When corruption kills

Public-sector corruption is a big problem in many developing countries, but in Pakistan it has completely diffused through into the very bones of the country’s economic, social and political systems. For such deep-rooted corruption, Prof Michael Johnston of Colgate University uses the term ‘systemic corruption’.Systemic corruption creates an inexorable feedback loop in which malfeasance at the higher levels of governance intensifies incidence of ordinary bribery, fraud and extortionary practices at the lower levels. It creates an environment in which people want to emulate the ‘role-models’ among the ruling elites and promotes corruption as an acceptable form of coexistence – the right course to follow along the race to climb up the rungs of social hierarchy.In societies with systemic corruption, the rulers prioritize development projects that can pay more in terms of kickbacks rather than in terms of their socioeconomic benefits. If they ever fail to embezzle public money, they invest it in low-impact, fancy schemes to favour politicalsupporters.Public-sector corruption weakens institutions and results in low-quality services and substandard infrastructure. It upends lives and shatters dreams. It has a multi-generational calamitous effect. When corruption results in loss of life, its negative consequences can well be compared to those of terrorism.We will focus on institutional decay because of corruption some other time. Let us, for now, consider substandard infrastructure that ruined lives. If we scour newspapers from past years, we get the hang of the true extent of government investments either in substandard infrastructure or in low-impact, high-opportunity cost projects.On September 1, 2007, a portion of a newly constructed Northern Bypass flyover at Sher Shah, Karachi, collapsed killing at least five people and injuring many others. Among the killed were three sole breadwinners of their families and a young student. The bridge was built at a cost of about Rs3.5 billion and was inaugurated with great fanfare just a month earlier by no less than the president of Pakistan.The project was executed by the National Highways Authority (NHA) through the National Logistics Cell (NLC), which had subcontracted it to a private firm. An inquiry committee, later, determined that “neglect” and “design fault” were the root causes of the collapse.On July 2, 2015, a special train carrying soldiers and their families from Pano Akil Cantonment to Kharian Cantonment derailed at a bridge on a canal near Gujranwala. The bridge could not sustain the force of hundreds of tons of the hurtling mass of metal and collapsed, tossing the train into the canal and leaving 19 of its passengers dead and scores injured. The investigation report clearly attributed the cause of the accident to an ill-maintained railway track whose joints had come loose, and to a creaky pre-partition bridge.Both incidents resulted in the destruction of life and tragic consequences for the families affected. A few days after the passenger train plunged into the canal, social media carried a picture taken just before the ill-fated train’s departure from Pano Akil.The photograph was of one of the officers, Lt-Col Amir Jadoon and his family - all of whom died in the accident. The picture depicted a happy family with smiles and hopes of a more rewarding future. But that was never to be because of the action or inaction on part of some corrupt and indifferent people somewhere in some department or bureau.To put in spotlight governance at higher levels, one can keep recounting instances that show that tax money that should have been used to make available some very essential social services for the public got diverted to provide a luxurious lifestyle for government functionaries. Funds become easily available for additional luxury vehicles, for maintaining posh mansions and for unnecessary foreign trips in the company of large bands of hangers-on.When an overturned oil tanker caught fire at Ahmedpur East near Lodhran in June 2017, more than 100 people died within a few minutes, but dozens more later succumbed to their injuries as there was no standard burns unit in the area hospitals within a couple of hours drive. Similarly, after the terrorist attack at a mosque in Shikarpur in 2015, scores of people died on the spot, but the death count substantially increased as there was no well-equipped trauma centre outside the cities of Hyderabad and Karachi.Professor Johnston believes that just “relying on ‘political will’ to fight corruption is ‘magical thinking’.” Then what course of action remains? I think most people will endorse that dealing with corruption requires a multilevel, multi-institutional and multi-dimensional approach - an action plan involving some concerted, concrete and consistent measures.A good example to follow is that of China, which has been quite ruthless in dealing with its corrupt government functionaries.We do not tire of lavishing praise on that country for its spectacular economic progress and development. It’s time we also followed China in practice and adopted some of the measures it has taken to tame the monster of corruption and build its institutions.The writer is a civil servant in Sindh. He has a PhD in public policy and also teaches at IBA, Karachi.Email: ibhatti@gwu.eduTwitter: @ibhatti

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The colour of identity

The sight of small children, both girls and boys, placing hands and arms close together to compare skin colour is not an unusual one. While the practice is possibly more common among girls, today boys and young men too are increasingly conscious of their skin colour.‘Fairness products’, in the form or creams, lotions, soaps and other cosmetic items sell everywhere and even in the larger stores in all cities it is sometimes difficult to find an item which does not contain skin-whitening ingredients.In this context, the decision by the Ministry of Climate Change under Minister Zartaj Gul to ban all products containing more than one percent of mercury, given the harm it can cause humans, is a positive step. Fifty-six of the 59 products examined after being collected from shop shelves contained more than the desired amount of a harmful toxin. The step, however, is not enough.The issue is not really the question of banning fairness products but of changing the deeply entrenched notion that fairness is somehow associated with beauty, in this age for both women and men. Products designed especially for men are now also on sale in stores. There is debate over why this emphasis on lighter skin is so widespread. Some associate it with colonialism and the supremacy of white rulers. Other anthropologists suggest that especially in the Subcontinent it dates back further to this and to conquest by Central Asians which drove the original population of the Subcontinent towards the south while still others link it to commercial advertising and the magazine images of posters which depict glamorous white women.It is worth noting that the same concept exists in many African countries, and of course the rest of the Subcontinent. The Ivory Coast and Rwanda have placed a complete ban on whitening products on the basis of threats to health while South Africa and other countries have tough laws on their sale and their contents. In India, there has been a campaign to promote darker skin as being equally or more beautiful with actor Nandita Das playing a primary role amongst many others in the effort.It is a long struggle. But in our country too we will need to move beyond bans which will be difficult to implement at any rate given past examples, and instead promote the idea that darker skin is not a hindrance to beauty. The current manner in which we condition young women and even very small girls, with beauty salons offering whitening treatments to children as young as six or seven can only damage their self-esteem and confidence.Surely, we are able to understand that character and action matters far more than the cosmetic and that there is a growing number of models and actors around the world who are dark-skinned and beautiful. The current emphasis is simply harmful and extremely insensitive. A person cannot after all change his or her skin colour or eye colour at will and should never be pressurized to do so for any reason.There is a further aspect to all this. Pakistanis, like Iranians and others in the same region, suffer extremely widespread shortages of the vital Vitamin D. The vitamin, created effectively only when the sun falls on the skin, is essential to good health and as more studies are carried out is being linked to heart health, protection from a range of other diseases and general well-being. The fact that culturally we prevent our children, especially girls, from going out into the sunlight even in cooler months is undoubtedly a factor in the low Vitamin D levels amongst millions. Pakistani women and girls are especially deficient. The fear that the sun could darken the skin means we ignore the more vital question of health and a lifestyle that involves physical activity at a young age.Schoolteachers tell many sad stories of naturally darker skinned children being bullied or shunned simply because of the way they look. We have all heard jokes that centre around skin colour and racism directed against African visitors to our country is extremely common. Perhaps without even realizing it, these Africans are addressed in jokingly derogatory terms or their countries sneered at as mere jungles. We don’t not seem willing to accept that many African countries are now well ahead of us in terms of literacy, healthcare and development. Even if the racist slurs are intended in good spirit and merely as a joke, they do drive home a certain stereotype and reinforce the idea that being dark skinned is somehow the equivalent to be ugly or uncivilized.It will take time to change beliefs which have existed for so long and been passed on from one generation to the next. Efforts can however be made to teach consumers about the terrible damage bleaching products can inflict on skin and suggest through the media and other forums that naturally darker skin is just as beautiful as that which comes in other shades. The primary purpose of skin is to protect the body, allow in the right amount of melatonin based on the amount of sunshine in the place that we live and keep out harmful materials. The colour of one’s skin is designed to do this to perfection. Attempting to change it simply causes harm.There is also another complication in our country and the Subcontinent. Darker skin is for a variety of historical reasons linked to lower castes and lower income. This may be adding to the obsession we see. We should however be aware of how damaging this is both to society and upward mobility within it and to individuals themselves.The Ministry of Climate Change has offered us an opening. It needs to be used to drive home other messages. The problem is not just in the sale of inferior quality bleaching products which many buy, but also in the prejudice which surrounds as trivial a matter as skin colour. We need to overcome such pettiness. Statistics from developed countries show that skin tone which is at least slightly tanned is preferred to all others. Again this stems from the manner in which tanned skin in presented and associated to strength and active lifestyle. The entire concept of skin colour is then a notion created by humans and society.In a world made up of people with a huge variety of skin tones we need to get over with such hang-ups, recognize that variety adds to beauty and encourage our children to think in the same way. Picking on a person simply because they are darker skin is a terrible form of racism. The widespread advertising of fairness products has added to the idea that only white skin is acceptable and having it can lead to instant success, whether in obtaining a job, finding a partner in marriage or claiming a prize at school.These are truly absurd ideas and perhaps the next governmental step should be to limit or govern advertising which sell bleaching agents or products and develop in our people greater confidence, in their own identity, ethnicity and in the significance of their thoughts and ideas rather than the colour of their skin.The writer is a freelance columnist and former newspaper editor.Email: kamilahyat@hotmail.com

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What happens after a ‘no deal’ Brexit?

