ISLAMABAD: Former prime minister Nawaz Sharif on Thursday welcomed the remarks of incumbent Prime Minister Imran Khan about early elections and claimed that the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) was ready to go for a contest.

After testifying in the Flagship Investment reference in the accountability court, Mr Sharif during his informal discussion with journalists said that if the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) wanted to go for midterm elections, this would be a blessing for the people of Pakistan.

“The people are happy over these remarks as they want to get rid of this government even before the schedule time,” he said.

According to him, the PML-N is in a position to win elections whenever they are held.

While recording his testimony before the accountability court, Mr Sharif said that the reference against him was not only against legal norms, but also contrary to religious, social and ethical values of society.

Says reference against him is not only against legal norms, but also contrary to values of society

He said it was ironic that the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) was trying to portray a fair and transparent matter as an illegal practice. Around eight million overseas Pakistanis earn their livelihood in different countries and some of them secured distinction in their respective professions and businesses. “Have overseas Pakistanis or their parents in Pakistan ever faced references for sending or receiving remittances?” he asked.

He pointed out that his sons sent him different amounts from time to time not because he was the owner of their businesses, but they did it for being his children.

According to the statement of the former prime minister, “there are four ingredients to be proved by the prosecution, (i) The onus is on the prosecution to prove that the accused has paid for certain property, (ii) Titled documents were in possession of the accused person, (iii) The properties are in possession and being occupied by the accused, and (iv) It is on the prosecution to prove motive for benami. In case, the prosecution levels allegation of benami it is up to them to prove the allegation”.

The statement further said: “As far as this [Flagship Investment] case is concerned, everyone knows the treatment meted out to Sharif family for two and half years in the name of accountability. None in Pakistan has ever faced such [harsh] accountability.”

The statement, however, termed it a matter of pride that the ruthless accountability could not prove an iota of corruption against Mr Sharif or his family members.

It claimed that the whole case against him was based on assumptions. It started from allegations of billions of rupees corruption and ended with the offence “assets beyond means” and the prosecution could not prove that as well, he added.

Mr Sharif then gave a background of his family properties and industries which were run by his father Mian Mohammad Sharif. He told the court that in 1969-70, his family purchased seven bungalows comprising 10 kanal each and their Ittefaq foundries were dealing with steel furnaces, sugar mills, cement industry parts, defence-related products, gear boxes and many others.

Mr Sharif said that in January 1972, Ittefaq foundries were nationalised in Pakistan whereas they were taken over by the Bangladeshi government after the fall of Dhaka. In 1979, while Ittefaq foundries were operating at a loss, they were returned to the Sharif family which invested a huge amount and turned them into a profitable organisation again.

He said that both his sons had been helping Mian Sharif since they had been students and both of them started independent business during the lifetime of their grandfather. The former prime minister said that his family business paid a huge cost for politics.

During the regime of military dictator retired Gen Pervez Musharraf, his family business was victimised. The then regime converted his house in an old home and his brothers Shahbaz and Abbas Sharif had to live in rented houses. Even today, industrial units owned by the Sharif family were not working due to political victimisation, he said.

Published in Dawn, December 7th, 2018

Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) leader Usman Dar on Friday met Federal Minister for Religious Affairs and Interfaith Harmony Noorul Haq Qadri to discuss measures the government plans to implement in order to bring seminary students into the mainstream.

Dar, who is Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Youth Affairs, said that Prime Minister Imran Khan wanted to include all young students who study in seminaries into the framework of his Naya Pakistan Youth Programme because he wanted them to have a "bright future".

Dar said that the government aims to provide interest-free loans, medical facilities, vocational training and jobs to pupils of religious seminaries so they can compete with students who have been educated in mainstream schools.

The premier's aide added that madressah students are the country's "precious assets", and that their talents should not go to waste.

Qadri lauded the initiative and said that the inclusion of madressah students in the youth programme taken by the prime minister would be a "revolutionary step".

The initiative is in line with the PTI government's goal to bring madressahs into mainstream and eradicate class-based education.

The party's manifesto promises to "map out and register all seminaries across Pakistan" and "introduce literacy and mathematics teaching as formal subjects within the Madressah curriculum".

The Supreme Court on Friday extended till December 24 the deadline for the completion of National Accountability Bureau's (NAB) corruption reference against former prime minister Nawaz Sharif.

Chief Justice Mian Saqib Nisar granted the extension but only after assailing Sharif's counsel Khawaja Haris for his "repeated requests for more time" and "deliberately prolonging the case".

Haris had sought further time after apprising the top judge that the arguments were still being presented in the accountability court.

"Is someone telling a fairy tale in the accountability court?" asked the chief justice. "The debate should be time-bound.

"You have held the entire nation and the court hostage," he told Haris. "Why do you try to make the case lengthy? Is this the level of you practice? Why type of a big lawyer are you?.

"Don't take a case up, if you can't complete your work on time."

"I don't have the same amount of energy as you have," replied the counsel, who offered to conclude the debate in the court. "Have you received a complaint from the accountability court," he asked the judge before adding that "I could even quit the case".

"You want to quit the case to create more difficulties," the chief justice opined. "I will not let you boycott the case."

The counsel, when asked to give a final time and date, initially agreed to wrap up his argument in "10 working days" but later sought an additional three days — to which the courtroom burst into laughter.

The court granted Haris his request and directed him to conclude his argument till December 17. Meanwhile, the accountability was instructed to conclude the case by December 24.

Extension

On Nov 19, the apex court had given another extension of three weeks to accountability court-II of Islamabad to decide two references — Al-Azizia and Flagship Investment — against the Sharif family.

A two-judge bench headed by Chief Justice Nisar had observed that further extension to the trial court will not be granted after the [three-week] deadline.

