LAHORE: The PML-N has alleged horse-trading and use of arm-twisting in the elections for the slots of speaker and deputy speaker of the Punjab Assembly held on Thursday.

Party candidate for chief minister Hamza Shahbaz alleged during his media talk after the polls that 12 votes of the PML-N were “stolen” in the election for the office of speaker as its nominee Chaudhry Muhammad Iqbal could bag 147 ballots against its numerical strength of 164 in the house.

The tally of votes increased to 159 in the contest for the position of deputy speaker when they threatened to jam the democratic system through a vigorous protest against the rigging, he added.

Hamza alleges 12 PML-N votes were stolen

Both the slots were won by the candidates of PTI-PML-Q alliance. Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi (Q leader) became speaker by clinching 201 votes and Sardar Dost Mazari (PTI) deputy speaker by gaining 187 votes.

The PML-N earlier boycotted the polling for the office of deputy speaker after election to the speaker’s slot as its leader Khwaja Saad Rafiq alleged that his party’s MPAs were being coerced to vote for the nominees of PTI-Q alliance.

Voting process remained suspended for hours and the N League agreed to join it only after talks with a PTI team, which guaranteed fairness in the elections.

When the result of the speaker’s election was announced, PML-N MPAs led by Azma Zahid Bukhari staged a protest for over half-an-hour in front of the speaker’s rostrum and raised slogans against ‘horse-trading’.

As Mr Elahi took charge of his office following the oath administered by outgoing speaker Rana Muhammad Iqbal, the new speaker initially asked PTI and PML-Q members to keep cool and allowed the PML-N MPAs to vent their anger.

In his inaugural speech, Mr Elahi acknowledged support of PTI chief Imran Khan and alliance members for getting him elected as speaker. He assured the house that he would carry along all MPAs to run the house affairs in a manner that poor masses would be served through required legislation. He said the house would be run in a fair and judicious manner as all relevant rules and regulations would be implemented. “The PTI-and PML-Q governance system will turn around the fate of the province and its residents,” he asserted.

PML-N candidate for speaker Chaudhry Iqbal Gujjar said his party would cooperate with the government if it followed the right path.

Earlier in the day, PML-N leaders Saad Rafique and Rana Mashhood raised concerns about the secrecy of ballot papers in the presence of smart phone cameras.

The voting started for the speaker’s election after all members in the house agreed that nobody would take his or her mobile phone along while stamping ballot paper in the polling booth.

The PML-N and PTI members kept raising slogans during the process. The PML-N also tried to interrupt the voting process by raising objection that why the majority party had yet not given schedule for the chief minister election. The PTI members kept the chief minister’s seat in the house vacant as no nominee had been announced by the party leadership . ALEEM KHAN: Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf leader Aleem Khan has said the Punjab Assembly speaker and deputy speaker election results were not the only shock for the PML-N as more such trouble was in store.

Speaking to media persons, Mr Khan said the people of Punjab had rejected the PML-N and added that some of its elected members had even voted for Speaker Pervaiz Elahi. “I did not contact any PML-N MPA to seek vote for speaker and deputy speaker,” he said.

Published in Dawn, August 17th, 2018

ISLAMABAD: The National Accou­n­­­tability Bureau (NAB) decided on Thursday to take action against over two dozen politicians, including former federal ministers Khawaja Mohammad Asif and Babar Khan Ghouri and former MNA retired Captain Mohammad Safdar.

NAB has also decided to initiate an inquiry against Aleem Khan, a leader of the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI).

Former MNAs Abdul Hakim Bal­och, Ramesh Lal and Rai Mansab Ali Khan, MPAs Zafar Ali Shah and Anita Irfan Bashir (Balochistan), Sardar Ghalib Khan Chandio and Hussain Dahar (Sindh), Sohail Zafar (Punjab), the Peshawar district Nazim and former special assistant to the Sindh chief minister Behlaj Mal will also face NAB probe.

Allegations include abuse of authority, money laundering and assets beyond known sources of income

The NAB Executive Board Meeting approved filing of corruption reference against Babar Khan Ghouri and others for abuse of authority causing a loss of up to Rs2.85 billion to the national exchequer by illegally appointing 974 people.

It also authorised an inquiry against Khawaja Mohammad Asif and others for alleged money laundering and having assets beyond known sources of their income, causing a loss of Rs3.668bn to the national kitty.

NAB will file a reference against Sikander Aziz and others for abuse of authority and occupying the land of the Peshawar Cantonment Board through fake documents.

An inquiry will be conducted against officials / officers of the workers welfare boards of Punjab, Sindh and Balochistan who are accused of committing corruption in the purchase of equipment in Matric Tech Project, causing a loss of Rs 100 million to the national exchequer.

The meeting approved an inquiry against the officials / officers of the National Highway Authority (NHA) for awarding a contract for Multan-Sukkur Motorway project illegally, causing a loss of Rs259.352bn to the national exchequer.

An inquiry was also approved aga­i­nst the management / revenue officers of Sahil Private Limited for illegally getting government land allotted.

The meeting authorised an inquiry against former minister Zafar Ali Leghari and others for their involvement in corruption and occupying government land, inflicting a loss of Rs574m to the national exchequer.

Another inquiry will be carried out against Behlaj Mal, special assistant to the former chief minister of Sindh, for having assets beyond known sources of his income.

An inquiry was approved against former MNA Abdul Hakim Baloch for having assets beyond known sources of his income and wealth of Rs763m.

The NAB authorised an inquiry against the Peshawar district Nazim and others for illegally transferring amounts to district councils inflicting a loss of Rs100m.

The meeting authorised an inquiry against the cabinet division for issuing Rs9bn to PWD for allegedly allowing development works in Capt Safdar’s constituency through his favourite contractors.

An inquiry was approved against former chief secretary of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Amjad Ali Khan, officers of C&W and irrigation departments. They have been accused of abusing their authority, committing corruption in development funds, illegally selling irrigation department land and cutting Shesham trees and selling them to their favourites.

The meeting authorised an inquiry against former MPA Anita Irfan Bashir and others for alleged corruption in the funds of Christian Housing Scheme, Quetta.

An inquiry was permitted against MNA Ramesh Lal and others for abusing their authority and having assets beyond known sources of their income.

The meeting authorised an inquiry against former MPA Sardar Ghalib Khan Chandio and others.

The NAB authorised an inquiry against former MPA Ahmed Hussain Dahar and others for allegedly having assets beyond their income and abusing authority.

The board approved an inquiry against Rai Mansab Ali Khan, Rai Inayat and others. They have been accused of allotting state land by abusing their authority.

The meeting approved an inquiry against Sohail Zafar, Rizwan Zafar and others for alleged abuse of authority and having assets beyond income.

The NAB authorised an inquiry against Abdul Aleem Khan and others for their involvement in suspicious transaction of 50m euros.

The meeting approved an inquiry against the head of National Testing Services Haroon Rashid, Waheedullah Nagra, Mohammad Javed, Mohibur Rehman and others for their involvement in alleged corruption and non-transparency in examinations.

The NAB authorised an investigation against former vice chancellor of Punjab University Dr Mujahid Kamran and others for alleged abuse of authority and illegal appointments.

Published in Dawn, August 17th, 2018

In a landmark decision, the Supreme Court on Friday permitted Pakistanis residing abroad to cast their votes in the upcoming by-polls to fill seats vacated by lawmakers who contested and won more than one seat in the July 25 polls, or for other reasons.

"Many congratulations to overseas Pakistanis today," said Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Mian Saqib Nisar, noting that it would be the first time that expat Pakistanis will be voting in a local election.

If the pilot project of overseas Pakistanis voting in the by-elections ends successfully, it will lead to the court granting expats the right to vote in the general elections.

The judgement was issued by a three-judge bench headed by the CJP which was hearing petitions at the apex court's Lahore registry filed by Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) chairman Imran Khan and others, seeking voting rights for overseas Pakistanis.

Justice Nisar directed the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) to cooperate with the National Database and Registration Authority (Nadra) and ensure proper arrangements in order to make the pilot project a success.

The court ordered that results obtained from i-voting (internet voting) by overseas Pakistanis will be included in the final results of the by-polls.

However, the i-voting results will also be stored separately and will be taken out from the final count in case a conflict arises, the CJP ordered.

More details to follow.

LARKANA: Senior Superintendent of Police Ghulam Shabbir Sethar on Wednesday suspended and demoted SHO Fida Hussain Langah and writing head constable (WHC) Abdul Rasheed Bhutto for illegally detaining Imran Brohi, a student of class five, handcuffed and put in the same lockup with a grownup suspect in Dari police station on Aug 13.

Mr Sethar told Dawn on Wednesday that action had been taken against the police officials in the light of an inquiry report about the judge’s raid and discovery of the boy in the lockup submitted to him by ASP city Babar Jawed Joya. They had been directed to report at police headquarters, he said.

The FIR registered against the boy under Sections 381-A and 511 of CrPC by the SHO had been quashed after civil judge and judicial magistrate-III paid surprise visit to the police station and the boy had subsequently been released, said the SSP.

Inspector Aslam Abro had been posted as new SHO at Dari police station while Rabnawaz Mangi had been made WHC, according to PRO to the SSP.

The suspended SHO Fida Hussain Langah appeared before the district and sessions judge Abdul Naeem Memon on Wednesday and filed a statement regarding the arrest of one Ashiq Kharos and did not say anything about the boy.

He said that only a day before the raid Kharos was picked up as he was wanted in two FIR’s registered against him, said Abid Abro, lawyer of Kharos.

