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KARACHI: On the main Saddar intersection, two police commandos are seen standing next to a traffic policeman while he speaks to a motorbike rider. The traffic policeman, while wearing a bulletproof vest with a gun holster on his upper thigh, then goes on to speak to a group of other traffic policemen standing beside the road leading towards Zaibunnisa Street.

The security arrangements at this particular intersection came after DIG-Taffic Amir Ahmed Shaikh wrote to Rangers and Karachi police to help the traffic policemen as five of them had been killed in roadside shootings recently. Three days ago, in a meeting with Karachi police chief Mushtaq Mahar, the DIG once again spoke about the need to arm the traffic policemen across the city. Though DIG Shaikh insists on implementing the proposal, he admits this is not a long-term solution.

“It is a deterrent for sure,” he says while speaking to Dawn over phone. “But we are supposed to manage the traffic and not worry about keeping an eye on motorcyclists carrying guns. But having a paramilitary officer or a commando nearby would definitely instil fear. It is not a proper long-term solution but something we have to do for now.”

Forty-nine traffic policemen have been targeted from 1995 to 2015, according to DIG Shaikh. Around 1,200 traffic policemen work in one shift with an overall force of 3,100 across the city. Of them, 600 traffic policemen were armed in recent days with 300 police commandos to accompany them from now on.

As for the shooting incidents, the police officers are looking at three probabilities.

Former city police chief Ghulam Qadir Thebo says one of them is the involvement of the “transport mafia and the recent crackdown on Qingqi rickshaws in the city”, while the other two probabilities are involvement of “some of the remaining elements behind the Safoora Goth incident,” or “a gang of miscreants”.

Ruling out the first probability, as he believes the “transport mafia is not so strong anymore,” DIG Shaikh says: “It is a work of one gang which is currently targeting traffic policemen to create a sense of anarchy in the city.”

He adds that so far the investigation points towards “some elements that were not caught after the Safoora Goth incident in which people from the Ismaili community were attacked”.

Though a Rangers spokesperson did not confirm whether the request sent by the traffic police head had been approved, another paramilitary officer did confirm a plan to provide security to traffic policemen around ‘sensitive intersections’.

These include areas in three Karachi districts — Manghopir, Orangi Town and Ittehad Town in West district and pockets of the East and Central districts.

Published in Dawn, September 21st, 2015

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LARKANA: Ghinwa Bhutto, chairperson of the Pakistan Peoples Party-Shaheed Bhutto, has called for change of system which, she said “is eating away our children”, and reminded the masses that “we have not forgiven the assassins of Mir Murtaza Bhutto and his friends”.

She said the police officials Shoaib Suddle, Wajid Durrani, Shaqib Qureshi, Shahid Hayat and Raheel Tahir who handled the Murtaza Bhutto murder case should speak up now and tell the truth who was behind the conspiracy.

She raised a number of questions about the events that followed Murtaza Bhutto’s murder and asked: “Who killed SHO Haq Nawaz Siyal and who had ordered Gen (retd) Babar to launch operation, who killed Benazir Bhutto, Alam Baloch and his son and how much amount was paid to parliamentarians to make Asif Ali Zardari president”.

Ms Ghinwa was speaking to a gathering held at Garhi Khuda Bakhsh Bhutto on Sunday to mark the 19th death anniversary of Mir Murtaza Bhutto.

She said that she would also like to ask Gen (retd) Pervez Musharraf about the NRO and former Chief Justice Iftikhar Ahmed Choudhry for his failure to take suo moto action on Murtaza Bhutto murder case.

She said that she found it strange why only terrorists’ operatives were nabbed and why the hands pulling their strings always remained hidden. Her party would lend support to any action against such elements, she said.

She referred to brutal murders of social activists Sabeen Mehmood, Batool Siddiqui and Parveen Rehman who stood for the freedom of speech and rights of the downtrodden and laid down their lives for the noble cause. “I am justified to ask rulers have they arrested their killers and those of Murtaza Bhutto and his comrades,” she said.

She said that PPP founder Zulfikar Ali Bhutto was the only politician who chose to stand by the poor and who gave voice to the hitherto voiceless and extremely backward section of society.

She opposed the local government system and said it was just the other side of the same coin which had earlier failed to mitigate peoples’ problems and address their sufferings. It would only serve as a tool to weaken democratic institutions, she said.

The gathering passed a number of resolutions, which criticised rulers to keep holding onto power at the cost of masses and demanded the government unmask killers of Murtaza Bhutto and his comrades and serve justice in the case through speedy trial.

Through another resolution, the congregation rejected prime minister’s package for framers and demanded a long-term strategy to solve peasants’ problems and fixing support price of paddy and cotton.

The gathering condemned attack on Peshawar airbase and saluted the courage and gallantry of soldiers who laid down their lives defending the motherland.

Meanwhile, PPP and its sister organisations organised a simple ceremony at Naudero House to mark the death anniversary of Mir Murtaza Bhutto.

They held Quran Khawani followed by collective prayers for the departed souls and distributed food among the poor and the needy.

Published in Dawn, September 21st, 2015

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MIRPURKHAS: Widespread rains with thunderstorm hit Murpurkhas, Badin and Tharparkar districts on Sunday bringing down the temperatures and turning weather pleasant after several weeks of scorching heat.

In various towns and villages of Mirpurkhas district, a heavy spell of rain continued for 45 minutes causing inundation of low-lying areas and breakdown of electricity network.

Thoroughfares in the urban areas of the district wore a deserted look during the rainfall as vehicular traffic gradually went off the road and all bazaars, markets, commercial areas, food streets and retail outlets were closed due to the submerging of roads and streets. In some areas, hoardings and signboards were pulled down and trees uprooted by string winds.

