Sports News Onli brings the latest sports news, live match updates, scores, and highlights from cricket, football, hockey, and other international sports.
ISLAMABAD: The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) on Saturday filed a challan (charge sheet) in the Special Court established under the Official Secrets Act, declaring former prime minister Imran Khan and ex-foreign minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi principal accused in the cipher case.
The other suspects in the case, including former principal secretary Azam Khan and former federal minister Asad Umar, have been placed in column 2 of the challan, sources privy to the development said. The names of the accused not sent up for trial included in this column. The absconders’ names are also included in this column, but with red ink.
PTI leaders Imran Khan and Mr Qureshi have been placed in column 3 that describes the names and addresses of the accused sent for trial.
The FIA invoked in the challan sections 5 and 9 of the Official Secrets Act which may lead to death sentence, or two to 14 years’ imprisonment, if proved.
PTI rejects FIA challan, reiterates demand for judicial inquiry
While the investigation agency cited 27 witnesses in the challan, the sources said that about a dozen of them would be produced in the witness box.
The star witness, Azam Khan, has already testified against Imran Khan. His statement emerged following his months-long disappearance. He has reportedly stated that the former premier used the confidential document to divert public attention from the no-confidence motion filed against him in parliament at the time.
The statement further alleged that the PTI chief told Azam Khan that he would display the cipher to the public and “twist the narrative that a foreign conspiracy was being hatched in collusion with local partners and play the victim card”.
According to the statement, Mr Azam had handed over the cipher to Mr Imran who later told him that he had misplaced it and did not return it despite repeated requests.
The FIA submitted the challan before the trial court at a time when Mr Khan filed a petition seeking post-arrest bail in the cipher case.
His counsel, besides other arguments, pointed out that the prosecution did not submit the challan.
PTI’s reaction
The Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf vehemently rejected the FIA challan and reiterated the demand for the formation of a high-level judicial commission to probe the cipher conspiracy so as to bring the truth to the fore.
A PTI spokesperson said the FIA’s challan filed against party chief Imran Khan and vice chairman Shah Mehmood Qureshi was “meaningless and worthless like the fake and bogus cipher case itself”. “It is the fact that the cipher is still present in the Foreign Office in its original state, which proves the allegations levelled against the former prime minister are baseless.”
The spokesperson said the federal cabinet had declassified the paraphrased version of the cipher which the Foreign Office provided after which the Official Secrets Act could not be applied and the case died its own death, as the original cipher is coded and only the Foreign Office has access to it.
He recalled that the PTI chairman repeatedly demanded an independent and impartial investigation into the cipher for which letters were also sent to the president and chief justice of Pakistan, but no progress had been made till date.
LAHORE / LONDON: After in-depth discussions on the issue with the party’s second-tier leadership at two separate meetings, the PML-N on Saturday declared that supreme leader Nawaz Sharif is ready to face “all kinds of circumstances” upon his return from London on Oct 21.
A day after senior leader Ishaq Dar announced they would no longer be demanding for accountability of elements behind the elder Sharif’s ouster from power, both PML-N President Shehbaz Sharif and Chief Organiser Maryam Nawaz echoed the “new narrative” at meetings held separately in Lahore.
Shehbaz Sharif told the huddle: “Revival of economy, national reconciliation and elimination of terrorism will be the top agenda of PML-N to pursue on the return of Nawaz Sharif”.
Both he and his niece Ms Nawaz categorically said that they would accept no excuse in case of any failure in putting up a good show on Nawaz’s return.
PML-N office-bearers briefed on ‘new narrative’; will prioritise crisis-management over accountability
Maryam Nawaz, Hamza Shehbaz, Ahsan Iqbal, Rana Sanaullah, Attaullah Tarar, Pervaiz Rashid, Marriyum Aurangzeb, Malik Ahmad Khan, Bilal Yasin and Saad Rafique attended the meeting.
Maryam Nawaz also briefed her uncle on the arrangements regarding her father’s return.
The two reiterated that the party’s ‘new narrative’ — no revenge, rather rescuing the country from crises — would be on top of Nawaz Sharif’s agenda.
At the other meeting, Ms Nawaz told the party’s divisional presidents and secretary generals to achieve a ‘certain target’ in bringing the people to Minar-i-Pakistan on Oct 21.
“There was a sense of calmness among party leaders at meetings after learning that the elder Sharif has agreed to give up his narrative seeking accountability of former generals [Qamar Bajwa and Faiz Hamid],” a party insider told Dawn.
He said party leaders appeared confident about the supreme leader’s ‘smooth return’, hoping that he would manage to secure relief from a court of law ahead of his scheduled arrival.
However, participants of the meeting were told that Mr Nawaz was ready to face “all kinds of circumstances” on his return.
The elder Sharif was serving a seven-year jail-term in the Al-Azizia Mills corruption case before he secured bail on medical grounds and flew to London for treatment.
“He is expected to apply for protective bail in high court a few days before returning to the country. If he gets bail, he may surrender… later on,” the insider said.
Narrative shift
A day earlier, on Friday, the party had finally announced its new narrative; that Mr Nawaz will focus on the economy and not settle old scores.
Speaking to reporters outside Stanhope House, former finance minister Ishaq Dar said: “There are two choices: either one can fix the country or one can seek revenge and settle scores. Mian Nawaz Sharif will leave the latter to Allah.”
There had been a storm of speculations about the narrative of PML-N ahead of elections and upon the much-anticipated return of Nawaz Sharif.
Mr Dar’s comments came after his meeting with Mr Nawaz, and in response to a question about the party’s narrative.
When asked if there will be accountability of Gen Bajwa, Gen Faiz among others, Mr Dar said,
“Even in the past in 2017, Mian Nawaz Sharif left it to God. That speaks for his heart and thinking. In Pakistan’s history, it has never happened before that culprits have been exposed so quickly. Late Arshad Malik, Shaukat Siddiqui and many other forms of evidence came to the fore,” he said, indicating that Mr Nawaz will not be repeating the statements made in the videos.
“He will use his full strength to put the country on the path of progress and prosperity, and reduce the daily struggles of people,” said Mr Dar, making it clear “the party leader sets the narrative”.
“People can have their own way of thinking. But the narrative is set by him.”
Talking to Dawn after listening to Mr Dar’s speech, a party insider said, “Nawaz may want to go all guns blazing, but there is also something called a reality check. Political parties have to be careful not to misjudge, or do a miscalculation. Right now there is no other potential party to form a government other than PML-N. One can have a certain thinking, but you can’t make the establishment unhappy. Especially over such a non-starter: how can you try just one or two people?”
The PML-N leader added that the party cannot afford to antagonise the establishment as the party’s popularity has fallen considerably over the last 16 months.
“It’s not just Shehbaz. Can your party people take the responsibility on their shoulders of such a narrative? This we saw in 2020 when PDM was formed, after the Gujranwala speech 95pc of the party was scared to say the name Pindi,” the PML-N leader said in an apparent reference to the General Headquarters in Rawalpindi.
“Were we ready to go all the way? To take the burden? No we were not.”
NEW DELHI: The Afghan embassy in India is apparently undergoing drastic personnel changes, but not without a hint of bitterness from the outgoing staff members and an air of mystery around who their successors would be.
Afghan Ambassador Farid Mamundzay, representing a pre-Taliban arrangement, reportedly wrote to the Indian external affairs minister, saying the embassy in New Delhi will close down its premises.
The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) is reportedly examining the authenticity of the communication, purportedly sent from the Afghan embassy, which said it was preparing to close its premises by Sept 30.
The Wire had reported in May that the Taliban regime had sent a directive that the current Afghan ambassador to India, appointed by the previous Islamic Republic, be replaced with another diplomat as Charge d’Affaires.
New Delhi ‘examining authenticity’ of Ambassador Mamundzay’s letter
However, The Wire said on Friday that the attempt was unsuccessful, as the Taliban-appointed diplomat was not allowed to take charge by his other colleagues at that time. Even then, Ambassador Mamundzay had indicated to The Wire that the MEA’s official silence meant that it would prefer a change in the embassy.
India does not recognise the Taliban regime, but in June 2022, it stationed a technical team in Kabul made up of diplomats and security personnel. It marked India’s return to the Afghan capital after the entire embassy was evacuated following the takeover of Kabul by the Taliban in August 2021.
Since India decided to go back to Kabul, Afghan embassy diplomats have been facing financial challenges and operational difficulties as they have been unable to work with the Taliban regime, and also because the MEA has largely cold-shouldered their missives, The Wire said.
