US travel alert for polio-endemic Asian countries - Pakistan - DAWN.COM
So what Pakistan is still No.1 tourist destination as per Conte Nast.
So what Pakistan is still No.1 tourist destination as per Conte Nast.
Islamic Republic of Pakistan : News, Discussions & Updates
- Thread starter Butter Chicken
- Start date
Levina
(@LevinaNeythiri) Tweeted:
1/2
3 #ISI members wr killed in Quetta blast yesterday during PAK ARMY’s bargain-meeting with TALIBAN n drug smugglers.
Attack ws carried out by #ISIS. This is a battle btwn ISIS n TALIBAN, for OPIUM n territory in Pak/Afghan, wid ISI caught in btwn.
Pakistan becomes the battleground for ISIS and Taliban, with ISI (spy agency) caught in between ( )
Levina (@LevinaNeythiri) Tweeted:
2/2 The TALIBANI supreme judge, Abdul Hakeem, badly injured in the Quetta blast hs long bn on ISIS’s crosshair. He hs earlier bn given security by Pak forces.
The meeting btwn #ISI n TALIBAN ws also abt Op in kunduz.
U reap wat u sow!!! Levina on Twitter ( )
(@LevinaNeythiri) Tweeted:1/2
3 #ISI members wr killed in Quetta blast yesterday during PAK ARMY’s bargain-meeting with TALIBAN n drug smugglers.
Attack ws carried out by #ISIS. This is a battle btwn ISIS n TALIBAN, for OPIUM n territory in Pak/Afghan, wid ISI caught in btwn.
Pakistan becomes the battleground for ISIS and Taliban, with ISI (spy agency) caught in between ( )
Levina
(@LevinaNeythiri) Tweeted:2/2 The TALIBANI supreme judge, Abdul Hakeem, badly injured in the Quetta blast hs long bn on ISIS’s crosshair. He hs earlier bn given security by Pak forces.
The meeting btwn #ISI n TALIBAN ws also abt Op in kunduz.
U reap wat u sow!!! Levina on Twitter ( )
Naila Inayat नायला इनायत (@nailainayat) Tweeted:
Indian exports to Oman increased to 1,417 tonnes by November 2019, of which 1,038 tonnes were received by Pakistan as 'imports from Oman'. https://t.co/LwGZc3tDOm ( )
Tauba Tauba!!
Ab apna jaange, banian bhi humare yahaan ugaaye kapaas se banaoge? Is se accha hoga ki har ghairatmand Pakistani jaange banian pehen na chod de, agar woh uska keemat ada kar sakte ho toh! @safriz ; @Arsalan123
Indian exports to Oman increased to 1,417 tonnes by November 2019, of which 1,038 tonnes were received by Pakistan as 'imports from Oman'. https://t.co/LwGZc3tDOm ( )
Tauba Tauba!!
Ab apna jaange, banian bhi humare yahaan ugaaye kapaas se banaoge? Is se accha hoga ki har ghairatmand Pakistani jaange banian pehen na chod de, agar woh uska keemat ada kar sakte ho toh! @safriz ; @Arsalan123
Why Pakistan runs low on productivity
AN improvement in productivity is at the heart of development. The future of countries where productivity levels are falling is certainly compromised.
Sadly, Pakistan is lagging behind other competing nations as it did not strategise for this key quotient that has a direct bearing on growth and its quality, sustainability and living standards.
The asymmetric distribution of resources, the capture of state power by parasitic elements, the culture of patronage and greed, the perpetuation of the idea of shortcuts to success instead of perseverance and tireless effort and the aversion to scientific approach may also have contributed to the sorry outcome.
It is a known fact that there are massive wastages in farms, factories and service stations as a significant percentage of the population lives in subhuman conditions devoid of economic opportunities.
Focused on political survival, successive governments have been experimenting with ad hoc, quick fixes in the economy. The work by the government on containing wastages of valuable resources in men and material to improve economic efficiency has yet to start. Private operators in agriculture, industrial and services sectors share the blame for short-sightedness that is costing the country and its people dearly.
Per-worker labour productivity in the country grew 1.4pc annually between 2000 and 2017 as opposed to 3.9pc in Bangladesh, 5.8pc in India and 8.5pc in ChinaIt is ironic that a founding member of 58-year-old Asian Productivity Organisation (launched in 1961) fares so badly. Pakistan’s track record on the productivity scale is pathetic.
Abdul Razak Dawood, premier’s adviser for commerce, textile, industry and production, expressed concern when reached for his comments on the issue. Without explaining the lack of action in the past, he claimed the current government is not just alive to the issue but is also set to make corrections to create a more conducive environment to address the issue of productivity shortfalls across the economy.
In a recorded message to Dawn, he reasoned: “Attention towards improving productivity happens when the regime of subsidies and other concessions starts to come down or (is) removed altogether. Since in Pakistan the private sector leans on the government, it did not pay attention to improving productivity and achieving competitiveness.
“In the coming years, that is exactly what we intend to do. We will withdraw subsidies and automatically the focus of the businesses will shift on scaling up the productivity”.
He believed that low productivity was not just an outcome of the lack of attention: it is a problem of rationalising the cost of production. “We are not a country that is conscious of productivity. It requires a big change in our culture and the way we conduct our business,” he said.
In an exclusive note to Dawn, the National Productivity Organisation (NPO) made a case for launching a nationwide productivity movement to expand the economy and compete in the international market. Earlier, NPO CEO Muhammad Alamgir Chaudhry told Dawn the current pathetic situation warrants that the issue be taken up as a national cause like Japan, Singapore and India did.
The note confirmed that the productivity graph of the country has been moving southwards from an already low base. In the absence of a local source, NPO mentioned some regional and global studies, including the Global Competitiveness Report 2020. The report ranked Pakistan 110th in 2019, sliding three steps in a year. In 2018, it was 107th in 140 countries assessed.
According to APO’s Productivity Databook 2019, productivity in Pakistan, a founding member, is lower than other countries. It grew at the annual rate of 1.4 per cent in Pakistan from 2000 to 2017 as opposed to 3.9pc in Bangladesh, 5.8pc in India and 8.5pc in China.
The NPO response attributed the shrinking share of the primary sector in GDP and slow exports to depressed productivity levels. The contribution of industrial and agriculture sectors declined from 21pc and 19pc in 2017-18 to 20.3pc and 18.5pc in 2018-19. Exports have also been stagnant for want of innovation, sophistication and a growing per-unit cost.
After making significant strides, experts in the developed world are thinking about making the definition of productivity more comprehensive by integrating the gains of digital services in the concept.
In Pakistan, however, a majority in public and private sectors lacks clarity on the very basics and tends to confuse it with production.
Productivity is a measure of the efficiency of production and value addition. Technically speaking, it is a ratio of output to input where inputs include man, machine, material and method and the output is expressed in quality, quantity, value and sales. A larger ratio of the output volume to the input volume denotes higher productivity.
Employers Federation of Pakistan President Majyd Aziz told Dawn by phone from Islamabad that both the government and the private sector share the responsibility for low productivity rampant across all sectors, including agriculture.
