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| Clinton favours dialogue on Kashmir, Indian PM on condition, Pak FM only if result-oriented. |
The United States is encouraging Pakistan and India to resume their dialogue to address Kashmir and other outstanding disputes, but any solution must come from the two countries, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said. She stressed in an interview that it is important the two South Asian nations resume their dialogue. The top US diplomat noted that before the dialogue came to a halt last year, in the wake of Mumbai attacks, the two sides had made progress toward sorting out some of the difficulties, “particularly the status of Kashmir”. “Well, we’ve encouraged both countries to resume a dialogue that they were engaged in which came to a halt and yet holds a lot of promise. “They had made progress, I’m told, in sorting through some of the longstanding difficulties they face, and most particularly the status of Kashmir,” she told BBC. “But it’s clear that any solution has to come from the two countries themselves,” Clinton added when asked if the US is looking at tackling the Kashmir dispute.
On the other hand, Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said India is ready to resolve all outstanding issues with the country on the condition that it will not allow its territory to be used against its neighbour. In an interview to the an American newspaper ahead of his state visit to the US, Singh said India has been a victim of Pakistan-aided terrorism, and intelligence reports still suggest that terrorists based in that country are planning attacks in India similar to last year’s Mumbai carnage, reported Zee News. “Every day I receive intelligence reports saying that terrorists based in Pakistan are planning other similar acts,” Singh said in the interview that would be carried in the daily’s print edition on Sunday - the day of his arrival in Washington. He, however, asserted that Pakistan has “nothing to fear” from India, and it was a “tragedy” that Pakistan has come to the point of using terror “as an instrument of state policy”. “We are committed to resolving all the outstanding issues with Pakistan through bilateral negotiations. Our only condition is that Pakistan should not allow its territory to be used for acts of terrorism against India.
Meanwhile, Foreign Minister Makhdoom Shah Mehmud Qureshi responding to a question relating to reported controversial statement of the Indian prime minister about Pakistan, he said it was just a news story, adding Prime Minister Manmohan Singh “is a serious and wise personality and I do not think he would have given such an irresponsible statement”. There might be a distortion and twisting of facts, he added. When asked whether the statement was meant to put pressure on Pakistan, the minister categorically stated that no one should have any misunderstanding, neither India nor any one else. “We will not act under pressure and take steps keeping in view our own national interests.” He said Pakistan was ready to discuss any thing; everything on the table whether its water issue, Kashmir or the issue of terrorism. To a question about Kashmir issue, the foreign minister said Pakistan had invited APHC for talks in an effort to take on board the Kashmiri leadership.
Quraishi said Pakistan wanted meaningful and result-oriented bilateral negotiations with India. Addressing a press conference at Multan airport, he said, “I want to give a clear message to India ahead of the forthcoming Commonwealth meeting that Pakistan is ready for a meaningful dialogue. But if they (India) want another sitting for the sake of a sitting then I do not want to waste time. I am not interested in a mere photo session. I am interested in a result-oriented dialogue.” He said the whole world was talking about peace and stability in the region and India has to decide as to what it wanted for the future. He said that US President Barack Obama and Chinese President Hu Jintao also stressed on regional peace and stability in their joint statement during the recent visit to the US president to China. To a question, Quraishi said during his meeting with his Indian counterpart at New York, he had condemned the Mumbai incident but added India should not overlook the fact that Pakistan was facing Mumbai-like incidents daily and India and the whole world should be fully alive to this problem.
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| ‘Differences over NFC award could weaken Pakistan’ |
Renowned economist Qaiser Bengali who represents Sindh in National Finance Commission has warned that the federation would be weakened if the provinces failed to reach consensus on National Finance Commission Award before the presentation of next budget.
Speaking on distribution of national resources among the federating units, he said there is an urgent need to change population-based formula for resource distribution among the provinces. He hoped that in addition to population factors like revenue generation and backwardness would also be incorporated in the new NFC formula.
In this regard, he said Punjab would have to play its role and agree to the changes recommended by smaller provinces. “The ball is in Punjab’s court” and its decision would have impact on the national solidarity. He said the Punjab government is hostage to the opposition regarding change in NFC formula. He appealed to all political parties of the province to take the decisions rationally and in national interest. He said the vote bank of PML-N would be affected in Sindh if the Punjab government failed to go with the other provinces.
Bengali regretted that Sindh was under yoke of economic colonialism, as people of those provinces who work here and earn money transfer their major portion of income to other provinces. Delivering lecture on NFC and situation in Sindh, Qaiser Bengali said Sindh was generating 70 percent of the share of divisible pool, but was getting only 23 percent as the distribution was being made since 1997 on the basis of population under which Punjab was getting 56 percent according to proportion of its population.
He said since 1997 the provinces were being given 32.5 percent while 67.5 percent was taken by centre. Out of 32.5 percent, Punjab is getting big chunk, he added. He said provinces had demanded funds out of NFC on poverty basis, but their arguments were not being listened to. He said Punjab was not ready to compromise on demand of Sindh and other provinces for distribution of NFC resources on basis of income generation.
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| Nawaz for probe into subs kickbacks, while people demand all parliament, presidency, judiciary top men get clear of the charges against them. |
Pakistan Muslim League-N Quaid Nawaz Sharif has demanded of the government to probe the allegations of $49.5 million commission in the purchase of French submarines during the PPP government in 1994, and bring to light the names of those political, civil and military officials who misappropriated the hard-earned money of people. He also demanded strict action against the culprits.
The government has contradicted a report published in a local and a French newspaper that accuses President Asif Ali Zardari and military authorities of having received millions of dollars in kickbacks from the 1994 sale of three French submarines to Pakistan Navy. ‘This is actually new regurgitation of an old story, which was already contradicted by French President Mr. Sarkozy on July 11 this year as ‘untrue’, ‘malicious’ and ‘mischievous’. It is part of a media trial of PPP leadership, which we condemn and dismiss with the contempt it deserves,’ presidential spokesman Farhatullah Babar said. Commenting on the report, the spokesman said the purchase of equipment by the armed forces of Pakistan was done through a proper competitive process under the supervision of the Ministry of Defence. ‘Mr. Zardari was neither the president nor the prime minister nor the defence minister, when the submarines referred to in the news item were purchased. The Accountability Bureau had investigated the then ‘Admiral’ responsible for this purchase. But no allegation of misdoing could be established by the investigation authorities against Mr. Zardari,’ the spokesman said. Regarding the allegation about the killing of French nationals in Karachi, the spokesman said that President Zardari was in prison in 2002, when the unfortunate incident took place. ‘This indicates the motive behind leveling such baseless allegations. How can a person in prison arrange such high-profile killings,’ he added.
Nawaz shedding crocodile tears said it was very painful for him that people were suffering because of unemployment, price-hike, poverty, lack of health and education facilities, while a handful of people had received kickbacks of Rs4 billion in just one deal. He said the poor were craving for basic facilities, and the privileged class was plundering the national wealth.
