KARACHI: The Sindh police plan to send 35 cases of terrorist activities allegedly carried out by Safoora Goth bus attack suspects, believed to be local operatives of self-styled Islamic State, to military courts, official sources say.

Apart from the crimes committed by bus attack suspects, two more high-profile cases of Shikarpur Imambargah attack and murder of Jamiat Ulema-i-Pakistan (JUI-F) leader Dr Khalid Mehmood Soomro had been lately re-examined by the authorities to be forwarded to the military courts, said sources.

But unlike the case of JUI-F leader, police authorities did not sound convinced to forward the murder case of Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) leader Zahra Shahid Hussain as well for trial by military courts, said the sources.

“We have identified 35 incidents of terrorism and other crimes, which were carried out by the bus attack suspects,” said a senior official privy to recently held series of meetings on re-examination of all terrorism-related cases before sending them to the home department that would then forward them to military courts.

“The most brutal one was obviously terrorist attack on Ismaili community bus which claimed dozens of lives. Then comes killing of social activist Sabeen Mahmud, attacks on Rangers personnel and policemen in Karachi and Hyderabad, grenade attack on a Karachi school, attacks on Bohri community people, attack on American educationist Debra Lobo and the list goes on,” he said.

The Sindh police decided to ‘re-examine’ all terrorism-related cases on the basis of severity of the crime before recommending them to the home department in the wake of Supreme Court decision in favour of military courts.

The decision was taken after detailed discussion at a recent meeting chaired by Sindh IG police Ghulam Haider Jamali at the central police office, said the sources.

“Police decided to try the suspects in Khalid Mahmood Soomro murder case in military courts as the slain leader was a main figure in a leading political party. His murder in November 2014 was marked as high-profile,” said the official.

“The January 2015 bombing of Shikarpur Imambargah has also been added to the list. It’s the worst case of sectarian terrorism in Sindh in recent history. So it was also marked as a case fit for military courts.”

He said the Zahra Shahid murder case was also discussed at the meeting but the officials were not convinced over recommending it.

The vice president of PTI’s Sindh chapter, Zahra Shahid, was gunned down on the eve of re-polling on 43 polling stations in NA-250 constituency in Karachi in May 2013. “There are a number of cases of politically motivated murders which cannot be moved to military courts,” said the official.

Published in Dawn, August 24th, 2015

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ISLAMABAD: The government has quietly allowed the military courts to try thousands of suspects detained at different internment centres by passing an ordinance in February this year.

After the December 16, 2014, attack on the Army Public School Peshawar, the government had introduced the 21st constitutional amendment to allow for military courts.

On January 6, parliament passed the amendment that enabled military courts to try civilians facing various charges related to terrorism, militancy, sectarian violence, waging war against the state, armed forces and law enforcement agencies.

Amendment passed as ordinance when parliament wasn’t in session; minister says matter will be tabled in NA

However, this constitutional amendment and the subsequent amendments to the Pakistan Army Act (PAA) did not allow for the trial of those detained in the internment centres.

According to retired Lt-Col Tahir Mehmood, of the army’s legal directorate, the initial amendment to the PAA was silent about the internment centres detainees.

“The amendments in the PAA made in January this year empowered jurisdiction of the military courts to those suspects who were not subject to the army act earlier,” he explained, adding that the 21st amendment gave constitutional cover to the amendments made in the PAA.

A former officer of the army’s judge advocate general (JAG) branch, the military’s legal directorate, told Dawn that there were over 6,000 suspects detained at different internment centres and that these suspects were captured in military operations since 2009.

During the hearings of some missing persons’ cases in courts, the military did admit to holding some of them in custody; it said these men were captured in the operational areas and then detained in the internment centres.

The detention of these suspects was of concern to the military.

As a result, while the petitions against the 21 amendment were pending in the apex court, the ministry of law and justice on February 25 promulgated an ordinance for further extending the ambit of the PAA to the persons under the custody of the armed forces. This has now allowed the military courts to hold the trial of the men that had been detailed earlier, before the 21 amendment was passed.

The ordinance amended Section 2 (which defines jurisdiction of the PAA) to say: “Any person arrested, detained or held in custody by the armed forces, civil armed forces or law enforcement agencies and kept under arrest, custody or detention before the coming into force of the Pakistan Army (Amendment) Act 2015 (Act II of 2015) shall be deemed to have been arrested or detained pursuant to the provisions of this Act as amended by the PAA.”

Retied Brigadier Wasaf Khan Niazi, a former JAG, told Dawn that the government had extended the jurisdiction of the military courts.

When asked whether the government could apply the law to the detained suspects retrospectively, Brigadier Naizi said this was a procedural law not a penal law. “Therefore, it could be applied retrospectively.”

Penal law, or criminal law, deals with offences and their penalties such as murder or child abuse; so for instance when a new offence is brought under the ambit of law such as child abuse or cyber crime, it cannot apply retrospectively, he explained.

“However, the Juvenile Justice System Ordinance (JJSO) was a procedural law promulgated in 2000, which said that those who were juveniles would not be tried in ordinary courts and would not be awarded capital punishments. Those juveniles, who were tried and convicted before this law, could also benefit from this as it was a procedural law.”

The former JAG, however, said it was not necessary that all those who were detained at the internment centres would be tried by the military courts.

“Only those subject to the PAA would be tried by the military courts.”

Earlier, in 2011, the then government of Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) had issued the ‘Action in Aid of Civil Power Regulations 2011 for Fata (CPRF)’ that legitimised the detention of the suspects.

The government of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) also issued the Protection of Pakistan Act (PoPA) which created a new offence of waging war against the armed forces and state.

However, the trial of the detained suspects was never addressed in the earlier amendments in the PAA (which followed once the 21 amendment was passed) in January this year. In the same month, the jurisdiction of PAA has been extended to the Gilgit-Baltistan through a presidential order. Another amendment to provide for the protection of witnesses, presiding officers and prosecutors and defending officers of the military courts was also brought into the Parliament and it was approved by the Senate on August 11.

This third amendment, which was made quietly, now allows the trial of those held at the internment centre.

Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Pervaiz Rashid said the ordinance was issued at a time when the National Assembly was not in session. He said the matter was also pending before the Supreme Court and that was why the government did not introduce it in the shape of a bill in the parliament.

“Now the Supreme Court has dismissed petitions against the 21st constitutional amendment and the government will table this matter before the parliament,” he said, adding “the ordinance would be tabled in the shape of a bill before the parliament; if it is not, it would lapse accordingly.”

