An accountability court in Lahore on Thursday approved the National Accountability Bureau's (NAB) request for a seven-day remand of the Leader of the Opposition Shahbaz Sharif.

The PML-N president appeared before the accountability court where Judge Syed Najmul Hassan was hearing NAB's request.

Insisting that he had not committed any corruption, Shahbaz told the court that NAB had not achieved anything from all the physical remands granted so far.

The NAB prosecutor objected, saying that today the merit of the case was not being discussed — only the request for the transit remand.

Shahbaz told the court that his family was not given permission to meet him this week despite the court giving an order.

"I told NAB that meeting [them] is my right, it is not some favour. But NAB did not let me meet my family," he said.

NAB prosecutor Waris Ali Janjua in response implied that no one had come to meet Shahbaz.

The court ordered the director general (DG) NAB to allow Shahbaz to meet his family according to the law and added that a meeting should be arranged once a week.

The court also ordered that Shahbaz's medical check up be conducted.

Third transit remand

This is the third time NAB requested Shahbaz's transit remand. On November 10, Shahbaz's physical remand was extended until Nov 24. Earlier, on November 6, an accountability court in Islamabad had extended his transit remand until Nov 10.

During the hearing today, the NAB prosecutor asked for a seven-day transit remand of the PML-N president, which was approved.

Janjua said that the speaker of the National Assembly had issued production orders for Shahbaz and added that his physical remand was ending on Nov 24.

The PML-N president's lawyer said that NAB should be given transit remand of Shahbaz till Nov 24, adding that a seven-day transit remand was not required.

The lawyer said that when Shahbaz's physical remand ends, he will be presented in the Islamabad accountability court.

Janjua said that if the NA session ends before Nov 24, Shahbaz should be presented in Lahore.

The court inquired how long the session was, to which Shahbaz responded, "I have neither a newspaper nor a TV, I don't know".

NA Speaker Asad Qaiser had issued a production order for a third time to enable the leader of the opposition to attend the upcoming session of the lower house of parliament starting from Friday, sources told Dawn on Tuesday.

The session has been summoned by the speaker on the requisition of the opposition which wanted to discuss a number of issues, including the alleged political victimisation of the government’s opponents by NAB.

The opposition submitted the requisition notice signed by 88 members soon after the prorogation of the assembly on Nov 9. The opposition has submitted a five-point agenda with the notice for discussion during the requisitioned session.

The agenda includes a discussion on “use of 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 China-Pakistan Economic Corridor and law and order situation in the country”.

This is the second time that the speaker has had to summon the assembly session on the requisition of the opposition since the Shahbaz's arrest by NAB on Oct 5.

Security arrangements have been tightened today and a large contingency of police have been deployed around the accountability court.

Roads leading to the court have also been closed with containers.

Allegations against Sharif

According to a NAB notice sent to the former Punjab chief minister on January 16, 2018, Sharif is accused of ordering the cancellation of award of contract of Ashiana-i-Iqbal to successful bidder Chaudhry Latif and Sons, and engineering the award of the contract to Lahore Casa Developers, a proxy group of Paragon City Private Limited, which resulted in the loss of approximately Rs193 million.

He is also accused of directing the Punjab Land Development Company (PLDC) to assign the Ashiana-i-Iqbal project to the Lahore Development Authority (LDA), resulting in the award of contract to Lahore Casa Developers, causing a loss of Rs715m and the ultimate failure of the project.

NAB has also accused Sharif of directing the PLDC to award the consultancy services of the Ashiana-i-Iqbal project to Engineering Consultancy Services Punjab (ECSP) for Rs 192m while the actual cost was supposed to be Rs35m as quoted by Nespak.

Minister for Information Fawad Chaudhry on Thursday welcomed the Indian cabinet's announcement to commence the construction of the Kartarpur corridor, calling it a "victory of peace".

"It is a step towards the right direction and we hope such steps will encourage voice of reasons and tranquillity on both sides of the border," he said via Twitter.

Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi said Pakistan had already informed India of its decision to open the Kartarpur corridor for Baba Guru Nanak’s 550th birth anniversary. "PM Imran Khan will break ground on Nov 28; we welcome the Sikh community to Pakistan for this auspicious occasion," added Qureshi.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's cabinet decided today to develop the corridor that will enable Sikh pilgrims to visit the Gurdwara Darbar Sahib, located in Kartarpur, Narowal district without a visa, the Times of India reported.

The corridor will connect Dera Baba Nanak in Indian Punjab's Gurdaspur to Kartarpur in Pakistan's Narowal district where the Gurdwara Darbar Sahib — the shrine of revered saint Baba Guru Nanak — is situated, according to the publication.

Take a look: The legacy of Guru Nanak lives on in four historic gurdwaras in Punjab

Earlier today, Foreign Office Spokesperson Dr Mohammad Faisal had said the government will soon announce "good news about the opening of Kartarpur crossing".

In August, Army Chief Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa had told Indian politician Navjot Singh Sidhu that Pakistan would open the Kartarpur crossing "when [the Sikh community] celebrates the 550th birth anniversary of Baba Nanak", when the latter had visited Islamabad for Prime Minister Imran Khan's oath-taking ceremony. The 550th birth anniversary of the revered Sikh figure is next year.

In September, Chaudhry, in an interview to Hindustan Times, reiterated the offer saying that "[the government] wants to formalise the informal proposal the Pakistan army chief made to Sidhu".

"This is an issue of the ordinary people, Sikhs and other Indian pilgrims, and an issue of faith," the information minister had said in a phone interview. "They shouldn’t suffer and we want to formalise the informal proposal the Pakistan army chief made to Sidhu."

On the Pakistani side, various proposals have been discussed and announcements made since the Musharraf era, but lack of interest by the Indian side has kept the proposals confined to cold storage.

Thousands of Sikh devotees from India visit Pakistan every year to celebrate the birth anniversary of Baba Guru Nanak. This year — for the 549th birth anniversary of Baba Guru Nanak — the Pakistan embassy in New Delhi issued over 3,500 visas to Sikh pilgrims who wished to attend the celebrations that will last for more than a week.