No municipality worker was seen anywhere till dust to flush out the rainwater accumulated in most areas of the district to cripple normal life while water and sewerage system stopped functioning to add to people’s miseries.

Mirpurkhas Municipal Corporation officials said that the water and sewerage system in most areas of the district was hit by the four-hour power breakdown. However, there was no improvement in the situation several hours after electricity was restored.

The towns which received rains including Mirwah Gorchani, Digri, Tando Jan Mohammed, Jhuddo, Noakot, Kot Ghulam Mohammed, Jhilori, Sindhri, Phuladiyoon, and Hingorno, besides Mirpurkhas city.

BADIN: A long spell of light rain following a dust-storm lashed Badin city, Talhar, Tando Ghulam Ali, Tando Bago, Maurjhar, Rip Sharif, Dei, Kario Ghanwar and many other towns and villages on Sunday.

Although the rainfall provided relief to the people of Badin district from an intense heatwave persisting for a week, the standing paddy crop and stocks of various other reaped crops lying in the open were damaged by the unexpected showers.

In Tharparkar district, Mithi, Diplo, Kaloi, Chhachhro, Islamkot, Nagarparkar and other towns as well as the villages surrounding them received moderate showers for many hours on Sunday and were continuing till last reports came in at around midnight.

Growers believe that the fresh rainfall would be beneficial for the growth of fodder. They recalled that Tharparkar had received torrential rains in July which revitalised the barren lands and also helped contain the drought persisting in the region for the past few years. However, they added, insufficient sunshine in the following weeks caused negligible growth of fodder, an essential commodity for rearing cattle head.

Published in Dawn, September 21st, 2015

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ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif is expected to decide the fate of the Chancery Building, which houses the Pakistan High Commission in London, soon because a proposal to sell the high-value property in the heart of London has been on his table for some time now.

In June this year, the PM was given a presentation by the foreign ministry where it was suggested that the property be sold off because it could fetch the government a good price, given its prime locations.

Following the presentation, the PM constituted a four-member committee to explore the possibility of selling the building and using proceeds from the sale to purchase a new chancery building in a less-costly neighbourhood.

The committee was also asked to look into the possibility of engaging a commercial company that could convert this building into apartment blocks or use it for other commercial purposes.

Privatisation Commission head advises against selling prime property

However, the committee headed by Privatisation Commission Chairman Mohammad Zubair was of the view that there was no need to dispose of the building, located at 34-36 Lowndes Square, as it would only cause the government to lose a strategic property within London.

“I visited London and after in-depth discussions with other members of the committee, we are of the view that the Chancery building is located at an important location within London and hence shouldn’t be sold,” Mr Zubair told Dawn.

The committee has submitted its report to the PM and it is now up to him whether to accept or reject the committee’s submissions, Mr Zubair said, adding that if the building was sold, the Pakistani mission would have to relocate outside London. “I think that will not be a good move,” he said.

The committee has also proposed that an empty plot adjacent to the Chancery building be utilised for construction, if additional space was required.

Other members of the committee included Pakistan’s current High Commissioner Syed Ibne Abbas and, two known businessmen, Sir Anwar Pervaiz of Bestway Group and Sultan Allana of the Aga Khan Fund for Economic Development.

When asked who came up with the idea of selling the Chancery building, a foreign ministry official said, on condition of anonymity, that it was “a mystery which involves Sartaj Aziz and Tariq Fatemi”.

Foreign Office spokesperson Qazi Khalilullah told Dawn that whatever the recommendations were the committee had already submitted them to the prime minister.

When asked who had made the suggestion, the FO spokesman said, “Who and how the suggestion was made to sell the property is purely an administrative decision,” adding that he did not have access to the minutes of the meeting where the proposal was floated.

Despite repeated attempts, neither Information Minister Pervaiz Rashid nor PM’s spokesperson Dr Mussadik Malik was available for comment.

The sale of Pakistani government property abroad last caused a controversy in the year 2000, when Pakistan’s ambassador to Indonesia made a mess of precious properties owned by the government of Pakistan in Jakarta.

Former ambassador retired Maj Gen Syed Mustafa Anwer Hussain, who was appointed by General Pervez Musharraf, went ahead with the controversial sale deal of the chancery building in Jakarta despite the fact that the head of the mission, Dr S.M.H. Razvi, had voiced objections to the transaction.

The matter was brought to the attention of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC), and was taken up by Sardar Ayaz Sadiq when he was the convener of a special PAC committee, which investigated the sale of the country’s properties in Jakarta.

In the first week of August this year, Mr Sadiq had asked current PAC Chairman Khurshid Ahmed Shah to forward this case to NAB and FIA for further inquiries.

Published in Dawn, September 21st, 2015

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ISLAMABAD: Several food outlets were sealed on Sunday following raids by the district administration.

Among them were KFC, Savour Food (Melody food street branch), Fresco and Usmania Restaurant.

Hardees and KFC were also fined Rs100,000 each for failing to maintain hygiene standards.

“Today, our team raided the Melody food street, F-7 and F-6. We sealed KFC, Savour Foods (Melody food street branch), Fresco, the Dhaka Shop, Sharif Tikka, Usmania Restaurant, and Hotel Regalia for not maintaining standards,” additional deputy commissioner Abdul Sattar Ishani told Dawn.

Ishani said that district health teams also raided clinics and hospitals in the Golra and Mehra Abadi areas, where they sealed 11 clinics and arrested three quacks. He said seven fake doctors escaped during the raids.

