LAHORE: The Lahore High Court on Wednesday granted pre-arrest bail till June 17 to Punjab’s former chief minister Shahbaz Sharif in assets beyond means case that is being investigated by the country’s National Accountability Bureau (NAB).
The court’s division bench, headed by Justice Tariq Abbasi, heard the petition to stop the country’s anti-graft agency from making the arrest since Sharif was cooperating with the investigators.
“The court has accepted the pre-arrest bail plea of Mian Shahbaz Sharif and has restrained NAB from his arrest till June 17, 2020. The court asked the petitioner to furnish a bail bound worth half a million rupees,” Sharif’s lawyer, Azam Nazir Tarar, told Arab News after the proceedings.
The country’s anti-corruption body is investigating a matter related to the possession of assets beyond the politician’s stated means of income and alleged money laundering charges.
NAB summoned Sharif, who is also the leader of the opposition in the National Assembly of Pakistan, for investigation on June 2, but he did not appear before the authorities and sent a letter wherein he said that he was 69 years old and a cancer survivor and did not want to talk undue health risks during the time of coronavirus pandemic.
Sharif also requested the NAB authorities to interview him on Skype and sent a written reply to the questionnaire sent by the investigation agency through its representative.
NAB did not accept the plea and issued Sharif’s arrest warrants. A NAB team also reached his Model Town residence in Lahore on Tuesday to take him into custody, spending about 90 minutes to detain him, but it later returned to its office since the former Punjab chief minister was not found at his home.
Sharif had already filed a pre-arrest bail plea at the Lahore High Court which was fixed for a hearing on Wednesday. His lawyers submitted that NAB had been leveling allegations against their client for the last 16 months but the agency had failed to file any reference against him.
They also claimed that the proceedings of the NAB case were based on mala fide intention since the agency had summoned Sharif on June 2 while his arrest warrants had been issued on May 28.
NAB prosecutor pleaded that the anti-graft watchdog had sufficient evidence against the leader of the opposition to arrest him since he was involved in money laundering and possessing assets beyond his stated means of income. He also argued that the court had previously rejected the bail plea of Hamza Shahbaz, Sharif’s son, and two other accused in a similar case.
The court granted pre-arrest bail to Sharif till the 17th of this month, instructing him to cooperate with the agency in its investigations.
“The authorities have issued arrest warrant of Muhammad Shahbaz Sharif in the assets beyond means case. The court has granted him pre-arrest bail and told the accused to cooperate with NAB. The agency will also honor the court order,” a NAB official told Arab News.
Leaders of Sharif’s Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) reacted strongly to the development, blaming the government for politically victimizing the opposition.
“The PML-N is ready for accountability. NAB should file references against us in courts instead of arresting us. We are ready to face any charges, but the government has nothing solid against us and is using unethical tactics. It has adopted a vindictive approach,” former PML-N prime minister Shahid Khan Abbasi told Arab News.
Court grants Shahbaz Sharif pre-arrest bail in assets beyond means case
https://arab.news/5qanx
Court grants Shahbaz Sharif pre-arrest bail in assets beyond means case
- The country’s anti-graft watchdog raided his house on Tuesday to arrest him
- Sharif’s party leaders maintain the government is trying to politically victimize the opposition
Pakistan and IMF discussing new multi-billion-dollar program, finance minister says
- Muhammad Aurangzeb says Pakistan will at least be requesting for a three year program to help execute structural reform agenda
- Government of PM Shehbaz Sharif tasked with engineering economic turnaround by implementing unpopular belt-tightening measures
Washington: Pakistan has initiated discussions with the IMF over a new multi-billion dollar loan agreement to support its economic reform program, its new finance minister told AFP on Monday.
The South Asian nation is nearing the end of a nine-month, $3 billion loan program with the International Monetary Fund designed to tackle a balance-of-payments crisis which brought it to the brink of default last summer.
With the final $1.1 billion tranche of that deal likely to be approved later this month, Pakistan has begun negotiations for a new multi-year IMF loan program worth “billions” of dollars, Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb said during an interview in Washington.
“The market confidence, the market sentiment is in much, much better shape this fiscal year,” said Aurangzeb, a former banker who took up his post last month.
“It’s really for that purpose that, during the course of this week, we have initiated the discussion with the Fund to get into a larger and an extended program,” he added.