Published in Dawn, August 24th, 2015

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LAHORE/KASUR: The affected families of Kasur incident on Sunday ended their boycott of the investigation process as the chief minister promised them provision of justice at a meeting here.

Speaking to the sex abuse victims, their parents and other residents of Hussain Khanwala village, Shahbaz also announced immediate withdrawal of the cases registered against the protesters and directed the IGP to take necessary legal action in this regard.

He said the Kasur incident was lamentable and painful and justice would be provided to the victims. “Providing you justice is my responsibility and I’ll discharge this duty at any cost.” He said he was deeply grieved over the incident and wanted to come to them but could not do so due to some reasons but he had been personally monitoring the issue.

The chief minister said the Joint Investigation Team comprised representatives of the Federal Intelligence Bureau and ISI besides police and it would stay in Kasur till completion of the investigation. He said the facts would be made public and the elements showing negligence or hiding the facts would be taken to task.

He admitted that if the case had not been mishandled or negligence not been shown, the situation would not have reached this point. He said arrangements for the education of the affected children would be made and if necessary, they would be provided education facility in Lahore.

Latif Sara, the counsel for the victims, and the victims themselves announced ending the boycott of the inquiry team and promised to participate in the investigation. Accordingly, they would join the JIT on Monday (today) after a boycott of one week.

The victims had boycotted the JIT to press for their demand of the cancellation of cases against them including one under Anti-Terrorism Act and a murder case. They argued that police were harassing them and it was not possible for them to join the JIT under such circumstances.

Advocate Latif Sara said the chief minister had accepted all their demands including cancellation of FIRs against the villagers and victims.

Meanwhile, the Ganda Singh police registered two more cases against the accused for threatening the complainants to withdraw the cases.

Published in Dawn, August 24th, 2015

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SRINAGAR / NEW DELHI: The chief minister of India-held Jammu and Kashmir expressed disappointment on Sunday over cancellation of talks between national security advisers (NSAs) of India and Pakistan while the disputed region’s anti-India leaders blamed the Indian government for the development.

Chief Minister Mufti Sayeed expressed disappointment and expressed the hope that “the break in talks would be temporary”.  He said he wanted to see the two countries “walk the bridge of trust together”. 

Also read-Editorial: India-Pakistan spectacle

Omar Abdullah, a former chief minister of the region, told the PTI news agency: “(I am) very disappointed at the turn of events.”

He said that while cancellation of the talks was largely expected it did not “make the sense of disappointment any less acute”.

Hurriyat Conference leader Mirwaiz Umer Farooq said by cancelling the talks the two countries had lost yet another opportunity to engage with each other.

“The last nail in the coffin was put by External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj when she made it clear that there will be no talks on Kashmir. Instead of moving forward, we are only moving backwards,” he said.

He said that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) had assured that it would talk to “all shades of opinion”. “I think there is a lot of difference in what they say and what they do,” he said. He hoped that better sense would prevail and the Indian government would discuss Kashmir with the Kashmiris.

The Hurriyat Conference faction headed by Syed Ali Shah Geelani said “at the end of the day, it is a diplomatic victory for us as well as Pakistan”. Ayaz Akbar, the spokesman for the group, said: “A message has gone to the world that Kashmir issue is not a bilateral territorial dispute between India and Pakistan and that people of Jammu and Kashmir are the principal party to it.

“The fanatic approach adopted by government is not practicable. How long will New Delhi pursue this policy?”

Shabir Shah, who continues to be under house arrest at a guesthouse in south Delhi, said he was disappointed that the talks had been cancelled. “I wish the government had not put any conditions to Pakistan ahead of talks,” he said.

The Congress, meanwhile, blamed the BJP-led government for the turn of events.

“Unfortunately, the government of India has played into its (Pakistan’s) hands by being imprecise, by being unprepared, by lacking focus, by being ad hoc, by not doing sufficient hard-nosed groundwork, good old-fashioned diplomacy and preparation,” Congress spokesman Abhishek Singhvi said. 

“We are very sad that all the gains of the last 10-odd years on Indo-Pak settlement of at least some issues are given a setback by such aborted talks. No such opportunity should have been given to Pakistan to wriggle out of as serious an issue as terror.

“I think the government needs to get its house in order. It needs to make sure that multiple agencies which suddenly appear to have started making Indian foreign policy, either the multiplicity is eliminated or complete unity and coherence are introduced in all those multiple agencies to speak through one agency and in one voice,” he said.

Published in Dawn, August 24th, 2015

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ISLAMABAD: Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan said here on Sunday that the murder of Punjab home minister Shuja Khanzada was still a “blind case” and there had been no “breakthrough” in it so far.

Addressing a press conference at the Punjab House, he refuted media reports about arrests made by security agencies in different parts of the country in connection with the Aug 16 terrorist attack on the late Khanzada in Attock.

Take a look: Colonel (retd) Shuja Khanzada​: Military man and politician

“This is a blind murder case. I am surprised to see kite flying in media which has linked even the arrest of a petty thief to the killing of Khanzada Saheb,” the interior minister said. He urged the media to refrain from reporting in an irresponsible manner about incidents relating to terrorism.

Minister claims complete harmony between civil and military leadership

He also denied reports about a raid on a religious seminary in Islamabad in connection with Khanzada’s murder and said such reports could affect investigations.

“There has been sufficient progress in the case, but no breakthrough so far,” he said, adding that the media would be informed about any breakthrough in the case.

Answering a question about security lapses in the Attock incident, he said that being the provincial home minister Shuja Khanzada himself was responsible for his own security.

He claimed that the minister had been warned against visiting his village and he had not gone there for three weeks.

The minister had to go to his hometown for some time only to attend a pressing event and he had no plan to sit in the veranda where he died because of collapse of the roof. Being a politician, Khanzada Saheb could not avoid meeting friends and people sitting in his Hujra, Chaudhry Nisar said.

CIVIL-MILITARY RELATIONS: The minister claimed that there had been excellent relations between the PML-N government and the military leadership and media reports contrary to the fact were baseless. For the past two years, there had been no “tension” between Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and the army chief, he said.

He said it was his job as a minister to defend the army, particularly at a time when the country was in a state of war.

He said he did not want the Nadra chairman, Rangers officials or the army to respond to political statements. “Do you want ISPR to give reply to political statements?” he asked.

ECL: The minister said the names of thousands of people would be struck from the exit control list (ECL) within a month under a new policy. At present two separate lists containing the names of more than 60,000 people are being managed by the Ministry of Interior and the Directorate of Passports.