The trial court judge, Arshad Malik, had filed an application seeking extension in the deadline pleading that the references were about to conclude. However, he said, it was not possible to close the trial within the deadline previously given by the apex court.

Advocate Khwaja Harris Ahmad appeared on behalf of the Sharif family and requested the court to allow more time for the disposal of the references.

Earlier on Oct 12, the court had granted an extension to the accountability court to conclude the references by Nov 17.

In July, an accountability court had decided the Avenfield reference against the Sharif family handing down 11-year imprisonment to former prime minister Nawaz Sharif, eight years to his daughter Maryam Nawaz and one year to her husband retired Capt Muhammad Safdar.

The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on Friday released the provisional results of the by-election held for Balochistan Assembly’s PB-47 seat in Kech district. As per the Form-47 shared by the commission, Balochistan Awami Party (BAP) candidate Abdul Rasheed secured a comfortable lead against his opponents.

According to the provisional consolidated statement of results form, the BAP hopeful secured 7,088 votes, followed by Balochistan National Party (BNP) candidate Jameel Ahmed Dashti with 5,758 votes.

As many as 12 candidates contested the by-polls for PB-47 (Kech-III). Of the total of 56,472 voters registered in the area, 17,422 persons — 8,698 males and 8,724 females — voted in the by-election.

The seat had fallen vacant after the ECP declared the result of July 25 election null and void after opponents challenged the election of winner Mir Rauf Rind of the BAP, who is a dual national.

An ECP Balochistan official had said that the election material had been distributed to the staff in Kech district.

Returning Officer (RO) Abdul Waheed Baloch said that Frontier Corps and the district police had been deployed at polling stations to tackle any untoward situation.

RO Waheed Baloch said that 60 polling stations had been established in PB-47’s constituency. “To ensure fairness in elections, we remained in contact with all candidates and finalised polling stations following their suggestions,” he said.

BNP President Sardar Akhtar Jan Mengal, former chief minister and NP President Dr Malik Baloch, BAP’s Zahoor Buledi, and federal minister Zubaida Jalal had led the election campaigns for their respective candidates in Turbat and Kech.

After the federal government on Friday filed a review petition before the Supreme Court against the ongoing anti-encroachment drive in Karachi, Mayor Waseem Akhtar held a press conference to record protest against plans to demolish illegal houses during an anti-encroachment drive being run under his supervision in Karachi.

The mayor defended the removal of encroachments from markets and roads but opposed the idea of razing illegal houses. "I will resign if a single house is touched," Akhtar told the news conference.

He said that the markets being set up by the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation (KMC) were also razed during the ongoing operation.

He announced that in the first phase, the KMC will arrange 1,000 shops for affectees of the drive as an alternative, adding that the KMC was supporting the affected people.

He said the corporation had received court orders to remove encroachments from parks, footpaths and nullahs.

"Some people have started point-scoring over the operation against encroachments," he added.

Earlier in the day, Governor Sindh Imran Ismael's spokesperson said that the decision to file a review petition had been taken at a recent meeting between the governor and Prime Minister Imran Khan.

According to the spokesperson, the governor had apprised the prime minister about the concerns and reservations of the affected people.

Subsequently, the federal government pleaded before the apex court to grant space and time in order to ensure the rehabilitation process.

A delegation of China’s counterterrorism police force on Friday arrived in Karachi and held meetings with senior police officials and investigators regarding last month's attack on the Chinese consulate and the progress so far made in the case, according to officials.

The delegation met with Additional IG Karachi Dr Amir Ahmed Shaikh, who briefed them about the deadly assault on the morning of November 23.

The Chinese personnel also visited the crime scene in Clifton and held a meeting at the police’s Counter-Terrorism Department, where AIG CTD Dr Waliullah Dal apprised them of the ongoing investigation of the incident.

Editorial: Friday's Karachi, Orakzai attacks bloodily underline that Pakistan is still facing complex militant threats

A senior official familiar with the briefings told Dawn that the Chinese security officials expressed their "satisfaction" about the progress made so far in the investigation.

Three heavily armed militants were shot dead in a shoot-out with police and Rangers during a gun-and-grenade attack on the Chinese consulate. Two police officials and two visa applicants, a father and son, were also killed in the Nov 23 assault.

The attack at the foreign mission, which is located in the ‘high-security zone’ of Clifton’s Block-4, also left a private guard of the facility wounded.

The attackers lobbed at least 10 hand grenades, damaging several parked vehicles, and attempted to break open the armoured gate of the consulate with C4 explosives, but were shot dead before they could do so.

The banned Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) promptly claimed responsibility even when the operation against the attackers was still underway, according to officials.

Investigators have subsequently detained more than a dozen suspects and their facilitators for questioning from the city and other parts of the country.

The Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (Pemra) on Friday issued show-cause notices to 17 TV channels for airing "false" news reports regarding Prime Minister Imran Khan's meeting with National Accountability Bureau (NAB) chairman Javed Iqbal.

The 17 TV channels, including Geo News, Dunya News, Aaj News, Express News, Neo News, 24 News, Bol News, 7 News, Metro One, Hum News, ARY News, Samaa, Public News, 92 News, GNN, Channel 5 and K-21 News, had all reported that the prime minister today met the chairman of the accountability watchdog, according to a press release issued by Pemra.

However, when contacted, a spokesperson for the Prime Minister's Office had told DawnNewsTV that there was "no truth in the reports of a meeting of Prime Minister Imran Khan and the NAB chairman".

The spokesman had urged the media to verify any news about the premier with the PM Office spokesperson before airing it.

Pemra in its notice has reminded media outlets that airing "false news" is a violation of Pemra laws, including the Electronic Media (Programmes and Advertisements) Code of Conduct 2015.

