PESHAWAR: Several shopping centres were sealed in Peshawar on Wednesday for violating the standard operating procedures (SOPs) devised for checking the spread of coronavirus. In Upper Dir and Shangla, the administration sealed the general bus stands for not following SOPs set by the government.

In Peshawar, Gul Haji Plaza, Shinwari Restaurant, R-Sheen, Sapphire and many other shops were sealed.

According to a spokesman for Peshawar district administration, Sajid Khan, the action was taken as these shopping centres had been violating the rules while the restaurant was sealed for allowing customers in a large number in violation of the lockdown guidelines.

Officials also conduct raids on markets, bus stands in Dir, Shangla and Lakki

In addition, the district administration also took action against 138 people, including traders, for not wearing face masks in different bazaars.

In Upper Dir, the district administration sealed the general bus stand in Dir Bazaar.

Assistant commissioner Ubaidur Rahman Dogar visited Dir bazaars and general bus stand to examine if the shopkeepers and transporters were following the SOPs as they had promised with the government.

During a surprise visit the officer and his team observed violation of SOPs in the bus stand, which was sealed.

In Shangla, the district administration sealed two public transport stands at Bisham city for not adopting SOPs after easing the lockdown imposed after Covid-19 pandemic.

Deputy commissioner Imran Hussain Ranjha raided the bus stands and various shops to examine the situation. They sealed two of the bus stands for not taking precautionary measures against Covid-19 as after easing the lockdown the government had instructed owners of the bus stands and shopkeepers to adopt SOPs for tackling Covid-19.

Later, the deputy commissioner told mediapersons that they were going to further ease the lockdown, but for this the traders, fuel stations and all other private centres must follow the safety measures.

Also, assistant commissioners of all tehsils in Shangla distributed face masks among people to create awareness of the virus threat among them.

In Lakki Marwat, the administration officials called upon traders to wear masks and ensure implementation of Covid-19 precautionary measures. The instructions were issued during separate meetings chaired by assistant commissioner, Lakki, Nadir Shahzad and additional assistant commissioner, Naurang, Aminullah Khan here on Wednesday.

The administration officials sensitised the businessmen to the preventive steps and SOPs issued by the government to control spread of coronavirus.

Mr Shahzad said that the government had allowed traders to open their businesses by implementing the SOPs, therefore they should fulfil their responsibilities.

Published in Dawn, June 4th, 2020

QUETTA: The government of Baloc­histan on Wednesday decided to ban sharing personal information of Covid-19 positive patients.

“Unfortunately, the Covid-19 patients are facing discrimination because their names and other personal information are being shared on social, print and electronic media who along with dealing with the infection also have deal to with added mental stress,” said Rubaba Buledi, Parlia­mentary Secr­etary for Health.

As a result, many people are avoiding testing for the virus despite showing symptoms, she added.

“Therefore, hospitals and testing laboratories have been directed to not share personal information of patients in Balochistan because we are receiving complaints especially from rural areas of leaking personal information of female patients,” Buledi said.

Covid-19 causes mild or moderate symptoms for most people. For some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness or death.

Published in Dawn, June 4th, 2020

KARACHI: On June 1, admirers and followers of Urdu literature received a shock recovering from which might take them a long time. Asif Farrukhi’s death of a heart attack at the age of 60 had, at least for a day in Pakistan, eclipsed every other news item — the coronavirus pandemic, the Black Lives Matter movement, and the mindless tit-for-tat battle between some of the federal and provincial ministers.

Social media was, and still is, chock-a-block with posts, images, videos and messages mourning his death and recalling the feats that he had achieved in pursuing his dreams — dreams which were crammed with books and nothing but books.

There was a reason for it: Farrukhi was a literary colossus. And there’s ample evidence to suggest that. His six collections of short stories, his critical analyses of many a great work and writer, and his contribution to Pakistani society in elevating its culture to a level where it received praise from across the world are no hidden secrets. To boot, in the last few years he had developed this beautiful habit of encouraging the new breed of writers, egging them on to write more. His association with the students of the university that he had been teaching for the past six years had given away his love for imparting knowledge and wisdom to the younger lot.

His dreams were crammed with books and nothing but books

You ask any poet or writer in Pakistan about how costly Farrukhi’s demise is for literature and society, and you are more than likely to get the response that it’s the costliest loss in recent times. This writer knows some poets and fiction writers who couldn’t stop tears trickling down their cheeks when they got to know about his death. For a good deal of time they thought it was a rumour, because he was 60, an age that thinkers and writers tend to blossom like never before. After all, they, it is generally believed, can keep a finger on the pulse of society. They know what ails it and what can bring it back to its feet, hale and hearty.

But what saddens one to see is the state’s response to Farrukhi’s passing. Come to think of it, previous federal and provincial governments within their ranks had individuals who would tell the men in power about who were the people that our cultural growth was benefitting from. We have had prime ministers and other men/women in decision-making positions that paid visits to poets’ homes to let them know that society acknowledged their worth. It seems that these days, art and culture are at the lowest rung of priority for the powers that be.

One didn’t hear or read condolence messages for Farrukhi coming out of the offices that apparently are responsible to run this country. If there were any, they surely weren’t enough. Be it Islamabad or Sindh (the latter was where he was born and spent his whole life in) ministers were busy defending their other good deeds. It’s clear where their priorities are. Gone are the days when mothers named their sons after poets.

Published in Dawn, June 4th, 2020

ISLAMABAD: Former Lal Masjid khateeb Maulana Abdul Aziz along with his family moved to Jamia Hafsa from the mosque under an agreement made between him and the government.

Haroon Rasheed, son-in-law and nephew of the cleric, told Dawn that Maulana Aziz and his wife shifted to their house located on the premises of Jamia Hafsa at G-7.

“Maulana Aziz will designate a khateeb for Lal Masjid as it is his discretion,” he said, adding his entry in the mosque has been banned for two months.

However, teachers and students of Jamia Hafsa residing inside the Lal Masjid will remain there and continue their educational activities, Mr Rasheed added.

He said an agreement was made with the capital administration and it would be implemented during the next two months. Maulana Aziz may share the details of the agreement with the media after a couple of days, he added.

Earlier, there was a deadlock between Moulana Aziz and the government and several ulema and religious leaders were mediating between them, sources in the capital administration and police said, adding both had refused to show flexibility in their demands.

But on May 31, police deployed around Lal Masjid detained the elder daughter of Maulana Aziz for over four hours, said the sources. The ulema and religious leaders who were mediating between them approached the police and requested them to release her, but their requests were turned down.

Later, they approached the government and senior officers of the capital administration and showed displeasure over the matter and informed them that under such a situation they would not mediate any more, the sources said. After more than four hours, the woman was released.

Besides, senior officers of the capital administration scolded police officers saying their act may sabotage the peace and the negotiation process with Maulana Aziz.

Later, the same ulema and religious leaders approached Maulana Aziz and the administration officers and asked them to show flexibility to resolve the issue.

On Tuesday, Maulana Mohammad Ahmed Ludhianvi visited Lal Masjid along with Maulana Abdul Rehman Muavia and negotiated with Maulana Aziz, said the sources.

In the meantime, Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIG) Operations Waqaruddin Syed also visited the mosque and excused with Maulana Aziz over the detention of his daughter and assured him that action would be taken against those responsible.

When contacted, the DIG said Maulana Aziz left the mosque voluntarily after which the police were withdrawn from the area.

