International

In a bid to monitor the migration pattern, movement and behaviour of the Indus River dolphin, WWF-Pakistan in collaboration with the Sindh Wildlife Department and Punjab Wildlife and Parks Department plans to place satellite tags on three of the fresh water endangered species, shortly. The first Indus River dolphin was tagged in 2009, which provided valuable information about the species and demonstrated scientifically that dolphins could pass upstream and downstream Sukkur barrage, World Wide Fund for Nature-Pakistan (WWF-Pakistan) said while marking the International World River Dolphin Day 2020. The planned tagging will also help generate information about impact of seasonal variation, changes in freshwater flows and quality of the water, it said.  Classified as endangered, the Indus River dolphin or blind dolphin (locally called Bhulan) is a freshwater cetacean, endemic to the Indus River system.  Although it is challenging to tag Indus dolphins due to their small dorsal fins and surfacing for just a few seconds, starting with a small number is a good idea to test how the tags work and generate valuable information about this freshwater species.  WWF-Pakistan believes that Pakistan offers this unique tagging opportunity as dolphins are regularly rescued from canals. Commenting on the population range and threats to the Indus River dolphin, Dr Uzma Khan, Asia Coordinator, River Dolphins River Initiative, WWF said that the Indus dolphin was found in all major rivers of Pakistan including Sutlej, Beas, Ravi and Jhelum. However, infrastructure development wiped out the population in these rivers and now it is only found in the Indus River with only six to eight dolphins existing in the Beas River section in India. A decline of around 80% has been witnessed in the habitat range of the Indus River dolphin due to barrages. She felt the canal stranding is a regular feature and on average eight dolphins become trapped in canals every year, which are then physically trans-located back to the mainstream of the Indus River. “Apart from habitat fragmentation, unsustainable and illegal fishing practices pose a threat to the population of the Indus River dolphin,” she added. According to last survey conducted in 2017, a total of 1,816 dolphins were reported in the Indus River. The largest population of the dolphin, 1,075 individuals, is concentrated along a 200km patch between Guddu and Sukkar barrages, which was declared the Indus Dolphin Reserve in 1974. Earlier, three surveys were conducted i.e. in 2001, 2006 and 2011 in which 965, 1,410 and 1,452 dolphins were found respectively.  WWF-Pakistan states that as a result of community engagement in dolphin conservation initiatives, partnerships and awareness campaigns, dolphin numbers have almost doubled in the last two decades. Sharing concerns over the numerous dams planned under the China Pakistan Economic Corridor’s (CPEC) Indus Cascade Project, WWF-Pakistan is of the view that dams alter river ecology, change sediment flow which impacts hydrology and flows of a river posing threats to prey species and their breeding grounds leading to damaging habitat of river dolphins.  Moreover, the Inland Waterway Project planned to develop the Indus River for transportation of goods through vessels can also be detrimental for the Indus dolphin population. To create awareness among local fisher and farmer communities and sensitise youth and students about the ecological significance of river dolphins, WWF-Pakistan organised a briefing session and an awareness walk along the riverside in Ghotki district of Sindh. WWF-Pakistan believes that entanglement in fishing nets, shortage of freshwater, construction of canals and barrages on the Indus River and water pollution are key threats to the Indus River dolphin. However, community awareness and participation in rescue operations, engagement of academia and research institutes and other relevant stakeholders can play a pivotal role in conservation of this freshwater cetacean.

Prime Minister Imran Khan yesterday shared the master plan of his “dream knowledge city” at the Namal University, the major construction of which is expected to end by 2027.  Sharing a video on Twitter, the premier said it was his “dream to build Pakistan’s first knowledge city”.  He had launched the first phase of the ‘knowledge city’ project to be established at the Namal University, which is located in Mianwali.  The first phase would be completed by 2023 to accommodate 800 students and 50 faculty members, whereas the major construction work on the city is expected to be completed by 2027.  The knowledge city is expected to include academic blocks, libraries, technology parks, business centres, dairy farms, primary and secondary schools, sports facilities, a hospital, shopping centres, hotels, and a housing colony for staff, faculty, and students.  In another video from back in 2005 that he shared on his Instagram account, the PM is seen pointing to the Namal College building in the background and explaining how when he saw “this wilderness, I imagined a knowledge city the sort of knowledge city like Oxford University where I went to and which inspired me”.  “And hence you see Namal College, which, in my opinion, is the beginning God-willing of the biggest knowledge city in Pakistan,” he says in the video.  Ambitiously underlining his plan and the Namal College’s surrounding areas, he adds: “The land stretches for miles and miles ahead in this wilderness, where I hope there will be medical schools, there will be engineering schools, there will be textile schools, it would become the centre of education in Pakistan and a beautiful environment where you have a lake where the students will have recreation and then you see the salt range, one of the oldest rock structures in Pakistan, with the oldest historical monuments lying up in these ranges.  “And of course, then there’s this road which goes all the way to Islamabad and, the other way, it goes to the Indus Highway and also to the tribal areas of Pakistan,” he says.

Prime Minister Imran Khan yesterday said Pakistan will extend support to any government which comes into power in Afghanistan. Addressing the inaugural session of Pakistan-Afghanistan Trade and Investment Forum 2020 in Islamabad, he said Pakistan wanted to see its neighbour free from the menace of terrorism and that the resolution of Afghan conflict will not only benefit Afghanistan but the entire region.  The PM reaffirmed Pakistan’s strong determination to continue to play its role for peace and stability in Afghanistan. He made the point that it unfortunate that Afghanistan was in grip of terrorism since last 40 years but in a reference to spoilers pointed out that history was witness to the hard knuckle reality that interference from outside never succeeded in the country. “No-one can impact the view of the people of Afghanistan by imposing external pressure.” But he said that there was a need to bring the business community up. “Trade and industries are important for development of the country,” he stated. “Pakistan will do all that is required to boost its trade,” he remarked. He said Islamabad was making efforts to enhance connections with the business community of Afghanistan in order to benefit from each other’s experiences and give impetus to the trade and economic relations. In his remarks on the occasion, Speaker of Afghan Wolesi Jirga Mir Rahman Rahmani said Afghanistan values the contributions of Pakistan to the Afghan peace process. He said the relationship between Pakistan and Afghanistan are deep rooted in common culture, faith and values. He stressed the need for enhancing parliamentary contacts between the two countries.  Speaking on the occasion, National Assembly Speaker Asad Qaiser said there was a need for closer links between the business community of both countries to help expand possibilities of trade and commerce. He felt these links could be strengthened through people-to-people contacts, exchange of parliamentary delegations and close links between political leadership, he stated. He added that Pakistan wants to improve its relations with the brotherly country of Afghanistan in all spheres of economic activity. Qaiser maintained that facilitating the traders’ community will help alleviate poverty and that Pakistan would continue to play its role in Afghan peace process.

