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Thursday 24 November 2016

Seasonal wetlands face uncertain future

Seasonal wetlands - ecologically important habitats that become visible during rainy seasons - are facing an uncertain future, warn scientists.
These ephemeral ecosystems support unique flora and fauna species that do not occur in permanent wetlands. Yet these poorly understood habitats are being lost to future generations as a result of poor land-use practices, the authors observed.
Although these intermittent, shallow-water seasonal natural features are most closely associated with arid or semi-arid landscapes, they are more widespread than generally realised. 
Changing landscape
"They tend to occur during the rainy season which is when you will see shallow water but for most months of the year, it will appear to be dry," explained co-author Tatenda Dalu, from Rhodes University, South Africa.
The seasonal wetlands are dominated by aquatic biodiversity, he told BBC News.
"You have your plankton, you have your insects, which then brings in the birds to feed on these insects," Dr Dalu said.
"Some of these systems have unique communities of fish, such as the 'land fish'."
However, these unique ecosystems were vulnerable for a number of reasons, explained Dr Dalu.
"The biggest threat we are seeing at the moment is either the digging up of the ecosystems or making them permanent.
"By making them permanent, people accidently introduce invasive species which then wipe out the unique invertebrate communities."
For example, people look to have a lake full of fish on their land. Very often, the introduced species of fish results in the unique habitat that had previously thrived in the intermittent water being squeezed to the point of becoming locally extinct.
The team also recognised that changes to the climate system were set to alter rainfall and temperature patterns.
The researchers observed in their paper: "In tropical regions of southern Africa, for example, drought is projected to be particularly problematic.
"In such areas, ephemeral wetlands are highly likely to be affected given that ephemeral aquatic environments are internally drained systems, wholly reliant on localised rainfall."

Enriching features

Dr Dalu said the time to act to attempt to make the wetlands more resilient was now.
"One of the most important things for us is to try to map as many of the systems as we can.
"Having a record of where these unique systems exist will be important for the development of any further legislation."
He said that the flora of ephemeral wetlands enriched people's lives, even if they were not aware of the ecological importance of such sites.
"People will tell you about some of the unique flowers they see there," he said.
"That's how people identify them but they do not know anything else about these seasonal wetlands."

Black Friday and Cyber Monday: Five tips for spotting a bargain

Black Friday is now one of the UK's busiest shopping days.
Retailers offer up a dizzying array of special offers and big discounts, with more deals added online on Cyber Monday.
But how can you spot a genuine bargain?

1 Check the size of the discount

Before you buy, it is always worth checking if the same product is cheaper somewhere else, experts say.
Some specialist sites can tell you if the product has been discounted more heavily before.
For example, Camelcamelcamel.com shows the price history of Amazon products - allowing shoppers to see if they have been offered more cheaply in the past.

Convict-spotting algorithm criticised

An experiment to see whether computers can identify criminals based on their faces has been conducted in China.
Researchers trained an algorithm using more than 1,500 photos of Chinese citizens, hundreds of them convicts.
They said the program was then able to correctly identify criminals in further photos 89% of the time.
But the research, which has not been peer reviewed, has been criticised by criminology experts who say the AI may reflect bias in the justice system.
"This article is not looking at people's behaviour, it is looking at criminal conviction," said Prof Susan McVie, professor of quantitative criminology at the University of Edinburgh.
"The criminal justice system consists of a series of decision-making stages, by the police, prosecution and the courts. At each of those stages, people's decision making is affected by factors that are not related to offending behaviour - such as stereotypes about who is most likely to be guilty.
"Research shows jurors are more likely to convict people who look or dress a certain way. What this research may be picking up on is stereotypes that lead to people being picked up by the criminal justice system, rather than the likelihood of somebody offending."

