Ulema played a huge role in creation of Pakistan: Shahbaz Sharif

LAHORE: The ulema (religious leaders) played a huge role in the creation of Pakistan and they made several sacrifices under the Quaid-e-Azam’s leadership, said Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif on Saturday.

Sharif was addressing a Seerat-un-Nabi conference in Lahore to commemorate the birth anniversary of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH).

The minister said that there was no leader in the entire history who helped the spread of Islam and the concept of equity around the world other than the Prophet (PBUH).

“Now, there are millions and billions of Muslims living everywhere – from Casa Blanca all the way to Kuala Lumpur,” he said.

Read more »

Posted in: NATIONAL

Strike in Balochistan: Two killed, four injured near Sibi

QUETTA: Two people were killed and four injured in what was reported to be firing by security personnel near Sibi on Saturday.

According to reports, a large number of people had blocked the Sindh-Balochistan Highway near Nari Bridge in Sibi district during the strike called by Baloch Republican Party (BRP).

The demonstrators stopped a convoy of security forces passing through the highway, who fired when they refused to open the road for normal traffic. One man was killed and five were injured as a result of the firing.

Security forces claim that they fired “blank shots in the air”, but eyewitnesses claim that the casualties took place when the personnel resorted to “straight firing” after warning the demonstrators.

The bodies and injured were shifted to a nearby state-run hospital, where one of the injured passed away. The deceased were identified as Bando Khan Domki and Ahmed Khan Domki. A cameraman of private TV channel Aaj is also among the injured.

A complete shutter down strike is being observed in parts of Balochistan on the call of BRP to protest the killing of Baramdagh Bugti’s sister and niece in Karachi. The flow of traffic between Quetta and Karachi has also been suspended as a result of the strike.

Read more »

Posted in: NATIONAL

Identity of al-Qaeda militant killed in Kurram revealed

PESHAWAR: An al-Qaeda-linked militant killed in Kurram Agency earlier this week, has been identified as an Azerbaijani national, documents made available to private news channel revealed on Saturday.

The militant, identified as Aslanov Zaur, was among the six foreign militants who were killed during clashes with security forces in the Jogi area of Central Aurakzai Agency on February 1.

A passport, documents and photographs recovered by security forces revealed that Zaur was a key commander and played an instrumental role in attacks on Pakistani security forces in the tribal areas.

The passport (passport number 3503893), issued from the Azerbaijani capital Bakku in February 2009, shows Zaur belonged to the city of Sumaqyit, located at a distance of 31 kilometers from the capital and was born on September 25, 1981.

According to the document, he was issued an Iranian visa by the Iranian embassy in Bakku for three months from March 2, 2009 to May 31, 2009.

The travel documents also reveal that he had entered the city of Astar, the capital of Gilan province of Iran on March 26, 2009 (evident from the entry stamp), and since than had gone underground. He is suspected to have entered Afghanistan and then Pakistan through unfrequented routes.

Security forces also recovered USBs, card readers and other devices from the pockets of the militant, besides Sudanese currency, American dollars and Pakistani currency notes.

The militant’s belongings also show a drafted document in Azeri language, signed by six people.

A registration certificate issued by the Ministry of Internal Affairs in Azerbaijan is also among the documents recovered from the deceased.

Scores of photographs have also been found from the USB and the card reader recovered from his pockets, which show him being photographed with other militants.

A number of telephone numbers have also been recovered from his personal belongings.

Read more »

Posted in: NATIONAL

No space for violence in Islam, says Gilani

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani has said that there is no space for terrorism, militancy or extremism in Islam and those involved in such activities cannot even claim to be Muslims.

The prime minister, in his message on the occasion of Eid Milad-un- Nabi (PBUH) being celebrated on Sunday, said: “Those, who spread disorder and chaos, cannot even claim to be Muslims as the scourges of terrorism and extremism are incompatible to the essence of Islamic teachings.”

Gilani said Islam, a universal religion, guides the humanity to the path of peace, security and welfare.

He said Islam does not allow anyone to spread violence and strife on the face of earth and forbids people to kill others.

The premier said since Islam preaches peace and love, therefore, those, who enter its fold, become the embodiment of the same.

Read more »

Posted in: NATIONAL

Zardari, Sharif afraid of PTI tsunami: Imran Khan

LAHORE: Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) chairman Imran Khan on Saturday accused the president of the country and Pakistan Muslim League (PML-N) chief Nawaz Sharif of being afraid of the ‘tsunami’ his party has vowed to bring.

