NAB board okays references against two former secretaries

 

ISLAMABAD: The executive board of the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) on Friday approved the filing of references against two ex-federal secretaries for illegally awarding a $72 million contract to a company with regard to the Guddu Rental Power Plant. Chairman NAB Qamar Zaman Chaudhry chaired the board meeting.
The accused former secretaries — Shahid Rafi and Ismail Qureshi — are charged with awarding the Guddu Rental Power Plant project without the approval of the Economic Coordination Committee and extending undue and illegal benefits to the sponsors of M/s PPR.

The contract was awarded to M/s PPR in violation of the PPRA Rules, the Nepra Act and without any feasibility study and approval of the government.According to sources, Wapda initially started the tender process for the Guddu Rental Power in 2007. M/s ProGas was declared the lowest bidder but the MD Pepco raised objections to the award of the contract and the review committee suggested to award the tender again.However, sources said, the Wapda authorities decided to award the contract to the lower bidder.

Following Wapda’s bifurcation in 2010, MD Pepco scratched the tender and fresh advertisements were issued and a fresh evaluation was made. Subsequently, a committee was constituted that declared M/s PPR as the lowest bidder.

Sources said advance payment was increased from 7 percent to 14 percent illegally and Cod was extended without invoking panel clauses, encashing performance payments as well as advance payments.

Sources said the machinery imported for the Guddu Power Plant was transferred to the Naudero 2 Power Project. Another reference was approved against Maqbool Ahmed Lehri, ex-chairman Quetta Development Authority (QDA), Ali Muhammad Baloch, ex-director QDA, and others.

In this case, the accused persons are involved in corruption by making irregular allotment of govt land and by changing the location and number of plots.In another complaint against Senator Ms Sehar Kamran of PPP, ex-principal Pakistan International School, English Section (Pakistan Embassy), Jeddah, the board referred the matter to the Awareness and Prevention Division to look into the complaint and coordinate with the Ministry of Overseas Pakistanis.

In this case, Sehar Kamran is alleged for corruption, misuse and embezzlement of school funds.The board authorised an investigation against Col (retd) Muhammad Ishaq, former additional director NAB(B); Samiullah Kakar, Junior English Teacher Education Department, District Bolan, and others.

In this case, the accused persons are allegedly involved in corruption and corrupt practices. They are accused of impersonation, abetting and misuse of authority.The board also decided to close an inquiry against Mir Aslam Bizenjo, ex-MPA from Balochistan and former provincial minister, for want of incriminating evidence against him.

Iraq sunni radicals overrun former chemical weapons factory

WASHINGTON: Sunni radicals in Iraq, who have overrun a swathe of territory north of Baghdad in a lightning offensive, have taken control of one of Saddam Hussein´s former chemical weapons factories, a US official said Thursday.

"We are aware that the ISIL has occupied the Al Muthanna complex," State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said in a statement. But she said she didn´t think the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) militants would be able to produce usable chemical weapons there, because any materials remaining are old and unwieldy.

The complex, located just 45 miles (72 kilometers) northwest of Baghdad, began producing mustard gas and other nerve agents, including Sarin, in the early 1980s soon after Hussein took power, according to a CIA factsheet. The program expanded to its height during the Iran-Iraq war later that decade, and produced 209 and 394 tons of Sarin in 1987 and 1988 respectively. But the CIA writes that the facility shut down after the first Gulf war, when UN resolutions "proscribed Iraq´s ability to produce chemical weapons.

"In the early 1990s, the site was used to oversee efforts to destroy Iraq´s chemical weapons stockpile. Psaki said, "We remain concerned about the seizure of any military site by the ISIL. "However, she said, "we do not believe that the complex contains (chemical weapons) materials of military value and it would be very difficult, if not impossible to safely move the materials.

 

CJP has nothing to do with elections: Former CJP

ISLAMABAD: Former Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry said on Tuesday that country’s top judge had nothing to do with the elections.

The former CJP said it was the responsibility of the Election Commission of Pakistan to appoint Returning Officers (ROs) adding that he did not want to respond to useless allegations being made.