Facial features

The researchers took 1,856 ID photographs of Chinese citizens that fitted strict criteria of males aged between 18 and 55 with no facial hair or markings. The collection contained 730 ID pictures - not police mugshots - of convicted criminals or "wanted suspects by the ministry of public security".
After using 90% of the images to train their algorithm, the researchers used the remaining photos to see whether the computer could correctly identify the convicts. It did so correctly about nine times out of 10.
The researchers from Shanghai Jiao Tong University said their algorithm had identified key facial features, such as the curvature of the upper lip and distance between eyes, that were common among the convicts.
But Prof McVie said the algorithm may simply have identified patterns in the type of people who are convicted by human juries.
"This is an example of statistics-led research with no theoretical underpinning," said Prof McVie, who is also the director of the Applied Quantitative Methods Network research centre.
"What would be the reason that somebody's face would lead them to be criminal or not? There is no theoretical reason that the way somebody looks should make them a criminal.
"There is a huge margin of error around this sort of work and if you were trying to use the algorithm to predict who might commit a crime, you wouldn't find a high success rate," she told the BBC.

'Badly wrong'

"Going back over 100 years ago, Cesare Lombroso was a 19th Century criminologist who used phrenology - feeling people's heads - with a theory that there were lumps and bumps associated with certain personality traits.
"But it is now considered to be very old and flawed science - criminologists have not believed in it for decades."
Prof McVie also warned that an algorithm used to spot potential criminals based on their appearance - such as passport scanning at an airport, or ID scanning at a night club - could have dangerous consequences.
"Using a system like this based on looks rather than behaviour could lead to eugenics-based policy-making," she said.
"What worries me the most is that we might be judging who is a criminal based on their looks. That sort of approach went badly wrong in our not-too distant history."

Countrywide shares plummet as transactions fall

Shares in the UK's biggest estate agent, Countrywide, have plummeted following the publication of its gloomy report on the property market.
Thursday's 12% fall comes on top of a 5% drop following the news that letting agents fees are to be scrapped.
In its third quarter trading update Countrywide said it expected transactions to fall because of stamp duty changes and the Brexit vote.
Group revenue was £188.5m compared with £197.1m for the same time last year.
The group, whose 55 high street brands include Bairstow Eves, John D Wood and Gascoigne Pees, forecast transactions would be 6% down this year, and for levels to fall even further in 2017.
The company said the reduced level of market transactions it had seen in the second half of this year would lead to its 2016 profits being at the "lower end of expectations".

London worse

Countrywide said figures for the three months to the end of September showed that overall house exchanges were down by 1% compared with the same time last year, however in London they were 29% lower.
It also said mortgage approvals were 12% down on the same time last year.
The lettings side of the business was affected by the rush to beat the changes in stamp duty at the end of the first quarter of the year, which resulted in a larger than usual supply of rental properties, it said in its statement.
In the three months to the end of September residential lettings were up by 14% and in London they rose by 1%.
News of the ban on letting agents' fees announced in Wednesday's Autumn Statement was described as a "hammer blow" to estate agents.
Countrywide's chief executive Alison Platt said the company was looking forward to working with government on the "consultation".

'Bombshell'

"We have made good progress this year despite tough market conditions since the EU referendum," said chief executive Alison Platt. "Particularly pleasing is our growth in market share in both sales and lettings."
However, ETX Capital markets analyst Neil Wilson said: "Countrywide shares are tumbling again this morning after it offered a very downbeat assessment of the property market.
"The company says it's making good progress but today's trading statement confirms that estate agents are facing a troubled future.
"Yesterday's Autumn Statement bombshell banning letting agents from charging upfront fees to tenants couldn't have come at a worse time for the sector. The trading statement presumably doesn't take stock of this change so we could see a greater adverse effect as a result," he added.

Iceland launches legal challenge over supermarket name

The Icelandic government is taking legal action against the supermarket chain Iceland in a trademark dispute over using the name, it has confirmed.
The store, which specialises in frozen food and has its head office in Deeside, Flintshire, has been trading under the name for 46 years.
It owns the European trademark for using the name Iceland, which Icelandic officials claim the firm defends "aggressively".
The company said it regretted the move.
The Nordic nation confirmed on Thursday that it had mounted a legal challenge against the food store at the European Union Intellectual Property Office.
It said it hoped to ensure "the right of Icelandic companies to use the word 'Iceland' in relation to their goods and services".