Earlier, the PML-Q leveling 22 allegations of corruption and nepotism against Nawaz Sharif had said it cost the nation billions of rupees. Tracing back Nawaz Sharif’s `misdeeds’ from the days, when he first became provincial finance minister, then chief minister and finally the prime minister of Pakistan. Mian Nawaz Sharif, during his tenure as Punjab chief minister (1988-90), deprived the provincial departments of Rs15.35 billion, which included Rs470 million of agriculture, Rs200 million of education, Rs270 million of interior, Rs180 million of forest and Rs1500 million of other departments. Quoting the Auditor General’s Report, released in 1988, it said Mian Nawaz Sharif, misusing his authority as chief minister, issued directives, which resulted into direct malpractice of Rs35 billion. The report said that the Chief Minister’s Secretariat had been turned out to be a hub of corrupt practices and Nawaz Sharif wasted the public money like an ‘emperor’ that resulted in huge fiscal deficit to the province. The Auditor General’s Report released in 1986 said the then chief minister Nawaz Sharif had squandered Rs1.2 billion in only one year. It said Nawaz Sharif allotted 3,000 precious LDA plots to his favourites due to which the provincial assets suffered billions of rupees loss. Nawaz ordered the CBR to issue several SROs due to which he got Rs400 million.
PML-Q alleged Nawaz Sharif was the lead character in the cooperative and financial institutions scam, depriving the retired employees, orphans, widows, and the poor of their total assets amounting to Rs17 billion.
It said during the first tenure of Nawaz Sharif as prime minister he obtained Rs3 billion loan from different banks through his influence against inadequate guarantees. According to details, Rs1.5 billion loan was obtained against Ittefaq Foundries, Rs302 million were obtained for Brothers Sugar Mills, Rs92 million for Brothers Textile, Rs392 million for Brothers Steel Mills, Rs102 million for Ramzan Sugar Mills and Khalid Siraj Textiles each, Rs385 million for Ittefaq Sugar Mills, Rs368 million for Ittefaq Textiles and Rs239 million were loaned to Ittefaq Brothers. The national wealth was used for establishing personal empire, while the country’s economy was facing huge disaster, the document alleged. This loan was equivalent to the total internal loan obtained by the government of Pakistan, it added.
It said another Rs30 billion were spent in the name of ‘Tameer-e-Watan Program’ in two phases and only 10 to 15 per cent was actually spent on the program, while his friends were benefited by the remaining funds. Later the World Bank (WB) and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) unearthed the scam. On Jan 7, 1991, the French government, under an agreement provided $138 million grant for the development of communication, energy and health sectors. Out of the grant, the then prime minister and his coterie obtained $25 million as commission, it was alleged. It said Nawaz Sharif, in the name of privatization, handed over a state-owned bank on throwaway price against Rs888.8 million to a bidder, who was third in the list. Resultantly, the Sharifs received commission in millions of rupees. Besides, Allied Bank was also privatized and the then prime Minister got kickbacks in the deal, it alleged.
On Jan 15, 1992, the Nawaz government sold 90 per cent shares of Pak-China Fertilizer Company to Schon Group for mere Rs450 million. The company had 700 employees with a daily production of 340 tons of fertilizer. It said Nawaz Sharif with an amount of Rs15,000 only opened his account in Muslim Commercial Bank and the next morning he got Rs150 million loan from the same bank. In June 1990, Nawaz Sharif allotted 43-acres forest land in Murree on a throwaway price to one Zafar Iqbal, who was involved in BCCI Scam. Moreover, the Sharif paid the amount from his discretionary fund, it alleged. On May 30, 1990, Nawaz Sharif announced launching of Pakistan Baitul Mal and appointed his close associate as its chairman. Only in one year Rs1.9 billion were distributed amongst his cronies, while Rs9 million were spent on treatment of his feudal friends, it said.
Durig the second tenure of Nawaz Sharif as prime minister, beginning in 1997, he bought 2,000 acre of land in Raiwind, building Rs250 million, 1700-acre palace there. The amount was spent from the national exchequer, the white paper alleged. It added the palace was simultaneously declared Prime Minister’s Camp Office and PWD was ordered to renovate it. For the purpose, Rs80 million were approved within 24 hours in violation of rules and regulation. Besides, Rs70 million were released for provision of Gas, Rs320 million for roads, Rs85 million for brick-lining of the canal, Rs50 million for provision of electricity and Rs20 million were spent for telephone exchange for the palace. On Sept 17, 1996, the then chief minister Arif Nakai issued a letter (No LDA-CMP-401-S-54) for the allotment of 540 acres of land for a housing society. The orders were cancelled by Mr Shahbaz Sharif and the same land was absorbed in ‘Raiwind State’ and the poor peasants were harassed and paid minimal sums for their precious lands. It said Nawaz and Shahbaz, using their official status, saved Rs1,79,382293 in Income Tax and Wealth Tax. It also alleged misappropriation of the amount collected under `Qarz Utaro Mulk Sanwaro’ plan.
On May 28, 1998, Nawaz Sharif imposed emergency in the wake of atomic explosions and ordered freezing of the foreign currency accounts through an executive order and deprived many Pakistanis of $11 billion, it alleged. Breaching his oath, the Sharifs informed most of their associates and relatives of the emergency step, who withdrew their amounts well in time. Due to this, $1,200 million were transferred abroad, it claimed. It also alleged that handing over of 33 industrial units to banks was yet another scam out of which only three were operative and the remaining were dysfunctional. As per investigators, 18 out of 19 units of Ittefaq Group of Companies, three out of four units of Ilyas Enterprises, six out of seven units of Ittefaq Brothers and all three units of Brothers Steel were totally redundant, it claimed.
As regards the Chaudhry brothers of PML-Q---their financial scams, especially related to the bank loan defaults and bungling in cooperatives are mostly known to all, which for lack of space here could not be elaborated and left for the contributors to update the records.
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| CJP Chaudhry and former AGP Khosa trade barbs in open court, isn’t very sad? |
Former Attorney General of Pakistan (AGP), Latif Khan Khosa facing charges of taking bribe in the name of judges has categorically rejected the charges and raised objection on Chief Justice Pakistan (CJP), Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry heading the bench.
A three-member bench headed by CJP Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, while hearing the allegation against former AGP and currently Prime Minister’s Advisor, Latif Khan Khosa, directed him to submit his detailed reply within two weeks.
The convict, Maghfoor Shah, a former general manager in the National Highway Authority, had been sentenced to five years’ imprisonment and fined over Rs3 million and 200,000 US dollars after having been found guilty of corruption. After failing to get relief from the Supreme Court, he claims to have bribed Mr. Khosa for his help.
In an unprecedented move CJP Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry had summoned the former AGP to an open court hearing Wednesday to reply the allegations.
Latif Khosa rejected the charges framed against him and raised objections on Chief Justice for conducting the hearing. Exchange of harsh words also took place between Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry and Latif Khosa. The court adjourned the hearing for two weeks and issued notices to Umer Daraz, Munshi of Latif Khosa, Deputy Attorney General Dil Muhammad Alizai and Mian Tariq Advocate.
Talking to media after the hearing, Latif Khosa blamed that Chief Justice was responsible for the insult he faced in a gathering some times ago. He said chief justice should not hear the case. Khosa termed the allegations against him as baseless.
Earlier a few days ago, the prime minister’s press secretary Imran Gardezi had confirmed Khosa would now work as adviser to the prime minister and would cease to hold the portfolio of AGP.
