ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court said on Tuesday it wondered why a constitutional body like the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) was coming to another constitutional body, the apex court, to seek permission for violating a constitutional obligation.

“I am shocked and find this argument absurd,” observed Justice Qazi Faez Isa, a member of the three-judge bench headed by Chief Justice Jawwad S. Khawaja.

The bench had taken up an ECP application seeking the court’s permission to hold local government elections in Punjab and Sindh in three phases, on Nov 14, 29 and Dec 19, instead of the earlier decided date of Sept 26.

At the last hearing on Aug 13, the Supreme Court had asked the ECP to come up with a concrete empirical data to justify each day of delay in the conduct of polls in the two provinces.

“Do I have the power to violate the constitutional obligation of holding the local government polls in the two provinces under Article 140A of the Constitution,” Justice Isa asked. At least as a judge, he said, he did not have the mandate to grant such permission.

The court observed in its order that it was for the ECP to conduct the elections under Article 140A. “Let the ECP perform its constitutional function,” it said, adding that the court had been informed by the ECP as well as the two provinces that they wanted to fulfil the constitutional mandate.

The order said that the two provinces had also assured the court that they would extend fullest support to the ECP in the conduct of the elections.

The court regretted that local government bodies in Punjab and Sindh had been lying dissolved for more than six years and, therefore, the constitutional obligation should be met.

Justice Dost Mohammad regretted that the previous provincial governments had spent their entire term and the present governments almost half the term without holding local government elections.

“The governments want to forward the legacy introduced by (late military dictator) Ziaul Haq of doling out development funds to members of the parliament and provincial assemblies which now they do not want to share with the representatives of the local governments,” he said.

Advocate Munir Paracha, representing the ECP, informed the court that the provinces had pointed out certain difficulties in holding the elections on Sept 26 and the commission had to keep these in mind. He argued that the constitution called for holding the local government elections but it did not say when these should be held.

Justice Isa reminded the ECP that it never begged the provinces for holding the elections rather commanded them to fulfil the requirement of the law and the constitution.

The chief justice suggested that it would be appropriate if the ECP also consulted the stakeholders – political parties – in the matter of holding the elections because they might come up with a new idea to make the polls possible.

While seeking permission for delaying the elections, the ECP had said the two provincial governments had proposed the holding of elections in three phases in view of the difficulties to be faced because of rains in the month of September and adverse flood situation in large parts of Punjab and Sindh.

Besides, practical difficulties will emerge if the polls are held on the same day in the two provinces because of shortage of resources and manpower as well as the requirement to maintain law and order. Moreover, the ECP said, September and October would coincide with Haj and Muharram respectively.

Lessons learnt from the holding of local government elections in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in May which drew flak and became controversial for lack of transparency and allegations of rigging also forced the commission to consider holding the elections in Punjab and Sindh in phases.

Published in Dawn, August 19th, 2015

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LAHORE: No replacement of the slain Punjab Home Minister retired Col Shuja Khanzada has been made as yet and sources in the Punjab government say it is hard to find a man having the equal ability and commitment to handle the most difficult task at present.

“I suppose the chief minister will himself assume the charge,” an official guessed who was as unsure of the new choice for the slot as were others.

Many doubted the appointment of Law Minister Rana Sanaullah Khan because of what they said his “political” nature.

The analysis was that the late Khanzada was basically a soldier and was fit for handling the tasks of fighting terrorism and crime without giving them any political angle. He meant business and did not even ask for any postings of anyone in police or other law-enforcement agencies. He was a fighter and would encourage fighters.

The late colonel was a straight forward man and would say no when it required and would not shift the blame of any failure to his team. Any failure would be his failure which he would admit, and he was not politically controversial.

He was asked to raise the counter-terrorism force which he did with precision and sincerity of purpose, always remaining in touch with the Turkish experts in the field even from Lahore where he was given the international mobile telephone facility.

“It looks difficult for the government to find a man of equal talent and commitment. Maybe it finds someone who will learn the intricacies of the demanding job over the period of time,” an official said.

Sources said the government had not as yet even temporarily assigned the portfolios to anyone. “They are lying vacant,” a source said.

The dent made in the provincial administration because of the assassination of the late Mr Khanzada was visible in the provincial administration. Offices related to law and order were functioning but there was a need for security.

Officials said that it was not the late minister who had alone decided to eliminate the Lashkar-i-Jhangvi leadership. Almost all law enforcement agencies were involved in it. He fell because he proved to be a soft target in view of his Pakhtun tradition of keeping doors open for everyone.

They said it had now been established that meeting people at private deras by Pakhtuns was like inviting trouble. Similar attacks had been made at the deras of Mr Aftab Sherpao, Mr Amir Muqam, Mian Iftikhar and others in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. “Frisking Pakhtuns intending to meet a leader is considered a dishonour but terrorists are using this tradition to hit their targets,” an official said.

The late Mr Khanzada was a brave man who would not even change his schedules for security. He was given merely an eight-member Elite Force escort. There were no barricades outside his Lahore residence.

Officials said it had not as yet been established that he and others were killed by the banned outfit. The Ahrar Group of the TTP had claimed responsibility but authorities were trying to reach the perpetrators.

Published in Dawn, August 19th, 2015

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QUETTA: An anti-corruption court convicted on Tuesday four accused in a case of issuance of a fake national identity card to an Afghan national, awarded them prison terms and imposed fine on them.

