ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s former finance minister Miftah Ismail was arrested on Wednesday by the country’s primary anti-graft body in a case involving a multi-billion dollar liquefied natural gas (LNG) import contract signed with Qatar in 2015 for a period of fifteen years.
Ismail served as an adviser to former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on finance and revenue in 2017 and was later appointed a federal minister for finance for a month. He is considered to be a close aide of opposition Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) Vice President and ex-premier Shahid Khaqan Abbasi who had finalized the $16 billion LNG deal with Qatar as petroleum minister.
Abbasi is already in custody of the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) for an inquiry into the LNG case which the anti-graft body claims caused a loss of around $2 billion to the national exchequer.
“My client is innocent as there is no evidence of corruption or embezzlement in the LNG deal against him,” Haider Waheed, the lawyer representing Ismail, told Arab News after his client was arrested for rejection of his pre-arrest bail in the case.
Waheed accused the NAB of “political victimization,” saying the LNG deal was finalized before Ismail took charge of his office in the PML-N government. “This is a long legal battle now and we will continue challenging the NAB’s abuse of power at every appropriate forum,” he said.
Ismail is also being investigated for allegedly granting a 15-year contract for an LNG terminal in Karachi to a “favored” company. He denies the allegation.
Former managing director of Pakistan State Oil Sheikh Imran ul Haque was also arrested on Wednesday in the LNG import case.
Pakistan, a country of 208 million people, is running out of domestic gas and has turned to LNG imports to alleviate chronic energy shortages that have hindered its economy and led to a decade of electricity blackouts.
The country is currently receiving a supply of 500 million cubic feet per day of LNG from Qatar under a 15-year agreement at 13.37 percent of Brent crude price. It is a government-to-government agreement and the price can only be reviewed after ten years of the contract.
In Pakistan, the NAB’s anti-corruption campaign has become a topic of fierce political debate, and its focus on Prime Minister Imran Khan’s political foes has prompted accusations of a one-sided purge. The government denies targeting political opponents.
Khan won power last year vowing to root out corruption among the country’s political elite and views the probes into veteran opposition politicians as long overdue.
“This is the worst kind of political victimization by Prime Minister Imran Khan’s government,” Senator Mushahidullah Khan told Arab News while reacting to the arrest of Ismail. “This government is trying to hide its inefficiency and incompetence by jailing the opposition leaders who have served this country with dignity.”
Rubbishing allegations of corruption and kickbacks in the LNG deal, he said the gas import had helped the country revive a crumbling industry and create millions of jobs.
“Instead of thanking us for ending hours-long blackouts, they [the government] are putting our leaders in jails for nothing,” Senator Khan said.
Pakistan’s former finance chief nabbed in Qatar LNG case
Pakistan’s former finance chief nabbed in Qatar LNG case
- Ex-PM Abbasi is already under custody over alleged corruption in LNG import from Qatar
- No evidence of corruption found in LNG deal, lawyer maintains
Pakistan takes stringent measures to broaden tax net ahead of IMF loan talks
- Islamabad expects an agreement with the IMF by July, though both sides have refrained from commenting on the program’s size
- Law Minister Azam Tarar says IMF is insisting on increasing tax net, implementing energy reforms and ensuring good governance
KARACHI: Pakistani authorities have taken some stringent measures to broaden the country’s tax net, including blocking mobile phone connections of individuals and registering retailers, ahead of Islamabad’s talks with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) this month for a new loan program.
Pakistan and the IMF are expected to begin formal talks after the arrival of an IMF team in Islamabad in the mid of May. Islamabad has said it expects a staff-level agreement by July. Though both Pakistani and IMF officials have refrained from commenting on the size of the program, the South Asian nation is expected to seek around $7 billion bailout from the global lender.
Last month, Jihad Azour, the IMF director for the Middle East and Central Asia, said that “reform is now more important than the size of the program.” The Fund is insisting on increasing the tax net, implement energy reforms and ensure good governance as part of the reforms, according to Pakistani officials.
Speaking at a press conference in Islamabad on Thursday, Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar said the IMF had recommended a number of measures and the government would utilize this revenue for the betterment of the masses.
“The IMF has recommended to expand tax net, control electricity theft and ensure good governance to save the resources,” Tarar said, adding that introducing reforms in the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) was top priority of the government to address economic issues and broaden the tax net.
The Pakistani government has reshuffled officials within the tax collection agency to streamline operations and enhance its transparency, according to the official. It has decided to block more than half a million mobile phone connections of individuals, who had not filed their tax returns, and emphasized on the registration of retailers ahead of formal talks with the IMF.
“FBR has taken decisive action by issuing an order to disable mobile phone SIMs associated with 506,671 individuals who fall under the aforementioned category,” the tax collection agency said in a notification issued on April 30.
“These measures are aimed at encouraging individuals to fulfill their tax obligations and contribute to the country’s economic development.”
In an another move, the FBR has decided to expedite the registration of around 3 million retailers, under the Tajir Dost Scheme, which focuses on traders and shopkeepers operating through a fixed place of business, including a shop, store, warehouse, office or similar physical place.
