The National Assembly Standing Committee on Sports has asked President Asif Ali Zardari to sack all the officials responsible for the security lapse during the terror attack on the Sri Lankan cricketers in Lahore earlier this year.
Expressing discontent over the sluggish pace of the probe regarding the March 3 ambush, the committee sought the intervention [...]
Posts Tagged ‘asif ali zardari’
NA Sports Committee asks Zardari to sack all responsible for Sri Lanka team attack
August 1st, 2009 |
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SC verdict a ‘good omen’: Gilani, Zardari
August 1st, 2009 |
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Welcoming the Supreme Court’s verdict declaring former President General Pervez Musharraf’s November 3, 2007 actions as ‘unconstitutional’ and ‘extra-judicial’, both Pakistan Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani and President Asif Ali Zardari have termed the decision as a “good omenâ€.
A statement issued by the Presidency after the apex court’s verdict said: “The SC order is a [...]
Musharraf’s 2007 actions ruled illegal ?
July 31st, 2009 |
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ISLAMABAD (AP) — Pakistan’s Supreme Court ruled Friday that former President Pervez Musharraf’s imposition of emergency rule in 2007 was unconstitutional, state and private media outlets reported.
Details were still coming to light, but the ruling could invalidate the appointments of judges made by Musharraf in the six weeks after he suspended the constitution on Nov. [...]
Tajik summit to tackle security
July 30th, 2009 |
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Rayhan Demytrie
Central Asia correspondent, BBC News
Tajikistan is hosting a regional security summit amid fears the conflicts in Afghanistan and Pakistan may be spreading into Central Asia.
The presidents of Pakistan, Russia, Afghanistan and Tajikistan are to meet in the Tajik capital Dushanbe.
Clashes between militants and police have led to concerns that unrest in countries on Tajikistan’s southern border could be spreading there.
The Tajik government says the militants have links to the Taleban.
On the eve of Thursday’s summit, Pakistan’s President Asif Ali Zardari said his country would stand together with Tajikistan to fight extremism.
"It threatens my brother’s country, it threatens my country, and it threatens the neighbourhood," said Mr Zardari, after meeting Tajikistan’s President Emomali Rakhmon in Dushanbe.
In recent weeks there have been a number of clashes between armed militants and Tajik security forces in the eastern Rasht Valley.
On Wednesday, Tajik officials said they had killed a senior militant who belonged to a Central Asian group called the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan.
Rasht is a remote area close to the Afghan border, and observers have speculated that the violence in Tajikistan may be related to an intensified campaign by Pakistan’s military against the Taleban and its supporters in the Afghan-Pakistan border area.
Tajikistan’s President Emomali Rakhmon is hosting Mr Zardari, President Hamid Karzai of Afghanistan and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev.
The four are expected to discuss security issues as well as a future energy project that will link Afghanistan and Pakistan to a proposed hydroelectric power grid supplied by dams in Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan.
This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.
Questioning Musharraf’s martial law puts Zardari’s oath under threat: Former Pak AG
July 28th, 2009 |
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The Supreme Court’s decision to question the legality of former President General Pervez Musharraf’s action of imposing an emergency in the country on November 3 2007, could also affect President Asif Ali Zardari’s oath, former Attorney General Malik Muhammad Qayyum has said.
Qayyum said that if all actions of the then Chief Justice Abdul Hameed Dogar [...]
SC to review Dogar’s status
July 27th, 2009 |
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ISLAMABAD – Justice Khalil-ur-Rehman Ramday, member of the 14-member larger bench of the Supreme Court hearing judgesÂ’ appointment case, Monday observed that no one had accepted Justice (Retd) Abdul Hameed Dogar as constitutional chief justice of Pakistan and that the Supreme Court would review his legal and constitutional status.
Headed by Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, the bench is hearing two separate petitions filed by federal government, seeking extension in jobs of two Sindh High Court judges, Justice Pir Ali Shah and Justice Bin Yameen. The two judges were reverted to the posts of additional judges as a result of a judgement passed by a five-member bench of the Sindh High Court (SHC).
The bench has also clubbed the petition filed by Sindh High Court Bar Association (SHCBA) seeking regularisation of services of two SHC judges Rashid Kalhoro and Zafar Sherwani.
During the course of proceedings, the Chief Justice asked counsel for Justice Bin Yameen, Justice (Retd) Malik Qayyum, to argue on the constitutional status of former chief justice Abdul Hameed Dogar. Malik Qayyum submitted before the court that everyone had accepted him as the chief justice of Pakistan and President Asif Ali Zardari had taken oath of his office from him.
