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  • Insurgency: Pakistan pledges more support to Nigerian military

    By Mustapha Sumaila
    The Islamic Republic of Pakistan has pledged more support for Nigerian military in the fight against remnants of insurgents in the northeast.
    The Pakistan High Commissioner to Nigeria, Maj.-Gen. Waqar Kingravi (Rtd) made the promise in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) during celebrations of Pakistan’s Defence Day in Abuja.
    Kingravi lauded the remarkable success of the Nigerian military against the insurgents and urged them to intensify the efforts for total peace in the affected areas.
    He said that his country and Nigeria had been cooperating in the past in the political and military fields to promote world peace pointing out that such needed to be boosted.
    Kingravi thanked Nigeria for its open-hearted support to Pakistan and on Kashmir cause in particular at various international forums.
    The High Commissioner commended multi-task force of Niger, Chad and Nigeria in the fight against terrorism in the North-East saying that the joint effort had helped in the defeat of Boko Haram.
    “I have to congratulate the Nigerian Armed Forces in bringing peace to the North East and commend the government in fighting extremism in this country” he said. (NAN)

  • Journalist shot dead in Khanewal, three suspects held

     

    By Owais Qarni
    Published: September 11, 2018

    His son says Saeed Butt was receiving threatening phone calls for reporting honour killing incidents. REPRESENTATIONAL IMAGE

    MULTAN: Three suspects, including a woman, were arrested from Multan on Tuesday after Mohammad Saeed Butt – a senior Journalist of an Urdu daily (Khabrain) and former president of press club, was shot dead by two unidentified armed men at a shop in Khanewal district’s Abdul Hakeem town last night.

    Police said Saeed Butt, 48, was sitting at a shop in main market of Abdul Hakeem, a sub-district of Khanewal district, when two masked men, suspected to be robbers, barged into the shop and demanded money from the deceased.

    According to eye witnesses’ account, Butt handed over his wallet but dacoits demanded more money and on his refusal opened fire at him. The suspects fled away after the incident

    In the line of duty: journalist tortured by hospital guards

    The journalist succumbed to his wounds on the way to DHQ Kabirwala. His body was later handed over to his loved ones after the postmortem.

    Saad Butt, son of the deceased journalist told The Express Tribune that his father had been receiving threatening phone calls for reporting incidents of honour killing for the past one month. He claimed that his father was murdered for performing his duty with honesty.

    Police said the suspects were arrested from Multan with the help of CCTV footage after a first information report (FIR) of the incident was lodged at Abdul Hakeem police station. They further claimed that weapons used in the murder were also recovered and the suspects have confessed their crime. Further investigation would be carried out after forensic tests, they added.

    World Press Freedom Day: Journalists facing threats from ‘invisible actors’

    The journalist fraternity condemned the killing and demanded Chief Justice of Pakistan Mian Saqib Nisar to take suo motu notice over escalating killing of journalists in the country. They termed the incident an act of terrorism and failure of Punjab government to provide security to the community.

    Funeral prayers of the deceased journalist were offered by renowned religious scholar Maulana Tariq Jameel at the railway ground in Abdul Hakeem earlier today. A large number of journalists, members of civil society and people belonging to all walks of life attended the funeral. On the directives of Punjab Chief Minister Usman Buzdar, Kabirwala Assistant Commissioner Chauhdry Abdul Ghaffar was also present.

    Culled from The Tribune Express

  • Absence on the bench

    Tuesday, September 11, 2018

    Except that the professionalism of the judiciary tends to decrease as one climbs down the judicial institutional ladder

    The SC has a history of defending Muslims against the high courts of other states.While the percentage of Muslims in prison has never been higher — 21 per cent — the proportion of Muslims convicted — 15.8 per cent — is closer to their share of the population (14.2 per cent in the 2011 Census).

    This indicates that many Muslims arrested by the police and charged end up being acquitted, usually for lack of evidence, after spending years, even decades, behind bars. This gap reflects police bias on the one hand, but also the resilient professionalism of the judiciary. Except that the professionalism of the judiciary tends to decrease as one climbs down the judicial institutional ladder.

