PAC summons NAB chief as Row deepens

The ongoing tussle between the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) and the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) on Tuesday worsened when the chairman of the former expressed his displeasure over the latter challenging its mandate in the Islamabad High Court.

During a meeting of the PAC, its chairman Noor Alam Khan while hinting at taking action under Article 6 against those NAB officials who had not declared their assets or presented the record of closed cases, issued notices to the anti-graft body’s acting Chairman Zahir Shah and  Lahore Director General Shahzad Saleem to appear before it on Wednesday (today) at 1pm. He also directed that if they did not appear before the committee, police should take them into custody and present them before the body.

Earlier in the day, the NAB acting chairman moved the IHC against the PAC, arguing that the committee issuing  notices was beyond its jurisdiction.

The PAC chairman remarked that if the accountability courts considered the public spending watchdog to be an ineffective body, it should tell the parliamentary committees to wrap up and go home, adding that NAB officials were trying to evade accountability.

He also said the PAC would take action against the NAB acting chairman and Lahore DG under Article 201 of the Constitution.

Article 201 reads: Subject to Article 189, any decision of a High Court shall, to the extent that it decides a question of law or is based upon or enunciates a principle of law, be binding on all courts subordinate to it.”

The PAC chairman noted that the NAB Lahore DG had sent a letter to the PAC over the case of a woman named Tayyaba Gul, who had accused the former chairman of the anti-graft body, Justice (retd) Javed Iqbal and other officials of harassment and also presented video evidence.

He added that the matter was related to corruption and he would summon all the NAB officials involved in it.

“I can’t understand why NAB officials are trying to run away from accountability?” he questioned.

Noor observed that the PAC had no personal grudge against anyone but it would take action against any public-office holder involved in corrupt practices.

“The PAC can hear public petitions under Article 201,” he added.

PAC member Sheikh Rohail Asghar from the PML-N said during the meeting that the committee could listen to matters pertaining to corruption but the background of the Tayyaba case also  needed to be taken into account.

“it needs to be asertained whether that woman and her husband are involved in corruption or not. It’s easy to taint a person’s reputation,” he added.

The issue related to the sports channel of a private TV media group was highlighted by the committee member Wajiha Qamar in the committee.

The information secretary told the PAC that a fact-finding committee was formed on the matter of PTV sports channel.

On the findings of that committee, the matter was sent to the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA). Wajiha would be provided with the details of how the copyrights of the PTV were given to a private channel. A report has been requested from the auditor general of Pakistan in two days.

Noor noted that irregularities had been identified in this matter and the inquiry report of the fact-finding committee should be submitted to PAC.

Earlier, the NAB acting chairman had moved the IHC against the PAC, clsim7ng  that the committee was acting beyond its jurisdiction.

The petitioner made the NA  parliamentary affairs secretary, PAC chairman and others as respondents in his plea.

The IHC registrar fixed the acting chairman’s petition for hearing on Wednesday, despite objections. A single-member IHC bench headed by acting IHC Chief Justice Aamer Farooq will hear the case.

The petitioner said the PAC had exceeded its jurisdiction in its meeting on June 24 and requested the court to declare the minutes of the committee’s meeting released on July 7 as null and void.

The petitioner also asked the court to restrain the PAC from any action against him until the court gave a verdict in the case.

Earlier, the NAB Lahore DG had also challenged the notice issued to him by the PAC in the Tayabba  harassment case before the IHC.

The official had made the federation, PAC, and others as respondents in his plea.

The petitioner had contended that the PAC was exceeding its jurisdiction. He had maintained that the PAC did not enjoy any sort of jurisdiction in this particular case.

The petitioner had claimed his summoning along with the ex-NAB chairman raised a lot of questions about the PAC chairman’s impartiality.

 “It cannot be ruled out either that the committee chairman member of the National Assembly (MNA) Noor Alam Khan might have himself asked the woman to file the complaint against me and the ex-NAB chairman only for his own vested interest because he is already facing an inquiry by the bureau,” the petition had read.

Tayabba has sought permission to become a respondent in the petition filed by the NAB Lahore DG against the notice issued by the PAC.

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Rupee devaluation due to instability, gambling, speculations: Miftah

Finance Minister Miftah Ismail said Tuesday it was the coalition government's "priority" to save Pakistan from defaulting after the rupee hit an all-time low against the dollar and the stocks took a battering during the day's trade.

The Pakistani rupee hit a record low of 224 against the dollar in the afternoon interbank trade, before closing at 221.99 — the highest day-on-day depreciation after June 26, 2019 — while the benchmark KSE-100 index closed at 40,389.07 points — a 20-month-high.

Analysts said that the political uncertainty arising after the Punjab by-polls, the International Monetary Fund's (IMF) delay, and the shirking forex reserves have had adverse impacts on the market.

He added the rupee was continuously falling due to political instability, gambling, and speculations. But at the same time, he added said that the danger of default was not looming over Pakistan.