The convicts were: National Database and Registration Authority officials Syed Asad Kazmi and Danish Ali, agent Mohammad Asif and the card holder Inyatullah Rahim

The judge, Munir Ahmed Marri, sentenced Kazmi and Danish to 20-year imprisonment and ordered them to pay Rs220,000 fine each. Asif was awarded seven-year jail term and Rahim was sentenced to four-year imprisonment.

Published in Dawn, August 19th, 2015

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KARACHI: JUI-F chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman visited the ‘Nine Zero’ headquarters of the MQM on Tuesday to persuade the party to withdraw resignations of its legislators, but the mission remained inconclusive in the wake of an attempt on the life of Muttahida MNA Rashid Godil.

The two sides agreed to put the talks on hold for a while and start the process again in a couple of days in Islamabad.

It was the first visit by the JUI-F chief to the MQM headquarters where he and members of his delegation were warmly welcomed by Muttahida office-bearers and workers and showered with rose petals.

Dr Farooq Sattar and other leaders of the party held talks with the JUI-F chief and MQM chief Altaf Hussain joined them over phone from London.

Maulana Fazl also met heirs of the killed and missing MQM workers.

He said that the prime minister and the leader of opposition in the National Assembly had asked him to hold talks with the MQM.

“I came to your house for the first time and in our tradition guests are not sent back empty-handed,” he told Mr Hussain, according to an MQM statement.

“The MQM should take back its resignations and if its reservations are not addressed it can again submit resignations from parliament,” he suggested.

Dr Sattar informed Maulana Fazl about the reasons that compelled the MQM to take the extreme decision of quitting parliament.

A participant of the meeting told Dawn that when the talks were under way Mr Hussain himself informed Maulana Fazl about the attack on Mr Godil.

The JUI-F chief told newsmen that the assassination attempt on Rashid Godil was an act of cowardice aimed at sabotaging the talks. He prayed for his quick recovery.

He said when a dialogue process began it moved gradually and, in between, certain elements tried to sabotage it.

He praised the MQM for not changing its “positive attitude” despite the tragic incident. “They are still willing to play their role in steering the country and the political system out of the crisis. We will take the talks forward with the same passion and positive attitude in Islamabad.”

Dr Sattar said Maulana Fazl had come to the ‘Nine Zero’ as a mediator and the MQM and Mr Hussain trusted him.

He said the MQM chief never opposed the Karachi operation, but he wanted that it should be carried out in an impartial manner.

He said that the Maulana would move the process forward in Islamabad and the MQM hoped the issue could be resolved.

Dr Sattar said his party believed that the government and law-enforcement agencies would unmask the assailants involved in the attempt on the life of Mr Godil.

Both Maulana Fazl and Dr Sattar refused to identify those who wanted to sabotage the talks.

Published in Dawn, August 19th, 2015

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ISLAMABAD: The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has said that it stands by its plan to give overseas Pakistanis the right to vote.

In a statement issued on Tuesday, the ECP said it was earnestly considering the matter of the basic right to vote of expatriates holding Pakistani citizenship.

It pointed out that a high-level committee under ECP’s Additional Director General (Elections) Masood Malik had already been constituted. Other members of the committee include two members of the National Assembly, Arif Alvi of the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) and Dr Tariq Fazal Chaudhry of the PML-N.

The committee has discussed and examined different options to facilitate voting by Pakistanis living abroad through postal ballot, internet and in-person voting. The committee has forwarded 16 recommendations to the ECP.

The issue has been pending with the Supreme Court since 2010. An ordinance to this effect was promulgated two days before the May 2013 general elections, but it served no purpose because the matter required a lot of work, including the mode of voting. The ordinance lapsed after four months. The ECP, however, continued to work on the idea.

An ECP official told Dawn that the plan to give overseas Pakistanis the right to vote has been a top priority of the five-year strategic plan hammered out by the commission.

He claimed that the total number of Pakistanis living abroad was about 6.7 million but only 3.7 million had the National Identity Cards for Overseas Pakistanis (NICOP) which would make them eligible to vote.

He said there were 1.7 million Pakistanis in Saudi Arabia and 1.2 million each in the United Kingdom and United Arab Emirates.

Other countries with a large concentration of Pakistanis include the United States (0.9 million), Canada (0.3 million), Oman (0.2 million), Kuwait (150,000), Greece (90,000), Germany (78,000), France and Scotland (60,000 each), Denmark (30,000) and Australia (27,000).

During the deliberations prior to the 2013 general polls, the option of setting up polling stations in embassies and consulates in over a dozen countries where large numbers of Pakistanis were living or working also came under discussion.

It was observed that some countries might not allow a huge gathering of people for the election.

Another proposal discussed was to allocate some seats in the national and provincial assemblies with overseas Pakistanis forming the electoral-college.

The proposed criterion for candidates was a minimum stay of three years abroad and remittances of at least $50,000. Those possessing dual nationality would have to surrender their foreign nationality to qualify as a voter.

Technical experts still believe that a decision made in haste on a mechanism that would enable the overseas Pakistanis to vote would open room for manipulation of results in many constituencies.

They said that a minor error could sabotage the whole electoral exercise, since none of the proposed mechanisms had been tested so far.

