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Waqas Dar

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Blog Entries posted by Waqas Dar

  1. Waqas Dar
    PARIS: One police officer was killed and another wounded Thursday in a shooting on Paris´s Champs Elysees, police said, just days ahead of France´s presidential election.
    France´s interior ministry said the attacker was killed in the incident in the early evening on the world-famous boulevard.
    The famous shopping street in the heart of the city, which is usually teaming with tourists and Parisians, was blocked by armed police and metro stations in the area were closed.
    Dozens of vehicles from the emergency services were sent to the area.
    The shooting comes just two days after police arrested two men in southern Marseille with weapons and explosives who were suspected of preparing an attack to disrupt the first-round of the presidential election on Sunday.
    France is in a state of emergency and at its highest possible level of alert since a string of terror attacks that began in 2015, which have killed over 230 people.
    Thousands of troops and armed police have been deployed to guard tourist hotspots such as the Champs Elysees or other potential targets like government buildings and religious sites.
    Up until now, polls showed voters more concerned about unemployment and their spending power than terrorism or security, though analysts warned this would change in the event of further bloodshed.
    For weeks, centrist former banker Macron and National Front (FN) leader Marine Le Pen have been out in front but opinion polls now show there is a chance that any of the four leading candidates could reach the second-round runoff on May 7.
    Scandal-plagued conservative Francois Fillon and far-left firebrand Jean-Luc Melenchon have closed the gap substantially in the last two weeks.


  2. Waqas Dar
    BEIRUT: Iranian President Hassan Rouhani and hardline rival Ebrahim Raisi were both approved to run in May´s presidential election by a government vetting body, while former president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was disqualified, state media reported on Thursday.
    The approval of Rouhani, a moderate, and Raisi, a political hardliner thought to have the backing of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, sets up a showdown between rival political camps.
    Khamenei had advised Ahmadinejad not to run and his attempt to register as a candidate was widely seen as a public snub to the Supreme Leader.


  3. Waqas Dar
    Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf leader Jehangir Tareen said on Thursday that he has serious doubts the Joint Investigation Team (JIT), to be formed for further investigation into the assets of Prime Minister and his sons Husain and Hassan Nawaz after Panama case verdict, will function independently and without being influenced.
    Speaking in Geo News show Aaj Shahzeb Khanzada Kay Sath, Tareen said all institutions whose representatives are to be included in the JIT function under the Prime Minister’s authority.
    “I don’t trust the JIT [to be independent] because Nawaz Sharif is the Prime Minister,” he said.
    The PTI leader did, however, add that he wishes the officials part of JIT stand up to the premiere.
    Awami Muslim League chief Sheikh Rasheed also said that he doesn’t trust the committee to function without influence.
    Commenting on the verdict, he said that the judges have sided with “us” as all five of them have termed Qatari letter and other documents provided by the other party “bogus.”
    On the other hand, Pakistan Muslim League (PML-N) leader Talal Chaudhry reiterated that all documents and affidavits presented by the defendant’s legal counsel can be re-verified by the JIT.
    He said that the committee can interview Sheikh Jassim, Tariq Shafi and others too.
    The Supreme Court on Thursday ordered further investigations into corruption allegations levelled by the opposition against Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, saying there was insufficient evidence to order his removal from office.
    "A thorough investigation is required," Justice Asif Saeed Khosa said, announcing the highly anticipated decision following a months-long hearing stemming from the Panama Papers leak last year that linked PM Sharif´s children to offshore businesses.
    The verdict ordered the formation of a Joint Investigation team (JIT) to carry out an investigation into how Gulf Steel Mill came into being, its sale and liabilities, how the sale proceeds ended up in Jeddah, Qatar and the UK. How the prime minister's children at their tender age had the means to purchase the flats in the early nineties.
    It further raised questions regarding the letters written by Qatari Prince Hamad Bin Jassim Bin Jaber Al-Thani, how the bearer shares crystilised into the flats, who the real owner and beneficiary of the offshore company Neilsen Enterprises and Nescol Limited was, how Hill Metal Establishment came into existence; where the funds for Flagship Investment Limited and other companies set up by Hasan Nawaz Sharif came from and where working capital came from and the source of millions gifted by Hussein Nawaz Sharif to his father originated from.
    To seek answers to the questions raised, the Supreme Court ordered the formation of a JIT to investigate and present its report every two weeks before a Supreme Court bench. The court also ordered Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, and his sons Hasan and Hussein to appear before the JIT as and when required, which will complete its investigation within 60 days of its formation.
    The order further added, that after receiving the JIT reports, periodic or final, the matter of disqualification of Mian Muhammad Nawaz Sharif shall be considered.
    Observing that the chairman of the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) had failed to carry out his duties, the apex court ordered the JIT to comprise one senior official each from NAB, the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA), the Securities Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP), the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), and the Military Intelligence (MI) will be tasked to carry out the probe.
    The detailed decision by the apex court comprised 549 pages, with the verdict split 3-2 between the five-member apex court bench.
    Two dissenting judges on the five-member bench were of the opinion that Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif had not been honest to the nation and that he should have been disqualified.
    The five-member bench led by Justice Asif Saeed Khosa had reserved its verdict in the case on February 23. The decision comes ahead of general elections scheduled to be held next year.


  4. Waqas Dar
    Justice Saeed Ahmed Khosa’s 194-page dissent note in the Panama Leaks verdict details his honest viewpoint regarding the case hearing. Here, are few of the most powerful statements made by the judge:
     
    Court won’t shy away from setting a ‘dangerous precedent’
    He also writes about argument that disqualification of an elected representative “shall set a dangerous precedent".
    "This argument… overlooks the fact that…the present petitions had been entertained by this Court in the backdrop of an unfortunate refusal/failure on the part of all the relevant institutions in the country like the National Accountability Bureau, the Federal Investigation Agency, the State Bank of Pakistan, the Federal Board of Revenue, the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan and the Speaker of the National Assembly to inquire into or investigate the matter or to refer the matter to the Election Commission of Pakistan against respondent [Nawaz Sharif].
    ….now this Court cannot turn around and shy away from deciding the matter simply because it may set a dangerous precedent.”
     
    Politics trumps “accountability”
    He writes about the “detailed and documented report prepared and submitted by Mr. A. Rehman Malik in September 1998 in his capacity as an Additional Director, Federal Investigation Agency, Islamabad.” The report tends to establish the money trail through which Nawaz Sharif purchased his properties in the names of his children.
    I understand that a lot of effort must have gone into digging out the relevant details. I have, however, felt agonized by the fact that the matter had later on been hushed up, brushed under the carpet and never pursued by any quarter…..
    We have been informed that the same Mr. A. Rehman Malik who had prepared the above mentioned report had later on joined politics and had served the country as the Minister for Interior, Government of Pakistan for many years but he never took any step to pursue the matter…. It appears that politics had trumped accountability and discretion had the better of public interest."
     