As per a copy of the letter posted on X by Afghan journalist Bilal Sarwary, Ambassador Mamundzay wrote to the Indian foreign minister that the embassy will close down its premises.
“The presence of the Afghan Diplomatic Mission in New Delhi cannot function normally without the explicit help of the Indian government. After a careful consideration and assessment of the current situation, disappointingly the Embassy finds itself in a position where this support is not forthcoming. Given these circumstances. the Embassy has concluded that it is in our mission and its staff’s best interest to bring it to a close by the end of September 2023,” it said.
The Wire said it had contacted Mr Mamundzay to authenticate the letter, but there has been no response.
The MEA has not responded officially, but official sources stated that the communication and its context are being examined for its authenticity.
“This is in the context of the ambassador being out of India for past many months, steady departure of diplomats to third countries reportedly after receiving asylum as well as reports of infighting amongst embassy personnel,” said official sources.
The letter allegedly written by Ambassador Mamundzay stated that the embassy’s “significance has been systematically diminished since the reopening of the Indian embassy in Kabul in June 2022”.
“During the same period, the mission was not afforded the diplomatic regard and friendly considerations befitting its rightful status, roles and responsibilities,” he said.
In the letter, Mr Mamundzay also asked the MEA to take custodial responsibility of the mission properties, financial accounts including the lndia Afghanistan Fund, which currently holds more than $500,000.
He also asked the MEA to issue exit permits to all diplomats whose visas have not been renewed since May 2023. Thirdly, he requested that the tricolour flag of Afghanistan remain hoisted on all the mission’s properties.
His fourth and last request was that the embassy property should not be handed over to a representative of the Taliban regime.
• Despite not adhering to district boundaries, 83 NA seats under/overshoot provincial quotas in preliminary delimitation
• Fafen says one-fifth of constituencies do not conform to stipulations of Elections Act 2017
ISLAMABAD: The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) seems to have compromised the principle of ‘equality of vote’ in as many as 83 National Assembly constituencies, where the variance in population from the provincial quota exceeds the permissible legal limit of 10 per cent.
A thorough analysis of the preliminary delimitation proposals shows that the largest NA constituency in KP — NA-39 Bannu — has a population of 1,357,890, which is nearly three times more than the smallest constituency, NA-1 Chitral Upper-cum-Chitral Lower, with a population of 515,935.
Under Section 20 of the Elections Act 2017, as far as possible, variation in population of constituencies of an assembly should not ordinarily exceed 10 per cent.
According to the Free and Fair Election Network, ECP was expected to disregard district boundaries to ensure that the variation among the population of an assembly’s constituencies does not exceed 10pc.
This variation among the population of constituencies may be identified by comparing the population of a constituency with the average population per seat of an assembly, also called quota per seat.
The quota is calculated by dividing the population of a province, as determined by the last census officially published, by the number of seats of that province in national or provincial assemblies, as provided in the Constitution. The proposed NA constituencies with more than 10pc population variation included 35 constituencies in Punjab, 22 in Sindh, 21 in KP and five in Balochistan.
The quota for each NA constituency for Khyber Pakhtunkhwa was calculated at 907,913, Islamabad Capital Territory at 787,954, Punjab at 905,595, Sindh at 913,052 and Balochistan at 930,900.
The act allows ECP to deviate from this permissible limit in only exceptional cases and the reasons for any such deviation must be recorded in the delimitation order.
This means that the population if each constituency can be, at most, 10pc above or below the provincial quota.
However, a cursory look at the population number of constituencies such as NA-13 Battagram (554,133), NA-40 North Waziristan (693,332),NA-16 Abbotabad-1 (699,311), NA-17 Abbottabad-II (719,761), NA-45 D.I. Khan-II (763,267), NA-43 Tank-cum-D.I. Khan (764,095), NA-44 D.I. Khan-I (772,742), NA-37 Kurram (785,434) and NA-7 Lower Dir (796,571) show that they are far below the 10pc threshold envisioned in the law.
On the higher side, NA-8 Bajaur and NA-35 Kohat have a population size of 1,287,960 and 1,234,661, respectively. Likewise, the population of NA-18 Haripur is 1,174,783, followed by NA-27 Khyber (1,146,267). These are also above the 10pc threshold.
Other constituencies with population of over one million include NA-12 Kohistan, NA-41 Lakki Marwat, NA-15 Mansehra-cum-Tor Ghar and NA-10 Buner.
Punjab
The largest proposed NA constituency in Punjab is NA-49 Attock-I, with a population of 1,126,142, versus the smallest NA-61 Jhelum-II, having a population of 690,683.
Other constituencies with smaller population sizes include NA-60 Jhelum-I (691,625) and NA-180 Kot Addu (713,922).
Other constituencies in the province having population of more than one million include NA-181 Layyah-I, NA-182 Layyah-II, NA-139 Pakpattan-I, NA-140 Pakpattan-II, NA-141 Sahiwal-I, NA-50 Attock-II, NA-79 Gujranwala-III, NA-80 Gujranwala IV, NA-81 Gujranwala cum Hafizabad and NA-92 Bhakkar.
All three constituencies of Jhang, three out of four constituencies in Kasur and two out of four constituencies in Sheikhupura also have a population of over a million.
Sindh and Balochistan
In Sindh, NA-209 Sanghar-I is proposed to have a population of 1,172,516, while NA-221 Tando Muhammad Khan is carved out with a population of 726,119. NA-213 Umer Kot has a population of 1,159,831, followed by NA-210 Sanghar-II (1,117,308).
Other constituencies with population size exceeding a million in the province include NA-223 Badin-I, NA-225 Thatta, NA-232 to 234 Karachi Korangi, NA-235 Karachi East-I and NA-242 and 243 Karachi Kemari.
In Balochistan, NA-255 Sohbatpur-cum-Jaffarabad-cum-Usta Muhammad-cum-Nasirabad has a population of 1,124,567 and in contrast NA-261 Quetta-I has a population of 799,886.
Provincial constituencies
Meanwhile, according to Free and Fair Elections Network (Fafen), as many as 180 constituencies of the national and provincial assemblies as proposed by the ECP do not meet the legal preferability of 10pc variation in population, undermining the principle of equal suffrage that was otherwise upheld by parliament through latest amendments to the Elections Act 2017.
Fafen points out that the provincial assembly (PA) seat quota for Khyber Pakhtunkhwa was established at 355,270, Punjab 429,929, Sindh 428,432 and Balochistan 292,047.
This means that more than one-fifth of the total constituencies demarcated do not comply with Section 20 (3) of the Elections Act.
The PA constituencies with such anomalies include 30 in KP, 26 in Punjab, 25 in Balochistan and 16 in Sindh.
KP’s largest constituency PK-93 Hangu (528,902) hosts almost three times the population of the smallest i.e., PK-1 Upper Chitral (195,528). Similarly, the largest PA constituency in Sindh, PS-75 Thatta-I, has a population of 556,767, while PS-79 Jamshoro-II is the smallest with a population of 354,505.
Punjab’s largest PA constituency, PP-177 Kasur-III has a population of 510,875, while the smallest PP-84 Khushab-IV has a population of 359,367. In Balochistan, PB-51 Chaman with a population of 466,218 is the largest constituency, which is two and a half times bigger than the smallest constituency i.e. PB-23 Awaran with a population of 178,958.
Ease of filing representations
Fafen has also called upon the ECP to enhance the voter-friendliness of the process of filing representations on the draft constituencies.
Currently, every voter seeking to file a representation on delimitation has to travel to Islamabad for its submission and subsequently for hearings at the ECP Secretariat, which bears additional costs and efforts.
The ECP may consider allowing submission of the representation at its district, regional, and provincial offices. Similarly, the hearings on these representations may be arranged at the provincial level.
Fafen has also urged the commission to direct the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics to promptly publish on its website the census block-wise data of population as under Rule 12(2), voters would require this data for filing representations.
PESHAWAR: The fingerprints of a suicide bomber, who left five people dead when he blew himself up at a mosque in Hangu on Friday, do not match any available in the Nadra database, suggesting that he may be an unknown man or a foreigner.
According to police, “initial probe suggests that the suicide attack on the police station was carried out by Islamic State Khorasan (IS-K).”
Five lives were lost and nine people were injured in the bombing of the mosque, located inside a compound along with the living quarters and police barracks, officials said.
Policemen posted at the Doaba police station and owners of nearby shops usually attended prayers there.
On Friday, two assailants on a motorcycle tried to enter the compound. However, when confronted by policemen at the entrance of the compound, one of the men was shot dead.