The Supreme Court on Thursday reserved its verdict on the suo motu case over Tehreek-i-Labbaik Pakistan's (TLP) Faizabad sit-in after dishing out severe criticism to the attorney general, media regulator and other stakeholders in the case's final hearing.

The reserved verdict pertains to a variety of issues stemming from TLP's infamous sit-in from last year, including its party registration, its violent protest as well as the role of government institutions and regulators in the buildup, on the day and in the aftermath of the protest.

As the case's hearing resumed today, Justice Qazi Faez Isa was livid to know that Attorney General Anwar Mansoor Khan was not in court and instead attending a meeting of the Economic Coordination Committee.

"What business does the attorney general have with economics?" Justice Isa asked. "Is this a joke? Is the attorney general a servant of the prime minister?

"If the prime minister had called him, he could have declined. Did the prime minister ask to adjourn the hearing? Is the prime minister above the Supreme Court?"

"For the attorney general, Pakistan is not important enough."

After the attorney general made it to the court, he told the court "the TLP could be deprived of its election symbol".

"Without the symbol they will not be able to contest elections," he said.

Justice Isa told the attorney general that the TLP is registered in the name of a Dubai-based person, possibly wondering if the case could fall under the dual nationality rule.

"Nicop (National Identity Card for Overseas Pakistanis) is for Pakistanis living abroad," the attorney general explained. "A person holding a Nicop is not a dual national."

"Should a Nicop holder not have been questioned about dual nationalities?" the judge asked, to which the attorney general replied: "In my opinion, he should have been questioned."

The attorney general further said that while "peaceful protests is everyone's right, action can be taken where threats are issued and provocations are made".

Attorney general, Pemra cop SC criticism again

Earlier, the judge had pondered issuing a contempt-of-court notice to the attorney general for not appearing before the court. "We will give an observation against him. Let's see what the role of a attorney general is in the Constitution."

"If you are not serious at pursuing this case then let us know," Justice Isa told the deputy attorney general. "You people should be ashamed of yourselves. Had I been the attorney general, I would have resigned."

"Every person is the servant of the state," Justice Isa reminded those in attendance. "The attorney general and the ISI, too."

The attorney general had been criticised by the SC bench in the case's last hearing as well over his absence.

"This is not a joke," Justice Isa had remarked, wondering what other case could be more important than the one which relates to "Pakistan being shut down".

"The attorney general is answerable because he is paid from the public's taxes.

In the same hearing, the court had rejected each one of the reports submitted by the Inter-Services Intelligence's (ISI), the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) and the Pakistan Electronic Media Regularity Authority (Pemra).

The ISI and Pemra submitted new reports in the court today.

In the last hearing, the SC bench had grilled Pemra Chairman Muhammad Saleem Baig regarding a blackout of TV news channels that had taken place during the sit-in last year.

Pemra counsel Hafiz Ahsan denied in court today that the regulator had issued instructions to cable operators to shut down Geo. "The cable operators were simply told to follow the law," he said.

"[Then] what disciplinary measures were taken against the cable operators?" Justice Isa enquired, to which the Pemra counsel said that fines up to Rs1 million could be imposed.

"I am writing that nothing was done," a dissatisfied Justice Isa responded.

"We are now living in a controlled media state. 'Shut this channel, shut that channel' ... have we now become a nation of liars? Channels were shut from morning till evening, yet the Pemra did not know. No one felt any remorse."

'Pemra's report is deceitful'

The judge labelled Pemra's report as deceitful, sarcastically calling it "yet another honour" for the regulator.

"The channels that praise you can go on, but the rest you shut down; is this freedom of speech? Justice Isa asked the Pemra chair. "You want to make the channels bow down so they say what you want them to say. Is this Pakistan? Did we gain independence for this?"

Justice Isa also remarked that the Pemra chairman did not have the courage to enforce the law.

The Pakistan International Airlines has taken action against two of its employees who were found involved in money laundering, the airline's Chief Executive Officer Arshad Malik told a Senate committee on Thursday.

Malik was briefing the Senate Committee on Aviation about the measures that had been taken to put an end to smuggling and money laundering. He said the airline had taken action against two of its employees after they were identified for being allegedly involved in money laundering.

The committee's chairman, Senator Mushahidullah Khan, directed Malik to submit a report on the action taken against those who were found involved in smuggling and/or money laundering.

The PIA CEO said the names of employees who were suspected of being involved in the crime had been provided to security agencies and that they were being watched.

A secretary of the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), who had appeared before the committee as well, told the lawmakers that as per the directions of the prime minister, the authority had set up offices for security agencies at each airport. The agencies will monitor movements on airports through CCTV cameras, the official revealed.

He also said a joint control room had been set up to prevent smuggling and money laundering.

Prime Minister Imran Khan on Thursday vowed that all out efforts will be made to provide speedy and trouble-free access to justice to the people, particularly the weak segments of the society, as per the ruling party’s election manifesto, Radio Pakistan reported.

Chairing a meeting on legal reforms, the prime minister said it was the basic responsibility of the state to protect the rights of its citizens by mobilising all the state resources.

PM Khan issued special directives to ensure the basic rights of women, children and domestic servants. He was informed that modern technology solutions are being introduced to help courts in the dispensation of easy justice to the needy people.

Minister for Law and Justice Farogh Nasim said Whistleblower Protection and Vigilance Commission are being constituted for protection of those pinpointing corruption and other crimes, and to reward them properly. He said government servants will also be facilitated in seeking justice in their service matters.

Scores of Uber and Careem drivers on Thursday held a protest outside the Supreme Court registry in Lahore against the "excessive challan tickets" reportedly issued to them and demanded of the ride-hailing companies to "increase their per-kilometre fares".

The protesters accused the government of treating them unfairly, urging them to "end issuing excessive challan tickets to Careem and Uber drivers".