“The two brothers – [President Asif Ali] Zardari and Nawaz – have always been together. They have only separated due to the fear of the tsunami,” he said while talking to the media in Lahore.

They are together because their interests are the same; their money is lying in foreign banks, Khan added and said that they won’t do anything which will remove them from power.

He accused the Punjab government of being negligent in the dengue epidemic and the ongoing PIC medicine issue in the province. “Only Punjab government is responsible… Be it crime, law and order or corruption, which area have they showed improvement in?”

Commenting on Muttahida Qaumi Movement’s (MQM) desire of making an alliance with the PTI, Khan said that if MQM ends their “politics of weapons”, only then will the PTI consider an alliance with them.

Read more »

Posted in: NATIONAL

Retirement plan: ISI chief looking forward to golfing instead of spying?

ISLAMABAD: Arguably, it is one of the most difficult jobs in the world. Heading a spy agency that has more often been in the limelight for all the wrong reasons is certainly a tough task. And perhaps that is why the incumbent chief of the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) Lt General Ahmed Shuja Pasha does not seem keen to get another extension in his service.

Despite speculations that the government may extend his tenure for a third time in an effort to ease tensions with the military, the Director General ISI reportedly told a western diplomat in an informal chat that he wants to go home sooner rather than later.

After heading the country’s premier spy agency since October 2008, Pasha is due to retire on March 18. He was scheduled to retire in March 2010, but was twice given extensions.

“I have had enough of it … I want to get out of it,” Pasha was quoted as saying by the diplomat, who met the ISI chief recently.

The diplomat, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told FTNews that Pasha appeared to be “under a lot of stress over the developments that have taken place recently.”

However, the diplomat’s claim could not be independently verified nor was the ISI willing to speak on the subject.

During his tenure a number of events took place notably November 2008 Mumbai attacks, the Raymond Davis controversy, the Memogate scandal, the killing of al Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden in an Abbottabad compound and then the NATO attacks on Pakistani checkposts in Salala.

The presence of Bin Laden in Abbottabad had raised questions about the ability, or intentions, of the country’s intelligence agencies, including the ISI, to hunt down the world’s most wanted man.

At a joint session of Parliament, convened after the Abbottabad raid, General Pasha had offered to resign over the debacle but the government didn’t accept it.

“That was a mistake. We should have accepted his resignation,” said a ruling Pakistan Peoples Party member, who was unhappy with the way Pasha pursued the memo issue.

He said that the government had already decided against giving him yet another extension in his service.

Recently, Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani also dismissed reports that he was considering a proposal to grant another extension, but said a decision on this issue would be made at the “appropriate time”.

Read more »

Posted in: NATIONAL

Kidnapping for ransom: Three government employees recovered from Hub

KARACHI: The Anti-Violent Crime Cell (AVCC) recovered three kidnapped government employees from the Hub area of Balochistan on Saturday, reported FTNews.

The police, along with the Citizens Police Liaison Committee (CPLC), carried out a joint raid in the area and safely recovered Ejaz Baig, Mohammad Naseem and Waseem who were kidnapped on November 12 last year from the New Karachi area of Karachi, said SP Ghulam Subhani.

The kidnappers had initially demanded a ransom of Rs150 million but had cut it down to Rs50 million after negotiations.

The kidnappers, around 5-6 in number, fled from the scene after firing at the police; however, the police says that the suspects have been identified and will be arrested soon.

Last month, the AVCC and CPLC managed to rescue a baby boy and a young man from separate kidnappers near Singer Chowrangi, Korangi.

Read more »

Posted in: NATIONAL

Fazl calls for addressing reservations of Kashmiris

ISLAMABAD: Maulana Fazlur Rehman, the JUI-F chief who is also the chairman of the special parliamentary committee on Kashmir, on Saturday urged the country’s political leadership to address the reservations of the Kashmiri leadership, FTNews reported.

Speaking to reporters outside the Parliament House after attending a meeting of the committee, Rehman said that he would inform the government regarding the reservations of the Kashmiri people.

He said that the people from the valley had always safeguarded Pakistan’s interests and that they never wanted the country to sacrifice its interests for their sake.