He said the judge admonished the SHO, issued a show-case notice against him and disposed of the petition, which was filed by Mashooq Kharos, brother of Ashiq, accusing the SHO of keeping his brother in habeas corpus for about 14 days.

The judge had appointed civil judge and third judicial magistrate Zafarullah Jakhrani as raid commissioner to locate the man and the judge found in the raid Kharos handcuffed along with the boy Imran Brohi on Aug 13.

Sources in police said that law enforcers had picked up the boy on the basis of CCTV footage showing the boy allegedly attempting to steal a motorbike.

Published in Dawn, August 16th, 2018

KARACHI: The shocking killing of a little girl during an encounter between mobile snatchers and policemen on the eve of Independence Day has stunned citizens.

Initially the news of little Amal Umer’s death was lost in the August 14 celebrations. However, it slowly started to spread on social media, garnering sympathy for the family and anger at the authorities for the failure to protect citizens from street crime.

The daughter of film producer Umer Adil and set designer Beenish Waiz was a student of CAS. The family was being robbed in Gizri on Monday when a police mobile arrived. In a bid to deflect attention, the robbers allegedly fired shots, with one bullet hitting the girl.

Interestingly, the incident happened within 48 hours of Karachi’s new police chief Dr Amir Ahmed Shaikh reiterating that increasing incidents of street crime — including phone snatchings — would be dealt with strongly.

Medical professionals say witnessing violent crime is having devastating impact on children

Incidents of mobile snatchings and street crime have been steadily increasing with each passing month, and if word on the streets is to be believed more so since the election.

With Eidul Azha around the corner, citizens are apprehensive about visiting crowded animal markers and fear being mugged at gunpoint — an occurrence that peaks around such festivities when people have more money to spend.

On Aug 4, a family was robbed at gunpoint on the Khayaban-i-Shahbaz-Shujaat signal in Defence. “It’s the same spot where I was mugged a few years ago. There are no street lights and it’s pretty dark there,” said Saamina Mazahir.

“We were waiting at the signal and the next thing we know, this man was at the widow — on the driver’s side which my husband had rolled down for air — asking for phone, wallets, etc. I gave him my phone because my children were in the back seat. This man seemed a bit unsteady as a car approached from behind and at that moment my husband sped the car.”

She says she didn’t lodge an FIR but did visit the Citizens-Police Liaison Committee (CPLC) website to block the phone.

Deep trauma

Recalling the ordeal, she says one of her children is deeply traumatised by the incident. “This is the second time my phone was snatched from the same spot and my kids were with me on both occasions.

“With this mobile snatching, I have been robbed seven times so far in my life. Fifth time at gunpoint, including once when people walked into my house and once when my car was snatched,” she added.

She warns against arguing with the snatchers. “I saw a gun on my husband’s head and it made no sense not to give away my phone. These people can get aggressive. Not worth fighting over a mobile phone.”

In another incident, Mohammad Asif Sagheer, a newspaper staffer, was robbed of his mobile phone and other belongings near the Korangi Crossing area late at night. The place is notorious for mobile and car snatchings, some of which have resulted in deadly consequences for the victims.

“The three men took away everything but I asked them to return my tiffin in which there was food for my father,” says Asif, a request which the muggers complied with.

Numbers going up

In 2017, 16,232 mobile phones were snatched at gunpoint as compared to 16,069 in 2016, an increase of 1.01 per cent, according to the CPLC data. This year, in February 2018, 1,103 mobile phones were snatched while 1,479 mobile thefts were reported, as per CPLC data. April 2018 numbers showed 1,110 snatchings while 1,466 mobile thefts were reported. The number has since gone up to 1,363 mobile snatching and 1,844 thefts, as seen in the July report of the committee.

The actual numbers could be far higher since many people avoid registering a formal complaint. Interestingly, the crime statistics data shared on Sindh police’s website does not mention mobile snatchings and only focuses on heinous crimes including murder, robberies and suicide blasts.

“My mobile phone and cash was taken away by two men at Ittehad signal,” says Mrs Asra. “The place has a police mobile parked near the signal on most days but that day there was no one there.” She says she was returning from a bakra mandi set up near Punjab Colony and feels that she could have been followed from there and the muggers took a chance at the desolate spot.

In Phase 7 Extension near Khayaban-i-Ittehad, side-view mirror theft and mobile snatchings are reportedly increasing, with many area residents pointing fingers at the neighbouring colony which is separated by a wall.

“The street lights are never on and neither is there police patrol. Darkness provides ample cover to criminals who are roaming on bikes usually after 8pm and do as they please. They are trigger happy and won’t hesitate to shoot,” says a resident who recently moved to the area.

He says he has complained about the street lights repeatedly to K-Electric but so far nothing was done.

Talking to Dawn, a DHA control room staffer said DHA vigilance teams do patrol many areas in the locality but “in case of an emergency its best to call 15 Madadgar. We can always send a patrol car but legally it’s the domain of the police to handle such crimes.”

“Every day there are tickers of mobile phone snatchings and this is making me uneasy,” says A, a resident of PIB Colony. “My mobile was snatched on election night. From what I know it’s the same group of boys who terrorised our locality for qurbani hides,” she adds.

“In 2009, my elderly father was badly beaten up by the workers of a political party for refusing to give qurbani hides. It’s a congested area and everyone knows who is patronising these gangs.”

Psychology of fear

The unsettling feeling that one could lose a life in a second due to poor law and order is unsettling for many. The news of Amal’s killing has drawn some strong reactions from mothers in WhatsApp groups of various schools, with many parents saying their children are feeling depressed and vulnerable.

“Since the APS tragedy, we have been sending kids to schools which are barricaded, with barbed wires and armed guards. This is not a very ideal situation. My children often come home and share stories of how x, y, z classmate got robbed at gunpoint and I don’t know how to reassure them,” said a parent.

Talking to Dawn, Dr Sameeha Aleem, a consultant psychiatrist said that people, particularly young kids, are deeply affected by such incidents. “Children who are emotionally and physically close to the victim or related to them can go through psychological reactions of denial, anger, resentment and depression before they finally learn to gain acceptance — which may take weeks to months to a year.”

She says the parents or elders may blame themselves or each other that they were not able to protect the child from harm, leading to “guilt, low self-esteem, low mood, decreased interest in life.”

As for the general public, Dr Aleem thinks a sense of mistrust prevails towards the society. “Events like these push people to act in a hostile manner towards such culprits instead of handing them over to the police. We have seen situations where public has taken the law into their own hands and beaten thieves to death or burned them.”

Published in Dawn, August 16th, 2018

ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court turned down on Wednesday a request by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) for adjournment for two days the hearing on petitions seeking suspension of an accountability court’s judgement convicting former prime minister Nawaz Sharif, his daughter Maryam Nawaz and son-in-law retired Captain Mohammad Safdar in the Avenfield properties reference and for their subsequent release.

NAB additional deputy prosecutor general Muzaffar Abbasi requested a division bench of the IHC comprising Justice Athar Minallah and Justice Miangul Hassan Aurangzeb to adjourn the hearing for two days since the bureau wanted to file written arguments.

The bench will continue hearing till Thursday after which the IHC chief justice will constitute benches for the week commencing on Aug 20. The court expressed its displeasure over the filing of an application seeking the adjournment. Justice Aurangzeb remarked that the petitions were filed much earlier and there was sufficient time for NAB to file its reply.

Justice Minallah expressed disappointment over NAB’s request and said that it was not expected from a professional organisation like NAB to seek adjournment on such grounds. He, however, offered the prosecutor to argue his case after the defence counsel would conclude their arguments.

Sharifs’ petitions seek suspension of verdict against ousted PM Nawaz, Maryam and retired Capt Safdar and their subsequent release

At the outset, the bench took notice of the remarks falsely attributed to Justice Minallah and Justice Aurangzeb and termed these “contemptuous”. “Since yesterday some quarters have been circulating false statements attributing to this bench,” observed Justice Minallah, adding: “We have taken serious note of it and referred this matter to the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA).”

He observed that “for any society fair trial of any person is of paramount importance. There will be no fair trial when the courts would start giving whimsical decisions”.

The judge remarked that if someone formed an opinion that the decision would not be according to their whims and started spreading fabricated information to deter the bench, it would be fatal for the administration of justice and right to fair trial. He made it clear that the court would not spare persons behind this contemptuous act and this would also not affect the hearing of the instant case in any way.

During the course of hearing, the counsel of the Sharif family — Khawaja Haris Ahmed and Amjad Pervaiz — concluded their arguments.

Khawaja Haris claimed that the prosecution had failed to shift onus of proof on the accused. He said the investigation did not even ascertain the price of property at the alleged time of purchase, adding that this was the case of assets beyond known sources of income for which there should be a comparison of income and value of property.

When the bench asked if there was any evidence related to the sources of income of Mr Sharif, the counsel said NAB had produced a cash-flow chart of the alleged income of the former premier, but during the investigation they never asked Mr Sharif to explain his sources of income, adding that instead of a joint investigation team which authored the chart, it was produced before the trial court by NAB.

The counsel argued that the cash-flow chart did not fulfil the requirement of ascertaining known sources that was required to be compared with the value of assets to ascertain guilt.

Justice Minallah remarked that a layman said that since property belonged to a child, the father was required to justify, but the legal precedence said otherwise where the initial burden of proof was on the prosecution.