Hussain Butt, the driver leading the protests, complained that "Uber and Careem are doing us wrong... they should increase the per kilometre rates."

Read: Minister warns ride-hailing services to get route permits or face ban

Furthermore, they urged the two companies to bring back their loan schemes through which the drivers were able to lease their cars. "The discontinuation of loan scheme is the economic murder of the youth," they claimed.

When enquired by Dawn about the alleged issuance of excessive challans by the government to its drivers, an Uber spokesperson said: "The government has not communicated with Uber regarding the matter of issuing commercial route permits for its drivers.

"Uber is a law-abiding company and will act accordingly once any such legislation is passed."

Careem has so far not responded to Dawn's query.

Afghanistan has not shared any information about Superintendent of Police (SP) Tahir Khan Dawar's murder so far, Foreign Office Spokesperson Dr Mohammad Faisal said during a media briefing on Thursday.

He, however, gave assurance that Pakistani authorities were investigating the abduction and murder of SP Dawar, whose body was found in Afghanistan's Nangarhar province last week — a fortnight after he was kidnapped from Islamabad.

A diplomatic row broke out between Pakistan and Afghanistan due to a two-day delay in the handing over of the SP's body by the latter. Pakistan had accused the Afghan side of playing politics over a body and delaying its handover.

Dr Faisal, during today's briefing, also touched upon the recent tweets by Pakistani officials — including by Prime Minister Imran Khan — about United States President Donald Trump's tirade against about Pakistan and said that the responses were meant to "set the record straight".

In a recent interview to Fox News, Trump had said that "they (Pakistan) don't do a damn thing for us". The statement did not sit well with Pakistani officials, with Human Rights Minister Shireen Mazari saying Trump "suffers conveniently from perpetual historic amnesia!". Former foreign minister Khawaja Asif reminded the US president that Pakistan "continues to pay in blood for what we did for USA".

Prime Minister Imran Khan had led the sharp reaction by hinting at review of foreign policy options and asking the US president to introspect on the real reasons for America’s failure in Afghanistan.

'US communication with Afghan Taliban is welcome'

Dr Faisal said that Pakistan was aware of talks between US and Afghan Taliban. He added that the country "welcomes" the talks that are being held to reach a peaceful end to the 17-year long Afghan war.

The FO spokesperson further said that Pakistan had provided intelligence to the US in order to counter terrorists in the region.

Renowned poet and prose writer Fahmida Riaz, who passed away a day earlier from prolonged illness, was laid to rest on Thursday afternoon in Lahore.

The deceased's funeral prayers, held at Jamia Masjid Askari I in Lahore, were attended by scores of prominent individuals, including literary figures and personalities from the showbiz.

Among those in attendance were poets Amjad Islam Amjad and Fatima Hasan, artist Saleema Hashmi, human rights activist I.A. Rehman and PPP's Chaudhry Manzoor.

Riaz was later laid to rest at the Bahar Shah graveyard.

The eminent progressive writer, who was also hailed by many as a pioneer in feminist literature, had been suffering from illness for the past few months. She had come from Karachi to Lahore to pay her daughter a visit.

Born into a literary family of Meerut (India) in July 1946, Fahmida Riaz, in addition to her literary pursuits, always played an active role in social and political activities.

Apart from authoring more than 15 books on fiction and poetry, she was also a human rights activist. Her first literary work was published in 1967, titling ‘Pather Ki Zuban’. Her collection of poetry includes ‘Dhoop’, ‘Pura Chand’, ‘Admi Ki Zindagi’ and more. Her novels include ‘Zinda Bahar’, ‘Godaavari’ and ‘Karachi’. She was famous for her revolutionary and contrary to tradition poetry.

When Badan Dareeda, her second collection of verse, appeared in 1973, she was accused of using erotic and sensual expressions in her poetry. The themes prevalent in her verse were, until then, considered taboo for women writers.

Fahmida Raiz also contributed to the Urdu literature as a translator. Whether it was Ismail Kadare from Albania or Maulana Rumi, she was knowledgeable about world fiction and classical poetry.

She lived in self-exile for over six years in India when former military dictator Gen Zia-ul-Haq ruled over Pakistan.

She was appointed managing director of what was then the National Book Council of Pakistan during the first PPP government (1988-90). In Benazir Bhutto's second tenure as prime minister, she became associated with the ministry of culture.

In 2009, she was appointed the chief editor of the Urdu Dictionary Board in Karachi.

Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry on Thursday said that the government, in light of recent events, wants to regulate social media, but "this won't be possible until it develops a relationship with "international [social media] giants".

He was speaking at the 'National Security, Nation Building and Mass Media' conference in Islamabad.

Chaudhry said that a few weeks back, when "certain incidents" were taking place in the country, the government considered regulating social media. "Government wants to regulate social media which is not possible without an active collaboration with global social media giants like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and others."

During his address, Chaudhry said that Pakistan was the most deregulated country in terms of media in the world and added that the biggest danger to media was the business model of media organisations, Radio Pakistan reported.

The information minister said relying on the government to run media businesses was not a feasible idea and said that the government was already under a "heavy burden of debts".

He added that it was not the government's job to support media businesses.

He added that international companies — such as Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Instagram — have research and development budgets which are more than the total budgets of countries like Pakistan.

"We have to see how much we can cope with international regulations and over time the international regulations will govern the rules of national regulations," he was quoted as saying by Radio Pakistan.

The information minister said efforts are afoot to merge the academies of Radio Pakistan and Pakistan Television Corporation as part of proposed Pakistan Media University that will "act as a main institution to impart training to students as well as working professionals".

Earlier, Minister of State for Interior Shehryar Khan Afridi also spoke at the conference, urging the media to play its due role when it comes to national security.

Afridi took aim at prevalent media policies, stressing that safeguarding the national security is not just the responsibility of soldiers manning borders but the entire society.

"Till when will we continue trying to alter our norms to please goras [foreigners]," he said. "Why do we need to amplify our narrative?"

