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Primary schools opened in the twin cities yesterday in the third phase of educational institutions reopening, following months of shutdown due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The Federal Directorate of Education (FDE) has directed all area education officers to visit at least seven schools each day to ensure that health guidelines and standard operating procedure (SOP) to limit the spread of Covid-19 are being implemented. A total of 193 FDE-run primary schools in Islamabad reopened yesterday. FDE officials said that the city’s six area education officers have been told to visit at least seven schools per day.zzzzz In addition, a team of FDE directors and officers from the ministry of federal education and the capital administration will visit schools as well. Teams from the Private Educational Institution Regulatory Authority (Peira) will also visit primary schools, officials from the authority said. They said that it would be harder to enforce social distancing in primary schools compared to high schools, colleges or universities, particularly with students in nursery up to third grade, which is why teachers will have to make a special effort. Islamabad-based educational institutions have reported more than 30 cases of Covid-19 out of around 15,000 tests. The Minister for Federal Education, Shafqat Mehmood, said the positivity rate is 0.8% in educational institutions across the country. At a press conference in Islamabad, he said that out of 171,436 tests carried out in educational institutions not including primary schools 1,284 have come back positive for Covid-19. He asked the school administrations, teachers and parents to be more attentive with the reopening of primary schools as young children cannot follow SOPs and practice social distancing on their own. SOPs have been issued and arrangements made by the district administration and education authority as primary schools opened in Rawalpindi. Commissioner (retired) Capt Mohamed Mehmood told the Dawn newspaper that the government had asked that preparations be made for primary schools to reopen. He said special arrangements have been made for younger students, but parents must also educate children on safety measures. He said teachers and school staff have been directed to explain safety measures and social distancing to students. He said the use of masks, hand-sanitiser and other SOPs will be monitored, and primary schools checked every day. He added that Covid-19 testing is continuing in educational institutions in Rawalpindi as part of the Punjab government’s goal to check all the schools, colleges and universities in the district. Seven out of 2,913 people tested for Covid-19 have been positive since the opening of schools and colleges on September 15, he said, while 2,744 were negative and the results of 162 are awaited. Mehmood said teams have been working to collect samples from educational institutions. He said randomised testing has been carried out in 49 colleges and universities. He said the testing process has been slow because capacity cannot exceed 120 tests per day. All the results will be received in a day or two, Mehmood said.

Prime Minister Imran Khan has issued directions to use all legal means to bring back PML-N supremo Nawaz Sharif from the UK, with the Foreign Office and the Federal Investigation Agency assigned the task to take necessary actions in this regard. The decision was taken in a meeting of the federal cabinet chaired by PM Imran Khan a day before an important hearing at the Islamabad High Court (IHC) regarding Nawaz Sharif’s petitions in the Al Azizia and Avenfield Properties references. The IHC had asked the government to inform the court about the process of execution of  Sharif’s arrest warrants through the UK foreign ministry. In light of the prime minister’s directions, the government has tasked the Foreign Office and Federal Investigation Agency with bringing Nawaz back and has decided to write a fresh letter to the British government for the repatriation of the PML-N leader, who has been staying in London since November 2019. On September 22, the IHC told the government that it had allowed a convict, Nawaz Sharif, to go abroad without informing the court and hence it was now up to the government to take steps to ensure the PML-N supremo returns to the country. “The federal government allowed the convicted criminal to go abroad,” justice Kayani had observed. Justice Farooq said it was the government that put Nawaz’s name on the Exit Control List (ECL) and later removed it from there as well. “The government should have at least informed this court,” the judge had said.“We have to make a decision on the appeal and we are waiting for the appearance (of the convict). We will not pass an order seeking the return of a convicted man. You gave him permission to go abroad and hence it’s up to you now to take steps to ensure his return.” Addressing the bench, comprising IHC justices Aamer Farooq and Mohsin Akhtar Kayani, additional attorney general Tariq Mehmood Khokhar said the Foreign Office had implemented without delay the court-issued non-bailable arrest warrants through the Pakistan High Commission in the UK on September 17. Senator Shibli Faraz, the minister for information and broadcasting, said that Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf came to power with the slogan of change in the system and accountability of the corrupt and it would not make any compromise in this connection. Speaking to a private news channel, he said the government will utilise all legal ways and channels to bring convicted former prime minister Nawaz Sharif back to the country.

Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi has assured of Pakistan’s complete support to the Afghan peace process. Addressing a news conference at Institute of Strategic Studies in Islamabad yesterday, he said that Pakistan respects the sovereignty, independence, and territorial integrity of Afghanistan. He categorically stated that Pakistan has no favourites in Afghanistan, and does not want to meddle in its internal affairs. As the intra Afghan dialogue are continuing, Qureshi said that Pakistan will accept the will of the people of Afghanistan. He said Pakistan believes that only the Afghan people can determine their future, and that it cannot be imposed on them. He said all sides will have to work together for a peaceful, prosperous and stable Afghanistan. Qureshi said the commencement of talks between the Afghan government and the Taliban is a unique and historic opportunity for peace in Afghanistan and it must be seized by the Afghan leadership. He said reduction in violence leading to a ceasefire is a necessity for peace in the country. The minister also emphasised the need for greater collaboration between the two countries in different fields to build a common future. Chairman of the High Council for National Reconciliation of Afghanistan, Dr Abdullah Abdullah, has said that Pakistan has played an important role in facilitating the Afghan peace process. Addressing the same news conference at Islamabad’s Institute of Strategic Studies, he said that both Pakistan and Afghanistan have paid a heavy price facing various terror groups that are still acting as “spoilers”. He said that we need to co-operate against such elements. Abdullah said his country will not allow any terror entity to pose a threat to any other nation. He said that the start of negotiations between Afghan government and the Taliban is an important opportunity, and offer the best hope to put the war behind us. Abdullah said that the Afghan negotiating team members have been asked to be patient and be ready to make compromises. He said Pakistan and Afghanistan face common threats and challenges, including various shades of terrorism, extremism, intolerance and more recently, the coronavirus pandemic. Abdullah said that there is a huge untapped security, political, economic potential for co-operation between the two countries. He stressed for enhanced interaction for a more peaceful and prosperous coexistence. He also thanked Pakistan for hosting millions of Afghan refugees, saying we share the idea of their dignified return. Abdullah also called on National Assembly Speaker Asad Qaiser yesterday. A wide range of issues, including enhancing bilateral relations between Pakistan and Afghanistan, were discussed in the meeting.