'Untenable situation'

In a government circular, officials stated: "The government of Iceland is concerned that our country's businesses are unable to promote themselves across Europe in association with their place of origin - a place of which we are rightly proud and enjoys a very positive national branding.
"This untenable situation has caused harm to Icelandic businesses, especially its small and growing companies."
The Icelandic government said it had made efforts to negotiate with Iceland Foods, but said it had been met with "unrealistic and unacceptable" demands.
The claim is disputed by the supermarket, which has more than 800 stores across the UK and employs more than 23,000 staff.
"Contrary to their assertion we have received no recent approaches to achieve an amicable resolution of this issue, which would be our preferred approach," a company official said.
The firm insisted it would "vigorously defend" its established rights, adding: "We have been trading successfully for 46 years under the name Iceland and do not believe that any serious confusion or conflict has ever arisen in the public mind, or is likely to do so.
"We hope that the government will contact us directly so that we may address their concerns."

Southern rail service hits national punctuality figures

Endless problems on trains services at Southern are dragging down national punctuality levels, according to the rail regulator.
A report by the Office of Rail and Road (ORR) describes overall punctuality and reliability across Britain as "mixed", but generally "poor".
The report covers the period from the start of April until mid-October.
It says the biggest drag on performance is Govia Thameslink Rail (GTR), which operates Southern trains.
Although this is only one franchise, because it carries a fifth of passengers in England and Wales it's big enough to warp the national stats.
All the rail companies are compared using something called the Public Performance Measure, or PPM. It mixes punctuality and reliability to come up with a percentage. The higher the number, the better the performance.
Adding the latest figures mean that for the year to mid-October, GTR managed a PPM of just 76%. The next worst was Virgin Trains East Coast, on 82.7%.
The best was c2c on 95.3%. The average across England and Wales was 87.7%, which is some way shy of the 92.5% it's meant to achieve by March 2019. It's currently 89.5% in Scotland, which has the same 2019 target.
While I'm dishing out the stats, I've got one more for you, but it's a goody. It all adds up to 454,594 late trains in Britain over the past 6 months. So presumably, around a million a year then.

A cocktail of problems

GTR has suffered from a cocktail of issues. On-board guards have been periodically on-strike since April, over changes to their role. The report also talks about "a significant increase in sickness amongst these staff".
It goes on to say, "this makes the service harder to operate even when there are no other problems on the network, and when an incident does occur recovering the service is much harder. So, while Network Rail is responsible for 58% of delay minutes impacting GTR services, this is being made worse by GTR's train crew problems".
Strike action and staff sickness are merely compounding other problems on differing parts of the franchise.
Network Rail is rebuilding London Bridge station to make way for a much-improved Thameslink service. But - and this is the understatement of the year - the work was more disruptive than anyone realised.
Experts predicted 10,000 delay minutes per year. In reality, it's caused 10,000 delay minutes per week.
Couple that with a shortage of drivers and you get Britain's worst rail service.

Some positives

The ORR report does have some positive things to say about Network Rail.
Health and safety performance is good. Renewal plans are ahead of target. And it's reached seven out of eight project delivery milestones, although that's after the new chairman had to scale back their ambitions earlier this year because they were slipping so far behind and so over budget.
Network Rail is also likely to miss the next delivery target for electrifying the line between Edinburgh and Glasgow.
The company had a big boost from Wednesday's Autumn Statement. It's been handed a £450m cheque to put in digital signals, which should make the whole network much more efficient.

