Formal inquiry likely: Blue passport scandal on NAB agenda today

The bureau has completed initial inquiry into the case. PHOTO: FILE

LAHORE: National Accountability Bureau (NAB) has finalised its preliminary inquiry into the issuance of more than 2,000 blue passports to unauthorised persons during the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) government, The Express Tribune has learnt.

According to agenda item prepared for Executive Board Meeting (EMB) scheduled for today (Monday), NAB acting chairman will authorise a formal inquiry into the scandal, sources familiar with the matter revealed.

Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan on October 5 had given directive for cancellation of more than 2,000 blue passports issued in violation of rules during the rule of PPP government.

Sources in NAB familiar with the preliminary inquiry proceedings said the blue passports could be issued to entitled persons only and that there could be no relaxation of rules in this regard.

They added that NAB had already gathered most of the record regarding issuance of blue passports to the unauthorised persons, while the remaining record would be sought during the course of formal inquiry.

NAB’s mandate

The NAB team will determine the role of the concerned officials of Ministry of Interior and the passport office(s). It will also fix responsibility of each individual, political dignitary, government official, agent or private person, said sources in NAB.

NAB would also proceed against government officials, who had issued fake documents to the private persons by showing them government officials after receiving hefty sums of money as bribe.

Nine must-watch TV shows that are seriously underrated

These shows are lost in the process of acting/trying to be cool and watching the shows everyone watches so you can be a part of the crowd.

We all know everybody loves Gossip Girl, The Vampire Diaries, Glee, Big Bang Theoryand the like. However, being the hipster that I am, I tend to avoid watching mainstream television shows.

They’re great productions but the problem is, I can’t stand being a part of the cult. So I’m sorry if it disappoints any of you if I don’t watch the shows you oh-so-dearly love.

I noticed that when a show becomes a trend, people only watch that particular one, while ignoring many shows which are far better.

Here I have compiled my list of the nine must-watch shows that people in Pakistan absolutelyneed to see, in case they are done watching Game of Thrones or Breaking Bad.

1. American Horror Story

Currently in its third season, the show is a thriller show with gory, mystic and supernatural elements that just keeps you on the edge throughout. The best part is that every season comes with its own storyline. Created by Ryan Murphy of Glee, this show’s second season was given 17 Emmy Award nominations. It just cannot get better than that. If you love critically acclaimed shows, then here’s a show you would not want to ignore.

PHOTO: American Horror Story Official Facebook Page

For those who absolutely love horror movies, this one’s a must-watch for you!

Plus, the third season features my long time crush Emma Roberts in the main characters so I, for one, cannot miss it.

2. Hannibal

The show is only one season old but it’s receiving rave reviews, which it totally deserves.Hannibal is a TV show about a psychopath psychiatrist who is, as you guessed it, a cannibal. The show revolves around his relationship with a special FBI investigator who is inspecting the crimes committed by Hannibal, not knowing that his counselor is the murderer.

This show is your answer to Dexter and its gory, thrilling storyline is pretty amazing. It’s a bit slow paced, but the gore should be enough to keep you awake.

While the show did not receive any Emmy Nominations, it did win the hearts of many critics. Here’s to hoping that the second season gets more credited attention.

Bottom line is, if there’s one show you need to watch before it gets famous in Pakistan, itsHannibal.

3. Skins

Alright, I admit that the series has ended but if you look at the fact that you guys still watchSeinfeld and Friends, then Skins is still relatively new in comparison.

PHOTO: Skins Official Facebook Page

The show chronicles the lives of teenagers in a town in England and spans different characters for different years, but somehow inter-relating them. The reason the series is a must watch is because, unlike the rest of the CW series that glamorise teen life, this show is true and hard hitting and gives a great insight into what the ‘real’ teen life is.

It has won lots of awards and gained many nominations, so please do yourselves a favour and watch this show in case you’re looking for something teen but not as hyped as CW’s.

