Stalemate continues over 20th Amendment bill

ISLAMABAD: The government and the opposition on Tuesday failed to build consensus on 20th Amendment bill, FTNews reported.

Both parties could not agree upon the procedure for setting up a caretaker government once again.

Earlier on Monday, deadlock persisted over the issue and the meeting was called off for today.

Federal Ministers Naveed Qamar and Khursheed Shah along with Senator Raza Rabbani called upon the Opposition Leader in National Assembly Chuadhry Nisar Ali Khan. However they failed to build consensus on the issue. The meeting was also attended by Senator Ishaq Dar.

Briefing the media representatives on proceedings of the meeting, Nisar said that Pakistan Muslim League – Nawaz (PML-N) had to get directions from the party chief Nawaz Sharif.

He, moreover, said that there was no change in his party’s stance on the issue.

The opposition demanded that the caretaker government should be setup with consensus of all stakeholders.

Nisar, however, hoped that ‘some progress’ would be achieved by tomorrow.

He also said that the chief election commissioner could not be granted extension in his/her tenure according to the Constitution.

The PML-N leader showed his concerns over lack of consultation by the government on key issues. “Government does not consult us, it only informs,” he added.

The meeting was adjourned to Wednesday.

Read more »

Posted in: NATIONAL

Government respects SC decisions, says Malik

ISLAMABAD: Interior Minister Rehman Malik on Tuesday said Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) led coalition government respects the Supreme Court and is implementing its decisions in letter and spirit.

Talking to media representatives outside the Parliament House, he said “We are honouring and implementing the decisions of Supreme Court in letter and spirit.”

The minister said there were reports indicating involvement of foreign hands in the prevailing situation of Balochistan.

“Natural resources are in abundance in Balochistan and it is a conspiracy hatched by the anti-state elements to keep the situation disturbing there,” said the interior minister.

Around 60 FC personnel have lost their lives while fighting against terrorism, he added.

He said investigation was underway to arrest killers of Bakhtiar Domki’s wife and daughter, adding his statement about the killing of 60 FC men in Balochistan should not be interlinked with killing of Domki’s family.

Malik said Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) and Taliban have claimed responsibility of carrying out terrorist activities in the province.

Commenting on negotiations with the opposition on 20th Amendment, he said that Federal Minister for Religious Affairs Khursheed Shah was holding talks with opposition parties to evolve consensus. He hoped that all the conflicting issues would be resolved through negotiations.

He said that the Federal Investigating Agency (FIA) was investigating the spurious drugs issue, which has taken several lives of innocent people in Punjab.

He said Police, Rangers and FC were responsible for external security of the parliament and every person was searched thoroughly before entering the jurisdiction.

Read more »

Posted in: NATIONAL

Imran blames “political trio” for massive corruption

ISLAMABAD: Chief of the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) Imran Khan on Tuesday said that the trio of President Asif Zardari, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) chief Nawaz Sharif and Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman has brought much harm to Pakistan, FTNews reported.

Speaking at a press conference in Islamabad, the PTI chief said that corruption and incompetence has cost the country over Rs3.1 trillion. He alleged that Zardari, Nawaz and Fazl were responsible for the losses.

The former cricketer added that PTI was ready to “topple all three wickets in one delivery”, and that the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) was not an issue for his party.

Read more »

Posted in: NATIONAL

100 suspects arrested in police raids on madrassas

PESHAWAR: Police rounded up several suspects from unregistered madrassas on Tuesday during a search operation in various areas of the city.

The operation was planned after “suspicious activity” was noted in a few madrassas, said a police official.

More than 10 madrassas were raided and several suspects were taken into custody, a police source told FTNews, revealing that a majority of the seminaries were unregistered.

“More than a hundred suspects were taken into custody after we carried out a search operation in Yaqatoot and University Road areas,” said the source.

Many of those apprehended were Afghan nationals, said the official.

The relatives of those arrested and other madrassa students gathered around the Yaqatoot police station and protested against the search operation, however, police baton-charged the protestors and used tear gas to disperse them.

The operation comes at a time when there have been two suicide attacks and a number of kidnappings and targeted killings in the surrounding areas of the provincial capital.

There are around 18-24,000 registered madrassas in Pakistan. There are countless more unregistered seminaries. It was also recently reported that 90 per cent of foreigners studying in religious seminaries across the Punjab had expired visas.