Bluff was a central feature of British power even when the British empire covered a large part of the globe. A story illustrating this tells of a royal navy captain who was sent with a small ship to the Far East to force a defiant local ruler to obey some orders issued by the British authorities.“What do I do if he refuses to do what I tell him?” the captain asked his superiors before departing. “We don’t have any more ships available, so you’ll just have to turn around and come home again,” was the less than comforting reply.The captain sailed on his mission and transmitted the British demands to the recalcitrant ruler. “What will happen if I refuse to obey?” he asked. “In that case,” replied the captain menacingly, “I will have no alternative but to carry out the second half of my instructions.”On that occasion, the British got their way, but it is only great powers that can afford to bluff like this and get away with it. Their bluff is not called because nobody wants to find out the hard way if they mean it. A mistake of Theresa May was to make the vague threat of a no-deal Brexit so central to her strategy and expect this to be taken seriously by Brussels. Most there thought she was bluffing because they believed that Britain would not do anything so economically self-destructive and politically divisive. Boris Johnson is now refurbish the no-deal threat to give it credibility, but this does not change the balance of forces which are, as always, skewed against Britain and in favour of the EU, something the Eurosceptics never seem to understand.Analysis of a no-deal Brexit frequently lacks realism because the focus is on economics rather than politics. This contradicts the experience of the last three years when the prospect of Britain’s departure from the EU has generated great political destruction, but only limited economic damage for the obvious reason that Britain has yet to leave the EU. A British no-deal departure from the EU would, on the contrary, be opposed by so much of the population that it would produce a political earthquake, widening still further the fault lines within British society that are already gaping wide.The hard-right cabinet appointed by Johnson implicitly recognises that the divisions within the Conservative are so rancorous as to be a recipe for paralysis if all factions are represented in government. But temporary cohesion achieved by giving almost all ministries to a single faction of the Conservative Party, which itself is a minority in parliament, may well prove more explosive. The fact that the most important decision taken in Britain for eighty years is being taken by such an unrepresentative group delegitimises it from the beginning.A no-deal Brexit would only be the opening shots of an economic cold war waged against the rest of Europe in a conflict that might go on for years. This is unsurprising because a new feature of conflicts between nation states globally is that economic hostilities are replacing military hostilities, though the degree of confrontation varies vastly from country to country. The conflict between the US and Iran in which President Trump is trying to batter the Iranians into submission by an ever-tightening economic siege is the closest to a shooting war.US and EU sanctions on Syria are similarly an attempt at economic strangulation. Their purpose according to US special envoy James Jeffery is to “make life as miserable as possible for that flopping cadaver of a regime and let the Russians and Iranians, who made this mess, get out of it”. In practice, it is ordinary Syrians who are expiring because of collapsing living standards and lack of medical attention while the Syrian leadership suffers scarcely at all.Sanctions and tariffs are central to Trump’s effort to make America great again and it is not an unintelligent strategy. It puts intense pressure on China as America’s great rival, but also on Canada and Mexico. America’s vaunted military superiority failed to win wars in Iraq and Afghanistan leading Trump to avoid similar debacles. In two and a half years he has not started a single military conflict, but he has started a series of trade wars. He understands that the US Treasury has a more impressive record in waging economic warfare than the Pentagon does in fighting hot wars. Sanctions and tariffs, unlike shooting wars, can be switched on and off and are less politically tricky because there are no dead American bodies coming home.This approach matters to the UK because outside the EU it will inevitably be even more dependent on the US. A sign of this was the highly provocative and dubiously legal seizure by royal marine commandos of the Iranian oil tanker Grace 1 off Gibraltar on 4 July. This predictably led to the Iranian tit-for-tat capture of the British-flagged Stena Impero in the Strait of Hormuz on 19 July. In one of his last statements as foreign secretary, Jeremy Hunt said that Britain was not joining the US policy of “maximum pressure” on Iran, though it seemed to have just done that, and was looking to European states, notably France and Germany, to set up a shipping protection force in the Gulf.Many are pointing out the irony of the UK looking for EU states to provide naval escorts in the Gulf at the very moment that Johnson is asserting his intention to take Britain “do-or-die” out of the EU on 31 October. A UK decision to openly join – as it already seems to have done covertly – the US-led alliance against Iran would be an early pointer to the emergence of an Anglo-Saxon Trump/Johnson coalition in the Middle East.Even more important would be the unavoidable reliance of Britain on the US in the event of a no-deal Brexit or a British departure from the EU so ragged and contentious that it would start a long-lasting economic cold war between the two. In such a confrontation, Johnson would look to Trump and Washington not just for a trade deal but for all-embracing political support against the EU.Brexit in Britain has long ceased to be solely about leaving the EU and has become a vehicle for hard-right wing policies seeking to remodel Britain along lines closer to Trump’s America than the EU. In the event of rivalry with the EU, the UK would look to deregulation and lower taxes for business to attract companies away from the EU states.Turning Britain into a “Singapore on Thames” sounded zany and impractical when first raised as an option after the referendum, but it is more feasible today – and attractive to much of the present cabinet – in the context of a permanent hostile relationship between Britain and the EU.From Trump’s point of view, standing with Britain in such an economic cold war would be a way of weaponising the post-Brexit situation to destroy or damage the EU, the world’s largest trading bloc, to which he has always been opposed.This article was originally published as: ‘A “No Deal” Brexit Would Spark an Economic Cold War with the EU’.Courtesy: Counterpunch.org

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When corruption kills

Public-sector corruption is a big problem in many developing countries, but in Pakistan it has completely diffused through into the very bones of the country’s economic, social and political systems. For such deep-rooted corruption, Prof Michael Johnston of Colgate University uses the term ‘systemic corruption’.Systemic corruption creates an inexorable feedback loop in which malfeasance at the higher levels of governance intensifies incidence of ordinary bribery, fraud and extortionary practices at the lower levels. It creates an environment in which people want to emulate the ‘role-models’ among the ruling elites and promotes corruption as an acceptable form of coexistence – the right course to follow along the race to climb up the rungs of social hierarchy.In societies with systemic corruption, the rulers prioritize development projects that can pay more in terms of kickbacks rather than in terms of their socioeconomic benefits. If they ever fail to embezzle public money, they invest it in low-impact, fancy schemes to favour political supporters.Public-sector corruption weakens institutions and results in low-quality services and substandard infrastructure. It upends lives and shatters dreams. It has a multi-generational calamitous effect. When corruption results in loss of life, its negative consequences can well be compared to those of terrorism.We will focus on institutional decay because of corruption some other time. Let us, for now, consider substandard infrastructure that ruined lives. If we scour newspapers from past years, we get the hang of the true extent of government investments either in substandard infrastructure or in low-impact, high-opportunity cost projects.On September 1, 2007, a portion of a newly constructed Northern Bypass flyover at Sher Shah, Karachi, collapsed killing at least five people and injuring many others. Among the killed were three sole breadwinners of their families and a young student. The bridge was built at a cost of about Rs3.5 billion and was inaugurated with great fanfare just a month earlier by no less than the president of Pakistan.The project was executed by the National Highways Authority (NHA) through the National Logistics Cell (NLC), which had subcontracted it to a private firm. An inquiry committee, later, determined that “neglect” and “design fault” were the root causes of the collapse.On July 2, 2015, a special train carrying soldiers and their families from Pano Akil Cantonment to Kharian Cantonment derailed at a bridge on a canal near Gujranwala. The bridge could not sustain the force of hundreds of tons of the hurtling mass of metal and collapsed, tossing the train into the canal and leaving 19 of its passengers dead and scores injured. The investigation report clearly attributed the cause of the accident to an ill-maintained railway track whose joints had come loose, and to a creaky pre-partition bridge.Both incidents resulted in the destruction of life and tragic consequences for the families affected. A few days after the passenger train plunged into the canal, social media carried a picture taken just before the ill-fated train’s departure from Pano Akil.The photograph was of one of the officers, Lt-Col Amir Jadoon and his family - all of whom died in the accident. The picture depicted a happy family with smiles and hopes of a more rewarding future. But that was never to be because of the action or inaction on part of some corrupt and indifferent people somewhere in some department or bureau.To put in spotlight governance at higher levels, one can keep recounting instances that show that tax money that should have been used to make available some very essential social services for the public got diverted to provide a luxurious lifestyle for government functionaries. Funds become easily available for additional luxury vehicles, for maintaining posh mansions and for unnecessary foreign trips in the company of large bands of hangers-on.When an overturned oil tanker caught fire at Ahmedpur East near Lodhran in June 2017, more than 100 people died within a few minutes, but dozens more later succumbed to their injuries as there was no standard burns unit in the area hospitals within a couple of hours drive. Similarly, after the terrorist attack at a mosque in Shikarpur in 2015, scores of people died on the spot, but the death count substantially increased as there was no well-equipped trauma centre outside the cities of Hyderabad and Karachi.Professor Johnston believes that just “relying on ‘political will’ to fight corruption is ‘magical thinking’.” Then what course of action remains? I think most people will endorse that dealing with corruption requires a multilevel, multi-institutional and multi-dimensional approach - an action plan involving some concerted, concrete and consistent measures.A good example to follow is that of China, which has been quite ruthless in dealing with its corrupt government functionaries. We do not tire of lavishing praise on that country for its spectacular economic progress and development. It’s time we also followed China in practice and adopted some of the measures it has taken to tame the monster of corruption and build its institutions.The writer is a civil servant in Sindh. He has a PhD in public policy and also teaches at IBA, Karachi.Email: ibhatti@gwu.eduTwitter: @ibhatti

