RAWALPINDI: A civil judge (judicial magistrate) narrowly escaped an armed attack near Chakri Interchange on Friday night while travelling with his family from Lahore to Islamabad.

Suleman Badar, the judicial magistrate posted in Islamabad, came under attack on the Motorway at about 9.15pm. However, he survived the attack.

When contacted, he told Dawn that he along with his family was heading towards Islamabad when another car in which three persons were travelling crossed his vehicle and opened fire on it.

“The car riders opened straight fire on my car, but luckily we survived,” the civil judge said.

He further said that soon after the incident, he called the Motorway police and gave them the registration plate number of the attackers’ car, but they were unable to trace that car. The judicial magistrate said that he could not identify the attackers who were three in number — two occupying the front seats while their accomplice was on the back seat.

Later, personnel of the Rawalpindi police reached the crime scene and launched an investigation.

Published in Dawn, November 17th, 2018

ISLAMABAD: The National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) has warned of a drought-like situation in Sindh and parts of Balochistan, highlighting that the condition may become severe in the coming days as a dry spell is predicted in many parts of the country.

A report of the NDMA containing short-term and long-term recommendations and measures has been submitted to the president and the Prime Minister Office.

The report has also been shared with the Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA), Sindh, and other stakeholders for necessary action.

The NDMA is the lead federal agency tasked with mitigating and countering the impact of natural disasters.

The report has been prepared after the NDMA received directives from both the president and the prime minister in this regard.

The authority has suggested that certain measures are required in the wake of serious water shortage in the country. It may provide family data to the Sindh PDMA as well as the provincial relief department to distribute assistance packages among the affected families in calamity-hit areas.

Report submitted to president, PM contains short-term and long-term measures

It has been decided that to alleviate hardship and miseries of the affected people, the Recovery & Rehabilitation Directorate of the NDMA would act as “drought secretariat” to ensure timely, coordinated and smooth flow of information among all stakeholders.

The authority has also sought suggestions from the Sindh PDMA if any additional relief assistance was required from the federal government or the NDMA.

In the process of finalising the report, the NDMA also held a seminar in collaboration with the Sindh PDMA, UNFPA (United Nations Population Fund) and Unicef to analyse the current drought-like situation in eight districts, particularly in Tharparkar.

The NDMA has discussed availability of water for human consumption as well as agriculture and livestock usage with relevant agencies. Adverse impacts of drought on the livelihood and resultant migration were also discussed.

The NDMA has expressed the fear that prolonged dry spell may cause water stress in cultivated areas of the country due to limited supply of irrigation water for Kharif crops and may also aggravate the existing drought-like conditions.

The NDMA plans to hold a ‘national consultative seminar’ next month in Islamabad to discuss intensity and extent of drought situation across Pakistan.

The purpose of this seminar is to formulate a comprehensive national strategy to effectively mitigate the adverse effects of drought.

The authority has sought a sector-wise consolidated situation report as well as recommendations for future course of action from all provincial disaster management authorities and district disaster management authorities and line departments of the districts facing the drought-like situation.

Published in Dawn, November 17th, 2018

Prime Minister Imran Khan was quoted on Friday by various media outlets as having made somewhat interesting remarks about his shift in stance on major issues.

The prime minister had convened a meeting with a few journalists and columnists at the PM House in Islamabad. As the conversation reportedly turned towards him changing stances, popularly referred to as "U-turns" by the media and politicians, the premier sought to set the record straight.

Geo News reported the PM as having said that "a leader who does not take 'U-turns' according to the requirements of the situation is not a real leader."

Furthermore, the prime minister was quoted as having made historical references to Napoleon and Hitler. Express Tribune quoted the premier as saying: "If Adolf Hitler and Napoleon Bonaparte had taken U-turns, they would not have suffered such heavy losses."

Commenting on the development, Islamabad Bureau Chief for Dunya News Khawar Ghumman expressed amazement that while "almost all TV channels are discussing PM's statement on U-turns, none has any media person who was actually present in the meeting".

So even though it is not clear who the participants of the meeting were, the statements drew varied reactions from political figures and journalists alike.

According to Geo News, Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) leader Khursheed Shah while criticising the statements during his own meeting with journalists in Sukkur, said: “Imran Khan is Hitler and is taking U-turns to avoid losses.”

Shah reportedly also remarked: “No Hitler, who was also a dictator, has ever been successful in history.”

Meanwhile, PML-N stalwart Khawaja Asif took the premier to task on Twitter: "Are you [planning on] invading Russia that you are recalling Hitler and Napolean? Do not look for justifications in the pages of history for your hypocrisy and opportunistic behaviour."

Journalist Zarrar Khuhro also questioned the historical reference, tweeting: "Are we invading Russia in the winter?"

Columnist Nadeem Farooq Paracha, in his signature tongue-in-cheek style, termed the PM's statements "fair enough" whilst also remarking: "I have a feeling the PM will take a U-turn on this statement as well. A U-turn on a statement about U-turns. That would be classic IK."

ISLAMABAD: Muhammad Hammad Azhar, one of the youngest ministers in Pakistan’s new government, is facing a problem that undermines country’s development: getting people to start paying income taxes.

Ending a culture of rampant tax evasion is expected to be high on the agenda in negotiations this month with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) as cash-strapped Pakistan seeks a second bailout since 2013.

