KARACHI: A teenage boy was shot dead while two others were wounded in an armed attack in Chakiwara on Thursday.

The attack was carried out by gangsters in reaction to the killing of an accomplice of theirs, police and witnesses said.

The incident triggered a protest by residents against gangsters and law enforcers’ failure to curb crime despite the ongoing Rangers-led operation there in which several gangsters had been kille in ‘encounters’.

According to Lyari SP Aftab Nizamani, suspected gangsters linked with the gang of Noor Mohammed alias Baba Ladla fired at people sitting on a shop and in Gul Mohammed Lane. As a result, three persons were wounded and taken to the Civil Hospital Karachi, where doctors declared Ramazan, 18, dead.

The victim was a rickshaw driver.

The teenager’s murder angered area residents, who protested at Lea Market against the gangsters and the law enforcers’ failure to protect them.

They blocked the road at Lea Market for a while and burnt old tyres, causing suspension of traffic.

However, the Lyari SP said the protesters dispersed after talks with the police. SP Nizamani said Baba Ladla-linked gangsters attacked the area residents in reaction to citizens’ recent beating up of an ‘extortionist’ identified as Liaquat, who later died.

Area residents said Liaquat had allegedly demanded extortion from shopkeepers in Gul Mohammed Lane in Ramazan. When he went there to extract ‘bhatta’, shopkeepers caught him and beat him severely before handing him over to the law enforcers.

Liaquat was admitted to the Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre, where he died from the injuries caused by hard and blunt weapons on Wednesday night.

Soon after his burial in a local graveyard, the suspects linked with Baba Ladla attacked the shopkeepers in the market on Thursday, which resulted in the killing of the teenager.

Published in Dawn, August 21st, 2015

On a mobile phone? Get the Dawn Mobile App: Apple Store | Google Play

THE country’s Independence Day was celebrated with unusual fervour this Aug 14 – after a lapse of years. A wave of optimism appears to be sweeping the country, stemming largely from the military’s campaign of ‘clean-up’ from Waziristan and Fata to Balochistan and Karachi. A veil of gloom that had settled on the country with ever-increasing corruption, loot and plunder has suddenly lifted, though ‘ifs’ and ‘buts’ remain whether the perpetrators and hidden actors will truly face justice or not.

Enemies of Pakistan are exhibiting their discomfort, and have publicly announced their intentions to intensify efforts to destabilise our country. These efforts have been going on for decades, but have reached alarming proportions since the mid- to late-2000s with infiltration of different segments of society by those following inimical external agendas. The breadth and scale of infiltration appears to span political parties, media, TV anchors, op-ed columnists – and even the Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan and different militant outfits.

One effort of non-friendly actors is to breed a psychosis of despondency and fear within a target population. This serves multiple purposes, among them breeding anti-nationalistic feelings among marginalised and vulnerable groups, as well as a lowering of a population’s will and capacity to fight. Even patriotic commentators – and I count myself as one of them – have perhaps unwittingly contributed by focusing exclusively on the negatives in Pakistan’s situation.

Pakistan is not as dysfunctional and dystopian as it is made out to be.

Over the past two years, I have tried to balance my pessimistic assessments with hopeful ones too, like many others who have tended to highlight the positives. However, in doing so, I have appeared schizophrenic to many (including to myself!) – even though this state neatly captures the ‘between hope and despair’ situation the country has found itself in.

As part of the ‘hopeful’ series, I have highlighted Pakistan’s economic potential as well as its rather good historical performance till the 1990s. I have also touched upon the history of protracted internal conflict and struggle of some other countries with narco-militant and organised crime groups (Colombia, Italy), as well as the tepid past economic performance of many of today’s rising, emerging market stars.

In this context, one can also talk about Pakistan’s physical infrastructure. Surprising though it may seem, in the midst of the protracted energy crisis the country has been facing, the country’s physical infrastructure has been fairly decent and adequate in the main, in a historical perspective, thanks to large-scale public sector investments in the 1960s-80s. For example, the road network across the country, even in rural areas, is surprisingly good for the most part. Past investments led to world-scale dams, Tarbela and Mangla, the Karakoram Highway, a national power transmission and distribution network; investments in the 1990s helped create motorways, and new international airports in Lahore and Karachi, among other projects.

This is not to suggest that infrastructure bottlenecks are not present – and growing. Pakistan’s stock of physical infrastructure needs upgrading, modernising as well as up-scaling to meet the requirements of a growing population that is also rapidly urbanising. With a growing population, and massive under-investment since the 1990s, new shipping ports, airports, water treatment and desalination plants, dams, urban mass transit systems, power generation and transmission and distribution, are all required. The good news is that some of these mega-investments are being made, slowly and incrementally.

(Where Pakistan has fallen short and consistently not done well, virtually throughout its history, is in the area of its social indicators and human capital development; these have always remained under-developed and below-par.)

A few areas of performance and strength rarely get a mention. My objective in this column is also to highlight two of these, both of which can, and do, make a big contribution to the smooth functioning of the state as well as the economy.

The first of these is the country’s citizen registration system and national database, managed by the National Database and Registration Authority (Nadra). Registration of citizens, keeping track of births and deaths, arrivals and departures, naturalisation etc. and maintaining a national database of the same, have always been regarded as a primary state function. Post-9/11, it has become of critical importance.

The massive investment made in the creation and maintenance of this database has paid off repeatedly. Terrorists as well as their victims have been identified from here, while smart cards have been issued to flood affectees in 2011 and 2012 for claiming compensation based on the Nadra database. Similarly, those displaced by the 2009 Swat military operation were also issued special cards by Nadra.

More generally, the CNIC is now a mandatory requirement for a host of economic transactions, be it the purchase of a car, a house or plot or an air ticket, or the opening of a bank account. It has huge potential to document the economy more fully – a key objective of any reform programme. Somehow, governments have been slow to leverage and utilise the power and reach of this database.

The other ‘soft’ infrastructure – soft because it is largely unseen – that is making a tremendous contribution is the country’s financial payments system. A payments system is the backbone of the economy and commerce, as it facilitates the movement of funds and payment for transactions via the financial system.

In Pakistan’s case, the payments system has been an unsung hero in the country’s economy, especially with its role in facilitating remittances via banking channels. With the growth of mobile telephony, Pakistanis are increasingly becoming familiar with a more recent innovation – mobile or branchless banking. While the total value of transactions handled by the payments system in the third quarter of FY15 alone was over Rs 51 trillion, over Rs 67 billion was transferred using mobile banking and point-of-sale machines.