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After the exit

Yet another historic turn is about to take place in Afghanistan. The Afghan Taliban are set to declare their victory in 18 years of war as the US is about to sign an accord with them to withdraw coalition forces from Afghanistan in exchange for a commitment not to let Afghan territory be used again for international terrorism. What lies ahead – after the US exit from Afghanistan?In politico-military terms, the Afghan Taliban have played their cards well. They have not only kept their military offensive, but have also negotiated on their own terms. Like in South Vietnam, the Americans seem to have almost left their allies in Kabul in a quandary. Bypassing the Ashraf Ghani regime, as the Taliban had insisted, the US is about to directly sign a deal with the Taliban in the current round of talks in Doha. Only after that will the Taliban be willing to talk to elements of the Kabul regime, besides other stakeholders for reconciliation and the future setup of Afghanistan.Thanks to a broader understanding reached among the US, China, Russia and – most importantly – Pakistan, the Taliban had to agree for a political settlement after President Trump got impatient with the failure of his military commanders to deliver, and decided to bring an abrupt end to an “unending war”. It must be noted that Trump had impetuously wanted to withdraw US troops from Afghanistan before his bid for re-election. After exhausting all pressure tactics to browbeat Pakistan to ‘do more, he had to reach out to the country while bypassing his own administration. The time was ripe for a deal with Pakistan.Now the real post-war challenges steer everyone in the face. The Taliban’s military victory has ironically put them in a very precarious situation after the expected abrupt exit of the US and its allies from Afghanistan. Our strategists were least clear whether it was good to keep the US in Afghanistan to take the burden of destruction it had caused or force its exit without paying for war reparations. According to a recent study by the Watson Institute of International and Public Affairs, the US has spent $5.9 trillion on its wars in Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria and Pakistan since 2001. The war in Afghanistan alone has cost the US $975 billion, besides $1 trillion on veterans’ medical and disability payments. The annual US war cost in Afghanistan was $45 billion.The cost of war for Afghanistan and its people was much higher: the daily economic cost was $60 million and 250 human casualties. It would take another 21 years, according to a study, to achieve the level of GDP that would have been attained if the country were not involved in the war. The total annual economic cost of war for Afghanistan, according to Professor Paul Collier and Professor Anke Hoeffler at Oxford University, was $21,856 annually or 105 percent of its GDP of $20,815. Therefore, Afghanistan would need $459 billion for its revival in the next two decades.But who will pay the reparation of war and for reconstruction, if not the US and its Nato allies? The international community had taken responsibility for the transition of Afghanistan on the path of progress and democracy in 2001 at St Petersburg and recommitted to its transformation decade at Bonn in 2011.As the war ends, it will be the responsibility of the international community, the US and its Nato allies in particular, to chart out a reconstruction and development master-plan for Afghanistan and pay for it for two decades. My fear is that if Afghanistan were abandoned again, as it happened after the Soviet exit, the consequences would be more horrendous for Afghanistan, its neighbouring states and the world at large. Only such an understanding and promise of reconstruction can keep the Taliban and other stakeholders on the path of reconciliation, participatory representative system and development.The immediate challenge for the interlocutor is how to realize a viable and inclusive reconciliation among the extremely disparate and hostile elements in Afghanistan. The greatest danger is that whatever nation-building that has taken place under Western tutelage may not be again ruined as happened after the Geneva Accord of 1988 and the exit of the Soviet forces.Even though, like the Najib regime, the Ghani government might become an imminent casualty, the established state structures must be kept in place with the inclusion of the Taliban and without excluding any stakeholder across all divides. Without a broad-based reconciliation and inclusive process of peaceful national unification, there can neither be peace nor development in Afghanistan. Both the exit of the US and allied forces and an undertaking for the reconstruction of Afghanistan should be pegged on an agreement on the future democratic and inclusive setup while ensuring equal rights to women and ethno-religious minorities.The Afghanistan of today is much different from what the Taliban had left behind. It now has a very vibrant middle class, educated youth, professionals and various state structures. It can’t be run by an ameer the way the Taliban run their exclusive organization. They have to understand the dynamics of a modern state and reconcile to its imperatives. Otherwise, no nation-building can take place.The next few months are very crucial and all the stakeholders must work together for a smooth transition and consolidation of peace and tranquillity in Afghanistan. These are crucial issues that Pakistan must keep in mind. When Prime Minister Khan invites the Taliban to Islamabad, he must take the Kabul government into confidence to set the ball rolling. Like the US, we also need an accord with the Afghan Taliban that they will not let anybody use Afghan territory against Pakistan.The US and its allies must fulfil their responsibilities towards reconciliation, a pluralist, inclusive and democratic social contract and reconstruction of Afghanistan. Otherwise, Pakistan might have to reap the devastating collateral damage.The writer is a senior journalist.Email: imtiaz.safma@gmail.comTwitter: @ImtiazAlamSAFMA

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Living without hope

A tragedy is bad, and a preventable tragedy is worse. And the unwillingness to take preventions against an avoidable tragedy is the worst. Nothing demoralizes citizens more than this display of unwillingness by the people who are supposed to be in charge.Naheed, a single mother and a doctor in Lahore, went through this recently. She was returning home after a long day at work. After mazing through the busy traffic, she reached her gated society. Guards were at the gate. Traffic was flowing. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary.As she reached home, she rang the doorbell. The main gate, while she got back in the car, was opened by a family member. After she parked the car and while the gate was being shut, a man carrying a gun entered.The armed man quietly, and successfully, carried out his mission to loot everything he could in the next 30 minutes. The women in the house remained quiet in deep fear while he pocketed gold and money. He threatened the family to stay quiet or he would shoot them. Finally, he walked away. In just 30 minutes, the family had suffered substantial emotional and financial ordeal.Inform the police or not? This debate erupted as the family tried to settle after the disaster. Someone in their neighbours knew a senior-ranked police officer, so he was called with the neighbour’s help. Within the next hour, a legion was outside their place. The police, of course, was cooperative. They diligently carried on with their investigation. They also recorded all the pertinent details. Promises were made. Hope emerged from the dust of anxiety and fear.The police kept following up for the next couple of days. Many senior police officials called to ensure the family that they were trying everything in their power to find the culprit. They were confident they would be able to find the criminal. Hope remained.In the meantime, neighbours consoled with Naheed. Eventually, the neighbourhood decided to talk to the housing society’s management to enhance security. Naheed and her neighbours had high hopes that they would be treated well by the management.They went to see the man overseeing the housing society’s administration – general secretary by designation. The general secretary called the security head of the society, a retired colonel. The colonel strangely dealt rather arrogantly with family.Finally, to end the meeting, the secretary asked the residents to write and sign an application. The application, he said, would allow him to take actions that the residents deemed necessary. As Naheed walked out of the office, because of bureaucratic arrogance, hopes walked out of her head.On the other side, while Naheed was engaging with the police and the housing society’s management, one of the neighbours suggested she should interact with the local government to get her issues addressed.After being unable to find the local government machinery (officials, town halls and municipal committees) she restored to reaching out to provincial assembly members of her area because she remembered the now-elected official visiting the neighbourhood before the elections. However, her repeated messages and calls went unanswered.Then through the Punjab Assembly’s website, she found some elected representatives members who sat on the standing committees of relevant government departments. She thought they could address her issues at the policy level. These representatives did not respond to multiple messages, which further dejected her.In the meantime, although the police officials were still responsive, their follow-up waned. The management of the society stopped cooperating and declined further meeting requests. No security improvements were made in the housing society. Neighbours thought of arranging security on their own, but the idea was dropped when some considered it expensive.There was lack of cooperation between the police and the society officials, with both blaming each other. Most depressing was the helplessness of the police about not being able to convince the housing society’s officials to improve security. Nothing can be more depressing than hearing the impuissance of people related to matters they are responsible for.In the end, nothing happened. The police stopped following up. Time healed some wounds of the family members. The children in the family lived under constant fear, though. The housing society did not change. The world moved on.Naheed, an educated woman, was living in a gated society in a major city. Imagine the plight of a poor uneducated citizen living in a far-flung area.Email: wyounas@lumsalumni.pkTwitter: @wyounas

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The inequality crisis

Should we care how much wealth our wealthiest are grabbing? The flacks who seek deep-pocket favor have a ready response. Of course not, they tell us.Kvetching about the wealth of the wealthy just distracts us from the more important work we all ought to be doing – like growing our economic pie and getting everybody bigger pieces.The folks at Oxfam, the global charitable network, would beg to disagree, and they’ve just released still another compelling report that says so. This latest analysis revolves around West Africa and particularly Nigeria, the region’s economic powerhouse.By all the standard metrics, Nigeria is doing just fine, booming even. In Africa overall, wealth jumped 13 percent in the decade ending in 2017, the most recent year with good numbers available. Wealth in Nigeria increased 19 percent.These increases, Oxfam notes, should have created “an enormous opportunity to improve the lives of the many.” Instead, the increases have essentially “benefited only a select few.”Nigeria’s richest elites now enjoy world-class status. The five wealthiest Nigerians currently hold a combined fortune worth $29.9 billion, for just about a $6 billion average, a big-league bundle in anybody’s ballpark.Nigeria’s single richest individual, Oxfam calculates, annually earns enough income off his wealth to take two million poor Nigerians out of poverty every year. Think about that for a moment. Nigeria’s richest man could significantly improve the well-being of two million desperately poor souls in 2019 and still end the year every bit as rich as when the year started.Nigeria’s richest man is making no such move in that direction. He seems to feel he needs still more. What in heaven for? He already, Oxfam helpfully points out, “earns about 150,000 times more from his wealth than the poorest 10 percent of Nigerians spend on average on their basic consumption in a year.” Nigeria’s wealthiest individual could spend $1 million a day and still not run out of money for 46 years.In West Africa, the African continent’s most unequal region, the richest one percent hold more net worth than the entire bottom 99 percent. The West African governments these top 1 percenters dominate do less than any other governments in Africa to advance social well-being. They spend the continent’s least on the “most essential elements of a dignified life” – quality schools, health care, and decent jobs.Nigeria, adds Oxfam, “has the worst score on social spending, not only in Africa but in the world.”And where do West African governments choose to steer the resources they do spend? These governments turn out to be quite generous with tax incentives for multinational corporate giants. The amount they dedicate annually to these corporate subsidies, Oxfam researchers point out, “would be enough to build about 100 modern and well-equipped hospitals each year in the region.”Oxfam’s new report, ‘The West Africa inequality crisis’, recommends “scrapping unnecessary tax incentives” and increasing overall tax progressivity by expanding taxes “typically paid by the rich.”This article was originallypublished as: ‘A Lesson from West Africa, a Global Inequality Ground Zero’.Courtesy: Counterpunch.org