Published in Dawn, June 4th, 2020

LAHORE: The government has sought an explanation from the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) for writing a letter to the Pakistan International Airlines (PIA), which suggested the pilot of the airliner that crashed near Karachi airport last month did not follow the instructions of air-traffic controllers (ATC), saying this was the kind of information that had to be provided to the inquiry board.

“We have sought an explanation from the CAA official (for writing a letter to PIA implying that the pilot of the PK-8303 flight did not follow the instructions of ATC). As long as the inquiry report is not finalised, the official in question should not have spoken up (publicly). Whatever the official/CAA had to say should have been told to the four-member inquiry board probing the crash,” said Minister for Aviation Ghulam Sarwar Khan at a press conference on Thursday.

He was visiting the provincial capital to condole with the families of the PIA crew members who lost their lives in the air crash on May 22 that claimed the lives of 98 people.

The minister said that perhaps the CAA thought whatever was written in the letter was correct. “However, an explanation has been called in this regard,” he added.

Minister says the information should not have been made public before the finalisation of probe report

The June 2 letter sent by CAA official Iftikhar Ahmed to the PIA’s safety and quality assurance department, while pointing out “non-compliance of ATC instructions” by the pilot of the ill-fated aircraft, had asked it to ensure that such a situation was not repeated in future.

Sarwar Khan said that only three bodies of the plane’s passengers had yet to be identified for different reasons, like DNA not being matched.

He said that one girl on the ground also lost her life, while two others suffered burn injuries and had been given compensation amounts.

The minister said the cockpit voice recorder and flight data recorder were with the French team that visited Pakistan and data from the two recorders had successfully been downloaded. The government would make the preliminary report about the crash public on June 22.

“The plane crash will also be discussed in the forthcoming session of the National Assembly and we assure everyone that the probe will be fair and transparent,” he said, dismissing criticism of members of the inquiry board.

The release of the preliminary probe report on the Karachi incident would be followed by release of reports on the Chitral crash, Gilgit crash-landing, and crashes of the planes of Air Blue and Bhoja Air in Islamabad, he added.

Turning to the financial health of PIA, Sarwar Khan said: “The PIA planned to take its fleet from the existing 31 to 45 aircraft by 2023. But due to the coronavirus pandemic, the aviation industry has suffered a lot and the national flag carrier has been under a debt of Rs482 billion.”

On the issue of bringing back the Pakistanis stranded abroad, he said: “Although PIA has started special flights to bring them back from places in Africa, Australia and the US, where it does not operate direct flights, over 100,000 people are still waiting to return home. They have registered themselves with the Pakistani embassies and we will soon bring them back through special flights.”

Although the reporters were requested by the officials accompanying the minister not to talk about the National Accountability Bureau’s (NAB) inquiry about his assets, Sarwar Khan was nevertheless pressed to explain its status. “I welcome the NAB probe and want it (bureau) to investigate other cabinet members too. But at the same time, I will ask it to investigate the affairs of those who remained prime minister and chief minister for three times,” he said in response.

Published in Dawn, June 5th, 2020

ISLAMABAD: The Islam­abad High Court (IHC) on Thursday sought the detailed record of consultation held for constitution of the 10th National Finance Commission (NFC).

IHC Justice Miangul Hassan Aurangzeb resumed hearing of a petition filed by former defence minister Khurram Dastagir Khan that challenged the 10th NFC and sought to set aside the May 12 notification about the commission’s composition and authorisation to Adviser to the Prime Minister on Finance and Revenue Dr Hafeez Sheikh for presiding over NFC meetings.

The Ministry of Finance had notified the constitution of the 11-member commission.

The Ministry of Law and Justice submitted a one-page reply to the court that did not explain whether or not provinces were taken on board for the constitution of the NFC.

Justice Aurangzeb expressed displeasure and asked the respondent authorities of the Finance Division and the Law and Justice Division to produce the entire record related to consultation held for constitution of the NFC.

The petitioner’s counsel, Mohsin Shahnawaz Ranjha and Barrister Umer Gillani, sought the court’s permission to place the letter of Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah in which he expressed reservations for not holding consultation by the federal government on the 10th NFC.

Barrister Ranjha argued that the terms of reference (TOR) set for the commission were also contradictory to the law.

The assistant attorney general told the court that the Finance Division and the Law and Justice Division would file the reply in due course, requesting the court to grant some time for filing the detailed reply.

Subsequently, the hearing was adjourned till June 18.

The Ministry of Finance had notified the constitution of the 11-member commission after approval of its terms of reference by President Arif Alvi as was required under Article 160 (1) of the Constitution.

The commission will have four provincial finance ministers and four non-statutory members representing the provinces and the federal finance secretary as an official expert.

The petition said that President Alvi who is purported to have issued the notification under Article 160 of the Constitution had a duty to “constitute a National Finance Commission consisting of the minister of finance of the federal government, ministers of finance of provincial governments and some other persons as may be appointed by the president after consultation with governors of the provinces.

The petition further said that “a close reading of the aforesaid will bear out that the Commission is supposed to have two kinds of members: (i) Statutory Members; (ii) and Co-opted Members”.

Statutory Members, the petition said, were the five members whose presence was essential for the commission, including the federal minister for finance and four provincial ministers for finance.

Co-opted members, the petition said, included five statutory members and more members could be added. However, it said, a co-opted member might only be added after “consultation with governors of the provinces”.

The petition further said that “any co-opted member may be added only if there is consensus among the President and governors of the provinces (acting on the advice of their respective cabinets) that the expertise of such co-opted member is necessary for the NFC”.

“However, the impugned notification does not make reference to any consultations whatsoever which the President held with governors of the provinces regarding the selection and appointment of each one of the Co-opted Members of the NFC,” the petition said, adding that it might be assumed that no such consultations were held.

Moreover, the petition said, the president also authorised the PM adviser on finance to chair meetings of the NFC.

The petition further said that “any co-opted member may be added only if there is consensus among the President and governors of the provinces (acting on the advice of their respective cabinets) that the expertise of such co-opted member is necessary for the NFC”.

“However, the impugned notification does not make reference to any consultations whatsoever which the President held with governors of the provinces regarding the selection and appointment of each one of the Co-opted Members of the NFC,” the petition said, adding that it might be assumed that no such consultations were held.

Published in Dawn, June 5th, 2020

ISLAMABAD: Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah on Thursday blamed the federal government for rapid spread of Covid-19 across the country.

He was talking to the media after appearing before a combined investigation team (CIT) of the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) in connection with the Rs4.8 billion Sindh Roshan solar lights case, which was clubbed with the fake bank accounts case involving the top leadership of the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), and explained his role in the award of the project.

Hitting out at the federal government, the Sindh chief minister said coronavirus spread in the country because there was no check on borders. “I advised the federal government in March to seal all borders and send people coming from different countries to proper quarantine centres, but it was not accepted which resulted in trajectory of the virus in April,” he added.

He urged Prime Minister Imran Khan to think for the whole country keeping in view the lives of people. “Sindh is not an island but a part of the country. We have to think for the entire country.”

Mr Shah blamed the federal government for violation of standard operating procedures and claimed that people were not following the SOPs because of mixed and confusing messages coming from the Centre. He said the entire world and Pakistan were going through a difficult time at the moment.

Sindh CM appears before NAB in Islamabad in Rs4.8bn Roshan solar lights case

“I will not blame people for violating SOPs as this is because of the mixed signals being sent to the people. One person says coronavirus is a dangerous disease while another says it is just a flu and you will be fine after suffering from cold and fever,” he said, adding that there should be a unified message [from the federal government] that this was a life-threatening disease.