    Contradictory statements by Nawaz Sharif, his counsel
    “Although it had specifically and repeatedly been said by respondent No. 1 [Nawaz] on the floor of the National Assembly….that the entire record relevant to the setting up and sale of the factories in Dubai and Jeddah was available and would be produced whenever required yet when this Court required Mr. Salman Aslam Butt, Sr. ASC, the then learned counsel for respondent No. 1, on December 07, 2016 to produce or show the said record he simply stated that no such record existed or was available and that the statement made by respondent No. 1 in the National Assembly in that respect was merely a “political statement”!”
     
    Qatar investment loses its ‘credibility’
    “That story about investment in the real estate business of Al-Thani family in Qatar has taken many turns in this case and has, thus, lost its credibility.”
    Earlier, he writes that first statement from the Qatar prince “failed to disclose how the requisite funds were transferred by respondent No. 1’s [Nawaz] father from Dubai to Qatar. He had not referred to any date or place of the transactions mentioned. He had failed to state about any document executed in furtherance of such transactions and he had also omitted to mention as to how the relevant funds were dealt with. No detail of the real estate business of Al-Thani family in Qatar was provided nor any record of investment in such business by respondent No. 1’s father had been referred to.” 
     
    ‘Respondent has not been honest to the nation’
    “Constitution is relevant only to a criminal case which the present proceedings are not. Even otherwise, no such protection has been claimed by respondent No. 1 [Nawaz] before us probably realizing that claiming such protection impliedly acknowledges criminality in the matter. There may be many definitions of the word ‘honest’ but deliberate withholding or suppression of truth is not one of them and the same is in fact an antithesis of honesty. I am, therefore, constrained to declare that respondent No. 1 has not been honest to the nation, to the representatives of the nation in the National Assembly and to this Court in the matter of explaining possession and acquisition of the relevant four properties in London.”
     
    Sharif families ‘strategy’ to ‘conceal relevant facts”
    “Instead of giving any straight answer the learned counsel for respondent No. 1 [Nawaz] maintained before this Court that the said respondent had nothing to do with acquisition of the relevant properties in London and the Court should ask the said respondent’s children about those properties… When the Court asked the learned counsel for respondents No. 7 and 8 [Hussain and Hassan Nawaz respectively] about acquisition of the relevant properties he simply maintained that such a question could satisfactorily be answered only by the said respondents’ grandfather who had died in the year 2004! Upon receipt of such responses from the learned counsel for respondents No. 1, 6, 7 and 8 the Court had repeatedly observed that the ‘strategy’ adopted by the said respondents to conceal the relevant facts from the Court…”
     
    Sharif family’s explanations were ‘elusive and evasive’
    “The facts of the case show, and show quite clearly, that very valuable properties had statedly been acquired by respondent No. 1’s children and many businesses had been set up and run by them in different parts of the world since the time when they had no independent sources of income and respondent No. 1 and his children have miserably failed to even prima facie account for the same. No definite source of income has been disclosed, no bank account has been identified, no receipt has been produced, no money trail has been established and no document relating to transfer of interest in any of the companies or properties has been supplied by them and all their explanations in respect of businesses and assets are elusive and evasive at best. Apart from that the shifting stands taken, the divergent and contradictory explanations advanced and the prevarication and concealment resorted to by them at different stages of the matter unmistakably point towards a guilty mind and conscience….”
     
    ‘Fantastic and unbelievable’ stories about London properties
    "Concluding the discussion about the relevant four properties in London I hold that all the varying and ever changing stories about acquisition of the said properties advanced by the children of respondent No. 1 [Nawaz] have remained un-established from the flimsy, sketchy and inadequate record relied upon by them and such stories have even otherwise been found by me to be fantastic and unbelievable. We had been informed that Mr. Hussain Nawaz Sharif, respondent No. 7, had studied in England between the years 1992 and 1996, Mr. Hassan Nawaz Sharif, respondent No. 8, had studied in that country between the years 1994 and 1999 and the relevant properties had admittedly come in possession of respondent No. 1 and his family between the years 1993 and 1996. Two young students in occupation of four residential properties in one of the most expensive areas of London was surely extraordinary. Admittedly those two boys were not earning hands at that time and they had no independent source of income and were, thus, dependents of their father, respondent No. 1, till then. Instead of telling the truth the children of respondent No. 1 decided to hide behind divergent and conflicting stories which in the financial world were nothing but fairytales. All such stories and explanations, including those of investment, placement or retention of some funds belonging to their grandfather namely Mian Muhammad Sharif with Al-Thani family of Qatar in the year 1980 and settlement of such investment, placement or retention in the year 2005, are, therefore, categorically and unreservedly rejected by me."
     
    “Power of literature for commenting upon a reality”
    The judge also made many literary and philosophical references in his dissent note in the judgment.
    From starting by quoting an epigraph in Mario Puzo’s The Godfather, “Behind every great fortune there is a crime” by Honoré de Balzac, the judge also includes quotes from Republic by Plato, Christopher Marlowe’s Tamburlaine and old bard Shakespeare’s Merchant of the Venice. 
    “The precedent to be set by this Court through the present petitions should in fact be a warning to all those rulers who try to subjugate all the organs of power, enslave the institutions of accountability and then in a false sense of security and invincibility proclaim as Christopher Marlowe’s ‘Tamburlaine’ did by boasting that    ;
    Mentioning Merchant of Venice, he then writes “oppressive judicial decree regarding payment of money by another Bassanio beseeched the Duke as follows:   
     …Fortunately for me, there is no wresting the law to my authority and no little wrong is to be done by me to do a great right in the matter of issuing a declaration against respondent No. 1 [Nawaz Sharif].”


  5. Waqas Dar
    Panama case in the history of the country was neither a small nor an insignificant ruling, as Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif narrowly escaped a decision in favour of his removal from the office. The Supreme Court in its verdict neither cleared nor gave orders for the premier’s disqualification.
    The apex court’s ruling ordered further investigations into corruption allegations levelled by the opposition against PM Nawaz, saying there was insufficient evidence to order his disqualification.
    The Panamagate gained attention worldwide and major media organisations gave proper coverage to the corruption case.
    CNN: Pakistani PM must appear before new investigative team, court rules
    The Cable News Network gave a detailed coverage of the issue. The US-based media organisation on its website also gave links to its previous coverage of the same topic.
    The news agency in its article called it a ruling which ‘could have seen him (PM Nawaz) ousted from  office.”
    “Rather than finding for or against Sharif, the panel ordered a new investigation, which will seek testimony from the Prime Minister and his sons. The decision was 3-2,” the report summarised.

