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Murder, embezzlement & balwa amongst the pardoned crimes

November 21st, 2009 | No Comments


ISLAMABAD – List of beneficiaries of National Reconciliation Ordinance (NRO) released by Ministry of Law and Justice on Saturday took the top politicians of the state to task and perceived them as black sheep of the society.
Some 34 politicians have been ranked first in the list of some 8,041 persons in terms of money, murders, attempted murders, balwa, embezzlement, corruption, malpractice, terrorism, kidnappings and other crimes of heinous nature. Keeping in view their massive embezzlements, these politicians seem to be heavy burden on the country that is already facing a severe financial crunch.
The Law Ministry for the first time has brought the big fish to surface by releasing the list of country’s most corrupt people. “The notorious guns of malpractice of these black sheep which left the poor at the mercy of God had been used as common practice against the innocents since decades,” NRO list observed.
The top beneficiary of NRO is Altaf Hussain whose 72 cases including 31 murder cases were dismissed. President Asif Ali Zardari had seven cases against him, while the number of Dr Farooq SattarÂ’s cases was 13. Most politicians had one to two cases against them. Madam Nusrat Bhutto, the spouse of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, also heads over thousands in the notorious list.
The MQM headed over other political parties whose workers hit the iron when it was hot. However, the PML-Q workers kept them away from that shoddy practice.
Addressing a press conference, Minister of State for Law & Justice Mohammad Afzal Sindhu on Saturday released the much-awaited list of the beneficiaries of NRO. The total number of NRO beneficiaries is 8,041 and 34 top politicians, 248 bureaucrats and three ambassadors are included in it, he told.
“Corruption, embezzlement and criminal cases dumped under NRO will likely to be reopened, as the goose of the said ordinance will be cooked on November 28, 2009,” he said. Many stalwarts of the country’s political arena will fight legal battle in the courts as the top court of the country terms NRO null ab initio, he explained.
Sindhu also announced a few important names in the list, which include President Asif Ali Zardari, MQM Chief Altaf Hussain, Begam Nusrat Bhutto, Federal Ministers Ch. Ahmad Mukhtar, Rehman Malik, Dr. Farooq Sattar, and Babar Ghori, Governor Sindh Dr. Ishrat-ul-Ibad Khan, Jahangir Badr, Anwar Saifullah, Yousaf Talpur, Ch. Shaukat Ali, Haji Nawaz Khokhar (late), Agha Siraj Ahmad Durrani, Mir Baz Kithran, Mushtaq Awan, Sulman Farooqi, Hussain Haqqani, Wajid Sham-ul-Hassan, A.R. Siddiqui, Saleem Shahzad, Aftab Ahmed Sherpao, Mian Mohammad Rasheed, Tariq Rasheed, Tariq Mahmood, Sardar Maqsood Leghari, Ghani-ur-Rehman, Javed Ahmed Qureshi, Brig. (Retd) Imtiaz, Brig. (Retd) Aslam Hayat, Safdar Barqi and Saeed Mehdi.
“Sindh is on the bottom line in the said list as some 7,793 people obtained relief under Article 2 of the NRO’s Review Board. The number of beneficiaries of the Review Board is 3,230,” he said.
He said that neither Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani nor his wife had taken benefit under the NRO. “Prime Minister Gilani had opted to face the courts in the cases filed against him and he has been cleared by the courts,” he argued.
The minister said that President Zardari had protection under the Article 248 of the Constitution and couldn’t be tried in any corruption or criminal case as far as he was the President of the state. “We will not protect anyone against the decision of the Supreme Court,” he maintained. The ruling PPP has taken decision that the judgement of superior judiciary would be accepted at all cost, he added.
Parrying a query when asked how much amount was involved in corruption cases abolished against beneficiaries of NRO, Sindhu said, “The demand was the list and it is produced before the media.”
Advocating NRO beneficiaries, he said most of the cases were political vendetta and had been lingering in the courts for 10 to 15 years. “PML-N Quaid Mian Nawaz Sharif has himself admitted that Ehtesab Bureau of Saifur Rehman had initiated political cases against PPP leaders,” he added. The PPP would have to give credibility to the chief of a major political party, he remarked.
The notorious NRO granted amnesty to politicians, political workers and bureaucrats who were accused of corruption, embezzlement, money laundering, murders and terrorism from 1st January 1986 to October 12, 1999, he emphasised.
The State Minister for Law said the myriad corruption cases had been pending since decades, adding only one case was decided and after that three judges had to resign.
Answering a query, he said NRO was brought in the Parliament at the direction of the Supreme Court and the verdicts of the higher judiciary would be respected in future as well.