Published in Dawn, September 21st , 2015

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KARACHI: The Sindh government has received details about 62 ‘banned sectarian organisations’ from the federal authorities, bank accounts of the 13 of those groups have been frozen and offices of just nine of them have been sealed, it emerged on Sunday.

Officials in the home ministry mentioned in a report sent to the CM office that the Ministry of Interior (MoI) had sent some finer points of the organisations to the province for further action. The points were conveyed to the Sindh Police and Pakistan Rangers, Sindh.

They stated that the MoI had also sent category-wise sketchy details of the banned groups, which had never become dormant despite having been slapped with repeated bans. A hefty 43 such organisations fall in the ‘A’ category, 12 in ‘B’ category and seven others in ‘C’ category.

Referring to the report, the officials said 17 organisations among the 43 had been categorised in the ‘anti-state terrorism (armed and anti-state)’. However, the bank accounts of just one of them have been frozen.

Sindh receives details about 62 outlawed groups from the ministry of interior

Some 13 more organisations in the top category have been called ‘violent sectarian (armed)’. Seven of those organisations have got their offices sealed while the accounts of the two of them have been frozen.

The remaining 13 groups in the same category are specified as ‘Baloch Insurgent (armed)’, of which three have got their accounts frozen with no mention of any of them having offices.

Some 12 groups have been specified in the category ‘B’ with the mention ‘not very active’. Office of one of those groups has been sealed while the bank accounts of three such organisations have been frozen.

The last seven groups have been specified as ‘financier/ supporters’. Office of one of those organisations has been sealed while bank accounts of four groups have been frozen.

Officials said 13 of all the 62 groups identified by the MoI were common in the list of the United Nations Security Council Resolution (UNSCR).

However, they added, there were 24 more such organisations related to Pakistan in the UNSCR list, which were not banned by the MoI.

“These banned organisations have been identified and whatever details we have received about them from Islamabad have been conveyed to the Sindh Police and the Rangers for further action,” said a senior official in the home ministry.

Besides, he added, the MoI was requested for more information about the groups to ensure that befitting action could be taken against them.

“Such organisations are not to be allowed [to hold] public gatherings or meetings. Action is being planned against such outlawed outfits which have re-emerged with new names or titles,” he stated.

Re-emergence

Meanwhile, officials said, the intelligence agencies informed the home ministry about the re-emergence of 13 banned groups in Sindh.

They said five such groups — most in a district in Sindh — had re-emerged in Mirpurkhas alone. Besides, three each are documented to have resurfaced in Hyderabad and Korangi and two in Karachi West.

Glorification

The officials said the media body of the provincial apex committee, which oversees and executes operations vis-a-vis the law and order situation in Sindh, was active to stop glorification of the banned outfits activities in the media.

They said the information secretary held five meetings with journalists and management of print and electronic media. He would convene a meeting with the media owners to ‘play their due role in society’.

Published in Dawn, September 21st, 2015

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LARKANA: The Larkana Awami Ittehad (LAI) — comprising a number of former Pakistan Peoples Party leaders and those of other political parties and groups — has alleged that the PPP was influencing, harassing and kidnapping its local government candidates.

Speaking at a press conference at Waleed House here on Sunday, LAI patron in-chief Mumtaz Ali Bhutto and convener Haji Munawwar Ali Abbasi, along with some other colleagues, criticised PPP lawmakers from Larkana district for indulging in such unlawful activities and “pre-poll rigging”.

Quoting a few examples, they said that Gaji Dero and Wada Mahar union council candidates Liaquat Kalhoro and Abdul Ghani Channa were forced to withdraw their nomination papers by the PPP lawmakers.

Although the Election Comm­ission of Pakistan was committed to holding free and fair LG election, no effort in this direction was visible till date as the returning officers were seen offering their personal services and hospitality to PPP leaders, they claimed. “We cannot expect fair and free election considering the RO’s attitude,” they added.

The LAI leaders insisted that a free and fair election was possible only if it was held under the supervision of the army and Rangers.

The LAI would write to the Supreme Court chief justice and chief election commissioner and also inform the media about the illegal activities of PPP lawmakers and other leaders, they said.

The LAI leaders said that in violation of the code of conduct for the election, the Sindh government had released an amount of Rs3 billion for development works in Larkana district. They said the PPP had already been routed in three provinces while its bad governance in Sindh had created a variety of issues in addition to the already unresolved ones.

They alleged that PPP chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari recently paid a visit to Naudero only to plan rigging in the LG election.

They also hailed the Sindh High Court ruling on recent delimitation and termed it a positive step towards blocking rigging.

They announced that the LAI would hold public meetings from Oct 5 to 15 across Larkana district.

Earlier, Mumtaz Bhutto chaired a meeting to take stock of the situation. Haji Munawwar Ali Abbasi, Qurban Abbasi, Dr Roshan Pechuho, Irshad Junejo, Mujtaba Shah Rashdi, Fida Hussain Gopang, Syed Deedar Shah, Badar Abbasi, Tariq Nazeer Shaikh, Asghar Shaikh and others attended the meeting.

ROs accepting forms of favoutites, claims Mahar

SHIKARPUR: The election authorities in the district are under pressure to accept nomination forms of the ruling party’s favourite candidates without following election rules which is a glaring example of pre-poll rigging, says PML-F MPA Shaharyar Khan Mahar.

Mr Mahar said at a press conference at the press club on Saturday evening that returning officers (ROs) concerned were appeasing the ruling party by accepting nomination forms of their favourites in violation of election rules.

Citing examples, he said that a candidate in Chatto Mangi union council was a registered government contractor who produced a fake certificate issued by the works and services department that denied he was a contractor.