Chaudhry Nisar said his ministry was removing the names of more than 5,000 people from the ECL. Similarly, he said, the names of 1,550 people who had been deported from other countries and 4,800 others who had been caught using two different passports would remain in the “passport control list”.

He expressed the hope that the list would be reduced to less than 4,000 people within a month.

He said the names were being deleted from the ECL after carrying out a process under which notices had been issued to the departments on whose recommendations the names had been put on the list. These departments have been asked to justify their action of putting someone’s name on the ECL.

Moreover, he said, the powers of the Directorate of Passports to blacklist people were being withdrawn and now the ECL and the passport list would be managed only by his ministry. The term “blacklist” will no more be used in future and instead the list will be called “passport control list”.

Under the new policy, he said, names would be included in the ECL only on the orders of the Supreme Court or high courts and on the recommendations of security forces or heads of sensitive institutions. Members of the outlawed organisations would remain on the ECL, he added.

Chaudhry Nisar said names on the ECL should not be placed for a maximum period of three years, but would be reviewed every six months. But, he said the policy would not apply in cases of members of the banned outfits, army deserters and people associated with the country’s nuclear programme.

The minister said the National Accountability Bureau and Federal Investigating Agency would have to send their recommendations about inclusion of a person’s name in the ECL to him and a five-member committee.

He said notices would be issued to the two agencies after one year and if they did not give any justification because of their failure to complete investigations, the names would be removed after serving a notice. Similarly, he said, it would be made mandatory for them to complete investigations within three years.

In the past, he said, ECL rules were massively misused for political purposes and on the basis of individual contacts. Restricting the movement of people without any justification is against democratic norms. The minister regretted that some people had been on the ECL for decades. He said he had received a letter from an alleged member of Al-Zulfiqar Organisation whose name had been on the ECL since 1986.

Answering a question, he said the name of retired Gen Pervez Musharraf had been put on the ECL on the court’s order.

CHINESE RECOVERED: Chaudhry Nisar said a Chinese tourist who had been kidnapped from Dera Ismail Khan last year was recovered on Saturday night after an extensive operation carried out on the basis of intelligence reports. He said the man had been handed over to the Chinese Embassy in Islamabad.

FAKE CNICs: The minister denied reports that any national identity card had been cancelled on the directives of intelligence agencies. He said that in a crackdown on bogus CNICs and corruption, 80,000 cards had been blocked by Nadra in four years. About 40,000 of such CNIC cases had been reported before the PML-N came to power in June 2013, he added.

Published in Dawn, August 24th, 2015

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KARACHI: The Supreme Court on Monday directed the authorities to ensure that no vehicles having number plates with Applied for Registration (AFR), non-duty paid or with fancy number plates shall run on the roads in Sindh.

The SC also directed the authorities to set up a special counter for the registration of imported vehicles at the port.

A two-judge bench comprising Justices Sarmad Jalal Osmany and Amir Hani Muslim also ordered the city administrator and traffic police chief to chalk out a joint strategy to end traffic jams in the city and to ensure a smooth flow of vehicles on the roads.

The bench also expressed its concern over the failure of the excise and taxation department to issue registration number plates to applicants in time.

Justice Osmany remarked that the owners of unregistered vehicles running on the streets were not civic minded. “They are bent upon violating the law,” he added.

The traffic police representative informed the judges that a crackdown had been launched against the vehicles having AFR or fancy number plates in the city and hundreds of such vehicles had been impounded.

However, he said, the vehicle owners complained that the excise department had not issued any official number plate for the past one year.

The bench ordered that the impounded vehicles shall not be released to their owners until registration by the excise department.

Excise and Taxation Secretary Mudassir Iqbal appeared in court to inform the judges that the contract for manufacturing official registration number plates had been awarded and the department would start issuing new number plates by mid-October.

Additional DIG-Traffic Khadim Hussain Bhatti told the judges that traffic police were short of staff and a reference for recruitment of 6,000 traffic constables had been sent to the provincial police chief.

The apex court during the implementation proceedings of its suo motu proceedings on the Karachi law and order case had directed the excise department on Nov 1, 2012 to ensure that whenever any motor vehicle, motorcycle or other vehicle was registered, its official number plates should be issued immediately and documents completed without any delay.

The court had observed that the serious problem of traffic congestion faced by the people of Karachi and the deteriorating law and order situation was the result of “patent illegalities and lawlessness as a result of their [excise and traffic officials] slackness, inefficiency and negligence in the performance of their respective duties”.

Meanwhile, the court directed the DIG-Traffic, secretary of the Defence Housing Authority and others to file their respective replies on an application of Irfan Merchant, a DHA resident, against frequent traffic jams and non-functional signals in DHA Phase-IV.

The bench directed the respondents to submit their replies within one month.

The applicant submitted that citizens and motorists had to remain stuck in traffic jams at Khayaban-i-Mujahid and other areas of the DHA due to non-functional traffic signals.

The court also directed the DIG-Traffic, DHA secretary and others to ensure installation of traffic signals at various roads and intersections of the DHA.

Published in Dawn, August 25th, 2015

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ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad Traffic Police (ITP) issued 500,981 tickets worth Rs150.02 million during the last eight months.

As many as 40 VIPs, including six members of parliament, three bureaucrats and two MPAs, were amongst those who were fined, an official of the ITP said.

The police issued tickets to 36,130 people for not using seatbelts, 23,928 for using mobile phone during driving, 12,786 for lane violation and 19,825 for underage driving.

Published in Dawn, August 25th, 2015

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KARACHI: A vehicle carrying staff of the inspector general of prisons came under attack near Esa Nagri on Monday, triggering fear among law enforcers. A police party rushed to the spot but later it transpired that it was not a targeted attack and no one was injured.

Gulshan SP Abid Qaimkhani said the central jail’s clerical staff went to the Hyderabad prison every Friday and returned on Monday. They were travelling in a vehicle ‘resembling the police mobile’. When they reached Esa Nagri near Lyari Expressway, two suspects on a motorbike, who were apparently there for a robbery, opened fire on them assuming them to be policemen.

As a result, three bullets hit the jail staff’s vehicle but all bullets struck a side and the bonnet of the vehicle. Investigators collected three spent bullet casings fired from a .9mm pistol.

The Gulshan SP said the jail staff violated the police and jail standard operating procedure and that a letter would be written to the prison authorities to highlight the violations. The officer said that fear gripped the police as the IG prisons phoned the police authorities stating that ‘his vehicle’ had been attacked.

He said it was a violation of the rules that the clerical staff of the prison was travelling in a vehicle they had given the look of a police mobile.

