Engineer The World

2017 will go down in history as the year mainstream discourse on sexual violence was finally forced to confront the universal impunity enjoyed by perpetrators of assault. Unfortunately, these global developments have failed to trigger any corresponding debate on the inability of Pakistan’s criminal justice system to provide redress to survivors. In a country where conviction rates for rape are less than 4% and the National Police Bureau records an average of over 3,000 reported cases every year, the need for gender-sensitive legal and policy reform has never been more critical. In recent years, any attempts to end impunity have focused on the introduction of piece-meal legislation, which whilst important for political visibility of the women’s movement, has failed to translate into increased conviction rates. Related: Female Pakistani journalists share stories of harassment at the workplace Key amongst the reasons underlying the limited impact of legislative developments in s...

For decades, experts have warned that older Americans are taking too many unnecessary drugs, often prescribed by multiple doctors, for dubious or unknown reasons. Researchers estimate that 25 percent of people aged 65 to 69 take at least five prescription drugs to treat chronic conditions, a figure that jumps to nearly 46 percent for those between 70 and 79. Doctors say it is not uncommon to encounter patients taking more than 20 drugs to treat acid reflux, heart disease, depression or insomnia or other disorders. Unlike the overuse of opioid painkillers, the polypharmacy problem has attracted little attention, even though its hazards are well documented. But some doctors are working to reverse the trend. At least 15 percent of seniors seeking care annually from doctors or hospitals have suffered a medication problem; in half of these cases, the problem is believed to be potentially preventable. Studies have linked polypharmacy to unnecessary death. Older patients, who have greate...

Putting an end to confusion surrounding the future leadership of the embattled PML-N, former prime minister Nawaz Sharif told party aides on Wednesday that Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif would be the party's candidate for premiership in the upcoming General Election. Expressing confidence in his younger brother, Nawaz said that Shahbaz had never disappointed him or the party, and had risen to prominence because of his hard work and performance. The former prime minister made the remarks during a meeting at his Jati Umra residence yesterday. He said that although Shahbaz may have had a difference in opinion over certain matters, he never violated party discipline and never refused to accept what Nawaz told him. Nawaz added that at times he accepted Shahbaz's suggestions as well. "I had to take Pervez Musharraf's call condoling our father's death upon Shahbaz's insistence," he said. Read:  The unmaking of Nawaz Sharif Sources claimed that Na...

Prince Harry, Meghan Markle to marry on May 19 Prince Harry and Meghan Markle will marry in St. George's Chapel at Windsor Castle on May 19 the same day as one of the biggest English sports events of the year, the FA Cup final. The date was confirmed Friday by the prince's Kensington Palace office. While most British royal weddings are on weekdays, this one is a Saturday, and the same day as the soccer showdown at London's Wembley Stadium. Harry's grandmother Queen Elizabeth II and other royals are expected to attend the wedding, along with Markle's parents, Thomas Markle and Doria Ragland. The climax of soccer's oldest cup competition could present a distraction for guests at the royal reception, although the events should at least be at different times. The FA Cup competition, which is open to hundreds of teams all the way from the top-ranked Premier League down to amateur clubs, began in August and is played every month until two teams meet in the f...

Weapons used by IS in Syria and Iraq traced to US, Saudi Arabia: report Arms provided by the United States and Saudi Arabia to Syrian opposition groups often ended up in the hands of the militant Islamic State (IS) group, according to a report by the UK-based organisation Conflict Armament Research (CAR). "Iraq and Syria have seen IS forces use large numbers of weapons, supplied by states such as Saudi Arabia and the United States, against the various international anti-IS coalitions that the two states support," reads the study published on Thursday. The report, "Weapons of the Islamic State — a three-year investigation in Iraq and Syria", is the result of more than three years of field investigation into IS supply chains and presents an analysis of more than 40,000 items recovered from the group between 2014 and 2017. These items include weapons, ammunition, and the traceable components and chemical precursors used by the group to manufacture improvised explo...

World Bank’s role in drafting Pakistan's oil exploration law stuns senators ISLAMABAD: An admission by a federal minister on the role of the World Bank in drafting of a law about apportionment of the country’s natural resources took senators by surprise on Wed­nes­day, prompting the Senate chairman to seek a written response from the petroleum ministry about the extent to which the bank was involved in the matter. Winding up a discussion on an adjournment motion about the recent move by the federal government to delink the petroleum and natural gas regulator from provincial oversight in direct violation of the Constitution, Minis­ter of State for Petroleum Jam Kamal Khan conceded that the draft Pakistan Petroleum Explo­ration and Production Regu­la­tory Authority bill had been prepared by a World Bank consultant and that it had been placed before the Council of Common Interests (CCI). He, however, emphasised that it was merely a draft law and would be given a final shape in co...

Imran Khan not out, Jahangir Tareen disqualified for life: Supreme Court The Supreme Court on Friday handed down its much-awaited judgement in the Imran Khan, Jahangir Tareen disqualification case, rejecting Hanif Abbasi's petition for Khan's disqualification but disqualifying Jahangir Tareen for life. The verdict was announced in Courtroom No. 1 by a three-judge bench comprising Chief Justice Nisar, Justice Umar Ata Bandial and Justice Faisal Arab. 'Imran not out' The chief justice, reading out the judgement in the packed courtroom, said the court had found that Khan was not liable to declare offshore company Niazi Services Ltd in his 2013 nomination papers as he was not a shareholder or director of the company. The court's detailed judgement noted that the money trail provided by Imran Khan sufficiently covered the Bani Gala property's purchase price, the funds provided by Jemima Goldsmith, Khan's ex-wife, and the proceeds from the sale of Khan...

