Pemra terms meeting of some of its members illegal

ISLAMABAD: Some private members of the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (Pemra) had a meeting here on Wednesday on the Geo issue that was termed in defiance of the honourable Islamabad High Court orders by the authority’s ex-officio members.

The meeting, held in continuation of a similar event on May 20, formed a three-member committee to ensure implementation of the private members decisions on Geo. It will consist of Israr Abbasi, Fareeha Iftikhar and Shama Parveen.The meeting was declared illegal and invalid by the authority in its reaction late on Wednesday night.

The authority issued a statement following the May 28 meeting to clarify that the meeting called by the private members in isolation had no legal consequence. The ex-officio members pointed out in the statement that a consensual Pemra meeting was to be held on May 27 that was cancelled on the orders of the Islamabad High Court.

Moreover, all the members were informed in writing accordingly. It was decided by majority of the members that the next meeting would be convened after the decision/ further orders by the court. Therefore, the majority members felt that Wednesday’s meeting of some private members was in defiance of the court orders and thus the majority members did not attend it.

The previous meeting of private members, declared illegal by Pemra, had recommended revocation of the licences of Geo News, Geo Entertainment and Geo Tez and shutting down of their offices. Talking to media persons after the meeting, the private members — Israr Abbasi, Fareeha Iftikhar and Mian Shams — defended the meeting.

Replying to questions, Abbasi said the issue of apology by Geo and the Jang Group would be taken up in the authority’s next meeting on June 17. He said one official member had asked them to wait for the court order instead of holding a meeting to which they did not agree and held the meeting on the complaint of the Ministry of Defence against Geo.

Asked what the status of a meeting that was not attended by all the government members was, Abbasi contended that a forum participated by four, five or six members was legal and its decision was that of the authority.

About the cancellation of May 27 meeting, he said that it was cancelled after the court orders and their today’s meeting was according to the rules. Asked if the meeting was legal, then why the government members had moved the Islamabad High Court and also did not attend the today’s meeting, he said it was mentioned in Section 5 that if the government issued any policy or direction, it would be binding on the authority.

He added, therefore, if the government had formulated a policy and made up its mind not to take any action, then it should intimate the Pemra in writing that the matter was over.Abbasi said this game of cat and mouse should not be played.

He charged that the government, particularly the Ministry of Information, was under pressure and the authority’s employees were also being intimidated.Abbasi said they had asked the Council of Complaints, Islamabad, to give its opinion on the matter and the Sindh’s Council of Complaints’ recommendations would also be discussed during the next meeting.

Secretary of the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting Dr Nazir Saeed and six other members initially had discussions with private members but after a deadlock, they stayed away from it. Ex-officio members, according to sources, contended that the meeting should be held after four weeks.

Pemra terms Geo shutdown, change in position illegal

 

ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Media Regulatory Authority (Pemra) has declared the closure and re-positioning of Geo TV illegal.
A Pemra spokesperson on Friday said that shutting down and pushing the Geo TV channels to the last numbers by cable operators was a violation of Pemra rules. Therefore, Pemra has issued a notice to the cable operators to seek their response.

Pemra has also summoned the administrative authorities of ARY News, Express News and Dunya News over telecast of objectionable content for multiple times on their respective channels.

The Pemra spokesperson said that the decision to summon the authorities of the channels was taken by the Council of Complaints on the complaints of a large number of people.

It may also be mentioned here that the government has decided to take action against three members of Pemra and has issued show cause notices to Israr Abbasi, Mian Shams and Fareeha Iftikhar.

These officials had, without any authority, announced recently to suspend Geo’s three licences after a meeting that was declared illegal by the Pemra spokesperson.Reports said that the notice was issued to the members for maligning Pemra by levelling baseless accusations.

PEMRA declares re-positioning of Geo channels illegal

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA) has declared the re-positioning of Geo TV channels illegal and has summoned the administration of ARY News, Express News and Dunya News over the audiences’ complain for broadcasting the objectionable content repeatedly, Geo News reported on Friday.

The spokesperson of PEMRA said that pushing the Geo TV channels to the later numbers by the cable operators is the violation of PEMRA rules. Therefore, PEMRA has issued notice to the cable operators to seek their response.