The state minister claimed that news regarding Aasia Bibi gets its due attention in the media but the issue of Dr Aafia Siddiqui and the government's efforts to repatriate her gets largely overlooked.

The minister complained that misinformation was being spread about himself and the government, especially since he has started taking initiatives against corrupt elements.

He pointed out what he thought were shortcomings on the part of the media, and claimed that the positive aspects of the country do not always get highlighted.

The state minister asked the nation to give more time to the federal government, instead of asking for accountability over the first 100 days in power.

Shehryar Afridi said: "We are being asked for results. Let me assure you, we will answer for each and every penny [we spend]. Give us some time. We will set examples for the next generations. For heaven's sake, don't jump to conclusions."

The PTI leader also discussed the recent protests that erupted in the aftermath of the Supreme Court's decision to acquit Aasia Bibi of blasphemy charges.

"We did not understand the Sharia of Allah Almighty and the Prophet (PBUH)," he said. "Prime Minister Imran Khan took an initiative to make the world realise that the pretext of freedom of expression should not be used for the defamation of any religion."

Afridi also touched upon civil-military relations, saying close coordination between the two is the need of the hour.

A mobile app launched by the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) government to allow the public to voice their grievances over creaking infrastructure has been inundated with responses.

Addressing a press conference in Islamabad on Thursday, Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Media Iftikhar Durrani said more than a hundred thousand complaints had been made through the official app, which was launched only a month ago.

The application, known as the Pakistan Citizens’ Portal (PCP), was intended to offer swift resolution for basic civic problems being faced by the people.

But the government has been overwhelmed with responses, particularly about problems in public services like energy, health and education, Durrani said.

He said around 84,000 complaints were yet to be addressed, while around 16,000 had been resolved. Around 4,000 more complaints were received from Pakistanis living abroad, while 96 per cent of those who downloaded the app were men.

Prime Minister Imran Khan had launched the complaint portal on October 28 at a ceremony in the Prime Minister’s Office, saying it was an unprecedented complaint receiving system which none of his predecessors had.

The PCP has been established by the Prime Minister’s Performance Delivery Unit, which is run by those who had established a similar system in Khyber Pakh­tunkhwa.

The system has been connected to government offices in the federal capital and provinces through the internet to receive people’s complaints and transmit them to the officials concerned.

The portal is available to citizens in the form of a cellphone app, but they can also approach the government via telephone, email or written letters. Every complaint has to be addressed within two weeks.

“Good governance will push all departments and the system will keep me informed about the performance of various departments. If they collude (with each other), I will get feedback. The citizens will hold the government accountable, and such feedback has never been given to any prime minister in Pakistan before," Khan had said at the launch.

Karachiites suffered hours-long agonising traffic jam on Thursday as the Association of Builders and Developers (ABAD) staged a sit-in on Sharea Faisal outside the office of Karachi Water and Sewerage Board (KWSB) to protest against the alleged non-issuance of NOCs (no-objection certificate) by the board for the construction of multi-storey buildings in the metropolis.

The ABAD officials complained that the Supreme Court has given permission for construction of up to six storey buildings in the metropolis, still, the KWSB “was not issuing NOCs to them”.

The protest continued on Sharea Faisal for over six hours despite the recent directives of police that no protest or sit-in would be allowed on main arteries of the metropolis including Sharea Faisal, as such activities triggered immense hardships for the citizens.

Abad office-bearers left their office near Safari Park in a caravan vehicle on Thursday noon and staged a sit-in on the main artery, which links the city with the airport. They parked heavy machinery vehicles on both tracks of the road, which resulted in the prolonged traffic jam.

“For some time both the tracks were completely blocked for traffic,” said Karachi East Zone DIG Amir Farooqi.

At one point, it was rumoured that ABAD and the KWSB officials have reached at an ‘agreement’ over the issuance of NOCs, as per the directives of the apex court and one track was opened. However, later both the tracks were again blocked by parking two heavy vehicles on it.

Subsequently, traffic jams also occurred on adjoining roads as the traffic authorities blocked Club Road from PIDC toward Sharea Faisal and traffic was diverted on alternate routes.

The vehicles coming from Airport to Tower were diverted to Shah Faisal Colony while traffic coming from National Stadium Road to Baloch Colony was also diverted on other roads.

Later in the day, the police authorities managed to persuade the protesters to open one track of Sharea Faisal from Metropole hotel to airport while vehicles plied on track from airport to the city, resultantly there was immense traffic pressure as there were huge lines of vehicles seen on the main artery, causing inconveniences to commuters who remained stuck for several hours.

Meanwhile, IGP Sindh Dr Syed Kaleem Imam took notice of the traffic jam and directed the DIG Traffic to take immediate steps to restore the traffic. IG Imam also directed the district police to help traffic police to reduce traffic pressure on roads.

National Accountability Bureau Chairman Javed Iqbal on Thursday directed the bureau’s officers to “dispose of mega corruption cases on priority”.

Chairing a meeting held in Islamabad to review the overall performance of regional bureaus, the former justice said the bureau was putting all its resources and energies to use to “arrest proclaimed offenders, absconders and corrupt elements on basis of solid evidence”.

The NAB chairman also called for transferring low magnitude cases to other anti-corruption departments so that cases of all nature could be disposed of within 10 months.

“The accountability bureau has devised an effective operational mechanism for conducting complaint verification, investigations and inquiries by utilising collective wisdom of senior supervisory staff,” he said, adding that from now onward “no one could dare influence investigations”.

The meeting was informed that the bureau has apprehended 503 corrupt elements in the last 12 months.

The NAB registered complaints against 44,315 persons, out of which 1,713 complaints were verified, inquiries were initiated against 877 persons, investigations were conducted against 227 persons and 440 corruption references were filed in different accountability courts.

Moreover, the bureau has deposited record Rs2,580 million in the national exchequer after recovering looted money from the corrupt persons during the past one year.