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Rs500b corruption committed

November 17th, 2009 | No Comments


KARACHI – The Transparency International Pakistan reveals an increase of corruption in Pakistan, making the country to stand at 42nd position among the corrupt countries in the world.
TI Pakistan Chairman Syed Adil Gilani, told a press conference held at Karachi Press Club on Tuesday that anti-corruption efforts in the country had taken a 180 degree turn after Gen Pervez Musharraf issued the National Reconciliation Ordinance on October 5, 2007, 56 days after the ratification of the UN Convention against corruption.
Pakistan 2009 Corruption Perceptions Index Score is 2.4, and out of 180 countries, its ranking as most corrupt country has slipped 5 ranks, from 47 in 2008 to 42 most corrupt country in 2009, the report added. He said Pakistan needs immediate enforcement of good governance and transparent administration to counter the acute problems of billion of rupees corruption scams reported in Pakistan Steel Mills, TDAP, EOBI, PIA, Rental Power Plants, KESC, NlC, NHA, OGDC, PSO, PEPCO, CDA, DP Division, DHAs, Pakistan Steel TCP, NBP, PC, and many other organisations. All land scams of Punjab, CDA, NWFP, Sindh (specially like gutter baghicha, unauthorised allotments by Nazims, fraudulent change in land records by revenue officers), reported in last one year in media shall be investigated by a judicial tribunal, and all land records should be computerised within one year, he suggested.
“Terrorism is the direct outcome of poverty, resulted only and only due to corruption, and mainly because of prevalent illegal direct/indirect Armed Forces Rules in Pakistan since 1951 to 2007, fully endorsed by corrupt Judiciary,” TI Chairman said. According to him, the government is ruling Pakistan without governance, and Pakistan has lost credibility all over the world, due to which the country is facing serious economic threats, poverty, inflation, food and electricity shortages and increase in unemployment, which are direct results of the massive ongoing corruption. Pakistan also requires immediate action through a surgical operation on review and cancellation of the appointments and promotions not made on merit as well as extension in service or reappointment after retirement and remove from the key public offices of those who are facing corruption charges, and implementing the effective non-discriminatory accountability mechanism for those civil/defence departments not complying with the procedures including privatisation, transparent implementation of rules by regulatory authorities, SECP, CCP, PPRA, EPA, SBP)o OGRA, PEMRA, PTA, PFRA etc in order to restore donors agencies, IFIs and investor’s confidence, the report suggests.
Gilani said political will of the government to fight corruption is urgently required and must also be seen by public and donor countries, like formation of Independent Accountability Commission as required by United Nations Convention against corruption under HOPO Act 2009, to report only to the parliament or judiciary and not to the Ministry of Law (to avoid conflict of interest and unbiased accountability), and to include all public office holders belonging to civil services, armed forces service, judicial services and elected representatives.
Moreover, bribery, cartels and other corrupt practices undermine competition and contribute to massive loss of resources for development in all countries, especially the poorest ones, as between 1990 and 2005 more than 283 private international cartels were exposed that cost consumers around the world suffered an estimated US $300 billion in overcharges, as documented in a recent TI report.
The CPI 2009 reveals the effects of corruption in the subcontinent, which is more alarming in Pakistan, as Bangladesh which was the most corrupt country in 2001, 2002 and 2003, has improved its ranking from 38th most corrupt country in 2008, to 42nd most corrupt country in 2009.
Transparency International Pakistan also congratulates Pakistan Army, which has proved to the world that Pakistan armed forces are the best. The elimination of terrorists in Swat in two months by Pak Army is what US and NATO forces failed to achieve in eight years in Iraq and Afghanistan, which has made Pakistan a proud nation, and Army Chief has also taken up seriously the violation of Public Procurement Rules by DHA as well as armed purchases, and advised to follow the rules, which is a healthy sign and warning for those who are violators of rules, he added.
He said the government must make serious efforts to apply rules and regulations across the board, to achieve the goal of reducing corruption. In the last ten years, the economic growth of Bangladesh, and deterioration in Pakistan economy can also be judged from the currency parity rates of Pakistan, Bangladesh vs Dollar in 1999 and 2009, Taka/Pak Re was 49.65:51.84 and in 2009; it is Taka/Pak Re 70.39:83.46.
In the 2009 CPl, major sources which provided data, based on expert analysis were African Development Bank, Asian Development Bank, Bertelsmann Foundation, Economist Intelligence Unit, Freedom House, Global Insight and the World Bank.
The 2009 edition scores 180 countries, the same number as the 2008 CPl, while in the DOHA UNCAC Conference held on 9-13 November 2009, the United Nations has put a price tag on political corruption estimating that up to $1.6 trillion in public assets move across borders each year through networks such as money laundering or into secret holdings.
“Stemming corruption requires strong oversight by parliaments, a well-performing judiciary, independent and properly resourced audit and anti-corruption agencies, vigorous law enforcement, transparency in public budgets, revenue and aid flows, as well as space for independent media and a vibrant civil society,”said Labelle.
The watchdog said Afghanistan had sunk for the second straight year in its ranking of 180 nations based on perceived levels of corruption in the public sector. Afghanistan had the second-worst ranking at 1.3, down from 1.5 in 2008 and 1.8 in 2007. Myanmar followed with a score of 1.4, while Iraq and Sudan were both on 1.5.
New Zealand was the top-ranked country with a score of 9.4, followed by Denmark at 9.3, and Singapore and Sweden, both on 9.2. The countries which saw their ranking drop included Iran, which fell to 1.8 from 2.3 following a presidential election in June that the opposition said was rigged. Political turmoil also contributed to a fall in Ukraine’s score to 2.2 from 2.5. Greece saw its score slide to 3.8 from 4.7, reflecting insufficient anti-corruption enforcement, lengthy delays in the judicial process and a string of corporate scandals that TI said pointed to “systemic weaknesses”. Nations that improved included the United States, which rose to 7.5 from 7.3. TI cited Washington’s swift response to the financial crisis, including reforms demanding greater transparency and accountability.
Poland rose to 5.0 from 4.6 after establishing an anti-corruption office. Russia edged up to 2.2 from 2.1, a rise attributed to anti-corruption legislation introduced by President Dmitry Medvedev. But TI noted that the excessive role of the Russian government in the economy remained a problem.
Monitoring Desk adds: According to Transparency International Pakistan, Rs500 billion worth of corruption was committed in Pakistan during the last year, reported a private TV channel.

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ICC rubbishes match-fixing allegations against Pakistan team

October 8th, 2009 | No Comments

The International Cricket Council on Wednesday rubbished match-fixing allegations against the Pakistan cricket team in the just-concluded Champions Trophy in South Africa.
ICC Chief Executive Haroon Lorgat also gave a clean chit to Australian umpire Simon Taufel who was officiating the semi-final match between Pakistan and New Zealand.
“It is not worthy of spending any energy [...]

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Govt exposes itself on sugar

September 17th, 2009 | No Comments


ISLAMABAD – The federal as well as the provincial governments resolved here on Thursday to become party with the sugar millers in the latterÂ’s appeal before the Supreme Court of Pakistan against the Lahore High Court orders to sell sugar at Rs 40 per kg.
Consequent upon the apex courtÂ’s upholding the LHC order, the Prime Minister summoned the provincial Chief Ministers, concerned federal ministers, and other relevant outfits of the state to handle the sugar imbroglio.
“The meeting unanimously decided that Honourable Bench of the Supreme Court, headed by the Chief Justice of Pakistan would approached by the Federation and all the four provinces (collectively),” stated a press release issued by the Prime Minister’s staff after the meeting.
Sources privy to the meeting told TheNation that the four provinces have apprised the meeting, with the Prime Minister in the chair, that they were unable to ensure the sale of sugar at the price allowed by the LHC. Therefore, the federation and the federating units were left with no option but to approach the apex court in a bid to appeal against LHC decision upheld by the Supreme Court, the sources added.
Earlier the statement added that the federal and the provincial governments would apprise the apex court of the true state of affairs. It further stated that circumstances on the ground culminated in the decision arrived at by the government of Pakistan in conjunction with the provincial governments while fixing the sugar price, which had escalated disproportionately and was on the rise.
The meeting further resolved that the difficulties would be specifically highlighted towards the implementation of the decision of the Lahore High Court.
The meeting decided that to provide adequate and uninterrupted supply of sugar on the eve of Eid-ul-Fitr, immediate remedial steps would be required for which appropriate application is being submitted to the Supreme Court of Pakistan on September 18, 2009.
Other than Chief Minister Punjab, Mian Muhammad Shahbaz Sharif and Chief Minister Sindh, Syed Qaim Ali Shah those attended the meeting include Shaukat Fayaz Ahmad Tarin, Minister for Finance; Syed Naveed Qamar, Minister for Petroleum; Nazar Muhammad Gondal, Minister for Food & Agriculture; Mian Manzoor Ahmad Wattoo, Minister for Industries and Production; Muhammad Afzal Sandhu, Minister of State for Law and Justice; Sardar Latif Khosa, Attorney General of Pakistan; Naeem Kamran, Minister for Food Punjab; Muhammad Shuja Khan, Minister for Food NWFP; Ali Madad Jatak, Minister for Food Balochistan; Chief Secretaries of all the four provinces; Secretaries of Commerce, Finance, Food & Agriculture, Industries and Law; Secretary, Food Sindh; Secretary, Industries Punjab; Secretary, Food Punjab; Khawaja Haris, Advocate; Chairman, TCP and Managing Director, Utility Stores Corporation.