4. Community

I love this show. It’s one of the most real life comedies and funny stories one could ask for!

PHOTO: Community Official Facebook Page

It’s about a group of community college students who accidentally become friends only because a guy wanted to ask out one of the girls in their study group. What leads from there is a hilarious adventure through their college lives.

It’s pretty old and currently into its fifth season with a huge critical acclaim. It has won lots of awards and nominations. If you want to experience what the term ROTFL (Rolling on the floor, laughing) means, go watch it right now!

5. Awkward

I know MTV is notorious for nude and lewd content in Pakistan, but give this MTV show a chance. It’s real and funny as anything you have ever seen.

PHOTO: Awkward Official Facebook Page

It’s about a girl whose accident is mistakenly considered as a suicide attempt. And there’s the fact that she’s in a closet (literally) relationship with the school’s most popular boy, being the most unpopular girl of the school. The show delves into her mind and her blog which portray how awkward life can be.

6. The Inbetweeners

The UK version is the original one, which portrays the lives of four teenagers who stumble across humiliating experiences and adventures while going through puberty and entering adulthood. The UK version is also more famous than its US counterpart, but the US onedeserves a chance too. Both are fun to watch.

PHOTO: The Inbetweeners USA Official Facebook Page

7. Hart of Dixie

It’s about a New York based doctor who needs to do a year on practice in the far off southern town of Blue Bell, which is not ready to accept her. Watching her win southern hearts and making her way into the society is a television show treat.

PHOTO: Hart of Dixie Official Facebook Page

8. Twisted

The show is new, so catch up on it soon. It’s making waves. The show marks the life of a teenage boy who murdered his aunt as a kid and is now back from juvenile prison. The people are not willing to accept him, including his two childhood best friends.

PHOTO: Twisted Official Facebook Page

9. Carrie Diaries

It’s a younger version of Sex and the City (SATC) and frankly, it isn’t as good. However, it makes up for an interesting watch. It’s not so famous here as SATC and I know that many of my generation hardly know about SATC, so this show should lead you up to it smoothly.

PHOTO: Carrie Dairies Official Facebook Page

These shows are better than the mainstream TV shows you watch just because your best friend watches them as well. Take some time out to watch shows that actually appeal to you and interest you, shows that make you go ‘what just happened’ when they end an episode unexpectedly and make you itch to find out what happens next.

Be a trendsetter instead of a trend follower. You can be the cool guy or girl who suggests new shows that may intrigue your friends.

Ask, and you shall receive: Govt ready to hand K-P Pesco reins

Minister for Water and Power Khawaja Asif says government is ready to transfer control of the distribution company in K-P to provincial government. PHOTO: REUTERS/FILE

Frustrated with the electric power situation in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P), Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chief Imran Khan had demanded that the government hand over control of power distribution in the province to him.

Little did Imran expect that his proposal will be welcomed by the government.

Federal Minister for Water and Power Khawaja Asif, while talking to Express News on Monday evening, welcomed the offer and said that the government was ready to hand over the distribution and recovery network in K-P to the provincial government.

“If he can help us in this regard and improve the system there [in K-P], then that is good.”

Asked if control of the Peshawar Electric Supply Company (PESCO) would be handed over immediately, Asif said that was doable.

“Yes it [transfer of control] can be done immediately. He [Imran] can take control of Pesco and handle the distribution of electricity and recovery.”

The government has come under fire for not fully realising its election promise of controlling prolonged power cuts, line losses and electricity theft, and Asif defended the government on this.

“This is not about us failing. Over the past three, four months, there has been a reduction in line losses and theft. We do not claim there has been radical change, but there has been reduction, there has been improvement.”

“If the K-P government believes that they can bring marked improvement in the system, then they should do it. If someone is trying to do good, we should not obstruct that.”

Asked how soon can control be given to the PTI-led government in K-P, Asif said that the government was willing to hand it over control in the new year.