State Minister for Revenue Hammad Azhar says he is planning for long-term reforms. But first, he is banking on improved technology to tap existing databases to identify tax dodgers in a nation where less than 1 per cent of the population even files income tax returns.

“There is a lot of catching up to do,” Azhar told Reuters in an interview.

One of the world’s lowest tax collection rates partly help explain the shoddy state of Pakistan’s hospitals and schools, and why the illiteracy rate hovers above 40pc in a nation of 208 million people.

Prime Minister Imran Khan, who took power in August, has vowed to double tax collection by reforming the Federal Bureau of Revenue (FBR), an institution he has called “totally corrupt”.

In recent months, the FBR has launched a crackdown on 350 wealthy people targeting landlords and owners of luxury cars, as well as individuals who have a “trail of large business transactions and business deals” but don’t file tax returns.

But Pakistan’s history is littered with statements by governments announcing crackdowns and pledging reforms that fizzle out because of a lack of political will to force the rich and powerful to pay taxes.

“Reforming the tax system in a country like ours is a gigantic task,” said Yousuf Nazar, a former head of emerging market equity investments at Citigroup in London and author of a book on Pakistan’s political economy. “Powerful interests in the establishment, big businesses and large land-owners are not serious about tax reform.”

To widen the base, Azhar said that the government plans to use a carrot and stick approach: intensify targeting of evaders while at the same time making it easier for payers by allowing them to file taxes under a single window.

He says that his team is using government data on car purchases, bank transactions and air travel histories to build a database that will identify wealthy tax dodgers. But it would take a few months before the disparate data is brought under one platform.

Such efforts are likely to go down well with the IMF, which in return for bailing out Pakistan, is expected to demand structural reforms — including widening the income tax base.

The previous government increased the tax-to-GDP ratio to around 13pc from 10.1pc — but that is still far below the 34pc average among members of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.

As of last year, only 1.6 million people in the country filed tax returns. Out of them, 400,000 showed income below the levels that tax cuts in, another 200,000 had minimal tax, and only 950,000 paid tax of any significance.

There is political will to push through changes and go after non-filers but it is not unanimous across Khan’s party and may not last forever, according to Zeeshan Merchant, a tax expert.

“We don’t need rhetoric. We need action,” he said.

Key tax reforms kicked off last week when Khan’s cabinet separated tax policy from revenue collection. This effectively took away policy-making powers from the FBR, which has a history of imposing indirect taxes to help hit year-end targets.

One of the biggest potential prizes for Azhar is capturing Pakistan’s black economy which many people believe is bigger than the formal $310bn economy.

“We really have to discourage the cash economy,” Azhar said. “All this money is handed in cash under the table, and that’s something we want to make difficult.”

Published in Dawn, November 17th, 2018

LAHORE: The National Accountability Bureau (NAB), Lahore, has refuted the allegations of former Punjab University vice chancellor Dr Mujahid Kamran.

Dr Kamran who has been on bail in an illegal appointments case alleged in an interview to a private TV channel that the NAB was involved in torture of suspects. He alleged a suspect (Haji Nadim) in the Paragon Housing case was tortured before his family members. He also alleged that NAB had fixed cameras even in washrooms.

Kamran said he was not allowed to meet with his family members and it forced him to sleep on floor in his cell. He said former secretary to the prime minister Fawad Hasan Fawad had told him (in NAB Lahore) that the bureau had offered him to become approver against PML-N President Shahbaz Sharif.

Responding to Kamran’s allegations, a NAB spokesman said since the case against him had been in the court, the bureau would fight it there. “However, his allegations are baseless and concocted. Fawad Hasan Fawad had been shifted to jail on physical remand before the arrest of Dr Kamran. Similarly, Haji Nadim (who according to Kamran was subjected to torture) had been shifted to jail on judicial remand in June 18, more than three months before the arrest of Kamran,” it said, adding the bureau allowed Kamran’s wife to meet him every day and got his medical check-up on a daily basis. He said Kamran was allowed to sleep on floor on his own request as he said he had a backache issue. The NAB advised Mr Kamran to better fight his case in court instead of media.

The NAB had arrested Dr Kamran and four other former administrative officials of the Punjab University over allegations of corruption, illegal appointments and nepotism on Oct 18.

The main charge they are facing is 550 illegal appointments, mostly grade 17 and above between 2013 and 2016. Dr Kamran was also accused of illegally appointing his second wife Dr Shazia Qureshi as principal of the Punjab University Law College (PULC).

NAB earned the ire of the Supreme Court chief justice following the five teachers’ appearance in court in handcuffs. Later the NAB chairman suspended a senior official and repatriated the judicial personnel to their parent department on the matter.

Published in Dawn, November 17th, 2018

LANDI KOTAL: Trade activities at the Torkham border remained paralysed on the second consecutive day on Friday as negotiations between the protesting custom clearing agents and officials of the custom department ended without any breakthrough.

A local clearing agent, Naseeb Khan, told this correspondent that hundreds of trucks loaded with a variety of trade goods remained stranded on both sides of the border as the customs officials could not convince the protesting clearing agents and transporters on ending their strike.

He said that the official team assured the delegation of clearing agents that their immediate grievances regarding bottlenecks in goods clearance would be removed at local level while other demands related to the federal government would be taken up with the concerned officials in Islamabad.

Mr Naseeb said that the clearing agents and transporters insisted on acceptance of all their three demands, claiming that they had incurred big losses due to unprofessional attitude of both the custom officials and staff of the National Logistics Cell.