Also, the Complaint Council of PEMRA has summoned the administrative authorities of ARY News, Express News and Dunya News over telecasting the objectionable content multiple times on their respective channels.

The spokesman said that the decision to summon the authorities of the mentioned channels was taken on the complaints received by the people.

It may also be mentioned here that the government has decided to take action against three members of PEMRA and has issued show cause notices to Israr Abbasi, Mian Shams and Fareeha Ikhtiar.

These officials had, without any authority, announced recently to suspend Geo's three licenses after a meeting that was declared illegal soon afterwards by the PEMRA spokesman.

The sources said that the notice was issued to the members for maligning PEMRA by leveling baseless accusations.

Illegal steps to be countered jointly: Kh Asif, Khursheed

 

ISLAMABAD: The Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly, Syed Khursheed Shah, and Minister for Water and Power Khawaja Asif on Wednesday held a meeting to defuse the tension that had arisen after the statements of Minister of State for Water and Power Abid Sher Ali. Both expressed the resolve that the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz and Pakistan People’s Party would counter all unconstitutional steps.
The situation became tense as Abid Sher Ali called the provincial governments ‘electricity thieves’. The meeting was held after the PPP legislators belonging to Sindh submitted a privilege motion to the National Assembly Secretariat against the Minister of State for Water and Power Abid Sher Ali over his statement on electricity defaulters.

During the meeting, Syed Khursheed Shah suggested closure of electricity feeders over power theft, Geo News reported.He suggested that rather than removal of transformers, feeders of those Sindh areas where power theft was recorded should be closed down. He assured to take the dues issue with the government of Sindh.

After the meeting, Khawaja Asif said they emphasised on cooperation to resolve the issues. He said that the issue of electricity arrears would be resolved through contacts with the Sindh government. He also assured to solve the issue of electricity loadshedding in the province.

Earlier, the PPPP legislators from Sindh submitted a privilege motion to the National Assembly Secretariat against Minister of State for Water and Power Abid Sher Ali over his remarks in which he allegedly termed the people of Sindh electricity thieves.

The privilege motion was signed by all the PPPP legislators from Sindh stating that the Minister of State for Water and Power Abid Sher used inappropriate, derogatory and highly objectionable language terming “all people of Sindh as electricity thieves including parliamentarians, during his press conference at Hesco headoffice, Hyderabad on Wednesday (April 24).”

The motion stated that in his remarks, he further said that “politicians urge public towards electricity theft to strengthen their vote bank”. “His disparaging remarks breach the privilege of the honourable parliamentarians and the people of Sindh, therefore, we urge that this privilege motion be admitted and sent to the Privileges Committee,” the motion stated.

Nawaz, Zardari vow to counter illegal steps

 

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and former president Asif Ali Zardari on Wednesday expressed their commitment to fight tooth and nail against all unconstitutional steps and support each other to strengthen democracy.
Both the leaders vowed to respect and strengthen all the institutions in order to address the multifarious challenges facing Pakistan for the better future of the nation.They joined hands and showed unity to combat any aggression against the democratic dispensation.

Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif accorded a warm welcome to former president Asif Ali Zardari at the Prime Minister House and the two leaders jointly reviewed the overall situation in the country and expressed satisfaction over the progress of political institutions.

Prior to the one-on-one meeting, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and former president Asif Ali Zardari held delegation-level talks. Minister for Finance Senator Ishaq Dar, Minister for Science and Technology Zahid Hamid and PPP leaders — opposition leader in the National Assembly Syed Khursheed Shah, PPP parliamentary leader in the Senate Mian Raza Rabbani and Sindh minister Murad Ali Shah — were also present in the meeting.

During the meeting, both the leaders showed a strong resolve to work for the prosperity and economic development of Pakistan.The decision to respect the mandate of the people in different provinces was appreciated and continued cooperation between federation and the provinces was also lauded.

The prime minister apprised the ex-president and his team about his development vision and the strategy with reference to the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor and assured them that the projects in the province of Sindh had been given high priority.

A number of projects in the energy and infrastructure sectors in Sindh had been included for execution on a priority basis during the first three years.The prime minister urged that the implementation mechanism in Sindh should be upgraded. Issues regarding various legislations, including the Protection of Pakistan Ordinance, amendments in the Anti-Terrorism Act and the future legislative agenda, were also discussed.

