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monday, 30 January, 2017 I 1 Jamadi-ul-awwal, 1438 I Rs 17.00 I Vol VII no 212 I 16 Pages I Karachi edition
trump immigration ban loses first legal battle how is tRumP’s immiGRation cRackdown seen in muslim-majoRity nations? STORIES ON PAGE 02 & 04
trudeau says canada will take refugees banned by us
US may extend viSa ban to PakiStan g
white house says moRe Reince PRiebus says GReen states like Pakistan could caRd-holdeRs will RequiRe be added to ban list additional scReeninG g
STORY ON PAGE 02
Imran prays for ban on US visa for Pakistanis STORY ON PAGE 02
Palestinian president arrives on three-day visit today STORY ON PAGE 03
Indian troops violate ceasefire yet again STORY ON PAGE 03
a
day after us President donald trump ordered no-visa policy for seven muslim countries, a white house official saturday suggested that more countries like Pakistan could be added to the ban list of seven muslim countries that al-
ready include libya, iraq, iran, somalia, sudan, syria and yemen. “you can point to other countries that have similar problems like Pakistan and others – perhaps we need to take it further,” white house chief of staff Reince Priebus said defending us presi-
dent donald trump’s decision. “but for now, immediate step, pulling the band-aid off, is to do further vetting for people travelling in and out of those countries,” he went on to say in an interview with cbs news.
CONTINUED ON PAGE 02
SGS-CoteCna and PanamaGate third missing activist found, flees drawing parallels between country fearing for life: family
two important cases
STORY ON PAGE 03
JAZZCASHLESS? HACKER HITS OVER 20 MOBILE ACCOUNTS
STORY ON PAGE 04
STORY ON PAGE 11
02 NEWS
Monday, 30 January, 2017
Canada will take refugees banned by uS, says Trudeau TORONTO: Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has a message for refugeesrejected by U.S. President Donald Trump: Canada will take you. He also intends to talk to Trump about the success of Canada’s refugee policy. Trudeau reacted to Trump’s ban of Muslims from certain countries by tweeting Saturday: “To those fleeing persecution, terror & war, Canadians will welcome you, regardless of your faith. Diversity is our strength #WelcomeToCanada.” Trudeau also posted a picture of him greeting a Syrian child at Toronto’s airport in late 2015. Trudeau oversaw the arrival of more than 39,000 Syrian refugees soon after he was elected. A spokeswoman for Trudeau said Trudeau has a message for Trump. “The Prime Minister is looking forward to discussing the successes of Canada’s immigration and refugee policy with the President when they next speak,” Trudeau spokeswoman Kate Purchase told The Associated Press. Trudeau is expected to the visit the White House soon. The prime minister has refrained from criticizing Trump to avoid offending the new president. More than 75 percent of Canada’s exports go to the U.S. Toronto Mayor John Tory also weighed in, noting that the city is the most diverse in the world. “We understand that as Canadians we are almost all immigrants, and that no one should be excluded on the basis of their ethnicity or nationality,” Tory said in a statement. Trump signed a sweeping executive order Friday that he billed as a necessary step to stop “radical Islamic terrorists” from coming to the U.S. Included is a 90-day ban on travel to the U.S. by citizens of Iraq, Syria, Iran, Sudan, Libya, Somalia or Yemen and a 120-day suspension of the U.S. refugee program. Trump’s order singled out Syrians for the most aggressive ban, ordering that anyone from that country, including those fleeing civil war, are indefinitely blocked from coming to the United States. The Syrian refugee crisis became a major issue in Canada’s election in late 2015 because of the haunting image of a drowned 3-year-old Syrian boy washed up on a Turkish beach. The boy had relatives in Canada. Trudeau’s tweet quickly received more than 150,000 likes. “Welcome to Canada” trended in Canada. AGENCIES
un hopes uS refugee ban is temporary NEW YORK: The United Nations hopes that US President Donald Trump´s decision to ban refugees is a temporary measure and that they will again be given protection, its spokesman said Saturday. “We hope that the measures concerning the suspension of refugee flows are temporary as refugee protection needs have never been greater,” said UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric. “The US resettlement program is one of the most important ones in the world.” Trump on Friday signed an executive order suspending the US refugee resettlement program for 120 days. In addition, all visa applications from seven Muslim countries—Iraq, Syria, Iran, Sudan, Libya, Somalia and Yemen - were put on hold for at least 90 days. The UN refugee agency UNHCR and the International Organisation for Migration said in a joint statement that they hoped the United States “will continue its strong leadership role and long tradition of protecting those who are fleeing conflict and persecution.” On Friday, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres told a Holocaust commemoration that discrimination against migrants and refugees along with the stereotyping of Muslims were opening the door to more extreme hatred. AGENCIES
TrumP immigraTiOn ban lOSeS firST legal baTTle
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EDERAL judges in three states followed one in New York in barring authorities from deporting travellers affected by US President Donald Trump´s executive order imposing restrictions on immigration from seven Muslim-majority nations. The judges in Massachusetts, Virginia and Washington state issued their rulings late on Saturday or early on Sunday. Earlier on Saturday, US District Judge Ann Donnelly in New York City´s Brooklyn borough ordered authorities to refrain from deporting previously approved refugees from those countries. She ruled on a lawsuit by two men from Iraq being held at Kennedy Airport. The US Department of Homeland Security said in a statement on Sunday that it would comply with court rulings while at the same time implementing Trump´s order “to ensure that those entering the United States do not pose a threat to our country or the American people.” Across the United States, lawyers worked overnight to help travelers caught up in confusion at airports after the new Republican president on Friday halted immigration from the seven countries and temporarily stopped the entry of refugees. Attorneys and advocates said they have
filed more than 100 cases for individual travelers around the country. In Boston, US District Judge Allison Burroughs on Sunday issued a temporary restraining order blocking the removal of two Iranians who taught at the University of Massachusetts who had been detained at Logan International Airport. The order, set to last seven days, appeared to go further than Donnelly´s by barring officials from detaining, in addition to removing, approved refugees, visa holders and permanent US residents
from Iraq, Syria, Iran, Libya, Sudan, Somalia and Yemen. Donnelly´s order only forbade removing those affected by Trump´s order. The legal director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Massachusetts, Matthew Segal, in a statement called Burroughs´ order “a huge victory for justice.” “We told President Trump we would see him in court if he ordered this unconstitutional ban on Muslims,” Segal said. “He tried, and federal courts in Boston and throughout the nation
I hope Trump stops giving visas to Pakistanis: Imran News Desk Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan on Sunday, while condemning the plight of Muslims prevented from entering the United States (US) under US President Donald Trump’s immigration ban, expressed hope that the ban is extended to Pakistanis. “I pray that [US President Donald] Trump stops giving us [Pakistanis] visas because then we will try fixing our own country,” Imran said while addressing a party gathering in Sahiwal on Sunday. The PTI chief said most educated Pakistanis want to leave this country because they think they can only acquire gainful employment if they have a “powerful source”, and said he believes that things in Pakistan can only improve if people work for progress. “The day we bring back the merit system back to Pakistan, all our best citizens will return and work for the betterment of this country,” Khan said. “The prime minister
would go abroad even if he gets a headache. If it [the ban] happens, we will have to improve Pakistan and stand on our own feet.” Trump’s sweeping executive order, signed Friday, suspends the arrival of refugees in the US for at least 120 days and bars visas for travellers from seven Muslim-majority countries ─ including Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen ─ for the next three months. Khan lauded Iran’s tit-fortat move in response to Trump’s immigration ban, which restricted US nationals travelling to Iran until the ban
was lifted. “Iran is an independent nation and we need to become like them,” Khan asserted. Imran vowed to continue fighting against the alleged corruption of the Sharif family till his last breath. “I need prayers of the nation’s mothers to fight against the king of corruption [PM Nawaz],” he said, adding, “I want youngsters and minorities to stand by me in this struggle.” He said, “They may have elected Trump, but we have elected Nawaz Sharif.” Taking a jibe at the prime minister, the PTI leader said the premier had broken all records of telling lies. “In my cricketing career I saw a lot of records being broken but I have never seen such high records of lies being broken as Nawaz Sharif as done,” he said. He said that he felt sympathetic towards Maryam Nawaz because “Nawaz has brought her forward to hide his own corruption,” adding, “Nawaz Sharif is hiding behind his offspring.”
stopped it in its tracks.” In Alexandria, Virginia, US District Judge Leonie Brinkema on Saturday night barred the Department of Homeland Security from removing 50 to 60 people detained at Dulles International Airport who are legal permanent residents. Dulles is one of the main airports serving Washington, DC Brinkema´s temporary restraining order also requires the agency to allow those individuals to speak with lawyers, according to the Legal Aid and Justice Center in Virginia, which provides representation to low-income individuals. On the West Coast, US District Judge Thomas Zilly in Seattle on Saturday barred the federal government from removing two unnamed individuals. He scheduled a further hearing on the issue for Feb.3. Despite the legal challenges, supporters of Trump´s order said the government was within its rights to act swiftly to enforce the president´s order. “It is better be safe than sorry,” said Jessica Vaughan, director of policy studies at the conservative group the Center for Immigration Studies in Washington. Trump’s sweeping executive order, signed Friday, suspends the arrival of refugees for at least 120 days and bars visas for travelers from seven Muslim majority countries for the next three months. The move, which was implemented immediately by US authorities, sparked large protests at major airports across the country. At New York’s John F Kennedy International Airport, some of the 2,000 demonstrators there chanted “Let them in, let them in!” Large protests took place at the main airports for Washington, Chicago, Minneapolis, Denver, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Dallas. AGENCIES
Opposition not ready to accept Pakistan’s progress: Shehbaz LAHORE: Punjab Chief Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Sunday met former Adviser to Prime Minister Ameer Bakhsh Bhutto and discussed with him political affairs and topics of mutual interest. Talking on the occasion, the chief minister said that under the leadership of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif the dream of Pakistan’s progress and development was materialising into reality. ‘Pakistan belongs to all of us and it is our collective responsibility to work for its progress and development’, he added. ‘Those political entities who believe in “I” and not “We” are the enemies of Pakistan’. In order to lead Pakistan on the path to progress, we have to work together and it is our collective responsibility to set aside our differences and work for the progress and development of Pakistan. The corrupt former rulers and politicians of this dharna group have tried hard to destroy Pakistan. Through looting and protests, these people proved themselves as enemies of the people of Pakistan and put obstacles in the country’s progress and development. Those who had planned against Pakistan’s progress and development have been disclosed before the masses, he added. The people of Pakistan will strongly confront those who were against Pakistan’s progress and development. During the last three and half years, this dharna group has done nothing except telling lies and leveling baseless allegations. Those making tall claims of change have been grounded. Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has paved the way for Pakistan’s progress and development and the opposition was not ready to accept this fact. Under the dynamic leadership of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, the agenda of Pakistan’s progress and development would be completed at every cost. STAFF REPORT
United States may extend visa ban to Pakistan Continued from page 01 Priebus said that immediate steps to be taken included further vetting for people travelling in and out of those countries for now. He added that if the administration tipped off their decision beforehand, it could’ve meant that ‘potential terrorists’ would’ve tried to enter the US. “We’re not going to advertise to the world that we’re going to put a stop or at least further vetting on travel in and out of our country from these seven places,” he said. “All this is identifying the seven countries — and the reason we chose those seven countries is those were the
seven countries that both the Congress and the Obama administration identified as being the seven countries that were most identifiable with dangerous terrorism taking place in their country,” Priebus explained. Earlier, a Department of Homeland Security official said people holding green cards, making them legal permanent US residents, were included in President Donald Trump's executive action temporarily barring people from seven Muslim-majority countries from entering the United States. "It will bar green card-holders," Gillian Christensen, acting Department of Homeland Security spokeswoman, said in an email. A senior White House official later
sought to clarify the situation, saying green card-holders who had left the United States and wanted to return would have to visit a US embassy or consulate to undergo additional screening. "You will be allowed to re-enter the United States pending a routine rescreening," the official said. President Donald Trump’s immigration order is getting pushback from some Republicans in Congress, even as officials from Trump’s administration insist it’s a small price to pay to keep the nation safe. Trump billed his sweeping executive order as a necessary step to stop “radical terrorists” from coming to the US It included a 90-day ban on travel to the US
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by citizens of Iraq, Syria, Iran, Sudan, Libya, Somalia or Yemen and a 120-day suspension of the US refugee program. The comments from Preibus came after a US federal judge issued an emergency order temporarily barring the government from deporting people from seven majority Muslim nations subject to Trump’s travel ban. The judge said travellers who had been detained had a strong argument that their legal rights had been violated. The Department of Homeland Security issued a statement early Sunday that said the court ruling would not affect the overall implementation of the White House order and it affected a relatively small number of travellers who were in-
convenienced by security procedures upon their return. Trump’s aides insist the judgment has little impact. Trump’s order, which also suspends the US refugee program for 120 days and bars the entry of Syrian refugees indefinitely, has sparked major protests, including at several of the nation’s international airports. It also puts Republicans who criticised Trump’s initial campaign proposal to block foreign Muslims from entering the country in a tough spot. According to data available, in the fiscal year 2016, the US issued 23,732 visas to the countries in the ban list, out of a total 617,752 immigrant visas issued during the same time frame. AGENCIES
Monday, 30 January, 2017
gaS THefT CauSeS SngPl, SSgCl rS 82 billiOn lOSSeS Over fOur-year PeriOD IsLAMABAD
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AHMAD AHMADANI
WO state-owned gas utilities - SNGPL & SSGCL - are suffering from heavy losses as during the last four financial years (2012-2016) both the companies racked up gas losses to the tune of Rs 82 billion. During the financial year 2015-2016, Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited (SNGPL) suffered UfG (Unaccounted for Gas) losses to the tune of Rs 8 billion (8,376million) and Sui Southern Gas Company Limited (SSGC) Rs 14 billion (14,548 million). In FY2014-2015, UfG of the SNGPL remained at Rs 11 billion (Rs 11,639 million), and SSGCL at Rs 10 billion (10,282 million), Rs 12 billion (12,262 million) of SNGPL and Rs 9 billion (9,944 million) of SSGCL in FY 2013-2014. And, in FY 2012-2013, the UfG losses of SNGPL registered at Rs 13 billion (Rs 13,917 million) and SSGCL at Rs 19 billion (1,920 million), official documents said. Interestingly, OGRA has already allowed 4.5pc ratio of UfG annually to the gas companies and as a result above Rs 12 bln heavy amount is collected
india violates ceasefire, opens unprovoked firing at loC Indian troops on Sunday again violated ceasefire along the Line of Control (LoC) and opened unprovoked firing in Bhimber sector. According to the Inter-Services Public Relations, the Indian forces opened unprovoked firing in Khanjar area near Bhimber in the afternoon. “Indians fired with RPG-7 and automatic grenade launcher,” the ISPR said in a statement, adding that Pakistani troops effectively responded to Indian firing. Earlier on December 16, a man was killed and eight schoolchildren injured when Indian troops targeted a school van in Nakyal sector of Kotli district. Prior to that, a minibus was shelled in Neelum valley on November 23, due to which nine passengers lost their lives. NEWS DESK
Huge stash of weapons seized from bla hideout near Kohlu KOHLU: Huge stash of arms and ammunition was recovered from a hideout of the banned Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) by the Frontier Corps and security agencies, said a statement released by military’s media wing the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) on Sunday. The operation was conducted in Peshi area of Kahan under the supervision of IG FC Major-General Nadeem Anjum. Seized weaponry includes 70 rocket-propelled grenade (RPGs) shells, missile-launchers, 12 rocket fuses and mortar bombs, five bundle-detonating cords, thousands of rounds of different types. Some 20 rockets and 14 fuses were also found at the site. Earlier, the FC along with other law enforcement agencies apprehended 81 suspects and recovered huge cache of arms and ammunition. AGENCIES
Palestinian president due in islamabad today ISLAMABAD: Palestine’s President Mahmoud Abbas will arrive here today (Monday) on a threeday visit. President Abbas will be accompanied by a 17-member delegation including five ministers. It would be his third visit to Pakistan as he had previously been to Pakistan in 2005 and 2013. During the visit, the Palestinian president will have one-on-one meeting with Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, followed by delegation-level talks, according to a press release of the Foreign Office on Sunday. Subsequently, the president of Palestine and the prime minister of Pakistan will jointly inaugurate the newly constructed Palestine Embassy Complex in the Diplomatic Enclave. The Government of Pakistan had gifted land in 1992 for the construction of the Palestinian Embassy Complex. Subsequently, in 2013 Pakistan also contributed towards its construction. President Mahmoud Abbas and his delegation will meet President Mamnoon Hussain, followed by a state banquet in his honour. APP
thieves because of political pressure. Reportedly, OGRA has chided SNGPL officials for lax attitude in dealing with gas theft and termed this a violation and contempt for the rule of law. “Since the OGRA has to look after interests of all stakeholders on the basis of justice and fair play, the SNGPL management is, once again, requested to address all aforementioned issues,” OGRA said in a letter written to SNGPL managing director on January 19. Available official documents show that the authority (OGRA) has determined the estimated revenue requirement of SSGCL for FY 2015-16 at Rs 184 billion (Rs 184,859 million) against Rs 263 billion (Rs 263,116 million) demanded by SSGCL. Similarly, it (OGRA) has determined the final revenue requirement of SNGPL for FY 2014-15 at Rs 231 billion (Rs 231,191 million) against Rs 281 billion (Rs 281,936 million) demanded by SNGPL. It is worth mentioning here that the gas theft was made part of the Criminal Procedure Code in 2011 as a cognizable offence, but the government has increased fine and imprisonment and made it a nonbailable offence through a new bill.
from the gas consumers, which is almost 2.5pc extra to the UfG ratio of India, Bangladesh and many other countries of the region. The UfG ratio in India and Bangladesh stands around 1.5pc to 3pc. The gas consumers of both gas companies have been bearing the brunt of extra burden 4.5 per cent UfG as per OGRA’s determined benchmark. The OGRA usually sets the benchmark of UfG for both gas companies only to adjust their losses incurred in one fiscal year. The gas consumers bear the brunt of 4.5pc ratio of UfG. And, remaining losses of these companies are adjusted from their profits. More, gas theft has been causing billion of rupees worth losses per year to the exchequer. The theft includes unaccounted for gas due to tampering of pipelines and meters. Gas theft and tampering with meters and pipelines are reportedly more prevalent among commercial, industrial and bulk consumers. The number of residential consumers had grown manifold over the years, but there was negligible amount of gas theft among domestic consumers. The theft is allegedly done in connivance with officials of these two gas utilities. And, these gas companies usually do not dare to take action against influential gas
Prejudice for PM Nawaz making Imran sick: Marriyum Aurangzeb IsLAMABAD APP
Minister of State for Information, Broadcasting and National Heritage Marriyum Aurangzeb said on Sunday that Pakistan would continue its march towards progress and prosperity under the leadership of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif. She said that all the international survey reports had been declaring Pakistan a developing economic power while Imran Khan was giving a wrong impression that the country was bankrupt, which in fact showed his enmity to it. “If this progress is not digested by you (Imran), then
you are incurable,” Marriyum said. “One can only have pity on his mental condition.” She said Imran Khan had made the accountability commission in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) dysfunctional. Who would provide justice to the KP people, she questioned. She said Imran’s hatred for Pakistan and his unending lies were the biggest problems the country was facing right now. She said the development works, which Imran Khan was now going to initiate in KP, had been executed in Punjab ten years ago. The biometric system had been installed in the schools of Punjab about a decade ago while
the healthcare system, on which Imran boasted for political point scoring, was in fact a gift from Nawaz Sharif. The minister said it was heartening that Imran Khan was emulating the programmes already launched by the federal and Punjab governments in health, education and sports sectors. She asked Imran Khan not to let his prejudice for Nawaz Sharif drag him to the extent that he became the enemy of the country. She questioned as to when Imran would learn valuing his country as he was claiming that he became a cricketer while in England. She predicted that Imran Khan would soon leave the country forever.