The option of ‘internet voting’ would bring electoral rolls over web, exposing them to the risk of hacking.

Sources claim that the idea of postal ballots appears to be a top priority in recent discussions, but modalities for this would have to be worked out for making the process transparent and avoiding any misuse and manipulation.

Published in Dawn, August 19th, 2015

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QUETTA: An attempt to smuggle a huge quantity of Iranian diesel to Quetta has been foiled and four oil tankers seized in Khuzdar district.

According to officials, customs and Frontier Corps personnel intercepted the tankers in Wadh area on Monday evening and found Iranian diesel in them.

“The four tankers were carrying 107,000 litres of smuggled Iranian diesel,” Customs Intelligence Director Mohammad Iqbal Bhawana said, adding that the value of the fuel was estimated at Rs20 million. No arrest was reported.

Published in Dawn, August 19th, 2015

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ISLAMABAD: Even as hundreds of aspiring candidates flock to the institution for the annual entrance test on Wednesday, the National College of Arts’ (NCA) Rawalpindi campus faces the possibility of being removed from the Higher Education Commission’s (HEC) list of recognised institutions for not meeting their requirements.

Administrative problems have plagued the institution for over a year now. The HEC had written to the NCA principal in February, 2014, asking him to immediately resolve the “governance issues” that existed between the Lahore campus and the Rawalpindi campus and asked him to hire permanent faculty members. In addition, the commission urged the campus to upgrade their facilities and acquire the necessary equipment, including heavy-duty generators, to meet the Cabinet Criteria Guidelines for such institutions.

HEC Chairman Dr Mukhtar Ahmed expressed concern over the shortage of teaching staff at NCA Rawalpindi. “We have been asking NCA Lahore to overcome this shortfall. The latest reminder [sent on August 6] is part of our campaign to alert universities and degree-awarding institutions to overcome the shortfall of teachers because the quality of education cannot be improved without proper staff,” he said.

NCA Rawalpindi Director Nadeem Omer Tarar admitted that HEC had written a warning letter to Rawalpindi campus, adding that it was primarily because most lecturers were working on a non-permanent basis and there were very few permanent teachers on campus.

Failure to hire faculty, administrative issues put college at risk of not meeting the criteria

A faculty member told Dawn that the college received a separate Rs100 million grant for the sub-campus every year. However, administrative control still rests with the principal in Lahore.

NCA Rawalpindi was established in 2005 as a sub-campus of the prestigious NCA Lahore. The first batch of 15 students graduated from this campus in 2008 and today, there are over 400 students at this institute. But despite being around for so many years, the campus’ PC-1 is yet to be completely implemented.

According to the PC-1, the campus has 25 sanctioned posts for permanent faculty, but only five permanent teachers. To overcome this shortage, the campus has been employing teachers on an ad-hoc basis and sources say staff members’ contracts are only extended by a few months each time they are renewed. The campus also lacks a digital library and other modern facilities.

Sources also said that the NCA Board of Governors (BoG) had abolished the post of director in the Rawalpindi campus, but a final notification in this regard is yet to be issued. In the interim, Dr Tarar is still calling the shots here.

“I was appointed in a transparent manner and there was no issue with my appointment… how can a campus be run without a director or administrator? These are the grounds on which I took up the matter before the Cabinet Division,” Dr Tarar told Dawn.

NCA Lahore Principal Dr Murtaza Jafri, however, said that the position of director does not exist in the PC-1 of the institution. He also played down the faculty shortage, saying that things had “settled down now”.

In a separate letter, written on Aug 11 in response to the HEC’s reminder of Aug 6, Dr Jafri states that the NCA BoG and the board’s selection committee were only recently constituted after a gap of well over two years.

He told Dawn that the committee had been formed and would fill the vacant positions soon in line with HEC criteria and also said that tenders for the purchase of additional equipment as well as the upgrade of existing facilities had been floated too.

Students’ worries

Teachers and administrative staff are not the only ones affected by the issues between NCA Lahore and Rawalpindi. After the HEC threatened to de-list the Rawalpindi campus, alumni and current students have also become active on social media.

A Facebook group, ‘We Need To Wake Up’, has been created where students, both past and present, are sharing updates and concerns regarding the future of the campus. Most students say that the bureaucracy and power struggle has unduly affected their academic progress and that the uncertainty around the fate of NCA Rawalpindi must be put to rest.

Several students Dawn spoke to complained that the disconnection between the Lahore and Rawalpindi campuses made life very difficult for them. Transcripts are issued from Rawalpindi campus, but degrees can only be obtained from Lahore.

“If we go abroad, we will have to produce both a transcript and a degree from an HEC-recognised institution. But in case the HEC de-lists NCA Rawalpindi, the futures of all current students and alumni will be at stake,” the founder of the Facebook group told Dawn, on condition of anonymity.

Published in Dawn, August 19th, 2015

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http://www.dawn.com/news/1201266/minister-agrees-to-regularise-cng-rickshaws

KARACHI: The United Nations office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) on Tuesday launched a five-month drug prevention campaign in nine districts of Sindh, officials said at a programme held in Governor House.

The campaign was launched in collaboration with the ministry of interior and narcotics control and supported by the Bureau of International Narcotics and & Law Enforcement Affairs (INL) of the US Department of State at a programme in which Sindh Governor Dr Ishratul Ibad was the chief guest.