The authority said it has repeatedly warned TV channels against airing fake and unfounded news, while some channels have even been fined over violations in the past. News channels are bound to verify every news item before airing it.

"However, it has been observed that news channels in the race to be ahead broadcast breaking news being aired by any other news channel without verification," the Pemra statement said.

It reminded TV channels that they are required to deploy time-delay mechanism and set up 'institutional supervisory committees' to prevent the airing of any "concocted, false and baseless" news reports.

The authority has asked the 17 channels to respond to the show-causes within seven days. If they fail to do so, Pemra said it would take ex-parte action against the media outlets.

KARACHI: Shafiuddin Ash­raf, general secretary of the Pakistan Herald Workers Union (PHWU) and chairman of All Pakis­tan Newspaper Employees Confederation (Apnec), passed away at a local hospital after a protracted illness on Friday. He was 63.

He is survived by his wife, two sons and a daughter.

A compassionate man of high integrity and a committed trade unionist, Mr Ashraf spent decades fighting for the rights of newspaper employees and press freedom.

After receiving his early education in East Pakistan, Mr Ashraf was forced to migrate to Karachi during the turmoil-filled period of the early 1970s that saw a number of his family members massacred in his birthplace Santahar, near Raj Shahi.

He joined Dawn in 1975 and later got associated with the union in the 1980s. Armed with an LLB degree and a heart of gold, Mr Ashraf who was well-versed with the labour laws soon rose to general secretary’s post and earned the respect of one and all for his strong will and dedication to the cause of newspaper employees.

His selfless contribution and struggle for media workers received countrywide recognition when he assumed charge as Apnec chairman.

The top leadership of the Pakistan Herald Workers Union, Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists (PFUJ), Karachi Union of Journalists (KUJ) and several other media organisations expressed deep sorrow over Mr Ashraf’s untimely death and termed it a great loss for trade-unionism and media workers.

His Namaz-i-Janaza will be held on Saturday (Dec 8) after Zohr prayers (1.15pm) at Jamia Darul Uloom Rahmania, near DC Office, 15-A/5, Buffer Zone, Karachi.

He will be laid to rest at the Model Colony graveyard.

Condolences

Former president Asif Ali Zardari has expressed profound grief over the passing away of Mr Ashraf.

In a condolence message issued from Islamabad, the former president said that Mr Ashraf had dedicated his life to the cause of media workers’ rights and his death had left a vacuum that would take a long time to fill. His struggle for the implementation of the Wage Board Award for newspapers employees would long be remembered, he added.

Mr Zardari prayed for eternal rest for the departed soul and grant of patience to the bereaved family to bear the loss.

In a joint statement issued from Islamabad, PFUJ president Afzal Butt and secretary general Ayub Jan Sarhandi expressed deep sorrow and grief over the death of Mr Ashraf.

“Our hearts are bleeding and we have no words to express our sorrow at the death of Shafiuddin Ashraf,” said the statement.

“Shafiuddin Ashraf spent all his life struggling for the rights of the workers of media industry and we have no words to pay tributes to his services for the workers.”

They said Mr Ashraf belonged to the working class and, hence, was aware of their problems and that he spent his life to fight for their rights. “He was a principled man and stood by his principles firmly throughout his life and it was for this reason that he had been elected unopposed the president of daily Dawn (union) for over 30 years.”

The two leaders said that Mr Ashraf’s services as Apnec chairman would long be remembered, especially the role he played in increasing wages of workers under wage board awards.

“He was a beacon of light for all the trade union leaders in this country,” they said.

“He was an upright, honest and straight forward person who lived all his life without seeking any special favour for himself and his family.

“Our heart goes out for the family members of Shafiuddin Ashraf and equally share their this grief and loss,” they added.

The PFUJ leaders expressed their deep sympathy with the media industry workers, particularly with Dawn workers, over this great loss.

They prayed to Allah to accept his struggle for the rights of the workers and give him highest place in Jannah and give fortitude to his family members to bear this loss.

The PFUJ has called upon affiliated unions of journalists to cancel all union activities for three days to mourn his death.

Published in Dawn, December 8th, 2018

KARACHI: From ‘Saw­anli Saloni’ and ‘Dil Dil Pakistan’ to his soulful naats, Junaid Jamshed was on everyone’s mind on Friday as a hashtag with his name was one of Pakistan’s top trends for the day.

The late singer was among those who died aboard a PIA flight which crashed near Havelian en route to Islamabad from Chitral on Dec 7, 2016.

Sharing a photograph from their childhood, Mr Jamshed’s brother Humayun tweeted: “Miss you brother. I pray that Allah joins us together again in Jannah. Ameen.”

Twitterati shared old photographs, songs and interviews of the late singer and prayed that he was resting in peace.

The government tweeted from its official account (@pid_gov) and said: “Iconic #Pakistani singer turned religious scholar #JunaidJamshed is being remembered on his death anniversary. His song ‘Dil Dil Pakistan’ was ranked third among top 10 songs according to #BBC World Service in 2003 and was awarded Tamgha-i-Imtiaz in 2007.”

Music streaming service Patari said: “People we love don’t die, they just live somewhere in a parallel universe of love and eternity. Missing JJ on his 2nd death anniversary.”

Sharing a video of a song he sang for the deceased, singer Shehzad Roy said: “I don’t know how I did it. Would be difficult to do it again. We will miss you #JunaidJamshed.”

Morning show host Sanam Baloch tweeted an old photograph with the late singer and said: “2 years passed since we have lost a great talent and a great personality #JunaidJamshed.”

Published in Dawn, December 8th, 2018

ISLAMABAD: The Sup­reme Court on Friday ordered constitution of a fresh committee to consider the proposals and recommendations being developed by a different group for the grant of fundamental rights to the citizens of Gilgit-Baltistan (GB).