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Draining the monsoon

I wish to draw the attention of the concern authorities towards the problem of water logging in Karachi every monsoon season. It is concerning that many streets and roads in Karachi become waterlogged after just a few hours of intermittent rains. This shows a major problem in the drainage system of the city. Karachi gets rains like this only for two or three days a year but even then the city cannot cope with it. The situation was especially bad on the roads below flyovers and many drivers had to abandon their cars after being stranded in pools of water. When new roads are being built, especially in low-lying areas, it is important that a proper drainage system is put in place so that water is quickly drained in case of rain. As the most highly populated city of Pakistan, it is bizarre to see flooded roads after an hour of rain in Karachi.The drainage infrastructure, if it exists at all, is not sufficient to guarantee the drainage of the water which is why streets in low-lying areas get inundated with sewage water that overflows from faulty drainage canals. Roads are blocked leading to traffic jams, pedestrians have to wade through flooded streets and many have their homes damaged by the water, which may take several days to recede. We hope that the public works authority will take these water-logging problems seriously and adopt new practices and measures to prevent such problems in future.Muhammad MubeenKarachi

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Air safety

Pakistan does not have a good reputation regarding air safety regulations. Occasionally, we face such accidents that take human lives. We lag behind in having common facilities like such disaster management systems.We desperately require improvement in a proper surveillance system to avoid accidents in the future.Iftikhar MirzaIslamabad

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Appropriate speeches

This refers to the letter ‘Name and shame’ (July 31) by Arshad M Khawaja. I had defended our PM Imran Khan in response to the letters published earlier blaming him for not speaking on important issues in his speech in Washington. I justified his input on corruption and money laundering. Pakistanis all over the world already know who plundered their wealth. Our PM has reiterated it enough that everyone knows by now.However, the tone used by our leaders should not cross the limits of civility. Both the current government and the opposition parties have the right to point out any wrongdoings in a dignified manner. The PM also could have devoted more time to speaking about the housing scheme, education and other schemes which the government has started for our Naya Pakistan to give a new impetus to the Pakistanis to continue supporting our nation in its growth.Dr Najeeb A KhanBostonUSA*****This refers to the letter ‘Name and shame’ (July 31) by Arshad M Khawaja. I just want to clarify that we as the people of our nation do have the rights to know about the situation in our country. But it doesn’t mean that these things should be discussed out of the country. You do not air your family’s dirty laundry out in public for everyone to see and judge. The media is always speaking about the tensions between politicians and the like.The letter that Mr Khawaja’s letter referred to was meant to highlight that the PM went there to fix our relationship with the US and should have devoted more to that, not in criticizing his opposition like that was the greatest issue with our nation. He should have chosen to speak about the initiatives the current government has worked towards for a Naya Pakistan instead.Yasira MansoorMakran

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Fixing taxes

This refers to the letter ‘Dark days’ (July 30) by Amina Bijar. I agree with the writer that in this modern era the world is developing but our country seems to be regressing into darkness. Taxes keep rising yet we see no improvements in our country like other nations have.If the new government has used these taxes honestly for the country then we should be prospering. Everyone knows that these taxes only increase the bank balance of our politicians who do not care for the people who are starving. It is still not too late for the government to fix this but our taxes need to actually start going towards development for that to happen.Soda AkramKech

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Honest NSC

I went to an NSC branch in Islamabad on July 29 in connection with my investments there. As luck would have it, when I took my CNIC out from my wallet, I accidentally dropped my wallet in the NSC premises. In the evening I realized that my wallet was missing. Luckily I had the phone contact of the NSC cashier and called him asking if anyone had found my wallet. I explained to him where I had sat and asked him to check in the area. Thankfully, he told me that the wallet had been found and it was with the officer in charge there. I came in the next day to get it as it was the closing time by then.To be honest, I was very worried since I had just withdrawn a lot of money and also had US currency and all my credit and debit cards in it. When I got my wallet back, I was incredibly grateful to realise that its contents were still intact. I would like to thank the NSC and their workers for being honest citizens of this nation. I am proud of them.Kaneez F KassimIslamabad

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PSL in Balochistan

The PCB has announced that some of the matches of the next season of the PSL will be played in Pakistan for those Pakistanis who cannot afford to attend the matches in Dubai. Why was no match declared to be played in Balochistan? Are we not Pakistanis? Don’t we have the right to watch matches live in the stadium like everyone else? Our Baloch cricketers are not part of the national team or given chances in the PSL. They have been awaiting the chance to show how capable they are.Our Baloch cricketers deserve to get the chance to see our international team’s playing style live to improve their own playing. Thus, it is the humble request of the Baloch cricketers to have some of the matches of the PSL played in Balochistan.Adnan MaqsoodKech

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Repairs required

Heavy rain in the Kirthar range area of Sindh washed away the road from the Gorakh hill station to Johi in the Dadu district on July 27. This is not the first time that heavy rain caused the road to collapse and this happens in almost happens in almost every monsoon season.The citizens of Wahi Pandhi as well as well as those visiting the Gorakh hill station helplessly wait many weeks for the restoration of the road. However, the more feasible and long-term solution lies in the proper maintenance and construction of bridges across the road. The officials concerned are humbly requested to please take immediate action to restore the road.Sadam RustamaniWahi Pandhi

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No credit for MSMEs

Pakistan has had a longstanding relationship with the IMF, to the point where it has availed a total of 21 IMF bailout programmes. The IMF provides loans to countries as a stop-gap measure to implement fiscal and monetary policies needed to restore conditions for a stable economy and sustainable growth as compared to any abrupt shift in policies. But historically, these programmes have proven to hurt Pakistan’s economy in the long term rather than doing otherwise. While the terms of the IMF agreements result in a considerable reduction in subsidies, contraction in the Public Sector Development Programs and public-sector employment bans, it is the MSME sector that is hit worst by the programmes’ unwelcome effects. The same is to be expected now as Pakistan has resorted to yet another IMF programme.Almost nine out of every ten enterprises in Pakistan are classified as micro, small and medium enterprises which contribute about a 40 percent share to the GDP, and employ more than 80 percent of non-farm labour. Still, the sector faces substantial challenges in securing credit from local financial institutions mainly due to the lack of collateral, poor governance and documentation practices, and the reluctance of financial institutions to extend credit to SMEs. Moreover, the devaluation of the rupee, sharp hike in utility tariffs, and overall inflation that IMF programmes typically come with tend to cause major drops in MSME profits. These are some key impacts that Pakistan’s MSME sector has already begun to feel. In addition to banks, the general economic slowdown is also impacting the lending scenario of Non-Banking Financial Institutions. Moreover, due to their high discount rates, government bonds are becoming a more lucrative investment options for banks where they earn a decent return on a risk-free profile rather than extending credits to the MSME sector. Therefore, the supply of credit to micro, small and medium enterprises is likely to decline further impacting the lives and livelihoods of millions of associated with the sector.Sheikh M RiazRawalpindi

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Dental project

The Fatima Jinnah Institute of Dental Sciences in Lahore was launched by the PML-Q government in 2005. Sadly it fell prey to ‘politics’ and the FJIDS project was abandoned after spending millions of rupees, depriving people of a crucial health facility. The FJIDS project was a proposed extension of the De Montmorency College of Dentistry which is the only public-sector dental institute in the provincial metropolis. The government of that time instead of completing it within the stipulated time and budget, abandoned it at a time when the structure of the college building was mostly constructed, and work on the hospital building was about to start.Why can our politicians not set their priorities whilst keeping public needs in sight? Who will be held responsible for the increased number of deaths due to the lack of such facilities? If metro rail, buses, useless underpasses and overhead bridges can be made than why can’t such projects be completed?It is requested to our PM and the other concerned authorities to personally become involved in this project and take the necessary steps to complete it.Mian H NaveedLahore

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Players union says football calendar is harming star players

PARIS: Top players are being put at risk by an increasingly crowded international calendar that gives them no chance to recover from matches and travel, said their union, FIFPRO, in a report published Thursday.‘At the Limit,’ a glossy 40-page document, builds on demands the union has long expressed. It wants players to have five-day breaks between matches, extra recovery time after long international flights, a two-week winter break and a summer off season of at least four weeks."The international match calendar has become denser. The game is faster, more physical and more global than ever," says the report."Although the demands on players are increasing, their physical and psychological capacity has natural limits."The report argues that science backs up its recommendations, without going into details. It also offers quotes top managers and players."If we don’t learn to deal with our players in a better way," said Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp. "We will kill the beautiful game. Without the player, the game is not a good one."Pep Guardiola of Manchester City agrees."It’s a crazy schedule and it’s going to kill our players," said the Spaniard. "They have to rest."FIFPRO, which represents more than 65,000 players worldwide, said football could place a limit on how much and when each individual plays but schedule the same number of games."While the top few hundred players in the world are being drained by an overload of competitions, thousands of their colleagues are offered too few playing opportunities to shape a lasting career," wrote Theo van Seggelen the FIFPro Secretary General.FIFPRO surveyed 543 elite players. Some of them clocked up huge numbers of playing minutes and air miles.The leading example is Heung-Min Son, the Tottenham and South Korea star, who last season helped his club reach the Champions League final and his country win gold at the Asian Games.He played 78 games, 53 of them for Spurs. Of those, 72% were played on less than five days rest. Son flew 110,600 kilometres for international matches, a number that does include six competitive games on the European continent with Spurs."Global elite players are faced with match overload which threatens not only their sporting performance but also their health and sustainable career," said the report."There are a limited number of elite athletes whose talents light up our sport. Their careers are short, intense and fragile."