The organisers said the drive was being implemented mainly in nine cities of Sindh — Hyderabad, Larkana, Sukkur, Shikarpur, Badin, Mirpurkhas, Nawabshah, Jacobabad and Khairpur.

They said the overall aim of the campaign was to raise public awareness of drugs and their harmful effects on individuals, families and society at large with chief focus on youth in educational institutions, teachers, parents and religious leaders.

The campaign has been designed keeping in view the results of the UNODC drug use in Pakistan 2013 survey. According to the survey, it is estimated that six per cent of the population in Pakistan, or 6.7 million people aged between 15 and 64 used drugs in the year the survey was conducted.

Of these, 4.25 million people are thought to be suffering from drug use disorders and drug dependence, reporting significant challenges in controlling or reducing their use and experiencing negative personal consequences as a result.

Sindh has the second highest prevalence rate of cannabis use in the country, ie 4.3 per cent of the population uses cannabis, and an estimated 570,000 people in Sindh used opioids during previous years. Of these, 66pc used prescription opioids (painkillers) and 34pc used heroin, opium or both. Almost 100,000 drug users in Sindh are estimated to be injecting drugs, primarily opiates. Prevalence estimates for the use of tranquilisers and sedatives in Sindh is comparable with that of Punjab while the use of amphetamine-type stimulants is not as high as in the rest of the country.

The organisers said apart from the ministry of interior and narcotics control, the Sindh government was well in the loop on informing people about hazards of drugs in the campaign through electronic and print media, billboards with drug prevention messages in local languages at strategic locations in target cities, broadcasting of drug prevention messages and talk shows on FM radio and local TV stations.

It will also include drug prevention education sessions with schoolchildren, teachers and religious scholars, and establishment of a helpline to offer access to drug information and facilitation for drug treatment services.

The Sindh governor said launch of the drug awareness campaign in Sindh should be the first step in the direction of drug use prevention and its social, psychological, economic and physical effects.

He said drugs were huge source of funding for militancy and to root it out the Sindh government had launched a massive operation against drug peddlers and terrorists under the National Action Plan besides taking other steps to reduce drug demand in the province.

He also ensured the provincial government’s full support for the campaign.

Ghalib Bandesha, secretary of the narcotics control division, ministry of interior and narcotics control, said preventing drug use before it began was the most cost-effective and common-sense approach to promoting safe and healthy communities.

He said young people deserved every opportunity to live up to their full potential and exposure to effective drug prevention messages helped their chances to live a healthy life.

Cesar Guedes, representative of UNODC, said the widespread availability of drugs in Pakistan was making it easy for people especially youth to experiment and become dependent on drugs.

He said the social and economic impacts of drug use on families, society and the country were enormous, which further increased the burden on health services related to drug treatment and the treatment of drug-associated diseases such as hepatitis B and hepatitis C and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV).

Cricketer Shahid Afridi also spoke.

Published in Dawn, August 19th, 2015

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LAKKI MARWAT: The wildlife department officials released a pangolin in the natural habitat near Kurrum River here the other day.

According to reports, a pangolin had entered the house of one Azeem Khan in Landiwah village at night by making a hole in the boundary wall. Early in the morning the inmates noticed the animal and called other villagers for help to kill it.

However, district councillor Abdul Haleem reached the place before the villagers could harm it. Mr Haleem informed the wildlife department about the rare animal after which a team, headed by DFO Bannu Khan Malook, reached the village and took the pangolin into its custody.

The animal was shifted to the wildlife park near Kurrum bridge and released in its natural habitat in the presence of local councillors and people. Mr Malook told this correspondent that pangolin was among the extinct species and under the law it had been protected.

“The mammal is endangered by illegal hunting and trade besides use of its body parts in traditional medicine and its illegal trafficking to other countries,” he revealed. He said that pangolins used their long claws to dig out ants and termites from mounds and logs and then eat them. 

Published in Dawn, August 19th, 2015

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QUETTA: The Baloch­istan Assembly unanimously passed on Tuesday a resolution calling upon the provincial government to establish a new division comprising the districts of Nushki, Chagai, Kharan and Washuk which are presently parts of Quetta and Kalat divisions.

Mir Ghulam Dastigar Badini tabled the joint resolution on behalf of Mir Mujibur Rehman Mohammadhasni, Mir Amanullah Notezai and Mir Karim Nausherwani. It said that the four districts were located at a long distance from Quetta and Kalat where people of the districts had to go to visit government offices in connection with different tasks.

The resolution called for the establishment of a new division with the name of Rakhshan so that people of the districts did not have to travel to Quetta and Kalat to get their problem solved.

Balochistan Minister for Law and Parliamentary Affairs Abdur Rahim Ziaratwal suggested that the proposal should be discussed by the provincial cabinet because creation of a new division entailed financial obligations.

Adviser to the Chief Minister on Finance Mir Khalid Lango, Revenue Minister Jaffar Khan Mandokhel and opposition members Sardar Abdur Rehman Khetran and Husna Bano supported the resolution which was adopted by the house after an amendment was incorporated into it.

Speaking on a point of order, Nasrullah Zeray said that a body was found in the Western Bypass area of Quetta on Aug 13 and police were informed about it by a councillor. But they did not take it into custody till Aug 15 and by then the body was mauled by the animals.