An accountability court in Lahore has granted the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) its request for a 14-day physical remand of Pakistan Muslim League – Nawaz (PML-N) president Shehbaz Sharif in an assets beyond means and money-laundering case. He has denied any wrongdoing, and argued his case himself in the court. Following the arguments, Judge Jawad-ul-Hasan accepted the NAB’s request and ordered Sharif to be presented in the court again on October 13. Earlier, the Opposition Leader in the National Assembly, who spoke to the media after arriving at the court, said that his party will fight the “NAB-Niazi nexus”. “Niazi” is a reference to Prime Minister Imran Khan. “NAB-Niazi nexus has failed, we will fight it,” said Sharif. The NAB had arrested the former Punjab chief minister after the Lahore High Court rejected his interim pre-arrest bail. The anti-graft body has claimed that the assets of Sharif’s family ballooned from Rs2mn to Rs7bn in the last 30 years, which they have failed to justify, it was reported yesterday. This was detailed by the NAB in a document, which showed that in 1990, the opposition leader’s declared assets were worth Rs2.121mn, which had grown to Rs7.328bn by 2018. The NAB stated that by 1998, Sharif’s net assets (including the assets of his minor children) had increased to Rs14.865mn. The anti-corruption watchdog alleged that the PML-N president, in connivance with his co-accused family members, benamidars, front men, close associates, employees and money changers, developed an organised system of money-laundering for the accumulation of assets disproportionate to his known sources of income to the tune of Rs7.328bn. After holding the public office (mostly during the years 2008 and 2018, when Sharif was the Punjab chief minister), his family’s assets grew to Rs7.328bn, the NAB added. While sharing the details of assets of the Opposition Leader, NAB Lahore further claimed that Sharif’s family invested Rs2.770bn in 13 newly-established companies under the umbrella of the Sharif Group of Companies, naming them as M/s Sharif Feed, M/s Chiniot Power, M/s Al-Arabia Sugar Mills, M/s Sharif Dairy Farms, etc, without having known sources of income. The accused established benami companies namely M/s Good Nature Trading Company Pvt Ltd, M/s Unitas Steel Pvt Ltd, M/s Waqar Trading Company and M/s Nisar Trading Concern (held in the name of Nisar Ahmad and Ali Ahmad, employees of the CM Secretariat) to allegedly launder disproportionate funds of Rs2,400.088mn. The accused also acquired properties, including foreign assets, along with 96-H, Model Town, Lahore, Nishat Lodge Doonga Gali, villas at Whispering Pines, and houses at DHA Lahore worth Rs619.858mn. The NAB claimed that to justify the alleged ill-gotten assets of Rs7.328bn, the accused and his family members/benamidars showed foreign remittances of Rs1,597mn and loans of Rs1,010mn, which proved to be fake as the remitters denied having sent any amount to the accused or his family members. Moreover, loans were falsely shown as the source, while the lenders paid the employees of the Sharif Group, the NAB added. The statement added that the value of the Sharif family’s disproportionate assets acquired through laundered money comes to the tune of Rs6,122mn, with a present value of Rs7,328mn in the year 2018, whereas the total known sources of Shehbaz Sharif and his family were Rs584.444mn. The aforesaid assets of the accused and his family members were found to be disproportionate to their known sources of income, it claimed. The NAB concluded that during investigations, the declared and undeclared assets of the accused have been identified, for which they could not account for, as the sources of income claimed by them proved to be fictitious and unknown.

The Afghan official overseeing Kabul’s efforts to forge a deal with the Taliban arrived yesterday for a three-day visit to Pakistan, the influential neighbour considered vital to the peace process. Dr Abdullah Abdullah, previously Afghanistan’s chief executive, was meeting senior officials in Islamabad for the first time as chair of his country’s High Council for National Reconciliation. Islamabad has said its influence over the Taliban encouraged the insurgents to hold talks with Washington that led to a February deal paving the way for a US military withdrawal and current peace talks. “Pakistan fully supports all efforts for peace,” its foreign ministry spokesman said in a statement. The United States has acknowledged Pakistan’s help in fostering Afghan peace efforts including in encouraging the Taliban to negotiate. The US special representative for Afghanistan, Zalmay Khalilzad, said last week that the United States and its allies were looking at an agreement between Afghanistan and Pakistan so that neither side’s territory would be used to attack the other. Khalilzad was the architect of the February pact between the US and the Taliban. “Abdullah’s visit will greatly help to strengthen relations with Afghanistan and forge a common understanding on the Afghan peace process,” the foreign ministry statement said, after Abdullah met Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi. “Qureshi underlined the high importance Pakistan attached to its brotherly relations with Afghanistan,” the statement read, adding that the return of millions of Afghan refugees currently residing in Pakistan must be included in peace talks. At his meeting with Qureshi, Abdullah expressed his gratitude to Pakistani leadership over its role in the Afghan peace process. Qureshi said Pakistan backs a peaceful and durable political solution of Afghanistan’s conflict through an Afghan-led and Afghan-owned peace process. The minister said the Afghan leadership should seize this opportunity and undertake serious efforts to take the Afghan peace process to its logical conclusion. He warned, however, that there are “spoilers” who do not want peace and stability in the region. During his visit, Abdullah will also meet Prime Minister Imran Khan. Negotiations in Doha started September 12 but have slowed as the two sides grapple with several foundational issues. “Definitely things take time,” Khairullah Khairkhaw, a senior member of the Taliban negotiating team, told reporters in Doha. “There are many issues, 20 or more, that need clarity.” Nader Naderi, a member of Kabul’s negotiating team, said both sides would meet later to discuss several pressing topics, including a ceasefire. “The key issue for us is a ceasefire and we are still talking about it (with the Taliban),” he stated. The Taliban ruled Afghanistan between 1996 and 2001, when it was ousted by a United States-led invasion. It has fought the government in Kabul for nearly two decades in a conflict that has left tens of thousands of people dead. Violence has continued unabated across Afghanistan even during the talks. Prime Minister Khan, in an opinion piece in the Washington Post on Saturday, expressed concern that Afghanistan could again be used as a haven for international militant groups and warned that a “hasty international withdrawal from Afghanistan would be unwise”. There have also been concerns that the Afghan peace process could increase militancy in Pakistan as fighters now in Afghanistan seek refuge on the Pakistani side of the border.