Punjab Chief Minister Usman Buzdar yesterday inaugurated the much-awaited Lahore’s Orange Line Metro Train (OLMT). Buzdar formally launched the project from Dera Gujran Orange Line Metro station. Orange Line is an automated rapid transit system in Lahore and is Pakistan’s first metro in the entire country. It spans 27.1km 25.4km of which is elevated and 1.72km underground. The line will be served by 26 stations and is expected to handle 250,000 passengers daily. It is a part of the wider China-Pakistan Economic Corridor project and being financed by both the governments of Pakistan and China. The project was initiated in May 2014 while financing for the project was secured in December 2015 when China’s Exim Bank agreed to provide a soft loan of $1.55 billion for the project. The construction works on the project began in October 2015.  Speaking on the occasion, Buzdar said the mega project is part of China-Pakistan Economic Corridor and the provincial government made hectic efforts to complete the project. “I thank the Chinese government for their help and support in completion of the project,” he stated. The CM stated that Pakistan and China have good ties and will continue to extend cooperation in other sectors. He added that the service will benefit the people of Lahore and address transport woes. “It will provide state-of-the-art transport facilities to the people with low travel cost,” Buzdar said. Meanwhile, Special Assistant to PM on Political Communication Shahbaz Gill has said the government will pay Rs12 billion as annual subsidy to operate the train service. He stated that the operating cost of per ticket is Rs274 per ticket while the subsidy is Rs234. “The Punjab government should declare it a day of mourning as it is a failed project,” Gill remarked. A few months ago, the senior officials of the Punjab government took a ride in the Lahore Orange Line Metro Train that completed its high speed test run. The test run of the train was conducted at the high speed of over 70km per hour and it was completed in 20 minutes.

Prime Minister Imran Khan said yesterday that French President Emmanuel Macron has “attacked Islam” by encouraging the display of cartoons depicting the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH). Khan’s comments come days after Macron paid tribute to a French history teacher beheaded by a radical who wanted to avenge the use of cartoons depicting the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) in a class on freedom of expression. “Sadly, President Macron has chosen to deliberately provoke Muslims, incl his own citizens, through encouraging the display of blasphemous cartoons targeting Islam & our Prophet PBUH,” Khan said on Twitter. Muslims see any depiction of the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) as blasphemous. Macron said the teacher was a hero and that Islamists were a threat to the country. Khan said Macron could have shown a “healing touch” to deny space to extremists but had instead “chosen to encourage Islamophobia by attacking Islam rather than the terrorists who carry out violence, be it Muslims, White Supremacists or Nazi ideologists”. France has in recent years witnessed a series of violent attacks by militants, including the 2015 Charlie Hebdo killings and bombings and shootings in November 2015 at the Bataclan theatre and sites around Paris that killed 130 people. “By attacking Islam, clearly without having any understanding of it, President Macron has attacked & hurt the sentiments of millions of Muslims in Europe & across the world,” Khan added. Khan’s comments follow a similar broadside fired by Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan against Macron, following which France recalled its ambassador from Ankara. The cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH), first published in 2005 by Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten, have stirred outrage and violent protests in Pakistan. There were more protests last month when the cartoons were re-published by the French satirical weekly Charlie Hebdo. The prime minister yesterday also wrote to Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg seeking the social media platform to place a similar ban on Islamophobia and hate against Islam similar to the one that has been put in place for Holocaust.  “I am writing to draw your attention to the growing Islamophobia that is encouraging hate, extremism and violence across the world and especially through the use of social media platforms including Facebook. I appreciate your taking the step to rightly ban any posting that criticises or questions the Holocaust,” Khan wrote to Zuckerberg. “However, today we are seeing a similar pogrom against Muslims in different parts of the world. Unfortunately, in some states, Muslims are being denied their citizenship rights and their democratic personal choices from dress to worship,” he said.  “In France, Islam has been associated with terrorism and publication of blasphemous cartoons targeting Islam and our Holy Prophet (PBUH) has been allowed. This will lead to further polarisation and marginalisation of Muslims in France. How will the French distinguish between radical extremist Muslim citizens and the mainstream Muslim citizenry of Islam? We have seen how marginalisation inevitably leads to extremism — something the world does not need,” he added. “Given the rampant abuse and vilification of Muslims on social media platforms, I would ask you to place a similar ban on Islamophobia and hate against Islam for Facebook that you have put in place for the Holocaust. The message of hate must be banned in total — one cannot send a message that while hate messages against some are unacceptable, these are acceptable against others. Nor should the world have to wait for a pogrom against Muslims, to be completed before Islamophobia is banned. This in itself is reflective of prejudice and bias that will encourage further radicalisation,” the Pakistani leader pointed out.

The Pakistan Federation Baseball (PFB) is gearing up to set a new world record, presently held by the US, when it organises exhibitions matches between Pakistan Greens and Whites teams in Skardu city on Oct 31, at the highest altitude of above 7,000 feet besides staging an inter-district championship in Gilgit-Baltistan. Currently, Denver (Colorado) in the US is the highest baseball playing point at 5,130 feet while Skardu is located at an altitude of around 7,310 feet. Another exhibition baseball match will be staged in Gilgit on November 3. “The subject of organising these matches at the highest altitude by Pakistan has already been highlighted by the world baseball federation on its website,” PFB president Syed Fakhar Ali Shah said while addressing a press conference here at the office of the Sports Journalists Association of Lahore (SJAL).  “Due to cold weather, currently prevailing in that area, it is not easy to hold the matches. However, the PFB has arranged special kits for the players to meet all the challenges of the harsh weather there,” he added. To a question however, Fakhar said all the arrangements were being made on self-help basis without any assistance from the government. He hoped that besides the private sector, the federal and other governments in this regard would come forward to play their role as the country would earn a unique honour globally by staging baseball matches at the highest altitude. “For the last ten days, the PFB has been in contact with the government at different levels and hopefully, soon it would come forward to help us out for this national cause.” He said the PFB was also going to set up a baseball academy in Gilgit next month like it had done in Okara, Multan and some other places of Pakistan. The PFB president said an inter-district championship of Gilgit-Baltistan featuring four teams would be staged on November 3 and 4. “A two-day coaching course will also be held in Gilgit-Baltistan during the inter-district championship to prepare the technical staff of this region,” Fakhar stated. He said two women of Hunza valley had already represented Pakistan in the World Cup held in South Korea and they produced fine performance mainly due to their better stamina. “Due to Covid-19, all baseball events across the world have been deferred for the next year. And now, due to financial constraints, it will be a challenge [for PFB] to field the national team in six international events being held in the year 2021,” the PFB president added. “The PFB needs financial support from the Ministry of Inter-provincial Coordination, otherwise, it will be difficult for us to compete in the international competitions.” Meanwhile, Fakhar said if the government extended support to the PFB, the federation could organise home series against Malaysia, Bangladesh and Egypt, noting these countries were interested in coming to Pakistan.