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YouTube star Grant Thompson killed in paragliding accident

LOS ANGELES: YouTube star Grant Thompson, who rose to fame as host of the popular channel "The King of Random," has died in a paragliding accident, his family announced.Authorities said the 38-year-old, who had 11 million subscribers on his channel and billions of views, was reported missing after he didn’t return on Monday from a paragliding trip in Utah.A GPS device that he had on him was used to locate his body late Tuesday.The Washington County Sheriff’s office said in a Facebook post that rescuers had recovered paragliding equipment as well as a video recording device that may help shed some light on the crash.Thompson’s family informed fans of his death on his social media pages."It is with great sadness to inform everyone that Grant Thompson passed away last night," the family said on Instagram. "Please do a random act of love or kindness today in honor of The King of Random.""Grant’s legacy will live on in the channel and the global community he created."Thompson’s channel explored how things worked.One of his popular videos -- "How to Make LEGO Gummy Candy!" -- explained how to make candy at home, and another was titled "What does Liquid Nitrogen do to Your face?"His last video, "Rice Cake RAFT! Will It Float?" was published on Sunday.Prior to building his YouTube empire, Thompson worked as an airline pilot for 11 years and then worked for a brief period in real estate, according to a 2017 interview with MediaKix."I started making videos on YouTube showing people what I was tinkering with and what I was coming up with," he said in the interview. "It turned into a big enough movement that I shut down my real estate business, I quit the airlines, and now it’s all YouTube."

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Heer Maan Ja unveils music video for ‘Kuch Toh Hua Hai’

After co-producing and starring in Janaan (2016) and Parchi (2018), Hareem Farooq, returns as co-producer and one of the protagonists with Ali Rehman Khan for a third time in the upcoming Heer Maan Ja.But unlike the preceding films, this is the first film in which Ali and Hareem will share some romance, as is palpable in the music video of Kuch Toh Hua Hai’.While the complete music of the film had been released earlier, the music video for the song, Kuch Toh Hua Hai’ - sung by debutant Rameez Khalid and Aima Baig – has arrived and it is a decent effort. More to the point, the chemistry between the two actors, at least from looking at the music video, exists and works. The music video features clips from the film and shots with both actors dressed up for the occasion, sharing intimate moments.The music for ‘Kuch Toh Hua Hai’ has been composed by Ahmed Ali, who has also done the background score for Heer Maan Ja, while the lyrics have been written by Kashaaf Iqbal.The romance between Heer (Hareem Farooq) and Kabeer (Ali Rehman Khan) set against a college backdrop, according to a presser, could click with audiences. Directed by Azfar Jafri, the film is produced by Imran Raza Kazmi, Hareem Farooq and Arif Lakhani, and counts Faizan Sheikh, Mojiz Hasan and Shumayle Khattak as supporting cast - with Geo Films as its media partner.

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Ali Azmat embarks on a massive Euro trip via motorcycle

It isn’t a secret that Ali Azmat loves to ride motorcycles. In a series of videos on YouTube, singer-songwriter, producer and actor, Ali Azmat – who we last saw on Coke Studio 11 – admitted that this year is no different.“Every year I do some crazy s*** and this year it’s going to be a European trip on a motorcycle, starting from London, England to first off, France (by train some journey – the Euro tunnel) and we will stop at a place called Nancy, France. From Nancy, we will enter Swiss Alps.”Ali’s trip, according to him, will not stop at the Alps. He plans to go to Germany, Denmark, Sweden and Oslo. From the end of Oslo, he plans to go north which is about 3000 kilometres far from the end of Oslo, Norway.He will then turn around via Finland to Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, The Czech Republic, Poland, Germany, Holland, Amsterdam before heading back to England, which is where the trips ends. The trip is going to take 22/23 days with Ali crossing 12,000 kilometres, he admits in the YouTube video.“It is a dream of mine to travel through Europe in good weather, which is right about now. We hope to get good weather except the Norway’s North Star, which will be close to minus three [temperature] and we’re hoping this goes without incident and we rented two beautiful bikes from London.”As Ali explained, there will be some days when he will be riding the bike for 12 hours. “I do this for myself mostly but also for my fans – to live the experience and maybe some of you dream about doing similar things and I guess this is what life’s about: [getting] inspired by others and inspiring others and living your life to the fullest. Who knows what tomorrow has in store for me.”In other words, Ali Azmat, with a friend, is literally going to the end of the earth, the North Star. We hope he accomplishes his dream and through it, the dreams of others, and comes home safe and sound.

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Celebrating 5 fearless, female filmmakers

It is a known fact that the film industry, all around the globe, is dominated by men. When it comes to female filmmakers, they don’t get the same recognition or opportunities that male directors do.However, Pakistani women filmmakers, though less in number as compared to their male counterparts, are just as talented and have been making waves for quite some time. With some critically acclaimed projects to their credit, female directors have made us proud on more than one occasion. Here’s a lowdown on 5 directors we are hoping will make more films in the near future… Sharmeen-Obaid ChinoyThe two-time Oscar winning documentary filmmaker and journalist tops our list. Her documentaries, Saving Face (2011) and A Girl in the River: The Price of Forgiveness (2015), won Sharmeen two Oscars.She also has three Emmy Awards to her name. Sharmeen’s world-class storytelling skills are palpable in the impactful documentaries she has made and there is no doubt that she is a leader in her field. In 2015, Sharmeen Obaid came out with Pakistan’s first ever 3D computer-animated film, 3 Bahadur, which revolved around three extraordinary children, Amna, Saadi and Kamil, who rise from the most unlikeliest of places and save their town from the evil that plagues it. The second instalment of the franchise, titled 3 Bahadur: Revenge of Baba Balaam was released in 2017 and the third part, 3 Bahadur: Rise of The Warriors hit cinemas in December, 2018. These animations, along with other socially relevant series like Aagahi and Shattering the Silence, deliver powerful messages and we’d love to see more from the celebrated filmmaker. Mehreen JabbarMehreen Jabbar is a prolific television and film director who creates narratives that have progressive characters with a visual treatment that has now become her signature. Some of her television plays include Doraha, Daam, Rehaai, Jackson Heights and the recently concluded Dil Kiya Karey that featured Feroze Khan and Yumna Zaidi in lead roles. As for films, her first outing, Ramchand Pakistani was released in 2008 and garnered rave reviews globally. In 2016 Mehreen Jabbar came out with Dobara Phir Se, which featured an all-star cast including Sanam Saeed, Hareem Farooq, Adeel Hussain and others. Even though she is working on her web series that stars Bilal Abbas Khan, we are eager to know if there is a movie in the pipeline.Iram Parveen BilalFilmmaker Iram Parveen Bilal, who wrote, co-produced and directed the 2012 film Josh: Independence Through Unity that featured Aamina Sheikh and Mohib Mirza among many others, made it to Cannes Cinefondation Atelier earlier this year. Founder of Qalambaaz, a platform that is meant to nurture the growth of screenplay writers, she showcased her latest project, titled Wakhri, at the Cinefondation’s Atelier programme that featured 15 directors from all over the world. The director has also been working on another project called Forbidden Steps that will feature veteran actor Qavi Khan and renowned Pakistani-American actor-producer Faran Tahir. While the release date for Forbidden Steps has not been disclosed yet, we are anxiously waiting for the release of Iram Parveen Bilal’s next venture.Sabiha SumarFilmmaker Sabiha Sumar’s acclaimed debut feature film, titled Khamosh Pani (Silent Waters), which released in 2003 is a multi-award-winning film. Starring Bollywood actress Kiron Kher and Pakistani actor Arshad Mahmood, the film is a Pakistan-German co-production and is based on real events that took place when British India was partitioned in 1947.Producer of Academy Award-winning documentary Saving Face and the founder of Vidhi Films, Sabiha Sumar has helmed several projects including Amna Ilyas-starrer Good Morning Karachi (2013) and Azmaish: A Journey Through the Subcontinent (2017). We wonder what she will create next and hope to see it soon. Afia NathanielAmerican-Pakistani filmmaker Afia Nathaniel founded her film production company Zambeel films in 2008. It was in 2014 that she directed her debut feature film Dukhtar (Daughter). Featuring Samiya Mumtaz, Mohib Mirza, Ajab Gul, Samina Ahmed, Omair Rana and others, the film premiered at Toronto in 2014 becoming Pakistan’s Official Submission for Foreign Language Film at the 87th Academy Awards. Based on the story of a mother and daughter, Dukhtar highlighted the topic of child marriages in Pakistan and received rave reviews. As an active member of the film community, Afia has mentored several filmmakers through the Athena IRIS Screenwriting Lab and the IFP Narrative Lab. We wonder when Afia Nathaniel will return to the big screen next.

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Andy Murray reunites with brother Jamie for doubles win

WASHINGTON: Three-time Grand Slam champion Andy Murray moved closer to a singles comeback six months after hip surgery, joining brother Jamie for a doubles victory Wednesday at the ATP Washington Open.The Murrays, partnered for the first time since the 2016 Rio Olympics, downed Frenchmen Nicolas Mahut and Edouard Roger-Vasselin 6-4, 6-7 (7/9), 10-5 in a first-round match at the US Open tuneup event.The British duo trailed 5-2 in the decisive super-tiebreaker but steamrolled back by taking the last eight points, Jamie Murray´s service winner securing the victory.It was Andy who began the rally with a backhand winner and added backhand volley and drop volley winners on the two penultimate points.Andy Murray is practicing singles and playing doubles as the former world number one, now ranked 222, continues his fightback from right hip surgery in January.The 32-year-old Scotsman feared he could be forced into retirement before the operation. He returned to the court in June but only in doubles while he rehabilitates.Thus far, his hip has responded better than expected, Murray declaring Monday he was "quite close" to a singles comeback, perhaps as soon as Cincinnati in two weeks.That would be only two weeks ahead of the US Open, with Murray also saying if he didn´t make it back for Cincinnati he would likely wait until after the year´s final Grand Slam event, not wishing to make his first test of the hip over best-of-five-set showdowns.Murray, who won Grand Slam titles at the 2012 US Open and in 2013 and 2016 at Wimbledon, most recently played singles at the Australian Open in January, losing a first-round five-setter to Spaniard Roberto Bautista Agut.The Murrays, who helped Britain win the 2015 Davis Cup, broke the French duo in the final game to claim the first set then outlasted them to the finish after one hour and 51 minutes.They will next face either Germans Andreas Mies and Kevin Krawietz or third seeds Michael Venus of New Zealand and Raven Klaasen of South Africa.Isner, Raonic advance US fifth seed John Isner advanced to the third round by eliminating Poland´s Hubert Hurkacz 6-4, 6-4. Isner, seeking his 16th career ATP crown, was a Washington runner-up in 2007, 2013 and 2015."It was a good start," Isner said. "I´m happy with the win."Canadian ninth seed Felix Auger-Aliassime outlasted American Reilly Opelka 6-4, 3-6, 6-4 to book a third-round date against sixth seed Marin Cilic, the 2014 US Open winner.Canadian eighth seed Milos Raonic, the 2014 Washington winner and only past champion in the field, ripped American Tim Smyczek 6-1, 6-4.In the accompanying WTA event, the third top seed in as many days fell as US third seed Sofia Kenin, who upset Serena Williams at the French Open, lost in the second round to compatriot Lauren Davis 5-7, 6-3, 6-4.