Prime Minister Imran Khan has said that trade and prosperity in the tribal areas depend on peace in Afghanistan, and that the tribal areas would flourish if the talks between Afghanistan and the Taliban are successful. Addressing a gathering in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP)’s Mohmand District, the prime minister said that the reconciliation process has started between the Taliban and Afghanistan, and that he prays there is peace in Afghanistan. He said that all provinces had promised that 3% of the National Finance Commission (NFC) Award will be given for development of tribal districts. However, he regretted that only KP has given its share, while the other provinces are yet to allocate its share of funds for the purpose. The prime minister continued that the government will provide all possible funds for the socio-economic development of the tribal districts. Khan said that he has directed the ministry of planning in this regard. The prime minister pointed out that the tribal districts lag far behind in terms of development. The prime minister said that the border markets are also being opened, which will provide opportunities to the local people to trade with Afghanistan. Khan said that the focus of present government is to uplift the weaker segments of the society and develop the backward areas, including those in Sindh, Punjab, and Baluchistan. He, however, warned that there are “elements” which do not want peace in Afghanistan. Earlier, Prime Minister Khan inaugurated the Nahakki Tunnel and Sheikh Zaid Road in Mohmand. He was briefed by the officials on the development projects in Mohmand district. Later, he visited Bajaur District and performed the groundbreaking of Timargarh-Khar-Mamad Gat road. These projects will provide better means of transportation, trade and job opportunities to the people of Mohmand and Bajaur. Khan also visited Peshawar and inaugurated the Surgical and Allied Services Block of Lady Reading Hospital. Addressing doctors and healthcare professionals on this occasion, the premier said that reforms have been introduced in all sectors, including the healthcare system, to ensure transparency and maintain a system of check and balance.

Pakistan’s anti-graft agency has arrested the parliamentary leader of the opposition on corruption charges, after a court rejected a plea for bail, a move that his party says is linked to planned opposition protests against Prime Minister Imran Khan. Shehbaz Sharif, a former chief minister of Punjab province and younger brother of former prime minister Nawaz Sharif, was arrested outside the Lahore High Court, his lawyer Azam Nazir Tarar said. The charges are linked to alleged money laundering to buy properties abroad, he added. “I am disappointed,” Tarar told Reuters, adding that the arrest was a reaction to the opposition’s threat of nationwide protests calling for Khan to step down. A large number of PML-N workers, who were at the court to support the former chief minister, chanted against the anti-graft watchdog and the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI)-led government. Shortly after the arrest, a scuffle broke out between the security personnel and Sharif’s supporters. “We are not scared of these arrests,” said Marriyum Aurangzeb, spokeswoman for Sharif’s Pakistan Muslim League – Nawaz (PML-N). However, Information Minister Shibli Faraz said that courts are free to make their own decisions. Shebhaz Sharif is one of several opposition leaders facing corruption charges and arrested by the anti-corruption watchdog, National Accountability Bureau (NAB). Yesterday an anti-corruption court in Islamabad also indicted former president Asif Ali Zardari, husband of assassinated former prime minister Benazir Bhutto, for suspected corruption, a prosecution official said. He was arrested in June last year in a separate case and released on bail. Opposition parties and civil rights groups have long accused the anti-graft agency of being used by the military for selected accountability, saying that it does not touch powerful generals or Prime Minister Khan’s ministers. At a multi-party conference last week, nine major opposition parties denounced the military for allegedly meddling in politics and rigging the 2018 elections to bring Khan to power. The military, which has ruled for half of Pakistan’s history since its independence from Britain in 1947, denies interfering in politics or election wrongdoing. “If justice had prevailed, retired general Asim Bajwa would have been arrested,” Maryam Nawaz, daughter of former prime minister Nawaz, told a news conference after her uncle’s arrest. She also confirmed her uncle’s arrest on Twitter. “Sharif has been arrested ONLY because he REFUSED to play in the hands of those who wanted to use him against his brother. He preferred standing behind prison bars than to stand against his brother,” she tweeted. Bajwa, who oversees the $65bn China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) and is also an adviser to Prime Minister Khan, was recently embroiled in controversy following a news report that alleged he had amassed assets worth millions of dollars beyond his means. He has publicly denied the allegations. In December last year, the NAB issued orders to freeze 23 properties owned by Sharif and his sons, Hamza and Suleman, over claims that they had acquired assets beyond their known sources of income and committed money-laundering. According to the NAB, an investigation against Sharif, Hamza, Suleman, and others had revealed that the PML-N president had acquired properties in the name of his wives Nusrat and Tehmina Durrani. Among the frozen properties were nine plots in Lahore’s Johar Town, four in Judicial Colony, two houses in Model Town, and some others in the Defence Housing Authority (DHA). Moreover, the anti-corruption body had also frozen a cottage and a villa in Pir Sohawa, as well as two plots in Chiniot.

Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly Shehbaz Sharif has said that he does not seek confrontation with anyone and believes in reconciliation. In a conversation with senior journalists, the Pakistan Muslim League – Nawaz (PML-N) president said: “Confrontation will not benefit anyone. It is my belief that the country can only move forward with consultation and reconciliation.” He said that he has been “in touch with the army as an institution for 25 years now”. Shehbaz Sharif went on to say that despite his viewpoint, he “never sought any benefit from reconciliation”. According to local media reports, trusted sources said that PML-N stalwart Khawaja Saad Rafique was also present in the meeting and said that if resistance as a strategy is adopted by the opposition, the only one to benefit would be Prime Minister Imran Khan and his government, claiming that the government seeks to have the opposition “fight with state institutions”. When Shehbaz Sharif was asked how the government could have such an aim when it was PML-N supremo Nawaz Sharif himself who spoke out against the institutions, the party president rejected the notion and said that Nawaz had only spoken in favour of the Constitution and the law. “Nawaz Sharif provided recommendations for the future of Pakistan. They must be taken into consideration.” Referring to reports that Nawaz Sharif had prohibited party members from meeting military leadership and, if it is absolutely necessary, then only with express approval from him, Shehbaz Sharif clarified that Nawaz had simply said that there is no harm in informing him if such a meeting is planned. Shehbaz reiterated that his politics is one of reconciliation, adding however that the decisions made during the multi-party conference still stand. The PML-N leader said that both his party and the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) are ready to resign from the assemblies should the time come for such a move to be necessary. Shehbaz also spoke of the opposition’s demand for re-elections, saying that all parties agree that there should be fresh, transparent polls. He also said that no new elections must take place until the demand for “no interference” in the exercise is fulfilled. Responding to a question on why the party thinks the prime minister seeks Shehbaz’s arrest, Rafique said that the premier “fears Shehbaz Sharif’s performance”. Prime Minister Khan has rejected the opposition’s demand for re-elections and instead said that he is ready to hold by-elections for seats that have fallen vacant. The premier said the opposition would fail to secure even one seat when this takes place. The PML-N’s Rana Sanaullah was invited to speak on Shahzad Iqbal’s show, and when asked whether Shehbaz Sharif’s statements yesterday was aimed at removing any bitterness that may have arisen between the opposition and the state institutions, Sanaullah remarked: “What bitterness?” Sanaullah said that Nawaz Sharif’s address to the multi-party conference “made no mention of anything that everyone does not already agree on”. He said that Nawaz only spoke of the reasons “why Pakistan could not reach the heights it should have in the last 70 years”. Science Minister Fawad Chaudhry, also invited to participate in Shahzad Iqbal’s show, said that he would welcome any change within the PML-N’s stance, including “letting go” of their “hawkish” policies. He went on to say that the party, as an entity, “must distance itself from the Sharifs”. Chaudhry said that “owing to their sentiments being hurt” by Nawaz’s speech, the party must “seriously consider” emerging as “a new party”. “The PML-N is no doubt a loyal party that loves the country and will surely take that route now.” On the show host’s inquiry of claims long been made by Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) members that the PML-N will soon “branch off”, Chaudhry said that the government does not seek the defection of opposition members, and had instead called for an open vote in the upcoming Senate elections.

Prime Minister Imran Khan has said that peace and political stability in Afghanistan cannot be imposed from the outside through the use of force. In an article published in the leading US daily Washington Post, he said that only an Afghan-owned and Afghan-led reconciliation process, which recognises Afghanistan’s political realities and diversity, can produce lasting peace. Khan said that negotiations between the Afghan government and the Taliban in Doha for political settlement will bring an end to decade’s old war. The prime minister said that through decades of conflict, Pakistan has dealt with the responsibility of taking care of more than 4mn Afghan refugees. He said when US President Donald Trump wrote to him in late 2018 for Pakistan’s assistance to achieve a negotiated political settlement in Afghanistan, he did not hesitate to give assurances that Pakistan would take every effort to facilitate such an outcome. The prime minister said that the government of Afghanistan and the Taliban responded to the Afghan people’s yearning for peace. Khan said that a hasty international withdrawal from Afghanistan would be unwise. The prime minister added that Pakistan needs to be on guard against regional spoilers who are not invested in peace and stability in Afghanistan. He said that Pakistan will continue to support the Afghan people in their quest for a unified, independent and sovereign Afghanistan that is at peace with itself and its neighbours. Meanwhile, National Assembly Speaker Asad Qaiser has stressed the need for increasing trade and culture relations between Pakistan and Afghanistan. In an interview, he said that Pakistan and Afghanistan are brotherly neighbouring countries and that trade with Afghanistan has significant role for Pakistan’s national economy. The Speaker said both countries should work to enhance government-to-government and people-to-people contacts. Replying to a question, Qaiser said that Pakistan will warmly welcome Afghan leader Abdullah Abdullah, who is heading Afghanistan delegation for peace process. To another question, he said that Pakistan has always rendered sacrifices for Afghan refugees, serving them from many years with open hearts.

At least 15 people were killed when a passenger van travelling in southern Pakistan crashed and caught fire, officials said Sunday. The van was carrying passengers from Karachi to Hyderabad city when it struck an object and careered off the road late Saturday. "The death toll in the unfortunate accident has reached 15," Owais Shah, the transport minister of Sindh province, told AFP. Five other people were injured, three of them critically, he said. Most of the bodies were burned beyond recognition, said Faisal Edhi, head of the non-profit Edhi Foundation which runs the morgue the bodies were taken to. Investigators were looking to see if a natural gas cylinder aboard the bus had contributed to the inferno.

Foreign Office spokesperson Zahid Hafeez Chaudhri says Prime Minister Imran Khan has presented Pakistan’s perspective on international and regional issues with explicitness, courage, wisdom and sagacity at the UN General Assembly (UNGA) session. In a statement about the Prime Minister’s address at the UNGA’s 75th session, the spokesperson said that the prime minister elaborated on the government’s vision of building a new Pakistan on the pattern of the state of Medina. Chaudhri said that Prime Minister Khan presented the Kashmir issue convincingly and comprehensively, pointing out alleged Indian “aggression and state terrorism”, and stressing for fulfilment of the promises of Kahsmiris’ rights and plebiscite. He said that Khan spoke on the Kashmir issue, the Afghan peace process, Islamophobia, the coronavirus pandemic, the implications of the illegal transfer of money, and the ways to address them. Chaudhri said that the prime minister also presented Pakistan’s perspective on issues like climate change, suggested reforms in the UN Security Council, and international peace and stability. He said that Prime Minister Khan urged the international community to take steps for resolution of the long-standing Kashmir dispute under the UN Security Council resolutions. When addressing the issue of rising Islamophobia, Khan condemned the fresh publication of cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) by a French satirical weekly. The prime minister said that rising global nationalism has “accentuated Islamophobia”, adding that Muslims “continue to be targeted with impunity in many countries”. “Incidents in Europe, including the re-publication of blasphemous sketches by Charlie Hebdo, are recent examples,” Khan said. “We stress that wilful provocations and incitement to hate and violence must be universally outlawed. “This assembly should declare an international day to combat Islamophobia and build a coalition to fight the scourge.” Charlie Hebdo, known for its irreverent humour and absolutist belief in free speech, has repeatedly stirred anger in the Islamic world by publishing cartoons of the Prophet. Twelve people were killed in an attack by gunmen on Charlie Hebdo’s office in Paris on January 7, 2015. In a defiant gesture timed with the trial this month of accomplices to the massacre, Charlie Hebdo reprinted some of the caricatures. On Friday, a man with a cleaver wounded two people outside the newspaper’s former offices in Paris before being arrested by police (see report on page 8). Pakistan’s representative at the UNGA session has meanwhile stated the position that Jammu and Kashmir are not a part of India, that it never was, and that it never will be. Exercising Pakistan’s right of reply to the statement by the representative of India at the session, Zulqarnain Chheena said that India has no claim on Jammu and Kashmir than that of a “military occupier”. He added that the state of Jammu and Kashmir is a disputed territory. Chheena said that as decreed by the UN Security Council, the final disposition of the state will be made in accordance with the will of the people expressed through the democratic method of a free and impartial plebiscite, conducted under the auspices of the United Nations.