It was agreed that all the political forces should develop a consensus on legislation for their effective implementation and Zahid Hamid was asked by the prime minister to carry out another consultative process with all political parties to address their reservations, if any.

They decided that the people of Pakistan had huge expectations from their elected representatives and it was now imperative that the elected representatives lived up to their expectations with priority giving to the needs of the common man which included employment, health, education and shelter.

The prime minister expressed his desire to work with all political forces for achieving these objectives.The present law and order situation in the country, with particular reference to ongoing Karachi operation, was also discussed.

According to reports, the two leaders said they were committed to follow the Charter of Democracy (CoD) according to its true spirit and the sacrifices of Benazir Bhutto for democracy in the country would not be allowed to go to waste.

For his part, Mr Zardari assured that the PPP would extend full support to the PML-N government in the interest of the country.Sources said during the talks, which were held in a very cordial atmosphere, former President Zardari asked Nawaz Sharif to take a principled stand on issues, a reference to the trial of Pervez Musharraf, saying it was an opportune time for the democratic institutions to assert their supremacy. He assured that the PPP would support the government within and out of parliament.

They said that former president Musharraf’s case was in the court and whatever its verdict it would be accepted by them.The sources added that Sindh Minister Murad Ali Shah referred to financial difficulties being faced by the provincial government at which the finance minister assured that the dues of the provincial government would be cleared as soon as possible.

Zardari thanked the prime minister for his assistance to the Thar drought affected people.Both sides agreed to continue the operation in Karachi to cleanse the megacity of all sorts of crimes.

Later, the prime minister hosted a sumptuous lunch for former president Zardari and his team members. Zardari also extended an invitation to Nawaz Sharif for a dinner at Bilawal House, Karachi.

Earlier, the former president arrived at the Noor Khan Airbase via a special aircraft and then flew to the Prime Minister House on a helicopter where Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif accorded him a very warm welcome.

Talking to newsmen outside the Prime Minister House after the meeting, Parliamentary leader of the PPP Parliamentarians Senator Raza Rabbani said that Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif had assured a review of the Pakistan Protection Ordinance (PPO) and directed Zahid Hamid to consult the opposition. “The reservations of the PPP and other opposition parties were conveyed to Prime Minister Nazwaz Sharif,” he said.

He said all the democratic forces would have to move forward together. “If a bad time arises, they will support the democratic forces,” he said.

When asked by a reporter if the meeting discussed a ‘Billa,’ Rabbani replied that all matters, including Musharraf, were discussed and the prime minister said the tension with the Pakistan Army was not that serious an issue.

Rabbani further told the reporters that talks with the Taliban, the problems of Sindh, provincial sovereignty, the NFC award and the Karachi operation were also discussed.To a question about government-Taliban talks, Senator Raza Rabbani said the PPP had no difference of opinion but being an opposition party they would continue to identify loopholes.

Altaf demands to stop illegal activities of ‘death squad’

LONDON: Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) Chief Altaf Hussain has expressed concerned over “illegal arrests” of the party workers by alleged police personnel in civilian cloths.

In a statement issued here Monday, Altaf Hussain demanded of the Karachi Police Chief Shahid Hayat, IG Sindh Iqbal Mehmood and DG Rangers Major General Rizwan Akhtar to take immediate notice and get the arrested MQM workers released.

He also called for stern action against the policemen involved in this “illegal activity” and to stop the active “death squad” allegedly involved in the killings of the MQM workers.

Over 50,000 illegal appointments made in Sindh LG Department

KARACHI: About 50,000 illegal appointments had been made in the Sindh Local Government (LG) Department during the last five years, ‘The News’ has learnt here on authority, writes Imdad Soomro.

Earlier, Sindh Minister for Information Sharjeel Inam Memon, who also holds charge of the LG Department, had mentioned 20,000 illegal appointments in the department but a recent report of a departmental inquiry committee suggested that the figure of 20,000 was only for one year, 2012.

The committee disclosed a fraud of appointing nearly 14,000 persons illegally in the LG department in 2013.The department sources told ‘The News’ that the figure of these illegal appointees from 2009 to 2013 is above 50,000 and a team of honest and impartial officers should be appointed to investigate the whole matter.