The area people, led by the councillor, staged a demonstration against the police which arrested the councillor and tortured him, he said.

Mr Ziaratwal conformed the incident said that he had informed the home minister and the IG about the attitude of police.

Minister for Planning and Development Dr Hamid Khan Achakzai demanded action against the SHO of the police station concerned.

Acting Speaker of the assembly, Mir Quddoos Bizenjo, prorogued the session for an indefinite period.

Published in Dawn, August 19th, 2015

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ISLAMABAD: The Natio­nal Accountability Bureau (NAB) Karachi arrested an official of the Sindh Highways Department on Tuesday for allegedly embezzling funds and misappropriating Rs16 million.

Assistant Executive Eng­i­neer Ali Murad Abro was arre­sted as the bureau’s Sukkur office continued its investigation against the XEN Highway Division Abdul Naeem Soomro and Tender Clerk Highway Division Qambar Shahdadkot Riaz Hussain Kalhoro who were arrested on allegations of misuse of authority and misappropriation of funds.

It has been alleged in a complaint to NAB that the accused illegally drew Rs16 million on the basis of fake and bogus claims of security deposits.

Investigator claimed to have found evidence establishing that the accused were involved in corruption which caused huge loss to the national exchequer.

Accused Abdul Naeem Soomro had filed a petition in the Sukkur bench of the Sindh High Court which was dismissed.

Published in Dawn, August 19th, 2015

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LARKANA: Sindh Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) general secretary Rashid Mehmood Soomro has tendered his resignation after expressing his reservations over party chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman’s visit to the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) headquarters, the Nine Zero, in Karachi on Tuesday.

The JUI-F chief visited the ‘90’ to persuade the MQM to withdraw the resignations of legislators in the Senate, National Assembly and Sindh Assembly after he was given the task by the federal government.

Maulana Soomro told Dawn said that he intended to step down as the Sindh JUI-F general secretary over the issue of Maulana Rehman’s visit to the MQM headquarters. Sources close to Maulana Soomro also confirmed that his resignation had been sent to the central leadership by a courier service.

The sources said that the JUI-F chief had spoken to Maulana Soomro by phone in the wake of his decision to accept the task of mediation and asked him to come to Islamabad. A statement issued by Larkana JUI-F spokesman Hameedullah Siyal on Tuesday said that Mr Soomro advised the party chief not to visit the MQM headquarters, the sources said.

The sources said that most senior JUI-F activists in the province believed that the MQM was not only pursuing an anti-Sindh policy but also had connections with anti-state agencies. They said that Maulana Rehman’s visit to the ‘90’ had hurt feelings of Sindhis.

The sources observed that the JUI-F chief kept its Sindh chapter in dark about the visit and did not take it into confidence.

Meanwhile, it was learnt that the Sindh JUI-F shoora (committee of advisers) had convened its meeting in Sukkur on Aug 22 to discuss the situation arising out of Maulana Soomro’s resignation.

Maulana Soomro was elected general secretary of the party’s Sindh chapter on Jan 11 to succeed his father Dr Khalid Mehmood Soomro, who was assassinated in a mosque adjacent to his seminary in Sukkur on Nov 29 last year.

Resignations a pressure tactic: SUP

SHIKARPUR: Sindh United Party (SUP) general secretary Syed Zain Shah has said that by tendering its legislators’ resignations from the three elected houses, the MQM wanted to pressure the federal government and the institution of armed forces to stop the ongoing operation against terrorists, criminals and corrupt elements in Sindh.

Speaking to the media after a meeting of the SUP’s Larkana division leadership at the residence of a central leader, Agha Qamar Mushwani, late on Monday evening, Mr Shah dubbed the PPP and MQM as ‘twins’ and said none of them could not survive without the other. “Both the parties are power hungry and their survival depends on their being in power,” he claimed, and alleged that they were desperately struggling to continue with their practice of plundering the exchequer.

The SUP leader said that the resignations of MQM legislators was a tactic to force the federal government to support it in its efforts to save the large number of arrested party activists allegedly involved in criminal activities and ensure that no more party leaders or activists were arrested.

He was of the view that the MQM would withdraw the resignations as it could not afford losing the privileges being enjoyed by the presence of its legislators in the three houses.

‘Four assemblies demand action against Altaf’

HYDERABAD: Sindh Taraqqi-pasand Party (STP) leaders Jam Fatah Samejo, Dr Abdul Hameed Memon, Altaf Jaskani and others have said that the murderous attack on MQM MNA Rasheed Godil on Tuesday indicates that conspiracies are being hatched against the Karachi operation by the same forces which had been responsible for similar attacks in the past. These forces had let loose a reign of terror, they recalled.

In a statement issued hours after the attack in Karachi that left Mr Godil critically wounded, the STP leaders said that the organisation behind the Tuesday attack was responsible for such acts of terrorism in Karachi in the past. The same organisation wanted to destroy peace in Sindh and the country for its nefarious designs, they added.

“On the one hand, the government is forced to establish contact with the MQM chief in London and the party’s headquarters ‘90’, and on the other, the city is witnessing such incidents again,” they observed.

They said that four provincial assemblies had adopted resolutions against the MQM chief and demanded action against him under the relevant provisions of the constitution. They alleged that the party’s legislators had tendered their resignations to sabotage the Karachi operation.