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| Tycoons add Rs36b to NPLs, while Nawaz, Mansha, others urge for honour killing of KL-Bill |
Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz) Chief Mian Muhammad Nawaz Sharif, the Chairman of Nishat Group Mian Muhammad Mansha and a few other businessmen and feudal lords slamming Kerry-Lugar Bill—the U.S. aid tripling annual civilian aid for Pakistan---for what they called hurting national pride--- and arousing passion in the parliament in session urged for its instant honour killing without putting forth any suggestion as to how Pakistan should overcome its existing worst financial crunch ever in the backdrop of a new mind-boggling figure of Rs36 billion has been added to banks’ non-performing loans (NPLs) in a span of just three months (July-Sept 2008).
The disclosure was made by an official report of the Ministry of Finance placed before the National Assembly by Finance Minister Shaukat Tarin during the question hour the other day in reply to a query by MNA Syed Zafar Ali Shah. The shocking part of this development on the financial front of the country is that these top businessmen refused to pay back their loans on the pretexts that they suffered losses because of worsening law and order situation and massive load-shedding in the country.
The report, however, went unnoticed, as legislators seemed entirely focused on KL-Bill, none was seen interested in even reading its contents as to how the law and order was finally hurting the businesses and banking sectors of the country. An official source said no one knows the real figure of billions of rupees loans not being paid back since last October 2008 by using arguments of bad law and order and continuous load-shedding in the country by the mighty businessmen. The report did not divulge as to how many banks were affected by the refusal of businessmen to pay back their loans. Likewise, names of the top loan defaulters were also not disclosed in the report.
It may be recalled that the Supreme Court had taken suo motu action on the reports of loans written off in October 2007. But for reasons the case, too, was almost dumped and no one knows its fate since.
An official source disclosed when businessmen don’t pay back these loans for one reason or the other, these pending amounts are simply added to the accounts as NPLs and at some later stage these are simply written off. He said this is what was happening for the last many decades and businessmen now know these “tricks of trade”. He explained as a first step, businessmen have refused to pay these loans back. In the second phase, they would conveniently prevail upon banking authorities to write off these amounts and extend them new loans. The source said this cycle of writing off loans is continuing in the country for the last many decades and there is no element of surprise in it.
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| Let there be, at least, one hassle free Hajj |
Pakistani Hujjaj, whose number is naturally higher than other countries face numerous difficulties because of poor arrangements by our Hajj Directorate. Despite the presence of permanent staff in Makkah and Madina round the year, Pakistani pilgrims complain of poor arrangements, particularly the accommodation and delayed flights. During the last Hajj, while some pilgrims who went through the official scheme were lucky to get accommodation near the Holy Mosque, a large majority was staying at far-off places. Buses provided for their transportation were insufficient and people had to bear extra expenses to travel. As compared to Pakistan, even India, Bangladesh and some other countries were able to hire accommodation for their pilgrims close to Haram.
Before Hajj, the Minister for Religious Affairs and senior officials visit Saudi Arabia and a series of statements come from them that arrangements would be better this time than in past. However soon after the Hajj there are strings of statements from the pilgrims, complaining of all sorts of mismanagement, corruption and poor residential facilities.
It is a known fact that Pakistani pilgrims cannot afford costly accommodation facilities in good hotels in Makkah, yet those going for the performance of the religious obligation can pay a few thousand rupees more for their stay near the Holy Mosque that would facilitate them in offering five times prayers in Haram because aged people find it difficult to travel a long distance. At the same time the Government should also extend some subsidy to the pilgrims as India and many other countries do this. We hope that this year at least, arrangements would be better for a hassle free Hajj for the Pakistanis.
Earlier, Joint Secretary (Hajj) Ministry of Religious Affairs Aftab-ul-Islam Raja said this year the Ministry had announced the new Hajj policy well before time and all necessary arrangements are being made ahead of schedule. Aftab-ul-Islam Raja said administering seasonal and swine flu vaccines are mandatory for intending pilgrims and they would have to carry with them medical certificates as per directives of the Saudi government. He said as many as 160,000 intending pilgrims would perform the forthcoming Hajj under the government and private schemes. The ministry would send 80,000 intending pilgrims for Hajj, while remaining will be sent through Hajj group Organizers (HGOs), he added. Elaborating further, the Joint Secretary informed that this time around 589 registered HGOs have been allocated quota. He said as per directions of the Saudi authorities, no new induction of HGOs would be undertaken for Hajj 2009.
Responding to a question, he said the entire Hajj operation would be conducted in accordance with the prescribed schedule. The first Hajj flight is scheduled to take off on October 22 whereas the last Hajj flight would depart on November 23. Pakistan International Airlines would airlift a total of 146,547 intending pilgrims, while Saudi Airlines has also agreed to ferry 13,100 pilgrims from Pakistan. About 131,647 pilgrims would land at King Abdul Aziz International Air Port, Jeddah, while as many as 28,000 pilgrims would enter the Kingdom through Prince Muhammad Bin Abdul Aziz Air Port, Madinah Munawarah.
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| Punjabi Taliban out to disprove the authority’s claim of breaking TTP backbone |
The fact that the Punjabi Taliban in the south of the province is no less a menace than those of the Al Qaeda and Taliban outfits in the northern parts of Pakistan was amply demonstrated by the terrorists’ attacks at Manawan Police Training School in Lahore, at Mianwali check post besides targeting the Sri Lanka cricket team in Lahore, suicide attack on mourners’ procession in D.G. Khan including the one on Islamabad Marriott Hotel, yet for reasons best known to them, Punjab authority not only kept ignoring to the threat, but always resisted any suggestion of launching a Swat-like operation by the law enforcing agencies in the province.
According to a published report, Punjab government had specific information of the impending attack on the GHQ as early as July 15 this year, and had named Lashkar-Jhangvi and Jaish-e-Muhammad whose terrorists “would be dressed in military uniforms” and would be carrying specific weapons. Again, it was South Punjab, which was in focus and, against all assertions to the contrary, this time counter-intelligence was clearly effective against the terrorists. How else one can judge counter-intelligence if not from this forewarning that even named the outfits? If this tip-off was ignored, it can only mean that there is ‘denial’ somewhere in the provincial government of there being terrorist trouble in South Punjab. Today, in the so-called Seraiki belt, no one dares speak against the erstwhile jihadi organization, now clearly aligned with Al Qaeda. The government stance is that the leader of Jaish-e-Muhammad, Maulana Masood Azhar, is not to be found, quite unbelievable in presence of the ground realities over there.
The fact that the ringleader of the terrorists, who had laid the audacious siege at the General Headquarters, Aqeel alias Dr. Usman captured alive and whose antecedent was established beyond doubt with the Punjabi Taliban showed of late, that they have assumed the responsibility of avenging the military defeat in Malakand Division and subsequent death of Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) chief Baitullah Mehsud in a U.S. missile strike.
TTP claimed the act and named the ‘group’ that had undertaken it: Amjad Farooqi Group. A member of the group reportedly demanded that the government stop the military operation in the Tribal Areas, hold former General Pervez Musharraf accountable for his actions, force Blackwater US private security firm to leave the country; shut down all western non-governmental organisations (NGOs), and release detained Taliban. Al Qaeda had earlier named the killers of khassadars in Khyber after its founder, Abdullah Azzam.
Amjad Farooqi was a terrorist affiliated with Al Qaeda through Sipah-e-Sahaba and Jaish-e-Muhammad. He was involved in the attempt on the life of General Musharraf, the beheading of the American journalist Daniel Pearl, and the bombing of a church in Islamabad. He was killed in 2004 in Sindh. The Al Qaeda link was disclosed after his death. His handler was the Libyan Abu Faraj al-Libi, who had replaced the planner of 9/11, Khalid Sheikh Muhammad, as Al Qaeda commander in Pakistan, after the latter’s arrest.
