By-elections in five NA constituencies during February: ECP

ISLAMABAD: The Election Commission of Pakistan has announced to hold by-elections on five vacant seats of National Assembly on February 20.

According to a notification issued here Friday, the nomination papers for contesting by-elections in NA-9 Mardan-I, NA-140 Kasur-III, NA-148 Multan-I, NA-149 Multan-II, NA-195 Rahim Yar Khan-IV could be filed with the respective Returning Officers on January 19-20, 2012.

The respective Returning Officers have been assigned to complete the scrutiny of nomination papers on Jan 23-24. The last date for filing of appeals against decisions of the Returning Officers regarding acceptance or rejection of nomination papers, has been fixed for January 26.

Likewise, February 1st has been fixed as last date for deciding appeals by the Tribunals. The contestants could withdraw their candidature by February 2nd and revised list of candidates would be published on February 3rd and polling would be held on February 20.

Deputy Election Commissioner and Assistant Election Commissioner Mardan have been assigned to act as District Returning Officer and Returning Officers respectively for NA-9 Mardan-I. While Naib Tehsildar, Takht Bhai; and Headmaster, GMS Railway Station Mardan would act as Assistant Returning Officers.

In NA-140 Kasur-III, Deputy Election Commissioner Lahore and Assistant Election Commissioner Kasur would supervise the by-elections as District Returning Officer and Returning Officer respectively. District Education Officer Elementary, Tehsildar and Election Officer Kasur would act as Assistant Returning Officers.

In NA-148 Multan-I, Joint Provincial Election Commissioner Punjab, Lahore and Assistant Election Commissioner Multan would act as District Returning Officer and Returning Officer respectively. District Education Officer (Secondary), Assistant Commissioner (Saddar) and Election Officer Multan have been assigned the duties of Assistant Returning Officers.

In NA-149 Multan-II, Joint Provincial Election Commissioner Punjab, Lahore and Deputy Election Commissioner Multan will perform the duties of District Returning Officer and Returning Officers respectively. District Education Officer (Colleges), and Assistant Commissioner (City) Multan and Assistant Election Commissioner Vehari would act as Assistant Returning Officers.

In NA-195 Rahim Yar Khan-IV, Deputy Election Commissioner and Assistant Election Commissioner, Bahawalpur will act as District Returning Officer and Returning Officer respectively. Assistant Election Commissioner, District Education Officer (Elementary) and Tehsildar R Y Khan will act as Assistant Returning Officers.

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Sacked for not signing govt affidavit says Lodhi

ISLAMABAD: Former Defence Secretary Lt. General Khalid Naeem Lodhi on Friday said that he was sacked for not signing a government’s affidavit in memogate case, FTNews reported.

“How could I sign a statement which was not mine” said Lodhi.

He said that he has decided to move court over his unjust removal.

The former secretary said that Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani did not give any reason for his dismissal and there was no show-cause notice issued nor was there any inquiry.

Lodhi said he was sacked because he did not sign the government’s affidavit in the memogate case.

Earlier on Wednesday, the Prime Minister’s Office said in a statement: “General Lodhi was dismissed for gross misconduct and illegal action … and for creating misunderstanding between institutions.”

The government gave additional charge of the defence ministry to Cabinet Secretary Nargis Sethi.

Mr Gilani further explained: “Under the rules of business, the defence secretary did not get the summary in writing or sought confirmation from the minister and bypassed the Ministry of Law and Justice and sent a copy of replies to the attorney general and also sent the reply directly to the Supreme Court registrar.” He said Gen Lodhi had been removed after “thoroughly investigating the matter”, adding that the former defence secretary had himself conceded that he did not get the replies approved by the defence minister or the attorney general.

“And he has written himself that neither the minister nor the attorney general was available. We have nothing against anybody.”

Gen Lodhi, who took over as the defence secretary on November 28 last year, was considered to be a close confidant of Gen Kayani.

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Pakistan, UK deny call expressing coup fears

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani telephoned the top British diplomat in the country this week expressing fears that the Pakistani army might be about to stage a coup, a British official and an official in Islamabad said on Friday.

The Pakistani and British governments denied the report, which comes as tensions between Pakistan’s army and government have soared in recent days, leading to speculation that the army might try to oust the civilian leadership.

Pakistani leaders have often looked to foreign powers, especially the United States and Gulf countries, to intervene in domestic affairs, mediate disputes between feuding power centers or ”guarantee” agreements between them.

