India Cattle Slaughter Ban; Panama JIT Report; Trump Russia Collusion

[Riaz Haq]

Why did the Modi government ban cattle slaughter across India? Why did the Indian Supreme Court block it nationally? Was Modi government targeting India's Muslim minority that depends on the $16 billion meat and leather industry? Are such steps consistent with the constitution of a "secular democracy"?

Sharif Family Being Investigated by Panama JIT

How historic is Pakistan's corruption investigation into the allegations against a sitting prime minister and his family? What is in the JIT report about country's ruling Sharif family? Is it hard evidence of Sharifs' corruption as its supporters believe? Or is it just rumors and innuendo and part of a conspiracy to unseat Prime Minister Sharif? How will Pakistan Supreme Court deal with it? Will it lead to disqualification and removal of Prime Minister Sharif from office? How will it affect Pakistan's political stability and economy?

What was the Trump tower meeting of June 9 2016 meeting about? Was Donald Trump Jr attempting to collude with the Russian government as alleged to defeat Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton? Is this illegal or improper? How will it affect the ongoing Congressional and Special Counsel investigations into Trump Campaign's alleged collusion with Russia?

Viewpoint From Overseas host Faraz Darvesh discusses these questions with Misbah Azam and Riaz Haq (www.riazhaq.com).

https://youtu.be/ghqG7gHEOBg



Related Links:

Haq's Musings

Hinduization of India

Hindutva: A Legacy of the British Raj?

Lynchistan: India is the Lynching Capital of the World

Panama JIT in Pakistan

Comey Testimony on Trump

FBI Director Comey's Firing

Trump Appointments

Talk4Pak Youtube Channel

Talk4Pak Vimeo Channel

[Riaz Haq]

#India’s Turn Toward Intolerance. #Hindutva #Islamophobia #cow #Modi #economy #jobs #BJP

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/07/17/opinion/indias-turn-toward-intol...

Narendra Modi’s landslide victory as prime minister of India in 2014 was borne on his promises to unleash his country’s economic potential and build a bright future while he played down the Hindu nationalist roots of his Bharatiya Janata Party.

But, under Mr. Modi’s leadership, growth has slowed, jobs have not materialized, and what has actually been unleashed is virulent intolerance that threatens the foundation of the secular nation envisioned by its founders.

Since Mr. Modi took office, there has been an alarming rise in mob attacks against people accused of eating beef or abusing cows, an animal held sacred to Hindus. Most of those killed have been Muslims. Mr. Modi spoke out against the killings only last month, not long after his government banned the sale of cows for slaughter, a move suspended by India’s Supreme Court. The ban, enforcing cultural stigma, would have fallen hardest on Muslims and low-caste Hindus traditionally engaged in the meat and leather industry.

It would also have struck a blow against Mr. Modi’s supposed priorities: employment, economic growth and boosting exports. The $16 billion industry employs millions of workers and generated $4 billion in export income last year.

More disturbing was his party’s decision to name Yogi Adityanath, a Hindu warrior-priest, as chief minister of Uttar Pradesh, India’s most populous state, and a springboard to national leadership. Mr. Adityanath has called India’s Muslims “a crop of two-legged animals that has to be stopped” and cried at one rally, “We are all preparing for religious war!”

This development led the analyst Neerja Chowdhury to observe: “India is moving right. Whether India moves further right, and Modi begins to be looked upon as a moderate, I think that only time will tell.”

On Tuesday, India’s film censor board, headed by a Bharatiya Janata Party stalwart apparently intent on protecting Mr. Modi and the party from criticism, ruled that a documentary film about one of India’s most famous sons, the Nobel Prize-winning economist Amartya Sen, cannot be screened unless the director cuts the words “cow,” “Hindu India,” “Hindutva view of India” — meaning Hindu nationalism — and “Gujarat,” where Mr. Modi was chief minister at the time of deadly anti-Muslim riots in 2002.

This might seem like merely a farcical move by Hindu fanatics, if it were not so in line with much else that is happening in Mr. Modi’s India, and if the implications for India’s democracy weren’t so chilling. But this is where Mr. Modi has brought the nation as it prepares to celebrate 70 years of independence on Aug. 15.

[Riaz Haq]

#Dubai #law firm confirms #Pakistan PM's Dubai job papers as 'legal'. #PanamaCase #NawazSharif http://www.khaleejtimes.com/international/pakistan/dubai-law-firm-c... A Dubai law firm has submitted a legal opinion to Pakistan's Supreme Court on Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's alleged employment in Dubai, verifying that the employment documents which imply he was employed by Capital FZE in Jebel Ali Freezone (Jafza) in Dubai until 2014 are 100 per cent legal.

 

The legal firm Khalifa bin Huwaidan Advocates was consulted by the Joint Investigation Team (JIT) that has submitted a 254-page report to the Pakistan's Supreme Court into Nawaz' family wealth.