However, representatives of trade bodies say the scheme, launched on April 1, had not produced the “desired results.”
“The scheme is failing because there is no awareness among traders about the pros and cons of the scheme, while business conditions are also not supporting such a move,” Atiq Mir, chairman of the All Karachi Tajir Ittehad (AKTI), told Arab News on Friday.
“Amid high inflation and slow business activities, traders are struggling to survive and they can’t afford another burden of taxes.”
To deal with the situation, the FBR has appointed Muhammad Naeem Mir, chairman of the All Pakistan Anjuman-e-Tajran’s Supreme Council, chief coordinator of the Tajir Dost Scheme.
Naeem, who has not yet taken the charge, said he would analyze and discuss the strategy with FBR officials next week.
“From Monday onwards, we will draw strategy and work on the scheme after discussing and getting know-how of it from FBR officials,” he told Arab News.
Naeem denied any resistance from traders, saying the FBR had not run a comprehensive campaign to introduce the scheme, but people were “voluntarily registering themselves.”
Under the scheme, the FBR has notified registration of retailers in six major cities, including Karachi, Islamabad, Lahore, Peshawar, Rawalpindi and Quetta. The tax agency expects around Rs100 billion revenue by imposing advance tax in these cities from the July this year, according to FBR officials.
If the FBR successfully implemented the scheme by bringing about 3 million more taxpayers in the net, the overall active taxpayers would increase to more than 7 million from the existing 4 million in Pakistan.
Russian troops enter base housing US military in Niger, US official says
- The US and its allies have been forced to move troops out of a number of African countries following coups
WASHINGTON: Russian military personnel have entered an air base in Niger that is hosting US troops, a senior US defense official told Reuters, a move that follows a decision by Niger’s junta to expel US forces.
The military officers ruling the West African nation have told the US to withdraw its nearly 1,000 military personnel from the country, which until a coup last year had been a key partner for Washington’s fight against insurgents who have killed thousands of people and displaced millions more.
A senior US defense official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Russian forces were not mingling with US troops but were using a separate hangar at Airbase 101, which is next to Diori Hamani International Airport in Niamey, Niger’s capital.
The move by Russia’s military, which Reuters was the first to report, puts US and Russian troops in close proximity at a time when the nations’ military and diplomatic rivalry is increasingly acrimonious over the conflict in Ukraine.
It also raises questions about the fate of US installations in the country following a withdrawal.
“(The situation) is not great but in the short-term manageable,” the official said.
Asked about the Reuters report, US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin played down any risk to American troops or the chance that Russian troops might get close to US military hardware.
“The Russians are in a separate compound and don’t have access to US forces or access to our equipment,” Austin told a press conference in Honolulu.
“I’m always focused on the safety and protection of our troops ... But right now, I don’t see a significant issue here in terms of our force protection.”
The Nigerien and Russian embassies in Washington did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The US and its allies have been forced to move troops out of a number of African countries following coups that brought to power groups eager to distance themselves from Western governments. In addition to the impending departure from Niger, US troops have also left Chad in recent days, while French forces have been kicked out of Mali and Burkina Faso.
At the same time, Russia is seeking to strengthen relations with African nations, pitching Moscow as a friendly country with no colonial baggage in the continent.
Mali, for example, has in recent years become one of Russia’s closest African allies, with the Wagner Group mercenary force deploying there to fight jihadist insurgents.
Russia has described relations with the United States as “below zero” because of US military and financial aid for Ukraine in its effort to defend against invading Russian forces.
The US official said Nigerien authorities had told President Joe Biden’s administration that about 60 Russian military personnel would be in Niger, but the official could not verify that number.
After the coup, the US military moved some of its forces in Niger from Airbase 101 to Airbase 201 in the city of Agadez. It was not immediately clear what US military equipment remained at Airbase 101.
The United States built Airbase 201 in central Niger at a cost of more than $100 million. Since 2018 it has been used to target Islamic State and Al-Qaeda affiliate Jama’at Nusrat Al-Islam wal Muslimeen (JNIM) fighters with armed drones.
Washington is concerned about Islamic militants in the Sahel region, who may be able to expand without the presence of US forces and intelligence capabilities.
Niger’s move to ask for the removal of US troops came after a meeting in Niamey in mid-March, when senior US officials raised concerns including the expected arrival of Russia forces and reports of Iran seeking raw materials in the country, including uranium.
While the US message to Nigerien officials was not an ultimatum, the official said, it was made clear US forces could not be on a base with Russian forces.
“They did not take that well,” the official said.
A two-star US general has been sent to Niger to try and arrange a professional and responsible withdrawal.
While no decisions have been taken on the future of US troops in Niger, the official said the plan was for them to return to US Africa Command’s home bases, located in Germany.