“People are in trouble due to the spread of illogical opinions regarding the deadly disease,” he added.

Responding to a question, he said positive cases of Covid-19 in Islamabad had outnumbered the same in Karachi which was a much bigger city than the federal capital. He said the virus was spreading rapidly and people had to follow precautionary measures.

Mr Shah said the National Coordination Committee (NCC) had decided not to reopen several businesses, but some provinces acted in an opposite manner and Sindh also reopened them (businesses) on the directives of the Supreme Court.

In reply to a question about verbal attacks and counter attacks by the opposition and the government against each other, the chief minister said he only came in the media when something against the NCC decisions was projected.

He said the Centre was concerned about the impact of Covid-19 on the financial conditions of the poor, but wondered who would take care of their kids when the poor began dying.

The Sindh chief minister, who arrived early morning in the federal capital, remained in the NAB office for almost two hours and justified the award of contract for the solar lights project in 2014 when he was provincial finance minister. According to media reports, the project was to be completed in 2017, but got delayed due to several reasons and alleged irregularities.

CM Shah said he tried to convince the investigators that there was nothing wrong in the award of the project as all legal and constitutional requirements had been fulfilled. “One of the allegations against me was that I approved the project despite [the fact that] it was not approved in the budget. Yes, it was not covered in the budget, but Article 124 of the Constitution permits the provincial government to approve it even after the budget anytime during the current financial year,” he said, adding that the Sindh government had approved the project and later the provincial cabinet gave its nod.

Responding to a question, he said NAB had prepared a questionnaire for him but did not hand it over to him due to some changes. He said NAB officials told him that he would receive the questionnaire later through mail. He said he had appeared before NAB Rawalpindi in connection with the Roshan Sindh programme corruption probe “not under any pressure”.

The chief minister said he had answered NAB’s questions relating to the Roshan Sindh scheme.

However, NAB sources told Dawn that CM Shah failed to give any reason for the release of additional funds for the scheme as a committee formed by the High Court Sindh had visited the project’s site and termed it “average and unsatisfactory”.

They alleged that the chief minister had released the funds for the project at the behest of Sharjeel Memon, the then minister for local government, who was said to be a mastermind of the scam. According to NAB, the project was awarded to favorite contractors of Mr Memon, who received kickbacks in return.

NAB officers had earlier shared that they had recovered Rs298 million in the case. The anti-graft watchdog revealed that some other accused in the scam, including Abdul Sattar Qureshi, Abdul Rashid Chana, Aslam Pervaiz Memon and Baldev, had agreed to sign a plea bargain deal.

The scam relates to the multi-billion-rupee fake bank accounts case being tried against top PPP leaders, including former president Asif Ali Zardari, chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari, Murad Ali Shah and Faryal Talpur, and senior bankers and bureaucrats.

CM Shah had already visited NAB Rawalpindi in the same case. He is accused of illegally awarding contracts for purchase and distribution of solar lights in Sindh. Mr Shah is also facing some other NAB cases, including sugar mills subsidy and Nooriabad power project.

Published in Dawn, June 5th, 2020

KARACHI: The Sindh High Court on Thursday put the provincial chief secretary on notice for June 23 on a petition seeking contempt of court proceedings against him for not making public the joint investigation team (JIT) reports of the Baldia factory fire incident, the alleged Lyari gangster Uzair Jan Baloch and former chairman of the Fishermen Cooperative Society Nisar Morai.

In January, the SHC had directed the chief secretary to make these JIT reports public on a petition filed in 2017 by Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) leader Syed Ali Zaidi, now a federal minister.

The PTI leader through his lawyer had filed a petition before the SHC and asked the court to initiate contempt proceedings against the chief secretary for not complying with the Jan 28 judgement of the SHC.

The lawyer for the petitioner argued that neither the provincial government made the JIT reports public nor filed any appeal against the SHC judgement before the Supreme Court.

He further contended that now the time period to challenge the judgement in question before the apex court had also expired.

The two-judge bench headed by Justice Mohammad Iqbal Kalhoro issued the notice to the chief secretary with the direction to file his comments by June 23.

The top bureaucrat was directed to make JIT reports public on a petition filed in 2017 by Ali Zaidi, now a federal minister

In its Jan 28 judgement, the SHC division bench, also headed by Justice Kalhoro, had observed that it had not found anything in the JIT reports contrary to national security and if those reports were publicised, no prejudice would be caused to either party at trial.

“If such like incidents, which are barbaric in nature, happen and the public is deprived of access to the information qua the outcome of its investigations conducted by the JITs in regard to such incidents, it would mean that the democratic government is not interested in telling the people truth about those who are involved, which will result in weakening of the whole system,” the bench had ruled.

It also observed that it was not only the right of the families affected by these incidents, but every common man had the right to know the findings of the JIT reports exposing the actual wrongdoers.

The PTI leader had petitioned the high court in 2017 and submitted that these JIT reports had made startling disclosures about the involvement of politicians in crimes such as murder and extortion, adding that the relevant authorities were approached to obtain copies of the JIT reports of the Baldia factory fire incident, alleged crimes of Lyari gang leader Uzair Baloch and former FCS chairman Nisar Morai and to make them public, but to no avail.

Referring to Article 19-A of the Constitution, the PTI leader had contended in the petition that the provincial and federal governments’ failure to publish such JIT reports was also a violation of the citizens’ right to information, adding that the Sindh Transparency and Right to Information Law, 2011 had been passed by the provincial assembly which allowed every citizen the right to information.

Published in Dawn, June 5th, 2020

ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court on Thursday asked the federal government’s counsel, Dr Farogh Naseem, to identify the ‘bright light’ that came up with the idea of filing a presidential reference against a superior court judge and thus made a serious error of judgement.

“In a very polite manner I am saying that the bright light made a very serious error of judgement rather it was a missed call,” Justice Muneeb Akhtar observed. He wondered whether it was permissible under the Constitution for the president or the prime minister to form an opinion on a legal matter which was wrong in law.

“And if the president made the error then the reference becomes a ‘blank piece of paper’,” Justice Akhtar observed, recalling a term used recently by the United Kingdom’s Supreme Court in the Brexit case.

Justice Akhtar is a member of the 10-judge full court that has taken up a set of petitions challenging the filing of the presidential reference against Justice Qazi Faez Isa, a judge of the Supreme Court.

Justice Akhtar said “what is puzzling our mind” was how the Assets Recovery Unit (ARU) concluded that the funds used for acquiring three offshore properties were the proceeds of crime, but highlighted that when the properties were acquired in 2013 for which the income must have been earned prior to 2013 was not an offence since the breach of money laundering and the Foreign Exchange Regulations Act were added to the schedule of the Income Tax Ordinance in 2015 and 2016, respectively.

Justice Akhtar says if president made an error then the reference becomes a ‘blank piece of paper’

The ARU had no authority to come to the conclusion that the judge had committed misconduct and if the unit got it wrong in law then surely the action taken by it would be without jurisdiction, he observed.

Dr Nasim contended that the ARU had never stated this and presented his formulations containing 27 points to answer the queries raised by the court during the course of hearing over the last two days.

Since there was no law before 2016, the allegation of money laundering was out of the window, observed Justice Umar Ata Bandial, who was heading the full court. Who was the person who got the bright idea of sending the matter straight to the president for filing the reference, instead of NAB or the FBR, which become scarred, he wondered.