    The judge said that “The applicants/accused otherwise had no other motive such as any personal enmity against the innocent deceased Mohsin. The fault of the deceased was only that he belonged to another religion. I consider this factor in favour of the applicants/accused”.

    The family filed an appeal to the Supreme Court, which overturned the judgment, stating “the fact that the deceased [Mohsin] belonged to a certain community cannot be a justification for any assault much less a murder”.

    It moreover invited the lower courts to be “fully conscious of the plural composition of the country while called upon to deal with rights of various communities”. That it required the highest court of the land to drive home such an obvious fact shows the degree of anti-Muslim bias in the system.

    The SC has a history of defending Muslims against the high courts of other states. The Allahabad High Court — which handed down a controversial judgment in the Ayodhya case in 2010 — decided in February 2018 to reclaim Waqf properties that did not meet zoning or architectural guidelines — both subjective notions.

    The SC stayed the decision before the BJP government could implement it. Similarly, the SC has come to the aid of minority educational institutions, including the National Council for Minority Educational Institutions (NCMEI), whose mission is to accredit educational institutions that apply for minority status.

    The existence of this institution, created by the Manmohan Singh government in 2004, is currently threatened. Between its creation and 2017, it has recognised the “minority” status of 13,331 educational institutions.

    Its last chairman, Justice MSA Siddiqui, resigned in 2014 and has not been replaced since. In April 2018, the SC upheld a decision taken by the NCMEI that had been challenged in the Calcutta High Court and seized the opportunity to reassert the rights that the Indian Constitution grants to religious and linguistic minorities.

    This majoritarian ethos of the high courts is compounded by the under-representation of Muslims in the judiciary. Since 2010 and with the exception of the Hyderabad High Court, the representation of Muslims among high court judges is significantly lower than their demographic share, state-wise. In addition, those numbers have been decreasing over time, with the exception of Hyderabad (again) and Jammu & Kashmir High Court.

    In West Bengal, the share of Muslims among judges has decreased from 25 per cent in 1991 to 8 per cent in 2011 (while the percentage of Muslims has jumped from 23.6 per cent to 27 per cent).

    The Karnataka High Court used to count 67 per cent of Muslims in 1961, a number that went down to 2.9 per cent in 2011 (whereas the proportion of Muslims has increased from 9.87 to 12.9 per cent). Over the same period, the share of Muslims among justices of the Jabalpur High Court declined from 14.3 per cent to 2.9 per cent (whereas the Muslim population has increased from 4 per cent to 6.6 per cent).

    It is the same story in Patna, where Muslims occupied 5.4 per cent of the bench in 2011, against 25 per cent in 1951 (whereas the Muslims’ share of Bihar’s population has moved on from 12.45 to 16.9 per cent).

    The apex court offers a similar landscape. In the 1950s, among the 24 judges appointed to the SC, only four were Muslims (16.6 per cent). No Muslims were appointed during the 1960s (out of 16 nominations). Only two Muslims were appointed in the 1970s (out of 26), four in the 1980s (out of 33), that is 12 per cent.

    The ratio of Muslim SC judges decreases after the 1980s at the same time as the number of nominations increases: Three out of 40 in the 1990s, two out of 49 in the 2000s and three out of 40 since 2010, Justices MY Ekbal and FM Ibrahim Kalifulla in 2012 and Justice S Abdul Nazeer in 2017. In total, 18 Muslim judges were appointed in the SC, out of 229 (before 2018), that is slightly less than 8 per cent, for a demographic segment that represent 14.2 per cent of the total population.

    Those numbers indicate that the judiciary — particularly high courts — have become (or have been, in the case of the SC), another institution where Muslims have become more and more under-represented, alongside elected assemblies, police, army and administration.

    These numbers are revealing of the state of representation of India’s largest minority in an important institution. But one cannot derive from it that Muslim defendants would be better or equally well defended if they were better represented in the courts among the magistrates (although one could argue that the variations of sanction ratio between religious groups for similar offences might be less skewed had there been more Muslim, or Dalit, judges). In fact, the SC has a history of protecting minority rights and upholding India’s secular character in spite of its unrepresentative character. The social composition of the SC is also heavily skewed in favour of upper caste men and judicial dynasties,

    But the fact remains that Muslim remain largely absent from institutions of power and their decreasing number in those institutions is disturbing for those concerned about inclusion and participation in India’s public life.