Award-winning Pakistani filmmaker Shehzad Hameed Ahmad was recently honoured by United Women Singapore for championing the cause of gender equality through his films. In an online ceremony, Singapore-based Ahmad was awarded the Gender Equality Impact Changemaker (Male Individual) award. Over the last 10 years, Shehzad has done considerable work to highlight women’s causes and creating awareness for gender equality. His work includes the likes of The Pakistani Four (2012), where he traversed across America to film the journey of four Pakistani American women; Flight of the Falcons (2015), that profiled the inspiring journey of Pakistani schoolteacher and her two-room school in Aroop, Gujranwala that highlighted the issues of girls’ education in rural Pakistan; and Nepal’s Child Brides 2017, that highlights the work of Nepali activists in creating awareness about this crucial issue. He works on a range of different topics with his work being featured on TVF International, Toggle, DawnNews TV, National Geographic, TV Ontario, CNA and Crime and Investigation Channel, amongst others.

Pakistan has reported its single-highest day coronavirus cases since July after 847 people tested positive for the novel virus. Some 31,009 tests were conducted across the country in the last 24 hours, taking the total number of tests conducted to 4,235,329. The country has confirmed 327,459 coronavirus cases. Out of these, 10,235 are active cases, while 586 are critical cases. The country also reported 12 more deaths from Covid-19, taking the nationwide death toll to 6,727. In the last 24 hours, 455 people also recovered from the virus. So far, Sindh has reported 143,222 cases and 2,594 deaths; Punjab 102,467 cases and 2,334 deaths; Balochistan 15,791 cases and 148, and KP 38,923 infections and 1,268 death.  Similarly, 18,764 cases and 207 deaths have been reported from Islamabad; 4,148 cases, and 90 deaths from Gilgit-Baltistan (GB); and 3,748 cases, and 86 deaths in Azad Jammu and Kashmir.  The National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) has taken notice of the alarming spike in the cases during the last couple of days and noted that Muzaffarabad, Hyderabad, Karachi and GB have a higher positivity ratio along with other areas across the country. It also declared markets, marriage halls, the transport sector, restaurants and public gatherings as high-risk areas.  But the World Health Organization (WHO) has appreciated the response of federal and provincial governments of Pakistan for effectively containing the pandemic. The WHO mission from EMRO region was presenting their findings at a debriefing session in Islamabad, chaired by Special Assistant to Prime Minister on National Health Services Dr Faisal Sultan.  The WHO mission, comprising a team of WHO experts, is on 10-day visit to Pakistan to review lessons learnt from Pakistan’s Covid-19 response and to work with national and provincial health experts. The main area of review was surveillance, point of entry, risk communication and community engagement, and continuity in essential health services.  President of Pakistan Arif Alvi yesterday urged people to adopt precautionary measures to avert the resurgence of the pandemic. Talking to Governor Balochistan Amanullah Khan Yasinzai in Quetta, he said the coronavirus situation is not alarming in Pakistan but in many countries it is once again becoming a concern. Balochistan Governor informed the president that the teaching process has been initiated in universities under SOPs across the province. Chief Secretary Balochistan apprised the meeting that the coronavirus rate is 1.5 per cent in the province and positive tests have been reported in 500 students. The president expressed satisfaction over the steps taken by government for prevention of coronavirus in Balochistan.

The long-awaited detailed judgment in the Justice Qazi Faez Isa case was finally delivered with Justice Yahya Afridi’s dissenting note surprising many as it recommended criminal proceedings against Law Minister Farogh Naseem and Assets Recovery Unit (ARU) Chairman Mirza Shahzad Akbar, among others.  In a 24-page judgment, Justice Afridi also declared that President Arif Alvi failed to discharge his constitutional obligations as ordained under Article 209(5) of the Constitution by showing blatant and uncalled for obedience to the “advice” of the prime minister for filing the reference against a sitting judge of the apex court. In his dissenting note, Justice Afridi, who had earlier dismissed Justice Isa’s petition but allowed superior bars petitions against the presidential reference, has given a detailed reasoning as to why he reached such conclusions and for what reasons the law minister and others have exposed themselves to criminal proceedings in his view.  “The direction of the law minister and the ARU chairman to solicit, obtain and receive confidential information regarding the income tax returns of Justice Isa and Sarina Isa, prima facie, exposes them to criminal prosecution for having committed an offence under Section 199 read with sections 198 and 216(1) of the Ordinance,” Justice Afridi stated in the judgment. Subsequently, Justice Yahya has directed the incumbent Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) chairman to ensure that the entire record of the present case is placed before the FBR “to proceed under the law, against the law minister, the ARU chairman, the then FBR chairman and all the concerned income tax officers qua their role in ordering to inquire into, solicit, disclose and receive confidential information relating to the income tax returns of Justice Isa and Isa”. Similarly, the top court’s judge continued the fact that the then FBR chairman and the income tax officials having not refused the illegal directions of the law minister and ARU chairman, and passing on confidential information to them, prima facie, exposes them not only to departmental action but also to penal consequences under Section 198 read with Section 216(1) of the Income Tax Ordinance, 2001. Ensuring that the matter does not remain pending for long, Justice Afridi has sought a compliance report of the above action of the FBR to be submitted by the incumbent FBR chairman under his signature to the registrar of the Supreme Court not later than 15 days from receipt of the judgment. Leaving nothing to imagination, Justice Afridi has made it clear that “no constitutional immunity from prosecution would be available to the law minister or any other federal minister for issuing directions to obtain legally confidential information, and that too in the face of the said direction to an officer of the government to commit an offence under the ordinance.” He said that it was further vehemently asserted that the law minister was immune from criminal prosecution under Article 248 of the Constitution. The judge has stated that the law minister and the ARU chairman lacked the mandate to initiate an inquiry against a sitting judge of the Supreme Court, as the legal domain to do so rests solely with the Supreme Judicial Council, and none other. Declaring his fellow judge’s petitions not maintainable, Justice Afridi has accepted the constitutional challenge made by the petitioners representing the entire lawyers’ community of the country. “[They] have been able to successfully establish that the worthy president grossly failed to exercise his discretion as mandated under the Constitution and, thus, the entire process built thereon leading to the filing of the reference was in violation of the law and the Constitution,” he declared. In the judgment, he stated that the income tax officials proceed unlawfully by disclosing confidential information to unauthorised persons, noting that the chain of directions emanated from the law minister. Subsequently, he stated that all persons at different rungs of the governmental hierarchy, who were part of this unlawful disclosure of confidential information, have exposed themselves to penal prosecution.