 

The court held its first hearing on Monday to decide the fate of the prime minister who is contesting the corruption investigation. He has denied any wrong doing.

 

The Dubai law firm submitted its report to the Supreme Court on Monday, Khalifa bin Huwaidan, lawyer and legal advisor at the firm, told Khaleej Times.

 

"Normally businessmen establish companies in Dubai if they want to maintain a visa status in the company but in this case, (Nawaz Sharif) was an employee in a Jafza-based firm," he confirmed.

 

Khalifa's conclusion was based on the copy of the labour contract Nawaz had with Capital FZE, and said "The contract is 100 per cent legal."

 

The legal opinion has been readied based on the UAE labour laws, he said. It earlier emerged that Nawaz Sharif was employed as chairman of the board for Capital FZE company in Jafza from August 2006 to April 2014 and was withdrawing a salary of Dh10,000. However, his employment status was terminated in 2014 after the company was dissolved. This was a year after he became the prime minister of Pakistan for the third time.

 

The Sharif family has denied that a salary was withdrawn and said that the visa was to facilitate visits to the UAE. However, as per the UAE Labour Law, all employees have to receive a salary through a bank account under the UAE's Wage Protection System (WPS), failing which the firm can be blacklisted and shut down.

 

Also as per the UAE law, if no record of a salary transfer to the bank is found, the employer is held liable not the employee. However, it is not clear who owned Capital FZE before it was dissolved.

 

Hussain Nawaz, son of Nawaz Sharif has rejected the JIT findings that his father was being paid by the Dubai firm. He said that his father never received any salary from the aforesaid company. Hussain said that his father was appointed as chairman only for facilitation of visa and visits to the UAE in 2006.

 

The JIT report has also revealed that Nawaz did not disclose this information before running for the highest public office in 2013 which is against the Constitution of Pakistan. The JIT findings are based on its correspondence with Jafza.

 

A legal opinion from a Dubai firm verifying the legality of the employment contract will leave no room for Nawaz to contest this in court.

 

This result is also likely to impact the case against the Sharifs, which are being probed after the Panama Papers revealed in 2016 that three of his children owned offshore companies and assets not shown on his family's wealth statement. The assets in question include four expensive flats in Park Lane, London.

[Riaz Haq]

#Pakistan SC warns #Sharifs children of 7 years in #Jail if their papers found forged. #PanamaCase

http://www.thehindu.com/news/international/pakistan-sc-warns-sharif...

The JIT, among other things, has observed that some of the documents submitted by the children of Mr. Sharif were tampered with.

The children of Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif could face up to seven years in jail if it was proved that they had submitted fake documents to the Panama panel probing the money laundering allegations against the family, the Supreme Court warned on Thursday.

The apex court heard the Panamagate scandal case for the fourth consecutive day since the hearing began on July 17, following submission of a report by the Joint Investigation Team (JIT) on July 10, which was tasked by the court to probe allegation of corruption against Mr. Sharif and his family.

“The punishment for submitting forged documents in the court is seven years in jail,” warned the three-member panel of judges.

The JIT, among other things, has observed that some of the documents submitted by the children of Mr. Sharif, 67, were tampered with.

A trust deed provided by the Prime Minister’s daughter Maryam Nawaz and executed in 2006 was written in Calibri font which was not commercially available till 2007. It was also notarised from an office in London on Saturday which is officially an off day, raising concern about the authenticity of the document.

Similarly, Government of Dubai has revealed that the documents of Gulf Steel Mills provided by the Prime Minister’s son Hussian Nawaz were forged as there was no record of those documents.

Justice Ejaz Afzal is heading the probe panel comprising Justice Sheikh Azmat Saeed and Justice Ijazul Ahsan.

They also warned Salman Akram Raja, the lawyer of Mr. Sharif’s children, against a media trial in the case after some of the documents presented by him were leaked to media and were discussed in talk shows on Wednesday.

“You have been conducting a trial in the media and the documents (submitted to the court) have already been discussed in the media,” said Justice Saeed.

“There is a media dais outside, you should give your arguments there as well,” he told Mr. Raja, who assured the court that he had not released any documents to media.

Meanwhile, Mr. Raja presented his arguments in details. The arguments were still going on when the court adjourned the proceedings till July 21.

The judges on Thursday again asked the Mr. Sharif family to provide the money trail of its various businesses in the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the U.K.

“The main question is, where did the money for these businesses came?” asked the panel.

Later, Fawad Chaudhry, member of a legal team representing Imran Khan of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), told media outside the court that the hearing might be completed by Friday.

“For us the case is over. Sharif would have to go home and then jail for corruption. His children would also land in jail for forgery,” he said.

