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Karachi police on Thursday registered a first information report (FIR) of an incident in which a pickup truck rammed four members of a family earlier this week in the Gulshan-i-Iqbal area.

The CCTV footage of the incident, which has been making the rounds on social media, showed the fast-moving vehicle hitting a group of individuals, including young children, as well as a rickshaw. In a disturbing sequence, the driver can be seen fleeing the scene, only to return and run over the injured victims once again.

Caretaker Sindh Home Minister, retired Brig Haris Nawaz, took notice of the incident and directed the police to provide a comprehensive report on the matter and apprehend the individuals involved in the case.

Speaking to Dawn.com today, Gulshan-i-Iqbal Police SHO Arshad Afridi said the incident took place on Sunday and confirmed the registration of the FIR.

He stated that the police had “certain leads regarding the vehicle” and were actively pursuing the individuals responsible.

The SHO denied reports about the death of any person, however, he said the four family members were injured and were under treatment at a private hospital.

According to the FIR, the injured complainant, Sajjad Hussain, recounted that he and his family had visited a local market in Gulshan-i-Iqbal, Block-7 on August 27. The complainant is an employee ar a private firm and resident of Gulistan-i-Jauhar, Block-10.

He described how his sister was shopping in the market while he, accompanied by his two daughters and a niece, headed to a nearby public park. Upon receiving a call from his sister, he proceeded towards his car with his daughters and niece.

However, in an unfortunate turn of events, the unidentified double cabin vehicle, arriving from a direction he was not certain of, struck them.

Hussain recounted that he sustained injuries in the accident that rendered him unconscious. Upon regaining consciousness in the hospital, he was told that he had suffered head injuries and fractured bones in his leg, the FIR said.

His four-year-old daughter sustained injuries to her head, leg, and foot, while his seven-year-old daughter incurred wounds below her eyes and ribs. Also, his five-year-old niece suffered injuries to her neck, leg, hands, and shoulder, as documented in the FIR.

“My appeal is for legal action to be taken against an unidentified driver who, through reckless and negligent driving, struck and injured us,” Hussain appealed.

Two police officials were martyred and three were injured in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Lakki Marwat when unidentified gunmen attacked a patrolling vehicle on Monday, according to an official.

Lakki Marwat District Police Officer (DPO) Tariq Habib told Dawn.com that the gunmen launched an assault on a patrolling vehicle from the Pizo Police Station, resulting in the immediate death of two officers.

Following the incident, a large contingent of police officers arrived at the scene, cordoned off the area and launched an investigation into the incident, he added.

Separately, unidentified attackers targeted a police checkpoint in Swat and injured an officer.

Swat DPO Shafiullah told Dawn.com that the assailants, whose identities remain unknown, targeted a checkpoint in the Talegra area. Consequently, one police officer sustained injuries and was transported to Saidu Sharif Teaching Hospital, the DPO added.

Subsequently, he said a police team arrived at the scene and initiated a search operation within the adjacent mountainous regions to apprehend the attackers.

Last week, four people, including a passerby, were killed and two others injured when gunmen opened fire on their rivals during a weekly fair in the Landiwah area of Lakki Marwat district.

Surge in terrorism

The attacks come as terrorism in Pakistan has been rearing its head again. Over the past few months, the law and order situation in the country — especially in KP and Balochistan has worsened — with terrorist groups executing attacks with near impunity across the country.

Since the talks with the proscribed Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) broke down in November, the militant group has intensified its attacks, particularly targeting the police in KP and areas bordering Afghanistan. Insurgents in Balochistan have also stepped up their violent activities and formalised a nexus with the outlawed TTP.

In January, a powerful suicide blast in a mosque in Peshawar Police Lines killed 84 people and injured many others.

According to statistics released by the Pakistan Institute for Conflict and Security Studies, an Islamabad-based think-tank, January remained one of the deadliest months since July 2018, as 134 people lost their lives — a 139 per cent spike — and 254 received injuries in at least 44 militant attacks across the country.

Additional input from Murad Ali Khan.

BUDAPEST: When Arshad Nadeem saw the javelin land on his third attempt, he looked up and smiled for the world.