Sindh Home Minister Sohail Anwar Siyal took notice of the armed attack on the jail vehicle and sought a report from the DIG-East on it.

Published in Dawn, August 25th, 2015

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KARACHI: The Supreme Court on Monday issued notices to the traffic police and transport authorities in a civil petition of the Association of Owners and Staff of Qingqi rickshaws, better known as Chingchi, for leave to appeal against the dismissal of their petition by the Sindh High Court.

The petition, filed by Advocate Ghulam Qadir Jatoi on behalf of the rickshaw owners, came up for initial hearing before a two-judge bench of the apex court comprising Justices Anwar Zaheer Jamali and Gulzar Ahmed.

The SHC had on Aug 5 dismissed the Qingqi owners’ petition against the action being taken against them by the provincial authorities including the traffic police. The SHC had banned the plying and operation of Qingqi rickshaws.

The petitioner asked the court to set aside the impugned order of the SHC and grant leave to appeal against the dismissal of their petition.

Drivers stage protests in Sindh towns

SUKKUR: Drivers of Qingqi rickshaws took out rallies and held demonstrations in Jacobabad and Naushahro Feroze districts on Monday in protest against the ban imposed by the Sindh High Court on plying the tri-wheelers.

In Jacobabad, the Qingqi Rickshaw Union staged protests on a third consecutive day and took out a rally, which started from Shaheed Allah Bux Park and concluded at the press club where the protesters held a sit-in.

The union leaders Munir Shaikh, Zamir Lahar, Khadim Lashari and others said while addressing the protesters that the ban had rendered thousands of rickshaw drivers jobless and forced their families into starvation.

They demanded that the authorities concerned immediately lift the ban on Qingqi rickshaws to save their families from starvation.

In Naushahro Feroze, hundreds of Qingqi rickshaw owners took out a rally and held a demonstration outside the offices of the deputy commissioner and the press club.

Saleem Pathan, Muneer Sheikh and Baber Sheikh who led the protest said that they were compelled to buy the tri-wheelers to feed their families after they were disappointed by the government that failed to provide them jobs.

They sold their cattle to arrange the amount or took loans to be able to purchase the rickshaws but all of a sudden they were told by police not to bring the vehicles on roads.

It came as a shock to them that the petition against their rickshaws was filed in the court by the United Human Rights Commission of Pakistan, they said.

They urged the government to allow them to ply the rickshaws to earn livelihood and give them some time for registration etc. If they had been informed earlier that their vehicles required approval of the engineering council they would not have purchased the rickshaws in the first place, they said.

They demanded the Sindh government file a petition in the court to have the order modified in order to give them some relief.

Similar protests were staged in Moro, Kandiaro, Lakha Road, Mehrabpur and Khan Wahan.

Published in Dawn, August 25th, 2015

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The exterior of the Early Learning Centre.

“I want to be a pilot when I grow up so I can fly out of here one day,” says eight-year-old *Sara.

Sara is one of the 18 children who have spent the best part of their childhood behind bars at the Karachi Central Jail.

The last five years of her life represent a period of confinement and gloom, a fate reserved for all the children of under-trial female prisoners.

But there is an air of anticipation around the long, darkened halls of Karachi's biggest jail these days as its ‘silent sufferers’ prepare for a new beginning with the Early Learning Centre (ELC) inaugurated by the Legal Aid Office (LAO) earlier this month.

There is an irrepressible excitement around the otherwise grim setting as Sara, in prison since the age of four, now wakes up early in the morning everyday and puts on her new crisp blue checkered uniform.

New school, rekindled hope

Children playing with their new toys inside the classroom.

Just outside the jail vicinity, surrounded by trees and shrubs, a room that was once a storage area has now been transformed into a ELC for children in prison below the age of ten. The once pale walls are now painted with cartoons, the floor is cushioned with a jigsaw puzzle pattern and there are shelves stacked with colouring books, blocks and soft toys.

The ELC was established by LAO, an NGO that has been working for the rights of prisoners since 2004. It functions in a fashion similar to that of a Montessori, with a curriculum for children between the ages of two and half to nine years.

“We have designed a curriculum separate from that of ordinary schools, keeping in mind the environment that these children are in and also the fact that they are of mixed ages,” says Sundus Nasir, who teaches at the ELC.

“I had to train the children two to three days prior to the inauguration for a small performance which involved learning poems, and to my surprise they were all very quick in picking up the finer points,” she adds.

“They have a very strong willingness to learn.”

The school functions five days a week from 1pm to 5pm and children are taught basic formation of words and then sentences. An advisory committee constituting ten members, including doctors, teachers and psychologists, have been given the task to oversee the school's management and development.

“We have been very mindful of the circumstances these children find themselves in...so Ms Sundus was trained at the Teacher Resource Centre before she joined the ELC,” says Advocate Hira Saleem Malik of the LAO.

Malik says strict measures have been taken to ensure that the centre functions with diligence.

“We have lined up monthly meetings to review the progress and conduct surprise weekly checks to monitor the quality.”

Malik adds that the security situation in and around the prison plays a significant role in determining the school's smooth operation.

“The school operates in collaboration with Prison Inspector General (IG) Nusrat Mangan and the prison administration so if there are any security related problems, we have a mechanism where the school management will be told beforehand,” explains the advocate.

Stunted development

Children making their way to see their new school. Nine children are currently enrolled in the ELC.

Nine-year-old Aliya* has no difficulty speaking in front of an audience of 50 gathered to observe the new facility.

“I cannot thank you all enough for opening a school for us. I just want to say that I want to be a doctor when I grow up and this is the first step,” Aliya says, leaving the crowd emotional.

For the children at the prison, the school is a solace, a world outside the iron bars providing an opportunity to learn about realities outside the jail; realities that do not include barracks, lawyers and prison wardens.

Previously, for them, the only getaway from the prison had been heavily guarded trips to courts for hearings where they accompanied their implicated mothers.

And it was after one of these trips that the idea behind the ELC took shape.

“We noticed that a majority of children up to the age of five years were unable to clearly communicate, even when questioned in their respective languages. There was a pressing need for a facility outside the prison where the children could get the exposure of a regular school,” says Barrister Haya Emaan Zahid of the LAO.

Previously, there had been an informal education facility set up inside the prison where a convict would teach children, but it proved to be inconsistent and had no accountability.

According to Haya, there was a dire need to take the children out of their depressing surroundings and carve a safe space for them outside the prison which would simulate the schedule of a school.

“We all wanted a school which was outside the premises because at the end of day, a jail is a jail,” said Senior Superintendent of Women Prison, Sheeba Shah.

