadia Abbasi on the charge of having dual nationality.

The polling continued unhindered from 9am to 4pm. As many as 367 MPAs exercised their right to franchise from the 371-strong house. Two MPAs (one each from the PTI and PML-N) were abroad and could not cast their votes. Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan has not yet taken the oath of his office as MPA, while one seat (PP-168) has been vacated by PML-N’s Saad Rafique after he got elected as MNA.

Speaking to media personnel, Mr Iqbal expressed his gratitude to the PTI, coalition partners and independents for campaigning and polling votes to help him win the election. Even the PML-N and PPP’s collusion could not work, he said.

Ms Ezdi also thanked the party and coalition partners for campaigning and voting for her.

Mr Majeed and Ms Tarar claimed that the PTI had given a bait of ministries to its members but still the PML-N got five votes from the PTI MPAs.

At the start of the polling, Opposition Leader Hamza Shahbaz had a heated argument with the Punjab Assembly security staff for stopping MPAs and his staff at the main entrance to the assembly. He asked the security staff, “Do not act like station house officer as this is not a police station but Punjab Assembly”. He said it was disrespectful to bar MPAs from entering the assembly building.

Speaker Pervaiz Ealhi said no MPA was stopped from entering the assembly. “Only non-MPAs or those not having assembly membership cards were stopped by the security staff,” he added.

As soon as the election results were out, congratulations started pouring in from every corner. Punjab Governor Chaudhry Sarwar, Chief Minister Usman Buzdar and senior minister Aleem Khan in their tweets extended heartiest congratulations to Mr Iqbal and Ms Ezdi over their victory.

Stating that both the new parliamentarians will strengthen the PTI, the chief minister said Mr Iqbal’s and Ms Ezdi’s success had proved that Punjab had become a stronghold of PTI.

The PTI leaders celebrated the party’s win in the election while distributing sweets at Punjab Assembly.

Published in Dawn, November 16th, 2018

Passenger sets luggage on fire to protest cancelled flight

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RAWALPINDI: A passenger on Thursday set his luggage on fire in protest against his flight being cancelled at the Islamabad International Airport (IIA).

Gilgit-bound Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) flight PK-607 scheduled for 7am was first delayed due to technical reasons and cancelled later due to bad weather.

The passengers started chanting slogans against the airline and one of the passengers set fire to his luggage.

A Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) spokesperson told Dawn the fire was put out by CAA fire fighters.

A video of the passengers arguing with PIA staff and pushing a senior staffer was uploaded on social media. The protestors were told that a special flight will be operated for them on Friday.

A PIA spokesperson said CEO Air Marshal Arshad Malik talked to GB Law Minister Aurangzeb Khan, who was also going to travel on the flight, and told him that the flight had been cancelled due to bad weather. Another GB minister was also accompanying him.

He said the passengers were moved to hotels for the night and assured that a special flight will be operated for them on Friday.

“No airline can risk flying a passenger plane in bad weather,” he said.

Published in Dawn, November 16th, 2018


Committee set up to examine GB reforms, SC told

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ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court was told on Thursday that the federal government had appointed a high-level committee to examine the constitutional, administrative and governance reforms for Gilgit-Baltistan (GB).

The federal minister for Kashmir Affairs and Gilgit-Baltistan will be the committee’s convener. Other members will be the federal law minister, the Attorney General, Gilgit-Baltistan governor, the GB law minister, the secretaries for foreign affairs, defence and Kashmir Affairs and Gilgit-Baltistan, the GB chief secretary, and the joint secretary (finance) of GB Council.

A seven-judge Supreme Court bench, headed by Chief Justice Mian Saqib Nisar, had taken up a set of petitions challenging the Gilgit-Baltistan Order of 2018, Gilgit-Baltistan Empowerment and Self Governance Order of 2009 as well as the right of the people of the region to be governed through their chosen representatives.

The chief justice acknowledged the sensitivity of the matter and observed that the court would commence regular hearing soon and decide the matter on its own in case the government did not pursue it.

The notification was presented before the apex court by Attorney General Anwar Mansoor. He stated under the terms of reference, the committee had been entrusted with the review of reforms in the light of Gilgit-Baltistan Order 2018, the judgement of the Supreme Court in Al Jihad Trust case 1999 and recommendations of the attorney general.

The committee will also examine the status of Gilgit-Baltistan in the light of UN resolutions on Kashmir and the stand taken by the government at the international level.

Barrister Aitzaz Ahsan, who was appointed amicus curiae by the apex court earlier, pleaded that in view of the sensitivity of the matter, the committee should be allowed to complete its task, but the matter should not linger on for long.

