Samsung starts producing mobile phones in Pakistan

One of the world’s largest manufacturers of mobile phones, Samsung, has finally started production in Pakistan, lifting hopes of the authorities and the industry that this would cut down the import bill of the country in the months to come.

The development came to light on Tuesday at a meeting of the company’s top managers with the Senators who visited the production site in line with the plan to receive a briefing on the growing new sector and challenges ahead for the cellphones manufacturing industry in Pakistan.

“We were informed that Samsung has formally started its production,” Faisal Subzwari, chairman of the Senate’s Standing Committee on Industries and Production.

He headed a delegation of members of the Senate panel which visited Samsung’s production unit and an auto manufacturing plant, and held a meeting with the management of Export Processing Zone.

“It’s really good to know that the company has started production within a short span of four months,” Mr Subzwari said. “We visited the production facility which was designed on modern lines and obviously the local manpower, support of local industry and conducive environment provided by the government led to such achievement. But still I believe that we need to move forward from just growing in the assembling area to localisation of the industry.”

The country has witnessed robust growth in local production of cellular phones. During the first 10 months of this year, the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) data says, the production of mobile phones by local manufacturing plants has almost doubled to 18.87 million against the import of mobile phones which stood at 45m.

However, despite the increase in local production of mobile phones, the import remained on a higher side. The PTA data says that mobile phones worth $644.673m were imported during the first four months (July-October) of 2021 compared to $557.961m during the same period of last year, registering a growth of 15.54 per cent.

The industry believes that it may take time to achieve the desired results but with the fresh start in an absolutely new industrial avenue, things have finally started moving in the right direction.

“With production of around 250,000 to 300,000, we aim to produce around 3m cellphones every year,” Mohammad Ali Tabba, chief of the Lucky Group which partners with Samsung to produce cellphones in Pakistan. “The whole production line is manual with no robotic assistance. So you can imagine how much workforce is required offering employment in this absolutely new area of engineering in Pakistan.”

He agreed that the country needed to move towards localisation from its current status of assembling industry and believed it was more the role of the industrial sector than the government to go for modification and compatibility.

 

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Saudi Arabia reports first Omicron case in Gulf

Saudi Arabia has recorded the Gulf's first confirmed case of the Omicron variant of the coronavirus in a citizen returning from North Africa, a health ministry official said on Wednesday.

The strain, which was first announced by South Africa but has since been discovered to have been present earlier in Europe, has prompted governments around the globe to reimpose travel restrictions, despite warnings from the World Health Organisation (WHO) this could do more harm than good.

“One case of the Omicron variant has been detected in the kingdom — it was a citizen coming from a North African country,” the ministry official told the state SPA news agency.

“He has been put in isolation, as have his contacts, and the necessary health measures have been taken.”

Saudi Arabia last week halted flights from seven southern African countries, mirroring similar moves by other government, but travel links with North Africa have remained unaffected.

The kingdom had been lifting some of the remaining restrictions it imposed early in the pandemic, allowing worshippers at the Muslim holy places to resume praying shoulder to shoulder from October.

Since the pandemic started, Saudi Arabia has recorded 549,000 cases of Covid-19, 8,836 of them fatal.

More than 47 million doses of Covid vaccine have been administered in the kingdom, which has a population of nearly 35 million.

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Sindh to bring in ordinance to decide fate of illegal buildings: Wahab

Karachi Administrator Barrister Murtaza Wahab announced on Wednesday that the Sindh government would bring an ordinance to stop immediate action against buildings and houses made in violation of rules and regulations.

Addressing a press conference, he said it had been proposed that a commission be set up to decide whether a building should be regularised or not and in what parameters.

He said the proposed law was the same as the one introduced in Punjab to regularise illegal buildings, with one additional para saying that the anti-encroachment drive should be stopped after the enforcement of the law until the commission decides on the matter.

"The law's basic purpose is to protect people's fundamental rights, I hope that we will be allowed to work so that people's lives and properties are protected within the ambit of the law," Wahab commented.