He said if Abdul Hameed Dogar was declared as de facto chief justice, it would have widespread repercussions. He said he did not want to indulge in arguments on this point.
The Chief Justice directed Qayyum to carry on with his arguments, saying the court was afraid of nothing. “Let there be put an end to the mistakes committed in the past,” the Chief Justice said.
Justice Ramday said that no one had accepted Dogar as chief justice and that his legal and constitutional status would be reviewed. He said that the court was not interested in the issue who owned Dogar as chief justice.
Malik Qayyum requested the court to first decide SHCBAÂ’s petition and then decide the case of his client. He contended that there was no opposition over the appointment of Justice Bin Yameen, adding the Sindh Governor and the Chief Justice of Supreme Court were unanimous for his appointment as permanent judge. He said he was made additional judge due to the plea of SHCBA, which, he said, was unconstitutional.
Advocate General Sindh Yousaf Leghari said that the larger bench hearing the petitions consisted of those judges who were restored and reappointed after taking oath from Justice Abdul Hameed Dogar. At this point, the Chief Justice said that all the judges were restored and not reappointed.
President SHCBA Rashid A Rizvi in his arguments said that the appointments of all judges during November 3, 2007 and December 15, 2007 were illegal and unconstitutional. He said the sole objective behind the imposition of emergency was to remove judges of the apex judiciary.
The case was adjourned till July 29 (Wednesday).
The same bench also heard former chief justice Sajjad Ali ShahÂ’s petition for granting him pension and other benefits as the former chief justice of Pakistan. The Chief Justice remarked during the proceedings that government should demonstrate generosity in this case, as was demonstrated in Justice Saad Saood Jan case.
Deputy Attorney General Agha Tariq read out written statement of the ministry of law and justice, which stated that government would abide by any decision rendered by the Supreme Court. The Chief Justice directed DAG Agha Tariq to ask the government to show generosity in the matter.
Zardari denies providing ‘VIP protocol and security’ to Musharraf
July 25th, 2009 |
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Former Pakistan President General Pervez Musharraf may not receive the same protocol and security cover, which he enjoyed earlier, when he returns back home to defend himself in front of the Supreme Court.
According to sources, Musharraf had approached President Asif Ali Zardari through a friend asking him to provide VIP protocol and security when he [...]
Zardari to abide by Supreme Court’s verdict against Musharraf
July 23rd, 2009 |
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Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari will honour whatever decision the Supreme Court takes in the case against former President General Pervez Musharraf that challenges his November 3, 2007 action to implement emergency in the country.
Presidential spokesperson Farhatullah Babar said the apex court’s verdict in the case would be implemented in letter and spirit.
“There are no [...]
Zardari to abide by Supreme Court’s verdict against Musharraf
July 23rd, 2009 |
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Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari will honour whatever decision the Supreme Court takes in the case against former President General Pervez Musharraf that challenges his November 3, 2007 action to implement emergency in the country.
Presidential spokesperson Farhatullah Babar said the apex court’s verdict in the case would be implemented in letter and spirit.
“There are no [...]
Pak to US: Provide latest military technology, real time intelligence
July 23rd, 2009 |
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Pakistan has urged the United States to provide the latest military technology and real time intelligence inputs to help it to counter the terror threat.
During his meeting with US Special Envoy to Pakistan and Afghanistan Richard Holbrooke, Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani said Pakistan needs the latest technology and real-time, credible and actionable intelligence to [...]
Musharraf Summoned By Pakistani Court Over Judges Firing
July 22nd, 2009 |
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ISLAMABAD — Pakistan’s top court has summoned former President Pervez Musharraf to explain his 2007 firing of several dozen independent-minded judges. Wednesday’s court notice allows Musharraf to send a lawyer in his place.
The case, br…
Killers of Benazir will be exposed, punished soon
July 20th, 2009 |
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The killers of former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto will be exposed and punished soon, said Faisal Raza Abidi, the Political Secretary of President Asif Ali Zardari.
“An independent inquiry into Benazir Bhutto’s assassination (by a United Nations Commission) has begun. People will know within days, not months, as to who killed her, and see them being [...]
Zardari, Nawaz agree to democratise Constitution
July 17th, 2009 |
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LAHORE – President Asif Ali Zardari and PML-N Quaid Mian Muhammad Nawaz Sharif met at latterÂ’s Raiwind residence here on Friday, and reiterated their resolve to purge the Constitution of all undemocratic clauses, including the most controversial 17th Amendment, but fell short of giving a time frame to undo the unconstitutional changes done by the former govt.