An IMF spokesperson told AFP that the Fund is “currently focused on the completion of the current Stand-by Agreement program,” referring to the ongoing nine-month program scheduled for completion shortly.
“The new government has expressed interest in a new program, and Fund staff stands ready to engage in initial discussions on a successor program,” the spokesperson added.
During his visit to Washington, Aurangzeb will also attend the spring meetings organized by the IMF and World Bank, which kick off in earnest Tuesday, with two clear objectives: to help countries combat climate change, and to assist the world’s most indebted nations.
The meetings — which bring central bankers together with finance and development ministers, academics, and representatives from the private sector and civil society to discuss the state of the global economy — will kick off with the IMF’s publication of its updated World Economic Outlook.
Pakistan held elections in February this year which were marred by allegations of rigging, with opposition leader Imran Khan jailed and barred from running, and his Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party subject to a crackdown.
The shaky coalition that emerged, led by Shehbaz Sharif, is now tasked with engineering an economic turnaround by implementing a raft of unpopular belt-tightening measures.
“I do think that we will at least be requesting for a three year program,” Aurangzeb said. “Because that’s what we need, as I see it, to help execute the structural reform agenda.”
“By the time we get to the second or third week of May, I do think we’ll start getting into the contours of that discussion,” he added.
Pakistan has close economic ties to both the United States and China, which has put it in a tricky position as the two countries have embarked upon a costly trade war.
“From our perspective it has to be an and-and discussion,” Aurangzeb said when asked how the Sharif government plans to conduct its trading relationships with the world’s two largest economies.
“[The] US is our largest trading partner, and it has always supported us, always helped us in terms of the investments,” he said. “So that is always going to be a very, very critical relationship for Pakistan.”
“On the other side, a lot of investment, especially in infrastructure, came through CPEC,” he said, referring to the roughly 1,860-mile long China-Pakistan Economic Corridor designed to give China access to the Arabian Sea.
Aurangzeb said there was an “very good opportunity” for Pakistan to play a similar role in the trade war as countries like Vietnam, which has been able to dramatically boost its exports to the US following the imposition of tariffs on some Chinese goods.
“We have already a few examples of that already working,” he said. “But what we need to do is to really scale it up.”
As part of the structural reform program agreed to by the previous government, Pakistan is in the middle of a privatization drive to sell off its poorly-performing state-owned enterprises (SOEs).
The first SOE on the list is Pakistan International Airlines, the country’s flag carrier.
“We will get to know in the next month or so with respect to interest from prospective bidders,” Aurangzeb said.
“Our desire is to go through with that privatization and take it through the finishing line by the end of June,” he added.
If the PIA privatization goes well for the government, other companies could soon follow.
“We’re creating an entire pipeline,” he said, adding: “Over the next couple of years we want to really accelerate that.”
Pakistan cop who thrashed woman on train in viral video cleared of mysterious death
- Beautician Maryam was traveling home to Punjab when she was allegedly beaten by cop
- The incident is the latest in a long series of episodes of alleged police brutality in Pakistan
KARACHI: A policeman, who was allegedly seen beating a woman on a train last week in videos that have since gone viral, has been cleared of her mysterious death, a Pakistan Railways spokesperson said on Monday about the latest incident in a long series of episodes of police brutality in Pakistan.
Maryam Bibi, who worked as a beautician in Karachi, left the southern port city to spend last week’s Eid holiday with her family in Jaranwala in the Punjab province via Millat Express on April 7. During the journey, the woman was subjected to torture by Constable Mir Hasan near Hyderabad, according to a video of the incident and media reports. Two days later, her body was discovered near the Chani Goth railway station in Punjab.
She was subsequently buried by her family who initially thought she died after falling off the train in an accident, but the video of her torture forced railways authorities to set up a fact-finding committee to investigate the death.
The committee concluded that Constable Mir Hasan was present in Hyderabad at the time of the incident and not involved in the murder, according to Pakistan Railways spokesperson Babar Raza.
An earlier press release by Railways said the police constable got involved after Maryam started scattering the belongings of other passengers and that the policeman was forced to move her to another compartment. Railways said he was on duty on the train from Karachi to Hyderabad, in Sindh province, while the woman’s body was later found in Punjab. The press release said she had jumped from the moving train near Channigoth station.
“The call record, station attendance, and witnesses’ testimony confirmed that the constable was in Hyderabad when the woman fell or jumped from the train, and her body was found in the Multan division,” Raza told Arab News.