“The resignations should be accepted without any delay and the Zarb-i-Azb and Karachi operations should continue without any expediency,” they said.

Published in Dawn, August 19th, 2015

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ISLAMABAD: Planning and Development Minister Ahsan Iqbal said on Tuesday that the government had decided to evaluate performance of ministries in terms of implementation of ‘Vision 2025’. He said each ministry would get green or red scores on progress of implementation.

It had also been decided that quarterly reports on the achievement of goals by ministries would be submitted to the prime minister, Mr Iqbal said while presiding over a workshop on implementation of ‘Vision 2025’.

He maintained that all pillars of ‘Vision 2025’ address the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) which are to be approved by the United Nations General Assembly next month. The Planning Commission has set up a SDGs Unit to monitor implementation of SDGs so that mistakes of the past are not repeated. SDGs are critical to lay foundation for a healthy and balanced development of the country.

Mr Iqbal called for “running faster than the front runners” to catch up the world as, according to him, “Pakistan is already lagging behind due to negligence on our part”. In this regard, he specifically mentioned the last year’s protest sit-in by the Imran Khan’s PTI which was held a few days after the official launching of ‘Vision 2025’.

Stressing the need for the development of human resource, which is a key for inclusive and sustainable growth, the planning minister said that a holistic approach was needed for human resource development by synergising efforts on education, health, nutrition and population.

He called for reforming the national curriculum to nurture critical thinking, creativity and innovative skills, which is the essence of knowledge.

He stressed the need for speedy implementation of the project of National Curriculum Council to design a curriculum compatible with the changing requirements in 21st century and an examination system in accordance with requirements of new curriculum.

Published in Dawn, August 19th, 2015

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ISLAMABAD: The Senate will transform itself into a committee of the whole house on Wednesday (today) to continue discussion on proposals to reform judiciary for dispensing speedy and inexpensive justice.

Members will discuss the recommendations already submitted by senators and other stakeholders. Suggestions for judicial reforms have already been circulated to enable senators to take part in the debate.

Agenda of the meeting includes a public hearing by various experts and stakeholders who will recommend ways and means to improving the justice system.

Those invited for the meeting are former senator and senior lawyer S.M. Zafar, former secretary law, justice and human rights Abdul Malik Ghauri and Secretary Law and Justice Commission of Pakistan Muhammad Sarwar Khan.

Suggestions submitted include legislation to subject state agencies to oversight and control and bring these under the ambit of law in view of widespread criticism, especially in reference to missing persons and enforced disappearances.

Recommendations to bring agencies under the ambit of law had been made by PPP Senator Farhatullah Babar, who is of the view: “Judicial reforms will be incomplete without providing legal remedy to victims of enforced disappearances”. He based his proposal on a report of the Commission on Enforced Disappearances which had stated that such legislation was the only way to put to an end the growing incidents of missing persons.

Members will also discuss a proposed legislation to prevent torture and protect the rights of those in custody.

“Our thrust has been more on enhancing powers of judges rather than correcting the criminal justice system. Issues of independence of judges, appointment of judges and expanding suo motu jurisdiction had been pursued far more vigorously than addressing issues for speedy and inexpensive justice,” Mr Babar has stated in his recommendations.

Mr Babar has also proposed revisiting the current procedure for the appointment of judges of superior judiciary.

Senators are expected to discuss witness protection programme, alternate dispute resolution mechanisms, issues of under-trial prisoners and setting up a Constitution Court with equal representation from all the provinces to address constitutional issues.

Published in Dawn, August 19th, 2015

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KARACHI: The head of Al-Qaeda’s Karachi network and his accomplice were shot dead in a densely-populated Gulshan-i-Iqbal neighbourhood in the early hours of Tuesday in a shootout with personnel of law enforcement and intelligence agencies that also claimed the life of an intelligence officer, officials said.

The authorities claimed that the killing of the two operatives of the globally-declared terrorist outfit as a major success, citing that they were present in Karachi for a “major activity” that could either be an attack on one of the “sensitive installations” or assassination of “key security officials”.

Both the militants were young and the resistance they had put against the law-enforcement agencies indicated that they were highly trained, the officials believed.

Hourslong shootout also claims the life of an intelligence officer

They said the intelligence-based operation began after 2am when heavy contingents of police and Pakistan Rangers, Sindh, cordoned off the locality in Gulshan-i-Iqbal’s block 13-E housing apartments along Sir Shah Mohammad Sulaiman Road.

A senior security official while wishing not to be named said: “Days of intelligence exercise led to the reports about presence of some high-value targets in one of the apartment buildings and finally it emerged that it was Fahad Garden’s flat E-15 on third floor that housed the militants.”

As the Rangers soldiers backed by policemen and intelligence officials moved in after hours-long siege of the area, they came under deadly attack that left a civilian assistant director of the premier intelligence agency, Mohammad Sajjad, dead. “The attack from the militants also left a Rangers soldier wounded and triggered firing from both sides,” said another official, adding that the guns fell silent only after the militants were killed.

Three major crimes took place in an area of less than 15 square kilometres. Karachi has a total urban area of 1,100 square kilometres.

“They were young and the resistance they put against the law-enforcement agencies suggested that they were highly-trained,” the official said.

