MIANWALI: Police claim to have seized a huge quantity of 30kg heroin from a car at Fakharabad check post on the Mianwali-Talagang Road and arrested two alleged smugglers, including a woman.

District Police Officer Mumtaz Ahmed Dev said the police intercepted a car and found two packets of heroin weighing two kilo each from the man and the woman. On complete search of the car, the police seized 26kg heroin that was concealed in its various parts.

The car driver was identified as Muhammad Waqar of Rawalpindi and woman as Sumbal Bibi of Dhudial, Chakwal district. The couple was arrested and booked under the narcotics act.

The DPO claimed it was the biggest cache of heroin in the history of Mianwali. He said both the smugglers were on the way to Karachi.

He said that during a campaign against illegal weapons, a police party, headed by Organised Crime DSP Rana Muhammad Anwar, conducted a raid at Wandha Shaho Khelanwala in Saddar police limits and seized weapons, including two rifles, seven magazines, seven pistols and 1,859 cartridges, from Muhammad Nasim of Shahokhelanwala.

Published in Dawn, January 15th, 2019

ISLAMABAD: Two Capital Development Authority (CDA) directorates are at loggerheads over who is responsible for controlling unauthorised construction in the city.

More than a hundred housing societies are operating illegally in Islamabad, and most of them have taken over land reserved for graveyards, schools and other civic amenities, creating problems for people who have built homes there because timely action was not taken against their operators.

In a letter, the housing societies directorate recently asked building control to take action against sponsors of illegal housing schemes and against schemes whose layouts were cancelled.

Pointing out illegal societies in zones II and V and in E-11, the housing societies directorate asked various organisations to take action against housing society operators.

In response, the directorate of building control II on Monday said the issue of housing societies needed to be quelled on solid grounds in a practical way.

List of illegal housing schemes may be referred to DC, spokesperson says

In a letter, Deputy Director Usman Rasheed Khan said that under zoning regulations, after the clearance of the no-objection certificate, every sponsor of a society must seek approval of engineering design and specifications of utility services from the director general planning.

Authorised CDA officers are also to inspect the site during the development of the scheme and record their observations.

The letter stated: “Major issue in housing schemes is that they have developed their scheme/society in complete deviation of approved layout plan and majority of societies has no obtained NOC from CDA. The question now arises that how they have undertaken the infrastructure work without obtaining NOC form the CDA and if they have obtained necessary approval from the CDA then how they developed in complete deviation of approved LOP.”

The construction of buildings comes later, the letter said, adding that if the aforementioned system had been in place “this whole mess would not have been created”.

The official wrote that if the society had been properly supervised by the concerned CDA officers when infrastructure was being developed, ensuring that housing societies and schemes were being developed according to their approved layout plans and no deviations had taken place “then no violation at site would occur”.

The building control letter advised the housing societies directorate to ensure that CDA officers visit schemes that are now in the construction stage to check whether infrastructure is being developed according to engineering standards and, if this system is in place, they would make sure development is carried out according to the approved layout plan.

The letter also referenced various regulations that empower the housing societies directorate to deal with societies that violate layout plans. It added that building control II was established in 2017 to exercise building control in approved housing societies “but unfortunately no requisite staff has yet been posted despite various efforts”.

It added that the understaffed directorate could not carry out fieldwork to check unauthorised construction, and also called for a complete ban on construction in illegal housing societies.

CDA spokesperson Safdar Shah said the list of all illegal housing schemes may be referred to the deputy commissioner for the imposition of section 144 to ban construction in the limits of the Islamabad Capital Territory.

He said the CDA was not restricted to just issued notices, and action has been taken against the operators of several housing societies.

Published in Dawn, January 15th, 2019

ISLAMABAD: Terming the existing SDG (Sustainable Development Goal) targets unrealistic, a ruling party’s parliamentary secretary advocated binding all provinces to agree and deliver on improving basic health and human conditions in the light of local conditions.

Speaking to a group of journalists on Monday, Kanwal Shauzab, the parliamentary secretary of planning and development, said the 18th Constitution Amendment did not mean allowing the provinces to become ‘states within the state’ and they should be bound under Article 25 of the Constitution as to what they ought to do under the development agenda.

“Instead of being unanswerable to international agencies, the ADPs (annual development plans of the provinces) and PSDPs (public sector development programmes of the Centre) should be based on needs of the local people” to be responsive to basic human requirements, she said, adding that the funds should not be given to MNAs and MPAs to spend here and there on untargeted programmes without measuring outcomes.

She said the PTI government would have to change the definition of development budget from mega infrastructure like roads and building projects and shift the focus of spending directly on the people by addressing root causes of poverty and hunger.

Kanwal says 18th Amendment does not mean allowing provinces to become ‘states within the state’

Giving an example of just one hospital of Bahawalpur in south Punjab, Ms Shauzab said a total of 1,380,000 patients visited the outpatient department (OPD) and 85pc of them were referred to dialysis centre, which meant the quality of water and nutrition conditions of the country were to blame.

She said motorways passed through the area, but the people on both sides did not have the access road to reach the hospital or take their produce to the market.

In such conditions, she said, the people of the area were demanding hospitals and more dialysis machines. The need under the SDGs should be to address the water quality and ensure its supply to all to eradicate water-borne diseases rather than only building hospitals because by the time a hospital became operational the need for 10 more hospitals would arise.