Wahab said the PPP had presented a resolution in the Sindh Assembly, drawing the provincial government's attention to legislate on the matter of people's houses being razed. The resolution supported taking action against constructions done on waterways but desired a less stern path for illegal houses, shops and buildings where people had been living for many years.

He said many politicians "who hold press conferences at Nasla Tower" had not supported the resolution but the PPP managed to get it passed with a majority.

The resolution was then referred to the Sindh government and it decided to legislate in its light. Now, the draft law has been prepared and sent to Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah by the law department, Wahab said, adding that the chief minister would send the ordinance to the government today

"[It is] hoped that the governor will verify it, follow the chief minister and Sindh cabinet's advice and approve it so that it is made a law," he said.

According to Wahab, it had been advised that a retired judge be appointed to head the commission, "just like in Punjab". After being promulgated, the ordinance will be tabled in the assembly to get it passed, he said.

Wahab emphasised that the ordinance was being introduced in the larger interest of the people to provide them relief "in this difficult time".

"We will at least be able to set up a system for regularising buildings and houses; if it can happen in Islamabad and Punjab [it can happen here too]," he said, expressing the hope that the opposition would not do politics on the law and resort to unwarranted criticism.

Wahab's announcement comes days after Sindh Information Minister Saeed Ghani said that the provincial government should be allowed to regularise buildings made in violation of rules and regulations as it affected the lives of millions of Pakistanis.

Nasla Tower's demolition 'unfair'

Speaking about Nasla Tower, a 15-storey residential building in Karachi which the Supreme Court has ordered authorities to raze for encroaching on land meant for a service road, Wahab said depriving its residents of their homes was "unfair".

He said the land for that building was not allotted by the incumbent Sindh government and the property was commercialised in 2007, when Pak Sarzameen Party chairperson Mustafa Kamal was the city nazim.

"[The Sindh] Building Control [Authority] approved its commercialisation, following which a citizen approached the Sindh High Court the same year," Wahab recalled. The citizen moved the SHC to stop the building's construction, terming it illegal, but the court did not accept his request, he said.

Wahab further stated that the land originally belonged to the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation, and litigation was started in 1986 regarding it. In 2010, he said, the SHC ordered that the land be given to the Sindhi Muslim Cooperative Housing Society on account of payment of charges.

"I can share that order as well," he told reporters, adding that these details showed that Nasla Tower's residents invested in the apartments on the basis of some official documents.

And so, he said, the Sindh government, by introducing a law for regularising buildings, did not want to protect wrongdoers but those citizens who had bought apartments in the building.

"It cannot happen that a building on One Constitution Avenue in Islamabad, where the elite live, is regularised and buildings where common people reside are not regularised."

He stressed that any structure constructed on a waterway should not be regularised. "But if a building has been constructed on one due to someone's mistake, the structure then belongs to the state.

"And to whom does the state belong? You, the people," he said.

New LG bill

When asked whether the recently passed Sindh Local Government (Amendment) Bill, 2021, could be challenged in court, Wahab said the relevant court could surely adjudicate on it.

But, he warned, "if it is challenged and struck down, local government elections [in the province] will be delayed."

The bill, which was passed by the Sindh Assembly last week amid fervent protest by the opposition, takes away functions of education and healthcare from municipal bodies and replaces open ballot for the election of mayors, deputy mayors, etc, with secret ballot. It also abolishes District Municipal Corporations in urban parts of the province, replacing them with Town Municipal Corporations.

The opposition parties in the Sindh Assembly have unanimously rejected the provincial government’s bill and vowed to challenge the move in the apex court.

Speaking about the matter on Wednesday, Wahab apparently criticised the Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan, saying that challenging the bill in the court would make it evident that those who accused the PPP of trying to delay local government elections were themselves finding an "escape route" out of the contest.

He said those criticising the law supported the town system introduced in Karachi during the tenure of former military ruler retired Gen Pervez Musharraf, when the entire city was treated as a single district and was bifurcated into 18 towns.