    TOI: Panamagate: Pak SC orders JIT to probe corruption charges against PM Nawaz Sharif
    The Indian publication Times of India gave an around 500 words report on the case. The across the border publication also quoted opposition leaders’ stance following the verdict.
    “The petitioners had asked the court to disqualify 67-year-old Sharif under Article 62 and 63 of the constitution because he was involved in corruption,” stated the TOI report.

    It also quoted former president Asif Ali Zardari’s media talk.
    "We did not resist when the Supreme Court disqualified [then premier] Yousaf Raza Gilani. We chose another prime minister. Nawaz should do the same," the article quoted the PPP co-chairman.

    The Guardian: Panama Papers: court rejects call to oust Pakistani PM over corruption claims
    The British news agency in a neat and easy to read article gave a detailed coverage of the Panama leaks case.
    The report read: “Sharif has weathered the attack on his political career, but he does not emerge unscathed because the court’s decision was inconclusive.”
    Not only that, the news team was meticulous enough to give a comprehensive background of the case.
    “The London flats, bought between 1993 and 1996, are located at Avenfield House overlooking Park Lane. According to the leaked Mossack Fonseca papers, Nawaz Sharif’s son Hussain and his daughter Mariam used the flats as collateral in October 2008 to take out large loans from the Swiss arm of Deutsche Bank,” it mentioned.

    NYT: Pakistan Court Keeps Nawaz Sharif in Power but Orders Inquiry of Family
    The mainstream American publication’s headline is pretty impressive in its own way. The publication throughout put the emphasis on the PM surviving the pressure the scandal and court proceedings brought upon him.
    The comprehensive report also took analysis from lawyers and reactionary statements from the opposition.
    The article summarised the SC verdict and the political rivalry between Imran Khan and the PM as: “The Supreme Court’s ruling on the accusations, which stemmed from the Panama Papers that were leaked last year, had been highly anticipated, and it was a bitter disappointment to opposition parties, which had counted on the court to remove Mr. Sharif. Pakistan’s most prominent opposition politician, Imran Khan, had said before the ruling that it would be a ‘defining moment in the country’s history.’”
     
     
     


  6. Waqas Dar
    UNITED NATIONS: Pakistan on Wednesday was re-elected to the UN Committee for Programme and Coordination (CPC) during an election in the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), with Ambassador Maleeha Lodhi saying it reflected the country's prestige in the international community.
    Pakistan secured 48 votes from 50 member states present and voting, i.e, 96 percent of the tally. ECOSOC has 54 members.
    Excepting the years 1985-87, Pakistan has been a member of the 34-member committee since 1973 and will serve another three-year term-- 2018-2020.
    "Our re-election to this Committee is an endorsement of Pakistan’s pro-active role and engagement within the United Nations system," an elated Ambassador Lodhi said.
    The committee functions as the main subsidiary organ of the ECOSOC and the General Assembly for planning, programming and coordination.
    The CPC is charged with reviewing UN programmes as defined in the strategic framework;   recommending priority programmes; guiding the Secretariat on translating legislation into programmes and making recommendations; developing evaluation procedures; and, assisting ECOSOC in its coordination functions.
    It also carries out periodic reviews of the implementation of important legislative decisions. It is directed to cooperate with the Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions (ACABQ) and consult with the Joint Inspection Unit (JIU).
    "Pakistan’s presence at the committee will help us to contribute to the effective programme coordination and budget planning of the United Nations," the Pakistani envoy said.
    Pakistan is also serving as Vice President of the ECOSOC representing Asia Pacific Region. The Council is one of the principal organs of the United Nations and is the central platform for economic and social development, forging consensus and coordinating efforts to achieve internationally agreed development goals. Pakistan will be chairing the integration segment of the Council next week.


  7. Waqas Dar
    Former Pink Floyd frontman Roger Waters will release his first rock album in a quarter of a century in June, his record company said Thursday.
    "Is This The Life We Really Want?" features 12 new tracks from the highly political singer-songwriter, whose lyrical talent was at the heart of Pink Floyd´s legendary albums, "The Wall" and "Dark Side of the Moon".
    Columbia Records said the album was a "forthright commentary on the modern world and on uncertain times" and a "natural successor" to Pink Floyd´s "Animals" and "The Wall" albums.
    The English-born star is about to embark on a North American tour called "Us + Them" at the end of May before taking in Asia and Europe next year.
    A fierce critic of US President Donald Trump, Waters delighted audiences in Mexico City last year with a rendition of the 1977 Pink Floyd song "Pigs (Three Different Ones)", where he showed doctored images of Trump with a machine gun outside the White House and giving a Nazi salute.
    He later likened the billionaire´s rise to that of Adolf Hitler.
    And on the day Trump was inaugurated in January, Waters, 73, declared on Facebook that "the resistance begins today".
    Columbia said the album, produced by Nigel Godrich, who has previously worked with Radiohead, Beck and U2, will be released on June 2.


  8. Waqas Dar
    HENNAI: Police in the Indian state of West Bengal are going beyond the call of duty by raising funds for the women they rescue from *** traffickers to help them get back on track.
    "The girls are hardly literate, have no access to bank loans, and government schemes are not enough to sustain them in the long run," said police officer Chandra Sekhar Bardhan, who is spearheading the programme in eastern India.
    "We had to do something, even though it did not fall in the realm of our duties."
    The scheme - the first of its kind - began this month, with 22 rescued women singled out for rehabilitation. Police then hope to reach out to 100 more women and create a model to replicate across the region.
    Police tailor the aid to the individual women, asking firms to fund their needs as an act of corporate social responsibility. One of the first group wants to set up a sewing business, another to drive her own taxi - anything rather than return to a life of poverty and unemployment.
    Green Pasture
    Of an estimated 20 million commercial *** workers in India, campaigners estimate that 16 million women and girls are the victims of *** trafficking. They are mostly trafficked for sexual exploitation, forced labour and child marriage.
    The South 24 Parganas district where the project began has seen a steady rise in crime against women, with police recording a jump of more than 80 percent in the number of kidnaps and abductions between 2010 and 2013.
    "Due to poverty and backwardness, the area has always been a green pasture for traffickers," said Subhasree Raptan, coordinator of nonprofit Gorabbose Gram Bikas Kendra, which helps trafficked victims and is supporting the pilot project.
    Raptan said the problem grew far worse after cyclone Aila in 2009, displacing more than a million people in the region.
    No Job, no chance
    When victims are rescued from traffickers, they usually return to poverty, a dysfunctional family life and no job.
    Work is key to a new life and the first group of women includes aspiring seamstresses, two women who want to run a stationary shop and another who wants to drive her own taxi.
    "I did not know anything about the extent of human trafficking until I was posted to this region and came across the case of a 14-year-old victim, who had been trafficked, abused and dumped in a hospital," said Bardhan, the policeman leading the project.