What the law says

A corridor inside the Central Jail.

“Over here, there are no provisions for children who are incarcerated with their mothers; no one is bothered about them at all. In developed countries, children don’t live with their mothers inside prison,” asserts Justice (retd) Nasir Aslam Zahid, Chairperson of the Legal Aid Office.

According to Rule 326 of the Pakistan Prison Rules (PPR) of 1978, a child may remain in incarceration with his or her mother only until the age of six years, but the mothers face the quandary of where to send their children after they grow older.

“There are no shelter homes where the children can be sent. SOS only takes children of mothers who have been convicted with a longer sentence...so these children become the silent casualties in this scenario,” says Haya.

The PPR, under Rule 679, explicitly states that education is to be provided to illiterate prisoners and says that every prison should have a well-stocked library. However, the LAO team in its survey found that all three prisons in Karachi, Hyderabad and Larkana did not have any teachers coming in to educate either the prisoners or their children.

‘Much safer inside prison’

When the mothers of these children were brought in to look at the single-room learning facility, many of them were left speechless.

Children surround the balloons during the inauguration ceremony.

“It was always my husband’s wish to educate all our children. He is not alive any more but I’ll fulfill it for him,” says Sania*, a mother of two of the children enrolled at the ELC.

“I cannot let my children go anywhere else; my brother-in-law keeps forcing me to give him my little daughter but I won’t. We are safer inside the prison than we can be outside.”

Sania, an under-trial prisoner, has been in jail for a year with the charged of her husband’s murder.

“The lawyers say that I will be released soon, but I’m scared of what my brother-in-law is capable of doing once I am acquitted. He is the one who sent me to prison in the first place and sold our house; my husband’s business, everything,” says Sania, as her youngest son frolics around, holding a new toy he just found at the learning centre.

“One of my sons has already been taken away by my brother-in-law. What if he takes away all of my children?” retorts Sania, saddened by the thought of what the future might hold.

*Names of children and mother changed to protect privacy

Photography and design by Ibitisam Zahid Khanzada

KARACHI: As World Breastfeeding Week ended early this month, the Sindh health department has yet to devise rules to implement the law on breastfeeding that the provincial assembly had passed more than two years ago, it emerged on Monday.

The law, on paper, promises huge turnaround in the present terribly low breastfeeding practices in Sindh, where the ratio of breastfed children is found even less than the national average of 37 per cent.

Some members of civil society — who are also part of a six-member ‘technical committee’ with the mandate to weigh the law on the breastfeeding — blame the powerful baby milk formula companies for causing delay in implementation of the law in cahoots with some officials.

“You see, the rules formulation is being delayed to the total advantage to the formula companies which are aggressively campaigning for their products,” said Prof Durre Samin Akram, an eminent paediatrician and member of the technical committee, while speaking to Dawn.

The health department had named Dr Akram as the committee chairman and the chief drug inspector as its secretary more than a year ago. The committee was given the mandate to listen to the baby food manufacturers and marketing association representatives and recommend their suggestions (for amendment to the law) to the health secretary. It asked the representatives of the baby food manufacturers and marketing association to appear in person before the committee.

Sources in the health department said there were certain clauses in the Sindh Protection of Breastfeeding and Child Nutrition Act, 2013 with which the baby food manufacturers had not come to terms. They said that though the act had not yet fully been come into effect, the baby food manufacturers wanted some amendments to the law.

Despite several reminders by the committee, bylaws for the Breastfeeding and Child Nutrition Act 2013 had not been formulated for unspecified reasons, officials said.

Infant Feeding Board

Similarly, not a single meeting of the Infant Feeding Board has been held since its formation more than a year ago.

The chairman of the standing committee on health, Dr Sohrab Sarki, is its chairperson while its two members, Nasir Hussain Shah and Mehtab Akbar Rashidi, were lawmakers nominated by the speaker of the Sindh Assembly.

Other members of the board included two paediatricians, two obstetricians, a representative of the Baby Food Manufa­cturer and Marketing Association and Dr Durre Samin Akram from the civil society nominated by the health department.

The health secretary is the secretary of the Infant Feeding Board, while manager of health department’s Nutrition Support Programme is nominated as its member.

Breastfeeding law

The breastfeeding act has certain explicit restrictions on the baby food manufacturers. It envisages penalties such as up to two years of sentence and Rs500,000 fine for the violators.

It says no person shall, in any form whatsoever, promote any designated products except as provided for under this act.

Similarly, no person shall in any manner assert that any designated product is a substitute for mother’s milk, or that it is equivalent to or comparable with or superior to mother’s milk.

It restricts all manufacturers and distributors from offering or making gift or contributions of any kind, or pays to any extent for any reason whatsoever, or gives any kind of benefit, to a health worker or one’s family, or any personnel employed, directly or indirectly, in a health care facility, or any member of the board, or the employees thereof.

The act also binds the manufacturers and distributors that they cannot donate any designated product and equipment or services related to a designated product free of charge or at low cost to a health care facility, or offer or give any benefit to a professional association of medical practitioners for this purpose.

No person other than a health worker who is not engaged by a manufacturer or distributor can instruct any user on the need and proper preparation and use of any designated product, provided that a manufacturer or distributor may instruct any user on the need and proper preparation and use of any designated product.

Similarly, no distributor or manufacturer shall for the purposes of one’s business have contact, directly or indirectly, with general public within a health care facility. Neither of them nor any person engaged by them shall produce, nor distribute any educational or informational material relating to infant and young child feeding.

The law also makes it clear that the label of a designated product should not be designed so as not to discourage breastfeeding and should provide necessary information in Urdu about the appropriate use of such product and the age before which a designated product should not be used.

Every container shall have a clear, conspicuous and easily understood message printed on it, or on a label that cannot become separated from it, which should be written in Sindhi and Urdu, and if so desired by the manufacturers, in English as well.

The label should not contain anything that may discourage breast-feeding; contain a conspicuous notice in bold characters in the prescribed height stating “Mother’s milk is the best for your baby and helps in preventing diarrhoea and other illness”.

Expressions such as ‘maternalised’ or ‘humanised’ or equivalent making comparison with mother’s milk are also prohibited.

Besides, the manufacturers or distributors should not show photographs, drawings or graphics, except those to illustrate the correct method of preparation; except for bottles, teats, pacifiers and nipple shields, contain appropriate instructions in Sindhi and Urdu for the correct preparation in words and easily understood graphics, and indicate the ingredients, composition and analysis of a designated product, required storage conditions, batch number and expiry date, and contain any warning as might be prescribed for the implementation of the law in characters of the prescribed height in Sindhi and Urdu.