A season’s best throw of 87.82 metres at the World Athletics Cham­pionships on Sunday had lifted Arshad from sixth to second place in the javelin throw final, only behind India’s Olym­pic champion Neeraj Chopra.

Chopra had set the bar with his first legitimate throw on the second attempt when he threw the javelin 88.17 metres.

In the next three throws, Arshad tried to reel in those 35 centimetres but couldn’t conjure up the 90.18-metre throw that saw him clinch gold at the Commonwealth Games last year.

Arshad still made history in the Hungarian capital, winning Pakistan’s first medal at the biennial track and field spectacle with his second-placed finish and showing he can end Pakistan’s long Olympic medal drought at next year’s Games in Paris.

His achievement becomes even more remarkable considering the fact that this was his first international appearance in a year.

Arshad underwent surgeries on his elbow and knee after winning gold at last year’s Islamic Games and then had an extensive rehabilitation programme.

He’d shown he was back to his best when he threw 86.79 metres in qualifying on Friday, but he’d saved his best for the final — even though he had a far from ideal start.

His first throw gained height but not the distance, travelling just 74.80 metres — a mark not enough for a place in the top eight, who would go the distance in the final.

But just like he’d done in qualifying, Arshad kept getting better with each throw. When his javelin found the 82.81-metre mark on his second attempt, he went momentarily fourth overall, but eventually ended the round at sixth.

With his third throw, however, he was in gold contention, with just Chopra ahead of him and the rest of the field — having been trimmed from 12 to eight after the first three rounds — playing catch-up.

Arshad tried his best to reel in Chopra — India’s first gold medalist in history at the Worlds — and his fourth attempt hitting the 87.15-metre mark. He fouled his attempt in the fifth round, where the Czech Republic’s Jakub Vadlejch snatched third place from Germany’s Julian Weber (85.79m) with a throw of 86.67 metres.

The Pakistan-India battle for gold went to the final round where Arshad tried to raise the stakes but could only reach 81.86m. Silver secured, he prostrated with Pakistan finally having a medal to its name at athletics’ marquee event.

Published in Dawn, August 28th, 2023

• Standing crops submerged
• 175 relief camps set up
• 480 villages affected so far

BAHAWALPUR/LAHORE: Panic gripped Bahawalpur and adjacent areas as a number of zamindara (private) protective dykes could not withstand the strong Sutlej water currents that inundated three main villages on the outskirts of town.

Sunday’s peak discharge in Sutlej at Empress bridge was 130,000 cusecs which flooded settlements of Weaslan, Sahlan and Lal De Goth. Their residents had been evacuated along with their livestock well before the breaches occurred. But their standing crops have been submerged over a vast area.

Since these villages are close to the city, there is concern among the general public about the possible flooding but officials said the situation was under control.

After learning about breaches in the morning, Deputy Commissioner Zaher Anwar Jappa visited the affected areas and supervised the strengthening of dykes being done through heavy machinery. He said efforts were on to protect other rural and urban areas along the swollen river.

He added that the evacuated people were being looked after at relief and medical camps.

Flood has also affected Lodhran district’s Kahror Pucca tehsil situated along the other side of the river.

Meanwhile, flood level at Islam Headworks and Ganda Singh Wala in Sutlej River reduced to medium on Sunday while evacuations continued in vulnerable areas of Punjab.

A day ago, Sutlej flew in high flood at two points as dams built on the river on the Indian side neared their maximum capacity. Given the situation, several district administrations of the Punjab were directed to take prompt measures to ensure complete evacuation from all villages and settlements along the river. But as of 2pm (on Sunday), the Flood Forecasting Division said the flood level had fallen to medium at the two spots following a decrease in the flow of water. It had previously forecast sustained high flood levels at the two points for the next 24 hours.

The FFD also reported that the Indus River was in low flood at Taunsa, Chashma and Guddu headworks at 12pm.

A statement issued by the PDMA spokesperson said the authority was closely monitoring the situation and relief measures were under way in the affected districts.

The spokesperson said 970 people were rescued in Bahawalnagar, Kasur, Oka­ra, Pakpattan, Lodhran, Vehari and Bahawalpur from August 23 to 26; 32,000 people benefited from medical camps established in the above-mentioned districts; 175 relief camps were set up in the affected areas; and rations were distributed among 300 flood-affected families.