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Millers, dealers shoot themselves in the foot

September 16th, 2009 | No Comments


ISLAMABAD – The Supreme Court on Wednesday sought a NAB report, made two years ago during an earlier sugar crisis, besides directing the State Bank to furnish details of loans provided to the mill owners and the mode of repayment. The NAB report had also exposed the questionable dealings of the sugar cartel. The sending for the loan record will also create problems for the sugar barons.
The court also rejected request for staying LHC orders that fixed sugar prices at Rs 40/kg and directed Provinces of Punjab, Sindh and N.W.F.P, Pakistan Sugar Mills Association (PSMA), Trading Corporation of Pakistan (TCP) and Competitive Commission of Pakistan (CCP) to furnish details regarding production and prices of sugar during the past three years.
A three-member bench of the apex court headed by Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry and comprising Justice Sardar Raza Khan and Justice Nasir-ul-Mulk issued these orders while hearing appeals of the PSMA and the Sugar Dealers Association of Punjab against the September 3 verdict of the Lahore High Court that had fixed ex-mill price of sugar at Rs 40/kg.
Advocate Shafqat Chohan, who had filed a writ petition in the LHC besides the suo moto notice taken by its Chief Justice Khawaja Sharif, Wednesday prayed to the court to further bring down prices of sugar.
He said that State Bank through Circular Number 2 of 2009 had directed owners of sugar mills to return loans taken from banks by July 31. However, he said, the mill owners in connivance with the Ministry of Finance and Ministry of Industries and Production did not return their loans on time and used the said amounts for hoarding sugar. “Were they forced to return the loans they would surely have sold out their stocks thus having no money for hoarding sugar”, he said.
Shafqat Chohan also alleged that the PSMA had misguided the Trading Corporation of Pakistan (TCP) that they had enough quantity of sugar and there was no use of importing the commodity. Sugar dealersÂ’ counsel Farooq Amjad Mir contended that high courts had no suo moto jurisdiction under Article 199 of the Constitution. He said the LHC also violated Supreme CourtÂ’s decision in this regard.
The Chief Justice observed that the court could never allow favouring a few sugar millsÂ’ owners and ruining the lives of 160 million people of the country.
Mir pleaded that the LHC verdict was based on news items and that the said court had not heard their pleas despite issuing them notices.
The Chief Justice observed that the sugar millsÂ’ owners made billions of rupees from the crisis; where did they take the money? He remarked that the sugar millsÂ’ owners should prepare themselves for contempt of court if they did not abide by court orders.
Mir prayed to the court to allow interim increase in sugar prices at Rs 5/kg, to which Justice Sardar Raza Khan observed that on the one hand Mir said that the court had no authority to fix prices of commodities and on the other hand he was requesting the court to allow increase in sugar prices.
The court sustained the sugar price fixed by the Lahore High Court till decision of the case. The case was adjourned till September 24.

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Asif vacillates, Gilani moves

September 9th, 2009 | No Comments


ISLAMABAD – Prime Minister Syed Yusuf Raza Gilani has directed all the provincial governments to ensure provision of sugar at governmentÂ’s fixed rates and also constituted a committee headed by Federal Minister for Finance Shaukat Tarin to work out a strategy to overcome the sugar crisis in the country.
Chairing the Federal Cabinet meeting here at Prime Minister Secretariat, in which the chief ministers from Sindh, Punjab and NWFP were in attendance on the special invitation of PM, Premier Gilani constituted the committee to come up with a strategy to overcome the sugar crisis in the country in consultation with all the four provincial governments within a 10-day period.
He further directed the governments of NWFP and Sindh to make sure that the sugar millsÂ’ owners in their respective provinces would make payment of all outstanding dues to the farmers who had supplied sugarcane to the millers.
Later, during the briefing on the cabinet meeting decisions by Federal Minister for Education Mir Hazar Khan Bejarani, the Federal Information Secretary responding to a question regarding the sugar crisis stated that the cabinet had decided to set up a committee to tackle the ongoing sugar crisis.
He further said that besides taking into confidence all the provinces on the subject, the committee would also take into account the suggestions of the sugarcane growers.
Responding to a question, he said that certainly an incentive package would also be announced for sugarcane growers and government would also make sure that the sugar millsÂ’ owners would pay all the outstanding dues of cane growers.

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Pakistan will continue to support the K-cause: Gilani

September 5th, 2009 | No Comments

Pakistan Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani has once again said that Islamabad would continue its support to the Kashmiri people and the government’s decision to give autonomy to Gilgit Baltistan does not mean that it has shelved the Kashmir issue.
“We gave internal autonomy, sovereignty to Gilgit Baltistan which was a long standing demand of its [...]

