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ISLAMABAD: The Ministry of Mari­time Affairs has prepared the draft of a new shipping policy, which includes provisions aimed at providing financial sec­u­rity to the owners of registered ships.

‘Pakistan Shipping Policy 2024’ will replace Pakistan Merchant Marine Policy 2001, as well as the amended version of 2019. The ministry organised a workshop of stakeholders on Wednesday to discuss the draft of the new shipping policy.

Maritime Affairs Secretary Syed Zafar Ali Shah, chairpersons of port authorities, senior officials of the maritime affairs ministry and stakeholders from the private sector participated in the workshop.

The policy makes it possible by legislation to furnish a bond of adequate amount to owners of any registered ship if it is detained or seized for any reason within the territorial jurisdiction of Pakistan, and it should be within 24 hours after taking the surety bond.

The secretary of maritime affairs informed participants of the workshop that the Shipping Policy 2024 has been made in accordance with the standards and rules of the International Maritime Organisation.

It was noted that the government should ensure that if the case is settled, the bail bonds are returned within one month.

In this regard, a help desk should also be established within the ministry of maritime affairs and special courts related to maritime affairs should also be set up having powers equal to high courts.

The draft proposes that the newly registered Pakistani shipping company will pay $0.75 per gross registered tonnage for five years, while currently the Pakistan National Shipping Corporation (PNSC) is paying $1 per gross registered tonnage on its revenue.

The rebate of $0.25 to new companies is likely to encourage domestic and national investors to show interest in maritime industry.

The draft has proposed that the registered Pakistani shipping companies would be allowed to seek financing from foreign financial institutions and banks.

A proposal to grant tax exemption for 10 years to new foreign shipping companies was brought forward by the participants of the workshop, and they stressed for assistance by state authorities to Pakistan shipping companies in opening foreign currency accounts.

Published in Dawn, November 14th, 2024

MUMBAI: India’s Supreme Court on Wednesday strongly criticised states which were demolishing properties of suspected criminals, a practice critics say targets mostly minority Muslims, and issued guidelines to authorities.

The verdict came in response to many petitions filed after demolitions in states ruled by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in recent years.

BJP governments in the states have torn down what they say are illegal houses or shops of people accused of crimes, many of them Muslims, in what has come to be popularly known as “instant, bulldozer justice”.

Rights groups and opposition parties have denounced the practice, saying it targets mostly poor Muslims while circumventing the judicial process.

Verdict comes in response to many petitions filed after demolitions targeting Muslims

BJP governments have rejected the accusations and said such properties were in violation of local laws and the owners had been served notices.

On Wednesday, a two-judge bench of the Supreme Court ruled that the state and its officials cannot take arbitrary action against suspects or convicts without following the due process of law. It also laid down guidelines, including issuing prior notice and taking a video of the demolition process. “It is not a happy sight to see women, children and aged persons dragged to the streets overnight. Heavens would not fall on the authorities if they hold their hands for some period,” the court said. There was no immediate reaction to the verdict from the BJP.

Bulldozer action

Calls for India to enshrine Hindu supremacy in law have rapidly grown louder after Modi government’s success in 2014. Hindu nationalist groups were emboldened in their campaign against Muslim religious structures.

“Bulldozer action”, popularly known as “bulldozer justice”, were actions observed by many practitioners as a campaign against the Muslim minority, bulldozing their homes, mosques and shopfronts.

The practices were mainly observed after Yogi Adityanath, Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh and a saffron-robed Hindu monk seen as a potential successor to Prime Minister Modi, championed the bulldozer as a symbol of his commitment to law and order and as a potential tool to use against “trouble-makers” in 2017. Since then “bulldozer politics” have spread elsewhere in the country and demolition campaigns have begun quickly following on the heels of outbreaks of religious unrest.

Officials said the spate of demolitions were lawful as they only targeted buildings constructed without legal approval. But victims of the campaign deny that their dwellings are illegal, and say they are not given the legally required notice period to dispute demolition orders.