The finance minister credited the coalition government's tough decisions for avoiding default — raising petroleum products' prices, and power and gas tariffs, among other fiscal measures — that also paved the way for the crucial staff-level agreement with the IMF.

In a bid to secure the IMF loan, Prime Minister Shehbaz Shehbaz imposed three fuel price hikes — cumulatively totalling 50% — and raised the cost of electricity to effectively end the subsidies introduced by Khan.

But recently, after the IMF deal was secured, the government decreased the price of petrol by Rs18.50 per litre and diesel by Rs40.50 per litre.

Miftah said if the government gets fiscal space, it will reduce the price of petrol further.

Moving on, the finance minister assured that the government was targeting to overcome a major hurdle of the current account deficit and reduce it, while at the same time, increasing exports so that the pressure on the economy subsidies.

He said that if the current government continues its tenure, it would be a good sign for Pakistan as it will bring stability.

Miftah added that despite instability, the economy's roots had "strengthened" over the last four months.

The finance minister also noted that it was crucial for the government to take unpopular measures, but that also resulted in political setbacks — as the PML-N just lost Punjab to PTI in the by-elections.

"But if need be, we will take more tough decisions," he said.

Miftah said that the loan from IMF would soon be received and following that, friendly countries would also lend a helping hand to Pakistan.

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Rupee devaluation due to instability, gambling, speculations: Miftah

Finance Minister Miftah Ismail said Tuesday it was the coalition government's "priority" to save Pakistan from defaulting after the rupee hit an all-time low against the dollar and the stocks took a battering during the day's trade.

The Pakistani rupee hit a record low of 224 against the dollar in the afternoon interbank trade, before closing at 221.99 — the highest day-on-day depreciation after June 26, 2019 — while the benchmark KSE-100 index closed at 40,389.07 points — a 20-month-high.

Analysts said that the political uncertainty arising after the Punjab by-polls, the International Monetary Fund's (IMF) delay, and the shirking forex reserves have had adverse impacts on the market.

He added the rupee was continuously falling due to political instability, gambling, and speculations. But at the same time, he added said that the danger of default was not looming over Pakistan.

The finance minister credited the coalition government's tough decisions for avoiding default — raising petroleum products' prices, and power and gas tariffs, among other fiscal measures — that also paved the way for the crucial staff-level agreement with the IMF.

In a bid to secure the IMF loan, Prime Minister Shehbaz Shehbaz imposed three fuel price hikes — cumulatively totalling 50% — and raised the cost of electricity to effectively end the subsidies introduced by Khan.

But recently, after the IMF deal was secured, the government decreased the price of petrol by Rs18.50 per litre and diesel by Rs40.50 per litre.

Miftah said if the government gets fiscal space, it will reduce the price of petrol further.

Moving on, the finance minister assured that the government was targeting to overcome a major hurdle of the current account deficit and reduce it, while at the same time, increasing exports so that the pressure on the economy subsidies.

He said that if the current government continues its tenure, it would be a good sign for Pakistan as it will bring stability.

Miftah added that despite instability, the economy's roots had "strengthened" over the last four months.

The finance minister also noted that it was crucial for the government to take unpopular measures, but that also resulted in political setbacks — as the PML-N just lost Punjab to PTI in the by-elections.

"But if need be, we will take more tough decisions," he said.

Miftah said that the loan from IMF would soon be received and following that, friendly countries would also lend a helping hand to Pakistan.

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Fire engulfs homes near London as temperatures hit record 40C

Britain recorded its highest ever temperature of 40C (104F) on Tuesday as a heatwave gripping Europe intensified, forcing train tracks to buckle and fuelling a spate of fires across London.

The Met Office said the provisional record, which still needs to be confirmed, was recorded at 12.50 pm (1150 GMT) at London’s Heathrow Airport, surpassing the previous high of 38.7C recorded in 2019.

Stephen Belcher at the Met Office said he had not expected to see such temperatures in Britain in his career.

“Research conducted here at the Met Office has demonstrated that it’s virtually impossible for the UK to experience 40C in an undisrupted climate but climate change driven by greenhouse gases has made these extreme temperatures possible,” he said.

With the mercury still rising, train routes from London up the east and west coast of the country were cancelled, electricity companies reported mass outages and normally busy city centres appeared quiet. Network Rail tweeted a number of pictures showing large bends and kinks in rail tracks.

To the east of the capital a large fire engulfed homes in the village of Wennington, with flames tearing across neighbouring tinder-dry fields and approaching a historic church. Elsewhere large grass areas around the capital were on fire, blowing smoke over major roads and nearby areas.

London Fire Brigade declared a major incident and urged people to stop having barbecues.

Britain, which can struggle to maintain key transport services in extreme heat or snow, had been put on a state of national emergency over the unprecedented temperatures.

‘Do not travel’

Transport minister Grant Shapps said there had been a considerable amount of travel disruption.

“Infrastructure, much of which was built from the Victorian times, just wasn’t built to withstand this type of temperature,” he said.