They were identified as Abdul Ahad, who headed Al-Qaeda network in Karachi and originally hailed from Swat, and Mohammad Saleh, said to be an Iranian Baloch. The investigators were still ascertaining details about residential address of Saleh who had come to the flat, which had been rented out to Abdul Ahad just a couple of months ago, the official said.

“After the encounter, the flat was searched in detail. Laptops, a few CDs, literature, cell phones and pistols were seized during the search. There was not much furniture in there, indicating that the place was used for temporary stay.”

The area people shared with police “some strange observations” about the flat occupants. “Before they came to live here, all the windows and ventilation points of the flat were closed with solid concrete construction through bricks and cement,” said a police official while quoting one of the witnesses. “When they moved into the apartment, some union people of the flat approached them and called such construction against the defined union rules. They pleaded that they had an aged patient to take care of and a doctor has recommended a dust-free environment for him that was the reason behind this construction.”

The residents counted only a young couple as the flat occupants who were frequently visited by different people and families.

Sources said the security officials also took into custody the only woman in the flat while killing the two militants in the encounter. However, the security officials denied any arrest during the operation.

“We have detained some five people who facilitated them acquiring this flat,” said SP Abid Qaimkhani of Gulshan-i-Iqbal Town. “We have also taken into custody the owner of the flat for investigation. Further investigations are under way that may further determine the potential targets of these militants.”

Published in Dawn, August 19th, 2015

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ISLAMABAD: At least 600,000 `ghost pensioners’ drew money from the public exchequer for a long time from the National Bank of Pakistan (NBP) till the bank discovered the scam during efforts to reform the disbursement system in view of pensioners’ complaints about payment delays and heavy load of work on the bank staff.

This was stated by the President and Chief Executive Officer of the bank, Syed Ahmed Iqbal Ashraf, while testifying before the Senate Standing Committee on Finance and Revenue on Tuesday.

He said the number of people receiving pensions from his bank had dropped from 2.2 million to 1.6 million recently after an internal reform eliminated 600,000 `ghost pensioners’.

“This is breaking news…a big scam,” said an appalled Senator Salim H. Mandviwala, who presided over the meeting of the committee. Senator Mohsin Leghari wanted to know the amount of pensions so far paid to `ghost pensioners’.

Mr Ashraf said that the matter came to light when the bank started working on pensioners’ complaints who were facing problems because some branches were dealing up to 80,000 pensioners in the first few days of each month.

“Bank branches were flooded and the normal banking business used to suffer,” he said.

Mr Mudassir H. Khan, the Group Chief of Commercial & Retail Banking Division of the NBP, said that while addressing public complaints, the bank decided to convert pension flows into personal accounts and started issuing auto-teller machine (ATM) cards to pensioners which required national identity cards. It was at that stage, he said, when it came to light that 600,000 people drawing pensions from the NBP did not exist.

He said there was still a possibility of finding more such people as computerisation of the entire pension system was still continuing. He said that several pensioners died over the period, but the deaths were not reported to the government and they appeared on the payroll. The biometric verification and the ATM, he added, would help address this problem. The bank, he said, had, therefore, decided to use biometric verification of pensioners along with the ATM processing and the matter had been reported to the government.

He said the prime minister had constituted a committee for major reforms and the committee was still in the process of working out details. He said the Ministry of Finance and the State Bank of Pakistan had tried to transfer some work relating to pensions to private banks, but this did not materialise because private banks were more interested in collections than disbursements of pensions.

Senator Ilyas Bilour wondered how many ghost pensioners might still be drawing money through other sources like the Pakistan Post across the country and the number might be in millions, if provincial accounts were also examined. This should be checked, he said.

The Controller General of Accounts (CGA) said the number of ghost pensioners needed to be reconciled because the number of total federal government pensioners, according to the Auditor General of Pakistan revenue record, was around 375,000 which meant that the number of 600,000 was based on some `misunderstanding’.

Mr Mudassir Khan of the NBP, however, reconfirmed after consultations with the NBP team that the number reported was correct and belonged to three institutions – federal government, military and the EOBI.

When the members wanted to know the amount paid to ghost pensioners so far, the NBP management said it could be verified only by the AGPR or military accounts because the NBP was not making payments out of its deposits but on the basis of lists provided by the military, the ministry of finance and other institutions concerned.

The committee decided to call all stakeholders involved in any way to pension payments, including the ministry of finance, State Bank of Pakistan, Military Accounts, AGPR and CGA to look into the scam in more detail.

The committee was informed that 400,000 pensioners were now drawing pensions through their ATMs without visiting any branch and the entire system would be shifted to ATMs and bank accounts by the end of this year.

The committee was informed that 1.630 million pensioners on the NBP system included 120,000 from the Pakistan Railways, 428,075 from the EOBI, 320,493 from federal government, 173,603 from military and 537,895 from provincial governments.

Published in Dawn, August 19th, 2015

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KARACHI: Liaquat National Hospital (LNH) spokesman Anjum Rizvi on Wednesday morning said a panel of doctors will shortly decide whether to take Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) leader Rashid Godil off the ventilator.

Godil was critically wounded after unidentified armed men opened fire on his vehicle near his residence in Karachi's Bahadurabad area Tuesday.

The MQM leader underwent emergency surgery following the attack, and is currently in critical condition at LNH. He suffered five bullet wounds ─ two in the neck and three in the chest.