According to an initial assessment report, an explosion took place after the man was shot, which was attributed to a grenade. In the smoke and confusion, the other attacker managed to enter the mosque and blew himself up.
The report also said that while fingerprint samples were obtained, no match for them could be found in the database.
“It means that the suicide bomber, whose fingerprints were acquired, was an unknown. Further probe will unearth the bomber’s whereabouts,” the initial assessment report read.
A case has been registered with the counterterrorism department in Kohat and an investigation is underway, the assessment report read.
Peshawar Corps Commander Hassan Azhar Hayat, who visited the site, lauded the bravery of the police personnel guarding the compound. KP Police Chief Akhtar Hayat Gandapur said that the damages could have been greater had the suicide bombers not been neutralised.
When told that there was no CCTV footage of the incident due to power loadshedding and the absence of a solar-powered backup, KP Chief Secretary Aslam Chaudhry asked the district administration to share details so that a solar backup could be provided.
DUBAI: Israel and Saudi Arabia have agreed to the outline of a historic US-brokered deal to normalise relations, the White House said on Friday, amid reports that the pact would be devoid of “iron-clad defence guarantees” and major concessions to Palestinians in their bid for statehood.
White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told reporters that the “basic framework” of the deal has been “hammered out”.
“But, as in any complex arrangement, as this will inevitably be, everybody is going to have to do something. And everybody is going to have to compromise on some things.”
Three regional sources familiar with the talks told Reuters the pact might fall short of the cast-iron, Nato-style defence guarantees the kingdom initially sought.
Kingdom won’t get Nato-style defence guarantees from US; congressional approval remains challenge for Biden
The deal could look like treaties Washington has with Asian states or, if that would not win US Congress approval, it could be similar to a US agreement with Bahrain, where the US Navy Fifth Fleet is based, a US source said. Such an agreement would not need congressional backing.
Washington could also sweeten any deal by designating Saudi Arabia a major non-Nato ally, a status already given to Israel, the US source said.
‘Some concessions’ for Palestinians
The Palestinians could get some Israeli restrictions eased but such moves would fall short of their aspirations for a state. As with other Arab-Israeli deals forged over the decades, the Palestinian core demand for statehood would take a back seat, the three regional sources familiar with the talks said.
“The normalisation will be between Israel and Saudi Arabia. If the Palestinians oppose it the kingdom will continue in its path,” said one of the regional sources.
“Saudi Arabia supports a peace plan for the Palestinians, but this time it wanted something for Saudi Arabia, not just for the Palestinians.”
Diplomats and the regional sources said Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman was insisting on some commitments from Israel to show he was not abandoning the Palestinians and that he was seeking to keep the door open to a two-state solution.
Those would include demanding Israel transfer some Israeli-controlled territory in the West Bank to the Palestinian Authority (PA), limit Jewish settlement activity and halt any steps to annex parts of the West Bank. Riyadh has also promised financial aid to the PA, the diplomats and sources said.
While the Saudi government and the US State Department did not respond to emailed questions about this article.
‘Less than a full treaty’
A US official said the parameters of a defence pact were still being worked out.
The official added that what was being discussed “would not be a treaty alliance or anything like that … It would be a mutual defence understanding, less than a full treaty.”
A source in Washington familiar with the discussions said MbS had asked for a Nato-style treaty but said Washington was reluctant to go as far as Nato’s Article 5 commitment that an attack on one ally is considered an attack on all.
But all the sources said Saudi Arabia would not settle for less than binding assurances of US protection if it faced an attack.
A template, which would not need congressional approval, would be the agreement signed with Bahrain on Sept 13, in which the US pledged to “deter and confront any external aggression” but also said the two governments would consult to determine what, if any, action would be taken.
Congressional challenge
Even if the US, Israel and Saudi Arabia agree, winning support from lawmakers in the US Congress remains a challenge.
Republicans and those in Biden’s Democratic Party have previously denounced Riyadh for its military intervention in Yemen, its moves to prop up oil prices and its role in the 2018 killing of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi.
“What’s important for Saudi Arabia is for Biden to have the pact approved by Congress,” the first regional source said.
Two years since her home was demolished by the authorities, the tide seems to have turned for Fatima — or so she thinks.
The 35-year-old, who lives in Thorani Goth in Orangi, is ecstatic because she and her husband, Mohammad Tasleem, have finally received the remaining Rs180,000 from the Sindh government they had been waiting for. This money is part of the interim compensation they were to be given in four tranches last year. The government had also thought that these residents would be provided with another home by 2022. This, however, did not come to pass.
The first thing Fatima and Tasleem did with the money they got was to “pay off the Rs80,000 we owe to our relatives.”
The remaining amount, narrates the mother of four, will allow them to move to a bigger place. She says they were tired of living in the small, “dark and dingy room” they took refuge in when their home was demolished and they moved in with Tasleem’s three brothers. For the past two years, this one room home has doubled as a kitchen, a bedroom for six and Fatima’s intermittent workspace, when she does her garment-related work.
But moving to a bigger place seems unlikely when the couple subsequently does some quick back-of-the-envelope calculations. “I don’t think that would be possible,” Tasleem says, given the increase in prices of quarters, electricity, gas and water. “We cannot afford to live like we used to, in our house two years ago,” which she says is just “a 10-minute walk from this house”.
The razed house that Fatima and Tasleem previously resided in did not face the Orangi nullah, nor was it initially marked for demolition. Nevertheless, theirs was among the nearly 7,000 homes that were demolished (some partially, others fully) back in April 2021 as part of an anti-encroachment drive initiated by the government on the orders of the Supreme Court of Pakistan. The drive was to clear all illegal structures along three choked stormwater and sewage drains — the Manzoor Colony, Orangi and Gujjar nullahs, in Karachi.
Homes built along the Gujjar nullah after the cleanliness drive. — Image provided by author
Partially demolished homes in the Gujjar nullah area. – Image provided by author
It must be stated here that determining the legality of many of these constructions is rather tricky. The reality is that government officials often work in collusion with property developers as well as mafias in katchi abadis [informal settlements], and the former often look the other way when such constructions happen.
Some residents will tell you that they built or bought their homes knowing that they were illegal constructions built on encroached land. At the very least, all of the residents will tell you that they were well aware these homes would be flooded on a regular basis, yet they continued living there. According to them, if they could afford to live in better localities, they would. As a result, many people were allowed and given the necessary documentation to build structures on a land which should not have been used for such purposes.
Lives uprooted
While it is hard to guess exactly how many people were impacted by the massive ‘anti-encroachment’ drive, lawyer Abeera Ashfaq, who has relentlessly worked for those affected by this for the last two years, estimates it to be “many more people” than the government says because more homes were demolished than the official figure of 6,932.
In some structures, she says, multiple families were resident. Moreover, there were tenants and sub-letters who were never even recognised as affectees, because they did not have “proper title [leases] or had imperfect titles and were simply living there and were thus dispossessed.”
But not all who continue to bear the losses were residents.
A map of Karachi’s drainage system provided by TTRC.
Mohammad Iqbal Siddiqui, who works as an accountant in a private company, and his four brothers had rented out five shops to kabarriwalas (junk dealers) at Makhdoom Shah Colony (popularly known as Zero Point) in Orangi.
“We did not get a single rupee of compensation, as our name was not on the list when these were being made,” says Siddiqui. “At that time, the authorities were only focused on putting down names of households whose homes were razed.”
He adds that there were some shop-owners who were smart enough to get their shops declared as residences and got their names on the list. “Now the land has been levelled and a road built on it,” he says, “so we don’t have anything to show, except for the official leases on stamp papers.”
Along with the monthly rent of Rs30,000 that has been lost, Siddiqui says that they had planned to sell the property. “The property was valued at sawa do crore [Rs22.5 million] back in 2021 when a buyer had approached us, but we were sure we could sell it for more, so did not show that much interest. Now this has slipped like sand from our fingers.”
A large part of the city was submerged, the city’s transportation system was severed, and people were stranded on the roads for hours. Up to 47 deaths due to drowning, electrocution, as well as house and wall collapses were reported. With the power company forced to shut down power, Karachi was without electricity for 50 hours.
The common refrain was that Karachi had flooded because of the encroachments that had throttled the waterways. The then chief minister of Sindh, Syed Murad Ali Shah, going around town to inspect the various choked arteries of the city, reportedly censured the residents for “building houses in the belly of the river” and declared that the “city is sinking because of your encroachments.”
This diagnosis was challenged by some urban experts, who pointed out various other issues that led to the city being submerged. But the Supreme Court announced that difficult decisions needed to be taken. And so, on August 12, 2020, it ordered homes, shops, or anything coming in the way of the three major natural stormwater drains — which criss-cross the length and breadth of city, taking also the city’s sewage into the Arabian Sea via the Malir and Lyari rivers — to be annihilated.