ISLAMABAD: A parliamentary committee was told that Emirates airline has refused to use passenger boarding bridges at airports in Pakistan after an air bridge collapsed at the new Islamabad International airport last month.

The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Pakistan International Airlines (PIA), Air Marshal Arshad Malik, told the Senate Standing Committee on Aviation that Emirates had announced its decision, citing safety standards as the reason. The committee met for a briefing on how the air bridge collapsed with complete details of its make, model and purchase, among other things.

On Oct 9, the air bridge, purchased from the Spanish company Adelte, collapsed, leaving two staff members injured. Director General of the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) Hassan Baig said the matter was under investigation. “We are looking into several possible reasons such as design faults, human error, maintenance problems as well as communication errors. It can be all four. But, so far it seems to be a design flaw,” said Mr Baig.

He explained to the committee that similar faults had been detected with air bridges at Karachi airport and Bacha Khan International Airport in Peshawar.

According to the official, a thorough report is due on Dec 7; however, the fault seemed to be in the design of the bridge — apparently, a loose pin. “Similar design problems were detected at both the airports in Karachi and Peshawar,” said Mr Baig, adding that the remaining payments to Adelte had been suspended. According to the contract, the CAA is in a position to ask Adelte to extend the warranty period of the air bridge. The Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf’s Senator, Nauman Wazir, however, said that human error must not be ignored.

The chairman of the committee, the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz’s Senator Mushahidullah Khan urged Air Marshal Malik to take the matter seriously.“Today Emirates has declined to use the air bridges, tomorrow other airlines may follow. The PIA can lose a lot of revenue,” said Mr Khan.

The committee also discussed newspaper reports highlighting the involvement of PIA officers in smuggling and money laundering. Air Marshal Malik responded by saying that the matter was indeed sensitive, and would be taken seriously. “Some staff has already been placed under scrutiny and disciplinary action has been taken against two staff members. Their actions bring disgrace not just to the PIA, the Airport Security Force (ASF) and other associated organisations but also to the entire nation,” said the CEO.

According to a senior official of the ASF, the various departments must coordinate more efficiently to prevent such cases. “We still lack coordination while checking catering vehicles, for instance,” said the official.

Published in Dawn, November 23rd, 2018

ISLAMABAD: A three-judge Supreme Court implementation bench, headed by Justice Sheikh Azmat Saeed, on Thursday asked the Bahria Town Karachi (BTK) to provide details of land under its possession and the layout plan of the project.

The bench also asked the Survey of Pakistan to carry out a survey to see if there were any changes in the project land after it passed the restraining order.

The court said it did not want the developer to increase the land under possession and wanted to determine boundaries of the project.

The BTK was told to also submit the break-up of expenditure it claims has been made and the money collected from the public, warning that orders might be passed for a forensic audit in case of doubt in any figure.

The BTK management submitted to the court an affidavit claiming that no violation of its May 4 judgement had been committed

The May 4 judgement concerns with the cases involving grant of 9,385 acres of land in 43 Dehs, consolidated by the Malir Development Authority and then handed over to the Bahria Town in 2015 — about 9km from the Toll Plaza on Karachi-Hyderabad Super Highway and 25-minute drive from the Jinnah International Airport.

In its May 4 judgement, the Supreme Court held that the grant of land to the MDA by the Sindh government, its exchange with the land of the private land developers — Ms Bahria Town — and anything done under the provisions of the Colonisation of Government Land Act 1912 by the Sindh government as illegal, void ab initio and as such of no legal existence.

Besides, the saga involving ‘illegal transfer’ of the state land by the Malir Development Authority (MDA) and officials of the district revenue department took a new turn as the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) has traced at least 28 accounts in seven banks being used by the BTK management to collect investments from people.

The revelation has been made by NAB in a report submitted to the implementation bench of the Supreme Court formed last month by a five-judge bench headed by Chief Justice Mian Saqib Nisar.

The report says during the investigation it has come to record that Bahria Town Private Limited/Bahria Town Karachi collected about Rs215 billion from people up to Sept 2017 in three bank accounts — one each in the Askari Bank, United Bank Limited and Meezan Bank. However, later, it transpired that at least 28 different accounts in seven banks were being used for this purpose. Besides the three banks already mentioned, accounts are also being maintained at Bank Al-Falah, Allied Bank, Habib Bank and Faysal Bank, the report discloses and says letters to these banks have been issued for provision of up-to-date details of the accounts and their statements.

The report says the evidence collected during the investigation has found that 20 public office-holders and officials of the Sindh government misused their authority to give unfair advantage to the beneficiaries and their front-men. These include two politicians and 18 officers and officials of the provincial government. The report puts the number of beneficiaries and front-men at eight.

It says notices have been issued to the two politicians and 18 government functionaries for providing them final opportunity of being heard. Two government officers and six beneficiaries did not join investigation and are reported to be abroad. The secretary of the Services and General Administration division has now been asked for serving call-up notices and also to furnish their ex-Pakistan leave details for further proceeding.

At the request of NAB, the report says, the national space agency — Space and Upper Atmosphere Research Commission (Suparco) — has arranged for the satellite images of the land on which BTK project was under development up to Jan 2018. The satellite images establish beyond any doubt that development of the BKT project has continued against the restraining order passed by the apex court.

The report says Suparco has also been asked by NAB to obtain latest satellite images of the project for necessary action.

It says the determination of total loss caused to the national exchequer depends on various factors, including completion of the survey to identify exact area of land under the BTK’s possession and missing approvals.

The report also says the NAB has received various complaints from people regarding cancellation and non-allotment of plots despite regular payment of installments.

The land was granted for launching incremental housing scheme. But instead of launching the scheme, the MDA exchanged it with the Bahria Town to enable it to launch a scheme of its own, the judgement had held.

The MDA was created through the Malir Development Authority Act 1993 for development of certain areas of Karachi division.

During the last hearing, Barrister Aitzaz Ahsan, representing the BTK, had claimed that the developer had invested over Rs500bn to develop the housing scheme in the name of the Bahria Town whereas Rs213bn was still outstanding or due in the shape of instalments.