"They repeatedly expressed support for this system, saying that it will lead to the devolution of power," Wahab added, without naming any party. "They now want to challenge this system?"

He said that by appointing elected mayors as the heads of departments such as the water board, the Sindh government was empowering the institution of the mayor. "Are we doing anything wrong?" he asked.

He clarified, however, that he did not support the town system introduced in Karachi in 2001, saying "every road in the city was commercialised under that system."

"I am not in favour of that system and nobody should be."

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PM, cabinet members responsible for recovery of missing persons: IHC

The Islamabad High Court (IHC) Chief Justice Athar Minallah remarked on Wednesday that the responsibility of missing persons falls on the prime minister and members of the federal cabinet.

Justice Minallah made the remarks while hearing a petition filed by Rana Mehmood Ikram, father of journalist Mudassar Mehmood, who had reportedly gone missing on August 19, 2018.

Human Rights Minister Shireen Mazari and Interior Secretary Yousuf Naseem Khokhar appeared for today's hearing. Additional attorney general Qasim Wadud and deputy attorney general Syed Tayyab Shah were also present in the courtroom.

Advocate Usman Warraich appeared on behalf of the missing journalist's father. However, Advocate Imaan Mazari was not present as she was unwell.

During today's hearing, Justice Minallah told the minister that she had been summoned because the state was not "visible" in tackling the issue of enforced disappearances.

"A person going missing is a crime against humanity. The prime minister and members of the cabinet are there to serve the people of the country. The state's response towards recovering missing persons is pathetic," he remarked.

Justice Minallah said that if a person comes to court stating that a loved one has disappeared, it means that the state has failed. He remarked that the state being accused of kidnapping a citizen was a "serious crime".

He stated that if a public office holder's loved one disappears, the entire state machinery would be mobilised. "The government's response should also be the same when a common citizen disappears."

Justice Minallah said that the court was informed that the missing journalist's wife had also passed away. "All agencies are under the control of the federal government. This is not a matter of summary or reports. You need to satisfy the children and parents of the missing person. The state has a responsibility to take care of the children and listen to the affected family," the judge told Mazari.

The minister said that the issue of enforced disappearances was a part of the PTI's manifesto. She said that that legislation had also been enacted and would be sent to the Senate soon. "Imran Khan has had a very clear stance on the issue from before he became prime minister," she said.

She added that the government had not received the affidavit from the missing person's family according to which the process for paying the compensation would begin.

Justice Minallah told the minister to take the missing person's family to meet the prime minister and members of the federal cabinet.

"The premier will hear them out. [But] first we want to complete the process for paying the compensation, which will be completed by next week," she said.

"Our government considers enforced disappearances a grave crime. No one can be allowed to make someone disappear in a democracy," she said.

The IHC CJ told Mazari to ensure that the missing person's family comes back "satisfied" after meeting the prime minister. "The responsibility of missing persons falls on the prime minister and the members of the cabinet. Instead of the state paying the compensation, why are the prime minister and cabinet members not paying it so that this issue can be eradicated?" he asked.

"If a person went missing in 2002, shouldn't the chief executive at the time be held responsible for paying compensation?" Justice Minallah asked, adding that "state and non-state actors" were involved in enforced disappearances. "Someone needs to be held responsible," he said.

The IHC CJ remarked that when a person disappears, their entire family suffers.

Agreeing with the judge, Mazari said that the rights of all citizens are equal. "The state's response should be equal in every missing persons case," she said, adding that past government's had not taken any serious steps in this regard.

"Half of our lives have been spent under undemocratic governments and this is their doing," the IHC CJ said.

In the written verdict, the IHC CJ observed that in the case of enforced disappearances, "the buck stops with the federal government i.e. the worthy prime minister and members of the federal cabinet".

"It is their constitutional duty not only to find the missing person but to discharge the onus of satisfying the loved ones of the missing person that no state actor is involved nor complacent in their trauma and agony," he observed.