The bottom-line: Pakistan is not as dysfunctional and dystopian as it is made out to be. With better management of the economy and natural resources, investments in the right places – especially in the social sector – a greater inward focus in managing our affairs, and an emphasis on laying the grounds for rule of law, there is no reason why Pakistan should not resume its interrupted development path.

The writer is a former economic adviser to government, and currently heads a macroeconomic consultancy based in Islamabad.

Published in Dawn, August 21st, 2015

On a mobile phone? Get the Dawn Mobile App: Apple Store | Google Play

KARACHI: The Supreme Court on Thursday directed the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation to remove within a week all hoardings and signboards installed in the city which do not conform to the prescribed guidelines.

A two-judge bench of the SC headed by Justice Anwar Zaheer Jamali fixed Aug 26 as the deadline for the removal of all such outdoor advertisement boards.

The bench that included Justice Amir Hani Muslim was hearing a petition of the Karachi Cantonment Board against the Sindh High Court’s order that had nullified the excessive advertisement tax imposed by the board on private outdoor advertisement boards.

Meanwhile, the SC became irked by the absence of several relevant officers of the federal, provincial and local land control authorities who were earlier ordered to appear before it with detailed and comprehensive reports regarding the issuance of licences for hoardings.

The bench issued show-cause notices to the station commanders of the Faisal, Malir and Korangi Creek cantonments, Civil Aviation Authority and the Defence Housing Authority to explain reasons for not filing their reports.

One of the bench members remarked that different agencies were issuing licences for hoardings’ installation to raise funds, although it largely endangered people’s lives.

During the previous hearing the bench had expressed extreme displeasure over the lethargic attitude of the authorities in filing their responses on the matter. The federal law officer told the judges that he had written a letter to all federal agencies to file their comments that who of them had permitted the installation of outdoor advertisement hoardings in their jurisdictions.

According to the KMC, there were as many as 17 agencies which permitted the installation of hoardings in the city.

However, only representatives of the Pakistan Coast Guards, the Karachi Port Trust and the Pakistan Railways appeared before the court during the previous and the instant hearings.

Published in Dawn, August 21st, 2015

On a mobile phone? Get the Dawn Mobile App: Apple Store | Google Play

KARACHI: It is certainly not the floods — the only reason cited by the Election Commission of Pakistan for the inclusion of 13 districts of Sindh in the first phase of the local government elections planned for Oct 12 — that caused Karachi’s omission from the local vote, but the ongoing targeted operations for which the authorities need more time to complete, it emerged on Thursday.

Sindh government officials said the ECP plan for holding the LG polls in Sindh and Punjab in three phases was not without precedent as elections had been organised in phases in the past.

Besides, they said, the bitter experience of holding the LG polls simultaneously across Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa had triggered controversies that taught the ECP as well as the provincial governments to stay away from the repeat of the exercise.

The ECP officials in Sindh, however, said it was the provincial government’s prerogative to suggest the districts where it deemed the conditions were better to hold local elections.

In Sindh, the LG elections in the first phase will be held in the 13 districts namely Matiari, Tando Allahyar, Tando Mohammad Khan, Thatta, Sujawal, Badin, Hyderabad, Dadu, Jamshoro, Khairpur, Larkana, Shikarpur and Qambar Shahdadkot.

Although the floods caused far less damage to Sindh this year than what it had caused during the previous years, the district of Khairpur this time around saw more life and property losses than the rest of the province.

Yet Khairpur is among the districts that the Sindh government recommended for the first phase of LG elections in contrast with the ECP’s notion that it picked the districts which were neither affected nor faced any threat of flooding this year.

Sources in the Sindh government said the LG elections in the city had been planned for the third — and last — phase as the authorities hoped that the law enforcement agencies with the ongoing targeted operations would have improved the city’s security situation by then.

In the second phase, which is to be announced later by the ECP, LG elections would be held in 10 more districts of Sindh, while the third phase has solely been planned for Karachi, said an official.

“Karachi is not as stable as the authorities want it to be and since it is gigantic in itself encompassing six large districts, it merits to be given a special treatment in the whole exercise,” said the official.

He said the same was the case with Lahore in Punjab, which too had not been included in the first phase of local elections in the most populous province of the country.

Another official said the election commission should have cited security reasons in its scheme of local elections along with the flood situation to make the whole exercise transparent.

An official in the provincial election commission said the decision of the first phase was made by the top hierarchy of the ECP, which had devised the whole plan in coordination with the provincial government.

Earlier, the ECP had made an educated guess that the whole electoral exercise would be completed in Sindh and Punjab before the year end.

Published in Dawn, August 21st, 2015

On a mobile phone? Get the Dawn Mobile App: Apple Store | Google Play

THATTA: In the wake of the recent damage caused by floodwater to the Right Bank Outfall Drain resulting in the inundation of thousands of acres of farmlands, besides many villages, in Thatta district, a special team of experts from the irrigation and environment sectors visited four sites of the drain on Thursday to assess the damage and recommend remedial measures.

The visit was paid on the instructions of Federal Minister for Planning Commission Ahsan Iqbal, who directed the team to also study the reports prepared by critics of the RBOD and incorporate their recommendations in its report.

Following the recent torrential rains across the country and release of floodwater by India, the Indus River flow had risen to high-flood level over the past weeks and overtopped its embankments at numerous points in Sindh causing flooding in the katcha and low-laying areas of the province.

While passing through the RBOD — the only major drain meant to facilitate safe passage of rainwater and floodwater -- floodwater had washed away its dykes at four points, Sonda, Hillaya, Chillya and Ali Bahar in Thatta district. The drain also serves as a source for increasing agriculture produce in an area of 542,500 acres in various districts.

Briefing the team of experts, RBOD consultant retired Major Sami said the drain was supposed to help ensure that hazardous effluents did not make their way into the drinking water reservoirs — Manchhar and Hamal lakes — in this district. The drain carried such effluents into the Arabian Ocean, he added.

He told the team that the project was planned to be completed by 2007 but was still incomplete eight years on owing to non-release of the allocated funds.

“The project has already consumed around Rs35 billion and almost an equal amount is required to complete the project,” said Major Sami.

