LAHORE: Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly Shahbaz Sharif on Tuesday approached the Lahore High Court for grant of bail in the Ashiyana-i-Iqbal Housing Scheme case, 47 days after an accountability court sent him on judicial remand.
Under the law, a suspect can seek bail soon after being sent on judicial remand by the trial court. Mr Sharif was sent on judicial remand after the accountability court on Dec 6 last year denied the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) request for further physical remand. The bureau had kept Mr Sharif in custody for 62 days since his arrest on Oct 5, 2018.
Former Punjab chief minister Sharif is charged with misuse of authority by unlawfully assuming powers of the board of directors of the Punjab Land Development Company (PLDC), and awarding a contract to an ineligible proxy firm that resulted in the failure of the Ashiyana housing scheme. The scam caused a loss to the public exchequer and deprived 61,000 applicants of houses.
It is also alleged that Mr Sharif’s directive to entrust the project of a housing scheme to the Lahore Development Authority from the PLDC and intervention into affairs of the company was in violation of the Companies Ordinance, Memorandum and Article of Association and Corporate Governance Rules 2013.
NAB alleged that the former chief minister through his unlawful acts and misuse of authority caused a loss of Rs660 million to the exchequer and the overall project cost Rs3.39 billion.
However, in his bail petition filed through Advocate Amjad Pervez, Mr Sharif denied all these charges as false and frivolous.
The counsel has sought relief of bail on 30 grounds, including one on medical reasons saying that the petitioner — who is more than 67 years old — had left-sided sciatica since 1994 due to which he had to exercise regularly and needed physiotherapy.
The advocate said that since the arrest of the petitioner, medical boards had examined Mr Sharif twice and his lab reports were shared with his personal doctor in England, who had advised further clinical examination in London.
He said that as per blood test reports, Mr Sharif’s tumour marker Chromogranin-A had been found to be elevated and a CT scan revealed new development of small but significant lesion in the lateral limb of left adrenal and thickening of the pyloric wall of the stomach.
The lawyer pleaded that although some of the tests had been carried out, the facility of the most important test namely “DOTA Octreotide Scan” was not available in Pakistan. He argued that Mr Sharif’s case needed to be considered on compassionate and humanitarian grounds as his detention may put his life in jeopardy.
On merits of the case, the counsel stated that the implication of the petitioner was prompted by mala fide intention on the part of the prosecution as he was neither nominated nor attributed to any role on the basis of which NAB started proceedings.
He said it was a matter of record that the petitioner had submitted written replies to all call-up notices issued by NAB, appeared before the court when required and furnished whatever information was sought. Yet, the lawyer contended, the NAB chairman proceeded to issue his arrest warrants against the settled law that the arrest was not desirable even in the most heinous offences as long as the suspect extended cooperation.
Denying the charges against Mr Sharif, the counsel contended that the option of exploring Public-Private Partnership mode was in good faith and had a complete background. He said there was nothing on record to show any dissent or reservation by anyone whosoever in the hierarchy. He said the contract in question was also terminated by the PLDC Board itself on April 17, 2017.
He argued that no money from the public exchequer was either paid or was due under the contract, nor any government land was transferred. Mr Pervez added that no funds had been raised and no transaction either monetary or otherwise had taken place.
The lawyer explained that as per the contract, the developer was to develop the project land and to construct apartments using his own funds and labour without contribution from the public exchequer. The developer, he said, was entitled to the transfer of land as consideration of the construction of apartments, and since no progress was made in the regard the contract was cancelled. Hence, said Mr Pervez, the question of any monetary loss whatsoever did not arise at all.
The counsel pleaded that the prosecution’s case based upon documentary evidence — which was already in its possession — and the investigation to the extent of the petitioner stood completed so Mr Sharif’s further confinement would not serve any purpose.
A two-judge bench, comprising Justice Malik Shahzad Ahmad Khan and Justice Mirza Viqas Rauf, will take up the bail petition on Wednesday (today).
ISLAMABAD: Human Rights Minister Dr Shireen Mazari has been elected chairperson of the parliamentary committee on the appointment of the chief election commissioner (CEC) and members of the Election Commission (ECP).
Two Senate standing committees also elected their chairs during meetings at Parliament House on Tuesday.
Dr Mazari’s name came up as a candidate for the chairpersonship during the parliamentary committee, which finalised her appointment after some deliberation.
The parliamentary committee will appoint two ECP members for Sindh and Balochistan, to replace members retiring on Jan 26 after two and a half years in office.
The mechanism for the retirement of ECP members after completing half a term was set up through the 22nd Amendment, to ensure continuity.
The amendment was made to prevent a repeat of 2010, when four members retired together and the commission was virtually non-functional for months.
The legality of around two dozen by-elections held by the CEC alone during this time was also challenged.
In its amended form, Article 215 reads: “The Commissioner [and a member] shall, subject to this Article, hold office for a term of five years from the day he enters upon his office.”
A proviso states: “Provided that two of the members shall retire after the expiration of first two and a half years and two shall retire after the expiration of the next two and a half years: Provided further that the Commission shall for the first term of office of members draw a lot as to which two members shall retire after the first two and a half years.”
The draw to decide who would retire on Jan 26, 2019, was held last month and presided over CEC retired Justice Sardar Mohammad Raza.
It was attended by the ECP, law and parliamentary affairs secretaries.
The draw decided that the ECP member from Sindh, Abdul Ghaffar Soomro, and the member from Balochistan, retired Justice Shakeel Baloch, would be the ones to retire.
Meanwhile, the Senate Standing Committee on Narcotics Control unanimously elected Senator Sardar Mohammad Shafiq Tareen as its chair.
Senator Tareen’s name was put forward by Senator Haji Momin Khan Afridi and seconded by Senator retired Brig John Kenneth Williams.
The Senate Standing Committee on Delegated Legislation also elected its chair, Senator Kauda Babar. His name was put forward by Senator Kalsoom Parveen and seconded by Senator Rubina Khalid.
The last chair of this committee was Senator Ayesha Raza Farooq, who resigned in order to chair the Senate Standing Committee on Rules of Procedure and Privileges after the death of Senator Sardar Azam Khan Musakhel.
KARACHI: “Stop killing innocent citizens in the name of law and order; State terrorism is a crime; Stop the illegal use of weapons!”
These were just some of the slogans being chanted by the enraged protesters gathered outside the Karachi Press Club on Tuesday to register their shock and sorrow over and condemn the Sahiwal incident which they referred to as “state-sponsored lawlessness against citizens”.
The protesters, including Zahra Khan of the Home-based Women Workers Federation (HBWWF), Nasir Mansoor of the National Trade Union Federation, Karamat Ali of the Pakistan Institute of Labour Education and Research (Piler), Habibuddin Junaidi of the Peoples Labour Bureau, Hussain Badshah of the Dock Workers Union, Saira Feroze of the United Workers Federation, Nuzhat Shireen of the Sindh Commission on Status of Women, Sajjad Zaheer of the Anjuman Taraqqi Pasand Musanifeen Karachi, columnist Comrade Zubair Rehman, among many others, said that only resistance of the masses could stop the growing incidents of state-sponsored lawlessness against citizens.
Demand judicial probe into the ‘extrajudicial’ killings
In a joint statement issued by them on the occasion, they said that the Sahiwal tragedy and incidents like that were proof of growing lawlessness by those who were supposed to protect the law. They said that they were actually terrorists themselves in the garb of law enforcement agencies. They expressed their profound sorrow over the failure of all state institutions to protect innocent citizens.