Talking about the short-sightedness of the corporate sector, he said businesses generally tend not to invest in innovation and skill-enhancing training of its workforce. “When a company wants to scale up production, it prefers to get more machines instead of maximising the potential of its current setup,” he said.
Why Pakistan runs low on productivity - Newspaper - DAWN.COM
Pakistan blasphemy death sentence ‘travesty of justice’, say UN experts
Thirty-three-year-old Junaid Hafeez, a lecturer at Bahauddin Zakariya University in Multan, was sentenced to death – despite last year’s landmark Supreme Court ruling in which Pakistani Christian Asia Bibi was tried and condemned to hang for blasphemy but was later acquitted.
"The Supreme Court ruling in the Asia Bibi case should have set a precedent for lower courts to dismiss any blasphemy case that has not been proved beyond reasonable doubt," the experts said.
Moreover, they raised concerns in an urgent appeal to the Government over the legal merits of the case
"In the light of this ruling, the guilty verdict against Mr. Hafeez is a travesty of justice, and we condemn the death sentence imposed on him”, spelled out the independent experts.
“We urge Pakistan's superior courts to promptly hear his appeal, overturn the death sentence and acquit him."
International law permits the death penalty only in exceptional circumstances, and requires incontrovertible evidence of intentional murder, the experts noted.
"The death sentence imposed on Mr. Hafeez has no basis in either law or evidence, and therefore contravenes international law”, they continued, adding that “carrying out the sentence would amount to an arbitrary killing," they said.
They expressed their serious concern that blasphemy charges are still being brought against people “legitimately exercising their rights to freedom of thought, conscience, religion and expression".
Prolonged solitary confinement
Mr. Hafeez was arrested on 13 March 2013 and charged for allegedly making blasphemous remarks during lectures and on his Facebook account.
"Prolonged solitary confinement may well amount to torture, or other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment," the experts said.
Mr. Hafeez's case has gone through lengthy trials in Multan, with the prosecution failing to provide convincing evidence of his guilt, they pointed out, while also noting that “some documentary evidence submitted to the court was never subjected to independent forensic review despite allegations it had been fabricated, and that a lawyer representing Mr. Hafeez in 2014, Rashid Rehman, was murdered and the killers have not been brought to justice”.
"There seems to be a climate of fear among members of the judiciary handling this case, which may explain why at least seven judges were transferred during this lengthy trial", the UN experts concluded.
The independent experts are the Special Rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief; Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions; Special Rapporteur on Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment; and members of the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention.
Special Rapporteurs and independent experts are appointed by the Geneva-based UN Human Rights Council to examine and report back on a specific human rights theme or a country situation. The positions are honorary and the experts are not UN staff, nor are they paid for their work.
Pakistan blasphemy death sentence ‘travesty of justice’, say UN experts
AN improvement in productivity is at the heart of development. The future of countries where productivity levels are falling is certainly compromised.
Sadly, Pakistan is lagging behind other competing nations as it did not strategise for this key quotient that has a direct bearing on growth and its quality, sustainability and living standards.
The asymmetric distribution of resources, the capture of state power by parasitic elements, the culture of patronage and greed, the perpetuation of the idea of shortcuts to success instead of perseverance and tireless effort and the aversion to scientific approach may also have contributed to the sorry outcome.
It is a known fact that there are massive wastages in farms, factories and service stations as a significant percentage of the population lives in subhuman conditions devoid of economic opportunities.
Focused on political survival, successive governments have been experimenting with ad hoc, quick fixes in the economy. The work by the government on containing wastages of valuable resources in men and material to improve economic efficiency has yet to start. Private operators in agriculture, industrial and services sectors share the blame for short-sightedness that is costing the country and its people dearly.
Per-worker labour productivity in the country grew 1.4pc annually between 2000 and 2017 as opposed to 3.9pc in Bangladesh, 5.8pc in India and 8.5pc in China
Abdul Razak Dawood, premier’s adviser for commerce, textile, industry and production, expressed concern when reached for his comments on the issue. Without explaining the lack of action in the past, he claimed the current government is not just alive to the issue but is also set to make corrections to create a more conducive environment to address the issue of productivity shortfalls across the economy.
In a recorded message to Dawn, he reasoned: “Attention towards improving productivity happens when the regime of subsidies and other concessions starts to come down or (is) removed altogether. Since in Pakistan the private sector leans on the government, it did not pay attention to improving productivity and achieving competitiveness.
“In the coming years, that is exactly what we intend to do. We will withdraw subsidies and automatically the focus of the businesses will shift on scaling up the productivity”.
He believed that low productivity was not just an outcome of the lack of attention: it is a problem of rationalising the cost of production. “We are not a country that is conscious of productivity. It requires a big change in our culture and the way we conduct our business,” he said.
In an exclusive note to Dawn, the National Productivity Organisation (NPO) made a case for launching a nationwide productivity movement to expand the economy and compete in the international market. Earlier, NPO CEO Muhammad Alamgir Chaudhry told Dawn the current pathetic situation warrants that the issue be taken up as a national cause like Japan, Singapore and India did.
The note confirmed that the productivity graph of the country has been moving southwards from an already low base. In the absence of a local source, NPO mentioned some regional and global studies, including the Global Competitiveness Report 2020. The report ranked Pakistan 110th in 2019, sliding three steps in a year. In 2018, it was 107th in 140 countries assessed.
According to APO’s Productivity Databook 2019, productivity in Pakistan, a founding member, is lower than other countries. It grew at the annual rate of 1.4 per cent in Pakistan from 2000 to 2017 as opposed to 3.9pc in Bangladesh, 5.8pc in India and 8.5pc in China.
The NPO response attributed the shrinking share of the primary sector in GDP and slow exports to depressed productivity levels. The contribution of industrial and agriculture sectors declined from 21pc and 19pc in 2017-18 to 20.3pc and 18.5pc in 2018-19. Exports have also been stagnant for want of innovation, sophistication and a growing per-unit cost.
After making significant strides, experts in the developed world are thinking about making the definition of productivity more comprehensive by integrating the gains of digital services in the concept.
In Pakistan, however, a majority in public and private sectors lacks clarity on the very basics and tends to confuse it with production.
Productivity is a measure of the efficiency of production and value addition. Technically speaking, it is a ratio of output to input where inputs include man, machine, material and method and the output is expressed in quality, quantity, value and sales. A larger ratio of the output volume to the input volume denotes higher productivity.
Employers Federation of Pakistan President Majyd Aziz told Dawn by phone from Islamabad that both the government and the private sector share the responsibility for low productivity rampant across all sectors, including agriculture.
Talking about the short-sightedness of the corporate sector, he said businesses generally tend not to invest in innovation and skill-enhancing training of its workforce. “When a company wants to scale up production, it prefers to get more machines instead of maximising the potential of its current setup,” he said.
Why Pakistan runs low on productivity - Newspaper - DAWN.COM
Pakistan blasphemy death sentence ‘travesty of justice’, say UN experts
Thirty-three-year-old Junaid Hafeez, a lecturer at Bahauddin Zakariya University in Multan, was sentenced to death – despite last year’s landmark Supreme Court ruling in which Pakistani Christian Asia Bibi was tried and condemned to hang for blasphemy but was later acquitted.