’Show solidarity’: Pro-Palestinian protesters camp across Australian universities
- Pro-Palestinian activists set up an encampment last week outside the sandstone main hall at University of Sydney
- Similar camps have sprung up at universities in Melbourne, Canberra and other Australian cities
SYDNEY: Hundreds of people protesting Israel’s war in Gaza rallied at one of Australia’s top universities on Friday demanding it divest from companies with ties to Israel, in a movement inspired by the student occupations sweeping US campuses.
Pro-Palestinian activists set up an encampment last week outside the sandstone main hall at University of Sydney, one of Australia’s largest tertiary institutions.
Similar camps have sprung up at universities in Melbourne, Canberra and other Australian cities.
Unlike in the US, where police have forcibly removed scores of defiant pro-Palestinian protesters at several colleges, protest sites in Australia have been peaceful with scant police presence.
On Friday, protesters rallied to demand University of Sydney divest from companies with ties to Israel, echoing calls from students in the US, Canada and France.
Standing in the chanting crowd of more than 300 with his two-year old son on his shoulders, Matt, 39, said he came to show it was not just students angry at Israel’s actions in Gaza.
“Once you understand what is going on you have a responsibility to try and get involved and raise awareness and show solidarity,” he told Reuters, declining to give his last name.
Several hundred meters away from the Sydney university protest and separated by lines of security guards, hundreds gathered under Australian and Israeli flags to hear speakers say the pro-Palestinian protests made Jewish students and staff feel unsafe on campus.
“There’s no space for anybody else, walking through campus chanting ‘Intifada’ and ‘from the river to the sea’ it does something, it’s scary,” said Sarah, an academic who declined to give her name for fear of repercussions.
University of Sydney vice chancellor Mark Scott told local media on Thursday the pro-Palestinian encampment could stay on campus in part because there was not the violence seen in the US
While several police cars were parked at the entrance to the university, no police were present at either protest.
Long a stalwart ally of Israel, Australia has become increasingly critical of its conduct in Gaza, where an Australian aid worker was killed in an Israeli attack last month.
Pro-Palestinian protesters said the government had not done enough to push for peace and led the crowd in chants against Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and his government.
‘Saudi Smash’ in Jeddah set to boost table tennis
- One of the sport’s biggest events takes place at King Abdullah Sports City from May 4-11
JEDDAH: Table tennis in the Kingdom is set for a boost with the debut of the “Saudi Smash” tournament at Jeddah’s King Abdullah Sports City from May 4 to 11.
The event, organized by World Table Tennis, the Ministry of Sport and the Saudi Table Tennis Federation, is the latest example of the Kingdom’s mission to promote active lifestyles as part of Vision 2030.
Table tennis has grown in Saudi Arabia over the past three years, fueled by investments and initiatives by the STTF and the ministry.
The number of clubs has surged by 50 percent to 181, with nearly 5,000 players registered.
Several Saudi Arabia athletes will compete including Ali Alkhadrawi, Abdulaziz Bu Shulaybi and Turki Almutairi.
The tournament will have equal prize money for the men’s and women’s champions.
The Kingdom’s Vision 2030 transformation plan aims to ensure 40 percent of the country’s people engage in sports.
There has been a 300 percent increase in sports participation since 2015, accompanied by a surge in females taking part.
Professional Fighters League’s Ali Taleb looks to bounce back in Riyadh following first career loss
- Only defeated by Khurshed Kakhorov in his 10-bout mixed-martial arts career
Things did not go quite according to plan when Ali Taleb last stepped inside the Smart Cage of the Professional Fighters League.
With a chance to advance to the bantamweight finale of the inaugural season of PFL Europe, Taleb fell short, losing via unanimous decision to eventual champion Khurshed Kakhorov.
The loss last year was the first blemish on Taleb’s 10-fight professional mixed-martial arts resume, but it also became a bit of a learning experience for the Iraqi-Swedish bantamweight.
“What I learned is not to be jittery, don’t chase the knockout all the time,” Taleb said in a recent interview on the Rondvilan Podcast.
“It was his turn, it was his time to win the million,” said Taleb.
The 26-year-old reigning UAE Warriors Bantamweight Champion added: “There’s still a lot for me to learn, honestly.”
Looking ahead, Taleb has his sights set on his PFL MENA debut in Riyadh on May 10. He will be facing a familiar opponent in Jordan’s Nawras Abzakh, whom he defeated in 2021.
“It’s the first time I’m going to rematch someone,” Taleb said. “It’s going to be good, I’m excited, man.”
Taleb will try to make history by becoming one of the first PFL MENA champions.
He said that Abzakh had asked to face him. “It’s a tournament, but he said ‘I want to fight him.’”
“He’s gonna get a taste,” Taleb continued. “Nothing can stop me now. I’m going to take his soul, and that’s that. This guy won’t stop me.”
He also revealed that he will be defending his UAE Warriors’ title.
“I’m allowed by the PFL to take a fight in UAE Warriors, so I think I’m going to defend my belt there,” Taleb said.
The PFL MENA: Riyadh tournament takes place on Friday May 10 at The Green Halls in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. All PFL MENA events will air live on MBC Action and SHAHID.