His nomination form was accepted on its basis though a government contractor could not contest election as per rules, he said.

Similarly, he said, nomination papers of a candidate in Gaheja UC was accepted by the RO concerned despite the fact he was proposed and seconded by government employees, who were not allowed to do so as per election rules.

Besides, the candidate was also nominated in a murder case, he said.

The PML-F leader also complained that delimitation of UCs and constituencies had been made in a way that it benefited the favourites and created difficulties for the voters of opposition candidates. Some of the polling stations had been deliberately set up in troubled areas where tribal disputes going on, he said.

He demanded the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) and Sindh government should take notice of violation of election rules by the ROs who were to implement election rules.

He urged the ECP to set up polling stations as per delimitation of 1977 which were acceptable to all in order to ensure LG election in a free, fair and transparent manner.

He repeated his demand for conducting LG polls under supervision of Rangers so that voters could cast their votes in peaceful atmosphere.

Published in Dawn, September 21st, 2015

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LAHORE / KARACHI: Karachi, and some other cities and towns in Sindh, continued to be in the grip of an abnormally hot weather for a second day, with the mercury touching the 43 degrees Celsius mark.

The extremely hot weather has been affecting parts of Sindh because of a monsoon depression, which is otherwise bound to produce flood-generating rains in Punjab and over catchments of its rivers over the next two to three days.

Health authorities in Karachi said that an elderly man died and 16 people affected by heatstroke had been brought to hospitals.

Dr Salma Kauser, who heads the hospitals run by the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation, said that a man in his 60s had been brought dead to the Karachi Institute of Heart Diseases.

“Doctors on duty have confirmed that the man died because of heatstroke,” she said.

Dr Zafar Ejaz, director health, said hospitals in the city received 16 people who had suffered heatstroke.

About 15 people were reported to have been affected by heatstroke on Saturday.

Maximum temperature in Karachi on Sunday was recorded at 43 degrees Celsius as against 33, the average normal temperature in the city in September. The maximum temperature in other cities in the province too was five to seven degrees higher than the normal temperature for the month.

The Met department has predicted that the heat spell in Karachi and elsewhere will end by Tuesday.

A heatwave, more severe than the present one because of longer duration, had claimed over 1,000 lives in Karachi in June.

According to a Met official, Monday is expected to experience a slight drop in the temperature.

Responding to Dawn queries, he said that the minimum temperature recorded on Sunday in the city was 28 degrees Celsius while humidity — the amount of moisture in the atmosphere — was 20 per cent. The weather in the city on Monday is expected be partly cloudy and the maximum temperature to be between 39 and 41 degrees Celsius.

For Punjab, the next two days are crucial because of ample chances of heavy to very heavy rains in Lahore and several other cities and towns, particularly in the north-eastern part of the province and over upper catchments of the four eastern rivers.

The monsoon depression that is likely to produce this rain moved to Indian Gujarat on Sunday and is likely to move towards Pakistan over the next 24 hours.

Meanwhile, it rained in parts of Lahore and in other cities under initial impact of the system. The Met department recorded 27mm of rain at its Jail Road observatory in Lahore. The maximum temperature was 31 degrees C and the weather remained cloudy to partly cloudy.

Director General of the Provincial Disaster Management Authority Jawad Akram held a meeting with officials concerned to take stock of the situation.

He said administration of all districts had been asked to get ready to meet any eventuality. Holidays in government departments throughout the province have been cancelled.

Published in Dawn, September 21st, 2015

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PESHAWAR: Five men suspected of involvement in the Pakistan Air Force (PAF) camp attack in Peshawar's Badaber area on Friday have been identified.

At least 42 people, including 14 terrorists, were killed as the PAF camp at Inqalab road had come under attack by Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan militants early Friday.

The 'terrorists' whose information has been released include:

Rab Nawaz

Rab Nawaz, son of Sher Dast Khan, is a resident of Swat born on Jan 16, 1995.

Details of Rab Nawaz. — photo by author

Muhammad Ishaq

Muhammad Ishaq, son of Muhammad Sher Ali Khan, is a resident of Swat born on Jan 1, 1988.

Details of Muhammad Ishaq— Photo by author

Siraj Uddin

Siraj Uddin, son of Lal Mat Khel, is a resident of Khyber Agency born on Feb 10, 1984.

Details of Siraj Uddin. — Photo by author

Details of Siraj Uddin. — Photo by author

Adnan

Adnan, son of Nazar Band Khan, is a resident of Khyber Agency born on Aug 15, 1996.

Details of Adnan, resident of Khyber Agency. — Photo by author

Ibrahim

Ibrahim, son of Moheeb Khan, is a resident of Khyber Agency born on March 10, 1988.

Details of Ibrahim. — Photo by author

The Department of Forensic Medicine and Toxicology on Saturday collected specimens from the bodies of 14 terrorists who were killed by security forces during the attack, Dawn newspaper reported.

The specimens were to be dispatched to the Punjab Forensic Science Agency in Lahore to determine the identities of the attackers.

The Counter-Terrorism Department Khyber Pakhtunkhwa registered a First Information Report (FIR) against unknown suspects on terror charges in relation to Friday's deadly attack on the PAF camp in Badaber.

Also read:Army captain among 29 killed in TTP-claimed attack on PAF camp in Peshawar

KARACHI: A suicide bomber detonated his suicide jacket in Malir's Rifa-i-Aam Society on Sunday during a raid conducted by police and other law enforcement agencies in the area.

Two policemen were injured during the raid. The injured policemen were admitted to a private hospital for treatment.