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NWFP demands additional 5pc

August 26th, 2009 | No Comments



ISLAMABAD/PESHAWAR – National Finance Commission (NFC) is to open up its maiden but stormy session here today (Thursday) with Finance Minister in the chair and four provinces sticking to their conflicting demands.
According to relevant officials, on the first day, the NFC would give only hearing to the respective provincial vantage points, while on the second day there would be rap-up discussion on an amicable formula for distribution of resources between Centre and the provinces.
The officials told TheNation that three provinces namely Punjab, Balochistan, and NWFP, were unanimous in opposing the demand of Sindh to give overwhelming weightage to the revenue generation as against existing base of population. They said that Punjab was ready to give marginal weightage to the revenue generation, besides other considerations like backwardness and war on terror. At the same time the smaller two provinces, Balochistan and NWFP, are not ready to give any consideration to the revenue generation.
Moreover, Blochistan and NWFP are also opposing the demands of each other. Since NWFP is insistently demanding to resolve the issue of net hydel profit under the NFC. The members from Balochistan have observed that the net hydel profit comes under the Article 161 of the Constitution while the NFC works under 160.
Dr Gulfraz who is non-official member of the NFC from Balochistan, has reportedly said that the NFC was constituted to award a formula for division of the divisible pool of resources between Centre and the provinces under Article 160 of the Constitution, while the profit on electricity is dealt with under Article 161.
Meanwhile, Senator Haji Adeel the non-official member of the NFC from NWFP pointed out that the previously the NFC had sent the issue of the provinceÂ’s share of hydel profit to an appointed tribunal.
The provinces are also likely to ask for increasing the provincesÂ’ share in the divisible pool of resources. According to the annual budget statement of 2009-2010, the it is 45 per cent but it actual make nearly 47 after adding up aid in grant and one sixth share from the general sales tax. The provinces are most likely to demand from the government to increase their share in the divisible pool up to 49 per cent if not 50 per cent, the officials said.
Meanwhile, the ruling and opposition parties of the NWFP in a unanimous resolution have asked the federal government to fulfil all outstanding demands of the province including the much-awaited National Finance Commission (NFC) Award, Provincial Information Minister said on Wednesday while briefing the media persons.
Provincial Information Minister Mian Iftikhar Hussain said that the resolution was passed in a joint meeting under the chair of NWFP Chief Minister Amir Haider Khan Hoti. He said that all the parties in the meeting vowed that they would not compromise on the provinceÂ’s due share in the NFC Award and other rights. He further said that all the parties had decided that they were united on the issue of provincial rights and NFC Award and could launch a joint struggle for the cause.
The NWFP Information Minister Mian Iftikhar Hussain said that the objective of convening the joint meeting was to take all the political parties into confidence over the issues. He also informed that all the parties had decided that the NWFP government should participate in the NFC Award meeting and fight for the provincial autonomy and net hydel profit.
“Today’s meeting has proved that despite their differences, all political parties in the NWFP are united on the issue of the rights of the province,” the minister added.
Meanwhile, opposition parties also held a separate press conference on the issue and said that they had attended the meeting because they felt there was a dire need to chalk out a joint strategy for achieving the rights of the province.
JUI-F leader and ex-chief minister Akram Khan Durrani said that federal government was required to pay Rs 110 billion in 2005 to the provincial government. He said that now the amount had increased to Rs 251 billion. He asked the federal government to pay the amount to the province immediately to help it recover from the losses incurred to it during the anti-terror war.
JI provincial president Sirajul Haq said they were ready to support the provincial government on the issue, as it would help the province solve its problems.
APP adds: The NWFP government, with the consultation of leadership of all political parties, has decided to participate in the NFC Award meetings with demand of early payment of dues of the province under the head of net hydel profit and giving it an additional share of five per cent from divisible pool as compensation for the losses incurred to the province due to war against terrorism.
The decision was taken at an All Parties Conference (APC) convened by provincial government.
The resolution further reads as the NWFP Province has suffered huge losses due to fight against terrorism and therefore the provinceÂ’s should be given an additional share of five per cent from national resources.
About the NFC Award, the conference decided that distribution of national resources should be made as 80:20 ratio. The provinces should be given 80 per cent resources and 20 per cent to centre.
In the resolution, the all parties conference also demanded payment of Rs 210 billion as NWFPÂ’s share in net hydel profit in accordance with the decision of arbitration tribunal in 2005.
Similarly, it was also demanded from centre to increase annual share of NWFP under the head of net hydel profit from Rs Six billion to Rs 38 billion as decided by arbitration tribunal.
NWFP Information Minister said if these demands of NWFP were not fulfilled than sitting in NFC Award meetings would be a futile exercise.
He said the meeting also observed that Terms of References (TORs) for the upcoming NFC Award meeting should have been decided with the consultation of provinces.

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SSP chief death triggers riots