IS conflict: Turkish soldiers killed in Syria attack

Three Turkish soldiers have been killed and 10 wounded in an attack in Syria, but reports differ about what happened.
Turkey's military said the soldiers had been targeted in a Syrian government air strike on Thursday, during an offensive by Turkish-backed rebels against so-called Islamic State.
However, a Syrian monitoring group said the deaths were caused by a suicide bomb attack on Wednesday claimed by IS.
Meanwhile a member of the US military has died while fighting against IS.
The soldier, who has not been named, died from wounds caused by an improvised explosive device in Ayn Issa, north of the IS stronghold Raqqa.
Officials gave no other information. It is not clear whether this was linked to the deaths of the Turkish soldiers.
Syria's military has not yet commented on the fate of the Turkish soldiers.


It would be the first time Turkish soldiers have been killed by Syrian government forces in the offensive, which Damascus has denounced as a "flagrant violation of Syrian sovereignty".
Dubbed Operation Euphrates Shield, the offensive was launched three months ago with the aim of pushing IS militants away from the Turkish border.
The Turkish government also wants to contain US-backed Syrian Kurdish Popular Protection Units (YPG) militia, which it says is an extension of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) in Turkey.
So far, the rebels have driven IS militants out of more than 1,800 sq km (694 sq miles) of territory, according to the Turkish military, and recaptured the key border town of Jarablus and the symbolically important village of Dabiq.
They are now besieging the town of al-Bab, the last IS stronghold in Aleppo province.
The Turkish military statement said the soldiers who were killed were deployed in northern Syria when they were targeted at about 03:30 (00:30 GMT) in an air strike that it "assessed to have been carried out by Syrian regime forces".
It did not give an exact location, but the state-run Anadolu news agency reported that it was close to al-Bab.
The dead and injured soldiers, one of whom was said to be in a critical condition, were taken to hospitals in the southern Turkish provinces of Kilis and Gaziantep.

Later on Thursday, the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights disputed the Turkish military's account, saying the soldiers had been killed an IS suicide bombing on Wednesday near the village of Waqqah, north-west of al-Bab.
IS also issued a statement saying it had carried out a suicide bombing on a Turkish army position near Waqqah on Wednesday evening that caused an unspecified number of casualties.
Its self-styled news agency, Amaq, released video footage of the attack showing an explosives-filled armoured vehicle driving towards the frontline and then exploding.
The three deaths mean that at least 15 Turkish soldiers have been killed since Operation Euphrates Shield began, according to AFP news agency. Most died in clashes with IS, but one was killed in an attack blamed on the YPG.

Australian IS recruiter Neil Prakash 'still alive'

An Australian militant thought dead is still alive and under arrest in the Middle East, according to reports.
The Australian government in May said Neil Prakash, a senior recruiter for the so-called Islamic State group, had been killed in a US air strike. He died in the Iraqi city of Mosul, Attorney-General George Brandis said at the time.
But the New York Times on Friday reported Prakash was still alive, citing senior US sources.
Prakash handed himself to Turkish authorities several weeks ago, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation said. 
Minister Assisting the Prime Minister for Counter-Terrorism, Michael Keenan, said the government could not comment on intelligence matters.
"The government reported Prakash's death in May on the basis of advice from the US government that he had been killed in an air strike," he said in a statement on Friday.
"But as we have said previously, the government's capacity to confirm reports of deaths in either Syria or Iraq is limited. These places are war zones, with many ungoverned spaces."

'Recruiter and attack facilitator'

Prakash, also known as Abu Khaled al-Cambodi, has been linked to attack plots in Australia and appeared in propaganda videos and magazines.
Using the acronym of the previous name of IS, Mr Brandis said in May that Prakash was a "prominent Isil member and a senior terrorist recruiter and attack facilitator".
"Prakash has been linked to several Australia-based attack plans and calls for lone-wolf attacks against the United States," he said.
"He has actively recruited Australian men, women and children, and encouraged acts of terrorism."
The Melbourne man, of Cambodian and Fijian heritage, converted to Islam from Buddhism in 2012. He left Australia for Syria in 2013.

Karan Johar finally ties the knot?