Meanwhile, more trucks loaded with fresh fruit and vegetables also arrived at the Afghan side of the border with no immediate signs of end to the strike.

Sabir Khan, a local trader, said that nearly 200 vehicles loaded with cotton and beans were awaiting clearance for export to Afghanistan for the last five weeks as the custom officials along with NLC staff were insisting on fumigation of the trucks while the facility was not available at Torkham border.

Published in Dawn, November 17th, 2018

PESHAWAR: The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government on Friday notified the integration of four more directorates of the Merged Areas Secretariat with the relevant departments.

They include Fata directorates of agricultural extension, forests, irrigation and hydel power, and sports.

Under the notification issued by the establishment department, the directorate of agriculture extension will have the administrative control of two other directorates including livestock and dairy development and fisheries.

The notification said in pursuance of the integration and merger of the erstwhile Fata with the province and to provide better administrative management, the directorates working under the Fata secretariat would report to their respective secretary to provincial government in all official business.

It added that the subsequent modalities on their auxiliary matters would be decided shortly.

The notification said in case of issues in financing, development schemes and other matters relating to the erstwhile Fata vis-à-vis the federal government and other partners, the respective secretary could communicate and route cases in line with the current arrangements.

Few weeks ago, the KP government announced the merger of the directorates of health, zakat, usher and social welfare, population welfare and education with the relevant provincial departments.

CM VISIT TO TRIBAL DISTRICTS:

A spokesman for the KP government on Friday said Chief Minister Mahmood Khan would soon visit the tribal districts.

A statement issued here said CM Mahmood Khan met Prime Minister Imran Khan in Islamabad on Friday and briefed him about the post-merger situation in tribal districts.

It added that the chief minister also informed the premier about the integration of the erstwhile Fata departments with the provincial government.

The statement said the premier directed the chief minister to visit the tribal districts.

It said the chief minister informed the premier that his government was taking steps to develop tribal districts for the benefit of local residents.

Published in Dawn, November 17th, 2018

LAHORE: The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) has written to the interior ministry requesting for placement of the names of Hamza and Salman, sons of president of the Pakistan Muslim League-N Shahbaz Sharif, on the exit control list (ECL).

“NAB has recommended to the ministry to place the names of Hamza Shahbaz and Salman Shahbaz on the ECL,” a NAB spokesman said in a statement issued on Friday.

The brothers are facing a NAB inquiry into the Ramzan Sugar Mills case.

According to NAB, the two in their capacity as directors got constructed a bridge linking to their mills out of public money in Chiniot. An amount of Rs200 million was approved by then chief minister Shahbaz Sharif for the construction of the bridge, it said, adding the bureau was also probing the brothers in an inquiry over possessing assets beyond their known sources of income.

Hamza, who is a member of the Punjab Assembly, is also facing inquiry into the Saaf Pani Company case for presiding over some meetings of the board of directors and allegedly issuing orders regarding award of contracts. NAB said Hamza was not even member of the board.

Salman has been in London and has skipped last three hearings in NAB.

A PML-N spokesman said Salman had never held a government office nor was he elected a lawmaker.

“Salman has been abroad and will return,” said party MNA Marriyum Aurangzeb.

She said Hamza had appeared before NAB several times and Salman had also appeared before it. Despite all reservations, the Sharif family was cooperating with NAB, she added.

Published in Dawn, November 17th, 2018

KARACHI: The Sindh Assembly on Friday called upon the federal government to abolish the deep-sea fishing licensing policy 2018, which it said was in violation of the Constitution and encroachment on the livelihood of hundreds of thousands of fishermen of the province.

A resolution to this effect was moved by Pakistan Peoples Party’s Saleem Baloch and Liaquat Askani and was passed with a majority vote.

The opposition Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan supported the resolution, but the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf and Grand Democratic Alliance opposed it.

While the MQM-P backs the PPP resolution against the 2018 policy, the PTI and GDA oppose it

The resolution reads: “This house resolves and recommends to the government of Sindh to approach the federal government to withdraw and abolish its Deep Sea Fishing Licensing Policy 2018, as it is a violation of the Constitution following the [passage of the] 18th Amendment.”

It further said that the fishing policy was an encroachment on the livelihood of estimated 1.6 million poor fishermen of Sindh and Balochistan and “an open disregard to the assessment by the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) that more than 72 per cent of the fish stock in coastal areas of Pakistan has already declined”.

Foreign companies using lethal nets

Mr Baloch said Islamabad had issued licences for deep-sea fishing to numerous foreign companies, including Chinese and Korean, which were using lethal nets and hunting even fish seeds during trawling. “By doing this they are actually decimating fish species from our sea at the cost of our fishermen who are suffering a great deal.”

He said the licensing policy adopted by the federal government had caused grave negative impacts on the fishermen of Sindh. “I appeal to those who [talk of a] new Pakistan that they should not deprive the livelihood of the fishermen of the old Pakistan.”

Fisheries Minister Bari Pitafi said the federal government had passed an act in 1975 which defined zoning of the sea, according to which Sindh was authorised to take care of the area up to 12 nautical miles; from there to 20 nautical miles was termed the buffer zone while from that point up to 200 nautical miles was handed to the federal government.

He said the federal government had issued licences to various companies in the past decades, which caused grave impact to overall fishing for local population.