She said the objective of the SDGs should not be to leave anybody behind and problems of poverty, hunger and nutrition should be addressed on a top priority basis. The imported agenda of SDGs would not resolve the issue of poverty and hence the SDG targets should be reframed in the light of local conditions.

Ms Shauzab said reprioritisation of development programmes should be done to achieve social sector goals, but there were interest groups everywhere that promoted foreign-sponsored agendas and projects.

She said the Voluntary National Review (VNR) for SDGs would be ready by June this year as work was under way in consultation with all stakeholders for achieving desired goals under the SDGs. But, she added, Pakistan had not yet worked out the exact financing requirement attached to achieve the SDGs and to achieve these goals without the commitment from the international community for financing seemed really too much ambitious.

She said the people of the country were missing from development priorities as infrastructure development was the top priority at a time when human development conditions were showing prevalence of an alarming situation.

Ms Shauzab said the Planning Commission was working on developing civil registration and vital statistics (CRVS) for identification of 30 per cent gap in “our data to help achieve the SDGs by 2030”.

She said that CRVS was the compulsory, continuous, universal and permanent recording of all vital events such as birth and death. From these records, vital statistics on birth, death, cause of death, fertility and mortality (where migration data is also available) could be produced for policy and planning.

It could help in connecting data from birth registration to all important events of all individuals’ life for achieving the SDG targets and tracking all other requirements and obligations.

Ms Shauzab said that it was impossible to achieve the SDGs when acute poverty prevailed in several parts of the country, especially in south Punjab and interior of Sindh.

In reply to a question about the cost for achieving the SDGs, the parliamentary secretary said that work was under way along with stakeholders, but being a signatory to all goals on behalf of Pakistan, the federal government would have to re-prioritise the development requirements even after the enactment of the 18th Amendment.

Published in Dawn, January 15th, 2019

ISLAMABAD: The Ministry of Overseas Pakistanis and Human Resource Development joined the Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT) administration in an operation to retrieve 102 kanals in Valley Zone V belonging to the Overseas Pakistanis Foundation (OPF) that had been occupied since 1999.

Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Overseas Pakistanis Syed Zulfikar Bukhari supervised the operation alongside Deputy Commissioner Hamza Shafqaat.

Mr Bukhari told the press: “The writ of the state will be established at all costs and those involved in grabbing land belonging to Pakistani expatriates will be taken to task as per law.”

He added: “We will not tolerate such an illegal activity and in this regard measures are being taken to avoid reoccupation of the state’s land by the mafia.”

Mr Bukhari said a boundary wall will be constructed around the valley and police pickets will be set up as well. The concerned ministry will also ensure that the area is monitored so it cannot be occupied again.

According to a ministry spokesperson, the valley, spread over 5,000 kanals, was approved in 1999 and 90pc of the allotments have already been made.

The retrieved land will also be allotted to overseas Pakistanis based on merit.

Mr Bukhari told this agency that Pakistani

expatriates were constantly raising the issue of their occupied property in the country, and complaints statistics had also shown that this was a major issue facing expats.

In this regard, he said the ministry is planning to set up a fast-track court in the capital to retrieve expatriates’ property from land grabbers. The court aims to provide instant relief to litigants, as the number of such cases is gradually increasing.

“Accordingly, a summary has been submitted to the Ministry of Law and Justice to materialise the initiative during the current year,” he said.

The special court will be designed to ensure the disposal of cases within a month after the admittance of petitions, he said, adding that it will be established after the necessary legislation with full constitutional cover.

Mr Bukhari said both ministries will meet next week to discuss the technical and legal issues facing overseas Pakistanis in the prevailing judicial system and the setting up of the aforementioned court.

The establishment of the court will serve as a pilot project, on the basis of which similar courts would then be set up in other cities, he said.

Published in Dawn, January 15th, 2019

RAWALPINDI: Eighty pilgrims were stopped from boarding a Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) flight for Umrah because their seats had not been confirmed, but half of them were allowed to travel after their travel agent paid for their tickets.

PIA spokesperson Mashood Tajwar told Dawn that a travel agent from Lahore had booked the pilgrims’ seats but did not pay for their confirmation in time, leading to the cancellation of their bookings.

He added that the travel agency was a defaulter that owed the PIA Rs25 million, but had sought a temporary stay order from a senior civil judge.

The court had also ordered the agency to pay the PIA.

Mr Tajwar said the passengers’ tickets were only cancelled because the travel agent did not pay for them.

Half the pilgrims were allowed to travel after agent paid for their seats

He said the travel agent had also involved a sub-agent who dealt with the pilgrims.

The pilgrims, who were from Lakki Marwat, were to travel from Islamabad to Jeddah on PIA flight PK-741, but were not permitted to board because their seats were not confirmed.

They were told by PIA staff that their bookings were cancelled because their travel agent did not pay for the tickets in time.

Mr Tajwar said 40 of the pilgrims were allowed to travel once the travel agent paid for their tickets.

He blamed the agent for inconveniencing the pilgrims, and claimed the PIA administration’s timely actions

had saved the airline from fraud. PK-741 took off at 8:45am.

Separately, a passenger travelling to Ras Al Khaimah was injured from falling on the escalator while heading to the passenger lounge at Islamabad International Airport.

Sources said Sheikh Mohammad Hussain, 83, slipped and fell down the escalator, injuring his forehead. The passenger received first aid from a Civil Aviation Authorty doctor and was allowed to travel.