    Culled from The Indian Express

  • Birthplace of ice cream: Persians are believed to have introduced the art of frozen desserts

    It is believed that Arabs who had conquered Persian Empire at the time took the age-old Persian refreshment called Sharbat and enriched the existing mix of fruit syrup and snow chilled honey with milk and sugar.

  • Health experts in S/East attribute upsurge in diseases to chemically-rippened fruits

    Some medical practitioners and fruit sellers have condemned the use of chemicals to ripen fruits such as orange, mangoes, banana and plantain, warning that it is injurious to health.
    They made this known in separate interviews on a national survey conducted by the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on the health implications of artificially ripening of fruits.
    In Enugu, Mrs Henrietta Ugwu, a Nutrition Officer, Enugu State Primary Healthcare Development Agency, told NAN that chemically-induced ripen fruits might be the cause of the upsurge in non-communicable diseases in the country.
    Ugwu said that the development by some unscrupulous traders using Calcium Carbide (CaC2) or other chemicals on raw food and other edible items was “very bad and evil’’.
    She noted that the Ministry of Health had raised awareness on the issue, but expressed regrets that it had not gotten to the consumers of fruits.

    “Non-communicable diseases for some time now are on the increase and some health experts had attributed it to our lifestyle and the food we eat.
    “It is bad and evil that we pluck a fruit today and expect it to ripen within a day or two, thus, disrupting the natural ripening circle of the fruit,’’ Ugwu said.
    According to her, the state’s Committee on Food and Nutrition is studying the development as an emerging issue in nutrition even as it has continued to advocate against it.
    Dr Edith Nnadi of the Department of Food and Nutrition, University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN), urged Nigerians to always wash their fruits very well before eating to reduce the effect of the chemicals on the fruit.

    Nnadi said this chemical contains phosphorus among other things that were harmful to the human health.

    “It is advisable to wash fruits very well since you do not know if calcium carbide was used by the dealer or seller to ripen the fruit, such as orange, banana, water melon and mangoes.

    “Calcium carbide has the ability to alter cells into cancerous cells as well as cause other harms to the body. In many countries is an offence to use calcium carbide in ripening fruits,’’ Nnadi said.

    She, however, urged fruits sellers who want to ripen fruits to use ethylene which had no adverse effects on human health.

    “Ethylene is a gas naturally produced by plants to trigger leaves to turn yellow and fall off during winter season.

    “Fruits sellers can use ethylene since is a ripening hormone and a chemical substance produced by fruits with a biological action of accelerating fruits maturity and ripening,’’ Nnadi said.

    Mr Nnamdi Ibezim, the Zonal Director, Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, South-East Regional Office, said the use of carbide to ripen fruits in the area “is rare and if at all it exists, it is usually done secretly’’.

    Ibezim said the Agricultural Quarantine Services of the ministry had been working day and night to ensure that such adulterated foods did not get to the final consumers.

    He said that the ministry was collaborating with the National Agency for Food, Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) to help detect such adulterated products and destroy it.

    The director said the health implications of using carbide to ripen a fruit “is that it is cancerous to the consumers’’.

    “Chemical reactions of carbide and that of the fruits can cause system breakdown and various other sicknesses because carbide is not a chemical that is friendly for human consumption,’’ Ibezim said.

    Mrs Stella Urama, a banana seller in Obollo-Afor Motor-Park near Nsukka, confirmed that some banana sellers used carbide to ripen banana.

    “For me, I use rice bags, cloth and cartons to cover my banana to increase heat so that it will ripen fast.

    “Many people buy banana from me because they know I don’t use carbide to ripen banana and other fruits. I have been selling fruits for the past 15 years. I have used it to train my children up to university level,’’ Urama said.

    Miss Amaka Ejiofor, another banana seller at Ogbete Market, Enugu, said she might not know if her banana was one that the suppliers had used carbide to ripen before she bought it.

    Ejiofor said that the taste of banana was one of the ways one could know and detect that it was not naturally ripened, adding that those engaged in the act are mainly hawkers.