Headed by Attorney General (AG) Anwar Mansoor, the fresh committee will consist of Barrister Aitzaz Ahsan — a senior counsel who has also been appointed by the SC as amicus curiae — GB Bar Council vice chairman Javed Ahmed, petitioner’s counsel Salman Akram Raja, the Ministry of Kashmir Affairs and Gilgit-Baltistan’s secretary, Chaudhry Afrasiab and GB law minister Aurengzeb Khan.

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

SC directs govt to share recommendations earlier adopted by high-level body

The Gilgit-Baltistan Order, 2018 was earlier opposed by protesters hailing from Northern Areas who demanded that GB should be declared a part of Pakistan instead of being administered through presidential orders.

At the last hearing on Dec 3, the apex court had hinted at announcing a meaningful judgement to grant fundamental rights to the citizens of GB. On that day the SC had ordered the government to furnish before it the recommendations adopted by a high-level committee constituted to carefully examine constitutional, administrative and governance reforms for GB. The same proposals should also be provided to the petitioners as well as to Mr Ahsan.

Now the court had directed the AG to share the proposals adopted by the high-level committee and also asked GB representatives to share their proposals and observations.

The court, however, said that it would determine the proposals before its final order.

The new committee was formed when the AG sought more time for addition of proposals to the recommendations developed by the high-level committee. Since the proposals were not provided to the amicus curiae and the counsel for the petitioners, the court ordered the new committee to meet up at the AG office at 3pm where proposals should be shared and be advanced by all stakeholders.

The court said the proposals would be considered before its final order, adding that a final report should be submitted before the court by Tuesday.

The case will be taken up again on Dec 24.

The CJP observed that the GB people were complaining that they were not being given the authority.

The AG, however, explained that the draft bill being made sought to hand over the authority over law enforcement and administrative matters to the GB government in line with the Constitution.

“We cannot make it (GB) a separate province but we can give it the same powers that provinces have,” the AG stated

The petition being adjudicated upon seeks to declare the Statutory Regulatory Order (SRO) No 786 (1) of Sept 9, 2009, Gilgit-Baltistan Empowerment and Self Governance Order 2009, which was amended lately in February 2015 empowering the minister for Kashmir Affairs and Northern Areas (KANA) to act as the GB governor as illegal, unlawful and contrary to the May 1999 SC judgement in the Aljihad Trust case.

Published in Dawn, December 8th, 2018

ISLAMABAD: The federal government, which has been focusing on its Naya Pakistan Housing Programme for the low-income group in the country, has so far ignored the development of stalled residential sectors in the federal capital where thousands of people could be accommodated.

The ‘I’ series sectors, which were designed for the low-income group, are stalled for years because of the negligence of the Capital Development Authority (CDA).

Giving different reasons, the civic agency is not showing an interest in developing the sectors even in those areas where it has land in its possession.

Over 15,000 lower middle class families can be accommodated if I-15 and 1-12 are developed, CDA official says

Sector 1-15 was exclusively designed for the low income group in 2005. It has 10,289 plots and the CDA has possession of almost 90pc land but is paying no heed to the development of the sector.

Similarly, in I-12, where the CDA has almost complete possession of land, there is no sign of development. Some officials said because of the faulty survey the construction work had been delayed in the sector. Sector I-14 and I-16 are developed but its residents are facing issues regarding utility connections.

Sources said the land awards for I-11, 1-12, 1-14 and I-15 were announced in 1968-69 but because of different reasons these sectors could not be developed properly. Even in I-12 and I-15, there is no sign of development.

The sources said the development work on I-11/1 and I-11/2, comprising residential plots, was yet to be completed but the rest of the sectors meant for wholesale markets were already developed and allotted.

Similarly, the development work on 1-12 could not be started because of a survey problem while I-14 is almost developed but services such as gas are yet to be provided there. The service roads north and east are also not developed in I-14.

The sources said I-15, launched by the CDA in 2005 for the middle and lower middle class, was also an example of the negligence of the civic agency as despite having possession of over 90pc land development work was yet to be started there.

“In I-15, we have 10,289 plots which have been allotted while in I-12, the CDA has over 6,000 plots. If these two sectors are developed, we can accommodate over 15,000 families belonging to the lower middle class,” said an official of the planning wing.

Apart from the ‘I’ series, the other sectors meant for relatively upper class such as E-12 (stalled from 1989), C-13, C-14, C-15, C-16, D-13, E-13, F-13, H-16, Kuri Model Village and Park Enclave II are also stalled, mainly because of pending built-up property cases.

“Let me appreciate the government for launching the Naya Pakistan Housing Programme which is indeed a good step for the welfare of the lower middle class people. But at the same time I would say as a pilot project the government should develop all the stalled sectors where over 50,000 houses could be constructed,” the official said.

He said CDA’s failure to develop new sectors was one of the reasons behind the mushroom growth of legal and illegal private housing schemes in Islamabad.

When contacted, Prime Minister’s Special Assistant on CDA Affairs MNA Ali Nawaz Awan said efforts were being made to start the development of new sectors. He said the issue of stalled sectors was decades-old and complicated one but he was committed to resolve it as well.

About the ‘I’ series sectors, CDA spokesman Syed Safdar Ali said: “Development is stalled because of various reasons but let me assure you we will look into this issue.”

Published in Dawn, December 8th, 2018

LAHORE: The PML-N has asked the inspector general of police (IGP) to take action against the policemen involved in torture of its workers on appearance of Shahbaz Sharif before the accountability court.

Police on Thursday had subjected the PML-N workers to baton charge for gathering outside the accountability court to have a glimpse of their leader.

PML-N President Shahbaz was presented before the court and sent to jail on judicial remand.