The Railways’ earlier press release said the policeman was arrested once the video of him allegedly beating up the woman was posted online. He has been suspended from duty and was out on bail in the Hyderabad area.
On Monday, Pakistani media widely reported the victim’s nephew as saying the constable had objected to the woman reciting verses from the Holy Qur’an out aloud and subsequently beat her. The nephew alleged that the constable forcibly took the woman with him and pushed her from the train at the next station.
Saudi FM in Islamabad, expected to meet top Pakistani officials today in investment push
- Saudi foreign minister’s visit comes a little over a week after Saudi crown prince met Pakistani PM in Makkah
- Crown prince has reaffirmed commitment to expedite investment package worth $5 billion that was previously discussed
ISLAMABAD: Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan is expected to meet top Pakistani officials today, Tuesday, after arriving in Islamabad a day earlier on a two-day visit aimed at enhancing bilateral economic cooperation and pushing forward previously agreed investment deals.
The Saudi foreign minister’s visit comes a little over a week after Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman met Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif in Makkah and reaffirmed the Kingdom’s commitment to expedite an investment package worth $5 billion that was previously discussed.
The Pakistani foreign office has said the Saudi delegation is expected to hold meetings with the Pakistani president, the prime minister, the foreign minister and other ministers, as well as the army chief and members of the apex committee of Pakistan’s Special Investment Facilitation Council, set up last year to oversee all foreign funding.
“A week after Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif’s visit to Saudi Arabia (April 6-8), a high-level delegation of Saudi Arabia is coming to Pakistan,” the Pakistani information ministry said in a statement shared with journalists ahead of the FM’s arrival at the Noor Khan air base in the garrison town of Rawalpindi.
“The Saudi delegation will consult on the next stages of investment and implementation issues,” the statement added, saying Saudi Arabia’s planned investment in the Reko Diq gold and copper mining project would also be discussed during the visit.
On Sunday, Pakistani state media reported Saudi Arabia was likely to invest $1 billion in the mine project in Pakistan’s southwestern Balochistan province, one of the world’s largest underdeveloped copper-gold areas.
Riyadh was also interested in investing in agriculture, trade, energy, minerals, IT, transport and other sectors in Pakistan, the statement said.
“As a result of this visit, Pakistan’s export capacity will increase, joint ventures will be launched and new opportunities will be paved.”
The Pakistani foreign office said last week the Saudi delegation would comprise the foreign minister, minister of water and agriculture, minister of industry and mineral resources and deputy minister of investment as well as senior officials from the Saudi energy ministry and the Saudi Fund for General Investments.
Pakistan and Saudi Arabia enjoy strong trade, defense and cultural ties. The Kingdom is home to over 2.7 million Pakistani expatriates and the top source of remittances to the cash-strapped South Asian country.
Former diplomats and analysts said the latest visit showed a deepening of relations between the two brotherly countries.
“This is a high-powered Saudi delegation led by the foreign minister and it is purely focused on investments in Pakistan,” Javed Hafeez, a former Pakistani diplomat, told Arab News, pointing to a recent indication by Saudi Arabia that it would expedite a $5 billion investment package for Pakistan.
“This delegation will also be exploring different fields and options during the visit to materialize the investment pledges as quickly as possible.”
Aizaz Ahmad Chaudhry, Pakistan’s former foreign secretary, termed the visit “very significant,” saying the potential Saudi investment in Pakistan was a “welcoming step” in the Saudi-Pakistan friendship.
“The Saudi’s investments under the banner of the SIFC will be safe and secure, and this will help further deepen the ties between the two countries,” Chaudhry told Arab News.
Cash-strapped Pakistan desperately needs to shore up its foreign reserves and signal to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) that it can continue to meet requirements for foreign financing that has been a key demand in previous bailout packages. Pakistan’s finance minister, Muhammad Aurangzeb, is currently in Washington to participate in spring meetings of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank and discuss a new bailout program. The last loan deal expires this month.
Saudi Arabia has often come to cash-strapped Pakistan’s aid in the past, regularly providing it oil on deferred payments and offering direct financial support to help stabilize its economy and shore up its forex reserves.
Last year, however, Saudi Arabia’s finance minister said the Kingdom was changing the way it provides assistance to allies, shifting from previously giving direct grants and deposits unconditionally.
“We used to give direct grants and deposits without strings attached and we are changing that. We are working with multilateral institutions to actually say we need to see reforms,” Finance Minister Mohammed Al-Jadaan said at the World Economic Forum in Davos last January.