“It is sad that the elected representatives are trying to hush up these sensitive issues. This anti-human attitude is adopted by the provincial and federal ministers of the PTI government over the Sahiwal tragedy. They are trying to save the culprits behind the tragedy.
“The continuity of such incidents has once again proved that instead of providing safety of life to the citizens, the state is playing with their lives. To stop this maltreatment we the masses have to start an organised struggle. Otherwise, these incidents would not only continue but intensify,” read the statement.
“The previous day, another such incident also occurred in Karachi when a couple were injured in police firing. Also in Karachi last year, Naqeebullah Mehsud, an aspiring model, was killed by a so-called police encounter specialist, Rao Anwar, after being dubbed as terrorist. However, action against Rao Anwar is yet to be completed. Similarly, an innocent child, Amal, was also killed in a fake police action.
“Such incidents are occurring continually in Punjab, Sindh, Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. However, no punishment could be given to the officials involved in these murders. Instead they were given all sorts of protection and their acts were termed in the best national interest.
“The citizens demand that state institutions should be stopped from extrajudicial murders, illegal and unnecessary use of weapons. We demand that a judicial commission should be constituted to probe the Sahiwal tragedy and all the culprits should be given exemplary punishments,” the statement concluded.
“As has been seen in the past, the rulers would have declared the culprits of the Sahiwal incidents as heroes and termed the victims as terrorists had the citizens not resorted to protest over this matter. It is sad that despite protests the police first lodged an FIR against the victims themselves. But it was thanks to public pressure that they lodged another FIR against ‘unknown’ culprits,” said Zahra Khan of the HBWWF.
“The government also rejected the public demand to set up a judicial commission and instead ordered forming a JIT, which shows that the sitting government is not serious to take the killers to task,” said Karamat Ali of Piler.
“The entire country is sad over the Sahiwal tragedy and the masses are very angry and charged. However, the illegal activities and extrajudicial killings by the law enforcers are yet to be stopped,” said Saira Feroze of the United Workers Federation.
LAHORE: The Punjab government on Tuesday discontinued free Wi-Fi services being provided to the citizens at public places in 20 cities of the province citing lack of funds.
A senior official in Punjab Information Technology Board (PITB) told Dawn that the board in association with Pakistan Telecommunication Company Limited had started the free WiFi project two years ago and it was [now] closed for not paying Rs150 million to the PTCL.
He said the [current] government had not allocated funds for the project in the budget and termed it a burden on the exchequer.
The purpose of public Wi-Fi hotspots in the province was to bridge the digital divide by providing free, easy and reliable Internet access in major public places. The PITB had set up 250 free Wi-Fi hotspots in Lahore, Rawalpindi, Faisalabad, Multan, Bahawalpur and Murree districts. The Wi-Fi hotspots were set up at educational and government buildings, public parks, markets, hospitals, railway stations, airports and bus stations.
Trained staff was available at the call center 24/7 in order to provide technical support as well as complaint handling and resolution. The highest use of these free hotspots was recorded at hospitals, followed by universities and colleges. The facility has also enabled on-field government officials from various departments to utilise centrally-maintained online services in a relatively seamless manner.
The users were authenticated by their ID and mobile numbers, after which they received a code via SMS to connect to the internet. With the hotspots gaining popularity among the citizens, data hogging was avoided by making the internet subscription time-barred.
Video streaming and downloading were banned in order to maintain a positive usage of these facilities whereas time and location logs were maintained for security purposes. Each hotspot has a screen which displayed a total number of users connected, bandwidth and usage statistics.
Sources told Dawn that the closure of the service would also leave an impact on other telecommunication companies and they would close its call centres in future.
According to PITB usage statistics of Punjab Wi-Fi, 1,400,000 people had subscribed to the free service.
A student of Government College University (GCU), Lahore, said the [Wi-Fi] service was helping them meet their assignment deadlines because they did not have a working internet connection in their department.Board Chairman Habibur Rehman Gilani said he had given verbal orders to analyse [PITB’s] cost benefit and discontinue the service due to heavy cost. “We will analyse cost benefit and also continue service in educational institutions and hospitals,” he said.
The chairman said the telecom companies were providing internet service at cheap rates and the project was becoming a burden on the government.
KARACHI: In an assertive policy statement made during the Sindh Assembly’s session on Tuesday, Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah counterattacked his detractors in the house and their leadership ruling Islamabad by saying that Sindh would resist attempts by the federal government to “usurp” its rights.
He said his name was put on the Exit Control List (ECL) as a “punishment” after his arrival from Beijing, where he had gone to attend a CPEC-related meeting along with a federal minister and had taken up the case for some vital development projects in Sindh.
Mr Shah said the way the country was being steered by the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf-led government would economically ruin it.
‘It will be the Sindh government which will force the federation to do its work’
“Our government will get Sindh’s due rights from the federal government; it will be the Sindh government which will force the federation to do its work,” said Mr Shah in a rare defiant tone in his speech while giving his observations over a debate on the Karachi Circular Railway (KCR), which was held in the provincial legislature a day earlier.
“I am seeing our country being drowned economically by your [PTI’s] government and by your prime minister,” said Mr Shah.
Hanging over corruption
Referring to certain speeches made on Monday by some opposition members in which demands were made to hang those who were involved in corruption, Mr Shah said everyone who had a desire for development was being wrongly accused of involvement in corruption by the PTI leaders.
“How many people you want to hang,” he said, referring to the Pakistan Peoples Party’s founding chairman Zulfikar Ali Bhutto: “You hanged one person and made him immortal. Now, hang others and grant them immortality as well.”
Communication with federal govt
He said the opposition leader in the Sindh Assembly had waved a letter written to ex-prime minister Nawaz Sharif in December 2016 regarding the KCR and Keti Bandar projects and made certain accusations, “which had no relevance to reality”.
However, he said, he had written many letters to the present PTI’s government as well and made requests on various fronts involving Sindh’s issues and development, but received no response from Islamabad.
“I had met then prime minister Nawaz Sharif and had requested him to grant [funds] for a project similar to Lahore’s Orange Train for Karachi, which never materialised. I wrote letters to him about the Keti Bandar and KCR projects which included sovereign guarantee, approval from Ecnec [Executive Committee of National Economic Council] and Right of Way for the KCR. The prime minister granted the rest, but for KCR’s Right of Way, he told us to discuss it with the railway authorities.”
Mr Shah said despite such an encouraging response, nothing materialised and “it was a U-turn offered by the PML-N government”.
He said except for Punjab’s chief minister, the other three went to Beijing with the federal authorities in December 2016 to attend the Joint Coordination Committee (JCC) for the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) projects.
KCR and Keti Bandar projects
He alleged that the PML-N government did not help the provinces and even opposed their projects. However, Mr Shah said he had already discussed the KCR and Keti Bandar projects with senior Chinese diplomats earlier and succeeded to get those projects approved by the JCC. It also benefited Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan to get projects for their capitals as well.
CM Shah said the Sindh government prepared the PC-I on time in March 2017 and wrote the KCR’s feasibility report and sent it to the Central Development Working Party. For sovereign guarantee, he added, the finance minister during another meeting in China promised to issue it in two to three days, but that never happened.
He said it took many months for Ecnec to approve the projects in October 2017. During this time, Mr Shah also met the Railways authorities and relevant bank of China who demanded sovereign guarantee.
After arrival of Shahid Khaqan Abbasi as prime minister in Aug 2017, Mr Shah said he spoke with the new PM on the same issue on several occasions and had written four letters to him till Jan 12 last year.
“We got at last a response on Jan 18 from the communication ministry and remarkably it offered nothing,” Mr Shah said.