Published in Dawn, January 15th, 2019

KARACHI: Local Gove­rn­ment Minister Saeed Ghani has said that the federal government’s “hasty” decision to put 172 persons named in the report of a joint investigation team (JIT) formed by the Supreme Court on the Exit Control List (ECL) suggested that it was actually a conspiracy to topple the Sindh government.

The minister said this while talking to the media after the session of the Sindh Assembly on Monday.

To a question, he said that the JIT had overstepped its authority by recommending in its report the names for their inclusion on the ECL. He said it was not his viewpoint, but it was the observation of the chief justice of Pakistan since the JIT was tasked to investigate the allegations and submit its report.

He asked whether the government had constituted any committee for including the names on the ECL or whether the Supreme Court had given orders to the federal government to do so.

In reply to another question, the LG minister said that objections were being raised on the capabilities and performance of the National Accountability Bureau ever since it was constituted.

He said during all previous governments, including the then Pakistan Peoples Party-led government, NAB had been politically victimising the PPP and even today it was being used by the government against his party.

Regarding Prime Minister Imran Khan and Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry’s upcoming visit to Sindh, Mr Ghani said that unfortunately Mr Khan was a “selected prime minister” who could visit Sindh by all means but Mr Chaudhry was not even recognised by his own party members so what could he say about him.

Published in Dawn, January 15th, 2019

ISLAMABAD: Chief Justice of Pakistan Mian Saqib Nisar said on Monday that the Supreme Court had never exceeded its limits and that the people of the country had confidence in the apex court.

Addressing the launching ceremony of the Police Reforms Committee’s report — “Police Reforms: Way Forward” — organised by the Law and Justice Commission of Pakistan (LJCP), he said the Supreme Court had disposed of 85 per cent cases and provided relief to people.

Explore: Judicial overreach?

He said people wanted positive change and the rule of law in the country. He said that every action he had taken as CJP was within the parameter of the law, adding that he had never exceeded his constitutional mandate.

The CJP said the police reforms constituted an integral part of the criminal justice system reforms. Since the independence of the country about two dozen reform initiatives had been undertaken, however, desired results could not be achieved, he added.

Justice Nisar says relief has been provided to people by apex court

He emphasised the importance of the rule of law and an efficient criminal justice system in society. He stated that the police had a crucial role in protecting the right to a fair trial and in the prevention and investigation of crimes.

Also read: Why 2018 was CJP Nisar's year

According to the CJP, an effective police force is one that is assisted by the community they serve as people are confident that justice will be done.

He stressed that the existing criminal justice system urgently required reforms as a whole. Especially upgrade of the law for governance and management is required to ensure a neutral, responsive, accountable and transparent police force. The police force could only function efficiently when they were given administrative, operational and financial autonomy, he added.

CJP Nisar said that the Police Reforms Committee was established with the objective of an independent and impartial police force and its recommendations were very useful because they outline the duties of police officers, the separation of investigation procedures and composition of the Commission to promote transparency.

He stated that by implementing these recommendations, trust deficit between police and public would decrease and it would create a competent, efficient and responsive police force.

The CJP applauded efforts and contribution of members of the Police Reforms Committee, saying that they worked day and night to complete the report.

In his concluding remarks, CJP Nisar stressed the need for de-politicising the police to develop public confidence in the system. He stressed that there was a need to pinpoint lacunae in investigation resulting in the acquittal of criminals.

Report on police reforms

A steering committee headed by Justice Asif Saeed Khan Khosa, senior puisne judge of the Supreme Court and the designated chief justice of Pakistan, worked on the implementation of recommendations.

The convener of the Police Reforms Committee and former inspector general of Sindh Police, Afzal Ali Shigri, stated that performance of police was directly linked to the delivery of justice and performance of judiciary and criminal justice system.

He said in the past several efforts had been made to improve the performance of the criminal justice system. But, he added, the current initiative had the distinction that it was taken by the Supreme Court.

Mr Shigri said after formation of the Police Reforms Committee intensive deliberations and discussion were held within the committee. He said the report contained feasible and practical proposals on matters, like the redressal of grievances and improvement in the quality of investigation.

Mr Shigri also presented the report on police reforms to CJP Nisar.

The report recommends certain measures, such as establishment of “complaint redressal mechanism” at the office of the city police officer headed by an officer of additional inspector general rank in provinces and deputy inspector general in Islamabad.

It stresses the need of imparting best training to police officers, revamping urban policing and introducing forum for alternative dispute resolution (ADR).

Published in Dawn, January 15th, 2019

KARACHI: Following a debate on extreme delays in awarding funds through a new National Finance Commission (NFC), the Sindh Assembly on Monday unanimously demanded that the federal government announce the NFC shares to the provinces in the next award.

Members of the Sindh Assembly, which met here with Speaker Agha Siraj Durrani in the chair, spoke for more than two hours in the debate allowed after the house admitted an adjournment motion moved by Pakistan Peoples Party’s Nida Khuhro last week.

As the debate ended, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Mukesh Chawla tabled a motion calling the Sindh government to approach the federal government asking it to announce the NFC shares to the provinces.

The motion was unanimously passed. Members of opposition Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf and the Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan were present in the house but no lawmaker belonging to the Grand Democratic Alliance was present.

The members referred to Article 160 of the Constitution, according to which the president would notify the NFC award after every five years.

Lawmakers question Punjab’s biggest share

The current seventh NFC award gave 42.5 per cent of the divisible pool of taxes to the federal government. The remaining 57.5pc was distributed among the provinces — Punjab got 51.74pc, Sindh 24.55pc, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa 14.62pc and Balochistan 9.09pc.