Read more »

Posted in: NATIONAL

Woman saved after 31 hours under Lahore factory rubble

ISLAMABAD: Rescue workers on Tuesday pulled a 65-year-old woman out alive after she was trapped for 31 hours in the rubble of a collapsed factory in Lahore, as the death toll from the accident rose to 18.

The three-story factory manufactured medicine and collapsed Monday after several gas cylinders inside exploded. It had been set up illegally in a residential area of the city and continued operations even though the government tried to shut it down three times, officials said.

Rescue workers on Tuesday heard 65-year-old Saleha Bibi screaming for help, and it took them several hours to pull her out from the jagged pile of concrete blocks, said Rizwan Naseer, head of the state-run rescue service.

Bibi said she hid underneath a machine when the roof of the room where she was working started to cave in.

”Allah saved me,” she said in an interview with the private TV channel. ”I was praying to Allah the whole night.”

The woman appeared exhausted but otherwise unharmed as the workers pulled her free, according to local TV footage. She drank from a bottle of water and took a deep breath before being led away from the site.

She was the 15th person to be saved and told the rescuers there were others who were still trapped alive, said Naseer.

Around 30 people are still believed to be under the rubble, said another rescue official, Asad Ahmad. Workers have retrieved 18 dead bodies so far, he said.

Read more »

Posted in: NATIONAL

PML-N to bring real change, says Nawaz

MULTAN: Pakistan Muslim League-N (PML-N) President Nawaz Sharif said on Tuesday his party would bring about a real and practical change in Pakistan and put it on the road to progress and prosperity.

Addressing students during a ceremony here at Bahauddin Zakariya University, Sharif said the PML-N had brought about changes in the country during its previous tenures.

He said that some elements were raising hollow slogans for change. “Efforts are being made to change cultural values in the name of politics,” he added.

He further said the PML-N had a revolutionary thinking as it had showed it in previous tenures by launching different development projects.

Sharif claimed Pakistan was ahead of India during his previous tenures. “Our both governments were dislodged due to a revolutionary stance of the party. The PML-N would compensate for injustice to people of the country,” he added.

The PML-N chief said his party was ready to spend a huge amount to educate the masses.

Read more »

Posted in: NATIONAL

Fazlur Rehman stresses talks with Taliban

KOHAT: Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman has said that Pakistani nation was not an independent nation.

Addressing a huge public gathering in Kohat on Tuesday, Fazl said had there been no JUI-F representation in the parliament, the Constitution would have been completely secular.

The Maulana said policy of selling Pakistanis by non-written agreements would be ended, adding that his party would change the destiny of the nation.

He said that the US was busy in the killing of Afghans for 10 years and now it was holding peace talks. “If Americans can do that then why not Pakistan,” he added.

He said that policy of creating enemies inside the country should be ended.The JUI-F Amer said that 40,000 Pakistani were killed and loss of billions of dollars was inflicted over the last 10 years.

He said that every government in the past was ousted on corruption charges but corruption had no come to an end. Fazl said that temporary measures had been taken in the aftermath of Salala Checkpost attack.

Read more »

Posted in: NATIONAL

Fifty senators to retire March 11

ISLAMABAD: The Election Commission of Pakistan on Tuesday announced a list of 50 senators retiring on March 11, FTNews reported.

Notable names on the list include Senator Babar Awan, Raza Rabbani, Ishaq Dar and Deputy Chairman Senate Jan Mohammad Jamali.

The list has 20 senators from the Pakistan Mulsim League-Quaid (PML-Q), seven from the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP), seven from the Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-F (JUI-F), three from Jamaat-i-Islami (JI), three from the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM), five independent, whereas one each from Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), Awami National Party (ANP), Awami Party, Jamhoori Watan Party (JWP) and Pakhtunkhwa Milli Awami Party (PKMAP).

Polling for the 50 seats being vacated are scheduled to be held on March 2.

Read more »

Posted in: NATIONAL

Probe ordered into allegations of MNAs bringing weapons in NA

ISLAMABAD: Interior Minister Rehman Malik on Tuesday ordered the authorities to probe whether any parliamentarians came to the National Assembly with weapons.

Replying to a point of order of Ejaz Virk in the National Assembly that two parliamentarians had managed to come to the House with pistols, the minister said that police, Rangers and FC were responsible for external security of the parliament building and that every person was searched thoroughly before entering the premises of the parliament.

He said that help would be also taken from CCTV footage to probe whether such incidents had taken place.