In their four-hour long meeting, which took place after a gap of eight months, the two leaders agreed to work together to steer the country out of the current crisis.
The meeting was in pursuance of the telephonic talk between the two leaders on Monday.
In his meeting with PML-N chief, President Asif Ali Zardari was assisted by Raja Pervez Ashraf, Mian Raza Rabbani, Jehangir Badar, Shah Mahmood Qureshi, Babar Awan, Nazar Muhammad Gondal, Syed Khurshid Shah and Farhatullah Babar.
The other side comprised of PML-N Quaid Mian Muhammad Nawaz Sharif, Chief Minister Punjab Shahbaz Sharif, Raja Zafarul Haq, Syed Ghous Ali Shah, Sardar Zulfiqar Ali Khan Khosa, Senator Pervez Rasheed, Khawaja Muhammad Asif, Khawaja Saad Rafique, Sardar Mehtab Abbasi and Sardar Yaqoob Nasir.
In the 11-point joint declaration issued at the end of meeting, the two parties reiterated that dialogue and discussions was the essence of the democratic process and that the doors to meaningful and result-oriented talks should always remain open.
They reiterated that after the February 2008 elections, installation of democratic govt and getting hold of Presidency by democratic forces, it was necessary to remove the controversial clauses from the Constitution that had been inserted into it by successive dictatorships without the consent of the masses.
The two parties reiterated commitment to the principles laid down in the Charter of Democracy (CoD) to democratise the Constitution and rid it of all undemocratic clauses including 17th Amendment.
They expressed the hope that the Parliamentary Committee set up to review the Constitution would complete its task in the shortest possible time and propose suitable amendments in it.
The two parties expressed the view that the situation in Balochistan needed to be addressed urgently and seriously.
Political dialogue and development of the province should be pressed into service to remove the sense of alienation of the people of the province.
They expressed the view that the Parliament should play a more pro-active role in meeting the aspirations of the people of Balochistan.
Both sides agreed that the problems faced by the country were too stupendous to be resolved by any one political party or State institution and required the collective efforts of all political forces and parties.
The two parties also agreed that militancy posed the most serious threat to national security and that holistic approach was needed to address the issue. They agreed that the terrorists should not be allowed to impose their agenda on the people through guns and bullets.
They agreed that more of such contacts and meetings would help push forward the process of democratisation of the Constitution in the light of CoD and to find solutions to the problems faced by the country particularly national security, economic and energy crisis, price-hike and unemployment compounded by the military dictatorship.
According to insiders, the two leaders discussed several issues in frank and candid manner as overall mood of the meeting was cordial from very start to culmination, though they did express reservations they had about each other on various issues.
Nawaz reportedly told Zardari that his party wanted to go alongwith PPP, but they were prevented from doing so, first by getting them ineligible from contesting elections and then by imposition of GovernorÂ’s Rule.
President Zardari, in turn, assured Nawaz that his party would not create any problem for PML-N in future.
Nawaz assured Zardari that his party would not destabilise PPP govt and allow it to complete its full term.
Earlier, President Asif Ali Zardari was accorded a warm welcome at Lahore Airport and was received by Punjab Governor Salman Taseer, CM Punjab Shahbaz Sharif, Khawaja Muhammad Asif, Senior minister Raja Riaz and other big wigs of the govt.
Accompanied by CM Punjab Shahbaz Sharif, Federal Ministers Khurshid Shah, Shah Mehmood Qureshi, Raja Pervaiz Ashraf, Nazar Muhammad Gondal, PPP Secretary General Jahangir Badr, President Zardari set off for Raiwind in a helicopter.
Nawaz Sharif alongwith central party leaders, Khawaja Asif, Sardar Zulfiqar Ali Khosa, Chief Secretary Javed Mehmood and others welcomed him at Jatti Umra helipad.
President Asif Ali Zardari greeted Nawaz Sharif on his acquittal from plane hijacking case. He termed the Supreme Court decision to acquit Nawaz from plane hijacking case as a welcome development, saying it would help strengthening democracy in the country.
From the helipad, President Asif Ali Zardari, PML-N chief Mian Muhammad Nawaz Sharif, Chief Minister Punjab Shahbaz Sharif used one car to reach SharifsÂ’ residence in Raiwind, as President Zardari invited Sharif brothers to accompany him in his own car.
Meanwhile, before his meeting with President Asif Ali Zardari,Nawaz Sharif held an important meeting with party senior leaders and took them into confidence on different issues. He also sought suggestions from them to be discussed with President Zardari.
During the meeting, all the party stalwarts endorsed his decisions and announced to extend all out support to him.