A team comprising police and other law enforcement agencies headed by Senior Superintendent Police Malir Rao Anwar was conducting a raid in Kehkashan Society where the suspect Farhan alias 'Pehlwan' was believed to be in hiding.

The team exchanged fire with the suspect who fired back, shooting one policeman in the stomach and another in the leg. He then hurled two hand grenades, one of which exploded, before detonating his suicide jacket.

Farhan is suspected of targeted killing of police officers and Rangers personnel, and affiliation with Al Qaeda. The weapon used by the suspect was sent to a forensics lab for further investigation.

Earlier this month, Karachi Police AIG Mushtaq Maher claimed that 3,000 hardcore criminals had been arrested, while 246 terrorists, 38 kidnappers and ten extortionists had been killed so far in police encounters.

Rangers spokesman Colonel Amjad maintained that 913 terrorists including 550 target killers were nabbed while 15,400 illegal weapons were recovered from the custody of criminals operating within the city.

The ‘operation’ against criminal elements in Pakistan’s commercial hub was initiated back in September 2013 after the federal cabinet empowered Rangers to lead a targeted advance with the support of police against criminals already identified by federal military and civilian agencies for their alleged involvement in targeted killings, kidnappings for ransom, extortion and terrorism in Karachi.

A high-level apex committee meeting chaired by the Chief of Army Staff Gen Raheel Sharif on May 14, 2015 decided to implement effective policing and surveillance in the "vast suburbs of Karachi", to prevent what the military spokesperson said were "sneaking terrorist attacks".

Also read: Karachi operation: 386 ‘criminals’ eliminated this year

KENTUCKY: Another young girl from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa's Swat district – home of child activist Malala Yousufzai – has earned international recognition by being awarded the third Muhammad Ali Humanitarian Award for dedicating her life to ending the practice of child marriages in Pakistan.

Thirteen-year-old Hadiqa Bashir is a women's rights activist who has successfully stopped several child marriages in her area. She received the award from Dr. Jennifer Clinton, President of Global Ties USA.

Hadiqa has become the youngest recipient of this award.

The award ceremony, hosted by four-time Olympic gold medalist Janet Evans, took place at the Marriot Louisville to recognize people from around the world who have made significant contributions pertaining to peace, social justice, human rights, or social capital.

Six individuals 30 years or younger were presented with an award that mirror boxing legend Muhammad Ali’s six core principles: confidence, conviction, dedication, giving, respect and spirituality. The Muhammad Ali Center, was co-founded by Ali and his wife Lonnie.

Speaking at the occasion Hadiqa Bashir said she was honoured to receive the award.

“The award reaffirms my conviction that with truth, courage and determination as our weapons, my country, Pakistan will be liberated from every type of injustice and violence. I did not make the journey here alone. Numerous people have supported me along the way,” she said.

Bashir added that she was blessed with an amazing and supportive family, especially her uncle Erfaan Hussein Babak who is the co-founder of the group 'Girls United for Human Rights'. He is also founder of the group's parent organisation, “The Awakening”.

Babak also serves as the head teacher of a private school in Saidu Sharif town of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province's Swat district .

Hadiqa Bashir's family members said they were happy that their daughter received the award for her noble cause.

“She is not only my daughter but the daughter of the entire Pakistan. The award will give her high courage. She will work more actively against early and forced marriages, and we will support her in her mission,” said Sajda Ifthikar, who is Hadiqa's mother.

Hadiqa’s father, Ifthikhar Hussain, said that he was proud that his daughter was performing well in her studies, as well as in her mission against child marriages. He said that Hadiqa used to visit every house in the district to raise awareness and stop the harmful practice of child marriages.

PESHAWAR: Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf has asked Election Commission of Pakistan to unseat its 54 councillors for violating party’s discipline in the election of district nazims.

Sources said that references against 54 councillors both men and women were sent to ECP on Saturday to disqualify them under Section 78 (A) of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Local Government (Third Amendment) Act, 2015. They said that defection section had been applied against those councillors under which ECP would unseat them.

These councillors had either abstained from taking part in the election of nazim and naib nazim or voted for the rival candidates. After receiving references, ECP would denotify these councillors and conduct re-elections.

References sent to ECP against them over defection

Section 78 (A) of the Act says that if a member of party resigns from membership of his political party or joins another party in a council or votes or abstains from voting in a council contrary to any direction issued by the political party to which he is a member, in the council, in relation to election of the nazim or naib nazim in a council or vote of confidence or a vote of no confidence or approval of annual budget, he may be declared in writing by the

party head to have defected from the political party and forward a copy of the declaration to the presiding officer of the concerned council and chief election commissioner.

An insider said that copy of the reference had also been sent to the concerned councillors. He said that notices were served on 57 councillors in different districts and their basic membership was already cancelled. He said that three councillors were not found guilty because they had gone abroad during election of nazims and naib nazims.

PTI provincial organiser Fazal Khan had recently served notices on 57 councillors, who violated the party’s discipline and voted for the candidates of rival parties in the elections.

PTI leaders including Chief Minister Pervez Khattak had stated that party lost election in five districts including Abbottabad, Buner, Haripur and Kohat owing to defection.

Besides Senator Azam Swat, Provincial Law Minister Imtiaz Shahid Qureshi, Adviser to Chief Minister Yaseen Khan Khalil, Adviser to Chief Minister Amjad Afridi, Special Assistant to Chief Minister Arif Yousaf and MPA Ziaullah Bangash were also issued notices on charges of fielding their own candidates against the party nominees for the slot of district nazim and naib nazim.

They appeared before four-member committee in Islamabad on Saturday and explained their positions. Sources said that the committee would present recommendations to PTI chairman Imran Khan, who would decide their fate.