Despite the strike at the heart of the military establishment on Saturday and Sunday left 19 people dead besides the huge embarrassment at home and abroad and the third dramatic attack in less than a week, Punjab government, unlike the NWFP, is still reluctant in making any request to the federal government for launching a Swat-like operation for cleansing the south Punjab of the desperate terrorists out to disprove authority’s claim of having broken the back of the Pakistani Taliban.
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| LHC postponing by-polls no surprise, but what makes Rashid hoping for relief from his SC appeal? |
Lahore High Court accepted Punjab government’s petition on Friday, ordered postponement of by-polls and set aside the schedule issued by the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC).
The Election Commission had fixed November 7 for conducting polls in NA-123 Lahore, NA-55 Rawalpindi, PP-82 Jhang and PP-284 Bahawalnagar. The Punjab government had challenged the schedule before the LHC and on Friday submitted a 31-page appeal seeking delay in the elections.
Justice Mian Saqib Nisar directed CEC Chairman Justice (retd) Hamid Ali Mirza to issue a fresh schedule after hearing the government, the parties and candidates concerned and considering all maters relating to the law and order situation.
Later, one of the candidates in the by-polls, Chief of Awami League, Sheikh Rashid’s counsel, Barrister Farooq Hassan said it was surprising that the LHC judge had undone the CEC Chairman’s decision, whose status was that of an SC judge, while Sheikh Rashid Ahmed said that he will approach the Supreme Court of Pakistan against the verdict of LHC, postponing by-elections in Punjab.
‘I have never seen such kind of case not only in the country’s history, but also in world’s history in which a government itself appeals to the court to postpone by-elections,’ Sheikh Rashid said this while talking to media after the hearing. The by-elections have been postponed for an individual, who has no intention to contest by-elections, he said. While referring to the Chief of PML-N Nawaz Sharif, he made it clear that Nawaz Sharif would not contest by-polls and added that Punjab Government and others who wanted to postpone the by-polls were in fact afraid of defeat not security. Hafiz Suleman Butt, the Jamaat-e-Islami candidate from constituency NA-123 also endorsed that PML-N was, in fact, running away from the by-polls.
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| Lawyers’ movement still has a lot to accomplish: Chamberlin |
The lawyers’ movement for the restoration of the judiciary still has a lot to accomplish, as it has only managed to help the “privileged” regain their jobs or positions thus far, former US ambassador to Pakistan Wendy Chamberlin said in an interview to a Lahore based TV programme on Sunday.
She told she had hoped – as one of the supporters of the movement – that the lawyers’ revolution would deliver justice to the poor and middle class, especially in the villages. “I am disappointed that the poor have not been able to get justice after the restoration of the judiciary,” she said.
Chamberlin, who is now heading the Washington-based Middle East Institute, said she was still hopeful the Pakistani people would change their political system and bring it in line with the system envisioned by Muhammad Ali Jinnah. She said she liked Pakistanis, as they were straightforward and problem solvers. On former president Pervez Musharraf, she said the Americans liked him because he was a celebrity. She said he was earning a lot of money from his lecture circuit in the US. “One thing is clear - Musharraf is not getting cheques from the US government,” she said.
She said she could not say anything about Musharraf’s future, but added he was a man who could take advantage of the toughest situations. She said the former president had been the best choice for US after 9/11, as he was ready to do what was necessary.
The former ambassador said the US administration had been unhappy with the government of General Ziaul Haq. She said Zia had changed the basic concept behind the creation of Pakistan and had brought several drastic changes to the constitution. “His (Gen Zia) steps turned away from the vision of MA Jinnah,” she said. She said she was hopeful Pakistan would return to the vision of Jinnah.
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| Balochs will not rest until taking complete control over their provincial resources |
Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani on Friday said the new reforms package for Balochistan would remove the sense of deprivation of Baloch people and usher in an era of progress and prosperity in the province.
While the Baloch leaders waging war against the persistent economic exploitation and political subjugation of the province are not willing to budge an inch from their obvious goal, which they have repeatedly spoken in unambiguous terms, that their struggle would not cease until they have wrested from Punjab establishment complete autonomy, self-governance and total control over the resources of the province, reminded some local leaders here.
Talking to a delegation of the Balochistan cabinet headed by Chief Minister Nawab Aslam Raisani at PM’s House, Gilani reaffirmed the government’s sincere commitment towards the fast track development of Balochistan. The new reforms package – prepared by the Parliamentary Committee on Balochistan – would bring the resource-rich province at par with other developed areas of the country. He said the package would soon be presented to a joint sitting of Parliament for approval, after taking all political leaders into confidence. The PM said time had come for the people of Balochistan to get their due share in the national economy. He said a three-pronged strategy had been devised to address Baloch people’s grievances by meeting their longstanding demands.
He hoped the constitutional, administrative and financial measures included in the package would meet people’s expectations. Gilani said under the new reform package, the people of Balochistan would control their own resources and would be masters of their own destiny. The cabinet delegation appreciated the PM’s actions for redressing Baloch people’s grievances and hoped these efforts would bear fruit in making Balochistan a prosperous province.
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| Restored judiciary brought no change: Kurd |
Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) President Ali Ahmad Kurd on Friday reiterated that the restored judiciary has brought no changes in the institution that ultimately disappointed the public at large. Talking to reporters on the premises of the Supreme Court, he urged the higher judiciary to strive hard to make the people believe in the judicial system of the country. Ali Ahmed Kurd said that the legal fraternity had waged a war for the restoration of the judiciary and the constitution and launched a massive movement, and finally it succeeded in restoring the judiciary of November 2, 2007.
The SCBA president said that a large number of litigants visited the Supreme Court, but were not provided justice due to which a sense of deprivation and disappointment was prevailing among the masses. He further said that the Supreme Court should devise a unified system for smooth and rapid processing of applications received from litigants, and they should be intimated at the earliest before their cases are taken up.
One simply cannot but agree hundred percent with Mr. Kurd that the judiciary today seems to be in total disarray, especially in matters relating to the appointment of judges on nearly 100 coveted posts that had fallen vacant, when superior court judges were one dismal morning shown the door by a most controversial July 31st short order of the Supreme Court, whose judgment in detail, perhaps yet to be written, has not seen the day.
But the courts since then have practically stopped working, as after the massive economic massacre of judges, Balochistan High Court was left with no judge at all, it was only after about a month one Karachi-based lawyer, Qazi Faez Essa was appointed as chief justice and now under challenge through a constitutional petition filed in the Supreme Court of Pakistan Quetta Registry by the central Vice President Balochistan National Party and senior lawyer Sajid Tareen, making a plea that Qazi Faez Essa was appointed CJ through a notification under Article 193, whereas for becoming judge of High Court ten years experience as a lawyer for any one is appointed ad hoc judge first then permanent judge. It said that a personality, who was not judge of high court he cannot be appointed Chief Justice directly. He prayed that Aug 5 notification should be withdrawn and CJ should be appointed according to the constitution.
