The leader of a religious party that called for the execution of Asia Bibi has been arrested along with hundreds of supporters in a crackdown on hardliners who have repeatedly held Pakistan's government to ransom.
Khadim Hussain Rizvi was detained on Friday night as his Tehreek-e-Labbaik (TLP) party planned another round of protests which have brought the country to a standstill.
As arrests continued during Saturday, police said up to 300 of his supporters were being held.
The TLP nearly paralysed Pakistan in the days after Asia Bibi, a Christian woman held for nearly a decade on death row, was acquitted of blasphemy late last month, after it called its protestors out to block major roads. Schools and offices were closed and commerce along major highways was halted.
The demonstrators had called for the deaths of the judges who quashed Ms Bibi's conviction for blasphemy and had called on soldiers to mutiny against the army.
Three days of disruption only ended when Imran Khan's government cut a deal promising to allow the TLP to petition against Ms Bibi's release. She remains hidden under state protection but is unable to leave the country until the petition has been heard by the supreme court.
Mr Rizvi was taken into “protective custody” ahead of a rally planned for Sunday in Rawalpindi, Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry said.
"The action was prompted by TLP's refusal to withdraw its call for protest on November 25. It’s to safeguard public life, property and order."
He said the crackdown was unrelated to Ms Bibi's case and the TLP had become “a continuous threat to the life and properties of the citizens and is doing politics under the guise of religion.
“The situation is fully under control, people should remain peaceful and fully cooperate with authorities," he continued.
The TLP party was formed in 2015 to campaign against reforms to Pakistan's harsh blasphemy laws and in support of Mumtaz Qadri, who was executed for killing the Punjab governor who wanted to help Ms Bibi.
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Asia Bibi: Pakistan court acquits Christian woman on death row for blasphemy
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The party has since become notorious for its ability to mobilise street protests and force the government to back down. It blocked a major Islamabad intersection for three weeks last year calling for the sacking of the then law minister for omitting a reference to the Prophet Muhammad in a new version of the electoral oath. The minister was eventually removed.
The party had also threatened another wave of protests in August after the far-right Dutch anti-immigration politician Geert Wilders said he would hold a cartoon drawing contest of the Prophet. The TLP had called for the expulsion of the Dutch ambassador and for diplomatic ties with the Netherlands to be severed. Mr Wilders eventually cancelled the contest.
The TLP has also vowed to return to the streets if Ms Bibi is ever allowed to leave the country and claim asylum abroad.
Mr Wilders said: “Fantastic news that Khadim Hussain Rizvi, who put a fatwa on my head, is finally arrested in Pakistan. I hope he will be jailed for the rest of his life. Good riddance!”
Earlier on Friday, Mr Rizvi had reportedly ordered his supporters to take to the streets if he was arrested.
His son said police had raided his Lahore religious school late on Friday evening.
"Police raided our madrassa and arrested our revered leader," Saad Rizvi told Reuters by telephone.
There were fears the arrest could spark violence from his supporters, but any protests on Friday night appeared small.
Legal sources say there is little chance Pakistan's supreme court will reverse its acquittal of Asia Bibi, meaning she will almost certainly be freed to leave the country at some point.
She and her family have said they can no longer live in Pakistan and are understood to have been granted asylum in several European countries.
A UK church charity last week said her family were being pursued by vigilantes in Pakistan as they await her release from custody.
Hardline Islamists have been going door-to-door in the neighbourhood where her husband and daughters live, raising fears for their safety while they await her fate.
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Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
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Tiger:independent, successful, volatile
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Dragon:prosperous, brave, rash
Snake:calm, thoughtful, stubborn
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Sheep:easy-going, peacemaker, curious
Monkey:family-orientated, clever, playful
Rooster:honest, confident, pompous
Dog:loyal, kind, perfectionist
Boar:loving, tolerant, indulgent
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7.30pm: Zakher Lake – Rated Conditions (TB) Dh80,000 (T) 1,400m; Winner: Alfareeq, Dane O’Neill, Musabah Al Muhairi.
Bharatanatyam
A ancient classical dance from the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Intricate footwork and expressions are used to denote spiritual stories and ideas.
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4 Warren Buffett $83 billion
5 Amancio Ortega $67.9 billion
6 Mark Zuckerberg $67.3 billion
7 Larry Page $56.8 billion
8 Larry Ellison $56.1 billion
9 Sergey Brin $55.2 billion
10 Carlos Slim $55.2 billion
Tax authority targets shisha levy evasion
The Federal Tax Authority will track shisha imports with electronic markers to protect customers and ensure levies have been paid.
Khalid Ali Al Bustani, director of the tax authority, on Sunday said the move is to "prevent tax evasion and support the authority’s tax collection efforts".
The scheme’s first phase, which came into effect on 1st January, 2019, covers all types of imported and domestically produced and distributed cigarettes. As of May 1, importing any type of cigarettes without the digital marks will be prohibited.
He said the latest phase will see imported and locally produced shisha tobacco tracked by the final quarter of this year.
"The FTA also maintains ongoing communication with concerned companies, to help them adapt their systems to meet our requirements and coordinate between all parties involved," he said.
As with cigarettes, shisha was hit with a 100 per cent tax in October 2017, though manufacturers and cafes absorbed some of the costs to prevent prices doubling.
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