Justice Minallah directed the human rights minister to ensure a meeting between the parents of the parents and children of the missing person with PM Imran before the next hearing.

"The matter shall thereafter be placed before the federal cabinet i.e. worthy prime minister and its members. The latter shall direct all the agencies under its control to produce the missing person before this court or trace his whereabouts," the written order stated.

"In case the missing person is not produced before this court nor his whereabouts are traced, then the federal cabinet shall ascertain the agencies and public functionaries responsible for the failure and inform this court regarding the action taken against them," it added.

Justice Minallah also directed the attorney general to appear and assist regarding the responsibility and liability of the federal government in case Mehmood is not produced before the court or if his whereabouts are not traced.

The hearing was adjourned for December 13.

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Sindh to bring in ordinance to decide fate of illegal buildings: Wahab

Karachi Administrator Barrister Murtaza Wahab announced on Wednesday that the Sindh government would bring an ordinance to stop immediate action against buildings and houses made in violation of rules and regulations.

Addressing a press conference, he said it had been proposed that a commission be set up to decide whether a building should be regularised or not and in what parameters.

He said the proposed law was the same as the one introduced in Punjab to regularise illegal buildings, with one additional para saying that the anti-encroachment drive should be stopped after the enforcement of the law until the commission decides on the matter.

"The law's basic purpose is to protect people's fundamental rights, I hope that we will be allowed to work so that people's lives and properties are protected within the ambit of the law," Wahab commented.

Wahab said the PPP had presented a resolution in the Sindh Assembly, drawing the provincial government's attention to legislate on the matter of people's houses being razed. The resolution supported taking action against constructions done on waterways but desired a less stern path for illegal houses, shops and buildings where people had been living for many years.

He said many politicians "who hold press conferences at Nasla Tower" had not supported the resolution but the PPP managed to get it passed with a majority.

The resolution was then referred to the Sindh government and it decided to legislate in its light. Now, the draft law has been prepared and sent to Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah by the law department, Wahab said, adding that the chief minister would send the ordinance to the government today

"[It is] hoped that the governor will verify it, follow the chief minister and Sindh cabinet's advice and approve it so that it is made a law," he said.

According to Wahab, it had been advised that a retired judge be appointed to head the commission, "just like in Punjab". After being promulgated, the ordinance will be tabled in the assembly to get it passed, he said.

Wahab emphasised that the ordinance was being introduced in the larger interest of the people to provide them relief "in this difficult time".

"We will at least be able to set up a system for regularising buildings and houses; if it can happen in Islamabad and Punjab [it can happen here too]," he said, expressing the hope that the opposition would not do politics on the law and resort to unwarranted criticism.

Wahab's announcement comes days after Sindh Information Minister Saeed Ghani said that the provincial government should be allowed to regularise buildings made in violation of rules and regulations as it affected the lives of millions of Pakistanis.

Nasla Tower's demolition 'unfair'

Speaking about Nasla Tower, a 15-storey residential building in Karachi which the Supreme Court has ordered authorities to raze for encroaching on land meant for a service road, Wahab said depriving its residents of their homes was "unfair".

He said the land for that building was not allotted by the incumbent Sindh government and the property was commercialised in 2007, when Pak Sarzameen Party chairperson Mustafa Kamal was the city nazim.

"[The Sindh] Building Control [Authority] approved its commercialisation, following which a citizen approached the Sindh High Court the same year," Wahab recalled. The citizen moved the SHC to stop the building's construction, terming it illegal, but the court did not accept his request, he said.

Wahab further stated that the land originally belonged to the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation, and litigation was started in 1986 regarding it. In 2010, he said, the SHC ordered that the land be given to the Sindhi Muslim Cooperative Housing Society on account of payment of charges.

"I can share that order as well," he told reporters, adding that these details showed that Nasla Tower's residents invested in the apartments on the basis of some official documents.

And so, he said, the Sindh government, by introducing a law for regularising buildings, did not want to protect wrongdoers but those citizens who had bought apartments in the building.