Nawaz Kharal, one of the counsel, through a petition has pleaded with the court to declare certain laws as illegal and contrary to the May 1999 Supreme Court judgement in the Al Jihad Trust case. These laws are: the Statutory Regulatory Order (SRO) No. 786 (1) of Sept 9, 2009, and the Gilgit-Baltistan Empowerment and Self Governance Order 2009 (amended in February 2015) empowering the minister for Kashmir Affairs and Northern Areas (KANA) to act as GB governor).

Recalling the 1999 verdict which had held that the two million people of Northern Areas were citizens of Pakistan, the counsel said the judgement had ordered the federal government to make administrative and legislative measures for ensuring the people of Northern Areas enjoyed their rights as guaranteed in the 1973 constitution.

Regarding the right to access to justice through an independent judiciary, the apex court had asked the federal government to treat the Chief Court of the Northern Areas at par with a high court.

The jurisdiction exercised by the courts of Gilgit-Baltistan be enlarged so as to include the powers of entertaining constitutional petitions for enforcement of fundamental rights, the court observed.

The counsel further argued the government had also been asked to give the people the right to approach a higher forum for leave to appeal against the chief court’s orders.

In 1999, the apex court had given a timeframe requiring the government to initiate administrative and legislative measures in Gilgit-Baltistan within six months by making amendments in the constitution and other set of laws.

Such amendments should aim at ensuring the people of Northern Areas the right to be governed through their chosen representative and to have access to justice through an independent judiciary.

But the federal government has failed to comply with the 1999 judgement even after a decade.

Notices to newspapers

A three-judge Supreme Court bench, headed by the chief justice, withdrew a notice issued to English daily The News for carrying a headline in its issue of Nov 14: “Govt lacks capability, planning, says CJP.”

The court also withdrew a similar notice issued to daily Jang.

The court cautioned that action would be taken in future in case the court proceedings were misreported. Hanif Khalid, the Editor of Jang, appeared before the Supreme Court.

In the notice the chief justice had expressed surprise over headlines in the two newspapers since the court never made such observations about the federal government. Instead, observations were made against the Capital Development Authority (CDA), the chief justice observed.

“This is an instance of gross misreporting on behalf of the media group,” the order stated.

Published in Dawn, November 16th, 2018

SHC gives transport secretary, mayor 30 days for plan to streamline city traffic

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KARACHI: The Sindh High Court on Thursday directed the transport secretary and Karachi mayor to consult with all stakeholders and come up with a comprehensive plan within a month on the issues of heavy vehicles and deteriorating traffic situation in the metropolis.

The two-judge bench of the SHC headed by Justice Mohammad Ali Mazhar directed them that a meeting of all stakeholders must be held within 10 days.

When a petition about the deteriorating traffic situation in the metropolis came up for hearing on Thursday, the secretary for transport, city mayor and DIG (traffic) appeared before the court.

Orders FIA to assist police in finding around 20 missing children

The mayor said that offices of intra-city buses were set up almost everywhere in the city and the entry of heavy vehicles in the metropolis must be banned. He said it was the responsibility of the provincial government to set up bus terminals on the outskirts of the city.

The officials of the provincial government submitted that a complete ban on heavy vehicles/containers transporting goods from the Karachi port may adversely affect the national economy.

The bench observed that a permanent resolution of the issue was needed and sought a comprehensive plan by Dec 14.

Faisal Bangali and others had moved the SHC against the relevant authorities over the worsening situation of traffic in Karachi, seeking rerouting of heavy vehicles through non-residential areas as well as improvement in public transport.

They asked the court to issue directives to the authorities to improve public transport and introduce other alternatives to help commuters and reduce the burden on the existing transport. The court was further asked to order the authorities to strictly conduct fitness tests of vehicles running on city roads.

The SHC had imposed a ban on the movement of heavy vehicles in the city during daytime in March last year. However, the Supreme Court set aside the order in May 2017 and observed that the SHC order was against a 2007 verdict of the SC.

Missing children

Another bench of the SHC on Thursday directed the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) to assist the police to locate the whereabouts of around 20 missing children.

The two-judge bench of the SHC headed by Justice Naimatullah Phulpoto, hearing a number of cases of missing persons, expressed dissatisfaction over a progress report field by CIA DIG Amin Yusufzai,

who is heading a committee tasked to supervise the investigation and recovery of the children.

The bench raised the question about the “use of these children in human trafficking” and told the FIA to assist the police to locate them. It also expressed displeasure over the slow pace of investigation and said that the DIG would have to attend every hearing till the children’s recovery.