Malik also constituted a joint investigation committee to probe the killing of a professor in Sindh.

He said an investigation was also underway to arrest the killers of Bakhtiar Domki’s wife and daughter, adding that his statement about the killing of 60 FC men in Balochistan should not be linked to the killing of Domki’s wife and daughter.

Read more »

Posted in: NATIONAL

SC admits for hearing petition against Kayani, Pasha removal

ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court on Tuesday admitted a petition asking the court to stop the sacking of Chief of Army Staff General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani and Director-General Inter-Services Intelligence Chief Shuja Ahmed Pasha for regular hearing.

Hearing the petition filed by lawyer Fazal Karim Butt, Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry observed that a judicial bench will be constituted to hear the plea.

Rebuffing the registrar’s earlier objection on the the petition’s maintainability, the chief justice said that the registrar “cannot raise such objections.”

The chief justice asked Attorney General Maulvi Anwarul Haq to take directives from the government and inform the court if the government had any reservations on the plea. AG Haq replied to the court saying that the court can admit the petition for regular hearing as per its rules and if the government has any reservations on the maintainability of the petition, it will be informed to the court.

The Supreme Court directed the registrar to present the plea to a judicial bench.

Chief Justice Chaudhry also remarked that the petition could be heard in a chamber, but that the court wanted to keep the public aware of the court’s proceedings in the case.

In the last hearing, the government had told the Supreme Court that it had no intention of sacking the army and ISI chiefs for their ‘unconstitutional and illegal’ replies in the Memogate hearing.

Butt had based his petition on media reports that the government was planning to sack General Kayani and Lt General Pasha over their stance in the Memogate scandal. In Butt’s view, the court would have to ‘restrain’ the government to protect the military heads.

However, the AG had dismissed the claims as media speculation.

Read more »

Posted in: NATIONAL

Talks continue: Could caretakers present budget?

LAHORE: The negotiations between Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PML-N) and Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) have seen a wide range of topics discussed, according to various sources privy to the talks.

One of the more interesting topics is when to set up the caretaker government.

Sources in the PML-N told FTNews that Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani assured opposition parties that he would announce the caretaker set up in May, right after the verification of the voter list would be completed.

Sources in PPP and PML-Q also told FTNews something similar – and took it a step further: They said that the PPP and PML-Q have suggested that the next budget be presented by the caretaker set up. The argument was that an elected political government could not afford to announce a non-peoples friendly budget, which was the need of the hour given the state of Pakistan’s economy. Drastic steps would be required to tackle debt issues and other expenditure cuts – and an interim set up would be perfect to do this.

Sources said that, when this was brought up, opposition parties expressed their reservations, saying that government wanted to pawn off its baggage. Opposition parties have not yet agreed to this proposal – however, they said that all have agreed that this issue would be discussed in May.

Meanwhile, other breakthroughs are said to have been reached during Monday’s talks.

According to sources, it has been decided that the current four members should be awarded five-year terms. However, PPP’s demand of an extension in the tenure of incumbent Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Justice (retd) Hamid Ali Mirza has been rejected and it has been decided to appoint a new consensus CEC.

It has been decided that the removal of the existing members of ECP should be made as difficult as the removal of judges of superior courts – i.e. references have to be sent to the Supreme Judicial Council.

Sources further said that PPP has almost agreed to the PML-N’s proposal that a commission should be formed for the new provinces issue.

Read more »

Posted in: NATIONAL

Flying low: Senate flays PIA’s performance

ISLAMABAD: Senators from both the treasury and opposition benches observed on Monday that the national flag carrier is going from “bad to worse with every passing day.” However, they could not succeed in convincing Defence Minister Ahmed Mukhtar to announce a ‘specific policy’ to control the multi-billion losses in Pakistan International Airlines (PIA).

“A major operation is needed to improve the performance of major national entities including PIA,” observed Awami National Party senator Haji Adeel. “Partnership with foreign airlines can be fruitful for PIA, which is being crippled by colossal losses.”

The Senate witnessed a heated debate on issues related to PIA when Muttahida Qaumi Movement senator Col (retd) Tahir Hussain Mashhadi moved a motion to discuss the overall performance of the national flag carrier. “PIA is plagued by the same affliction as other state-run enterprises: political interference.”

Initiating debate, Mashhadi said the performance of PIA is going from “bad to worse day by day,” adding that Pakistan airlines required new planes to compete with other flag carriers of the world.