According to research conducted by the Orangi Pilot Project’s late director Perween Rehman, there are 48 big drains, but the official figures state there are 38 big and 514 small drains that flow into the three big ones. It is important to know how many stormwater drains there are in Karachi to ensure that they remain clean and free from encroachments.
Eight months after the urban flooding in Karachi, in April 2021, the drive began to remove encroachments from along the Karachi nullahs. The announced plan was to rehabilitate these nullahs within three months, with the help of the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA). The work is still far from over. Furthermore, despite repeated requests, the NDMA has not disclosed how much this undertaking has cost thus far. Inevitably, this figure is bound to have increased from the initially quoted figures, since the prices of construction material and fuel have skyrocketed.
Struggling to make ends meet
Along with losing their homes and peace of mind, many Karachi residents have lost their only means of livelihood. When Fatima and Tasleem’s home was bulldozed, his paan shop was also razed along with it.
“My husband had been running this shop for over 30 years and earning well,” says Fatima. It took him over two years to find work as a gardener in a factory, where he is promised Rs19,000 per month. She adds: “Life has not been easy, and there have been days when my kids went to sleep on empty stomachs. You can’t go around telling this to everyone, but many among us are in the same boat.”
Like Tasleem, Mohammad Adnan, had set up an embroidery centre in his 120-square-yard house in Mohammad Shah Colony, in Orangi. “He was putting Rs25,000 per week in the common kitty,” of the joint family household, says his wife Saera. But after the house came down, the families went their separate ways and into smaller rented quarters, she says. Her husband had to sell the dozen addas (big wooden frames used for doing embellishments on fabric) and is now working in a factory nearby.
She misses the joint family system, where all 12 members lived like one big family. “I don’t think life will ever be the same,” she says. Despite living under one roof, all of them have received the compensation amount, most of it will be used to pay off the loans they incurred during the last two years.
“My father-in-law got sick, then died,” says Saera, “and my mother-in-law had to get her cataract operated upon and we took quite a bit of loan for healthcare.”
The counsel for the affectees, Faisal Siddiqui, puts the blame for the “hasty order” on the then Chief Justice of Pakistan, Justice Gulzar Ahmed, arguing that he was “unwilling to listen to reason or reflect on the consequences or explore alternative solutions.”
Article 184(3) of the Constitution, aimed at protecting fundamental rights such as the dignity of people, property, a fair judicial process, and protection of livelihoods, was misapplied, leading to “far-reaching consequences for the affectees,” Siddiqui adds.
Fighting urban flooding?
The Sindh government sought technical help from the academia for a foolproof plan for the cleaning up of drains and removal of encroachments. Experts from Karachi’s NED University of Engineering and Technology’s Department of Urban and Infrastructure Engineering (UIE) were tasked with carrying out surveys and proposing solutions so Karachi never floods again.
Using GIS mapping, flooding projections and drones, these experts studied the old maps and redesigned the nullahs and, through a computer simulation, came up with projections of how much flooding could happen in future.
The first nullah that was tackled was the Manzoor Colony (MC) nullah. The MC nullah’s width, which varied between 100 feet and even 200 feet till 1987, was found to be between eight to 14 feet when work began in 2021. This needed to be widened, if not to its original width, to at least a reasonable size to allow sewage to flow easily at a certain velocity.
A visual representation of the Manzoor Colony nullah before the anti-encroachment and cleanliness drives commenced in 2021. — Courtesy Technical Training Resource Centre
“Our finding was that if we widened and deepened the nullahs, keep them and the adjoining floodplains free from encroachments, keep the nullahs clean and stop throwing solid waste into them, Karachi will not flood the way it did in 2020,” says Dr Adnan Qadir, chairman of the UIE department.
Interestingly, NED also carried out a drone survey of Manzoor Colony and found that only 238 structures (marked with the help of satellite imagery) needed to be razed, of which only 56 would be damaged beyond 30 per cent, much less than the 1,148 (992 houses and 156 commercial enterprises) earmarked for razing by the Karachi Municipal Corporation (KMC) survey. The findings of NED’s survey were ultimately accepted by the KMC.
In addition, making a 15-foot-wide road (12 feet for the road and three feet for the pedestrian pavement) along both sides of the MC nullah was suggested, under which a new sewerage line was proposed to be laid. The roads were constructed for the right of way and to provide for cleaning machinery to be able to navigate easily for future cleaning and dredging.
All this work has been carried out as per the recommendations of the experts from the NED.
However Jawed Kumbho, President of the Ittehad Welfare Association — an NGO working in Manzoor Colony, and who was at the forefront when the demolition of structures along the nullah and its widening and cleaning was being carried out — says: “The three feet pavement that was built for pedestrians has been encroached upon by shopkeepers whose shops are situated a little further away from the demolition area. This has led to pedestrians walking on the road, which is in a perpetual state of traffic jam, as it is narrower than what we had before the nullah was widened.”
The problem of garbage
He also says that people continue to throw solid waste in the open nullah, and it will go back to its original filthy self in a few years if this continues.
Mohammad Yunus, the head of the Urban Resource Centre (URC), says, “Cleaning of the nullahs is a good thing no doubt, but it is a temporary relief,” adding that Karachi will continue to flood repeatedly because of the waste that is thrown in the nullahs.
Karachi generates an estimated 13,000 tonnes of garbage every day. Without a proper solid waste disposal system, the nullahs will be filled up again in no time. The city also produces around 475 million gallons per day (MGD) of wastewater, of which an untreated amount of 420 MGD goes into the Arabian Sea, according to a 2019 WWF-Pakistan report.
Of the three effluent treatment plants, only between 55 to 70 MGD get treated at one of the treatment plants at Mauripur, because the other two remain non-functional due to administrative and financial reasons, informs a Karachi Water and Sewerage Board (KWSB) official, on the condition of anonymity. The KWSB is tasked with managing the sewerage system within the city. “Under normal rains, the existing system of stormwater drains can work efficiently if solid waste dumping is controlled,” the official adds.
That is why urban planner and architect Fazal Noor says it is paramount that the city has sewage treatment facilities. This is imperative because solid waste is thrown into nullahs and that causes blockages in the flow of water. Noor recommends the formation of a separate department to oversee maintenance and operation of nullahs with the help of the community.
Kumbho says that if a system can be developed whereby solid waste is picked up from one’s doorstep, it may stop people from throwing their garbage in the nullah. “But I doubt if people will be willing to pay for this service,” he remarks.
Pointless demolition?
According to Noor, “The onus should always be on the government to find technical solutions to a city’s problems so that harm to the people is minimal.” It does not matter if the solutions are prolonged as long as the process is participatory, transparent and focused on the needs of the lesser-resourced urban residents.
Noor says that government officials allow people to set up homes and shops and, after the latter have put in all their sweat, blood and money into them, officials jump into the fray whenever an opportunity arises — like they did this time — on the pretext of cleaning the nullahs, thus robbing working-class families of their leased homes.
Interestingly, Noor’s team also found that 18 smaller nullahs are also connected to the Manzoor Colony nullah and carry sewage and floodwater from 34 settlements, including six formally planned, middle- and high-income housing schemes. There were 21 points where the network was blocked with garbage, debris and collapsed infrastructure. In fact, of the 18 gates at the outfall (where the nullah sewage falls into the sea), 15 were choked. “These smaller nullahs needed to be cleaned up as well to allow the free flow of water to the sea,” says Noor.
“Unless the exit points are clear, the water will flow back,” states architect Arif Hasan, pointing specially to the outfall in Phase 7 of the Defence Housing Authority, where the Manzoor Colony nullah pours out into the sea, and which has not yet been addressed.
Solid waste blocks the gates of the Manzoor Colony nullah in 2021. — Image courtesy TTRC
Solid waste blocks the gates of the Manzoor Colony nullah in 2021. — Image courtesy TTRC
Garbage lines the Manzoor Colony nullah in 2021. — Image courtesy TTRC
Solid waste is dumped into the Manzoor Colony nullah in 2021. — Image courtesy TTRC
The Manzoor Colony drain’s width is too narrow at the outfall and needs widening,“ says Mohammad Toheed, associate director at the Karachi Urban Lab at IBA. Like Noor, he says that cleaning the three nullahs was not enough to deal with the problem of urban flooding, instead proposing, “We need to clean and desilt the other four dozen or so major nullahs and ensure the maintenance of the culverts as well as the drains.”