Man confesses to abducting, raping three minors in DI Khan DeRA IsMAIL kHAN STAFF REPORT
Police on Sunday claimed to have arrested a 25-yearold man suspected of raping and killing three minors. According to Investigation Officer Sanaullah Khan Marwat, the accused, Muhammad Bilal, had been named by the parents of an eight-year-old girl who had disappeared from a wedding. The body of the deceased was recovered from a sugarcane field two days later and sent to a hospital for autopsy. Police said the suspect had confessed to killing the child after raping her. Officials said the
suspect had also confessed to raping another two minors after abducting them. On Saturday, a man suspected of raping a minor boy was arrested and sent on two-day physical remand by a local court. The city police said that T*, 8, of Sufaida Village was playing outside his house on Thursday when AJ*, a resident of Allai Tehsil in Battagram District, dragged him into some nearby bushes and raped him. The suspect fled from the scene, leaving the boy unconscious. After some time, some neighbours saw the boy and informed his family. When the boy regained consciousness, he said AJ* had raped him.
NEWS
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Kamal rejects reports he’s part of establishment Pak Sarzameen Party (PSP) Chairman Mustafa Kamal on Sunday rejected claims that he was a part of the establishment, saying he has no connections with it whatsoever. “Yes, I am a man of the establishment and my establishment is God,” Kamal said while addressing a crowd on Karachi’s MA Jinnah Road. Kamal lauded his supporters in the rally, saying people in Karachi have broken the stereotype that they only support those who speak Urdu, Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) and its founder Altaf Hussain. He added that there was a “narrative” that people of Karachi are “obsessed” with MQM. Kamal asserted that people of Karachi are well-informed and support educated lawmakers. The former mayor also told his supporters that by attending the rally, they had proved that the people of Karachi do not want “isolation” as purported in the “narrative”. “[They say] Urdu-speaking people do not want to mix with people from other ethnicities but today you proved them wrong,” Kamal said, adding that an amalgam of people of various ethnic backgrounds came together in the metropolis to attend the PSP rally. NEWS DESK
Pia clarifies reports about fault in flight PK-719 KARACHI: A spokesman for the Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) here on Sunday clarified media reports regarding flight PK719 (Lahore-Milan-Paris) having a technical fault before its take off from Lahore, and termed such reports as “totally baseless and misleading”. “The aircraft was fully airworthy at the time of take off from Lahore. Probably a bird or some other object hit the tail of the aircraft, slightly damaging it, shortly before it landed at Milan”, the spokesman for the national flag carrier said. “This was detected during routine inspection carried out before each flight. The passengers who had to travel onward to Paris were sent through another airline,” the spokesman remarked. The aircraft is being repaired and would soon be made operational, he added. APP
Two policemen shot dead in Dera murad Jamali DERA MURAD JAMALI: At least two police personnel, including a sub-inspector, were killed while another was injured in a firing incident in Naseerabad area of Dera Murad Jamali. According to details, unidentified gunmen opened fire on a police mobile patrolling in Naseerabad area, wounding three policemen, two of them fatally. The injured were shifted to a hospital, where two of them succumbed to their injuries. Police have started an investigation into the incident. ONLINE
Third missing activist found, flees country fearing for life: family IsLAMABAD AGENCIES
A third activist who went missing earlier this month is safe, his family told AFP on Sunday, a day after two of the other disappeared men were confirmed secure. The activist, named only as Asim by his family for safety reasons, was among five who went missing more than two weeks ago, sparking fears of a government crackdown and resulting in protests. “Asim contacted us on phone on Sunday morning and told us
that he is well,” a relative requesting anonymity told AFP, saying the family had been receiving threats. Separately, Asim’s father Ghulam Haider told Reuters that the activist had returned to his house briefly on Saturday but then left quickly, and messaged the family on Sunday morning to inform them that he was safe and would call soon. Haider said Asim had either returned to Singapore or was in Germany. On Saturday, academic Salman Haider and another blogger whose family asked not to be named were
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reported safe by their families. Two others remain unaccounted for. The five men — who campaigned for human rights and religious freedom — went missing from various cities between January 4 and 7, triggering nationwide protests. No group has claimed responsibility. But Human Rights Watch and other rights groups said their near simultaneous disappearances raised concerns of government involvement, which officials and intelligence sources have denied. Pakistan has had a history of enforced disappear-
ances over the past decade, but this has mainly been confined to conflict zones near the Afghanistan border or to Balochistan. A virulent social media campaign painting the missing as blasphemers triggered a flood of threats despite denials from their worried families, with observers saying the claims could place them in danger. The charge, which can carry the death penalty, is hugely sensitive in Pakistan, where even unproven allegations have stirred mob lynchings and murder.
04 NEWS
Monday, 30 January, 2017
Country making progress under PM’s leadership, says Kirmani
sgs-CoTeCna anD PanaMagaTe
DrawIng Parallels beTween Two IMPorTanT Cases ISLAMABAD
ISLAMABAD APP
Special Assistant to the Prime Minister, Dr Syed Asif Kirmani, said Sunday the country was making progress—politically and economically—under the leadership of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif. Addressing a public gathering here at Bhara Kahu, he said the economy was growing, as law and order situation in the country had improved due to hectic efforts of the incumbent government. Terrorist activities had reduced and the menace would be completely rooted out from the country soon, he added. He said energy shortage would be overcome till 2018. He said the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) was a game changer for the entire region, and work on it would continue despite internal and external conspiracies. Imran Khan could not digest the development in Pakistan and his politics of protests, sit-ins and demonstrations had caused heavy losses to the country, he added. Kirmani said the Pakistan Tehreek-iInsaf chief had admitted that he had established an offshore company in 1996 for evasion of taxes. He said the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) had always respected court verdicts, adding the apex court would decide the Panama Papers case in accordance with law. Acting Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) Prime Minister Tariq Farooq said the prime minister had strengthened the freedom movement by vigorously highlighting the Kashmir issue at international forums.
a
SHAH NAWAZ MOHAL
S the Panamagate case enters its final phase, Advocate Shahid Hamid, the counsel of Maryam Nawaz, Captain (retd) Safdar and Ishaq Dar, is all set to conclude his arguments on Monday. With full comprehension of the matter being sub-judice before the highest court of the land, Pakistan Today has decided to revisit the infamous SGS-Cotecna reference against former President Asif Ali Zardari and twotime former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto and draw parallels between both cases. The gist of the allegations as set out in the infamous SGS-Cotecna reference by Ehtesab Commission is that Benazir Bhutto, Asif Ali Zardari, A R Siddiqui, ex-Chairman CBR and others abused their authority as holders of public office in collusion with each other and with M/s Societe General De Surveillance SA (“SGS”) and Cotecna by granting both companies ‘Pre-shipment Inspection Contract” in consideration of illegal gratification, pecuniary advantages, commission and kickbacks received in bank accounts of offshore companies operated by Jens Schlegelmiclch namely Bomer Finance Inc, Mariston Securities Inc and Nassam Overseas Inc, of which they were the beneficiaries. However, the case lingered on for 13 years, up till 2011, when all accused were acquitted except former President Asif Ali Zardari who enjoyed constitutional immunity as he was president then. Zardari was acquitted in November 2015 by an accountability court. Both cases share some similarities. They revolve around high profile political figures, payments made through offshore companies, allegations of concealment of facts and non-declaration of assets. However, the differences are stark too. Where SGS-Cotecna was a criminal case, the Panamagate case is essentially a civil petition before the SC, whereas allegations in SGS-Cotecna were about tak-
ing kickbacks, the Panamagate case revolves around money-laundering, tax evasion and misuse of authority. The SGS-Cotecna is considered by many as a landmark where a precedent was set that where financial corruption, money-laundering, kickbacks and unlawful pecuniary gratification are involved, it will be dealt with in a procedural manner by institutions entrusted with accountability like National Accountability Bureau, FIA and others. The Supreme Court of Pakistan took up the matter of Panama Papers in its extraordinary jurisdiction under Article 184 (3), commonly known as suo motu, in the aftermath of Panama Leaks, documents pertaining to offshore companies of global elite. A new paradigm shift has occurred in the judicial history of Pakistan as previously such matters were investigated and probed into, and after a declaration by relevant authorities the matter was brought forward before the SC. However, the Supreme Court, this time around, didn’t rely on the traditional method and took up the allegations pertaining to tax evasion, moneylaundering, misuse of authority, non-declaration of assets and concealment of facts against the Sharif family under Article 184 (3). With both petitioners and respondents filing plethora of documents and the bench struggling to ‘dig out the truth’, as Justice Khosa remarked during a hearing, many top jurists are of the opinion that due to technicalities of procedure involved and the primary jurisdiction of Supreme Court as a constitutional and appellate court remaining intact, it is yet to be seen as to how it undertakes to inquire and investigate intricate matters that include recording of evidence and trial. ‘One aspect why SGS-Cotecna case, other than the political implications, couldn’t be contested properly was that the cost involved was huge. The payments of the lawyers, fees for hiring agencies and investigation for probing the matter was so extensive that the government backed out,’ confided a senior lawyer privy to proceedings on condition of anonymity.
PTI invested charity money in Muscat, France: minister ISLAMABAD/SIALKOT APP
Minister for Defence Khawaja Asif has said Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) had invested charity amount for business activities in different countries including Muscat and France. Talking to a private news channel, he said cases of corruption in charity and attacking the Parliament and Pakistan Television (PTV) were being pleading in the court against PTI Chief Imran Khan. The minister said the scuffle in the Parliament was planned by PTI as its member Shah Mehmood Qureshi had chanted provoking slogans against the prime minister. He said the PTI had made commitment in Business Advisory Committee meeting that two members from treasury benches and one from opposition would address the Parliament but later it violated the agreement. The PTI members had chanted derogatory slogans against the prime minister which could not be tolerated by Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leaders, he added. He said Minister for Petroleum and Natural Resources Shahid Khaqan Abbasi went to the opposition benches and talked to Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) member Naveed Qamar that PTI was violating the agreement then PTI leaders had physically attacked him. Replying to a question, he said the operation Zarb-e-Azb was successfully continued and it would continue till the elimination of last terrorist from the country. To another query, he said Pakistan has commitment with Saudi Arabia that it would protect the Hurmain Sharifain in any danger. He said, according to 1982 Act, Pakistani 1000 soldiers of different cores including medical were present in Saudi Arabia for various purposes but not for combating. Earlier, Defence Minister Khawaja Asif held an open court at the PML-N House, Paris Road, here on Sunday. He heard the problems of people and issued orders on various applications for urgent compliance to provide early relief to the applicants. Punjab Minister for Local Bodies Manshaullah Butt, MPA Ch Muhammad Ikram, Sialkot Mayor Ch Tauheed Akhtar, Deputy Mayor Ch Bashir Ahmed, local PML-N leaders Mehmoodul Hassan Babar Khan, Hassan Arif Sheikh, Farooq Ghuman and President PML-N Women Wing Sialkot Nusrat Jamshaid Malik were also present.
How is Trump’s immigration crackdown seen in Muslim-majority nations? DUBAI AGENCIES
Many citizens of Muslim-majority countries affected by President Donald Trump’s curbs on travel to the United States say they were hardly surprised the restrictions rank among his first orders of business. The new commander-in-chief had, after all, once called for a “complete and total shutdown” of Muslim arrivals, and in his inaugural speech vowed to eradicate “radical Islamic terrorism” from the face of the earth. But that doesn’t make news of the clampdown sting any less for those on the receiving end. “No one is surprised but everyone is disappointed, especially with the height of hope with (Barack) Obama,” said Khalid al-Baih, a 36-year-old political cartoonist from Sudan. He fears new American visa restrictions will now have a knock-on effect. “Whatever America does, the rest of the world follows.” Shadi Sabbagh, a 40-year-old resident of Syria’s capital, Damascus, who has a sister in the U.S., feels let down too by what he called “unnatural” proposals to restrict the flow of refugees into the U.S. “America is a nation of immigrants and no one can ever ban immigration,” he said. “What is our fault if some Muslims
committed some wrong actions? Should we, as Christians, bear the consequences?” The executive order issued Friday by Trump imposes a 120-day suspension of the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program and a 90-day ban on all entry to the U.S. from countries with terrorism concerns. The three-month ban applies to Iraq, Syria, Iran, Sudan, Libya, Somalia and Yemen. The order also halts entry by Syrian refugees until the president determines that changes to the refugee program ensure that admitting them won’t compromise national security. Abbas al-Bayati, an Iraqi Shiite member of parliament, said the curbs will send the wrong message to Iraqis at a time when Washington is counting on Iraqi forces to battle Islamic State militants in tough close-quarters combat in the northern city of Mosul. “The United States and Iraq always stressed that they are allies,” al-Bayati said, noting American commitments to support democracy in Iraq. He urged the Trump administration to reconsider its decision “for the good of the two countries.” Fellow Iraqi lawmaker Majid Chenkali, a Kurdish Sunni, was less diplomatic, saying Iraq should respond with similar visa policies for Americans.
“It should be an eye for an eye,” he said. Mohammed ElBaradei, Nobel Peace Prize laureate and Egypt’s former vice president who now lives in self-imposed exile, posted on Twitter: “Will there be an Arab action to make us feel that we have some dignity?” It was not immediately clear how Trump’s plans would affect Syrians scattered all over the globe. Close to 5 million Syrians have fled the country’s brutal war since 2011, when an uprising against President Bashar Assad’s rule erupted in the country’s south. Most struggle to survive in tough conditions in neighboring countries, and many have relatives who have settled in the U.S. Trump said during his campaign that he would suspend arrivals from Syria, portraying them as a potential security threat. George, a 58-year-old businessman in Damascus, whose wife and two daughters fled the war and have been living in the U.S. for five years, said Americans already treat Syrians very badly, and that security measures greeting Syrians at U.S. airports are terrible. The man, who declined to give his last name for security concerns, said that although he has U.S. residency, he still suffers every time he travels to America. “If the treatment of Syrians gets worse,
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we will pack our bags and return home.” Iranian actress Taraneh Alidoosti, star of the Oscar-nominated “The Salesman,” said she would boycott the Academy Awards to protest Trump’s immigration policies. “Trump’s visa ban for Iranians is racist,” she posted on Twitter. Tehran-based diplomatic analyst Hassan Hanizadeh said Trump’s move will do nothing to improve strained relations between Washington and Tehran, and will only make things more difficult for ordinary Iranians who travel to the U.S. to visit family. There are believed to be more than one million Iranians and Iranian-Americans living in the U.S. “As expected, Trump has launched aggressive policies against Islamic countries, including Iran,” Hanizadeh said. On the streets of Tehran, Iranians echoed that sentiment. “Trump has targeted ordinary Iranians since he cannot do anything against the Iranian government,” said car mechanic Borzou Ahmadi, 35. Simin Ghaderi, a 43-year-old teacher, said the plan shows a lack of knowledge among American decision-makers. “Just look at passports of those who were involved in terrorist activities in the U.S. and the west. How many of them were Iranian citizens?” he said.
