The government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) has declared a rain emergency in the Swat district with immediate effect till August 30 after the Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) warned of “high to very high floods” in the Swat River.The decision was taken on the recommendation of the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA).

KP’s Provincial Emergency Operations Centre said that water flows in River Swat at Khawazakhela point and its tributaries/nullahs had reached high to very high flood levels — 227,899 cusecs — which “may result in a dangerous situation for communities living nearby”.

It has directed the deputy commissioners of Swat, Lower Dir, Malakand, Mohmand, Charsadda, Mardan, Nowshera and Peshawar to immediately identify vulnerable points and communities at risk to devise mitigation and safety measures.

“Maintain enhanced alert level and monitor the developing situation to reduce reaction and response times,” the centre said, calling for the sensitisation of people living on the banks of the rivers about the increase in water flows.

“Make announcements for timely evacuation of the at-risk population from low-lying/flood-prone areas as per evacuation plans,” it added.

The PDMA also instructed authorities to evacuate cattle from areas at risk of flooding, as well as restrict vehicle movement there.

Monsoon rains this year have spelt disaster for the country. Flash floods in Shangla and Kohistan yesterday wreaked havoc where several portions of the Karakoram Highway, link roads, suspension bridges, houses, hospitals, schools, mini power stations, and water mills were completely washed away.

Earlier today, at least three people drowned in the River Indus near the Bisham area of Shangla. According to the locality’s station house officer, Abbas Khan, two other men in the Shang area were also swept away during the floods.

Separately, a Shangla health department official, Ijaz Ahmad, told that a rural health centre in the Karora area had been washed away by the floods in the Kana river.

Shamsul Hadi, a resident, said that three houses and a mosque were swept away in the floods, while roads and bridges leading to the Ranolia and Dubair areas had been completely destroyed.

In Shangla, the Alpuri-Puran and Karora-Kana roads also suffered several damages at several points, creating a sense of panic among the residents as they were restricted to their houses.

All government and private schools in the area have also been closed until further notice.

In a statement today, the Frontier Works Organisation said that the Karakoram Highway was swept away by floods at Zaidkarh Dassua and was blocked at several points due to landslides.

DNA

ISLAMABAD, Aug 26:  Pakistan on Friday summoned the Indian Charge d’Affaires in Islamabad to foreign ministry to lodge a strong protest on the extra-judicial killing of a Pakistani civil prisoner by Indian Occupation Forces in a fake encounter in the Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir.

The Indian forces had extrajudicially killed Pakistani prisoner, Muhammad Ali Hussain, who had been jailed in Kot Bhalwal Prison in the IIOJK since 2006.

The Indian diplomat was told that Hussain’s death under mysterious circumstances at a location away from the prison, had once again substantiated Pakistan’s long-standing position that Indian Occupation Forces in the IIOJK are routinely involved in undertaking choreographed attacks and extrajudicial killings of Pakistani and Kashmiri prisoners.

He was also reminded of the case of Zia Mustafa, another Pakistani prisoner, who was murdered by Indian authorities in a similar fake encounter last year.

It was underscored that the narrative being spun that Muhammad Ali Hussain had allegedly attacked the security forces and attempted to escape when he was being taken to a suspected weapons’ smuggling site was not only fallacious but deceptive, the Foreign Office spokesperson said.

He said the reality was that Hussain’s death was nothing but cold-blooded murder. Pakistan’s serious concerns over the safety, security and well-being of other Pakistani prisoners in Indian custody were also raised.

While outrightly rejecting the implausible explanation proffered in the case of Muhammed Ali Hussain, Pakistan has demanded that the Indian government must immediately share the details of this particular incident.

Pakistan sought a credible post-mortem report to determine the cause of death and undertake a transparent investigation to bring to account whoever is responsible for the murder of the Pakistani prisoner.

“Government of India has also been called upon to ensure prompt and expeditious repatriation of the mortal remains of the deceased to Pakistan, as per the wishes of his family,,’ the spokesperson added.