  9. Waqas Dar
    Stars prefer not to travel without security, but who knows when a trusted guard can turn into a troublemaker? Something of the sort also happened with Bollywood powerhouse performer Alia Bhatt.
    The 24-year-old famous actress was reportedly at her beau Siddharth Malhotra’s residence in Bandra and wanted to head home at 3 AM.
    When she called her bodyguard, at first, he didn’t respond to any of the calls but eventually he picked up.
    Once in the car, beside the bodyguard, the actress felt quite at unease as he smelled of alcohol and when he opened his mouth to speak his speech was slurred.
    The actress deemed it wise to not confront him in the car. Once at home, she narrated her ordeal to her mother, Soni Razdan.
    Well, following which the bodyguard was given the boot, leaving the actress looking for a better option.


  10. Waqas Dar
    RIYADH: Foreigners will no longer be allowed to work in Saudi Arabia´s numerous shopping malls, the labour ministry announced Thursday, in the latest measure to boost employment of Saudis.
    The kingdom has intensified efforts to develop more jobs for its citizens under a wide-ranging drive that began last year to diversify the oil-dependent economy.
    Known as Vision 2030, the plan calls for development of non-oil industries, small and medium enterprises, and a broader investment base.
    "The Minister of Labour and Social Development issues a decision restricting the work in malls across the kingdom to only Saudi men and women," the ministry said on Twitter.
    There were no further details on how or when the plan would be implemented. It is the latest step aimed at boosting local employment in a country where expatriates do everything from cleaning the streets, to waiting on tables and providing management expertise.
    About nine million foreigners worked in the kingdom at the end of 2015, according to latest official figures.
    Saudis have traditionally preferred jobs in the public sector, where hours are shorter and leave is longer, but the government is trying to cut its payroll.
    It has for years offered incentives for companies to employ more Saudis and sanctioned those which did not meet targets.
    Under new measures, the monthly fees paid by those who hire more foreign workers than Saudis will be increased, and in July the government plans to impose a levy on foreign workers with dependents, according to a government document seen by Bloomberg News.
    In the third quarter of last year the unemployment rate for Saudi females was 34.5 percent, compared with 5.7 percent for Saudi males, figures cited by the firm Jadwa Investment showed.


  11. Waqas Dar
    The Supreme Court on Thursday ordered a Joint Investigation Team to conduct a probe into funds used by Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's children to buy properties in London through offshore businesses.
    Citing the 'indifference' and 'unwillingness' of the chairman of the National Accountability Bureau in its verdict on the Panama leaks case, a five-member Supreme Court bench said there were still questions "which go to the heart of the matter and need to be answered".
    "A thorough investigation in this behalf is required," said Justice Asif Saeed Khosa as he read out the court's decision ordering a JIT to submit its report in 60 days.
    But who exactly will be part of this key investigation team and when will the investigation begin?

    According to the verdict, the six-member team will comprise of the following officers:
    1.   FIA officer
    A senior Officer of the Federal Investigation Agency, who will not be below the rank of Additional Director General. Having firsthand experience of investigation of white collar crime, the FIA officer will head the investigation team.
    2.   NAB representative
    Despite expressing their lack of trust in the National Accountability Bureau chairman to investigate the matter, a representative of NAB will also be part of the six-member JIT.
    3.   SECP officer
    A nominee of the Security & Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP). Having investigative and enforcement powers, the SECP is responsible for regulation and supervision of the corporate sector, capital market, insurance companies, and non-banking finance companies.
    Here, the SECP will play his part in the investigation team as he would be familiar with issues of money laundering and white collar crimes.
    4.   State Bank of Pakistan nominee
    As the probe involves a lot of financial transactions, an official of the country's central bank will also be on the investigation team.
    5.   ISI officer
    The Inter-Services Intelligence, Pakistan's premier intelligence agency, will also be represented by on the team by a seasoned officer nominated by ISI Director-General Lt Gen Naveed Mukhtar.
    6.   MI officer
    The Military Intelligence will also be part of the team, with a seasoned officer nominated by its director-general.

    When will the investigation begin?
    As soon as the team is constituted.
    The Supreme Court said that heads of the six mentioned departments and institutions shall recommend names of their nominees for the JIT within seven days. By next week, names of the six nominated officer will be placed before the apex court bench for their approval, following which the probe shall begin.
    In short, the investigation into corruption allegations against the prime minister may begin after one week.
    What will the JIT investigate?
    Whether the asset owned by Sharif or his children are disproportionate to the supplied sources of income.
    "The JIT shall investigate the case and collect evidence, if any, showing that respondent No.1 [Nawaz Sharif] or any of his dependents or benamidars owns, possesses or has acquired assets or any interest therein disproportionate to his known means of income."
    The verdict orders Nawaz Sharif, and his two sons Hasan and Hussein Nawaz to "appear and associate themselves with the JIT as and when required".
    "The JIT may also examine the evidence and material, if any, already available with the FIA and NAB relating to or having any nexus with the possession or acquisition of the aforesaid flats or any other assets or pecuniary resources and their origin."
    When will the JIT submit its findings?
    The order has tasked the investigation team to submit a report every two weeks to a special bench of the Supreme Court.
    The JIT is required to complete its investigation and submit its report to the special Supreme Court bench within sixty days from the date of the team's formation.
    "The Bench thereupon may pass appropriate orders in exercise of its powers under Articles 184(3), 187(2) and 190 of the Constitution including an order for filing a reference against respondent No.1 [Nawaz Sharif] and any other person having nexus with the crime if justified on the basis of the material thus brought on the record before it," says the SC order.
    The matter of the Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's disqualification may still be considered "upon receipt of the reports, periodic or final of the JIT, as the case may be".
    "If found necessary for passing an appropriate order in this behalf, respondent No.1 [Nawaz Sharif] or any other person may be summoned and examined," it adds.
    The special bench, to be constituted by the Chief Justice of Pakistan, will "ensure implementation of this judgment so that the investigation into the allegations may not be left in a blind alley". 