Commenting on the damage caused to the RBOD dykes in Thatta, he said the Indus had unexpectedly changed its course over the past few years and come very close to the drain route. At the time when the project had been designed, the distance between the river’s course and RBOD route was more than two kilometres but it had narrowed down significantly over the last couple of years,” he said. Floodwater overtopping the Indus embankment hit the drain dykes with full pressure when the river happened to be in high-flood, he added.

Chaudhry Shahid, who led the team of experts, informed the RBOD consultant that they had been asked to accomplish their task as soon as possible to enable the federal government take urgent measures in order to save the drain from sustaining further damage. He said that the Centre was likely to release the required funds soon.

He made it clear that there was no plan to change the RBOD design or alignment, rather, the remedial measures would focus on strengthening the drain’s dykes with a view to achieve desired results, including protection of major wetlands and gradually turning the province’s barren lands fertile again.

Other experts including RBOD superintendent engineer Imran Shaikh, executive engineer Alam Rahupoto, project director Aijaz Shaikh, Col Taimoor and Col Suleman also attended the briefing.

Published in Dawn, August 21st, 2015

On a mobile phone? Get the Dawn Mobile App: Apple Store | Google Play

LAHORE: Over 140 suspected terrorists were arrested in south Punjab in the aftermath of the Attock suicide attack in which Punjab home minister was killed along with several others.

The arrest made by a joint team comprising personnel of law-enforcement agencies.

A majority of those picked up carry head money on their arrest, a senior police official told Dawn on Thursday.

He said most of the suspects were members of the banned militant organisations active in Punjab and many were hardened criminals said to be involved in terrorist activities.

At a recent conference, Inspector General of Punjab Police Mushtaq Sukhera said that operation against criminals would be stepped up.

He said special teams of law-enforcement agencies were constituted to arrest proclaimed offenders involved in terrorist activities.

Published in Dawn, August 21st, 2015

On a mobile phone? Get the Dawn Mobile App: Apple Store | Google Play

LAHORE: The Punjab government has accorded approval to establishment of a “world class” drug testing lab (DTL) in Lahore, along with its nine satellite labs at divisional headquarters on the pattern of Punjab Forensic Science Agency (PFSA), giving a deadline of Sept 15 for materialising the scheme.

The government has not only dropped the idea of outsourcing the DTLs but also decided to send samples of all drugs abroad for analysis till the new project’s completion.

The decisions came in a meeting called when internationally-known company SGS categorically refused to enter into agreement directly with the Punjab government in the process of outsourcing the DTLs of Punjab.

The SGS is a global inspection, verification, testing and certification company with its head office in Switzerland.

The only application the Punjab government had received in response to its DTLs outsourcing bid invite was from the SGS Pakistan which had claimed backup by the company’s head office in Switzerland in this particular area.

Nine divisional labs to be also set up

The government was much excited to find world’s leading company interested in the project and trumpeted much about this in the media, an official privy to the information told Dawn.

However, the government faced great disappointment when the SGS head office declared its Pakistan office did not deal with the lab business in response to health department’s query with regard to the company’s local office’s proposal, he said. Headed by Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif, the meeting held at 180-H Model Town was attended by top government officials.

During the meeting CM snubbed the officials concerned when he was briefed about the SGS response.

The meeting after detailed deliberations dropped the scheme of outsourcing the DTLs and decided to establish new labs.

“As an interim arrangements, a mechanism should be evolved for the testing of drugs from three foreign credible labs on the analogy of the samples sent in 2012 in the wake of drug reaction scam (that) surfaced in Punjab Institute of Cardiology,” say the minutes of the meeting. (A copy is available with Dawn).

The CM directed the provincial task force on spurious drugs, additional chief secretary, planning & development chairman, health secretary and the director general of PFSA for implementation of this particular subject.

“The new DTLs ought to be vertically independent of Punjab Forensic Science Authority”, the chief minister directed the officials.

The meeting accorded approval to the construction of a separate block for the DTL, adjacent to the existing PFSA building. The block will comprise chemical analysis and microbiology wings. It was decided that fresh qualified human resource (some 60 officials in each wing) would be hired.

It was further decided that no employee of the existing DTL would be hired for the new labs.

The meeting also approved additional features in the proposed DTLs, which would help identify impurities in the drugs, clandestine and contraband drugs, chiral compounds (dextrometharphan & levometharphin), alcoholic components of pharmaceutical preparations and its quantification, adulterations (if any), residual solvents in tablets (alcohol, chloroform, acetone, N-Propanol etc.) and their quantification.

The CM also constituted a 14-member Provincial Steering Committee for establishment of Lahore DTL and its satellite laboratories at the nine divisional headquarters in the province.

Headed by advisor to chief minister on health Khawaja Salman Rafique, the committee will comprise parliamentary secretary on health Khawaja Imran Nazir, the additional chief secretary, chairman P&D, secretaries of finance, home and C&W, the PFSA director general etc. The food minister will be co-convener, while the health secretary will be the committee secretary.

The committee will ensure establishment of the Lahore DTL and other labs before Sept 15.

Published in Dawn, August 21st, 2015

On a mobile phone? Get the Dawn Mobile App: Apple Store | Google Play

SIALKOT: United Nations observers on Thursday visited the villages in Sucheetgarh and Charwah sectors along the Working Boundary hit by Indian shelling.

According to District Coordination Officer (DCO) Dr Asif Tufail, the UN observers met the family of a farmer, Muhammad Sharif, 60, at Thathi Khurd village, Sucheetgarh, who was killed by unprovoked mortar shelling by Indian Border Security Force (BSF) on Aug 18.

The UN team also met other locals affected by Indian shelling and sought details from them about the fresh BSF hostilities, which caused heavy losses of their property and livestock, the DCO added.

UN observers told the locals they were closely observing the situation in the villages in Chaprar Sector.

“We are observing the situation keenly and collecting evidence in this regard,” a UN observer was quoted as having told the locals.

Published in Dawn, August 21st, 2015

On a mobile phone? Get the Dawn Mobile App: Apple Store | Google Play

LAHORE: Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf Punjab Organiser Chaudhry Sarwar has deplored the decision of the Election Commission to hold local government (LG) elections in phases and that too in selected districts of the province, saying the piecemeal elections will lead to rigging by the rulers.

Speaking to different delegations at his office on Thursday, Mr Sarwar said it was election commission’s responsibility to ensure the elections should be held in a transparent manner. He demanded the election should be held using the biometric system under the direct supervision of the Rangers. The local body elections could not be held in a transparent manner under the supervision of the Punjab bureaucracy, he said.