Prime Minister Imran Khan has vowed to bring Nawaz Sharif back from London to serve his prison sentence, and said that he would visit the United Kingdom if necessary to make it happen. He made these comments in an interview with local media. The prime minister said that he is ready to visit UK to meet his counterpart Boris Johnson over the Sharif issue. Sharif, a former three-time premier and the Pakistan Muslim League – Nawaz (PML-N) supremo, has been living in London for nearly a year, after being temporarily released from prison for a duration of eight weeks for medical treatment. Pakistan has already made official contact with the authorities in London via letter over the aforementioned issue. The letter was written to UK Home Secretary Priti Patel by Prime Minister Khan’s anti-corruption special adviser, Mirza Shahzad Akbar, on October 5. Meanwhile, federal Information Minister Shibli Faraz assured the country that Sharif would be in a Pakistani jail by January 15. “Nawaz Sharif would be in Kot Lakhpat Jail by January 15,” he told a press conference yesterday. Faraz said that Prime minister Khan is determined to hold the “corrupt gang” accountable.  “They are expert in corruption, and looted the nation’s wealth with impunity,” he claimed. The minister added that those saying “vote ko izzat do [give respect to vote]” – a slogan used by the PML-N – “gave respect to money” during their years in power. Faraz also spoke about CCTV footage of Captain Safdar’s arrest from a hotel in Sindh capital Karachi, obtained by the media, saying that the broken door was not seen as claimed by the PML-N. Safdar is the husband of Maryam Nawaz, Sharif’s daughter. “As per the footage, Captain Safdar seemed comfortable in police custody,” the minister said. “Their lies have now been exposed.” The minister maintained that whatever happened in Sindh, the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) provincial government was responsible, not the federal authorities. “We [the federal government] did not arrest Captain Safdar, Sindh police arrested him,” said Faraz. He said that the opposition parties are not “sincere with each other” and “playing politics”. The opposition and the federal government have been at loggerheads since the Sindh police’s top brass sought to proceed on leave en masse in protest against the “demoralising and shocking” treatment of the police chief in the events that led to the arrest of PML-N leader Safdar. Safdar landed in a controversy on Sunday when he raised the PML-N’s slogan of “vote ko izzat do” while standing inside the innermost sanctum of Quaid-e-Azam Mohamed Ali Jinnah’s mausoleum. The act was decried by many as being disrespectful and in violation of the laws protecting the sanctity of the Quaid-e-Azam’s mazar – a crime which carries a maximum sentence of three years’ imprisonment and/or a fine. A case was subsequently filed against him and Maryam Nawaz for violating the sanctity of the mazar. Safdar was subsequently arrested from a hotel early in the morning on Monday and taken to Aziz Bhatti Police Station, where he was kept for hours before being released on bail. The Sindh government has distanced itself from the registration of the case against the PML-N leader and the early morning arrest.

Muhammad Ikram, 32, takes aim, flexes his neck and strikes with his chin, sending the cue ball across the table and sinking his shot in a corner pocket. Born without arms, Ikram has nevertheless mastered the game of snooker. In Samundri, a dusty, rural town in Punjab province, Ikram has spent eight years pushing a cue ball around with his chin, and now he can take on anyone. "I have met very good snooker players who tell me I am a real genius, and that I can bring great fame to Pakistan," Ikram told Reuters Television. One of nine born into a poor family, Ikram was uneducated and deprived as a child. His main pastime was watching people play snooker, a game no one dreamed he could ever play. He does not remember how the idea struck him, but somewhere along the line, he started practicing in secret. Muhammad Ikram poses along a street in Samundri "He would eagerly watch the other boys play. He would keep wishing he also had arms so he could play like them," said his mother, Razia Bibi. "Then he started using his chin." Mian Usman Ahmed, co-owner of Cuemaster Snooker Club, says Ikram has won several prizes in local tournaments over the past two years. "He would come to the club and ask that he be allowed to play. We would look at his arms and feel he was unable to," Ahmed said. "He insisted we allow him to ... prove himself. When he did that, we saw he was actually very good." Ikram says people appreciate his undaunted spirit, and some eateries allow him to eat for free, with waiters volunteering to spoon-feed him. "God has not given me arms, but He has given me courage. And I have used that spirit to fulfil my ambition. So, no one should lose hope," Ikram said when asked what he would say to others with disabilities. He hopes one day, with government help, to play at the international level. Pakistan has 3.3 million people with disabilities, according to official figures, although other surveys put the number as high as nearly 13% of a population of about 210 million. 

Veteran Afghan politician and Hizb-e-Islami’s leader Gulbuddin Hekmatyar said Pakistan should facilitate Afghan investors and businessmen to enable them to bring their investment to Pakistan from the rest of the countries. Speaking at the Institute of Policy Studies, Islamabad, upon conclusion of his three-day visit to Pakistan at the invitation of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Hekmatyar said Afghans had invested about $20 billion in other countries, including Turkey and the Gulf states during the war. He suggested that Pakistan should facilitate Afghan investors and businessmen for enabling them to bring their investment to the country. Afghan investors should be given facilities including permission to open bank accounts, buy property on the basis of Afghan passports, and long-term visas such as those provided by certain European countries, Hekmatyar proposed. He said during his meetings with the top Pakistani leadership he held detailed discussions on providing facilities to the Afghan investors, and expressed the hope it would be implemented soon. “The response we got from the Pakistani authorities was very positive and I hope Islamabad will soon announce these facilities for Afghan investors,” Hekmatyar said, adding that investing in Pakistan would be more viable for Afghans than any other country. On the Afghan peace process, he said the only durable solution for peace in Afghanistan was that “the US should withdraw its troops and a non-aligned, independent and sovereign government should be formed by Afghans in light of their beliefs and traditions without any interference”. “Otherwise, the country would slip into another civil war,” warned the former Afghan warlord. Hekmatyar, who has twice served as Afghan prime minister in the 1990s, said it was the requirement of justice that those who have sacrificed for Afghanistan for so many years should have the right to govern the country now. He said Afghan groups should have the opportunity to enter into negotiations with each other at a neutral venue on only two-point agenda: the withdrawal of the US from Afghanistan and an independent sovereign government. The other national issues such as constitution and type of government should be left for later, after peace is restored, he said, adding these are national issues and no external forces have the right to decide about these matters. “The US has been defeated in Afghanistan without achieving any goals and the corrupt and incompetent government of Ashraf Ghani is the main reason for its failure. It will be a mistake, if the US now adopts another policy other than leaving Afghanistan,” he added. He said unfortunately some countries think a vacuum might be created once the US leaves Afghanistan which they will be able to fill. “I hope Americans will not repeat the deadly mistake of the Soviets who established their puppet government in Kabul before leaving Afghanistan,” he added. Hekmatyar warned rival countries against transferring their hostilities to Afghan soil. “The continuation of war in Afghanistan is not in anyone’s favour, including India. The reason behind India’s support of the current Afghan government could be Kashmir,” he said, adding that India should not transfer its Kashmir war to Afghanistan. He said his group had endorsed the US-Taliban agreement although they had their own observations and reservations about the process and also wanted to be part of the negotiations. However, it contains the vital point that the US will leave Afghanistan, though its timeframe could have been reduced. He maintained that majority of political parties in Afghanistan were not supporting the Afghan government’s stance on the peace process. He felt the current government in Kabul was not ready to enter into negotiations with all political parties. “Negotiations would start between Hizb-e-Islami and Taliban with the objective to make the peace durable and lasting. Peace is not achievable without bringing every stakeholder on board,” he added. Hekmatyar said the US-Taliban peace agreement would not have been possible without the critical support and facilitation of Pakistan. “Pakistan helped the US in Afghanistan but the Americans still preferred India over Pakistan. “This is because superpowers have their own designs and they do things in their own interests,” he added. He said that his visit to Pakistan comes at a time when the Afghan peace negotiation process was at a critical stage and that Pakistan was keen for an Afghan-owned peace process in Afghanistan. He said the Pakistani officials had assured that all mutual problems would be solved gradually through mutual understanding. The forum was chaired by Executive President IPS Khalid Rahman and moderated by former Ambassador Syed Abrar Hussain. Pakistan’s Special Envoy for Afghanistan, former ambassador Mohammad Sadiq was also present on the occasion.