When Justice Aurangzeb asked if Maryam Nawaz was the beneficial owner of Avenfield apartments, her counsel Amjad Pervaiz replied that she was not the beneficial owner.

The judge pointed out that the documents of the British Virgin Islands (BVI) showed that she was the beneficial owner.

The counsel said that these documents were not procured in accordance with the relevant provisions of the law and, therefore, these should not be relied upon. In response to a court query about alleged fake trust deed prepared by Maryam Nawaz, he claimed that the trust deed was original, but the joint investigation team (JIT) termed it bogus on the basis of an expert’s report.

According to the counsel, forensic expert Robert William Radley was not a font expert but he opined that the report was fake since it was written in Calibri font in February 2006 when it was not commercially launched.

The counsel insisted that the font was available in 2006 and Mr Radley was also among its so many users.

The bench directed the NAB prosecutor to start his arguments by Thursday and adjourned the hearing.

Published in Dawn, August 16th, 2018

KARACHI: Another case of open dumping of coal has surfaced, this time in the area of Juma Goth in Landhi, in violation of the June 2018 Supreme Court orders, according to which coal would only be stored in warehouses.

A recent visit to the site located along the railway tracks in Juma Goth revealed that coal was being dumped in open in the area for the past few months.

“Coal is being brought here from PIBT [Pakistan International Bulk Terminal] and then transported to Punjab through trains,” a worker at the site told Dawn.

At least three companies were involved in transporting coal here, he added.

A thick layer of black dust covered the area with large coal stockpiles as workers handling the consignment without any protective gear unloaded coal from a truck.

The residential area was not very far from the site and was directly exposed to hazardous flying coal dust due to winds.

A trader dealing in livestock at the nearby Cattle Colony confirmed that the coal dumping activity was going on for a few months.

Asked about any complaints registered so far with the local administration, he replied: “How the illiterate poor living in miserable civic conditions could be bothered by dumping of coal?”

It is important to recall here that the apex court had directed the authorities concerned this year that “open coal will not be stored anywhere in Karachi and can only be kept in warehouses”.

The court further ruled that in case of transportation, proper blankets and moisture must be provided to the coal so that dust should not cause pollution. It directed all ships carrying imported coal not to unload it at Karachi Port Trust but at Port Qasim.

Earlier, dumping of coal in the open was spotted in Machhar Colony.

Public health in danger

Highlighting the threats poor coal storage and handling posed to public health, Saquib Ejaz Hussain, an expert on air quality, referred to the Forum of International Respiratory Societies based in Switzerland which had linked all major respiratory diseases to exposure to dust, fumes and air pollution.

“A 2017 United Nations Children’s Fund report found that air pollution is associated with pneumonia, which is responsible for the deaths of 920,000 children under the age of five years ever year.”

Articles 9 and 14 of the Constitution, he pointed out, protected the citizens’ right to life and the right to live in a clean and healthy environment.

“The manner in which coal is being handled, transported and dumped in open all over the city has endangered public health and severely compromised citizens’ rights,” he said.

He called upon the Sindh Environmental Protection Agency (Sepa) to look into coal handling operations at Port Qasim.

“The berths being used for coal handling at PQA also have tanks for palm oil, crude oil and fuel. The establishment of these berths was done in violation [of] the national and provincial environmental laws,” he said.

Upon contact, Waqar Hussain Phulpoto representing Sepa stated that the department had taken notice of coal dumping in Juma Goth and had initially served a notice to the transporter.

“We have inspected the site on Monday and [are] investigating the case. Information gathered from the site has showed that a large part of the coal is going to Sahiwal for a power plant and the rest to a cement factory,” he said, adding that the illegal activity had been continuing for four months.

The department, he pointed out, had taken a number of steps to ensure proper transport and storage of coal in the city and withdrew its no-objection certificate it had accorded to Karachi Port Trust in a case.

“In another case pertaining to coal dumping in Machhar Colony, it conducted legal proceedings against the divisional superintendent Railways and the case is currently with the judicial magistrate,” he said.

Published in Dawn, August 16th, 2018

LAHORE: The National Accountability Bureau, Lahore, on Wednesday summoned Pakistan’s Ambassador to the United States Ali Jahangir Siddiqui on Aug 27.

According to sources, Mr Siddiqui as director of investment firm Azgard Nine Ltd, was “siphoning off funds amounting to €23.758 million in 2008 for the purchase of an Italian company, Monte Bello SRL, using a foreign company, Fairytal SRL, Sweden, which resulted in a loss to the company and its shareholders.”

According to NAB, a foreign company, Fairtal SRL, Sweden, was used for the deal, which suffered losses along with its shareholders. There are also allegations that the shares of a company named Agritech Limited were sold to various financial and government institutions at a price higher than the market rate to settle loan defaults. This resulted in a loss of Rs40 billion to various financial and government institutions.

In 2016, a Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) report said that prices of Azgard Nine group’s shares were artificially increased from Rs24 to Rs70, and payments were also made to an unidentified party.

The NAB sources said Mr Siddiqui was directed to personally appear before the investigation team.

Mr Siddiqui was earlier appeared before the joint investigation team in April and replied to its queries for his role in the alleged stock manipulation case.

Published in Dawn, August 16th, 2018

ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court on Wednesday constituted a division bench to hear a petition seeking Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf chairman Imran Khan’s disqualification under Article 62 of the Constitution.

The bench will be headed by Justice Shaukat Aziz Siddiqui and will also comprise Justice Athar Minallah.

Justice Siddiqui had earlier heard the case and issued a notice to the PTI chief, summoning him on Aug 1, but the bench was changed and Justice Miangul Hasan Aurangzeb was made part of this bench. On Aug 2, Justice Amir Farooq and Justice Aurangzeb had to hear the case but the judges recused themselves from hearing the case and ultimately the bench was dissolved.

On June 12, a member of Justice and Democratic Party Abdul Wahab Baloch had filed a petition against Mr Khan’s nomination papers, which he had submitted from the NA-243 (Karachi-East II) constituency, over the Sita White case.

The petitioner stated Mr Khan used wrong information in his documents as he did not mention Tyrian White as his daughter. He argued that Mr Khan was not Sadiq and Ameen and should be disqualified under Article 62 of the Constitution.

Published in Dawn, August 16th, 2018

One after another, opposition parties seem to be abandoning the PML-N side as it struggles to counter the emergent Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) in the National Assembly as well as in the Punjab Assembly.

In a serious blow to the joint opposition, both the PPP and the Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal (MMA) have distanced themselves from the PML-N's nominee for the post of prime minister.

The nomination of Shahbaz Sharif — the "joint candidate" of the 11-party alliance against PTI chief Imran Khan for the slot of prime minister — has riled the PPP for his derogatory remarks against their party's co-chairman, Asif Ali Zardari.

The PPP has subsequently also distanced itself from the PML-N in Punjab, where the Zardari-led party has decided not to cast its votes in the elections for speaker and deputy speaker in the provincial assembly.

PPP MPA Hassan Murtaza, while talking to DawnNewsTV, has said his party's members will not cast their votes due to the PML-N's "behaviour".

"We have seven votes but we will not support the PML-N or the PTI," he said.

PML-N still eyeing PPP support in the next phase

PML-N leader Saad Rafique regretted that though PPP Co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari had "backed out" from the election for speaker and deputy speaker in the Punjab Assembly "due to his compulsions", the PML-N will "not complain".

He continued to hope that the PPP will support the PML-N in "the next phase".

He also warned the PTI against attempting to make a forward block in the PML-N.

"We had formed forward blocks in our tenure but they were our own people," he added.

MMA says not bound to vote for Shahbaz in NA

Meanwhile, the MMA has also made it clear that after recent developments, the MMA is not bound to vote for Shahbaz Sharif for the prime minister's post.

MMA leader Liaquat Baloch criticised the alliance, saying both the PPP and the PML-N had backtracked from decisions taken in the 'all parties conference'.

He also said that opposition parties in parliament need to set their priorities clearly and without any ambiguity in the days ahead.

PTI says PML-N leaders offering forward block in Punjab

Mian Mahmoodur Rasheed of the PTI has expressed his firm belief that the candidates nominated by party will win the elections for speaker and deputy speaker in the Punjab Assembly.

The PTI leader added that his party was not making any deliberate attempt to carve out a forward block within the PML-N; however, he did claim that several PML-N lawmakers had offered their cooperation to the PTI leadership.

ISLAMABAD: Chief Justice of Pakistan Mian Saqib Nisar said on Wednesday that when two representatives of as many intelligence agencies — the Inter-Services Intelligence and Military Intelligence — were included in the Joint Investigation Team (JIT) to probe allegations made in the Panama Papers case, it was not done so for the first time.

In fact, the CJP continued, the same officers from the two intelligence agencies had earlier been included in another JIT constituted on the directives of then interior minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan. He was in all probablity referring to the body formed to probe a news report on a security meeting published in Dawn.

The chief justice made the observation during the hearing of a fake accounts case by a three-judge SC bench.

Former interior minister says JIT on Panamagate scam was formed under orders of a three-judge SC bench

It is worth noting that the body that probed the news report was an inquiry committee — as per the notification of the interior ministry issued on Nov 7, 2016 — and not a JIT .

At the last hearing on Monday, the apex court had hinted at appointing a high-powered JIT in the fake accounts case but without representation from the ISI or MI and said that maybe the members from these agencies had been included in the JIT to give a Tarka (spice) the to probe.