MUMBAI (Dunya News) – The name behind some of the greatest flicks in Bollywood history has finally tied the knot, however the wedding ceremony was not in real but instead performed on the sets of ‘The Kapil Sharma Show’. Everybody laughed their guts out the moment they saw the most bizarre couple at the sets of  famous Indian show.
The posts and pictures related to this unconventional marriage are viral over social media henceforth. It is pertinent to mention that the famous director has not worn the wedding ring as yet despite being 44 years old. 

Salman Ahmad cancels participation in Goa concert

LAHORE (Dunya News) - Junoon singer Salman Ahmad has cancelled his participation in a cultural concert in Indian city Goa. He announced the decision on Twitter. According to his tweet, Salman has opted out of the concert to protest the ongoing violence from India alongside Line of Control (LoC).

UN Secretary-General expresses concern over LoC situation

NEW YORK: UN Secretary-General Banki-Moon expressed serious concern over the prevailing situation at the Line of Control.
In a statement issued on Friday, the Secretary-General said he is “deeply concerned about the deterioration of the situation along the Line of Control in Kashmir in recent days.”
He called on “all involved to prioritise the restoration of calm and stability in order to prevent any further escalation and loss of life.”
The statement further said that “the Secretary-General trusts that the Republic of India and the Islamic Republic of Pakistan can find common ground and work towards a sustainable peace.”
“The United Nations stands by the people of the region and supports all efforts to reach durable peace and security,” the statement concluded.

Mr Trump to Mr President

In mid-2015 when he started his presidential campaign, many would hardly believe he was a runner for the top US slot. As a businessman, author, TV host, entertainer; Donald Trump’s life is a jumble of successes and failures.
Born on 14th of June 1946, Trump inherited real estate business from his father Frederick Christ "Fred" Trump who was an American real estate developer and philanthropist. In 1971, Trump was given control of his father’s business and he renamed it as Trump Organization. He took part in large construction projects and by 1973, Trump became president of the Trump Organization -- overseeing company's 14,000 apartments across the country.
Trump built his 58-story Trump Tower, a skyscraper in the middle of Manhattan in 1982; and wrote his first book “the art of the deal” that earned him millions besides fame and pride. By end-80s, his repute led to depiction of villain in the hit movie -- “back to the future-2”.
He then incepted Trump Airline and a ferry service called Trump’s Princess. Later in 1988, Trump acquired the Taj Mahal Casino in Atlantic City, New Jersey. Built at the cost of $1.1 billion, Taj Mahal was opened in April 1990 and was tagged as the most expensive casino. 
Trump’s transitory downfall began in October 1991, when he ceded fifty percent casino ownership to the bondholders in exchange for lowered interest rates. With a financial crunch in real estate, he sold out his airline and yatch and instead invested in entertainment.
Trump owned part or all of Miss Universe, Miss USA and Miss Teen USA beauty pageants. In 2000, he started his TV show “the apprentice”, became executive producer besides hosting NBC’s reality show.
Trump is a WWE (World Wrestling Entertainment) fan and a friend of WWE owner Vince McMahon. He has hosted two Wrestle Mania events in the Trump Plaza and has been an active participant in several of it’s shows. He authored another book, “the art of comeback’’, in which he described how he fought with difficulties and reemerged. 
Trump’s political career has had lacked consistency. Beginning in 1987 as Republican, he switched to Reform Party in 1999; from 2001 to 2009, he again joined the Republican camp. Trumps real ambitions for presidency started in 1988.
In June 2015, Trump once again announced his bid for presidency, with his early drive targeting illegal immigrants and Muslims. Trump remained in the world headlines for his aggressive statements against his rival Hillary Clinton. He faced stark criticism for bragging about women and was considered a non-serious candidate.
But the eve of Nov. 08 not only stunned America but the entire world as Trump’s ballot boxes contained majority votes. This shock is persistent even today, and in many parts of the US it has turned into anger and frustration.
Across the globe, a number of countries are keeping their fingers crossed. Though Sino US relations are important but Chinese media termed Trump victory as political shock, but Trump as ‘not bold enough’ to carry out his election pledges.  It is also reported that Beijing is preparing its strategy to coup with a possible trade war with Trump administration, and it may be a tit for tat reply.
 Unlike China, India is happy and in fact it is willing to make Trump era as India-US era. Trump Organization has some business investments in India with a multi-story Trump tower in Pune. On its part, Pakistan is pursuing a wait-and-see policy. Pakistanis considerably backed Hillary due to Trump’s Muslim-bashing and India-tilt as well.
Donald Trump will take charge of his office early next year; the US and the world has to withstand the 70-year unpredictable leader.