The members questioned the current multiple criteria under which Punjab took the largest share although it was Sindh that contributed up to 70pc to the total kitty.

A minister wants funds’ distribution on the basis of population factor decreased

They said population was still the dominant factor in awarding the NFC, which stood at 82pc. The share for backwardness, poverty and revenue collection was 5pc, 10.3pc and 2.7pc.

Education and Culture Minister Sardar Shah said it was time to reduce the share based on population to a significant level and other criteria should be given more share.

He said the NFC award was not just an issue for the Sindh government or the ruling PPP, but it involved the whole province for which all political parties in Sindh should get united and launch a struggle for the benefit of the people.

“No matter you belong to the PTI, MQM or any other party, we all belong to Sindh and we have to speak for the rights of Sindh,” he said.

He said out of a total area of 140,000 square kilometres of Sindh, just 34pc of it was irrigated by barrages and linked to canal systems; and two-thirds of Sindh equally deserved to be developed at par with the rest.

“To develop such remote vast swathes we need money, we need funds,” he said, adding that the reduction in the population criterion and increase in other factors would benefit Sindh and Balochistan.

He referred to the PTI leadership’s mantra of ‘Naya Pakistan’, saying a new Pakistan could only be possible by abiding by the Constitution.

Mover Nida Khuhro said the way the Centre was “victimising” Sindh for electing the PPP again, the NFC should now be called “No Funds Coming Award”.

She said like the previous government of Nawaz Sharif, the PTI government was not sincere in giving NFC award on time.

She said the federal government had not paid Rs90 billion to Sindh, which forced the provincial government to cut its development budget.

Ms Khuhro said instead of provinces, the federal government should award 3pc from its share to erstwhile Fata. “Such decisions are blatant violations of the Constitution. Neither the prime minister nor the cabinet can take such decisions without amending the Constitution.”

Opposition asks PPP to give a ‘just’ PFC award

All the opposition members supported the treasury member’s adjournment motion, yet they pressed on their demand that the funds coming to provinces should further be channelled to the third tier of government as well.

MQM-P’s Khwaja Izharul Hasan appreciated the fiscal policy teams of the PPP and the MQM, which succeeded in changing the NFC formula in recent years, which was earlier singularly based on the population criterion.

He, however, said Karachi was Sindh’s capital and its greatest revenue producer, yet the megacity was not receiving its due share from the provincial exchequer.

Khwaja Izhar said the Provincial Finance Commission (PFC) in Sindh constituted by the government was not formed justly.

PTI’s parliamentary party leader Haleem Adil Shaikh blamed the provincial government for sending nomination for its member in the NFC after three months despite several reminders sent by Islamabad.

He said it was the Sindh government which should be blamed for a delayed constitution of the NFC.

He also demanded the PFC award claiming that the Sindh government had spent just 15pc of the development budget in the past six months while it allowed Rs391bn meant for development to lapse in the past nine years.

GDA’s Nusrat Abbasi also demanded the formation of the PFC award.

PPP’s Taimur Talpur said it was then president Asif Zardari who gave greater share to the provinces through a progressive NFC award.

GDA’s Arif Jatoi said former prime minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto had set up the NFC award based only on the population basis.

MQM-P’s Mohammad Hussain said Sindh had been a victim of the Centre’s “biased” attitude both in the NFC share and the PSDP.

He said all the lawmakers belonging to Sindh from parliament and the provincial assembly should register their protest in Islamabad jointly.

He added that the provincial government should ensure a just PFC award for every district of Sindh.

Jawaid Hanif, Ghanwar Isran, Omar Umari, Abdul Rasheed and Qasim Siraj also spoke.

The house passed The Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto Institute of Trauma Karachi Bill, 2018 unanimously. The bill was duly amended and recommended by the select committee.

An adjournment motion moved by PPP’s Sadia Jawed was admitted about the Karachi Circular Railway and a debate regarding the federal government’s promise was fixed for Thursday.

Five calling-attention notices by Haleem Shaikh, Riaz Haider, Marui Rashdi, Nusrat Abbasi and Mangla Sharma were responded to by the ministers concerned.

Published in Dawn, January 15th, 2019

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Imran Khan has asked the information ministry to highlight the government’s reform agenda and its objectives.

Chairing a meeting on Monday with different heads of government departments working under information ministry at the Prime Minister Office, he said Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) government was working to change the situation through its agenda.

Appreciating the role of media in development and public awareness, Prime Minister Imran Khan urged the ministry to play a proactive role, said a press release issued by the MPO.

Minister for Information and Broadcasting Chaudhry Fawad Hussain, Special Assistant to the Prime Minister Iftikhar Durrani, Secretary Information Shafqat Jalil and Yousaf Baig Mirza were also present.

Imran appreciates media role in development and public awareness

The prime minister said structural reforms were difficult but the phase would follow good and prosperous era.

He said civilised and responsible society do not allow dissemination of baseless and concocted news, the relations with media should be further strengthened by discouraging the trend of fake news publication.

He urged the public relations officers to be proactive in the provision of accurate information to media and ensuring them access to information.

Razak Dawood calls on PM

The prime minister met separately his Adviser on Commerce, Industry, Prod­uc­tion and Investment Abdul Razak Dawood, Cha­ir­man of Utility Stores Corpo­ration Zulqarnain Ali Khan.

In another meeting, Minister for National Food Security & Research Sahib­zada Mohammad Mehboob Sultan called on the prime minister and discussed iss­u­es relating to food security.