    “A person that had used carbide to ripen fruits will be more inclined to hawk because the buyer might not get to see him or her again let alone returning such fruits for a refund or exchange,’’ Ejiofor said.

    Another fruit seller, who simply gave her name as Mama Ebuka, said she was not aware if her colleagues use carbide to ripen their fruits.

    She said no customer had come to complain about a fruit that tasted differently due to the use of carbide neither had she heard of complaint from other fruit sellers.

    Ebuka revealed that government officials rarely come randomly to inspect their fruits.

    “If you buy banana and it seems to be strong even when it has a yellowish back, one should keep it for at least two days and then, it will be discovered that the banana will have a mixed colour of green and yellow.’’

    She also collaborated that “it is very difficult to see fruit sellers who have shops use carbide because they know that it will not be long they will be caught and that is the end of their fruit business’’.

    Mrs Olajumoke Ojetokun, the South-East Director of NAFDAC, said that the use of chemicals and other unnatural means to ripen fruits was dangerous to the health of fruit consumers.

    Ojetokun, who condemned the practice, said that NAFDAC in the zone was on the look-out for those who perpetrate such acts.

    “We have detailed our field and surveillance officers to be on the lookout for Nigerians who engage in forceful ripening of fruits and selling same to our people.
    “The agency also needed the information and intelligence of Nigerians, especially as it concerns reporting those in their neighbourhoods engaging in this negative practice,’’ Ojetokun said.
    In Awka, Mrs Ijeoma Ukachukwu, a banana seller at popular Aroma Junction, Awka, said she had been in the business of fruits selling for 15 years and had not used any substance to ripen her banana.
    “I gathered that people use carbide to quicken the days for plantain and banana to ripen, but such practice is not common in Awka,’’ Ukachukwu said.
    According to her, most fruit sellers in the area do not use such because fruits ripened through such process rot easily.
    Ukachukwu explained that why a banana or plantain that ripe on its own lasts more than three days before it rots, the one ripen with carbide barely last for one or two days.
    Mrs Ebelechukwu Obidiegwu, who sells fruits at Eke Awka Market Roundabout, corroborated Ukachukwu’s claim that fruits sellers in the area were not involved in artificial ripening of fruits.
    Obidiegwu said that fruits sellers in the area were well informed of the dangers associated with application of chemicals on fruits and avoids such practice.
    “I have being in this trade for more than 25 years now, the proceed I make from this trade has been assisting in the training of my four children since my husband died 11 years ago.
    “I must confess that I once applied carbide on my banana about three years after my husband’s death due to pressure of paying my children’s school fees.
    “When I did that, thinking I could ripen my fruits faster to enable me make money to pay the fees, within two days the whole banana damaged and I recorded huge loss,’’ she said.
    Obidiegwu noted that it was in the course of that the people told her of the dangers inherent in the practice, adding “since that experience, I have not tried it again’’.
    Dr Gerald Onyekwere, a private medical practitioner based in Awka, said that using artificial ripening of fruits had several health implications.
    He said consumers of artificially ripen fruits could suffer several health hazards, saying calcium carbide contains traces of arsenic and phosphorus which was injurious to human system.
    “One could get cancerous ailment, constipation and any other stomach challenge from consumption of such harmful fruits,’’ he said.
    Onyekwere advised that relevant government bodies should enlighten the public on the dangers of using artificial ripening with a view to averting the obvious dangers. (NAN)

  • ICC says it is undeterred after Bolton threatens U.S. sanctions

    The International Criminal Court (ICC) said on Tuesday it would “continue to do its work undeterred” a day after U.S. National Security Adviser John Bolton threatened sanctions if the tribunal investigated U.S. activities in Afghanistan.

    The Hague-based court said in a statement it was an independent and impartial institution with the backing of 123 countries.

    “The ICC, as a court of law, will continue to do its work undeterred, in accordance with those principles and the overarching idea of the rule of law,” the court said.

    On Monday, the United States threatened to impose sanctions on ICC officials if they go ahead with an investigation into alleged war crimes committed by U.S. personnel in Afghanistan.