Published in Dawn, November 23rd, 2018

ISLAMABAD: The Capital Development Authority (CDA) has stopped the process to regularise Prime Minister Imran Khan’s private house in Banigala after raising 14 major objections.

The civic agency informed the prime minister that until he provided the requisite documents, his case for regularisation of the palatial building cannot be processed further.

A CDA letter dated Nov 20 stated that there were several missing links in the prime minister’s application seeking the regularisation of his house.

According to the letter (available with Dawn), Mr Khan along with his application and documents did not provide the certified copy of mutation/register Haqdaran-i-Zameen (Fard) issued by the tehsildar.

“Only photocopy of old Fard Inteqal in the name of Jemima Khan [was provided]. No proof of ownership in the name of Imran Ahmed Khan Niazi [was submitted],” said the letter.

Until Imran Khan provides requisite documents, his case for regularisation of the palatial building cannot be processed further, CDA letter says

It added that the attested copy of the computerised national identity card of the owner [Imran Khan] was required for processing the regularisation while the person processing the case was also required to have an authority letter from the owner [Imran Khan].

The CDA said along his application the prime minister had submitted unsigned sketches of the building which were not acceptable for the purpose of regularisation. The civic agency asked the applicant to furnish structural drawings and design along with a structural soundness and stability certificate issued by a CDA-enlisted engineer.

The civic agency also asked the applicant to provide a plan for the disposal of sewage and solid waste management.

It also sought the certified copy of Aks Shajra verifying the possession with reference to the ownership from tehsildar, including the site plan super imposed on khasra plan.

Besides, a certificate from the tehsildar and the site plan showing the access from the existing revenue road is required. In case of no access from a revenue road to the site, land under the access road to the site from the revenue road shall be transferred in the name of the capital administration, it added.

The premier was also asked to submit an undertaking for depositing the conversion and development charges as and when determined and asked by the CDA.

“In this regard, you [Imran Khan] are advised to provide the same within seven days of the receipt of this application so that the decision regarding regularisation of your building may be taken up as per rules,” the letter concluded.

Meanwhile, officials concerned told Dawn that without getting the required documents the civic agency could not move forward on the regularisation of the house.

Mr Khan’s over 300-kanal house is located in the real estate of Mohra Noor and according to CDA record falls in the sub-zone ‘B’ of Zone IV.

The CDA and the Survey of Pakistan in their reports submitted to the Supreme Court also declared that Mr Khan’s house was located in sub-zone ‘B’ of Zone IV.

But some officials are sceptical about the building’s location. They have doubts over the highest watermark of Rawal Dam which determines the jurisdiction of Zone III. They explained that within a two km area of the highest watermark of the dam the area was called Zone III where buildings cannot be regularised.

“For a clearer picture, a proper demarcation of the boundary of Zone III with the start of the highest level of watermark of the dam should be carried out,” they added.

However, an officer of the CDA dealing with the regularisation of buildings claimed: “There is no doubt about the jurisdiction of the building. Imran Khan’s Banigala house is located in Zone IV and the Survey of Pakistan has confirmed it.” The officer said real estate Mohra Noor spread in both Zone III and IV.

The CDA recently started regularising buildings in areas where its bylaws allow it to do so following Supreme Court’s orders regarding unauthorised buildings in Banigala. Last year, the apex court had taken a suo motu notice over an application filed by Mr Khan regarding unauthorised construction in Banigala. But during the proceeding of the case, it transpired that Mr Khan’s own building was not authorised by the CDA.

According to the existing regulations, after adopting a due process and paying a fine, buildings can be regularised in Zone IV. But the rules do not permit regularisation of buildings in Zone III.

Apparently to remove the bar on regularisation of buildings, particularly in the zone where thousands of buildings have been constructed, the federal government recently decided to revise the capital city’s master plan to make it relevant with the current needs.

According to the Greek firm that prepared the master plan in 1960, successive governments were supposed to revise the master plan after every 20 years. But so far, no revision has been made to the master plan.

Meanwhile, so far the CDA has received 180 applications for regulating buildings in Zone IV. Most of the buildings are located in Banigala.

Published in Dawn, November 23rd, 2018

ISLAMABAD: As the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) is set to take a decision on Pakistan’s efforts against terror financing in September 2019 to de-list the country from its grey list, experts believe that it would be a daunting task for the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakis­tan (SECP) to monitor thousands of NGOs registered with provinces as these organisations have allegedly been used for terror financing.

Speaking at a workshop on anti-money laundering (AML) regulations and countering financing of terrorism (AML/CFT) regulations here on Thursday, they highlighted that the FATF recommendations were of global standards for countering terror financing.

The SECP cancelled registration of 3,000 NGOs and non-profit organisations (NPOs) during 2017-18 as their accounts ware suspected to be misused for money laundering.

But the SECP has no jurisdiction to regulate or monitor around 15,000 NPOs registered under provincial laws across the country.

The FATF requires Pakistan to implement its recommendation for countering terror financing.

Khalida Habib, head of SECP’s anti-money laundering and international relations departments, said that the commission’s obligations under FATF action plan included identifying and assessing terror financing risks, in relevant sectors, geographic locations, channels and products, in consultation with other stakeholders and departments.

She said: “SECP’s AML regime is aimed at protecting financial system and the economy from the threats of money laundering and terror financing.”

She recalled that the FATF had observed deficiencies in Pakistan’s implementation of AML/CFT regime in February and in June the country was placed on FATF’s grey list for the strategic deficiencies.

“However Pakistan committed to implementing the action plan and the non-implementation of action plan may result in blacklisting of the country,” she said, adding Pakistan gave high-level political commitment to implement the action plan as agreed with FATF to address the notified deficiencies. She said the FATF would monitor progress against the agreed upon action plan that would be completed by September 2019.