The spokesperson added that 21,000 heads of cattle were moved to safe places from affected areas. As of today, 480 villages remain affected by the flood situation in Punjab, he added.

Punjab Relief Commissioner Nabil Javed said life was returning to normal and the displaced people would return to their homes soon too.

Farooq Ahmad, Rescue 1122’s spokesperson in Punjab, also provided updates on the emergency service’s rescue and evacuation operations.

In a statement, Mr Ahmad said 425 boats and 1,660 personnel were part of rescue efforts. He added that in the last 24 hours, 6,725 people were evacuated, 937 people were transported and 1,021 animals were moved to safe places in the districts of Okara, Vehari, Kasur, Pakp­attan and Bahawa­lnagar.

Relief efforts

Meanwhile, Radio Pakistan reported that the Pakistan Army’s rescue and relief efforts were continuing in low-lying areas inundated by floodwaters.

The report said army troops were engaged in distributing free rations, carrying out rescue operations and running free medical camps for flood-affected people in Khairpur Tammay Wali, Hasilpur and Bahaw­alnagar.

It added that the army, with the help of the local administration, moved people to safer places from flood-hit areas of Mailsi, Chishtian, Minch­anabad, Vehari, Pakpattan, Hasi­lpur, Arifwala and Head Sulaimanki.

Published in Dawn, August 28th, 2023

A fact-finding mission of the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) has suspected that Jaranwala rioters were not a “spontaneous or random crowd”, but were a part of a “larger campaign of hatred against local Christians”.

On August 16, a violent mob of hundreds ransacked and torched nearly two dozen churches, and attacked the residences of members of the Christian community and the office of the local assistant commissioner in Jaranwala.

According to estimates compiled by Faisalabad’s district administration, at least 22 churches ransacked by mobs suffered damages to the tune of Rs29.1 million whereas 91 houses which bore the brunt of violence suffered losses to the tune of Rs38.5m.

As per police and local sources, the violence erupted after some locals alleged that several desecrated pages of the Holy Quran were found near a house at Cinema Chowk in Jaranwala, where two Christian brothers resided.

A day after the incident, Punjab caretaker Chief Minister Moshin Naqvi said that “both main accused” in the case were arrested and in the custody of the Counter Terrorism Department.

Many more arrests have been made in connection with the incident since.

In a fact-finding report published today, the commission said police officers in Jaranwala had confirmed that some “Muslim religious groups have raised issues that have created communal tension in the near past”.

“The mission has also learnt that several videos made during the attacks in different localities of Jaranwala are in circulation, showing members of a particular religious political party inciting the crowd to violence.

“Other factors reported above indicate that there could be larger political and social motives behind the attack,” it said.

The fact-finding mission comprised HRCP chairperson Hina Jilani, Centre for Social Justice executive director Peter Jacob, senior Women’s Action Forum member Neelam Hussain, and historian and rights activist Dr Yaqoob Bangash.

According to the report, several witnesses stated that those who committed the arson were not from the city itself but had come from adjoining villages.

“One person attested that a tractor trolley full of people as well as several persons on motorbikes had arrived from a village, transporting men who then burnt down a church and houses, thus giving more credibility to the notion that the attack was premeditated.”

It highlighted that the HRCP mission’s inspection of the damage by fire points towards “planned arson and deliberate desecration of religious symbols”, even though the looting of homes may have been more opportunistic.

The report also said that some Muslim residents of Jaranwala helped evacuate residents of the neighbourhoods that came under attack. “In Cinema Basti, neighbours from the Shia community came to victims’ aid the day their neighbourhood was attacked,” it revealed.

Role of police

On the role of the local police, HRCP said 0information gathered by its mission raised concerns with respect to the “timeliness of the response as well as weaknesses in the strategy employed by law enforcement personnel to restrain the crowd and limit the spread of its mischief and violence”.

“It appears that the local SP (superintendent of police) was unable to assess the seriousness of the situation and did not fully apprise himself of the situation that was brewing outside while he was closeted with those who were in negotiations focused on demands for the arrest of the persons accused of blasphemy. It is unfortunate that he remained uninformed of the announcements from mosques and of crowds coming into town from outlying villages.