The illegal appointees caused a heavy burden on the exchequer and the department is now unable to pay salaries to its staff.Following the reports of illegal appointments in the Sindh LG department, the Sindh government appointed Nazeer Dhoon, the then additional secretary and now member of the Chief Minister Inspection Team (CMIT), as inquiry officer.

Dhoon inquired into the matter and submitted a report to the Local Government Secretary Javed Hanif, disclosing the scam.According to the report of Dhoon, a copy available with ‘The News’, illegal appointments were made on the directions of powerful PPP ministers with collaboration of department’s officers. The process started from 2009 and it reached its peak in 2012.

The report further said that the illegal appointments were made in the LG and its subordinate departments — former city governments, district governments and taluka governments. It was also disclosed that hundreds of persons were inducted as employees through fake transfer orders and the concerned officers, without verifying their employments, issued salaries to the illegal appointees.

Thousands of illegal employments were also created in former city government and its subordinate departments like KMC, Water Board, City Warden, Fire Brigade, but, despite the orders of the Sindh government, the record of these appointments was not produced before the inquiry team.

The report declared the department’s former secretary Ali Ahmed Lund as responsible for the matter. It is to be mentioned here that Lund, an officer of federal government, was posted irregularly as LG secretary in previous tenure of the Sindh government. His posting was declared as illegal by the Supreme Court in July 2013 and he was ordered among some other officers to join back their parent departments but despite the apex court orders Lund did not join his parent department and was appointed on an important position as secretary co-operative, Sindh.

Some of the illegal appointments were made on political basis while others were made after getting bribe by the officers of the department.According to the report, Hyderabad Municipal Corporation officer Fakhar Shaikh appointed more than 1,000 persons illegally on contract basis and then confirmed them without provision and the permission of the competent authority; Larkana District Council officer Abdul Qadir Shaikh appointed over 800 persons, Taluka Municipal Administration (TMA) official Asghar Bhand appointed 443 persons, Manjhad TMA’s Aurangzaib Sammo appointed 160, Khairpur Nathan Shah TMA’s Rafiq Shaikh and Abdul Wahid appointed 300 plus, Nawabshah Municipal’s Najaf Rind 200, TMA Jati’s Munawar Mallah 155, Tando TMA’s Ghulam Ali Akbar Bhurt appointed 1,000 plus, Dadu District Council’s Parvez Chandio 400, Salih Pat Town Committee’s Aijaz Palh and Liaqat Kalhoro 300 plus, Dahrki Town Committee’s Hazar Khan Mahar and Abdul Rehman Soomro appointed more than 500, and Khan Garh Town Committee’s Banho Khan Mahar appointed 600 plus.

The report also accused the officers Tariq Hussain Bhugio, Abdul Rasheed Malak, Irshad Hulio, Abdul Qadir Shaikh, Gul Muhammd Khokhar, Ismail Nandwani, Nisar Magsi, Zafar Phulpoto, Nasurullah Sarki of illegal appointments.

It suggested for further and comprehensive investigation through the Anti-Corruption Department, and verification of record of all the employees through Nadra.The Dhoon report said that the investigation regarding illegal appointments in the Sindh LG department was conducted only for one year – 2012 - and insisted for a comprehensive probe i.e. from June 2009 till date.

The report pointed out Liaquat Kalhoro, Aijaz Palh, Rasheed Malak and others, who were appointed illegally in the LG department and then merged their services in other Sindh government departments.

LG Secretary Javed Hanif, confirming about the inquiry report, told ‘The News’ that the matter will be placed before the chief minister for proper action. Replying to a question, Hanif said he was unable to tell actual number of illegal appointees because the matter required more inquiry and scrutiny.

IHC stays illegal promotions, transfers in IB

 

ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Tuesday stayed the ‘illegal transfers and promotions’ in the Intelligence Bureau (IB) besides seeking a reply from the agency’s director general (DG), according to Online.
A single bench of the IHC, comprising Justice Noorul Haq Qureshi, also stayed the meeting of the IB’s Central Selection Board (CSB) to be held today (Wednesday) to take decisions about the promotions and transfers of officers.

Justice Qureshi passed these orders after petitioner Muhammad Arif Zulqarnain, Deputy Director IB, contended before the court that the CSB was going to promote blue-eyed junior officers from Grade 18 to 19 only six days before the DG IB, who will chair the CSB, was to retire.