Published in Dawn, August 25th, 2015

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PESHAWAR: The provincial government has allocated Rs1770 million for the renovation, beautification, repair and cleanliness of the four teaching hospitals of the province.

According to a statement, Rs300 million, Rs700 million, 400 million and Rs370 million have been allocated to Lady Reading Hospital (LRH), Khyber Teaching Hospital (KTH), Hayatabad Medical Complex (HMC) and Ayub Medical Complex (AMC) respectively.

In this connection a meeting was held with Health Minister Shahram Tarakai in the chair. The meeting was attended by special secretary health, additional secretary health, and dean of Postgraduate Medical Institute Peshawar, directors of LRH, HMC and KTH and other relevant quarters.

It was revealed in the meeting that out of the total allocated amount, Rs742.9 million had already been released to those hospitals for the current financial year.

The minister directed the quarters concerned to take all necessary steps to start work on renovation, beautification and cleanliness of those hospitals on war footings.

He said that cleanliness in health service delivery outlets was of prime importance which could not be compromised because hospital with dirty environment couldn’t cure diseases but spread diseases.

The meeting was informed that separate PC-1 for renovation and beautification of each hospital was being prepared.

Published in Dawn, August 25th, 2015

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PESHAWAR: The federal government has approved to establish an expo centre in Peshawar with an estimated cost of Rs2.5 billion to facilitate the business community.

This was revealed by Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chamber of Commerce and Industry president Fawad Ishaq while presiding over a meeting of the executive committee of the chamber in Natyaagali on Monday.

According to a statement, he said that the expo centre would be equipped with all latest facilities. The federal government, he said, allocated Rs500 million in the public sector development programme for the purpose.

The chamber president urged the government to initiate work on the expo centre at earliest as it was dire need of the business community. He said that it would help to boost exports to the Central Asian States from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and strengthen industrial and business activities in the province.

The Businessman Forum leader Senator Ilyas Bilour also expressed the hope that with establishment of the expo centre the exporters would have opportunities to introduce their products at the international level.

He said that it would also help to create job opportunities in the province. Appreciating Federal Minister for Finance Ishaq Dar, he said that the turn-over tax and income tax would help to strengthen the industries and commerce in the province.

The chamber’s budget for the year 2015-16 was present by chairman finance standing committee Eng Maqsood which was unanimously approved.

Published in Dawn, August 25th, 2015

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PESHAWAR: A bench of the Peshawar High Court on Monday granted bail to provincial minister Ziaullah Afridi arrested by the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Ehtesab Commission (KPEC) on the charges of facilitating illegal mining and carrying out illegal appointments, transfers and postings.

Justice Mussarat Hilali and Justice Younas Taheem directed Ziaullah to furnish two surety bonds of Rs2 million each.

The bench pronounced the short order after hearing arguments of both the sides in a habeas corpus petition filed by Ziaullah’s brother, Hidayatullah Afridi, seeking the detainee’s release on different grounds.

Ziaullah Afridi, who was elected as an MPA of Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf in the 2013 general elections from PK-1 Peshawar I, was arrested on July 9 by the KPEC on the charges of misuse of authority and corrupt practices.

Development comes after completion of minister’s 45-day remand in corruption case

He had denied the charges and claimed that Chief Minister Pervez Khattak had engineered his arrest through the commission.

Lawyers Abdul Lateef Afridi, Barrister Mudassir Amir, Ishtiaq Ibrahim and Moazam Butt represented Ziaullah Afridi in the court and argued their client was falsely implicated in the case on the basis of mala fide intent.

They argued that under the KPEC Act 2014, a suspect could be remanded to custody of the commission by the Ehtesab court for 45 days.

The lawyers said since his arrest, their client had been in custody of the commission and had completed 45 days.

They added that in the KPEC Act, there was no provision of judicial custody after completion of physical remand and on the said ground several other suspects had already been granted bail.

Ziaullah Afridi pointed out that in the grounds of arrest provided to his brother, the commission had clearly mentioned that he had failed to exercise his authority to prevent loss to the exchequer caused by illegal mining rather he had willfully facilitated the same for his personal gains.

He added that to frustrate the provision of law related to the maximum 45 days custody, the commission had tried to hoodwink the Ehtesab court by seeking his repeated physical custody after completion of the initial one on the pretext that he was booked in new cases, whereas in fact the charges pertained to the same case.

Ziaullah Afridi said first, the commission claimed he was arrested in illegal mining and later insisted he was involved in illegal mining in Nowshera but sought his custody by alleging that he was involved in illegal mining in Charssada and Abbottabad.

He asked whether the commission wanted to keep him in its custody for the entire life.

KPEC deputy prosecutor general Zahid Aman contended that the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly had recently passed certain amendments to the KPEC Act through which the lacuna related to judicial custody had now been removed.

He said in the said amendments, it had now been provided that the Code of Criminal procedure would apply to the proceedings under this law.

Zahid Aman pointed out that physical custody of the suspect to the commission was granted by the Ehtesab court, which was a competent court under the law.

The petitioner’ lawyers argued that the amendments made to the law had yet to be notified as the relevant bill had not received assent of the governor.

They said the detainee had performed duties as minister for mineral development to the best of his abilities and that he got around 350 cases registered against the people involved in illegal mining.

Published in Dawn, August 25th, 2015

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SHEIKHUPURA: Warburton police arrested one of their colleagues on Monday for allegedly raping a teenage boy in the police station.

Nankana District Police Officer Shahzada Sultan visited the police station. The alleged rape victim was taken into custody on Wednesday in a mobile phone theft case.

The alleged rapist took the boy from the lockup to a room and raped him.

Station House Officer (SHO) Yaqoob Virk and other officials were alerted by the cries of the boy. They held the low-rank official under Section 377 of the Pakistan Penal Code and 155-C/4479 of the Police Order 2002.

The DPO also suspended the SHO from service and ordered a case against him for keeping the boy in the lock-up without any case for three days. He said the SHO should have produced him before a judicial magistrate right after taking him into custody. The DPO said the boy was a habitual thief. Earlier the Bhikhi police in Sheikhupura had arrested him in a similar case.

Published in Dawn, August 25th, 2015

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The butchers ‘mafia’ seems to be active in unlawful slaughter of useful animals in Lahore despite crackdown on such elements, and the situation has raised concerns about breeding and provision of wholesome meat to the people.