“It is our considered opinion that there was an inexplicable holding back on the part of the police despite clear evidence of the level of violence that merited the use of force proportionate to the havoc that these crowds were creating. Neither tear gas nor any other methods to restrain or disperse the mob seem to have been deployed in any of the affected localities,” it stated.

The report also highlighted the 10-hour delay in the arrival of Rangers in the area, saying that it “gave the mobs enough time to go on a rampage against churches, houses and one cemetery”.

Furthermore, HRCP said it found the transfer of Jaranwala’s Christian assistant commissioner after the attack “highly objectionable”.

Noting the arrests made in the aftermath of the violence, the commission said “local political leaders who incited and led the violence have yet to be booked”.

Recommendations

Providing a list of recommendations, the HRCP called on the authorities to review blasphemy laws so that they could not be misused against minorities and demanded that they provide punishment for making false accusations.

“The mission urges the Punjab government to take measures to implement the recommendations of the judicial inquiry held after the communal riots in Gojra in 2009 so that there is no impunity for organised Muslim religious groups that openly declare their intentions of violent action against religious minorities.

“The government must also take stern action against any instances of hate speech against any community,” the report emphasised.

After the 2009 massacre, in which seven Christians in Gojra were burnt alive over blasphemy allegations, a tribunal had recommended reviewing five provisions of the blasphemy law.

The HRCP further said in its report that the government needed to take urgent measures to swiftly compensate the Christian community in Jaranwala, rebuild the damaged neighbourhoods, take action against hate speech and make efforts to build inter-faith harmony.

“The administration must publicly clarify that the transfer of the assistant commissioner, a Christian, was not due to any fault on his part but was done to protect him and his family,” the HRCP further demanded.

“The directive of the 2014 Supreme Court judgment calling for a separate police force to be created to protect religious minorities’ places of worship must be implemented urgently, and the financial and human resources needed to do this made available without any further delay,” the report added.

Seven people, including a six-year-old child, were killed and 129 wounded when a Russian missile struck a central square in the historic northern Ukrainian city of Chernihiv, the interior ministry said on Saturday.

People had been on their way to church to celebrate a religious holiday when the strike took place, the ministry said. Of the 129 counted as wounded in the search and rescue operation, 15 were children and 15 were police officers, Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko said in a Telegram post.

“A Russian missile hit right in the centre of the city, in our Chernihiv. A square, the polytechnic university, a theatre,” President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, who was on a working visit to Sweden, posted on Telegram.

“An ordinary Saturday, which Russia turned into a day of pain and loss,” he added.

A short video accompanying Zelenskiy’s post showed debris scattered across a square in front of the regional drama theatre, where parked cars were heavily damaged. The video also briefly showed a body slumped inside a car.

Ukrainian media reported that a public event featuring drone manufacturers had been taking place inside the theatre at the time of the attack. Both sides in Russia’s 18-month-old invasion have widely used drones on the battlefield.

In comments to reporters, Klymenko confirmed only that an unspecified event had been taking place in the building and that Ukraine’s domestic security service was investigating the matter.

Chernihiv is a city of leafy boulevards and centuries-old churches about 145 kilometres north of the capital Kyiv.

The roof of the neoclassical theatre was torn off by the strike, which also blew out doors and windows in neighbouring apartment buildings and storefronts.

The streets were stained with blood trails and strewn with scraps from first-aid supplies that were used to treat the wounded.

Russia has attacked Ukrainian cities far from the frontline with missiles and drones as part of the full-scale invasion it launched in February last year.

Kyiv’s air force said early on Saturday the Ukrainian military had shot down 15 out of 17 Iranian-made Shahed drones launched by Moscow in an overnight strike.

Meanwhile, Russia’s Defence Ministry said on Saturday it had destroyed a Ukrainian drone in the Belgorod region and jammed another near Moscow. A third struck a military airfield in the Novgorod region, damaging a warplane, it also said.

Authorities began evacuations in Punjab on Friday after the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) issued an alert about “high to very high-level floods” in the Sutlej river.

According to an advisory issued by the authority, the Sutlej river had reached an “extremely high-level flood level” at Ganda Singh Wala, adding the flows would be reflected and passed downstream to Sulemanki and Islam Headworks in the next 48 to 76 hours.

