ISLAMABAD // In October, two commodity shortages hit Pakistanis with a vengeance: sugar and hashish.
Both shortages were artificial, manipulated by networks of manufacturers and wholesalers who hoarded thousands of tonnes of stock to send prices and profits soaring.
By November, prices of both commodities had doubled: sugar hit 125 rupees (Dh5.37) a kilo at those shops that were still catering to Pakistanis' sweet tooth.
But that figure paled in comparison to the 50,000 rupees (Dh2,147) a kilo that so-called "A-grade" export-quality hashish reached in the wholesale drugs market of Bara, a smugglers market near Peshawar, according to Fata Research Centre, an Islamabad-based think tank.
After a political furore, authorities dragged the price of sugar back down to 72 rupees per kilo, 10 rupees more than before the onset of shortages.
The price of hashish has stayed put, however.
"The big shots wanted us to reduce our sugar consumption, so we have," said Tasawar Shah, a house painter and resident of Nurpur Shahan.
"Now it looks like we'll have to give up 'medicine' as well," he quipped to a group of friends gathered in his uncle's sitting room.
Medicine is one of several nicknames Pakistanis have given to charas, or hashish.
"It's embarrassing. It has always been custom to offer medicine to our guests. Now it has become so expensive that we have to excuse ourselves by saying we have given it up," Mr Shah said.
Mangal Bagh Afridi, the commander of the Lashkar-i-Islami, a Pakistani Taliban faction based in the Khyber tribal agency, is a major reason the hashish trade has become a sellers' market.
Khyber agency, home to the Khyber Pass linking the subcontinent with Afghanistan, is the headquarters of a massive drugs trade that sprung up in the 1980s.
Back then, proceeds from huge shipments of heroin and hashish filled the pockets of kingpins such as the late Ayub Khan Afridi, who was a member of the federal parliament in the late 1980s.
Ayub Khan operated with impunity because a significant portion of the proceeds went towards buying weapons for the mujaheddin, fighting Soviet forces in Afghanistan.
Pakistan's Inter Services Intelligence and the US Central Intelligence Agency were complicit in the illicit trade, according to media reports.
That lesson has been well learnt by Mangal Bagh Afridi, a former lorry driver's assistant, who emerged from nowhere in 2006 at the head of a militant faction that seized control of Khyber agency, and by 2009 threatened to take Peshawar.
He was beaten back by a military counter-offensive this year and has retreated to the remote Tirah Valley, where the cultivation of bhang, a subcontinent variety of cannabis, is widespread.
While there are no official statistics on cannabis cultivation, production or consumption in Pakistan, hashish is believed to be the most widely consumed intoxicant in the country.
From the Tirah Valley, Mangal Bagh holds sway over the hashish trade, according to analysts specialising in the murky affairs of Pakistan's seven militant-infested tribal regions, known officially as the Fata.
"Mangal Bagh has transformed hashish into a regular commodity business," said Mansur Khan Mahsud, the director of the Fata Research Centre, an Islamabad-based think-tank.
His research has shown that the militant commander controls the Bara smugglers' market, extorting 3,000 to 5,000 rupees per month from traders, practically all of whom are doubly susceptible because they are migrant Afridi tribesmen from Tirah.
Cynically, the Lashkar-i-Islami describes the payments as zakat, an Islamic tax on disposable wealth.
Mangal Bagh has leveraged that control to massively increase the profitability of the hashish trade, Mr Mahsud said.
Notable among the "reforms" he has introduced to the trade are restricting supplies of A-grade hashish, to establish it as a premium product and the inferior B-grade as standard.
The tola, a unit of weight equivalent to slightly more than 11 grams (usually used to weigh gold), has been reduced to eight or nine grams.
He has also periodically stopped supplies to Bara, creating artificial shortages.
Mangal Bagh ordered a moratorium on hashish sales in October to force up prices and enable him to build up a drug inventory estimated to be worth between 50 million and 150 million rupees, the analysts said.
His intervention has pushed the price from 80 rupees per 11-gram tola of A-grade hashish in 2007, to 650 rupees per nine-gram tola of B-grade hashish at present.
The Anti-Narcotics Force, a military-led law enforcement agency, first noticed Mangal Bagh's impact on the hashish trade in June 2007.
It found that the national price of hashish leapt by an average of 52.8 per cent since June 2006.
"In effect, he has pushed up the price of hashish 10-fold in the last three to four years," Mr Mahsud said.
Mangal Bagh's use of stockpiling as a price-control tool mimics the Afghan Taliban, which stockpiled opium after bumper opium crops in 2008 and 2009 to protect prices, according to the United Nations.
The UN reported that the Taliban has used the shortages of heroin to increase demand and the prices of hashish.
thussain@thenational.ae
Trolls World Tour
Directed by: Walt Dohrn, David Smith
Starring: Anna Kendrick, Justin Timberlake
Rating: 4 stars
GAC GS8 Specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo
Power: 248hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 400Nm at 1,750-4,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 9.1L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh149,900
Our legal consultant
Name: Dr Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
The National Archives, Abu Dhabi
Founded over 50 years ago, the National Archives collects valuable historical material relating to the UAE, and is the oldest and richest archive relating to the Arabian Gulf.