The observation had come when Federal Investigation Agency Director General Bashir Memon recalled that earlier the JIT in the Panamagate case was headed by FIA Additional Director Wajid Zia and included representatives from the State Bank of Pakistan, National Accountability Bureau (NAB), Securities and Exchange Com­mission of Pakistan (SECP), MI and ISI.

On Wednesday also the chief justice observed that the court would take a decision on the constitution of the JIT in the fake accounts case after hearing arguments from the counsel for the accused on Aug 28.

Chaudhry Nisar’s response

Former interior minister Chaudhry Nisar explained that the JIT on the Panamagate scam had been formed under the orders of a three-judge bench of the Supreme Court. Commenting on the remarks made by the chief justice, he recalled that inclusion of military officers in the JIT was part of that decision.

In a statement issued on Wednesday, Chaudhry Nisar said that he and the interior ministry neither had any role in the formation of the JIT, nor had they been consulted in this regard.

The former minister said the Supreme Court registrar, under the verdict of the three-member bench, had himself sought three names one each from the FIA, SECP and NAB. He said the registrar himself had established contact with the MI and ISI, adding that no ministry or government functionary had been included in the entire process.

Published in Dawn, August 16th, 2018

AUG 17, 1988, 3.51pm: Pak-1, with Gen Ziaul Haq, president and army chief of Pakistan on board, slams into the ground a few miles out of Bahawalpur, near the Sutlej river. Besides the pilots, Wing Commander Mashhood Hassan and Flight Lieutenant Sajid, there are 29 people on the massive Lockheed C-130 Hercules. They include, among others, Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee Gen Akhtar Abdur Rahman, Chief of General Staff Mohammed Afzaal, the American ambassador to Pakistan Arnold Raphel and senior US military attaché Brig Gen Herbert M. Wassom.

Wg Cdr Munawar Alam is flying the back-up C-130 from Chaklala air base when he hears the air traffic controller say that he cannot contact the pilots of Pak-1. The ATC asks Brigadier Naseem Khan to make an attempt; he is among the pilots on VIP duty at the airbase and carrying Corps Commander Multan Gen Shamim Alam on board his French-made Puma helicopter. Brig Naseem too gets no response. Almost immediately, the pilots in the vicinity hear a terse message from the Mushshak scout aircraft that had taken off earlier: “Pak-1 has crashed.”

Brig Naseem and Gen Alam are at the crash site within minutes. Clouds of smoke are billowing from the wreckage. “I walked all around it,” remembers the retired brigadier in a conversation with Dawn. “The plane had crashed at an almost perpendicular angle. I first spotted the cap worn by Gen Wassom, and then Gen Akhtar Rahman’s peaked cap. Then my eye fell upon a dismembered leg, wearing a black sock and black shoe. I suspected it belonged to Gen Zia.”

Back at the airfield, Colonel Syed Minhaj Ali in the service of Vice-Chief of Army Staff Gen Aslam Beg is taxiing in his Jet Prop Commander when he hears the shocking news. At once, Gen Beg asks him to head towards the crash site. Soon they come upon the wreckage of the burning aircraft below. “Its nose was buried deep in the earth. We knew at once there were no survivors,” says Col Minhaj, speaking to Dawn at his residence in Rawalpindi. He is given orders to fly the vice-chief to Dhamial airbase.

Squadron Leader Nauman Farrukhi, Mashhood’s younger brother, is at Shorkot base, about 90 miles north of Bahawalpur airfield when he hears about the crash. “For a moment I thought of Mashhood but he had just been moved to the VIP Squadron flying Falcons and Fokkers. We were installing missiles and ammo on my F-16 when the base commander drove up to the hangar. He extended his hand to me and said, ‘I’m sorry.’ Are there any survivors, I asked. ‘No’ he replied. And that was it.”

Meanwhile, thousands of miles away in Toronto, Canada, Gen Zia’s older son Ejazul Haq was on vacation along with his family, and staying with his wife’s younger sister who is married to Gen Akhtar Abdur Rahman’s son Ghazi Akhtar Khan. Around 10am on Aug 17, the telephone rang. The caller, Captain Pir Mohammed, one of Gen Zia’s ADCs, told Ejazul Haq that his father’s plane had gone missing. “I think they wanted to break it to us gently,” said the general’s son in an interview with Dawn at his office in Rawalpindi. “Then my mamu Dr Basharat Elahi called and broke down. That’s when we found out that my father was no more.”

It is 30 years to the day since Pakistan’s army chief and president Gen Zia died when Pak-1 fell out of the sky. Was the crash a result of technical failure or an assassination? If it was sabotage, then who was involved? Why were the findings of the Shafiqur Rehman Commission, formed to investigate the incident, never released? Was there a cover-up?

This article looks back at the events of that day, and what followed later. In order to do this, we have relied upon Dawn’s archival records, declassified US State Department files, and interviews with individuals connected to the event in a personal capacity. After all, the incident deserves such scrutiny: it was a watershed moment in Pakistan’s history that brought to an end the country’s third and longest military dictatorship. Despite that, it remains a mystery even after the passage of three decades.

The last flight

After Gen Zia, along with the other military officials, arrived in Bahawalpur, he was joined by the two Americans; they had arrived a day earlier to visit a local convent and condole the death of an American nun murdered in Bahawalpur a few days before. They all then made the short hop to Tamewali about 60km away to view a demonstration of the US-made M-I Abrams tank. Reportedly, the two and a half hour event turned out to be a fiasco, with the tank missing its target every single time.

According to a newspaper article written by retired Brig Naseem on the seventh anniversary of the crash, “The demonstration was conducted by Maj Gen Mahmud Durrani [who] explained every aspect of the exercise…During the lecture, while explaining a point, there was a mention of 90 days. So Gen Durrani jokingly said that don’t consider it [Gen Zia’s] 90 days. Thus a tremendous laughter broke out…”

Returning to Bahawalpur air base by helicopter from Tamewali, Gen Zia with his entourage stopped at the army mess for lunch. When boarding the C-130, as was his wont, he personally invited several others to accompany him on his VVIP aircraft. Ambassador Raphel accepted the invitation, and, after a brief hesitation, so did Brig Wassom.

It was to prove the final flight for everyone who boarded Pak-1. American journalist Jay Epstein’s account of Gen Zia’s death in a 1989 issue of Vanity Fair reads: “… villagers…saw Pak-1 lurching up and down in the sky, as if it were on an invisible roller coaster. After its third loop, it plunged directly towards the desert, burying itself in the soil. Then, it exploded and, as the fuel burnt, became a ball of fire.”

Indeed, almost all the principal actors involved in training and arming the Afghan mujahideen to fight the Soviet occupation in Afghanistan — arguably the biggest campaign of the Pakistani military and intelligence agencies over the past decade — were on the passenger manifest.

In the days that followed, speculation and rumour were rife. A missile hit, mid-air explosion, deadly gas leak, fire on board, etc — all possibilities made it into the newspapers. Sabotage was repeatedly mentioned by the civilian and military leaderships, including Ghulam Ishaq Khan and Gen Beg.

Declassified US State Department files reveal that Gen Beg, in an hour-long address to army officers in Rawalpindi on Aug 25, referred to Gen Zia’s death as a “conspiracy”. Although he alluded to “recent threatening statements by the Soviet spokesman and Russia”, he did not assign any explicit blame. In fact, he said: “Besides foreign agents, there might be some of our own people involved in this gruesome act, for no conspiracy can ever succeed without the cooperation of people from within.” On the same occasion, he also reiterated the military’s support for the civilian government and the upcoming Nov 16 elections.

Investigations began almost immediately. On Aug 19, US State Department announced it had put together a team to assist Islamabad in determining the cause of the crash. The six-member team arrived on Aug 22 and was taken to the crash site that had been secured by army personnel.

Dawn's Aug 23 edition reported that foreign and local experts could not understand how a mechanical fault could occur given that 14 technicians had checked the plane between the time it landed at and departed from Bahawalpur. Parts of the debris were also flown to the US for tests.

Crates of mangoes — immortalised as the ultimate Trojan horse in Mohammed Hanif’s novel based on Gen Zia’s death — were among the gifts presented to the late president at Bahawalpur. According to Dawn, “several gift-givers [who included a provincial minister and the then mayor of Bahawalpur] remained in police custody for at least eight hours”.

According to a BBC report, about 80 people, including ground crew were also detained for questioning.

The antecedents of the pilots, Wg Cdr Mashhood Hassan and Flt Lt Sajid were also probed and found to be impeccable. Captain Mashhood was considered an ace pilot, one that Gen Zia was actually very fond of flying with.

US State Department files reveal that Gen Beg, in an address to army officers on Aug 25, referred to Gen Zia’s death as a “conspiracy”. He said “there might be some of our own people involved in this gruesome act, for no conspiracy can ever succeed without the cooperation of people from within.”

‘Most probably sabotage’

On Oct 16, a 365-page red-bound technical report on the crash was presented to President Ghulam Ishaq Khan at a cabinet meeting. It had been prepared by a Board of Enquiry led by Air Commodore Abbas H. Mirza, and included Group Captain Sabahat Ali Khan (a C-130 pilot/specialist) and Gp Capt Zaheerul Hassan Zaidi (accident investigations expert), along with a team of technical and aviation experts from the US.

The report had arrived at its conclusions through a painstaking process of elimination. Examination of the wreckage clearly indicated that the plane had not disintegrated in midair; it had not been struck by a missile; nor had there been a fire on board — the only autopsy performed, that of Brig Wassom, showed no signs of soot in his trachea, indicating he had died before the fire ignited by the crash.