Pakistan also reiterates its call to the international community to hold India accountable for its gross and systematic violations of international humanitarian law and ensure that Pakistani and Kashmiri prisoners under Indian custody are not expended as cannon fodder in the execution of India’s nefarious designs in the IIOJK.

Ansar Bhatti

ISLAMABAD, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Friday interacted with members of the diplomatic community in Islamabad to sensitize them about the damages caused by floods across the country.

8 diplomatic representatives including the UAE, France, Canada, Turkey, USA, UK, UN, Kuwait spoke on the occasion and assured the prime minister that they will take up this issue with their respective headquarters.

The Acting Ambassador of France Yves Manville while speaking on the occasion assured the prime minister that he will talk to his headquarters and inform them about the situation on ground. He also congratulated the new designated ambassador to France Ambassador Asim Iftikhar, who was there along with the Foreign Secretary and several ministers.

As part of efforts to mobilize all resources, the prime minister met Islamabad-based ambassadors, high commissioners & senior members of diplomatic corps to sensitize them about scale of human tragedy,” the prime minister wrote on Twitter.

During the meeting, the representatives of the Economic Affairs Division and the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) briefed about current status of the challenge and response. The prime minister said that the ongoing rain spell had caused devastation across the country. The losses, though yet to be documented, are comparable to the flash floods of 2010, he added.

He thanked the international community for their sympathies, condolences and pledges of support. “Together we will build back better,” he commented.

According to the PM Office, the international organizations and financial institutions had announced an immediate assistance of more than $500 million for the flood victims on the prime minister’s appeal. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif also held a meeting with international donors to sensitize them about the prevailing situation.

The representatives of the World Bank, Asian Development Bank, international financial institutions, development partners and donors attended the meeting. The officials of China, the United States and the European Union, agencies of the United Nations and World Health Organization also part of the meeting.

ISLAMABAD, AUG 26 /DNA/ – The Indian Charge d’Affaires in Islamabad was called to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs today and a strong protest was lodged on the extra-judicial killing of a Pakistani prisoner, Muhammad Ali Hussain, by Indian Occupation Forces in a fake encounter that took place in the Arnia, IIOJK. Muhammad Ali Hussain had been jailed in Kot Bhalwal Prison in the Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir(IIOJK) since 2006.

The Indian diplomat was told that Mr. Hussain’s death under mysterious circumstances at a location away from the prison, has once again substantiated Pakistan’s long-standing position that Indian Occupation Forces in the IIOJK are routinely involved in undertaking choreographed attacks and extrajudicial killings of Pakistani and Kashmiri prisoners. He was also reminded of the case of Zia Mustafa, another Pakistani prisoner, who was murdered by Indian authorities in a similar fake encounter last year.

It was underscored that the narrative being spun that Muhammad Ali Hussain had allegedly attacked the security forces and attempted to escape when he was being taken to a suspected weapons’ smuggling site was not only fallacious but deceptive. The reality is that Hussain’s death was nothing but cold-blooded murder. Pakistan’s serious concerns over the safety, security and well-being of other Pakistani prisoners in Indian custody were also raised.

While out rightly rejecting the implausible explanation proffered in the case of Muhammed Ali Hussain, Pakistan has demanded that the Indian government must immediately share the details of this particular incident, including a credible post-mortem report to determine the cause of death and undertake a transparent investigation to bring to account whoever is responsible for the murder of the Pakistani prisoner. Government of India has also been called upon to ensure prompt and expeditious repatriation of the mortal remains of the deceased to Pakistan, as per the wishes of his family.

Pakistan also reiterates its call to the international community to hold India accountable for its gross and systematic violations of international humanitarian law and ensure that Pakistani and Kashmiri prisoners under Indian custody are not expended as cannon fodder in the execution of India’s nefarious designs in the IIOJK.

ISLAMABAD: Sensitive data of the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) has allegedly been stolen which has resulted in a tug of war between the chairman and the relevant commissioner. The latter claims she was kept in dark about the breach. The commissioner has now written to the finance minister for independent inquiry into the matter. The SECP regulates the corporate sector and is custodian of public and private information of the directors and financials of companies registered in Pakistan. The leaked database included private information like the chief executive officers of the companies, their identity cards, email addresses, residential addresses and other details including financial information.