The 9/11 attacks, for example, were mostly carried out by citizens of Saudi Arabia, a U.S. ally and Iran’s regional rival. American citizens were responsible for other recent deadly attacks. Several prominent mass-casualty terrorist attacks on American soil, including the 9/11 terrorist attacks, have been carried out by Sunni militant groups and have not involved Iranian citizens. The United States has listed Iran a state sponsor of terrorism since 1984 — four years after Washington severed diplomatic relations in the wake of the 1979 Islamic Revolution and storming of the U.S. Embassy. The Islamic Republic backs a number of Middle Eastern militant groups, including Lebanon’s Hezbollah and the Palestinian group Hamas. But Iran also finds common ground with the U.S. in its opposition to the Islamic State militant group, which views the Shiite sect of Islam that most Iranians follow as heretical. Mohammad Saghafi, an undergraduate electric engineering student in Tehran Azad University, said he is thinking twice about trying to pursue further education in the U.S. because of the ban. “I may continue my education in Canada or Germany,” he said. “Their leaders do not react like teenagers, at least.”
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Monday, 30 January, 2017
Over 50 dead in first Us raid On Yemen Under dOnaLd trUmp aDEN
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US raid in Yemen killed 41 suspected al-Qaeda militants and 16 civilians on Sunday, an official said, in what would be America’s first military action in the country under President Donald Trump. Eight women and eight children were among those killed in the dawn raid on Yakla district, in the central province of Baida, said the provincial official, who did not want to be named, and tribal sources. Sources in the region said the raid targeted the houses of three tribal chiefs linked to al-Qaeda, adding that an unspecified number of civilians were also killed. But the provincial official said Apache helicopters also struck a school, mosque and a medical facility used by alQaeda militants.
Other sources spoke of US commandos taking part in the operation, but this was difficult to confirm with credible sources. The three prominent tribal figures killed in the attack were identified as brothers Abdulraouf and Sultan al-Zahab and Saif Alawai al-Jawfi, the official and other sources said. They were known for their strong links to al-Qaeda, the sources said. The Zahab brothers have two other al-Qaeda brothers who were also killed in the past by drone strikes. An al-Qaeda chief in the region, who was identified as foreigner Abu Barazan, was also killed in the attack, the official said. The military operation is the first to be attributed to the United States against jihadists in Yemen since Trump took office on January 20. Under Trump’s predecessor Barack Obama, the United States stepped up its use of drone strikes against suspected ji-
hadists in Yemen, as well as other countries including Afghanistan. The United States considers the extremist group’s Yemen-based franchise, al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, to be its most dangerous. But although it only sporadically reports on a long-running bombing campaign against AQAP, it is the only force known to be operating drones over Yemen. On January 14, the Pentagon announced the killing a senior al-Qaeda operative in Baida the week before in an air strike. Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State jihadist group have exploited a power vacuum created by the two-year-old conflict in Yemen between the government and Shiite Houthi rebels, especially in the country’s south and southeast. Baida province is mostly controlled by the Houthis, but Yakla is ruled by the tribes, and has at least two training bases for al-Qaeda, local sources said.
Texas mosque goes up in flames hours after Trump’s Muslim ban Victoria AGENCIES
An early-morning fire Saturday destroyed a Texas mosque that was a target of hatred several years ago and experienced a burglary just a week ago. A clerk at a convenience store spotted smoke and flames billowing from the Islamic Centre of Victoria at around 2 am and called the fire department. “It’s sad to stand there and watch it collapse down, and the fire was so huge,” Shahid Hashmi, the Islamic centre’s president, said. “It looks completely destroyed.” Victoria Fire Marshal Tom Legler asked for help from the Texas Fire Marshal’s Office and federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives to determine what caused the blaze. Hashmi said authorities have told him it was too early to speculate. “None whatsoever right now,” the centre director said. “We don’t have any lead or information as to what started the fire and what happened. So I’m sure it’s going to be a few days, they told us, before
they can come up with any answers for us.” The congregation’s pastor, known as an imam, was awake in the early morning hours and checked online surveillance of the mosque and found no alarm active and the doors unlocked, Hashmi said. On Jan 21, someone broke in and stole some electronics, including laptops. “He was worried about it and drove over there,” Hashmi
said. “By that time, fire engines were already there pouring water on the fire.” The structure was built in 2000. No injuries were reported. It took about four hours to extinguish the blaze. Hashmi, who’s lived in Victoria 32 years, said the congregation of about 140 has had few other problems and has enjoyed support from the city of about 115 miles south-
west of Houston. He already has received offers of temporary quarters for the congregation to worship. “When 9/11 happened, Muslims and non-Muslims, we all got together,” he said. “Of course, we will rebuild.” The Victoria Advocate on Saturday reported that in July 2013, a man admitted to painting “H8,” a computer shorthand for “hate,” on the outside of the building. On Jan 7, a mosque under construction near Lake Travis in Austin was burned to the ground. The Texas office of the Council on American-Islamic Relations said like that blaze, it would monitor the investigation of the Victoria fire. “Because of growing antiMuslim bigotry in our nation, and because of the recent spike in hate incidents targeting Islamic institutions and individuals, we urge investigators to keep the possibility of a bias motive for this fire in mind,” CAIR-Houston Executive Director Mustafaa Carroll said. There’s been no determination yet for the Austin blaze, Diane Kanawati, with CAIRAustin, said Saturday.
23 missing Chinese in Malaysia boat sinking found alive As many as 23 Chinese tourists and two crew members have survived after their boat sank in rough seas off eastern Malaysia but six people are still missing, a minister said on Sunday. The sinking of the catamaran on Saturday, the first day of the Lunar New Year holiday, sparked a major air and sea search covering some 400 nautical square miles. The operation would continue overnight to try to save five missing Chinese and one crew member, said Shahidan Kassim, minister in the Prime Minister’s Department. “We will deploy search assets that can operate at night, and continue our rescue operations to locate those who are still missing,” he told a press conference in
Malaysia’s eastern state of Sabah on Borneo island. All three crew members are Malaysians. The boat had left Saturday morning from the Sabah state capital Kota Kinabalu en route for Pulau Mengalum, an island known for its pristine beaches and dive sites. The boat owner reported it missing on Saturday evening. The skipper and one of the two crew members were found alive earlier Sunday off a nearby island, before the discovery of the other survivors. “According to the skipper, the boat was ‘broken’ after being hit by waves and sank,” said Ahmad Puzi Kahar, head of the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency, in a statement. The tourists were tied together and were carried away by the
current, Puzi said, without specifying whether they were wearing life jackets. The search and rescue in-
volved officers from the maritime agency, the police, the navy and the air force. AGENCIES
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Mexico rebukes Israel over Netanyahu wall tweet MEXico citY AGENCIES
Mexico’s government rebuked Israel on Saturday for a tweet by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that appeared to applaud US President Donald Trump’s plan to build a border wall with Mexico to keep out illegal immigrants. Netanyahu said on Twitter earlier on Saturday: “President Trump is right. I built a wall along Israel's southern border. It stopped all illegal immigration. Great success. Great idea.” The comment was swiftly rejected by leaders of the Jewish community in Mexico, and prompted an unusually blunt statement from Mexico’s foreign ministry. “The Foreign Ministry expressed to the government of Israel, via its ambassador in Mexico, its profound astonishment, rejection and disappointment over Prime Minister Netanyahu’s message on Twitter about the construction of a border wall,” the ministry’s statement. “Mexico is a friend of Israel and should be treated as such by its Prime Minister,” it said, noting that Foreign Minister Luis Videgaray expressed his deep affection for Israel in an event marking Holocaust Memorial Day on Friday. Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman Emmanuel Nahshon said on Twitter Netanyahu had been referring to his country’s “specific security experience” and that Israel was not voicing an opinion on US-Mexican relations. Mexico’s government and Trump have been locked in a bitter dispute over his election campaign promise to build a wall on the US southern border that he says Mexico will pay for. Mexico has repeatedly said it will not pay for the wall. The Central Committee of the Jewish Community in Mexico issued a statement saying it “forcefully rejected” Netanyahu’s comment, while several prominent Mexicans of Jewish origin sharply criticized the Israeli leader on Twitter. “So you like walls @netanyahu? Here you have a couple of nice designs,” said Mony de Swaan, a former head of the Mexican telecommunications regulator, posting images of walls commemorating Bergen-Belsen, the Nazi concentration camp where diarist Anne Frank died, and the Warsaw Ghetto. On Thursday, Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto cancelled a visit to meet Trump next week after the American advised him to forgo the trip if he was not willing to pay for the wall. The leaders pledged to work out their differences in a call on Friday morning, and the Mexican government said the two had agreed not to discuss the issue of payment for now.
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Monday, 30 January, 2017
sYrian armY seizes damascUs water sOUrce as rebeLs withdraw leave the area. Teams were preparing to enter Ain al-Fija to fix the pumping station and the army had secured control of the village, it added. INTENSE FIGHTING: The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a British-based war monitoring group, said government forces had begun moving into the spring area as rebel fighters withdrew. Under the deal reached between the government side and local representatives, rebels hailing from outside the Wadi Barada area would leave for the north-western province of Idlib, an insurgent stronghold, carrying light weapons, the Observatory said. Rebels from Wadi Barada would be allowed to leave too, but could also opt
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YRIAN government forces took back control of an area near Damascus that provides most of the capital's water supplies after reaching a deal for rebel fighters to withdraw, pro-government media and a monitoring group said. The Syrian army and its allies launched an offensive last month to drive insurgents from the Wadi Barada valley, which they have controlled since 2012, and to recapture a major spring and pumping station. Syria's mainstream rebel factions are under intense pressure after losing areas they held in the northern city of Aleppo to government forces at the end of last year, and now face a fierce assault by Islamist militants elsewhere.
Wadi Barada—which lies northwest of Damascus—has become one of the fiercest battlefronts in Syria's civil war. Disruption to water supplies, including infrastructure damage, has caused acute shortages in the capital this month. Government forces entered the village of Ain al-Fija, where the spring and pumping station are located, early on Saturday, a military media unit run by Lebanese group Hezbollah, an ally of Damascus, reported. "The Syrian army has entered Ain al-Fija ... and raised the Syrian flag over the spring installation," a statement by the unit said, adding that the development was due to a deal reached with insurgents by which the rebels would
to stay and serve with pro-government forces, it added. The Syrian government has struck similar local ceasefire deals with the opposition in several western parts of the country, usually involving the transfer of rebel fighters and their families to Idlib. The opposition has said the process amounts to forced population transfer. Intense fighting raged for weeks in Wadi Barada, and knocked the water spring out of service in late December. The United Nations has said "infrastructure was deliberately targeted", without saying who was responsible, leaving four million people in Damascus without safe drinking water. It warned the shortages could lead to outbreaks of waterborne disease.
Trump, Putin vow to cooperate in ISIL fight US President Donald Trump and his Russian counterpart have made a "significant start" in fixing their countries' relationship, while agreeing to cooperate in fighting the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant group, the White House said following an hour-long phone call. The two leaders' first conversation since Trump's inauguration covered topics ranging from cooperation in defeating ISIL "to efforts in working together to achieve more peace throughout the world including Syria," the statement said. In separate remarks, Putin's office said both leaders expressed readiness to cooperate "on a constructive, equitable and mutually beneficial basis". The Kremlin statement said the conversation also covered the "main aspects of the Ukrainian crisis". US relations with Russia were strained during President Barack Obama's term, following the Russian annexation of Crimea from Ukraine, prompting Washington to impose sanctions on Moscow. AGENCIES
47 killed in madagascar wedding crash AGENCIES
top myanmar lawyer assassinated YaNgoN AGENCIES
A leading lawyer and adviser to Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy (NLD) party has been shot dead at Yangon airport in Myanmar. Ko Ni was shot in the head on Sunday after arriving from an international trip. A taxi driver was also shot. A suspect has been detained but there are no details on the motive. Ko Ni was one of few prominent Muslims in a country dominated by Buddhists. It is not clear if that was a factor in his death. Assassinations are extremely rare in Myanmar. A student activist dating back to the uprising of 1988, Ko Ni was a political prisoner and then, once released, a senior lawyer and adviser to the NLD.
WashiNgtoN AGENCIES
US President Donald Trump will dial the leaders of Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates on Sunday, amid an uproar over his travel ban for some Muslim majority countries. Trump also will talk to the acting president of South Korea, Hwang Kyo-Ahn, the White House said on Saturday in a brief statement. The new Republican president, who took office on January 20, first will speak with King Salman of Saudi Arabia in the afternoon. The next call will be with the crown prince of the UAE, Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan. Neither Saudi Arabia nor the UAE are among the seven Muslim majority countries affected by Trump’s sweeping executive order Friday barring visas for 90 days to migrants or visitors from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen. Trump’s planned phone call with South Korea’s acting president comes as North Korea steps up its nuclear and missile capabilities. Pyongyang’s missile program and its pursuit of nuclear arms have drawn repeated sanctions from the UN Security Council. Regime leader Kim Jong-Un said in a New Year speech that the country was in the “final stages” of developing an intercontinental ballistic missile. Such an ICBM could theoretically target the United States.
princes commission diana statute
aNtaNaNariVo At least 47 people, including 10 children and a newly-wed couple, were killed when a truck carrying a wedding party and guests veered off the road and plunged into a river in Madagascar, police said Sunday. Police said the accident occurred early Saturday outside the town of Anjozorobe, around 90 kilometres (56 miles) from the capital. The truck was transporting passengers who had attended a wedding the day before. There were “a total of 47 deaths, including 10 children” and the newly-wedded couple, police spokesman Herilala Andrianatisaona told agencies. 22 others were injured.
trump to call up leaders of saudi arabia, Uae, south Korea today
Trump executive order: UK ministers to press US on ban Prime Minister Theresa May has told her foreign secretary and home secretary to contact their US counterparts about a travel ban imposed by President Trump. Boris Johnson and Amber Rudd will make representations about the order barring refugees and visa holders from seven Muslim majority countries for 90 days. Earlier Johnson tweeted it was “divisive and wrong” to stigmatise people on the basis of nationality. May has come under fire for not condemning the order earlier. After she initially said it was up to the US to decide its policy on refugees, No 10 later issued a statement saying she did “not agree with this kind of approach and it is not one we will be taking” adding that if there was any impact on UK nationals “then clearly we will make representations to the US
government about that.” A Conservative MP, Nadhim Zahawi, who was born in Iraq, is among those who have said they would not be able to travel to the US while the temporary ban is in place. British Olympic champion Sir Mo Farah, who was born in Somalia and lives in the US, has also said it is “deeply troubling” that he may have to tell his children he cannot go home. The prime minister has had a conference call with Johnson and Rudd and instructed them to make representations to their opposite numbers in the State Department and the Department of Homeland Security, aimed at protecting the rights of British nationals. British media has been told that both ministers had already been talking to US contacts about a possible British exemption to the executive order. Johnson was talking to
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Trump’s chief strategist Steve Bannon and senior adviser Jared Kushner, a source said. Earlier Johnson joined those speaking out against Trump’s executive order halting the entire US refugee programme and instituting a 90-day travel ban for nationals from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen. He wrote on Twitter: “We will protect the rights and freedoms of UK nationals home and abroad. Divisive and wrong to stigmatise because of nationality.” Meanwhile, a petition to stop a state visit to the UK by President Trump later this year may be debated in Parliament, after amassing more than 350,000 signatures. Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn told a British channel on Sunday it would be “totally wrong” for a proposed state visit to the UK by Trump to go ahead while the row continued. AGENCIES
A statue of Princess Diana has been commissioned by the Duke of Cambridge and Prince Harry, 20 years after her death. The two princes said that "the time is right to recognise her positive impact" with a permanent statue. The sculpture will be erected in the public grounds of her former residence, Kensington Palace. A sculptor has yet to be chosen but a spokesperson said work on the artwork would begin soon. Princes William and Harry said in statement: "It has been 20 years since our mother's death and the time is right to recognise her positive impact in the UK and around the world with a permanent statue. "Our mother touched so many lives. We hope the statue will help all those who visit Kensington Palace to reflect on her life and her legacy." The Queen has said she "supports" her grandchildren commemorating Princess Diana. The Princess of Wales died on 31 August 1997 in a car crash in Paris, when the Duke of Cambridge was 15 and his brother was 12. The princes' statue will be the fourth London-based monument dedicated to Princess Diana, and will be close to the Princess Diana Memorial Fountain in Hyde Park, and the memorial garden close to Kensington Palace. AGENCIES
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Police arrest 4 drug peddlers, seizes 4.65 kg hashish NAWABSHAH: During massive police campaign against contraband substances district police have seized 4650 grams of marijuana in jurisdiction of different police stations. According to police spokesman, Daur Police during routine patrolling, spotted Khalid Otho and found 1300 gramme hashish from his possession while in another case police also recovered 1200 grammes hash. The police said that they arrested carrier Arshad and booked him under Section 9C of Control of Narcotic Substances Act (CNSA). On the other hand, A-Section Police seized 1100 grammes of hashish from the custody of accused Shah Nawaz Korai while Marri Jalbani Police Station also seized 1050 grammes and arrested accused Gul Hassan Zangejo and registered FIR against them. APP
CM reviews progress of ongoing projects KARACHI: Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah visited various areas of Karachi on Sunday and reviewed the progress on ongoing development projects. Murad visited Tariq Road along with Minister for Local Bodies Jam Khan Shoro and reviewed the progress of the road’s construction. He also visited Hassan Square, Federal Urdu University, and Northern Bypass and to review ongoing work. He directed the planning and development department to speed up the work on Karachi University-Safoora Ghot Road and complete it by July, highlighting its depilated condition and the problems faced by commuters. The chief minister said that the road would help ensure smooth flow of traffic after its reconstruction. ONLINE
Dry weather forecast for City KARACHI: The Met Office on Sunday forecast fair and dry weather with cool night and misty morning for the metropolis for the next 24 hours. An official of the Met Office said that the minimum temperature in the city is expected to remain between 11 and 13 degrees Celsius during the period. He said that the minimum temperature recorded in the city on Sunday was 12 Celsius whereas the maximum temperature was 28C. Humidity in the morning was 68 percent whereas in the evening it was 31 percent. APP
KARACHI: Policemen seen placing container on MA Jinnah Road due to a public gathering of PSP in the port city. ONLINE
Mob juSTiCe: RobbeR buRnT Alive in lAnDhi AReA
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Special persons need quality education: CM’s assistant KARACHI APP
Special Assistant to Sindh Chief Minister on Special Education Zulifqar Behan has said that the provincial government is taking measures to make quality education and new technology accessible to people with disabilities so as to groom them as useful citizens. Addressing a seminar on “Digital Resource and Special Education” at Karachi University, he said that organisations working for the special persons’ betterment would be encouraged to join hands with the provincial government for this noble cause. He pointed out that the foremost problem the person with disabilities face is negative attitudes and looking at such people with sympathy and pity. Zulfiqar urged civil society to come forward and dispel the impression that people with disabilities are burden on the society. He informed that the government
KARACHI: A drug peddler was killed while two policemen were injured in an encounter near Old Sabzi Mandi area of the metropolis on Sunday. According to Gulshan-e-Iqbal SP Dr Fahad, the police raided a drug selling spot near Jhande Shah graveyard in the area. Subsequently, the drug peddlers opened fire at the police. The police retaliated, killing one of the drug peddlers while two managed to escape the site. Two policemen were injured during firing from the peddler’s side. STAFF REPORT
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suspected robber attempting to loot a milk shop was burnt alive by an enraged mob in Karachi's Landhi neighbourhood on Sunday, police said. Two suspects have been detained and a case has been registered by the police. Saad, the owner of a milk shop, claimed that a robber entered his shop and ordered him to hand over a sum of money and his mobile phone. When he refused to comply, the robber fired a shot into the air. The alleged robbery attempt was foiled when a crowd of people gathered outside the shop after hearing the sound of gunfire and began to beat up the robber, Saad said. The crowd then sprinkled petrol on him and immolated him. The robber died on the spot. Korangi Senior Superintendent Police confirmed that "one dacoit tried to enter Saad milk shop" in a robbery attempt that was "foiled". "The culprit was beaten up and burnt," he added. The burnt body
is planning to initiate a series of awareness campaigns to sensitise society on the issues of special persons throughout the province. He said, in this regard, a workshop will soon be organised where all the stakeholders and companies manufacturing devices for people with disabilities would be invited for the guidance of special persons and parents. Zulifqar Behan said that special persons could be transformed into valuable work force for the progress of country. They only need quality education and proper training, guidance and opportunities to thrive. Earlier, PDF Chairman Shahid Ahmed Memon and others also highlighted the problems of people with disabilities. The PDF chairman donated Global Digital Library to Karachi University’s Resource Learning Library, containing world wide information regarding special education and disabled community and international rules and regulations for people with disabilities.