There was no evidence to support a power failure: the condition of the propeller blades indicated the engines were working at full speed. The electrical systems and fuel pumps were all working normally.

The possibility of mechanical failure was considered. However, the C-130 had two hydraulic systems independent of each other, and they were both working at the time of the crash. In short, this was an aircraft — of a type considered an extremely reliable workhorse — performing as expected on a clear, cloudless day. Yet it had inexplicably fallen out of the sky.

A chemical analysis of the wreckage, carried out at the Pakistan Institute of Nuclear Science and Technology in Islamabad, found foreign elements in unusual quantities. For instance, there were traces of pentaerythritol tetranitrate (PETN), an explosive that has since been used in several terrorist attacks, including at least two whose objective was to down an airplane. Residues of antimony and phosphorus, not normally found in aircraft structures, fuel, etc were also present.

The elements found, according to the report, “could be employed to fire pressurised bottles containing poisonous gasses which could result in total or partial incapacitation of the pilots and other persons on the flight deck. The action of the gas would have had to be sudden and insidious so as to ensure that no person on the flight deck would have had time to don his oxygen mask”.

The report concluded that, “in the absence of a technical reason, the only other possible cause of the accident is the occurrence of a criminal act or sabotage”. It recommended that an investigation be ordered to determine the identity of the perpetrators.

Accounts of other pilots in the vicinity are also telling. The last words they heard from Wg Cmdr Mashhood were: “Stand by, stand by” in what seemed to be an uncharacteristically tense tone. Then, says Wg Cmdr Munawar, they heard the click click of the PTT (Push to Talk) switch, followed by a faint voice calling out: “Mashhood, Mashhood.” Then, complete silence.

At a press conference about the findings in the report, of which about 30 pages had been released to the public, Defence Secretary Ijlal Haider Zaidi said that Gen Zia’s C-130 had been guarded by both military and civilian security personnel during its stay at Bahawalpur air base. In response to a question, Air Cdre Mirza said there was no flight recorder on board.

The report concluded: “In the absence of a technical reason, the only other possible cause of the accident is the occurrence of a criminal act or sabotage”. It recommended an investigation to determine the identity of the perpetrators.

By Oct 31, it was being reported that the public might not, after all, get to see the entire investigation report “if found harmful to the country’s integrity and solidarity”.

Gen Zia and Gen Akhtar’s sons, as well as others, maintain that Gen Zia was displeased with Gen Beg’s attempts as vice-chief to take more control of the operational aspects of the army, and was planning to replace him with Lt Gen Mohammed Afzaal. That probably was a factor in Gen Beg being regarded with suspicion in the context of the air crash.

Despite multiple attempts, Gen Beg refused to give an interview. However, when contacted by Dawn, he was extremely bitter about the aspersions that had been cast on him for years, asking why he would not have taken over if he had played any role in the affair.

That is of little comfort to the families of those who died along with Gen Zia back in 1988, and they are still searching for answers.

Ironically, neither of the generals really wanted to be on the flight. Gen Akhtar was not from the armoured corps, and as such had no reason to be at the tank demo. His family maintains it was Brig Imtiaz Billa (one of the two principal conspirators behind Operation Midnight Jackal against Benazir Bhutto) who persuaded the CJCSC to go to Bahawalpur in order to discuss a reshuffle that Gen Zia was reportedly contemplating in the army leadership. “Brig Imtiaz was used to put my father on the plane,” says Mr Akhtar. “He was constantly in touch with him, and visited him a day or two before as well.”

Gen Zia was not planning to go either, but Maj Gen Mahmud Durrani kept insisting. “One of my father’s ADCs told me that following one of his repeated phone calls, he [Zia] swore and said, ‘What’s his problem? Why is he so keen that I go?’” recalls Ejazul Haq.

“Gen Zia and my father were the last two officers of the Pakistan Army commissioned in India,” says Humayun Akhtar, who along with his three brothers lived abroad until Gen Akhtar’s death. Back in August 1988, he was working as a consultant actuary in the US, but happened at the time to be visiting Pakistan as was his brother Haroon. “My parents were a very loving couple, and it was a devastating blow. My other two brothers also rushed home.”

They decided to settle in Pakistan, and over time built up one of the biggest business conglomerates in the country; two of the brothers, Mr Akhtar included, are of course also well-known politicians.

“We tried to push the investigation as far as we could,” he tells Dawn in the opulent, wood-panelled living room of his house in Lahore. “We worked very hard. Along the way, many [who were also interested in the facts behind the crash] became our friends, such as Jay Epstein and George Crile [the author of Charlie Wilson’s War]. But we realised we won’t be able to get anywhere.”

Meanwhile Group Captain Nauman, Wg Cmdr Mashhood’s brother, was told by his father not to pursue the matter. “He said to me, ‘I’ve already lost one son and I don’t want to lose another’.”

Evidence of a cover-up?

The families of both Gens Zia and Akhtar wanted to sue Lockheed, the manufacturers of Hercules C-130, for damages. “It’s not that we wanted money. We wanted them to prove there was nothing wrong with the aircraft. But we were stopped by [the general’s] friends in the US intelligence community who told us it was dangerous to pursue it. ‘Keep your eye on the ball, you have to live in the country’.”

They even approached a lawyer in the US, F. Lee Bailey — later O.J. Simpson’s defence attorney — who, upon hearing the details, described it as a case of a lifetime, according to Ejazul Haq. “Some days later the head of the Federal Aviation Authority invited him for lunch, which was highly unusual.”

Until that point, Nancy Ely-Raphel, the late ambassador’s wife, and Wassom’s wife had both expressed their support for the families of Gens Zia and Akhtar in their search for the truth. “And then, suddenly, Mr Bailey stopped taking our calls,” says Ejazul Haq. “Nancy changed her number and we couldn’t access her either. So we stopped pursuing the case.”

Dawn's attempts to contact Ms Ely-Raphel for this story were unsuccessful.

Several years later, Ejazul Haq says he received information from a military source about a PAF pilot officer, Akram Awan, who had been taken into custody by intelligence agencies some months earlier on suspicion of being involved in espionage against Pakistan for RAW and Mossad. Detained in a safe house with no access to newspapers, he was being interrogated by three intelligence officers, including Major Amir Khan (also of Operation Midnight Jackal fame). According to Ejazul Haq, a week or so after the C-130 crash, he was shown a video of Gen Zia’s funeral. “When he learnt that Major Gen M.H. Awan, his adoptive father, was one of the victims, he burst out crying uncontrollably and saying, ‘I didn’t know the bastards were going to use [the nerve gas] for this purpose!’

“The entire story then came tumbling out. He said someone from [a foreign embassy] was involved and that the gas had been transported through India, and even gave a confessional statement on camera to the effect.”

The very next day, one of the three intelligence officials was directly summoned to GHQ, bypassing Gen Hamid Gul who was DG ISI at the time. In Ejazul Haq’s telling, Gen Beg asked the official to turn over Awan’s statement and video confession to him, with the observation that matters had to be handled carefully and that the information would be released at the appropriate time.

There is yet more evidence of a cover-up. One of the enquiry board members Gp Capt Zaheer Zaidi, as confirmed to Dawn by several sources, was determined not to let matters end with the technical enquiry and had reportedly uncovered further evidence of sabotage.

According to Gen Zia’s son, Mr Zaidi wanted to write a book about the information he had collected, and sometime in the mid-‘90s approached Bob Woodward — co-author of All The President’s Men — to give him a synopsis and ask the celebrated writer to edit the book. “But by the time he returned to Pakistan, his report had already made its way to the intelligence agencies here via the Pentagon, and he was called in and harshly berated.”

Also, journalists such as Sandy Gall and Steve Levine visited Pakistan over the next few years, collecting information, conducting interviews etc with Ejazul Haq’s assistance, but no article or documentary saw the light of day. “Steve was so embarrassed that he stopped getting in touch. Finally, he came to meet me after Musharraf’s coup, and apologised profusely, saying that his boss had given him permission to do the story, but then later withdrew it.”

Zia crash report by Dawndotcom on Scribd

The foreign hand

Even if some elements in the Pakistan military were involved, however, as some of the families of those who died on Aug 17, 1988 believe, it was likely at the behest of one or more foreign powers. There were several who had both motive and means.

Gen Zia and his top military and intelligence personnel were at the time involved in what was the closing act of the decade-long Afghan jihad, with the Soviets’ complete withdrawal from Afghanistan less than six months away. The partnership between Pakistan and the US in arming and training the mujahideen resistance was finally paying off. But on a strategic level, matters were far more complex and fraught.

The Pakistani military, contrary to its own prime minister at the time, Mohammed Khan Junejo, did not want to rush into signing the Geneva Accords, preferring to wait until the composition of the Afghan government had been decided. The US, on the other hand, seemed more interested in the ouster of Soviet troops than in ensuring a stable government in Kabul. According to Ejazul Haq, Syed Fakhar Imam, the National Assembly speaker, told him about a meeting between Gen Zia and a visiting US delegation at which the Pakistan army chief “had given hell to the Americans. The US didn’t want Afghanistan to settle down, and my father wasn’t happy with the Geneva Accords.”

The US was also concerned about Gen Zia’s continued supply of weapons to Gulbadin Hekmatyar, who was once also the CIA’s most favoured mujahideen commander, but whom they had since come to see as harbouring dangerously anti-US views. Moreover, the wider regional situation was also moving in a direction that the US did not want. Militants from Pakistan had begun infiltrating India-held Kashmir, injecting a deadly new element into the indigenous uprising in the occupied region. It was clear that a new theatre of jihad, with Gen Zia’s blessing and ‘assistance’ was opening up.