  12. Waqas Dar
    Taxi app Uber could face an increase in operator licence fees in London under proposed changes by the city's transport authority, the latest in a series of moves by regulators to rein in a firm that has disrupted the traditional taxi industry.
    Transport for London (TfL) launched a consultation on Thursday on plans to change the fee structure for private hire operators so that firms pay fees that reflect the increased costs of regulating the sector.
    San Francisco-based Uber, which allows people to book journeys on their smartphones, said it supported the principle of larger operators paying higher fees and would look at the details once it received the consultation documents.
    More than 30,000 licensed drivers in London use the Uber app, making it the largest operator of private hire vehicles in the city. TfL said the private hire industry in London had grown dramatically, from 65,000 licensed drivers in 2013/14 to more than 117,000 now.
    The transport authority said this meant the cost of regulating the industry was soaring, with enforcement costs over the next five years set to reach 30 million pounds from a previous estimate of 4 million.
    "It is only fair that licence fees for private hire operators accurately reflect the costs of enforcement and regulating the trade," said Helen Chapman, TfL's general manager of taxi and private hire.
    As things stand, there are only two rates for five-year licenses: around 1,500 pounds for small operators of up to two vehicles and around 2,800 pounds for firms operating three or more vehicles.
    Under the new proposals, the existing two tiers would be replaced with five. For large operators with more than 1,000 vehicles -- Uber and rival Addison Lee -- fees would rise to 167,000 pounds plus 68 pounds per car.
    Uber has generated controversy in many countries, facing protests from traditional taxi drivers, lawsuits from its own drivers and regulatory bans.
    In Britain, the firm has suffered several legal setbacks. It lost a court battle in March to stop TfL from imposing strict new English reading and writing standards on drivers.
    In a separate case, a tribunal ruled in October it should treat two drivers as workers and pay them the minimum wage and holiday pay.
    A spokesman for Uber said the firm had been granted permission to appeal against that ruling. The case will be heard at the Employment Appeal Tribunal in London on Sept 27/28.


  13. Waqas Dar
    JAKARTA: US Vice President Mike Pence on Thursday toured the biggest mosque in Muslim-majority Indonesia during a visit seen as a highly symbolic gesture from an administration that has been accused of stoking Islamophobia.
    After kicking off his stop in the world´s most populous Muslim-majority country by praising its moderate Islam as "an inspiration", he visited Istiqlal Mosque, whose vast white dome towers over downtown Jakarta.
    He slipped off his shoes before being guided around the mosque, which is also the biggest in Southeast Asia, accompanied by his wife and two daughters in headscarves, as well as Istiqlal´s grand imam.
    His visit represents the most high-profile outreach to Muslims by the Donald Trump administration since the brash billionaire came to office and echoes a similar trip by Barack and Michelle Obama in 2010.
    Since becoming president almost 100 days ago, Trump has hosted leaders from majority-Muslim Jordan, Iraq, Saudi Arabia and Egypt.
    But his administration has also tried to ban travellers from several Muslim-majority nations, citing concerns about terrorism -- an effort currently being challenged in US courts.
    As a presidential candidate, Trump often appeared to flirt with the far right.
    But Pence struck a starkly different tone during his visit to Indonesia, which has often been praised as a successful Muslim democracy where most practise a moderate form of Islam and coexist peacefully with substantial religious minorities.
    "Indonesia´s tradition of moderate Islam is frankly an inspiration to the world and we commend you and your people," he said after talks with President Joko Widodo at the presidential palace in Jakarta.
    "In your nation as in mine, religion unifies, it doesn´t divide."
    Pence is currently on a tour of South Korea, Japan, Indonesia and Australia that is aimed at smoothing some of the rougher edges of Trump´s rhetoric.
    In South Korea and Japan, Pence played down protectionist declarations of "America first" and reaffirmed US treaty commitments to the security of the two countries as tensions rise over Pyongyang´s nuclear programme.
    After meeting with representatives of the Association of Southeast Asian Nation´s at the regional bloc´s headquarters in Jakarta on Thursday, Pence announced Trump would attend three summits in Asia in November, a further sign that his administration is seeking to reassure regional allies.
    He will attend the US-ASEAN and East Asia summits in the Philippines and a gathering of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation group in Vietnam.
    At the mosque in Jakarta, Pence and his family also toured the cavernous main prayer room -- which was empty during his visit but fills up with tens of thousands of worshippers during key dates in the Muslim calender -- and admired the towering dome.
    A man showed the US leader how he beats a carved drum next to the courtyard, a local addition to the traditional call to prayer.
    Pence then held an interfaith dialogue behind closed doors with representatives of the Christian, Buddhist, Confucian, Hindu and Muslim faiths.
    After his talks with Widodo, Pence also said the US was committed to building a stronger defence partnership with Indonesia to combat terrorism, and guaranteeing freedom of navigation in the South China Sea, where Indonesian and Chinese vessels have recently clashed.


  14. Waqas Dar
    PARIS: The epilepsy medication valproate is responsible for "severe malformations" in 2,150 to 4,100 children in France since the drug was first marketed in the country in 1967, according to a preliminary study by French health authorities.
    Women who took the drug during pregnancy to treat epilepsy were four times more likely to give birth to babies with congenital malformations, said the report, jointly issued by the French National Agency for the Safety of Medicines (ANSM) and the national health insurance administration.
    "The study confirms the highly teratogenic" -- that is, capable of causing birth defects --- "nature of valproate," said Mahmoud Zureik, scientific director of ANSM and a co-author of the report.
    "The figure of about 3,000 severe malformations is very high," he told AFP.
    The types of birth defects attributed to the drug included spina bifida -- a condition in which the spinal cord does not form properly, and can protrude through the skin -- as well as defects of the heart and genital organs.
    The risk of autism and developmental problems was also found to be higher, and will be quantified in a follow-up report later this year.
    An earlier estimate suggested that 30 to 40 percent of children exposed in the womb could suffer such disorders.