August 17th, 2009 | No Comments



KHAIRPUR/KARACHI – The chief of a banned outfit Millat-e-Islamia Pakistan, an offshoot of Sipah-e-Sahaba Pakistan (SSP), Allama Ali Sher Haideri was shot dead in Khairpur in the wee hours of Monday.
The killing sparked riots in interior Sindh and Karachi, in which two protesters were killed and several others were wounded at Luqman Railways Crossing on Monday evening when personnel of law enforcement agencies opened fire on mob to stop them from removing rail track.
Meanwhile, in a special meeting of the SSP General Council at Luqman, the native village of Haideri, has elevated Maulana Muhammad Ahmed Ludhianvi as the new chief of the outfit while Sanaullah Jawari, brother of assassinated leader, has been made as the new administrator of Jamia Hamadia. The meeting has also warned the government of strong protest if the killers are not arrested in five days.
Protest demonstrations have also been reported from across the country including Islamabad, Gilgit and many other towns and cities. Tension has also gripped Jhang, the city that has remained the centre of sectarian violence and birthplace of militant outfits.
It is important to recall that members of the Sipah-e-Sahaba Pakistan (SSP) had formed Millat-e-Islamia or Nation of Islam in 2002 after the government banned SSP in 2002. But the very next year, Millat-e-Islamia was also banned along with other militant outfits, although it has continued to operate across the country.
According to details, Allama Ali Sher Haideri was killed along with one of his associates, Imtiaz Ali Phulpoto, near the village of Pir Jo Goth village. SSP Sindh chief Maulana Abdul Karim Marri was also injured in the attack.
Ali Sher Haideri was returning to Khairpur from the house of his friend after attending a public meeting at about 3am. When he reached at some distance from a village at Ahmedpur-Khairpur link road in the precincts of Pir Jo Goth Police Station, over 20 armed men who were already present there targeted HaideriÂ’s vehicle, which resulted in his death.
HaideriÂ’s bodyguards also retaliated triggering an exchange of fire in which one of the assailants, Oshaq Ali Jagirani, was also killed. Several of HaideriÂ’s had also been wounded.
Later on, the bodies were brought at Luqman area of Khairpur for funeral. The funeral prayer was offered at Madrassa Jamia Hamadia Luqman (a local seminary), which was attended by thousands of people. The SSP chief was laid to rest near his father grave in front of the seminary. Newly appointed chief of SSP Muhammad Ahmed Ludhianvi led the final prayers of the militant leader.
Meanwhile, while confirming the identification of dead attacker, DPO Khairpur has said that he suspected a personal grudge was the motive for the killing.
He said situation was now under control as police had been deployed across the district. He expressed the hope that they would capture the culprits soon.
Life came to a standstill as strike were observed in towns across Sindh and in parts of Punjab province.
It may be mentioned that some years back the people belonging to Jagirani community had also killed Muhammad Waris, father of Ali Sher Haideri over a land dispute.
No any case was lodged till the filing of story.
After receiving information, the activists of SSP arrived reached Luqman and blocked railway track at Luqman Railways Crossing due to which trains were stopped at Rohri, Nawabshah, Mehrabpur and other stations for many hours.
As the protesters started uprooting the track, police and Rangers personnel used teargas to disperse the crowd. But protesters started firing with automatic weapons that forced law enforcers to retaliate. During the gun battle Zulfikar Ali Jalbani and Saadullah Memon were killed while several others injured persons were brought to the Civil Hospital for treatment.
Meanwhile, the railways authorities have failed in repairing the track forcing the trains to stop at various stations including Rohri, Pano Aqil, Gambat, Rani Pur, Mehrabpur, Nawabshah and others, while the situation is still tense.
Some activist also burnt tyres at Therhi Bridge and blocked old National Highway. Houses of Jagirani community near the seminary at Luqman have also set ablaze.
Some unidentified armed persons shot fires into air at Chandia. The transporters also kept their vehicles off the road keeping the attendance in offices very low. All educational institutions including, schools, colleges and university also remained closed and administration returned the students who some how managed to arrive.
Strike was also observed in Pir Jo Goth, Gambat, Sobhodero, Naro, Naro, Kotdiji, Thari Mirwah and Faiz Gunj, while partial strike was also observed in parts of Punjab including Chichawatni.
Businesses were closed down across other cities in the Sindh, especially Hyderabad, Sukkur, Mirpurkhas, Naushahro Feroze, and Larkana. Activists of SSP also held protest demonstrations in Islamabad and burnt tyres to denounce the killing of their leader.
In Naushahro Feroze 10 persons were injured as protesters turned violent while militant activists beat shopkeepers to force them for closing down their businesses.
The killing sparked riots in Karachi where angry mobs burnt three vehicles and two petrol pumps, while they also resorted to aerial firing as around half a dozen people have also been injured.
Tension flared up when news of killing spread across the city where aerial firing has been reported in various areas while exchange of fire between the law enforcers and miscreants.
Violent protests sparked at Nagan Chowrangi in New Karachi in which at least six among a cop sustained bullet injuries during exchange of fire while miscreants were partially brunt two petrol pumps and two buses while another bus was set on fire in Orangi Town. According to details, despite the deployment of heavy contingents of police and Rangers, activists of SSP resorted to firing from within the mosque. Resultantly, police retaliated using gunshots and teargas. The clash resulted in injuries to five passer-bys and a cop.
Police have registered FIRs and arrested some 15 SSP activists including Abdul Ghafoor Nadeem, a central leader of SSP.
Police said unknown miscreants also started aerial firing, burnt tyres and pelted passing vehicles with stones in different localities including Khuda-ki-Basti, Patel Para, Ibrahim Hydri, Qayyumabad, Landhi, Dawood Chowrangi, Quaidabad and Kemari.
Another policeman deployed at an Imambargha in New Karachi also sustained bullet injuries when unknown assailants targeted the sacred place.
Firing and protest has been continued in various areas while heavy police deployment tried to prevent any further incident.
Reuters/AFP/PPI add: Mohammad Ahmed Ludhianvi, a top leader of the group, blamed Shias for Haideri’s killing. “The attackers were none other than Shias,” Ludhianvi told a news agency.
Giving details about the violence in Karachi, CCPO Waseem Ahmad told AFP that one police official and two others were injured in the firing by the armed men during rioting.
He said police arrested seven men belonging to SSP from a mosque, and recovered weapons and ammunition from their possession.
“Police… were deployed in sensitive areas and we are protecting the life and property of the people,” said DPO Jhang Salman Chaudhry, where SSP was formed in the early 1980s.
Partial strike was observed in the area as people decided to remain at homes.
A demonstration was also staged in Islamabad where people started their march from Abpara Market to Melody Market. They burnt tyres to block the road and chanted slogans against the government. Protesters also blamed Rehman Malik for his alleged involvement in the killing of Ali Sher Haideri and said it was a conspiracy to ignite sectarian violence in the country.
Violent protests have also been reported in Gilgit.

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Asif for regional common market