He emphasised on good relations with India and said that all issues needed to be addressed through meaningful dialogues.

Read more »

Posted in: NATIONAL

Gilani to discuss Afghanistan reconciliation in Qatar

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani will explain Pakistan’s stance on the issue of peace talks with the Afghan Taliban when he travels next week to Qatar to meet the Gulf state’s leaders, a government spokesman said Saturday.

Last month, the Afghan Taliban announced they would set up a political office in Qatar, a major development in a peace process that has already been marked by setbacks and mistrust among the central players.

The trip by Prime Minister Gilani on Monday comes amid unease in Kabul and Islamabad over the decision by the Taliban to open the Qatar office. Officials in both countries have said they fear they are being left out of the peace process.

”Our prime minister will have discussions in this connection with the Qatar leadership,” foreign office spokesman Abdul Basit told a local television station. ”He will also inform them that what is the Pakistani perspective in this situation.”

Pakistan is an important player in moves to end the 10-year-old war in Afghanistan because many of the leaders of the insurgency are said to be sheltering on its territory.

The country’s security forces are alleged to have links with the militants that could be useful in bringing them to the negotiating table.

Read more »

Posted in: NATIONAL

Senate proceedings: Malik blames ‘third force’ for Domki family murders

ISLAMABAD: Interior Minister Rehman Malik on Friday indicated that a ‘third-force’ was behind the target killing of Balochistan MPA Mir Bakhtiar Khan Domki’s wife and 13-year-old daughter in Karachi.

The victims were also Balochistan Republican Party (BRP) chief Brahamdagh Bugti’s sister and niece, and Nawab Akbar Bugti’s family members.

“Such incidents will subvert the reconciliatory process with the dissident Baloch leaders,” Malik told lawmakers during Friday’s Senate session, without elaborating on the ‘third-force’. “It is a conspiracy against the nation,” he added.

He was speaking on a point raised by Pakistan People Party senator Sabir Baloch on the killing of Domki’s wife and daughter, which took place in the Gizri area of Karachi.

Malik said that the government has constituted a high-powered committee consisting of two members each from Provincial Assemblies of Balochistan and Sindh. An additional Inspector General of the Police will head the committee, which will also include representatives of the Inter Services Intelligence and the Intelligence Bureau.

“I also took Domki into confidence over the issue,” Malik informed the lawmakers in Senate.

“We are heading towards some clues, leading towards mysterious hands,” he added.

Substandard drug issue

The interior minister also informed lawmakers that following the PIC drug debacle, which left over 100 people dead, the government has put the names of all accused drug dealers on the Exit Control List. The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) is also investigating the matter and will submit its report soon. “The matter is sub judice; let the law take its course first,” Malik said.

Federal Minister for Natural Resources Dr Asim Hussain was of the view that the issue was being politicised, and informed the House that the country was importing drugs worth $1.2 billion, annually.

Resolution on Drug Regulatory Authority

Senate Chairman Farooq H Naek agreed in principle to suspend the rules to allow lawmakers to move a resolution calling for the establishment of the Drug Regulatory Authority (DRA). Lawmakers across party lines, especially Haji Adeel of the Awami National Party, expressed their wish to table a resolution pertaining to a regulatory body to cope with such issues.

“A quality control mechanism must be put in place to prevent recurrence of such incidents in the future,” he said.

Oil prices

Lawmakers from the opposition and the treasury benches spoke out against the recent hike in the prices of petroleum products.

Muttahida Qaumi Movement Senator Tahir Hussain Mashhadi said the increase had started showing its impact with the increase in transport fares as well as the prices of edible items. “How much will you fleece the people?” he asked.

Senator Zahid Khan of ANP was also of the view that the government should reconsider fuel prices.

Drone attacks

Jamaat-e-Islami Senator Professor Khurshid Ahmed expressed concern over the non-implementation of Parliament’s recommendations pertaining to the issue of drone strikes. The government’s failure to control such attacks has forced the poor people to come out on the streets against the rulers, he observed.

State Bank of Pakistan report

As soon as Finance Minister Abdul Hafeez Sheikh presented the State Bank of Pakistan report before the House, Prof Khurshid raised objections, saying that under the law the report should first come to Parliament.

The finance minister assured it will not happen again.