    Risks known since 1980s 
    From 1967 to 2016, between 64,100 and 100,000 pregnancies in France were exposed to valproate, resulting in 41,200 to 75,300 live births, according to the report.
    The vast majority of the birth defects occurred for women under treatment for epilepsy.
    But starting in the late 1970s, valproate -- marketed around the world as Depakine, Depakote, Stavzor and other trade names -- was also prescribed in France to treat bi-polar disorder. Bi-polar women taking the drug were twice as likely to give birth to children with major birth defects, the study found.
    Bi-polar women taking the drug were twice as likely to give birth to children with major birth defects, the study found.
    The lower risk compared with women treated for epilepsy probably stems from the fact that -- for pregnant bi-polar women -- doctors stopped prescribing valproate early in the pregnancy, Zureik said.
    "The risk of severe malformation is limited to the first two trimesters of pregnancy," said Alain Weill, a researcher at the French health insurance administration and a co-author of the report.
    The risk of birth defects associated with valproate has been known since the 1980s, especially for spina bifida, which occurs 20 times more frequently in foetuses exposed to the medication.
    But the drug can still be prescribed to pregnant women when all other forms of treatment for epilepsy fail. That ruling, however, was put in place only in 2015.
    Valproate is sold in France under the brand name Depakine by pharmaceutical giant Sanofi, but is also available in generic forms.
    Inadequate warnings? 
    Some French families of children with birth defects born to women who took the drug while pregnant -- grouped under an umbrella association called APESAC -- have sued the company, claiming that it did not adequately warn about the risks.
    "The number of victims is potentially huge," said APESAC president Marine Martin, who says two of her children -- a girl and a boy -- suffered physical defects brought on by valproate.
    "We need to take into account children with malformations and autism, as well as families that lost a baby due to treatment during pregnancy," she told AFP.
    Her association estimates a total of 30,000 to 50,000 victims -- children and families included.
    Gerard Bapt, a deputy in France´s national assembly and a board member of ANSM, welcomed the report.
    "It now appears fundamental that valproate in all its forms should not be prescribed for women of child-bearing age," he said in a statement. Medically necessary exceptions, he added, should be rare and accompanied by "mandatory contraceptive use".
    In a statement, Sanofi said it had been "totally transparent with health authorities."
    "We are aware of the painful situation confronting the families of children showing difficulties that may have a link with the anti-epileptic treatment of their mother during pregnancy," the drugmaker said.
    France was last hit by a major drug scandal in 2010, when it was revealed that the off-label use of a diabetes drug called Mediator for weight-loss could cause fatal heart problems.
    The legal fallout from that episode is still unfolding.
     


  15. Waqas Dar
    An Israeli policeman caught on video beating up a Palestinian truck driver in east Jerusalem last month has been fired from the force, police said on Thursday.
    The video, widely circulated on social media, shows the uniformed officer curse the driver, then headbutt him in the face and kick him in the legs.
    Other Palestinians are seen trying to reason with the policeman only for him to turn on them also.
    Thursday´s police statement said the officer was notified of the decision on Wednesday and his dismissal would take effect within 14 days.
    "It was an exceptional and violent incident which goes against all the values of the Israel Police," it said.
    "A policeman who behaves in such a manner has no place in the Israel Police."
    A Palestinian witness filmed the incident, which took place in a car park near the interior ministry in the Wadi Joz area of annexed east Jerusalem, and handed a copy to an Israeli journalist.
    The witness said the policeman had accused the driver of having damaged his car with the truck.
    Shortly after the incident the police condemned the attack and suspended the officer.


  16. Waqas Dar
    ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has vowed to implement ‘in letter and spirit’ the verdict of Panama Leaks case, in which the apex court ordered further investigations into corruption allegations.
    The allegations were levelled by the opposition against the premiere but the Supreme Court in its verdict concluded there was insufficient evidence to order his removal from office.
    Reacting to apex court’s decision, Prime Minister said that he had put himself before the court’s mercy and Allah made him successful.
    Maryam Nawaz, the Prime Minister's daughter, tweeted photographs of Sharif in a celebratory mood with his family, embracing his brother Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif.
    Another picture showed the Prime Minister with Shehbaz Sharif, his daughter Maryam, Senator Pervaiz Rashid, and other senior PML-N leaders.
    Speaking to Geo News in London, the prime minister's son Hasan Nawaz thanked God for the decision.
    Announcing the verdict, Justice Khosa ordered the formation of a Joint Investigation team (JIT) to carry out an investigation into how funds were transferred to Qatar, which the Prime Minister's children said led to assets held by his sons through the offshore businesses in Panama.
    "A thorough investigation is required," Justice Asif Saeed Khosa said, announcing the highly anticipated decision following a months-long hearing stemming from the Panama Papers leak last year that linked PM Sharif´s children to offshore businesses.
    The Supreme Court ordered the JIT to present its report every two weeks before a Supreme Court bench. The court also ordered Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, and his sons Hasan and Hussein to appear before the JIT as and when required, which will complete its investigation within 60 days of its formation.
    It further adds, that after receiving the JIT reports, periodic or final, the matter of disqualification of Mian Muhammad Nawaz Sharif shall be considered.
    The detailed decision by the apex court comprised over 540 pages, with the verdict split 3-2 between the five-member apex court bench.
    Eagerly-anticipated verdict
    The controversy that locally became known as the Panama Leaks erupted with the publication of the so-called Panama Papers last year when 11.5 million secret documents from Panamanian law firm Mossack Fonseca which documented the offshore dealings of many of the world's rich and powerful were leaked online.
    Among the global elite implicated were three of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's – his daughter Maryam, and his sons Hasan and Hussein.
    At the heart of the matter was the legitimacy of the funds used by the Prime Minister's children to purchase several high-end London properties via offshore companies.
    Sharif's ruling PML-N party had insisted the wealth was acquired legally through family businesses in Pakistan and the Gulf.
    But the opposition parties, including the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI), argued the paper trail for the funds was non-existent, and that the onus was on PM Nawaz Sharif to prove his relatives did not engage in money laundering.
    The case took the country by storm and dominated headlines in the country for over a year now, with all eyes set on the Supreme Court in Islamabad for the much-anticipated verdict.
    Security had been beefed up around the Supreme Court at Islamabad's Constitution Avenue, with additional barriers placed and barbed wires laid around several buildings.
    Around 1000 police, Rangers and security personnel were deployed inside and outside the apex court building. A senior police official said entry of irrelevant persons in the Red Zone was blocked, while VIPs' security guards would also not be able to carry arms with them.
    Separately, around 2,500 police officers were deployed in the provincial capital Lahore ahead of the verdict, according to a Punjab police spokesperson. The security force included six superintendents, 29 deputy superintendents, 83 SHOs, 165 upper subordinates, and around 2,400 lower subordinates.
     