Holding a meeting with the workers at Model Town on Friday, Opposition Leader in Punjab Assembly Hamza Shahbaz said the IGP should investigate the torture of his party workers and take strict action against those involved in it.

Expressing solidarity with the workers who had braved ‘police torture,’ he said the party would provide them with legal assistance. He hailed the workers’ sacrifices for democracy and termed them unforgettable. He said through such tactics the PML-N workers couldn’t be intimidated and the workers who had demonstrated their love for the party leadership were the asset to the party.

Published in Dawn, December 8th, 2018

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister’s Adviser on Institutional Reforms and Austerity Dr Ishrat Hussain on Friday said India and Pakistan had a trade potential of $37 billion which could be proved a powerful engine for the shared prosperity and reducing inequalities in the region.

He was speaking at the concluding ceremony of the four-day 21st sustainable development conference hosted by the Sustainable Development Policy Institute (SDPI).

Talking about the bilateral relations, Dr Hussain suggested improving the barter system between the two countries to improve the status of producers and consumers.

Improving barter system between two countries will improve status of producers, consumers, PM’s adviser tells conference

“We are going to enter the 4th industrial revolution, therefore, we need to invest in science and technology to tap its potential, and otherwise, we will lag behind.

“The challenge for us today is to invest in labour productivity in services and agriculture sector and for that we have to invest in human development.”

He said inequalities such as gender, income and social coupled with poverty were hindering development and growth of the regional countries. He emphasised the need to improve the quality of education in Pakistan.

PPP leader Senator Sherry Rehman said India and Pakistan had no option but to talk on all unresolved issues, including Kashmir. She said there was consensus among all political parties in Pakistan to have peace talks with India.

“We have history of starting and stopping the talks, and walk out from the peace talks would not help any country. Visa free corridors like Kartarpur can help bring peace to the region despite political differences. We must look at peace to harness the potential of regional cooperation.

Development can only be sustainable when it responds to the local and vulnerable of the society,” she said. PML-N MNA Ahsan Iqbal said: “We are passing through the age of digital revolution where artificial intelligence is reshaping the future of this world. When inequality is growing at an alarming level, we have to ensure that every single person of society has access to information and communication technology to fight inequalities.”

He added: “In this changing world, we should not be myopic but to adapt to the changes. China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) will impact the lives of most vulnerable people.”

He said under CPEC, through the Higher Education Commission (HEC), Pakistan had started the knowledge corridor by partnering with 50 Chinese universities on programmes which were relevant to Pakistan’s economic needs.

SDPI Executive Director Dr Abid Qaiyum Suleri said economic corridors, trade or strategic corridors can only be successful when we have knowledge corridors in the region. He called upon the political parties to reduce the political tensions and evolve consensus on the issue of public interests.

The conference had around 40 sessions where issues such as trade, peace, climate change, poverty, gender equality, left politics, SDGs, health, education, fiscal decentralisation, charter of economy, agriculture and role of the media were discussed.

Published in Dawn, December 8th, 2018

HYDERABAD: A senior leader of the Muttahida Qaumi Move­ment-Pakistan has said that his party wants to give some time to the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf so that it can fulfil its promises.

Amir Khan, the senior deputy convener of the MQM-P’s coordination committee, also said that if PTI did not pay heed to his party’s calls, then it would certainly devise its strategy.

Talking to reporters in an Eid Miladun Nabi gathering at Hasrat Mohani library on Thursday night, he said that the MQM-P had played an important role in the election of Imran Khan as prime minister.

He said that had the MQM-P not offered its support, Mr Khan would not have become the PM.

He said that he would not like to comment on performance of the government but there was certainly no headway as far as two separate agreements the MQM signed with the PTI before joining the government.

Mr Khan said that his satisfaction was irrelevant but the way people were expressing their “satisfaction” over government’s performance was the writing on the wall for the PTI.

He said that the PTI must think whether its policies were bringing laurels or a bad name to it. He said that inflation remained high and dollar remained an all time high as well. He said that situation was quite contrary to what the PTI had claimed.

He said that he was not criticising the ruling PTI but giving a word of advice as a sincere friend that it should take those steps that benefit Pakistan.

The MQM-P leader said that business community was showing unease, which was never seen. He said that his party was not in haste and wanted to give time to the PTI government but if it did not get its issues resolved then it would decide its course of action.

Answering a question about Dr Farooq Sattar, he said that he had been expelled from the party and now he was making different claims which did not matter for the MQM-P.

He said that he could only hope for him that he would mend his ways. He opined that Dr Sattar should not become part of the forces that wanted to weaken the MQM-P.

Mr Khan said that those who had quit the party were always welcome to rejoin the party but they would have to adhere to the party discipline.

He said that the MQM-P had expressed serious reservations over the July 25 polls and report of the European Union observers had also been released in addition to the findings of Fafen. He said that the party’s reservations were endorsed by Fafen. He believed that the results of MQM’s traditional seats were changed.

Mr Khan said that he does not know what would happen in the next local government elections but if the party was allowed to contest the polls freely, it would win all seats of local councils in Karachi, Hyderabad and Mirpurkhas.

He said that the MQM-P won the elections of employees’ union of the Karachi Water and Sewerage Board with a thumping majority and it was a message for those who thought that the party was facing a chaos.

He said that as far as local government system was concerned the MQM-P was contacting people and brief them about issues it was confronting with.

The senior leader said that as long as the provincial government was unwilling to devolve powers to LGs, the problems would remain unresolved. He said that the provincial government had usurped LG’s powers which were to be devolved to cities under the 18th Amendment.

He said that the MQM-P was raising its voice in assemblies against what he called a biased and incompetent provincial government. He said that the MQM-P had believed that powers would be devolved not only to provinces but to cities as well in the wake of the 18th Amendment.