The correspondence between the ARU and the law ministry was about accountability of judges as if they were sitting with preconceived mind that money laundering had taken place and it was a good way to hold the judges accountable, Justice Bandial said.

Justice Maqbool Baqar cautioned the counsel to keep in mind the consequences that might follow in case it was established that a wrong decision was made, recalling how a former government spokesperson [Dr Firdous Ashiq Awan] had at a press conference claimed that Justice Isa played a shot while stepping out of the crease.

Justice Baqar observed that the president had to form an independent opinion within the ambit of law whether the information before him was worthwhile to be sent to the Supreme Judicial Council (SJC).

Dr Nasim contended that it was wrong to suggest that the president and the prime minister should have a brilliant legal mind since one was a dentist by profession while the other was an Oxford graduate with a cricketing legacy as the entire system of governance functioned through secretaries and proper summaries. But the key question here was non-disclosure of the foreign properties in tax returns and the mode of transfer of the funds to buy the properties, he said.

“That is the reason why this court is examining whether there is malice before sending the reference to SJC,” Justice Bandial said, adding that the counsel seemed admitting that the reference suffered with defects and contained malice. The counsel should convince the court about the impropriety committed by the judge that had shaken the confidence of the public, he observed.

Justice Sajjad Ali Shah reminded that the real purpose behind creating the ARU was to bring back the ill-gotten money, but the counsel should tell the court what action the ARU had taken in this regard when the judge claimed that he was not a beneficial owner of the properties as alleged.

Justice Bandial observed that independence of the judiciary was not a small thing since it was safeguarded by Article 209 of the Constitution. Therefore, he said, the president before sending a reference to the SJC must form an independent opinion, adding that under Article 48 of the Constitution, the president had the power to send any matter back for the reconsideration — one of the vehicles to make the Constitution workable.

“We will be moving on a wrong track if we believe that the president is bound to follow the advice of the prime minister,” Justice Bandial said.

Referring to ARU’s legal sanctity, Dr Nasim recalled that the unit was created by the present government against the backdrop of 2018 Supreme Court suo motu hearing on foreign assets and properties by Pakistani nationals. The Supreme Court had held that it was a fundamental right of the people of this country that their wealth should not be stolen by making properties abroad through tax evasion without disclosing in tax returns, the counsel argued.

During the hearing, multiple agencies were directed to bring back the stolen wealth realising that unless holistic or synchronize approach was made, it was not possible to bring the money back, the counsel said, adding that the court was informed during the hearing that a staggering $15.3 billion was transferred out of Pakistan through normal banking channels alone.

Dr Nasim admitted that the apex court had never issued directives to constitute ARU, but the prime minister appointed Mirza Shahzad Akbar as his special assistant on accountability because of his expertise on the subject, assigning him the task to trace and retrieve assets from abroad.

Justice Yahya Afridi, however, said Shahzad Akbar was appointed on Aug 20, 2018, but the same day a summary was placed and terms of reference of the ARU were finalised.

There was an allegation that the material against the judge was with Mr Akbar when he was appointed, Justice Baqar recalled, wondering whether the counsel had ever seen such competence and speed in other cases.

The counsel said the ARU was established on the task force appointed by the apex court, adding that the Rules of Business of the government sanctioned appointment of such an institution and empowered the prime minister to create any new ministry. The unit was made under the residuary power of the prime minister as well as the cabinet, he said, adding that the ARU was parked under the cabinet. Thus the creation of the ARU was a valid exercise and there was no invalidity behind setting up of the unit since it was endorsed and created by the prime minister and the cabinet, the counsel argued.

Justice Syed Mansoor Ali Shah asked about the legislation behind the creation of the ARU since its establishment seemed to be an exercise under the executive authority. Institutions like the FBR and FIA functioned under proper statutory backing of the law, he said but dispelled an impression that judges were above the law and could, therefore, not be accountable. “If any judge is guilty of breaching the law, FBR is free to probe him,” Justice Shah said.

Justice Yahya Afridi asked why a special person was brought in to do a duty already assigned to statutory bodies like the FIA, wondering whether the agency was not functioning.

Published in Dawn, June 5th, 2020

KARACHI: Mohammad Yunus Baloch (50) and Sarfaraz (45), two workers of the Pakistan Steel Mills, reportedly collapsed and died while protesting to save their jobs outside Steel Town on Thursday.

The protest was being held by the Steel Mill workers in collaboration with several labour organisations and unions against the decision of the Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) approving the golden handshake scheme for the PSM workers ahead of its privatisation.

Last month, an ECC meeting chaired by Finance Adviser Abdul Hafeez Sheikh came up with the ‘Human Resource Rationalisation Plan’ for the workforce of the mills costing around Rs18.74 billion to be paid as retirement and termination dues to over 9,000 employees there.

This was done in view of the total losses and liabilities of the mills, which are said to have gone beyond Rs500bn besides about $2.5bn in foreign exchange loss per year to the country because of import of steel that should have been produced at the PSM.

The workers had started gathering at Pakistan Market near Steel Town after Zuhr prayers for a sit-in. The plan included their marching up to the Malir Press Club to get their voices heard but they were stopped in their tracks much before they could do that, reportedly with the law enforcers not allowing them to even enter Steel Town.

Area SHO denies any death occurred during the protest

“Both Yunus and Sarfaraz’s names were on the termination list and they sat down outside Steel Town with the other protesters in the terrible heat. That was when both the workers, one after the other, complained of chest pains followed by difficulty in breathing,” said Mohammad Naveed of the Trade Union Alliance.

Nasir Mansoor of the National Trade Union Federation also said that a third worker, Ijaz Samoon (35), also fainted during the protest and was rushed to hospital in an ambulance. He is also said to have had a heart attack and his condition was said to be critical.

About the law enforcement agencies picking up peaceful protesters, Mansoor said he was surprised at the Sindh government’s attitude. “On one hand they tell us that they are against privatisation and standing by the workers and, on the other, they call the police and Rangers on us,” he said.

“We didn’t expect much sympathy for the poor workers from PM Khan, but the PPP government’s attitude today was like being stabbed in the back,” he added.

Police denial

Steel Town SHO Shakir Ali, however, denied the death of any PSM protester or employee due to heart attack during the protest against the government’s decision.

The officer also claimed that they had detained some protesters for a while who were later on released.

Raza Rabbani condemns ECC decision

Former Senate chairman and senior leader of the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Mian Raza Rabbani on Thursday condemned the government decision to sack over 9,000 workers of the PSM and called the move against the set rules of the Constitution, adds Our Staff Reporter.

In a statement, he said the ECC was not the right forum to make such a decision.

“The ECC decision to sack 9,300 workers of the Pakistan Steel Mill is condemned in the strongest terms,” he said. “Under the Constitution, 1973, the ECC or the Federal Cabinet are not the appropriate forums for taking this decision. The Pakistan Steel Mill falls within Entry No 6 of the Federal Legislative List, Part II, Constitution, 1973. The Federal Legislative List, Part II, is governed by Art 154(1), Constitution, 1973, ie. CCI.”

He said the Council of Common Interests, Article 154(1) provides that the CCI shall formulate and regulate policies in relation to matters in Part II of the Federal Legislative List and shall exercise supervision and control over related institutions.

“Under the Constitution, 1973, the matter of the Steel Mill has to be taken up at the CCI; the matter has not been sent to the CCI. Therefore, any decision taken by another forum will be in violation of the Constitution,” added Mr Rabbani.