Under section 3 (1) of the Punjab Animals’ Slaughtering Control Act-1963, the female animals — such as she-goats, cows, buffaloes and calves fall under category of useful animals and their slaughter and sale of meat is prohibited.

Since Lahore is the biggest city of the province with over 10 million reported population, the animal traders use to bring thousands of animals here and sell them to butchers at various cattle markets on a daily basis.

According to officials, the butchers are not only ‘ disrupting’ the natural breeding system by slaughtering female and small-aged (one to three days) calves, but also selling their unhygienic meat to the citizens on the prices more than the notified ones.

“Since we were already busy in seizing unwholesome meat of deceased or sick animals, the butchers shocked us after we learnt that they have changed their strategy and started unlawful slaughter of useful animals,” says Dr Rahat Ali, the CDGL’s deputy district officer (livestock).

He says slaughter of useful animals is only allowed when it is confirmed that such animal is no longer able for breeding.

He says though the meat of useful animals (females with good health) is not so much unhygienic, the main concern relates to breeding and growth of their species. However, the calves’ meat is extremely unhygienic, and the butchers continue to sell it as of goats, deceiving the purchasers.

Mr Ali says during the last couple of months, the CDGL’s livestock teams had detected about 40 cases that were related to sale of useful animals alone.

“During raids, we not only seized tonnes of unhygienic meat and discarded it, but had also arrested a number of butchers involved in female animal slaughter. Similarly as many as 30 cases were reported about transportation and supply of calves’ meat in the city during the last two months. And we also seized such meat besides capturing the suspects,” the official claims.

To a question, he says since the price of useful animals, particularly she-goats and calves is lower than the male animals, the butchers prefer to buy them and sell their meat on higher rates.

He says people must be very careful while buying the meat and identify its freshness and hygiene through reading the tag number punched on it and text it to the helpline 9211 on mobile.

“As soon as someone sends tag number to 9211, the buyer immediately receives an SMS in response that reveals the meat’s freshness, hygiene etc along with date and time of slaughter at Shahpur Kanjran automated slaughterhouse (Multan Road) amid advice to buy this or not,” he says. (khalidpak284@yahoo.com)

Published in Dawn, August 25th, 2015

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TOBA TEK SINGH: Noor Alam Hoshiarpuri is a cobbler by profession but a poet by passion. He belongs to Chak 382-JB, Jalalpur, 10km from here but commutes daily from his home to his setup outside the TMA Complex on the Allama Iqbal Road under a tree.

Town folks call his place “Sajnaan Da Dera” as it got popular among them due to his poetry that poetry enthusiasts frequent to listen to him reciting his verses.

Noor Alam has got his pseudonym, Hoshiarpuri, from his birthplace that is the city of Hoshiarpur, India, where he was born in 1938.

Giving details of his early life to the reporters who visited him on Monday, he said he had migrated to Toba Tek Singh with his family after the Partition. He worked for two decades with his late father, making new handmade shoes but when his father died he was restricted to repairing and polishing shoes.

While mending shoes, he also writes poetry and has written hundreds of pages of poetry but he could not earn enough money to get his book published. He says he has got published 10 small booklets of his poetry from the local printers that included Naats and Bolian from his own earning but he never earned enough to publish a book.

Hoshiarpuri says his son, Tahir, passed matriculation examination some 20 years ago but failed to find a government job as he had no reference of any influential person. Now Tahir also accompanies him at this roadside set-up, mending shoes like his father.

The Punjabi poet says when Nasim Sadiq (now Punjab livestock secretary) was assistant commissioner in Toba Tek Singh he was pleased to listen to his poetry and pledged to allot him a shop but unfortunately he was transferred the very next day.

Now whenever elections are around the corner, candidates of political parties visit him, requesting him to write poems for their electioneering but they forget him after winning the election.

From his booklet, Noor Alam Hoshiarpuri read out his following lines: “ Nah Bolan Da Wal/ Nah Aundi Koi Gal/ Allah Nabi Nai Karam Kama Chhadia/ Unparh Nu Shaa’er Bana Chhadia” (I don’t know how to speak/ I don’t know of anything worldly/ this is only the blessing of the Divine/ that a nescient is writing poetry).

Published in Dawn, August 25th, 2015

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RAWALPINDI: The Punjab government has announced that it will issue ‘Khidmat Cards’ to special persons in need of financial assistance.

In the first phase, only those who are visually impaired will be issued these cards.

This was disclosed by Senior District Officer, Social Welfare Rawalpindi, Mohammad Aslam Maitla in a meeting held here on Monday. The meeting was attended by senior officers of Social Welfare Department.  

Senior District Officer Social Welfare Aslam Maitla said registration centres had been established at DHQ hospital Rawalpindi and all THQ hospitals at every tehsil to facilitate the visually impaired.

In this regard, social welfare department and Baitul Maal Rawalpindi started the registration campaign from Monday.

He said the duration of this registration campaign is three weeks. He requested all visually impaired people to get registered at the nearest registration centre as early as possible.

Published in Dawn, August 25th, 2015

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ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court on Monday issued terms of reference (ToRs) for the two commissions it appointed on August 21 to check illegal border crossing from Afghanistan in Chaman and Torkham.

Authored by Chief Justice Jawwad S. Khawaja and issued on Monday, the six-point ToRs asked the two commissions to ascertain any presence of FIA personnel at the international border to monitor or check the emigration and immigration.

Both the commissions will also look into the particulars of those entering or leaving Pakistan being maintained manually, biometrically, photographically or by any other means, and if so submit copies in respect of June 2015. The ToRs also required the commission to submit the photographs of the immigration posts.

On Friday, a three-judge bench headed by the chief justice formed the two commissions. The Torkham Border Commission in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) consisted of Additional Attorney General Mohammad Waqar Rana, Additional Advocate General KP Umer Farooq Adam, Director FIA Jaffar Shah and Chief (International Customs) FBR Dr Mohammad Zubair Yousfani.

The commissions will submit report about measures to check illegal border crossing from Afghanistan

The Chaman Border Commission for Balochistan will also consist of the same members except for Assistant Advocate General Balochistan Shai Haq in place of the AAG KP.

The ToRs also asked the commission to ascertain the presence of the customs personnel at the international border to check luggage/goods and the duties/taxes realised and whether prohibited items were confiscated and if so the place of their storage. The commissions will also come up with the photographs of the customs post/office.

Similarly, the commissions will submit reports about the distance between the international border and the FIA and customs offices supported with maps and photographs.

The commissions will also look into the facilities being provided to the travelers and submit reports about the department/agency/authority controlling the entry into and exit from Pakistan.