In light of the high flows and probable dangers and vulnerability of areas astride the Sutlej river, the NDMA advised the Federal Flood Commission (FFC) to ensure the implementation of an elaborate coordination mechanism for preparedness and mitigation through the management and regulation of water reservoirs, barrages, headworks and irrigation canals.

“The measures must ensure desynchronised releases from all reservoirs, regulating structures to preclude cumulative flooding in any regions. Plan immediate discharges from regulating structures to build capacity for likely heightened or increased flows,” it said.

The PCIW was also directed to ensure that flows and discharge data of eastern rivers were updated regularly for necessary planning and preparations.

Furthermore, PMD and FFD were directed to share six-hourly weather forecasts during the forecasted period to enable timely decision-making and coordinated responses.

The departments were also told to share three-hourly updates on river and nullah flows and reservoir levels to facilitate coordinated water management and regulation.

The Punjab Irrigation Department was also instructed to take all necessary measures to manage water flow and mitigate flood risks.

The Punjab Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) and respective district disaster management authorities (DDMAs) were directed to conduct extensive public awareness campaigns through multiple channels, including TV, broadcast, social, and print media etc., to ensure that vulnerable communities were well-informed about the anticipated flood situation and necessary precautions.

Moreover, they were also told to preposition required machinery, equipment, emergency supplies and personnel in high-risk areas, considering the forecasted severity of flooding.

The NDMA also directed relevant authorities to proactively maintain nullahs and stormwater drains to ensure their proper functioning and prevent blockages that may exacerbate flooding.

There were also instructions to ensure immediate stocking of basic commodities, including paramedics and medicine, especially in regions that were likely to get cut off during flooding.

Authorities were told to activate early warning systems in flash flood-prone areas to promptly alert residents and facilitate their evacuation to safer locations and also strengthen coordination among all relevant departments and agencies to facilitate the timely sharing of information and resources during emergency situations.

Lastly, authorities were instructed to ensure the widespread circulation of alerts and advisories, especially in local languages, to raise awareness and sensitise travellers, tourists and local communities in at-risk or vulnerable areas.

Settlements along Sutlej evacuated: PDMA

Separately, the Punjab PDMA said in a statement that the Office of the Indian Commissioner for Indus Water Treaty had intimated that Harike and Ferozepur Headworks “have entered into the flood regime”.

It said 250,000 cusecs of water was passing at the point of Ganda Singh Wala, adding that the water level was continuously increasing.

The PDMA said three settlements along the river were completely evacuated while five were partially evacuated with 26 boats provided to move people to safe places.

The statement also highlighted that five dumpers and five trolley tractors were provided in flood villages while efforts were under way for the safe relocation of livestock, establishment of a mobile hospital at Talwar checkpost and provision of health facilities through mobile health teams.

Meanwhile, PDMA Director General Imran Qureshi said every measure would be taken to protect residents from floodwaters and the administrative setup was active to remove encroachments in the floodwater’s path.

“There is a ban on bathing in rivers and canals, and the administration should enforce Section 144 strictly,” the PDMA DG ordered.

Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) leader and former Sindh Assembly member Kanwar Naveed Jameel passed away in Karachi after a prolonged illness on Thursday. He was 59, his family said.

Jameel’s daughter confirmed to Dawn.com that her father passed away today.

The funeral prayer will take place tomorrow after Friday prayers at Mustafa Masjid in DHA phase-I, she added.

In a statement, MQM said Jameel was born in Hyderabad. “He held the position of a member of the National Assembly twice and similarly served as a member of the Sindh Assembly on two occasions,” the party said.

“In the year 2005, he was chosen as the Mayor of Hyderabad.

“He is survived by a widow and two sons,” according to the party.

Sindh Governor Kamran Khan Tessori said that Jameel was an “experienced politician who consistently advocated for the underprivileged” within the provincial legislature.

Governor Tessori highlighted that the late politician dedicated his time in power to serving the people of Hyderabad during his tenure as the city’s mayor.

Meanwhile, Karachi Mayor Murtaza Wahab said that Jameel was an individual characterised by his integrity and exemplary conduct.

“As the district organiser of Hyderabad, the contributions of Kanwar Naveed Jamil will be remembered forever.”