A meeting on maritime affairs was also held.

Published in Dawn, January 15th, 2019

ISLAMABAD: Leaders of some Balochistan-based political parties on Monday threatened to hold a protest during the expected visit of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to Gwadar next month.

Independent MNA Moha­m­mad Aslam Bhootani from Gwadar and leader of the Balochistan National Party-Mengal (BNP-M) Agha Hassan Baloch from Quetta criticised the federal government for “not taking elected representatives into confidence” regarding deve­l­opment activities being carried out in Balochistan, particularly in Gwadar.

Take a look: Balochistan cabinet shocked by CPEC presentation

“We will tell the Saudi prince that Balochistan is not for sale and that elected representatives of the port city have not been taken on board regarding the development activities,” Mr Bhootani, who sits on the treasury bench, said while speaking in the National Assembly.

“We will not allow any investment in Gwadar if we are bypassed,” he added.

According to media reports, the Saudi prince is expected to visit next month and would lay the foundation stone of a Saudi oil refinery in Gwadar.

Mr Bhootani said that elected MNAs and MPAs would also meet the Saudi ambassador in Pakistan and apprise him about their concerns.

He said earlier projects worth $62 billion were announced for Gwadar but the local representatives did not know where that money had been spent.

“Now we hear that Saudi Arabia is setting up an oil refinery in Gwadar but again the people of the port city have not been taken into confidence,” he regretted.

Mr Bhootani said not only him but elected representatives of the BNP-M were also not consulted regarding development projects in Balochistan.

National Assembly Speaker Asad Qaiser urged the MNA not to make a hue and cry as investment in Gwadar was a “sensitive” matter.

Agha Hassan Baloch of the BNP-M said that although his party was an ally of the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) government in the centre, it was also kept in the dark regarding development activities in Baloch­istan and China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) projects.

“We are not against development activities in Balochistan, but the people of the province are disapp­ointed over being ignored,” he said.

“We did not get anything from the CPEC and now we are being bypassed again,” the BNP-M leader added.

Published in Dawn, January 15th, 2019

The Supreme Court on Tuesday in its verdict in a suo motu case on the increasing population said that the government, civil society and religious scholars should all take steps to tackle the issue.

A three-member SC bench, headed by Chief Justice Mian Saqib Nisar and comprising Justice Umar Ata Bandial and Justice Ijazul Ahsan, was hearing the case. Population control is the latest campaign the SC has extended its support to.

According to the 2017 census, which was held after a gap of 19 years, the country’s population is approximately 207,774,520 living in 32,205,111 households. The results show that Pakistan has moved up the ladder becoming the fifth most populous nation only behind India, China, the United States and Indonesia. Top government officials have decided to reduce the population growth rate of 2.4 per cent per annum to 1.5pc.

The SC in its verdict today observed that an increasing population is a stress on the country's resources and likened the growth to an explosion.

"We need a campaign to decrease the population," the court said. "It is a question of the future of our coming generations."

"The entire nation must stand united on the matter of population planning," said chief justice Nisar, who has termed unbridled population growth as the "most disastrous issue" for Pakistan.

In yesterday's hearing, the court was told by the health secretary that a demographic survey is conducted every five years. The last one was in 2018 and its results bore little difference compared to the survey before that, the secretary told the bench.

The chief justice asked about progress made on its earlier orders, to which the secretary had responded that a report was submitted.

"Every three months, the court will assess the implementation of the report," the chief justice said, referring to recommendations made by a task force that had been set up to probe the matter.

"Not adhering to the task force's recommendations could lead to the destruction of the country," Justice Nisar had warned.

Two suspected members of the militant Islamic State group allegedly linked to the 2013 abduction of former prime minister Yousuf Raza Gilani's son, Ali Haider Gilani, were killed in a pre-dawn raid on a 'militant hideout' in Faisalabad on Tuesday, a Punjab Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) official said.

CTD official Rai Tahir identified the two militants as Adeel Hafeez and Usman Haroon. He said both were killed during an intense shootout in the raid conducting by security officials.

Tahir said officials had, in the past, foiled other attacks the pair had plotted, adding that they were also behind the killing of two intelligence officials in recent years as well as other high-profile crimes.

The two militants were also linked to the 2011 Al Qaeda abduction of an American development worker, Warren Weinstein, the official said. Weinstein, who was taken from Lahore, was accidentally killed in a United States drone strike in 2015 on the Afghanistan-Pakistan border. He provided no specific information about the role the two had in Weinstein's case.

The American worker's accidental death was announced by Washington in 2015. President Barack Obama at the time said he took full responsibility for US counter-terror missions and offered his condolences to families of the hostages.

After the Sept 11 attacks in the United States, Washington aggressively targeted militant hideouts in neighbouring Afghanistan and Pakistan's tribal regions, killing local and foreign militants. Pakistan considers US drone strikes a violation of its sovereignty, while the US accuses Pakistan of providing safe havens for militants. Pakistan has always denied the charge, saying it acts against militants without discrimination.

Many former Al Qaeda militants are thought to have joined the regional IS affiliate, which emerged a few years ago, around the time the group was at the height of its caliphate in Iraq and Syria. IS has since lost nearly all the territory it once controlled in the two Middle Eastern countries.

The Supreme Court on Tuesday rejected Bahria Town's offer to deposit Rs250 billion in the apex court's dam fund to avoid legal proceedings for illegally acquiring land for its projects in Karachi, Islamabad and Murree.