As significant, if not more, were Gen Zia’s nuclear ambitions, which had become inconvenient now that the Afghan jihad was winding down. Describing it as “the dirty little secret of the Afghan war” in his book, George Crile writes that Gen Zia had extracted a concession early on from President Reagan that in return for working with the CIA against the Soviets in Afghanistan, the US would look the other way on the matter of the bomb.

But then in 1987, Arshad Pervez, a Pakistani-origin Canadian businessman believed to be Gen Zia’s agent was caught in Philadelphia while trying to buy 25 tons of a steel alloy crucial for building a nuclear bomb. There were furious demands in Congress to cut off aid to Pakistan. Given all these developments, could elements within the CIA have decided to curtail Gen Zia’s nuclear and regional ambitions once and for all?

Interestingly, a US State Department meeting held on Oct 26 to consider whether to recommend to Secretary of State George Schultz that an Accountability Review Board be convened to investigate the crash, unanimously decided against such an action. The proceedings were detailed in a memo to Mr Schultz.

Strangely, it also took nearly a year for an FBI team to arrive in Pakistan. “I think that was only to fulfill some legal requirement because American citizens had died on foreign soil,” says Mr Akhtar. “They did nothing.”

Gen Zia’s son concurs. “I gave them 26 names of people they should have interviewed. In the end, I asked them why they had come if all they were going to do was sightseeing.”

For its part, a US State Department document pertaining to the FBI visit from ambassador Robert Oakley to Mr Schultz records: “They appear satisfied with GOP cooperation…The one disappointment was refusal of COAS Beg to see them despite my urging and that of [Minister of Internal Security] General [Naseerullah] Babar. They found that the ongoing GOP investigation under Bandial has gone nowhere and is unlikely to ever do so.”

(Brig Naseem, for one, finds the notion utterly preposterous that the US may have been to blame. “Why would America kill its most obedient servant?”)

The Soviet Union’s KGB is another plausible suspect. A communiqué from the US embassy in Moscow to Mr Schultz soon after the plane crash reads: “Soviet Oriental Institute Afghan expert Yuriy Gankovskiy told [embassy officials] August 25 that Pakistan president Zia’s death might result in a more evenhanded Pakistani approach to the question of Afghanistan…The Soviets had been increasingly uncomfortable with the direction Zia had been taking on Afghanistan. Zia, he argued, had extremely close ties to Pakistan’s Jamaat-i-Islami and thence to Gulbadin Hekmatyar.”

In the months leading up to the crash, the Soviet leadership had made its displeasure towards Pakistan clear, accusing it of obstructionism and violation of the terms of the Geneva Accords. In fact, a mere two days before, Dawn reported that the Soviets had declared that the “continuation of this policy by Pakistan cannot be further tolerated.”

Curiously enough, the US did not belabour the point or try to pin the blame on the Soviet Union, its only rival superpower. In fact, the US government decided to push the malfunction theory that its own experts had discredited in their joint report with Pakistani investigators.

Epstein, through his contacts in the US State Department, surmised that the truth “could undermine everything the US was trying to achieve by damaging détente, leading to armed confrontation on Pakistan’s borders or even destabilise the new and shaky Pakistan government.”

India also harboured a grudge against Pakistan, alleging it had been funnelling arms to the Sikh separatist movement and now was working to fan the flames of the Kashmiri resistance. Besides, it was well known that the Indian intelligence agency RAW had long had its assets in place in Pakistan.

A reliable workhorse

During his first government, Nawaz Sharif set up the Shafiqur Rehman Commission to investigate the crash. Neither Mr Akhtar nor Ejazul Haq has a copy in their possession. After a few years, the Commission issued a ‘secret report’ in which it accused elements in the military of having deliberately obstructed the investigation. For instance, PAF did not even give them access to the wreckage at the Multan air base.

“Nawaz Sharif used the investigation as a means of pressuring Gen Aslam Beg,” says a source. “The fact is, everyone wanted to stop it at a certain level because it could bring the entire army into disrepute.”

But there are many in the military that refuse to give credence to this version of events, and are even offended by it. Gen Agha Masood, who remains a staunch admirer of Gen Zia — he in fact lowered Gen Zia’s remains into the grave — and was also close to Gen Beg, emphatically denies any existence of a conspiracy.

He concedes that the general had internal enemies — “Bhutto and the Sindhi lot, not the Punjabis, Pathans and Baloch” — as well as external ones. “But if [foreign powers] wanted to kill him, they would have chosen an easier way of doing so.” He also points to the high-level security accorded to VVIPs which he believes makes it impossible to tamper with an aircraft carrying the army chief. According to him, the possibility of sabotage was never even discussed within the army’s officer cadre.

Brig Naseem is convinced it was a maintenance problem, resulting in a malfunction that brought down Pak-1. “Gen Zia would always ask why he was made to travel in such an aircraft.” This claim, however, is firmly refuted by Ejazul Haq who says his father had no qualms about flying C-130s: “We in fact went by C-130 to Lahore for my brother’s wedding, that too in extremely bad weather.”

Wg Cmdr Munawar, with 10,000 hours on the C-130s, vouches for the aircraft’s reliability and safety record. “The C-130 can fly even if one falls asleep at the controls.”

Thirty years on, Gen Zia’s death remains shrouded in mystery. Why was no effort made to unmask the perpetrators? Conversely, why was so much effort expended on suppressing incriminating evidence? Having examined the evidence, and spoken to multiple witnesses, one may ask; is it not time for Pakistan to reconcile with its past and confront the many truths that have never seen the light of day?

Additional information by Fahim Zaman.

ISLAMABAD: Testifying before an accountability court, the last prosecution witness in the Al-Azizia Steel/Hill Metal Establishment reference on Wednesday provided details of several transactions in bank accounts of the Sharifs.

Judge Mohammad Arshad Malik recorded the statement of Mehboob Alam, the investigation officer in the Al-Azizia reference, in the presence of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) president Shahbaz Sharif and ousted prime minister Nawaz Sharif who was convicted in the Avenfield properties reference last month.

Unlike the last hearing when the ousted prime minister was brought to the federal judicial complex in an armoured personnel carrier (APC), this time the ex-premier was brought to the court in a bulletproof SUV.

For the first time since September last year, Mr Shahbaz witnessed court proceedings in one of the three references filed by the National Accountability Court (NAB) against Nawaz Sharif, his daughter Maryam and son-in-law retired Capt Mohammad Safdar.

Nawaz brought to court in SUV, Shahbaz witnesses proceedings for first time

During the proceedings, the investigation officer in Al-Azizia & Hill Metal reference referred to an audit report and testified that Nawaz Sharif allegedly got roughly 80 per cent of the profit generated from Hill Metal.

While providing details of several transactions to the court, he said 1.2 million euros and $10.2 million were transferred in his Standard Chartered bank account. Then, the witness said, Rs1.187billion was transferred in the ex-premier’s account. An amount of Rs59.256 million was later transferred in Maryam’s account, he said, adding that Hussain gave £1.5m to his brother Hassan.

He also stated that pursuant to the SC order in the Panama Papers case, he had collected and examined the relevant court orders, JIT’s investigation report, CMAs filed before the apex court. He testified that he also had submitted the record before NAB’s relevant department, which led to filing of the reference and, later started recording statements of the witnesses.

The investigation officer said that call-up notices were issued on Aug 11, 2017, to Nawaz Sharif and his sons, Hussain and Hassan, but they showed their inability to turn up due to the review petitions filed before the SC.

The court put off further proceedings till Aug 20.

While a number of PML-N’s lawmakers had gathered outside the accountability court in a bid to witness the proceedings, only five of them were permitted to enter the courtroom. The other party workers protested against the administration for not letting them in.

Fawad Chaudhry, a leader of the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) that is yet to form its government, warned the PML-N workers that if they did not change their attitude, the government would review recalling of order for jail trial of the ex-premier. He told journalists outside the parliament house that it was not possible to accommodate everyone in the accountability court.

After the court proceedings, journalists could pose a few questions to Nawaz Sharif, clad in cream shalwar kameez and grey waistcoat with “MNS” printed on his left cuff, and got some brief answers.

About his health, the ousted prime minister said: “I am feeling good now.” He also said he offered prayers in the cell.

Asked how often he could meet Maryam in the jail, he said: “We meet once a week on the visitors’ day.”

When a reporter asked if he was in solitary confinement, he replied in the affirmative and then added: “You can call that whatever you want.”

As the ousted PM had been brought to the court in an armoured personnel carrier (APC) at the previous hearing, the PML-N leaders and workers waiting outside the accountability court before the hearing on Wednesday believed the police would use an APC to produce him before the court. While the police did bring an APC, the authorities used an SUV to transport Nawaz Sharif whereas his party workers thought their supreme leader was sitting in the APC. They later realized that the APC was empty when the electronic media finally disclosed that Mr Sharif had already entered the courtroom.

Published in Dawn, August 16th, 2018

KARACHI: The city is expanding with the needs of its citizens changing and developing. Things such as water, power, sewage, etc are all entwined yet we don’t even know where we are going. “We go from one place to another. So there is mobility. As people from Sindh’s interior come to settle in Karachi we see the katchi abadis coming up because for a salaried person it is very difficult to get home ownership.”