More than three quarters of $46 billion of the planned Chinese-led investment in Pakistan will be implemented by next year as part of the world’s second-largest economy’s flagship Silk Road plan.
“Out of this $46 billion, we have been so far able to energize about $35 billion,” Pakistan’s Planning, Development and Reforms Minister Ahsan Iqbal said in an interview in London. “By energising means these are projects either in advanced implementation or in a stage of financial closing.”
It’s part of an initiative the Chinese government calls “One Belt, One Road 
” that aims to revive trade across Central Asia and into Europe via a network of railways, ports and highways.
About $11 billion had been allocated to infrastructure projects including roads, with concessional loans provided at about 2 per cent with payback in 20 years, along with a five-year grace period, said Iqbal, who is heading investment plans in Pakistan.
The rest has been earmarked for generating electricity, with about 11,000 megawatts expected to be added by 2018 to end Pakistan’s  chronic power outages. In September, Iqbal said, a further $8 billion would be provided by China and the Asian Development Bank to update Pakistan’s dilapidated railway network.
He said the government also expected to privatize state-owned power distribution companies after the 2018 elections, when Nawaz Sharif will go to the polls again in a bid for a successive term. Pakistan’s growth will rise to 5.5 per cent in the current year ending June helped by these investments and between 5.5 to 6 per cent next year, he said.
Iqbal played down security concerns that have plagued the investment plans after recent attacks in Balochistan which is the final road towards the flagship port of Gwadar. The first consignment of Chinese goods was shipped from the port this month after trucks from China made 3,000km journey from Xinjiang.  
“We have raised a special force of about 9,000-plus personnel that has been specially created to augment the present security apparatus in the country,” he said.
--Originally published in The News

Imran gears up for aggressive Panama Leaks battle, outside the Supreme Court

Imran Khan intends to fight a decisive battle against Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif over Panama Leaks both in the Supreme Court as well as on the media, armed with his firebrand team of lawyers cum television hosts. 
An indication why he and veteran lawyer Hamid Khan could not get along.