"The Supreme Court ruling in the Asia Bibi case should have set a precedent for lower courts to dismiss any blasphemy case that has not been proved beyond reasonable doubt," the experts said.
Moreover, they raised concerns in an urgent appeal to the Government over the legal merits of the case
"In the light of this ruling, the guilty verdict against Mr. Hafeez is a travesty of justice, and we condemn the death sentence imposed on him”, spelled out the independent experts.
“We urge Pakistan's superior courts to promptly hear his appeal, overturn the death sentence and acquit him."
International law permits the death penalty only in exceptional circumstances, and requires incontrovertible evidence of intentional murder, the experts noted.
"The death sentence imposed on Mr. Hafeez has no basis in either law or evidence, and therefore contravenes international law”, they continued, adding that “carrying out the sentence would amount to an arbitrary killing," they said.
They expressed their serious concern that blasphemy charges are still being brought against people “legitimately exercising their rights to freedom of thought, conscience, religion and expression".
Prolonged solitary confinement
Mr. Hafeez was arrested on 13 March 2013 and charged for allegedly making blasphemous remarks during lectures and on his Facebook account.
Carrying out the sentence would amount to an arbitrary killing – UN experts
He has been in solitary confinement since his trial began in 2014, seriously affecting his mental and physical health. The death sentence was imposed by a district and sessions court in Multan on 21 December 2019."Prolonged solitary confinement may well amount to torture, or other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment," the experts said.
Mr. Hafeez's case has gone through lengthy trials in Multan, with the prosecution failing to provide convincing evidence of his guilt, they pointed out, while also noting that “some documentary evidence submitted to the court was never subjected to independent forensic review despite allegations it had been fabricated, and that a lawyer representing Mr. Hafeez in 2014, Rashid Rehman, was murdered and the killers have not been brought to justice”.
"There seems to be a climate of fear among members of the judiciary handling this case, which may explain why at least seven judges were transferred during this lengthy trial", the UN experts concluded.
The independent experts are the Special Rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief; Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions; Special Rapporteur on Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment; and members of the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention.
Special Rapporteurs and independent experts are appointed by the Geneva-based UN Human Rights Council to examine and report back on a specific human rights theme or a country situation. The positions are honorary and the experts are not UN staff, nor are they paid for their work.
Pakistan blasphemy death sentence ‘travesty of justice’, say UN experts
Pakistan forgiveness laws: The price of getting away with murder
The murder was so brutal it shocked even the hardened detectives who arrived at the scene on the outskirts of Pakistan's capital, Islamabad. Bushra Iftikhar, a 28-year-old housewife, had been stabbed with such force that the knife her assailant used had bent out of shape, and he had continued the attack with a screwdriver.
The killer? Her husband, Sami Ullah.
The couple had four children already, and at the time of her death Bushra Iftikhar was pregnant with their fifth. Why exactly her husband killed her remains unclear. He claimed in court to have been suffering a mental breakdown and to have no recollection of the incident. Her family says he accused her of wanting to convert to another religious sect.
But what does seem clear is that Sami Ullah was a violent man. He had previously been accused of the attempted murder of a neighbour, and of being part of a violent argument at a restaurant.
Police believe he should have been in prison, but instead he didn't even face a proper trial.
According to Bushra Iftikhar's brother, Sami Ullah's family were influential in the local area and had paid money to the victims of those earlier cases.
"In the old cases, he gave money and quickly got out of prison," Mohammad Zakaria bluntly told the BBC.
Under Pakistani law, victims or their families have the right to forgive suspects in a number of serious crimes, including most instances of murder. All they have to do is state in court that they forgive a suspect "in the name of God". In reality, legal observers agree that the primary motive for that "forgiveness" is normally financial, and the informal payment of money to victims is not illegal.
Mohammad Zakaria believes his brother-in-law became more violent after the first incidents.
The provisions allowing crimes of bodily harm to be "settled" or "forgiven" were introduced in the 1990s as part of a set of Islamic-inspired legal reforms.
Supporters of the system say it helps reduce pressure on Pakistan's already overburdened and delay-ridden court system, and reduces the likelihood of feuds developing. But according to one study, the murder conviction rate in the country dropped from 29% in 1990, before the laws were introduced, to just 12% in 2000.
"He became arrogant. He thought: 'I did this, and nothing happened. Now I'm free and the law can't touch me.'"
Sami Ullah's family admit the previous cases had ended in what are often termed "compromises", but insist they had agreed them to avoid a drawn-out legal process, not because Sami Ullah was guilty. Sami Ullah is currently appealing against a death sentence after being convicted of murder.
Many cases never even make it to court (pictured: the Supreme Court in Islamabad)
Ashtar Ausaf Ali, who served as attorney general under the previous government, put forward plans to reform the laws in 2015 whilst still retaining the element of forgiveness.
"A person has the right to forgive," he told the BBC from his office in the city of Lahore, but he added that crime wasn't just a matter for an individual, but for society.
His idea was to introduce mandatory minimum sentences, so that "people would know that they cannot put a price tag on a crime".
Despite being supported by some clerics, Mr Ali's proposals were blocked by a number of Islamist politicians. At the moment, there seems little prospect of them being resurrected.
Undermining the system
The current law is a source of frustration at times for both police officers and criminal prosecutors. Courts do have the right to reject settlements if they believe they are coerced, but most observers agree that due to the number of cases in the court system, they rarely investigate thoroughly.
Meanwhile, one detective told me he had come across dozens of examples of offenders reaching a settlement with their alleged victims only to go on to reoffend. He said the police would spend time and resources investigating a crime only for the case to end abruptly.
Then there are other times, when the police themselves can be the beneficiaries of such "settlements".
Salahuddin Ayubi died after being arrested
In August, CCTV images of a thief sticking his tongue out at the camera as he stole a bank card from a cash machine in the central Pakistani city of Faisalabad went viral on social media.
But the case took a grim turn as shortly after Salahuddin Ayubi was arrested by police, he died in custody.
The compromise
Suspicions mounted after another video emerged of Salahuddin Ayubi, who apparently initially pretended to police that he was deaf and mute, writhing in pain as a policeman twisted his arms behind his back while another interrogated him.
Salahuddin's father, Muhammad Afzal, initially pressed for justice for his son, who is believed to have suffered from a mental illness. However, a month later, he announced he was forgiving the policemen accused of killing him "in the name of God".
The "settlement" or "compromise" in that case is understood to have consisted of an agreement the authorities would build a new 8km (five-mile) road in the family's village, as well as a new gas pipeline, not to mention the payment of an undisclosed sum of money.
Salahuddin's father seemed content with the deal, which was brokered by a radical cleric with links to the intelligence services. But others, who don't have powerful backers or the weight of public pressure behind them, often end up feeling as if they have no choice but to agree with what is being offered to them.
In a village outside Lahore, I met the family of another man who died in police custody. He had been detained after wrongly being accused of murder.
The BBC is not revealing the family's names in order to protect them from repercussions, but they say a mixture of coercion and money led them to drop the case against the police officers they hold responsible for his death.
"We haven't forgiven them in our hearts," the victim's brother told me. "We never will, but we were helpless."
He said a steady stream of local politicians and influential figures had arrived on his doorstep when they began to fight for justice.