The PTI leader alleged the incumbent rulers’ past strategy had always been to avoid holding elections in a transparent manner. He said the PTI would launch a door-to-door election campaign across the province and committed that he would himself visit each and every constituency to disseminate the message of Imran Khan.

He said the respective districts and tehsils’ organisers would also address public gatherings and win votes for the PTI to ensure that the administrative and financial powers be devolved to the local level for quick solution to public issues.

Meanwhile, Opposition Leader in Punjab Assembly Mahmoodur Rasheed has warned that anybody who will try to rig the local elections would be dealt with an iron hand.

Water shortage: PTI leader Dr Yasmin Rashid has lambasted Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif for completely ignoring the residents of his constituency (NA-120), who according to her, have been facing water shortage for the last four days.

Dr Yasmin said the prime minister was enjoying luxurious life in Prime Minister House on public expense but he had no idea about the miseries, the people of his constituency were undergoing. She said Mr Sharif’s least interest in the welfare of NA-120 residents explained that he was not elected by their votes but through rigging.

She said she was standing by the people of her constituency as the poor people had eventually started protesting every day but no one at the helm of affairs bothered to pay any heed to resolve the water crisis.

She said that 65 per cent of water in Lahore was contaminated and added that some 300,000 children were losing the battle of their lives just due to water-borne diseases in the country.

“If Nawaz cannot take care of his own constituency, how can he take care of the country?” she asked.

She said Rewaz Garden and Rajgarh areas were facing a severe water crisis and she would stand by the people in this crisis.

PTI information secretary Andleeb Abbas said people were marching on roads under the nose of Khadam-i-Aala but he callously ignored the gravity of the situation. She said the insensitivity of the Sharif brothers had forced people to come out on roads against the water shortage in NA-120.

She urged the prime minster to come out of Raiwind Palace and take stern action against the officials found delinquent in the development of acute water shortage. “If the issue is not resolved on immediate basis, the PTI along with NA-120 residents will march on Raiwind,” she said. — Staff Reporter

Published in Dawn, August 21st, 2015

On a mobile phone? Get the Dawn Mobile App: Apple Store | Google Play

ISLAMABAD: The possibility of tampering and manipulation of ballots seems to be the only major hurdle keeping overseas Pakistanis from exercising their right to franchise in the country’s elections.

A team of senior Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) officials, during a briefing before a national assembly panel, admitted that postal balloting appeared to be the most feasible option. However, several lawmakers had qualms over the process, but could offer no alternative foolproof system that would mitigate the risk of manipulation. This was something, they said, that could substantially affect results in many constituencies.

The National Assembly’s Standing Committee for Overseas Pakistanis and Human Resources – chaired by Mir Aamer Ali Khan Magsi were briefed by ECP Additional Secretary Fida Muhammad, Punjab Provincial Election Commissioner Masood Malik and ECP Director IT General Khizer Aziz.

ECP officials brief NA committee on feasibility of instituting voting facilities for overseas Pakistanis

The panel was told that extending voting rights to overseas Pakistanis required careful assessment of the political and operational consequences as well as the risks involved. By 2007, around 115 countries had established legal provisions allowing out-of-country voting (OCV) for their citizens who lived abroad. There is, however, great variation in the scope and methodology used by various countries to implement OCV, they said.

Talking about the option of setting up polling stations in embassies and consulates in over a dozen countries that are home to a large number of Pakistanis, it was pointed out that some countries might not allow such huge gatherings of people for voting purposes because they do not permit political activities.

Mr Aziz said that online voting was not feasible either, as it would compromise secrecy and expose the electoral rolls to the risk of computer hacking. He said that this would also leave voters open to influence from family members, colleagues and friends.

During the briefing, the ECP team said that around 25 countries, including Australia, Canada, Bangladesh, Germany and Norway allowed their diaspora to vote by mail. Voters filled in special ballot papers, which were then transported via post.

The ECP team said postal balloting entailed relatively fewer financial and logistical costs as compared to other systems. The committee was told that Pakistanis possessing a National Identity Card for Overseas Pakistanis (Nicop) and a Pakistani passport would be entitled to be registered as overseas voters.

The committee was also told that foreign missions would send voter registration forms to the ECP, which will sort them out district-wise and send them to the respective district election commissioner for verification and preparation of draft electoral rolls. The proposed voting procedure was also shared with the committee.

Members of the committee, however, observed that it would be laborious and tedious work. They also noted that most overseas Pakistanis would find it difficult to spare time to go through the hassle of registering themselves as voters.

The ECP officials said that in the absence of proper planning and without the involvement of the relevant stakeholders, such as political parties, the Overseas Pakistanis Foundation and the National Database and Registration Authority, the process may be jeopardised. They also said that legal amendments would also be required before postal balloting could be instituted, which they suggested be staggered over two phases.

However, Soufia A. Siddiqi, a Pakistani doctoral candidate at the Unversity of Oxford – who also initiated a petition on Change.org to convince the ECP to allow overseas Pakistanis to vote ahead of the last general elections – disputed some of facts laid before the committee.

Talking to Dawn, Ms Siddiqi said that in the run up to the 2013 elections, and a lot of countries, including certain Middle Eastern countries, had agreed to let Pakistan go ahead with voting for overseas Pakistanis.

She said that the primary concern was with around 90 countries including the US, UK, mainland Europe and Middle East, where most of the overseas Pakistani population was concentrated, adding that most of these countries had no objections to letting expatriates vote.

She was of the view that lawmakers’ concerns were political and not technical, as Nadra and ECP had both declared that it was possible to allow overseas Pakistanis to cast their votes.

Published in Dawn, August 21st, 2015

On a mobile phone? Get the Dawn Mobile App: Apple Store | Google Play

RAWALPINDI: One of the two unidentified bodies recovered from the debris of Punjab home minister Shuja Khanzada’s political office in the Shadi Khan village of Attock after the suicide attack has been identified as that of his former servant.

The other unidentified body is believed to be that of the suicide bomber.

Police and intelligence sources close to the investigation told Dawn that one of the two bodies recovered from the debris of the minister’s Dera was that of Sher Zaman. They said Zaman dissociate himself from Shuja Khanzada a month ago and started working with a landlord.

With only one body remaining unidentified, possibility of second suicide bomber ruled out

However, the wife of Zaman could not identify the body when she was brought to the mortuary of the District Headquarters Hospital Rawalpindi on Wednesday. But the police were planning to get a DNA test on the body to strengthen their claim that the unknown victim was Zaman.