Justice (retd) Chaudhry emphasised the importance of the judiciary and defence institutions saying talks of a clash between them should not be taking place. The former CJP further said that a strong foundation for democracy had been laid in the country and there was no threat to it.

Former Iron Curtain still barrier for deer

PRAGUE: The Iron Curtain was traced by an electrified barbed-wire fence that isolated the communist world from the West.

It was an impenetrable Cold War barrier - and for some inhabitants of the Czech Republic it still is.

Deer still balk at crossing the border with Germany even though the physical fence came down a quarter century ago, new studies show.

Czechoslovakia, where the communists took power in 1948, had three parallel electrified fences, patrolled by heavily armed guards. Nearly 500 people were killed when they attempted to escape communism.

Deer were also victims of the barrier. A seven-year study in the Czech Republic's Sumava National Park showed that the original Iron Curtain line still deters one species, red deer, from crossing.

"It was fascinating to realize for the first time that anything like that is possible," said Pavel Sustr, a biologist who led the Czech project. Scientists conducting research on German territory reached similar conclusions.

The average life expectancy for deer is 15 years and none living now would have encountered the barrier.

"But the border still plays a role for them and separates the two populations," Sustr said. He said the research showed the animals stick to traditional life patterns, returning every year to the same places.

"Fawns follow mothers for the first year of their life and learn from them where to go," Sustr said.

Wildlife officials recorded the movement of some 300 Czech and German deer with GPS-equipped collars which sent data to computers.

"I don't think it's a surprising result," said professor Ludek Bartos of the Czech University of Life Sciences in Prague, who was not involved in the research. "These animals are really conservative."

Former Iron Curtain still barrier for deer

PRAGUE: The Iron Curtain was traced by an electrified barbed-wire fence that isolated the communist world from the West.

It was an impenetrable Cold War barrier - and for some inhabitants of the Czech Republic it still is.

Deer still balk at crossing the border with Germany even though the physical fence came down a quarter century ago, new studies show.

Czechoslovakia, where the communists took power in 1948, had three parallel electrified fences, patrolled by heavily armed guards. Nearly 500 people were killed when they attempted to escape communism.

Deer were also victims of the barrier. A seven-year study in the Czech Republic's Sumava National Park showed that the original Iron Curtain line still deters one species, red deer, from crossing.

"It was fascinating to realize for the first time that anything like that is possible," said Pavel Sustr, a biologist who led the Czech project. Scientists conducting research on German territory reached similar conclusions.

The average life expectancy for deer is 15 years and none living now would have encountered the barrier.

"But the border still plays a role for them and separates the two populations," Sustr said. He said the research showed the animals stick to traditional life patterns, returning every year to the same places.

"Fawns follow mothers for the first year of their life and learn from them where to go," Sustr said.

Wildlife officials recorded the movement of some 300 Czech and German deer with GPS-equipped collars which sent data to computers.

"I don't think it's a surprising result," said professor Ludek Bartos of the Czech University of Life Sciences in Prague, who was not involved in the research. "These animals are really conservative."

 

Former CJ followed Constitution: SC

ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court (SC) on Thursday, while announcing a detailed judgment in the review petition of former president General (retd) Pervez Musharraf against its July 31, 2009 verdict, ruled that former chief justice (CJ) Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry followed the Constitution and the army chief had no jurisdiction to impose emergency in the country on Nov 3, 2007.

The SC ruled that the judgment under review did not stand vitiated by any bias or error in law or fact to warrant a review.A 42-page judgment, authored by Chief Justice Tassaduq Hussain Jillani, ruled that the power of review could not be invoked as a routine matter to rehear a case which had already been decided nor change of a counsel would warrant sustaining of a review petition, but the same could be pressed into service where a glaring omission or patent mistake had crept in earlier by judicial fallibility.