Prime Minister Imran Khan virtually addressed the 75th session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) yesterday. In his address, the prime minister shared Pakistan’s perspective on various regional and international issues. He raised the Kashmir issue, said Foreign Office spokesperson Zahid Hafeez Chaudhri. The premier also share Pakistan’s successful handling of the novel coronavirus, his debt relief initiative for developing countries, and Islamophobia. His address took place at 11.45pm last night. On Thursday, in his address at two high-level panel events held on the sidelines of the UNGA, Khan said that each year billions of dollars illicitly flow out of developing countries. He called upon the world to take steps to counter the illicit flows of money, saying that these stolen assets of developing countries must be returned. The prime minister continued that although his government came into power with a robust public mandate to get rid of this menace from the country, a multilateral framework of international co-operation would be required to “bring the perpetrators of financial crimes to justice”. Meanwhile, armed forces spokesman Major-General Babar Iftikhar has said that Pakistan always welcomes the visit of the United Nations Military Observer Group for Pakistan and India, international media, and diplomats to any area of the Line of Control (LoC), and provides them access to the local population to assess the ground situation. According to an Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) press release, during their visit to the LoC, he told foreign diplomats that there had been some 2,333 Indian ceasefire violations and unprovoked firing incidents across the LoC this year, leaving 18 civilians dead and 185 injured. The ISPR director-general said that India was firing “indiscriminately” on the civilian population in an attempt to divert global attention from what is happening in Indian-administered Kashmir. Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi meanwhile spoke on the Organisation of Islamic Co-operation (OIC) as a platform for Muslim countries, through which we can work together with a common strategy in resolving any issue of Muslims in the world. Addressing the OIC’s webinar on the golden jubilee of the organisation, he said that the hopes and aspirations of Muslim states are linked with this platform, and that all these countries desire unity and increased presence in the world as one voice. Qureshi said 50 years ago, 25 Muslim countries pledged to work together to formulate an action plan to protect common interests and achieve goals in response to an attack on Al Aqsa Mosque. He said that through this platform, we are finding ways to promote collaboration in various fields, including science and technology, economy and trade, education, youth affairs, and women’s issues. The minister said that Pakistan is one of the founding members of the OIC, so it has always played a key role in the improvement and promotion of the body. He said that Pakistan has hosted two OIC summits and four Council of Foreign Ministers (CFM) Conferences, and that Islamabad is further ready to host the 48th Council of Foreign Ministers Meeting. Qureshi said that it is commendable that the OIC has raised the issue of alleged rights violations in Indian-administered Kashmir, through its resolutions and concrete statements. He said that the OIC Contact Group for Kashmir has played a leading role in this regard. The minister said that it is clear that the Kashmir issue must be resolved in the light of the aspirations of the Kashmiris and the UN resolutions for the peace and stability in the region.

Pakistan Muslim League – Nawaz (PML-N) president Shehbaz Sharif has said that Prime Minister Imran Khan wants to see him behind the bars, by implicating him in cases “based on flimsy grounds”. The Opposition Leader in the National Assembly chose not to take questions in his press conference at Model Town on Wednesday. He made only one comment related to his elder brother, former prime minister Nawaz Sharif, whose online speech at the Multi-Party Conference in Islamabad on Sunday, about the military establishment’s alleged role in the country’s politics, generated a lot of debate and controversy. “We are standing with Nawaz Sharif for the progress of Pakistan,” Shehbaz Sharif said. Former premier and the party’s senior vice-president Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, as well as senior party leaders Rana Sanaullah and Marriyum Aurangzeb, were also present at the press conference. “Imran Khan wants to see me in jail. I am ready to go to jail on his (Khan’s) wish. “(Former chief justice of Pakistan) Saqib Nisar had opened the case of 56 companies (against me). “Not a single rupee (worth of) corruption allegation was proved in any development project. “I reiterate … hang me even after my death if corruption against me is established,” Shehbaz Sharif said, adding that the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) and the Intelligence Bureau (IB) were harassing people (in connection with the cases against him and his family members). He warned: “We faced jail in the past, and we are not afraid. Things change suddenly, Imran Khan should not forget this.” Sharif said that the people have become disappointed with the incumbent government after two years. “(The) PM is busy in covering up wheat and sugar scandals. He did money laundering in the foreign funding cases. If the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) brings forth these facts, (the prime minister) cannot stay in his office for (even) a minute,” he said, adding that despite the passage of several months, the ECP had not decided on the issue. “The NAB-Niazi (Prime Minister Khan) nexus has broken all record of instituting false cases against us,” the PML-N president alleged, and wondered as to how the foreign assets case of the prime minister’s sister Aleema Khan was “not being touched” as she was given amnesty to declare her assets. “Imran also took advantage of the amnesty scheme,” he added. Sharif asked why the Malam Jaba and helicopter issues were not being investigated. “What happened to sugar and wheat scandals … the real culprits in these scandals are Imran and (Punjab Chief Minister) Usman Buzdar. The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) proved that it sees faces and not cases,” he said. “If economic issues are not addressed, no one can stop its [country’s] destruction.” Shehbaz Sharif, who was previously a chief minister of Punjab chief, said that his government saved billions for the country in development projects.  “We saved Rs1,000bn during our tenure in Punjab. Niazi made three allegations of corruption against me but could not prove a single one, rather running from courts in this regard,” he said. In Rs100bn Peshawar BRT project, Sharif said that four buses had been torched so far, adding that metro projects of Punjab, Rawalpindi and Multan had been completed for the same amount of money. “Massive corruption in the BRT project has been committed, but it was not being probed,” he said. “Two years on, this [Lahore] Orange Line train project is still pending. Billions of rupees were added to the cost because of the two years delay in the project.” He said that Khan must remember that a reversal of fortunes could take place. “If the courts allow me, I will present irrefutable evidence [to show] how our families bore billions of rupees losses but did not compromise on principles.”

