Supreme Court sets deadline for NRO verdict implementation

ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court said on Tuesday that it will take action against all relevant institutions if the National Reconciliation Ordinance (NRO) verdict passed last year is not implemented by January 10, reported FTNews.

The five-member bench, headed by Justice Asif Saeed Khosa, expressed disappointment over the non-implementation of the court’s judgement during the hearing of the case today.

Attorney General Maulvi Anwarul Haq and prosecutor general National Accountability Bureau (NAB) also attended the hearing; however, the law secretary was absent. The court said that the law secretary should be present in the next hearing to brief the court about the case.

The court also ordered Secretary Interior Raja Ahsan to appear before the court for concealing Ahmed Riaz Sheikh’s conviction in corruption cases to promote him.

The hearing has been adjourned till January 10.

On November 24, a 17-member bench of the apex court, headed by Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, had dismissed a review petition of the federation against the NRO and had directed it to comply with its decision without any delay.

The NRO implementation case has mainly revolved around writing a letter to the Swiss authorities for re-opening graft cases against President Zardari. The chief justice also emphasised upon retrieving $60 million from the Swiss banks, which was seized after the case began in Switzerland.

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Posted in: NATIONAL

Gilani announces complete support for Seraiki province

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani, when addressing the National Assembly on Tuesday, said that he is in complete support of the formation of the Seraiki province.

Gilani refuted popular claims that the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) was restricted to Sindhis and family members only. He said that he was a Seraiki himself and the elected prime minister by the PPP, which is the biggest example of the respect the party gives to Seraikis.

Gilani further added that now was the perfect time to give identity to the Seraikis as they are demanding. Nothing could be more ironic than a Seraiki prime minister ignoring the demand of the Seraikis for their own province, he said.

The Prime Minister further added that if provincial autonomy had been given to the provinces earlier, Pakistan wouldn’t have lost East Pakistan in 1971.

Gilani also said that the people of Pakistan should not worry about Pakistan becoming weak. Giving provincial identity to Seraikis will not weaken Pakistan, in fact it will strengthen it, and the PPP had no hidden motive behind the approval of this appeal, he said.

Yousaf Raza Gilani also indirectly referenced Nawaz Sharif’s statement from yesterday’s gathering in Karachi, where the PML-N chief said that seeking the army’s assistance under a democratic supervision was completely justified if its purpose was to protect the citizens and bring peace in the city. Gilani responded by saying that this practice counts as mixing democracy with dictatorship, which was unacceptable in a democratic setup.

The PM also said that army should be kept in the background and if put into practice all the time, its power is eroded.

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Posted in: NATIONAL

'Secret' talks with Taliban reach decisive phase

ISLAMABAD: ‘Secret talks’ between Pakistan’s security agencies and the local Taliban – who have reportedly splintered down into many different groups – have entered a decisive phase.

Now both sides are hoping their negotiations will culminate in a ‘lasting’ agreement which will restore peace in the country’s lawless tribal lands.

“We have drawn the broader outlines for a possible accord. And what we’re now working on are minor details,” said an intelligence official, who claimed the results of the ‘year-long’ peace process would be unveiled shortly.

“Unlike the past, we are trying to have something workable and implementable this time around,” said the official referring to the failure of all three agreements the security institutions had had with the Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP).

“These are crucial times …we have to be extremely careful. A slight miscalculation can harm us in a big way,” the official, requesting anonymity, added in an apparent reference to changes in the regional war given the eventual withdrawal of the US-led international forces by 2014.

The spokesperson for the Pakistan Army did not respond to phone calls or text message to comment on this development. Publicly, the military denies having any talks with the militants.

Senior TTP associates also confirmed that these covert talks with the military establishment were reaching a climax and said there were several indications of things moving ahead.

Last month, sources added, TTP leader Maulvi Waliur Rehman Mehsud had ordered to halt the training of suicide bombers at several camps in South and North Waziristan.

“Now look how effective this thing alone is … it has never happened in four years that the TTP stops training its suicide bombers,” said Raqeebullah Mehsud, a young militant commander from the Ludha area of South Waziristan.

TTP and the deflections

Raqeebullah said TTP chief Hakimullah Mehsud was not aware of these talks and he, along with a core group following his hard-line positions on talks with the government, was aware of these negotiations.

“He [Hakimullah] is out. At least people here think so,” Raqeebullah commented.

A security official also confirmed that the military was now rigorously chasing Hakimullah and his small group, into the Shawal Valley on the border between South and North Waziristan.

Though it could not be confirmed, some officials said the TTP chief might have crossed into Afghanistan after sudden defections of his loyalists to pro-Pakistan militant groups who were against launching attacks in the country’s mainland.

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Posted in: NATIONAL