August 14th, 2009 | No Comments



KARACHI (APP) – Pakistan needs a new vision and a new relationship with the world.
This was stated by President Asif Ali Zardari while speaking at the ground breaking ceremony of the new building of the Sindh Assembly here on Friday. The President said that Pakistan also needs new relationship with neighbours.
He said that there should be regional ownership to the war in Afghanistan and the regional ownership to the trade of the world which starts from Pakistan and including India, China, Turkey or the neighbour of our region should be a common market.
Zardari said that this process of thought was shared first by Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto in a summit where she had acknowledged SAARC as the future economical zone.
He stated that all we have to do is to look at the history and at the lead provided by our leaders towards the move forward.
Referring to the ground breaking ceremony of the new building of the Sindh Assembly, the President said that this honour has been bestowed upon him through the vehicle of Bhuttoism.
He further stated that the Bhuttoism gives us the peopleÂ’s power and the people of Pakistan the sustaining power to fight and act against all dictators.
Zardari said that it was this Parliament that passed a resolution that led to the exit of a dictator from the Presidency.
He also referred to the concept of reconciliation that was given by the great leader Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto and said that we can see it working. “ Today amongst us sit all the political forces of Pakistan including the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM), Awami National Party (ANP), Pakistan Muslim League Functional (PML-F), the Opposition, Independents and that they are all here to serve the people of Pakistan”, the President added.
He further stated that this is the Assembly where our Founding Father- the Quaid-i-Azam, gave us Pakistan due to the help of the Sindh Assembly. The President also pointed out that there have been many challenges facing democracy and added that thinking about future Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto in her last address talked to the people and asked what they wanted in Swat.
He said today her vision of democracy saved Swat and that this was evident from the happiness on the faces of the people of that area who were celebrating PakistanÂ’s Independence Day today.
Zardari said that democracy in its revenge has begun to destroy the elements of extremism in Swat and the Northern region.
He stated that we have today announced that the FATA region will be declared a politically run area and they will have the same rights like other citizens of the country.
The President also pointed out that Shaheed Zulfikar Ali Bhutto founded the relationship with the Peoples Republic of China- a great power today, in those days when the world did not understand what China could become.
He said in that spirit he continues that relationship and taking it to the third generation when Bilawal Bhutto Zardari goes to the Beijing Olympics to mark the relationship which we-Pakistan and China take it to the third generation.
Zardari said that in the same spirit he visits China every three months to acknowledge that friendship and tell the Chinese that the people of Pakistan are their friends.
In the home context, he also talked about the spirit of reconciliation and said that democracy had been harmed by the forces one way or the other using the politicians against each other.
This is the reason we decided not to put our candidate against Mian Nawaz Sharif in Lahore so that he may enter the Assembly without a contest and become a member of Parliament and play his due role.
The President further pointed out that Pakistan needs a new vision and new relationship with the world and the neighbours and regional common market on the pattern of SAARC.
The President Asif Ali Zardari concluded his address with the slogan “ Pakistan Paindabad and Pakistan Khapay”.
Speaking on the occasion, Sindh Governor, Dr Ishratul Ebad Khan, termed FridayÂ’s project a very significant and historic one.
The Governor said that political stability leads to improvement in the affairs of the country as well as the attainment of prosperity.
On the occasion, he also referred to the unanimous election of President Zardari through a democratic process.
Dr Ishrat pointed out that Sindh is a very important province of the country.
He said that President Zardari carried along all the political parties and extended them a lot of respect.
The Governor said that in Sindh the Pakistan Peoples Party, Awami National Party and Mutahhida Qaumi Movement are together and this alliance is very strong and its positive impact is on the stability in this province as well as on Pakistan.
He also pointed out that chief of Mutahhida Qaumi Movement, Altaf Hussain had wholeheartedly supported President Zardari at the time of his election and this led to his unanimous election as the truly democratically elected President.
Dr Ishrat praised President ZardariÂ’s spirit for the progress and development of Pakistan.
He said that President ZardariÂ’s vision will steer the country successfully out of the challenges it is facing.
The Governor also praised the policies of President Zardari with which he is handling the challenges of terrorism and extremism.
He said that this has removed the confusion that existed in this regard in the past and the entire nation has fought this war in a unified manner and its impact is visible in Swat and Malakand.
The new building will have 350 seats for Diplomat and GovernorÂ’s gallery, 100 seats for SpeakerÂ’s Gallery, 1,000 seats in visitorsÂ’ gallery and 200 seats in the Press Gallery besides other seats.
It will have chambers of Chief Minister, Speaker, Deputy Speaker and Leader of the Opposition, 28 offices for the ministers.
It will have a mosque, a library as well as a cafeteria and two committee rooms. There will be a provision for car parking for over 500 cars.
The new building will also have a helipad on the roof of the building.
Meanwhile, President Zardari said Friday that Pakistan is poised to serve as a regional hub of economic activities due to its strategic location in the area.
He was speaking at the formal inauguration of liquid cargo terminal at Port Qasim. Sindh Governor Dr Ishratul Ibad Khan, Chief Minister Syed Qaim Ali Shah, Minister for Port and Shipping Senator Babar Khan Ghori, State Minister Nabil Gabol were also present on the occasion.
The President said that Pakistan should not be seen only as a large market of 180 million people, but also seen as a hub of economic activities and other adjacent markets.
With 1.2 billion population market on its right and more than 1 billion in up north and large market of Central Asian Republic in the east, the country is poised to serve as a regional hub and the nearest port to these countries.
Pakistani ports network offers the shortest possible distance to China, Central Asia and other neighbours.
The President said that the work on regional pipeline for gas is also on to serve as energy corridor upto central China from Pakistani ports. With all the features and endowments, Pakistan is poised to serve as a regional hub in the area, he noted.
He said that Pakistan would also serve as the major food producer in the area as well as neighbouring regions. In the next couple of years, Pakistan would enhance its per acre yield by three to five times with the help of new high yielding seeds from our great friend China and
also seed indigenisation.
President Zardari suggested the capital market players to raise funds at stock exchanges in local currency instead of borrowing in foreign currencies. The government was already working on this idea and Finance Minister and his team was preparing a paper in this regard.
This will reduce our dependance on foreign currency loans and enhance the importance of Pakistani rupee in the international market. We need professional management and stock exchange will serve as vehicle for this project, he opined.
He said that this will also increase values of scrips at our capital market which is still under valued.
Referring to another plan of the government to provide 12 per cent ownership to workers in state-owned institutions, the President said that it would give the workers an incentive to work hard.
He also suggested Minster for Port and Shipping to charge only the cost of land from investors and instead take bonus share in the company. Do not charge Rs 4 million per acre from them at the beginning of project, just charge the cost of land. It is the start of the project where the companies face shortage of funds, he observed.
President Zardari said the government was working to lower interest rate.

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76 judges cease to hold office

