Here’s what is happening across the border: Avenfield judgment by court in need of grammar checks and economic experts apprehend a second IMF bailout.
Maryam Nawaz says will return to face punishment
Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader Maryam Nawaz Sunday said that “people fly out of the country to evade punishment but we are returning to face it,” reported The Express Tribune. Later in the day, she even shared her flight details on Twitter.
Our flight details
12 July
EY18 LONDON – ABU DHABI
DEPARTURE 8:45PM
13 July, Friday
EY243 ABU DHABI – LAHORE ARRIVAL 6:15PM
IN-SHA-ALLAH
— Maryam Nawaz Sharif (@MaryamNSharif) July 8, 2018
While addressing the press in London, Maryam said she will be returning to Lahore in a few days along with her father, former prime minister Nawaz Sharif. The father-daughter duo along with Maryam’s husband has been sentenced to 10 years in jail in the Avenfield case.
Maryam also made an indirect reference to former Pakistan president Pervez Musharraf, saying “there are leaders who live abroad to escape punishment.”
Sharif family’s 174 page Avenfield judgment full of typos, errors
The 174-page Avenfield judgment that went against former prime minister Nawaz Sharif, his daughter Maryam, and her husband Captain (retd) Safdar was full of grammatical and spelling errors, reported The Express Tribune Sunday.
Judge Muhammad Bashi referred Qatari prince as ‘Qattery’ prince, director of the Financial Investigation Agency (FIA) of the British Virgin Islands Errol George as Errel Jeorge’ or ‘Erel George’.
There was also no clarity when the judge said, “Prosecution have not bright evidence in respect of 9(a)(iv) NAO 1999. So the accused are acquitted under the section of law.” It is not clear if the judge meant there were insufficient evidences or no evidences at all. The judgment acquitted the three of the charge obtaining the Avenfield London flats through ‘corrupt, dishonest, or illegal means’.
The judgment also wrongly spelled ‘brushed aside’ as brushacite, guilt as ‘guild’ and even mentioned Maryam’s father as ‘his father’. “Maryam Nawaz was instrumental in concealment of the properties of his father …”
The newspaper noted that the glaring errors could be attributed to the fact that the judgment was given in a hurry.
Pervez Musharraf and wife summoned by NAB in corruption probe
The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) issued a notice summoning General (Retd) Pervez Musharraf and his wife Sehba Musharraf next week to explain how they bought 10 expensive assets, reported The News.
The two were served two different notices to appear in court Tuesday to provide ‘complete details of sale and purchase’ of assets like a house in the Army Housing Scheme Clifton, two plots in DHA Islamabad, a plot in P&V Scheme No-II Park Road Chak Shehzad as well as two Toyota Land Cruisers, Two Toyota Hilux and one Toyota Corolla.
The summon comes after retired military lawyer Colonel Inamur Rahim alleged that Musharraf misused his power to allot expensive plots to himself and those he favoured amounting to around Rs 1,000 billion.
The news also reported that last month, even after SC’s assurance of no-arrest, Musharraf refused to come back to Pakistan. The couple is currently out of the country and is not likely to appear in court.
Rs 35 billion money laundering: SC puts bank CEOs on Exit Control List
Chief Justice of Pakistan Mian Saqib Nisar took notice of the slow proceedings in a money laundering case and ordered the names of three head bankers be placed in the Exit Control List, reported The News.
The placement of CEOs of Summit Bank, Sindh Bank and United Bank Ltd on the list limits international travels of the three, accused of managing of fake bank accounts to launder money.
The court also ordered the owners of the seven fake bank accounts and 13 beneficiaries to appear in court 12 July along with former president Asif Ali Zardari and his sister Faryal Talpur.
CJP Nisar ordered a report to be made like the Panama Joint Investigation Team (JIT) on the case as soon as possible. He also asked Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) director general Bashir Memon to hand over the case files. Memon told the court that over Rs 35 billion has been funneled through 29 fake accounts in three different banks of seven individuals.
Analysts suggest Pakistan’s new government will seek another IMF bailout
As Pakistan’s fiscal deficit swells, the next government to be chosen in the 25 July elections, would have “limited time” to seek second International Monetary Fund (IMF) bailout in five years, reported Dawn.
In an attempt to reduce the trade deficit, the central bank devalued the rupee by 3.7 per cent in June 2018, the third devaluation since December.
According to the Fitch Ratings agency, the move did ease some pressure on reserves but failed “to prevent external finances deteriorating more sharply than expected.”
Experts said the biggest challenges for Pakistan would be to protect the balance of payments, build country’s foreign exchange reserves and fix its fiscal position.
After a $11.3 billion bailout package in 2008, IMF gave Pakistan another package worth $6.7 billion in 2013. But the country failed to achieve its growth targets. Pakistan currently has a public debt roughly 70 per cent of the GDP, and a ballooning deficit.
Severe fall in water levels at Tarbela Dam in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
Tarbela dam in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa region of Pakistan has depleted to a “dead level” due to less rainfall, reported Geo TV Sunday.
According to a spokesperson of Indus River System Authority (IRSA), July and August are the peak months of rainfall, but this year because of fewer showers the water level in the dam has reduced to dangerous levels.
“Inflow of River Indus at Tarbela was 115,000 cusecs of water and outflows were 123,000 cusecs,” said the spokesperson. The discharge and flow of water from the dam is roughly equal, he added.
Further, he said that water levels in other dams of the country are at the margin. In Mangla Dam, “the water storage level in the dam is 1,122 feet against its dead level of 1,050 feet,” said the spokesperson.
United Nations Development Programme and the Pakistan Council of Research in Water Resources reports have suggested that Pakistan will reach the absolute water scarcity level by 2025.
Contributors: Sharanya Munsi, Manisha Mondal, Hansa Kapoor, Rupanwita Bhattacharjee, Anagha Deshpande, Soniya Agrawal and Alind Chauhan
She’s taking unnecessary risk by returning home where she will face immediate arrest. But wish her best of luck.