British-Pakistani Boxing star Amir Khan has declined the offer to join politics, saying that Pakistan is being run by the ‘amazing’ Prime Minister Imran Khan. In a tweet, the boxer said he has talked to his advisory team and decided to decline the offer to join Pakistan politics. “The country is run by an amazing PM Imran Khan and we all have trust in him,” he tweeted. He further said he prefers to continue with his charity work Amir Khan (AK) Foundation in the UK, Pakistan, and the rest of the world to make areas better and safer. Earlier, in a series of tweets, Amir opened about politics, saying he is asked by many to join Pakistan politics. He said he was honoured to be asked and that he would love to make Pakistan a better place and be a massive help in many areas like education, sports and child labouring. Amir and his wife Faryal Makhdoom have also set up a child protection fund ‘The Zohra Shah Child Protection Fund’ after Zohra Shah was beaten to death by her employers for releasing a set of expensive parrots from a cage in Pakistan. The fund aims to protect innocent children from human rights violations across Pakistan. During their visit to Pakistan this year, the couple also met with Zohra’s family, which they have been supporting since Zohra’s death, covering their basic living costs.

Audio and video recordings belonging to Lok Virsa that were alleged to have been stolen and moved to the United States are still in place, it emerged yesterday.  Uxi Mufti, a former executive director at Lok Virsa who headed the institution for more than 30 years, had filed a complaint with Prime Minister Imran Khan alleging that the archives of Lok Virsa were robbed by former Lok Virsa executive director Dr Fouzia Saeed.  He had also sent a communication on similar lines to Minister of Heritage Shafqat Mehmood.  Saeed, who is presently heading the Pakistan National Council of Arts (PNCA), had served a legal notice on Mufti and filed a complaint against him with the cybercrime wing of the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) for allegedly spreading false allegations about her.  But interviews with several relevant individuals, including incumbent Lok Virsa Executive Director Talha Ali Khan Kushyaha, reveal that most of them are confident that the audio and video materials are present in the archives and nothing has gone missing.  “This matter is an old one A couple of years before I had joined it is about digitised content of the original archives at Lok Virsa. I do know the ministry had conducted an inquiry into this matter and did not find any problem or any wrongdoing,” Kushvaha said.  Ali Rashid, the IT expert who had the designed search engine and had uploaded videos, audios and documents stored in the data feeder for the digitalisation project, also said there was nothing missing.  He said he was ready to go to Lok Virsa with Mufti to show to him that all the originals were there.  Simon Fatima, who was a coordinator of the project, refused to offer any comment when she was contacted.  In background interviews, many people said there were some complaints a couple of years ago regarding this issue by a former employee, leading to the initiation of an inquiry.  A formal and comprehensive inquiry was initiated by the Ministry of Information and the final report concluded in May 2019 that the complaints about the stolen archives were baseless and Lok Virsa could investigate who made the frivolous claims.  An official from Lok Virsa disclosed that as one of the archival room, with the server for the database, was locked and to be opened after the inquiry, in February 2020 all the stakeholders, representatives of the Ministry of Heritage, former and current directors general of Lok Virsa and others joined for the unlocking of the archives to make sure all the materials were present. They all witnessed and signed off on a report stating that all the data was in the server and that no data was missing.  Mufti said he had been collecting precious folkloric materials for the archives for 40 years and built the archives himself, constituting thousands of hours of audio and video material.  He also started the initiative of digitising the archives with Norwegian aid but after his term ended in 2007 the process stopped.  Later, Dr Saeed as executive director began the process again in 2016 with support from the US embassy and the Smithsonian, a credible cultural institute in the US.  Mufti has claimed that Dr Saeed used the project fund in which an NGO and the Smithsonian were partners.  He said the NGO received all the funds and Lok Virsa received nothing, adding that Dr Saeed replaced regular staff with NGO staffers to get access to the archives and then conspired to take away the archival data, which was then sold to the US.  He also shared a copy of a letter written by him to the Smithsonian seeking help in the return of ‘stolen archives’ alleged to have been transferred to the US. He declined to share the response received from the institute.  When contacted, Dr Saeed said she led the organisation for three years and did not need such a complicated exercise to gain access to its archival materials. She said the complaint was initiated by incompetent and disgruntled staff after she left Lok Virsa. She added that the purpose of digitising the archives and uploading them onto a searchable database was to create access for people to use these archival materials. She explained that the archives that are not accessible are of little use, and the search function and digital material was to give access to the public, scholars and students. She added that Mufti’s insistence on going into detail about the US-funded project only served to create confusion. She said all the work was done by Pakistanis hired by Lok Virsa while guidance and equipment came from the American grant. She explained that it was her choice not to take funds, as the EAD process of approval is long and also because there were many scandals related to the Norwegian grant which was terminated because of misuse and she did not want to take any funding whatsoever. The main issue, she said, was that the materials were very much there in the archives and “if I had to make a copy for myself it is not difficult to transfer it through the Internet or get it on the iCloud in a few minutes.” “The whole story of first transferring the regular staff out, then putting in contractual staff and then clearing the arena to steal the archives in scores of hard drives is absurd,” she said.