    President Donald Trump’s national security adviser, John Bolton, on September 10 called The Hague-based court “unaccountable” and “outright dangerous” to the United States, Israel, and other allies.

    “For all intents and purposes, the ICC is already dead to us,” he told the conservative Federalist Society in Washington.

    Bolton also said that any probe into alleged war crimes committed by U.S. service members and intelligence professionals during the war in Afghanistan would be “an utterly unfounded, unjustifiable investigation.”

    “If the court comes after us, Israel or other U.S. allies, we will not sit quietly,” he warned.

    The U.S. national security adviser said Washington was prepared to slap financial sanctions and criminal charges on ICC officials if they proceed against any Americans.

    “We will ban its judges and prosecutors from entering the United States. We will sanction their funds in the U.S. financial system, and we will prosecute them in the U.S. criminal system,” Bolton said.

    “We will do the same for any company or state that assists an ICC investigation of Americans,” he added.

    An ICC prosecutor requested in November 2017 to open an investigation into alleged war crimes committed by the U.S. military in Afghanistan, especially over the abuse of detainees.

    Bolton said neither Afghanistan nor any other government party to the ICC’s Rome Statute has requested an investigation.

    But he said the ICC could formally open the investigation “any day now.”

    Bolton also cited a recent move by Palestinian leaders to have Israeli officials prosecuted at the ICC for war crimes.

    “The United States will use any means necessary to protect our citizens and those of our allies from unjust prosecution by this illegitimate court,” Bolton said.

    “We will not cooperate with the ICC. We will provide no assistance to the ICC. We certainly will not join the ICC. We will let the ICC die on its own.”

    Earlier on September 10, Washington announced that it was closing the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) mission in Washington, citing the Palestinians’ bid to take Israel to the ICC as one reason for the move.

    State Department spokeswoman Heath Nauert said in a statement that the PLO had “refused to engage with the U.S. government with respect to peace efforts and otherwise.”

    Under President George W. Bush, the United States did not ratify the Rome treaty that established the ICC in 2002.

    The purpose of the court is to bring perpetrators of war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide to justice. (Reuters/NAN)

  • UK working with Nigeria to fight corruption – Envoy

    The United Kingdom says it is working with Nigeria to fight corruption through the provision of technical assistance and equipment to key agencies fighting financial and economic crimes.

    UK Permanent Representative to the UN, Amb. Karen Pierce, said at the Security Council briefing on ‘Corruption and Conflict’ that the two countries were also working to provide public awareness on corruption.

    She said UK is a very strong supporter of the UN Convention against Corruption, adding that it had hosted an anti-corruption summit in London  with the hope of stepping up global action.

    Pierce said: “Asset recovery is a crucial part of efforts to tackle corruption and it’s a fundamental principle of the Convention.

    “In 2017,  we co-hosted the first Global Forum on Asset Recovery with the USA, the World Bank and UNODC (UN Office on Drugs and Crime).

    “This forum helped progress arrangements for returning stolen assets of over $300 million to Nigeria.

    “Chapter VI of the Convention highlights the importance of technical assistance and information exchange.

    “The UK is proud to be working in partnership with several countries to share best practice and develop capacity.

    “In Nigeria, we provide technical assistance and equipment to key agencies fighting international and domestic financial and economic crime, and we work to raise public awareness of corruption.’’

    The UK envoy regretted that no country was immune from corruption, pointing out that losses from corruption totalled trillions of dollars yearly.

    Pierce said corruption held back economic development, undermined the provision of public services and stoked grievances and ultimately, conflict, adding  that Kofi Annan in 2003 calling corruption “an insidious plague.’’

    She pointed out that the links between corruption and conflict were well established, saying a corrupt government could  generate grievances that lead to discontent and then to violence and conflict.

    “UNODC studies in Iraq, Nigeria and Afghanistan show how once conflict begins, it creates even more opportunities for bribery and other corrupt practices.

    “In turn, this undermines the rule of law and that fuels further conflict. Terrorist groups such as ISIS or al-Qaeda take advantage of corruption both to fund their operations but also to attract recruits and fund their ideology,” she said.

    To stem the ugly tide, Pierce said the UK in 2017 passed the Criminal Finances Act which established new anti-corruption tools such as unexplained wealth orders.