Likewise, the commissions will also see whether any cameras or biometric system had been installed to monitor/record people and goods entering and leaving Pakistan and if these were in a good working condition or not.

The court has asked all the federal and provincial authorities to extend full cooperation to the commissions, including provision of transportation, security and stay in rest houses. The commissions will submit their reports by or before Sept 1.

In its order, the chief justice regretted that there had been an alarming lack of diligence on part of the government in relation to the immigration and emigration, human trafficking and smuggling.

Every day, the court deplored, it came across reports about people desperate to leave Pakistan by any means. Some of them attempted to leave Pakistan via the sea and other borders across the land with Iran and Afghanistan. In these desperate attempts, they actually play with their lives.

The order also cited a photograph carried by a section of the press on Aug 20 showing abandoned Pakistanis on a flimsy raft off the coast of Greece.

There may be thousands of such cases in respect of Pakistani citizens risking their lives. Similarly, there is a flood of illegal immigrants into the country, it said, quoting another newspaper report stating about a community of Somalis living in Islamabad.

The court also cited a January 2012 statement of the interior minister to the National Assembly in which it was stated that about five million illegal immigrants were living in Pakistan.

“These cases appear to be typical, however, the disconcerting aspect of such cases is that nothing appears to have been done to enforce the law and prosecute the human traffickers,” the court regretted.

Published in Dawn, August 25th, 2015

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ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has directed the interior ministry to prepare a plan to deweaponise society because a democratic government could not allow armed groups to operate with impunity.

Presiding over a meeting of the cabinet on Monday, he said the Zarb-i-Azb operation was achieving its objectives and the credit went to the armed forces and civilian institutions.

He said even the international community praised the successes achieved in the operation.

The prime minister lauded the efforts and determination of Army Chief General Raheel Sharif and Chief of Air Staff Air Marshal Sohail Aman for leading the operation from the front.

Nisar briefs cabinet on NAP’s implementation status

Mr Sharif said the operation against criminals in Karachi was launched in agreement with all stakeholders and its results were visible.

He said the people of Karachi wanted peace and the government would not allow political expediency to come in the way of restoring peace and traditional tranquillity in the city.

“We cannot even think of taking any step back as far as the Karachi operation is concerned and those who have come to parliament with the people’s mandate should place their grievances and raise issues on the floor of the house.”

The prime minister said the government was committed to implementing the National Action Plan because benefits of its success would reach every corner of the country. He said those involved in sectarianism and those who disseminated hatred, incited militancy and encouraged terrorism would be severely dealt with.

He declared that the terrorists who played with the lives of the people were committing unforgivable crime and would not be spared.

Mr Sharif said the situation in Balochistan had been improving and the process would continue till the dawn of peace and prosperity from Fata to Balochistan and Karachi.

Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan gave a detailed presentation on the status of National Action Plan.

He informed the meeting that the government was making progress in key elements of the plan and the situation had improved a lot because of sacrifices rendered by armed forces and law-enforcement agencies.

He said the national security policy must not be politicised or used for point-scoring.

He assured the cabinet that no criminal element or terrorist would be spared during implementation of the NAP.

The minister said that the overall security situation in the country had improved considerably and “we will not allow anyone to derail the operation against criminals”.

The prime minister praised the interior minister and expressed the hope that he would continue the mission.

Later briefing newsmen along with Information Minister Pervez Rasheed, the interior minister rejected criticism over implementation of the NAP and said “the figures speak for themselves”.

Chaudhry Nisar said the security situation was gradually improving. “The efforts must not be made controversial or sabotaged.”

He described as baseless rumours about any strain in civil-military relationship and said similar rumours were churned out when the dialogue with the Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan had been started.

He said some Taliban prisoners, who were in custody of military agencies, had been freed as a goodwill gesture and an army representative remained present during the talks with the TTP.

The interior minister said thousands of troops were present in all provinces as the third line of defence, but refused to divulge their exact number. They would keep on performing duty till the need was felt and said there was no deadline for their deployment, he added.

He said 2005 was relatively a peaceful year, but 1,444 incidents of terrorism took place in 2006 which rose to 1,820 in 2007, 1,575 in 2008, 1,938 in 2009, 2,061 in 2010, 1,680 in 2011, 1,316 in 2012, 1,571 in 2013 and 1,640 in 2014.

But the number came down to 695 in the first nine months of 2015 and 305 of them were without any loss of life, he added.

Chaudhry Nisar said 62,000 combing operations had been carried out as part of the NAP and about 68,000 people were arrested during this period. He said 5,900 intelligence-based operations had been carried out and their number rose to 11,000 since the launch of Zarb-i-Azb operation.

He said 1,114 terrorists had been killed and 883 hardcore terrorists arrested.

He said names of 7,900 people belonging to proscribed and militant organisations had been placed on a watch list, commonly known as the fourth schedule of Anti-terrorism Act.

He said the number of proscribed organisations was 61, while another organisation (Jamatud Dawa) was under observation. He said 282 leaders of banned outfits had also been identified.

The minister said all networks of terrorists and criminals had been dismantled and they were no more in a position to operate from Pakistan.

According to him, verification of 140 million SIMs was a great achievement and now they were not being used in terrorist and criminal activities.

The interior minister said 2,011 criminals and terrorists had been awarded capital punishment and the process continued. Work on disarming sectarian groups was under way.

He said 28 cases had been decided by military courts, while 46 were under trial. Nine military courts are functioning, but not as a parallel judicial system. He said the military courts would only try ‘jet black terrorists’.

He said the law and order situation in Karachi had improved a lot and major crimes had declined by 70 per cent. The situation had also improved significantly in Balochistan where over 500 outlaws (fararis) had surrendered so far.

A substantive dialogue process is under way and a major breakthrough is imminent. Action would be taken against those involved in sectarian strife, the minister added.

Chaudhry Nisar conceded that the pace of implementation on choking terror financing was slow and only Rs250 million had so far been frozen.

He said during the cabinet meeting he proposed formation of a focused committee. It is not an easy task in a country with unregulated economy; even developed countries have failed to effectively block terror financing.

He said the National Counter-Terrorism Authority needed resources and manpower. The number of its offices was only three, while it should have been 250, he added.

Dialogue with India

The prime minister told the cabinet that any dialogue with India without Kashmir would be futile.

He said that Kashmiri leaders were not the third party but an important party to the issue and any decision about their future could not be taken without consulting them.

Adviser to the PM on National Security and Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz briefed the cabinet on the deadlock in talks with India.

Published in Dawn, August 25th, 2015

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