News From Pakistan

[+]NWFP, Balochistan want provincial autonomy
      Sunday, September 06, 2009

ISLAMABAD: The nationalist parties from Balochistan and NWFP, including the ANP, have linked the repealing of the 17th Amendment with granting of autonomy to the provinces. According to sources, during the three-day proceedings of the Parliamentary Committee on Constitutional Reforms that ended on Saturday the nationalist parties made it clear that there would be “give and take” on the issue of repealing the 17th Amendment. The meeting was chaired by its Chairman Mian Raza Rabbani. The next meeting would be held on September 28. The sources said the nationalist parties were of the view that the issue of division of power was only between the two political parties ñthe PPP and the PML-N — and the nationalist parties were not interested whether the appointment of services chiefs should be in hands of the president or the prime minister but their main focus was the provincial autonomy. The nationalist parties warned that if the committee did not make the provincial autonomy as part of the package then they would not support the repealing of the 17th Amendment, the sources added. While the PML-N, the sources said, was pressurising the committee to repeal the 17th Amendment at the first stage while the issues like the provincial autonomy would be taken up later, as this issue would open new Pandora’s box. But the nationalists rejected this point, saying, “If they want to repeal the 17th Amendment, they can do it and we will not become part of it as it is not an issue of masses that who gets more powers.” The sources said the PML-N had also opposed the renaming of the NWFP as Pakhtunkhwa and termed it controversial name, which could create division among the people of the Frontier province. The PML-N suggested “Abaseen’ or “Khyber” as the alternative names for the province, they said. They maintained said the PML-Q also opposed the renaming of the NWFP as Pakhtunkhwa. The sources said participants of the Saturday meeting took oath not to disclose any thing outside till the final report of the committee.

(Courtesy Daily The News, Pakistan)

[+]Musharraf aides say Saudis have bailed him out
      Sunday, September 06, 2009

ISLAMABAD: Former president Pervez Musharraf believes Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) supreme leader Nawaz Sharif would get a “strong” message from King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz, during his forthcoming visit to Saudi Arabia, to change his stiff stand against the ousted leader, the retired general’s close aides feel. They claim that Nawaz Sharif would be asked to “honour the international guarantees and commitments” clinched with the inclusion of the United States, Britain and Saudi Arabia at the time of Musharraf’s resignation as the president of Pakistan and about which he was fully aware. They say a key element of these dos and don’ts was that Musharraf would be a free man, facing no embargo on his movements while going out of and coming in Pakistan and would not be prosecuted anywhere on any account. “Musharraf is upbeat after his meeting with King Abdullah earlier this week,” Fawad Chaudhry, who is a member of Musharraf’s legal team, told The News from London after meeting the former president in the British capital. “Musharraf told me that he was received in Saudi Arabia with the warmth he was not expecting.” Fawad Chaudhry, a close relative of the former chief justice of the Lahore High Court Chaudhry Iftikhar Hussain, is in Britain for the past two weeks and often participates in the “strategy sessions” presided over by Musharraf. According to him, Musharraf said during the meeting, the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques addressed him as brother and stated that he was an honest man who had done a lot for the Muslim Ummah and his own nation. Amid the claims of different Musharraf associates about the expected change of Nawaz Sharif’s tone after his forthcoming Saudi visit, the PML-N spokesmen confined their formal comments to saying only that it was advisable not to drag the kingdom in Pakistan’s internal affairs. However, other PML-N leaders privately shared Musharraf loyalists’ view about the change in Nawaz Sharif’s policy after his Saudi visit.

(Courtesy Daily The News, Pakistan)

[+]PPP seeking indemnity for Musharraf in 18th Amendment
      Sunday, September 06, 2009