He said that after forming a new government in Sindh last year, he discussed the KCR issue with the prime minister in the presence of the finance minister, and wrote a letter to PM Imran Khan on Oct 3, 2018.
He said last time when he visited China “when I had not yet been put on the ECL”, he shockingly received a suggestion from the federal government that the projects, which were already in an advanced stage with the JCC, should be demoted to be part of the Joint Working Group (JWG).
“This means, we compromise on our projects’ advancement and lower them a level down.”
He said he had written a letter on the matter, and was still waiting for a response from Islamabad.
He said last time he was the only CM who had joined a federal minister to attend the JCC meeting. However, he lamented the lack of interest was visible on the part of the federal government when the minister and other officials skipped a meeting, which was held traditionally a day before the JCC meeting.
“I spoke over the projects of Dhabeji Industrial Zone, Keti Bandar and KCR. I recalled our friendship with our Chinese hosts while taking up the case of Sindh’s projects,” Mr Shah said.
He said the KCR’s cost was $2 billion and the Sindh government, as it was earlier accepted and understood, was ready to contribute its 15 per cent share.
“Our Chinese friends are very eager [to invest and launch] this project. The issue rests with the federal government, which should come forward and act.”
Mr Shah said the federal government had refused to hand over the Green Line project, neither had he received any response to the recent letter he had sent to Islamabad about gas shortages in Sindh.
“They [federal government] are not ready to respond to anything.”
After Mr Shah’s speech, many PTI members, including Opposition Leader Firdous Shamim Naqvi, stood up to speak at which Speaker Durrani told them that no one could speak after the leader of the house furnished a policy statement as per assembly’s rules.
The house rejected a resolution moved by PTI’s Sidra Imran in which she said the conditions of the Civil Hospital Tando Allahyar were pathetic. Energy Minister Imtiaz Shaikh said the government had built a new building for the hospital and was making efforts to equip all hospitals in Sindh on modern lines.
Another resolution by the Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan’s Khwaja Izhar was unanimously adopted in which the federal government was called for early payment of dues to the retired employees of Pakistan Steel Mills.
ISLAMABAD: Measures are being taken to ensure the rights of people with disabilities, the minister for human rights said at the second meeting of the national committee constituted to implement the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD) on Tuesday.
Dr Shireen Mazari said at the meeting that her office was committed to ensuring the rights of every citizen in accordance with the Constitution and international commitments.
The meeting was attended by representatives from the federal and provincial governments, Azad Kashmir and GB, as well as departments working on disability and data collection. Participants were briefed on the UNCRPD, as well as the Incheon strategy and the action plan for the strategy’s indicators.
Bill to protect rights of disabled people sent to standing committee
The Incheon strategy provides the Asia-Pacific region and the world with the first set of regionally agreed disability-inclusive development goals.
It was developed after more than two years of consultations with government and civil society stakeholders, and comprises 10 goals, 27 targets and 62 indicators.
Dr Mazari said that further collaboration and coordination is needed with the relevant stakeholders to collect data on people with physical and mental disability. She asked the relevant representatives to share updated survey-based information and data on people with disabilities to prepare policies and an action plan for the protection and promotion of people with physical and mental disability.
Participants were informed that the ministry is preparing a survey-based database and information on people with disabilities.
The committee reviewed the action plan in pursuance with the UNCRPD and Incheon strategy and other international commitments pertaining to disability to seek concurrence with stakeholders in the proposed plan.
The meeting aimed to seek the concurrence of provincial governments with regard to relevant indicators of the Incheon strategy. The implementation status of decisions made at the first meeting was also reviewed.
Committee members examined progress made by the departments of federal special education and provincial special education as well as social welfare in line with the UNCRPD to inform the ministry of existing gaps and measures to be taken.
It was decided that the Ministry of Human Rights would arrange federal-level workshops for the consideration of recommendations of the provincial governments to implement the UNCRPD, the Incheon strategy and other required information.
Provincial governments will also notify similar committees in their respective provinces and appoint focal persons to effectively implement international commitments, the meeting decided, and will consider rights-based legislation where required.
All the relevant departments have been asked to put forward their future courses of action to finalise the action plan.
Representatives from the provinces, AJK and GB also told the committee about measures taken by their respective governments to raise the status of people with disabilities.
The committee was also told that the human rights ministry is collaborating with the Statistics Division to prepare reliable and comparable statistical data on the number of people with disabilities. Provincial representatives have been asked to share updated information in this regard.
It was decided that future committee meetings will be arranged in all the provinces.
Disability rights bill
A government bill for the protection of the rights of people with disabilities has been sent to the relevant National Assembly standing committee for consideration.
The bill binds the government to ensure jobs for people with disabilities at the federal, provincial and district level, as well as full concessions in admission feeds and up to 75pc off in government educational institutions, as well as providing special national identity card services at home.
The government will also ensure free treatment for disabled people in federal, provincial, district headquarters and social security hospitals and dispensaries, and a 60pc concession in private hospitals.
The bill also proposes permanent jobs for contractual employees with disabilities in government offices and zero tolerance towards individuals who misbehave or mishandle people with disabilities.
KARACHI: The Supreme Court on Tuesday imposed a complete ban on conversion of residential and amenity plots into commercial spaces in Karachi and directed the authorities concerned, including cantonment boards, to review all such conversions allowed by them in the provincial capital.
A two-judge SC bench headed by Justice Gulzar Ahmed also barred the Sindh Building Control Authority (SBCA) from approving multistorey buildings on residential plots as well as amenity spaces and directed it to review the matters of all illegal constructions in the city within one month.
“All constructions which are illegally and unlawfully made in the city of Karachi shall be reviewed by the SBCA within a period of one month and a report in this respect shall be submitted to this court, which should recommend the solution as to how these illegal and unlawful constructed buildings can be demolished and the plot/land put to its original use and how the people, who are occupying such buildings, will be compensated and provided alternate accommodation by SBCA from the funds generated by its own staff,” read the court order.
The ban would also be applicable in cantonment boards; SBCA gets one month to review all ‘illegal’ constructions
Expressing serious concerns with the SBCA for allowing illegal constructions and conversions, the apex court asked a provincial law officer to take instructions from the Sindh government regarding taking over the authority’s functions, including master plan of all cities of the province, and submit its response on the next date of hearing.
The bench also directed the chief secretary to be in attendance on Jan 24 to make a statement in this regard.
During the hearing, SBCA director general Iftikhar Qaimkhani conceded that amenity plots, playgrounds and parks were being allowed to be occupied and converted and used for commercial exploitation.
In a previous hearing, the apex court had directed Mr Qaimkhani to remove and demolish all the illegal constructions including marriage halls, shopping centres, apartments and fuel stations established in Jam Sadiq Ali Park and restore it to its original condition.
However, the bench observed that nothing had been done so far, rather an effort was made to justify the conversion of the park into a commercial plot.
The SBCA chief again stated that he would ensure to restore the park to its original position after removing all encroachments within a period of four weeks.
The bench granted him the required time and asked him to come up with a compliance report.
‘Epidemic’ of wedding halls, shopping centres
Justice Ahmed observed that besides Jam Sadiq Ali Park, there were so many other amenity plots in the city, meant for parks, playgrounds and other amenity uses as per the original master plan, which have also been allowed to be converted into commercial use.
The SBCA chief must take steps to restore all these amenity plots to their original position, Justice Ahmed said.
He further remarked that there seemed to be an epidemic in the city of wedding halls, shopping centres and fuel stations and houses were being allowed to be converted for these purposes.