Referring to a 2016 survey carried out by the FAO that more than 70pc of fish stock across the coastline of Pakistan had depleted, he said the foreign companies involved in the business would even scoop up the seeds as the survey revealed.

The fisheries minister said after devolution of the fisheries sector following the 18th Amendment, the authority to issue trawling licences should rest with the Sindh government.

He added that the past PML-N government had drafted and got passed the 2018 law in April without taking the Sindh government into confidence.

Mr Pitafi said the 2018 law had been designed on the outlines of the 1975 Act, which reiterated the Zone-3 (from 20 to 200 nautical miles) would be controlled by the federal government.

Fresh policy through legislation sought

He said the PTI, which was in the opposition then, had also opposed the law, which he said was designed only to harm the people of Sindh.

He said a number of marine species were on the verge of extinction while some species had completely vanished.

The minister appealed to the PTI government to review the existing licensing policy and rectify it through fresh legislation.

He said the waters where the federal government had its claim and control were constitutionally in the jurisdiction of Sindh.

Giving an alternative solution, the Sindh minister said both the Sindh and the federal governments should jointly issue such licences and for that local fishing community should be given preference.

He said it would be hugely difficult to revive the depleted fish stock as it took five decades for a country like Canada to restore its declined marine life.

He also demanded that the fishermen of Sindh should not be stopped from fishing in Balochistan.

PTI’s Khurram Sher Zaman opposed the resolution saying how the entire territorial waters could be given to the Sindh government.

He said Sindh had its jurisdiction in the sea up to 20 nautical miles and then began the jurisdiction of Islamabad.

“The 18th Amendment does not say that the entire sea on the Sindh coastline belongs to Sindh,” he said, asking the mover to change wording of the resolution.

Issue would be resolved in CCI

MQM-P’s Mohammad Hussain said it was a good resolution. However, he said the 18th Amendment was passed in 2010 and such “violations” of the landmark legislation continued for the past eight years. He asked why the issue was not raised in the meetings of the Council of Common Interests (CCI).

He demanded that the Sindh government write a letter to the federal government asking it to call an urgent meeting of the CCI to discuss the issue.

“We have passed scores of resolutions in the past, which helped us a little. This issue would be resolved in the CCI meetings.”

Speaker Agha Siraj Durrani put the resolution before the house, which passed it by majority.

The members of the PTI and the GDA opposed the resolution.

Calling-attention notices

Replying to a calling-attention notice by PTI’s Shaharyar Mahar, Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah said that more than four armed men were arrested in Ghotki and weapons and ammunition were recovered from them.

He said Punjab’s Chhotoo gang was involved in crimes in the district bordering Sindh, but the situation had improved.

Mr Mahar had said his party’s activists had been arrested and kidnapped from the district.

Malik Shahzad spoke over water shortages in Baldia Town, which had made life miserable for the area people.

Local Government Minister Saeed Ghani said the situation would improve after completion of some ongoing schemes in the area. He said West district was hooked to the Hub Dam which was completely dried up at present.

Waseem Qureshi spoke over a similar problem in North Karachi and said that riots over water supply were making the situation graver.

Minister Ghani requested the opposition benches to help the government in improving such facilities in the province.

Later, Mr Qureshi withdrew his adjournment motion regarding a better ambulance service in Sindh after the LG minister assured him that the government was already working on the issue.

The scheduled debate on water shortages in parts of Sindh was deferred till Thursday as the assembly secretariat received similar motions from other members of the house.

Published in Dawn, November 17th, 2018

KARACHI: The Supreme Court-mandated commission on water and sanitation in Sindh on Friday expressed displeasure with Bahria Town over non-appearance of its representative in a matter about water issues at its housing scheme in Karachi and decided to send the matter to the Supreme Court.

The commission headed by former Supreme Court judge Justice Amir Hani Muslim said that in compliance with Oct 27 order of the Supreme Court, Bahria Town had submitted a report regarding quantity of water being drawn and other sources of water as well as charges of water being paid to the government or water utility while the Karachi Water and Sewerage Board (KWSB) also filed comments.

The matter was fixed for Friday, but the commission said that despite a notice served upon Bahria Town Karachi, nobody appeared before the commission.

KWSB asked to install flow meters

The KWSB filed reply, but it required details and the commission directed the managing director of the water utility to file a detailed reply till Nov 19.

Therefore, Justice Muslim observed that the matter would be sent back to the Supreme Court for its appropriate orders.

It may be recalled that on Oct 27, Chief Justice of Pakistan Mian Saqib Nisar while heading a three-judge bench at the apex court’s Karachi registry had directed Bahria Town Karachi to file within 10 days a comprehensive report on the water system of its housing scheme, including number of tube wells and other sources of water, quantity of water being drawn as well as charges of water being paid to the government or the KWSB, to the water commission.

Flow meters

The commission came down heavily on the managing director of the KWSB and observed that it’s unfortunate that the commission had repeatedly been issuing directives for installation of flow meters on water pipelines, but the KWSB was reluctant to install meters for one or other reason.

It directed the MD of KWSB to initiate departmental action against those officers responsible for non compliance.

The court also asked the MD of KWSB to award contracts for installation of water meters within 15 days and warned him proceedings would be initiated in case of further delay.

Justice Muslim observed that after the award of the contract, the flow meters must be installed without further loss of time and the exercise should be completed by February.