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US has intel that Osama bin Laden´s son is dead: report

WASHINGTON: US intelligence has received information that Al-Qaeda founder Osama bin Laden´s son Hamza has died, NBC News reported Wednesday.NBC said three US officials had confirmed they had information of Hamza bin Laden´s death, but gave no details of the date or place, and did not indicate if they had confirmed the information.Questioned by reporters in the Oval Office, President Donald Trump did not confirm or deny the report."I don´t want to comment on it," he said.In February the US government put a $1 million bounty on Bin Laden´s head. Hamza bin Laden´s whereabouts have never been pinpointed.

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ME country ruler’s wife seeks protection from British court

LONDON: The wife of a Middle Eastern country ruler has applied for a “forced marriage protection order” in England’s High Court in relation to one of her two children.She has also applied for a “non-molestation order,” which protects from harassment or threats. It was not clear who this order was in relation to. At the High Court of England and Wales, she also applied for wardship, which means a child is placed in the hands of the court for major decisions, the international media reports.A forced marriage protection order helps if someone says they have been forced intomarriage or are already in a forced marriage, according to official British legal definitions. “These proceedings are concerned with the welfare of the two children of their marriage and do not concern divorce or finances,” the two parties said in a joint statement issued by the High Court earlier this month.

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‘Afghan soldier killed two US troops’

KABUL: An Afghan soldier was responsible for the killing of two American troops a day earlier, an official said Tuesday, in what appears to be the latest example of an insider attack.The US military on Monday said two of its troops had been killed in action in Afghanistan, but did not provide any additional details, pending notification of next of kin.Mohammad Qasam, a deputy police chief in Kandahar province in southern Afghanistan, said the attack took place at an Afghan army base during a visit by US forces. "Initial information was two US forces have been killed and one more wounded," Qasam said.US Forces-Afghanistan declined to comment. In a statement, Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said an Afghan soldier, not an infiltrator, had killed the two. "A patriotic Afghan soldier opened fire on them and killed them" in the attack in Kandahar, Mujahid said. Bahir Ahmadi, the Kandahar governor´s spokesman, also said the incident occurred at an Afghan army base.Insider attacks, sometimes referred to as "green on green," are a constant threat in Afghanistan for international and Afghan forces alike.

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Federal minister’s car stolen

KARACHI: The Federal Minister for Information Technology (IT) and Telecommunication and a leader of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P), Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui, was deprived of his official car on Tuesday. The incident took place when Maqbool'sToyota Vigo was parked outside the MQM-P Bahadurabad office located within the limits of the New Town police station.It was purchased recently and registered in the name of Khidmat-e-Khalq Foundation. According to the CCTV footage obtained by the police, two unidentified persons could be seen stealing the vehicle at around 8:16am. New Town DSP Zubair Ahmed said an FIR was registered and investigation is underway.

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Cabinet orders reversal of roti, naan price

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Imran Khan on Tuesday chaired a meeting on gas tariff for tandoors and prices of roti and naan, expressing displeasure over the increase in their rates. He directed reverting the prices of roti and naan at the previous level.Special Assistant to Prime Minister on Information and Broadcasting Dr Firdous Ashiq Awan said Prime Minister Imran Khan took strict notice of the increase in the price of bread and directed raising the issue in the ECC meeting. He said the government was taking special measures to reverse the price of bread, keeping in view the factors responsible for the increase.Awan told journalists after the cabinet meeting that the federal cabinet had deliberations on how to improve the lives of common people including providing free legal aid to the underprivileged prisoners languishing in jails. She said the prime minister directed the ministries to give proposals for facilitating the common people. It was the cabinet’s 52nd meeting and this year’s 37th.Awan said the prime minister formed a committee to improve conditions in jails and collect data of destitute prisoners including juvenile prisoners languishing in jails. She explained the committee would give recommendations for jail reforms agenda and the government would provide free legal assistance to such prisoners, adding the government would finalize the jail reforms in collaboration with the provincial governments.The cabinet, she noted, appreciated the chief justice of Pakistan's efforts towards clearing the backlog of cases in the Supreme Court of Pakistan and desired that it would be replicated in the lower judiciary (district level) as well. She said the cabinet also appreciated the chief justice for establishing Model Courts.She said the cabinet gave approval for the establishment of the National Road Safety to reduce accidents and improve travelling on highways and motorways. The cabinet approved establishing of the National Commission for Protection of Children Rights. She said the cabinet approved separation of Services and Regulation Departments in the Civil Aviation Authority and decided to improve facilities at airports. The cabinet decided to take immediate measures for the people affected by recent heavy rains in Karachi and Hyderabad, expressing concern over the losses and difficulties being faced by public.Awan said the cabinet expressed commitment to continue efforts to widen the tax net while appreciating the measures taken by the Federal Board of Revenue in this regard and increasing the number of tax filers.About JUI-F Chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman’s threat to the government, she alleged he was fulfilling his personal agenda in the garb of religion. She said seminary reforms were introduced to impart modern education along with religious education to seminary students. She claimed that with the passage of time, Maulana Fazl would lose support. Maulana, she continued, was getting restive, like a fish, as he enjoyed living in the Ministers Enclave for 15 years and wanted to live in that era again.She said the cabinet offered Fateha for the martyrs who embraced Shahadat in terrorist incidents in Waziristan and Balochistan and Tuesday's plane crash in Rawalpindi.Meanwhile, in order to improve governance and service delivery of certain division/ministries, Prime Minister’s Performance Delivery Unit (PMDU) after detailed deliberations has devised a composite tasking document containing proposed interventions; with timelines, in the shape of targeted institutional interventions. By implementing these interventions, it is hoped that the federal ministries/divisions and their attached departments will be able to improve service delivery across their domain. The document carries specialized tasks which are to be achieved on the basis of time-based deliverables (3 months/6 months). Ministries will be at liberty to incorporate their own in-house initiatives, which they can complete within 3-6 months and share those with the PMDU within one week. The achievements of these targets would be one of the parameters to gauge the performance of the ministries/divisions.The tasking document has been sent to Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Interior, Planning, Power, Petroleum, Aviation, IT & Telecom, Federal Education and Professional Training, Ministry of National Health Services & Coordination and Ministry of Overseas Pakistanis & Human Resource Development. The prime objective of this initiative is to bring ease in the life of the common man.

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Shrine land allotment case: ACE grills Nawaz in jail