Former Sindh chief minister Syed Murad Ali Shah also expressed sorrow over the demise of the MQM leader and prayed for the departed soul.

The caretaker government has announced a massive hike of almost Rs18 in the price of petrol and Rs20 in that of high speed diesel, taking them to Rs290.45 and Rs293.40 per litre, respectively.

The announcement came at midnight on Tuesday and a fortnight after the Shehbaz-Sharif-led previous government increased the prices of the two products by Rs20.

The new prices were notified by the Finance Division, which said petroleum prices in the international market had increased during the last fortnight.

As a result, the consumer prices in Pakistan were also being revised, it added.

This is the first price revision of petroleum products after Anwaarul Haq Kakar took the reins of the government as the caretaker prime minister a day ago.

According to the Finance Division notification, the new prices will become effective from August 16 (Wednesday).

Pakistan has committed to a petroleum levy of up to Rs50 a litre under an agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for a bailout package.

Last month, the global lender’s executive board had green-lit a $3 billion nine-month standby arrangement for Pakistan in order “to support the authorities’ economic stabilisation programme”.

The board had approved the bailout package for the country for an amount of $2.25bn Special Drawing Rights (SDRs) — reserve funds that the institution credits to the accounts of its member nations — the IMF had said in a statement, adding that this amounted to about $3bn, or 111pc of Pakistan’s quota.

Outgoing Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah and opposition leader in the now-dissolved provincial assembly Rana Ansar agreed on Monday to propose the name of former Supreme Court judge Maqbool Baqar for the interim CM’s slot.

PPP leader Murtaza Wahab announced this in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, just as the deadline for Murad and Ansar to finalise a name for the caretaker chief minister was about to end.

“This is to inform that the consultative process between Sindh CM and the opposition leader under Article 224(1A) took place on 12th,13th and 14th of August.

“Both the leaders have agreed to propose the name of Justice Maqbool Baqar sahib as the caretaker chief minister,” Wahab wrote on X.

A short while later, Ansar also confirmed the development while speaking to the media at the CM House.

She said there were several names under consideration for the position and “this name was chosen with the consensus of leadership from both sides”.

Moreover, she said the Grand Democratic Alliance — an ally of her party MQM-P — was also consulted on the matter.

Baqar’s name was proposed by both sides, she added.

Murtaza also spoke to the media after her, where he said the CM and opposition leader’s recommendations to appoint Baqar as the interim CM had been sent to the Sindh governor for approval.

Murad and Ansar were to agree on a name for the caretaker CM within three days of the dissolution of the Sindh Assembly on Friday, else the matter would have been referred to a committee constituted by the assembly speaker.

Had the committee failed to finalise a name in three days, it would have been left to the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) to decide a name for the slot.

Until yesterday, political circles had not ruled out the possibility of the matter falling into the hands of the ECP with Murad and Ansar not having reached a consensus after two rounds of talks.

ISLAMABAD: The Inter­national Finance Corporation (IFC), a commercial arm of the World Bank, has alerted the Pakistan authorities about a series of key challenges that could hamper the successful outsourcing of the country’s three major international airports.

The IFC is the transaction adviser on outsourcing of Pakis­tan’s three international airports — Islam­abad, Lahore and Karachi — and has been studying the transaction structure and preparing for outsourcing since April.

However, the previous coalition government recently asked the corporation to put on hold the outsourcing of Lahore and Karachi airports, and focus on Islamabad airport.

In its inception report to the Pakistan Civil Aviation Authority (PCAA) — the owner and operator of public sector airports — the IFC highlighted several issues that “could hamper the smooth execution of the outsourcing initiative” if they remained unresolved before bidding and thus required immediate interventions and policy actions.

Uncertain economy, PIA’s liabilities, airports’ existing contracts can hamper outsourcing, says IFC

The key issues centred upon long-outstanding receivables and liabilities of Pakistan International Airlines, the uncertain macroeconomic conditions of the country, concession fee and tariff/user charges escalation/regulation mechanisms of the PCAA, the fate of its employees affected by outsourcing and existing contractual arrangements at the airports. PIA’s losses surpassed Rs630 billion as of September last year.