An implementation bench of the apex court was hearing a case pertaining to the implementation on a May 4, SC verdict against Bahria Town. Under the order, the court had barred Ms Bahria Town Karachi from selling any plot or constructed apartment in the housing scheme on the outskirts of the port city, declaring the grant of land to the Malir Develop­ment Authority and its exchange with the land of the private land developers illegal and void ab initio.

At the outset of today's hearing, a counsel on behalf of Bahria Town offered to submit Rs200 billion to waive off charges against the real estate developer.

Justice Azmat Saeed, who was heading the three-member bench, reminded the counsel that a fine of Rs285 billion had been imposed on Bahria Town in 2004. "If the fine money is increased by 40 per cent, it will amount to Rs300bn."

Take a look: Bahria Town Karachi: Greed unlimited

Justice Saeed noted that three separate verdicts had been passed against Bahria Town, so it should make "separate and reasonable" offers for its projects in Karachi, Islamabad and Murree.

At this, Bahira Town's counsel increased the offer to Rs250bn.

"This is not a suitable way to deal with [the apex court]," Justice Saeed said, reprimanding the lawyer. "We may ask the National Accountability Bureau to file a reference."

The counsel sought one week's time to file a reply. Justice Saeed granted the plea and directed Bahria Town to submit written offers in all the three cases.

"Our mistake was not that big," the counsel argued.

"Mistake is supposed to be of one or two kanals, not of thousands of acres," the judge replied.

The implementation bench was formed after the court had dropped the review petitions filed against its May 4 judgement barring Bahria Town Karachi from selling any plots or constructed apartments.

In its May 4 judgement, the court had declared the grant of land to the Malir Development Authority (MDA) and its exchange with the land of Bahria Town illegal and void. It had also directed NAB to continue its probe into the matters of the developer.

During the last hearing in the case, the bench had ordered the bureau to file separate references on a series of matters stemming from the Bahria Town Karachi project, including the arrears of three MDA projects.

During an earlier hearing, the court had reprimanded NAB, Pakistan Space and Upper Atmosphere Research Commission (Suparco) and the administration of Bahria Town, over what it termed their "non-cooperation" in implementing a ruling of the apex court.

Justice Saeed had warned the respondents that the judges were "about to lose their temperament" and directed NAB to ensure progress "through its actions".

Tickets for the HBL Pakistan Super League (PSL) 2019 matches in Sharjah and Abu Dhabi are now available online on www.q-tickets.com, the Pakistan Cricket Board's (PCB) official website for the tournament announced on Tuesday.

"Details about online Dubai and Pakistan leg tickets will be announced soon while box office ticket sales information for all five HBL PSL venues — Dubai, Sharjah, Abu Dhabi, Lahore and Karachi — will also be shared in due course," read the announcement.

Sharjah will be the centre stage for the HBL PSL matches for the fourth successive year, since the inception of the league in 2016. The emirate will host a total of eight games, said the statement.

The fourth edition begins in Dubai on Feb 14 when defending champions Islamabad United take on Lahore Qalandars.

The first match in Sharjah will be played at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium on Wednesday, Feb 20, between Quetta Gladiators and Multan Sultans at 9pm (PST). Sharjah crowd favourite Peshawar Zalmi will take on Karachi Kings on Thursday, Feb 21, at the same time followed by a double-header on Friday, Feb, 22.

The league is coming to Abu Dhabi's Zayed Stadium for the first time with a total of four matches scheduled at the venue on March 4 and 5.

Five matches will be played at Karachi’s National Stadium, including the March 17 final, while Lahore’s Gaddafi Stadium will play host to three matches as the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) continues to increase the number of matches in the country with every edition. Lahore hosted the final in the second edition of the league before hosting two matches last season when Karachi hosted the final.

The federal government has approved 10-day paternity leave for its male employees, DawnNewsTV reported citing a ministry of human rights official.

Rabiya Javeri Agha, the ministry of human rights secretary, said that a clause has been added to the rules of the National Commission on the Status of Women in this regard.

The newly added clause says that "a male employee in regular service shall be allowed paternity leave for a period of 10 days with full pay and allowances outside his leave account from the date of his wife's confinement."

Meanwhile, pregnant female employees will be allowed 90-day maternity leaves just as before, the human rights official added.

A copy of the statutory notification in this regard is available with Dawn.

Opposition parties in the National Assembly on Tuesday decided to form a committee to devise a joint opposition strategy on various issues, including a second extension in the tenure of military courts.

The decision was taken at a meeting of opposition leaders hosted by Leader of Opposition in the NA Shahbaz Sharif over lunch in his chamber at Parliament House.

Speaking to reporters after the nearly two-hour-long meeting, Shahbaz said the opposition leaders had decided to form a committee to devise a joint strategy and deal with the government on various issues.

The committee, which according to Shahbaz will have representation from all opposition parties, will also be responsible for holding negotiations with the government on the issue of an extension in the tenure of military courts. "The combined opposition will adopt whatever path is in the national interest," he added.

The leader of the opposition also criticised the "worst incompetence" of the PTI government and once again termed as "cronyism" the government's move to award the Mohmand dam contract to a consortium led by Descon, which he alleged was owned by a sitting adviser to the prime minister.

PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari — who attended the meeting along with his father, former president Asif Ali Zardari — in his remarks said the opposition's human and democratic rights were under attack from all sides by the government, but the opposition leaders were "not ready to compromise" on these two rights.