Prime Minister Imran Khan will virtually address a high-level panel of the United Nations on International Financial Accountability, Transparency and Integrity today. The event is being convened to present the interim report of the panel, which identifies the major gaps in implementation and the systemic shortcomings of the existing international frameworks for tax co-operation, anti-corruption and anti-money laundering. It will provide a high-level forum for discussing the priority actions for addressing the identified challenges, particularly in light of the impact of the coronavirus crisis on progress toward the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. In his capacity as president of the UN Economic and Social Council, Pakistan’s Permanent Representative to the UN Munir Akram is also set to speak in panel’s moderated session. Prime Minister Khan will also address another high-level side event during the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) session. The event titled Poverty at Crossroad: Using Leadership and the Multidimensional Poverty Index to Build Back Better is being co-hosted by Pakistan and Chile. Special Assistant on Poverty Alleviation Dr Sania Nishtar will also address this high-level event virtually. On the sidelines of the UNGA session, Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi will speak through video link at South Asian Association for Regional Co-operation (Saarc) ministerial conference. Today Prime Minister Khan will effectively raise Kashmir issue at the ongoing UNGA session like he did last year, drawing world attention to the alleged human rights violations in the Indian-administered Kashmir, Qureshi said in a statement. “We demand that the restrictions imposed in (Indian-administered Kashmir) should be immediately lifted and the communication blackout should be ended,” he said. Qureshi said that the amendments in the domicile laws by the Indian government to change the demography of Indian-administered Kashmir should immediately be reversed. The minister thanked Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan for raising the voice for Kashmiris at the UNGA forum. He said that the international community will have to take the Kashmir issue seriously because if tension increases between nuclear states Pakistan and India, peace and stability of the region will be under threat.

An accountability court in Islamabad has rejected former president Asif Zardari’s pleas for dismissal of supplementary references filed in Park Lane, Mega Money Laundering and Thatta Water Supply cases. Judge Azam Khan of the Islamabad Accountability Court announced the verdict yesterday which was earlier reserved on the petitions filed by the PPP co-chairman. The court ruled that the PPP leader cannot be acquitted in references pertaining to fake bank accounts. Zardari’s counsel, Farooq H Naek, had submitted the petitions stating that under the law the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) cannot file supplementary references and pleaded with the court to dismiss them. While rejecting the pleas, the court ruled that the trial should continue and summoned all the accused on September 28. The former president had challenged the filing of supplementary reference in the Park Lane case earlier this month when the court  summoned him for indictment. The prosecutor for the anti-graft watchdog, Sardar Muzaffar Abbasi, had objected to the fresh application before indictment in the case, stating they were asking for time to prepare their own petition. “I am ready to present arguments on it, why aren’t they? We have not filed any supplementary reference in the money laundering case,” Abbasi said. “The case was transferred from Karachi so Zardari had filed a reference after his interrogation,” he maintained. Separately, the Islamabad High Court (IHC) extended Zardari’s bail till October 15.

Army chief General Qamar Bajwa and head of the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) Lieutenant-General Faiz Hameed had, in a meeting with key opposition figures days before their multiparty conference, counselled them to refrain from dragging the military into political issues, government ministers and opposition leaders disclosed. The September 16 meeting was attended by about 15 opposition figures, including Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly Shehbaz Sharif, Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) leader Sirajul Haq, the Awami National Party (ANP)’s Amir Haider Hoti, the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam – Fazlur (JUI-F)’s Asad Mahmood, Pakistan Muslim League – Nawaz (PML-N) leaders Khawaja Asif and Ahsan Iqbal, the PPP’s Senator Sherry Rehman, and few government ministers. According to the ground rules set for the session, the meeting was not to be publicly disclosed, some of the opposition leaders who attended it said. Railways Minister Sheikh Rashid, while confirming the meeting and its participants in a conversation, said it that was held to discuss the impending changes in the constitutional status of Gilgit-Baltistan (GB). However, the opposition used this opportunity to flag its concerns about other matters, especially the military’s alleged interference in politics and allegations of persecution of its leaders on the pretext of accountability. Rashid was one of the ministers who attended the meeting. The timing of the meeting and its disclosure was linked by observers to the opposition’s multiparty conference on Sunday, in which former prime minister Nawaz Sharif bitterly criticised the army, saying that there was “a state above the state in the country”. Criticism by other opposition leaders was, in comparison to Sharif’s remarks, relatively subtle. A 26-point declaration issued at the meeting, however, contained assertions about ending “the establishment’s interference in politics” and “no role of armed forces and intelligence agencies” in future elections. Rashid said that the army chief clearly told the participants of the meeting that the military was not in any manner linked to the political processes and had no involvement in matters concerning election reforms and accountability. Bajwa said, however, that the military only responds to calls for assistance by the elected civilian government, and it would continue doing so irrespective of who is in office. He reportedly categorically conveyed that no one would be allowed to create chaos in the country. Rashid said that, in remarks addressed to JUI-F chief Fazlur Rehman’s son Asad Mahmood, Bajwa pointed out the irony that the same parliament is “kosher” for Rehman for contesting presidential elections, but it is otherwise unacceptable to him. The allegations of a political witch hunt in the name of accountability was raised by the PML-N’s Ahsan Iqbal. Responding to him, the army chief said that the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) chief and election commissioner were picked by political leaders represented in parliament, therefore they needed to be careful in choosing people for such important positions. A participant, speaking on condition of anonymity said that the NAB’s actions had “scared” the bureaucracy, which is the reason why officials are not taking crucial decisions. Bajwa too had purportedly pointed out that bureaucracy “was not delivering”. The PML-N remained mum about the participation of its leaders in the meeting. The PPP said it would issue a formal comment on the meeting through its spokesperson Senator Farhatullah Babar. However, Senator Sherry Rehman, participating in a TV talk show, said that her party’s chairman talked about the status of Gilgit-Baltistan and its upcoming elections. She said that PPP chairman Bilawal stressed on the need for fair and free elections in GB, because of the sensitivities attached to the region. Rehman denied that her party spoke of its reservations about the accountability process.