“If the court has taken a conscious and deliberate decision on a point of fact or law, a review petition will not lie,” the judgment says.The court ruled that it had narrated with a measure of dismay the frequent constitutional deviations in the country. “The spirit which underpins the judgment is a strong realisation that we should not remain trapped by mistakes in history and turn a new leaf towards constitutionalism and the rule of law,” says the detailed verdict.

The court observed that the declarations and findings of July 31, 2009 judgment could not be a subject matter of review as neither there was any discovery of new or important matter or evidence which after the “exercise of due diligence” was not within the knowledge of the petitioner or could not be produced by him at the time when the judgment under challenge was passed.

The court observed that in fact, the petitioner’s learned counsel frankly admitted, on court query, first that the then prime minister Shaukat Aziz had written a letter to the President of Pakistan and not to the Chief of the Army Staff; second that the prime minister had not advised him to impose the state of emergency rather “the petitioner acted in his own discretion”.

“This frank admission by his counsel has further weakened his case for review,” the detailed verdict ruled questioning as how the petitioner in his capacity as chief of army staff or even as president could act on his own discretion.

“He had no power under the law to impose the state of emergency and make judges of the Supreme Court and high courts dysfunctional notwithstanding the mandate of Article 48 of the Constitution,” says the judgment.

Justice Jawad S Khawaja, in his additional note, observed that the proclamation of emergency, it would be seen, did not target the former chief justice alone as it targeted the judiciary of the country.

He said that much was clear even from a cursory reading of the text of the proclamation of emergency and the advice of the prime minister which was purportedly relied upon by the petitioner in taking his actions of Nov 3, 2007.He said, “We must remain cognizant of a central tenet of the rule of law, that the law must widely be accessible to the public.”

Former president General (retd) Pervez Musharraf had filed a review petition against the court judgment of July 31, 2009, declaring the steps taken on Nov 3, 2007 including imposing the emergency rule in the country as illegal and unconstitutional.

A full court on January 30, 2014, while hearing the review petition of the former military dictator for three days, dismissed it. “We find the review petition filed by General (retd) Pervez Musharraf was time barred and the precedent case law cited in this behalf was distinguishable,” the court ruled in its short order.

The court further ruled that the grounds urged by the petitioner’s learned counsel neither fell within the purview of review jurisdiction nor tenable on merit to warrant interference in the judgment under challenge.

Former U.S. wrestling star The Ultimate Warrior dies at 54: WWE

The Ultimate Warrior, one of U.S. professional wrestling's most celebrated names, has died at the age of 54, days after being inducted into the World Wrestling Entertainment Inc Hall of Fame, the company said late on Tuesday.

"WWE is shocked and deeply saddened to learn of the passing of one of the most iconic WWE Superstars ever, The Ultimate Warrior," the Stamford, Connecticut-based company said on its website.

The Ultimate Warrior, whose given name was James Hellwig, began his WWE career in 1987 and rose to become one of the biggest stars in WWE history, the company said, highlighting an "epic encounter" in which he defeated Hulk Hogan at WrestleMania VI to become a WWE Champion.

The cause of his death was not given. He was added to the Hall of Fame on April 5.

"We are grateful that just days ago, Warrior had the opportunity to take his rightful place in the WWE Hall of Fame and was also able to appear at WrestleMania 30 and Monday Night Raw to address his legions of fans," World Wrestling Entertainment said.

The 6-foot, 2-inch tall, 280-pound (127 kg) wrestler commanded the ring in his signature neon garb and long, blond hair, and face paint, WWE said.

His family could not immediately be reached, and an email sent through his website was not immediately answered.

In a statement on his website peppered with sarcasm, Hellwig expounded on philosophy and funneling energy from the ring into writing, motivational speaking, and his family life after retiring in the late 1990s.

"Ultimate Warrior ran because I was running him. He was intense because I already was. Whatever I am doing - wrestling, writing, working out, speaking, even weaving pot holders - I am going to do it with action and intensity," Hellwig wrote.

"I have built an incredibly empowered life on my OWN terms. As a devoted husband and father, I could not have custom-ordered a more loving, healthy, spirit-filled, and happy home life," he wrote.