Similar, were the case when after the purge 14 and 42 vacancies were created in the Peshawar and Lahore High Courts respectively, which are yet to be filled as different power groups trying to get appointed most of the judges of their choice. Notwithstanding, Punjab CM Shahbaz- Governor Taseer wrangling over the appointment of judges, Lahore High Court (LHC) Chief Justice (CJ) Khawaja Muhammad Sharif on Friday asked LHC Bar Association (LHCBA) Rawalpindi Bench to recommend lawyers of good repute for appointment as LHC judges.
The situation in Sindh High Court (SHC) is no better. Until the other day it was staffed with 8 judges only, when the Chief Justice Sarmad Jalal Usmani administered oath to 10 additional judges, amid the Bar Associations boycotting the oath taking ceremony, as they were unhappy for the reason that seven former judges, who refused to take oath under PCO were dropped. These include Justice Zafar Ahmed Khan Sherwani, Justice Abdul Rasheed Kalwar, Arshad Siraj Memon and Justice Salman Ansari. President SHC Bar Association Justice Rasheed A Razvi, later talking to the press said that the restoration of those judges, who refused to take oath under PCO, should have been the priority.
Newly appointed SHC 10 additional judges included: Justice Shahid Anwar Bajwa, Justice Rukhsana Ahmad, Justice Malik Ghulam Sarwar Khorai, Justice Ahmad Ali Sheikh (president Larkana SHC Bar Association), Justice Ali bin Adam Jaffery (brother of Justice Ali Hassan Jaffery), Justice Hajan Dad Pejwani (president Sukkur SHC Bar), Justice Irfan Saadat Khan, Justice Aqeel Ahmad Abbasi, Justice Munib Akhtar (son-in-law of former federal minister Khalid Anwar) and Justice Tufail H. Ibrahim (son of former Judge Fakhruddin G. Ibrahim) were included among those who took oath.
Islamabad High Court (IHC), which was sent packing under the so-called July 31st historical SC short order, piling miseries to thousands of litigants, who still not knowing where to go for seeking justice in their already long pending cases, while suffering lawyers and litigants have demanded the restoration of IHC forthwith, which could only be possible through a new legislation that might take still many more moths.
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[18] Comments Post Your Commets |
| Tribalization of Karachi continues unabated |
The tribalization of this mega-metropolis city Karachi, which had started with the dawn of Ayub era in Pakistan, still continues unabated. Karachi that it was a peaceful city—most of its citizens had never seen any lethal weapon what to speak of using it---the rivals even in very grave situation never used anything other than hockey sticks and in the worst case a dagger—the city was fast growing into a trading and industrial hub excelling not only in Pakistan, but was throwing a potential challenge in the whole region of South Asia.
Unfortunately, this very leading role of the fast emerging city turned out to be its misfortune, as the ruling club up there (by then shifted to Islamabad) felt it a threat to their ambition of further consolidating its stranglehold, first raised an alarm on the pretext of uneven development and then started devising such discriminatory fiscal and monetary policies, which failing for inherent reasons to boost the pace of development in other parts of the country, could at least push back this city to the level of other parts.
Even this proved not enough, the influx of arms and explosives, installation of all sorts of mafias tightening their grips over the city’s civic facilities and driving away abroad the best city talents seemed to have worked, as the city now appears to be well on way in transition to a tribal culture, where weapons are considered to be the ornaments of every household.
No wonder arms supplies in the city since then have become a regular feature, which for the law enforcing authorities also have turned out to be multi-billion bonanzas annually and the once in a blue moon busting of network of arms suppliers are no more than an eyewash.
SSP CID, Sindh recent raid of a warehouse in the city and busting of an arms suppliers gang leading to a recovery of one G-3 Rifle, nine Kalashnikovs, eight .222 rifles, one 8mm rifle, seven shotguns (single barrel), seven rifles of 12 bore (double barrel), 15 rifle bullets, three 9mm pistols, four 30 bore pistols and two pistols of 32 bore---- are only a tip of icebergs that keep flowing the city right in front of the nose of the authorities. According to report, the arrested suspects used to smuggle arms from Dera Adam Khel (NWFP) and supply the same to various operating mafias in Karachi at cheaper rates.
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[9] Comments Post Your Commets |
| Emboldened Lahore lawyers thrash two cops again |
Lawyers once again thrashed two policemen, who tried to stop them from getting extra- subsidized flour bags illegally from the Garhi Shahu Ramazan bazaar on Tuesday. As reported the two advocates, Rizwan and Faizan, who happened to be brothers, reached the Ramazan bazaar and started using their influence to get extra flour bags in violation of the rules. Constables Basharat and Khadim, deputed at the bazaar, stopped the lawyers from depriving others of their rights by trying to get undue favour. The accused lawyers went berserk and started thrashing the constables. Constable Basharat said the lawyers also called more advocates, who attacked them and torn down their uniforms.
Later, PML-N Coordinator Tahir Bashir, who was supervising the Ramazan bazaar, accompanied by both the constables reached the police station, while the lawyers also following them misbehaved with the PML-N coordinator too at the police station and hurled abuses at him and issued him life threats.
SP Sohail Sukhera under awe of the lawyers’ chief patron instead of taking any legal action played the role of mediator and after a heated debate, the SP managed to hush up the matter in order to save himself from the impending wrath of the patron.
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[10] Comments Post Your Commets |
| PML-N insists rule of law, but will not let its erring legislators put on trial |
The PML-N that claims to stand by the rule of law seems not willing to let the law take its normal course against their erring lawmakers. In what is becoming common practice, yet another legislator of the PML-N, Anjum Aqeel Khan is accused of attacking Professor Laiq Ali Khan of Federal Government College for Boys, F-10/4, for refusing admission to a boy recommended by him. Despite his claims that he was only trying to help one of his constituents seeking admission to the college, his deeds have once again raised the issue of action against errant lawmakers.
The PML-N occupies the moral high ground in national politics to such an extent that people expect it to act swiftly in such cases. In a couple of cases, it has indeed done just that. A few months ago, it forced its legislator from Rawalpindi to resign his National Assembly seat after his involvement in an exam scandal. More recently, it made one of its Punjab legislators relinquish her post for using a stolen credit card. However, some other incidents have gone unpunished. A Punjab minister got away with two brawls in full public view. A provincial legislator accused of raping a woman in Lahore was not even arrested before he struck an out-of-court deal with his accusers many days after the incident.
Instead of trying to punish or absolve all its erring cadres on its own, the party should have allowed the law to take its course in each case. By turning over the erring legislators to the police and the courts it would have easily avoided the charge of being choosy, and by being neutral would have helped restore the much-needed trust in the judicial system. After all, a functional legal system does not involve political parties taking up police and judicial responsibilities. The PML-N that claims to stand by the rule of the law should know better.
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[16] Comments Post Your Commets |
| Its already mid-Ramazan now, LHC orders ensure sugar sale at Rs40 per kg |
A division bench of the Lahore High Court (LHC) on Thursday ordered the Punjab government to ensure the sale of sugar at Rs40 per kg across the province. The bench, consisting of LHC Chief Justice Khawaja Sharif and Justice Chaudhry Ejaz, ordered Punjab Chief Secretary Jawed Mehmood to issue orders to all district coordination officers and ensure the implementation of the new price with immediate effect. The bench observed: “The Punjab government is at liberty to recover sugar from all places wherever it is stocked after making payment at the rate of Rs36 per kg.” The chief justice had taken suo motu notice on August 13, saying that due to a rise in sugar prices, “market players” had earned billions of rupees “with the connivance of political dignitaries”.