Minister of State for Information Marriyam Aurangzeb said that the Prime Minister has been vindicated as there is no proof of any corruption against him.

“The Prime Minister was accused of money laundering and corruption but none of the allegations have been proved,” she said.

The scandal surfaced when the Panama Papers leaks last year revealed that Mr. Sharif’s sons — Hassan Nawaz and Hussain Nawaz — and his daughter Maryam owned offshore companies which managed their family’s properties. The assets in question include four expensive flats in Park Lane, London.

Opposition parties allege that the London flats were purchased through illegal money which Mr. Sharif and his family have rejected. However, they have been unable to satisfy the court about the source of money used to purchase these properties.

[Riaz Haq]

‘Over-invoicing by power companies’: PIL in Delhi HC seeks SIT probe against firms
The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) is currently investigating over a dozen firms, including firms of the Adani Group, Essar Group and Reliance ADAG Group, among others for alleged over valuation of Indonesian coal imports and power equipment imports between 2011 and 2015.

http://indianexpress.com/article/business/companies/over-invoicing-...

The NGOs, through senior advocate Prashant Bhushan, have alleged that some power firms are involved in “over-invoicing of about 400 per cent of power equipment and fuel in order to siphon off money to their promoter firms registered in tax havens and also in order to inflate electricity tariffs which are based on the cost of equipment and fuel”.
“This is a very serious matter involving tens of thousands of crore. The CBI had registered a preliminary enquiry against some Adani Group firms, which was closed during the tenure of Ranjit Sinha, who is now being investigated by the SIT. Over-invoicing by these firms leads to taking more loans from banks than is required, cheating of consumers as higher tariffs are passed on to the consumers and cheating of shareholders of these firms as money is being siphoned off abroad,” Bhushan said.
On Wednesday, Justice C Hari Shankar recused himself from hearing the case as he has appeared for some of the firms named in the petition in the past.

The counsel appearing for the Cabinet Secretariat, Government of India, said the government is opposing even the issuance of notice in the petition as it would “jeopardise the entire power sector.”
The high court will now hear the case on September 20.
According to the DRI, overvaluation of power equipment and coal has the effect of artificially raising the tariff values fixed by the Central Electricity Regulatory Commission or the respective state regulatory commissions.
The DRI has alleged that several traders are directly importing Indonesian coal but the invoices are “routed through one or more related /associated intermediary firms based abroad” after artificially inflating its value. To justify the inflated price, “manipulated test reports” of the quality of coal is submitted to PSUs and Customs. This coal is then supplied to public power generation firms at the “artificially inflated import price and the inflated price is remitted from India to the intermediary firms abroad which remit only the actual price to the suppliers of the coal and the balance is siphoned off elsewhere”.

[Riaz Haq]

Timeline of Events: The 2013 Miss Universe Pageant

Russian singer Emin Agalarov speaks onstage with his father Aras Agalarov during a news conference after Brady won the Miss USA 2013 pageant on June 16, 2013, in Las Vegas.

https://www.npr.org/2017/07/17/536714404/timeline-of-events-the-201...

2012
British-born music promoter Rob Goldstone began representing singer Emin Agalarov, son of billionaire real estate investor Aras Agalarov. At the time, Emin was married to Leyla Aliyeva, the daughter of Azerbaijani president Ilham Aliyev.

March 21, 2013
In a Facebook post from New York, Goldstone announced he would be attending the Miss USA pageant in June. He served as a preliminary round judge at the event.

May 31, 2013
Emin Agalarov released a music video featuring 2012 Miss Universe Olivia Culpo. This collaboration led Golstone to meet with the head of the Miss Universe Organization, Paula Shugart, according to Mother Jones.

June 15, 2013
"Fun meeting with Donald Trump," Rob Goldstone posted on Facebook.

June 16, 2013
During the Miss USA pageant, Trump announced the location for the 2013 Miss Universe pageant: Crocus City Hall in Moscow, Russia. Trump was joined on stage by Aras Agalarov, president of Crocus Group, and his son. The elder Aras later told a Russian news outlet that Trump greeted him warmly, saying, "'Look who came to me! This is the richest man in Russia!'"

Later in June, the Russian parliament passed a series of anti-gay laws. In an interview with Miss Universe co-host Thomas Roberts before the event in November, Trump defended his decision to keep the pageant in Moscow.

June 18, 2013
Trump tweeted about the upcoming pageant. "Do you think Putin will be going to The Miss Universe Pageant in November in Moscow - if so, will he become my new best friend?" he wrote.

November 9, 2013
Miss Universe took place at Crocus City Hall in Moscow, Russia. Emin Agalarov performed at the event.

November 13, 2013
In an interview with Forbes, Emin Agalarov said Crocus Group, "may theoretically consider a possibility of building a Trump Tower as one of our skyscrapers."