Rabbani sets another good example to follow

ISLAMABAD: Mian Raza Rabbani strictly followed the official rules while retaining the gifts, none of them of high value, he received from foreign dignitaries in his capacity as the Chairman of the Senate.

To ensure transparency, all the gifts he got from foreign leaders and how he retained them, quoting the relevant Cabinet Division notification, were disclosed on the Upper House website for the information of all and sundry, according to the Senate of Pakistan: Journey of evolution since March 2015, a paper that documents the overall functioning and working of the parliamentary chamber since he became its head three years back.

The paper says that the chairman, who retires on March 12 after the election of his successor by the new Senate, has started a new practice of making public the gifts received from foreign dignitaries.

Rabbani received a German silver plate from Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen; a decoration piece from Cambodian National Assembly President Heng Samrin; and a Frederique Constant Geneve wrist watch from Chairman of the Shura Council of Bahrain Ali bin Saleh Al Saleh. After evaluation from the Cabinet Division, sums of Rs1,200 and Rs68,000 were deposited by Rabbani in the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) under Toshakhana head of account towards the retention cost of one silver plate and one wrist watch respectively. However, the decoration piece fell within the permissible limit of Rs10,000 as per Toshakhana procedure, meaning that it can be kept without paying anything to the government. Toshakhana a government archive where gifts received by state functionaries are kept.

The Senate chief received from various dignitaries of the Parliament of Iran during visit on August 4-8, 2017, a wooden frame from Ali Ardeshir Larijani, Speaker of the Islamic Consultative Assembly of Iran; wooden frame from Sadegh Larijan, Chief Justice of Iran; scenery from Reza Majidi, Secretary General of Asian Parliamentary Assembly; decoration piece from Ayatollah Ahmad Jannati, Chairman of the Assembly of Experts and Chairman of the Guardian Council of Islamic Republic of Iran; and ceramic cup with crystal weight from Saber Hossain Chowdhury, President, Inter-Parliamentary Union, Iran.

It was stated that after evaluation from the Cabinet Division these gifts fell within the permissible amount of Rs10,000 and were retained without paying any amount. Likewise, Rabbani received from Yu Zhengsheng, Chairman of the National Committee of the China’s Political Consultative Conference during his visit to Pakistan on April 5-6, 2017, a ceramic decoration piece. He deposited Rs2,000 in the SBP, which was the retention cost of this gift, which did not fall within the permissible limit of Rs10,000.

Also, the chairman was given by various dignitaries during their visit to Pakistan in January, 2017, one dagger, which was presented by Dr Yahya Mahfoodh Salim Al-Manthri, Chairman of the Council of State of Oman; and one wooden frame by Allauddin Boroujerdi, Chairman of National Security and Foreign Policy Commission of Islamic Consultative Assembly of Iran.

An amount of Rs3,000 was deposited by Rabbani in the SBP, being the retention cost of one gift, which was not covered by the permissible limit of Rs10,000. However, the wooden frame fell within it.

Further, the chairman received from various dignitaries of Parliament of Cambodia during visit from November 26 to December 2, 2016 one silver candy bowl from the President of the Senate of Cambodia and one silver decoration piece from the President of the National Assembly of Cambodia.

The retention cost of Rs10,000 was deposited by him with the SBP as these gifts do not fall within the permissible limit.

Rabbani also got from various dignitaries of Maldives during visit on October 15-18, 2016 one wooden flower vase, from the President of Maldives; one wooden boat from the Speaker of Majlis of Maldives; and one small wooden decoration piece. All these gifts were covered by the permissible limit.

He received from the members of the Iranian Parliament during meeting of Standing Committee of Economic & Sustainable Development Affairs held on July 26-27, 2016 at Islamabad four water/tea bottles (small); one wooden frame and one Dastarkhwan. There was no need to pay anything to the government as these gifts fell with the permissible limit.

By documenting all the gifts he received from foreigners and getting them as per the laid down official procedure by paying money, from his own pocket, where due, Rabbani lived up to his reputation and integrity, which has been above board. He leaves the office with the same honour he was elected to it three years back.

At times, scandals have emerged about the gifts received by government functionaries wherein they got them without paying anything to the government although they were not covered by the permissible limit of Rs10,000.

SC verdict against Nawaz based on weak argument, says SM Zafar

By our correspondent

LAHORE: Former federal minister and noted lawyer SM Zafar has said the masses want an end to the environment of confrontation among the state institutions.

Speaking at a seminar held on harmony among the state institutions here, he said the masses were against confrontation among the institutions and believed that the present crisis could be resolved by taking the path of truth. He said the Supreme Court’s verdict against former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif was based on a weak argument. He said that the people had constitutional right to franchise, therefore, the Senate and National Assembly polls should be held in time to provide them with an opportunity to choose their government.

The Press Institute of National Affairs (PINA) Secretary General, Altaf Hassan Qureshi, said the seminar had been organised for getting positive suggestions to steer the country out of the present situation. Dialogue at the national level was very important as there seemed a lack of trust and balance between the institutions, he said. He suggested the formation of a national council that could resolve such confrontations. He urged the political parties not to take their issues to courts.

PML-N’s central media coordinator Muhammad Mehdi called for a change in behaviour of political parties and avoiding any non-political step that could worsen the situation. He said after signing of the famous Charter of Democracy back in 2006, it was hoped that no political party would support any non-political and anti-democracy step but the emergence of PTI dampened the hopes.

Awami National Party’s Ehsan Wyne said that only continuity of democracy could resolve the problems facing the masses and warned that the country was bifurcated in 1971 only because of the anti-democratic steps.

Prof Dr Amjad Magsi lamented that powers of the parliament were being used by some other institution. He called for empowering the parliament to resolve the issues.

Former MNA and writer Bushra Rehman lamented the political parties had been ignoring their members in the decision-making process, and had this been not the situation, the latter would have stood with their leadership during harsh times.

Prof Shabbir Anwar, Rauf Tahir, Javaid Nawaz, Rehmat Ali Mujahid, Prof Dr Rasheed Ahmad and Sajjad Mir also spoke on the occasion.

Karachi Kings go on top with win against Peshawar Zalmi

Ag Agecies

DUBAI: A superb bowling performance by the Karachi Kings and their captain Imad Wasim's six late in their innings helped them defeat Peshawar Zalmi by five wickets in their Pakistan Super League (PSL) 2018 fixture in Dubai on Sunday.

It was tighter than it needed to be, the chase completed with only two balls to spare. However, the defeat was no less than Peshawar deserved after a feckless first innings in which they were out to poor shots. They were even more indolent with their running: three run-outs meaning they gifted wickets to Karachi who bowled well enough to not require assistance anyway.

An ephemeral cameo from Kamran Akmal at the top aside, Peshawar struggled to score at a good enough run rate, with the crease becoming a revolving door for batsmen to waltz in and out of. Dwayne Smith was the only one to chip in with an innings of any note, responsible for 71 of Peshawar’s 131. Karachi’s bowlers - particularly Mohammad Amir early on - were magnificent, setting the tone for the rest of the evening.

A late surge had given Peshawar hope of eking out a scrappy win, but Karachi were clinical when they came out. They prioritised keeping wickets in hand, knowing the run rate wasn’t going to be an issue. Joe Denly and Babar Azam kept Karachi on course, before Colin Ingram injected some impetus with a 14-ball 23. A pair of late wickets and good bowling at the death meant Peshawar made it tight, but Imad Wasim’s men were never in real danger of blowing this, with the captain himself smashing the last ball for six to secure victory.

Karachi are the only side with a perfect record in the PSL so far, and move to the top of the table. Zalmi now have one win from three, and are fourth.