Published in Dawn, June 5th, 2020

KARACHI: Institutions in the US, Brazil, Pakistan, Senegal, South Africa and Taiwan will collaborate under a grant that seeks to develop the United World for Antiviral Research Network (UWARN) — a vital global research initiative into infectious diseases and pandemics.

The $8.75 million grant spread over five years has been awarded to the University of Washington (UW) and its partners, including the Aga Khan University (AKU), by the US National Institutes of Health’s Centers for Research in Emerging Infectious Diseases (CREID).

UWARN — one of 10 centres in the CREID Network which has multidisciplinary teams of investigators spread over 30 countries — will help in the race to identify potential pandemic viruses, develop the urgently needed diagnostic tools and drugs that work against a range of pathogens, and expand understanding of the body’s immune responses to viruses.

Several AKU faculty will be involved in the project. Najeeha Talat Iqbal, from the paediatrics and child health and biological and biomedical sciences department is the principal investigator for Pakistan.

Dr Farah Qamar and Dr Ali Faisal from paediatrics and child health, and Professor Erum Khan from pathology and laboratory medicine are co-investigators on the project.

WHO had identified in 2018 a priority list of viruses for which no vaccines and drugs were available

Such large-scale global collaborations, according to AKU experts, are becoming all the more necessary to combat diseases, known and unknown.

‘Disease X’

Just two years ago, in 2018, the World Health Organisation had identified a priority list of viruses for which no vaccines and drugs were available. It included “Disease X”, a stand-in for pathogens yet unknown that could cause a serious international epidemic; Covid-19 is exactly the type of threat that Disease X was meant to represent.

“Pandemics are becoming an increasingly frequent threat to public health in the ... developing world,” said Prof Asad Ali, associate dean for research at AKU. “We need to deepen our understanding of emerging infectious diseases in order to prevent the emergence of new viruses from becoming pandemics that threaten our way of life.”

UWARN researchers will be looking to advance innovative approaches to laboratory diagnosis, including identifying reagents for antibody tests that detect antibodies in the blood in order to diagnose an active or previous infection.

Another approach would be through ‘designed proteins’ that release light when antibodies are present in the blood, using technology developed by UW Medicine Institute for Protein Design.

The group will also work to improve understanding of how viruses manipulate the human immune system, facilitating development of better blood biomarkers to predict the severity of diseases as well as drugs that could improve outcomes for patients with viral infections.

The CREID network will be coordinated by the Research Triangle Institute, a large non-profit research organisation with regional and project offices in over 75 countries, and Duke University known for its cutting-edge medical research and home to the Duke Human Vaccine Institute.

Published in Dawn, June 5th, 2020

KARACHI: Sindh Information Minister Syed Nasir Hussain Shah on Thursday alleged that the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf government in the centre was indulging in politics of vendetta and implicating Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah in a ‘false’ case in an attempt to divert public attention from its failure to deal with the challenges of coronavirus pandemic.

The provincial minister in a statement said that the manner in which the Sindh chief minister had been summoned without evidence in a case was the continuation of the same policy of PTI, which the party was pursuing against the opposition for a long time.

He claimed that the case against CM Shah was very weak and there was no evidence against him.

He said that no notice had ever been issued to the chief minister in this case.

CM Shah was appearing in this case so that no one could say that he did not abide by the law.

The provincial information minister added that the Sindh chief minister had nothing to do with this case. He was the finance minister at the time and this case was filed on “false grounds”, he claimed.

He said that making this case against the chief minister of Sindh at present was an attempt to divert the attention of the people from real issues. He said that because the federal government did not take the coronavirus seriously, the pandemic was now out of control.

The PTI government was also constantly using various tactics to divert attention from the sugar scandal, he added.

The PTI people thought that the chief minister of Sindh might not appear and they would make it an issue. Mr Shah said that because the PTI government did not want to take action against its own people involved in the sugar scandal, it was using various tactics to divert people’s attention from it.

He said that the report of the Sugar Commission clearly stated that one of the major factors in the rise in the price of sugar was to allow its export.

He said that it was no longer a secret that the prime minister himself had allowed the export of sugar.

Syed Nasir Hussain Shah said that PTI used to claim that it would form a new style of government, but today it was reluctant to take action against its own people despite evidence.

Published in Dawn, June 5th, 2020

KARACHI: Sindh Health Minister Dr Azra Pechuho informed the Sindh Assembly on Thursday that the coronavirus situation in the province was getting worse to the extent that now, Covid-19 cases would pop up from every household.

“This happened only due to one person who had declared that ‘corona se darna nahi larna hai’ (Don’t be afraid of the coronavirus, fight it),” she said in a reference to Prime Minister Imran Khan’s initial response to the pandemic.

The health minister told the lawmakers during the assembly session, summoned on the opposition’s requisition on the Covid-19 issue, that they would face a shortage of beds and ventilators and the situation could become worse where patients would not be able to acquire a bed in hospitals as had happened in several European countries.

At the outset of the proceedings, the health minister and MPA Nusrat Sehar Abbasi of the Grand Democratic Alliance exchanged hot words when the latter protested over the minister delivering a policy statement in English. The GDA member wanted the minister to give her statement either in Sindhi or Urdu “so the people of Sindh could understand” what she was saying.

Speaker Agha Siraj Durrani intervened to tell the two lawmakers that the harsh words used in the house had been expunged. “It seems you have decided not to let the proceedings continue,” he cautioned the opposition member.

We have strengthened our laboratories by bringing in more PCR machines, she tells PA

The speaker had given the floor to the health minister to make a policy statement after the house carried a motion moved by Minister for Parliamentary Affairs Mukesh Kumar Chawla for holding discussion on the deadly virus.

Federal govt criticised

Dr Pechuho came down hard on the federal government saying that the country neither had a leadership nor a policy to deal with the pandemic.

She said that the provincial government called for a strict lockdown from day one to deal with the virus. “Here the prime minister sits with 50 people in a meeting without a mask. What message is he trying to convey?” she said while pointing out that a report had said there were 700,000 coronavirus patients in Lahore alone. The health minister asked how they could fight without weapons in their hands. “These people want death toll to be in millions,” she said and asked that what good would be the economy when people die of the virus.

“We have tracked and tested passengers coming from abroad in Sindh from December and isolated them to prevent the rising Covid-19 tally,” she said and added that the province had also initiated a project to train doctors and paramedics to deal with the virus.

“We have strengthened our laboratories by bringing in more PCR machines,” she said adding that currently 19 laboratories were involved in the Covid-19 testing process in the province.

The MQM-P’s Rashid Khilji and Mangla Sharma; PTI’s Haleem Adil Sheikh, Dr Seema Zia; GDA’s Shaheryar Khan Mahar, Abdul Razzaque Rahimoon; and PPP’s Sharjeel Inam Memon, Heer Soho, Syeda Shehla Raza, Ghulam Qadir Chandio, Ghanwer Ali Khan Isran, Shamim Mumtaz, Syed Zulfikar Shah, Shabbir Bijarani and Abdul Bari Pitafi also spoke.

Call to reopen schools

PTI’s Rabia Azfar Nizami said that educational institutions could not be closed indefinitely and called for forming a policy to reopen schools and other educational institutions with standard operating procedures.

She said that 30 per cent of school-going children were registered in private schools whereas 60pc go to government schools, fearing that the gap between the poor and the rich would further increase as everyone could not afford online classes.