Drug peddler killed, two policemen injured in old Sabzi Mandi area
was transferred to the Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre (JPMC). "A burnt body has come in from Landhi but has not been identified yet," JPMC Executive Director Dr Seemin Jamali confirmed. There were no policemen present in the neighbourhood at the time of the incident. Landhi police registered a first information report under Sections 147 (punishment for rioting), 148 (ri-
oting, armed with deadly weapon), 302 (punishment of qatl-i-amd) and 34 (acts done by several persons in furtherance of common intention) of the Pakistan penal code against unknown suspects. The police also conducted raids and detained two suspects for interrogation over charges of their alleged involvement in the lynching of the suspect, said Landhi Station House Officer Arif Razzak.
SAU conducts entry tests for admissions TANDO JAM APP
As many as 2600 candidates appeared in the entry test conducted at Public School Hyderabad for admission to Sindh Agriculture University (SAU), Tandojam, and affiliated colleges, for the session 2016-17. According to a press release issued here on Sunday, the university has offered admissions on 1,500 seats of its five faculties, two institutes and two colleges situated at Dokri and Khairpur Mirs. Out of total 2600 candidates appeared in the test, 1130 candidates were from Pre-Engineering and 1470 from Pre-Medical. Among the candidates, 400 were female: 227 belonged to Balochistan, 36 from Azad Kashmir and 31 from the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The five faculties include: Agricultural Engineering, Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Sciences, Agricultural Social Science, Crop Production and Crop Protection, and the two institutes are Information Technology Centre
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and Institute of Food Sciences and Technology, while two affiliated colleges are Shaheed Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto Agricultural College Dokri and Khairpur College of Agricultural Engineering and Technology. Strict security arrangements were made on the occasion, including installation of walk-through gates and deployment of a large number of police, commando force and rangers while district officials also visited the venue. Dr Mujeebuddin Sahrai, Vice Chancellor, Sindh Agriculture University Tandojam, inspected the process and later talking to media persons, he said that the test has been conducted in peaceful atmosphere, and different facilities were given to the candidates. He further said that the efforts were being made for improving the overall standing of the university among the best higher education institutes of Pakistan. He said that federal government has approved PC-I of a project aimed at improvement and modernisation of the university.
First coal train dispatched to Sahiwal power plant KARACHI: The first freight train with 1,500 tonnes coal was dispatched on Sunday from Port Qasim to Yousaf Wala Power Plant in Sahiwal, said Nasir Nazeer, DCO Railways Karachi Division. He told APP that the freight train, which have 25 wagons, left Karachi at 6.00am and would reach Yousaf Wala in 32 hours. He pointed out that the 4000-horse power engines imported from the United States have been put into operation, and this freight train is being operated with the same locomotive. The DCO informed that the Pakistan Railways would initially dispatch two trains daily with 3,000 tonnes coal, adding that the number of trains would be increased up to five per day in the next few days. APP
79 Afghan nationals held in Mashkel KHARAN: Security forces arrested 79 Afghan nationals on Sunday in Mashkel area of Balochistan who were going to Iran illegally. Five local facilitators were also held during the operation. The identity of the Afghan nationals could not be ascertained immediately. Security forces shifted them to an undisclosed location for further interrogation. ONLINE
Tender applications invited for KCR KARACHI: Sindh Ministry for Transport and Mass Transit has invited tender applications for the Karachi Circular Railway (KCR) Project from local and international companies till the February 10. The federal and provincial governments are taking a keen interest in restoring the Karachi Circular Railway, sources said. The city’s public transport is expected to vastly improve after completion of the KCR project. ONLINE
08 COMMENT
Monday, 30 January, 2017
Impasse in the National Assembly Caution: Men at work
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HoSE who had hoped that sanity would prevail and that the government and opposition would bring down the level of hostility are bound to be dismayed. The two sides continue to push the system towards the abyss by indulging in a struggle reminiscent of the 90s. The main responsibility for any political disaster would henceforth lie on the PML-n and the PTI who have turned out to be equally obdurate. The greater responsibility would lie on the ruling party as, first, being in power, PML-n is required to play the most vital role in strengthening the system and second because nawaz Sharif is expected to have emerged wiser after passing through the bitter experience of the 90s when political infighting brought the system down, followed by nearly a decade of Gen Musharraf’s rule. Later nawaz Sharif claimed that he had learnt the right lessons and would never repeat the mistakes of the past. The way the PML-n ministers treat the opposition has led itself to two interpretations. one is that nawaz Sharif is unable to control some of the loose cannons in his party. The other is that whatever his apparently wayward ministers say or do has a tacit approval of the PM. The interior minister interferes in the realm of other ministries while neglecting his own job. He has continued to issue statements that were considered intervention in its internal affairs by Bangladesh. He has done all he could to contribute to bitterness between India and Pakistan. Ch nisar has also done his bit to mar PML-n’s relations with the PPP. In the ongoing strife with the PTI some of the ministers and an MnA or two have played the key role. The PTI on its part continues to resort to antics that might be appropriate outside the nA but are against parliamentary decorum like raising provocative slogans against the PM. This is unfair and must stop. The Prime Minister on the other hand has to rein in his ministers. The ongoing impasse needs to be resolved today before the resumption of nA session.
Case of missing bloggers Three back, two to go
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HE ‘missing persons’ phenomenon is, sadly, not new in Pakistan. Yet the attention and outrage triggered by the recent disappearances of five social media bloggers/activists was unprecedented in both good and bad ways. Good because larger sections of the public expressed anger about crude and cruel ways of silencing the slightest sign of dissent. And bad because certain villains in the media were able and allowed to spin the bloggers’ activism into some sort of ridiculous blasphemy, bringing quick death threats to their families. Apparently some of them started making contact with their families over the last two days. There is still some confusion about what has really happened – news outlets, till the time of writing, seemed carrying contradictory reports – but apparently two of the five suddenly made contact with their families, told all was well, and went silent again. A third, after coming home briefly, left for some other country without clarifying where exactly he had been. Two of the five, unfortunately, remain missing. Their families, in shock because of the disappearances and the death threats, now wait with held breaths. Who or what abducted these activists/bloggers will remain a matter of conjecture, of course, till facts begin to surface. But it is certain that there are people or forces powerful enough to make other people disappear at will and whim. That is because the latter hold, and express, views that the former simply do not approve of. Surely the high priests of our democracy, always at pains to save and strengthen representative government in this Islamic republic, realise that freedom of speech and the right to question are the most fundamental of all democratic rights. Also, since they practically held ring side seats all the while when any opinion contrary to the ruler’s was strongly rebutted – which led the country down the path of destruction and disintegration – it was hoped that they would be the first to stand up for diversity and freedom. Hopefully the government will need no more reminding that protecting citizens is its foremost responsibility and it will ensure the safe recovery of all missing persons, not just these bloggers.
Dedicated to the legacy of the late Hameed Nizami
Arif Nizami Editor
Aziz-ud-Din Ahmad Joint Editor Lahore – Ph: 042-36300938, 042-36375965
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Globalisation should be replaced by Glocalisation
abdul Quayyum Khan Kundi
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RExIT, Trump election manifesto and Davos World Economic Forum all focused on the future of globalisation and the rising tide of protectionism. The debate was further fuelled by oxfam when it released statistics that eight richest men in the world have combined wealth that equal wealth of 3.9 billion people put together which is half of humanity. This rising gap between have and havenots are considered a by-product of globalisation. Multinational corporations have benefited from their control of technology to exploit poorer countries. Commodity prices have gone down while profit margins on technologies have gone up. The margin on a textile product, which is essential for survival, is in the range of 10-15% while profit margin of Windows operating system, which is a non-essential item, is in the range to 70-80%. Because of this wide gap in profit margins, cotton grower remains poor while a software developer earns many multiples of it. This is just one example of how distorted the world has become in valuing products. This distortion ripples through the social order and creates many other distortions one of which is highlighted by oxfam statistics. Developed world has the resources and means to protect its intellectual property rights and ensure commercial benefit accrue to it for a long time. But poorer nations that are rich in commodities and
agricultural produce have been unable to ensure a good return on their investment. Most resourcerich African and Asian countries have to rely on mining and agricultural technology controlled by the developed world in return for sharing a substantial portion of their produce with them. And when these commodities are used in the finished product they then pay a premium to use it. In other words, countries that have the rare earth metals and other valuable commodities have less economic benefit from it then those that control the technology to extract and consume it. These economic distortions also result in widening income inequalities. In other words technological colonisation has replaced imperialism although the oppressors and oppressed remains the same. Until early 20th century when visa and passport controls were introduced there was much freer movement of people around the world. These restrictions have created a population imbalance globally. China, Pakistan, and India have introduced population control measures but even then small percentage increases have an exponentially higher impact on their economic conditions. on the other hand, Europe has experienced declining and aging populations. Another dimension is that West is engaged in selective immigration where highly educated people from poor countries are given legal access to citizenship while poorer segments are denied. The countries bear the cost of education of these people but the benefits are reaped by developed countries. This requires the introduction of a new global immigration regime so that a sustainable balance is achieved in population distribution. In the absence of it, the incentives for illegal immigration and refugee crisis will continue which could result in higher rates of crimes as undocumented labour does not have an avenue to participate in the economic activity. Countries that rely on cheap labour to earn export earnings have a disincentive to educate their populations as this could result in rising labour costs as well as declining labour poll thereby impacting their exports. They can’t afford declining exports because they need foreign exchange to import technologies for an efficient economy. Automation is also not a solution as it displaces labour which could result in social unrest. It is this social unrest that has enabled right-wing politicians to win
elections even in developed countries. In poorer countries, this could completely break down the state and could escalate into civil wars resulting in more refugees knocking on developed countries. The point is that globalisation is a complex issue that has many interacting dynamics. I am not in favour of protectionism but I do favour globalisation that respects its impact on local community. In other words, I would prefer promotion of glocalisation where multinational corporations instead of wiping out local industry engage them and ensure a certain component of their finished product has local input. Corporations have to understand that profit alone is not the benchmark of their success rather good social practices are also important. Instead of erecting trade barriers governments should encourage incorporation of local component. Intellectual property should be respected by developing countries in return for engagement with local industry. This could be a win-win situation for all and could help to reduce the income inequality. China has successfully implemented this model by requiring most companies to include local component rather than export finished product to its market. Boeing recently announced setting up a finishing plant in China because it has estimated that the country will need 6000 new planes in next 20 years. China could impose this condition because of a large market but for countries that have smaller consumer markets or low buying power may find it difficult to impose such conditions. Globalisation converted to glocalisation would ensure trade flourishes without binary emphasis on profit alone or by restricting it through tariff walls. An economically empowered world would have more buying power rather than its concentration in the hands of a small number of people. Instead of signing bilateral or regional trade agreements a more global approach is needed. We need to develop a global trade and economic charter to ensure the free flow of goods, people and technology only then a truly egalitarian community can evolve. Abdul Quayyum Khan Kundi is former President of Pakistan Chamber of Commerce, USA, and member of PTI Central Tarbiyati Council as Incharge of Curriculum Development. He has also authored the book: Islamic Social Contract.
Trump and Pakistani Christians This is what years of persecution and state-led “othering” has wrought in Pakistani minorities pertinent questions which have not been given much heed. I approach these questions not as an expert, but rather engage with them based on my personal interactions and observations within these communities. It has to be admitted that many Christians welcomed election of President Trump, his appeal to Christian rhetoric have had significant impact on Christians in Pakistan. Many see him as a modern day Constantine, reviving “Christian values” in America. His stance against abortion and same-sex marriage have won appraisal by Evangelicals and Catholics alike. His outright condemnation of Islamic Radicalism as opposed to obama has also made him popular among hardliners. In terms of implications for restrictions on immigration they are not much concerned, as very few use to get visas to US (mostly the elite Christians or asylum seekers were the beneficiaries). What concerns me is the lack of compassion for their fellow compatriots who will be seriously affected by the policy, in not all, but some Christians. My social media feed is full of posts by fellow Christians fawning Trumps policies; in personal encounters too they seem to stay oblivious to his hate filled rhetoric. There are those of course has raised its voice to condemn bigotry of Trump. But their absence of connection with Pakistani identity is vivid. I think it resulted out of years of conditioning. Their nationalism is seriously hampered. In retrospect this current delinquent situation, can be understood by state promul-
Shuham a CharleS
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oon after Donald J Trump got elected as President, his election faced ardent opposition of Pakistani’s. Several remarks made by him in his campaign and even so now continue to outrage different communities. His comments to make immigration rules more stringent for “Muslims” in particular has earned him wave of criticism. Trump taking charge of office has caused a sense of apprehension which is shared by Muslims in US and Pakistan alike. Which has bred questions like Is America becoming intolerant of its racial and religious minorities? These questions are valid and have put us in dilemma anticipating Trump’s next move. But what do the Christians in Pakistan think about Trump coming to power? How does his pronouncement to refuse immigration from Muslim majority countries affect them (if, indeed, it does)? These are
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gating disparity in society. Attempts made to convert Pakistan into a theocratic state have had significant repercussions for Christians. The state led “othering” of its non-Muslim citizens has gradually alienated them in their own homeland. Reduction of nationalism to religious affiliation alone shredded the aspirations of non-Muslim citizens. After the creation of Pakistan, Jinnah pushed the advancement of Pakistan along mainstream law based lines, encouraging Pakistanis of all religions to overlook the past and see themselves as residents of the State of Pakistan with equivalent rights, benefits, and commitments. In any case, overlooking the past, demonstrated troublesome situation, after years of accentuation on religious distinction by Jinnah. Regardless of religious homogeneity, Pakistan appeared as a differing, unevenly state. Rather than accommodating these differing values, by building up a feeling of equity and cooperation, the verdict pronouncing elites (constituting the Urdu-talking Muhajirs and Punjabis) utilised religious imagery to counter monetary discontent, political dispute, and ethnic patriotism. The accentuation on Islamic solidarity was likewise utilised against outside insecurity and the antagonistic vibe made by Indian pioneers, a number of whom anticipated the early crumble of Pakistan. nationalism in Pakistan manufactured, based on the adherence to Islam as a cohesive force. Free mixing of religion with state politics has induced, in religious minorities
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a sense of insecurity, and has hindered free expression of religion. The most explicit engagement with religion in the early post partition years was as the objectives Resolution, an introduction to the constitution that was to be added because of insistence from Islamist groups, for example, the JI. The immensity of such typical changes in the constitution lies less in their practical utility, of which there was none in those years, yet it did play a role in keeping alive a certain measure of equivocalness in regards to the part of religion can play with state. In fact, the objectives Resolution permitted the legislature to claim triumph by including just a couple words in an introduction to the constitution, while in the meantime it let the Islamists a guaranteed achievement for having constrained an acknowledgment of their stance in the constitution. This opened an avenue for them to use this power to further Islamise the country, and synonymising Muslim with Pakistani. The introduction of separate electorates in 1985 inferred a limitation of social equality not just for Ahmadis additionally for different religious minorities like Christians. The most pressing contemporary inquiries are; whose nation it is, whose vision it ought to speak to, and who or what a Muslim is? How these inquiries are addressed has essential propositions for peace and strength for both interior and outer relations. Shuham A Charles is a student of Public Policy.