The government is presently selling sugar at Rs38 per kg at the utility stores. Earlier, the federal government in its efforts to place itself one-ups, a week or 10 days after the sugar crisis, negotiating with the powerful sugar cartel had fixed the sugar price at Rs47 per kg, which despite agreement, the cartel never implemented and persisted with their broad daylight black marketing, selling sugar at Rs60 per kg.
Later, Shahbaz Sharif scoring a point up over the federal minister for Industries and production, Mian Manzoor Watto, got the price reduced to Rs45 per kg in consultations with the prime minister, which also remained unimplemented thus far and now LHC has ordered the government for ensuring selling of sugar at Rs40 per kg in the open market.
While the scoring spree among the authorities continues, the Pakistan Sugar Mills Association (PSMA) has announced it will challenge the LHC decision to fix Rs36 a kilo as the ex-factory and Rs40 as retail price of the sweetener in Punjab.
Observers believe that the court direction to the Punjab government to take measures to reduce the retail sugar prices across the province may further aggravate shortages of the sweetener in the market, as the sugar cartel constituting of political dignitaries have thus far proved to be mightier than the power of the executive and judiciary together, leaving hapless people wandering in the wilderness.
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[8] Comments Post Your Commets |
| Despite SC suo motto, petrol, diesel prices up by over Rs4 per litre |
Notwithstanding Supreme Court suo motto notice on petroleum products' high prices still in the closet, the government has increased the prices of petroleum products by Rs2.69 to Rs4.80 per litre with immediate effect from today (September 1). The price of motor spirit has surged by Rs4.80 per litre from Rs60.46 to Rs65.26 and high-speed diesel by Rs4.59 to Rs66.54 from Rs61.64 per litre.
According to a report, when contacted GA Sabri, special secretary of Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Resources, said the oil prices in the international market had swelled by 7 percent during the last month and under the new mechanism the government was bound to pass on the fluctuations in the oil prices to end consumers. As per the notification issued by Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority, the price of HOBC (High Octane Blending Component) increased by Rs3.69 per litre from Rs77.01 to Rs80.39 per litre, kerosene by Rs2.69 per litre from Rs57.91 to 60.60 per litre and Light Diesel Oil (LDO) by Rs3.69 from Rs53.27 to Rs56.96 per litre.
Meanwhile the trade, commerce and industry circles giving their immediate reaction said that the country’s economy was already under the spell of worst-ever economic slump finding it difficult to keep its breath together needed primary care and oxygen therapy in terms of some bailout instead preferred further hiking the prices of petroleum products, which would ultimately prove to be last straw on the camel’s back. They warned that the cost of doing business had already gone sky-high, many mills and factories were forced to lock up, while this additional load would shut down the remaining ones also, causing myriad problems to the people including unemployment, hunger and poverty in the country.
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[7] Comments Post Your Commets |
| Punjab under Sharifs gets tougher, browbeats smaller provinces in NFC meeting |
Punjab as usual in its efforts to snatch away a larger chunk of the national resources, under Sharifs has further tightened the noose around the smaller provinces by outright snubbing their demands for an equitable and justified distribution on the ground that Punjab is the poorest among the federating units in the NFC Award meeting held on Friday.
Belying all expectations, Punjab government instead of conceding some relief to the smaller provinces came up with fresh claims of royalty on the Mangla Dam and Ghazi Barotha hydropower projects. When Punjab Finance Minister Tanveer Ashraf Kaira asked if former Punjab chief minister Ghulam Haider Wayn was signatory to a document that forfeited Punjab’s right to royalty for Ghazi Barotha, the minister said Wayen had taken an unconstitutional step. He said the Punjab government had not yet worked out the actual amount the province would get as Mangla hydel profits, but the sum payable by WAPDA on account of Ghazi Barotha was Rs18 billion at the rate of Rs3 billion a year. The Ghazi Barotha project was commissioned around six years ago.
Kaira dismissing the concerns raised by NWFP and Balochistan over Punjab’s presentation at the NFC meeting, the minister said although people in the province made up 57 percent of Pakistan’s population, Punjab had been getting a 47 percent share from the NFC, which “is less than our due share”. Quoting figures on the availability of per capita resources in all four provinces, he said Punjab was “behind” the rest of the provinces. He said that based on other social indicators, poverty in Punjab was at the same level as Balochistan.
Sindh Chief Minister Qaim Ali Shah hoped that the new NFC Award would be finalised within the given timeframe. He said Sindh wanted the distribution of national resources among provinces on the basis of revenue generation, poverty and population growth. He demanded more resources from the centre to efficiently handle an influx of people from inside and outside the country to the province. He said provinces, instead of the federal government, should collect general sales tax (GST) on goods and services, claiming that GST was a provincial subject.
Haji Adeel – a private National Finance Commission member from NWFP – told reporters that if Punjab’s stance on resource availability was correct, the province was the poorest of the country’s federating units. Meanwhile, NWFP Finance Minister Humayun Khan hoped that issues related to NWFP’s net hydel profit claims would be resolved amicably. He said poverty and backwardness should also be considered bases for revenue sharing among provinces. He demanded that the centre compensate NWFP for damages caused by fighting between security forces and the Taliban.
Dr Gulfaraz Ahmed – a National Finance Commission member from Balochistan – said equal distribution of resources would lead equal development opportunities. He said equal distribution of resources among provinces had also been proposed in light of revenue-sharing formulas being implemented in India, Australia and Germany. Ahmed said the proposed gas development surcharge (GDS) formula called for an increase in Balochistan’s gas royalty. He said the GDS formula finalised in 1990 was out of date and needed modification. Meanwhile, Balochistan Finance Minister Mir Asim Kurd said poverty in Balochistan was at the highest level in the country.
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[11] Comments Post Your Commets |
| Sindh also to raise non-NFC issues, incurred loss of Rs175b in NFC meeting |
The thorny issue of National Finance Commission (NFC) Award, which kept lingering for years creating bad blood among the provinces, as the smaller provinces objected and agitated on the inequitable distribution of the federal government resources, whose major chunk is currently being devoured by the mighty Punjab under their ‘supra-constitution of might is right’ will once again come up for heated discussions in the NFC meeting scheduled in Islamabad on Thursday.
Sindh Minister for Information, Shazia Marri has revealed that Sindh had suffered a loss of approximately Rs175 billion on account of the non-NFC issues in the last 10 years. Elaborating she said Sindh’s representatives would take up the “non-NFC issues” of the province at the first meeting of the NFC. These included general sales tax (GST) on services, including central excise mode, octroi and zila tax and errors in the distribution of funds.
The Sindh government on Tuesday at a meeting of the in-house committee on NFC held at the Sindh Chief Minister’s House with the Chief Minister Qaim Ali Shah in chair finalised its recommendations for the new NFC Award that would be presented at the first meeting of the newly constituted NFC scheduled on August 27 and 28 in Islamabad. Provincial ministers Syed Sardar Ahmed, Jam Saifullah Dharejo, Shazia Marri, Sindh’s unofficial member in the NFC Dr Qaisar Bengali, PPP leader Taj Haider and secretaries of the finance and law departments attended the meeting.
Briefing the media about the meeting, Sindh Minister for Information Shazia Marri said the government’s stance about the new NFC Award was clear and it wanted multiple criteria, instead of population as the sole criterion, for the distribution of funds from the federal divisible pool among the federating units. She said the provincial government hoped that the existing formula (based on population basis) would be changed in the new NFC Award, as the other two smaller provinces and hopefully, this time Punjab also would agree to bring the new award on the basis of multiple criteria, including population, revenue collection, backwardness, poverty and area.