The IFC also recommended permission for the concessionaire and the PCAA to maintain a foreign currency account with the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) to ensure that the government could fulfil its obligations to “ensure availability, convertibility and transferability of foreign currency and mitigate against the potential loss of revenue for the concessionaire due to foreign exchange volatility”.

The transaction adviser also pointed out that improving service quality at the airports largely depended on the performance of government agencies working at the airports.

For this, it proposed a service-level agreement between all these entities performing “reserve functions” and the PCAA so that the aviation authority might not be held responsible for any breach of the agreed performance indicators. In fact, the PCAA shall oversee the performance of these reserve functions and report any breach, the adviser suggested.

Any financial liability accruing from a breach of any performance indicator by an entity performing a ‘reserve function’ shall be undertaken by the government of Pakistan under a state support agreement (SSA).

Moreover, the IFC also recommended that the government would backstop PCAA’s payment obligations in the case of termination payments under all scenarios through the SSA.

Moreover, the concessionaire would be allowed to set off any non-payment by PIA against PCAA revenue share under the concession agreement to be signed before the transfer of an airport.

However, under the state support agreement, the federal government would compensate the PCAA for revenue loss on account of PIA under a separate agreement to be entered into later. Given the urgency of the matter and since advertisements for inviting bids had already been issued, the previous coalition government already got approved a draft SSA from the federal cabinet during the last leg of its tenure last week.

The remaining challenges would have to be addressed by the caretaker government as the transaction process progressed. The PCAA also assured the former cabinet that the SSA, in principle, addressed the objections of various stakeholders while some of the concerns which were of an operational nature shall also be addressed before formally signing the SSA.

The government of Pakistan has been examining various options for more than a decade to improve airport services, including outsourcing the operation of major airports in Pakistan to improve passenger services and optimise the revenue potential of airports.

Accordingly, the PCAA after a bidding process signed a transaction advisory services agreement with the IFC in April with the approval of the relevant forums, including the federal cabinet. Under the agreement, the IFC was given the task of outsourcing three major airports, namely Islamabad International Airport; Jinnah International Airport, Karachi; and Allama Iqbal International Airport, Lahore.

To push through the outsourcing at a fast pace without any hindrance and raise foreign exchange inflows, the outgoing prime minister also formed a steering committee headed by the finance minister to oversee the outsourcing of airports.

Following a series of meetings with the IFC and other stakeholders, the steering committee then decided that in the first instance, only Islamabad airport should be considered for outsourcing, whereas the two remaining airports could be outsourced considering the experiences and insights gained from that outsourcing.About a dozen internationally renowned firms, including the one operating London’s Heathrow Airport, had reported to have shown interest in airport service contracts, although they are yet to come up with formal requests for proposals.

Published in Dawn, August 14th, 2023

ISLAMABAD: Taking pride in “always having good relations” with the military establishment, outgoing Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Saturday declared that his party would contest the upcoming elections on the vote ko izzat do (respect the vote) slogan.

Party supremo Nawaz Sharif launched the popular slogan after his ouster from office, following his conviction in the 2017 Panama Papers case.

During a breakfast meeting with senior journalists at the luxurious PM House, hours before the announcement of Senator Anwarul Haq Kakar as the head of the incoming caretaker set-up, the outgoing PM said his elder brother would be the party’s candidate for the prime minister’s slot.

He also claimed that there was no legal hitch blocking Nawaz Sharif from contesting the upcoming polls.

Shehbaz prides himself in ‘good ties with military’; claims no legal hitch preventing Nawaz from contesting polls

Flanked by former finance minister Ishaq Dar and ex-defence minister Khawaja Asif, Shehbaz Sharif gave detailed answers to journalists’ questions before vacating PM House for his successor.

Former information minister Marri­yum Aurangzeb conducted a question-answer session.

Establishment’s role

Most questions revolved around the increasing role of the establishment in governance, especially in the country’s financial matters. However, Mr Sharif did not shy away from admitting he had always been in the good books of the military.

Talking about the behind-the-scenes manoeuvrings during the PTI sit-in of 2014, he said that even the then-army chief Gen Raheel Sharif used to call him “Shehbaz Bhai.”

Retired Gen Jahangir Karamat was another army chief praised by the outgoing PM for his role in the development of Punjab in the 1990s, while he was the chief minister.