Much of the material can be viewed on line at the Arabian Gulf Digital Archive - https://www.agda.ae/en
Ziina users can donate to relief efforts in Beirut
Ziina users will be able to use the app to help relief efforts in Beirut, which has been left reeling after an August blast caused an estimated $15 billion in damage and left thousands homeless. Ziina has partnered with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees to raise money for the Lebanese capital, co-founder Faisal Toukan says. “As of October 1, the UNHCR has the first certified badge on Ziina and is automatically part of user's top friends' list during this campaign. Users can now donate any amount to the Beirut relief with two clicks. The money raised will go towards rebuilding houses for the families that were impacted by the explosion.”
Opening Rugby Championship fixtures:Games can be watched on OSN Sports
Saturday: Australia v New Zealand, Sydney, 1pm (UAE)
Sunday: South Africa v Argentina, Port Elizabeth, 11pm (UAE)
Company%C2%A0profile
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MANDOOB
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More about Middle East geopolitics
'Avengers: Infinity War'
Dir: The Russo Brothers
Starring: Chris Evans, Chris Pratt, Tom Holland, Robert Downey Junior, Scarlett Johansson, Elizabeth Olsen
Four stars
MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League, semi-final result:
Liverpool 4-0 Barcelona
Liverpool win 4-3 on aggregate
Champions Legaue final: June 1, Madrid
Electric scooters: some rules to remember
- Riders must be 14-years-old or over
- Wear a protective helmet
- Park the electric scooter in designated parking lots (if any)
- Do not leave electric scooter in locations that obstruct traffic or pedestrians
- Solo riders only, no passengers allowed
- Do not drive outside designated lanes
The specs
Price, base / as tested Dh1,470,000 (est)
Engine 6.9-litre twin-turbo W12
Gearbox eight-speed automatic
Power 626bhp @ 6,000rpm
Torque: 900Nm @ 1,350rpm
Fuel economy, combined 14.0L / 100km
The burning issue
The internal combustion engine is facing a watershed moment – major manufacturer Volvo is to stop producing petroleum-powered vehicles by 2021 and countries in Europe, including the UK, have vowed to ban their sale before 2040. The National takes a look at the story of one of the most successful technologies of the last 100 years and how it has impacted life in the UAE.
Read part four: an affection for classic cars lives on
Read part three: the age of the electric vehicle begins
Read part one: how cars came to the UAE
Top%2010%20most%20competitive%20economies
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Company Profile
Founder: Omar Onsi
Launched: 2018
Employees: 35
Financing stage: Seed round ($12 million)
Investors: B&Y, Phoenician Funds, M1 Group, Shorooq Partners
Jeff Buckley: From Hallelujah To The Last Goodbye
By Dave Lory with Jim Irvin
'Munich: The Edge of War'
Director: Christian Schwochow
Starring: George MacKay, Jannis Niewohner, Jeremy Irons
Rating: 3/5
Who has been sanctioned?
Daniella Weiss and Nachala
Described as 'the grandmother of the settler movement', she has encouraged the expansion of settlements for decades. The 79 year old leads radical settler movement Nachala, whose aim is for Israel to annex Gaza and the occupied West Bank, where it helps settlers built outposts.
Harel Libi & Libi Construction and Infrastructure
Libi has been involved in threatening and perpetuating acts of aggression and violence against Palestinians. His firm has provided logistical and financial support for the establishment of illegal outposts.
Zohar Sabah
Runs a settler outpost named Zohar’s Farm and has previously faced charges of violence against Palestinians. He was indicted by Israel’s State Attorney’s Office in September for allegedly participating in a violent attack against Palestinians and activists in the West Bank village of Muarrajat.
Coco’s Farm and Neria’s Farm
These are illegal outposts in the West Bank, which are at the vanguard of the settler movement. According to the UK, they are associated with people who have been involved in enabling, inciting, promoting or providing support for activities that amount to “serious abuse”.
Results
6.30pm: Maiden Dh165,000 (Dirt) 1,200m
Winner: Barack Beach, Richard Mullen (jockey), Satish Seemar (trainer).
7.05pm: Handicap Dh170,000 (D) 1,200m
Winner: Way Of Wisdom, Connor Beasley, Satish Seemar.
7.40pm: Maiden Dh165,000 (D) 1,900m
Winner: Woodditton, Connor Beasley, Ahmad bin Harmash.
8.15pm: Handicap Dh185,000 (D) 2,000m
Winner: Secret Trade, Sandro Paiva, Ali Rashid Al Raihe.
8.50pm: Handicap Dh185,000 (D) 1,600m
Winner: Mark Of Approval, Antonio Fresu, Mahmood Hussain.
9.25pm: Handicap Dh165,000 (D) 2,000m
Winner: Tradesman, Pat Dobbs, Doug Watson.