Besides placing a complete ban on change of residential and amenity plots’ status, the bench asked the master plan department of the SBCA and other authorities concerned of the city to review the allowed conversions and ruled that the ban would be applied across the city including cantonment boards.
Regarding illegal constructions in Lyari, the SBCA DG informed the bench that inquiries against the officials will be finalised in one month. He also ensured the bench that action will also be taken against SBCA officials who played havoc with the city by allowing illegal and unplanned constructions.
His response came against the backdrop of a previous order by the same bench that said: “The cost of relocation of the people occupying such illegal buildings shall be taken from the officials of KBCA which was renamed as SBCA themselves from their emoluments and properties and in this respect the DG shall raise funds and such funds shall include contribution from the DG himself also.
“Further, if these constructions have been carried out during the tenure of any other incumbent official, who has retired or is no more in employment, then after proper notice, recovery from retirement dues and his properties shall be made by the KBCA. The AGPR (accountant general of Pakistan revenue)/Accountant General, Sindh, to be notified accordingly.”
On Tuesday, the court directed the accountant general, Sindh to discuss the issue with the SBCA chief as to how the payment of emoluments to the staff of the SBCA was to be released.
KWSB told to demolish officers’ club
The bench also ordered the managing director of the Karachi Water and Sewerage Board (KWSB) to demolish its officers’ club, which is being used as marriage halls, since the plot was meant for amenity purposes.
The apex court further said that the KWSB had built the officers’ club on its land near Sharea Faisal and was running marriage halls on it.
Observing that since the land in question was meant for amenity purposes, construction of a club and allowing wedding functions on such land were not permissible by law. The court ordered the KWSB chief to immediately demolish the club and other constructions.
There should be a public park on the entire land with proper facilities for the public, it concluded.
Following the SC order, the KWSB administration started demolishing its officers’ club and work was under way till late in the evening.
LAHORE: Former premier Nawaz Sharif required ‘aggressive medication’ and ‘regular medical follow-ups’ to avoid cardiac complications, suggest his medical tests.
Former premier Nawaz Sharif was taken to the Punjab Institute of Cardiology (PIC) on Tuesday for his medical examination on the recommendation of a three-member special medical board.
“According to Mr Sharif’s medical tests (conducted on Tuesday), his condition is not serious. But, he needs aggressive medication and regular medical follow-ups to avoid cardiac complications,” a senior doctor told Dawn while quoting Mr Sharif’s medical report. He said Mr Sharif’s medical management would continue and his angiography might also be conducted.
Undergoes examination at the PIC
Mr Sharif’s stress thalium test (which is a nuclear imaging test that shows how well blood flows into one’s heart) suggests “post stress LV pump/contraction 56 per cent which is almost normal.
The report says there is a mild reversible ischemia inferior, basal and inferolateral walls (inferiolateral implies that the left ventricle, the main pumping chamber of the heart, is damaged on the lower left wall). The doctor, however, did not term the condition serious.
Nawaz Sharif, who is serving seven-year imprisonment in the Al-Azizia Steel Mills case in Kot Lakhpat Jail, was brought to the PIC in tight security. PML-N workers gathered outside the hospital and chanted slogans in favour of their leader when Mr Sharif was taken back to the jail.
Expressing concern about her father’s health, Maryam tweeted: “My only source of information on what is happening to my father is media only.”
Earlier, a special PIC board, comprising Prof Dr Shahid Hameed, Professor of Cardiology, (chairman), Dr Sajjad Ahmed, Associate Professor of Cardiology, and Dr Hamid Khalil, Assistant Professor of Cardiology, conducted tests of Mr Sharif in jail.
According to the board’s report, Sharif has vague symptoms of pain in both arms, particularly at night and numbness of toes.
It said: “Patient Nawaz Sharif, 69, is a known case of diabetes mellitus and hypertension for the last 10 years. He is also known case of Ischemic heart disease since 2001. He can walk 45 minutes without any significant symptoms. He denied any symptoms of dizziness, pre-syncope or syncope. His haemodynamics were also within normal limits. He is on dual antiplatelets, beta blocker, amlodipine, ARB’S and statins with anti-diabetics treatment.”
Mr Sharif, it says, underwent Coronary Angioplasty (PCI) twice in 2001 and 2017. “He also had open heart surgery twice in 2011 and 2016 (no medical record/documents are available for these above said procedures at the time of examination).
The board examined the patient with fresh ECG and limited available laboratory investigations,” the board says.
PML-N President Shahbaz Sharif has also shown concern at the health of his elder brother, asking the PTI government to provide best healthcare facilities to the three-time prime minister.
PESHAWAR: Awami National Party’s parliamentary leader in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly Sardar Hussain Babak on Tuesday asked the government to investigate the alleged harassment of a family by security personnel in Khaisor village of Mirali tehsil in North Waziristan.
Mr Babak, who is provincial general secretary of the party, submitted a call-attention notice to the KP Assembly, drawing the attention of the house to the Khaisoor incident after a video interview of a young boy went viral on social media.
In the video interview, Hayat, a resident of Khaisor village, tells another local youngster how the family has been facing harassment due to frequent visits by two personnel to his home after his father and brother were picked up by security forces. He says he is the only male member at home and the two security personnel, he names one of them, frequently enter his house unannounced.
Notice submitted to draw KP Assembly attention to young boy’s appeal
He requests the authorities to take action to stop these unwanted visits. He says his father and brother might not be freed but the security personnel’s visits should be stopped, as there are women in his house.
The interview that went viral on social media resulted in large protests in Mirali on Sunday. The protesters demanded that security personnel violating privacy and sanctity of homes be punished.
Leader of a Pashtun civil rights movement Manzoor Pashteen and MNA from North Waziristan Mohsin Dawar also showed support to the boy and called for urgent measures to bring an end to such harassment and violation of their privacy.
In a statement issued on Tuesday, the ANP provincial general secretary asked the government to break its silence on the issues pertaining to privacy of homes and honour of families, investigate the incident and punish the culprits.
He regretted that the heads of majority of political parties had been silent on the harassment, while the government was yet to take notice of the incident.
An innocent child’s plea should have been taken seriously by the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) lawmakers, but they failed to show any interest in the matter, which was regretful, he said.
Mr Babak said it was unbearable that the sanctity of home and privacy of a family was being violated. Keeping mum over the harassment would add to the woes of tribal districts. He called upon the government to take immediate notice of the incident and order an inquiry into it. The culprits should be punished, he demanded.
ISLAMABAD: The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) on Tuesday formed a combined investigation team (CIT) to probe alleged ‘fake’ bank accounts and money laundering suspicions against top Pakistan Peoples Party leadership, bankers and players in the real estate business.
The CIT, which is an internal NAB mechanism, was formed by the bureau’s chairman, retired Justice Javed Iqbal, in a high-level meeting held at the NAB headquarters. The CIT, headed by Irfan Naeem Mangi, Rawalpindi NAB DG, started functioning on Tuesday.
Mr Mangi was part of a joint investigation team (JIT) formed by the Supreme Court to probe the ‘Panama leaks’ revelations against ex-prime minister Nawaz Sharif. The recent meeting was attended by the NAB prosecutor general, director general operations, director general NAB Rawalpindi and other senior officers. The CIT is to summon all 172 persons suspected on the issue and record their statements.
A combined investigation team will summon all 172 persons named in JIT report
According to the NAB spokesperson, the SC judgement pertaining to the fake accounts case was reviewed at the NAB meeting. NAB chief Javed Iqbal is to directly supervise the official proceedings of the CIT, as per law.