The army, which has staged four coups in Pakistan’s history and is believed to consider itself the only true custodian of the country’s interests, has never liked the civilian government headed by the prime minister and President Asif Ali Zardari.

But a scandal centered on an unsigned memo sent to Washington last year asking for its help in heading off a supposed coup has put the military and the government on a seeming collision course. The note enraged the army, which was still smarting from the humiliation of last year’s unilateral American raid that killed Osama bin Laden.

While most analysts say army chief Gen. Ashfaq Pervez Kayani has little appetite for a coup, many believe the generals may be happy to allow the Supreme Court to dismiss the government by ”constitutional means.”

The reported phone call, which one official said was ”panicky,” would suggest a genuine fear at the highest level of the Pakistani government that army might carry out a coup or support possible moves by the Supreme Court to topple the civilian leadership.

Gilani asked High Commissioner Adam Thomson for Britain to support his embattled government, according to the officials, who didn’t give their names because of the sensitivity of the issue. It’s unclear if the British government took any action.

The British Foreign Office, however, said in a statement Friday there was ”no phone call on this matter.”

The prime minister’s office also said Gilani had ”not spoken to the British High Commissioner in this regard.”

A Supreme Court commission is probing the memo affair. Any ruling from the court that strengthens suspicions that Zardari may have had a hand in the memo could be politically damaging to him.

The court has also ordered the government to open corruption investigations into Zardari dating back years. The government has refused. Earlier this week, the court said it could dismiss Zardari and Prime Minister Yousuf Reza Gilani over the case. Judges are convening Monday for what could be a decisive session.

Zardari traveled last month to Dubai for medical reasons, triggering widely reported rumors he was on the verge of resigning. On Thursday he traveled to the same city, citing ”personal reasons,” returning early Friday, said spokesman Farhatullah Babar.

Asked whether Zardari was concerned about his political future, Babar said, ”Absolutely not. Why should he be? He is comfortable and perfectly all right.”

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Govt does not believe in institutional confrontation: Firdous

ISLAMABAD: Minister for Information and Broadcasting Dr Firdous Ashiq Awan said on Friday that the government did not believe in confrontation between the state’s institutions.

Speaking to media representatives outside the parliament, she said: “We have given unmatched sacrifices for the restoration, stability and strength of institutions, then how can we be confronting with them.”

The minister said that the people had elected the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) for a period of five years to work for their welfare. She said the PPP knew how to come out of a crisis and added that the government would complete its constitutional period and that the next general elections would be held on time.

To a question, she said the misunderstandings created by some elements among the institutions would soon be removed. In a democracy, the solution to every problem can be sought through dialogue, she said.

To another question, she said that the Defence Cabinet Committee (DCC) would soon discuss the Nato report. The DCC would take decisions in the supreme interest of the country, she said.

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Nawaz, other opposition leaders hold talks

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Muslim League – Nawaz’s chief Nawaz Sharif was holding consultations with leaders of several political parties on Friday, FTNews reported.

He has given the options of a no-confidence motion against the government, mass resignations from the parliament and public demonstrations to leaders of parties in the opposition.

Friday’s meeting was taking place in the Punjab House in Islamabad.

Maulana Fazlur Rehman, Aftab Sherpao, Mahmood Khan Achakzai, Qazi Hussain Ahmed, Professor Sajid Mir, Professor Khurshid, Hasil Bizenjo and Gohar Ayub were partaking in the consultations.

Whereas, Nawaz was accompanied by Raja Zafarul Haq, Iqbal Zafar Jhagrha, Khwaja Asif, Khwaja Saad Rafique and Ahsan Iqbal.

On the occasion, the PML-N chief said that state institutions should not clash with one another and that the government should respect the country’s constitution.

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GHQ consultations: Army set to throw its weight behind judiciary

ISLAMABAD: A day after releasing a hard-hitting press release against the prime minister, the army has decided it will throw its weight behind the Supreme Court – which is embroiled in its own standoff with the government.

Top commanders who met with army chief General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani on Thursday appear to have their eyes set on the apex court to deal a decisive blow against the beleaguered incumbents.

The army chief held consultations with select corps commanders and principal staff officers to discuss the evolving situation at the General Headquarters (GHQ) in Rawalpindi – meetings for which there was no official statement from the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR).

However, military officials confirmed the long consultation sessions with top commanders over the army’s deepening rift with the government.

According to a military tations, the military decided that it will stand behind the Supreme Court, which has already warned the government that it could disqualify the prime minister if the government failed to take action on its verdict in the National Reconciliation Ordinance (NRO) cases by January 16.