With the trio of senior lawyers Babar Awan and Naeem Bokhari and television host Fawad Choudhry as the party's main spokesman, Imran clearly made his intention clear as how he wants to contest the Panama case, inside and outside the Supreme Court, something which Hamid Khan had opposed.
It appears as Imran now wants to become more aggressive outside the court and would create media hype through faces known to the media, who also do their own shows. 
While Naeem Bokhari, is not doing any talk-shows at the moment but he is an articulate host. Both Babar Awan and Fawad Choudhry also do their own shows on two different television channels. Besides this they regularly appear on television channels as analysts.
With Hamid Khan out of the picture and his trusted aide Naeem-ul-Haque placed at an arm’s length, and Fawad Chaudhry as the go-to person for the media— Imran’s anxiety in this case is visible.
How much will this strategy work out depends on what happens inside the Supreme Court in the next Panama Leaks hearing on November 30? It would be interesting to watch the trio of Bokhari, Awan and Choudhry.
Imran’s planned strategy seems to keep the issue alive. Even if the party faces a setback inside the Supreme Court, the trio would be able to hold their heads high outside the court.
Babar Awan and Fawad Choudhry are considered to have close links with the Pakistan People’s Party. They can become a bridge between the PPP and PTI. Bilawal Bhutto Zardari sent a goodwill message to Fawad, while the new PTI leader regards Bilawal as a visionary leader.               
It is also interesting to note that Imran had given preference to Awan over Aitzaz Ahsan, who too has been giving PTI Chairman free legal advice. Awan had not only defended Zardari and Benazir Bhutto's 'Swiss Account' case but is also PPP lawyer in the petition demanding 're-trial' of Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto's alleged judicial murder.     
Sources said while Imran personally was more in favor of Aitzaz and had publicly appreciated his position, he did not support the move of fighting the case in the Parliament and as Joint Opposition, which Aitzaz always pleaded.
This is the decisive phase or final innings in Imran Khan's politics before the next general elections after his back to back setbacks since Judicial Commission findings over election rigging.
Imran's differences within PTI, is also quite known as Hamid Khan belong to the group which had supported former PTI Chief Election Commission, retired Justice Wahjiuddin's ruling on party's election rigging against Jehangir Tareen and others. 
After Hamid Khan distanced himself from Panama case, Imran got so frustrated that he indirectly hit back to Hamid, by saying, “I had won several matches with weak teams as well." 
This itself was admitting that his present legal team was “weak” despite being competent.
After these changes in the PTI approach it is no more a mystery why Hamid Khan had disassociated himself as he believes that the case in the Supreme Court, could only be won if fought professionally and not politically.
Babar Awan's choice was never an easy decision for Imran, because of their past differences. Awan defended Benazir-Zardari's 'Swiss account' case and his position remains unchanged, while Imran still believes they transferred money in Swiss banks. Yet, the two come on one page over Panama Leaks. But, what will happen if both Imran and Awan would meet the press, and be asked about Swiss accounts? 
Imran likes the aggression in Babar Awan, the reason for his liking of veteran Sheikh Rahseed Ahmad was also for the same reason. But, will they be able to deliver?
While Mr Naeem Bokhari, who has recently joined PTI, will be the lead lawyer in this case, all eyes would be on the role of PPP's associated leader, still considered close to former President, Asif Ali Zardari. 
Interestingly, Babar Awan is not only veteran in his field but is also known to the media for more than one reason.  
It would be quite interesting if Awan had taken Zardari into confidence in taking PTI's case particularly at a time when some PPP leaders like Latif Khosa had termed PTI’s case as weak.
Bilawal demanded Sharif to accept his four demands before December 27, and return of Zardari by the second week of December.
Awan also has the capacity to bridge the gap between Imran Khan and Zardari, but at what cost. Imran believe that both Sharif and Zardari had looted Pakistan while Awan has given a clean chit to PPP leader in Swiss case.
But, Awan also knows that Zardari has amazing flexibility in politics but always plays his cards according to the situation. If today, he criticized Imran in his interview with Hamid Mir, he would not hesitate in meeting him, if situation demanded.
Problem would be on Imran's side as he has hired a lawyer, who would be trying to proof a Panama Leaks case against Sharif, without supporting the perception that both Sharif and Zardari are corrupt.    
There has been lot of diversity in Imran Khan's approach towards politics and like his marriage's track record his political track record is also marred with controversies. 
PTI has also taken a risk by hiring Awan, as he has strained relations with the judiciary since the days of the former Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry due to which once he was even suspended by the SC.
His presence may further dilute the presence of Naeem Bokhari, who otherwise has a charming personality and also known to media, but, is soft as compared to Awan.
During the very first hearing of the case it was clear that Imran is not happy with Hamid Khan, when they came out from the Supreme Court, PTI Chairman looked quite anxious as to why the SC, did not start day to day hearing and was advised by Hamid Khan, to wait for the reply from Sharif.
So, one wonders whether the real reason was media or PTI for Hamid Khan, as it is now clear that Imran wants to take on both fronts and is not happy with the performance of Hamid Khan. With the kind of evidence submitted by PTI, in the case what additional evidence will Awan submit? 
It appears that PTI's legal team may do three things in the next hearing. (1) Oppose the formation of Judicial Commission and may ask the bench to hear the case, and, (2) may request the SC to summon the Prince of Qatar. (3) Reopen the LNG case and its link with Saifur Rehman.     
Hamid Khan shoul d not have any complaint against the media, which by and large has supported Imran and PTI's position over 'Panama’, and some have even become the 'judges rather journalists.' So, it is better if Hamid Khan, should look towards problems within the party of not providing him enough material other than press clippings, TV talk shows and some excerpts from Asad Kharral's book.   
PTI and Imran Khan, have certainly made 'Panama papers' a national issue against Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, as it all came by chance and he used it quite well except that by creating too much media hype he raised his own party and media's expectation about the possible outcome. 
What if they lose this case? What will be PTI's politics in the post Panama case? Will the initiative shift to the PPP which is gearing up for the movement in 2017, the year of election campaign.