"They would say: 'Do a deal. If you don't, you won't be able to do anything anyway. Maybe they'll go to jail for six months or a year, after that they'll be freed and can make all sorts of trouble for you.'"
The family are poor and were offered enough money to buy a house, something they would have struggled ever to do otherwise. They accepted, but the mother remained distraught at the bargain she felt forced to make.
"I wish to God that we were still living in a rented house, and my son was still alive," she said. "They took my son and gave me money for a house, what kind of deal is that?"
The price of getting away with murder in Pakistan
2 killed as small aircraft crashes in Pakistan
A small aircraft on Sunday crashed in northeastern Pakistan killing two people including the pilot, an official said.
The aircraft crashed near Sadiqabad area of Rahim Yar Khan district in Punjab province while it was spraying pesticides for locusts, Hassan Iqbal, a local police officer, told Anadolu Agency by phone.
Two people including a pilot and an engineer of the Plant Protection Department were killed in the incident, he added.
The crash apparently happened due to technical fault, he said.
Swarms of locusts have headed to Pakistan in the last few months wreaking havoc to crops.
2 killed as small aircraft crashes in Pakistan
The murder was so brutal it shocked even the hardened detectives who arrived at the scene on the outskirts of Pakistan's capital, Islamabad. Bushra Iftikhar, a 28-year-old housewife, had been stabbed with such force that the knife her assailant used had bent out of shape, and he had continued the attack with a screwdriver.
The killer? Her husband, Sami Ullah.
The couple had four children already, and at the time of her death Bushra Iftikhar was pregnant with their fifth. Why exactly her husband killed her remains unclear. He claimed in court to have been suffering a mental breakdown and to have no recollection of the incident. Her family says he accused her of wanting to convert to another religious sect.
But what does seem clear is that Sami Ullah was a violent man. He had previously been accused of the attempted murder of a neighbour, and of being part of a violent argument at a restaurant.
Police believe he should have been in prison, but instead he didn't even face a proper trial.
According to Bushra Iftikhar's brother, Sami Ullah's family were influential in the local area and had paid money to the victims of those earlier cases.
"In the old cases, he gave money and quickly got out of prison," Mohammad Zakaria bluntly told the BBC.
Under Pakistani law, victims or their families have the right to forgive suspects in a number of serious crimes, including most instances of murder. All they have to do is state in court that they forgive a suspect "in the name of God". In reality, legal observers agree that the primary motive for that "forgiveness" is normally financial, and the informal payment of money to victims is not illegal.
Mohammad Zakaria believes his brother-in-law became more violent after the first incidents.
The provisions allowing crimes of bodily harm to be "settled" or "forgiven" were introduced in the 1990s as part of a set of Islamic-inspired legal reforms.
Supporters of the system say it helps reduce pressure on Pakistan's already overburdened and delay-ridden court system, and reduces the likelihood of feuds developing. But according to one study, the murder conviction rate in the country dropped from 29% in 1990, before the laws were introduced, to just 12% in 2000.
- Slut-shamed in Pakistan for being abducted
- Police investigate 'joint suicide' of sisters-in-law
- The price of speaking out against police killings
"He became arrogant. He thought: 'I did this, and nothing happened. Now I'm free and the law can't touch me.'"
Sami Ullah's family admit the previous cases had ended in what are often termed "compromises", but insist they had agreed them to avoid a drawn-out legal process, not because Sami Ullah was guilty. Sami Ullah is currently appealing against a death sentence after being convicted of murder.
Many cases never even make it to court (pictured: the Supreme Court in Islamabad)
Ashtar Ausaf Ali, who served as attorney general under the previous government, put forward plans to reform the laws in 2015 whilst still retaining the element of forgiveness.
"A person has the right to forgive," he told the BBC from his office in the city of Lahore, but he added that crime wasn't just a matter for an individual, but for society.
His idea was to introduce mandatory minimum sentences, so that "people would know that they cannot put a price tag on a crime".
Despite being supported by some clerics, Mr Ali's proposals were blocked by a number of Islamist politicians. At the moment, there seems little prospect of them being resurrected.
Undermining the system
The current law is a source of frustration at times for both police officers and criminal prosecutors. Courts do have the right to reject settlements if they believe they are coerced, but most observers agree that due to the number of cases in the court system, they rarely investigate thoroughly.
Meanwhile, one detective told me he had come across dozens of examples of offenders reaching a settlement with their alleged victims only to go on to reoffend. He said the police would spend time and resources investigating a crime only for the case to end abruptly.
Then there are other times, when the police themselves can be the beneficiaries of such "settlements".
Salahuddin Ayubi died after being arrested
In August, CCTV images of a thief sticking his tongue out at the camera as he stole a bank card from a cash machine in the central Pakistani city of Faisalabad went viral on social media.
But the case took a grim turn as shortly after Salahuddin Ayubi was arrested by police, he died in custody.
The compromise
Suspicions mounted after another video emerged of Salahuddin Ayubi, who apparently initially pretended to police that he was deaf and mute, writhing in pain as a policeman twisted his arms behind his back while another interrogated him.
Salahuddin's father, Muhammad Afzal, initially pressed for justice for his son, who is believed to have suffered from a mental illness. However, a month later, he announced he was forgiving the policemen accused of killing him "in the name of God".
The "settlement" or "compromise" in that case is understood to have consisted of an agreement the authorities would build a new 8km (five-mile) road in the family's village, as well as a new gas pipeline, not to mention the payment of an undisclosed sum of money.
Salahuddin's father seemed content with the deal, which was brokered by a radical cleric with links to the intelligence services. But others, who don't have powerful backers or the weight of public pressure behind them, often end up feeling as if they have no choice but to agree with what is being offered to them.
In a village outside Lahore, I met the family of another man who died in police custody. He had been detained after wrongly being accused of murder.
The BBC is not revealing the family's names in order to protect them from repercussions, but they say a mixture of coercion and money led them to drop the case against the police officers they hold responsible for his death.
"We haven't forgiven them in our hearts," the victim's brother told me. "We never will, but we were helpless."
He said a steady stream of local politicians and influential figures had arrived on his doorstep when they began to fight for justice.
"They would say: 'Do a deal. If you don't, you won't be able to do anything anyway. Maybe they'll go to jail for six months or a year, after that they'll be freed and can make all sorts of trouble for you.'"
The family are poor and were offered enough money to buy a house, something they would have struggled ever to do otherwise. They accepted, but the mother remained distraught at the bargain she felt forced to make.
"I wish to God that we were still living in a rented house, and my son was still alive," she said. "They took my son and gave me money for a house, what kind of deal is that?"
The price of getting away with murder in Pakistan
2 killed as small aircraft crashes in Pakistan
A small aircraft on Sunday crashed in northeastern Pakistan killing two people including the pilot, an official said.
The aircraft crashed near Sadiqabad area of Rahim Yar Khan district in Punjab province while it was spraying pesticides for locusts, Hassan Iqbal, a local police officer, told Anadolu Agency by phone.
Two people including a pilot and an engineer of the Plant Protection Department were killed in the incident, he added.
The crash apparently happened due to technical fault, he said.