Published in Dawn, December 8th, 2018

ISLAMABAD: Other than implementing laws, there is a need to change the society’s mindset to combat harassment, Human Rights Minister Dr Shireen Mazari said on Friday.

“Our ministry is working on creating awareness about the laws, especially for people who are differently abled,” Dr Mazari said at a seminar on Harassment Faced by Women with Disabilities in Pakistan.

Harassment faced by women with disabilities is a global issue, the minister said. She said the State of Pakistan does not make any discrimination and that the actual discrimination comes from family and society level.

“Our laws provide equal access to women and we need to tackle the real issue of priority which women, especially those with disabilities, have been facing from society and families,” she said.

Dr Mazari informed the gathering of her ministry’s efforts towards working on devising new legislation for protecting the rights of people with disabilities.

“The new bill regarding the rights of people with disabilities will be implemented as soon it is passed through parliamentary process. This bill focuses on the rights of people with disabilities in general and women, children and transgender in particular,” the minister said.

Earlier in her discussion with a UN Women delegation headed by UN Women Executive Director Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, the two discussed various human rights issues and matters related to mutual cooperation especially focusing on implementation of existing laws particularly for women empowerment, gender-based violence, child abuse and protection of their rights. Both sides agreed on extending cooperation to protect the basic rights especially the rights of women.

The pivotal points discussed in the meeting were human rights issues apropos Pakistan with special emphasis on gender equality and women empowerment.

UNDP Pakistan Resident Coordinator Neil Buhne was also attending the event.

Published in Dawn, December 8th, 2018

RAWALPINDI: The Health Department only has 12 doctors for its 78 dispensaries in the Rawalpindi district of which only 24 are active. Most of the dispensaries are being run by dispensers.

A senior Health Department official told Dawn on Friday that of the 78 dispensaries in the Rawalpindi district, 26 are in the city areas, 47 in the rural areas and five in Murree.

“Of the 24 active dispensaries, 12 are run by doctors and the rest by dispensers who also give medicines to patients in the absence of doctors,” he said.

The official said there is also a shortage of paramedical staff in dispensaries. According to the rules, a nurse, midwife and a dispenser have to be appointed in each dispensary.

The dispensaries run by doctors include those in Sirajia Park, Banni, Akalgarh, Millat Colony, Chaklala, Dhala, Ghora Gali, Mandra, Dhama Syedan and Kalian.

The ones which are looked after by dispensers include those in Siakrana, Adwal, Kaliam Awan, Basali, Chak Jalal Din, Gangal, Dhoke Ratta, Ratta Amral, Sarfraz Road, Bohar Bazaar and Lower Bazaar Murree.

Doctors said these dispensaries were working under the Rawalpindi Municipal Corporation and the district council and that they were handed over to the District Health Authority after the change in the local bodies system in 2002, which refused to absorb the staff or recruit new staff.

They said 432 doctors, including 32 in Rawalpindi, joined the department in 1990 under the 1983 rules and that they worked in municipal corporations and district councils till 2001.

These doctors worked as district officers health till Dec 2016 when a new local government system was introduced after which the doctors do not have a department to work under.

On the other hand, patients have to visit the three government-run hospitals for illnesses which could have been treated at dispensaries, which also overburdens the hospitals.

Sources said between 100 and 120 patients visit dispensaries daily and that these do not have the capability of dealing with emergencies or conducting basic pathological tests including those requiring blood, urine or ultrasounds.

Asghar Ali, a resident of Dhoke Dalal said there is need to upgrade dispensaries and make them functional again. He said people would go for minor ailments such as fevers, cough and colds, for checking their blood pressure and getting medicines for minor injuries to dispensaries in the past.

“Now, they have to go to a hospital for these,” he said.

“There are five doctors for the 26 dispensaries in the city the reason for which was that neither the local government nor the Health Department will own the staff. No recruitments were made the last 18 years,” District Officer Health Dr Tahir Ahmed said.

He said the department will equip these dispensaries with the latest medical facilities for emergencies and that basic health units in the rural areas are providing better healthcare facilities to low-income families.

Punjab Local Government Board Secretary Ahmed Haseeb Mian said the dispensaries had been handed over to the district health authorities across the province and that a summary had been moved to the Punjab chief minister about the future of doctors.

Published in Dawn, December 8th, 2018

PESHAWAR: The All Pakistan Bar Councils Inter-Provincial Committee on Friday announced the holding of a countrywide strike on Dec 17 to support the demand of the Punjab Bar Council for the establishment of the Lahore High Court benches in five more cities of the province.

The committee, which met here with its head, Noor Alam Khan, in the chair, flayed the ‘interference’ of heads of some institutions in the affairs of other institutions ‘contrary to their constitutional mandate’ and demanded that all institutions including the judiciary function while adhering to their constitutional limits.

By unanimously adopting a resolution, the meeting criticised the excessive exercising of suo moto powers by the superior judiciary and demanded that a large bench of the Supreme Court should be constituted which should decide in what sorts of matters suo moto action could be taken.

Calls for more LHC benches, asks institutions not to overstep powers

The meeting was attended by vice-chairmen of bar councils of KP, Punjab, Sindh, Balochistan, Azad Jammu and Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan, chairmen of their executive committees, and their several members.

According to spokesman for the KP Bar Council Nawaz Khan, the meeting unanimously passed several resolutions after discussion.

The participants discussed the Punjab Bar Council’s demand for the establishment of LHC benches in Faisalabad, Sargodha, Gujranwala, Dera Ghazi Khan and Sahiwal and said it was need of the hour to establish those benches.

They discussed the mechanism for the appointment of judges to the Islamabad High Court and demanded that 50 percent of the IHC judges be appointed from among local lawyers and the rest from among those of other parts of the country through elevation.

Currently, lawyers from the across the country are appointed judges to the IHC.