When did this breach occur? It remained undiscovered by the concerned head of information security, Mubashir Sadozai. The SECP came to know only when a news website alerted the regulator by sending queries on July 27. Nothing significant was done other than issuing a statement that the matter had been fixed.

The relevant commissioner, Sadia Khan, claims she was not informed. She would only come to know three weeks later when a citizen, Zaki Khalid, who works on open-source intelligence, brought this matter to the attention of the government through the Prime Minister portal. A hacker from Estonia has claimed the responsibility of stealing the data. This coincides with an ongoing training on cyber security of SECP officials being conducted by Estonian trainers. The SECP said there was no correlation between the two.

Upset at this breach, Sadia Khan, not only lodged a protest within the SECP, she has written a letter to Finance Minister Miftah Ismail. “It is with a sense of deep concern that I am writing to you to inform you about a serious case of data leakage… I was informed about the incident in the afternoon of August 18, 2022, through a junior officer… even though the leakage of data took place on July 27, 2022… I requested a Commission meeting which though convened [it] was cancelled at the request of the Chairman.”

If the information being conveyed, she writes further, about the extent of the data leakage is correct, “the damage done from this incident is unprecedented.” She has demanded an independent investigation of the incident before the damage is irreversible, both in terms of the sanctity of the data entrusted to us as well as the reputation of the Commission, reads her letter. At present, there are only two commissioners, Chairman Amir Khan and Sadia Khan. Three seats are lying vacant.

Amir Khan was appointed chairman by the PTI government in 2019. Sources within SECP claim Mubashir Sadozai, the current head of information security, doesn’t have requisite IT qualification and was given this charge thanks to his closeness with the chairman. Chairman Amir Khan, however. replied that the said IT person is acting in charge only and was given this charge after the incumbent resigned a year ago. Amir Khan said the acting charge is given to someone who has the most relevant background from existing pool within the SECP as said person looks after e-services also. “I didn’t know the said gentlemen until three years ago”, Amir said, refuting the allegation of any personal bias. The chairman also added, “I was informed of the breach on the 18th of August, which is 10-12 working days after it took place. This is unfortunate. The same day, however, Sadia Khan who is also head of the information security, secretary finance and policy board chairman were informed. Same day press release was issued.” However, The News understands through documentary evidence that the matter had been brought to the attention of the Chairman Secretariat on July 27 through Musarrat Jabeen, Executive Director of Chairman Secretariat. The chairman may not have been informed.

Sadozai is not only the head of information security; he holds several other charges. He is registrar of companies as well as the head of administration, finance and compliance departments. Neither any inquiry has been ordered against him or any other official.

The SECP chairman also added that full time IT head will be joining soon as a year long search involving several advertisements and been completed. On the latest leak, the SECP has downplayed the significance. “Please note that all of the data so accessed unauthorisedly is public data and otherwise available on payment of fee. However we are also in process of hiring private investigators to a certain the level of breach and recommend actions to prevent such a thing in future.”

The SECP response against this serious breach is in contrast with the action it took after a story by Ahmed Noorani about the family of Lt Gen Asim Saleem Bajwa reported dozens of the family’s companies registered with the SECP. Arsalan Zafar Hijazi, a deputy director, was suspended on the suspicion of sharing the information about Bajwa’s companies notwithstanding the fact it was otherwise public information. The charges were framed and show cause served within two weeks.

Asked whether Sadia Khan protested on being kept uninformed, the SECP spokesperson said she might directly be contacted for her view. She was not available for comments; however, another SECP official said that Sadia refused to concur with the response prepared on her behalf for sharing with The News. Responding to the question of why an incident report was generated three weeks later when the matter was first brought to the Commission notice on July 27, the spokesperson said the Commission was not then clear if any publicly available data had been scrapped from the SECP website.

Previous government’s failure to fill key positions has been continued by current government also. It continues to impact the SECP negatively as it ads to inefficiency, confusing overlapping roles, and politicising within the critical functions of the regulator.

Courtesy The News