It was decided at the meeting that investigations into fake bank accounts and money laundering would be taken to their logical conclusion in the light of the judgement of the apex court and on the basis of solid evidence. The accountability bureau has asked the media to meanwhile avoid speculation. In a recently issued judgement, the Supreme Court directed NAB to file references against the accused in an accountability court in Rawalpindi or Islamabad, and not in Karachi.
The interior ministry has already placed the names of 170 persons suspected of wrongdoing on the issue on the Exit Control List (ECL), including Asif Ali Zardari, his sister Faryal Talpur, former chief minister Sindh Qaim Ali Shah, Anwar Siyal, and Bahria Town owner Malik Riaz. The names of PPP chairperson Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari and Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah have been removed from the ECL, but they will have to take recourse to a plea bargain or face the case against them.
The NAB initially starts an inquiry on any complaint. In case credible evidence is found, the inquiry is turned into an investigation, after which it is decided whether or not a reference should be filed in an accountability court. In this specific case, the prime minister’s Special Assistant on Accountability Shahzad Akbar had said that NAB will not go for an inquiry but will initiate investigation on the basis of the inquiry conducted by the JIT formed by the SC.
In the JIT report, 172 people have been accused of having fake bank accounts and indulging in money laundering. The filing of 16 different references against them was recommended. According to the SC order given on Jan 14, 170 accused, including Mr Zardari, Ms Talpur, and Malik Riaz, will continue to remain on the travel watchlist.
The apex court asked NAB to conclude its investigation within two months; those found guilty of corruption will have two options – either face a reference or ask for a plea bargain. Though the JIT had recommended 16 references against the accused, how it would treat the JIT report and how many references would be filed depended on NAB.
ISLAMABAD: The National Assembly on Tuesday continued debate on the Sahiwal tragedy for a second consecutive day as opposition members reiterated their demand for a parliamentary committee to oversee the investigations, alleging that the Punjab government was trying to cover up the “cold-blooded murder” of three members of a family by personnel of the Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD).
Responding to the opposition’s demand that the report of the Joint Investigation Team (JIT) constituted by the Punjab government to probe the incident should be presented before parliament, federal Minister for Human Rights Shireen Mazari told the house that the interior minister would receive the report at 6.30pm and would lay it before the house soon after receiving it. However, when the session was adjourned by the chair at 8.05pm, neither Ms Mazari nor any minister was present in the assembly.
A member of the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) from Sahiwal, Rai Murtaza Iqbal, termed the incident a “test case” for the government of his own party, suggesting that the PTI government should apologise to the nation and the members of the deceased family over the incident.
“The government as a first step should have admitted that it has failed to protect the lives and apologise to the whole nation and the (affected) family,” Mr Iqbal said, demanding that “either the case be referred to military courts or the accused CTD personnel be tried before a special court to decide the case within two to three months”.
Mr Iqbal said it was a challenge for the PTI government to prevent the country from becoming a “security or a police state”.
Another MNA from Sahiwal, Chaudhry Mohammad Ashraf of the opposition Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), disclosed that the deputy commissioner of the area had confirmed to him that no resistance was offered from the occupants of the car as claimed by the police.
Another PML-N MNA from Vehari, Sajid Mehdi, was of the opinion that after seeing the video clip of the incident, there was no need for formation of the JIT. He asked Prime Minister Imran Khan and Punjab Chief Minister Usman Buzdar to visit the house of the affected family and tender apology. He regretted that on one hand, the PTI members were shedding tears on the incident and on the other, they were defending the culprits.
Pakistan Peoples Party stalwart Syed Khursheed Shah alleged that the Punjab government was “completely involved” in the incident. He expressed his surprise over the Punjab government’s decision to pay Rs20 million compensation to the family, after declaring them terrorists.
“Had it ever happened that a terrorist was paid Rs20 million?” he asked.
Mr Shah said a parliamentary committee be formed to carry out investigations and see as to who had actually provided information to the CTD officials who carried out this operation.
PPP’s Nawab Yousuf Talpur questioned as to why the CTD abandoned the bodies at the site, if they were terrorists?
The most hard-hitting and emotional speech of the day was delivered by PPP MNA and PTI dissident Naz Baloch, who asked both the prime minister and the chief minister to step down after taking responsibility of the incident. “Please return our old Pakistan. We don’t want your Naya Pakistan,” Ms Baloch said, while condemning the Sahiwal incident.
A team of senior officials from Britain's national flag-carrier will be visiting Pakistan next week to inspect whether all prerequisite security measures are in place before the airline resumes its flights to Islamabad in June after a 10-year break.
"The main purpose of the visit will be to engage the Pakistani authorities on the critical security measures which British Airways (BA) will require full implementation of before they commence operations in June," read a letter written by British Deputy High Commissioner Richard Crowder to Secretary Aviation Division Shahrukh Nusrat.
During the visit, according to the letter, the BA team would like to visit the new Islamabad International Airport to "see first-hand the security measures in operation and to understand the infrastructure and services in place to support [BA] flights to and from Islamabad".
The deputy high commissioner wrote that the resumption of directs flights to Pakistan by Britain's flag-carrier was excellent news for both the countries.
"I see British Airways' return as a vote of confidence in the future of our two countries' links, and, of course, a reflection of the great improvements in the security situation in Pakistan in recent years," he wrote.
BA's head of worldwide airports, Paul Coventry, International Risk Adviser David Craig and Director Safety and Security John Monks will be visiting the country on January 29-30. The team is expected to visit the Islamabad airport on either day of their visit.
In September 2008, British Airways had suspended all its flights to Pakistan "for an indefinite period" citing security concerns in the aftermath of the Marriott Hotel bombing that claimed more than 50 lives and injured more than 250 people.
The airline last month decided to resume direct flights from London Heathrow to Islamabad’s new airport. According to a press release issued on BA's website, the route will launch as a three-per-week service, operated on a three-class Boeing 787 Dreamliner, with return fares starting from £499 [roughly Rs91,000].
Working conditions in smaller factories are usually worse than those in larger ones that are more likely to be inspected— AFP/File photo
Millions of workers in Pakistan’s garment industry suffer abuse and labour rights violations, notes a recent report released by the Human Rights Watch (HRW).
“No Room to Bargain” Unfair and Abusive Labour Practices in Pakistan is largely based on interviews with more than a 100 people, including 118 garment workers from 25 factories, union leaders, government representatives, and labour rights advocates in Karachi, Lahore and Hafizabad, and documents a range of violations in Pakistan’s garment factories that include:
The report also highlights widespread suppression of independent labour unions by factory owners, as well as the incompetence and inefficiencies of the government’s labour inspection mechanisms.
“The government has long neglected
its obligations to protect the rights
of the country’s garment workers.
It needs to urgently enforce labour laws
and adopt new policies
to protect them.”
— Brad Adams,
Asia director at HRW.
The textile and garment sectors are important components of the country's manufacturing industry. The International Labour Organization (ILO) estimated that the Garments, Textiles and Footwear sector in Pakistan employed 4.2 million people in 2014-15.
The garment and textile sector contributes up to 8.5 percent of Pakistan’s GDP and about 70 percent of total exports.
No Room to Bargain sheds light on the lives and the working conditions of abused and neglected workers in the garment industry, who often remain invisible and absent from the political agenda.
Source: HRW
Below are the some of the main findings of the report:
1. Complete lack of accountability for poor working conditions
Working conditions in smaller factories are usually worse than those in larger ones that are more likely to be inspected. However, violations of labour rights including long working hours and extended temporary employment without job security or benefits even in large Pakistani factories, including some that supply garments to international retailers and brands, was well-documented.