The National Command and Operations Centre (NCOC) yesterday issued a warning for another lockdown amid spike in Covid-19 cases in Pakistan. During the session, the body noted a clear resurgence in virus cases and deaths in the country and warned an urgent and immediate need to ensure the implementation of standard operating procedures (SOPs) for prevention of the disease.  The body issued a statement yesterday which read: “NCOC is closely monitoring the situation. If there is no improvement in SOPs compliance observed, NCOC will have no choice but to revert to strict measures leading to re-closures of services.” The chief secretaries, who attended the meeting, were directed to “strictly implement” SOPs and take “strict punitive actions” in case of violation. It also directed officials to put a “special focus” on the perceived high-risk sectors of transport, markets, marriage halls, restaurants and public gatherings. “Wearing of mask and social distancing must be ensured. Administrative actions be initiated against violators,” the NCOC told the chief secretaries. Last week, Federal Minister for Planning, Development, Reforms and Initiatives Asad Umar had hinted that the government may have to re-impose lockdown in the country to curb the virus spread, which will have “negative effects” on the livelihoods of the people.  In a series of tweets on the other day, Umar had said the national positivity of Covid-19 cases was 2.37 per cent a day earlier, which is the highest in more than 50 days. These are the “unmistakable signs of the rise of coronavirus” in Pakistan, he had noted.  The federal cabinet yesterday also expressed serious concern over increase in coronavirus cases in the country and asked people to take necessary precautions against expected second wave of the pandemic. The meeting chaired by Prime Minister Imran Khan in Islamabad was informed about the rise in number of new cases in the current month as compared to the figures of July and August. It was pointed that the rate of positivity had risen to two per cent, while the number of deaths had also gone up in two digits. The cabinet expressed commitment to ensure the availability of ample wheat across the country besides controlling its prices. The cabinet was briefed on the import of wheat reserves in the country and the commodity procured by public sector. The meeting was apprised that Punjab government had assured the availability of wheat at Utility Stores while Sindh government had given a similar commitment on wheat supply to flour mills in line with their demand. The prime minister directed detailed report in next cabinet meeting on wheat and sugar, including their prices and requirement. Meanwhile, the Ministry of National Health Services, Regulation and Coordination yesterday said that over 8,000 health workers in Pakistan have now been test positive for novel coronavirus. As of October 19, 87 workers lost their battle against the deadly virus, while the number of infected health professionals had reached 8,272. Since the outbreak of the global pandemic in Pakistan in late February, 7,902 of these healthcare professionals have successfully recovered. The official data also notes that of the sickened healthcare workers, 61 per cent are doctors. Additionally, 927 nurses have tested positive. Khyber Pakhtunkhwa tops the list for most infected health workers with 2,494; followed by Sindh, 2,255; Punjab, 1,815; Islamabad, 647; Balochistan, 536; Azad Jammu and Kashmir, 323; and lastly, Gilgit-Baltistan, 202. In terms of causalities, Sindh tops the list with 34 followed by Khyber Pakhtunkhwa 21.

Upping the ante in the face of the ongoing opposition campaign to bring down the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), the government has announced that it will not issue production orders for the Opposition Leader in the National Assembly Shahbaz Sharif. While speaking to a private news channel, Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Political Communication Shahbaz Gill said: “The opposition parties were doing reprehensible and dirty politics to protect their looted wealth and to halt the ongoing accountability process against their bigwigs.”  Gill said the production orders will not be issued for Pakistan Muslim League – Nawaz (PML-N) President Shahbaz Sharif, who is currently in the custody of National Accountability Bureau (NAB). It is a parliamentary rule vested with the office of the speaker which allows parliamentarians under arrest to be produced in the House after being summoned.  He said the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) had lost its credibility as it had failed in gathering people for their second power show in Karachi.  The people were not supporting convicted looters and plunderers, who had gathered under the banner of PDM to protect their vested interests, he added. The premier’s aide said the opposition leaders were using blackmail to secure a National Reconciliation Ordinance (NRO), but they could not get it. Earlier on Saturday, Prime Minister Imran Khan, while addressing the Tiger Force Convention in Islamabad, had turned his guns on former prime minister Nawaz Sharif, calling him out on his past links to dictators and dismissing his stance as a desperate attempt to save a legacy which has become mired in corruption cases. “The opposition has so far seen one Imran Khan,” the prime minister thundered, adding: “I used to say: give them production orders and invite them to assemblies and so on. The Imran Khan you will be seeing now is going to be a different Imran Khan.” “No dacoit will get a production order [sic] Shahbaz Sharif will not get a production order till he submits a full response in court, nor will any of the other dacoits.”