She said that two parallel FATF monitoring processes were currently under way, the first was Pakistan’s mutual evaluation by Asia Pacific Group-against FATF 40 recommendations and the second was FATF Action Plan - 27 Actions.

The FATF Action Plan - 27 Actions has identified four key areas of concerns, which are deficiencies in the supervision AML/CFT regime by both the financial institution and the NPOs.

The other deficiencies were cross-border illicit movement of currency by terrorist groups, progress on terrorism financing investigation and prosecution by the law enforcement and effective implementation of UN Security Council resolutions on suspicious financing.

Waseem Ahmad Khan, additional director of SECP’s corporatisation and compliance department, briefed on the commissions regulatory framework for beneficial ownership.

He said that the SECP had issued a circular that required companies having legal persons as members or shareholders to take reasonable measures to obtain and maintain up-to-date information relating to their ultimate beneficial owners in a register of ultimate beneficial ownership.

Published in Dawn, November 23rd, 2018

LAHORE: The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) Lahore on Thursday reacted coldly to the plea bargain of Paragon Housing Society Director Qaiser Amin Butt as it is keener to lay hand on its ‘true beneficial owner’.

The counsel for Mr Butt filed a plea bargain (PB) request with the NAB a couple of days ago and as response to request, the bureau declared on Thursday that it had ‘no immediate plan’ to entertain it.

“We have received the plea bargain (request) of Mr Butt through his counsel. First, he needs to fulfill the legal requirement; submitting an application with his thumb impression and signature and not the lawyer’s. Second, NAB is not legally bound to entertain the PB of a suspect as it is more concerned to unearth the true beneficial owner of the illegal Paragon Housing Society,” a NAB official told Dawn.

Gives cold response to plea bargain, says not legally bound to accept it

Mr Butt, against whom some 89 claims were submitted with NAB Lahore, expressed his willingness to compensate all of them.

Although the NAB official claims the suspect (Butt) has expressed his willingness to become an approver against the ‘true beneficial owner’ of the housing society, there has been no confirmation from Mr Butt’s counsel about this.

A PML-N leader has already claimed that there had been pressure on Mr Butt from NAB to become approver.

According to the application, filed by Butt’s counsel, 89 claims of the Paragon Housing Society have been filed in NAB.

“It is requested that the liability of the undersigned (Butt) may be determined for entering into the PB agreement and approved. The undersigned will pay the liability amount – 34pc down payment of the total amount, 33pc installment after three months and 33pc after three months of the first installment.”

Former railways minister Khwaja Saad Rafique, who has been on protective bail, had said NAB was looking for an approver in this inquiry. Both Saad Rafique and Salman Rafique had denied their links with the Paragon Housing.

According to NAB, the suspect in connivance with Nadeem Zia and other launched an illegal housing scheme —Paragon City (Pvt) Ltd — in 2005 on the basis of forged and fabricated documents along with alleged approvals from TMA Aziz Bhatti Town, Lahore.

“In 2013, all TMA approved housing schemes were transferred to Lahore Development Authority (LDA).

However, record of the Paragon Housing was intentionally not shifted to the LDA by the suspects. Paragon City Housing Society has not yet approved by the LDA. Thus, Qaiser Amin Butt being the beneficial owner is running the said housing scheme, unlawfully,” it said.

Nadeem Zia is reported to have fled to the US. Qaiser Amin Butt is in the custody of NAB Lahore till Dec 4 on a physical remand.

Published in Dawn, November 23rd, 2018

ISLAMABAD: In his concluding testimony before the accountability court in the Al-Azizia reference on Thursday, former prime minister Nawaz Sharif toned down his stance about the civil-military conflict and confined himself to financial strength of his late father, past achievements and legal points to defend his case.

In his earlier statement recorded in the Avenfield properties reference, he linked that reference with the civil-military conflict.

“Whenever a politician is booked under the typical charges of ‘assets beyond means’, it basically means that the accusers have no proof of such allegations,” Mr Sharif said.

Addressing accountability court Judge Mohammad Arshad Malik, the former premier said his father had established the steel industry in 1937, but he had dissociated himself from the family business 40 years ago.

He said his sons were financially independent adults and had been managing their business in compliance with laws of the country they lived in and, therefore, it did not make any sense to tie him with their financial dealings.

There was no proof of wrongdoing presented during the course of this never-ending investigation, the most substantial proof of which was the statement by Wajid Zia, head of the Joint Investigation Team constituted by the Supreme Court in the Panama Papers case, he added.

Former premier tones down his stance about civil-military conflict, confines himself to financial strength of his late father, legal points to defend his case

Mr Sharif claimed that Mr Zia had admitted under oath before the accountability court that there was no proof of all the allegations levelled against him. He said he felt proud that despite dragging every member of his family — from his ancestors to his grandchildren — the investigators had not found a single penny of corruption, misappropriation or kickbacks, mainly because all this fiasco was run on speculations and anything run on baseless speculations could not last.

A case that started from allegations of corruption worth billions of rupees, mass money laundering and tax evasion eventually landed on the same clichéd tag of “assets beyond means”.

Mr Sharif said he had sacrificed politically, socially and domestically to prove his innocence before the law because his conscience and political career spanning over four decades had been clean. He added that he had suffered irreparable damage both politically and in his private life during this case, but he did not back down because he had faith in Allah Almighty and expectation of justice from the court.

He said he was a son of the soil and had always embraced the trust of the people of Pakistan as an honour and a challenge at the same time. He considered it Allah Almighty’s special blessing that He chose him to do what he could to improve the lives of his fellow countrymen.

“Pakistan today is blessed with the most efficient communication network of motorways from Peshawar to Karachi and the progress and development of Pakistan under PML-N is unprecedented in the 65 years preceding our service,” he said.