"It cannot happen that a building on One Constitution Avenue in Islamabad, where the elite live, is regularised and buildings where common people reside are not regularised."

He stressed that any structure constructed on a waterway should not be regularised. "But if a building has been constructed on one due to someone's mistake, the structure then belongs to the state.

"And to whom does the state belong? You, the people," he said.

New LG bill

When asked whether the recently passed Sindh Local Government (Amendment) Bill, 2021, could be challenged in court, Wahab said the relevant court could surely adjudicate on it.

But, he warned, "if it is challenged and struck down, local government elections [in the province] will be delayed."

The bill, which was passed by the Sindh Assembly last week amid fervent protest by the opposition, takes away functions of education and healthcare from municipal bodies and replaces open ballot for the election of mayors, deputy mayors, etc, with secret ballot. It also abolishes District Municipal Corporations in urban parts of the province, replacing them with Town Municipal Corporations.

The opposition parties in the Sindh Assembly have unanimously rejected the provincial government’s bill and vowed to challenge the move in the apex court.

Speaking about the matter on Wednesday, Wahab apparently criticised the Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan, saying that challenging the bill in the court would make it evident that those who accused the PPP of trying to delay local government elections were themselves finding an "escape route" out of the contest.

He said those criticising the law supported the town system introduced in Karachi during the tenure of former military ruler retired Gen Pervez Musharraf, when the entire city was treated as a single district and was bifurcated into 18 towns.

"They repeatedly expressed support for this system, saying that it will lead to the devolution of power," Wahab added, without naming any party. "They now want to challenge this system?"

He said that by appointing elected mayors as the heads of departments such as the water board, the Sindh government was empowering the institution of the mayor. "Are we doing anything wrong?" he asked.

He clarified, however, that he did not support the town system introduced in Karachi in 2001, saying "every road in the city was commercialised under that system."

"I am not in favour of that system and nobody should be."

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PM, cabinet members responsible for recovery of missing persons: IHC

The Islamabad High Court (IHC) Chief Justice Athar Minallah remarked on Wednesday that the responsibility of missing persons falls on the prime minister and members of the federal cabinet.

Justice Minallah made the remarks while hearing a petition filed by Rana Mehmood Ikram, father of journalist Mudassar Mehmood, who had reportedly gone missing on August 19, 2018.

Human Rights Minister Shireen Mazari and Interior Secretary Yousuf Naseem Khokhar appeared for today's hearing. Additional attorney general Qasim Wadud and deputy attorney general Syed Tayyab Shah were also present in the courtroom.

Advocate Usman Warraich appeared on behalf of the missing journalist's father. However, Advocate Imaan Mazari was not present as she was unwell.

During today's hearing, Justice Minallah told the minister that she had been summoned because the state was not "visible" in tackling the issue of enforced disappearances.

"A person going missing is a crime against humanity. The prime minister and members of the cabinet are there to serve the people of the country. The state's response towards recovering missing persons is pathetic," he remarked.

Justice Minallah said that if a person comes to court stating that a loved one has disappeared, it means that the state has failed. He remarked that the state being accused of kidnapping a citizen was a "serious crime".

He stated that if a public office holder's loved one disappears, the entire state machinery would be mobilised. "The government's response should also be the same when a common citizen disappears."

Justice Minallah said that the court was informed that the missing journalist's wife had also passed away. "All agencies are under the control of the federal government. This is not a matter of summary or reports. You need to satisfy the children and parents of the missing person. The state has a responsibility to take care of the children and listen to the affected family," the judge told Mazari.

The minister said that the issue of enforced disappearances was a part of the PTI's manifesto. She said that that legislation had also been enacted and would be sent to the Senate soon. "Imran Khan has had a very clear stance on the issue from before he became prime minister," she said.

She added that the government had not received the affidavit from the missing person's family according to which the process for paying the compensation would begin.

Justice Minallah told the minister to take the missing person's family to meet the prime minister and members of the federal cabinet.