Privileges for former lawmakers

Law Minister Maula Bux Chandio informed lawmakers that Premier Gilani has approved a summary proposing privileges for former parliamentarians. He said that former parliamentarians will be able to use VIP lounges at airports and get access to the libraries of the two houses.

The House will meet again on Monday at 4pm.

Read more »

Posted in: NATIONAL

Budgetary constraints: Fiscal tightening leaves two million families high and dry

ISLAMABAD: Stipends to 1.79 million beneficiaries of the Benazir Income Support Programme have been stopped by the government, due to budget constraints.

Under the new rules, families scoring 16.17 or less, out of a total 100 points in a poverty survey, will be entitled to Rs1,000 monthly cash handouts, the prime minister stated in his written reply submitted to the Senate. Earlier, those with a score of 17 or less were eligible for the welfare stipends.

The belt-tightening means around 2 million families will not receive any more handouts, majority of them in the Punjab.

According to details, around 1 million families in Punjab, over 0.42 million in Sindh, 0.3 million in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, 0.12 million in Balochistan, 40,000 in Azad Jammu and Kashmir and 24,000 families in Gilgit-Baltistan will no longer receive their BISP stipends.

The budget cut leaves around 6 million families that will continue to receive income support from the state.

Awami National Party Senator Haji Adeel questioned the procedures laid down for formulating the new eligibility criteria.

“Families having a higher score might also be poor but cannot be accommodated due to budgetary constraints at this stage,” responded a BISP official.

Read more »

Posted in: NATIONAL

Drug Regulatory Authority: Punjab govt baulks at issuing consent

ISLAMABAD: The federal government is waiting for a no-objection certificate (NOC) from Punjab to establish a drug regulatory authority (DRA) which, the province says, it will only issue once Lahore’s Sheikh Zayed Hospital is handed under its control.

Senator Pervaiz Rashid, the special assistant to Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif, said that the federal government was bound to follow all the clauses falling under the 18th amendment. Therefore, as stated in the amendment, the hospitals falling under federal control were to be handed over to the provinces. Similarly, Sheikh Zayed Hospital should also come under the Punjab government.

Senator Abdul Haseeb Khan, who is heading a special committee for the establishment of a DRA, said that its establishment has been on hold since 2002.

“The committee had proposed to the prime minister an ordinance for the establishment of a DRA on February 1, 2012. The premier has convened a meeting of the Council of Common Interests on February 9, in which the final decision will be taken,” Khan said.

Under article 154 of the Constitution, majority is authority. Therefore, even if Punjab does not give an NOC, the ordinance can still be promulgated as Sindh, Balochistan and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa have already issued certificates, he said.

Khan added that he was in favour of handing over the Sheikh Zayed Hospital to Punjab, but the issue has been politicised now.

Talking to FTNews, Professor Ajmal Hassan Naqvi, a senior cardiologist at Sheikh Zahid Hospital, said that since its establishment, the hospital has worked as an autonomous body under the cabinet division. “It’s like a trust and has never come under the health ministry,” Naqvi said.

Another reason for the federal government’s reluctance to hand over the hospital to the province is that about 25,000 families of federal employees are treated here, as families of many MNA’s and bureaucrats are based in Lahore.

“The hospital has five wings with around 3,000 employees. It has recently adopted a new service structure, called health personnel scale (HPS). Therefore, it will become very difficult to alter everything again if handed over to Punjab,” said Naqvi.

An official working with the Drug Regulatory Board, told FTNews that the federal government cannot hand over the hospital as it was constructed from donations sent in by the United Arab Emirates government. Furthermore, a treaty was also signed between the governments of UAE and Pakistan, according to which the federal government will look after the hospital.

Read more »

Posted in: NATIONAL

Benazir Income Support Programme: Does the cash flow to blue-eyed voters?

ISLAMABAD/KARACHI: The numbers don’t make sense at first glance.

Punjab, with more than twice the population of Sindh, has two-thirds of the number of families considered eligible for income support in the latter.

Multan, the prime minister’s hometown, has almost half the population of Lahore, stronghold of the opposition Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), yet has twice as many families receiving Rs1,000 monthly stipend from the government.

The apparent anomalies have led to resentment, and accusations of nepotism, not just from the opposition, but government’s allies too.

Lawmakers say that districts and constituencies considered strong-hold of the ruling Pakistan Peoples Party have a disproportionately high number of people considered eligible for cash handouts.

The opposition openly accuses the government of using the Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP) as a political tool since its inception in 2008.