The party had already served notices on them and asked them to explain their position within one month otherwise their basic membership would be terminated.

Published in Dawn, September 21st , 2015

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ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, apparently putting his foot down, has ordered that no private schools should raise their fees in the year 2015.

According to a brief statement, issued by the PM House on Sunday, the PM ordered the education ministry and the Capital Administration and Development Division (CADD) to implement this decision in true letter and spirit.

The statement also said that the PM directed both ministries to hold consultative meetings with all stakeholders in order to devise a unanimously-accepted policy that regulates fee increases by private schools.

The directions were part of an effort to come up with “proposed legislations in order to regulate and keep a check on profiteering by private schools”.

The PM’s order comes on the heels of an ordinance, issued by the Punjab government, which also bars private schools from raising their fees this year.

Education Minister Baleeghur Rehman, who was tasked by the PM to solve the fee hike issue, had met with private school representatives on Friday and had reportedly sent a summary to the PM on the basis of his meeting.

Earlier, a group of parents who started a drive against the exorbitant fee hike by elite private schools on Sunday announced their decision to launch a signature campaign to press the government to take action against the operators of the schools.

“We are going to start a door-to-door campaign from Monday to collect the signatures of parents against the private schools charging exorbitant fee,” Aliya Agha, who leads the campaign, told Dawn.

Under the Act, only PEIRA can determine the fee of private schools. However, the authority has failed to determine the fee structure of private schools.

Section 4 (C) of the Act states that PEIRA is responsible for the “determination and fixation of rate of fee being charged by institutions, qualifications of teaching staff, their terms and conduction of service including salaries and mode of payment of their salaries.” But despite the passage of two-and-a-half years, PEIRA could not put in place a mechanism for determining the fee, providing a free hand to the private schools to fix the fee on their own.

“Parents need to be involved in the oversight of the private schools,” said Mohsin Khan, a member of the action committee.

Published in Dawn, September 21st , 2015

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LAHORE: Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf chief Imran Khan said on Sunday his party would challenge in court decision by the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) to bar parliamentarians from taking part in the campaigns of electoral candidates.

The PTI would also file an application with the ECP in this regard, he said.

Speaking to media personnel here, Mr Khan claimed the ban imposed by the ECP was illegal and undemocratic.

He said he neither held public office nor did he control public funds. Therefore, he should not be barred from taking part in election campaigns of his party’s candidates.

Accompanied by PTI’s Punjab organiser Chaudhry Sarwar, Mr Khan said he would not allow the ECP to succeed in its “nefarious designs” of helping the PML-N win the coming by-elections.

He alleged that police “were running campaigns of PML-N’s candidates” and advised his party’s leaders, workers and supporters to make videos or record voices of the policemen harassing them.

He said his party would expose such policemen and take them to task after coming to power. The incumbent rulers had converted police into “Gullu police”, he added.

He said his party would hold a protest in Islamabad on Oct 4 if its demand regarding removal of four ECP members was not met.

The PTI chief accused the PML-N of conspiring with the ECP to rig the coming by-elections.

He said the PTI would expose the alleged corruption of PML-N leaders.

Mr Khan said he did not believe in any system other than democracy, but people would naturally look towards Rangers for accountability of the corrupt if NAB became a tool in the hands of the rulers.

The PTI chief claimed the PML-N government announced a Rs340 billion relief package for farmers because it came under considerable pressure when his party organised a Kissan convention. He termed the package pre-poll rigging and criticised the ECP over its silence over the matter.

Mr Sarwar said that PTI was contesting by-elections under the present ECP only because it believed in democracy. He warned that the party’s support for democracy should not be taken as its weakness.

He said that some relatives of the inspector general of Punjab police were contesting local government elections from the platform of the PML-N and asked whether police could be impartial in such a situation.

He refused to accept investigations into the murder of PTI union council candidate Ghaffar Gujjar unless anti-terrorism clauses were included in the charges.

He alleged that police were working under political influence of the government and were targeting PTI workers and candidates instead of nabbing extortionists, looters and killers.

Mr Sarwar criticised the ECP’s decision of placing a ban on parliamentarians to run campaigns for their parties’ candidates, saying the move was tantamount to damaging democracy in the country.

Published in Dawn, September 21st , 2015

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RAWALPINDI: Upon realising its falling popularity, the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) has launched a campaign to pacify its disgruntled workers before the local government elections.

In this regard, Sindh Assembly deputy speaker Syeda Shehla Raza has been assigned the task to visit the houses of PPP workers in the city who have been angry with the leadership of the party for many years.

During the last two days, Ms Raza visited dozens of party workers and asked them to restart work for the revival of the party.

However, her visit was not welcomed by the PPP Rawalpindi chapter office-bearers as they said they were not taken on board about the move.

In the 2013 general elections, the PPP allotted tickets to non-popular people in the city. As a result, it could bag only 6414 votes in NA-55, 4089 votes in NA-56 and 13166 votes in NA-54. The situation remained almost unchanged in the cantonment board elections in which the PPP failed to get a single seat.

Talking to Dawn, Ms Shehla Raza said she did not visit the workers for any election campaign but went to their houses to offer fateha for their dear and near ones who passed away recently.

Party’s local office-bearers say they were not taken on board about Shehla Raza’s visit to garrison city

She cautiously remarked: “I have no agenda but the main purpose of my visit is to meet old and loyal party workers to make them realise that the senior party workers were with them and always took care of them.”

She said party workers also visited her house in Karachi frequently and she felt it necessary to meet them when she was in Islamabad.