“Child marriages, child abuse and child labour will be on the rise if educational institutions are not opened,” she said.

The GDA’s Nusrat Abbasi in her speech said that the PPP had given nothing to the people of Sindh during its rule. “If the medical facilities in Sindh are good, why the former president Asif Ali Zardari and PPP MNAs and MPAs are getting treatment at private hospitals?” she said.

The Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan’s Khwaja Izharul Hassan said that Pakistan could not be compared with Europe as “we have different dynamics”.

He said that initially the Sindh government had taken ‘impressive’ decisions but later failed to cope with the issue. “The provincial government claimed to having provided rations worth 1.25 billion to the people but the amount was deducted from salaries of government employees and funds for local bodies,” he added.

Younus Soomro of the Tehreek-i-Labbaik Pakistan said that the provincial government claimed supply of rations to two million families but it was not visible on the ground.

Dr Imran Ali Shah of the PTI said that mobile testing units should be established and a hospital be designated for Covid-19 patients in each district. He said tests were conducted during specific times (8am to 8pm), demanding that tests should be conducted 24 hours.

Dr Shah said that 250 doctors at Dr Ruth K.M. Pfau Civil Hospital Karachi, who performed their duties in different shifts, had no separate accommodation and go back to their homes after treating the Covid-19 patients.

He asked the provincial government to arrange accommodation for the doctors near the Civil Hospital so that their families were not unnecessarily exposed to the virus.

Published in Dawn, June 5th, 2020

KARACHI: Shortage of wheat continues to fuel rise in flour prices across the province in the absence of effective price control mechanism and insipid government response to the deepening crisis.

On Thursday, flour millers raised prices by Rs2 per kg on various varieties of flour. Just two days before on Tuesday, they had raised prices by Re1 to Rs3 per kg.

According to the millers, price of flour (No. 2.5) was raised to Rs48 per kg from Rs46 per kg on Tuesday while rate of fine flour and super fine flour (maida) was increased to Rs52.50 per kg from Rs50 per kg.

The new rate of 10kg flour bag has been fixed at Rs485 as against Rs465 on Tuesday.

Over the past 35 days, millers have increased flour prices cumulatively by up to Rs8 per kg in the absence of an effective price control mechanism of city government and will of Sindh government to probe reasons behind sudden price hike and wheat stocks available at flour mills.

The flour millers attribute suspension in arrival of wheat from interior of Sindh to the city as the main reason behind rise in grain prices in the open market. “Wheat is hardly available in the open market. Traders, who have grain stocks, are selling for Rs4,550 per 100kg bag, up by Rs200 from Rs4,350 per 100kg bag on Tuesday,” said a miller, adding that a month back it was sold at Rs4,000. In the third week of May, a wheat bag was available at Rs3,500.

He said the Sindh government would release its wheat by September-October and till then the millers would have to procure wheat from the open market to meet their needs.

The food department’s officials posted at various check-posts are not allowing trucks laden with wheat to reach Karachi.

The Sindh government has so far procured 1.2 million tonnes of wheat from growers from March 26 to date against its target of 1.4m tonnes for this season.

NAB arrests contractor for pilfering 11,403 tonnes wheat

SUKKUR: The National Accountability Bureau (NAB), Sukkur, has arrested a contractor on charges of misappropriating 11,403 tonnes wheat he was hired to transport from Ghotki to Karachi.

NAB officials said the misappropriated wheat was worth Rs300 million. The accused identified as Haresh Kumar who was owner of two flour mills was awarded the contract in 2018 for transporting wheat to Karachi. He lifted 48.770 tonnes wheat from godowns in Ghotki and pilfered 11,403 tonnes on way to Karachi, they said.

They said the accused was also involved in hoarding as a huge quantity of grain was found stocked up in his flour mills during raid. Search was under way for the arrest of an associate of the accused, Mohammad Ibrahim, who also owned a flour mill, said the officials.

NAB officials produced the accused in the district and sessions court which remanded him for 14 days in judicial custody.

Meanwhile, Khangarh assistant commissioner Adeel Sohu raided 15 warehouses in Khanpur Mahar and recovered 15,000 wheat bags during ongoing crackdown against the grain hoarders in Ghotki district.

The food department seized the wheat bags and sealed the warehouses where wheat had been hoarded by traders for profiteering, said officials.

The warehouses were owned by Anand Kumar, Satiwan Das, Chandar Ban, Ghansham Das, Kailash Kumar, Roshan Lal, Washu Ram, Sanjay Kumar, Vijay Kumar, Manoj Kumar and others, said officials.

Mr Sohu said that the action had been taken against the hoarders on the directives of Ghotki deputy commissioner. Raids would continue against the hoarders, he warned.

Published in Dawn, June 5th, 2020

ISLAMABAD: With the coronavirus situation worsening day by day, Pakistan conducted the highest number of 20,167 Covid-19 tests in a day as the authorities launched an operation against violators of SOPs (standard operating procedures) in various parts of the country on Thursday.

According to the data released by the National Command and Control Centre (NCOC) on Thursday, Pakistan conducted 20,167 coronavirus tests on June 3, the highest-ever number in a single day. A total of over 610,000 Covid-19 tests have so far been conducted in the country.

Pakistan, which has already surpassed China in terms of the number of Covid-19 affected persons, witnessed nearly 2,900 new coronavirus cases in the last 24 hours, taking the total tally to 86,139.

As many as 64 people lost their lives due to the pandemic in the last 24 hours, taking the death toll to 1,793.

Minister for Planning and Development Asad Umar had last month expressed the view that the capacity of 30,000 tests per day would be sufficient for Pakistan to control the spread of the deadly virus.

PM’s aide acknowledges number of per day cases rapidly increased in last few days

“Currently, we are in a position to hold over 25,000 tests per day and with every passing day our capacity to conduct tests is increasing,” Mr Umar had stated, expressing the hope that they would be able to hold 30,000 tests per day by the start of June. He was of the view that 30,000 daily tests would be a sizeable number to ascertain the pace of spread and formulate future strategy accordingly.

When contacted, Special Assistant to the Prime Minister (SAPM) on Health Dr Zafar Mirza acknowledged that the number of per day cases had rapidly increased during the last few days.

“However, it is also a fact that Pakistan is a large country with a huge population. We are the sixth most populous country with 25 per cent population is under absolute poverty. Therefore, human interaction and proximity of living together are also very high,” the SAPM explained while highlighting the cause of the sudden rise in Covid-19 cases. He gave the example of Brazil and Mexico where, according to him, the conditions are the same as in Pakistan.

Dr Mirza expressed the hope that considering the trends in other countries, Pakistan’s graph would also straighten in the coming weeks or by the end of the current month. “It is observed that after such spikes, the number of daily cases starts reducing,” he said.

SOPs violations

The authorities started taking action against those violating the SOPs at public places in various parts of the country on the recommendations of the NCOC.

On Thursday, the relevant authorities imposed 727 lockdowns across the country.

According to the data released by the NCOC, 115 people were fined and 83 shops and 22 industrial units were sealed in Islamabad over violations of SOPs. Besides, 42 public transporters were fined for violating the SOPs.

In Gilgit-Baltistan, it says, 907 people were fined, 440 shops sealed and action was taken against 297 transporters. Moreover, 13 industrial units and four areas were sealed under the policy of ‘smart lockdown’.

In Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, as many as 9,449 persons were checked, of which 3,553 were fined. As many as 525 markets/shops, 37 industrial unites and 16 transport terminals were sealed in the province. Moreover, 82 public transport vehicles were fined for the SOPs violations.