Swarms of locusts have headed to Pakistan in the last few months wreaking havoc to crops.
2 killed as small aircraft crashes in Pakistan
Pakistan: Crackdown on Expression Grows
Pakistan’s government intensified its clampdown on the media, political opposition, and nongovernmental organizations in 2019, Human Rights Watch said today in its World Report 2020.
Media outlets in Pakistan came under increased pressure from authorities for perceived criticism of the government. In some cases, regulatory agencies blocked cable operators from broadcasting networks that aired critical programs. GEO TV, a private television channel, was forced off the air or had its audience’s access restricted as punishment for editorials criticizing the government. On July 9, the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA) blocked three television news channels – Capital TV, 24 News HD, and Abbtakk News Network – after they broadcast speeches by opposition leaders. On July 1, PEMRA terminated a live interview with former President Asif Ali Zardari on GEO TV shortly after it began.
“Pakistan’s government is failing in one of the basic duties of a democratic government – providing an enabling environment for free expression and critical voices,” said Brad Adams, Asia director at Human Rights Watch. “Prime Minister Imran Khan’s government should focus on addressing longstanding human rights issues rather than muzzling those who bring attention to them.”
In the 652-page World Report 2020, its 30th edition, Human Rights Watch reviews human rights practices in nearly 100 countries. In his introductory essay, Executive Director Kenneth Roth says that the Chinese government, which depends on repression to stay in power, is carrying out the most intense attack on the global human rights system in decades. He finds that Beijing’s actions both encourage and gain support from autocratic populists around the globe, while Chinese authorities use their economic clout to deter criticism from other governments. It is urgent to resist this assault, which threatens decades of progress on human rights and our future.
Human Rights Watch received several credible reports of intimidation, harassment, and surveillance of various organizations and their staff by government officials. The government used the Regulation of INGOs (international nongovernmental organizations) in Pakistan policy to impede the registration and functioning of international humanitarian and human rights organizations.
The government also cracked down on members and supporters of political parties. Lawyers and rights groups expressed concerns of denial of due process and fair trial rights after several opposition leaders, including a former head of state and cabinet ministers, were arrested on corruption allegations.
In 2019, the Pakistani government failed to amend or repeal blasphemy law provisions that provide a pretext for violence against religious minorities, as well as arbitrary arrests and prosecution.
While numerous cases of violence against women and girls highlighted the difficulty survivors face getting justice, authorities succeeded in enforcing some key reforms. The Sindh provincial cabinet approved a new law in August providing the right of women agricultural workers to have a written contract, minimum wage, welfare benefits, and gender parity in wages. It was the first time that Pakistan recognized the right of women agricultural workers to unionize.
Pakistani law enforcement agencies were responsible for human rights violations including detention without charge and extrajudicial killings. Pakistan failed to enact a law criminalizing torture despite Pakistan’s obligation to do so under the Convention against Torture.
“Pakistani authorities should acknowledge diversity of opinion as a strength, not a weakness,” Adams said. “Instead of stifling dissent, the government needs to take urgent steps to hold its security forces accountable, repeal discriminatory laws, and demonstrate a genuine commitment to the rule of law.”
Pakistan: Crackdown on Expression Grows
Pakistan’s government intensified its clampdown on the media, political opposition, and nongovernmental organizations in 2019, Human Rights Watch said today in its World Report 2020.
Media outlets in Pakistan came under increased pressure from authorities for perceived criticism of the government. In some cases, regulatory agencies blocked cable operators from broadcasting networks that aired critical programs. GEO TV, a private television channel, was forced off the air or had its audience’s access restricted as punishment for editorials criticizing the government. On July 9, the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA) blocked three television news channels – Capital TV, 24 News HD, and Abbtakk News Network – after they broadcast speeches by opposition leaders. On July 1, PEMRA terminated a live interview with former President Asif Ali Zardari on GEO TV shortly after it began.
“Pakistan’s government is failing in one of the basic duties of a democratic government – providing an enabling environment for free expression and critical voices,” said Brad Adams, Asia director at Human Rights Watch. “Prime Minister Imran Khan’s government should focus on addressing longstanding human rights issues rather than muzzling those who bring attention to them.”
In the 652-page World Report 2020, its 30th edition, Human Rights Watch reviews human rights practices in nearly 100 countries. In his introductory essay, Executive Director Kenneth Roth says that the Chinese government, which depends on repression to stay in power, is carrying out the most intense attack on the global human rights system in decades. He finds that Beijing’s actions both encourage and gain support from autocratic populists around the globe, while Chinese authorities use their economic clout to deter criticism from other governments. It is urgent to resist this assault, which threatens decades of progress on human rights and our future.
Human Rights Watch received several credible reports of intimidation, harassment, and surveillance of various organizations and their staff by government officials. The government used the Regulation of INGOs (international nongovernmental organizations) in Pakistan policy to impede the registration and functioning of international humanitarian and human rights organizations.
The government also cracked down on members and supporters of political parties. Lawyers and rights groups expressed concerns of denial of due process and fair trial rights after several opposition leaders, including a former head of state and cabinet ministers, were arrested on corruption allegations.
In 2019, the Pakistani government failed to amend or repeal blasphemy law provisions that provide a pretext for violence against religious minorities, as well as arbitrary arrests and prosecution.
While numerous cases of violence against women and girls highlighted the difficulty survivors face getting justice, authorities succeeded in enforcing some key reforms. The Sindh provincial cabinet approved a new law in August providing the right of women agricultural workers to have a written contract, minimum wage, welfare benefits, and gender parity in wages. It was the first time that Pakistan recognized the right of women agricultural workers to unionize.
Pakistani law enforcement agencies were responsible for human rights violations including detention without charge and extrajudicial killings. Pakistan failed to enact a law criminalizing torture despite Pakistan’s obligation to do so under the Convention against Torture.
“Pakistani authorities should acknowledge diversity of opinion as a strength, not a weakness,” Adams said. “Instead of stifling dissent, the government needs to take urgent steps to hold its security forces accountable, repeal discriminatory laws, and demonstrate a genuine commitment to the rule of law.”
Pakistan: Crackdown on Expression Grows
"Dum hai toh maidaan mein aao. Doosri shaadi karke dikhaao. Bahawalpur mein khulne waale naye shaadi hall ne tamaam shaadi-shuda afraad ko bumper offer pesh kardi,"
The offer is valid only for those who fulfil a certain condition - a man's first wife has to visit the hall and make the booking herself for her husband's second wedding. "Shart yeh ki doosri shaadi ki booking pehli biwi khud karaye. Isiliye toh shartein sunkar ummeedwaar bhi khub ghabraaye. Pure Pakistan se bookings ka silsila jaari hai. Magar jo khushnaseeb shart puri karega, booking ussi ki pakki hogi," as mentioned in the video.
"Bumper wedding offer in Bahawalpur: 50% off on second shaadi, 75% on the third and walima free on the fourth shaadi. Open challenge,"
The offer is valid only for those who fulfil a certain condition - a man's first wife has to visit the hall and make the booking herself for her husband's second wedding. "Shart yeh ki doosri shaadi ki booking pehli biwi khud karaye. Isiliye toh shartein sunkar ummeedwaar bhi khub ghabraaye. Pure Pakistan se bookings ka silsila jaari hai. Magar jo khushnaseeb shart puri karega, booking ussi ki pakki hogi," as mentioned in the video.