Notwithstanding Shazia Marri’s optimism, the years of previous bitter experiences of smaller provinces at NFC Award meetings caution care for the Sindh negotiators to remain ever agile and alert against the hegemonic Punjab's highhandedness.
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[7] Comments Post Your Commets |
| Dirty politics on sugar stinks, while spiralling prices grind consumers |
NWFP Senior Minister Bashir Ahmad Bilour on Friday advised the Peshawar High Court judges to quit their jobs and join politics, if they were interested in the government affairs. Reacting to the observations made by a judge of the superior court a day earlier while taking up the price-hike issue, Bilour said the judges should think before levelling allegations against someone, the Geo TV channel quoted him telling reporters. Sugar or other edible items are not being smuggled to Afghanistan, as there were forces operating on both sides of the Afghan border, he claimed. Earlier, hearing a suo moto notice on unbridled price-hike, Justice Dost Muhammad Khan of the Peshawar High Court observed on Thursday that sugar and other food items were being smuggled to Afghanistan leading to a hike in their prices.
Chief Justice of the Lahore High Court Khawaja Muhammad Sharif has observed that the mills mafia should not be allowed to blackmail the federal and provincial governments and a tough stance be taken to resolve the crisis. Hearing a suo moto notice taken by him in Lahore Wednesday he expressed concern over that Punjab Government had not taken timely action against hoarders that created a big sugar crisis in the country.
Meanwhile, Punjab government is reported to have seized more than 300,000 bags of sugar in its operation against hoarders, a private TV reported on Friday. According to the channel, officials conducted raids across the province against the sugar hoarders. Officials accompanied by a heavy contingent of police raided a sugar mill in Chiniot district and seized 214,785 bags of sugar. They later sealed the mill’s warehouses, the channel reported. Another 87,420 bags were seized in a raid in Joharabad, it added. Earlier, Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif said there was no shortage of sugar in Punjab, but dealers had created an artificial shortage through hoarding to earn profits.
Briefing media after five-hour long dialogue with a delegation representing Sugar Mills Association (SMA), the Federal Minister for Industries and Production Mian Manzoor Watto announced that the dialogue with SMA delegation has reached the success and the SMA will be selling sugar at inflated prices. With the consent of Sugar Millers, the government has set the one-kilogram ex mill sugar price at Rs48 to be sold across Balochistan province and Rs49.75 to be sold across NWFP province, Geo news reported on Tuesday.
Challenging Watto, the Punjab government on Friday regulated sugar price at Rs40 per kg in special Ramazan bazaars, Rs45 per kg ex-mill rate and Rs47 per kg at retail markets. Through these orders, now the millers are bound to sell sugar at government regulated rates and they are also bound to inform the government to whom they are selling sugar.
Senate Standing Committee on Industries and Production Friday expressed its concerns over increasing prices of sugar and directed the government and mills association to decrease the prices of the commodity by Rs8 per kg in order to provide relief to the masses. The committee met under its chairman Senator Ishaq Dar at the Parliament House and discussed the ongoing sugar crisis in the country. The committee asked the mills association to decrease their profit by Rs3 to 4 per kg and stressed upon the government to scrape the taxes by Rs4 to 5 per kg, that could bring down the prices.The committee urged the government to call a meeting of the sugar mills association in the next couple of days and decrease the prices, which are fluctuating between Rs50 and 60 per kg in different parts of the country.
On the other hand, Pakistan Sugar Mills Association (Punjab chapter) Chairman Javed Kayani has said the sugar industry would certainly abide by the directive of supplying sugar at Rs45/kg during Ramazan, but the federal government should also withdraw GST on sale of sugar as prices have already been on the increase and there is no justification under the present circumstances to continue with the GST. The price of Rs45 per kg without GST would be a workable solution to facilitate the domestic users of sugar, he added.
The conflicting statements from the executive, judiciary and the parliament keep pouring in everyday advising each other not be blackmailed by the mill owners and take stern measures resolving the issue. However, neither the executive nor the judiciary has thus far mustered courage to take that stern action against the mill owners, which they have been suggesting to each other. Meanwhile, the hapless consumers with further aggravating sugar supply chain keep running from pillar to post in search of sugar at controlled price, failing which today, they are forced to buy it at Rs60/70 per kilo in the black market.
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[13] Comments Post Your Commets |
| Millers make PM eat his words, allowed to sell sugar at Rs55 |
As earlier foreseen in this forum, the powerful millers have finally forced the Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani, who had vowed taking indiscriminate stern action against persons involved in sugar scam, to eat his words, as his government timidly acceding to pressure, allowed on Tuesday the sale of sugar at over Rs55 a kg in the open market besides suspending a crackdown on millers and traders.
Although the government fixed the ex-mill price of sugar at Rs48 per kg in Sindh and Rs49.75 in Punjab and the NWFP, the retail price will be Rs55.68 in Sindh and Rs57.71 in Punjab and the NWFP after levying 16 per cent general sales tax (GST). The price for consumers will further increase to about Rs60 after inclusion of the wholesale profit margin and transportation cost. The decisions were taken at a six-hour meeting of the Pakistan Sugar Mills Association (PSMA) with the ministry of industries. The price of sugar two months ago was Rs36 a kg.
Minister for Industries and Production Mian Manzoor Ahmed Wattoo announcing the decisions said federal government has withdrawn its cases registered against the owners of the sugar mills to improve the supply chain of the commodity and stabilization of the prices. He added the federal government had also requested the provincial governments not to be harsh on the associations and they should work together to overcome the shortage of the commodity and to improve the supply chain. Watto said there was a stock of 1.2 million tons of sugar with the TCP. He added that the prices of sugar were higher in India, Sri Lanka, and other neighbouring countries as compared to Pakistan. He said that rise in sugar prices at the international level had also affected prices in Pakistan.
To cut the story short, sugar cartel—heavily loaded with the stakeholders from among the elites and top leaders of the main political parties, as expected, proved too strong for Mr. Gilani’s government, which crumbled on its knees extending hands of co-operation in their daylight loot and plunder of the nation—long live pseudo democracy---hail ‘independent’ judiciary.
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[14] Comments Post Your Commets |
| Main political parties involved in sugar scam |
The government disclosed on Friday the names of three big sugar mills and said they were responsible for the current crisis and hoarding of the commodity.
The mills are Tandliawala Sugar Mills, Brother Sugar Mills and Kashmir Sugar Mills. According to the statement, the mills have held back 240,000 tons of the government-purchased sugar, creating an artificial shortage in the market.
'We will take stern action against those mills, which did not release the stock purchased by the government,’ Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani told reporters.
The government, through the Trading Corporation of Pakistan, purchased sugar from mills at Rs25 per kg and kept it with mills as buffer stock to be released at a time of shortage in the market.
Industries and Production Minister Manzoor Ahmed Wattoo claimed that mills owned by Mian Nawaz Sharif and Humayun Akhtar involved in sugar hoarding. He further said that Tandliawala Sugar Mills had held back 78,000 tons of government stocks, Brother Sugar Mills 10,000 tons and Kashmir Sugar Mill 5,000 tons. ‘We are reviewing the situation. We are negotiating with these mills to release the stock,’ Mr. Watto said.