“It has been confirmed that one of the two unclaimed bodies is that of Sher Zaman and the other (body parts) are of the bomber,” a senior security official close to the investigation told Dawn.

He said except the two bodies, all the victims of the terrorist attack had been identified. There is no doubt that the terrorist attack was carried out by one suicide bomber, he added.

Earlier, it was presumed that the body that was yet to be claimed by anyone could be that of the second bomber.

“Efforts are being made to restructure the face of the bomber but chances of that are slim as his face is smashed,” the senior security official added.

The investigators are also trying to trace the ‘facilitator’ and ‘handler’ of the bomber. As many as 18 people, including Shuja Khanzada, were killed and scores of others injured in the attack.

The security sources said the preliminary investigation showed that the bomber was carrying more than 10 kilogrammes of high-intensity explosive.

According to the investigators, the suicide bomber entered the minister’s Dera posing as a complainant and reached close to him and then detonated the explosive. The home minister was receiving public complaints at a meeting in his home village when the suicide bomber targeted him.

A police official said Shuja Khanzada had not asked the Attock police for any police squad. However, he was provided an escort after he entered the limits of the Attock district.

On the other hand, the investigators are focusing on the geo-fencing to trace all the phone calls made in the surrounding areas at the time of the attack. The data of the phone calls of security officials deployed in the minister’s Dera was also being collected.

Published in Dawn, August 21st, 2015

On a mobile phone? Get the Dawn Mobile App: Apple Store | Google Play

KARACHI: Civil society organisations criticised the official launch of work on the twin nuclear power plants (K-2 and K-3) project on Thursday and vowed to continue their struggle against it, describing the entire process of the plan’s approval as a sham.

They argued that the Sindh Environmental Protection Agency (Sepa), which awarded approval to the project in June, had violated the law by holding the project’s public hearing at a restricted far-off place. Besides, none of the serious concerns raised at the public hearing were addressed, they said.

Work on the construction of one of the two nuclear power plants (K-2 of 1,100 megawatts) was launched by Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif during his visit to Karachi.

“Although a break came in our efforts, we are committed to the cause and plan to pursue the case legally,” said Karamat Ali, representing the Pakistan Institute of Labour Education and Research (Piler).

He added that a press statement highlighting concerns of civil society organisations over the project would be released on Friday followed by a meeting to draw up a strategy to take up the case further.

“You cannot hold a public hearing at Prime Minister House,” he said while explaining the point that the Sepa decision to hold the public hearing at the plant site on the outskirts of the city was an attempt to deprive many people of the opportunity to attend the hearing.

The concerns of experts and civil society organisations about the potential risks the project posed to Karachi, he said, were not imaginary.

“We have serious environmental and safety concerns and the government should direct the project proponent [the Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission], to adopt a credible mitigation strategy and share it with the public, if it cannot change the project’s location,” he said. The case, he added, was likely to be taken to the environmental tribunal after holding discussions with like-minded groups and individuals.

Arif Belgaumi, senior architect and social activist, who has been very vocal in the campaign against the nuclear power plant project, lambasted Sepa for openly supporting the project during the public hearing instead of playing the role of an independent and impartial environmental watchdog.

He also criticised what he described as public indifference to the project.

“Sepa is a useless body. It acts as a rubber stamp to approve all kinds of projects. It was highly disappointing to see that its director general was praising the project during the public hearing,” he said, regretting that though a lot of people campaigned against the project through the social media, a few turned up at the public hearing to actually show their opposition.

‘EIA report carries false, old data’

According to Mr Belgaumi, the environmental impact assessment (EIA) process that Sepa had to carry out on a court order was just an eyewash. “The EIA report had false information and contained old data. No satisfactory answer was given to our queries relating to the operation and safety of the reactor.

“On top of that, 80 per cent of the people who came to the public hearing comprised fishermen who had been promised non-technical jobs in the project. How could one call this meeting a public hearing?” he asked.

Saeed Baloch of the Pakistan Fisherfolk Forum regretted the government resolve to continue with the project that posed ‘serious hazards’ to the city of millions.

“In a country where we don’t have means to handle a flood situation, building a project with potential risks is like playing with fire. And that we happily do though other viable, cheaper and safer options are available,” he said.

Dr Abdul Hameed Nayyar, a physicist and nuclear activist who has also been at the forefront of the campaign against the $10 billion project, said he would be contacting his colleagues soon in Karachi to see how the case could be taken up further.

“Our concerns relating to the close proximity of the project to Karachi, untested reactor design, lack of a proper evacuation plan in case of radiation leakage and plant’s safety, haven’t changed,” he said.

He said the PAEC contention that the plant design was 100pc safe was against all common sense.

There were what he called ‘institutional interests’ which had kept the project going since 2004 when it had been conceived with the PAEC plan to generate 8,800MW by 2030.

“There is also a show of defiance on part of Pakistan that hasn’t been allowed to import nuclear technology or parts, while India has been permitted to do so by the US under a deal,” he said, arguing that the Chinese offer of giving 60pc loan in setting up the project also made the project viable for Pakistan.

Dr Nayyar strongly suggested use of wind power for electricity generation and said the technology was cheaper than solar energy and attracting huge investments the world over.

“There are many examples where countries have established wind power plants to generate thousands of megawatts just within a year. Last year China set up wind power plants of 2,2000 MW,” he said, recommending the Pakistan government to take help from the neighbouring country in this regard.

Published in Dawn, August 21st, 2015

On a mobile phone? Get the Dawn Mobile App: Apple Store | Google Play

QUETTA: The government of Balochistan has suspended the registration of 1,226 non-governmental organisations (NGOs) in Balochistan after their failure to provide details sought by the department concerned.

Sources said that the industry department, which registers welfare organisations, had sought details of the NGOs’ accounts, foreign and local funding and other relevant information.

These NGOs failed to provide information despite passage of the deadline to do so, the sources said.

Meanwhile, the Social Welfare Department issued notices to 1,228 NGOs registered with it. The NGOs had been asked to submit details of their accounts and sources of funding.

Published in Dawn, August 21st, 2015

On a mobile phone? Get the Dawn Mobile App: Apple Store | Google Play

KARACHI: Police on Thursday filed an interim charge-sheet against five detained suspects and their 10 absconding accomplices in an antiterrorism court in the Safoora Goth bus carnage case.