"The premier will hear them out. [But] first we want to complete the process for paying the compensation, which will be completed by next week," she said.

"Our government considers enforced disappearances a grave crime. No one can be allowed to make someone disappear in a democracy," she said.

The IHC CJ told Mazari to ensure that the missing person's family comes back "satisfied" after meeting the prime minister. "The responsibility of missing persons falls on the prime minister and the members of the cabinet. Instead of the state paying the compensation, why are the prime minister and cabinet members not paying it so that this issue can be eradicated?" he asked.

"If a person went missing in 2002, shouldn't the chief executive at the time be held responsible for paying compensation?" Justice Minallah asked, adding that "state and non-state actors" were involved in enforced disappearances. "Someone needs to be held responsible," he said.

The IHC CJ remarked that when a person disappears, their entire family suffers.

Agreeing with the judge, Mazari said that the rights of all citizens are equal. "The state's response should be equal in every missing persons case," she said, adding that past government's had not taken any serious steps in this regard.

"Half of our lives have been spent under undemocratic governments and this is their doing," the IHC CJ said.

In the written verdict, the IHC CJ observed that in the case of enforced disappearances, "the buck stops with the federal government i.e. the worthy prime minister and members of the federal cabinet".

"It is their constitutional duty not only to find the missing person but to discharge the onus of satisfying the loved ones of the missing person that no state actor is involved nor complacent in their trauma and agony," he observed.

Justice Minallah directed the human rights minister to ensure a meeting between the parents of the parents and children of the missing person with PM Imran before the next hearing.

"The matter shall thereafter be placed before the federal cabinet i.e. worthy prime minister and its members. The latter shall direct all the agencies under its control to produce the missing person before this court or trace his whereabouts," the written order stated.

"In case the missing person is not produced before this court nor his whereabouts are traced, then the federal cabinet shall ascertain the agencies and public functionaries responsible for the failure and inform this court regarding the action taken against them," it added.

Justice Minallah also directed the attorney general to appear and assist regarding the responsibility and liability of the federal government in case Mehmood is not produced before the court or if his whereabouts are not traced.

The hearing was adjourned for December 13.

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Pakistan strongly condemns extra-judicial killings of two Kashmiris in Pulwama

Pakistan on Wednesday strongly condemned the continued spree of extra-judicial killings in staged encounters and fake cordon-and-search-operations in occupied Jammu and Kashmir by Indian forces who, in the latest such incident, killed two Kashmiris in Pulwama.

According to a statement by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the two Kashmiris were killed in a so-called cordon-and-search-operation today.

The ministry said that at least 18 innocent Kashmiris have been killed with impunity by Indian occupation forces in the past month.

The statement notes that while the fundamental freedoms of Kashmiris remain suspended, Indian occupation forces have "further intensified their repression" in Indian-occupied Jammu and Kashmir in the past weeks.

Furthermore, the ministry said that extra-judicial killings, arbitrary arrests, incarceration of hundreds of common Kashmiris and Hurriyat leaders under the draconian laws and harassment of Kashmiris at the military check-points or during the night raids continue with impunity.

The statement said that hateful terms such as "hybrid terrorists" and "white collar terrorists" are used to further demonise them.

"The deteriorating security and human rights situation in the occupied territory is a matter of grave concern for the international community," stated the ministry.

The statement further said that the visit by Indian ministers, amidst all this, to the occupied territory is "another Indian ploy to divert attention from India’s state-sponsored terrorism and to project a false sense of normalcy” in Indian-occupied Jammu and Kashmir.

"No amount of lies, deceit and publicity stunts by the RSS-BJP votaries in the name of fake ‘normalcy’ and development, can mask, address or remove the total alienation of the Kashmiris in [Indian-occupied Jammu and Kashmir]," said the ministry.

It said that India must recognise that the only way for the region to achieve long-term peace and development is for the Jammu and Kashmir dispute to be permanently resolved in accordance with UN Security Council resolutions and the demands of the Kashmiri people.

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