Water issues in DHA

The commission was informed that its focal person had held a meeting with officials of the Defence Housing Authority and the Cantonment Board Clifton and with consent of stakeholders a committee had been formed.

The committee would be headed by the deputy commissioner of Korangi and a senior superintendent of police would also be part of it while representatives of the DHA, the CBC and the KWSB would also be members of the committee.

The commission said that the applicants, who approached it over water issues in the DHA and Clifton, would also be part of the committee, which will regulate the connections which had been illegally made by the public.

The committee would also ensure that the pipeline which was supplying water to the DHA be regulated within 15 days.

Published in Dawn, November 17th, 2018

ISLAMABAD: The names of Taji Khokhar and his son Farrukh Khokhar have been added to the Fourth Schedule of the Anti-Terrorism Act. With the new addition, the number of people on the list from Islamabad is now 23, including a man who died a few years ago.

After the father and son were released from prison on bail, the interior ministry placed them on the Fourth Schedule, which has been conveyed to the National Counter Terrorism Authority (Nacta).

“Most of the people on the Fourth Schedule are from religious segments or nationalists as they incite people against the state or spread violence. The Khokhars were put on the list because they are prominent land grabbers. Taji Khokhar uses henchmen to keep the locals, mostly in the rural areas, under his influence,” an official of the interior ministry said.

Khokhars used henchmen to illegally occupy land, influence locals, interior ministry official says

The Fourth Schedule of the ATA is a list of proscribed people, similar to the list of proscribed parties, and both are managed by Nacta after collecting data from the four provinces and the federal areas, including Islamabad and Gilgit-Baltistan.

Names are placed on the Fourth Schedule on files initiated by the Special Branch of the local police and reports are forwarded by the SSP operations to the commissioner of that division, which is in turn forwarded to the home secretary’s office of that province. In the case of Islamabad, the commissioner’s officer forwards the file to the interior secretary.

While most reports are initiated at the local level by the Special Branch, some names are forwarded to the home secretary or the interior ministry by other relevant security agencies. A few cases are even initiated in the home department or the ministry.

The names of Taji and Farrukh Khokhar were forwarded by the interior ministry to the Islamabad police, seeking their past record.

The list also includes the name of Maulana Abdul Aziz of Lal Masjid. He was placed on the list of proscribed persons in early 2015 after he defended the Dec 2014 attack on Army Public School Peshawar and he was later deposed as a cleric of the mosque. Several of his attempts to deliver the Friday sermon or hold conferences in Lal Masjid have been forcibly stopped by the government.

Two outsiders placed on the list from Islamabad include retired Col Nadir and Mohammad Javed, both of whom belong to Danyore in Gilgit and presently live in Islamabad. Col Nadir’s name was forwarded by the security establishment regarding his views on the status of GB.

Though the government has updated the list, the name of Raja Mohammad Ashraf, who died of natural causes more than three years ago, has yet to be removed.

Those on the Fourth Schedule have strict restrictions and cannot leave the district without informing the police, have restrictions on joining public gatherings and owning a bank account, cannot possess arms licences etc. However, the law does allow them to contest elections.

Other proscribed people from Islamabad are Maulana Abdul Razzaq Haideri, Maulana Sohail Ahmed, Allama Sabtain Sherazi, Syed Asghar Abbas Naqvi, Syed Zameer Hussain Shah, Tabbasum Abbas, Abdul Hameed Sabri, Abdul Saboor, Amjad Ali Kiani, Azizur Rehman, Azkar Hussain Jaffri, Ibrahim Ali Haider, Malik Mohammad Nazar, Mohammad Ishaque, Shafiqur Rehman, Sohail Javed Kiani and Zafar Mehmood.

Published in Dawn, November 17th, 2018

KARACHI: The Karachi police on Friday expressed their displeasure over the decision of the Punjab Forensic Science Agency’s (PFSA) “breach of trust” by making public the findings of food samples collected from the house of two minor boys who died last week in the city.

Two brothers, 18-month-old Ahmed and five-year-old Mohammad died from a suspected case of food poisoning on Nov 11 after dining out with their mother at a restaurant in Zamzama.

Investigators probing the incident said that they would approach the PFSA through a letter informing them that it was not an “advisable attitude” that instead of informing or handing over their findings to them, they allegedly informed the electronic media.

It was reported by a section of electronic media on Friday that “no trace of poison was found in the food samples collected from the house of the two children [that] died of alleged food poisoning after eating out at a restaurant in Karachi last week”.

Quoting “sources in the Punjab Forensic Science Agency,” the media reports said that the analysis of the food samples revealed “no trace of poison such as cyanide, insect killers or any other”.

A police investigator told Dawn on the condition of anonymity that after the news was aired, Karachi police authorities tried to contact the PFSA officials concerned over the phone but they did not attend the call.

He said that they were not in a position to make any comment about the purported findings as officially they had not received any report or confirmation so far.

The city police had sent at least 30 samples of eatables and other things collected from the house of the deceased brothers. These samples pertained to milk, water, their vomit and clothes, etc, which were sent by plane to Lahore.

Besides, four other samples related to the children’s post-mortem examination were sent by train to Lahore in order to protect the same so that the exact cause of death could be ascertained.

These samples were sent to Punjab as the Sindh government’s laboratory had become ‘non-functional’.

The investigators said that they were still probing the cause of death and hoped that the PFSA’s findings about the samples collected after the autopsies might help them to determine the cause of death.