ISLAMABAD: In a surprise move, the Pakistan People’s Party’s constitutional package presented before the parliamentary committee on constitutional reforms seeks validation of Musharraf’s actions and orders taken between Nov 3 to Dec 15 of 2007. According to a source, though the PPP constitutional package now presented before the parliamentary committee is much better than the one prepared by Farooq H Naek last year, it seeks indemnity for unexplained orders and actions of the ousted dictators during the period when the Constitution remained abrogated. Article 270AAA of the ruling party’s constitutional package reads as: “Validation of Acts: All actions taken and order passed pertaining to and dealing with the day to day running of the affairs of the state between 3rd day of Nov 2007 and 15th day of December 2007 shall be deemed to have been taken by the competent authority.” The source said this recommended 270AAA Article making part of the PPP’s constitutional package was too vague to allow its unbounded interpretation even to provide indemnity to any unconstitutional action of Musharraf. “It could be interpreted to justify anything,” the source said. He said such a provision must be limited within the parameters set by the landmark judgment of the Supreme Court on July 31, 2009. The Supreme Court in its judgment declared the Nov 3rd action of Musharraf as unconstitutional but validated the Feb 2008 elections as well as the oath administered by the then de facto Chief Justice Abdul Hameed Dogar. The SC also nullified the appointments of all the judges made after Nov 3rd 2007 and on the recommendation of Dogar till March 22, 2009 when he attained the age of retirement. The source, who referred to the PPP’s draft constitutional package, said if Article 270AAA as proposed by the PPP was not subjected to the Supreme Court’s order, then it would even be used to justify providing indemnity to the unconstitutional actions like appointing judges and other such appointments considered to be dealing with the day-to-day running of the affairs of the state.” In any case Musharraf’s orders and actions like putting the judges, including the chief justice and their families, under house arrest on Nov 3rd, launching a crackdown on the media and blackout of some private television channels, including Geo, could also be covered under the same recommended article. The PPP’s 270AAA does not talk of the Proclamation of Emergency of 3rd November 2007 order.

(Courtesy Daily The News, Pakistan)

[+]Pakistan wants ties with India on equal footing: Gilani
      Sunday, September 06, 2009

KARACHI: Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani has said Pakistan wants relations with India on an equal footing and sought resumption of proper dialogue with India. He was talking to newsmen at the Governor’s House on Saturday after addressing a ceremony of the Pakistan Housing Authority (PHA) for Maymar Towers, a joint venture of the PHA, the Federal Housing Ministry and the Maymar Housing Services. “We want relations with India on an equal basis and it is our resolve that we will not allow our soil to be used for terrorism. Therefore, we want a proper dialogue to be resumed as in the present situation, the terrorists are getting benefit of the situation,” he said. “We want relations with India on the basis of equality. If Pakistan and India do not enter into negotiations for the betterment of the region, then someone else would get the benefit. If there will not be bilateral talks, the terrorists will take advantage of it,” Gilani said. Defending reshuffles in bureaucracy, the prime minister said that he had brought changes in bureaucracy for ensuring efficiency, integrity and quality. Referring to newspaper reports giving an impression as if the former chairman Competition Commission Khalid Mirza was removed from the post because he had issued notices to the cement cartel and imposed a fine of Rs 7 billion, the prime minister pointed out that many posts, on which newspapers were making comments, were either additional charges or were on extension. Gilani said he saluted the officer who had done such a big service to Pakistan and took bold steps in cement and sugar crises. Gilani said there were two reports about Khalid Mirza and his tenure. Firstly, his was a tenure post of four years and if that was correct, he would come back. The other report was that he was posted till further orders which meant there was no tenure to his term. But, he said it was being highlighted by the media that he (Khalid Mirza) was rendering great service to Pakistan and that the government had removed him under the influence of cement and sugar cartels, therefore, Khalid had been given one month’s extension and he would continue to work.

(Courtesy Daily The News, Pakistan)

[+]18 militants die in Orakzai blitz
      Sunday, September 06, 2009

KALAYA: Eighteen militants were killed and their 11 hideouts destroyed when fighter planes on Saturday blitzed Saidkhel and Utmankhel areas in Kalaya Tehsil of the Orakzai Agency, tribal sources said. Also, five houses of civilians, used by the militants as their hideouts, and six explosive-laden vehicles parked in a compound were destroyed in the air strikes. The sources said fighter planes started bombing militants’ positions in Saidkhel and Utmankhel areas at 10:00 am, which continued for two hours. They said 18 militants were killed and 11 hideouts and six explosive-laden vehicles were destroyed in the action. Eyewitnesses said electricity and communication system and five houses of civilians were also destroyed in the area. The political administration declared emergency in all the hospitals of the agency after the attack. Local residents started rescue work after five hours. Most of the residents have vacated their houses and shifted to safer places due to the volatile situation in the area. The militants had occupied the abandoned houses and were using them as their hideouts.

(Courtesy Daily The News, Pakistan)

[+]43 militants killed in Bara operation
      Sunday, September 06, 2009

BARA/PESHAWAR: Hundreds of families migrated from Bara subdivision of Khyber Agency as security forces claimed killing 43 suspected militants on Saturday, the fifth day of the operation “Bia Daraghlam”. Also, the Lashkar-e-Islam (LI) chief Mangal Bagh has ordered his men to launch attacks against security forces. “The young volunteers should attack security forces if the latter continue razing our houses and targeting our people, while the aged people, who can’t fight, should prepare themselves for suicide attacks,” Mangal Bagh said on his illegal FM radio. He charged that security forces were subjecting his people to “cruelties” and they could not stand as silent spectators any more. “Volunteers who can’t fight should lay down arms and go back to their houses,” said the LI chief in his 30-minute speech. “The elderly people, who are unable to fight, should join preaching (Tableegh). If can’t do so, then they should prepare themselves for suicide attacks,” he announced.