     
     
     
     


  17. Waqas Dar
    Iran´s interior ministry said Thursday there would be no live debates in the run-up to next month´s presidential election.
    "Based on a decision by the Election Campaign Monitoring Commission, the election debates of the candidates will be broadcast pre-recorded," said ministry spokesman Seyed Salman Samani.
    The commission also released guidelines for the debates, telling candidates they are not allowed to "blacken the image of the country... or the actions of the executive, administrative, legislative or judicial bodies".
    Live debates have been a hugely popular feature of the last two elections in 2009 and 2013, with many analysts saying President Hassan Rouhani´s performance was key to his surprise victory last time.
    The decision was criticised by one conservative candidate, Alireza Zakani, who said it would "seriously damage transparency".
    The decision appeared to come as a surprise to state broadcaster IRIB, whose deputy head Morteza Mir Bagheri had earlier described the live debates as "the most popular programmes" on the station, and the "best way for people to get to know the candidates".
    The heated TV debates in 2009 between president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and his reformist opponents fired up the electorate and were seen as partly responsible for the post-election unrest that occurred when Ahmadinejad was re-elected amid allegations of vote-rigging.
    More than 1,600 people have signed up to run in the election on May 19.
    That number will be whittled down by the Guardian Council in the coming days, with around half-a-dozen candidates normally permitted to stand.


  18. Waqas Dar
    ISLAMABAD:  Awami Muslim League leader Sheikh Rasheed while giving his comments on the Supreme Court`s decision over Panama Leaks said that an opportunity has been given to the Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif for a sixty day period.
    Speaking in Aaj Shahzeb Khanzada Kay Saath, he said that “I thought that three judges would go for the disqualification nevertheless the premier would be presented before the Joint Investigation Team (JIT) like Ajmal Pahari and Uzair Baloch – what respect will he have now -  all the five judges have said that they don’t have any proofs on money trail.”
    He added: “the judges have rejected their entire case. The only difference is that all the five judges have given him an opportunity to give clarification; however the two senior judges have said that they have given nothing substantive in 126 days of proceedings.”
    Rasheed claimed that he will be present during the JIT proceedings.
    Meanwhile, Chairman Pakistan Tehreeke-e-Insaf (PTI) Imran Khan called for Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to step down until an investigation team ordered by the Supreme Court completes its probe.
    "On behalf of the Pakistan people I tell Nawaz Sharif to resign immediately until JIT completes its probe,” Imran Khan told reporters in Islamabad following the Supreme Court verdict in the Panama Leaks case.
    He said the decision to make the JIT meant that the explanation regarding the source of the money trail had been dismissed, adding that Sharif did not have any moral authority left to continue as prime minister of the country.
    "How can he [Nawaz] remain the PM, what authority does he have? There will be a criminal investigation against him and his family,” Imran ephasised. "What respect will he have when a government officer calls the prime minister for a criminal inquiry."
    The PTI chairman said two judges who were likely to become chief justices in the future had ruled that Nawaz should be disqualified, a 3-2 split verdict announce by the apex court today.
     


  19. Waqas Dar
    The Supreme Court five-member bench, which heard the Panama Leaks case, announced its verdict after two months of wait on Thursday. The decision was 3-2 split among the bench members, with three in favour of further probe into the money trail of the country’s Prime Minister and two ruling in favour of de-notifying the PM.
    Here’s a look at the brief profiles of the honourable judges who heard the case:
    Justice Asif Saeed Khan Khosa
    Born on December 21, 1954, in Dera Ghazi Khan, Justice Khosa was elevated to the Supreme Court as a judge on February 18, 2010. He has given verdict on more than 50,000 cases in 18 years. Justice Khosa, who has also authored four books, was part of the seven-member bench, which heard the former PM Yousuf Raza Gillani’s contempt of court case. He was one of the two judges who wanted to disqualify Nawaz Sharif.
     
    Justice Gulzar Ahmed
    Born on February, 1957 in Karachi, Justice Gulzar Ahmed was elevated to the Supreme Court on November 16, 2011. He started out as an Advocate of the High Court, later served as Advocate of the Supreme Court of Pakistan. Later, he was elected as Honorary Secretary of the Sindh High Court Bar Association and then became a Judge of Sindh High Court in 2002, before serving as a Judge of Supreme Court.  He was the other dissenting judge in the Panama case.
     
    Justice Ejaz Afzal Khan
    Born on May 18, 1953, in Mansehra, Justice Ejaz Afzal got promoted to serve as the Supreme Court judge on November 17, 2011. After serving as the judge of the Peshawar High Court for nine years, he was appointed Chief Justice on October 20, 2009. He is also the author of the 548-page document.
     
    Justice Ijaz-ul-Ahsan
    Born in Muree in 1960, Justice Ijaz-ul-Ahsan was evelated to the Supreme Court in June 2016. After completing his LLB from Punjab University Law College, he went to Cornell University for his post graduation. He was confirmed as a judge of the Lahore High Court in 2011 and appointed as Chief Justice of Lahore High Court in 2015. He has also worked as an inspection judge for Kasur, Gujranwala and Lahore districts.
     
    Justice Sheikh Azmat Saeed
    Born on August 28, 1954, in Rawalpindi, Justice Azmat Saeed was elevated to the Supreme Court on 2012. He started as an advocate of the High Court of Lahore in 1980 and later became the advocate of the Supreme Court of Pakistan in the subsequent year.
    Along with serving as legal adviser to Lahore Development Authority and Special Prosecutor of Ehtesab Bureau, he has worked in a many high profile cases.
     


  20. Waqas Dar
    ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court verdict on the Panama Leaks case started with reference to Mario Puzo’s 1969 novel ‘The Godfather’
    In its verdict, the Supreme Court ordered the formation of a JIT to probe the money trail but did not disqualify Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif. The JIT which will comprise members from FIA, NAB, SBP, SECP, IS and MI will complete and present its finding to a bench of the apex court in 60 days.

    The reference states that the popular 1969 novel “The Godfather” by Mario Puzo recounts the violent take of a Mafia family and the epigraph selected by the author was fascinating:  
    Behind every great fortune there is a crime.
    — Balzac
     
    The novel was a popular sensation which was made into an acclaimed film. It is believed that this epigraph was inspired by a sentence that was written by Honoré de Balzac and its original version in French reads as follows:
     
    Le secret des grandes fortunes sans cause apparente est un crime oublié, parce qu’il a été proprement fait.
     
    (The secret of a great success for which you are at a loss to account is a crime that has never been found out, because it was properly executed)
     
    The judgement then states that it is ironical and a sheer coincidence that the present case revolves around that very sentence attributed to Balzac.
    Read the detailed judgement here.
     