Coronavirus fears meant that a historic travel corridor created last year to let Indian Sikhs visit a shrine in northeast Pakistan remained closed yesterday on one of the faith’s most sacred days. Hundreds of Pakistani Sikhs visited the Gurdwara Darbar Sahib, a huge temple in Kartarpur marking the grave of Sikhism’s founder Guru Nanak, to commemorate the 481st anniversary of his death. This year would have been the first time Indian Sikhs could have crossed visa-free into Pakistan to mark the anniversary at the site, located just 4km inside the country, after a special crossing was opened in November 2019. The creation of the Kartarpur Corridor marked a rare example of co-operation between the nuclear-armed rivals, who have fought three wars since independence from Britain in 1947. Some lamented the closing of the new crossing. “This corridor is not only an opportunity of pilgrimage for our Indian cousins but also an opportunity to come and meet us, which otherwise is quite difficult,” said 25-year-old science teacher Komal Mehra. India, with about 89,000 coronavirus deaths, is the world’s third-worst affected country after the United States and Brazil and has imposed a range of travel restrictions. When Pakistan was carved out of colonial India at the end of British rule in 1947, Kartarpur ended up on the western side of the border, while most of the region’s Sikhs remained on the other side. The gurdwara at Kartarpur is so close to the India-Pakistan frontier that its white dome and four cupolas can be seen from across the border. For up to 30mn Sikhs around the world, the shrine is one of their holiest sites.

Two men have been sentenced to death for starting a fire at a garment factory that killed more than 260 people in 2012. A Karachi court found Mohamed “Chariya” Zubair and Abdul “Bhola” Rehman guilty of arson, ruling that the pair intentionally set the Ali Enterprises factory ablaze after the owner refused to pay a bribe. Arshad Bhaila, one of the owners of the factory, had testified in court that the two men had asked him to pay Rs250mn or a 50% share of the factory’s profits. He said he had been willing to pay Rs10mn. In what was considered a largely symbolic gesture, the court sentenced Zubair and Rehman to 264 separate death sentences, along with life imprisonment. “I am satisfied with the court’s verdict as it has awarded them very appropriate sentences,” public prosecutor Sajid Mehboob Sheikh told AFP. The fire at Ali Enterprise, a multi-storey unit for readymade garment manufacturing in the southern city of Karachi, sent shockwaves through the country as survivors told of people trapped and killed behind locked factory doors. Of the eight other people accused in the case, four were found complicit while the other four were acquitted, including the then-provincial minister for industries, Rauf Siddiqui, defence counsel Abid Zaman told reporters outside the court. Siddiqui belongs to the Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P), a party that was frequently accused of assassinating political opponents, extorting businesses, and orchestrating strikes to cement its hold over the city, until an operation by security forces effectively crushed them in 2013. A faction of the MQM-P is now a partner in Prime Minister Imran Khan’s coalition government. Both Rehman and Zubair were MQM-P activists. Also acquitted were Umar Hasan Qadri, Dr Abdul Sattar Khan, and Iqbal Adeeb Khanum. Four others – Shahrukh, Fazal Ahmed, Arshad Mehmood and Ali Mohamed – were handed life sentences for facilitating the crime. One key suspect, the then in-charge of the MQM’s Karachi Tanzimi Committee, Hammad Siddiqui, remains on the run. The prosecution had argued in the case that he was the brains behind the extortion and the arson act. As many as 400 witnesses gave statements in 171 hearings that spanned eight years. While the MQM is part of the ruling coalition, the party broke up into several factions three years ago. The current MQM leadership denies any involvement with the fire and says such activities were directed from abroad, where several important leaders live, including the founder of the party, Altaf Hussain, who lives in exile and is now a British citizen. The party says it has cut all ties with Hussain. Pakistan’s moratorium against the death penalty was lifted after a bloody Taliban attack on a school in Peshawar in 2014. Since then the country has hanged hundreds, many of whom were linked to militancy. Rehman fled Pakistan after the fire, but was arrested by Thai authorities at a hotel in Bangkok’s red-light district. The fire, which at first was thought to have been an accident, is believed to have been the worst industrial disaster in the country’s history. A judicial probe highlighted a lack of emergency exits, poor safety training for workers, and the failure of government inspectors as contributing to the high death toll. Much of the factory’s output was being made for the German company KIK, who paid out over $6mn in compensation to families of the victims.

