Here’s what’s happening across the border: Journalist lashes out at Imran Khan govt over ‘nepotism’; a whopping Rs 2.25 billion found in falooda vendor’s bank account.
Musharraf ‘growing weaker rapidly’, no clarity about the date of his return
Former President and founder of All Pakistan Muslim League (APML), Pervez Musharraf, is “growing weaker rapidly” because of an undisclosed ailment, and this has kept him from coming back to Pakistan to appear in a court case, said APML leader Muhammad Amjad, reported Dawn.
Musharraf has been charged with high treason for suspending the Constitution of Pakistan on 3 November 2007 after he declared Emergency on the same day. Musharraf hasn’t returned to Pakistan since he left the country for Dubai to “seek medical treatment” in 2016.
Amjad was quoted as saying, “Pervez Musharraf had a fracture in his spine, for which he was treated in the USA…but nowadays he is being treated for a separate ailment. For this, he has to go to London after every three months”.
He also added that even though the illness will not be revealed, the court will be informed about it when a copy of his medical report is submitted to the chief justice.
Amjad who resigned in September as the chair of the party conveyed the conditions on behalf of his party that Musharraf would return to his country only if he is granted a free trial and allowed to travel abroad in case he required urgent medical treatment.
Despite ban, Pakistan allows export of 150 falcons to UAE
In his latest jibe at Prime Minister Imran Khan, journalist Omar Quraishi has called the Pakistan government’s decision to export 150 Shaheen falcons to the UAE despite a ban on the hunting of this endangered bird “a truly independent foreign policy”.
He also attached a copy of the notification issued by Pakistan’s foreign ministry which granted permission to the UAE embassy to take the falcons to the UAE. It also mentioned that this was for the “personal use” of UAE’s Vice-President and Prime Minister Sheikh Muhammad bin Rashid Al Maktoum.
A truly independent foreign policy … pic.twitter.com/JBz4AovqVr
— omar r quraishi (@omar_quraishi) October 1, 2018
Pakistan, as a matter of fact, has completely banned the practice of hunting rare and migratory birds, reported The Express Tribune.
According to the Tribune, “hunting of the endangered Houbara bustard and other migratory birds in Pakistan is the favourite pastime of Arab princes”.
Despite the ban, Pakistan every year issues licences to Arab officials.
‘Nepotism’ allegation against Imran Khan govt
Journalist Omar R. Quraishi, on his personal blog, has accused Imran Khan-led government of indulging in nepotism.
Khan had always been skeptical of appointing favourites to important government positions. However, in his still nascent stage as country’s prime minister, he has already appointed more than three people to government positions whom he personally knows. Quraishi accused Khan of making several appointments that have gone against his promises of favouring merit instead of a dynastic rule.
The first one came when he included first lady Bushra Maneka’s daughter from her first marriage, Mehru Hayat, in his party Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf.
The second instance was when he chose close friends Aneel Mussarat and Zulfi Bukhari within the ranks of his government. Mussarat was asked for his help in the ambitious five million housing project and Bukhari was appointed as the special assistant to PM for overseas Pakistanis.
Other two close friends of Khan — Naeemul Haq and Awn Chaudhry — were given significant ranks in the government. Haq was also appointed as the “special assistant to the PM on political affairs with the rank of minister of state” and Chaudhry as the adviser to the Punjab chief minister.
The list does not end at Khan’s friends. Son and nephew of foreign minister F.M. Qureshi were also inducted as the parliamentary secretaries.
Rs 2.25 billion unearthed in falooda vendor’s bank account
Pakistan’s Federal Investigative Agency (FIA) has found a whopping Rs 2.25 billion in the bank account of Abdul Qadir, a falooda vendor from Karachi. It suspects a money laundering scam involving high-level officials, including Pakistan People’s Party chairman Asif Ali Zardari and his sister Faryal Talpur, reported The News International.
Qadir said that he learned about it only when the FIA sent him a letter to summon him. He was visibly upset about the incident when he said: “I am the world’s number one unlucky person. I have, as they say, billions in my account but I cannot use it to improve my state of living…they say it will be gone. At the end, I will still be the same falooda farosh [seller].”
An FIA official clarified that “there are many persons like Abdul Qadir who do not know about existence of accounts in their names with hefty amounts”.
IMF team looking for CPEC contract details gets a no from Pakistan
Amid the growing interest of West in the strategic arrangement between China and Pakistan, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has been seeking contract details of China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) projects, reported The Express Tribune.
IMF had raised the issue of CPEC deals during a meeting with officials of ministry of planning and development.
However, the ministry did not provide the details citing that all information is with ministry of energy. According to a source, the federal government had no obligations to give out the contract details of CPEC to a third party, especially when there was no prior agreement made with IMF.
The meeting was held as part of IMF’s staff-level delegation visit to Pakistan to review the country’s macroeconomic situation.
Bureaucrat suspended for stealing Kuwaiti delegate’s wallet
The human resource arm of the government of Pakistan’s Establishment Division (ED) has suspended a grade-20 officer of the ministry of industries after he was found stealing Kuwaiti delegate’s wallet, reported The Express Tribune. The bureaucrat, Zarar Haider Khan, is the joint secretary at the ministry of industries.
Khan was caught stealing the wallet of a member of the Kuwaiti delegation which had visited the country to discuss investment plans in Pakistan.
The foreign delegate complained about the missing purse which led to the checking of CCTV footage and it was there that Khan was discovered indulging in the act. A senior official told the newspaper that there are high chances that Khan would lose his job. Information and broadcasting minister Fawad Chaudhry said that for now he has been suspended and investigation into the matter has been initiated.