Published in Dawn, November 14th, 2024

TEHRAN: International Atomic Energy Agency chief Rafael Grossi arrived in Iran on Wednesday for discussions on Tehran’s nuclear programme, a week after Donald Trump’s election as the new US president.

Grossi, who is the director general of the UN agency, was greeted on Wednesday evening at the airport by Behrouz Kamalvandi, the spokesman for the Atomic Energy Organisation of Iran or AEOI.

Grossi is set to meet on Thursday in Tehran with AEOI chief Mohammad Eslami as well as Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, who was chief negotiator in the nuclear talks between Tehran and the major powers that resulted in the 2015 deal formally called the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action or JCPOA.

The deal, reached after 21 months of negotiations between Iran and world powers, gave Tehran sanctions relief in exchange for curbs on its nuclear programme to guarantee that it could not develop a nuclear weapon — something it has always denied wanting to do. Three years later, then-president Trump unilaterally withdrew the United States from the agreement and reimposed heavy sanctions against Iran.

European powers pushing for resolution against Iran at IAEA

‘Comprehensive report’

European powers are pushing for a new resolution against Iran by the UN atomic watchdog’s board to pressure Tehran over its poor cooperation, diplomats say.

Such resolutions risk further diplomatic tension with Iran. The resolution would task the IAEA with issuing a so-called “comprehensive report” on Iran’s nuclear activities in addition to its regular quarterly ones, which would describe in more detail and put further focus on problem areas like Iran’s continued failure to explain uranium traces found at undeclared sites.

The aim is to force Iran back to the negotiating table to agree new restrictions on its nuclear activities in exchange for sanctions relief.

“Our concerns about Iranian nuclear activity are well known. It feels a natural point to be asking the IAEA for a thorough report. That then provides a basis to deal with Iranian behaviour,” a European diplomat said, one of five who said France, Britain and Germany are pushing for a resolution.

The United States has not been the driving force behind the resolution but is still expected to back it, as happened with the last resolution against Iran in June, diplomats said. The European powers seeking a resolution, known as the “E3”, are discussing the draft with the outgoing US administration.

Published in Dawn, November 14th, 2024

AFTER Pakistan floated the idea of ‘climate diplomacy’ to tackle cross-border pollution in light of smog which has engulfed vast tracts of India and Pakistan, a US official indicated on the sidelines of COP29 that the White House may throw its weight behind any initiative taken in this regard.

Last month, Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz expressed her government’s intention to approach India to jointly counter the air pollution, which mostly comes from vehicular and industrial emissions, and is exacerbated in winter due to stubble burning.

Talking to Dawn on the sidelines of COP29 in Baku, Ali Zaidi — national climate adviser to the Biden administration — said the US was “100 per cent supportive” of partnership-based approaches to tackle problems that cannot be solved in isolation.

“In the US, we have this thing called the ‘good neighbour rule’, which governs smog. It actually was developed when we witnessed exactly this phenomenon in the US. So you know when it comes to cross-border pollution and cross-border issues, we are 100pc suportive of partnership-based approaches to tackle problems that cannot be solved on their own,” he said in response to a question about smog, which has made life unbearable for millions in Pakistan.

The White House official said the US was already active in the Hindu Kush — often referred to as ‘The Third Pole’ for housing the most glaciers in the world outside the polar regions — to better coordinate the mitigation response, because environmental impacts from glaciers do not isolate themselves to one jurisdiction.

“I think the regional solutions are a necessary complement to this sort of multilateral dialogue,” he said, referring to the COP summit.

The adviser said regional cooperation among relevant parties to address climate change would have more impact than putting “another ornament on a 1,000-page document (COP)”.

In response to a question about the failure of the world to help Pakistan after the 2022 floods caused damages to the tune of $30 billion, he said the global community needed to reinvent its approach to rebuilding from disasters, particularly by investing in pre-disaster mitigation.

According to the White House official, the US took a really long time to reengineer its thinking domestically in terms of building resilience into the recovery.

He favoured approaches that ran “consistent with the financial position” of states that needed to do rebuilding, saying there was a need to mobilise more countries to move more capital to help with adaptation and mitigation in these vulnerable countries.