However, she dispelled the impression that it was a campaign for party mobilisation for the local government elections or she was preparing a report for the PPP chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari to inform him about the resentment among old workers against the central leadership.

On the other hand, a senior PPP leader insisted that the party had started the campaign to mobilise the workers and bring those people to the front who did not have a clean record.

But he said the campaign was limited to former candidates Khalid Nawaz Bobi and Babar Jadoon’s areas, saying these two had no public support either in the past or at present. Some people running the party’s co-chairman office in Islamabad also tried to get themselves nominated for the local chapter, he added.

He said the party workers in the garrison city were against former Prime Minister Raja Pervaiz Ashraf and Dr Babar Awan and the present leadership of Rawalpindi and Punjab for doing nothing for them when the PPP was in power for five years.

When contacted, PPP City president Amir Fida Paracha said he was not aware of the presence of the Sindh assembly deputy speaker in the city. “Neither we were invited nor we went to welcome her in the garrison city.”

He said the party seniors should visit the workers in routine instead of occasionally. He said other party leaders should also visit the city to boost the morale of the workers.

But PPP City spokesman Shujaat Haider Naqvi said the deputy speaker should have consulted the party’s local organisation before coming to the city. He said the party should take the local leadership on board so that they can understand the real problems faced by the workers.

Shahzad Pasha, an old party activist from Dhoke Ratta, told Dawn that he and other workers were feeling proud after Ms Raza visited their houses.

He said on their complaints she assured the workers that she would raise their problems with the party chairman and co-chairman.

Jamil Qureshi, another old PPP worker, said after the visit of the deputy speaker to his house, he had set aside all his differences and was ready to work for the party.

Published in Dawn, September 21st , 2015

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KARACHI: The Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) has appealed to the ‘establishment’ to forgo what it called the bitter past and grant it clemency like the general amnesty offered to the ‘angry Baloch’ people.

“Just as clemency is being announced for the estranged Baloch people, the establishment should also heal the wounds of Mohajirs by forgetting past bitterness,” the MQM coordination committee said in a statement issued on Sunday.

Referring to reports about certain workers who had gone to India over 20 years ago and who allegedly confessed to having been trained there, the MQM said that any worker who had gone to the neighbouring country for saving his life after the launching of the June 19, 1992, army operation “did so without informing the party”.

“The MQM has nothing to do with the training of the people who had gone to India.”

It said that the MQM was a patriotic political party and it would continue to be unconditionally loyal to Pakistan.

Party says ‘bitter past’ should be forgotten and wounds of Mohajirs should be healed

Explaining the reasons behind some of its workers deciding to go to India, the statement said that after the June 1992 operation against the MQM “thousands of workers were forced to go to different parts of the country for saving their lives”.

It said that some workers had also gone to the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Germany, France, Australia, etc., where they sought asylum.

“Some went to India for saving their lives as they could not go to any other country. These MQM workers chose to go to India because they had family ties in India, and they thought that they would not face the hardship of homelessness and hunger.

“The workers who had gone to India for saving their lives did so without informing the MQM, and this cannot be called the policy of the MQM,” it said.

The MQM said it could not even think of any plan against the country.

The committee appealed to the establishment to review its policy on the basis of these facts and urged it to “stop isolating Mohajirs” from the mainstream.

About its appeal for general amnesty, the MQM said the establishment should heal the wounds of Mohajirs, forgetting the bitter past.

“Such a step would be in the interest of the nation and the country and the MQM will extend its fullest support to it,” the statement concluded.

Published in Dawn, September 21st, 2015

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ISLAMABAD: The ruling PML-N has described as clear violation of Election Commission rules the decision of PTI Chairman Imran Khan to take part in campaigns for his party’s candidates in by-elections for NA-122 (Lahore) and NA-154 (Lodhran) scheduled for Oct 11.

Addressing a press conference at the Press Information Department here on Sunday, Information Minister Pervaiz Rashid said the ECP restriction equally applied to all MNAs and MPAs irrespective of their political affiliations.

He said the government would adopt constitutional and legal ways to resist Mr Khan if the latter tried to hold another sit-in in the federal capital on the pretext that electioneering of PTI candidates was not being allowed.

The minister said Mr Khan should not put the Islamabad administration in further trouble given the fresh spate of terrorist attacks and the fragile security situation.

The ECP had on May 11 modified its rules and included members of the national and provincial assemblies in the list of holders of public offices. Besides the prime minister and chief ministers, the legislators were also barred from visiting constituencies and holding public meetings after the announcement of election schedules.

But at a recent press conference, the PTI chief refused to abide by the ECP rules and said there was no legal bar on him to run the campaigns of his candidates. The restriction was incomprehensible, he added.

“If Imran Khan takes part in the campaigns despite an ECP ban, by-elections will turn into a battle,” the information minister said when asked why the PML-N was worried about the PTI chief’s decision.

He said it would be quite unfair if Mr Khan was allowed to hold public meetings for PTI candidates and the ruling party was barred from doing so.

Mr Rashid recalled that before the ECP restriction, the PTI chief had addressed public meetings during by-elections in Multan and Mandi Bahauddin, but Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif was not allowed to do so, although he was also head of the PML-N.

“We believe that it was unjustified,” he said.

The NA-122 (Lahore) seat fell vacant on Aug 21 when the election of PML-N leader and former National Assembly speaker Sardar Ayaz Sadiq was declared null and void by an election tribunal on a petition filed by the PTI.

Four days later, Siddique Khan Baloch, who had won the NA-154 (Lodhran) seat in the 2013 elections as an independent candidate but had later joined the PML-N, was disqualified for submitting a fake educational degree to the ECP.