CANVAS: BIG DATA AND ART Hedge funds and some of the world’s biggest banks have embraced the predictive properties of machine learning to spot patterns and guide their investment decisions. Could this branch of artificial intelligence be used to divine the vagaries of the art market? A New York start-up says it can. Arthena analyses hundreds of thousands of data points on artworks —artist, style, medium, size and so forth. Adding a touch of human insight, the company picks pieces it says will generate handsome returns for investors. Arthena manages several funds, ranging from low-risk ones that invest in modern art to higher-risk funds that buy works from emerging artists. Valuing art is inherently subjective, and many experts are sceptical that it can be profitably bought and sold by the numbers. But Arthena co-founder and Chief Executive Officer Madelaine d’Angelo said, “Arthena could shed light on a market where deals are often done privately, lower the barriers to entry and he...

Analysis: Jerusalem and the remaining naysayers Pakistan has been upright and principled in slamming US President Donald Trump’s recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. What happens next, however, given history’s amazing somersaults? What if the way ahead becomes less conducive to its best interests or, as they say, the political ground shifts from under its feet? Consider a quick glance at how some seemingly fundamental beliefs have mutated in South Asia and the Middle East. There was a time when the mere announcement of a US arms sale to Saudi Arabia would send Isra­eli and Indian diplomats heading to the State Department to lodge their protests. Giora Becher, Israel’s first envoy to India in 1992, wondered why the two didn’t share a cab. There was a time when Pakistan was courting Libya, not Saudi Arabia, as its oil-rich Arab ally. Lahore Stadium became Qadhafi Stadium in 1974. King Faisal mosque was inaugurated in Islamabad 12 years later. The war in Afghanistan cha...

The United States stood alone on Friday as one after another fellow UN Security Council members criticised its decision to recognise Jerusalem as Israel's capital. The debate unfolded at a largely symbolic emergency meeting of the council — no vote on a resolution was planned, as the US has veto power — two days after President Donald Trump reversed two decades of US policy on the holy city. The meeting was convened by no fewer than eight of the 14 non-US members of the council. This seemed a vivid show of the discord triggered by Trump's announcement, which included plans to move the US embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. Asked what he expected to come from the UN meeting, one diplomat said: “Nothing.” Another said the session would show the US “isolation” on the issue. The British ambassador to the UN, Matthew Rycroft, said flat out that Britain disagrees with Trump's move on Jerusalem and the embassy location. “These decisions are unhelpful for the pros...

As a Pakistani who immigrated to Canada, I had always pledged to myself that the first country I would travel to after acquiring citizenship and a Canadian passport would be Israel. Having heard stories of the Holy Land from friends, my excitement knew no bounds. That said, I was apprehensive aplenty because I had heard accounts of people who were denied entry by Israeli customs owing to their Pakistani and/or Muslim background. On Feb 17, 2016, loaded with prayers and advice, I embarked on a British Airways flight to Israel. I arrived at the Ben Gurion airport in Tel Aviv at 5am local time. Upon arriving at the Israeli customs, an officer interrogated me in a sombre voice: Do I know anybody in Israel? Do I know Arabic? Have I ever been to the Middle East? He also asked to see my Pakistani passport, which I wasn't carrying with me since it had expired. Taking my Canadian passport, he pointed me towards a waiting area. I had earlier anticipated such a scenario and hence had bro...

Rising prevalence of ATM fraud­ THE recent ATM card skimming incident is a wake-up call for banks in Pakistan to ensure their customer’s data security against all possible threats. The central bank, on its part, has reminded banks of their responsibility to implement all regulations of Payments Card Security (PCS) that it introduced back in June 2016. Habib Bank Ltd, the bank whose depositors’ ATM cards were skimmed, has started compensating the affected customers. And the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) is now investigating the matter. Customers’ data security is one of the biggest challenges that banks the world over face. All central banks continue to strengthen regulations aimed at preventing a security breach Customer data security is one of the biggest challenges that banks the world over face. And all central banks continue to strengthen regulations aimed at preventing a security breach. But Pakistani banks have now become even more vulnerable. “We not only face th...

THE decision may have been unexpected, but the reaction wasn’t. US President Donald Trump’s announcement of recognising Jerusalem as Israel’s capital and initiating the move of the US embassy to that holy and hotly disputed city has elicited much sound and fury, much protest and denunciation. There is no shortage of analysis of what the likely short- and long-term effects of this decision will be, but less focus has been given to what considerations prompted this decision in the first place. Also read: Trump's recognition of Jerusalem will not bring peace to Israel — quite the opposite As Trump correctly pointed out, the legal cover for this move had been provided in 1995 when the US Congress passed the Jerusalem embassy act, calling for relocating the US embassy in Israel to Jerusalem by May 31st, 1999. That this never actually happened is because successive presidents chose to exercise their waivers in a nod to the enduring tenets of US foreign policy. What prompted the J...