  21. Waqas Dar
    North Korean state media warned the United States of a "super-mighty preemptive strike" after US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said the United States was looking at ways to bring pressure to bear on North Korea over its nuclear programme.
    US President Donald Trump has taken a hard line with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, who has rebuffed admonitions from sole major ally China and proceeded with nuclear and missile programmes in defiance of UN Security Council sanctions.
    The Rodong Sinmun, the official newspaper of the North's ruling Workers' Party, did not mince its words.
    "In the case of our super-mighty preemptive strike being launched, it will completely and immediately wipe out not only US imperialists' invasion forces in South Korea and its surrounding areas but the US mainland and reduce them to ashes," it said.
    Reclusive North Korea regularly threatens to destroy Japan, South Korea and the United States and has shown no let-up in its belligerence after a failed missile test on Sunday, a day after putting on a huge display of missiles at a parade in Pyongyang.
    "We're reviewing all the status of North Korea, both in terms of state sponsorship of terrorism as well as the other ways in which we can bring pressure on the regime in Pyongyang to re-engage with us, but re-engage with us on a different footing than past talks have been held," Tillerson told reporters in Washington on Wednesday.
    US Vice President Mike Pence, on a tour of Asian allies, has said repeatedly an "era of strategic patience" with North Korea is over.
    US House of Representatives Speaker Paul Ryan said during a visit to London the military option must be part of the pressure brought to bear.
    "Allowing this dictator to have that kind of power is not something that civilised nations can allow to happen," he said in reference to Kim.
    Ryan said he was encouraged by the results of efforts to work with China to reduce tension, but that it was unacceptable North Korea might be able to strike allies with nuclear weapons.
    North and South Korea are technically still at war because their 1950-53 conflict ended in a truce, not a peace treaty.
    'MAX THUNDER'
    South Korea's acting president, Hwang Kyo-ahn, at a meeting with top officials on Thursday, repeatedly called for the military and security ministries to maintain vigilance.
    The defence ministry said US and South Korean air forces were conducting an annual training exercise, codenamed Max Thunder, until April 28. North Korea routinely labels such exercises preparations for invasion.
    "We are conducting a practical and more intensive exercise than ever," South Korean pilot Colonel Lee Bum-chul told reporters. "Through this exercise, I am sure we can deter war and remove our enemy's intention to provoke us."
    South Korean presidential candidates clashed on Wednesday night in a debate over the planned deployment in South Korea of a US-supplied Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) anti-missile system, which has angered China.
    Frontrunner Moon Jae-in was criticized for leaving his options open before the May 9 election.
    On Monday, Hwang and Pence reaffirmed their plans to go ahead with the THAAD, but the decision will be up to the next South Korean president. For its part, China says the system's powerful radar is a threat to its security.
    The North has said it has developed a missile that can strike the mainland United States, but officials and experts believe it is some time away from mastering the necessary technology, including miniaturising a nuclear warhead.
    RUSSIA, US AT ODDS
    The United States and Russia clashed at the United Nations on Wednesday over a US-drafted Security Council statement to condemn North Korea's latest failed ballistic missile test.
    Diplomats said China had agreed to the statement.
    Such statements by the 15-member council have to be agreed by consensus.
    Previous statements denouncing missile launches "welcomed efforts by council members, as well as other states, to facilitate a peaceful and comprehensive solution through dialogue". The latest draft statement dropped "through dialogue" and Russia requested it be included again.
    "When we requested to restore the agreed language that was of political importance and expressed commitment to continue to work on the draft ... the US delegation without providing any explanations cancelled the work on the draft," the Russian UN mission said in a statement.
    Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang said China believed in the Security Council maintaining unity.
    "Speaking with one voice is extremely important to the Security Council appropriately responding to the relevant issue on the peninsula," he told reporters.
    There has been some confusion over the whereabouts of a US aircraft carrier group after Trump said last week he had sent an "armada" as a warning to North Korea, even as the ships were still far from Korean waters.
    The US military's Pacific Command explained that the USS Carl Vinson strike group first had to complete a shorter-than-planned period of training with Australia. It was now heading for the Western Pacific as ordered, it said.
    China's influential Global Times newspaper, which is published by the People's Daily, the Communist Party's official paper, wondered whether the misdirection was deliberate.
    "The truth seems to be that the US military and president jointly created fake news and it is without doubt a rare scandal in US history, which will be bound to cripple Trump's and US dignity," it said.


  24. Waqas Dar
    ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Peoples` Party Co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari on Thursday has condemned the Supreme Court`s decision on Panama Leaks case and demanded the resignation of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif.
    Speaking to the press, along with the party stalwarts, Zardari said that the “Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif should resign ethically. I condemn the Supreme Court`s decision and reject it,” further adding, “today democracy and justice were adversely affected.”
    He said that the majority of junior judges have joked with the people of Pakistan, however, the senior judges have given the finest decision.  “I salute the two senior judges,” he said.
    (This is a developing story)


  25. Waqas Dar
    KARACHI: When Younis Khan hangs up his bat at the end of Pakistan´s tour of the West Indies, it will likely be with a final Test milestone against his name.
    Younis is just 23 runs away from becoming the first Pakistan player to score 10,000 Test runs.
    With the first of three Tests against the West Indies beginning on Friday in Kingston, Jamaica, few would bet against him marking his swansong with a final foray into the record books.
    Since his debut in 2000 against Sri Lanka, he proved his ability to adapt to different conditions by scoring centuries in every Test playing nation, including double hundreds in India and England.
    His batting average of 53.06 is the highest by any Pakistani who has played 10 Tests or more.
    But for all Younis´ record-breaking individual achievements, former teammate and fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar said his former captain should be remembered for his selfless personality and team ethic.
    "To me Younis should be renamed ´Unique´ Khan for his selflessness and honesty towards Pakistan cricket and the team," said Shoaib, who retired in 2011.
    Renowned as a fighter at the crease, Younis often produced his greatest performances with his back against the wall.
    Of his 34 tons, an all-time Test record five have been scored in the fourth innings.
    His 2005 match-winning 267 and 84 not out against India in Bangalore came after a string of low scores saw him battling to avoid being dropped.
    Younis´ greatest achievement as captain was winning the 2009 world Twenty20 championship in England.
    And yet that came just weeks after Pakistan cricket had been thrown into disarray by the gun attack on the Sri Lankan team bus in Lahore, an incident which means the national side still plays their home matches in the UAE.
    Younis said he wanted to be remembered as a team player.
    "When I am retired and when I am not in the dressing room, I want youngsters to remember me as a role model," he said.
    "I want them to remember me as a player and batsman who always played for his country."
    Hailing from Mardan in the north-west Khybe Pakhtunkhwa, Younis´ career was moulded in Karachi.
    Younis scored a hundred in his first Test against Sri Lanka at Rawalpindi in 2000 and went on to record 33 more, with a triple ton and three double hundreds.
    His most recent was a typical unbeaten 175 ground out over more than seven hours as Pakistan crawled to 315 against Australia in Sydney in January.
    His Test best 313 against Sri Lanka in Karachi in 2009 is the third highest individual score for Pakistan behind Hanif Mohammad´s 337 and Inzamam-ul-Haq´s 329.

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