Specs
Engine: Dual-motor all-wheel-drive electric
Range: Up to 610km
Power: 905hp
Torque: 985Nm
Price: From Dh439,000
Available: Now
Coming soon
Torno Subito by Massimo Bottura
When the W Dubai – The Palm hotel opens at the end of this year, one of the highlights will be Massimo Bottura’s new restaurant, Torno Subito, which promises “to take guests on a journey back to 1960s Italy”. It is the three Michelinstarred chef’s first venture in Dubai and should be every bit as ambitious as you would expect from the man whose restaurant in Italy, Osteria Francescana, was crowned number one in this year’s list of the World’s 50 Best Restaurants.
Akira Back Dubai
Another exciting opening at the W Dubai – The Palm hotel is South Korean chef Akira Back’s new restaurant, which will continue to showcase some of the finest Asian food in the world. Back, whose Seoul restaurant, Dosa, won a Michelin star last year, describes his menu as, “an innovative Japanese cuisine prepared with a Korean accent”.
Dinner by Heston Blumenthal
The highly experimental chef, whose dishes are as much about spectacle as taste, opens his first restaurant in Dubai next year. Housed at The Royal Atlantis Resort & Residences, Dinner by Heston Blumenthal will feature contemporary twists on recipes that date back to the 1300s, including goats’ milk cheesecake. Always remember with a Blumenthal dish: nothing is quite as it seems.
PAST 10 BRITISH GRAND PRIX WINNERS
2016 - Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes-GP)
2015 - Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes-GP)
2014 - Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes-GP)
2013 - Nico Rosberg (Mercedes-GP)
2012 - Mark Webber (Red Bull Racing)
2011 - Fernando Alonso (Ferrari)
2010 - Mark Webber (Red Bull Racing)
2009 - Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull Racing)
2008 - Lewis Hamilton (McLaren)
2007 - Kimi Raikkonen (Ferrari)
Company%20Profile
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The specs
Engine: 1.5-litre turbo
Power: 181hp
Torque: 230Nm
Transmission: 6-speed automatic
Starting price: Dh79,000
On sale: Now
WHEN TO GO:
September to November or March to May; this is when visitors are most likely to see what they’ve come for.
WHERE TO STAY:
Meghauli Serai, A Taj Safari - Chitwan National Park resort (tajhotels.com) is a one-hour drive from Bharatpur Airport with stays costing from Dh1,396 per night, including taxes and breakfast. Return airport transfers cost from Dh661.
HOW TO GET THERE:
Etihad Airways regularly flies from Abu Dhabi to Kathmandu from around Dh1,500 per person return, including taxes. Buddha Air (buddhaair.com) and Yeti Airlines (yetiairlines.com) fly from Kathmandu to Bharatpur several times a day from about Dh660 return and the flight takes just 20 minutes. Driving is possible but the roads are hilly which means it will take you five or six hours to travel 148 kilometres.
Company%20profile
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Sreesanth's India bowling career
Tests 27, Wickets 87, Average 37.59, Best 5-40
ODIs 53, Wickets 75, Average 33.44, Best 6-55
T20Is 10, Wickets 7, Average 41.14, Best 2-12
Kanguva
Director: Siva
Stars: Suriya, Bobby Deol, Disha Patani, Yogi Babu, Redin Kingsley
Abu Dhabi traffic facts
Drivers in Abu Dhabi spend 10 per cent longer in congested conditions than they would on a free-flowing road
The highest volume of traffic on the roads is found between 7am and 8am on a Sunday.
Travelling before 7am on a Sunday could save up to four hours per year on a 30-minute commute.
The day was the least congestion in Abu Dhabi in 2019 was Tuesday, August 13.
The highest levels of traffic were found on Sunday, November 10.
Drivers in Abu Dhabi lost 41 hours spent in traffic jams in rush hour during 2019
Countries recognising Palestine
France, UK, Canada, Australia, Portugal, Belgium, Malta, Luxembourg, San Marino and Andorra
How much do leading UAE’s UK curriculum schools charge for Year 6?
- Nord Anglia International School (Dubai) – Dh85,032
- Kings School Al Barsha (Dubai) – Dh71,905
- Brighton College Abu Dhabi - Dh68,560
- Jumeirah English Speaking School (Dubai) – Dh59,728
- Gems Wellington International School – Dubai Branch – Dh58,488
- The British School Al Khubairat (Abu Dhabi) - Dh54,170
- Dubai English Speaking School – Dh51,269
*Annual tuition fees covering the 2024/2025 academic year
Why seagrass matters
- Carbon sink: Seagrass sequesters carbon up to 35X faster than tropical rainforests
- Marine nursery: Crucial habitat for juvenile fish, crustations, and invertebrates
- Biodiversity: Support species like sea turtles, dugongs, and seabirds
- Coastal protection: Reduce erosion and improve water quality
Avatar: Fire and Ash
Director: James Cameron
Starring: Sam Worthington, Sigourney Weaver, Zoe Saldana
Rating: 4.5/5
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Akeed
Based: Muscat
Launch year: 2018
Number of employees: 40
Sector: Online food delivery
Funding: Raised $3.2m since inception