Along with removing encroachments on and along the waterways, and a city-wide solid waste management plan, it is important to stop uncontrolled land reclamation because it is leading to a sea-level rise, says Toheed.
He further adds that, through the use of GIS mapping, the government can come up with a “vulnerability plan for low-lying areas, which can deepen our understanding of the risks of the poor urban communities to natural hazards, thereby coming up with policy responses for urban resilience.” Sadly, what remains missing, he argues, is the “willingness to carry out these exercises” and the awareness of their value.
Dreaming of compensation and resettlement
Meanwhile, when the Supreme Court ordered the removal of encroachments along the nullahs, it also ordered the government to compensate and rehabilitate the dispossessed and the displaced. The former CJP’s directive to the Chief Minister of Sindh was “to ensure that the affectees of the above nullahs are rehabilitated…in all manners, preferably within a period of one year.” Somehow, the order seemed half-hearted compared to his much firmer stance ordering the removal of encroachments. Furthermore, the compensation was for those whose homes were demolished between 30 to 100 percent, based on the drone survey carried out by the NED University.
“We find it hard to understand why those whose homes were demolished up to 10 percent or 20 percent, or even 29 percent, cannot be compensated according to the damage,” says Arsalan Anjum, a member of the Orangi Nullah Mutasireen [Affectees] Committee.
He further claims that the drone survey was inaccurate, arguing, “The drone’s eye missed homes where rooftops of two homes were conjoined, which is often the case in such settlements.” In the absence of door-to-door visits, the surveyors did not know multiple families often lived independently but on different floors of the same home.
It took the affectees, and some 40 civil society organisations, two years of relentlessly knocking on the doors of justice to finally get the court’s attention and get the promised sum of Rs 360,000.
Now, with the caretaker chief minister taking a personal interest, there is a possibility that these people will also be given homes. Justice (retd) Maqbool Baqar says, “You will soon see their problems resolved, to some extent at least. Resettlement of the affectees is very close to my heart, and this is the very first issue I took up.”
On August 18, 2023, the Supreme Court finally took matters into its own hand and heard the petition filed by the affected against the former chief minister, for not complying with the court’s earlier directives of paying the promised amount. The court ordered the release of the unpaid amount within the next 30 days.
While many affectees see this as a “big win”, architect Hasan questions the basis of this “ridiculously small sum”, adding, “We don’t know on what basis this Rs 360,000 was calculated. It was unfair to begin with.”
With the inflation rate at 27.4 percent in August, and food, fuel and power prices skyrocketing, Ashfaq also says the compensation was “too low”. She even told the judges in their appearance last month at the Supreme Court registry that this sum should be increased, “but they weren’t interested” in listening to this demand, she says.
Hopes and fears
The only silver lining since the demolition, for Roshan Ali, 55, and others who are still living along the nullah, is that their homes will not be flooded when it rains because the nullah has moved 30 feet away, with a road now in between.
Living in a partially demolished home, along with her family of eight, Roshan admits that her home had partially encroached on the nullah land. She also says that, whenever it rained, the drain would overflow and flood her home. She recalls, “For days we would be wading in chest-deep filthy water, trying to salvage our belongings.” Last year was the first that her home stayed dry.
Roshan Ali’s home at Gujjar nullah was partially destroyed in the anti-encroachment drive. — Image by author
The alley behind Roshan Ali’s home in Gujjar nullah area. — Image by author
The Gujjar nullah after the cleanliness drive. — Image by author
But there is currently no provision for the wastewater to exit her home. According to Roshan, “Before the demolition, the wastewater went directly into the nullah through a pipe, but now that the drain is at a distance, we have dug a pit, into which all the wastewater drains. This is a temporary arrangement. We are told all houses will be connected to the main sewerage line soon.”
As for providing permanent new homes to the affected in lieu of their damaged houses, the government has two options before it, but no decision has been made so far. It will either release the amount to each of the 6,932 affected families for the purchase of land (80 square yards) and its construction, according to the market value of the piece of land from where they were dispossessed.
Or, it will hand over a plot measuring 80 square yards to each of the affected households in another part of Karachi (most probably in the Malir Development Authority) and pay for the cost of construction of the house, in accordance with the standards set out by the Pakistan Engineering Council.
According to Mayor Murtaza Wahab, the top court had suggested the Sindh government take the amount it needs to rehabilitate these people from the Rs460 billion that property developer Malik Riaz was fined for back in 2019, and which is in the possession of the court.
But not everyone is happy with the government’s resettlement plan.
“Our home was built on a 120 square-yards plot,” points out Roshan, “how can you move me to a place smaller than what I already have?” But, if she is forced to move, she says she wants to move nearby, saying, “I have always lived here and got married here. This is the only world I know.” This is the common refrain from most of the affectees.
The lack of confidence in the government’s relocation plans stems from the fact that the government has not held any meetings with the affectees nor have they discussed any sure-shot plan.
Ostensibly, the government wants people living in areas prone to flooding to move to safer places available in the city, but Hasan is wary of the roads being made parallel to the drains, which connect to two expressways — the Lyari Expressway and the Northern Bypass.
“These are important connections and will become valuable and prime property for any property tycoon to develop,” he points out.
Based on his experience, he also has a pessimistic view of how things will pan out. “Previous such demolitions, evictions and resettlement promises show us that those evacuated will return and rebuild, and the corrupt local government will [again] look the other way. The cycle will continue.”
Header image: The Gujjar nullah flows much more smoothly after the cleanliness drive. — Image provided by author
The caretaker government on Saturday slashed the price of petrol by Rs8 per litre and that of high-speed diesel by Rs11 per litre for the next fortnight.
According to a notification from the Ministry of Finance, the new price of petrol is Rs323.38 and Rs318.18 for HSD.
It said the price revision was due to the variations in the international prices of petroleum products and the improvement in the exchange rate.
Previously, the prices of HSD and petrol were estimated to be reduced by about Rs15-19 per litre for the Oct 1-15 period mainly because of the rupee’s appreciation.
The Pakistani rupee appreciated throughout the outgoing week, seeing an improvement of 1.4 per cent against the USD in the interbank market, and is on track to be the best-performing currency this month.
Last week, Caretaker Commerce and Industries Minister Gohar Ejaz had said he was hopeful that the nation would receive “good news” regarding petrol prices on October 1.
The prices of the two essential fuels were last cut in mid-July when petrol was reduced by Rs9 per litre to Rs253 and diesel by Rs7 per litre to Rs253.50.
Between Aug 15 and Sept 15, petrol and high-speed diesel prices jumped by Rs58.43 and Rs55.83 per litre, respectively.
At present, the GST is zero on all petroleum products, but the government is charging Rs60 per litre petroleum development levy on petrol and Rs50 per litre each on HSD and high-octane blending component and 95 RON (Research Octane Number) petrol. The government is also charging about Rs22-23 per litre customs duty on petrol and HSD.
LONDON: The BBC published new guidance on Thursday on how its stars can use social media, after a review over impartiality prompted by former footballer Gary Line-ker criticising the UK government’s asylum policy.
The broadcaster’s independent review recommended that while a programme is on air, and for a two-week window before and after, presenters on flagship shows must not endorse or attack a political party.
They should also refrain from criticising the character of individual politicians in the UK, or take up an official role in campaigning groups, it said.
“High-profile presenters outside of journalism should be able to express views on issues and policies — including matters of political contention — but stop well short of campaigning in party politics or for activist organisations,” the review concluded.
The publicly funded broadcaster said the guidance applies to hosts of top shows such as MasterChef, Dragons’ Den, Antiques Roadshow and Strictly Come Dancing, as well as leading radio presenters.
It does not include contributors, pundits, judges or guest hosts but does apply to presenters of major sporting events and its internationally popular Top Gear show.
KARACHI: Smooth operation of electric buses, launched in the metropolis in January this year, has become a serious challenge for its management as the half of the total 40-bus fleet is gathering dust for past several weeks after one of the two power stations faced capacity issues and failed to charge all high-tech public transport carriers.
Realising the complexity of the challenge, the authorities have decided to rebuild a new power station at the Mehran Depot near the Jinnah International Airport, closing down the one in Malir Cantonment.
In this connection the process has been started to install machinery and acquire the required power supply system.
A source privy to the current challenges said that the electric buses were plying three different routes. “Two power stations for total 40 buses are in Bahria Town and Malir Cantt. The one in Bahria Town is working fine and 20 electric buses dedicated for its route are operational. However, the one in Malir Cantt is constantly facing serious power supply and voltage fluctuation issues. It hardly charges five [electric] buses a day. Some 15 electric buses on two other routes are lying parked in the depot.”