After the tragic incident, the Sindh Food Authority had sealed the restaurant. Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah took notice of the incident and the city police chief Amir Ahmed Shaikh had set up an inquiry committee led by SSP South Pir Mohammed Shah.

Published in Dawn, November 17th, 2018

LAHORE: President Dr Arif Alvi has urged psychiatrists to focus on some National Assembly members before treating the 20 million psychiatric patients in the country.

Referring to a professor’s presentation at the International Psychiatric Conference, Dr Alvi said he could point out a significant number of politicians in the country who needed psychiatric treatment. “I understand that this huge number of 20 million are not constant patients, but includes those suffering from mental stress during certain phases of their lives,” he added.

The president was speaking at the conference organised by the Pakistan Psychiatric Society at a local hotel on Friday.

He said that human reaction could not be quantified, and that humanity had attempted to bring about peace and rational thinking into actions and reactions. “The recent history belies the fact that humanity rationalised things and reacted on that basis,” he added.

Regretting that psychiatric problems were considered a stigma for patients, he said he had faced a lot of difficulties in convincing patients about the need for consulting a psychiatrist. “Being a doctor, I know the hardships faced by people suffering from mental illnesses,” he said.

Dr Alvi said that psychiatric patients could not be treated until they accepted there was a problem and opened up to seeking qualified treatment. Otherwise, those people ended up visiting faith healers and pirs. “The exploitation of the ignorant by the ignorant is a serious issue,” he added.

Narrating one of his personal experiences, President Alvi said that when he was contesting an election in 2002, some “people told me that I should go to a pir who will help me get all the votes”, adding that he was ignorant so went to one in Baldia Town. The pir assured him that he would win, but he ended up losing with a huge margin.

PROTOCOL: As the president arrived at Lahore airport earlier in the day, he got upset with the security detail waiting to escort him. He refused to leave the airport till the protocol vehicles returned. Tweeting from the airport, he wrote: “I am at Lahore airport and there are 32 cars to escort me waiting outside. Will wait until they are sent away before I move out.”

He also stated that he was continuously struggling to keep security but reduce protocol that inconvenienced people.

Dr Alvi only came out of the airport after the protocol vehicles left, and he travelled to the Governor House with a five-car escort. He also expressed displeasure over the unnecessary protocol extended to him since he took the office of the president, and urged to follow party policy against VVIP culture that irritated commuters. “I do not begrudge security but when it becomes painful for the common man, we should draw a line somewhere,” he had tweeted a couple of months ago.

At Governor House, the president held a joint meeting with Governor Chaudhry Sarwar and Chief Minister Usman Buzdar and discussed political and administrative affairs. Mr Buzdar briefed the president about the Punjab government’s performance during the first 90 days.

Published in Dawn, November 17th, 2018

ISLAMABAD: As many as 26 journalists have been murdered in the country during the last five years and none of the killers have been punished, said a report launched on Friday.

The report, formulated by ‘Freedomnetwork’, was set to be launched on November 2 — the International Day to End Impunity for Crimes Against Journalists — it was delayed due to the sit-in at Faizabad and protest rallies against Supreme Court’s decision on Aasia Bibi.

According to the report, launched in the National Press Club, during the period from 2013 to 2018, 26 journalists were murdered.

Punjab proved to be the most dangerous place, with eight mediapersons having been killed while performing their duties. Seven journalists were killed in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and five each in Sindh and Balochistan.

The report, authored by Adnan Rehmat and Iqbal Khattak, highlighted that the killers included mysterious, nameless and unidentified actors. One group of killers were non-state actors such as militants and outlawed groups while some killings were attributed to political parties and religious groups.

It added that the state had failed in its responsibilities to pursue justice for the murdered journalists.

Speaking on the occasion, Press Council of Pakistan Chairman Salauddin Mengal criticised the lack of interest from all stakeholders and the respective governments to improve the standard of journalism.

“The press council does not have the capacity to monitor all 2,200 daily newspapers in the country,” he added.

Mr Mengal said it was the responsibility of media bodies and owners to help the relevant authorities modernise media-related laws.

The participants discussed the status of journalists’ protection bill finalised by the Senate Standing Committee on Information.

Former senator Farhatullah Babar, who was in the standing committee that finalised the bill, called for a debate in all provincial and federal legislatures on the issue of impunity of crimes against journalists and devise a legal framework to ensure protection and safety of mediapersons.

“Crimes against journalists basically were committed by those who do not tolerate freedom of expression.

Without free media there can be no free parliament and no free political activities,” he added.

Senior journalist and union leaders M. Ziauddin and Nasir Malik spoke on the occasion and decried the ongoing economic strangulation of media workers and demanded that the government should intervene in the matter.

Published in Dawn, November 17th, 2018

GUJRANWALA: Deputy Commissioner Shoaib Tariq Warraich on Friday refused to leave charge of his office when he got an abrupt transfer notice.

Sources told Dawn that the deputy commissioner resisted the government action which had been taken on political grounds.

Mr Warraich had sent a notice of demolition of an influential politician’s petrol pump on GT Road during the anti-encroachment drive. This led to complaint by the politician and transfer of the deputy commissioner, said sources.

ARREST: The Anti-Corruption Establishment (ACE) on Friday arrested four officials of the district accounts office of Gujrat for embezzlement of Rs16.7 million.

