ISLAMABAD, FEB 7 (DNA) – Justice (RETD) Javed Iqbal Chairman NAB has said that mega corruption cases against big fish should not be kept in files and these should be taken to logical conclusion as per law.

Chairman NAB directed all regional bureaus of NAB that all mega corruption cases against big fish should be taken to logical conclusion within the prescribed time frame so that references should be filed in accountability courts to bring the corrupt elements to justice and in order to recover looted money and deposit in the national exchequer considering its our national duty as per law.

He said that all inquiries, complaints and investigations would be completed on merit and transparency and based on solid evidence and documentary proofs. We have to strictly follow the policy and necessary measures would be taken against all those who are involved in corruption through pursuing policy of Zero Tolerance, transparency and merit as per law.

The Chairman NAB directed the officers to work with due diligence and honesty.  He said that NAB is one of the best anti corruption organizations as compared to other organizations.

He directed the concerned DGs to submit the latest report of all mega corrupt corruption cases as well as cases of illegal housing societies within one month so that progress on ongoing cases would be reviewed.

Honorable Mr. Justice Javed Iqbal Chairman NAB has said that NAB is absolutely committed to eradicate corruption through effective National Anti-Corruption Strategy. He said that comparative figures for the last three years are indicative of NAB’s excellent performance. He said that 59 percent people have shown confidence in NAB as per the report of Gillani and Gallup Survey.

He said that NAB had filed 1230 corruption references in respected Accountability Courts which are under trial in the respected Accountability Courts having worth of Rs. 947 billion. He said that NAB has established a state of the art Forensic Science LAB in NAB Rawalpindi Bureau which has facilities of Digital Forensics, Questioned Documents and Fingerprint analysis which is being utilized for further improvements in the quality of inquiries and investigations in all respects.

He said that NAB has introduced a new concept of Combine Investigation Team (CIT) in order to benefit from the experience and collective wisdom of senior supervisory officers, a system of CIT consisting of Director, Additional Director, Investigation Officer and a Senior Legal Counsel has been put in place. This is not only lending quality to the work but also ensuring that no single individual can influence the official proceedings of NAB. He said that NAB has signed MOU with China to oversee CPEC projects being conducted in Pakistan.

He said that youth is our future; NAB has signed an MOU with the Higher Education Commission in order to aware youth about the ill effects of corruption at an early age. More than 50 thousands Character Building Societies have been established in colleges and universities of the country. He said that Transparency International (TI) Pakistan, World Economic forum PILDAT and Mishal have appreciated NAB’s efforts in eradication of corruption.

He said that NAB has devised a comprehensive Quantified Grading System in order to further improve the performance of NAB Headquarter and all Regional Bureaus. Under the Quantified Grading System, NAB Headquarter and Regional Bureau’s are being evaluated on an annual and midterm basis at a given criteria which has proved very successful and the performance of NAB’s Regional Bureaus is being increased day by day due to regular monitoring and inspection. The Chairman NAB directed all regional bureaus of NAB to ensure self respect of every person as NAB is a people friendly organization that believes in zero corruption and 100 percent development.=DNA

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ISLAMABAD, FEB 7 (DNA) – The administration of Capital Development Authority (CDA) initiated work of repairing and restoration of sit out places across the city. In the second phase new sit out place will also be constructed.

According to detail, the administration of CDA is committed to provide the best entertainment facilities to citizens and for beautification of the capital city.

In this regard, the work on repairing and restoration of neglected sit outs and railings is underway. New sit outs are also being constructed upon the special demands of the masses. In the first phase the department of market and road maintenance has started work on repairing and restoration of the sit outs at F-6 school road.

A new sit out is also being constructed at Agha Khan road in F-6 markaz which will be completed in two weeks. The work of repairing and restoration of guard railing at Sunbal road in F-10 is also underway.

Guard railings and sit outs at Super and F-10 markaz will also be repaired. Sit outs and railings at F-6 Nazim Uddin road, F-8, and Margala road will also be repaired and restored.=DNA

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Devcom-Pakistan Executive Director Munir Ahmed urged the government to develop a mechanism to engage all to work together even after the projects ended. The Chinese model of community development can be a role model for us where women empowerment is the focus

ISLAMABAD, FEB 7 (DNA) – Speaking at a webinar the participants urged the respective governments to develop a mechanism to ensure the use of collective wisdom and a joint platform to work together for social development. They said the mountain community leaders and political workers shall come together beyond their political, ethnic and regional divide to voice against the exploitation of natural resources, social and livelihood challenges.

Being far away from the centres of decision-making, the mountain communities and the region in totality suffer from inadequate decision-making. The mountain development and conservation plans of the government shall include the voices and concerns of the communities and other stakeholders.