LAHORE: An Anti-Corruption Establishment (ACE) team interrogated former prime minister Nawaz Sharif in Kot Lakhpat jail on Tuesday in Pakpattan shrine land illegal allotment case.According to the case, Nawaz, as the chief minister Punjab at that time, had allegedly allotted a property attached to the shrine of Baba Fariduddin Ganj Shakar in Pakpattan, illegally. The ACE team grilled Nawaz Sharif for about half an hour and placed old record and official documents in front of him in a jail room.According to sources, Nawaz replied: “Documents are 34 years old. I do not remember anything.” The ACE team asked him, “You have been nominated by the Joint Investigation Team (JIT) in this case, what is your opinion?” The former premier said it was an old case and he had no knowledge of it. On his request, the ACE team provided him all documents related to the case on the occasion.The team asked former premier if he gave an advertisement in any newspaper for the land allotment. Nawaz replied that it was a responsibility of the department concerned and not his responsibility to advertise the land allotment.The JIT told Nawaz Sharif that he, as the Punjab chief minister, had withdrawn a notification, and allotted the land of the Auqaf Department to one Dewan Ghulam Qutab in 1986, illegally. “You directed secretary to the chief minister, Javed Iqbal Bukhari, to issue a new notification within 12 hours. Why did you do it in such a hurry?” asked the investigation team. Nawaz replied that issuance of a notification was a responsibility of the secretary. “I will not answer the questions right now and submit my replies after talking to my legal counsel,” Nawaz said.“On what grounds the land was allotted and which officers issued the orders for the allotment?” asked the investigators, adding: “On what basis the land was allotted to Dewan Qutab?”According to sources, the former premier again said he did not remember anything as the case was decades old. However, all legal requirements were completed, he added. “I had fulfilled all legal requirements, but I do not remember details. I had worked within the parameters of the law and the constitution and never misused my authority. I have always served the country,” Nawaz added.“I would further respond over the matter after consulting my legal team,” he said. The anti-corruption team handed over a questionnaire to Nawaz Sharif and left the jail room.Meanwhile, a team of National Accountability Bureau (NAB) Lahore raided the offices of Hamza Shahbaz and Suleman, sons of PML-N President Shahbaz Sharif, to collect evidence in an ongoing investigation against the Shahbaz Sharif family related to assets beyond means and money-laundering.The News learnt on authority that a NAB Lahore team, led by Assistant Director Usman Iftikhar, raided two offices of the Shahbaz family; one at 134-C, Link 4, Street 2, Cavalry Ground, and the other at 61-C-1, Gulberg-III. Sources said the case investigation officer had sought permission from the DG NAB Lahore for raiding offices of the Shahbaz family to collect evidence. The NAB team seized all record of the offices including the digital record, computer hard drives and laptops, etc.Suleman Shahbaz has been declared as an absconder in Ramzan Sugar Mills case, and he is living in London along with his cousins.On June 17, 2019, one Mushtaq alias Cheeni and his son Yasir Mushtaq, alleged front men of the Shahbaz family, in their confessional statements before the court, had confessed that they facilitated Suleman Shahbaz to whiten his Rs600 million black money through fake loan agreements and engineered telegraphic transfers (TTs).Separately, it has been learnt that NAB Lahore had launched a money-laundering probe against former finance minister Ishaq Dar.NAB sources said the bureau had found concrete evidence against Dar about his alleged involvement in money laundering. Also, added the sources, the bureau had seized Rs500 million from different accounts of Ishaq Dar, which had been transferred to the provincial government.Meanwhile, Ishaq Dar’s bungalow, seized by NAB in Lahore, would be auctioned and the bureau was likely to fetch around Rs150 million as its price.On the other hand, NAB is investigating Maryam Nawaz, daughter of Nawaz Sharif, over charges of money-laundering for purchase of Chaudhry Sugar Mills. She, and her brothers, Hassan Nawaz and Hussain Nawaz, have been summoned by NAB investigators for Wednesday, July 31 (today). The bureau had directed Maryam and her brothers to appear in person before the combined investigation team of NAB Lahore.NAB had directed Maryam to provide details of shares in Chaudhry Sugar Mills and the number of total shareholders. She had been asked to provide the amount of sugar exported so far and the mode of receiving payments and the details of bank accounts through which payments were received.Hassan and Hussain have already been declared absconders in Avenfield case and both are living in London. Maryam was convicted in Avenfield case.INP adds: NAB Rawalpindi has recovered Rs2.12 billion in the fake accounts case against former president Asif Ali Zardari.According to sources on Tuesday, NAB Chairman Justice (retired) Javed Iqbal has accepted plea bargain request of Asif Mehmood and Arif in Nooriabad Power Company and Sindh transmission funds corruption cases.The anti-graft agency said the final petition for plea bargain would be submitted in the accountability court. The suspects, along with the Sindh officials, were involved in corruption through fake auctions, NAB said.Sources said NAB had already arrested 25 suspects in fake bank accounts case.In the last hearing in an accountability court, physical remand of three accused, who had applied for plea bargain in fake bank accounts case, was extended till July 31. During the hearing, the judge had directed for winding up the case against them as soon as possible.

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Shrine land allotment case: ACE grills Nawaz in jail

LAHORE: An Anti-Corruption Establishment (ACE) team interrogated former prime minister Nawaz Sharif in Kot Lakhpat jail on Tuesday in Pakpattan shrine land illegal allotment case.According to the case, Nawaz, as the chief minister Punjab at that time, had allegedly allotted a property attached to the shrine of Baba Fariduddin Ganj Shakar in Pakpattan, illegally. The ACE team grilled Nawaz Sharif for about half an hour and placed old record and official documents in front of him in a jail room.According to sources, Nawaz replied: “Documents are 34 years old. I do not remember anything.” The ACE team asked him, “You have been nominated by the Joint Investigation Team (JIT) in this case, what is your opinion?” The former premier said it was an old case and he had no knowledge of it. On his request, the ACE team provided him all documents related to the case on the occasion.The team asked former premier if he gave an advertisement in any newspaper for the land allotment. Nawaz replied that it was a responsibility of the department concerned and not his responsibility to advertise the land allotment.The JIT told Nawaz Sharif that he, as the Punjab chief minister, had withdrawn a notification, and allotted the land of the Auqaf Department to one Dewan Ghulam Qutab in 1986, illegally. “You directed secretary to the chief minister, Javed Iqbal Bukhari, to issue a new notification within 12 hours. Why did you do it in such a hurry?” asked the investigation team. Nawaz replied that issuance of a notification was a responsibility of the secretary. “I will not answer the questions right now and submit my replies after talking to my legal counsel,” Nawaz said.“On what grounds the land was allotted and which officers issued the orders for the allotment?” asked the investigators, adding: “On what basis the land was allotted to Dewan Qutab?”According to sources, the former premier again said he did not remember anything as the case was decades old. However, all legal requirements were completed, he added. “I had fulfilled all legal requirements, but I do not remember details. I had worked within the parameters of the law and the constitution and never misused my authority. I have always served the country,” Nawaz added.“I would further respond over the matter after consulting my legal team,” he said. The anti-corruption team handed over a questionnaire to Nawaz Sharif and left the jail room.Meanwhile, a team of National Accountability Bureau (NAB) Lahore raided the offices of Hamza Shahbaz and Suleman, sons of PML-N President Shahbaz Sharif, to collect evidence in an ongoing investigation against the Shahbaz Sharif family related to assets beyond means and money-laundering.The News learnt on authority that a NAB Lahore team, led by Assistant Director Usman Iftikhar, raided two offices of the Shahbaz family; one at 134-C, Link 4, Street 2, Cavalry Ground, and the other at 61-C-1, Gulberg-III. Sources said the case investigation officer had sought permission from the DG NAB Lahore for raiding offices of the Shahbaz family to collect evidence. The NAB team seized all record of the offices including the digital record, computer hard drives and laptops, etc.Suleman Shahbaz has been declared as an absconder in Ramzan Sugar Mills case, and he is living in London along with his cousins.On June 17, 2019, one Mushtaq alias Cheeni and his son Yasir Mushtaq, alleged front men of the Shahbaz family, in their confessional statements before the court, had confessed that they facilitated Suleman Shahbaz to whiten his Rs600 million black money through fake loan agreements and engineered telegraphic transfers (TTs).Separately, it has been learnt that NAB Lahore had launched a money-laundering probe against former finance minister Ishaq Dar.NAB sources said the bureau had found concrete evidence against Dar about his alleged involvement in money laundering. Also, added the sources, the bureau had seized Rs500 million from different accounts of Ishaq Dar, which had been transferred to the provincial government.Meanwhile, Ishaq Dar’s bungalow, seized by NAB in Lahore, would be auctioned and the bureau was likely to fetch around Rs150 million as its price.On the other hand, NAB is investigating Maryam Nawaz, daughter of Nawaz Sharif, over charges of money-laundering for purchase of Chaudhry Sugar Mills. She, and her brothers, Hassan Nawaz and Hussain Nawaz, have been summoned by NAB investigators for Wednesday, July 31 (today). The bureau had directed Maryam and her brothers to appear in person before the combined investigation team of NAB Lahore.NAB had directed Maryam to provide details of shares in Chaudhry Sugar Mills and the number of total shareholders. She had been asked to provide the amount of sugar exported so far and the mode of receiving payments and the details of bank accounts through which payments were received.Hassan and Hussain have already been declared absconders in Avenfield case and both are living in London. Maryam was convicted in Avenfield case.INP adds: NAB Rawalpindi has recovered Rs2.12 billion in the fake accounts case against former president Asif Ali Zardari.According to sources on Tuesday, NAB Chairman Justice (retired) Javed Iqbal has accepted plea bargain request of Asif Mehmood and Arif in Nooriabad Power Company and Sindh transmission funds corruption cases.The anti-graft agency said the final petition for plea bargain would be submitted in the accountability court. The suspects, along with the Sindh officials, were involved in corruption through fake auctions, NAB said.Sources said NAB had already arrested 25 suspects in fake bank accounts case.In the last hearing in an accountability court, physical remand of three accused, who had applied for plea bargain in fake bank accounts case, was extended till July 31. During the hearing, the judge had directed for winding up the case against them as soon as possible.

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Most corrupt govt of last 19 years excluded from PTI govt’s probe

ISLAMABAD: Last 19 years annual reports of the Berlin-based global watchdog — Transparency International — show corruption at its peak in Pakistan during General Musharraf’s tenure but the PTI government’s probe into past governments spending excludes the dictator’s rule and only focuses on the last 10 years of PPP and PML-N regimes.The Transparency International, which publishes annual Global Corruption Barometer and Corruption Perception Index to give a comparative listing of corruption worldwide, shows Musharraf tenure more corrupt than the last tenures of the PPP and PML-N.The least corruption in terms of the best CPI score was attained by Pakistan in 2018, the year which was shared by the rule of the outgoing PML-N government, caretaker regime and the PTI government.The TI record shows that from 2013 till 2018, Pakistan continued to improve its CPI score in a manner that each year has been the best year. However, the best ever score of 2018 is 33 out of 100, which shows that still the level of corruption in Pakistan is high and the country needs to do a lot to curb the menace.If Transparency International’s corruption index is considered since 1996 when Benazir Bhutto government was ruling and Islamabad was first evaluated by Transparency in its global report, the 1996 regime has been the worst with 10 out of 100 (or 1/10) score. But later the second lowest score of 21 out of 100 (2.1/10) was registered during 2004 and 2005 when General Musharraf was ruling the country.Although the last PPP regime was generally dubbed the most corrupt in the history of Pakistan, the TI annual reports record shows that the lowest score during the last PPP regime has been 24 out of 100 (2.4/10) in 2009 as against 21 during Musharraf junta. It means that the last PPP tenure’s lowest score is three points better than Musharraf’s lowest score.The TI annual reports of the last 23 years show Pakistan scoring 10/100 in 1996; 25/100 in 1997; 27/100 in 1998; 22/100 in 1999; there has been no report in 2000; 23/100 in 2001; 26/100 in 2002; 25/100 in 2003; 21/100 in 2004; 21/100 in 2005; 22/100 in 2006; 24/100 in 2007; 25/100 in 2008; 24/100 in 2009; 23/100 in 2010; 25/100 in 2011; 27/100 in 2012; 28/100 in 2013; 29/100 in 2014; 30/100 in 2015; 32/100 in 2016; 32/100 in 2017; and 33/100 in 2018.The present PTI government recently formed a high-powered commission, headed by Hussain Asghar, to probe the soaring loans piled up over the past 10 years.The Commission comprises 12-members including officials of National Accountability Bureau, Inter Services Intelligence, Federal Investigation Agency, Intelligence Bureau, Military intelligence, Federal Board of Revenue and State Bank of Pakistan.According to the government notification, the federal government would hire national and international experts to conduct forensic audit of investment and expenditure of the past governments during the last 10 years.The Commission would also probe all the development projects, kickbacks and contracts during 2008-2018. Embezzlement of government funds and alleged corruption in the development projects would also be investigated. The government notification ensured that the probe does not touch the Musharraf tenure.