In response to a question about the loan-laden climate finance framework, he said, “If you are targeting projects that have very clear cash flow and a strong counterparty then debt works just fine.”

He agreed some concessionary capital did need to come in depending on the technological aspect, the richness of the resources and the maturity of the market, while referring to India’s solar projects.

Vulnerable areas need significant grant-based aid, but there is still a need to figure out how to monetise risk reduction associated with adaptation finance and that’s why it was difficult to do. These places are going to soak up more grant-based finance, he said.

Speaking about the Trump-led US administration all set to take over from the Biden administration, he appeared optimistic, saying the states in the US will figure out how to provide the policy support even if the federal government stopped being part of it. About the US, he said it should remain part of the dialogue and be the author of the roadmap that will govern the contours of climate finance for decades to come.

Produced as part of the 2024 Climate Change Media Partnership, a journalism fellowship organised by Internews’ Earth Journalism Network and the Stanley Centre for Peace and Security.

Published in Dawn, November 14th, 2024

LONDON: In a dramatic turn of events at the Old Bailey, Urfan Sharif confessed to the murder of his 10-year-old daughter, Sara Sharif, admitting in court that he “takes full responsibility” for her tragic death.

Sharif detailed the brutal treatment he inflicted upon the girl, acknowledging he beat her with a cricket bat and metal pole, leading to her death on Aug 8, 2023, days before her body was discovered in their Surrey home.

The confession came during cross-examination by Caroline Carberry KC, who asked him bluntly if he had killed her by beating. “Yes, she died because of me,” Sharif responded. He revealed that he had struck Sara “severely” over several weeks, reportedly because he was angered by her frequent episodes of soiling herself and vomiting.

Sharif, 42, his wife, Beinash Batool, 30 and his brother Faisal Malik, 29, all facing charges related to what prosecutors have described as a “campaign of abuse” against Sara. The trio fled to Pakistan shortly after Sara’s death, with Sharif later calling the British police to confess he had “beat her up too much”.

A handwritten note, found near Sara’s fully clothed body, further documented Sharif’s admission, stating: “I swear to God that my intention was not to kill her. But I lost it.”

Medical examination reports presented to the court were harrowing. Sara’s postmortem revealed 71 external injuries, including fractures, burns, and bite marks.

When confronted with images of Sara’s injuries, Sharif appeared unable to look, repeatedly saying, “I accept everything,” as Carberry questioned him on the details of his alleged actions.

The prosecution presented a disturbing video clip from Aug 6, showing Sara dancing just two days before her death. Despite this glimpse of her lively spirit, Sharif admitted to brutally beating her that same evening.

The defence team for Sharif later sought a private consultation with him in court, delaying further proceedings.

The trial, however, continues, with Sharif and co-defendants maintaining not guilty pleas to the charges of murder and causing or allowing the child’s death.

Cross-examination

During the hearing, Carberry asked: “Do you accept that you had been beating Sara severely over a number of weeks?” He replied: “Yes, ma’am.”

He went on to accept attacking Sara with a cricket bat repeatedly and causing 25 fractures to her body.

Carberry continued: “I want to ask you about the occasions when you assaulted her with a cricket bat. What had she done to deserve such beatings in your mind?”

Sharif replied: “Nothing.”

She asked: “Why were you beating her so forcefully?”

He replied: “I was wrong.”

She continued: “Were you angry with her because in the summer of last year, she had started soiling herself?”

He replied: “Yes ma’am.”

She added: “And she had started vomiting, hadn’t she?” to which Sharif replied: “Yes, ma’am.”

Carberry asked: “And when she was sick you would get angry? And when she soiled herself you would get angry?” He replied: “Yes ma’am.”

He accepted causing injuries to Sara’s face and head by beating her with the bat and metal pole on 6 Aug.

Carberry continued: “You have pleaded not guilty to the offence of murder. Would you like that charge to be put to you again?”

He replied: “Yes ma’am.”

Published in Dawn, November 14th, 2024

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