Raja Zafarul Haq, Sardar Zulfiqar Ali Khosa, Javed Hashmi, Khawaja Asif, Khawaja Saad Rafiq, Pervaiz Rashid, Sardar Yaqoob and other senior leaders attended the meeting. Opposition leader in National Assembly Ch. Nisar Ali Khan and Iqbal Zafar Jhagra joined the meeting through telephone.
Nawaz Sharif also hosted a luncheon reception in the honour of President Asif Ali Zardari and his delegation. Both wearing shalwar kameez and waistcoat talked in a friendly manner and avoided peeping into bitter past. After the lunch they held 4-hour meeting in a happy mood.
The organiser of the meeting announced to make Press briefing to inform the media about the upshot of the meeting but later Press briefing was cancelled without mentioning any reason.
Manmohan Singh, Gilani begin bilateral meet at NAM amid media jamboree
July 16th, 2009 |
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The Prime Ministers of India and Pakistan – Dr. Manmohan Singh and Yousuf Raza Gilani – have begun their much anticipated bilateral meeting here on the sidelines of the XVth Non-Aligned Movement Summit.
The two leaders are being accompanied and assisted at their talks by their respective foreign ministers, national security advisers,key officials and aides.
The scene [...]
UN opens Bhutto probe in Pakistan
July 16th, 2009 |
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Members of a United Nations inquiry into the assassination of former Pakistani PM Benazir Bhutto has arrived in Pakistan.
Led by Chile’s ambassador to the UN, Heraldo Munoz, the team includes a former Indonesian attorney general and a former senior Irish police officer.
The inquiry will last six months and investigate the "facts and circumstances" of Ms Bhutto’s death.
She was killed in December 2007 as she left a party rally in Rawalpindi.
‘Gather material’
The inquiry commission begins its work in Pakistan on Thursday.
The visiting team will be supported by staff based in Pakistan.
"The staff, working under direction of the commissioners, will gather information, collate relevant material and conduct interviews," a UN statement released on Thursday said.
During the visit, the commissioners are scheduled to meet Ms Bhutto’s widower, Pakistan’s President Asif Ali Zardari, and other senior officials.
The commission is scheduled to submit its report to UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon in six months.
The report will be shared with the Pakistani government and the UN Security Council, reports say.
The UN says the panel will inquire into the facts and circumstances of the assassination, but stresses that any criminal investigation is Pakistan’s responsibility.
Apart from Mr Munoz, the other members of the probe team are Marzuki Darusman, the former Indonesian attorney-general, and Peter Fitzgerald, who headed an early inquiry into the assassination of former Lebanese prime minister Rafik Hariri.
Earlier this month, Pakistan’s Interior Minister Rehman Malik told the BBC his government thought the UN investigation was necessary to find out who was behind the attack.
Mr Malik said he believed the assassination was "a big international conspiracy".
"Obviously, there might be some actors within Pakistan or within the region, but we want really to expose the whole conspiracy, because we think that this was a kind of a beginning of an attempt to Balkanise Pakistan."
Pakistani Taliban leader Baitullah Mehsud, accused by the last government here of being behind the assassination, is the target of a military offensive and his militant network has hit back with retaliatory suicide attacks.
The Taliban commander has denied having anything to do with Ms Bhutto’s killing.
‘Rogue elements’
Her assassination left questions unresolved for many people here, but especially her own party, which is now in government.
After she had narrowly escaped a double suicide bombing on the day of her return to Pakistan from self-imposed exile in October 2007, she accused what she called "enemies" and "rogue elements" in the government led by President Pervez Musharraf and in the intelligence agencies of plotting to kill her.
Former Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf blamed al-Qaeda-linked militants for the attack and refused to seek a UN investigation.
He invited police from London’s Scotland Yard to assist in the inquiry into her death.
In their report, the British detectives said they believed she died due to a severe head injury sustained as a consequence of a bomb blast.
The Pakistani investigation into her death concluded that a lone attacker fired shots at Ms Bhutto before detonating explosives, but said that bullets were not the cause of death.
Wider enquiry
Ms Bhutto’s Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) rejected both these versions, claiming adequate security had not been provided for Ms Bhutto, and called for a wider inquiry by the UN to establish the identity and motives of the assassins.
A PPP-led coalition defeated Mr Musharraf’s allies in general elections last year.
Ms Bhutto, twice prime minister of Pakistan, lived in self-imposed exile after Mr Musharraf assumed power in 1999.
In October 2007, she returned to Pakistan to campaign for the PPP in parliamentary and provincial elections – the first to be held since President Musharraf resigned as head of the army and became a civilian leader.