"The opposition has today decided on a very good strategy to form a committee and have a joint opposition inside the parliament as well as outside," the PPP chairman said.

Meanwhile, asked whether the opposition parties would come together in the shape of an alliance, Zardari responded: "The union HAS taken place."

Shahbaz, the PML-N president, had earlier welcomed Zardari to the meeting with a hug, as the two main opposition parties increasingly appear to join hands to give the PTI-led government a tough time.

Also in attendance were PPP's Sherry Rehman and Naveed Qamar, Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam (JUI-F) MNAs Maulana Asad Mehmood and Maulana Abdul Wasay, Awami National Party leader Ameer Haider Khan Hoti, PML-N's Ahsan Iqbal, a Balochistan National Party representative and other leaders.

An elaborate menu was on offer at the luncheon, including seafood, the traditional dishes of qourma and pulao, homemade vegetables and dessert.

A day earlier, on the opening day of the National Assembly’s new session, when Zardari entered the hall amidst desk-thumping by the opposition members, Shahbaz had gone to him and shook his hand.

NA session suspended after ruckus

Earlier on Tuesday, business in the lower house was disrupted again after the opposition lodged a strong protest against the deputy speaker's decision not to hold a re-vote when an opposition MNA introduced a bill pertaining to the quota of judges in the Islamabad High Court.

JUI-F MNA Aliya Kamran had moved a bill seeking an increase in the number of judges of the Islamabad High Court (IHC) from six to 10, and a quota accommodating all the provinces on IHC benches.

Parliamentary Secretary for Law Maleeka Bokhari opposed the bill, but Deputy Speaker Qasim Khan Suri held a verbal vote and subsequently rejected the bill after it appeared to have been voted against.

Kamran then challenged the vote and the deputy speaker ordered a headcount. The headcount revealed that 96 MNAs opposed the bill, while 94 were in favour of it. Therefore, the NA decided against the move.

Take a look: PM Khan lashes out at opposition for 'pressure tactics' after NA walkouts

Members of the opposition gathered in front of Suri's dais, asking him to order another vote on the bill but the deputy speaker rejected the demand and suspended House proceedings.

The deputy speaker returned to the House after an hour to announce adjournment of the session. It will resume tomorrow (Wednesday) at 11am.

Earlier today, Prime Minister Imran Khan took to Twitter to lash out at the opposition for disrupting National Assembly proceedings by staging regular walkouts. The opposition had walked out of the NA yesterday after opposition leader Shahbaz Sharif accused the treasury benches of using foul language.

The prime minister said that the repeated walkouts indicated that this was "the only function they (opposition) intend to perform".

He claimed that walkouts are used as "pressure tactics" to "seek an NRO (National Reconciliation Ordinance) and evade accountability for corruption in NAB (National Accountability Bureau) cases not initiated by PTI (Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf)".

The Supreme Court on Tuesday rejected Bahria Town's offer to deposit Rs250 billion to avoid legal proceedings for illegally acquiring land for its projects in Karachi, Islamabad and Murree.

An implementation bench of the apex court was hearing a case pertaining to the implementation on a May 4, SC verdict against Bahria Town. Under the order, the court had barred M/s Bahria Town Karachi from selling any plot or constructed apartment in the housing scheme on the outskirts of the port city, declaring the grant of land to the Malir Develop­ment Authority and its exchange with the land of the private land developers illegal and void ab initio.

At the outset of today's hearing, a counsel on behalf of Bahria Town offered to submit Rs200 billion to waive off charges against the real estate developer.

Justice Azmat Saeed, who was heading the three-member bench, reminded the counsel that a fine of Rs285 billion had been imposed on Bahria Town in 2004. "If the fine money is increased by 40 per cent, it will amount to Rs300bn."

Take a look: Bahria Town Karachi: Greed unlimited

Justice Saeed noted that three separate verdicts had been passed against Bahria Town, so it should make "separate and reasonable" offers for its projects in Karachi, Islamabad and Murree.

At this, Bahira Town's counsel increased the offer to Rs250bn.

"This is not a suitable way to deal with [the apex court]," Justice Saeed said, reprimanding the lawyer. "We may ask the National Accountability Bureau to file a reference."

The counsel sought one week's time to file a reply. Justice Saeed granted the plea and directed Bahria Town to submit written offers in all the three cases.

"Our mistake was not that big," the counsel argued.

"Mistake is supposed to be of one or two kanals, not of thousands of acres," the judge replied.

The implementation bench was formed after the court had dropped the review petitions filed against its May 4 judgement barring Bahria Town Karachi from selling any plots or constructed apartments.

In its May 4 judgement, the court had declared the grant of land to the Malir Development Authority (MDA) and its exchange with the land of Bahria Town illegal and void. It had also directed NAB to continue its probe into the matters of the developer.

During the last hearing in the case, the bench had ordered the bureau to file separate references on a series of matters stemming from the Bahria Town Karachi project, including the arrears of three MDA projects.

During an earlier hearing, the court had reprimanded NAB, Pakistan Space and Upper Atmosphere Research Commission (Suparco) and the administration of Bahria Town, over what it termed their "non-cooperation" in implementing a ruling of the apex court.

Justice Saeed had warned the respondents that the judges were "about to lose their temperament" and directed NAB to ensure progress "through its actions".

An anti-terrorism court (ATC) in Rawalpindi on Tuesday sought a reply from the Federal Investigation Agency's (FIA) special prosecutor as to how there was a significant reduction in the amounts in the frozen bank accounts of former president retired General Pervez Musharraf.