"Bumper wedding offer in Bahawalpur: 50% off on second shaadi, 75% on the third and walima free on the fourth shaadi. Open challenge,"
Pakistani Author Comes Under Fire For Satirical Novel After Urdu Edition Is Published
Pakistani author Mohammed Hanif used to quip that the reason why his country's intelligence officials hadn't harassed him for lampooning a military dictator was because it could take them years to get the joke.
Now that A Case of Exploding Mangoes -- the award-winning satirical novel he wrote more than a decade ago — has been translated from English into Urdu, things have changed.
On Monday, men claiming to be from Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence agency raided the Maktaba-e-Danyal publishing house in Karachi, confiscating about 250 copies and demanding to know which bookshops were selling the novel, according to Hanif and the book's translator, Syed Kashif Raza. They said the men claiming to be from the intelligence agency, which is connected to the Pakistani military, returned Tuesday to take lists of book distributors and shops stocking the novel.
Hanif tells NPR the raid has left him feeling "obviously anxious, angry and above all, helpless."
Human rights groups say the raid — which came days after Hanif, Raza and the book's publisher learned they were being sued for defamation — is the latest example of censorship amid a growing squeeze on free expression in Pakistan.
Amnesty International called Monday's raid "an alarming sign that freedom of expression continues to be under attack in Pakistan." The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan called it "a craven attempt to stifle artistic freedom of expression."
The raid was notable because the target was a novel, says Rimmel Mohydin, Pakistan campaigner for Amnesty International. "I think it's a sign of how much space has shrunk in Pakistan," she says. Targeting an internationally celebrated Pakistani writer underscores the military's increasing brazenness, she says. Hanif is one of the best-known Pakistani writers abroad, and yet his fame could not protect him. "This is quite alarming," she says.
Hanif's novel was released by a London publishing house in 2008 to wide acclaim and was long-listed for the Man Booker Prize. It revolves around the late Pakistani dictator Gen. Muhammad Zia ul-Haq, who transformed Pakistan into a more visibly religious society during his rule through the 1980s. Zia was killed in 1988, along with the U.S. ambassador to Pakistan, in a mysterious plane crash.
Author Mohammed Hanif autographs books at a literature festival in Islamabad in September.
Aamir Qureshi/AFP via Getty Images
A Case of Exploding Mangoes caricatures the pious Zia and includes scenes in which he is distracted by embarrassing itches and his wife storms out of their bedroom after he is pictured in a newspaper ogling the cleavage of a Texan oil heiress. The title refers to a popular conspiracy theory that explosives were snuck onto Zia's final plane ride in a box of mangoes.
An ISI official dismissed Hanif's claim about this week's raid, telling the Associated Press it was a "cheap attempt to gain popularity by hurling false accusations on a national institution." Pakistani military officials did not respond to NPR's requests for comment. Publisher Hoori Noorani declined to comment.
Hanif, who previously served in Pakistan's air force and was awarded a top civilian honor from Pakistan's government in 2018, says writing the novel was his attempt to make sense of Zia's dictatorship and the military. By mocking them, he told NPR in November, "You're also in a way trying to humanize them."
Hanif wrote the book in English, which most Pakistanis cannot comfortably read. (He says it is his own preferred language for fiction). When it was published, his friends worried he would face trouble. "What the hell are you thinking?" he remembers them saying.
They expected authorities to punish Hanif for making fun of the military, Pakistan's most powerful institution. Army generals have ruled the country for nearly half of its 72-year history. Human rights groups and Pakistani journalists say the military pushes reporters and media outlets to self-censor coverage that might be deemed critical of the institution, through direct and indirect means of intimidation.
But there was no backlash after the English edition of A Case of Exploding Mangoes was released, so about six years ago, Hanif handed over an Urdu manuscript to a Pakistani publisher — who sat on it, out of caution over what might happen if it were published. Hanif ultimately took the manuscript to Noorani of Maktaba-e-Danyal, who published 1,000 copies in September.
Late last month, Hanif and Raza, the translator, say they and the publisher received legal notice of a defamation suit by Zia's son, Ijaz ul-Haq, who did not respond to NPR requests for comment.
On Monday, the raid took place at the publisher's office, and Hanif tweeted:
"A Case of Exploding Mangoes has been in publication for 11 years now. Nobody has ever bothered me. Why now? I am sitting here, wondering when will they come for us. ISI is World's No 1 spy agency. I am sure they have better things to do."
He believes the raids were connected to the defamation complaint. "Our hunch is that it was not a coincidence," he says. He plans to challenge the defamation suit.
On Wednesday, the Urdu version of A Case of Exploding Mangoes was nowhere to be found on the shelves of several Islamabad bookstores, although the English version remained on sale.
Two booksellers, who requested anonymity because they were worried about angering the ISI, said they'd run out of Urdu copies and their local distributor told them it would no longer be stocked. Both told NPR they'd had a stream of customers asking for the book, probably because of the controversy.
They said confiscating a novel was unusual, though authorities had occasionally tried to prevent the promotion or sale of nonfiction books critical of the military, like The Spy Chronicles, co-written by a former ISI chief, Asad Durrani.
Pakistani intelligence agents haven't confiscated a novel from bookshops in decades, one bookseller said. He acknowledged that an Urdu novel lampooning the military is not the same as one in English. "When the book is translated into Urdu, then common people understand," he said.
Hanif says although he believes the Urdu edition of his book is unofficially banned now, things could be worse. In the past, Pakistanis have been disappeared after being suspected of activism against the state. "We are kind of relieved that they haven't abducted us," he says. "We are almost grateful for that."
Pakistani Author Comes Under Fire For Satirical Novel After Urdu Edition Is Published
Pakistani author Mohammed Hanif used to quip that the reason why his country's intelligence officials hadn't harassed him for lampooning a military dictator was because it could take them years to get the joke.
Now that A Case of Exploding Mangoes -- the award-winning satirical novel he wrote more than a decade ago — has been translated from English into Urdu, things have changed.
On Monday, men claiming to be from Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence agency raided the Maktaba-e-Danyal publishing house in Karachi, confiscating about 250 copies and demanding to know which bookshops were selling the novel, according to Hanif and the book's translator, Syed Kashif Raza. They said the men claiming to be from the intelligence agency, which is connected to the Pakistani military, returned Tuesday to take lists of book distributors and shops stocking the novel.
Hanif tells NPR the raid has left him feeling "obviously anxious, angry and above all, helpless."
Human rights groups say the raid — which came days after Hanif, Raza and the book's publisher learned they were being sued for defamation — is the latest example of censorship amid a growing squeeze on free expression in Pakistan.
Amnesty International called Monday's raid "an alarming sign that freedom of expression continues to be under attack in Pakistan." The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan called it "a craven attempt to stifle artistic freedom of expression."
The raid was notable because the target was a novel, says Rimmel Mohydin, Pakistan campaigner for Amnesty International. "I think it's a sign of how much space has shrunk in Pakistan," she says. Targeting an internationally celebrated Pakistani writer underscores the military's increasing brazenness, she says. Hanif is one of the best-known Pakistani writers abroad, and yet his fame could not protect him. "This is quite alarming," she says.