    She also said the UK In 2018 announced that it would establish a public register listing the beneficial ownership of overseas companies, including in its overseas territories.

    According to her, this will help ensure that the UK is not used as a refuge by corrupt leaders, businessmen and officials. (NAN)

  • Ethiopia, Eritrea leaders re-open border point, celebrate peace

    The leaders of Ethiopia and Eritrea on Tuesday re-opened a border point between their two countries for road transport, in a first since the two neighbors fought a war two decades ago, Eritrea’s Information Minister Yemane Meskel said on Twitter.

    “President Isaias Afwerki & Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed today officially opened the Debay Sima – Burre border point between two countries for road transport connectivity.

    “The two leaders will arrive in Asmara shortly & proceed to Serha-Zalambesa connection for a similar ceremony,” he said.

    Ahmed and Afwerki visited their troops stationed at Bure, a region that saw some of the fiercest fighting during their 1998 to 2000 war.

    Tensions over the border burned on after the fighting ended – until Ahmed offered to end the military standoff this year as part of a package of reforms that has reshaped the political landscape in the Horn of Africa and beyond.

    Pictures on Fitsum’s Twitter account showed Abiy and Isaias walking side by side.

    Since signing an agreement in Asmara on July 9 to restore ties, the Eritrean and Ethiopian leaders have moved swiftly to end the two decades of hostility.

    Eritrea reopened its embassy in Ethiopia in July, and Ethiopia reciprocated last week.

    The two countries have resumed flights.

    Eritrea has agreed to open up its ports to its landlocked neighbour and announced plans to upgrade a road between them.

    Residents on another part of the border said Eritrean and Ethiopian soldiers started clearing landmines on Monday.

    Ethiopia follows a calendar similar to the ancient Julian calendar — which started disappearing from the West in the 16th century — meaning the country will enter its year 2011 on Sept. 11.

    Unlike the Gregorian calendar used officially in Eritrea and the West, Ethiopia’s version squeezes 13 months into every year — 12 months comprising 30 days each and a final month made up of just five or six days depending on whether it is a leap year.

    Time is also measured differently in the Horn of Africa country.

    Days start at dawn rather than midnight. (Reuters/NAN)

  • 2019: Consensus candidature applies only when no other aspirant signifies interest

    The All Progressives Congress (APC) says that consensus will apply only when no other aspirant signifies interest through purchase of its Expression of Interest and Nomination forms for the position in question ahead of its primaries.

    Mr Yekini Nabena, APC’s National Publicity Secretary, made the clarification in Abuja on Tuesday.

    He said the clarification became necessary following the announcement of consensus candidates for elective positions for the 2019 general elections in some of the party’s state chapters.

    “The attention of the APC has been drawn to announcements of consensus candidates for elective positions in some states, it is therefore, pertinent to make some clarifications to enlighten party faithful on the procedure for nominating candidates.

    “While consensus is provided for by the party’s constitution, the option is conditional.

    “Consensus does not foreclose Direct or Indirect Primaries for all elective positions as contained in the resolution of the 6th Meeting of the party’s National Executive Committee (NEC).

    “Again, consensus will apply when no other aspirant signify interest through purchase of nomination forms for the position in question,” Nabena said in a statement.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the APC national secretariat has, however, remained a beehive of activities since Sept. 5 when it began the sale of Expression of Interest and Nomination forms to aspirants for 2019 general elections.

    This is, especially so as politicians and their supporters from across states of the federation rush to the secretariat to pick the party’s forms and to beat the deadline for its sale.

    Traders have also taken advantage of the large turnout of party members and supporters at the secretariat, located at Blantyre Street in Wuse Two, to do brisk business.

    While some traders take the opportunity to display various souvenirs, others were seen selling the party’s constitution to members.

    Commercial photographers also struggled to get the attention of party members who may want to take photographs for posterity.

    The two hotels located on the street, Valencia and Barcelona had continued to record high patronage.

    Driving through the street has, however, become a herculean task due to heavy human and vehicular traffic as security operatives attached to the party were seen making frantic effort to ensure orderliness. (NAN)