Email: editorial@pakistantoday.com.pk
COMMENT 09
Monday, 30 January, 2017
Editor’s mail
Send your letters to: Letters to Editor, Pakistan Today, 4-Shaarey Fatima Jinnah, Lahore, Pakistan. Fax: +92-42-32535230 E-mail: letters@pakistantoday.com.pk Letters should be addressed to Pakistan Today exclusively
Encourage culture and knowledge
Jinnah The unrivalled lawyer of colonial India
abuzar Salman Khan niazi
“H
IS hypnotic influence spreads his fame all over. His terrific encounters with the Judges and the bombshells he throws in the courts are well known. As an Advocate, he possesses gifts which cast a spell on the Courts, the Judges, the Juries, the Solicitors, and Clients, all alike. As a Counsel, he has ever held his head erect, unruffled by the worst circumstances, no Judge dare bully him. His ready tongue and brilliant advocacy have worked off all judicial storms. The compliment paid him that he is ‘the Lord Simon of the Indian bar’ does not awkwardly sit on him”. Aforesaid words were said by the Editor of the Forum, Joachim Alva, to describe enormity of Muhammad Ali Jinnah as a lawyer. Diverse opinions exist concerning Jinnah, some call him a master negotiator, some a captivating leader, some an astute politician, some a secular liberal and some a conformist reactionary. nevertheless, when it comes to unfolding abilities of Jinnah as a Lawyer, every one propounded the same theory i.e.: Jinnah was the most accomplished, versatile, competent and dignified lawyer of Colonial India. Frank Moraes, said “No man is more adroit in presenting his case than Jinnah. If to achieve the maximum result with minimum effort is the hall-mark of artistry, Mr Jinnah is an artist in his craft”. The renowned English Jurist, Lord Denning had cherished the fact that Jinnah had been a member of Lincoln’s Inn. Sir Stafford Cripps suggested “Jinnah is the most accomplished lawyer, outstanding amongst Indian lawyers and a fine constitutionalist”. Even his arch political rival Gandhi, in his letter to Lord Birkenhead, said, “Mr Jinnah and Sir Tej bahadur Sapru are the two cleverest lawyers of India”. In 1893, the young Jinnah enrolled at the Inns of Court to train as a barrister. He graduated at the age of 19 as the youngest Indian barrister of that time. An extraordinary insight into Jinnah’s early brilliance as a lawyer can be inferred from the fact that he filed a petition in Council of the Inn on 25th April 1893, for exemption from the Latin paper (required for admission at the Inn). In the said petition, he raised very logical and convincing arguments, as a consequence the petition was allowed. on his return, he preferred working in Bombay as it was the financial capital of India
and hub of commercial litigation. Jinnah ini- sense of great indebtedness to Mr Jinnah for his tially worked with John M Macpherson, the extremely able arguments, which were of great Acting Advocate-General of Bombay and also assistance to me in the decision of several difficult for a while with Sir George Lowndes. In 1900 points of both fact and law involved in the case”. with assistance of McPherson, Jinnah was apJinnah faced Sir Tej Bahadur Sapru, the supointed Third Presidency Magistrate for Bom- perstar of the Allahabad Bar in Prince of Bhopal bay. on the expiry of six months appointment Waqf Case. In the said case, for three days, period, he was offered a permanent appointment Sapru presented exhaustive and powerfully conon a salary of Rs1,500 per month but he cour- vincing arguments before the Bhopal High teously declined the offer, adding that his goal Court, to which Jinnah remained completely inwas to earn Rs1,500 a day. different. However, when Jinnah’s abilities as a his turn to argue came he lawyer were for the first rose to the bar and killed time recognised in 1907 in Sapru’s arguments with the Caucus Case. The genjust a single shot by conJinnah was wizard with a eral elections to the Bomtending that the High bay Municipal Corporation Court had no jurisdiction monocle; even the most were taking place; one of to try the case. Before the intricate facts became plain judge, he placed an old law the constituencies was that of the Justices of Peace (still relevant), dating back and understandable when he even with space for 16 returned prior to the establishmembers. Several Eurowaved his wand over them. ment of the High Court, pean members formed an mandating that all matters He was an intrepid maestro, involving amount greater alliance called the ‘Caucus’ to defeat Sir Pheroze than one lakh had to be who overpoweringly ruled Shah. Consequently, all the heard by the ruler herself. the galaxy of top lawyers in 16 ‘Caucus’ candidates trionce in a very unumphed while Pheroze usual case, Jinnah cross colonial India. Shah stood seventeenth. examined a witnesses in The election of Suleman Hebrew language – The Abdul Waheed (stood 16th) man in question himself was challenged by Pheroze was a very illustrious Shah through Jinnah on the Palestinian lawyer and pretext that Waheed’s firm Ludha Ibrahim & Co was an authority on the Law. Jinnah handled held contracts with the municipality. Mr Jinnah’s the case in such a skilful manner, that even the cross-examination of witnesses particularly of Palestinian lawyer was compelled to eulogise Lovat Fraser (Editor of Times) was calamitous. his cross-examining skills. All the contentions raised by Jinnah were acIf witticism is an art then Jinnah was Picepted by the judge and Pheroze Shah was de- casso of it, he often left judges thunderstruck clared as duly elected to the Corporation. with his presence of mind and wits. once durThe case of Bal Ganghadhar Tilak (AIR ing a court proceeding, Justice Martin angrily 1916 Bombday 9) was defining moment in shouted towards Jinnah “you are not addressing Jinnah’s career. By trial court, Tilak was con- a third class magistrate”; Jinnah replied “there victed for sedition; Mr Jinnah appeared in the isn’t a third class counsel before your LordAppeal before the Bombay High Court and ex- ship”. In 1941, when Jinnah appeared in the plained dissimilarity between disaffection and Sindh Chief Court, hundreds of people flocked disapprobation. He further argued that, firstly in the court just to hear him. In anger, Chief JusIndians as British citizens were entitled to crit- tice Davis asked the court clerk to clear and icise the bureaucracy of government of India close the doors of the court room. Jinnah got up as they only owed loyalty to the British crown and merrily uttered “the doors of justice must and that secondly the CID had translated always remain open”, the Judges had no other Tilak’s Marathi speeches into English incor- option but to concur to what Jinnah said. rectly thus giving impression of treason. Due Jinnah was wizard with a monocle; even the to Jinnah’s brilliance Tilak was acquitted by most intricate facts became plain and underthe High Court. Jinnah became heartthrob of standable when he waved his wand over them. all nationalists of India as a result and his legal He was an intrepid maestro, who overpoweracumen received nationwide recognition and ingly ruled the galaxy of top lawyers in colonial his public eminence grew manifold. India. He was rightly described as a peculiar In 1925, Maharajah of Indore’s infatuation amalgamation of Sir Edward Marshall Hall (due for Mumtaz (a dancer) led to murder of Abdul to his swift and systematic arrangement of Kadar Bawla, a wealthy businessman of Bom- facts), Sir Edward Carson (due to his cross-exbay. Mr Jinnah appeared for the main accused, amining skills) and Sir John Simon (due to his and saved him from a looming death sentence. finesse in presenting a case). no doubt, the conIn the famous Defamation case of BG temporaries of Jinnah like Bhulabhai Desai, KM Horniman, Jinnah’s expert management of the Munshi, Sir Tej Bahadur Supru, Hasan Imam brief led to the conviction of the editor, printer and Thomas Strangman were great lawyers but and publisher of the paper, briton. oscar Wilde no one came close to his artistry of analysis, cathad failed in a fairly similar case, Horniman tri- egorisation and presentation of facts and the umphed solely due to Jinnah’s dexterity. eloquence and nuance of arguments. In the much publicised case of the Raja of nanpara wherein leading lawyers of India apAbuzar Salman Khan Niazi is an advocate peared against Jinnah, the Judge of the oudh based in Lahore. He can be contacted on Chief Court, observed: “I must also express my Twitter at: @SalmanKNiazi1
THE US President Donald Trump’s order banning people from seven Muslim countries from entering America has sent the mixed feelings across the world. Though there are various reasons being quoted for this order, such radical steps will put the facets like culture and knowledge on the back burner. The US being termed the land of milk and honey, it is natural for the outsiders to go to America to work and live there. Just imagine the condition of the people hailing from the countries like Iran, Iraq, Syria, Sudan, Libya, Yemen and Somalia that have been enlisted by the US executive order. When it comes to knowledge and culture, there should be no restrictions. Knowledge can be present anywhere in the world. In this context, I remember/recollect my golden college-days at a renowned college located in Thiruchendur in Tuticorin district, Tamil nadu, India. In fact the alma mater had established the strong foundation for my career and education. Interestingly, the various schools and colleges in Tuticorin, Tirunelveli, Palayamkottai, Kanyakumari, nagercoil, Tiruchendur, Marthandam and Kaliyakkavilai, all in Tamil nadu, India are churning out talented students in large numbers every year. The fact of the matter is that there are many professionals from other countries working in the US now. What if another executive order restricts these people too? Moreover, such chauvinistic steps will attract backlash from the countries and the public. The countries today are in dire need of strong workforce and knowledge. So it is only wise to utilise/tap the great knowledge available in the world. True, the safety of the people of the motherland should be high on the agenda. For this purpose, stepping up vigil will go a long way. P SENTHIL SARAVANA DURAI Mumbai
Celebrity culture WAqAR Zaka is a TV personality who has done some controversial acts who was whacked by drunken men. They were with their guards who were armed. Assaulting some body for not taking a picture with you shows the illiteracy and a weak justice system of a country. In which there is no accountability of feudal lords and influential personnel. This non accountability leads to this type of mockery of justice system. I request my country’s government to please take serious notice of people who are making a joke out of law enforcement and make them accountable because violence in any shape or form is illegal. WAJAHAT NAWAz Islamabad
Making America great again on Wednesday afternoon, President Donald Trump signed an executive order, banning and limiting the immigrants from several Muslim countries - those included in the State Department’s list of terrorism - from entering the United States. “I’m establishing new vetting measures to keep radical Islamic terrorists out of the United States of America. Don’t want them here” he said earlier this Friday. So many brilliant Muslim students studying in the States will now have to choose between going back home to see their family and be forced to stay in the states due to the fear of no-entry! According to Trump, he is justifying his executive order by claiming that this will ban all the “Radical Islamic Terrorists” from entering the US. But maybe he is also banning those receiving education from some prestigious universities away from their homes. Is this really a step towards making America “great again”? NAyAb MIR Quetta
Crazy advertisement A television commercial of a biscuit manufacturing company shows a youth jumping off an apartment to force his girlfriend to say ‘yes’ to marry him. I wonder how the biscuit manufacturing company will boost its sales by making such foolish advertisement. The commercial also does not ask the viewers not to try the action as it has been shot by professionals. It is high time PEMRA takes notice of such advertisements that can have adverse effects on society. If PEMRA can take notice of talk shows and impose ban on individuals, why not ban such advertisements in public interest. Every now and then, we get to hear of deaths, particularly of youths, while taking selfies with their cell phones. World is full of crazy people. Advertising companies should also take care while writing scripts for advertisements. M RAFIQUE zAKARIA Karachi
Kudos to GoP’s aid efforts! PUnJAB, being the largest federating unit of Pakistan, has once again proved that it has a big heart and is ready to cooperate with the people of Balochistan in the wake of heavy rainfall and the resulting flash flood situation in the province. In this time of danger, the telephonic conversation between the Provincial Minister for Disaster Management and Balochistan Interior Minister is a positive indicator and shows that the Punjab government is trying hard to bridge the gap between the people of both provinces. It is hoped that the Provincial Disaster Management Authority Punjab would work in harmony with the Provincial Disaster Management Authority Balochistan to help mitigate the sufferings of people and minimise the losses due to incessant rainfall and flash floods. only words will not do anything until they are followed by actions. SyED ALI QASIM Lahore
10 BUSINESS
Monday, 30 January, 2017
STUDENTS OF UET, LAHORE AND IMS, PESHAWAR BAG 2ND AND 3RD PRIZE
NUST boy WINS ‘STUDeNTpReNeURShIp’ compeTITIoN WINNER BAGS RS 500,000 AND AN ALL-EXPENSES-PAID TRIP TO FRANKFURT FOR THE GLOBAL FINALS
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MULTAN APP
by AbbAs NAqvI
fields. The prerequisite for the competition registration was that the student LOBAL Student Entrepre- must be currently enrolled at an underneur Awards (GSEA) Na- graduate program and being a founder tional Finals took place at a of an operational business for at least local hotel in Lahore on Janu- six months. Thus, the competition wasary 28, 2017, an initiative of n’t about how appealing a business idea is, but rather how an the Entrepreneurs’ existing business has Organisation. The the scope to grow competition was atand impact the socitended by eminent 1st prize to Muhammad ety positively. entrepreneurs, busiA total of five ness founders, jourAsad Raza for developing awards were given nalists, technology a wearable device for out to the studentpregurus and venture neurs. Muhammad capitalists. patients with Asad Raza emerged Entrepreneurs’ tremors/Parkinson’s as the winner of the Organisation is a competition and non-profit organisadisease. The device is bagged the prize tion which took over connected to a mobile money of Rs 500,000 the GSEA initiative in addition to an allfrom the University phone to monitor the paid trip to travel to of St. Louis in 2006 and brought it to Pak- patient and the data can be Frankfurt, Germany, to compete at the istan for the first time shared with doctors GSEA Global Finals last year. The compein April 2017. Raza tition is held every is an undergraduate year and has chapters student at National in 57 countries around the world. It provides exposure, University of Sciences and Technology mentorship, guidance and networking (NUST) and has his business incubated opportunities for the participants so that at the Lahore University of Managethe culture of student entrepreneurs can ment and Sciences (LUMS) Centre for Entrepreneurship. He won the competibe promoted across the globe. Eight finalists competed against tion for developing a fully operational each other; they presented their business wearable device for patients with plans and models to a panel of five tremors/Parkinson’s disease. The device judges comprised of entrepreneurs and is connected to a mobile phone to moncorporate executives from various itor the patient and the data can be shared with doctors. The device is under clinical trials in many leading hospitals of the country. Raza has also won the Asia Pacific ICT Award (APICTA) in Tertiary Student Project Category in 1st runner-up prize to Uzair Taipei, Taiwan, on December 6, 2016. Uzair Haider from the University of Haider for developing the Engineering and Technology (UET) world’s smallest device for scored the first runner-up position and the Technology Innovation Award, inhome automation cluding prize money of Rs 200,000. Haider is the founder of IoTech and has developed the world’s smallest device
Muhammad Asad Raza, winner of the competition, receiving a cheque of Rs 500,000 from one of the judges. Photo by Zubair MahfooZ
versities across the for home automation 12 cities of Pakistan through which users participated in the can control different 2nd runner-up prize competition. appliances at their The judges’ homes and offices. and Technology panel included noThe second runInnovation Award to table personalities ner-up award was given to a seventeen Babar Khan Akhunzada like Arif Nizami, Editor, Pakistan year old Babar Khan for providing security to Today; Khurram Akhunzada from InstiZafar of LUMS tute of Management banks, multinationals, Centre for Entrepreand Sciences, Pehospitals and big data neurship; Hussain shawar. He was the youngest participant at companies’ servers from Al Lawati of Oman Investment Fund; the competition and potential hackers Ali Mukhtar of Fahis company, Security tima Ventures and Wall, provides security Rai Umair, owner of to banks, multinationArpatech and group als, hospitals and big Chief Technical Ofdata companies’ servers from potential hackers. He was ficer of Daraz. Before the awards were given out, also a finalist at the Startup Istanbul Naz Mansha, CEO Nishat Mills Ltd, competition last year. The Social Impact Award was given who was the guest of honour at the out to Maria Aftab from NUST for her event, delivered a keynote address business Sionser, which has developed wherein she encouraged the younger a device for identification of water qual- generation, especially women, to take control of their lives and promote entreity in rural areas of Pakistan. A total of 59 students from 19 uni- preneurship.
KARACHI The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) and the World Bank (WB) inked an agreement on technical cooperation for achieving the Strategic Goals under SBP’s Vision 2020 on January 28, 2017. This is the first such agreement signed by the World Bank on Reimbursable Advisory Services (RAS) with any country in the South Asia Region. The signing ceremony was held after a meeting between SBP Governor Ashraf Mahmood Wathra and World Bank CEO Kristalina Georgieva at a local hotel here on Saturday night. SBP Strategic Plan (2016-20) has been framed and built around to focus on resolution of strategically important issues facing Pakistan’s economy and financial sector. While Pakistan has made significant improvements in its economic fundamentals in recent years, the SBP Strategic Plan has been developed against a backdrop of continuing challenges and a need to foster a greater intermediation role for the financial sector. The six strategic goals of SBP aim
to enhance monetary policy; strengthen the financial system stability regime; improve the efficiency, effectiveness and fairness of the banking system; increase financial inclusion; develop robust payments systems and strengthen organisational efficiency and effectiveness. The World Bank’s engagement in the financial sector is a combination of
The Irrigation department has recovered Rs 39.2 million as water cess(Abiana) from growers during Rabbi Season 2015-16 across Irrigation Multan zone. According to irrigation sources, the teams had recovered water rates Abiana over Rs 8.9 million from Multan district, Rs 0.469 million from Lodhran district, Rs 22 million Abiana from Vehari and over Rs 8.4 million from Pakpattan district during the first four months of Rabbi Season from Ist July to December 31, 2016. Similarly, Rs 0.921 million water charges (tawan) was also recovered from four districts under Irrigation Multan zone including Rs 0.742m from Lodhran, Rs 0.124m from Vehari, Rs 55,779 from Pakpattan district while no recovery was reported from Multan district during first five months of the Rabbi season 2015-16.