Govt to build new power station as some 15 e-buses gathering dust
Sources said that on two routes of electric buses — Tank Chowk near Jinnah Avenue to Clock Tower at Seaview and Malir Cantt Check Post 5 to M.A. Jinnah Road — only five electric buses are being run while the gap is being filled by red diesel buses of Sindh Peoples Bus Service.
Launched amid much fanfare earlier this year, the electric buses faced several hiccups mainly due to issues related to charging of their batteries.
In April, the service of electric buses on two routes was stopped and it remained suspended for over two months after the charger being used for recharging the batteries had ‘started malfunctioning’. Finally the service resumed in July following the import of a new charging system from China.
“The latest issue is also related to the charging of the batteries but it’s little different one [compared to last one],” said the source.
“The power station of these buses in Malir Cantt doesn’t get the required power supply to charge all 20 buses. There are two types of chargers — 160kV and 180kV. With a little than required supply or power, they are unable to charge the required number of buses.”
For a permanent solution, the management has marked an area in Mehran Depot near the airport where a new power station is being set up and for that purpose the K-Electric has already been requested to install a system solely dedicated for charging the electric buses, the sources added.
“All due formalities have almost been completed. The KE has been requested to set up a 500kV power station at Mehran Depot. The new station is expected to be operational within next few weeks, which will fix this problem for once and for all,” he added.
Israel and Saudi Arabia are moving towards the outline of a historic US-brokered deal to normalise relations after decades of hostility, the White House said on Friday.
President Joe Biden is hoping to transform the Middle East — and score an election-year diplomatic victory — by securing recognition of the Jewish state by Saudi Arabia, the guardian of Islam’s two holiest sites.
“All sides have hammered out, I think, a basic framework for what, you know, what we might be able to drive at,” National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told reporters.
“But, as in any complex arrangement, as this will inevitably be, everybody is going to have to do something. And everybody is going to have to compromise on some things.”
The United States has urged its Middle East allies Israel and Saudi Arabia to normalise diplomatic relations, following on from similar deals involving the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Morocco.
Saudi Arabia’s crown prince and de facto ruler, Mohammed bin Salman, recently said that the two sides were getting closer, as did Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
But the Palestinians have warned that they must be taken into account in any deal, saying there can be no peace in the Middle East without a two-state solution.
A soldier was martyred while a wanted terrorist was killed in separate military operations in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Kurram and Mardan districts, according to a press release from the military’s media wing on Friday.
The Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR) press release said two engagements took place between security forces and terrorists in the province on the night between Thursday and Friday.
An intelligence-based operation was conducted in Mardan district’s general area of Katlang, resulting in the killing of a “high-value target, terrorist ringleader Faisal”.
The ISPR added he was actively involved in numerous terrorist activities and was “highly wanted by law enforcement agencies”. It said weapons and ammunition were also recovered from him.
Separately, 33-year-old Lance Naik Ghairat Khan, resident of Kurram district, was martyred in an encounter with terrorists in the district’s general area Parachinar.
“Security forces of Pakistan are determined to eliminate the menace of terrorism from the country and such sacrifices of our brave soldiers further strengthen our resolve,” the ISPR said.
Earlier in the day, terrorist attacks in Balochistan’s Mastung district and KP’s Hangu collectively claimed the lives of at least 58 people.
Separately, four Pakistan Army soldiers were also martyred during an operation in Zhob — which is located at a five-hour distance from Mastung — as security forces thwarted an infiltration attempt of banned militant Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) terrorists from Afghanistan.
Pakistan has witnessed an uptick in terror activities in recent months, especially in KP and Balochistan, after the TTP ended its ceasefire with the government in November last year.
A report released in July by the think tank Pakistan Institute for Conflict and Security Studies said the first half of the current year witnessed a steady and alarming rise in terror and suicide attacks, claiming the lives of 389 people across the country.
QUETTA: During a full-day meeting in the Iranian border town of Mirjaveh on Thursday, the Pak-Iran Joint Border Trade Committee deliberated on border concerns, the growth of bilateral trade, and improvements in immigration procedures and transportation.
Abdul Qadir Memon, the chief collector Customs Balochistan, headed the Pakistani delegation, while the Iranian side was led by Javed Haideri, the director general of Transit and International Transport from the Ministry of Roads and Urban Development.
During the meeting, officials addressed several key topics, including the cross-border movement of people, the transportation of essential and export commodities, and the promotion of bilateral trade between Pakistan and Iran.
Additionally, discussions encompassed tackling illegal trade, smuggling, and various border-related issues at the Iran-Pakistan border.
In the meeting, both sides exchanged various proposals and recommendations aimed at enhancing cooperation in railway, banking, transportation, and outlining the path forward.
A senior customs official informed Dawn that both parties expressed their intention to strengthen bilateral trade with the aim of reaching a trade volume target of five billion USD between Pakistan and Iran.
It was also agreed that more substantial measures would be pursued to attain this trade volume objective.
During the meeting, Iranian and Pakistani officials reached a consensus on implementing stringent measures at the border to curb illegal crossings and smuggling activities. Both sides also discussed road transportation and proposed measures to streamline border operations, minimise lengthy delays, and ensure timely clearance of goods, with a focus on facilitating at least 800 daily traffic movements through the shared border.
The delegations from Iran and Pakistan anticipate that the meeting will prove highly beneficial for the region, particularly for businesses on both sides, and they expect it will contribute to resolving various business-related issues.
The meeting attendees included Collector Customs Appraisal Taftan Naveed Iqbal, Deputy Collector Usman Aziz, Superintendent Ahad Durrani, officials from relevant departments, representatives from the business community, border trade and transportation sectors, the banking industry, and officials from the Ministry of Immigration and Foreign Affairs.
PESHAWAR/LAHORE: After unearthing a “cheating racket” and “massive irregularities”, the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa caretaker government has decided to re-conduct the Medical and Dental College Admission Test (MDCAT).
Separately, the caretaker Punjab government has revised the medical college admission policy for 2023 and allowed the University of Health Sciences (UHS) to make centralised admissions to public and private medical and dental colleges.
The KP cabinet decided to retake the exam during a meeting on Thursday, chaired by caretaker Chief Minister Muhammad Azam Khan.
The test will be conducted within six weeks by Khyber Medical University, and not by Educational Testing and Evaluation Agency, the provincial testing body.
Punjab revises admission policy, shuns extra marks for Hafiz-i-Quran
Briefing the media after the meeting, caretaker Information Minister Feroze Jamal Shah Kakakhel said the cabinet had cancelled the test conducted on September 10.
He added that a committee would be formed for recommendations on how to thwart cheating during exams.
According to the minister, over 280 candidates, besides the alleged ringleader of the cheating racket and his brother, have been arrested.
Apart from the arrested candidates, their parents should also be questioned over their children’s involvement in the illegal act, said Mr Kakakhel.
The entrance exam for medical colleges conducted in KP earlier this month stirred a massive controversy after it was revealed that students were using gadgets like GSM pens equipped with microphones to cheat.
Following the revelation and claims of irregularities, around 85 petitions were filed by candidates in the Peshawar High Court. Police on Friday claimed to have arrested seven people for “facilitating” cheating in the Sep 10 MDCAT.
So far, the provincial police claimed to have arrested 74 candidates, including men and women, while 19 cases have been registered at eight police stations in Peshawar.
Last week, the police claimed the arrest of Zafar Khattak, the alleged mastermind of the cheating racket, and six others, all of whom were running “a centralised system” to help students cheat.
Punjab revamps policy
In its revamped admission policy, officially notified on Thursday, the Punjab government has abolished the scheme of granting 20 additional marks to students who had memorised the Holy Quran.
The Specialised Healthcare and Medical Education department has issued a notification of the new policy following approval from the cabinet.
Under this policy, the UHS will be the authority to conduct admissions for both public and private medical and dental institutions across Punjab.
As per the outlined admission policy, the merit criteria will include a 50 per cent weightage of scores obtained in the MDCAT, 40pc of FSc results and 10pc of matriculation marks.
For MBBS admissions, candidates must score at least 55pc in MDCAT, while dental college applicants must achieve a minimum of 50pc marks.
Importantly, the policy clarifies that MDCAT results from the previous year will not be considered for admission in 2023.
The policy also covers the admission of overseas Pakistanis and foreign candidates. They must possess equivalent educational qualifications, with at least 60pc marks earned outside Pakistan.
Students seeking admission to public and private colleges will have to submit applications through the UHS online admission portal.