The participants insisted that there was an excessive invoking of the suo moto powers by the superior courts.

They demanded that those suo moto powers be regulated by a larger Supreme Court bench.

The participants expressed reservations about the ‘overstepping’ of the constitutional powers by certain institutions and said all institutions including the judiciary should abide by the Constitution to serve the national interests.

They discussed the holding of tests for admission to law colleges and for joining the law profession and demanded that a single test be conducted to save the time of lawyers by improving the bar councils examination mechanisms.

The participants also asked the government to provide lawyers and their families the medical facilities enjoyed by its BPS-18 officers and family members.

They called for financial assistance for lawyers aged above 65 years and the lawyers’ quota in countrywide government housing schemes.

The participants opposed the clubbing of the Islamabad region with Rawalpindi for the purpose of Supreme Court Bar Association elections and demanded that the presidential term for Rawalpindi and Islamabad be separated.

Published in Dawn, December 8th, 2018

LAHORE: The Punjab government on Friday unveiled its five-year programme, titled ‘The New Deal 2023’, to transform school education with a focus on learning, access and equity and governance.

Punjab Minister for Schools Education Dr Murad Raas and Information and Culture Minister Fayyazul Hassan Chohan jointly held a press conference at the Directorate General Public Relations to shed light on the 100-day achievements of the school education department and its plans for the next six months.

Schools Education Secretary Zafar Iqbal, Additional Secretary Ghulam Fareed, Punjab Curriculum and Textbook Board Managing Director Abdul Qayyum and others were also present on the occasion.

Minister Raas said that a comprehensive plan had been finalised to achieve the goals of the schools education department. Under the 2023 plan, they would introduce short-, mid- and long-term strategies to reform government schools. He said the government had recognised that reforms in public schools were required in learning, access and equity and governance.

He further said that more than 70 per cent students left schools after completing primary education and did not enter middle classes. “We are working towards starting afternoon classes in 20 districts in March to provide access to children to middle and high level classes,” he claimed.

The minister said they were launching the Integrated Management Information System (IMIS) to foster data-driven decision making and devising data-based performance management system, adding that its PC-1 was ready. The IMIS would connect 450,000 teachers with the department, who would get promotions by pressing a button.

Mr Raas said that permission will not be granted to open substandard schools in every nook and corner, adding that the hitherto unregistered private schools should immediately get themselves registered with the department. Education in primary schools would be imparted in Urdu and English taught as a subject, he added.

He said compulsory sports will be introduced and the programme to provide bicycles to students in 20 districts will be extended besides construction of girls-friendly toilets. Similarly, a health programme is being launched in 1,700 selected schools. Weak school structures were also being restored in flood-affected areas of the province, he added.

Talking about the austerity measures during the first 100 days, Raas said the government had saved Rs580 million by starting open bidding of Punjab Curriculum and Textbook Board for the procurement of textbooks for 2019-20. Similarly, Rs20 million had been saved by merging the three offices of Punjab Education Foundation in Lahore.

The minister said that drafts of Punjab Educational Professionals Standards Council Bill 2018, Punjab Private Education Reform Bill 2018 and Punjab School Truancy and Compulsory Admission Bill 2018 had been prepared with the objective to regulate the school system and improve matters pertaining to schooling. Work was also being done on a performance management framework for education managers at tehsil, district and provincial levels, he added. He further said the government was adopting rationalisation to address the shortage of teachers.

To a query, the minister said Daanish School System was not a viable project as Rs18,000 per month was being spent on one child, while millions of other students had no access to basic facilities in public schools.

Information Minister Chohan said that for the first time any government had laid out a 100-day plan and formulated future strategies. All the departments and ministers were briefing the nation about their 100-day plans to provide a roadmap of their future course of action, he added.

Published in Dawn, December 8th, 2018

KARACHI: Sharing concerns over increasing incidents of child abuse, mental health professionals from across the country passed a resolution calling upon the government to introduce a life skills curriculum in schools, focusing on health, hygiene and emotional education to equip children better to resist and report abuse.

At a recent meeting held in Karachi, they also urged the government to effectively enforce the clauses on child pornography, child abuse and child seduction of Child Protection and Welfare Act.

Tackling child sexual abuse: awareness, identification and prevention

The resolution was endorsed by Prof Emeritus S. Haroon Ahmed, head of the Pakistan Association of Mental Health (PAMH); Dr Asma Humayun, a consultant psychiatrist in Lahore; Dr Ambreen Ahmad of Rozan, an NGO working for child protection; Prof M. Iqbal Afridi, head of the psychiatry department of Jinnah Postgraduate and Medical Centre; Dr Uzma Ambareen, vice president of PAMH-Karachi; Dr Naim Siddiqui; Muniza Yaseen of Aahang, a Karachi-based NGO working on sexual and reproductive health and rights; Dr Ayesha Minhas; Dr Rubina Kidwai (member of SMHA); Prof Raza ur Rehman, former head of Civil Hospital Karachi’s psychiatry department and Dr Khalid Mufti of Horizon Welfare.

“Since 50 per cent of such acts (physical and sexual abuse, kidnapping, rape, murder etc.) are committed by trusted relatives, family friends and domestic staff, it becomes difficult to propose protective mechanisms. Having said that, it is extremely important that children are helped to become more aware and be actively educated about ways to protect themselves,” a statement released by the PAMH says.

It also calls for legislative and societal reforms along with sensitizing parents and teachers so they could effectively communicate with children in ways that encourage trust and openness and respond appropriately, if a child were to share an experience of being abused.

Referring to the Supreme Court’s suo motu notice of Zainab, a seven-year-old girl who was kidnapped, raped and murdered early this year in Kasur, it also says that the tragedy still haunted health professionals.