“We are taxing our people, we are expecting also others to do the same, to do their efforts. We want to help but we want you also to do your part.”
Saudi Arabia and other Gulf Arab states like the United Arab Emirates and Qatar have increasingly moved toward investing rather than extending direct financial aid.
Pakistan raises petroleum prices citing ‘increasing trend’ in international market
- Pakistan has increased the prices of petrol by 4.53 rupees ($0.016) to 293.94 rupees
- Government also increases price of high speed diesel by 8.14 rupees to 290.38 rupees
KARACHI: Pakistan has increased the price of petrol by 4.53 rupees ($0.016) to 293.94 rupees with effect from today, Tuesday, the finance ministry said in a statement, citing rising petroleum prices internationally.
The government also increased the price of high speed diesel by 8.14 rupees to 290.38 rupees, the post said.
The price hikes come as Pakistan has initiated discussions with the IMF over a new multi-billion-dollar loan agreement as its current nine-month, $3 billion loan program expires with the disbursement of a final $1.1 billion tranche likely to be approved later this month.
Reforms linked to that bailout, including an easing of import restrictions and a demand that subsidies be removed, fueled record inflation, with the rupee hitting all-time lows. Authorities also raised petrol and diesel prices to record highs to meet conditionalities.
“The prices of Petroleum products have seen an increasing trend in the international market during the last fortnight,” the finance ministry said as it announced the new prices.
“The Oil & Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRA) has worked out the consumer prices, based on the price variations in the international market.”
Under the last IMF bailout, Pakistan was told to prevent further accumulation of circular debt in its power sector, arising from subsidies and unpaid bills. For a new program, the South Asian nation will need to implement reforms to reduce costs by improving electricity transmission and distribution, moving captive power into the grid, improving governance, and combating theft.
It will also have to maintain power and gas tariffs at levels that ensure cost recovery, with adjustments made to safeguard the financially vulnerable, through existing progressive tariff structures.
In a report released in January, the IMF noted Pakistan missed its target for power sector arrears, largely due to lower-than-expected recoveries and tariffs.
WHO warns of falsified cough syrup ingredients seized in Pakistan
- Five contaminated batches of propylene glycol falsely labelled as made by Dow Chemical units in Asia and Europe
- Contaminated cough syrups linked to deaths of more than 300 children globally since late 2022
The World Health Organization issued an alert on Monday warning drugmakers of five contaminated batches of propylene glycol, an ingredient used in medicinal syrups, that appear to have been falsely labelled as manufactured by Dow Chemical units in Asia and Europe.
The Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan (DRAP) issued three alerts between January and March over high levels of ethylene glycol (EG), an industrial solvent known to be toxic, found in drums purportedly made by subsidiaries of Dow Chemical in Thailand, Germany and Singapore.
DRAP sent suspect drums of propylene glycol, a sweet-tasting alcohol used in over-the-counter medicines such as cough syrups, for testing. The samples were found to have EG contamination of 0.76-100 percent, according to the WHO. International manufacturing standards say only trace amounts of EG, below 0.1 percent, can be considered safe.
Contaminated cough syrups made in India and Indonesia have been linked to deaths of more than 300 children globally since late 2022. The medicines were found to contain high levels of EG and diethylene glycol, leading to acute kidney injury and death. In the Indonesia case, authorities found that one supplier had placed false Dow Thailand labels onto drums containing EG that it sold to a distributor for pharmaceutical use.
Several of the batches seized by DRAP were labelled as having been manufactured in 2023, the WHO said, months after the agency issued a global alert calling on drugmakers to verify the quality of their suppliers.
The WHO said Dow confirmed that the materials identified in its Monday alert and found by DRAP were not manufactured or supplied by the company.
“The propylene glycol materials identified in this alert are considered to have been deliberately and fraudulently mislabelled,” the WHO said, noting batches may have been distributed to other countries and still be in storage.
Dow did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The WHO alert comes the same week regulators in Tanzania and Rwanda joined Nigeria, Kenya and South Africa to recall batches of Johnson & Johnson children’s cough syrup after Nigeria said it found high levels of diethylene glycol, an industrial solvent known to be toxic.
The batch of Benylin Paediatric syrup recalled was made by J&J in South Africa in May 2021, although Kenvue now owns the brand after a spin-off from J&J last year.