The outgoing PM also forcefully defended the army’s growing role in the economic realm. When a reporter referred to the composition of the recently-formed Special Investment Facilitation Council (SIFC) and asked if the finance ministry had been placed “under GHQ or the establishment,” Mr Sharif responded that the council was being headed by the prime minister and Army Chief Gen Asim Munir was only an ordinary member.

He said that like other institutions, the military had also contributed to the country’s development, something that he said must be acknowledged.

“It is said that I am very close to the establishment and I have responded to this [perception] many times… whether it is a hybrid system or whatever you call it, if it is for the elimination of hunger and for the betterment of people, then is it good or bad?” he asked, rhetorically.

“When did I not have an understanding with the establishment? I have been their blue-eyed boy for the past 30 years,” he said, adding that he and his party men were sent to jail when Imran Khan came to power.

However, the PML-N president clarified that good relations with the establishment did not bring him any benefit.

“Tell me when did I get any concession, despite having good relations with the establishment?”

Responding to a question about a recent statement, where he credited the recently-inaugurated Bhara Kahu bypass in Islamabad to the army chief’s efforts, the outgoing PM explained the bypass had been built by the National Logistics Cell (NLC), the army’s construction arm.

Mr Sharif said when he noticed slow progress on the project, he told the army chief that he wanted to see it completed before the end of his term in office, adding that it was after his call that the NLC worked day and night to finish the project.

Nawaz’s return

Mr Sharif said parliament had already amended the Elections Act restricting the disqualification period to five years. It is worth noting that the Supreme Court had disqualified Nawaz Sharif for life in the Panama Papers case.

He admitted that the party’s vote bank might have been affected due to the tough decisions taken by his government, but said he was proud that he had preferred state over politics.

But he did not give a clear reply when asked whether he would step up to serve the party or the establishment in the future set-up, if Nawaz Sharif faced any difficulties in returning to the country.

Speaking on the occasion, Mr Dar stated that Nawaz Sharif’s disqualification period had ended on July 27 and there was now no technical hitch holding him back from contesting elections.

Regarding a possible delay in elections after the approval of the digital census, Mr Sharif said PML-N wants to have elections as early as possible.

Mr Sharif said it was his constitutional duty to convene the meeting of the Council of Common Interests, adding they had two choices — either to reject the census or accept it.

Responding to criticism over hasty legislation and parliamentary approval for controversial laws such as the recent amendments to Official Secrets Act, he said it was necessary to provide protection to the armed forces and intelligence agencies who are busy fighting terrorism.

The outgoing PM termed price hikes as the biggest challenge his government had faced. He, however, dispelled the impression that the IMF was responsible for this inflation. Prices are soaring all over the world due to constant rise in oil prices, he said.

Published in Dawn, August 13th, 2023

A Rangers official was shot dead during snap checking at a check post in city’s Lyari area on Monday evening, police said.

City SSP Arif Aziz told Dawn.com that the paramilitary force’s officer was attacked by armed pillion riders while he was on duty at the check post on Al-Falah Road in Chakiwara. The attackers opened fire and quickly fled the scene.

As a result of the shooting, Officer Dilshad, aged 30, sustained critical bullet injuries and was rushed to Dr Ruth Pfau Civil Hospital Karachi, where he was pronounced dead by doctors.

In a separate statement, a spokesperson for the Rangers said that the paramilitary force personnel had been conducting snap checking in Bihar Colony near the Alfalah check post. They signaled bike riders to stop, but the suspects on the bike responded by opening fire on them, resulting in the martyrdom of lance naik Dilshad.

It said the paramilitary force had formed teams to apprehend the suspects.

Earlier this year, a Rangers man, who was in civvies, was shot dead in Gulistan-i-Jauhar.

Sharea Faisal SHO Haji Mohammed Ishaq had said that Khalid Husain, 30, had stopped his motorbike near Millennium Mall to receive a call on his cell phone when armed motorcyclists emerged there, fired at him and rode away.

He suffered critical bullet wounds and was taken to the Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre (JPMC) where doctors pronounced him dead on arrival.

The police said that the victim was deputed at the headquarters of Pakistan Rangers, Sindh. However, the killing had nothing to do with his employment.