The association highlights some stats on childhood abuse in Pakistan which is ranked 149th out of 174 countries by “End of Childhood Index”, it says.

“It is estimated that 12 children are abused every day and this is a fraction of unreported cases. Sahil, an NGO, reports 2, 332 child abuse cases in the first six months of this year in the country,” the statement says.

Life skills curriculum

The experts believed that children should be provided information about abuse, including sexual abuse, from an early age, keeping in view cultural and social sensitivities and religious values.

“Before making any change, the relevant syllabus must be widely circulated for consultation and consensus with different sections of society that must include current educational establishments in Pakistan, both private and public schools,” it says.

Suggesting how to create awareness on the subject, experts suggest that parents, teachers and young people should be educated about the early warning signs and symptoms of mental illness and its efficient and appropriate management.

“Parents and teachers should be assisted to help children and adolescents for building life skills so that they can cope with everyday challenges of life in a constructive manner.

“Psychosocial support should also be provided in schools and community settings through training of mental health workers to enable them to detect and manage mental health disorders. Health activities should be promoted in schools,” they say.

Simpler procedures

Experts also suggested conducting awareness campaigns about healthy lifestyle in the media which, they said, should cover vulnerabilities, risk factors and identification of physical, emotional and sexual abuse and neglect.

“The process to register such complaints at police stations should be simplified, ensuring confidentiality of the victim and his or her family members. The police should be trained on how to conduct interviews with victims and their families, in a sensitive way. The service for counseling, legal aid and children protection should be provided by the government.

“All provinces should have fully functional forensic laboratories with unified and standard protocols for different tests, including the DNA test. The culture of blaming the victim must be discouraged at all levels, including those of family, media and legal community,” they say.

They also underline media’s role and say that they should develop their own code of conduct for responsible and ethical reporting while commenting on those sensitive issues.

All TV channels should allocate time for public service messages on health promotion.

“It should be noted that the Australian prime minister offered national apology to child sexual abuse victims and their parents on the front lawn of the parliament last week. We in Pakistan, however, have failed our children.

“We expect our prime minister to feel and take notice of barbarous acts so prevalent in our midst and fulfill his promise to the children of Pakistan,” the statement concluded.

Published in Dawn, December 8th, 2018

RAHIM YAR KHAN: A part of the national highway between Sadiqabad and Zahirpir has been a hub of smuggled Iranian petrol and diesel for a decade allegedly with the connivance of police, customs intelligence and smugglers.

There are several discreet warehouses at Bahadurpur, Muslim Chowk, Iqbalabad, Sardargarh and Zahirpir where smuggled Iranian oil is unloaded from tankers and later supplied to petrol pumps and petroleum agencies.

According to a goods transport association, almost 200,000 to 500,000 litres of oil is being transported to Rahim Yar Khan daily through various routes. Initially, the tankers carrying this smuggled oil entered Balochistan from Iran and after passing through dozens of customs and police checkposts they enter Rahim Yar Khan from Kashmore, Kot Sabzal and Shaheed Benazir Bridge at Chachran Sharif.

These tankers then unload the petrol and diesel at specific warehouses from where this oil is shifted to various petrol pumps either in company tankers or small tankers of petroleum agencies.

According to sources in the deputy commissioner’s office, there are 297 petrol pumps in the district and more than 53 applications for establishment of new ones were pending approval. Petroleum agencies have been completely banned since 2003 and Civil Defence officials have registered around 1,100 first information reports against these illegal establishments in the last 15 years, but almost 2,000 were still operational.

A civil defence employee, requesting anonymity, said that they had registered cases under section 285 and 286 and the suspects would get away by paying only Rs500 to Rs2,000 as fine. The department did not include Section 26/44 to the case where a suspect would be fined Rs15,000 or more with one-year imprisonment due to pressure from influential patrol pump owners.

These illegal petroleum agencies running several petrol mumps were the main beneficiaries of the smuggled petrol and diesel as they would purchase the fuel for Rs20 to Rs30 per litre.

According to Rehmat Wardag, who owned several petrol stations across the country, 95 per cent of the petrol stations sold smuggled petrol and diesel directly or after mixing it with the fuel supplied by a petrol company. He said that he had handed over to the patrol company two of his stations at Kot Sabzal because he could not sell substandard smuggled oil on controlled rates and would not earn any profit if he sold the petrol supplied by a company.

Another petrol pump owner, on condition of anonymity, alleged that president of the district petroleum association, PTI MPA Asif Majeed, never raised his voice against the sale and purchase of smuggled petrol and diesel. Not only was such fuel being sold, but some brokers were also selling fuel produced with chemicals on lower rates to petrol pumps and agencies. Both smuggled and chemically prepared petrol was harmful to vehicle engines.

A customs intelligence officer told Dawn that his department had confiscated several tankers of smuggled fuel, but there was a whole mafia running this business. This business of smuggled oil was not new, but going on for many years and it was a threat to tax collection.

As president of the district petroleum association, MPA Majeed claimed that only 10pc of the petrol pumps in the district were selling smuggled fuel, adding that the government would take steps to eliminate this practice. Bahadurpur Chowk was wrongly notorious for being the hub of smuggled oil because this practice was going on from Karachi to Wah on the national highway. Smuggled petrol and diesel were available in large quantities especially in Sindh, he added.

Sadiqabad Senior Customs Intelligence Officer Muhammad Akmal Hashmi told this correspondent that Customs Director Multan Rubab Sikandar has strictly ordered to monitor smugglers. During the last 10 days, his team had confiscated eight oil tankers containing 224,000 litres of Iranian diesel, 130,000 litres of kerosene oil along with other valuable items during a crackdown on smugglers.

Deputy Commissioner Jamil Ahmed Jamil did not respond despite repeated attempts to get his comments on the story.

Published in Dawn, December 8th, 2018