The handout issued by the NCOC, which holds daily meetings to review the situation under the minister for planning, says that telemedicine service is also becoming popular among the masses and 3,660 doctors have already signed up. So far, it says, 1,936 patients have consulted doctors.

The NCOC team comprising specialists/management experts will visit various areas of the country to assist local administrations in assessment or needs or requirement. Dr Faisal Sultan, the focal person for the prime minister on Covid-19, will lead the teams.

The focus of the NCOC session with the provinces on Thursday was on “SOPs, compliance, strict administrative actions being implemented and enforcement of various strands of track, trace and quarantine (TTQ) strategy”.

According to the Prime Minister Office, Mr Umar said the heart of the strategy to contain the risk of the contagion spreading was to ensure “SOPs compliance and enforcement of quarantine measures”.

Chief secretaries of provinces and of Gilgit-Baltistan and Azad Kashmir informed the NCOC that strict administrative action had been initiated against those violating SOPs and social distancing in public places, markets, public transport and industrial sectors.

Published in Dawn, June 5th, 2020

ISLAMABAD: A Senate panel on Thursday asked the government to convene a Saarc conference to formulate a joint strategy to effectively combat coronavirus.

The Senate Standing Committee on Interior unanimously passed a resolution urging the government to call a Saarc meeting to evolve a joint anti-coronavirus strategy for a unified regional response to the pandemic.

The Senate panel expressed deep concern over the rapidly growing number of coronavirus patients and deaths caused by the deadly virus.

The committee asked the government to come up with a clear policy on the lockdown and noted that there appeared to be a state of confusion on the issue.

Chairman of the committee Rehman Malik objected to the much-publicised slogan of “no need to be scared of corona” and said the slogan was sending out a wrong message and needed to be immediately amended.

He said the people were not taking coronavirus seriously due to the wrongly phrased slogan.

He said the people were not following the SOPs to prevent the spread of the deadly disease and because of this positive cases and deaths were rapidly increasing. He said the country would face a massive increase in positive cases of Covid-19 and deaths if the government did not implement the SOPs by force of law.

He stressed the need for spreading awareness among the masses about the pandemic in all local languages.

The interior secretary briefed the committee on implementation of 37-point recommendations of the Senate Standing Committee on Interior and said these served as a compact guideline for the government to combat coronavirus in the country.

Executive Director of the National Institute of Health (NIH) Major General Aamer Ikram briefed the committee on the measures taken to combat coronavirus. Briefing the committee on the Covid-19 situation in the country, he said that the fatality rate was 2.6 per cent and currently there were 16 centres operating in the country.

Mr Malik said that the government must take steps for increasing the testing capacity for coronavirus as senators from Balochistan complained that testing facility was not available for people in some parts of Balochistan.

The chairman of the committee said that he would personally request the Chinese government to assist Pakistan in this effort and provide testing kits to the country

He also asked the government that it must not ignore patients of coronavirus in rural areas of the country and mobile laboratories should be deployed in those areas to test maximum number of suspected cases.

The committee condemned the continued ceasefire violations by Indian security forces along the Line of Control, targeting civilian population, sending spy drones and killing 35 Kashmiri youth in occupied Kashmir.

Federal Minister for Narcotics Control Azam Khan Swati applauded efforts of Senator Rehman Malik for getting removed the name of Pakistan from FATF’s grey list. He said that because of his tireless efforts, Pakistan had received a relief of five months from the FATF in the most difficult time of pandemic.

The committee discussed in detail various bills presented for review.

The Ministry of Law and Justice and Ministry of Interior presented their views on the proposed legislation.

The committee, after a detailed del­i­­beration, passed the Islamabad Pre­v­e­­ntion of Beggary Bill, 2020, the Islam­abad Consumer Protection (Amen­d­ment) Bill, 2020, the Anti-Terrorism (Amendment) Bill, 2020, and the Rig­hts of Persons Arrested, Detained or under Custodial Investigation Bill, 2020.

Published in Dawn, June 5th, 2020

ISLAMABAD: The cabinet committee on outsourcing of major airports of the country on Thursday held its first meeting and directed stakeholders to come up with viable options in a week.

The committee, headed by its chairman Razak Dawood, Adviser to the Prime Minister on Commerce and Investment, asked the members to finalise proposals to be presented before the cabinet.

On the outsourcing of the airports, the government has constituted the cabinet committee to explore ways and means of opening of major airports for foreign investment.

It is believed that some investors are interested in making investment in the airports and the government is also now keen to open up this crucial sector for investors.

Regulatory part of CAA and commercial part of operations discussed

An official announcement issued after the meeting said the committee discussed two aspects of airport operations: the regulatory part of the Civil Aviation Authority and the commercial part of operations.

During the meeting, various options, along with the associated legal aspects, were discussed in detail, keeping in view the segregation of regulatory and commercial sides.

Representatives of the Privatisation Commission were also consulted on the issue.

Speaking on the occasion, the chairman of the committee, Mr Dawood, said that there was a huge potential in airport-related commercial activities, which could be exploited by bringing in knowledge and experience from major international experts in the aviation industry.

He further said that the gap in non-aeronautical activities at major airports, including duty-free shops, restaurants and commercial outlets, could be efficiently filled by such expertise, thereby bringing the country’s airports on a par with leading airports of the world.

Mr Dawood also informed the committee of the interest being shown by different global investors in the country’s airports.

He said that international best practices would be ensured in the overall operation and management of various activities by bringing in international investors and generating overall goodwill for the country among various stakeholders and the aviation industry around the world.

He said that foreign direct investment always acted as a catalyst to socio-economic development in the country, as it resulted in creating thousands of jobs.

He further said that the move would restore confidence of the private sector of the country and they would invest in the airport-related industry.

Published in Dawn, June 5th, 2020

ISLAMABAD: The budget sessions of both the houses of parliament — National Assembly and Senate — are set to begin on Friday (today) as the staff of the two secretariats are geared up to ensure strict adherence to the SOPs (standard operating procedures) to prevent the spread of coronavirus.

The Senate is scheduled to meet in the morning whereas the National Assembly session will be held in the afternoon and the orders of the day for both the houses have already been issued by the respective secretariat.

In a related development, Prime Minister Imran Khan on Thursday nominated Dr Shahzad Waseem as the new Leader of the House in the Senate. Mr Waseem is replacing Shibli Faraz, who last month took charge as federal minister for information and broadcasting.

According to a spokesman for the Senate Secretariat, the prime minister has already informed Senate Chairman Sadiq Sanjrani about Dr Waseem’s nomination through a letter and a notification in this regard is expected to be issued before the start of the session on Friday morning.

Dr Waseem nominated Leader of House in Senate; NA session to continue till Aug 13

Dr Waseem had previously served as minister of state for interior in the military regime under General Pervez Musharraf.

The government plans to present the federal budget for the financial year 2020-21 on June 12.

The National Assembly is expected to witness a low attendance on the opening day of the session on Friday as the lower house of parliament will not be carrying out its normal business due to the recent death of MNA from the country’s tribal areas Munir Orakzai. It has been a parliamentary tradition that the National Asse­mbly and the Senate adjourn their first sitting held after the death of a sitting member.

Senate SOPs

The Senate Secretariat on Thursday issued SOPs for the session in view of the Covid-19 pandemic.