The policy also allows applicants to modify their college choices in admission forms before the submission deadline. The processing fee for the admission form is set at Rs2,000.
As per the policy, admissions in government medical colleges must conclude by December 31, whereas private college admissions will be finalised by January 31.
Similarly, government dental colleges will wrap up admissions by February 15 and private dental colleges by February 28. The classes in medical colleges will commence on February 1, and those in dental colleges on March 1.
As per the new policy, admissions to government medical colleges in Punjab will be contingent upon the domicile. A the Provincial Admission Committee will oversee the entire process. It will be chaired by the UHS vice-chancellor and include the vice-chancellors of all medical universities in Punjab and a health department representative as members.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said on Thursday he was sure US Secretary of State Antony Blinken would raise the murder of a Sikh separatist leader with his Indian counterpart when the two meet later in the day.
Trudeau made his remarks to reporters in Quebec, 10 days after he announced Canada suspected Indian government agents were linked to the murder of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, which took place in the province of British Columbia in June.
India last week suspended new visas for Canadians and asked Ottawa to reduce its diplomatic presence in the country, citing what it called a deteriorating security environment.
Blinken is due to meet Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar on Thursday.
Asked directly whether Blinken would bring up the case, Trudeau replied: “The Americans will certainly discuss this matter with the Indian government.”
India has dismissed Canada’s allegations as absurd. Jaishankar though said on Tuesday that New Delhi has told Canada it was open to looking into any “specific” or “relevant” information it provides on the killing.
“One, we told the Canadians that this is not the government of India’s policy,” he had said. “Two, we told the Canadians saying that look, if you have something specific, if you have something relevant, you know, let us know — we are open to looking at it.”
Allies of Canada, including the United States, have cautiously expressed concern over the claims and urged India to cooperate with Canada’s investigation.
The US ambassador to Canada told Canadian television that some information on the case had been gathered by the Five Eyes intelligence alliance, which includes the US, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and the UK.
• Taj Haider questions if law allows ‘withdrawal’ of valid signatures
• Senate Secretariat insists requisition has become infructuous
ISLAMABAD: The controversy over roadblocks in the way of a Senate session took a new turn on Wednesday as the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) raised legal questions about the alleged withdrawal of signatures by five members, who have not been officially named by the Senate Secretariat, which in turn maintains that the requisition has become infructuous.
In a letter to Senate Chairman Sadiq Sanjrani, PPP Senator Taj Haider, who had submitted a requisition signed by 28 members, said he was informed by the secretariat that “the subject requisition does not fulfil the condition of required number of members for summoning the Senate session”.
He also referred to a telephonic conversation with Mr Sanjrani, during which it had been conveyed that five senators who had signed the requisition had withdrawn their signatures.
“In response to your call, I had officially written to the secretariat to officially provide me the names of those senators who had allegedly withdrawn their names”.
He regreted that despite his written request, the September 25 letter did not mention the names of the senators who allegedly withdrew their signatures.
He said quite a few legal questions arise, even if it is assumed for a moment that the allegation of withdrawal of signatures is correct. He stressed that Consti-tution as well as the rules of procedure and conduct of business in the Senate do not provide for withdrawal of signatures from requisition after validly signing it.
“Even otherwise can valid signatures on a legal document be withdrawn on a subsequent date?” he asked. He inquired whether the alleged withdrawal by five senators had been sent to the Senate Secretariat in writing or was it only through a telephone call.
Senator Haider also sought clarification on whether the secretariat had asked the senators to submit their withdrawals in writing, given that it was a legal and constitutional matter.
He questioned whether, even if the withdrawal of signatures had been submitted to the secretariat in writing, these written letters were kept on record, and if so, could copies of these letters be provided to him.
“Even if we assume for a moment that the allegation is correct, doesn’t it open a door for a few senators to keep their other worthy colleagues hostage even after signing a requisition?.
“How can the Senate Secretariat or the office of the Senate chairman take on a role as an adjudicator for withdrawals, considering it’s not granted by the Constitution or Senate rules?” he added.
He stated that it is an established parliamentary convention for parliamentary parties’ leaders to gather the signatures of their respective party members on such documents or requisitions.
Senator Haider pointed out that under Article 54(3) of the Constitution and Senate Rule 3, it’s the constitutional duty of the Senate chairman to summon the Senate within 14 days when a requisition signed by the required members is submitted.
Senate response
In response, the Senate Secretariat said that five members withdrew their signatures through their written withdrawal letter addressed to the Senate chairman by mentioning categorically that the requisition for summoning the session to the extent of their signatures may be treated as withdrawn.
“After withdrawal of signatures by five members out of the 28 signatories, the constitutional requirement of number of signatories is not fulfilled… and legally the requisition earlier submitted has become infructuous,” Mohammad Azam, Deputy Secretary (Legislation), said in a letter, a copy of which is available with Dawn.
He, however, did not mention names of those senators who subsequently “withdrew” their signatures. He also failed to point out any law providing for withdrawal of signatures from a requisition.
The city police on Wednesday said they were trying to locate a 16-year-old maid who was allegedly abducted from an apartment near Karachi’s Seaview.
South Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIG) Syed Asad Raza told Dawn.com that the girl was allegedly kidnapped by an unidentified person from the apartment on August 15 and a complaint was subsequently registered by her father.
The month-old incident came to public attention when the victim’s father brought it to the local media’s notice, subsequently drawing significant attention on social media.
Darakhshan police had lodged a first information report (FIR) under Section 365-B (Kidnapping, abducting or inducing woman to compel for marriage etc.) of the Pakistan Penal Code on Aug 17.
The FIR said the daughter had ventured out at 11pm on Aug 15 to buy something but did not return, adding that the family searched for her but could not find anything. The father said he suspected that some “unknown person” had abducted her for “unknown reasons or sexual intercourse”.
DIG Raza said the complainant had informed the police that his daughter worked as a maid at the home of a cousin of a renowned pir (spiritual guide) of Sindh.
The DIG said the initial investigation had revealed that she was using a mobile phone without permission, which greatly angered her employer.
“As a result, the employer contacted her father to bring her back home. Later, the girl allegedly left the residence, and her whereabouts have remained unknown since then,” the officer added.
DIG Raza mentioned that investigators had questioned several individuals and a joint investigation team was constituted by the police for the case.
The DIG said the police were working on the case and some arrests were expected very soon, which may help to solve the case.
Meanwhile, speaking to Time News — a Sindhi TV news channel — the girl’s father expressed concerns, suspecting that his daughter might have been allegedly “killed or sold” by her female employer, Naeema Shah, allegedly a member of a pir family in Pir Jo Goth.
He recounted that he received information about his daughter’s disappearance from the employer’s home in Defence Housing Authority and, upon arriving in Karachi from Khairpur, alleged that he was forcibly confined within the Pir family’s house for two days.
According to the father, neighbours reported hearing the girl’s cries and screams nearly every night. He claimed to have faced threats and warnings of dire consequences when he raised this issue with Naeema Shah’s brother, Pir Lalan Shah.
Ayaz alleged that Lalan cautioned him against pursuing the matter, suggesting that it would render him unwelcome in Pir Jo Goth.
The father appealed to the police to take the case of his missing daughter seriously, expressed his extreme disturbance at the situation and lamented that the police were not giving due attention to the matter.
ISLAMABAD: The Intelligence Bureau (IB) on Tuesday expressed before the Supreme Court its intention to withdraw a petition asking the top court to revisit the 2019 verdict against the sit-in by the Tehreek-i-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) in Faizabad, Islamabad, which lasted 20 days in 2017.
“The petitioner intends to withdraw the titled civil review petition and does not want to pursue the matter in the case,” said a single-page request filed on behalf of the IB director general, two days ahead of the scheduled hearing.
Headed by Chief Justice Qazi Faez Isa, a three-judge bench, which includes Justice Aminuddin Khan and Justice Athar Minallah, is due to take up the review petitions on September 28.
The pleas were moved by the Ministry of Defence, IB, the PTI, Sheikh Rashid Ahmed, and Pemra. The IB, however, requested the apex court to accept its plea for the withdrawal of the case.
Likewise, Sheikh Rashid, also requested the apex court to postpone its hearing for Sept 28 since his counsel Amanullah Kanrani has taken over the charge of the law minister for Balochistan; therefore, he was not in a position to appear before the apex court.
Authored by Justice Isa, the scathing judgement had instructed the defence ministry and the services chiefs to penalise personnel under their command who were found to have violated their oath.
The judgement had directed the federal government to monitor those advocating hate, extremism and terrorism and prosecute them in accordance with the law.