“He [Imran Khan] proposed January 1, he can take charge of Pesco from January 1, 2014.”

“What he [Imran] wants he can do, we can give him control of the entire distribution company.”

Under the landmark 18th Amendment, power is one of the subjects that is supposed to be devolved to provinces. However, due to a multitude of issues, this has not happened so far.

12 Years A Slave: A peek into the dark history of the US

Steve McQueen's masterful adaptation of Solomon Northup's 1853 memoir is simply a powerhouse. Photo: AFP

While my friend and I were having coffee, he shared an interesting observation with me:

“I always wondered why the black people were unable to overcome the practice of slavery in the United States through revolt?”

I pondered for a few seconds and replied,

 “Hasn’t this always been the case when it comes to dynamics between oppressor and oppressed? It is not just the physical scare that prevents a revolt, but a psychological one.”

12 years a slave is a film based on a book written by Solomon Northup, a ‘free negro’ in 1853. In 1841, Northup was living in the state of New York, alongside his wife and two children, earning his living as a fiddle player.

Warning: spoilers ahead!

After encountering two gentlemen from the north who claimed to be travelling artists, he decides to join them for a circus touring gig. The story of Northup is in fact a true story of a man, who was drugged and kidnapped in Washington, sold into slavery in New Orleans and had to spend 12 years slaving in the state of Louisiana in the United States.

’12 years a slave’ book cover. Photo: Reuters

Northup was not only well-educated but was also an exceptional violinist. After spending a few months as a slave, he soon realises those talents make no difference if you are, in fact, black. Northup is eventually purchased by a wealthy plantation owner, William Ford (Benedict Cumberbatch). There, Northup learns a valuable lesson as a slave:

‘The less you talk, the better chance you have of survival’.

Although Ford is seen as a kind slave owner who treats his slaves with some form of dignity, isn’t he just the ‘lesser of evils’?

Northup ends up confiding in a Canadian labourer, Bass (Brad Pitt), who risks his life by helping Northup escape.

Solomon Northup and William Ford, the kind slave owner. Photo: AFP

Edwin Epps, Patsey and Solomon Northup. Source: IMDb

Brad Pitt plays the role of Bass, who helps Northup escape. Photo: AFP

This film is a stunningly accurate depiction of pre-civil war United States where black people were bought and sold as private property in most of the southern states. It was a time when hanging a black man in the middle of the forest was an afternoon day’s work and the executioners hoped to reach home just in time for supper.

Chiwetel Ejiofor, seen before in Serenity (2005) and Children of Men (2006), plays the title role of Northup who gives magnificent credibility to the role with his occasional mumbling about the disarray of human rights. After all, lashing of the black is ‘part of the Christian scripture’, a thought shared by Michael Fassbender’s character Edwin Epps.

Chiwetel Ejiofor as Solomon Northup. Source: AFP

While watching the film, I could not help but cringe at some of the more brutal scenes of the film but particularly, it was the poignantly written dialogue by John Ridley that kept me intrigued.

Steve McQueen, the director who has brought us Hunger (2008) and Shame (2011) in the past, has reunited yet again with Michael Fassbender to capture and analyse the anguish and greed of humanity.

I sincerely believe that McQueen is one of the key filmmakers of this generation, alongside Paul Thomas Anderson. His superb visuals and storytelling never overpowers the viewer or the film itself. This is indeed, a very courageous film to make.

Director Steve McQueen. Photo: AFP

Of course, 12 Years a Slave is not an easy film to watch but it is an important film nonetheless. It shows how far humanity has come and how some things still have been left unchanged.

Whether this film will be relevant in the next few decades is uncertain but for now, the dark past of the US has yet to be further examined with a certain degree of authenticity

Treason case: IHC rejects Musharraf's objections over special court

Pervez Musharraf, who is due to appear before a special court on December 24, is the first former military dictator in Pakistan's history to face trial for treason. PHOTO: REUTERS/FILE

ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Monday rejected all three pleas by former dictator Pervez Musharraf against the special court constituted to try him for treason, Express News reported.