(Courtesy Daily The News, Pakistan)

[+]Punjab can’t afford more subsidy: Shahbaz
      Sunday, September 06, 2009

LAHORE: Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif, during a cabinet meeting here Saturday, asked the Punjab advocate general to apprise the Lahore High Court chief justice about the complex situation, as the provincial government could not afford giving billions of rupees of subsidy on sugar by purchasing it at the rate of Rs45 from the mill owners. The CM told the cabinet meetings have been held with the sugar-mill owners, who are not ready to lower the sugar rates. He said the mill owners say the price of sugar was fixed at Rs45 per kg by the prime minister and they would not withdraw from the agreement. He told the cabinet the dealers had already purchased two lakh tonnes of sugar out of total stocks of seven lakh tonnes from the mills in Punjab at the rate of Rs45. He said the advocate general should apprise the court of the situation as to who would bear this loss. The meeting was also informed that people were quite pleased with the sugar rates of Rs47 in the open market and Rs40 at Ramazan bazaars. Insiders said some of the cabinet members suggested filing an appeal in the superior court against the LHC decision. Nevertheless, the proposal was rejected fearing political damage to the party image among masses.

(Courtesy Daily The News, Pakistan)

[+]Millers refuse to sell sugar at Rs36
      Sunday, September 06, 2009

LAHORE: The Pakistan Sugar Mills Association (PSMA) on Saturday refused to sell sugar at Rs36 per kg, saying they were ready to face any consequence, even arrests. Also, the Punjab government temporarily allowed sugar dealers to lift stocks from mills under the previous agreements in order to ease supplies in the market. Meanwhile, Federal Industries and Production Minister Manzoor Ahmad Wattoo urged the prime minister to intervene and resolve the issue of sugar price. He suggested that a meeting of all stakeholders be convened to iron out differences on the sugar price. Earlier, addressing a press conference after the central executive committee meeting of the association, PSMA Punjab chapter Chairman Javed Kiyani said mill owners would prefer offering arrests if the government insisted on selling sweetener at Rs36 per kg. He claimed the government provided incorrect statistics to the court. He said the sugar stock stored at mills had been pledged to banks against financing and thus could not be confiscated. He added the mill owners were already facing financial crunch and would not be able to make payments to growers and banks. Javed Kiyani said his association would challenge the Lahore High Court decision as soon as the court’s signed ruling was received. He regretted the government was harassing the sugar mill owners who invested in the country. “In such circumstances, nobody will be ready to invest in the sugar industry anymore,” he warned. Currently, sugar is not available in the market at retail price of Rs40 per kg. Lahore Sugar Dealers Association Chairman Asghar Butt said the provincial government had allowed dealers to lift sugar from a few mills under the previous agreements with a view to enhancing supply in the market. He added the price fixed by the court could be implemented in the next three to four days. Till then, he added, efforts were being made to ensure the availability of sugar at previous rate of Rs47 per kg. The basic objective of this exercise is to avoid shortage of the commodity in the open market. Answering a question, he said 200 truckloads of sugar were lifted from sugar mills on Saturday at ex-mill price of Rs45.

(Courtesy Daily The News, Pakistan)