Ill-planned infrastructure development and environmentally unfriendly interventions in the name of tourism promotion and livelihood are becoming nature hazards. Climatic conditions are worsening and communities are on the verge of socioeconomic collapse despite. A fistful of experts, government aides and external elements are taking undue advantage of the mountain resources.

The webinar “working together to empower mountain communities” was organized by the Development Communications Network (Devcom-Pakistan) and DTN on Sunday.

Speaking on the occasion the nature conservation advisor at the Italian organization EvK2CNR Ashiq Ahmad Khan said unfortunately we don’t have the culture of working together though it is necessary for the sustainability of the development. Sometimes people have lesser abilities but they don’t invite the better skilled persons to work on community based initiatives. Even, they feel reluctant in empowering the communities. They believe that after empowering communities, perhaps, they would become irrelevant.

He said the respective federal and provincial governments should develop an inclusive platform with the support of the private sector to continue with the development initiatives even after the project is over. This is not possible if it is not envisaged in the project at the initial stage and the community is not embedded in it.

Well-known mountaineer Nazir Sabir said mountain areas lack basic amenities and social infrastructure which is the prerequisite for the empowerment of communities. We need to provide them facilities at their doorsteps. Women in the mountain region are disadvantaged in many ways. They lack health, education and equal rights as a person.  In addition to the challenges of living in the mountains, like harsh climate and inadequate infrastructure they experience unequal treatment based on traditional gender relationships that deprives them from equal access to health, education, property and wellbeing. Focusing on women empowerment will ultimately improve the social and living conditions in the mountain parts of the country.

Devcom-Pakistan Executive Director Munir Ahmed we need to look into the factors that why several nongovernmental organizations and donor-driven government projects could not come up with the desired results of community empowerment. The vulnerability of communities is increasing due to climate impact, indiscriminate deforestation, over exploitation of natural resources and shrinking livelihood options.

Life is also under stress because of rapid social changes and local political conflicts and natural disasters. Male migration from mountains to urban towns for education and employment is causing a severe shortfall of human resources which is increasing more workload on women. He said Chinese model of community development can be a role model for us where women empowerment and engagement is the focus.

M. Iqbal, chairman Baltistan Association of Tour Operators (BATO) we have networks of travel and tourism organizations but they hardly join hands for collective promotions. Individualistic approach is against the collective good for the region and country but we are more interested in individual initiatives so have more vested benefits.=DNA

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Ahmed Omar Sheikh, who was convicted of kidnapping and facilitating the murder of US journalist Daniel Pearl, has been moved to the Central Jail in Karachi.

Sheikh and four other suspects, Fahad Nasim Ahmed, Salman Saqib and Sheikh Muhammad Adil, named in the case were moved on Saturday night to a new building constructed in the prison.

Earlier this month, the Supreme Court instructed authorities to move him to a barrack from a death cell. They were told to find a suitable rest house for him, and shift him there on Kashmir Day (February 5).

Sheikh’s family will be able to meet him from 9am to 5pm and he will not have access to a mobile phone or internet service. The government has made arrangements for the stay of the suspects’ families at Qasr-e-Naz, the government’s rest house.

Sheikh’s family will meet him on February 8 [Monday], Sheikh Aslam, the brother of one of the suspects in the case, told SAMAA Digital.

On January 28, the Supreme Court ordered Sheikh’s release. The White House said it was “outraged” by this decision. Following this, the Sindh and federal governments filed a review petition against the verdict.

The men were kept in detention after their release orders were issued in April 2020. However, their lawyers challenged them. The court said that Sindh government was extending their detention “without lawful authority”.

Who was Daniel Pearl?

Pearl, 38, was the South Asia bureau chief for The Wall Street Journal when he was abducted in Karachi in January 2002 while researching links between militants in Pakistan and Richard C Reid, who is also known as the ‘shoe bomber’ for trying to detonate a shoe bomb while on a flight from Paris to Miami in 2001.

Pearl’s wife Mariane Pearl, a US national who was living in Karachi’s Zamzama, wrote a letter to the Artillery Maidan police on February 2, 2002, and said her husband disappeared on January 23, 2002. She said she received an email from the abductors saying that he has been abducted “in retaliation for the imprisonment of Pakistani men by the US government in Cuba and other complaints”.

A graphic video showing Pearl’s decapitation was delivered to the US consulate in Karachi nearly a month after he was kidnapped.

After this, a case was filed against the suspects and 23 witnesses were produced in the case by the prosecution. Sheikh was arrested by Pakistani security agencies in February 2002 and an anti-terrorism court convicted him and others on July 15, 2002.

An investigation, led by Pearl’s friend and former Wall Street Journal colleague Asra Nomani and a Georgetown University professor, claimed the reporter was murdered by Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the alleged mastermind of the September 11, 2001 attacks, not Sheikh. Mohammed — better known as KSM — was arrested in Pakistan in 2003 and is being held at Guantanamo Bay.