ACE Director Fareed Ahmad told reporters that the Gujrat district jail superintendent had written a letter to the corruption watchdog claiming that jail officials informed him that Sohail Arshad, a clerk of district jail, in connivance with accounts officials sent illegal gratification in their accounts.

The inquiry committee detected embezzlement of Rs16.7 million.

PROTEST: The owners and workers of kilns on Friday protested against closure of their workplaces.

Kiln owners Tariq Mahmood, Babar Warraich, Seth Majid and others said they had been forced to close down their kilns and harassed through registration of cases.

They said a large number of people had been rendered jobless due to the decision.

They demanded that the government should take other measures to ward off smog instead of depriving the poor of their source of livelihood.

Published in Dawn, November 17th, 2018

LAHORE: The Punjab government has decided to establish South Punjab Police Office (SPPO) to look into the affairs of the southern part of the province.

The initiative is being taken in light of the discussion around the possible creation of a south Punjab province.

Some police officers believe that initially the newly proposed police office would continue to work under the Punjab inspector general. Later, it could be separated from the current police department in case a new province was carved out.

According to the proposed scheme, the SPPO shall be headed by an additional inspector general (addl IG) (BPS-21 officer) and supported by a deputy inspector general (DIG) police and two assistant inspectors general (AIG). Besides, in order to improve the estate management function of the Central Police Office (CPO) a separate vacancy of a DIG shall be created.

A summary to this effect has been moved by the CPO to Chief Minister Usman Buzdar for immediate creation of five new slots -- one BPS-21, two BPS-20 and two others of AIGs. A copy of the summary is available with Dawn.

The summary stated that south Punjab consisted of Multan, Dera Ghazi Khan and Bahawalpur. As per the last census, the total population of the region is over 34 million, while the district police force’s strength in the southern districts is around 29,000.

“In line with the vision of the Punjab government to facilitate the people of the region, the SPPO is needed to be established; it will be headed by an additional IG,” the summary states. He will also supervise regional police officers (RPOs) of DG Khan, Multan and Bahawalpur, look after maintenance of public order, crime, special operations, public security and delivery of public service in south Punjab.

A post of DIG (headquarters) south Punjab shall be created to work as principal staff officer to and assist the additional IG. He shall be responsible for transfers/postings of police officers and ministerial staff posted in south Punjab, discipline and service representation of the staff, coordination with the CPO (IG office), distribution of work in the region etc.

Similarly, the AIG (discipline) shall be responsible for discipline- and establishment-related issues of the staff posted in the region, monitoring of accountability policy implementation, supervision of secret branches and directive cells etc. He shall also deal with issues such as death in police custody, involvement of police officers in criminal and corruption cases, maintenance of record and declaration of assets etc.

The AIG (operations) shall be responsible for collection of information/facts on major, sensational and special reports/cases/crimes, and public order situations from districts and regions along with police action taken for the perusal of additional IG of the newly proposed region.

He shall also be responsible for the transmission of operation orders of the additional IG to the regions and districts concerned and seeking progress and follow-ups, liaison with other police units for crosschecking of information provided by the field formations, preparation of reports regarding crimes etc. The AIG shall also act as staff officer to the additional IG, according to the summary.

The summary also recommended creation of a post of DIG (infrastructure, development and estate management).

The proposed officer shall be responsible for raising physical infrastructure of the police establishments, especially the new police stations and police posts in the region, and for the efficient resource utilisation in the region.

Published in Dawn, November 17th, 2018

The Supreme Court on Saturday dissolved the Board of Commissioners-Punjab Healthcare Commission (PHC) and ordered for a new board to be formed within two weeks.

Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Mian Saqib Nisar had yesterday summoned provincial health minister Dr Yasmin Rashid and members of the PHC board to explain the resignation of retired Justice Amir Raza A Khan from the post of the commission’s chairperson.

The matter had caught the court's attention during a suo motu case regarding exorbitant prices of health facilities at private hospitals.

Read: Health services reform

After the hearing resumed today, the CJP, while heading a two-member bench, asked for Hussain Naqvi — one of the board members.

"Where is Hussain Naqvi because of whom retired Justice Amir Raza A Khan was forced to resign?" the top judge asked.

Naqvi responded to Justice Nisar's call-out, at which the judge asked him to introduce himself.

"I have been the union secretary of Islamia College," Naqvi said. "So leave the board and run the union," the judge countered.

"Why should I leave? I have been elected," Naqvi shot back.

The chief justice informed Naqvi that the board now stands dissolved, and also expressed his displeasure at him raising his voice in court.

"How dare you raise your voice in court," he fumed. "We will give you a contempt-of-court notice."

"I am 20 years your senior," Naqi pleaded. "Hear me out!"

At this, the chief justice said: "You are an impudent man, [you should] ask the court for forgiveness. Take Hussain Naqvi out of my court."

Naqvi tendered his apology to the court.

The chief justice also expressed his disappointment with Dr Rashid, saying: "We had a lot of expectations from you. What kind of people have you appointed as board members?"

During yesterday's hearing, the chief justice had taken strong notice of alleged humiliation meted out to retired Justice Khan in the first meeting of the commission’s board.

He had observed that the political government would not be allowed to capture the independence of regulatory authorities.

When asked to explain the episode, PHC chief operating officer Dr Ajmal Khan had expressed his inability to disclose the information for being an employee of the commission.

At this, the chief justice had directed Dr Rashid, the health minister, and all the members of the board of commissioners to appear before him on Saturday (today).