“We brought peace from the internal-strife-marred Balochistan to the law-and-order disaster of ‘body-bags’ and shutdowns in Karachi, restored a sense of wellbeing among Pakistanis, pulled the country out of the deep shadows of extensive power outages and bloodshed, held crucial census, gave massive resources to boost key sectors of the republic vis-à-vis agriculture, education and healthcare, uprooted terrorism from the country and reincarnated foreign relations of Pakistan, brought massive investments into Pakistan with the CPEC leading with over 50 billion dollars, stood strong by our Kashmiri brethren and advocated their right to self-determination and the tyrannical occupation of India aggressively at all regional and international platforms,” the former premier said, adding that all these were glaring evidence of the fact that the PML-N had left a substantially better Pakistan for its people at the end of 2018 than what was handed to them in 2013.

“As far as this case is concerned, the honourable judge and the entire world are aware of what had been going on in the name of ‘accountability’ for the past two and half years. There is no precedent of such accountability in the entire history of the country,” he added.

Mr Sharif showed a photograph of 1970 in which then president General Yahya Khan was inspecting a railway engine at their factory. The accountability court judge asked the former premier to submit the photograph along with the date and name of the publication.

Later talking to the media, Mr Sharif said his family was among the leading industrialists even before the partition, adding that in January 1972, former prime minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto had nationalised Ittefaq Foundries in Lahore and in East Pakistan, Sheikh Mujeebur Rehman took over their factory in which over 10,000 employees had been working since the 1960s.

He said that in 1988, then prime minister Benazir Bhutto had ordered an inquiry into alleged theft of electricity against their factories, but the Wapda chairman exonerated the Sharif family and instead found that the distribution company had overcharged them Rs50 million.

Published in Dawn, November 23rd, 2018

LAHORE: A man allegedly shot dead his two wives over frequent domestic disputes, the Sattokatla police said on Thursday.

According to a police official, Riasat Ali’s wives Bushra Bibi, a mother of six, and Nasreen Bibi, a mother of four, would quarrel with each other over “petty issues”.

Quoting the children, he said the two women again quarrelled over a family issue and Riasat tried to clam them but to no avail.

Later, in a fit of anger, he took out a gun and first shot Bushra and then Nasreen in the presence of children. The suspect then fled the scene, leaving both the women seriously injured, the police said.

The children immediately called the neighbours who informed the Rescue 1122 and the police about the incident, the official said, adding that the injured women were rushed to hospital where they succumbed to their bullet wounds.

The police reached the spot and collected evidence after which the Rescue 1122 personnel shifted the bodies to the city morgue for autopsy.

The police have registered a case against the suspect on the complaint of his son.

Meanwhile, a man who was shot at and injured allegedly during a street crime in Kahna two days ago, succumbed to his wounds in hospital on Thursday.

The police said Tayyab was intercepted by two gunmen in the street who tried to deprive him of cash on him. When Tayyab offered resistance, they shot him.

The offenders had fled the scene with his money.

Tayyab was being treated for his wounds in a hospital where he died.

SHOT DEAD:

In Ichra, a father of four, Yasir Ali, was allegedly shot dead by his neighbour over a minor dispute.

Police said Yasir and his neighbourer Farhan Jutt scuffled over a “petty issue”.

Later, Farhan returned with a pistol, shot at his rival and fled the scene.

Yasir died while being shifted to hospital, the police said, adding that a case had been registered against the suspect.

KILLED:

A passerby woman was killed in an armed clash between two parties in Badami Bagh area.

According to police, Sheikh Abad and Malik Saif had scuffled with a local, Ahmad, who had allegedly developed relations with a woman related to the attackers.

The suspects later returned with weapons and opened indiscriminate fire, the police said, adding that during the firing a bullet hit a woman, Perween Bibi, who died instantly.

The suspects fled the scene. The police registered a case against them after sending the woman’s body to the city morgue for an autopsy.

Published in Dawn, November 23rd, 2018

ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan National Heart Association (Panah) urged a Senate committee to direct the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) to upload data on tobacco taxation on its website every month.

In a letter written last week, it has also suggested the imposition of price reduction restrictions so that tobacco companies would not be able to reduce price to avoid tax.

The Special Committee of Senate to Review the Decline of Revenue on Cigarettes, chaired by PML-N Senator Kalsoom Parveen was established during the tenure of the previous government.

It is mandated to look into the decline of Rs33 billion in tax collection from the tobacco industry.

Senators Sherry Rehman, Mushahid Hussain Syed, Azam Khan Swati, Mohammad Ali Khan Saif, Maulana Abdul Ghafoor Haideri and Chaudhry Tanvir Khan are members.

The committee has been looking into the matter after the introduction of the third tier duty in May 2017 led two tobacco companies to reduce the prices of their most-sold brands to move them from the second to third tier of tax and avoided Rs33 billion in taxes in a year.

Because of the step, the federal excise duty got reduced by 50pc, which increased the sale of tobacco but cut the government revenue.

During the last meeting on Nov 6, the committee directed Panah, a health concern which has been making efforts to ban smoking, to give its recommendations so that tobacco companies will not avoid tax in the future.

In a letter, Panah President retired Maj Gen Masudur Rehman Kiani has recommended that FBR be instructed to upload data related to cigarette sales and related taxes collected on its website every month.

The letter also suggested that the committee may recommend that government decrease the threshold price of second tier tax and impose price reduction restriction as an immediate step.

“This will counter the move made by multinational cigarette manufacturing companies to avoid actual taxes,” Mr Kiani said.

Panah representative Malik Imran told Dawn that it was heartening to see that the committee has been working on the issue and that prominent senators have been attending the meetings regularly.

“Tobacco companies have avoided Rs60 billion worth of taxes the last two years so we suggest efforts be made to recover the taxes evaded in the past. Steps should also be taken to increase the price of cigarettes in order to save the young generation from the hazards of tobacco,” he said.

He said his organisation also suggests bringing the cigarette brands which were in the second tier but dropped to the third back to the second tier again.

Mr Imran said the next meeting will be held in the last week of November.

“Bureaucrats cannot put up resistance to the influential tobacco industry and we are confident parliamentarians will take the issue to a logical conclusion,” he said.

Published in Dawn, November 23rd, 2018