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19 martyred in plane crash laid to rest

ISLAMABAD: The Namaz-e-Janaza of martyred pilots and crew members who embraced Shahadat in a plane crash near Mora Kalu was offered on Tuesday at Chaklala Garrison.Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Qamar Javed Bajwa, serving and retired military personnel and relatives of Shahuada attended the funeral. At least 19 people, including five military personnel and 13 civilians, were martyred when a military aircraft crashed in Mohra Kalu locality near Rawat in the wee hours of Tuesday.Five military officials, including two officers of the ranks of Lieutenant Colonel -- Saqib and Wasim -- Naib Subedar Mohammad Afzal and two Hawaldars – Amin and Rehmat -- were martyred in the crash, the ISPR said.It said the aircraft was on a routine training flight when it crashed but there was no immediate word on the cause of the accident or the type of aircraft involved.Thirteen civilians who were martyred in the incident included Muhammad Jamil, Robena, Habib, Parri Bibi, Muhammad Shabbir, Fatma Bibi, Uzma Bibi, Abdul Hafeez, Rahela Bibi, Fiazan Hameed, Fozia Bibi, Audul Rauf, Amna Bibi and Iqra. The injured were identified as Muhammad Yousaf, Shamim, Iqra Bibi, Suria Bibi, Saba Jan and Muhammad Nadeem. Three residents also got minor wounds who were discharged from hospital after providing them medical treatment. The funerals of the martyred civilians were also held in their respective areas.People of the area noticed at around 2:00am the falling down aircraft with heavy sound in Rawat area. A local person said he saw the aircraft crashing with big bang which caused fire which engulfed four houses.“Locals rushed to the scene but the aircraft had burnt to ashes,” he said. Volunteers took out the wounded people from the burning houses and shifted them to hospitals. Corps Commander Rawalpindi General Bilal Akbar visited the scene of the crash and met with the locals. Heavy contingent of Police, Rescue 1122 and Army personnel reached the scene soon after the incident and initiated rescue operation. The rescue operation was completed before dawn when bodies and injured civilians were shifted to the CMH and Holy Family Hospital. Earlier, emergency was declared in all hospitals of Rawalpindi and Islamabad to tackle the situation. Many residents were trapped in derbies of the destroyed houses, a rescuer said, adding that three minors, five women and many people were among the trapped persons who had died before they were retrieved from debris.After a day-long controversy between Rawalpindi and Islamabad administration regarding the jurisdiction of occurrence, the authorities finally declared that the incident happened in the jurisdiction of Sihala police station falling in the federal capital.President Arif Alvi and Prime Minister Imran Khan expressed their grief and sorrow over the loss of lives in the aircraft crash. In their separate statements, they condoled with the bereaved families and prayed for early recovery of those injured in the incident.Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi and PM’s Special Assistant on Information and Broadcasting Dr Firdous Ashiq Awan also expressed deep grief and sorrow over the loss of precious lives in the crash and prayed for the high reward of the martyrs and courage for the bereaved families to bear this loss with fortitude.

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Cultured speech

There is a trend nowadays to use promotional messages to flood inboxes which is quite annoying when you have not signed up for such blatant spam. However, what is entirely unacceptable is the slang they use. Since when did we leave our manners behind? The messages are quite rude and address you by your first name and are a jumble of poorly written slang words. Kha lo, Loot lo, Mauj utha lo, Bhook mitao.Frankly speaking, neither I nor anyone in my family speaks like this and at this age when my hair is turning grey and my bones growing old and creaky, no one speaks in such an un-courteous manner to me. Am I the only one who feels that our standards of language have been dropping? We must protect and preserve the beauty of our mother tongue and try our best not to desecrate it. Whose culture are we promoting? Is there no one responsible to make sure our next generation is raised in an environment that instils higher moral values and character? The way you speak says everything about you and speaking like you were raised on the streets does you no good.Nusrat JabeenIslamabad

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Just a number?

Firdous Jamal has been a highly respected TV and film actor for a very long time. However, his popularity has fallen greatly following his negative comments about Mahira Khan, an internationally recognized artist in a morning show. The 65-year-old veteran actor said that Mahira was too old to play a heroine and should play a mother as a 34-year-old woman because that was more appropriate.If Mr Jamal has issues with the age of other artists, it is the right time for him to call it a day and pave the way for the junior artists to demonstrate their acting skills. After all, if she is too old to play the heroine, then he is long past retirement age and should act more like it.Dr Najeeb A KhanBostonUSA

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Protecting investment schemes

This refers to the letter ‘Left destitute’ (July 30) by NAK Lodhi. Pensioners, widows and senior citizens 60 years of age and above can make deposits in BSC/PBA National Savings worth ten million rupees at max without falling into the tax bracket. It is also pertinent to mention that the rates of interest in these schemes are very high in comparison to other National Savings Schemes.Deposits worth more than this should fall under the tax bracket to protect our nation from illegal money-laundering schemes. I wish to appeal to the concerned authorities to introduce automation in the National Savings schemes in order to protect our country from such untaxed ‘Benami’ investments.Syed ImranTank

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Road to friendship

A significant achievement for our current government has been the strengthening of Pak-US relations. The recently concluded tour of the PM has been a great success for us. The US’s friendship with India and growing tensions with us had been worrying to say the least. We are grateful for the new ties but should remain cautious of exploitation.Now the US wishes to withdraw peacefully from Afghanistan so we should serve as a medium between these opposing sides. We should remember to make smart decisions and not play into anyone’s hands, keeping our own interests in mind. Therefore, our utmost priority should be focusing on what we need more than sacrificing everything for the sake of compromise.Tarique M MalakRawalpindi

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Promises to keep

This refers to the article ‘Realistic ambitions’ (July 28) by Rahimullah Yusufzai. Whilst deconstructing our PM’s recent visit to the US, the writer very presciently asserts that the basic purpose of inviting our PM to the US is because the superpower is in need of his help to persuade the Taliban to basically allow a dignified exit to the US forces in Afghanistan. Our army chief went to the US as well to emphasize on the gravity of the situation to the Pakistani delegation and to show that the civilian government and the armed forces were on the same page.The US president boasted to be able to achieve some pretty impossible things whilst meeting our PM. First he said that he could bring the war in Afghanistan to an end in 10 days, but as that would entail a lot of Afghan deaths he did not want to take that route. Similarly, he asserted that the PM of India had asked him to mediate on Kashmir between India and Pakistan. This statement was difficult to buy, as the Indian government’s consistent position has been that the Kashmir problem could only be solved bilaterally between India and Pakistan. PM Khan commented wisely that Pakistan could only exert so much pressure on the Taliban to agree to its point of view. In case of a less than very favourable response from the Taliban, Pakistan may face the wrath of the mercurial US.Akbar J MarwatIslamabad

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Name and shame

This refers to the letter ‘Accountability’ (July 30) by Dr Najeeb A Khan about our PM’s discourse to the Pakistani community in Washington during his visit to the US. The writer suggests that the PM avoid mentioning the names of those involved in scams when he says ‘However, I agree that descending to the personal level was not expected from an executive head of state’. Certain politicians have tarnished the image of this country by their unsatiated greed and lust for power.Should scams and their innovators be a closely guarded secret? The public expects our PM to expose the plunderers of the nation and have their names given out in the media. What is wrong when the PM highlights the names of the people who have looted the nation’s wealth? We elected our PM in hopes that he would wage a war on corruption and single out the people who have wronged us and give us the justice we deserve. We have a right to be angry for what they have done to us and how badly our people have been suffering and we deserve to know their names so that we can blame those responsible.Arshad M KhawajaKarachi

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Water safety

Recently a tragic boat accident took place at the Tarbela Dam Lake. A number of such accidents have taken place in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa where people have gone out in boats for picnic and drowned in the river. There have also been reports regarding people swimming in dams and drowning. It is a very sad thing to learn of such accidents which can be prevented if the local authorities/government enforced strict measures to safeguard the lives of people going out in the water.All boats must be registered and strictly instructed to use life jackets. Similarly, strict supervision must be enforced to stop people swimming near dams. Just like people visiting any construction site are supposed to wear steel helmets similarly it is mandatory for every person who ventures to go into water to wear a life jacket. These rules must be enforced strictly by the local authorities in order to save lives.Lt-Col (r) Arshad Nasim QureshiIslamabad

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Rain wrath

Once again, Karachi looks like Venice with the flooded streets and alleyways filled with murky and filthy gutter water. Rain beautifies other countries and other areas, but for Karachi it only brings difficulties. Several areas experienced prolonged power outages and it has become an increasingly frustrating phenomenon. You can expect the lights to go out when the rain comes down. More saddening to hear was that the heavy downpour claimed eight lives, including two minors as they became victims of electrocution.The rain has brought traffic to a standstill in many areas. Moreover, in low-lying areas houses are submerged in sewage water and fields are being destroyed by water-logging in surrounding villages. I hope that the concerned authorities will try harder to ensure that the monsoon season is not as damaging as it is every year. I request that the Sindh government look into this matter and make the rain blessing instead of a curse.Khalid FaruqiKarachi

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