August 2nd, 2009 | No Comments


ISLAMABAD – In pursuance of the judgment of the full bench of the Supreme Court of Pakistan, dated July 31, 2009, the President of Pakistan is pleased to approve that the following 76 judges of Supreme Court and High Courts shall cease to hold their offices with immediate effect:
Supreme Court
Mr Justice Muhammad Qaim Jan, Mr Justice Ijazul Hassan, Mr Justice Muhammad Moosa K Leghari, Mr Justice Ch Ejaz Yousuf, Mr Justice Mian Hamid Farooq, Mr Justice Syed Zawwar Hussain Jaffery, Mr Justice Muhammad Farrukh Mahmud, Mr Justice Shaikh Hakim Ali, Mr Justice Sardar Muhammad Aslam.
Lahore High Court
Mr Justice Justice Zubda-tul-Hussain, Mr Justice Zafar Iqbal Chaudhry, Mr Justice Khawaja Farooq Saeed, Mr Justice Muhammad Akram Qureshi, Mr Justice Khurshid Anwar Bhindar, Mr Justice Mazhar Hussain Minhas, Mr Justice Saifur Rehman, Mr Justice S Ali Hassan Rizvi, Mr Justice Muhammad Ashraf Bhatti, Mr Justice Rana Zahid Mahmood, Mr Justice Kazim Ali Malik, Mr Justice Hafiz Tariq Nasim, Mr Justice Khalil Ahmad, Mr Justice MA Zafar, Mr Justice Malik Saeed Ejaz, Mr Justice Syed Shaheen Masood Rizvi, Mr Justice Ali Akbar Qureshi, Mr Justice Muhammad Ahsan Bhoon, Mr Justice Pervez Ali Chawla, Mr Justice Habibullah Shakir, Mr Justice Nazir Ahmad Ghazi, Mr Justice Abdul Sattar Goraya, Mr Justice Syed Ihtesham Qadir Shah, Mr Justice Jamila Jahanoor Aslam, Mr Justice Mahmood Akhtar Khan, Mr Justice Jamshed Rahmatullah, Mr Justice Pervez Inayat Malik, Mr Justice Arshad Mahmood, Mr Justice Irfan Qadir, Mr Justice Syed Zulfikar Ali Bukhari, Mr Justice Ch Naeem Masood, Mr Justice Mr Justice Anwarul Haq Pannu, Mr Justice Muhammad Shafqat Khan Abbasi, Mr Justice Imtiaz Rasheed Siddqui.
Sindh High Court
Mr Justice Bin Yamin, Mr Justice Khalid Ali Z Qazi, Mr Justice Salman Ansari, Mr Justice Abdul Rehman Farooq Pirzada, Mr Justice Abdul Rasheed Klwar, Mr Justice Zafar Ahmed Khan Sherwani, Mr Justice Syed Mehmood Alam Rizvi, Ms Justice Soofia Latif, Mr Justice Maqbool Ahmed Awan, Mr Justice Safdar Ali Bhutto, Mr Justice Moharram G Baloch, Mr Justice Malik Muhammad Aqil, Mr Justice Syed Shafqat Ali Shah Masoomi, Mr Justice Muhammad Iqbal Mahar, Mr Justice Khadim Hussain M Shaikh, Mr Justice M Ismail Bhutto, Mr Justice Arshad Siraj Memon, Mr Justice Amer Raza Naqvi, Mr Justice M Karim Khan Agha, Mr Justice Salman Talibuddin.
Peshawar High Court
Mr Justice Shaji Rehman Khan, Mr Justice Ghulam Mohayuddin Malik, Mr Justice Ziauddin Khattak, Mr Justice Syed Mussaddiq Hussain Gilani, Mr Justice Syed Yahya Zahid Gilani, Mr Justice M Alam Khan.
Islamabad High Court
Mr Justice M Munir Paracha, Mr Justice Syed Qalb-i-Hassan, Mr Justice Raja Saeed Akram Khan, Mr Justice M Arshad Tabrez, Mr Justice Amjad Iqbal Qureshi, Mr Justice M Ramzan Chaudhry, Mr Justice Syed Intikhab Hussain Shah.
The President of Pakistan has been further pleased to approve the repatriation of following judges:
Mr Justice Sakhi Hussain Bukhari and Mr Justice Zia Pervez have been repatriated from Supreme Court of Pakistan while Mr Justice Bilwal Khan has been repatriated from Islamabad High Court.
This was stated in a Press release issued by PID late on Sunday night.

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SC to review Dogar’s status

July 27th, 2009 | No Comments


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.

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Govt under fire over power crisis

July 24th, 2009 | No Comments


ISLAMABAD – Federal Minister for Interior Rehman Malik Friday told the Upper House that the government had provided proof of Afghanistan and IndiaÂ’s involvement in insurgency in Balochistan to the heads of the government of both countries.
Responding to the point of order of Senator Jamal Leghari, Malik said that Afghanistan had been told that there were camps in that country training perverted Balochi youths involved in terrorist activities.
He said that the government for the first time had taken the issue on record with the Indian Government. He said that he himself held a meeting with President Hamid Karzai in Kabul and provided him the proof regarding training camps in Afghanistan where Balochi insurgents were being given training.
He said that President Karzai had agreed to start three bio-metric check posts on Pak-Afghan border which would become operative in August. He said that Karzai had assured to close down those camps, which were being run by the Indian intelligence agencies on Afghan soil.
The Minister said that Balochistan and its people had been badly ignored by the previous regimes and the present government was committed to giving them their rights with a view to removing their grievances. He said that the government had taken on board all political leaders of the province to move forward for resolving issues.
The Interior Minister said that all fourteen points recommended by the Parliamentary Committee on National Security to improve law and order situation in the country were being implemented in letter and spirit. Referring to the interview of a Baloch separatist leader in London to a local private channel, Malik said that the PEMRA had taken notice of the broadcast adding that action would be taken in this regard.
The Minister said that talks with politicians, civil society members and other stakeholders were the only solution to the problems of Balochistan but made it clear that parleys were out of question with those who wanted independence. He said that it was appreciable that Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani had raised the issue of Balochistan with his Indian counterpart in Sharm El Sheikh.
Earlier, Senator Jamal Leghari of PML-Q on a point of order exhibited his fears that situation in Balochistan was worsening like East Pakistan. He said that Pakistan could not afford separation of Balochistan urging the government to take necessary measures before the time was out of hand. Referring to separatists leaderships sitting in London, the Opposition Senator asked the government to approach the UK Government to expatriate them because of their involvement in anti-Pakistan activities.
Terming former President and Prime Minister ‘thieves’ treasury benches here on Friday said that the current energy crisis in the country was due to wrong planning of Pervez Musharraf and Shaukat Aziz.
Speaking on a point of order, PPP senior leader Senator Raza Rabbani said that the ill planning of former President Pervez Musharraf and Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz was the real reason behind the existing power outages in the country and asked them to come home to face the nation.
He proposed that a commission should be constituted to conduct an inquiry into the matter of privatisation of KESC in Shaukat AzizÂ’s government. Raza Rabbani also suggested that the government should take over KESC and appoint its operator as the private company had failed to run the affairs of KESC as per legal agreement. He said that due to negligence and slackness of the KESC administration and its so-called prudent policies masses were facing the brunt.
He also criticized the government for giving a free hand to KESC adding that Karachi had witnessed some worst and horrible blackouts in the history of Pakistan on June 17 and July 21. “Since last many days, more than 2,500 industrial units have been closed,” he stated. He was of the view that Musharraf and Shaukat Aziz were guilty and asked them to face the music in front of the general public and courts of law as they were the ones who were the sheer culprits of the present-day situation.
Senate also witnessed some obnoxious and repulsive scenes as members of the ruling coalition raised slogans against Musharraf and Shaukat Aziz terming them thieves, looters and plunderers of national exchequer. They stood from their respective seats in the House and raised slogans like “Pervez Musharraf thief”, “Dacoit Shaukat Aziz”, “Both are Looters”, etc. They were asking them to come and face the courts.
Leader of Opposition in the Upper House, Senator Wasim Sajjad speaking on a point of order said that it was a wrong decision to shelve the KBD project in view of the current power crisis. Wasim Sajjad asked the government to give a deadline when the people would get rid of load-shedding. He said frequent power outages were not only affecting the peopleÂ’s lives but also casting negative effects on business, agriculture and industries.
Upon this the ANP and PPP Sindh Senators protested and raised a hue and cry. They said that KBD was a controversial project and thus shelved by the government and now there was no point in debating this issue.
Senator Tahir Hussain Mashhadi urged the government to pay back circular debt of IPPs, adding that power rentals would in no way be in the interest of the country due to its ten times higher prices. He said that unless the KESC was not de-privatized, the national economy would not improve. Senator Tariq Azeem said that the television commercials being funded by PEPCO as an austerity drive was just the wastage of public money. Azeem said that all the claims of the government had ended in fiasco as it had asserted that it would plunge the country out of power dilemma with various projects but to no avail. Senator Shahid Bugti was of the view that through proper usage of existing capacity of power production, the government can control 70 to 80 per cent energy crisis.
Federal Minister for Water and Power Raja Pervez Ashraf told the Upper House that if load-shedding was not ended by December 31, he was ready to face the music adding undoubtedly due to so-called prudent policies of the previous government the country was facing such consequences. He said that due to heavy credits of the past government, the incumbent government was unable to cope with overwhelming expenditures.
He said that for immediate needs, thermal and rental plants were the only way with which the country could cope with power dilemma adding that the construction of dams and new projects would take some time from now. He said that more than 4 billion dollars investment had been made in the field of energy to tackle the energy crises through thick and thin. He said that the former government was responsible for power crisis in the country saying due to non-payment in the past, the circular debt had ballooned to Rs 400 billion.
The Minister said that the schedule of load-shedding sometimes got disturbed due to certain reasons which included blowing up of power pylons in subversive activities or through natural calamities. The Minister said that within a few days Mangla DamÂ’s tunnel was repaired which was now generating 400 megawatt of electricity.
Senators from both treasury and Opposition benches unanimously demanded of the government to restore their Hajj quota. Speaking on a point of order, Senator Shahid Bugti raised the matter before the House and urged Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani to restore SenatorsÂ’ Hajj quota through an executive order, which was endorsed by all other members of the Upper House.
Responding to the point, Leader of the House Syed Nayyar Bokhari told the House that the decision to withdraw SenatorsÂ’ quota was taken in a Cabinet committee meeting. However, Chairman Senate Farooq H. Naek asked the Leader of the House to discuss the matter with the Prime Minister and the Minister concerned to get the decision undone. He asked Nayyar Bokhari to report the House on Monday in this regard as it was a unanimous demand of the Senators. The Chairman Senate also informed the House that Senator Dr Javed Leghari had tendered resignation from his Senate seat.
Earlier, the Business Advisory Committee of the Senate decided to take up the post-operation rehabilitation steps in Swat and Malakand Division, situation in Balochistan and law and order across the country during the 55th session of the Senate.
The meeting of the business advisory committee was held here under the chairmanship of Chairman Senate Farooq H. Naek. Deputy Chairman Senate Jan Muhammad Jamali, Leader of the House Syed Nayyar Hussain Bokhari, Leader of the Opposition Senator Wasim Sajjad, Maulana Abdul Ghafoor Haideri, Minister for Local Government Abdur Razzaq Thahim, and other parliamentary leaders of the political parties attended the meeting. It was also decided that the current session would continue till August 7 and the session would not be held during the holy month of Ramazan.
The Senate also expressed gratitude to the President for his address to both Houses of Parliament, which assembled together on 28th of March this year. A motion to this effect was moved by Minister for Parliamentary Affairs Babar Awan that was adopted unanimously by the House.
In the morning, the proceedings of the House were suspended for more than an hour due to mechanical fault in the mike system. Later, the Chairman Senate Farooq H Naik adjourned the senate session till 5:00 Monday evening.