In a previous hearing of the Benazir Bhutto murder case on December 15, the court had issued arrest warrants for FIA special prosecutor Khwaja Imtiaz and FIA Station House Officer (SHO) Azmat Mahmood for failing to appear in court and not providing details of Musharraf's assets. They were again summoned on January 15 (today).

The duo, who were present in the court today, apologised to judge Muhammad Asghar Khan for their absence in previous court proceedings. Subsequently, their arrest warrants were cancelled.

The special prosecutor provided details of Musharraf's farmhouse, five plots and eight bank accounts to the court.

Judge Khan expressed displeasure at a significant reduction in the amounts in the frozen bank accounts of Musharraf — the main accused in the Benazir murder case as per a challan submitted by the FIA in 2013.

The FIA in its four-point charge sheet had accused Musharraf of hatching a conspiracy, in connection with the assassination of former prime minister Benazir Bhutto outside Rawalpindi’s Liaquat Bagh on December 27, 2007.

"How is there a reduction in the bank accounts from 2016?" the court asked the prosecutor, seeking a reply explaining the activity in the frozen bank accounts.

"Why is there a difference in details of the bank accounts provided two years ago and the current amount in the accounts?" the judge questioned.

While directing the prosecutor to inform the court of the former president's transactions, Judge Khan adjourned the hearing of the case until February 15.

FAISALABAD: PIA Chairman Air Marshal Arshad Mahmood Malik says short-term and long-term plans are in the works to revive the airline.

Addressing members of the Faisalabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry here on Monday, he said revival was a daunting task as compared to launching a new airline.

Also read: Another go at a PIA turnaround

The chairman said getting rid of seven loss-making routes was his first priority. He said three direct flights from Faisalabad to Jeddah would be introduced from Feb 15. He said two different teams would visit Faisalabad next week to review the expansion of the runway and to evaluate local cargo potential.

He said 18,000 workers were on the airline payroll and the number was high compared to international standards.

FCC President Syed Zia Alumdar Hussain and former FPCCI president Mian Idrees also spoke on the occasion.

Published in Dawn, January 15th, 2019

Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry warned on Tuesday that if the PPP is unable to bring change to Sindh and the chief minister does not resign, the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf government "will need to take practical steps".

Chaudhry, while speaking to reporters upon arrival in Karachi, explained that the government wants "the PPP to bring change themselves", and for a new chief minister to take the place of Murad Shah, a senior PPP leader who was named in the joint investigation team's report in the fake accounts case.

"We want to first give them an opportunity [to bring change]. If this opportunity is not availed, and they do not take advantage of it, and Murad Shah does not resign, then we will certainly need to take practical steps here," he said.

When asked about the possibility of the PTI forming a forward bloc in the PPP to remove the provincial government, Chaudhry responded that any person who carries the pain of the people of Sindh in his heart will want change in the province, no matter what party he belongs to.

He said that even 'serious' members of the PPP wanted change, adding that when this issue began, PPP members had themselves contacted the PTI and asked it to step forward for change.

"It is also a right of the people of Sindh to see the wave of change that the three other provinces have seen, that all of Pakistan has seen. It is the right of the people of Sindh that they become part of this change," he added.

The federal minister pointed out that Sindh had not contributed to the National Finance Commission award for the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (Fata) although the "other provinces and the federal government had given their share for its development".

The PTI-run Federal, Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa governments had decided on Jan 4 to jointly provide the equivalent of 3pc of the federal divisible pool for uplifting Fata after its merger with KP.

Chaudhry claimed that although the PPP paints itself as a "vision of democracy", when the time for action came, it disassociated itself from Fata.

He alleged that Sindh's money would "not be spent on the poor people" of the province. "It will go to the Omni Group and into branches of the Zardari Gropu of companies. The painful thing is that Sindh's funds are being spent in London and Dubai."

He claimed that those who are "closest to the people will talk about change", and that a large majority of the PPP MPAs would side with the PTI.

PTI-PPP tussle heats up

A tussle between the PPP and PTI over money laundering and the fake bank accounts case has heated up in recent days, with the ruling party in Sindh accusing the Centre of attempting to dislodge the provincial government and warning it of dire consequences if any attempt is made to arrest top party cadre.

Chaudhry's two-day trip to Sindh scheduled for December was shelved after Chief Justice of Pakistan Mian Saqib Nisar's observations during an earlier hearing of the fake accounts case indicated that the PTI was trying to topple the PPP government.

Chaudhry was allegedly tasked by the prime minister to meet leaders of political parties apart from the PPP during his earlier trip to Sindh and seek their support for dislodging the PPP government.

The information minister, however, has denied that his party wishes to dislodge the PPP government. "We do not want to dislodge the PPP government in Sindh but want to forge consensus on the demand for resignation of Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah to ensure fair trial of Asif Ali Zardari and company,” he had said earlier, adding that the PTI had no intention to impose governor's rule in Sindh or repeal the 18th Amendment.

The information minister had explained during an earlier press conference that his visit had been cancelled by Prime MInister Imran Khan to reject the impression that the Centre wanted to topple the Sindh government.

PPP is the majority party in the Sindh Assembly with 99 seats while the PTI and its allies have a total of 64 seats. The PTI requires 18 more members to outnumber the PPP to form its government in the province. However, it is believed that it would be a hard nut to crack to defeat the PPP in the provincial assembly as the party enjoys a formidable position in the province since long and has been in office there for over a decade.