Fans, supporters and wrestlers took to the internet to express their respect for the wrestler, who is survived by his wife Dana and his two daughters, WWE said.

"Shocked and very saddened to hear about Ultimate Warrior passing. Prayers go out to his family! RIP. Loss for words," wrestler Curtis wrote in a Twitter message.

"RIP WARRIOR. only love. HH," Hulk Hogan tweeted.

"Tomorrow is promised to know one!!" fellow Hall of Famer Rowdy Roddy Piper tweeted. "My love to The Warrior and family. RIP."

"Icon and friend," WWE Chief Operating Officer Triple H wrote in a Twitter message.

Former management of PCB rejected ICC’s ‘Big-4’ offer, says Sethi

LAHORE: Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Najam Sethi said on Monday that Pakistan was offered to join the International Cricket Council’s “Big-4” party but after the former management rejected the offer, a “Big-3” panel was formed.

Before leaving to attend the ICC meeting, Sethi made the revelation at Lahore airport. “The three major stakeholders of the Big Three wanted Pakistan to be in their fold and made the offer to the former management but its rejection of the offer cost Pakistan big amount in return,” he maintained.

An official of the board said that the Big Three have the understanding that a large amount can be generated through the organisation of Pakistan-Indian series and keeping that in mind the offer was made.

“The then PCB management refused the offer and harmed the country’s cricketing interests as accepting the offer would have meant greater share in revenue and say in tour arrangements.“Now the ICC does not need Pakistan after the rejection of such a rare offer,” he added.

Sethi further said that his aim is to restore Pakistan-India cricket as such contests are not only cricketing but bring revenue, peace and prosperity to the regional cricket. “Apart from India, bilateral series with other cricketing nation has been finalised up till 2020,” he added.

Sethi said that Muhammad Hafeez set a good precedent by leaving the T20 captaincy and now he, himself will supervise the process of finding a new captain and coaching staff while no corruption and favouritism will be tolerated in this regard.

“There are no groupings in the team and the players are united under Misbahul Haq and there is no rift between him and Hafeez,” he added.On the appointment of Rashid Latif as chairman selection committee, he said that there would not be any favouritism in selection of the players with his appointment.

Former Pakistan cricketers criticise Bangladesh flag ban

KARACHI: Former Pakistani players hit out after Bangladesh banned their own fans from waving non-Bangladeshi flags at the ongoing World Twenty20 tournament.

Hosts Bangladesh issued the order after an outcry over images of locals waving Pakistani flags during the recent Asia Cup.

The Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) made the ruling on Tuesday, on the eve of the country’s 44th Independence Day.

Former Pakistan captain Javed Miandad said the move violated the spirit of the game.

“I am surprised at the decision,” Miandad told AFP. “Cricket is a game which harbours sportsman spirit and this decision violates that spirit.”

Another former captain, Mohammad Yousuf, urged the BCB to rethink.

“I am sure that the BCB will take this decision back because it defies logic and I am sure the International Cricket Council will seek some explanation,” Yousuf said.

Yousuf, who played 90 Tests and 288 ODIs for Pakistan, said he had always been warmly received in Bangladesh.

“I have seen the home fans want to support Pakistan whenever their own team is not competing against us,” he said.

Younis Khan, another former captain, agreed Bangladesh should reconsider their decision.

“It is against the spirit of the game as you cannot stop anyone from supporting his favourite team,” he said.

Bangladesh and Pakistan face each other in a potentially crucial World T20 group match in Mirpur on Sunday.

 

Sidharth Malhotra dating Virat Kohli's former girlfriend of two years

 

Why do cricketers hide their love lives? That's a question only our 'men in blue' can answer. Rarely does one hear them reveal about their love life in the media, especially when the women in question are from a glamour industry like Bollywood. And then, suddenly one day you hear the news of their marriage.

The dashing Virat Kohli too refuses to talk about actress Anushka Sharma, who he's reportedly seeing currently. Earlier he was linked to the pretty actress Izabelle Leite, who was seen in Raj Purohit's film Sixteen. She is presently said to be going steady with actor Sidharth Malhotra.