Chief of Army Staff General Qamar Javed Bajwa has ordered an inquiry into the recent “Karachi incident”, a statement by the military’s media wing Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said yesterday. “[General Bajwa] has directed Commander Karachi Corps to immediately inquire in to the circumstances to determine the facts and report back as soon as possible,” the statement said. The statement by ISPR follows Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari news conference at Bilawal House in Karachi where he urged the army chief and Director General Inter-Services Intelligence ISI) Lt General Faiz Hameed to hold an inquiry into the circumstances surrounding the arrest of Captain (retired) Safdar Awan, husband of Pakistan Muslim League – Nawaz (PML-N) vice-president Maryam Nawaz.  Safdar, who is the son-in-law of former prime minister Nawaz Sharif, had raised political slogans at the famed and sanctified mausoleum of Pakistan’s founder Muhammad Ali Jinnah a day earlier. The law prohibits any political activity around the last resting place of Jinnah — popularly revered as the Quaid-e-Azam (Great Leader).  Safdar was released on bail on Monday — the same day of his arrest — but the events surrounding the arrest have snowballed into a major controversy pulling in the arms of the Sindh administration and the security establishment as to who calibrated the arrest and the circumstances which led to the episode.   The Sindh government has publicly denied any role in the arrest with Bilawal apologising to Maryam Nawaz for the “embarrassment”, saying it was against “the tradition of Sindhi culture”. The arrest came hours after the two scions addressed a public rally on the platform of the newly-formed Pakistan Democractic Movement (PDM)   Addressing reports of the police being pressurised to register a police complaint against Safdar, Bilawal said that every police officer in Sindh, from a station house officer to senior police officers, were wondering who had “surrounded Inspector General (IG) Sindh Mushtaq Mahar’s office at 2am on Sunday night”. “Who were the two persons who went inside the IG’s house at 2am and where was our IG taken at 4am in the morning?” he asked. Bilawal urged Gen Bajwa and Lt Gen Hameed to hold an investigation into their institutions and determine how their people were operating in the province. “Persons from these institutions should be focusing on matters of national security and the law and order issues of the province,” he said. “Our civilian institutions and these institutions have to work together [to uphold the law in Sindh].” Bilawal said that interference in police matters was intolerable, adding that he had “condemned it in the strongest words.” Later on, a statement by the Media Cell Bilawal House said that General Bajwa and Bilawal spoke on the telephone “to discuss the Karachi incident”. According to the statement, the PPP chairman “expressed his appreciation” to the army chief “for taking prompt notice of the Karachi incident and his assurance of conducting a transparent inquiry on the incident”. It came shortly after reports that several senior officers of Sindh Police, including IG Sindh Mushtaq Mahar, decided to go on leave citing demoralisation of the police force. An application signed by AIG Special Branch Imran Yaqoob, which was making the rounds on social media, read that he wished to proceed on leave because the police high command has been “ridiculed and mishandled”, leading to demoralisation within the ranks of Sindh Police. They maintained that in the recent episode of registration of FIR against Capt (r) Safdar in which police high command has not only been mishandled and ridiculed, but all ranks of Sindh police have been demoralised and shocked. The police officials said that in order to come out of this shock and settle down, they need to go on leave. Late last night however, Sindh IGP Mushtaq Mahar decided to defer his own leave and ordered his officers to set aside their leave applications for ten days,  with the Sindh police asserting that the decision was taken “in the larger national interest” and pending the conclusion of the inquiry into how Safdar’s arrest took place Interestingly, a day earlier, Sindh Police’s Digital Media Cell had tweeted, then deleted, then tweeted again a statement defending Safdar’s arrest, saying it was done “according to the law”. The department’s Twitter activity, which indicated that not all was well within the provincial police, had raised eyebrows. The controversy had already been brewing over the circumstances surrounding Safdar’s arrest, with PML-N representatives claiming that the police had been put under pressure to pick him up. Representatives of the Sindh government had publicly distanced themselves from the arrest and condemned it, saying that while Safdar raising slogans at the Quaid-e-Azam’s mausoleum was not condonable, the arrest had been made without its knowledge. Safdar was arrested in the early hours of Monday for, among other charges, allegedly violating the sanctity of Quaid-e-Azam’s Mazar (also called Mazar-e-Quaid). The sanctity of the Quaid’s Mazar is protected by The Quaid-e-Azam’s Mazar (Protection and Maintenance) Ordinance, 1971, which explicitly forbids political activities within the premises of the mausoleum. “No person shall organise, convene or take part in any meeting or demonstration or procession or engage in political activity within the premises of Quaid’s mausoleum or within a distance of ten feet from the outer boundary thereof,” reads the law on the matter. In another news conference earlier in the day, Chief Minister Sindh Murad Ali Shah alleged that an attempt was made to put the police under pressure, with federal ministers of the Centre-ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) going to the police on two different occasions to register a case and on a third occasion accompanying the Mazar-e-Quaid board. He also announced that a ministerial committee will be formed to investigate the arrest, adding that PTI lawmakers in Sindh had pressurised the police into registering the FIR, which he claimed was based on a “lie”. “Certain facts have emerged and those will be investigated what occurred from 4:30pm on October 18 till the morning of October 19 will be probed,” he said, adding that he will also appear before the committee if required. “They (PTI officials) were told by the police that a summary trial like the one sought falls under the jurisdiction of a judicial magistrate and it is not up to the police to register a case,” Shah said, adding the police had refused to fall under pressure.

Chinese-owned video-sharing app TikTok has been restored in Pakistan after it assured the authorities to “block all accounts repeatedly involved in spreading obscenity and immorality”.  The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) said in a statement yesterday that the app banned on October 9 for failing to filter out “immoral and indecent” content had been unblocked.  The telecom regulator had said the decision to ban the app was taken after the authority received a number of “complaints from different segments of the society against immoral and indecent content on the video sharing application.  “TikTok is being unlocked after assurance from management that they will block all accounts repeatedly involved in spreading obscenity and immorality,” read the PTA statement.  “TikTok will moderate the account in accordance with local laws.”  According to sources, the company has assured the authorities that it will take steps to control “indecent and immoral” on the app.  The commitment was made in a meeting with PTA officials, after which the regulator unbanned the application.  The regulator warned, however, that it would be banned permanently if it failed to moderate posts. TikTok said it in a statement it had committed to enforcing “community guidelines and complying with local laws” but did not comment on what morality or decency standards it had agreed to. TikTok had expressed disappointment that its users and creators in Pakistan were still unable to access the video-sharing platform despite the company’s efforts to engage with the country’s telecom regulator.  According to a TikTok spokesperson, the video-sharing app kept engaging with the PTA to demonstrate its commitment to comply with local laws and further enhance its content moderation capacity.  The spokesperson had said that TikTok had made “concerted efforts to address questions from the Pakistani government around their content moderation process”.  “TikTok’s mission is to inspire creativity and joy, and that’s just what we’ve done in Pakistan. We’ve built a community whose creativity and passion has brought joy to households across Pakistan and opened vital economic opportunities to incredibly talented creators,” it said.  “We continue to hope that our productive dialogue with the PTA can bring assurance of the government’s commitment to a stable, enabling environment whereby we can explore investing further in the market, including in the inspiring talent we’ve seen thrive on TikTok.”  Arslan Khalid, a digital media adviser to Prime Minister Imran Khan, previously tweeted that the “exploitation, objectification & sexualisation” of young girls on TikTok was causing pain to parents. But freedom of speech advocates have long criticised the creeping government censorship and control of Pakistan’s Internet and printed and electronic media. Owned by China’s ByteDance, TikTok has also faced increasing controversy over how it collects and uses data although it has repeatedly denied sharing user information with Chinese authorities. Officials in the United States have accused it of being a national security risk and President Donald Trump has said he wants it taken out of Chinese hands. In Pakistan – a close ally of China – no privacy concerns have been raised. Neighbouring India has already banned the app, along with dozens of other Chinese mobile platforms.