Jamaat-e-Islami Senator Prof Khurshid Ahmad said the government did not implement the Senate Sub-Committee’s recommendations to bring reformation in the PIA administration. “The board of directors has failed to uplift the national flag carrier.”

Taking part in the debate, Senators Mir Wali Muhammad Badini and Kalsoom Parveen demanded more flights in Balochistan to facilitate the people of the province.

Leader of the opposition, Maulana Abdul Ghafoor Haideri said PIA is constantly facing a deficit and needs the government’s attention. He urged the government to take proper measures to improve the performance of PIA. Senators Tariq Azeem, Ahmad Ali, Qari Abdullah and Najma Hameed also criticised PIA’s performance and called upon the government to take corrective measures.

Concluding the debate, Defence Minister Ahmed Mukhtar confirmed that PIA incurred losses of over Rs30 billion in 2008 and is facing a severe shortage of funds to improve its performance. “We are considering various options to bring PIA on backtrack, including engaging private partners,” said the minister who came under harsh criticism in the senate.

During the course of proceedings, Tariq Azeem Khan introduced ‘The Regulation of Foreign Contribution Bill, 2012,’ which provides for consolidating the law to regulate acceptance and utilisation of foreign contribution by non-government organisations. Pakistan People’s Party senator Sabir Ali Baloch introduced ‘The Legal Practitioners and Bar Councils (Amendment) Bill, 2011.’ Senator Saeeda Iqbal presented the report of the Committee on ‘The Right to Free and Compulsory Education Bill, 2011,’ which aims at to provide free and compulsory education to all children between the age of five and 16 years.

Senate Deputy Chairman Jan Muhammad Jamali referred the ‘Regulation of Foreign Contribution Bill, 2012’ and the ‘Legal Practitioners and Bar Councils (Amendment) Bill, 2011’ to the concerned senate standing committees.

Read more »

Posted in: NATIONAL

Decision to grant US citizenship to Dr Afridi not finalised: State Department

WASHINGTON: The decision to grant US citizenship to Dr Shakil Afridi, the man who allegedly helped the US in tracking down Osama bin Laden, has not been finalised, said US State Department Spokesperson Victoria Nuland on Monday.

A US Congressman had tabled a bill on Sunday to the House of Representatives asking that Dr Afridi be ranted citizenship, calling for the doctor to be deemed “a naturalised citizen of the United States.”

Afridi is under arrest in Pakistan and had allegedly organised a polio vaccination campaign in Abbottabad for the Central Intelligence Agency, in order to collect DNA sample to prove that the al Qaeda leader was present in the Abbottabad compound.

Nuland, in the daily press briefing, said: “Congress resolution which is moving through the Congress now, it is not finalised yet. But generally, these kinds of moves on behalf of individuals… don’t have force of law. It’s a recommendation.”

When asked about a ‘Pakistani lobbyist’ in the US who allegedly wrote a letter to the US officials to apologise on behalf of Pakistan on the November 26 Nato attack, Nuland clarified that there were no lobbyists being used for communication between the two states.

“We do our business with Pakistan through our representatives in Islamabad and throughout the country as well as through the Pakistani Embassy here,” she said.

Read more »

Posted in: NATIONAL

20th Amendment: Govt struggles to bring opposition on board

ISLAMABAD: Negotiators from the government and opposition parties on Monday failed to break a deadlock on a constitutional amendment seeking legal protection for 28 parliamentarians suspended by the Supreme Court but decided to continue their dialogue in a desperate search for consensus.

Unable to secure the two-thirds majority needed for approval of a constitutional amendment in the National Assembly, the government once again shied away from presenting the 20th Amendment Bill on Monday and deferred the matter without giving an alternative time frame.

The 20th Amendment Bill is intended to provide legal cover to the actions of the chief election commissioner (CEC) during the time when the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) was incomplete, as defined by the 18th Amendment.

The bill suggests an amendment to Article 219 of the Constitution that relates to “duties of the commission” through insertion of a new proviso: “Provided always that till such time the members of the commission are appointed in accordance with Article 218(2), the commissioner shall remain charged with the duties enumerated in paragraphs (a), (b) and (c) of this article.”

Negotiations continued outside the parliament.

Meeting hours after the court’s decision earlier in the day, top leaders from across the political spectrum held a marathon meeting to discuss how to reach at some common ground on the amendment.