Climate scientists said the once-unthinkable temperature in London was likely to become more common in coming years.

Sony Kapoor, a climate and macro-economic professor at European University Institute, said he had long thought that people underestimated the physical impacts of climate change in contemporary times. “But even I never thought we would see 40 degree Celsius in London in 2022,” he said.

The arrival of a searing heatwave that first sparked wildfires across Europe before arriving in Britain has turned the spotlight on to “net zero” pledges made by the candidates running to replace Boris Johnson as prime minister.

After Johnson championed the move to net zero status when Britain held the United Nations COP26 summit in 2021, some of the candidates to replace him have appeared more lukewarm and rated other challenges facing the country as their priority.

One candidate, Kemi Badenoch, said she believed in cutting carbon emissions but not in bankrupting the economy to do so.

Lawmakers who later gathered in a hot building in the House of Commons to announce the elimination of Badenoch from the competition were kept cool by multiple large fans.

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Ben Stokes announces retirement from ODI cricket

England’s talismanic all-rounder Ben Stokes announced his shock retirement from one-day cricket on Monday citing the “unsustainable” rigour of playing all three formats of the game.

Tuesday’s match against South Africa at his home ground in Durham will be Stokes’s 105th and final one-day international, the 31-year-old said in a statement issued by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB).

“Three formats are just unsustainable for me now,” said Stokes, who will continue to play Twenty20 Internationals.

“Not only do I feel that my body is letting me down because of the schedule and what is expected of us, but I also feel that I am taking the place of another player who can give (captain) Jos (Buttler) and the rest of the team their all.”

Stokes, who took over as the Test captain in April, was player-of-the-match when England beat New Zealand in the final to win their maiden 50-overs World Cup at Lord’s in 2019.

One of the most exciting players of his era, Stokes has battled a spate of injuries in recent times and took a break from the game last year to focus on his mental well-being.

“I will give everything I have to Test cricket, and now, with this decision, I feel I can also give my total commitment to the T20 format,” he said.

Stokes his made ODI debut against Ireland in Dublin in 2011.

He has played 104 one-day internationals scoring 2,919 runs, including three hundreds, at an average of 39.44 with a 95-plus strike rate.

With the ball, he has claimed 74 wickets and is one of the sharpest fielders in the side.

Stokes is the second player from England’s triumphant 2019 World Cup winning team, after former captain Eoin Morgan, to quit one-dayers.

Rob Key, managing director of England men’s cricket, hailed Stokes’ “incredible international career” in the 50-overs format.

“I know this must have been a tough decision, but I completely understand why he has reached this conclusion,” Key said.

“It is a typically selfless decision that will benefit England long-term.”

ECB interim chief executive Clare Connor called Stokes a “superstar in every format”.

“Ben is not only one of the world’s best players, but an inspirational figure too so our ODI team will miss him,” she said.

“But having taken on the Test captaincy and with today’s busy calendar of cricket, we completely understand and respect his decision.”

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Covid-19 cases continue to rise, 459 fresh cases reported

The country recorded a slight rise in COVID-19 positivity ratio as 459 fresh cases of the virus were registered in the last 24 hours, the National Institute of Health, Islamabad's stats showed Tuesday morning.

According to the latest NIH statistics, during the last 24 hours, 16,419 diagnostic tests were conducted, out of which 459 came back positive.

The COVID-19 positivity ratio was recorded at 2.80%, however, it was another fortunate day for Pakistan as zero COVID-19 related death were reported in the country, the NIH data indicated.

As per NIH, still, 163 patients of COVID-19 are in critical care units and are being treated at different medical facilities around the country.

Experts blame two sub-variants of the Omicron variant, namely BA.4 and BA.5, for the recent rise in COVID-19 cases in Pakistan, saying that they have escape mutations that are giving them an edge.

They say the sub-variants have also been infecting people who are already vaccinated or have already been infected with COVD-19, but no evidence is available to show if they are causing any severe disease among the vaccinated.

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Covid-19 cases continue to rise, 459 fresh cases reported

The country recorded a slight rise in COVID-19 positivity ratio as 459 fresh cases of the virus were registered in the last 24 hours, the National Institute of Health, Islamabad's stats showed Tuesday morning.

According to the latest NIH statistics, during the last 24 hours, 16,419 diagnostic tests were conducted, out of which 459 came back positive.

The COVID-19 positivity ratio was recorded at 2.80%, however, it was another fortunate day for Pakistan as zero COVID-19 related death were reported in the country, the NIH data indicated.

As per NIH, still, 163 patients of COVID-19 are in critical care units and are being treated at different medical facilities around the country.

Experts blame two sub-variants of the Omicron variant, namely BA.4 and BA.5, for the recent rise in COVID-19 cases in Pakistan, saying that they have escape mutations that are giving them an edge.

They say the sub-variants have also been infecting people who are already vaccinated or have already been infected with COVD-19, but no evidence is available to show if they are causing any severe disease among the vaccinated.

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