Many lawmakers are also questioning the authenticity of a Rs5 billion poverty survey conducted by the BISP last year. The results of the country’s ‘first ever’ poverty survey have yet to be made public.

Provincial data

When the BISP official data, available with FTNews, is plotted on a provincial map, the findings lend credence to opposition’s claims at first glance.

Punjab, the most populous province but ruled by the opposition PML-N, has the lowest ratio of beneficiary families – 1,974 families per 100,000 people – of the four federating units. Sindh, the stronghold of PPP, has three-and-a-half times that ratio – 6,829 families per 100,000 people.

Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan, where PPP is part of coalition governments with its allies – the Awami National Party (ANP) and the Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q) – trail Sindh with 5,155 and 4,858 beneficiary families per 100,000 people respectively.

Both Gilgit-Baltistan, an autonomous territory, and Azad Jammu and Kashmir, a self-governing state, have governments aligned with the ruling PPP and have 2,400 and 1,518 beneficiary families per 100,000 people receiving income support respectively.

Constituency-level data

A closer inspection at some of the districts further corroborates the opposition’s suspicions. Districts where the ruling party or its allies have majority of the constituencies (coloured blue in the corresponding map), fare better than where the opposition holds sway (coloured red).

District-wise ratios of beneficiary families to per 100,000 people are also given.

Counter-evidence

When asked about apparent disparity in the data, a BISP spokesperson said that given the socio-economic variance across the country, the number of BISP beneficiaries is not proportionate to the population of any district.

“Poverty scorecard is a scientific instrument and it identifies eligible families based on their poverty score, rather than any other consideration” said the spokesperson in a written reply.

The programme declares those eligible for Rs1,000 monthly income support who score less than 17, out of a total 100 points, in the Poverty Targeting Survey Programme (PTSP).

Poverty varies in different cities according to distribution of resources – hence the poverty level in Thar cannot be compared with that of Lahore, Rajanpur cannot be compared with Rawalpindi and Benazirabad cannot be compared with Karachi, he added.

A cross-check with district-wise Human Development Index (HDI) scores, a standard means of measuring well-being globally, lends at least some credence to the spokesperson’s claim. Punjab has a higher HDI compared to other provinces while Karachi and Lahore, which has a low ratio of beneficiary families compared to Multan, have the highest HDIs amongst the districts compared. There are anomalies, though, like Khairpur and Larkana.

Contracts to survey firms

The BISP spent Rs5 billion on the poverty survey, the PTSP. Of this, Rs2.5 billion have been given to organisations conducting the survey and Rs1.75 billion to post offices. The programme owes Rs733 million to these organizations in lieu of the exercise.

The survey was largely conducted by the Rural Support Programme Network – in Upper Punjab, AJK, Sindh, K-P and G-B. Other independent firms were contracted for surveys in southern Punjab and Fata while the Population Census Organisation was awarded the contract for Balochistan survey. The government’s allies are raising questions over the survey.

“I questioned the procedure adopted by the BISP for awarding contracts for PTSP and details of amount paid to each organisation for survey but they never replied, which is a breach of lawmakers’ rights,” said ANP Senator Zahid Khan.

Terming the survey “as controversial as the BISP,” Khan said that several senators will move against the BISP in the courts [for] rampant corruption and nepotism.

The programme awards all contracts using the World bank’s guidelines for ‘quality and cost based selection’ of these firms, said the BISP spokesperson.

It is a very rigorous process and the BISP secured World Bank’s approvals at every stage of the award of process, he added.

Read more »

Posted in: NATIONAL

Three abducted Sindh Governor House employees recovered

KARACHI: Karachi police recovered three kidnapped employees of the Sindh Governor House, FTNews reported on Saturday.

The three employees had been abducted from the city’s New Karachi area three months ago.

Police sources said Afzal Baig, Mohammad Naeem and Mohammad Waseem had been kidnapped when they were on their way to the Sindh Governor House on Nov 12, 2011.

An amount of 15000000 was demanded as ransom money by the kidnappers.

The location of the kidnappers’ mobile phones was traced with the assistance of the Citizens-Police Liaison Committee (CPLC). Police then carried out raids in parts of Balochistan.

After receiving a tip, the police finally recovered the abducted individuals from the Hub chowki area late on Friday.

Read more »

Posted in: NATIONAL