Dar for improving culture of savings
IsLAMAbAd OnlIne
Social Impact Award given out to Maria Aftab for developing a device for identification of water quality in rural areas of Pakistan
SBP, WB ink agreement on technical cooperation STAFF RePORT
Irrigation dept recovers Rs 39.2m water cess
financial advisory knowledge and convening services, and is complemented by investments and private sector engagement by International Finance Corporation (IFC). Under the agreement, the SBP and the World Bank have agreed on a well-defined work program, including specific outputs. The technical cooperation program is anticipated to have several compo-
nents such as Development and implementation of a Risk Based Supervision framework; implementation of an Enterprise Risk Management framework, and strengthening of cyber security. The programme will have an initial duration of three years, with yearly reviews to discuss overall effectiveness of the program, monitor deliverables and the achievement of results.
Finance Minister Ishaq Dar has directed the National Savings to continue providing better services to the public and improve culture of savings in the country. He said this while chairing a meeting on National Savings here on Sunday. Director General (DG) National Savings Zafar Masood briefed the finance minister on the initiatives undertaken by the National Savings. The initiatives include improvement in customer services, development of new products, human resource management, organisation’s brand activation and strategic improvements in the organisation. He apprised the minister that new products like registered prize bonds are being planned for rollout, based on the feedback and demand of investors.
Work on wind power projects underway IsLAMAbAd APP
Work on fifty windmill projects is underway at Gharo-Keti Bandar and Hyderabad wind corridor in Sindh. According to Radio Pakistan, wind power projects, having capacity of producing 2000 megawatts of the electricity, are expected to be operational by the next year. Meanwhile, financial closing of 36 other such projects has almost been completed and these will be made operational by the end of next year. After completion of these projects, 2000MW electricity will be added to the national grid which will be helpful in meeting the national and provincial energy requirements.
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BUSINESS 11
Monday, 30 January, 2017
FROM JAZZCASH TO CASHLESS
oveR 20 ReTaIleRS SUffeR aS hackeR STealS moNey fRom TheIR mobIle accoUNTS GOES SCOT-FREE AFTER EXPLOITING A LOOPHOLE IN THE COMPANY’S SALES NETWORK KARACHI
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FAROOQ BAlOCH
N a recent development that could undermine the government and private sector’s efforts towards financial inclusion, a fraudster siphoned off Rs15 lacs from 22 mobile accounts of retailers who deal in JazzCash, the mobile financial services (MFS) arm of Pakistan’s largest cellular service provider, Jazz (formerly known as Mobilink). According to the details obtained by Profit, the hacker, who remains untraced, identified and exploited a loophole in the ‘sales system’ of the company’s MFS network. He was, therefore, able to replicate Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) cards of JazzCash retailers from Defence, Kemari and Saddar areas of Karachi and stole their money around Christmas time last December. It started during winter vacations when the retailers who usually have between one and two lacs in their accounts every day found that their SIM cards, all of which were on pre-paid line, stopped functioning one after the other. Perplexed and unable to do any transactions, they first contacted the helpline and then the area franchise only to hear that the SIM malfunction was due to some technical glitch. Two weeks into the incident, the Pakistani subsidiary of the Netherlandsbased VimpelCom Group was still investigating the matter hence it chose not to make it public – doing which, they said, would harm the “national interest” because both the government and private sector have been striving to earn masses’ trust for mobile banking. Such incidents could be detrimental to these efforts, which aim to document an otherwise cash-based economy. With Jazz MFS department not revealing the details, both retailers and aforementioned franchises were clueless as to what had actually happened. Some of the affected retailers, your correspondent spoke to, confirmed their SIMs were blocked on Sunday, December 25, but they had no idea that their money was stolen. A few complained that their mobile accounts were not functioning even three weeks after they were blocked and they were not able to do any business. As the number of complainants multiplied, officials with authorised access to the backend checked the details and found that a fraud was committed. “Someone converted or duplicated all the affected SIMs to post-paid mode and then swept their [retailers’] accounts, brining their credit balance to nil,” an official told Profit on the condition he would not be identified. The company instructed franchisees not to
disclose the details of the incident, he said referring to the instructions Jazz had sent to those aware of the development, restricting them from making the information public. A technical glitch caused all this disruption was the official word from the company but franchisees who were under stress knew it was something else. Left on their own, they warned each other informally and came up with their own solutions to prevent against the looming threat, Profit learned during background interviews of those who had firsthand knowledge of the developments. For example, they identified mobile accounts of retailers who had large balance and changed their status to ‘open order’, which would mean no further transaction could be performed unless the previous order was closed. Explaining the standard practice, an official said the right to transfer a SIM from pre-paid to post-paid rests with the franchises or the company-owned service centres. Normally, the name of the officer performing this task and the location of the franchise or service centre is entered in the database and the procedure does not require biometric verification because the SIM owner can produce his original identity card. In this incident, there was no information in the database regarding who performed this transfer and from which location he executed it, the official said. The thief even obtained retailers’ MPIN, a four-digit personal code necessary to perform the transaction, he said adding this cannot not be done without obtaining some help from an insider. “It was a facility in our sales system, which was misused and nothing else,” Jazz’s Vice President Digital and Financial Services Aniqa Afzal Sandhu told Profit in an interview at the company’s headquarter on Friday (January 13). “Our MFS platform was not compromised and we have to be very clear about it,” she said explicitly in the same breath. Explaining, Sandhu said Jazz had provided all its customers with a facility to convert their SIMs from prepaid to postpaid and vice versa without immediately submitting their biometric information since the latter had already done that at the time of SIM registration. Under the facility, customers could change a SIM’s feature immediately and had up to midnight to submit their biometrics. The fraudster saw an opportunity here and misused this facility, she says. “The company has closed this facility now and no one can convert the SIM from prepaid to postpaid and otherwise without first performing the biometric verification,” the VP said. The development comes at a time when 85% of the country’s population re-
Our MFS platform was not compromised and we have to be very clear about it — Jazz’s Vice President Digital and Financial Services Aniqa Afzal Sandhu
mains unbanked (lacks access to any financial services) and State Bank of Pakistan, along with Pakistan Telecommunication Authority, is pressing for the implementation of its National Financial Inclusion Strategy: the central bank aims to bring 50% of Pakistan’s adult population in the financial inclusion by 2020. Because of its link with development, financial inclusion has a key role in achieving United Nations’ 17 Sustainable Development Goals, some of which include poverty alleviation, job creation, quality education, good healthcare and reduced inequality. The case under discussion is the latest assault on SBP’s efforts to earn trust of people usually skeptical of electronic payments, but it is certainly not the first. Better known in the telecom world as social engineering, these incidents have happened before involving other MFS providers including a major player, according to our sources. The State Bank of Pakistan’s Chief Spokesperson Abid Qamar confirmed these incidents happened in the past and the companies reported them to the SBP, the apex regulator that audits MFS accounts of telecom operators and requires them to submit compliance report on such incidents. However, the central bank refused to share operator-wise details, saying the Privacy Act prohibits disclosure of such information. Profit could not obtain any official data regarding the number of social engineering cases reported or hackers caught, but industry sources say such incidents, like duplication of SIMs, were not uncommon. In fact, companies conduct internal research on social engineering, some say. “It barely takes five minutes to replicate a SIM card if you have its International Mobile Subscriber Identity (IMSI) number and Ki value,” Information Security Expert Rafay Baloch said referring to the authentication parameters required to authorise duplication of a SIM card. Baloch, who was among 2014’s best ethical hackers in the world and did research on the subject while working for PTCL, explained that service providers use these two secret parameters for authenticating an account – IMSI is a unique 15-digit number used to identify a SIM globally and the Ki value is a 128bit randomly generated value. “If both of these values are obtained, the SIM can be easily cloned,” Baloch said. These parameters can either by obtained from telecom operator and its web portal or from the original SIM using different freeware easily available in the market. Once a SIM is replicated, all one needs to do is to reset the MPIN and he can perform a financial transaction and that’s exactly what seems to have happened in this case. How the hacker or the group involved got hold of retailers’ personal data – like his date of birth and mother’s maiden name, a must to reset the MPIN – remains unclear. “He seems to be very close to the retailer. It can be the retailer himself. There are lots of ifs,” Sandhu says of the hacker who could be one person or a group that “already has that information” because he is close to the retailer. We don’t know if it was his brother or a close friend. The VP acknowledged that the hacker or hackers were at large but said, “I won’t
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call it a crime.” She further said the scale of the incident was miniscule and the company was in contact with those affected – those affected were not even 0.1% of the total retailers. “We involved the regional business head who identified the group of retailers affected so that we are able to scale that process nationwide and we don’t ever have these incidents in future,” she said adding all these retailers were compensated within a week. “These are our business partners, so we will be transparent with them.” Responding to a question Jazz MFS team said if they informed 65,000 retailers, they would panic as there are a lot of scams that use mass SMS. “We don’t want to do such kind of communication through SMS, we prefer to do it through our own sales channel, which is authentic,” Sandhu said adding they had managers dedicated to speak to these 22 retailers and they were constantly in touch with them. The company has created a report on this incident, which will be a part of the compliance report submitted to SBP. In a country where more than a third of conventional and 90% e-commerce transactions are based on cash, it is only natural for both the private sector and the regulator to avoid reporting news that undermines public’s trust in electronic payments. But, experts Profit spoke to seem to have a different take on the subject. “It is still better to announce [theft] than wait for it to be leaked from elsewhere, which could be more damaging,” says Parvez Iftikhar, an Islamabad-based expert on Information and Communications Technology. The ICT expert says the purpose is not to discredit mobile banking, but to create awareness in order to strengthen the mechanism to prevent such incidents. The one under discussion was very small in its scale, he said, but if these things were not stopped and a large scale incident took place, people would certainly lose trust in mobile payments. “Trust is the most significant element in mobile banking, and such incidents could do a great deal of damage, especially to a new product,” Iftikhar said of JazzCash, a relatively new player in the MFS segment, which delivered a stellar performance last year to become the market leader. In 2016, JazzCash managed more than 100 million financial transactions (its highest ever) through its mobile accounts. This translates into an almost four times increase compared to 2015. The product, which provides basic financial services, such as deposits, money transfer, bill payments, mobile top-ups, savings, insurance, ATM cards and payments for a variety of services now has more than 1.5 million monthly active mobile accounts. It has become the leading MFS provider in the mobile accounts category, the company claimed in a celebratory press release earlier this month. Unlike Iftikhar, Barrister Zahid Jamil, an international expert on cybercrimes who helped various countries draft their cybercrime laws, has a rather critical view of the current mechanism of mobile banking system. “Whether a technical glitch or a hack, why are they concealing it?” Jamil asked after Profit shared with him the details of its findings. These incidents happen, but you need to alert your investors, clients, regulator and other telecom operators about the threat, he said. A harsh critic of current mobile banking mechanism, Jamil feels the incident is only a part of a bigger problem: the entire mobile banking model is working on outdated SMS technology, which is not encrypted, he said. “How could you enable money transfers on SMS basis, which is inherently the most unsecure technology in the world?” Jamil says of the mobile payments platform. He adds there should be a dual au-
It barely takes five minutes to replicate a SIM card if you have its International Mobile Subscriber Identity (IMSI) number and Ki value — Information Security Expert Rafay Baloch
thentication process using proper internet-based encrypted technology, not USSD codes – a protocol used by GSM cellular telephones to communicate with the service provider’s computers. “I have been saying this for a long time that our current mechanism is a failed one and it will continue to be so unless we move to the more advanced 21st century technology,” Jamil said of mobile banking system, which was introduced before 3G technology came to Pakistan. “The world has changed now and so should we.” The mobile payments are working on bank centric model, but such platforms should be managed by companies that specialise in payment solutions, Jamil argues. Banks culture is relaxed and they don’t have incentives to invest in information security nor do they have expertise in that area, he adds. Jamil’s reservation regarding the flaws in current mechanism may not be completely far-fetched because there are many loopholes that are being exploited by some elements – something Profit learned on the sidelines of investigating JazzCash incident. For example, retailers were changing last four digits of a CNIC to make multiple payments for the same person thus crossing their monthly limits. It finally took the State Bank of Pakistan to intervene. The SBP paired CNIC number and mobile phone number to fix it. There are many malpractices in mobile payments, including violation of monthly transfer limits, that still go unchecked. One official told he alone was managing monthly business of Rs5 crores from nearly 200 clients. Even if each client consumes his monthly limit of Rs50,000, he should not be getting more than Rs1 core in business – and there are many like him. Sandhu, however, disagrees. The bank-led model is the best model as per the ground realities we face as a country, she said referring to the day-to-day complaints they receive from retailers, which are similar to those found in conventional banking. She adds that their MFS apps run on encrypted technology. If that wasn’t the case, the incident would be much bigger, she says. The SBP, too, throws its weight behind telecom operators. “We have a regulatory framework, which is based on the feasibility reports that cover ground realities of our country,” says Qamar. Telecom operators themselves do an assessment of new technologies to make the system more secure and adopt them at the right time, he adds. Since many social engineering or hacking cases remained within the companies, we could not find out if any hackers were caught. The ones involved in this incident, too, went scot-free. However, if caught, they may face up to seven years in prison and up to Rs1 crore in fines depending upon which section of the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act 2016 they are booked under. Iftikhar, the ICT expert, says after forensic experts investigate the issue and get more details, only then it can be determined whether the hacker can be traced but that’s not always easy – the 2014 hack of Yahoo in which details from more than 500 million user accounts were stolen is a case in point, he says.
12 WORLD VIEW
Monday, 30 January, 2017
A YAZIDI REFUGEE, STRANDED AT THE AIRPORT BY TRUMP AN AMERICAN EMBASSY OFFICIAL HAD COME INTO THE TERMINAL TO TELL HIM HIS VISA WAS NO LONGER VALID.“HE SAID TRUMP CANCELLED IT AND HE NEEDS TO GO BACK TO IRAQ. IS THIS TRUE?” MOHAMMED ASKED New Yorker
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t 10:05 on Friday morning, a young Iraqi couple named Khalas and Nada were trading panicked texts. Would Nada escape Iraq before President trump’s executive order barring refugees took effect, or would trump’s pen-stroke bring all their plans to ruin? the day before was their second anniversary, but they couldn’t celebrate together: Khalas lives in Washington, D.C., and Nada in Sinjar, in the north of Iraq. Khalas, a former interpreter for the U.S. Army, was granted a Special Immigrant Visa for his service to America. He came last July, thinking that Nada would arrive shortly thereafter. they are also Yazidis, members of a pre-Islamic religion whose adherents have been severely persecuted in recent years, particularly by the Islamic State. Khalas had been to the U.S. four years earlier as part of a troupe of students from the American University of Iraq, Sulaimani (A.U.I.S.), performing Shakespeare throughout the country. Khalas played Brutus in “Julius Caesar.” He would have been within his rights to claim asylum on that first trip, but he was still full of hope for the future in Iraq. One of ten siblings, he grew up on a farm outside the Yazidi village of Khanasor, six miles from the Syrian border. His family had a small orchard, some sheep, and cows. they learned English by reading books and mastering vocabulary cards. When the Americans invaded, he realized his language skills were needed. At eighteen, he became one of the youngest interpreters the 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment ever had. At the time, there wasn’t a lethal stigma surrounding such work, especially within the Yazidi community. “Yazidis didn’t look at Americans as occupiers,” he told me. “If you were an interpreter, people would respect you more.” Dispatched alongside troops patrolling the city of tal Afar, he was fired upon constantly. On one mission, he accompanied U.S. soldiers door to door as they inquired about water quality—there were reports of a cholera outbreak in the area. Khalas and an American sergeant were questioning an Iraqi and his son at the front gate of their home when an insurgent opened fire with an assault rifle. the sergeant was hit in the legs, the boy was shot, and the father ran off. “It became chaos,” Khalas recalled. “the sergeant was falling down, so I took his weapon, which was jumping around. I put his hand on my shoulder and I dragged him into the house to protect ourselves.” He bandaged the sergeant’s legs while they waited for backup. Later on in his service, Khalas was riding in convoy behind a Humvee that was hit by an I.E.D. Grenades began sailing in from a nearby village. “there was no place to protect ourselves,” Khalas said, “but we had to take our friends who have died out of the Humvee.” He ran through the field of fire to help pry the bodies of three Americans from the wreckage.