While everyone thought that the link-up with Virat was just a rumour because the cricketer never acknowledged her. However, in a recent interview to a website, Izabelle has clearly said that she was dating Virat for almost two years. Now, we hope this time Virat admits to his current relationship with Anushka, rather than using the 'we are just friends' line. Aren't we bored of it already?

Former Ecobank directors defend under-pressure

ACCRA: Two former directors of Ecobank defended CEO Thierry Tanoh and said he is under pressure to resign because he is dealing with governance problems that allegedly took place before his tenure began at one of the biggest banks in sub-Saharan Africa.

Their views are likely to be advanced to shareholders by the company on Monday at an extraordinary general meeting (EGM) at its headquarters in the Togolese capital Lome to vote on governance reforms.

Several current and former senior bank officials rejected the claim as false and said it was an effort to divert attention from governance problems which, they asserted, started once Tanoh became chief executive in January 2013.

Ecobank is divided over the leadership of Tanoh, an Ivorian who was vice president of the World Bank's International Finance Corporation.

The bank's main shareholder Public Investment Corporation of South Africa said in a letter on Saturday Tanoh should be dismissed immediately, accusing him of governance breaches and of failing to raise capital.

On Feb. 13, the executives on Tanoh's top management team called for him to step down to resolve a leadership crisis. Former directors Babatunde Ajibade and Kolapo Lawson, who served on a board that now has 12 members, said criticism of Tanoh is rooted in fear by other senior executives that his willingness to reform governance may expose past problems.

In interviews, both men declined to spell out those alleged failures in detail.

But Lawson said in a resignation letter dated Feb. 7 and seen by Reuters that they stemmed from "the ETI public offering of 2008", which refers to the bank's flotation on the Nigerian stock exchange.

ETI, or Ecobank Transnational Incorporated, is the name of the bank group's formal name. "The institution has an unfortunate legacy of executive mismanagement that was deliberately and carefully concealed from the board," said Ajibade's resignation letter, dated Feb. 6 and also seen by Reuters. Ajibade is a corporate lawyer.

Ajibade and Lawson said their concerns were first raised last Aug. 5 when Tanoh presented an interim report to the board, spelling out possible breaches prior to his tenure that he said needed to be investigated.

Evidence of those purported breaches should emerge in a report by professional services firm EY that was commissioned by the bank, Lawson told Reuters, calling allegations against Tanoh that have occurred since that board meeting a "smokescreen".

"There was great resistance, and that resistance continues to this day. The board doesn't want to release the results of the EY report," Lawson said.

"They want to get rid of him before the EGM," he added. An Ecobank spokesman declined to comment. Tanoh was unavailable for comment, and has previously declined to speak about the issues while investigations are ongoing.

INTERIM REPORT:

The current and former senior officials dismissed Ajibade and Lawson's claims and said governance standards were strictly upheld during the tenure of previous CEO Arnold Ekpe.

The former directors' views were merely an attempt to divert attention from this fact, said the officials, who declined to be identified. Ekpe declined to comment.

The officials said Lawson's credibility on the matter was tarnished. Lawson stood down as chairman in October, saying he did not want to preside over the governance review, before sending his letter of resignation from the board on Feb. 7.

In 2013, he owed Ecobank Nigeria roughly $10 million indirectly through businesses he owned and a further 1.4 billion naira ($8.5 million) of borrowings that was sold to Nigeria's so-called "bad bank", the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON).

AMCON owns 8.09 percent of Ecobank stock. The debt portion owed to the bank has now been paid, Ecobank said.

In a separate letter to Nigeria's Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), dated Jan. 20, Tanoh calls for further investigation of what he called previous transgressions.

"Subsequent to my assumption of office I became aware of improper financial offences at ETI that have not been done in the best interest of investors or the institution," said the letter, seen by Reuters.

It was not immediately possible to reach other board members. Top executives have declined repeated requests for comment.