Prime Minister Imran Khan will travel to the United Arab Emirates on Sunday for a day-long visit during which he will meet the country's top leadership, the Foreign Office has announced.

The premier will undertake the visit at the invitation of Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed bin Sultan Al-Nahyan, the Abu Dhabi Crown Prince and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces.

"Matters of bilateral, regional and global interest will be discussed in the meeting between the prime minister and the crown prince," the FO statement said.

Khan will be accompanied on the trip by the ministers for foreign affairs, finance, petroleum and power and the adviser to the prime minister on commerce.

According to the FO, the prime minister will also hold a meeting with Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the Vice President and Prime Minister of UAE.

The premier's latest visit to the UAE comes on the heels of increased bilateral contacts aimed at forging closer economic, trade and investment relations between the two countries in areas of common interest.

Khan had first visited the Emirates in September following his election as the prime minister — a trip during which he met the Abu Dhabi crown prince.

The trip was followed by a visit to Pakistan by a UAE delegation comprising CEOs/senior officials of major companies including Mubadala Petroleum, ADIA (Sovereign Wealth Funds), Etisalat, DP World, Dubai Investment Authority, Emaar Properties, Aldahra Agriculture and Abu Dhabi Fund for Development.

The areas identified for cooperation during the discussions included agriculture, agricultural exports, fruit and vegetables, food processing industry, energy, housing, water etc., Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi had revealed at the time.

The UAE side had also expressed interest in the establishment of an oil refinery and a state-of-the-art energy terminal in Pakistan.

Qureshi had said the two sides also discussed how the UAE could facilitate Pakistan, like Saudi Arabia, in oil supply through preferential treatment.

Following his visit to the Gulf state, Prime Minister Khan will embark on a two-day official tour of Malaysia on November 20.

The premier 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.

A former deputy inspector general of police was gunned down by unidentified assailants in Quetta on Saturday evening, police said.

Muhammad Naeem Kakar was walking after offering prayers at a mosque when unknown attackers opened fire on him in Junior Assistant Colony area, DIG Quetta Abdul Razzaq Cheema told DawnNewsTV.

Kakar was critically injured in the firing and breathed his last at the Combined Military Hospital.

Cheema said the assailants escaped unhurt from the site.

Police and personnel of other law enforcement agencies were quick at the spot. An investigation has been ordered into the incident.

"At this point of time, I cannot say whether it was a targeted killing or not," DIG Cheema said. No group has claimed responsibility for the attack.

Kakar had served as DIG special branch and on other important positions in Balochistan.

The incident comes less than a month after a police constable was shot dead in Nawan Killi area of the provincial capital.

Police officers are said to be high-risk targets in Balochistan.

Balochistan has been divided into two areas – A and B – based on how their security is organised. Police are responsible for maintaining law and order in Category A areas ─ 10 per cent of the province ─ while Category B is under the control of the Balochistan Levies. However, 90pc of violent crime occurs in Category A areas that are covered by police.

The high level of organisation in police ranks is believed to be one of the factors that incite violence against it by terrorist outfits.

Around 2001, at the onset of the deterioration in Balochistan’s security situation, Baloch separatists would target police constables in Quetta, mainly because most cops hailed from Punjab.

With the passage of time, as the ethnic composition of the police department changed, sectarian and militant outfits began carrying out attacks against cops. In recent years, most targeted attacks against policemen have been claimed by the Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (LeJ) or the TTP.

A number of attacks in Balochistan last year targeted senior police officials.

The brother of martyred Superintendent of Police (SP) Tahir Khan Dawar on Saturday rejected the seven-member joint investigation team (JIT) formed to probe his sibling's brutal murder.

On Friday, the Islamabad chief commissioner constituted a JIT, and assigned SP Police Investigation, Islamabad as the team's convener.

However, Ahmeduddin Dawar — SP Dawar's brother — said he "reject[s] the JIT formed in Pakistan."

"My brother went missing from a sensitive city, and his body was found in Afghanistan," he said, adding that the case does not involve "a single country but two countries".

"And when two countries are connected then the decision should also be made at an international level," he added. "Due to the nature of this case, an international JIT should be formed to [investigate this]."

Meanwhile, KP Inspector General of Police Salahuddin Khan Mehsud paid a condolence visit at the family's Hayatabad residence and expressed the hope that Islamabad police would be successful in solving the case.

He cautioned that patience in this time is of utmost importance and that people should wait for the results of the police investigation.

IG Mehsud said that while it was not within his authority to comment on an international probe, since it was a matter under federal jurisdiction, he felt confident that the JIT would give conclusive results soon.

"I was in constant communication with the Islamabad police since the day of the abduction," the senior official said, adding that the capital police was investigating the matter from the outset.

He said the KP police will extend all possible assistance to the investigation team.

SP Dawar, chief of Peshawar police’s rural circle, was kidnapped in the G-10/4 area of Islamabad on October 26. On Nov 13, his body was found in a remote area of the Afghan province of Nangarhar and a day later, the Foreign Office said that Afghan officials had confirmed that the tortured body found was indeed that of Dawar.

Following a two-day delay and hours-long negotiations on Thursday, the Afghan side had reluctantly handed over the body of the officer of Peshawar police to his family. The issue of handing over of the body of SP Dawar flared up a diplomatic row as government officials accused the Afghan side of playing politics over a body and delaying its handover.