He was shot once, but the bullet lodged between his Kevlar vest and torso and left only a small scar, so he didn’t think much of it. After two years with the Americans, he went back to school. In his free time, he formed a group of young poets and travelled from village to village doing readings. Nada, who headed the local women’s union that hosted one of his events, asked Khalas out on a date. “I loved your poems,” she told the startled young man, “but I think I love you, not just the poems.” In August, 2014, the Islamic State massacred Yazidis throughout the Sinjar mountain range. Khalas had an eightthirty class at the American University in Sulaymaniyah the morning of the attack. During a break, he glanced at his phone and found forty missed calls. “We are running from Sinjar,” his father shouted, when Khalas reached him. Half his siblings were fleeing to the city of Dohuk, the other half into the mountains. their farm, which the family had held for generations, was destroyed by the Islamic State, whose militants killed five thousand Yazidis in the first wave. thousands of women were enslaved; those that hid in the mountain faced starvation and dehydration. three days after the attack, President Barack Obama ordered airstrikes on the Islamic State to forestall a potential genocide of fifty thousand Yazidis. the following month, Khalas and Nada applied for the Special Immigrant Visa. the program was created in 2008, with bipartisan support, to issue visas to twenty-five thousand Iraqis with ties to the U.S. I have been deeply involved in efforts to help these Iraqis, founding the List Project to Resettle Iraqi Allies, in 2007. I formerly coördinated the reconstruction of Fallujah for U.S.A.I.D., and personally lost colleagues to assassins’ bullets. Khalas and Nada contacted Marcia Maack, the director of pro-bono activities for the law firm Mayer Brown, the primary legal partner to the List Project, who agreed to take on their cases. (I became involved in their cases through the List Project.) As his application wound through the gears of the U.S. bureaucracy, Khalas was required to submit documentation to prove that he was, in fact, an interpreter. He had a handful of dated commendation letters from several years earlier, but Maack located his commanding officers and requested new letters of support. Major Kevin Martin, U.S. Army Reserve, wrote a letter describing Khalas’s “exceptional performance” as an interpreter. A few weeks later, Major Russell Washington, of the D.C. National Guard, stressed that Khalas had “provided faithful and valuable service to the US Government, and like the other interpreters, faced threat as a result of their employment and association with the United States military . . . it is my opinion he does not pose a threat to the national security or safety of the United States.” the screening process was arduous and slow-moving, but they were optimistic. In January, 2015, Khalas and Nada were married. In May, they received their Chief of Mission approval letter, a critical step in the visa process, setting them up for background checks and interviews with agents from the Department of Homeland Security. that summer, Khalas earned a degree in business, graduating as valedictorian of his class. In his commencement speech, he said, “It saddens me to remember that many of us are moving back to tents or cities far from our homes.” that fall, Khalas and Nada had their first security interview. they were told to wait. In April, 2016, eighteen months after applying, Khalas received his visa. With his performance at A.U.I.S., he was offered scholarships to remain for graduate studies, but he wanted to earn an American M.B.A. He dreamed of returning to Sinjar one day to start a private school. He was given until October to travel to the U.S.
But there was a problem: Nada was still waiting. U.S. visa laws are inflexible, unconcerned with nuance, and annoyed by complexity. He could request an extension, but there would be no guarantees. His might expire, while hers was approved. Maack urged him to come to the U.S., confident that Nada would receive her visa soon. two months before the Presidential election, her visa was tentatively approved, pending a routine medical examination. She had a slight flu during the checkup, and, for reasons that she doesn’t understand, was told that it would take at least three months to process her results. She was frustrated, but was certain the approval would come. In the hierarchy of risks, she was a Yazidi woman, married to a former interpreter who now lived in America. It was hard to conjure a more vulnerable situation. In mid-December, her medical clearance came through, but she was told she’d need to come in for another security interview. the earliest available date was January 19th, the day before Donald trump’s Inauguration. On trump’s first full day as President, she was informed that her visa was approved. Her Iraqi passport, with an American visa, valid for travel until March 7th, would be sent to her in Sinjar via D.H.L. While her passport was en route, a draft of trump’s executive order leaked to the press. I worriedly thumbed through the pages, looking for exceptions for Iraqis with Special Immigrant Visas, but found none. Nada’s passport arrived on thursday evening. Early Friday morning, Khalas went on Priceline.com and bought a one-way ticket for her from Erbil to Dulles, with a twelve-hour layover in Dubai. She would depart at 2 a.m., Washington time, the following morning. Khalas knew about the proposed ban, but wasn’t sure if trump would sign it that day, or whether it would apply to Nada. Maack told me that trump would be signing the executive order that afternoon at the Pentagon. It was a jarring juxtaposition: the Pentagon employs more interpreters than any organization on earth. Some of these Iraqis, resettled through the List Project, now serve under the new Commander-in-Chief, having enlisted in the armed forces upon arriving to the U.S. Why sign an executive order that bans the people upon whom his troops depend? Khalas was on the line. “She wants to get on the plane, but we don’t know what will happen if she gets here! Will she have to go back?” I walked him through the decades of international treaties and conventions that prohibit deporting a refugee to the country from which they fled, but wondered if any of this would hold true in another hour. If Nada managed to board the plane, I said, she could claim asylum as soon as she landed. She would be taken into cus-
tody for a credible-fear screening, but then released. Maack and her team began planning for the eventuality. Just before trump was scheduled to speak, an official in the State Department—who hadn’t yet seen the final version of the executive order—said that there would probably be a provision for people already in transit. I drafted an email to Khalas and Maack with the subject line “Good News.” At 4:30 p.m., the President signed executive orders in the Hall of Heroes, barring all refugees from entering the country, along with a hundred and thirty-four million people from Iraq, Syria, Libya, Yemen, Somalia, Sudan, and Iran. there is no mention to the fact that U.S. forces have operated in five of the seven countries in the past year, or that these operations require interpreters and create refugees. “I’m establishing new vetting measures to keep radical Islamic terrorists out of the United States,” trump declared. “We don’t want them here,” he said. “We only want to admit those into our country who will support our country, and love deeply our people.” Maack texted me. “Do you have a copy of the final text yet?” Khalas and Nada were desperate for guidance. When he opened the folder containing the executive order, the President squinted at it, and read haltingly, as though it were the first time he’d seen it: “this is . . . ‘Protecting the Nation from Foreign terrorist Entry into the United States.’ “ “We all know what that means,” he murmured, before carefully rereading the title. As he signed it, he congratulated himself. “that’s big stuff!” three minutes later, the State Department official who had just suggested that Nada would have safe passage sent a oneline e-mail: “Advice is she should not travel.” the official text of the executive order was now circulating, and it was worse than expected. the draft version had called for an immediate thirty-day ban. Nada’s visa was due to expire thirty-five days from Friday. they had considered waiting for the ban to lift, banking on that five-day window to escape Iraq. But when Khalas anxiously scrolled through the final version, he found that the ban had been extended to ninety days. Nada’s visa would expire during that period, after which there was little hope of securing a new one, given the anti-refugee, anti-Iraqi posture of the White House. “What should we do?” he asked. Conversations like this dim the outside world. I barely heard my son crying from his crib as I thought. I wanted her to get on the plane, because she had earned that visa. I didn’t want to believe that our government would claw back a one-week-old visa from a Yazidi wife of an interpreter. For one thing, that would require a ruthless efficiency. Why would an Iraqi officer checking in passengers in Erbil care about what trump had
signed ten hours earlier? Why would the airlines care, so long as the ticket was paid for and the visa valid? Khalas waited patiently for my answer. I asked what they wanted to do. “We escaped isis at Sinjar!” he exclaimed. “How much harder can this be?” And so Nada would try. After all, she had done everything the U.S. government had asked of her. After years of interviews, security and biometric screening, medical tests and more interviews, she had a valid visa. throughout the course of the day, he had been remarkably composed on the phone. But when I tried to ask a light question—whether she’d packed a lot of bags—the line went silent for a spell. “She told me that she is only carrying her purse,” he said, shakily. “I told her to go buy some clothes, but she said ‘I will just come with whatever I’m wearing.’” I heard him weeping. “She said she feels the same way as when she ran from isis. When she ran then, she only had her purse. She didn’t know if she was going to make it, just like now. . . .” He apologized while he gathered himself. “I’m sorry. I haven’t eaten all day.” Maack and her team at Mayer Brown prepared a document explaining what Nada would need to say if she made it to Dulles. While Nada’s departure time approached, we scoured our contacts for someone at U.S. Customs and Border Protection, hoping to alert them to the fact that a highly vetted Iraqi woman with a one-week-old Special Immigrant Visa was represented by a powerful law firm. “they can’t send her back if she expresses fear of persecution!” Maack said, as if to reassure herself. At 11:36 p.m., Mohammed, an Iraqi who now lives in Los Angeles after helping Americans during the war, texted to say he had an emergency. His father had had a problem at the airport in Qatar. He’d left Baghdad that morning on a tourist visa, planning to visit Mohammed, but had just been blocked at the gate of his connecting flight. An American Embassy official had come into the terminal to tell him his visa was no longer valid.“He said trump cancelled it and he needs to go back to Iraq. Is this true?” Mohammed asked. “He’s a seventy-oneyear-old senior.” He was confused, since his aunt and uncle had just arrived at LAX a few hours earlier. It became clear that as soon as trump’s pen hit the page, refugees and citizens of the seven barred countries were not allowed in. (the times has reported that some refugees are now detained at U.S. airports.) I relayed the news to Khalas. “Oh, Lord.” It was all slipping away until 1:50 a.m., on Saturday, when Khalas’s brother, who had dropped her off at the airport, texted that Nada had boarded the flight. Khalas was cautiously excited. three hours to Dubai. I loaded up a flight tracker and waited anxiously for takeoff. Meanwhile, Mohammed’s panic was mounting. He was trying to book his dad a hotel room at the Qatar airport so he could rest, but his phone had died; the last he knew was that he’d been taken into a cell and had his passport confiscated. I returned to the flight tracker to see that the plane still hadn’t taken off. And then: 2:46 a.m., Khalas texted again. “they did not let her enter the plane.” His brother’s message had not been correct; she had only cleared security. When she reached the gate, the FlyDubai staff ripped up her ticket. “the flight crew sent her back,” he texted, “saying they got orders that no Iraqis with American visas should be boarded.” “Believe me, in one month if she doesn’t make it here, I am going back to Iraq,” he said. the Yazidi valedictorian will forfeit his visa. She will likely give up trying for another one. this is, perhaps, what the President and his advisers intended, with the brutal speed of the order’s implementation. For years, we’ve been told that government was inefficient, sloppy, and slow to react, but within minutes, it found a way to implement one of the most draconian refugee policies in our history. Kirk W. Johnson is the founder and executive director of the List Project to Resettle Iraqi Allies. He is the author of “To Be a Friend Is Fatal: The Fight to Save the Iraqis America Left Behind,” published by Scribner in 2013.
Monday, 30 January, 2017
ARTS america has to be ‘better’ than trump: John legend
Govt allows screeninG of indian films, panel to take call on nocs ENTERTAINMENT DESK
t
HE government has decided to maintain the present policy regarding the import of Indian cinematograph films, said Minister of State for Information Marriyum Aurangzeb. A special committee will initiate the process of issuing no objection certificates (NOCs) to the Indian movies, said Marriyum Aurangzeb. Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif had formed this committee for the clearance of Indian movies to be screened in Pakistan. Marriyum, who is heading the panel, said the clearance to any foreign content will be given according to the Commerce Ministry’s new import order. “Importing the foreign content will be planned and the content will be shared with the censor board and passed through other procedure,” media quoted Marriyum as saying. Other matters being scrutinised include the standard operating procedures of the Central Board of Film Censors and the sale and purchase of uncensored, pirated foreign
Oscar-winning singer-songwriter John Legend implored Hollywood Saturday to stand against Donald Trump, telling the Producers Guild Awards the Republican president’s political outlook was anti-American. Legend, 38, was at the glitzy ceremony in Beverly Hills to represent the musical “La La Land,” in which he stars opposite Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone. “We are the voice, the face of America. Our America is big, it is free and it is open to dreamers of all races, all countries, all religions,” Legend said as he introduced a clip to Damien Chazelle’s acclaimed movie. “Our vision of America is directly antithetical to that of President Trump and I want specifically tonight reject his vision and affirm that America has to be better than that.” Legend’s speech came after Trump signed a sweeping executive order to suspend the arrival of refugees for at least 120 days and impose tough new controls on travelers from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Syria and Yemen for the next three months. Since then, travelers from those countries have been stopped from boarding US-bound planes, triggering angry protests and detentions at airports. AGENCIES
JEREMY SCAHILL Sure feel safer now that Trump kept a 68 year old diabetic Yemeni woman with a Green Card out of the country.
MUHAMMAD FAYSAL America feels like Kashmir. Fascists signing in laws that dehumanise people & people fighting it back on the streets. Except nobody got shot.
JUSTIN TRUDEAU To those fleeing persecution, terror & war, Canadians will welcome you, regardless of your faith. Diversity is our strength #WelcomeToCanada
TWITTER Twitter is built by immigrants of all religions. We stand for and with them, always.
MICHAEL MOORE Denver, DC Dulles, Dallas airports, many others jammed w/ protesters. I hope the Muslim world is watching.This is the real American majority
Oscar-nominated British actor John Hurt, known for his roles in “Elephant Man” and “Harry Potter”, has died aged 77 after a battle with pancreatic cancer, his wife said Saturday. The versatile actor, who played Mr Ollivander in “Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone” and in two other films in the series, passed away in Norfolk, eastern England, on Wednesday, according to wife Anwen Rees Meyers. He starred in the movie adaptation of George Orwell’s novel “1984” and played the role of Kane in “Alien”, who dies when the creature dramatically bursts from his chest in one of the most memorable death scenes in movie history. He was twice nominated for an Oscar, in the best supporting actor category for his performance in the 1978 film “Midnight Express” as Max, a British man imprisoned in Turkey, and for his
Sanjay Leela Bhansali assaulted by fringe group for ‘distorting facts’ ENTERTAINMENT DESK The attack on ace filmmaker Sanjay Leela Bhansali on the sets of his upcoming film Padmavati in Jaipur by activists of a Rajput organisation has left many fraternity members “appalled”. They have demanded a strong action by the government. On Friday, the Karni Sena activists entered the Jaigarh Fort and assaulted Bhansali, according to the police. They even misbehaved with the crew and criticised the National Awardwinning director for “distorting” history in the film about the medieval-era Delhi ruler Alauddin Khilji, who fell in love with Rajput queen Padmavati. “He (Bhansali) has packed up and has said he will never shoot again in Jaipur,” a source said. Speaking about the incident, Vivek Singh of Karni Sena told media, “We had earlier requested him (Bhansali) to show us the script which he did not do. We are against distorting of historical facts and we know that he has distorted historical facts.” Karni Sena claimed they have got a big library. “In no book is it written that Alauddin Khilji fell in love with Padmavati or he was her lover,” a senior leader from the organisation said. The film’s lead actors star Deepika
Padukone, Ranveer Singh and Shahid Kapoor have condemned the attack by tweeting that they were in a “state of shock” and had been left “disheartened”. “Sanjay sir is one of the most accomplished and authentic filmmakers we have in India, and he won’t ever do anything to hurt anyone’s feelings,” Ranveer tweeted. While Shahid posted, “Words do fall short and feel too little to express feelings. Violence is unacceptable. This incident has shocked me. We need to look deep within as a society, as a country, as people… where are we headed.” Siddharth Roy Kapur, President of The Film & Television Producers Guild of India strongly condemned the “acts of vandalism” on the sets of Padmavati as a direct attack on freedom of expression in India’s democracy. “The film industry has become the softest target for any fringe group looking for media attention, and we need the strongest possible intervention from the concerned authorities to end this and to end it now,” he said. Kapur urged the “Government of India and the state government of Rajasthan to take immediate steps to ensure the strongest possible punitive action is taken against these miscreants, so it serves as a deterrent in preventing the recurrence of such unacceptable events in the future”
generosity of spirit. He touched all our lives with joy and magic and it will be a strange world without him.” “Lord of the Rings” star Elijah Wood paid tribute to the actor, writing on Twitter: “Very sad to hear of John Hurt’s passing. It was such an honor to have watched you work, sir.” Among many other tributes to flood in, American actor Chris Evans described Hurt as “remarkable”. “John Hurt was one of the most powerful, giving, and effortlessly real actors I’ve ever
CMYK
film CDs/DVDs. Aurangzeb also said that the Prime Minister has given the approval to introduce polices that would incentivise the local production and broadcast industry in Pakistan. A review of the regional and global best practices and models of the production and broadcast industry is being conducted to replicate them in Pakistan. For the purpose, the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting has planned a consultative meeting of the stake holders with the production and broadcast industry in February. The decision is made in light of the economic advantages of screening Indian films for the Pakistani cinema industry, which in turn supports local filmmaking, “[From] the close examination of historical and empirical data including the trends of the industry since 1965 till date, it is evident that the inclusion of all foreign content, including Indian film content in local cinemas, have a multiplier impact on the commerce and development of the Pakistani film trade and industry as a whole,” read Aurangzeb’s statement. The Pakistani film industry has been revived and strengthened after the resumption of import of Indian films into the country in 2007, she emphasised. The screening of Indian movies in Pakistani cinemas was blocked in October last year following the escalation of tensions with India over the latter’s unprovoked ceasefire violation along the Line of Control. The ban was imposed by the Film Exhibitors Association of Pakistan.
kangana ranaut is all set to get hitched this year ENTERTAINMENT DESK After a chain of controversies, linkup rumours and battle, Kangana Ranaut after all talks about settling down. Recently, the actor said that she had been planning to get married in 2017. When asked about it by HT Cafe, the actor said, “Yes, it’s true. The kind of world we live in, the whole dating scene has become very upsetting. Everyone is looking above everyone’s shoulders in a bid to find a better partner,” Miss Kyra reported. “There has to be a commitment in a relationship. And dating is frivolous, no matter how intense it is, as there’s no real sense of commitment. So, I would want to go the serious way. That’s what I plan and I will do it this year. It’s very hard to be single, especially when your family doesn’t live with you. There’s no one watching your back and you really cannot rely on.” Kangana added. Elucidating further, the Queen actor said, “People find it surprising that I am young and I don’t have to get married now. However, I don’t think career and marriage are interlinked. Age has nothing to do with marriage. But I turn 30 this March and I should have babies (she laughs). Even marriage is not important for babies but to have a family of your own is everyone’s dream. One can get lonely in the film world, especially when you are an actor.”
