Pakistan sentences militants involved in school attack to death



ISLAMABAD // Pakistan’s army on Thursday announced the death penalty for six militants linked to an assault on a school in the northwestern city of Peshawar that killed 151 people, mainly students, in the country’s deadliest terror attack.

The men were convicted by military courts established after the December 16 siege last year, while a seventh man was handed a life sentence.

“The convicts were given fair trial by following all the legal formalities and offering/providing them legal aid and defence counsels. Today the sentences of death have been confirmed by the Chief of Army Staff,” a statement issued on the military’s website said, adding they had a right to appeal.

The statement listed the convicts by name and carried a brief description of how each had carried out various tasks such as collecting funds, transporting or harbouring suicide bombers for the attack.

The army also announced it would execute another man for carrying out an attack on soldiers in the city of Karachi in March that killed three.

The attack on the Army Public School in Peshawar led to widespread outrage, with officials announcing a slew of measures aimed at combating terror.

The government lifted a six-year moratorium on executions — initially only for people convicted of terrorism but later extended to all capital offences, with around 180 hanged so far.

Pakistan also amended its constitution to allow military courts to try terror suspects. Despite previously having specific antiterror courts, cases dragged on for many years and many suspects escaped punishment due to legal loopholes or lack of witnesses, who would often not appear out of fear of repercussions from militant groups.

In February, the military spokesman Asim Bajwa said the army had taken 12 Taliban members into custody in connection with the school attack, adding that 27 conspirators were involved in total.

The military courts handed down their first death sentences to six militants in April for various “heinous” offences relating to terrorism, kidnappings and suicide bombings.

But the courts have also been criticised for their lack of transparency, and their legality was challenged in the country’s Supreme Court.

The challenge was overruled last week, with Chief Justice Nasir-ul-Mulk ruling that the judiciary did not have the power to strike down constitutional amendments made by the elected parliament.

Pakistan has been battling a home-grown insurgency for over a decade following its decision to side with the US-led coalition against the Taliban in Afghanistan.

Its troops have been engaged in a full-scale offensive against Taliban and other militants in North Waziristan and Khyber tribal districts since June last year.

At the time of the Peshawar attack, the Taliban said it was retaliation for the army’s continuing operation against militants in the tribal areas.

* Agence France-Presse

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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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Who inspires you?

I am in awe of the remarkable women in the Arab region, both big and small, pushing boundaries and becoming role models for generations. Emily Nasrallah was a writer, journalist, teacher and women’s rights activist

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