The PML-N had also called for appointing a new chief of the ECP to replace what it considers a ‘handpicked’ choice of President Asif Ali Zardari.

Furthermore, the opposition party wanted the government to enhance the tenure of ECP members from current two to five years.

Leader of Opposition in the National Assembly Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan told the media after the meeting that talks had stalled because the government was not forthcoming in meeting the PML-N’s demands.

He said the government was trying to give extension to the current chief election commissioner which was not acceptable to the opposition. Chaudhry Nisar said his party wanted the appointment of election body chief after a “consensus” between the prime minister and opposition leader – and that mere “consultation” was not acceptable.

Religious Affairs Minister Syed Khurshid Ahmed Shah, who led the government negotiators, made an attempt to play down differences, claiming that talks were moving ahead positively and a breakthrough was expected shortly.

“Democracy flourishes with differences and such negotiations to overcome them … it is part of the game,” said Shah, painting a picture totally different from what Nisar portrayed.

Syed Naveed Qamar and Senator Raza Rabbani from the PPP and Senator Ishaq Dar and Khawja Asif from PML-N were also present in the meeting.

Read more »

Posted in: NATIONAL

New controversy: AQ Khan dives into The Atlantic

In an exclusive interview with iMediaEthics, Abdul Qadeer Khan, the metallurgist blamed by the West for making Pakistan a nuclear power, condemned inaccuracies in The Atlantic magazine’s November 2005 cover story, which he says falsely accused him of a ‘brazen act of illegality’ when it claimed his Rawalpindi house was “built in blatant disregard of the law.”

Khan told iMediaEthics, a website which advocates for fair journalism, by phone that the report in The Atlantic “is totally rubbish and based on lies by William Langewiesche, who is a liar.” The Bani Gala house in sight of Rawal Lake “is totally a legal construction and there are dozens of houses in the row of my house.”

“The court has requested me not to indulge in such interviews and conflicting debates,” Khan said, “but despite this I would like to say that the writer, William Langewiesche, has been involved for a long time in my character assassination campaign.”

Read more »

Posted in: NATIONAL

US army commander to visit Pakistan: report

NEW YORK: A top American military commander is expected to travel Pakistan this month in an effort to repair United States’ strategic relationship with Pakistan which was frozen for more than two months.

The New York Times Tuesday, citing Obama administration officials, reported that General James Mattis, the head of the US military’s Central Command, will meet General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani, the Pakistan Army chief of staff, to discuss the investigations of Nato’s attack on Pakistani posts near Afghan border that killed 24 soldiers, as well as new border coordination procedures to prevent recurrence of the episode.

The newspaper said in a dispatch from Washington that General Mattis’s visit, the first by a high-ranking US official since the cross -border confrontation in November, was to have begun Thursday, but has been postponed by at least a week pending what is expected to be a spirited debate in Pakistan’s Parliament over a new security policy toward the United States.

The dispatch cited Pakistani officials as saying they will probably reopen Nato supply lines running through their territory, which have been closed for more than two months.

The State Department is supporting a proposal circulating in the US administration to issue a formal apology for the deaths of the Pakistani soldiers in the Nato strikes.

“We’ve felt an apology would be helpful in creating some space,” an unnamed US official who has been briefed on the State Department’s view was quoted as saying by the Times.

Read more »

Posted in: NATIONAL

Ahmad Mukhtar urges restoration of Nato supplies

ISLAMABAD: Defence Minister Ahmad Mukhtar said Tuesday that Pakistan should reopen its Afghan border crossings to Nato troop supplies after negotiating a better deal with the coalition.

Pakistan closed the crossings over two months ago in response to American airstrikes that accidentally killed 24 Pakistani soldiers at two Afghan border posts.

The closure has forced the United States to spend six times as much money to send supplies to Afghanistan through alternative routes.

Mukhtar told a private TV channel that the government should negotiate new ”terms and conditions” with Nato, then reopen the border.

He did not provide specific details. But other Pakistani officials have suggested that the government levy additional fees on the coalition for using the route since the heavy trucks cause damage to the roads.

Pakistan’s parliament is expected to vote on a revised framework for relations with the US in mid-February that could pave the way for the government to reopen the supply line.

Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar said last week that she didn’t think it would be much of a problem to reopen the route after the parliament vote.

The defence minister echoed this view, saying ”I think the people who are deciding, who are giving recommendations, will make the right decision.”

Read more »

Posted in: NATIONAL