Veteran British actor John Hurt dies starring role two years later in “Elephant Man” about a severely deformed man in 19th century London. He received a BAFTA award for “Midnight Express” as well as a Golden Globe in the best actor in a supporting role category. Hurt’s death was confirmed by his widow Anwen. “It is with deep sadness that I have to confirm that my husband, John Vincent Hurt, died on Wednesday 25th January 2017 at home in Norfolk,” she said in a statement released by publicist Charles McDonald. “John was the most sublime of actors and the most gentlemanly of gentlemen with the greatest of hearts and the most
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worked with Remarkable human being. U will be missed,” he wrote on Twitter. - ‘Cinematic immortality’ Born on January 22, 1940 in Chesterfield, central England, Hurt first began his career as a teacher of drawing. But he quickly moved to a life on camera and, after entering the prestigious Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA) in London, he began his career in British film in the 1960s. But it was at the end of the 1970s when his
career definitively took off following back-to-back roles in “Midnight Express” and “Alien”. Hurt, who appeared in some 140 films, often playing supporting roles, also maintained a strong television presence, making appearances in cult British series “Doctor Who” among others. He also showed a lighter side, playing a parody of his Kane character in spoof sci-fi comedy “Spaceballs”, directed by Mel Brooks. The veteran US comic posted on Twitter that he was “terribly sad today to learn of John Hurt’s passing. “No one could have played The Elephant Man more memorably,” he added. “He carried that film into cinematic immortality. He will be sorely missed.” The actor, who received a total of four BAFTAs, was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II in 2014. AGENCIES
14 LEISURE
Monday, 30 January, 2017
aries
taurus
gemini
You want to balance your obligations with your need for fun and games once the Moon enters responsible Capricorn today. Although your regular routine brings you back down to earth, you're not necessarily.
A series of reality checks inspires you to regain your footing in the world. But until you know exactly where you stand, you won't be able to get on with the important business of rearranging your priorities.
You might not be used to taking everything so seriously, but thankfully, you are a fast learner. Even if you try to casually make plans, a carefree attitude won't help your cause now. You must set clear.
cancer
leo
virgo
Your day may not flow according to plan, especially if you have to deal with an intense person who seems to enjoy pushing your emotional buttons. Perhaps the drama in a personal relationship becomes too.
There could be positive movement today if you spend time navigating the twists and turns of a rocky relationship. Although everything may not turn out as you expected, there is a definite upside to the.
Contradictory currents wash back and forth across your life, making it nearly impossible to get the clarity you want before moving on today. One minute you're mourning a loss and the next moment you're.
libra
scorpio
sagittarius
There are so many intriguing possibilities on the horizon that you can't help but start the day feeling excited. However, the truth begins to settle in as the day unfolds, and your personal situation may.
Playing a specific role in your family dynamics could help you to feel safe and secure today, but you may not be able to restrain your passion. Fortunately, something happens that makes you realize the.
Every road appears to lead to nirvana today, but an explosion of great ideas convinces you that each option is better than it actually is. Thankfully, you still can discern the difference between unrestrained.
capricorn
aQuarius
pisces
It seems as if you're being bounced all over the emotional map, but this can be a very auspicious period for you now that the Moon is back in your sign. You prefer to do things your way today, which could..
If you have too much on your plate today, it's because you said yes one too many times. Nevertheless, you aren't discouraged by the sacrifices you need to make, nor will any obstacles scare you off. You.
The good news is that you are strong enough now to overcome any resistance placed in your path. Although you are a natural-born dreamer, you're also wise in pragmatic ways when it matters most. Employ.
crossword
ACROSS 5 (statistic) relating to the study of human populations (11) 7 diamonds, for example (4) 8 brussels official — our trace (anag) (8) 9 taste (7) 11 pair — wood-boring tool (5) 13 gain a point (20 of them?) (5) 14 lie (7) 16 city, along with sodom, destroyed by god for its depravity (8) 17 leave one's car (in a green space?) (4) 18 conjecturing — highrisk (11)
word search
DOWN 1 filth (4) 2 produced by the action of
hagar the horrible
garField
chess actors adjacent altar basin boat brawny cattle chap complicati on concrete deliver earn embroil favor haunt intertwine khaki manage
intense heat (7) 3 unite (5) 4 i don't give a hoot! (3,5) 5 betray — XX? (6-5)
meadow modify output radio rink road savior scary skein sponges steed tong train trash triple vain voice zesty
white tO PLAY AND MAte iN twO MOVes 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
A
B
C
D
E
F
G
H
Today’s soluTions
bridge castiNg stoNes
6 deli (11) 10 not allowed (8) 12 iraqi capital (7) 15 freshwater game fish (5) 17 anguish (4)
sUdokU crossword solution sudoku solution
1.Nh5 Qd7 [1...Qxh4 2.g7# is mate] 2.Qg3 * chess solution
how to play fill in all the squares in the grid so that each row, column and each of the squares contains all the digits. the object is to insert the numbers in the boxes to satisfy only one condition: each row, column and 3x3 box must contain the digits 1 through 9 exactly once.
SPORTS 15
Monday, 30 January, 2017
IndIa beat england by 5 runs, level serIes 1-1
serena holds golf Championship 2017 Islamabad Press release
scoreboard
NaGPUR
I
agencIes
NDIA beat England in a lastball thriller to win the second T20I by five runs to draw level at 1-1 in the three-match series in Nagpur on Sunday. Chasing 145, England managed 139/6 as Jasprit Bumrah (2/21) held his nerves to defend seven runs in the final over apart from taking two wickets. The foundation of an epic finish was laid by the veteran pacer Ashish Nehra who kept a cool head to bowl a superb 17th over in which he allowed just five runs and also removed the danger man Ben Stokes for 38. Earlier, KL Rahul marked his return to form with a well-crafted 71 but England kept India to 144/8 in the sec-
ond T20I in Nagpur on Sunday. Chris Jordan starred for the visitors with figures of 3/22 as their bowlers delivered yet another strong performance. Aiming to keep the three-match series alive, India managed to recover from early blows thanks largely to Rahul’s maiden T20I fifty and his fourth-wicket association with Manish Pandey who contributed 30 runs. Eoin Morgan won an important toss and expectedly put India into bat at the Vidarbha Cricket Association Stadium in Jamtha and Jordan was in the thick of action early on by delivering the big scalp of opposition captain Virat Kohli. After a miscued four to third man and a close lbw shout turned down, Kohli stepped up with a stunning six over long-off followed by a four through square off Tymal Mills.
He had raced to 21 off 14 when Jordan outwitted him with a slower delivery to have him out caught at long-on. India scored 46 runs in the powerplay overs at the cost of one wicket. England included an extra spinner in Liam Dawson considering the long Jamtha boundaries but it was the pair of Adil Rashid and Moeen Ali who made early inroads with the wickets of Suresh Raina (7) and Yuvraj Singh (4) respectively leaving India at 69/3 in 10.3 overs. That brought Rahul and Pandey together and they wriggled India out of the testing phase with a 56-run stand. Rahul left behind a series of poor scores in limited-overs cricket to steer the innings cleverly. Having understood that boundaries won’t come easy, he resorted to dealing in singles and doubles to keep the scorecard ticking.
IndIa InnIngs V KohlI* c dawson b Jordan 21 Kl rahul c stoKes b Jordan 71 7 sK raIna c Jordan b rashId 4 YuVraJ sIngh lbw b alI MK PandeY b MIlls 30 Ms dhonI† b Jordan 5 2 hh PandYa run out (Jordan) a MIshra run out (alI/Jordan) 0 0 JJ buMrah not out extras (lb 1, w 3) 4 total (8 wIcKets; 20 oVers) 144 dId not bat a nehra, Ys chahal Fall oF wIcKets 1-30 (KohlI, 4.1 oV), 2-56 (raIna, 7.4 oV), 3-69 (YuVraJ sIngh, 10.3 oV), 4-125 (rahul, 17.2 oV), 5-139 (PandeY, 18.5 oV), 6-143 (PandYa, 19.3 oV), 7144 (MIshra, 19.5 oV), 8-144 (dhonI, 19.6 oV) bowlIng: la dawson 2 0 20 0, ts MIlls 4 0 36 1, cJ Jordan 4 0 22 3, ba stoKes 3 0 21 0, MM alI 4 0 20 1, au rashId 3 0 24 1 england InnIngs 10 JJ roY c raIna b nehra sw bIllIngs c buMrah b nehra 12 Je root lbw b buMrah 38 17 eJg Morgan* c PandYa b MIshra ba stoKes lbw b nehra 38 15 Jc buttler† b buMrah MM alI not out 1 0 cJ Jordan not out extras (b 1, lb 2, w 4, nb 1) 8 total (6 wIcKets; 20 oVers) 139 dId not batla dawson, ts MIlls, au rashId Fall oF wIcKets 1-22 (bIllIngs, 3.1 oV), 2-22 (roY, 3.2 oV), 3-65 (Morgan, 10.1 oV), 4-117 (stoKes, 16.5 oV), 5137 (root, 19.1 oV), 6-138 (buttler, 19.4 oV) bowlIng: Ys chahal 4 0 33 0, a nehra 4 0 28 3, JJ buMrah 4 0 20 2, a MIshra 4 0 25 1, sK raIna 4 0 30 0 Match detaIls: toss - england, who chose to FIeld serIes - 3-Match serIes leVel 1-1 PlaYer oF the Match - JJ buMrah (IndIa)
Kiwis eye under-strength Australia
aUcklaNd agencIes
After nearly six years without a standalone Chappell-Hadlee series, Australia and New Zealand are about to embark on their third in 12 months. Last February, New Zealand won at home. In December, Australia swept their own home series 3-0. And now, they are in New Zealand to defend the trophy two months later. It is all a bit of a whirlwind, for Australia in particular. On Thursday, they were in Adelaide wrapping up a one-day series win against Pakistan. On Monday they will play New Zealand in Auckland. And straight after this series, several of their squad members head off for a Test tour of India.
Amid such a hectic schedule, it is perhaps not surprising that the selectors chose to rest the vice-captain David Warner, who they hope will be a key player in India and who has not missed an international in any format since the middle of last year. But an ankle injury suffered by captain Steven Smith in the Adelaide ODI last week threw a spanner into Australia’s plans, of a standin skipper for these three games in New Zealand. Wicketkeeper Matthew Wade was given the honour, and will lead a squad that is at least full strength in the bowling department if not in the batting order. New Zealand will see this series as a prime opportunity to regain the trophy, given the absence of Australia’s two best
batsmen. Warner in particular has been in breathtaking ODI form of late, his six hundreds in the format this summer - including two against New Zealand - propelling him to the . Kane Williamson’s men were disappointing in the series in Australia in December - the margins of indicate just how disappointing - but on their home turf they will be a much greater threat. Luke Ronchi’s adductor injury meant a wicketkeeping question mark for New Zealand. The uncapped is in the squad, but New Zealand have instead opted to hand the gloves in the first game to . To prepare for the role, Latham kept wicket during a on Saturday and completed two stumpings. Latham has previously kept wicket for New Zealand in three ODIs and four T20s, though he has not done so since 2013. Australia are coming off in their previous ODI, the 284-run stand between Warner and Travis Head against Pakistan. But a different opening pair will take the field in Auckland. Head might get the job again, but it is also possible that Australia will turn to and , whose 246-run partnership against Scotland in 2013 made them the previous record-holders. Finch is keen to make himself a first-choice ODI player again after a lean patch led to his axing, while Marsh will be happy to be back in the national setup in any format for the first time in nearly three months, after recovering from a finger injury.
slovakian skier Jan Jukubco steals the show on 2nd day of Malam Jabba Int’l alpine ski Cup MALAM JABBA: Jan Jakubco of Slovakia took over the lead on the second day of the Malam Jabba International Alpine Ski Cup being held at the scenic resort of Malam Jabba, Swat. Slovakian and Ukrainian skiers outclassed their rivals in both men and women categories in the historical international event. Jan Jakubco of Slovakia got first position in second race of Men’s Giant Slalom category, while Ivan Kovasnkyuk and Vasyle Telychuk of Ukraine remained second and third respectively. In the second race of Women Giant Slalom category, Ukraine proved invincible again as two Ukraine skiers Tetyana Tikun and Anastasia Gorbunova got the first and second positions. Pakistani international skier Ifrah Wali had a wonderful race and remained third in the category. Slalom races also resumed today. In first race of Men Slalom Category, Jan Jakubco of Slovakia again showed his skills and also secured first position in this category, while Ivan Kovasnkyuk and Vasyle Telychuk of Ukraine got second and third positions respectively. In Women Slalom category, Pakistani female skiers dominated their rivals as Ifrah Wali got first position and Fatima Sohail and Zainab Sohail achieved second and third positions respectively. In the historic event, 50 male and 10 female skiers from Pakistan and eight different countries, including Morocco, Slovakia, Sri Lanka, Greece, Afghanistan, Turkey, Ukraine and Tajikistan are participating. It is hoped that this event would lend a new lease of life to the tourism industry of Pakistan and open the door for revival of international sports in the country. Press release
Wenger hails Welbeck as Arsenal thrash Saints in FA Cup LONDON: Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger praised the mental strength and resilience of Danny Welbeck after the England forward scored twice on his first start since suffering a serious knee injury in May during a 5-0 FA Cup thrashing of Southampton. Welbeck followed his first-half double at St Mary’s on Saturday with an assist for former Saints star Theo Walcott, who completed his hat-trick in the second half of a comfortable fourth-round win for the Gunners over their Premier League rivals. Wenger was pleasantly surprised by the display of former Manchester United striker Welbeck, making his first start since a 2-2 draw away to Manchester City in May. “I didn’t expect him to be at that level,” said veteran French manager Wenger. “I knew that he had worked very hard but you never know how much efficiency there could be to transfer that into a competitive game. “So it was great to see that he hasn’t lost his runs or his finishing and shows as well that when you are able to channel that frustration at not playing into efficiency, that’s a special guy.” Wenger added: “You have always two fears, the first is that it takes him too long to get his decision-making (back) and secondly that the player is scared to go into any contact. So when he made the runs and was fighting with the defender, that was a very important moment for me.” The injury had been Welbeck’s second affecting the same knee since joining Arsenal in 2014 and Wenger was relieved the player had not shown any psychological ill-effects. “He worked very hard,” Wenger said of the 26-year-old Welbeck. “He went through some moments of very deep disappointment when he had the setback and we had to go in again in the knee, when you are a professional football player that is very difficult. But after the first disappointment he worked even harder. agencIes
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Serena Hotels in collaboration with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs hosted the Invitational Golf Championship at the Islamabad Club Golf Course on Saturday. The tournament was held under the Serena Hotels Sports Diplomacy Initiative and played on the shot gun format. The chief guest on the occasion was Adviser to Prime Minister on Foreign Affairs, Sartaj Aziz. Ambassadors, dignitaries and businessmen participated in the tournament as the event also bade farewell to Foreign Secretary, Aizaz Chaudhry, as he begins his appointment as ambassador to the US. Sartaj Aziz said, “Sports diplomacy is part of cultural diplomacy which allows people and communities to work together for a greater cause” and also recalled the “mountaineering expedition sent together to various countries promoting message of peace and public diplomacy.” Serena Hotels CEO, Aziz Boolani, said, “We believe that sports [diplomacy] provide a unique opportunity and platform to diplomats and friends, along with bureaucrats to establish links with other professionals and peers. This is an opportunity to develop friendships and demonstrate our abilities and interests in different sports. The sports diplomacy concept germinated during a foreign office golf tournament and has blossomed into something much greater, as the hospitality of Serena creates a great ambiance to bring people together.” He added, “Chaudhry is a career diplomat, who is currently serving as the foreign secretary. Prior to this, he served as the additional secretary of the UN division with the additional responsibility of being a spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He earlier held diplomatic positions in Cairo, Doha, Tehran, Washington and New York.” The winners of the tournament in different categories were as follows: Adnan Haider (corporate category), JP Singh (diplomat category), Asim Iftikhar (government/armed forces category), and Ami Qin (ladies category). Special prizes were given to Kaleem Saadat, Faisal Niaz, and James Palmer.
SPORTS Monday, 30 January, 2017
Federer beats Nadal to cliNch australiaN opeN
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oger Federer won his 18th grand Slam title and first for five years with a thrilling five-set victory over rafael Nadal in the Australian open final. The 35-year-old Swiss won 6-4 3-6 6-1 3-6 6-3 to claim his fifth Melbourne title and extend his lead at the top of the all-time men’s major winners’ list. Nadal, 30, remains tied in second with Pete Sampras on 14 grand Slams following his first final since 2014. Federer’s previous major title came at Wimbledon in 2012. Federer’s achievement in ending his drought is all the more remarkable given this was his first tournament
since Wimbledon last July, after which he took the second half of the season off to recover from a knee injury. He becomes the first man in history to win five or more titles at three different grand Slam events - five Australian opens, five US opens and seven Wimbledons. Nadal was also on the way back from injuries that curtailed his 2016 season, but the Spaniard could not improve his winning record against Federer - the Swiss has now won 12 of their 35 matches and three of nine major finals. The return of one of the great tennis rivalries to the grand Slam final stage led to huge anticipation, and it
lived up to the billing over three hours and 37 minutes. A match of wild momentum swings ended with a purple patch from Federer that saw him win the last five games, and clinch the title thanks to confirmation from a Hawkeye challenge. Federer leapt in the air in celebration and, after consoling close friend Nadal, broke down in tears as his wife Mirka and his team celebrated in the stands. The injury lay-offs meant Federer was seeded 17th in Melbourne and Nadal ninth, but the Swiss will now return to the world’s top 10 and Nadal will move up to sixth. Federer finishes with a flourish
There were moments of genius from both players - a stunning forehand angled winner from Nadal as he dominated the fourth set, a breathtaking 26-stroke rally in the fifth that ended with a crushing Federer forehand - but in the end the attacking instincts of Federer held sway. A magical half-volley forehand helped Federer get the break in the next game and he rolled through the set for the loss of just one game. Closing out a grand Slam final was never going to be easy after five years, and Federer had to recover from 15-40 before firing a forehand onto the line and waiting for Hawk-eye to confirm it was a historic winner. Agencies
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