The IHC bench directed the IB and the Establishment Division to submit para wise comments within a fortnight with observations that the high court could not determine seniority of an official.

The petitioner, through his counsel Hafiz Arfat Ahmad Chaudhry, adopted before the court the IB senior administration through its CSB was going to promote junior officers into Grade 19 while ignoring the seniority list.

The petitioner alleged that the DG IB, who is going to retire on April 02, 2014, was going to grant premature promotions to some blue-eyed persons from BPS-18 to BPS-19 in an extraordinary and unusual haste, ignoring seniority of the petitioner that was illegal.

The petitioner contended that he had an excellent academic background. He joined the IB on June 26, 2001 as Assistant Director in BPS-17 through the Federal Public Service Commission (FPSC) and was placed at serial No2 on the seniority list determined by the FPSC. There is no adverse report that has ever been issued against the petitioner. Rather, he has always been appreciated by his superiors and in 2006 he was promoted to BPS-18.

He said in order to get further elevation to the post of director in BPS-19, it is mandatory for an official to have a minimum 12 years of service besides completing the mandatory promotional courses.

The petitioner made a request to his higher authorities in the year 2009 to send him for mandatory promotional courses so that his case could be placed before the CSB but the request was not accepted due to his engagement in sensitive and important official assignments.

However, all batch-mates of the petitioner and several junior officers were sent to attend the courses that they completed in due time. This “discriminatory policy” will eventually lead to denial of promotion to the petitioner. The petitioner contended it was evident from the record that it was the decision of the higher authorities not to send him on promotional courses for over four years and no fault could be attributed to the petitioner in this regard.

After numerous requests of the petitioner, he has been nominated for the promotional course which is going to conclude on April 11, 2014, enabling him for consideration for promotion as director in BPS-19. The petitioner contended that he had learnt that the respondents were going to hold a meeting of the CSB on March 26, 2014 promoting their favourites. The petitioner immediately moved a departmental representation but received no response thereto. The act of the respondents is based on ‘patent malafide’ and the same grossly contradicts the fundamental rights of the petitioner, he contended.

The petitioner told the court that despite his best efforts, he could not procure necessary documents from his department for the assistance of this court. The petitioner has been denied access to the concerned documents, including the seniority list.

He claimed being the senior-most officer currently serving in BPS-18. The petitioner prayed to the court to direct the respondents to hold a meeting of the CSB for grant of promotion from BPS-18 to BPS-19 after completion of ongoing Mid Career Management Course that is going to conclude on April 11, 2014.The court will take up this matter after the respondents submit their comments.

Indian Revenue Department tightened baggage rules to curb illegal Gold Import

Union Government of India (Indian Revenue Department) on 6 March 2014 tightened baggage rules for inbound Indian passengers. According to the step, the passengers will have to provide details of source of funds for importing the metal as well as the air tickets. The baggage rule has been tightened to check gold smuggling in the country and to prevent misuse of gold import facility.

Circulation issued by the Revenue Department circular says that
• The baggage receipt that is issued by the customs will include engraved serial number on gold bars
• The Central Board of Excise & Customs directive has said that the passengers bringing gold in any form, which includes ornaments, will have to declare item-wise inventory that is being imported with baggage receipt

These norms have been revised and tightened following sudden increase (spurt) in import of gold by eligible passengers via airports in the country.

This rule has been hardened as the eligible passengers (Persons of Indian Origin or an Indian returning to India after a period of six months of stay abroad) are allowed to import gold up to 1 kilogram by paying 10 percent customs duty in foreign currency. The passenger should be a passenger who holds a valid passport issued under the Passport Act, 1967.
   
Background
In recent past, the Reserve Bank of India and the Union government have expressed concerns over the sudden increase of import of gold in the country. These increases were also felt even after measures taken by them to curb import of gold to reduce the widened Current Account Deficit (CAD).

Steps taken to curb excessive import of gold to the country were
• Import duty of 10 percent in 2013
• Linking the imports to exports under the 20:80 scheme

Analysis
Tightening of baggage rules have been done even after imposition of 10 percent amount on gold import may be because this step would have triggered gold smuggling in recent past. The eligible passengers have been targeted by the government as smugglers hires eligible passengers or NRIs to import gold in the country.