The investigation report said the suspects were affiliated with globally-declared terrorist organisation Al-Qaeda and the self-styled Islamic State militant group.

Saad Aziz alias Tin Tin alias John, Tahir Hussain Minhas alias Sain, Asad-ur-Rehman alias Malik, Hafiz Nasir alias Yasir and Mohammad Azhar Ishrat alias Majid have been booked for their alleged involvement in the killing of 45 Shia Ismaili community members, including 18 women, in an armed attack on their bus near Safoora Goth on May 13.

DSP Mohammad Javed Khan submitted the interim investigation report in the court through the prosecutor on Thursday.

In the report, he charge-sheeted Saad, Tahir and Asad for their direct involvement in the case and Nasir and Azhar for facilitating the deadly attack.

The IO also charge-sheeted absconding accused Hafiz Mohammad Umer alias Jawad, Ali Rehman alias Toona, Tayyab, Mehmood, Abdullah Mansoor, Mistari Pathan, Dawood, Abdullah Bin Yousuf alias Abdul Aziz and two unidentified Pakhtun men under Section 512 (record of evidence in absence of accused) of the criminal procedure code.

Around 10 gunmen riding four motorcycles had intercepted the bus and carried out the carnage while four to five men in a car were backing them up, it added.

Forty-five people were killed and eight others sustained wounds in the brutal attack, stated the investigation report, adding that blood samples collected from the bus, blood-stained mud and blood-stained clothes of the suspects were sent for a DNA analysis while fingerprints samples were also obtained for an examination.

FSL analysis

The weapons allegedly recovered from the suspects were sent along with the spent bullet casings found at the crime scene for matching. As per a forensic science laboratory (FSL) report, the 9mm pistols of Saad and Tahir were used in the crime. Besides, another pistol recovered on a lead given by Tahir was used in the carnage by absconder Hafiz Umar, it added.

A digital video recorder (DVR), believed to have been dropped by the fleeing attackers and later handed over to the authorities by an administrative officer of a school situated near the crime scene, was also sent for an FSL analysis and then to Pakistan Television general manager to ascertain whether it was animated or without recording.

The investigation report said the reports of DNA and DVR were still awaited and would be submitted along with the final charge-sheet.

In the charge-sheet, the officer stated that five eyewitnesses/injured, including three women, had rightly picked out Saad and Tahir before a judicial magistrate during an identification parade on July 10. Again on July 15, two more eyewitnesses also identified the same suspects along with Asad during another identification parade before a judicial magistrate.

On July 25, two other suspects were arrested in this case from prison, where they had been confined in some other cases, after a report prepared by a joint investigation team reported that they had allegedly facilitated the Safoora bus carnage.

The police report stated that Nasir and Azhar confessed to have provided accommodation, financial assistance and reconnaissance to the main suspects and disclosed their affiliation with the Islamic State.

The report added that as per interrogation, investigation, the JIT report and other documentary record, all the suspects remained associated with Al-Qaeda and following its split they became part of one of the two IS-linked groups.

In view of their affiliation, the suspects have become a threat not only for the people but also for the sovereignty and integrity of Pakistan, according to the report.The IO placed 69 prosecution witnesses, including around 10 eyewitnesses, in the charge-sheet.

The counter-terrorism department of police claimed to have arrested Nasir and Azhar along with Saad and Tahir after a shootout in Gulshan-i-Maymar on May 20. They were booked in nine cases pertaining to police encounter, explosive substances and illicit weapons. The following day the suspects were produced before an ATC for remand in these cases. The police, however, contended that the arrests were made for their alleged involvement in the Safoora Goth bus carnage case. Later, the police also linked another suspect Asad, who had been shown arrested in some other cases, with the main case.

The police showed the arrest of Saad, Tahir and Asad in the bus carnage case on June 12. The police did not book the other two suspects in the bus carnage case as the suspects had been given into their custody for a couple of weeks on physical remand in other cases.

The three suspects were remanded to prison by an ATC on July 16 on judicial remand in the main case. The IO was then asked to submit investigation report till July 27. The police finally moved ATC-II on July 24 seeking a no-objection certificate to arrest the two other suspects from prison for questioning in the main case. According to the prosecution, around 55 people belonging to the Ismaili community and residents of the community-developed residential project, Al-Azhar Garden, left their apartments in the bus for Ayesha Manzil where they worked.

The gunmen intercepted their vehicle near Safoora Goth just a couple of kilometres from their homes. They entered the bus and sprayed the passengers, including women, with bullets.

Other high-profile cases

Saad and Tahir have also been booked in other high-profile cases including a bomb attack on a Bohra community mosque, the murder of Sabeen Mahmud, killing of some police officers and a naval official, attack on the life of American national Debra Lobo, grenade attacks at Islamic Research Centre Imambargah, Ayesha Manzil and at a private school in North Nazimabad.

Published in Dawn, August 21st, 2015

On a mobile phone? Get the Dawn Mobile App: Apple Store | Google Play

KARACHI: Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif reiterated on Thursday that no obstruction would be tolerated in the way of implementation of the National Action Plan against terrorism, directing the Sindh government and law enforcement agencies to step up the pace of operation in Karachi.

During his brief stay in the city, the prime minister presided over a meeting of the provincial apex committee, held a separate meeting with Governor Dr Ishratul Ibad and Chief Minister Qaim Ali Shah, inaugurated an extension project of the Karachi Nuclear Power Plant, KANUPP-II, and addressed a function of the Parsi community.

During his meeting with the governor and the chief minister at the Governor’s House, Mr Sharif said the Karachi operation was not against any party, but against criminal elements. The government, he said, believed in resolving political issues through talks and, therefore, genuine complaints of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) would also be taken into account and addressed accordingly.

Besides reviewing the law and order situation and ongoing operation in Karachi, the meeting also discussed the issue of resignations of MQM lawmakers. The prime minister called upon the Muttahida legislators to review their decision and play their active role in parliament and work with the government.

CM says NAB, FIA interfering in Sindh govt’s affairs

According to sources, the chief minister briefed Mr Sharif on the overall situation and development projects being carried out in the province.

The prime minister said that before taking decisions on important issues, the government had taken into confidence all parliamentary parties. The government’s main objective was to eliminate terrorism and develop economy, he said, adding that the Karachi operation would be taken to its logical end. “The federal government will extend its cooperation to the Sindh government for this purpose,” Mr Sharif added.