Hanif's novel was released by a London publishing house in 2008 to wide acclaim and was long-listed for the Man Booker Prize. It revolves around the late Pakistani dictator Gen. Muhammad Zia ul-Haq, who transformed Pakistan into a more visibly religious society during his rule through the 1980s. Zia was killed in 1988, along with the U.S. ambassador to Pakistan, in a mysterious plane crash.
Author Mohammed Hanif autographs books at a literature festival in Islamabad in September.
Aamir Qureshi/AFP via Getty Images
A Case of Exploding Mangoes caricatures the pious Zia and includes scenes in which he is distracted by embarrassing itches and his wife storms out of their bedroom after he is pictured in a newspaper ogling the cleavage of a Texan oil heiress. The title refers to a popular conspiracy theory that explosives were snuck onto Zia's final plane ride in a box of mangoes.
An ISI official dismissed Hanif's claim about this week's raid, telling the Associated Press it was a "cheap attempt to gain popularity by hurling false accusations on a national institution." Pakistani military officials did not respond to NPR's requests for comment. Publisher Hoori Noorani declined to comment.
Hanif, who previously served in Pakistan's air force and was awarded a top civilian honor from Pakistan's government in 2018, says writing the novel was his attempt to make sense of Zia's dictatorship and the military. By mocking them, he told NPR in November, "You're also in a way trying to humanize them."
Hanif wrote the book in English, which most Pakistanis cannot comfortably read. (He says it is his own preferred language for fiction). When it was published, his friends worried he would face trouble. "What the hell are you thinking?" he remembers them saying.
They expected authorities to punish Hanif for making fun of the military, Pakistan's most powerful institution. Army generals have ruled the country for nearly half of its 72-year history. Human rights groups and Pakistani journalists say the military pushes reporters and media outlets to self-censor coverage that might be deemed critical of the institution, through direct and indirect means of intimidation.
But there was no backlash after the English edition of A Case of Exploding Mangoes was released, so about six years ago, Hanif handed over an Urdu manuscript to a Pakistani publisher — who sat on it, out of caution over what might happen if it were published. Hanif ultimately took the manuscript to Noorani of Maktaba-e-Danyal, who published 1,000 copies in September.
Late last month, Hanif and Raza, the translator, say they and the publisher received legal notice of a defamation suit by Zia's son, Ijaz ul-Haq, who did not respond to NPR requests for comment.
On Monday, the raid took place at the publisher's office, and Hanif tweeted:
"A Case of Exploding Mangoes has been in publication for 11 years now. Nobody has ever bothered me. Why now? I am sitting here, wondering when will they come for us. ISI is World's No 1 spy agency. I am sure they have better things to do."
He believes the raids were connected to the defamation complaint. "Our hunch is that it was not a coincidence," he says. He plans to challenge the defamation suit.
On Wednesday, the Urdu version of A Case of Exploding Mangoes was nowhere to be found on the shelves of several Islamabad bookstores, although the English version remained on sale.
Two booksellers, who requested anonymity because they were worried about angering the ISI, said they'd run out of Urdu copies and their local distributor told them it would no longer be stocked. Both told NPR they'd had a stream of customers asking for the book, probably because of the controversy.
They said confiscating a novel was unusual, though authorities had occasionally tried to prevent the promotion or sale of nonfiction books critical of the military, like The Spy Chronicles, co-written by a former ISI chief, Asad Durrani.
Pakistani intelligence agents haven't confiscated a novel from bookshops in decades, one bookseller said. He acknowledged that an Urdu novel lampooning the military is not the same as one in English. "When the book is translated into Urdu, then common people understand," he said.
Hanif says although he believes the Urdu edition of his book is unofficially banned now, things could be worse. In the past, Pakistanis have been disappeared after being suspected of activism against the state. "We are kind of relieved that they haven't abducted us," he says. "We are almost grateful for that."
Pakistani Author Comes Under Fire For Satirical Novel After Urdu Edition Is Published
Major Gaurav Arya (Retd) (@majorgauravarya) Tweeted:
Achcha suno...tractor pe Kashmir likh do. Ho sakta hai Pakistani khareed lein...72 years se jab Kashmir ke naam ka chooran khareed sakte hain tou tractor kyon nahi?
Major Gaurav Arya (Retd) on Twitter (
)
Pls note @safriz ; @Arsalan123
Achcha suno...tractor pe Kashmir likh do. Ho sakta hai Pakistani khareed lein...72 years se jab Kashmir ke naam ka chooran khareed sakte hain tou tractor kyon nahi?
Major Gaurav Arya (Retd) on Twitter (
)Pls note @safriz ; @Arsalan123
Gafoor is shifted out from ISPR, can anyone having information of Pakistani army tell us if he got promoted or demoted?
DGISPR looks much recognizable post than where he is sent now, Gafoora's goof ups were only increasing with time.
Maj Gen Babar Iftikhar replaces Asif Ghafoor as DG ISPR - Pakistan - DAWN.COM
DGISPR looks much recognizable post than where he is sent now, Gafoora's goof ups were only increasing with time.
Maj Gen Babar Iftikhar replaces Asif Ghafoor as DG ISPR - Pakistan - DAWN.COM
Five men have been indicted in the United States for allegedly running an international network that purchased US products for Pakistan’s nuclear weapons program. “The defendants smuggled US origin goods to entities that have been designated for years as threats to US national security for their ties to Pakistan’s weapons programs,” assistant attorney general John Demers said in a statement.
The five, who live outside the United States and have not been apprehended, were indicted by a grand jury in October, the Justice Department said. The indictment was unsealed on Wednesday and arrest warrants are pending.
The five were accused of operating a front company called “Business World” in Rawalpindi, Pakistan. They were identified as Muhammad Kamran Wali, 41, of Pakistan, Muhammad Ahsan Wali, 48, and Haji Wali Muhammad Sheikh, 82, both of Mississauga, Ontario, Ashraf Khan Muhammad of Hong Kong, and Ahmed Waheed, 52, of Ilford, England. They were charged with conspiring to violate the International Emergency Economic Powers Act and the Export Control Reform Act. “
The alleged behavior of these five individuals presented more than a violation of US export laws,” said Jason Molina, a special agent with the Department of Homeland Security. “It posed a potential threat to the national security interests of the United States and to the delicate balance of power among nations within the region.” According to the indictment, between September 2014 and October 2019, the five procured US goods without export licenses for Pakistan’s Advanced Engineering Research Organization and the Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission.
**** .Read more at US indicts five for aiding Pakistan’s nuclear weapons programme – Indian Defence Research Wing .
The five, who live outside the United States and have not been apprehended, were indicted by a grand jury in October, the Justice Department said. The indictment was unsealed on Wednesday and arrest warrants are pending.