Shortly after her return, she survived bomb attacks on her convoy in Karachi that killed more than 100 people.
But Ms Bhutto continued to campaign and was assassinated on 27 December at a PPP rally in Rawalpindi.
She was standing upright in her armoured vehicle, with her head exposed above the open roof escape hatch, waving to the crowd when an attacker opened fire.
Seconds later, a bomb was set off at the scene which left some 20 other people dead. </p
This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.
PML-N rules out any Sharif, Zardari meeting in near future
July 15th, 2009 |
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The Pakistan Muslim League–Nawaz (PML-N) is not optimistic about any talks between party president Nawaz Sharif and President Asif Ali Zardari in the near future.
Speculations about a thaw in the relationship between both leaders gained momentum when Zardari called Sharif recently.
In his telephonic conversation, Zardari reportedly thanked Sharif for his party’s unconditional support to the [...]
Inland Water Transport Authority planned
July 14th, 2009 |
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ISLAMABAD – President Asif Ali Zardari Tuesday advised the government to engage experts and consultants for undertaking a study on the setting up of Inland Water Transport Authority (IWTA) to plan and develop an inland water transportation system on River Indus.
The Presidential advice was given during briefing in the Presidency on a host of mega development issues and projects.
The meeting was attended by Nazar Muhammad Gondal, Minister for Food and Agriculture; Raja Pervaiz Ashraf, Minister for Water & Power; Baber Khan Ghauri, Minister for Ports & Shipping; M. Salman Faruqui, Secretary General to the President; Sardar Aseff Ahmed Ali, Deputy Chairman Planning Commission; Dr. Zafar Altaf, Chairmran PARC; Shakeel Durrani, Chairman WAPDA; Naeem Sarfraz, Chairman, Task Force on Maritime Inland Water Transportation; Kamal Majidullah, SAPM on Water and Agriculture and Secretaries and senior officials of different ministries.
Briefing the media on the meeting Spokesperson to the President former Senator Farhatullah Babar said that the two-hour long meeting mulled over issues ranging from building small and medium dams, development of hybrid seeds to multiply agricultural produce and developing a navigation route on the river Indus system.
Farhatullah Babar said that the President directed that the report on the setting up of Indus Water Transport Authority be completed within 3 months. The setting up of the Authority should be given legislative cover rather than basing it on an executive order, the President said.
The President said that water transportation was the least expensive mode for transporting heavy commodities. “Pakistan must not let go waste the huge economic potential of inland water transportation system”, the President said.
The President also advised that a Committee comprising Chairman Task Force Maritime Industry, Chairman WAPDA, and a representative each of Ports and Shipping and NESPAK be formed to oversee the preparation of report within the stipulated time period.
Farhatullah Babar quoted the President as saying “The comprehensive network of rivers and canals in Pakistan has been awaiting development for an efficient inland water transportation system in the country which should no longer be delayed”.
The President said that the Indus had historically served as a navigation route of the area and there was need to revive its pristine historical role for the economic uplift of the country. At a time when fuel costs were going up, population was expanding and environment degrading cheap mode of bulk transportation held the key to sustainable economic development, he said.
Chairman WAPDA Shakeel Durrani briefed the meeting on the proposed project of building small and medium size dams in two phases in the country. He said that in phase 1 of the project 13 dams in all the four provinces would be built including five in Balochistan, four in Sindh and two each in Frontier and Punjab.
Chairman WAPDA informed the meeting that land acquisition for the dams will start from next month. The provincial government would develop state land under the command area of the dams with the technical assistance of PARC for installation of sprinkle irrigation system for high value crops.
As for financing the dam 2.5 billion rupees were available in the current yearÂ’s PSDP and an MOU signed with China to provide 700 million dollars over the next four years. Some money would also be raised from the end users and through bridge financing.
Farhatullah Babar quoted the President as saying “The state land in the command areas will be allotted to the women to empower them as part of our policy envisioned by Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto”.
The President said that issuance of Benazir Income Support Program cards for the women followed by allotting to them the state land in command areas of these dams were moves to empower the women of Pakistan.
The President gave the deadline of October this year for the ground breaking of the project of small and medium dams, the Spokesperson said.
Chairman PARC Dr Zafar Altaf gave a detailed presentation of hybrid seed development of wheat, cotton and rice with the Chinese assistance. He said that the development of high yielding and disease resistant rice hybrid seed was going on.
He said that for the first time China had shared with the outside world elite genetic resources. The President asked the agricultural ministry and PARC to develop plans for helping “the small, marginal and fragile farmers”, the Spokesperson said.