A Judicial Magistrate yesterday approved Captain (retired) Safdar’s bail in the case pertaining to the “violation of the sanctity of Mazar-e-Quaid”, and instructed him to submit surety bonds worth Rs100,000. Mazar-e-Quaid is the mausoleum of Pakistan’s founder Muhammad Ali Jinnah, who is popularly referred to as the Quaid-i-Azam (Great Leader) and remains the most revered figure in the country’s history. Safdar is the husband of Maryam Nawaz, daughter of former prime minister Nawaz Sharif, a frontline leader in the ongoing opposition campaign to bring down the government of Prime Minister Imran Khan.  Safdar wa arrested yesterday morning from a hotel he was staying in with Maryam after he was booked for violating the sanctity of the Mazar-e-Quaid. He was presented before a judicial magistrate in the afternoon where he was granted bail.  “Mariyum Aurangzeb has just informed me that Captain Safdar has been released on bail,” said Maryam quoting her aide during a news conference, flanked by Jamiat Ulema Islam-Fazal chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman, who is also the president of the opposition alliance Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM), and former prime minister Raja Pervez Ashraf of the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP).  “I and Captain Safdar will go from Karachi together,” Maryam said after a lengthy news conference in which she flayed the federal government. Safdar was earlier kept at the Aziz Bhatti Police Station before being presented before the magistrate.  Recalling the events of the night at the news conference, Maryam said she and her husband slept after Fajr (morning prayers) as they had come late from last night’s PDM rally.  “At around 6:15am someone started banging on our door. We were sleeping,” said Maryam. The PML-N vice president said that she felt that the noise could be due to construction activities happening nearby. “I heard the same noise after one or two minutes. I told Safdar that someone is banging on our door,” said Maryam. She added that when her husband opened the door, police officials outside told him that they were here to arrest him. The PML-N leader said her husband told the police he will change and come out. She added that they heard that someone was breaking down the room’s door again.  “They broke the security latch and came inside the room. I was in bed and Safdar said do not come inside, I will come outside. I’m taking my medicine,” Maryam quoted him as saying. Maryam said the police however, ignored his request and arrested him anyway. The PML-N leader was taken into custody after he was booked in a case pertaining to the violation of the sanctity of the Quaid-e-Azam’s Mazar where a day earlier he had shouted the slogan “Vote ko izzat do (Honour the vote)” and urged people to join him. Party workers and supporters responded to Safdar’s call and chanted along for an extended period of time as Maryam looked on. The move was met by a fierce reaction by the federal government representatives, who not only demanded an apology, but approached the police, asking them to initiate legal action against all those who participated in the act. Jinnah’s mausoleum is protected by a set of special laws that prohibit political activities within its premises. The police had filed a case on the complaint of a citizen at the Brigade Police Station yesterday and named Captain Safdar, Maryam Nawaz and 200 other unidentified people in the first information report. While condemning the manner in which Sindh Police acted against the PML-N leader, senior PPP leader and provincial minister Saeed Ghani stated that the arrest had not been made on the direction of Sindh government. PPP chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari condemned the arrest, promising Maryam, that the Sindh government was holding an inquiry into the matter. Speaking to Maryam over the telephone, he expressed solidarity with her and said that the way Safdar was arrested is “against the traditions of Sindh”. He said the Sindh government was not informed about the arrest and that he had asked Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah to investigate the arrest and take all measures to secure the PML-N leader’s release.  “What Captain Safdar did at the Mazar was not appropriate,” PPP minister Saeed Ghani conceded, but added that the arrest, “was an attempt to create differences among the PDM parties, which will be foiled”. Reacting to the development, Prime Minister’s Adviser on Interior Shahzad Akbar called the arrest a “publicity stunt” by opposition parties. Taking to Twitter, Akbar reminded Maryam that “Sindh police is under [the] complete and direct control” of PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto, who is the PML-N’s ally these days.  “Either the arrest of your husband was staged by you n your new ally as publicity stunt or you’re working against each other STILL! Which one is it?” Federal Minister for Maritime Affairs Ali Haider Zaidi commended the Sindh police chief for taking a “quick action” against the “hooligans who disrespected Mazar-e-Quaid”. The federal minister said that the law must take its course. Jinnah’s mausoleum, which is declared “an historical monument of national importance” is maintained and protected under a special law. The ordinance, “The Quaid-i-Azam’s Mazar (Protection and Maintenance) Ordinance, 1971”, prohibits all kinds of demonstrations and political activities within the premises. It states: “No person shall organise, convene or take part in any meeting or demonstration or procession or engage in political: activity of any kind within the Quaid-i-Azam’s Mazar or within a distance of ten feet from the outer boundary thereof.” It also prohibits carrying out any act or behaving in any manner which is derogatory to the sanctity and dignity of the mausoleum. Under the ordinance, whoever contravenes any of the provisions of this ordinance shall be punishable with imprisonment for a term which may extend to three years, or with fine, or with both.  “An offence punishable under this ordinance shall be tried in a summary way in accordance with the provisions contained in sections 262 to 265 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1898,” the law states. Interestingly, the Sindh Police’s Digital Media Cell initially announced on Twitter that Safdar had been arrested “according to the law” and that the investigation against him will proceed with impartiality and according to the merits of the case, but then deleted the tweet, adding to confusion over the matter.

Afghan leader of Hezb-e-Islami Gulbuddin Hekmatyar held talks with Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi yesterday. They discussed bilateral relations and the Afghan peace process. Hekmatyrar is on a three-day visit. He said Afghans think of Pakistan as their second home, a statement issued by the Foreign Office said. Hekmatyar made these comments during a meeting with Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi at the Foreign Office. A Foreign Office statement quotes the foreign minister as saying that Pakistan will continue to play the role of a facilitator in the Afghan peace process.  “Prime Minister Imran Khan has said lasting peace can only be achieved through a political settlement accepted by the people of Afghanistan,” Qureshi said, adding that he was pleased that Islamabad’s stance was now being recognised by the world.  “Intra-Afghan talks provide a unique opportunity to the leadership for establishing lasting peace in the country,” the foreign minister said.  During his visit, the Afghan leader is expected to meet President Dr Arif Alvi and Prime Minister Imran Khan in addition to Senate Chairman Sadiq Sanjrani and National Assembly Speaker Asad Qaiser among others.  He is also expected to speak at a programme of a policy think-tank where he will interact with the media.  In a statement issued on Sunday, the Foreign Office had said Hekmatyar’s visit would provide an opportunity for exchanging views on the Afghan peace process, strengthening bilateral relations as well as people-to-people interaction.  Hekmatyar, who twice served as Afghan prime minister in 1990s, had recently said that India, due to its rivalry with Pakistan, was dissatisfied with the peace process in Afghanistan and alleged it had started supporting local militias to act as spoilers of the peace process.  “China and Pakistan have a common and coordinated position on Afghanistan and not only do they support the peace process, rather they see it as beneficial for their regional interests, especially if it leads to a reduction in India’s presence in Afghanistan,” the Afghan leader had said.  Hekmatyar’s visit comes a few weeks after Chairman of Afghanistan’s High Council for National Reconciliation Dr Abdullah Abdullah visited Pakistan.  Hours before returning to Kabul after completing his three-day visit, the Afghan leader had said: “We had good discussions, extensive discussions with authorities, civilian and military, and in most of the cases, for example on the need for reduction in violence, the need for getting to ceasefire, on the need for showing flexibility we are on the same page.”  Abdullah’s visit, his first to Pakistan in his new role, was meant to seek Islamabad’s cooperation for what he had said in his speech at the Institute of Strategic Studies, Islamabad “to see the process through to the next stage”.  For that to happen an equal emphasis was placed by both sides on exploring possibilities for improving Pak-Afghan bilateral ties that had been marred by mistrust and acrimony for a long time.  Both sides, by the end of the visit, suggested that ground had been prepared for turning the page in bilateral relations.