These points were raised by Amber Alibhai, general secretary of Shehri-Citizens for a Better Environment speaking during a consultative workshop held at a local hotel here on Thursday. A three-year project initiated with the support of Friedrich Naumann Stiftung titled ‘Climate Efficient Urban Mobility and Smart City Growth’ was launched at the event.

“There is horizontal growth. But what about transportation, especially transport for the poor, in this sprawling city? We see those Chinese motorcycles and more and more people on one motorcycle because there is not enough public transport. But you need easy commutes and good public transport to make life easy for the people,” she said.

‘What about transportation for the poor in this sprawling city?’

“A smart city such as ours needs new smart components. Transport, water, power, sewage all need to be integrated. They cannot function in isolation. Today they lay new roads without the knowledge of the water board and then when they want to lay new lines they dig up the newly laid roads. It all leads to misuse of our resources,” she said.

“Also in Karachi, because of lack of good public transport, we stop everywhere in a signal-free corridor. I may have a generator but I am power-starved. I may be getting water from a tanker but [I] experience a shortage of water. There is commercial activity taking place on service roads. How do the children get to school? How do the sick commute to hospitals? We are bringing in more private cars but where is the larger good of the people in all of this?” she said.

In his presentation ‘Placing Karachi’s Transport Scenario Within the Context of Sustainable Urban Mobility — Opportunities and Challenges’, Farhan Anwar, urban planner and the project manager for Shehri-CBE, said that their project was the result of their vision for Karachi, which would evolve as they go on developing it and organise dialogues and consultations with stakeholders. “Whatever ideas we come up with will help improve the urban setup,” he said.

He said that when they talk of transportation, they think of different modes of transportation. “But it is not just about buses, cars or motorcycles as there is a larger picture associated with urban mobility. There is also the infrastructure including roads, crossings, footpaths, etc,” he said, adding that at the core of it lay sustainability values such as environment, economy, equity.

The aims of sustainable urban mobility, he said, were ensuring accessibility of jobs and services along with improving safety and security, reducing pollution, greenhouse gas emissions and energy consumption, increasing the efficiency and cost-effectiveness of the transportation of persons and goods and enhancing the attractiveness and quality of the urban environment.

“This is a form of urban development that clusters a great mix of land uses around a high-quality transport service. The transit mode, either train, light rail or bus terminus is to be designed so that it is the focus for development and becomes the ‘heart’ of the community or where people shop, meet, relax and live,” he said.

The urban planner further explained that cities should be compact and not sprawling cities. “Sprawling cities are car cities but public transport makes compact cities. Therefore there is a need for infrastructure and development agenda to make the city more accessible,” he said.

BRT prospects

About Karachi’s Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) projects, he said they would have limited impact because they are not a part of a larger planning framework that structures a holistic transportation blueprint for the city taking into account the critically important land use, economic, social and environmental considerations. He also said BRT projects would not dovetail with parallel efforts to discourage private vehicle use and promote pedestrian-friendly growth in the city. They also will not link up with the parallel streams of public and private transportation modes in the city.

“For a sustainable urban mobility system there has to be a public mass transit system with presence and a coordinated and integrated framework of governance, equity or universal access, affordability and safety, promotion of public and non-motorised forms of transport such as carpooling, bike sharing and discouragement of private automobile use. There is also a need for consideration for energy and environment regarding fuel use, performance and regulation,” he said.

Coming to the Karachi Circular Railway (KCR), it was also pointed out that it was being built and handled by not one but various authorities, units, companies, corporations and departments, making it a case of too many cooks. “There is the Project Implementation Unit for Asian Development Bank funding the Red Line, the Karachi Infrastructure Development Company Limited is funding the Green Line and the Karachi Urban Transport Corporation, the Traffic Engineering Bureau, the Regional Transport Authority, KMC’s Transport and Communications Department and Karachi Package Transport Component all looking after its function,” he said.

Published in Dawn, August 17th, 2018

ISLAMABAD: Micro-blogging website Twitter, a platform that has in recent years become integral to political parties, stands in danger of being banned because of the government’s inability to force the tech giant to bend to its notions of what is suitable for public consumption or falls within the constitutional realm of legitimate free speech.

On Wednesday, the Pak­istan Telecommuni­cation Authority (PTA) informed the Senate Standing Com­mittee on Cabinet Secre­tariat that while Facebook, YouTube and other social media platforms complied with requests from the government to block objectionable content, Twitter did not oblige.

“Out of a hundred requests from Pakistan to block certain offensive material, roughly five per cent are entertained. Twitter ignores all the remaining requests,” Director General of PTA’s Internet Policy and Web Analysis, Nisar Ahmed, told the committee.

The committee met for a briefing on penalties fixed by the PTA against ‘derogatory’ comments spreading through social media targeting the state, its citizens and its institutions.

Mr Ahmed informed the committee about last week’s Islamabad High Court (IHC) directive to the regulatory body to serve Twitter with a final notice, asking the website to respond to requests from Pakistan or face the risk of being blocked in the country.

“The PTA has conveyed the court’s concern to Twitter, but has not got a response. The regulatory authority will implement court orders if Twitter does not respond to the final notice,” said Mr Ahmed. He further explained to the committee members that the IHC had taken notice of the increase in objectionable content posted on social media websites.

The official told the committee that Twitter was not as popular in Pakistan as Facebook, and so they had little to lose if Twitter was blocked. However, the platform would lose business if it was shut down in the country, the senior official told the members. “The court is determined to teach Twitter a lesson — they will lose business,” he added.

He informed the committee that Facebook had been extremely cooperative with Pakistan, and had obliged when asked to block content that might be perceived offensive.

“In fact, Facebook has appointed a focal person to address the concerns from Pakistan. The focal person is a Pakistani national who understands the traditions, customs and concerns of our society. YouTube is now also offering a local version in the country and removing offensive material, and the website is no longer an issue,” the official elaborated.

According to the PTA, social media websites such as Facebook, YouTube and DailyMotion now saw Pakistan as an emerging information technology market, which they could tap into to exponentially grow their businesses.

“These companies do not only wish to keep growing in Pakistan, but have also planned to bring underdeveloped cities and towns out of — through training programmes — their current states to put them on a par with developed areas,” Mr Ahmed concluded.

When Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf information sectary Fawad Chaudhry was contacted for his views on the matter, he said that his party was against any kind of censorship on free media.

“Those who do not wish to see objectionable and offensive content should not search for such content. Social media is not just for recreation and entertainment. There are jobs and households associated with the business. Blocking social media websites will have both social and economic impacts,” said Mr Chaudhry, who is tipped to become information minister in the new government.

In the past, similar attempts have been made to block the spread of social media: Facebook was banned in the country twice in 2008 and then again in 2010. In September 2012, following government directions, the PTA blocked access to YouTube throughout the country and it remained inaccessible for over two years.

Published in Dawn, August 16th, 2018

PESHAWAR: Lack of a regulatory council in the country has been hampering promotion of physiotherapy services including non-pharmaceutical interventions and exercises for body pains and rehabilitation of people with disabilities to a desired level, according to experts.

The federal cabinet in its last meeting approved a draft for setting up Pakistan Physical Therapy Council that was sent to law department for vetting. More than 20,000 doctors of physical therapy have pinned hopes on the new government for legislation to enable them to provide treatment to people.

Currently, the physiotherapists have no regulatory body and they are not allowed to receive patients independently so they banked on the advice of medical doctors.

The formation of council would enable them to work as autonomous practitioners and benefit patients. The council would speed up upgradation of physical therapy services in Khyber Pakhtunkhtunkhwa, which is the only province to have these at the government hospitals at district level.

Formation of council will enable them to work as autonomous practitioners

During the past three years, the provincial health department appointed 50 doctors of physiotherapy (DPT), including 25 females, at district headquarters hospitals to serve the patients at local level. Prior to their appointment at district level, patients used to travel to Peshawar for treatment.

KP is the first province to launch ‘Strengthening of Rehabilitation Programme for Physically Disabled’ to treat people suffering from low back pain, poliomyelitis, arthritis, knee joint pain, cerebral palsy, stroke or those requiring physical exercises after recovering from fractures or the ones seeking cure for postoperative problems.

More than 100 institutions in the country including King Edwards Medical College Lahore and Khyber Medical University (KMU) Peshawar have been recognised by Higher Education Commission (HEC) but the graduates didn’t have permission to treat patients unless they were referred to them by doctors.

Efforts for formation of the council began in 2011 to set their scope of practice and form a regulatory body and provide treatment to people in line with the law but the same was still awaited.

KP established a well-equipped directorate of physical therapy and rehabilitation at Lady Reading Hospital (LRH) Peshawar in September 2016.

The LRH model is being replicated throughout the country to provide services to people with sciatica, back, joint and neck pain, spinal card injury, people with muscle weakness.

It has four types of services including physiotherapy, occupational therapy, prosthetic and orthotics department and clubfoot clinic where people get free services.

Dr Mohammad Khan, the director of the physical therapy and rehabilitation at LRH, said that they got occupational therapy and clubfoot department that were the only facilities in any public sector hospital in the country.

He said that the services enhanced life style of people with disabilities and reduced their dependency on others for carrying out routine work. The handicapped people were trained on how to hold pen, change clothes, wear socks and shoes, attend bathrooms in addition to driving vehicles by carrying out modification to ensure their accessibilities through changing patterns and alternation, he said.

Dr Mohammad Khan said that 15 per cent of their patients were locals while the rest were referred to the respective district headquarters hospitals after their first examination.