Musharraf had raised objections over the authority of the special court, appointment of judges and prosecutor.

The decision was taken by Justice Riaz Ahmad Khan, who declared the requests inadmissible.

The special court comprises Sindh High Court’s Justice Faisal Arab, Justice Tahira Safdar of the Balochistan High Court and Justice Yawar Ali of the Lahore High Court.

Musharraf, when challenging the authority of the special court, stated that he was the army chief when he introduced the 2007 emergency and  a military court alone could examine his actions.

The ex-military strongman is due to appear before the special court on December 24 to face treason charges under Article 6 for suspending, subverting and abrogating the Constitution, imposing an emergency in the country in November 2007 and detaining judges of the superior courts.

Exit Control List

Earlier today, the Sindh High Court (SHC) disposed of a plea seeking removal of former dictator Pervez Musharraf’s name from the Exit Control List (ECL).

The court said this matter does not fall under their authority and advised Musharraf’s advocate to refer to the government to have the former president’s name removed from the list.

The government had barred Musharraf from leaving Pakistan because he was at that time arrested for his involvement in three criminal cases, including the murder of former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto. The former dictator had later received bail in all the cases, however, his name was not removed from the ECL.

Musharraf’s counsel had moved the court, stating that his client wanted to be with his 95-year-old ailing mother in Dubai after his release on bail and that keeping his client’s name on the ECL was a violation of fundamental rights.

The attorney general today said that Musharraf’s name was put on the list because of criminal cases against him and the petition should be disposed of.

The court had made its decision on December 20 but announced it today.

Let’s Cricout: Social network app designed for cricket enthusiasts

KARACHI: 

The Twenty20 cricket world cup was the second largest sporting event in 2012 after London Olympics as it was followed by an estimated 1.5 billion people – around a quarter of the world’s population – according to Yahoo Sports.

Since the mega event was followed mainly on television, this is certainly a sizeable market for those who can provide such a huge audience with an alternative platform – online, mobile phones to be more specific.

eMumba, a January-2012 startup based in Islamabad, is one such example. The company’s eight-member team is working to attract some chunk, if not all, of this massive traffic to the online arena through its product, Cricout. The name is an apt modification of the phrase “let’s hang out” to “let’s cricout!”

A first of its kind, Cricout is a good example of the kind of innovation that is happening in Pakistan’s tech space. It provides cricket fans with a unique social game following experience.

“Cricout is a social network app for cricket that creates a meeting point for friends, fans and experts,” eMumba’s founder and CEO Owais Anjum told The Express Tribune.

It is a distinctive ball-by-ball commentary empowering fans to interact with each other by attaching emotions (likes, dislikes etc), comments, pictures and expert analysis, he said.

“The pictures can be shared through our mobile app by fans in the stadium or by friends having game parties at their homes,” he said.

The users can build their personal following among friends and fans around the world for a highly social game following experience, according to Anjum. Cricout allows users to login via Facebook and invite “friends” over to Cricout, helping users leverage their existing FB connections.

The product looks promising as it is already getting some attention from both the investors and the target markets.

In January 2013, the company raised $85,000 from investors in the Silicon Valley, which is a sign of confidence in the product. The app has hit the top spot in Pakistan and fourth spot in India in the sports category on the App Store, according to appstatics – a third-party application ranking system.

Besides, Apple has listed Cricout as a featured app in nine countries including India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, UAE and Saudi Arabia, said Anjum, a graduate of the first batch (1997) of Ghulam Ishaq Khan Institute of Engineering Sciences and Technology.

Cricout’s web version, cricout.com, was launched in June 2013 and the companion iPhone app hit the App Store in October. The company launched its mobile-friendly version earlier this month.

eMumba’s team is currently working on the Android version, Anjum said, which they plan to launch before the Twenty20 World Cup scheduled for March 2014.