The army will certainly consider assisting the judiciary if help was sought to implement the court’s decision, the official added requesting anonymity.

“The army will follow the legal course and if the Supreme Court directs the army for any assistance, we are legally bound to respond to that,” he said.

Article 190

The apex court has spelt out six options for itself to exercise in case the executive failed to implement the court order before January 16, the next date of hearing.

Legal experts believe that the Supreme Court can invoke Article 190 of the Constitution to ensure implementation of its verdict. The Article says that “all executive and judicial authorities in Pakistan shall act in aid of the Supreme Court.”

Some constitutional experts are of the view that the apex court may also seek the assistance of the military to implement its order under Article 190.

There has been an instance in the past when Justice Sajjad Ali Shah had written a letter to the then army chief Gen Jahangir Karamat, who served under Benazir Bhutto and Nawaz Sharif, seeking military help to provide security to the Supreme Court in view of a possible attack. However, Gen Karamat forwarded the letter to the defence ministry.

Justice Sajjad Ali Shah did not invoke Article 190, instead he wrote a letter in his administrative capacity, said Supreme Court lawyer Justice Tariq Mehmood. He argued that it was beyond his comprehension for the military to help in the implementation of Supreme Court verdicts.

“Will the military takeover the government affairs? Will they force the government to write a letter to Swiss authorities at gunpoint,” he asked rhetorically.

Another Supreme Court lawyer Justice Salman Akram Raja, who argued against the NRO, endorsed the view saying, “The army has nothing to do with this.”

But there are others who believe the army is bound to help the court if Article 190 is invoked.

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President Zardari arrives home from Dubai

ISLAMABAD: President Asif Ali Zardari arrived home from Dubai early Friday, officials said, against a backdrop of mounting tension and challenges to his government’s precarious rule.

A presidential official said Zardari, who spent more than a week in a Dubai hospital for treatment last month, returned in the early hours of Friday after a brief visit to attend a wedding.

“The President arrived at 5:00 am after attending a wedding in Dubai and he is in Islamabad now,” Farhatullah Babar, Zardari’s spokesman told AFP.

The one-day trip came after a confrontation between Pakistan’s civilian leaders and the military over a probe into the government’s role in a scandal centred on a mysterious memo that sought US help in curbing the army’s power.

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Parliamentary support: To woo allies, PPP to soften rhetoric

ISLAMABAD: A cornered Pakistan Peoples Party managed to carve itself some breathing space on Thursday.

The party was able to ‘partially’ garner support for a pro-democracy resolution, and a fresh vote of confidence for Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani, from its uneasy allies. The move, if it sails through, would be a symbolic triumph for the besieged party amid growing civil-military tensions.

The party, however, had to agree to tone down what, in its original draft, would have been an anti-establishment parliamentary resolution containing veiled references of both, the military and the judiciary, conspiring against democracy.

Toning down the draft

All coalition partners, including the Pakistan Muslim League-Q (PML-Q), the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM), the Awami National Party (ANP) and lawmakers from the tribal areas, put their weight behind the government at a meeting chaired by the prime minister.

However, as is always the case with votes of confidence, there is always a sense of uneasiness and uncertainty despite allies’ public stances.

The coalition parties’ meeting took place a day after the military publicly rebuked the prime minister for his comments on the army and intelligence chiefs’ replies to the Supreme Court in the Memogate scandal.

The snub came on the heels of a Supreme Court threat to disqualify the prime minister for non-compliance in the implementation case of National Reconciliation Ordinance verdict.

“We think all this is part of an ugly conspiracy against democracy and want to highlight it in the resolution,” said a PPP lawmaker who attended the meeting. “But, as our allies say, we should avoid any direct confrontation with the institution, we are redrafting it,” he added.

“What we prepared was an anti-establishment resolution but what can ultimately come to the house in a day or two will be more of a pro-democracy draft,” the ruling party official added.

Varying support from allies

The support from allies did not come in easy, though.

Top PPP leaders late Thursday night ‘stormed’ the residence of PML-Q chief Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain to convince him to support the resolution as well as the vote of confidence for Gilani.

Though both sides told media after the meeting that they were close to an agreement on all issues, insiders said some minor differences on the draft exist, and might delay the presentation of the resolution, otherwise expected on Friday.

They said another round of talks will be held on Friday before the National Assembly session resumes.

While the two larger coalition partners, PML-Q and MQM, insisted on redrafting the resolution to tone it down, two other coalition partners — the ANP and MPs from the tribal areas — assured the government of their unconditional support.