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Fresh Pakistan protest over power

July 22nd, 2009 | No Comments

Protests against power outages in Pakistan

There have been fresh protests in Pakistan for the second day running over frequent power outages.

On Tuesday, protests across the country turned violent, causing damage to public and private property. There are more protests planned for Thursday.

Pakistan suffers an electricity shortfall of over 1,000 megawatts (MW) a day, officials say.

The government has not succeeded in reducing the supply gap despite repeated promises.

It has appealed for calm, claiming that a power station with an extra 3,000MW will be on-stream within months.

Sporadic protests over power outages have been the norm since 2007, but this is the first time simultaneous protests broke out across the country.

Fresh protests were reported from parts of Punjab and the North West Frontier Province on Wednesday.

The protesters took to the streets, chanting slogans against the government and the power authority.

On Tuesday a strike called by businessmen in Punjab province, which houses nearly 60% of the country’s population, turned violent when spontaneous protests broke out all over the province as well as in parts of the provinces of Sindh and NWFP.

Traders and industrialists say frequent power outages are causing daily losses that runs into millions of dollars.

Industrialists complain their production schedules have gone haywire due to outages that occur unexpectedly and not according to a predetermined schedule.

The Pakistani economy grew at an average of eight percent during 2002-07, boosting demand for electricity at domestic, trading and industrial levels.

Rampage

But no new power generation projects were commissioned, creating a serious power shortage by 2007.

In urban areas, authorities are cutting power supply by four to eight hours a day in each area to ensure even power distribution.

In rural areas, such power outages range from 12 to 16 hours.

On Tuesday, protesters blocked highways and city roads, staged sit-ins and damaged public and private property.

In Jhang, a mob went on the rampage, burning three cars of a train and damaging the local offices of the power authority and the police.

Protests were also reported from Karachi and Peshawar, where protestors blocked roads and laid siege to offices of the power authority.

These protests came a day after the weekend rains in the southern city of Karachi, a city of over 16 million.

The rains caused a 36-hour power breakdown in Karachi, sparking riots.

The central government on Tuesday night put the Karachi Electric Supply Corporation on notice to explain the power breakdown. </p

This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.

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Court in Pakistan acquits Sharif

July 17th, 2009 | No Comments

Nawaz Sharif 25 August

Pakistan’s Supreme Court has acquitted opposition head Nawaz Sharif of hijacking charges, removing the final ban on him running for public office.

He was banned after being found guilty of hijacking then army chief General Pervez Musharraf’s plane in 1999.

Mr Sharif was prime minster when he sacked Gen Musharraf. He was toppled in an army coup soon afterwards.

Mr Sharif was tried by the Sindh high court. He has always maintained that the charges were politically motivated.

Mr Sharif’s government had ordered officials to divert Gen Musharraf’s plane away from Karachi and to a smaller city in Sindh.

While he was imprisoned, Mr Sharif agreed to go into exile under a deal with Gen Musharraf who had taken over as Pakistan’s president.

Mr Sharif ended his exile ahead of the 2008 elections but was prevented from contesting due to the court conviction.

In its ruling on Friday, the Supreme Court said there was no evidence to support the charge of hijacking and acquitted Mr Sharif.

Prosecutor Shahadat Awan was quoted by news agency Associated Press as saying that the court’s decision was unanimous. </p

This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.

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Inland Water Transport Authority planned

July 14th, 2009 | No Comments


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.

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