According to SOPs, “no individual will be allowed to accompany the senators into the Parliament House and only one person will be allowed to accompany the ministers and the state ministers”.

Similarly, only one officer, not below BS-20, from ministries/divisions will be req­uired to ensure presence in the galleries.

All the senators and every other individual entering the Parliament House will have to go through thermal-gun screening.

The Parliamentary Reporters Association will ensure entry of minimum possible number of journalists into the Press Gallery in view of limited space.

Keeping in view limitation of space in the house, seats have been allocated only to the leader of the house, leader of the opposition, ministers and parliamentary leaders of the parties whereas all other senators may assume available seats as and when they come, without a pre-allocated seating plan.

All the senators have been asked to use face mask, gloves and sanitisers, which will be provided to them at their tables.

All the senators have also been asked to get their coronavirus tests done before coming for the session.

The Senate Secretariat has issued a 12-point agenda for the Friday’s sitting which includes laying of a number of reports of the standing committees, besides question hour.

Adviser to the Prime Minister on Parliamentary Affairs Babar Awan will also “lay before the Senate a copy of the Money Bill, the Members of Parliament (Salaries and Allowances) (Amendment) Bill, 2020, as required under Article 73 of the Constitution” for seeking recommendations from the senators.

It may be recalled that Minister for Science and Technology Fawad Chaudhry had already opposed the decision of his own government to convene physical sessions of the two houses of parliament and called for holding virtual sittings.

The minister had stated that five lawmakers had already died due to coronavirus and nearly three dozen others had also tested positive. Moreover, he said that he had reports that a large number of employees of the National Assembly Secretariat had also been affected by Covid-19.

On the other hand, Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly and Pakistan Mus­l­­im League-Nawaz (PML-N) president Shah­baz Sharif had written a letter to Speaker Asad Qaiser, suggesting him an agenda for the first five days of the assembly session prior to the presentation of the federal budget.

The opposition leader has suggested to the speaker to allow the members to have thorough debate on key national issues, including the May 22 crash of Pakistan International Airlines’ (PIA) aircraft near Karachi airport and the situation arising due to spread of the Covid-19 pandemic and locust attack in various parts of the country.

The government has already decided to hold the National Assembly sitting continuously for 10 weeks in order to meet the constitutional requirement of remaining in session for a minimum of 130 days in a parliamentary year.

The parliamentary year of the present assembly starts from August 13. The National Assembly has so far held 77 sittings since August 13 last year.

Published in Dawn, June 5th, 2020

PESHAWAR: The Awami National Party on Thursday announced that it would lodge an FIR against local maliks or tribal elders for allegedly “giving responsibility to maintain peace” to the local Taliban committee in South Waziristan tribal district.

The party also appointed a woman legislator from Peshawar its provincial spokesperson.

The ANP, in two separate statements issued from its provincial secretariat Bacha Khan Markaz, announced that it had appointed once again a member of the Bilour family — Samar Bilour — as the party’s provincial spokesperson.

In another statement it said that it would lodge an FIR against local maliks or tribal elders for allegedly “handing over responsibility to maintain peace” in South Waziristan district to local Taliban.

The ANP said that if any harm came to its member and activist Ayaz Wazir, a resident of South Waziristan, or his family, the party would not remain silent and hold the Taliban, the elders and the government responsible for it.

MPA Samar Bilour made party’s provincial spokesperson

ANP provincial president Aimal Wali Khan, in the statement, asked the government to provide security to Mr Wazir who had been issued threats in the past too. He said that it was duty of the state to provide security to its every citizen.

Mr Khan said it was a sad fact that the security situation in the tribal districts, which were now merged with Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, was deteriorating under a conspiracy. He claimed that there was still a concept of “good and bad Taliban” that could further worsen the situation.

He wondered how effective and real the writ of the government could be in South Waziristan when the district had a local administration after the merger. He said that the ANP had time and again warned that Taliban were reorganising but the government had remained a silent spectator to the phenomenon.

The ANP claims to have lost over 800 leaders and workers in terrorist attacks and suicide bombings in the last decades or so, including Bashir Bilour and his son Haroon Bilour, who was the party’s information secretary and a candidate for a provincial assembly seat from Peshawar city during 2018 general elections at the time of his death.

Samar Bilour, widow of Haroon Bilour, who won by-election on the seat her slain husband wanted to contest and was elected to KP Assembly, has been appointed the party’s provincial information secretary. She has replaced Sadruddin Marwat who was earlier made the party’s information secretary although Haroon Bilour’s son Danyal Bilour aspired to assume the party office his father held at the time of his death, but did not succeed.

An emotional Danyal Bilour decided to quit the ANP but later reconciled with the party leadership.

The ANP said in its statement that Sadruddin Marwat could not fulfil the responsibility of the post due to his family engagements.

The decision of Samar Bilour’s appointment was made by the party’s provincial president as the party’s provincial council could not meet due to coronavirus, the party said. The party would seek the endorsement of the decision by the provincial council in its next meeting.

Published in Dawn, June 5th, 2020

LAHORE: The city administration on Thursday sealed over 100 shops for violating the standard operating procedures (SOPs) issued by the Punjab government on Wednesday and warned to get tougher by the day if shopkeepers and people do not behave.

Explaining the activity, an official of the district administration explained: “Thursday was more of a warning shot. It was day first of implementation of the SOPs and the administration just wanted to convey its seriousness to traders. The severity and frequency of raids would certainly increase by the day if violations are reported.”

“The provincial government had a meeting with traders in the afternoon and it just wanted to get the message through. That is why administration along with police visited not only every nook and corner of the city but also its suburbs and conurbations as well. The spread of shop sealing explains the extent: 30 shops on Hall Road, 25 in Township, four in Garhi Shahu area and rest in Walled City, Anarkali and as far as Raiwind. The total 107 shops were sealed on the day,” he said.

The Lahore police, which assisted the administration, says that shops have only been sealed, no FIRs have been lodged or arrests made. The exercise was restricted to sealing of few shops and warning to others as it was aimed at “conveying the message” that government means business. “So, ensure sanitizers, masks and social distance. Otherwise, your business runs the risk,” he claimed.

Meanwhile,Minister for Industries and Trade Aslam Iqbal held a meeting with traders at the Town Hall and issued a list of policy contours: “Complete monitoring of markets will be ensured; I myself will conduct surprise visits; even if a single shop is found violating SOPs, the entire market will be sealed; no one would be allowed to keep shutter up after 7pm and no one will be allowed to continue business with half shutters down (a common occurrence reported from markets).”

Flanked by the Lahore Division commissioner, deputy commissioner, CCPO and other officers concerned, the minister said traders had assured “implementation of all SOPs” and they had been told about the financial cost of violations.

“The traders have been told in no uncertain terms that strict checking would be conducted at the entry points of markets and no one without mask would be allowed to enter the market. If a customer comes to shop without mask, the shopkeeper is supposed to provide one. The children and elderly would not be allowed in markets either. The traders are also supposed to immediately remove all encroachments in the markets to avoid rush and movement of customers.”

Denying “any proposal under consideration” to impose curfew or complete lockdown, the minister said though there was no such scheme on the table, it certainly becomes an option if traders or any other segments of society violate the SOPs. The traders assured complete cooperation to observe SOPs and also gave suggestions for better implementation.

Meanwhile, theGujranwala district administration reinforced lockdown due to rapidly increasing cases of corona and ignorance of SOPs by public till Sunday.

The main markets were closed by the district administration.

Published in Dawn, June 5th, 2020