The minister said Mr Khan did not obey any rule as he was a ‘de facto’ chief minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. “All decisions of the KP government are taken in Imran Khan’s Bani Gala residence,” he said.

Mr Rashid said the PTI chief had criticised the relief package for farmers recently announced by the prime minister, but his KP government had never given any relief to farmers in Swat, Dir, Swabi, Tangi and Mardan during two years of its rule.

ATTACK ON PAF CAMP: About the recent terrorist attack on the Pakistan Air Force camp near Peshawar, the information minister claimed that security forces had found sufficient evidence that it was planned in Afghanistan. “We will soon share the evidence with the Afghan government,” he said.

“We believe that the attack has nothing to do with the Afghan government, but neighbouring countries should not allow their soils to be used against any other country.”

Mr Rashid said a mechanism/agreement was ready to be signed with Afghanistan to ensure better border security management. “We don’t want to create problems or impose restrictions on people crossing the Pak-Afghan border on a daily basis for employment or meeting relatives, but we want their screening and vigilance on their movement,” he added.

He said Pakistan was not only fighting its own war but the war of the world and had suffered more than any other country as a result. “We need more support of the international community to win this war,” he said.

Published in Dawn, September 21st , 2015

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ISLAMABAD: The auditor general of Pakistan (AGP) has found embezzlement, misappropriation and irregularities of around Rs980 billion in the accounts of Water and Power Development Authority (Wapda) and other power companies working under the Ministry of Water and Power in the audit year 2013-14 and has asked the president to order investigations into specific cases.

The amount is equal to nearly one-fourth of the Rs4 trillion federal budget for fiscal year 2015-16 and can explain why the government has to inject huge subsidies out of taxpayers’ money every year to clear the circular debt that keep emerging again and again. Over the past five years, the federal government is estimated to have injected more than Rs2 trillion into the power sector, besides increasing consumer tariff by about 200 per cent.

On top of that, the AGP has also made observations over Rs4.2 trillion in an unsettled audit backlog from the past few years.

The audit pertained to Rs414 billion of expenditure and Rs898 billion of revenue for fiscal year 2012-13.

In its report to the president of Pakistan — as mandated under Article 171 of the Constitution — the AGP has put together seven broad categories of findings from an audit of the accounts of Wapda, four generation companies (Gencos), 10 distribution companies (Discos) and the National Transmission and Despatch Company (NTDC).

Wapda’s Directorate General of Audit — a specialised wing empowered to look after power sector accounts — said it had ignored the instances of misappropriation, fraud and other irregularities amounting to less than Rs1 million. In FY2012-13, the directorate said, an audit found 184 cases of irregular expenditures or unjustified payments and rule violations amounting to Rs368.65 billion.

Another 88 cases, worth Rs572.63 billion, pertained to non-recoveries and overpayments; 18 cases to accidents and negligence that cost around Rs19.5 billion; Rs5.8 billion was linked to cases where there were weaknesses in internal control systems; and transactions of around Rs11.8 billion were called into question over non-production of record. Another nine cases, worth around Rs350 million, were related to embezzlement of public money through theft and misuse of funds.

However, at the instance of audit, only Rs31.9 billion could be recovered and the AGP pointed out that it was beyond their capacity to carry out a “100 per cent” audit of these entities.

But the AGP pointed out that the internal control mechanisms in Wapda and its corporate entities did carry out complete audits, which also included consumer service offices, and also carried out physical examinations.

The AGP said that the recurrence of frequent irregularities “cast a shadow of doubt on the effectiveness of this internal control system”. The internal controls, it said, were deteriorating gradually as there had been an increase in cases of unauthorised extension of load, non-implementation of equipment removal orders, theft of material and electricity and violation of procurement rules as well as the Nepra Act.

The audit revealed that power distribution companies could not collect Rs401 billion from various defaulters in FY2012-13, while the procurement of material and consultancy services, provision of PC-1s and contracts involved the violation of procurement rules

“There was poor monitoring of revenue collection, embezzlement of funds, misappropriation and theft of material, misuse of public funds, incorrect billing, non-implementation of commercial procedure and non-adherence to provisions of power policy,” the AGP said.

Highlighting some of the major irregularities, the AGP said Rs139.3 billion worth of energy charges could not be recovered from consumers because the standard operating procedures (SOPs) for removal of meters, equipment and connections of defaulting consumers were not implemented in the case of 734,465 consumers across all categories. Simply put, even though meters of defaulting consumers were removed, they continued to get electricity.

Another Rs247 billion was not recovered from dead defaulters (both in government and private sector) and efforts were not made to accelerate recovery from defaulters. “Owing to increasing trend of receivables, Pepco was facing financial difficulties in discharging its obligations towards power sector companies and independent power producers.”

It said that distribution companies also suffered Rs36 billion losses on account of abnormal line losses beyond Nepra’s targets, while another Rs31 billion was not recovered from 555,149 running defaulters. It said around Rs12 billion was lost due to inefficient power production at Guddu Power Station.

The audit also pointed out Rs74 billion losses due to abnormal delay in the initiation of a major combined cycle power plant at Chichoki Malyan, including Rs16 billion due to cost overruns and Rs51 billion due to the blockage of generation revenue. It said that another Rs43 billion had been lost in 2012-13 alone over delays in the Nandipur project. Another Rs15 billion was also not recovered from IPPs and contractors on account of liquidity damages.

The auditors recommended that the government pursue Wapda to complete hydropower projects under their given timelines and that the Ministry of Water and Power should improve internal controls within all allied companies to stop illegal extension of load and theft of material and electricity and improve matters relating to investigations, fixing of responsibility and transparency.

Published in Dawn, September 21st, 2015

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