He asked the Sindh government to expedite the pace of work on mega development projects and take steps to solve problems being faced by the people of Karachi.

The prime minister claimed that the operation had restored peace in Karachi, damaged terrorists’ capacity to strike back and curbed extortion, target killings and kidnappings for ransom. But, he said, some more time was needed to achieve full results.

“We are facing many challenges. The martyrdom of Punjab Home Minister Shuja Khanzada, who was actively pursuing the National Action Plan, will not deter us from pursuing our mission and we will move forward with full strength,” he said.

The prime minster condemned the attack on MQM leader Rashid Godil and said the people involved would soon be arrested and brought to justice.

APEX COMMITTEE: Addressing the apex committee meeting at the Governor’s House, the prime minister expressed the hope that the situation in Karachi would further improve.

The meeting was attended by Dr Ishratul Ibad, Qaim Ali Shah, Rangers Director General Major General Bilal Akbar, Sindh Chief Secretary Siddique Memon, IG Ghulam Haider Jamali and other senior officials.

Mr Sharif said the elements involved in the Baldia Town inferno would be exposed and given exemplary punishment.

He said the Karachi operation had been launched about two years ago with the consensus of all political parties, adding that crimes had almost been eliminated. “The business community has expressed satisfaction over the improved situation and investors have started coming to the city.”

He said the country’s progress was linked to peace in Karachi.

Mr Sharif said he was satisfied with the results of the operation and praised the performance of police, Rangers and intelligence agencies.

He said severe action should be taken against the facilitators of criminal elements in political parties and their financial network busted, the investigation and prosecution system should be improved by initiating reforms and terrorism cases sent to courts as early as possible.

He directed the authorities to introduce latest CCTV cameras in Karachi and prepare a comprehensive plan for security of important personalities.

Earlier, the chief minister, the DG Rangers, the chief secretary and the police chief briefed the prime minister on the Karachi operation and said reforms were being introduced to improve the prosecution system, including removal of incompetent officers. The operation is being expedited in consultation with the apex committee.

They called upon the federal government to cooperate with the Sindh government in providing advanced technology to security agencies. The prime minister assured them that the centre would assist the provincial government in this regard.

FIA AND NAB INTERFERENCE: Chief Minister Qaim Ali Shah complained to the prime minister and the interior minister about the interference of NAB and FIA in his government’s affairs and said they were taking action against its functionaries without bringing it to the knowledge of the authorities concerned in the Sindh government.

He regretted that the move was sending a wrong impression that there was large-scale corruption in the Sindh government. He asked them to direct the federal institutions to abide by rules.

Mr Sharif directed Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan to resolve the matter in accordance with the law.

Chaudhry Nisar assured the chief minister that he would direct the FIA not to take any action without informing the Sindh government.

Earlier addressing the inaugural ceremony of concrete pouring for the KANUPP extension project, the prime minister said the project was a proud example of Pakistan-China friendship.

He said completion of energy projects would help overcome the energy crisis, improve economy and create more employment in the country. He said ending loadshedding was top priority of the government and, therefore, special attention was being paid on developing energy projects.

He said it was a matter of pleasure that with the cooperation of a Chinese company two more nuclear power plants – Chashma-III and IV – would start producing 630MW electricity next year.

He said the Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission had taken strict protective measures for all its power plants. The nuclear authority was monitoring these measures while the world community was also satisfied with the measures taken in accordance with universal laws, the prime minister added.

On the occasion, KANUPP Chairman Mohammad Naeem said his organisation had plans to build three more nuclear power plants on the pattern of K-II and K-III. These plants would be producing 8,800MW of electricity by 2030 while according to the vision 2050, nuclear power projects would be generating 40,000MW.

Addressing the Parsi community’s function at a hotel arranged by prominent businessman Behram D. Avari, the prime minister said the community had played an important role in the development of the country by making investment in industries.

Behram Avari said the Parsi community would continue to work for the country’s progress.

Published in Dawn, August 21st, 2015

On a mobile phone? Get the Dawn Mobile App: Apple Store | Google Play

KARACHI: An antiterrorism court reissued on Thursday an arrest warrant against Muttahida Qaumi Movement chief Altaf Hussain in a case pertaining to criminal intimidation.

The MQM chief was booked for allegedly threatening Rangers officials during a TV talk show following a pre-dawn raid on his party headquarters, Nine Zero, and adjoining areas in Azizabad, on March 11.

The police submitted on Aug 1 an investigation report to an ATC in which Mr Hussain was charge-sheeted under in Section 512 (record of evidence in absence of accused) of the criminal procedure code and shown as an absconder. Thereafter, the court issued a non-bailable warrant against the MQM chief.

ATC-III Judge Saleem Raza Baloch issued a fresh non-bailable warrant and asked the investigating officer for his arrest and production on Sept 5.

The charge-sheet said that the paramilitary force had raided the MQM headquarters on March 11 and contended that several criminals and suspects were arrested along with a huge quantity of arms, ammunition and explosives during the raid.

It maintained that on the evening of March 11, the MQM chief, during a TV talk show, had allegedly hurled threats at Rangers officials who took part in the raid at his party headquarters.

A case was registered against the MQM chief under Section 506-B (criminal intimidation) of the Pakistan Penal Code, read with Section 7 of the Anti-Terrorism Act, 1997, on the complaint of Colonel Tahir at the Civil Lines police station.

Published in Dawn, August 21st, 2015

On a mobile phone? Get the Dawn Mobile App: Apple Store | Google Play

LAHORE: The Counter-Terrorism Department on Thursday took two members of a banned organisation into custody who allegedly spied on the assassinated home minister of Punjab, retired Col Shuja Khanzada.

The suspects, identified as Qari Tahir and Mohammad Zubair, had constantly been following Mr Khanzada over the past couple of weeks before terrorists targeted him with a suicide attack in Attock on Aug 17.

The suspects were arrested on information provided by intelligence agencies and they were shifted to an undisclosed location for interrogation, a senior CTD official told Dawn.

Meanwhile, seven members of a banned organisation were detained from different areas of Lahore.

Three of the arrested people were identified as Qari Attiqur Rehman, Mohammad Irshad and Abdul Razzaq.

CTD SP Maroof Safdar Wahla told Dawn that his department was carrying out operations against members of banned organisations on a daily basis.

He said the arrested people were not hardcore criminals, but they were members of a banned organisation.