The five were accused of operating a front company called “Business World” in Rawalpindi, Pakistan. They were identified as Muhammad Kamran Wali, 41, of Pakistan, Muhammad Ahsan Wali, 48, and Haji Wali Muhammad Sheikh, 82, both of Mississauga, Ontario, Ashraf Khan Muhammad of Hong Kong, and Ahmed Waheed, 52, of Ilford, England. They were charged with conspiring to violate the International Emergency Economic Powers Act and the Export Control Reform Act. “
The alleged behavior of these five individuals presented more than a violation of US export laws,” said Jason Molina, a special agent with the Department of Homeland Security. “It posed a potential threat to the national security interests of the United States and to the delicate balance of power among nations within the region.” According to the indictment, between September 2014 and October 2019, the five procured US goods without export licenses for Pakistan’s Advanced Engineering Research Organization and the Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission.
**** .Read more at US indicts five for aiding Pakistan’s nuclear weapons programme – Indian Defence Research Wing .
A report on a scientific research on small brain sizes gets published in the New York Times and guess which is the ONLY country mentioned in the article - PAKISTAN!!
Brain Size Is Linked to a Gene
By Nicholas Wade
September 24, 2002, Section F, Page 2Buy Reprints
New York Times subscribers* enjoy full access to TimesMachine—view over 150 years of New York Times journalism, as it originally appeared.
SUBSCRIBE
*Does not include Crossword-only or Cooking-only subscribers.
Most people have around 100 billion nerve cells in their brain. But the roundworm, down at the other end of the scale of animal complexity, figures out everything it needs to know about life with exactly 302 neurons. Researchers have now gained what seems to be a major insight into how nature builds brains of such different capabilities.
They have discovered a gene that apparently determines the brain's size. The gene has come to light through study of a disease known as microcephaly, in which people are born with a head and brain significantly smaller than usual. Patients are in general only mildly retarded but have far fewer neurons.
The microcephalic patients might not have come to clinical attention but for a dam that was completed in 1967 in the Mirpur Province of Pakistani-controlled Kashmir. Some 50,000 Pakistanis were displaced by the rising waters, and many emigrated to Bradford, in the British midlands. The emigrants included some large families with many marriages between close relatives, a circumstance that can make genetic disease more evident.
Dr. C. Geoffrey Woods, a pediatrician at St. James's University Hospital in nearby Leeds, started to notice microcephalic children among his Pakistani patients. Working with Dr. Christopher A. Walsh, a neurogeneticist at the Harvard Medical School, he located a causative gene in 24 families with microcephaly.
Brain Size Is Linked to a Gene
@Arsalan123 @safriz
Brain Size Is Linked to a Gene
By Nicholas Wade
- Sept. 24, 2002
September 24, 2002, Section F, Page 2Buy Reprints
New York Times subscribers* enjoy full access to TimesMachine—view over 150 years of New York Times journalism, as it originally appeared.
SUBSCRIBE
*Does not include Crossword-only or Cooking-only subscribers.
Most people have around 100 billion nerve cells in their brain. But the roundworm, down at the other end of the scale of animal complexity, figures out everything it needs to know about life with exactly 302 neurons. Researchers have now gained what seems to be a major insight into how nature builds brains of such different capabilities.
They have discovered a gene that apparently determines the brain's size. The gene has come to light through study of a disease known as microcephaly, in which people are born with a head and brain significantly smaller than usual. Patients are in general only mildly retarded but have far fewer neurons.
The microcephalic patients might not have come to clinical attention but for a dam that was completed in 1967 in the Mirpur Province of Pakistani-controlled Kashmir. Some 50,000 Pakistanis were displaced by the rising waters, and many emigrated to Bradford, in the British midlands. The emigrants included some large families with many marriages between close relatives, a circumstance that can make genetic disease more evident.
Dr. C. Geoffrey Woods, a pediatrician at St. James's University Hospital in nearby Leeds, started to notice microcephalic children among his Pakistani patients. Working with Dr. Christopher A. Walsh, a neurogeneticist at the Harvard Medical School, he located a causative gene in 24 families with microcephaly.
Brain Size Is Linked to a Gene
@Arsalan123 @safriz
Cousin marriages, babu bhaiyya, cousin marriages!!A report on a scientific research on small brain sizes gets published in the New York Times and guess which is the ONLY country mentioned in the article - PAKISTAN!!
Brain Size Is Linked to a Gene
By Nicholas Wade
See the article in its original context from
- Sept. 24, 2002
September 24, 2002, Section F, Page 2Buy Reprints
New York Times subscribers* enjoy full access to TimesMachine—view over 150 years of New York Times journalism, as it originally appeared.
SUBSCRIBE
*Does not include Crossword-only or Cooking-only subscribers.
Most people have around 100 billion nerve cells in their brain. But the roundworm, down at the other end of the scale of animal complexity, figures out everything it needs to know about life with exactly 302 neurons. Researchers have now gained what seems to be a major insight into how nature builds brains of such different capabilities.
They have discovered a gene that apparently determines the brain's size. The gene has come to light through study of a disease known as microcephaly, in which people are born with a head and brain significantly smaller than usual. Patients are in general only mildly retarded but have far fewer neurons.
The microcephalic patients might not have come to clinical attention but for a dam that was completed in 1967 in the Mirpur Province of Pakistani-controlled Kashmir. Some 50,000 Pakistanis were displaced by the rising waters, and many emigrated to Bradford, in the British midlands. The emigrants included some large families with many marriages between close relatives, a circumstance that can make genetic disease more evident.
Dr. C. Geoffrey Woods, a pediatrician at St. James's University Hospital in nearby Leeds, started to notice microcephalic children among his Pakistani patients. Working with Dr. Christopher A. Walsh, a neurogeneticist at the Harvard Medical School, he located a causative gene in 24 families with microcephaly.
Brain Size Is Linked to a Gene
@Arsalan123 @safriz
Major Gaurav Arya (Retd) (@majorgauravarya) Tweeted:
Protests break out across Sindh, demanding “Azadi” from Pakistan. Sindhis want a new nation called “Sindhudesh”.
They say their hero is Raja Dahir, the last Hindu King of Sindh, who died fighting the invader Mohammad bin Qasim in 712 AD.
Heenyar Pakistan khey tuttan khappey. Major Gaurav Arya (Retd) on Twitter ( )
"They say their hero is Raja Dahir, the last Hindu King of Sindh, who died fighting the invader Mohammad bin Qasim in 712 AD."
"Heenyar Pakistan khey tuttan khappey."
Tauba Tauba!! Bin Qasim ke aage (RA) lagana toh door, us kafir Dahir ke aage ( RA) lagwaa diya.
& Pakistan ke tukde tukde karke Sindhudesh ki maang!!
Protests break out across Sindh, demanding “Azadi” from Pakistan. Sindhis want a new nation called “Sindhudesh”.
They say their hero is Raja Dahir, the last Hindu King of Sindh, who died fighting the invader Mohammad bin Qasim in 712 AD.
Heenyar Pakistan khey tuttan khappey. Major Gaurav Arya (Retd) on Twitter ( )
"They say their hero is Raja Dahir, the last Hindu King of Sindh, who died fighting the invader Mohammad bin Qasim in 712 AD."
"Heenyar Pakistan khey tuttan khappey."
Tauba Tauba!! Bin Qasim ke aage (RA) lagana toh door, us kafir Dahir ke aage ( RA) lagwaa diya.
& Pakistan ke tukde tukde karke Sindhudesh ki maang!!