Half a dozen major opposition parties have joined forces to denounce the military, which they accuse of meddling in politics and rigging the 2018 elections to bring Prime Minister Imran Khan to power. The six parties and some smaller groups signed a statement late on Sunday during the All Parties Conference (APC), announcing the creation of the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) to begin nationwide agitation, possibly culminating in a January march on the capital, Islamabad. According to the statement, joint rallies will be held in October and November 2020 in Pakistan’s major cities, including the provincial capitals Karachi, Quetta, Peshawar. and Lahore. In the second phase, set to commence in December 2020, large public rallies and demonstrations would be organised in the provincial capitals, while in January 2021, a decisive long march will head towards Islamabad. A 26-point resolution read out by Rehman stated that the current government has been granted “fake stability by the same establishment” that interfered with the elections to bring the incumbent rulers to power. It expressed “extreme concern” over the increasing interference of the establishment in internal affairs of the country and regarded it as a “danger to the nation’s stability and institutions”. “The (military) establishment should stop every kind of interference in politics forthwith,” said the statement, which accuses Khan of failing on multiple counts, from the economy to foreign policy. The armed forces, which have ruled Pakistan for half of its history since independence in 1947, deny meddling in politics or electoral wrongdoing. The alliance did not give a schedule for the street protests, except for announcing the march on the capital if the government did not stop the alleged victimising of political opponents. It demanded electoral reform to ensure “no role for the armed forces and (intelligence) agencies”. The next general election is scheduled for 2023. Opposition parties and civil rights groups have long held that the military interferes in politics and runs governments from behind the scene. Federal Planning Minister Asad Umar has said that the military and civilian government work together. The forum also demanded that elections be organised again in a transparent manner and that reforms should be passed in order to ensure free and fair polls. Terming the parliament a “rubber stamp”, the PDM declared that the opposition parties will not co-operate with the government in the legislative process. It also demanded that a new law of accountability be passed in the country that is in accordance with the Supreme Court’s verdict and recommendations from Human Rights Watch and Council of Islamic Ideology, and would hold everyone accountable, including bureaucrats, lawmakers, judicial and army officials. In particular, the PDM resolution said that claims made in a recent news report regarding retired Lieutenant-General Asim Saleem Bajwa’s assets and family business should be probed. The forum said that Bajwa should be removed as the chairman of China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) Authority until the investigation is completed. The opposition will enlist lawyers, traders, farmers, students, media as well as members of the civil society in its movement. In order to oust the government, opposition parties will use “every legal and constitutional option in and out of parliament, which include moving no-confidence motions and collective resignations from assemblies at an appropriate time”, the resolution states. Responding to questions during the press conference, Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) chairperson Bilawal Bhutto Zardari said that the PDM wants a “non-political establishment” as the Constitution does not allow the establishment to be involved in political matters of the country. He said that all the options listed in PDM’s action plan and joint resolution are constitutional and legal, including protests and demand for resignation. Bilawal told reporters that PDM will start working from tomorrow and will continue to work towards its goal of seeing “real democracy” in Pakistan. The government’s majority hinges on a few votes in parliament, while the opposition has a majority in the upper house. “Our struggle is against those who have brought Imran Khan (to power),” former three-time prime minister Nawaz Sharif, who was removed on corruption allegations in 2017, said by video link to the gathering from London. Sharif’s third term as prime minister ran from 2013-2017, when he was removed by the Supreme Court amid revelations over his personal wealth. Information Minister Shibli Faraz said that the opposition was “ganging up” to pressure the government to close corruption cases, adding that that would not happen. Earlier, the APC participants could not reach a final decision on mass resignation from the national and provincial assemblies due to a difference of opinion among major parties, insider accounts reveal. According to sources, there was heated debate on resigning from the provincial and national assemblies, and the matter was discussed at length between the leaders of the major parties attending. However, the decision to quit the assemblies was ultimately abandoned even though Bilawal and former prime minister Sharif at one point in the discussions offered to submit their party’s resignations to each other. Bilawal had offered to submit his party’s resignations to Sharif, who could then present the entire opposition’s resignations to the National Assembly Speaker upon his return to Pakistan, sources informed Geo News. The Pakistan Muslim League – Nawaz (PML-N) supremo, when presented with the offer, said that he was not against the idea, but wished to first put the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI)-led government under pressure before opting for the step. “You give me the PPP’s resignations, and I will give you the PML-N’s resignations, and you can then hand over all of them to the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam – Fazlur (JUI-F)’s Maulana Fazlur Rehman,” Sharif reportedly said in response. Sources said that the JUI-F chief then debated the matter extensively with the leaders of the various opposition parties, but there were some disagreements over the execution of the strategy. According to sources, the opposition ultimately failed to agree on the matter. It was decided in the meeting that those lawmakers who are known for “jumping ship” would not be invited back to the fold of the parties present.

The health department is “solarising” the cold storages for vaccines throughout Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province to ensure uninterrupted electricity supply and provide quality immunisation services to the children. The department is installing the recently-established provincial warehouse with the assistance of the UN that will also save cost of fuel presently incurred for using generators. Officials said that the cold rooms in the provincial warehouse had been provided by Unicef. The UN agency has also established the district cold rooms. “In the districts, where we don’t have an installed cold room, we have sufficient cold chain equipment to cater to the needs of the target population,” they said. Regarding the benefits of the solarisation, officials said that it would help them in effective maintenance of the vaccine cold chain besides ensuring quality of the vaccine, enhancement of storage capacity, and ensuring continuous vaccine supply that would safeguard children from the childhood ailments. “We will soon be shifting to the new provincial warehouse, which will serve as main facility for divisional storage in Kohat, Bannu, Dera Ismail Khan, Mansehra, Peshawar, Malakand, and Mardan. Nowshera, Mardan and Swabi have district cold rooms as well,” they said. They said that the number of cold rooms depended on the size of the division, with some divisions having two to three cold rooms, while some have just one, the plan is to have a cold room at each district level. The installation of a cold room is a costly exercise and was completed in phases, they added. The solarisation of cold storages will be completed by the end of the current year. Officials said that they had been immunising children aged up to 23 months against 10 diseases: childhood tuberculosis, polio, diphtheria, tetanus, pneumonia, pertussis (whooping cough), Hepatitis-B, meningitis, diarrhoea, and measles. They said that there has been no break in routine immunisation, with 2,882 technicians reaching most of the 1.5mn targeted children at 1,270 centres in the province, on top of carrying out coronavirus-related activities. To enhance the immunisation ratio, they said, the technicians conducted immunisation sessions at the district level, where mothers were informed about the significance of immunising during the coronavirus pandemic, as a result of which the incidence of childhood diseases decreased. There is an old warehouse in the Pishtakhara locality of Peshawar that is fully functional, while the new one is ready for shifting and is also fully functional. The new warehouse in Nahaqi will work as provincial warehouse. No decision has been made so far about the warehouse in Pishtakhara, but most likely it will work as Peshawar district cold room. Officials said the immunisation coverage in the province from January to August had improved and that the vaccinators were able to provide the BCG vaccine to 84% of children to protect them against childhood tuberculosis, Penta-3 to 81% of children for protection against five diseases (pertussis, diphtheria, tetanus, hepatitis and haemophilus influenza type-B). “Coverage for measles is 81%,” said the officials.