Published in Dawn, August 21st, 2015

On a mobile phone? Get the Dawn Mobile App: Apple Store | Google Play

ISLAMABAD: The government has decided to increase gas tariff by five to six per cent with effect from Sept 1.

Minister for Petroleum and Natural Resources Shahid Khaqan Abbasi told reporters during a briefing on the Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India (Tapi) gas pipeline project that domestic consumers would be exempted from the tariff hike.

He said the groundbreaking of the multi-billion dollar project was expected to be held on Dec 25 and the 1,800-kilometre pipeline would be completed in three to four years. He said the transit fee would be paid to Afghanistan by India, and not Pakistan.

The minister said that natural gas from Turkmenistan would be quite expensive for India because it would have to pay the transit fee to both Pakistan and Afghanistan and Afghanistan would be the net beneficiary, earning $500 to $600 million on account of royalty and meet its energy requirements for at least 10 years out of its share from the pipeline.

He said the pipeline would move along highways already built in Afghanistan and a special security system would be installed that would flag alarm before any incident.

Groundbreaking of the multi-billion Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India gas pipeline project likely on Dec 25

“It is trust level that $25 billion were to be spent on upstream and downstream of the pipeline project,” Mr Abbasi said.

He said it was decided in the last meeting of the Tapi steering committee held in Ashgabat that the state-owned company, Turkmen Gas, would lead the consortium for the pipeline. “The Turkmen Gas will oversee coordination in construction, financing, ownership and operation of the pipeline.”

The minister said the upstream development of the project would cost around $15bn and downstream $10bn and work on both parts would start simultaneously.

Under the agreement, Pakistan, India and Afghanistan each will have 5pc obligatory shares in the project, while Turkmen Gas being the lead financer will have 51pc shares and the rest 34pc will be available to other partners.

“Pakistan will receive 1.32bn cubic feet per day gas under the project which accounts for 35pc of our total production.” The government has collected Rs85bn (about $850m) on account of the Gas Infrastructure Development Cess to spend on the project.

Mr Abbasi said that keeping in view the country’s future energy needs Pakistan would not only complete Tapi but also the Iran-Pakistan gas pipeline and construct more Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) terminals in Karachi and Gwadar.

He said China was working on a gas pipeline in Pakistan, while negotiations were under way with Russia for laying another pipeline at a cost of $2.5bn.

If the Tapi project was timely completed, the parties would seriously consider laying another pipeline from Turkmenistan, he added.

Replying to a question, the minister said that a delegation from Qatar was coming on Aug 24 to deliberate on a government-to-government agreement on LNG import. A tender was floated for spot buying of LNG but no response had been received. LNG import through a long-term contract with Qatar was the only solution, he said.

The minister indicated that prices of LNG and Iran-Pakistan and Tapi gas were at the same level when seen in the context of current crude oil price.

Published in Dawn, August 21st, 2015

On a mobile phone? Get the Dawn Mobile App: Apple Store | Google Play

THE so-called final phase of Zarb-i-Azb is under way in North Waziristan, 14 months after the operation began.

Thus far it appears the military has reclaimed much of the terrain that it had set out to do and it is certainly the case that the rate and intensity of terrorist attacks inside the country have gone down since the operation began.

But, as ever, in the long war against militancy, immediate successes can be undone if the next steps are not prosecuted with equal vigour and intensity.

To begin with, the fight in the Shawal region is expected to be very tough, according to the military and what the militants themselves have suggested. It is not so much a last stand by the militants as the fact that the region is difficult for armies to operate in, the dense foliage and mountainous terrain putting small groups of militants at an advantage, at least when it comes to evading the full force of the military power that is to be used against them.

This challenge ahead is indeed cause for sombre reflection even as the country remembers those who have already fallen in the war against militancy.

The battle will also be complicated by the Afghan question. Earlier, too many militants escaped into Afghanistan and while the military has repeatedly claimed that this is less likely to occur in the current fight, only the days and weeks ahead will confirm whether that is in fact true.

Unhappily, Pak-Afghan relations have taken a downward turn yet again in recent weeks and it remains to be seen how much cooperation is extended by the Afghan side to interdict or help capture North Waziristan-based militants who flee into Afghanistan.

As the sorry tale of Mullah Fazlullah has underscored, unless the Taliban leadership is captured or eliminated and unless cross-border militant movements are curbed the relative peace inside Pakistan since Zarb-i-Azb began may not last long.

It always has been and very much remains so in the interest of both Afghanistan and Pakistan to cooperate in the fight against militancy — even if the two states sometimes behave as if that were not the case.

Finally, there is the question of the Haqqani Network and US demands. While the military has claimed not to have made any distinction in the fight against militants in North Waziristan, it also appears to be the case that the Haqqanis have been encouraged to play a more direct role in the Afghan Taliban leadership structure.

Furthermore, while the timing of the announcement of the Shawal operation may have nothing to do with the US government’s resolve to withhold Coalition Support Funds, there remains far too much that is unknown about how the military makes decisions vital to securing the country. More transparency in policy and especially the results of goals is needed.

Published in Dawn, August 22nd, 2015

On a mobile phone? Get the Dawn Mobile App: Apple Store | Google Play

Google announced on Thursday that it would be introducing panoramic imaging for over a dozen historical landmarks in Pakistan, similar to its Street View offered in other countries.

The tech giant announced the launch of the project to highlight and promote Pakistan’s rich cultural heritage.

Google has undertaken the project in collaboration with a number of local non-profit organisations which include the Citizens Archive of Pakistan (CAP), Mohatta Palace Museum, Heritage Foundation Pakistan, and others.

Currently there are a total of six locations listed on the World Heritage List by the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO). It is reported that all of these sites will be included in Google’s new project.

Some of the sites that will be included in the panoramic view will include the ruins of Moenjodaro, Rohtas Fort and Shalimar Gardens and Fort.

Ruins of Moenjodaro

This is not the first attempt by Google to promote Pakistani culture. Earlier in 2012, the tech-giant had signed an agreement with the provincial government of Punjab to capture historical locations and cultural sites.

The current project is more encompassing, as it includes cultural and historical sites from across the country.

Pakistan is blessed with a rich and diverse cultural lineage. The origin of the current Pakistani culture can be traced back to the Indus Valley civilization, which existed around the same time period as the Egyptian and Sumerian civilizations.

The current land mass which constitutes Pakistan has been influenced over the centuries by the arrival of Greek, Aryan, Buddhist, Arab Muslim, Mughal, Hindu and Christian cultures.