2. Irregular hiring practice/ Absence of written contracts
The use of verbal contracts is alarmingly widespread throughout the garment industry. Not having an employment contract makes it very difficult for workers to demand employment benefits or to enforce terms of employment. It is common practice to hire workers on a “piece-rate” based on a production quota, this adds to worker insecurity because it takes away the guarantee of a fixed income. It is also often used as a disciplinary measure to enhance productivity.
3. Forced overtime
Factories routinely compel workers to work beyond the legally permissible nine hours, and in many case without extra pay. The absence of a written contract and a formal appointment letter makes workers vulnerable to retaliation for refusing to work overtime.
4. Denying wages, social security and pension benefits
The lack of employment contracts and registration means that factories routinely deny social security and pension benefits to workers. In some cases, the social security and pension amounts are deducted from salaries and never deposited, resulting in illegal enrichment of factory owners.
5. Lack of breaks and medical leave
Several workers also informed that the factory management deny adequate breaks to the workers on grounds of “productivity.” Workers are even denied breaks to drink water or use toilets.
Workers, many of them women, said that they experienced verbal abuse, were pressured not
to take toilet breaks, and were even denied clean drinking water— Reuters/File photo
6. Unsanitary conditions in the factories
Many of the workers complained about unsanitary conditions in the factories, including dirty drinking water, substandard food, no provision of medical assistance, and overcrowding.
7. Challenges for women
Women workers are exceptionally dis-empowered and discriminated against in the garment industry. Many women are employed as contract, piece-rate, non-unionized workers in low-paid and low-skilled roles. Women workers asserted that in practice there is no maternity leave since pregnant women are either fired or themselves leave the job for a few months.
8. Outsourcing to home-based women workers
Some garment factories producing for domestic brands use home-based workers for special orders or on a seasonal basis. Women working from home are often denied labour law protections. They are not able to join factory unions, and their work remains largely unregulated and vulnerable to middlemen, who often refuse to pay minimum wage. No province apart from Sindh has taken meaningful steps to protect the rights of home-based women workers.
9. Clamping down on independent unions
Labour rights activists described union-busting by many large factories. Factory managers often keep workers on short-term contracts to discourage their participation in union activities. Workers also alleged that factory owners manipulate the labour law to create obstacles to register trade unions. Several factories register fake or “yellow” unions consisting of chosen or non-existent employees, making it close to impossible for workers to register real unions.
10. Incapacity and complicity of government labour protection mechanisms
The provincial labour departments are completely inefficient and, in many cases, complicit. Labour inspections happen very rarely and almost never unannounced. According to one estimate there are only 537 labour inspectors in the country for 350,000 factories in the country and only 17 women labour inspectors.
The Pakistan federal and provincial governments should revise all relevant labour laws to ensure they are in line with key international labour standards.
The Pakistan federal government should carry out effective and impartial investigations into workers’ allegations of mistreatment, including beatings, threats, and other abuses, and prosecute those responsible.
The Pakistan provincial governments should develop and implement a plan to increase the number of government labour inspectors, improve their training, establish clear procedures for independent and credible inspections, and expand the resources at their disposal to conduct effective inspections.
International and domestic companies manufacturing in Pakistan should publicly disclose and update supplier factory lists; join collective brand initiatives; and take steps to develop grievance redress procedures for all workers, incorporating workers’ freedom of association as a core part of all binding and non-binding brand agreements.
Under the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, domestic and international apparel brands and factories supplying them have responsibilities to prevent and mitigate human rights abuses in factories and should take remedial action if abuses occur
Finance Minister Asad Umar is expected to present the federal government's mini-budget during the National Assembly session to be held today.
Earlier, Umar, without revealing any specifics, had said the mini-budget to be announced today will help generate more revenue for the government.
A federal cabinet meeting headed by Prime Minister Imran Khan is currently underway. During the meeting, Umar will provide a briefing on the finance bill, which the federal cabinet is expected to rubber-stamp thereafter.
This will be the third money bill for fiscal year 2018-2019.
The National Assembly had in May 2018 passed the Finance Bill 2018-19 during the tenure of the PML-N government, the basic structure of which remained the same as announced by then Finance Minister Miftah Ismail on Apr 27, 2018.
The highlights of the amendment included a cut in federal development programmes and measures to bring the budget deficit down to 5.1 per cent.
Tax rates were lower than the previous year and the tax relief that had been granted by the PML-N was revoked from salaried persons earning more than Rs200,000 per month. The tax rate in the highest income tax slab was raised from 15 pc to 30 pc. The rate of withholding tax on banking transactions for non-tax filers was increased to 0.6pc
Other developments included an increase in federal excise duty on imports of luxury vehicles and duties on 'expensive' cell phones. Customs duty was also increased on more than 5,000 'luxury' items. Regulatory duty was increased on the import of more than 900 items.
The Insaf Sehat Card facility was expanded to Fata and Islamabad Capital Territory.
Opposition opposes govt decision to announce mini-budget
On Jan 16, the government had sought the opposition’s support on the mini-budget set to be announced today. National Assembly Speaker Asad Qaiser had facilitated two meetings between the government and opposition in which the issues of the mini-budget and formation of committees of the NA were discussed.
However, leaders of various political parties opposed the government’s plans, saying the mini-budget "will add to the miseries of public" and "badly affect the commerce and industrial sectors in the country".
Parliamentary leader of the PPP in the Senate, Sherry Rehman, had in a statement expressed her reservations over the ever-increasing prices.
Similarly, several PML-N leaders, including former prime minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, had also questioned the government’s move to present another finance bill.
Speaking at a news conference on Jan 12, the PML-N leaders had lashed out at the PTI government for what they termed "directionless and failed" economic policies, which they claimed had drastically brought down the country’s growth rate in just five months.
What to expect in the mini-budget
The supplementary budget is expected to offer major incentives to boost the stock market, housing, agriculture and industrial sectors, besides imposing punitive duties on luxury imports.
According to the finance ministry’s adviser and spokesman Dr Khaqan Najeeb Khan, the mini-budget will support ease of business processes, simplify procedures and facilitate business by reducing bureaucratic red-tape.
Informed sources, however, said the government is planning to reverse documentation reforms introduced for the equity markets in a bid to turn around the declining stock index which fell from its high at 53,000 points in 2016 to around 38,000 points at present. The package was also likely to include the reduction and removal of some tax rates, commissions and capital gains tax.
A pilot of the Pakistan Air Force (PAF) was martyred in an air crash near Balochistan's Mastung area on Wednesday.
The accident occurred during a training mission being carried out in a multi-role aircraft, said a statement issued by the Directorate of Media Affairs of PAF.
"The PAF reports with regret that an F-7PG aircraft, while on a routine operational training mission, crashed near Mastung," it said.
The PAF statement said that the cause of the accident is yet to be ascertained. However, a board of inquiry has been ordered by Air Headquarters to determine the cause.
Last year in June, two PAF pilots were martyred when an FT-7PG crashed during landing at the Peshawar Air Base.
F-7PGs were first inducted into the PAF in 2002 as a replacement for the F-6, which were then decommissioned. Later the force inducted the trainer FT-7PGs. The PAF had previously operated F-7Ps.
At least 13 F-7PGs/FT-7PGs have been lost during their 17 years in service. The PAF has more than 50 of the Chinese-made aircraft in its fleet.
At least 1,800 computerised national identity cards (CNICs) were stolen from the National Database and Registration Authority's (Nadra) office in the Landhi area of Karachi ahead of the by-polls in PS-94 Korangi, police said on Wednesday.
According to the police officials, the suspects broke into the Nadra office premises late on Tuesday and stole the CNIC cards.
