New Zealand’s turnaround
PAKISTAN seemed to have the game and the series in the bag; the odds were firmly stacked in their favour with New Zealand reduced to 73-4 in their chase for 194 to win the fifth and final T20 International. Then came the turnaround led by centurion Mark Chapman, whose audacious hitting floored Babar Azam’s men and led New Zealand — a side shorn of their top-tier players due to IPL commitments — to a series-levelling triumph. It was a chastening defeat for Pakistan, who were 2-0 up in the series after the opening two games, but the warning signs had been there. New Zealand had prevailed in a cliffhanger to win the third game and had shown good value to clinch the fourth, which was abandoned after a hailstorm in Rawalpindi. And once Chapman took on the Pakistan bowlers at the Pindi Cricket Stadium on Monday, Babar’s men seemed at a loss. The much-vaunted bowling attack was torn to shreds, with Chapman finding boundaries at will and accelerating towards the victory target at breakneck speed. A crucial dropped catch off Chapman at 67 — he went on to make 104 not out — contributed to the demise but there were other failings too.
Pakistan played the final game with four opening batters and lost three of them, including Babar, in the space of one run. Opener Mohammad Rizwan made 98 not out but slowed down as he chased a century with other batters looking to hand him the strike. Shaheen Shah Afridi took two wickets in his opening over, and could have got the prized Chapman wicket had Shadab Khan not dropped a catch. He was smashed for plenty in his next three overs. The series may have ended 2-2 but it felt like a loss, as New Zealand was without its top players. Pakistan can now expect a stern test of their credentials in the five-match ODI series against the Kiwis that begins this week.
Published in Dawn, April 26th, 2023
Needless tragedy
HAVING battled violent extremist outfits for decades, law-enforcement agencies in Pakistan should have had streamlined and ‘bulletproof’ SOPs well in place by now.
The terrible news about Monday’s massive twin blasts inside the CTD office at the Kabal police station in Swat suggests otherwise. At least 17 people, including nine police officers and six civilians, were among the fatalities and more than 60 were injured.
The explosions destroyed the CTD office and a mosque located on the station premises, besides damaging the police station’s roof. Unsurprisingly, given the alarming rise in militant attacks, especially in KP, it was initially believed that an act of terrorism had taken place.
Later that night, it emerged that the nature of the blast was being investigated. On Tuesday morning, the IG KP stated that preliminary investigations indicated no signs of a forced entry or gunshots and the source of the two blasts appeared to be explosive weapons and ammunition stored inside the police station depot. Details, however, are still being gathered and a definitive conclusion has yet to be drawn.
While it is a relief that this was not another successful breach of a law-enforcement agency’s parameter by militants, it is all the more tragic that so many people lost their lives or sustained injuries in an entirely preventable disaster.
From what has emerged thus far, it appears that a short circuit may have triggered the blasts. Clearly, questions need to be asked about the handling and storage of incendiary devices/materials, most of which, according to sources, were recovered from militants and included mortars, grenades, small rocket launchers, explosive raw material and possibly IEDs as well. Initial estimates suggest that an amount as huge as 50kg could be responsible for the extent of damage caused.
The SOPs must be reviewed as to inspections, supervision, handling, safe custody and record-keeping at such storage sites and any gaps in these must be rectified. If the SOPs are in order, there was obviously a lapse and those responsible must be held accountable for their negligence.
There is also another aspect to consider, which is that the courts are authorised to issue orders for confiscated explosives to be destroyed by bomb disposal units. Better coordination between the police, ATCs and prosecutors through the criminal justice coordination committees functioning at the district level throughout the country would help in this regard.
Published in Dawn, April 26th, 2023
Digital fraud
AS an increasing number of people opt to use digital channels for banking and other financial transactions, cybercriminals have sought to defraud simple, unsuspecting people by soliciting their sensitive information. Whereas more ‘traditional’ methods include physically robbing banks or mugging people coming out of ATMs, the tech-savvy crook seeks the credentials of the unaware customer, sometimes posing as a banker, at other times pretending to represent a law-enforcement or intelligence agency.
People have lost millions of rupees to such high-tech criminals. In a recent incident, the FIA managed to bust a gang of cybercriminals in Rawalpindi after a victim, who had been swindled out of nearly Rs2m, reported the theft. The individual said the suspects had obtained his personal information, after which they started to plunder his accounts.
While more sophisticated digital frauds have involved hackers breaching the defences of major banks and even government institutions, relatively small-time crooks prey on simple folks. For example, they can trap customers by impersonating bank officials, and sometimes appearing to call from the banks’ official numbers, and demanding sensitive information such as OTPs, CNIC numbers or other personal data.
This is so, despite the fact that all government bodies concerned, as well as banks, run regular public information campaigns warning customers not to share their personal information with anyone, including those claiming to be representatives of financial institutions. But it is also true that in some cases black sheep within banks may be in cahoots with cybercriminals, and leak customers’ data to these gangs.
According to media reports, in Punjab alone last year, there were over 7,000 complaints of crooks trying to obtain people’s banking credentials.
The significance of this malevolent trend can be gauged by the fact that the president, as well as the State Bank, have taken up the matter, and warned banks to crack down on this racket.
Yet many customers complain the FIA does not follow up on their complaints, while the agency claims it is too understaffed to deal with the deluge of cases.
The public, banks and LEAs all have a role to play in addressing digital banking fraud. People should be careful and under no circumstances share their credentials with random callers. In fact, suspicious calls should be reported to the authorities, while customers must double check with their bank after receiving them.
Meanwhile, banks need to put in place robust cybersecurity features that make it difficult for fraudsters to access data or customers’ accounts. Some action has been taken in this regard, but banks can do more to crack down on cybercrime. As for LEAs, the excuse of being understaffed is weak. The FIA needs to proactively go after crooks indulging in online banking fraud, so that people can use digital financial instruments with confidence.
Published in Dawn, April 26th, 2023