Opposition rallies in Pakistan attracted huge crowds over the weekend, mounting the biggest political test of Imran Khan's tenure and the largest challenge to the country's military establishment in years.
Gatherings in Gujranwala and Karachi drew tens of thousands calling for Mr Khan's removal and decrying military interference in Pakistan's politics.
The gatherings heard unprecedented direct attacks on the sitting army chief, accusing him of plotting to have former prime minister Nawaz Sharif ousted and Mr Khan elected.
The Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM), a newly formed alliance of 11 opposition parties, has vowed to continue rallies and marches to turn up pressure on Mr Khan's government. The bloc, which includes Mr Sharif's large Pakistan Muslim League (PML-N) and the Pakistan People's Party (PPP), hopes to take advantage of public anger at rising food prices and economic gloom.
Political temperatures rose further on Monday morning when police seized the husband of Maryam Nawaz, the daughter and political heir of the former three-time premier Mr Sharif. Muhammad Safdar was arrested after complaints from Mr Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI) party that he had raised political slogans at the mausoleum of Pakistan's founder, Muhammad Ali Jinnah.
Speaking by videoconference from London, Mr Sharif told crowds at Gujranwala stadium on Friday night that Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa, the chief of army staff, "will have to be accountable" for bringing Mr Khan to power.
Two days later, his daughter used the Karachi gathering to say Mr Khan had "snatched jobs from people" and "snatched two-times-a-day food from the people".
Pakistan's opposition has been cowed and harried since the 2018 election, in which Mr Khan campaigned on promises to punish what he said was a venal elite looting the country. Leaders have been pursued by anti-corruption courts and Mr Sharif now refuses to return after being let out of prison to receive medical treatment in Britain. Anti-graft investigators last week issued arrest warrants for former PPP president Asif Ali Zardari over suspected money laundering. The opposition says the cases are a politically-motivated witch hunt.
Pakistan's military has ruled the country directly, or from behind the scenes, for much of the nation's history. The PDM's decision to challenge the military itself leaves it charting a difficult course in a country where troops and generals command widespread public respect.
Farzana Shaikh, a Pakistan expert at the Chatham House think tank, said the movement was not yet as significant a challenge to military power as 1980s protests led by former prime minister Benazir Bhutto. Yet the singling out of a sitting army chief for such public criticism was a first, she said.
Attendees at the rally in Gujranwala, a PML-N stronghold, appeared more angry at Mr Khan for his failure to rein in runaway price hikes than at possible military flouting of the constitution.
Food price inflation hit nearly 15 per cent last month and one in five Pakistanis have had to borrow food or ask friends or relatives for help, according to Gallup polling.
Waqar Ahmad, a shopkeeper, said he voted for Mr Khan in 2018 but had become disillusioned with his handling of the economy.
"It's the price hikes, its's the inflation," he told The National. "I voted PTI for some relief, but things have only got worse. Nawaz Sharif may have been corrupt but he did some good work."
"We are here to send Imran Khan home," added another attendee, Mohammad Rafiq. "The rich are getting richer and the poor are getting poorer."
Mr Khan has shrugged off the protests, saying the opposition leaders are crooks trying to use their parties' street power to press for an amnesty, which he will never grant.
The PML-N and PPP leadership's history of making deals with the military made the goals of their alliance bloc difficult to predict, said Dr Shaikh.
"We are waiting to see whether or not this show of force can really build up in terms of a major movement, or whether it is to send a message to the military establishment that we are ready to sit down and do a deal, but the present situation of harassing and hounding has to stop."
For the military's part, it is likely to try to split off parts of the PDM to undermine the opposition's united front.
"I still believe that the dice are always loaded in favour of the military in Pakistan," she said.
"I really don't see this movement as one to signify a major shift in the balance of power."
Specs%20
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MATCH INFO
Norwich City 1 (Cantwell 75') Manchester United 2 (Aghalo 51' 118') After extra time.
Man of the match Harry Maguire (Manchester United)
The Vile
Starring: Bdoor Mohammad, Jasem Alkharraz, Iman Tarik, Sarah Taibah
Director: Majid Al Ansari
Rating: 4/5
Ms Yang's top tips for parents new to the UAE
- Join parent networks
- Look beyond school fees
- Keep an open mind
MATCH INFO
Syria v Australia
2018 World Cup qualifying: Asia fourth round play-off first leg
Venue: Hang Jebat Stadium, Malayisa
Kick-off: Thursday, 4.30pm (UAE)
Watch: beIN Sports HD
* Second leg in Australia on October 10
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The more serious side of specialty coffee
While the taste of beans and freshness of roast is paramount to the specialty coffee scene, so is sustainability and workers’ rights.
The bulk of genuine specialty coffee companies aim to improve on these elements in every stage of production via direct relationships with farmers. For instance, Mokha 1450 on Al Wasl Road strives to work predominantly with women-owned and -operated coffee organisations, including female farmers in the Sabree mountains of Yemen.
Because, as the boutique’s owner, Garfield Kerr, points out: “women represent over 90 per cent of the coffee value chain, but are woefully underrepresented in less than 10 per cent of ownership and management throughout the global coffee industry.”