The bench directed the police and FIA to use modern devices and make all efforts to locate the children and file a report by Dec 6.

On a directive of the SHC, the police had lodged 23 FIRs regarding missing children at Awami Colony, North Nazimabad, Nazimabad, Ferozabad, Saudabad, Docks, Preedy, Boat Basin, Quaidabad, Gulshan-i-Iqbal, New Karachi Industrial Area and Korangi police stations. Later, two of the children returned home.

The petition was filed by Roshni Research and Development Welfare in 2012, seeking court directives to the provincial police for considering the missing children’s cases, who went missing in different parts of Karachi, a cognizable offence and registering FIRs in that regard.

The NGO alleged that cases of missing children were not properly investigated by the police which resulted in many preventable deaths.

Published in Dawn, November 16th, 2018

Three absconders surrender in Naqeeb murder case

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KARACHI: An antiterrorism court on Thursday granted interim pre-arrest bail to three former policemen, who were absconding in a case pertaining to killing of an aspiring Waziristan model Naqeebullah Mehsud and three others in an alleged ‘staged’ encounter in January.

The suspects — former assistant sub-inspectors (SI) Mohammad Anar and Khair Mohammad and former head constable (HC) Faisal Mehmood — surrendered before the trial court after obtaining protective bail from the Sindh High Court’s Hyderabad circuit bench.

Defence counsel Abid Zaman argued that his clients wanted to join the trial, but the court had issued non-bailable warrants for their arrest. Therefore, they apprehended their arrest in the case and pleaded to admit their interim bail.

Allowing the request, the ATC-III, which is hearing the matter in the judicial complex inside the central prison, granted them interim bail against a surety bond of Rs200,000 each and issued a notice to the prosecutor for Nov 19.

Then SSP Malir Rao Anwar and then DSP Qamar Ahmed Shaikh along with their around 10 detained and 14 absconding subordinates have been booked in the cases of allegedly killing four men in a fake shoot-out in Shah Latif Town on Jan 13 and foisting fake recoveries of illicit arms and explosives on the victims.

Published in Dawn, November 16th, 2018

Another private school issued suspension notice

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KARACHI: Apart from sending notices of suspension of registration to The City School and Beaconhouse School System, the Sindh government’s directorate of education has also issued Generation’s School with a similar notice over non-compliance with court orders about hike, return and adjustment of school fees.

In response to the notice, Generation’s School has said that the notice they got was based on the premise of alleged non-compliance with the orders of the Sindh High Court (SHC) dated Sept 3 and the Supreme Court (SC) dated Oct 1.

But they claimed that the school had always been a law-abiding educational institution that has sought registrations as well as fee approvals as per the law.

In a statement shared with the media on Thursday, the school management also said that their current application for renewal of registration has been pending with the directorate of private schools, Sindh, and in the meanwhile, the Generation’s School has assured the directorate and the courts that they had remained in full compliance with the SHC judgement by reducing fee levels to within five per cent of their last fee schedule.

The Sindh school education department has told other schools also to return and adjust their fees. These include Nixor School, Happy Home, Foundation Public, PECHS, Links and St Gregory’s School.

Published in Dawn, November 16th, 2018

Pillion riding, non-religious gatherings banned till Nov 30

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KARACHI: The Sindh government has announced imposition of a ban on pillion-riding, use of loudspeakers, making/carrying/processing of provocative speeches or their audio-visual material to incite sectarian hatred and assembly of more than five persons, except for the Eid-i-Milad congregations and Chup Tazia processions, from the 1st to 20th of Rabiul Awwal (viz Nov 10 to 30) across Sindh under Section 144 of the Criminal Procedure Code.

The ban, however, would not be applicable to journalists, personnel of law-enforcement agencies, employees of essential services and private security guards of registered companies during their duty hours.

The additional DC in his letter No. DC/Reader/1861/2018 dated Nov 8, 2018 recommending imposition of the ban stressing the need for ensuring complete religious harmony during the Jashn-i-Eid Milad-un-Nabi (PBUH) “in view of the prevailing law & order situation and incidents of terrorism/bomb blasts all over the country and critical situation across the border”.

A notification issued in this regard by Home Secretary Abdul Kabir Kazi on Thursday (Nov 15) said that the ban was being imposed with effect from Nov 10 on the recommendation of the additional deputy commissioner of Hyderabad.

The notification said that all permissions issued by the home department to carry weapons in relaxation of the ban u/s 144 CrPC would remain suspended during the period.

Published in Dawn, November 16th, 2018

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