The theft at the Nadra office comes ahead of the by-elections for Sindh Assembly seat, PS-94 Korangi Karachi-III, scheduled for January 24 (tomorrow) after the seat fell vacant following the death of MQM MPA Muhammad Wajahat. A total of 28 aspirants have come into the field to contest the by-polls.
On the complaint of a Nadra official, police have registered a first information report (FIR) against unidentified suspects under Section 457 (lurking house-trespass or house-breaking by night in order to commit offence punishable with imprisonment), Section 380 (theft in dwelling-house, etc) and Section 34 (common intention) of the Pakistan Penal Code(PPC).
Meanwhile, Sindh Inspector General of Police Dr Syed Kaleem Imam took notice of the theft at the Nadra Landhi office and sought a detailed inquiry report from the Korangi SSP.
A man from Rawalpindi was arrested on Wednesday after his daughter accused him of having raped and impregnated her, said police.
The 16-year-old girl alleged that her father had been sexually abusing her over the past year and she had finally decided to approach the police after learning that she has become pregnant.
Police have registered a case against the man on the complaint of his daughter under Section 376 of the Pakistan Penal Code.
According to the first information report (FIR), a copy of which is available with DawnNewsTV, the teenage victim is the second eldest child among three sisters and three brothers. The family lives on Rawalpindi's Girja road and her father works at a nearby brick kiln.
The girl's mother fled away to Peshawar after having grown tired of her husband's alleged cruelty and torture. After the mother left home, the father allegedly beat up the girl's elder brother, who too ran away to Peshawar, leaving the girl to take care of her siblings, all of whom are younger than her, the report quotes the complainant girl as telling the police.
Her father then allegedly turned his ire towards her, the victim said in her statement to police.
"He would beat me up and rape me throughout the past year. When I would beg him to stop, and tell him I would complain to the police, he would threaten to treat me like he had treated my mother and said he would kill me," the FIR quotes the girl as saying.
While speaking to DawnNewsTV, the girl said that the family had moved to Rawalpindi from Peshawar.
"I was left alone to take care of my siblings. My father crossed all limits of cruelty. I have come to police seeking deliverance from the oppression I have to face every day," she said.
DSP Farhan Aslam of Sadar Bairooni police station told DawnNewsTV that a medical examination of the girl had been conducted and doctors have confirmed that she is indeed pregnant. The initial medical report has further revealed that she was constantly raped, resulting in her pregnancy.
"True facts will emerge only after results from the DNA examination are released and it is ascertained whether it was the girl's father who impregnated her or someone else," said the police officer.
The DSP further said that the arrested accused will be presented before the court tomorrow, adding that the girl has been handed over to the care of the women's police.
The court will determine whether she should be shifted to Darul Aman or the child protection bureau, he said.
Finance Minister Asad Umar presented the third finance bill for the current fiscal year during the National Assembly session being held on Wednesday evening.
Earlier, Umar, without revealing any specifics, had said the 'mini-budget' — technically the Finance Supplementary (Second Amendment) Bill of 2019 — would help generate more revenue for the government.
Speaking amidst loud jeering by opposition lawmakers, the finance minister described the bill as a measure to address the people of Pakistan's needs.
"This is not a budget, this is a corrective package aimed at addressing various sectors of the economy," the finance minister clarified at the start of his speech.
Salient features of Finance Supplementary (Second Amendment) Bill of 2019
Tax on income generated from loans to small businesses, agriculture sector and low-income housing to be reduced from 39pc at present to 20pc.
Introduction of interest-free revolving credit of Rs5 billion (qarz-i-husna)
Withholding tax on bank transactions waived off for tax filers.
Ban on purchase of vehicles for non-filers lifted for new locally manufactured cars up till 1300CC capacity, but higher taxes will apply.
Small businesses exempted from submitting withholding tax returns every month; will do so only twice every year.
Rs20,000 fixed tax on marriage halls reduced to Rs5,000.
Pilot scheme to be introduced in Islamabad to facilitate traders in filing and paying taxes.
Duty on newsprint abolished completely.
Investment in solar panels and wind turbines to be exempt from duties and taxation for five years.
Reduction and abolishment (in some cases) of duties on raw materials to support export industries.
Super tax on non-banking companies to be abolished from July 1, 2019.
Continuation of 1pc per annum reduction in corporate income tax.
Capital loss carry-over to be allowed for 3 years (stock trading).
0.02 per cent withholding tax on trading to be abolished.
Import duties on cars with engine capacity of 1800CC and above to be increased.
Taxes and duties on mobile phones rationalised: taxes on budget sets to be reduced, high-end sets to become more expensive.
Machinery for greenfield projects (including renewables) to be exempt of customs duty, sales tax and income tax (for five years)
Tax refunds to be worked out; promissory notes to be issued by mid-February.
Gas Infrastructure Development Cess to be removed from fertiliser production.
Duty on diesel engines for agricultural applications to be reduced to 5pc from current 17pc.
Starting his speech with an assessment of Pakistan's economic condition, the finance minister said his aim had been to eliminate all factors that necessitate a return to the International Monetary Fund for a bailout package by successive regimes.
"The Constitution ensures the rights of the underprivileged segment of society and it is the Pakistani government and parliament's responsibility to reduce the gap between the rich and the poor. Unfortunately, this responsibility was never fulfilled," the finance minister continued. "I wish to recommend measures for the prosperity of this country," he added.
Finance Minister Asad Umar's full speech.
"The people sitting on my right [the opposition] had left nothing when they were leaving the government. Instead of reforming themselves, the last ruling regime tried to buy an election. The budget deficit, as presented by them [in their budget], should have been 4.1 but the actual deficit at the end of the year clocked in [much higher]," he said, speaking above opposition shouts of "Liar, liar!"
"They destroyed the electricity [generation and distribution] system and left us a Rs450bn deficit. The gas [distribution] system which had never witnessed a deficit has now recorded Rs150bn deficit," he complained. "Similarly, the deficit was around Rs30bn in Railways."
"They left the country indebted with Rs2,500bn to Rs3,000bn in loans that were not shown in the books," he further alleged.
"I wish those shouting 'Liar, Liar!' right now had called out their own ministers when they were in power," he said after recounting the challenges he said he had inherited.
"We took several difficult decisions, and I appreciate that the people realised that these difficult decisions were necessary," the finance minister said.
"I want to give them the good news that these difficult decisions are yielding dividends: the deficit is reducing, exports are increasing and imports are declining. We need to bring a balance in revenue and expenditure as it is vital for growth. Our imports are touching a dangerous point. We have to increase exports and bring reforms in the agriculture and other sectors," he said.
"The camera is recording [when I say this]: At the time of the next election, the PTI govt will not have to purchase an election [like our opponents attempted to]. The years 2022 and '23 will witness the highest growth as compared to the period from 2008 to 2023," he claimed.
Umar said the opposition will guide the government in its efforts to bring reforms in the economy. He said the PTI has given preference to the livelihood of youngsters.
Considering that small and medium-sized businesses hold an important position for the growth of the economy, he announced a reduction in the tax on small and medium enterprises. A cut in interest rate was also announced on agricultural loans, along with a reduction in the low-incoming housing tax.
Announcing that the withholding tax on banking deposits and transactions is being waved off for filers, the minister said the previous government "were proud of their influence in the business community but they hit them hard".
"Pakistan was 76th in the international ranking of ease of doing business but during the last decade, it fell to 136th rank. We are taking steps for ease of doing business. Instead of submitting their withholding tax statement every month, businessmen will have to submit it only twice a year," he said.