[+]Awards announced for armed forces
      Sunday, September 06, 2009

RAWALPINDI: The government has announced operational awards for the Armed Forces on the occasion of the Defence Day of Pakistan, September 6, 2009. The recipients of the awards are: Sitara-i-Basalat: Lt Colonel Muhammad Tahir Iqbal (Shaheed), Major Muhammad Zubair (Shaheed), Major Abid Majeed Malik (Shaheed), Major Syed Zahid Hussain Shah (Shaheed), Lt Safi Ullah (Shaheed) and Havildar Naeem Asghar (Shaheed). Tamgha-i-Basalat: Captain Muhammad Tahir, Captain Muhammad Abid Khan (Shaheed), Lt Muhammad Zeeshan (Shaheed), Naib Subedar Arshad Mahmood (Shaheed), Naib Subedar Sharif Nadir (Shaheed), Naib Subedar Himat Khan (Shaheed), Havildar Abdur Rehman (Shaheed), Havildar Muhammad Yousaf (Shaheed), Havildar Mazher Rehman (Shaheed), Havildar Dewa Gul, Naik Akmal Said (Shaheed), Naik Abdul Rehman (Shaheed), Naik Rehmat Ullah (Shaheed), Lance Naik Mirabat Khan (Shaheed), Lance Naik Jalil Khan, Lance Naik Intizar Khan (Shaheed), Lance Naik Sarfraz Hussain (Shaheed), Lance Naik Jahangir (Shaheed), Lance Naik Shadab Haider Shah (Shaheed), Sepoy Iftikhar Ahmed (Shaheed), Sepoy Ghulam Gillani (Shaheed), Sepoy Muhammad Jahangir (Shaheed), Sepoy Muhammad Sajid, Sepoy Muhammad Ramzan Khan (Shaheed) and Sepoy Arif Hussain (Shaheed). Imtiazi Sanad: Colonel Mujahid Hussain, Colonel Saif Ullah Orakzai, Major Muhammad Farooq, Major Jehangir Khan, Captain Syed Ali Raza Gillani, Captain Rizwan Ahmed Shaikh, Subedar Major Sher Hayat Khan, Havildar Abdul Rahman, Lance Naik Shah Nawaz and Sepoy Nasir Mahmood. COAS Commendation Card: Col Naseer Ahmad Janjua, Lt Col Mirza Asif Hussain Baig, Lt Col Tauqir Abbas Shah, Lt Col Arshad Mahmood, Lt Col Abrar Hussain, Lt Col Muhammad Saeed, Major Muhammad Ilyas Khan, Major Muhammad Ejaz Akhtar, Major Salman Jamil Noor, Captain Bilal Hasham, Captain Syed Fassih-ul-Hasnain and Lt Sami Ullah Khan Niazi.

(Courtesy Daily The News, Pakistan)

[+]PAF starts Saffron Bandits exercise
      Sunday, September 06, 2009

PAF OPERATIONAL BASE: While the Pakistan Air Force continues to undertake anti militant operations in Fata and Swat in coordination with Pak Army, it has simultaneously embarked upon a training regimen wherein the PAF’s entire combat force is being exposed to similar operations. For this purpose, experience gained from the recent operations has been dovetailed into an exercise code named “Saffron Bandit”, which is well underway on one of the PAF’s main operating bases. The academic and flying curriculum of the exercise has been so orchestrated that it is not only training the tactical level combat crew but is also providing rich experience to its air battle staff at the operational levels in such operations. Upon the completion of the exercise “Saffron Bandit”, PAF’s effectiveness would be further enhanced to undertake similar operations on as required basis. In order to witness the progress of exercise “Saffron Bandit”, Chief of Army Staff General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani and Chief of Air Staff Air Chief Marshal Rao Qamar Suleman visited a main PAF base along with senior officers of the PAF and Pak Army. Upon arriving at the base, Deputy Chief of Air Staff Operations Air Marshal Mohammad Hassan gave a briefing to the senior military leadership, which was followed by a comprehensive presentation by Gp Cpt Suleman Aziz on various facets of air operations focusing mainly on anti militant operations. Later, the dignitaries went to a firing range to witness live delivery of weapons by the PAF aircraft. The flying demonstrations depicted lethal and accurate weapon delivery symbolizing joint efforts of the two services.

(Courtesy Daily The News, Pakistan)

[+]13 superior courts judges to take oath tomorrow
      Sunday, September 06, 2009

ISLAMABAD: The two newly appointed judges of the Supreme Court will take oath of their office on Monday while the oath taking of 7 new additional judges of Peshawar High Court and 4 of Balochistan High Court will also be held tomorrow. Justice Khilji Arif Hussain and Justice Rehmat Hussain Jafri have been inducted as SC judges and they will be taking oath of their offices here at the Supreme Court building tomorrow. Chief Justice of Pakistan Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry will administer the oath. The total number of SC judges will become 17 after addition of the above two judges who hail from Sindh province. President Asif Ali Zardari granted approval to the appointment of 13 judges – two judges for Supreme Court and 11 additional judges for NWFP and Balochistan high courts. Additional judges appointed in Peshawar High Court include Abdul Aziz Kundi, Fasih-ul-Mulk, Liaquat Ali Shah, Mazhar Alam Mina Khel, Attaullah Khan, Mohammad Safdar Khan and Mufftahuddin. Justice Jamal Khan Mandokhel, Justice Tahira Safdar, Justice Mohammad Noor Muskan Zai and Justice Ghulam Mustafa Mengal have been inducted in Balochistan High Court as additional judges.

(Courtesy Daily The News, Pakistan)