Adverse observations were also made against several government departments for causing inconvenience to the public as the sit-in paralysed life in Islamabad and Rawalpindi.
In its review petition, the defence ministry contended there was no evidence to suggest armed forces were involved with either the sit-in or a particular outcome of the elections in 2018.
It also requested the court to set aside the explicit or implicit observations about armed forces and the Inter-services Intelligence.
The petition claimed that to further their designs, several hostile foreign intelligence agencies have “created a false perception against Pakistan and its armed forces that they aid and support extremist organisations in the region”.
The Intelligence Bureau’s review petition had urged the court to set aside its observations against the department.
Calling itself a premier civilian intelligence agency responsible for state security, the bureau claimed the order created a “bad impression” on the public that IB was transgressing its mandate and involved in unlawful activities and politics.
The observations were based on “vague facts”, the bureau claimed, adding during the sit-in, it was in close contact with federal and Punjab governments and forewarned them about the plans and intentions of TLP.
In its petition moved through the party’s secretary general, the PTI questioned the mention of its joint sit-in with Pakistan Awami Tehreek in 2014 in the verdict.
It added that “the impression one gets from it was that the party conducted an illegal protest for publicity and deliberately made wrong allegations”.
The review petition urged the court to remove the remarks as the 2014 sit-in was held for genuine reasons and in accordance with the fundamental rights of the people.
Sheikh Rashid Ahmed had approached the court to remove his name from the judgement.
In his petition, Mr Ahmed pleaded that if the words concerning him in para-4 of the judgement were not expunged, he would suffer in life.
LAHORE: With the PML-N seemingly undecided what its narrative would be in the upcoming elections, a close aide of PML-N supremo Nawaz Sharif has claimed the party was not “demanding accountability of former army chief Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa and former ISI head Gen Faiz Hamid.”
His statement coincided with reports from London that Mr Nawaz was having second thoughts to his stated position on his demand for accountability of ex-generals and judges.
Addressing a press conference at the party’s office in Model Town on Tuesday, Javed Latif said, “We [PML-N] do not demand accountability of Gen Bajwa and Gen Hamid but only those characters and facilitators involved in May 9 events and mutiny against the head of the institution.” He was referring to attacks on military installations in the wake of PTI chief Imran Khan’s arrest.
Mr Latif’s remarks have raised more questions over the party’s narrative as he is considered close to the elder Sharif and had been quite vocal in his demand to make former generals and judges an example for “conspiring against the ex-PM’s Sharif government” in 2017.
Javed Latif says party seeking action against May 9 perpetrators; leaders see statement as ‘signal of new plan’
“Although 90 per cent in the PML-N think that Gen Bajwa and Faiz Hamid were responsible [for Nawaz Sharif’s disqualification], we are not demanding any action whatsoever against them.”
Referring to those who attacked military installations on May 9 as “terrorists”, Mr Latif said they should not be allowed to take part in politics.
The PML-N leader added that Mr Sharif has advised against any grand reception upon his return on Oct 21 “because of the problems faced by the nation”.
Mr Sharif will give a plan to make Pakistan economically strong in his address at Minar-i-Pakistan, he added.
‘Changed line’
Mr Latif’s “softer stance” on the issue is being interpreted as a ‘clear signal’ of the party leadership’s thinking about a new strategy after the ex-PM’s onslaught on former generals and judges.
PML-N senior leader Khurram Dastgir also indirectly confirmed the party was looking to eschew the “accountability narrative”.
“We had tried [former] general Musharraf under Article 6, but what happened afterwards is before everyone,” Mr Dastagir told a private TV channel on Tuesday. “I believe we should not repeat this episode.”
Similarly, PML-N Punjab President Rana Sanaullah, who of late called the ex-generals “national criminals” and demanded action against them, also appeared cautious in targeting them further.
Commenting on the situation, a senior PML-N leader from Punjab told Dawn Mr Latif’s remarks were a “clear hint” that the party’s supreme leader has accepted the request of his younger brother and others to “not declare war on the former generals”.
On Sept 18, the elder Sharif went on a tirade against the former general and chief justices — Asif Khosa and Saqib Nisar — while addressing the party’s ticket holders.
His demand for strict accountability left many in the party in a precarious position as the leaders became wary of a possible backlash if the elder Sharif continued with such statements.
This prompted his younger brother, Shehbaz Sharif, to skedaddle back to London within 48 hours of his return.
He tried to convince his elder brother to “tone down” his stance, saying that this narrative might draw the ire of the powers that be, who have otherwise been quite friendly to the party during the previous government’s tenure.
Reports suggested that some members of his family were trying to prevail upon Mr Nawaz to revisit his strong position on the accountability of former generals and judges.
Asked about such reports, Mr Latif said Shehbaz Sharif could “only give suggestions” to his brother, but once the latter took a decision, “everyone in the party had to follow it”.
ISLAMABAD: The European Union has released an additional one million euros in humanitarian aid to respond to floods that directly or indirectly affected some 900,000 people in the past weeks.
The new funding comes in addition to the 16.5 million euros already allocated in humanitarian assistance to Pakistan earlier this year, in order to assist the most vulnerable population affected by conflict and climate-induced disasters.
The funding will help address the most pressing needs of vulnerable people in Balochistan, Sindh, Punjab and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, says a press release of EU delegation in Islamabad on Monday.
The Commissioner for Crisis Management, Janez Lenarcic, said: “One year after the tragic floods that caused tremendous suffering in Pakistan, the EU remains committed to helping those most in need.
“As the new rains have displaced thousands of people in parts of the country, the additional EU funding will help support vulnerable communities as they try to recover their former lives.”
This allocation will be used to provide multi-sectoral humanitarian assistance to those who remain displaced, as well as those who have returned to their place of origin, given the level of damage to houses and basic services such as water, sanitation and health.
ISLAMABAD: In an unusual public rebuke, the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (Ogra) has advised against speculation on petroleum prices, which could “disrupt” the smooth supply chain.
In a public statement on Monday, the petroleum regulator emphasised “the importance of avoiding speculations regarding the prices of petroleum products”.
Even though the statement excluded any explicit reference, the caution was apparently in response to the statements by two caretaker federal ministers, who had hinted at a reduction in prices in the next fortnightly review, due on Sept 30.
Their optimism was based on the improved value of the rupee, which has gone up by Rs16.24 against the dollar since hitting a record low of 307.1 in the inter-bank market on Sept 5.
Regulator’s ‘unusual’ warning comes on heels of optimistic statements by two members of caretaker cabinet
On Monday, Ogra pointed out that the prices are determined on the basis of international market prices and the exchange rate.
While the exchange rate “has shown improvement”, there is still one week remaining before the announcement of new prices.
It also added that there has been a surge in international prices recently, implying that it could offset the anticipated relief.
“Therefore, any speculation about price increases or decreases during this period is highly speculative and could potentially disrupt the smooth functioning of the oil supply chain.”
Price reduction ‘not guaranteed’
An official involved in the pricing process said the international prices are going up while the exchange rate is slowly coming down, but there are also some outstanding adjustments that may need to be allowed to oil marketing companies (OMC).
“Price movement could go either way over the remaining five days.”
Similar views were expressed by the caretaker petroleum minister, Muhammad Ali, who said at a news conference that it was very premature to predict prices as the rupee had strengthened while international prices had appreciated.
In the past, the regulator routinely urged journalists not to speculate on petroleum prices even when it formally sent working papers to the government a day before the announcement of new prices.
However, this time, the federal cabinet ministers started the speculations a week after the government increased the prices by Rs26 per litre. The massive surge came on the back of cash flow constraints, dwindling foreign exchange and high financing costs.
Between August 15 and September 15, petrol and high-speed diesel (HSD) prices have increased by Rs58.43 and Rs55.83 per litre, respectively.
Interestingly, the hints at price reductions were made by caretaker Commerce Minister Gohar Ejaz and caretaker Information Minister Murtaza Solangi, both of whom have no role in determining the prices.
Regulator’s role
While the regulator, Ogra, is independent under the law, its role in pricing is also very limited, so much so to the extent of being ‘an accountant’.
It merely calculates the landing cost — provided by Pakistan State Oil — of products along with the exchange rate, adds taxes and commissions for dealers and OMCs, and presents a working paper to the Ministry of Finance.
The ultimate decision is made by the Ministry of Finance after the prime minister’s nod.
At present, the general sales tax is zero on all petroleum products, but the government is charging Rs60 and Rs50 per litre petroleum development levy on petrol and HSD, respectively. The prices also include about Rs18 to Rs22 per litre customs duty.