He announced that the government will launch a pilot project of a scheme in Islamabad under which a simple regime for taxation will be introduced on traders' request.
Umar revealed a second revision in PTI government's policy on disallowing non-filers from purchasing vehicles. "We decided to lift the ban on the purchase of small [locally manufactured] vehicles up to 1300CC, but the tax ratio for non-filers is being increased so they are encouraged to become filers," Umar said.
"Most of the news and editorials are not being published in the PTI government's favour but we do believe that a free press is vital for true democracy ... so we are completely waiving the duty on import of newsprint," he announced.
Speaking about the need to strengthen the industrial sector, the minister said the government would reduce, and in some cases waive off, the duties on raw materials in order to make industries profitable. "Special attention has been paid to small and medium industries, including vendors of the auto industry," he added.
Umar termed the previous government's alleged move to tax investments as "cruelty". Promising to bring investments to the Special Economic Zones being set up as part of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, he announced that all equipment brought to the SEZs will now be duty-free.
He said: "Our trade deficit’s larger chunk consists of energy imports. We want to shift our dependence to renewable electricity ... we want solar panels and wind turbines to be produced locally. And so investment in this sector for local production will enjoy a five-year relaxation in duties and taxes."
Umar said the previous government, instead of encouraging savings, had imposed a tax on savings of companies that they could use for reinvestment. "We are eliminating this foolish tax by July 1," he announced.
Referring to the opposition's frequent criticism of the prevailing situation at the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX), the minister said, "When the stock market lost 15,000 points in just seven months during their [opposition's] tenure, there was no problem; when the market plunged by just 5,000 points during our government a hue and cry was raised that the economy had crashed."
He added that the PSX had seen an increase of 3,000 points during the last three weeks.
In what he said was the "only item" in the supplementary budget where the tax is being increased, Umar announced that the duty on import of vehicles with engine capacity of 1800CC and above would be raised.
He said the administrative issues of exporters were being resolved and would be "revealed later". For farmers, the minister said, the price of urea will be reduced by Rs200 per bag after legislation is passed by the parliament in this regard. In addition, production units are being increased by 50pc to facilitate the issuance of loans to farmers and the regulatory duty on components of diesel engine is being reduced from 17pc to 5pc.
"I hope that the country's new journey of self-dependence will continue. We are ready to take difficult decisions. We may ask for assistance from the IMF but we will not let the burden pass on to poor people," he concluded.
What was expected from the mini-budget
Earlier today, the federal cabinet headed by Prime Minister Imran Khan was given a briefing on the bill, after which it was taken to the parliament for debate.
The supplementary budget was expected to offer major incentives to boost the stock market, housing, agriculture and industrial sectors, besides imposing punitive duties on luxury imports.
According to the finance ministry’s adviser and spokesman Dr Khaqan Najeeb Khan, the mini-budget would support ease of business processes, simplify procedures and facilitate business by reducing bureaucratic red-tape.
Informed sources, however, said the government was planning to reverse documentation reforms introduced for the equity markets in a bid to turn around the declining stock index which fell from its high at 53,000 points in 2016 to around 38,000 points at present. The package was also likely to include the reduction and removal of some tax rates, commissions and capital gains tax.
Third bill for fiscal 2019
The 'mini-budget' would constitute the third finance bill for fiscal 2018-2019.
The National Assembly had in May 2018 passed the Finance Bill 2018-19 during the tenure of the PML-N government, the basic structure of which remained the same as announced by then Finance Minister Miftah Ismail on Apr 27, 2018.
The highlights of the amendment included a cut in federal development programmes and measures to bring the budget deficit down to 5.1 per cent.
Tax rates were lower than the previous year and the tax relief that had been granted by the PML-N was revoked from salaried persons earning more than Rs200,000 per month. The tax rate in the highest income tax slab was raised from 15 pc to 30 pc. The rate of withholding tax on banking transactions for non-tax filers was increased to 0.6pc
Other developments included an increase in federal excise duty on imports of luxury vehicles and duties on 'expensive' cell phones. Customs duty was also increased on more than 5,000 'luxury' items. Regulatory duty was increased on the import of more than 900 items.
The Insaf Sehat Card facility was expanded to Fata and Islamabad Capital Territory.
Opposition opposes govt decision to announce mini-budget
On Jan 16, the government had sought the opposition’s support for the mini-budget announced today. National Assembly Speaker Asad Qaiser had facilitated two meetings between the government and opposition in which the issues of the mini-budget and formation of committees of the NA were discussed.
However, leaders of various political parties had opposed the government’s plans, saying the mini-budget "will add to the miseries of public" and "badly affect the commerce and industrial sectors in the country".
Parliamentary leader of the PPP in the Senate, Sherry Rehman, had in a statement expressed her reservations over ever-increasing prices of various commodities.
Similarly, several PML-N leaders, including former prime minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, had also criticised the government’s move to present another finance bill.
Speaking at a news conference on Jan 12, the PML-N leaders had lashed out at the PTI government for what they termed "directionless and failed" economic policies, which they claimed had drastically brought down the country’s growth rate in just five months.
Three women accused of murdering a 15-year-old domestic worker in Lahore were handed over to police custody on a two-day physical remand on Wednesday. The case proceedings were held in a district and sessions court, where Judicial Magistrate Mohammad Zia Khan pronounced the court's decision.
On Sunday, the body of a teenage domestic worker was recovered by police from a stormwater drain in Lahore's Iqbal Town area.
Later on Tuesday, Superintendent Police (SP) Investigation Shazia Sarwar announced the arrest of three suspects in connection with the alleged murder of the domestic worker.
Subsequently, a case was registered against the three women — owner of the house where the victim worked, the owner's daughter and her sister-in-law — on the complaint of the victim's father under Sections 302 (punishment for qatl-i-amd), 148 (rioting, armed with deadly weapon), and 149 (every member of unlawful assembly guilty of offence committed in prosecution of common object) of the Pakistan Penal Code.
"The accused tortured the domestic worker which led to her death," said SP Sarwar, adding that the accused "dumped the girl's body in the drain nearby Neelum Block".
The officer revealed that the women had also made a "fake call to the police helpline claiming that the girl had run away after stealing from them". She said that the three women were traced using CCTV footage and the call data record (CDR) of the mobile phones used.
A homicide unit led by Sub Inspector (SI) Murad Rasool then arrested the women.
A post-mortem examination of the victim girl was conducted but a report is yet to be released.
Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry has denied the government's involvement in reporting lawyer Reema Omer's tweets — that debated the status of military courts in the Constitution — to the micro-blogging site.
On Monday, Omer said that Twitter had received "official correspondence" that her tweets were in violation of the Pakistani law.
"Interesting times where 'officials' see references to the law — i.e., the Constitution + judgements of high courts — as a violation of the law," she had said.
Responding to her tweet, Chaudhry clarified that the government did not have any correspondence with Twitter over Omer's tweets.
"This is absolutely an academic debate; why would govt question that debate?" he asked.
"Thank you, Sir. Appreciate your clarification," Omer replied.
She, however, said "it leads to more questions: Is Twitter making up these emails? Is some impostor pretending to be a government official making these complaints? Or are these complaints being made 'officially', but without the government’s knowledge?"
In recent months, users, both local and international, have reported that they have received notices from Twitter labelling their tweets in violation with Pakistani law.
Earlier this month, DawnNewsTV anchor and senior journalist Mubashir Zaidi said that he had received an email from Twitter saying that his tweet regarding the murders of politician Ali Raza Abidi and SP Tahir Dawar was "in violation of Pakistani law according to a complaint it received" from Pakistan".