The company is completely focused on building a viable business out of this product, Anjum said. It wants to increase its user base and monetise the same to become profitable.

This is an emerging market, the CEO said, with no major social networking platform for cricket. Elaborating, he said he wants to target not only the existing cricket lovers – who are already online – but also the ones who will start using internet during the next couple of years.

“It is projected that India alone will bring over 100 million new internet users during 2013 and 2014, and anyone can guess that a sizable number of this population will be interested in cricket,” the CEO said.

In other words, he said, the online world of cricket is an emerging market that is likely to see an exponential growth during the next three to five years.

“If we are able to have one million users by the end of 2014, our cash flows will improve and our advertising revenues will surpass our expenses,” Anjum said.

However, the number is a short-term target for Anjum who wants to extend his product’s user base manifold to make it a highly profitable venture. He even left his very lucrative job as Managing Director of Numetrics to take this plunge and work on the idea with full focus and dedication.

Fresh IBA graduates get 12% higher pay this year

Out of 248 BBA graduates this year, 210 sought employment in the job market while 21 proceeded abroad for higher education.

KARACHI: 

Recent graduates of arguably the top business school of Pakistan received on average a starting monthly salary of Rs48,480 in 2013.

Armed with a four-year Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA) degree, the average starting salary of 2013 graduates of Karachi’s Institute of Business Administration (IBA) was 12.2% higher than last year’s figure of Rs43,200, IBA’s employment data shows.

Out of 248 BBA graduates this year, 210 sought employment in the job market while 21 proceeded abroad for higher education. The remaining graduates are self-employed, getting married or taking time off the studies.

Almost 80% of those seeking jobs were already employed by November 26 – the day the survey was conducted – while 43 graduates were still looking for jobs.

“Some of them have received job offers, but they are seeking better opportunities,” IBA Dean and Director Dr Ishrat Husain said while speaking to The Express Tribune. He added many graduates have been employed since the completion of the survey last month.

While the mean salary for IBA’s BBA graduates of 2013 was Rs48,480 a month, the median monthly salary for the same batch was Rs45,000.

Average monthly salary of IBA’s fresh BBA graduates was Rs33,462 in 2010, Rs36,700 in 2011, Rs43,200 in 2012 and Rs48,480 in 2013. This means their starting salaries have increased on average by 13.1% annually since 2010.

Husain said absence of foreign direct investment, a decline in private-sector investment and persistent energy shortages have made the overall business environment highly onerous with job opportunities becoming too limited.

“We are also conscious that we are putting out more than 300 graduates every year into the market since the BBA at IBA was transformed into a terminal degree,” he added.

The fast-moving consumer goods sector (FMCG) absorbed the highest number of BBA graduates this year (25). Other major employers include banking, advertising and media and financial institutions. The FMCG sector along with the IT sector remained the best paymasters this year by paying on average a monthly salary of Rs61,000.

Manufacturing (Rs59,000) and pharmaceutical (Rs54,000) sectors also absorbed IBA graduates at a relatively better monthly remuneration package on average.

Only 21 IBA graduates entered the job market with an MBA degree in 2013. According to Husain, the MBA class of 2013 was smaller than usual because IBA has now enforced two-year compulsory work experience condition.

Average monthly salary of a fresh MBA was Rs61,000, which is 8.1% lower than the last year’s average of Rs66,400.

Husain admitted that IBA’s MBAs are still being inducted into entry-level positions despite their two-year work experience. “But after six to 12 months, they are promoted to mid-level positions that pay much higher than the average starting salary,” he said.

As opposed to the mean salary, the median salary that the 2013 batch of MBA received was Rs72,000 a month, which is 25.2% higher than the median salary of the 2012 batch.

“We are now getting a larger intake in the MBA class compared to the previous years. However, the starting compensation issue is of concern to us,” Husain said.