Initial preparations for taking Godil off the ventilator were being made, said Anjum Rizvi while speaking to media representatives. The oxygen supply had been decreased early this morning so Godil could begin breathing on his own, the hospital's spokesman continued.

Rizvi also said doctors had discontinued giving sedatives to Godil a short while ago in order for him to regain consciousness and react.

"When he starts breathing with his own lungs and his system starts normalising, then the vent can be removed," the spokesman said, adding that "when the panel comes, we have hope that he will be conscious and the doctors will be able to monitor his reactions".

The spokesman said Godil's wounded lung had been medicated, and the bullet in his jaw had been removed.

He stressed the importance of getting the MQM leader off the ventilator. "As long he is on the vent, his condition is critical," he said. The spokesman said that consultant doctors were attending to and monitoring Godil.

The attack occurred as Jamiat-i-Ulema Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman was in talks with senior MQM leaders regarding the party's resignations from the federal and provincial assemblies, and the Senate last week.

Also read: MQM's Rashid Godil critical after Karachi attack

ISLAMABAD: The Sup­reme Court on Tuesday pointed out that army officers lose the protection of the Pakistan Army Act (PAA), 1952 when they are deputed to a department that has nothing to do with their regular duties.

“When a regular field formation officer is deputed to a different department, he comes out of the protective umbrella of the army law,” observed Justice Dost Mohammad, a member of the three-judge Supreme Court bench — headed by Chief Justice Jawwad S. Khawaja — that is hearing major corruption cases that are being pursued by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB).

In a supplementary list of 29 scams, submitted in addition to an earlier furnished list of 150 scandals, NAB mentioned the Rs4 billion National Logistics Cell (NLC) scam, which involved unauthorised investments in the stock exchange and other financial irregularities.

On Tuesday, the court wanted to know what steps NAB had taken to bring the NLC scam culprits to justice. But NAB has maintained that despite repeated reminders to the NLC and General Headquarters (GHQ) it had not received any reply since Jan 2012.

However, when the court observed that it could issue notices to the defence ministry through the attorney general’s office if NAB was not getting any cooperation from military authorities, NAB Additional Prosecutor General (APG) Akbar Tarar assured the court that the bureau was constantly in touch with the defence secretary. He said he was quite confident that they would receive the complete case record from the military establishment.

Initiated on a complaint from the National Assembly’s Public Accounts Committee (PAC), the initial inquiries conducted by the Planning Commission pointed the finger at retired Quarter-Master Generals (QMGs) Lt-Gen Khalid Munir Khan, Lt-Gen (retd) M Afzal Muzaffar and former NLC director general Maj-Gen Khalid Zaheer Akhtar for financial misconduct.

On Aug 5, the army disclosed for the first time that retired Maj-Gen Khalid Zaheer Akhtar had been dismissed from service, which also entailed a forfeiture of rank, decorations, medals, honours, awards, seizure of pension, recovery of personal gains and cancellation of service benefits etc. Meanwhile, retired Lt-Gen Afzal Muzzafar was awarded severe displeasure under the PAA. Retired Lt-Gen Khalid Munir Khan was exonerated, but a civilian, NLC Chief Financial Officer (CFO) Saeedur Rehman, was implicated.

Army authorities had suggested to NAB that they initiate proceedings against the civilian. But Justice Dost Mohammad Khan explained that the PAA itself provided for prosecution of serving army officers under civil law if he was performing duties of a civil nature in a department that had nothing to do with regular field formations. Even a civil judge can prosecute such an officer, the judge observed.

Justice Khan deplored that the entire Pakistan Railways freight service had collapsed when the NLC captured the goods forwarding market.

Justice Qazi Faez Isa also referred to the Aug 6, 2015 letter of the army chief, where NAB was informed about the steps taken by army authorities against officers found guilty of causing NLC financial losses.

But the judge said that whatever steps were taken by the military establishment were administrative actions. This does not bar NAB from taking the matter to its logical legal conclusion, the judge observed, while regretting that the NAB was keeping the matter secret.

The NAB APG, however, stated that no case record had been provided to them by military authorities.

The chief justice also regretted that in a previous hearing, the court had asked Attorney General Salman Aslam Butt to clarify whether the federal government was interested in eliminating corruption from the country and asked him to explain what practical steps it had taken in this regard. But no reply has been provided.

We can cite 50 examples where the NAB had been apologetic in chasing corruption cases and many matters have been pending with the bureau for the last decade without being ever followed up, the chief justice regretted.

Published in Dawn, August 19th, 2015

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LAHORE: A Lahore High Court division bench on Tuesday granted pre-arrest bail to a suspect of Kasur child abuse scandal.

The bench headed by Justice Muhammad Anwarul Haq allowed the interim bail to Tanzeelur Rehman till Aug 31 against furnishing of two bail bonds of Rs100,000 each. Mr Rehman is an employee of the high court, however, the chief justice had suspended him from service after he was nominated in the case.

Rehman through his counsel pleaded that police implicated him in the case merely on the statements of other suspects.

He said police nominated him in four FIRs lodged about the incident but failed to produce any cogent evidence.

He said he would join police investigation to prove his innocence. He asked the court to grant him pre-arrest bail.

The bench allowed the petition and granted interim bail to the suspect.

Published in Dawn, August 19th, 2015

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