“We receive patients from surgical, orthopedic, plastic surgery, peads, gynae, medical and neurology and intensive care unit for physical therapy. We also impart training to KMU students,” he said.

Experts said that formation of PPCT would pave the way for awareness regarding the significance of physical therapy in reduction of burden of disabilities and improving the quality of life of people with disabilities by making houses, mosques, hospitals and government’s departments accessible to them.

“UN says that 12 per cent people of the province suffer from disabilities. Most of the disabilities can snowball into major health conditions if left untreated,” said Dr Mohammad Khan.

Published in Dawn, August 17th, 2018

With less than a month left before the expiry of President Mamnoon Hussain's term, the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on Thursday issued a schedule for the presidential election, setting Sept 4 as the day of the ballot.

President Hussain's five-year term is set to expire on September 9. According to the Constitution, the presidential election must be held at least a month prior to the expiry of the incumbent's term, which in this case would have been August 8.

The president is elected by an electoral college comprising members of the Senate, National Assembly and four provincial assemblies. Voting is held through a secret ballot.

Ordinarily, the presidential election is held either a month after the General Election, or at least a month before the expiry of the president's tenure.

Holding a presidential election on Aug 8 was out of the question, however, since neither the National nor the provincial assemblies were functional then.

Schedule for presidential election:

• Aug 27, upto 12pm: Filing of nomination papers with presiding officers in Islamabad, and with each PO in Lahore, Karachi, Peshawar and Quetta

• Aug 29, at 10am: Scrutiny of nomination papers by Returning Officer in Islamabad

• Aug 30, up to 12pm: Withdrawal of candidate before RO in Islamabad

• Sept 4, 10am-4pm: Polling day. Elections will take place at Parliament House, Islamabad; Provincial Assembly Building; Lahore, Provincial Assembly Building, Karachi; Provincial Assembly Building, Peshawar; and the Provincial Assembly Building, Quetta.

The Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf and its allies on Thursday secured the speaker and deputy speaker's positions in both Punjab and Balochistan, while the assemblies of Sindh and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa elected their chief ministers on what was a big day for democracy in Pakistan.

Punjab

Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q) leader Chaudhry Pervez Elahi was sworn in as Punjab Assembly speaker after he was elected to the post with 201 votes — more than expected.

Elahi was up against PML-N's Iqbal Gujar, who received 147 votes ─ 15 less than expected.

A total of 354 MPAs cast their vote in the election. The PTI-backed candidate was expected to receive 185 votes, including 10 from the PML-Q, whereas the PML-N candidate was expected to get 162 votes.

The PPP said it will boycott the election for speaker and deputy speaker, with MPA Hassan Murtaza citing the "PML-N's attitude" toward his party as the reason behind the move.

PTI-allied MPAs engaged in verbal clashes with opposition MPAs as Elahi took oath in the Assembly.

The voting was held through secret ballot. CCTV cameras were turned off inside the Assembly to preserve the secrecy of MPAs' votes. The lawmakers were not allowed to take their cellphones to the polling booth.

Former Punjab Assembly speaker Rana Mohammad Iqbal cancelled the vote cast by PTI's Sadiqa Khan for violating the code of conduct.

Sadiqa cast her vote after showing it to her fellows, prompting political opponents to rush to the speaker and demand that he cancel the vote.

PTI's Dost Mazari and PML-N's Waris Kalo were then set to go head to head for the post of deputy speaker.

The election for the deputy speaker was delayed by more than an hour as the PML-N leaders levelled horse-trading allegations and even considered boycotting the poll. They also discussed the matter with party president Shahbaz Sharif.

The PML-N eventually took part in the election but like the speaker voting earlier, their candidate lost out to the PTI rival in the race for deputy speaker as well.

Mazari secured 187 votes and became the new deputy speaker of the house. Kalo, meanwhile, received 159 votes.

Speaker Elahi administered oath to Mazari — his deputy.

Balochistan

Balochistan Awami Party's (BAP) Mir Abdul Quddus Bizenjo was elected speaker of the Balochistan Assembly.

He secured 39 of the total 59 votes that were cast, while Haji Nawaz Kakar, the joint opposition's nominee, garnered the remaining 20 votes. None of the votes were rejected.

Outgoing speaker Rahila Durrani administered oath to Bizenjo, her successor.

Meanwhile, PTI's Sardar Babar Khan Musakhel was elected the deputy speaker of the Balochistan Assembly. He secured 36 of the 58 votes cast, while his opponent — BNP's Ahmed Nawaz — received 21 votes. One vote was rejected.

Musakhel was the consensus candidate of BAP, PTI, Awami National Party, Hazara Democratic Party, BNP-Awami and Jamhoori Watan Party.

Sindh

The Sindh Assembly returned Murad Ali Shah to his role as chief minister Sindh.

With 17 women and five minority seats, the PPP has around 97 MPAs in the house.

Shah received all 97 of those votes, against GDA nominee Shahryar Mehr's 61. There was a headcount of supporters.

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa

In the KP Assembly, where the PTI had grabbed the speaker and deputy speaker's slots a day earlier, the party's nominee Mahmood Khan — former provincial minister for sports — was elected comfortably as the 22nd leader of the house.

Khan hails from Swat and holds a master's degree in agriculture. He was elected from the PK-9 seat in 2018, and had been a member of the PTI since 2012. He has served as a minister for sports, irrigation, tourism and the provincial interior minister.

The opposition had fielded Mian Nisar Gul to vie against him.

The chief minister was elected through the division of the house system. All MPAs who supported Mian Nisar Gul's candidature were asked to move to Lobby 1, while all in support of Mahmood Khan were asked to move to Lobby 2 of the KP Assembly building.

There was a headcount of supporters, with Mahmood Khan elected CM of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa with 77 votes to Mian Nisar Gul's 33.

Newly-elected Speaker KP Assembly Mushtaq Ghani presided over the proceedings.

The Lahore High Court (LHC) on Thursday granted the federal government more time to file its response against allegations that interim prime minister Nasirul Mulk had made excessive use of state resources during a personal tour, soon after assuming the caretaker role.

On Jun 5, Barrister Javed Iqbal Jafri, in his petition, had objected to Mulk's alleged use of government funds during his visit to his hometown of Swat which, he further claimed, the PM had made very soon after taking oath, "instead of tending to his responsibilities".

According to the petition, Mulk caused the national treasury losses of millions of rupees by using a 22-car convoy and security protocol on the said trip.

The petitioner had requested the court to recover from Mulk any expenses in excess of the norm and deposit them back into the national treasury.

On June 8, the high court, after accepting the petition, had directed the federal government to file its response, but upon not receiving one, convened today again to demand an explanation.

The state attorney requested the court for some more time to file a response, granting which the court scheduled the next hearing for August 27.

ISLAMABAD: A six-member visiting delegation of the Asia Pacific Group (APG) has found some deficiencies in Pakistan’s systems, agencies and laws to meet its global obligations against money laundering and terror financing, but noted that progress was taking place.

In the concluding session with host authorities, the delegation pointed out deficiencies in legal mechanisms governing non-profit and charitable organisations, transparency in beneficial ownership regime and counter-terror financing mechanisms to handle suspicious transaction reports (STRs). The APG will submit its report to the Paris-based Financial Action Task Force (FATF).

Both the government and the APG did not issue any statement at the end of the three-day talks that ended on Aug 16, while the authorities involved in the negotiations declined to speak on record.

The delegation told the authorities that legal framework covering the non-profit and charitable organisations was seriously deficient and vulnerable to leaks and misuse, while the beneficial ownership regime did not meet transparency standards and benami ownerships were still widespread.

Also, the Financial Monitoring Unit (FMU), National Counter Terrorism Authority (Nacta) and provincial agencies like police required a lot of training and preparedness to combat money laundering and terror financing to the satisfaction of the FATF under a 10-point action plan committed by Pakistan.

The authorities told the APG that focal persons had been appointed at all levels for inter-agency and inter-provincial coordination and the regulators. It was, however, noted that some of the shortcomings in policymaking and legal arrangements stemmed from inherent limitations of a caretaker set-up and political transition.

Therefore, another review will now take place next month, i.e. September, to engage with the new PTI coalition government as well as provincial governments for an effective push. This would be followed by yet another visit by the APG in October.

The delegation also told the authorities to upgrade agencies and their human resources to be able to handle foreign requests to block terror financing and freeze illegal and targeted assets. It also advised strengthening of mutual legal assistance laws for extradition of those involved in terror financing and money laundering on requests from FATF-member countries.

According to a source, Pakistan lacked mutual legal assistance arrangements with a number of countries. “It was noted that there was a long way to go in terms of training officials of various agencies, strengthening of systems and processes and improving laws,” said an official who was part of the four-day consultations.

A number of Pakistani agencies were part of the dialogue with the delegation and, among others, included officials of the ministries of interior, law, finance and foreign affairs, besides State Bank of Pakistan, FMU, Nacta, FIA, FBR, SECP, etc.

The FMU played a coordinating role with other agencies in formulating a consolidated progress report submitted to the APG delegation which consisted of members from Turkey, China, the UK and the US. The next session with the APG will take place by mid-September to examine progress on the FATF action plan.

By the end of September next year, Pakistan has to comply with the 10-point action plan it committed with the FATF in June this year to combat terror financing and money laundering to get out of the grey list. Failure of implementation could mean falling into the black list.

Published in Dawn, August 17th, 2018