How PM picks army chief

ISLAMABAD: This was a dull morning of November 27, 2013. Khawaja Asif and Pervez Rashid were asked to rush to the prime minister house. Neither of them knew why they had been summoned. (Umar Cheema)



hey exchanged notes to determine the probable reason. The situation that unfolded later proved all their guesses wrong. Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif met them in the porch. He was visibly composed and relatively quiet. He had made important decisions that nobody from the cabinet knew. A car approached them. The PM and his confidants boarded it and the cavalcade moved towards Punjab House.
Nawaz Sharif was going to share his best-kept secret: the new army chief. However, before doing that, he thought to start from what he had decided about the accompanying colleagues. He turned to Khawaja Asif sitting in the back seat, “Khawaja Sahb: I have appointed you the defense minister.” It was quite surprising for the both cabinet members travelling with him. Khawaja Asif already had the portfolio of the water and power.
How this decision would be interpreted by the stakeholders was the most important question. Incidentally, weeks before, Khawaja Asif had been put off the camera telecasting the coverage of a military parade he had attended along with the PM.
However, before the wisdom behind the PM decision could be ascertained, another announcement came. Senator Pervez Rashid was the person being addressed this time. “Pervez Sahb, I have given you the additional portfolio of the Law Ministry,” the PM said.
Neither Khawaja Asif nor Pervez Rashid had any previous experience of the newly assigned ministries. The defense assignment was critical due to the political reasons. The portfolio of law and justice had its own challenges. A lawmaker of legal background is allotted this assignment.
Neither of them asked why they’re picked. The question-answer session had yet to start. The PM then answered the million dollars question: “Who will replace Gen. Ashfaq Pervez Kayani? Raheel Sharif will be the next army chief,” the PM told his colleagues.
This was the first time any cabinet member had come to know about the new chief and it was the most surprising decision he had shared with his colleagues. One of them had heard his name for the first time.
Incidentally, all three of them had suffered terrible ordeals after the military takeover of Gen Pervez Musharraf. They had spent the worst times of their lives together in the Attock Fort. Questions were many and the answers were awaited.
Here they broke the silence. “How did you come to this decision,” one of them asked. “We want to know the plausible reason to our satisfaction,” he continued. And the PM was ready to answer.
“I had interviewed three generals for this slot,” Nawaz Sharif told his colleagues. The interviews with two of them followed by lobbying through strong but notorious references who would approach me for pressing on the selection of their favourites, he further explained. If the people with tainted background are their referees, the PM wondered, what kind of these generals would be.
The situation was different in the case of Gen Raheel Sharif. He didn’t either flatter me or promise anything beyond the call of his duty during the course of interview, the PM told his colleagues. Also, no person had approached me for recommending his candidature, he further explained. Rahil Sharif’s family background further convinced me to conclude the selection process, the PM said, adding the decision was made purely on merit.
Meanwhile, they reached Punjab House where Shehbaz Sharif, Ch Nisar, Lt Gen (R) Abdul Qadir Baloch, Khawaja Saad Rafique and Ahsan Iqbal were present. The PM shared these decisions with them too.

As the hunt is on for new army chief and hectic lobbying is in progress, there are several three-star generals in the race. What will be the merit this time depends on the experience that Nawaz Sharif has had with Gen Raheel Sharif. Sincerity with the civilian administration will take precedence over the seniority list. This is what has been the consideration of every PM; they faced different consequences though.

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