One of the UAE’s largest suppliers of green (meaning not-yet-roasted) beans, Raw Coffee, is a founding member of the Partnership of Gender Equity, which aims to empower female coffee farmers and harvesters.
Also, globally, many companies have found the perfect way to recycle old coffee grounds: they create the perfect fertile soil in which to grow mushrooms.
Will the pound fall to parity with the dollar?
The idea of pound parity now seems less far-fetched as the risk grows that Britain may split away from the European Union without a deal.
Rupert Harrison, a fund manager at BlackRock, sees the risk of it falling to trade level with the dollar on a no-deal Brexit. The view echoes Morgan Stanley’s recent forecast that the currency can plunge toward $1 (Dh3.67) on such an outcome. That isn’t the majority view yet – a Bloomberg survey this month estimated the pound will slide to $1.10 should the UK exit the bloc without an agreement.
New Prime Minister Boris Johnson has repeatedly said that Britain will leave the EU on the October 31 deadline with or without an agreement, fuelling concern the nation is headed for a disorderly departure and fanning pessimism toward the pound. Sterling has fallen more than 7 per cent in the past three months, the worst performance among major developed-market currencies.
“The pound is at a much lower level now but I still think a no-deal exit would lead to significant volatility and we could be testing parity on a really bad outcome,” said Mr Harrison, who manages more than $10 billion in assets at BlackRock. “We will see this game of chicken continue through August and that’s likely negative for sterling,” he said about the deadlocked Brexit talks.
The pound fell 0.8 per cent to $1.2033 on Friday, its weakest closing level since the 1980s, after a report on the second quarter showed the UK economy shrank for the first time in six years. The data means it is likely the Bank of England will cut interest rates, according to Mizuho Bank.
The BOE said in November that the currency could fall even below $1 in an analysis on possible worst-case Brexit scenarios. Options-based calculations showed around a 6.4 per cent chance of pound-dollar parity in the next one year, markedly higher than 0.2 per cent in early March when prospects of a no-deal outcome were seemingly off the table.
Bloomberg
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
My Country: A Syrian Memoir
Kassem Eid, Bloomsbury
The specs
Engine: 6.2-litre supercharged V8
Power: 712hp at 6,100rpm
Torque: 881Nm at 4,800rpm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 19.6 l/100km
Price: Dh380,000
On sale: now
'Munich: The Edge of War'
Director: Christian Schwochow
Starring: George MacKay, Jannis Niewohner, Jeremy Irons
Rating: 3/5
Company Profile:
Name: The Protein Bakeshop
Date of start: 2013
Founders: Rashi Chowdhary and Saad Umerani
Based: Dubai
Size, number of employees: 12
Funding/investors: $400,000 (2018)
UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
Genesis G80 2020 5.0-litre Royal Specs
Engine: 5-litre V8
Gearbox: eight-speed automatic
Power: 420hp
Torque: 505Nm
Fuel economy, combined: 12.4L/100km
Price: Dh260,500
'Downton Abbey: A New Era'
Director: Simon Curtis
Cast: Hugh Bonneville, Elizabeth McGovern, Maggie Smith, Michelle Dockery, Laura Carmichael, Jim Carter and Phyllis Logan
Rating: 4/5
Red flags
- Promises of high, fixed or 'guaranteed' returns.
- Unregulated structured products or complex investments often used to bypass traditional safeguards.
- Lack of clear information, vague language, no access to audited financials.
- Overseas companies targeting investors in other jurisdictions - this can make legal recovery difficult.
- Hard-selling tactics - creating urgency, offering 'exclusive' deals.
Courtesy: Carol Glynn, founder of Conscious Finance Coaching
RESULT
Shabab Al Ahli Dubai 0 Al Ain 6
Al Ain: Caio (5', 73'), El Shahat (10'), Berg (65'), Khalil (83'), Al Ahbabi (90' 2)
Sunday:
GP3 race: 12:10pm
Formula 2 race: 1:35pm
Formula 1 race: 5:10pm
Performance: Guns N' Roses
Sole survivors
- Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
- George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
- Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
- Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.
Types of fraud
Phishing: Fraudsters send an unsolicited email that appears to be from a financial institution or online retailer. The hoax email requests that you provide sensitive information, often by clicking on to a link leading to a fake website.
Smishing: The SMS equivalent of phishing. Fraudsters falsify the telephone number through “text spoofing,” so that it appears to be a genuine text from the bank.
Vishing: The telephone equivalent of phishing and smishing. Fraudsters may pose as bank staff, police or government officials. They may persuade the consumer to transfer money or divulge personal information.
SIM swap: Fraudsters duplicate the SIM of your mobile number without your knowledge or authorisation, allowing them to conduct financial transactions with your bank.
Identity theft: Someone illegally obtains your confidential information, through various ways, such as theft of your wallet, bank and utility bill statements, computer intrusion and social networks.
Prize scams: Fraudsters claiming to be authorised representatives from well-known organisations (such as Etisalat, du, Dubai Shopping Festival, Expo2020, Lulu Hypermarket etc) contact victims to tell them they have won a cash prize and request them to share confidential banking details to transfer the prize money.
* Nada El Sawy