“We were, we are and we will be with you,” a participant quoted Haji Munir Ahmed Orakzai, the parliamentary leader of tribal lawmakers, as saying at the meeting. Similar sentiments, participants said, were expressed by the ANP.

All allies, however, reportedly vowed to support a fresh vote of confidence for the premier.

Defence Committee

For the first time since the recent tensions emerged, the civil and military leadership will sit on the same table on Saturday for a meeting of the Defence Cabinet Committee. The meeting will be chaired by the prime minister and attended by the three services chiefs as well as key cabinet members.

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Whoever wants to can initiate no-confidence motion: PM

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani on Friday said that he did not need to take a vote of confidence, FTNews reported.

Whoever wants to initiate a no-confidence motion in the parliament, they are free to do so, he said.

Addressing a session of the National Assembly, Gilani said everyone should respect the constitution and those who want to cut short the terms of the prime minister and the president should propose amendments to the constitution.

He further said that the government was not against any state institution.

“We have not come here to seek martyrdom, nor are we seeking support on the National Reconciliation Ordinance (NRO),” the premier said.

“The opposition should tell us if the NRO was made by our government,” the prime minister questioned.

He further said that “if a new stage is set up, it would neither welcome the current government, nor the existing opposition”.

Regarding the judiciary, he said: “We went to prisons for the judges…faced treason cases for standing up for Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry.”

Resolution tabled in favour of government, democracy

Also on Friday, chief of the Awami National Party (ANP), Asfandyar Wali Khan tabled a resolution in the NA in favour of the Parliament, government and democracy. The House will vote on the resolution on Monday, Jan 16.

Reading out the contents of the resolution, Wali said that the House believes in, and will ensure the supremacy of democracy and the Parliament.

The resolution also supports “the political leadership’s efforts to safeguard democracy”. It also adds that the institutions should act within their jurisdiction, while respect for the institutions is also essential for a stable democracy.

The NA session was adjourned till Monday, Jan 16.

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Zardari ‘not worried’ about political crisis: spokesman

ISLAMABAD: A spokesman for President Asif Ali Zardari said the leader has returned from Dubai and is not worried about a political crisis gripping the country.

Farhatullah Babar said the president, who spent more than a week in a Dubai hospital for treatment last month, returned in the early hours of Friday after a brief visit to attend a wedding.

Asked whether Zardari was concerned, Babar said, ”Absolutely not. Why should he be?”

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Ijaz says will go to Pakistan and tell all

KARACHI: The central character of the memogate scandal, American businessman Mansoor Ijaz, claimed that he would prove to Pakistani courts that Pakistan’s former ambassador to the US Husain Haqqani invited the US to intervene in matters relating to Pakistan’s military, FTNews reported on Friday.

In a telephone interview from Switzerland to the Guardian newspaper, Ijaz said he was prepared to fly to Pakistan and would take with him records of phone calls and text message exchanges with the former ambassador to prove his case.

“I am coming because it is important that there be no perception left about whether I feared telling the truth on the record, whether I feared the threats, whether I feared the government and its sharp-tongued ministers, whether I feared facing Haqqani and his legal team — I’m ready for all of them…I intend to speak truth to power loudly,” the Guardian quoted Ijaz as saying.

Ijaz said he would go to Pakistan but hinted that it might not be on Monday, the day he is expected to appear in court.

He also told the Guardian that he was ready to prove the allegations in front of the media.

Ijaz also admitted that he met with the ISI chief at a London hotel to discuss the ‘memo’ issue.

The US businessman moreover said that he met Pasha because he feared he had been “tricked into breaking Pakistani or American law”.

“When I realised that there was something more going on here than met the eye – things that Haqqani did which made me realise this – that’s when I decided the whole truth needed to be told with the same vigour that Haqqani was trying to hide it,” Ijaz told the Guardian.

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IHC to hear petition against Kayani, Pasha removal on Monday

ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Friday admitted for hearing a petition filed to restrain President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani from removing Chief of the Army Staff (COAS) General Ashfaq Pervez Kayani and Director-General Inter Services Intelligence (ISI) Lt-Gen Ahmad Shuja Pasha, FTNews reported.

A two-member bench would take up the matter on Monday.

The petitioner, Advocate Maulvi Iqbal Haider, had requested the court to pass an appropriate order against the president and prime minister as both had failed to perform their constitutional duties by disobeying the orders of the Supreme Court and the judicial commission probing the memogate controversy.

The petitioner also requested the court to restrain the prime minister from possibly rescinding his executive order on the judges’ reinstatement.

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