A spokesman for the Tandliawala Sugar Mills told that it had started supplying sugar to the TCP from Thursday.
Meanwhile, Chief Justice of Lahore High Court, Justice Khawaja Muhammad Sharif took suo moto notice of sugar crisis in Punjab. Chief Justice formed a two-member bench, which he will be heading. The bench will start hearing from August 19.
Surprisingly, both the judiciary and executive woke up only after the profiteers and hoarders had fleeced the consumers to their hearts’ content for about a fortnight ahead of ‘Ramazan’, selling sugar all-time high at Rs55-60 per kg, making billions of windfall profit, while the prime minister is reported to have said that the government would not spare any one, howsoever powerful they may be, but because of the involvement of main political parties in sugar scam, isn’t appear to be tall talk?
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[17] Comments Post Your Commets |
| Fears come true with appointment of Karachi based lawyer as CJ BHC |
This Forum, while as many as 83 dissenting judges were being shown the door, had pointed out the blatant contradiction of that core principle on which the lawyers’ movement was based upon, saying none except the Supreme Judicial Council (SJC) has the constitutional and lawful authority to suspend or sack any superior court judges, but turning deaf ear to all reasoning and rationality the dissenting judges were straightaway virtually thrown out by SC 14-member aggrieved bench, blaming the bulk comprising of (two-time PCO) judges violating the earlier SC seven-member bench’s short order, whose detail text for reasons unknown has not yet seen the day, despite passage of about two years.
Later this forum, exposing the malafide and unconstitutional dismissal of the judges, had expressed the fear of handpicking in the process of filling the subsequent vacancies by the powerful groups that emerged after the successful lawyers’ movement, especially that of the dirty rich financer from Raiwind.
This has finally come true with the very first appointment of Qazi Faiz Esa as the chief justice of Balochistan High Court (BHC), about whom the Human Rights activist and a senior lawyer, Asma Jahangir expressing her reservations said, “It was wrong to glorify Faiz Esa. He has never been in Blaochistan. How would one feel if a lawyer, based in Karachi, Quetta or Peshawar is appointed chief justice of the Lahore High Court? She added that the Balochistan issue was very sensitive and complex and such a person should not have been nominated for this position,” said a report. Asma Jehangir further said that Faiz Esa has absolutely no experience of judgeship. She said generally reported judgments of a justice were always considered as a prerequisite to back up his appointment to a superior court.
However, all those always shedding crocodile tears on Balochistan deprivations, insisted that Faiz Esa, like the Chief Justice of Pakistan Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, is also Balochistan domiciled besides his father’s contribution in Pakistan Movement, while being based in the province was par excellent.
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[10] Comments Post Your Commets |
| Will PPP-PML-N abide by CoD in respect of LG system? |
A grand Jirga of hundreds of Nazims and Councilors of the restive province of Balochistan on Saturday called upon the government to refrain from abolishing the local government system, whose services to the people during the past four years were admirable as it provided facilities to the general masses right on their doors.
The National Convention on Local Government System, organized by Quetta’s District Nazim Mir Maqbool Lehri, urged President Asif Ali Zardari to direct the government to announce schedule for local bodies’ elections. The convention was addressed by National Reconstruction Bureau’s former chairman Daniyal Aziz, PML-Q’s MNA Marvi Memon and district Nazims of Quetta, Qila Abdullah, Kharan, Abbottabad, Mansehra, Sukkur and Khanewal. The speakers announced that they would resist appointment of administrators in place of Nazims. They said that if the government believed in democracy it should hold election to local bodies without delay, adding that the move to abolish the system was a conspiracy hatched by those political forces, which cannot face voters. They asked the PPP and PML-N leaders to fulfill their promises they had made in the Charter of Democracy regarding the local bodies system.
Mr Aziz said that the present local government system protected rights of citizens. Ms Memon said her party would continue raising voice in support of the LG system. The District Nazim of Quetta said that local government representatives would not accept supremacy of bureaucracy. According to a resolution, the convention resolved to take legal steps to protect political and administrative rights of local governments.
The resolution rejected the government’s move to appoint administrators in place of Nazims and said that Nazims and Councilors would not accept suspension of their powers and bureaucratic interference in their affairs. The convention decided to launch a nationwide campaign to create awareness about the benefits of local governments.
Since judiciary in the country seems to be highly engaged in settling scores and sidelining the dissenting judges, any suo motto notice on this core issue directly related to the masses is beyond expectation.
Will Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) and the Pakistan Muslim League-N (PML-N), the signatories of the Carter of Democracy refrain from establishing supremacy of bureaucracy over democracy by abolishing the local government system?
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[12] Comments Post Your Commets |
| This time two men, two graves--Nawaz has the discretion |
With the departure of all dissenting superior court judges by either showing the door straight away to the new appointees or by referring the matter of the two-time PCO judges to the Supreme Judicial Council (SJC)—a constitutional body exclusively empowered to deal with all misconduct cases of the superior court judges.
SJC, which was in a fit of anger unconstitutionally thrown into oblivion on May 7, 2007 by the five-member bench of Supreme Court during hearing a petition of the then under reference Chief Justice, Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, has now been revived. But since it would only be manned by the one-time PCO judges, referring the matter of the two-time PCO judges to them is a mere formality, as the views of the judges constituting existing SJC are well known to all through their previous talks with the media and Bar addresses during the lawyers’ movement. In this backdrop, it is a forgone conclusion that for all practical purposes all the dissenting judges are now laid to rest.
The time is ripe—the iron is hot to strike for Nawaz, the heir apparent of General Ziaul Huque, who with a pliant judiciary and strong support of the extremist political parties in the country had lost no time in getting his archrival Shaheed Zulfiquar Ali Bhutto buried in the one grave, then haunting both. Now, his true disciple Nawaz seems somehow succeeded in maneuvering a similar situation with a little difference this time that there are two graves and two men readily available—one already condemned by the existing Supreme Court for unconstitutional Nov.3, 2007 actions, while the other carrying the stigma of NRO and equally hated by the blood thirsty extremists and militants, the core supporters of Nawaz for numerous reasons, but especially for the one, war on terrorism, the most abhorred by them.
Nawaz has a track record of not sparing any of his rivals. Recall what he did with the former Army Chief, General Jahangir Karamat and the former Chief Justice of Pakistan, Sajjad Ali Shah, when he wielded absolute power by virtue of his 2/3 rd majority in the parliament during his earlier stint besides he is still a prime suspect in Benazir Bhutto’s Shahadat (assassination) at Rawalpindi, where the two leaders on that tragic day, December 27, 2007 almost at the same time were addressing public rallies hardly few kilometers away in the same town, yet not a pebble was thrown in his rally, while the other one was bombed and fired upon, sending the whole town in utter turmoil and chaos, yet Nawaz leading procession constituted of mostly Lal Masjid suicide bombers kept roaming about and even went to the Pindi hospital for shedding his crocodile tears.
With the Army much too occupied in war on terror, the court claiming to have forever closing the door for any future adventurism and the people by and large remaining apathetic to what happens in the country, isn’t in all probability Nawaz would soon go for the decisive kill and putting himself on the robe of Amirul Mimineen?
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[18] Comments Post Your Commets |
| Lawyers bar journalists from entering courts |
Hail lawyers---hail judiciary, as one group, under the supervision of an office-bearer of the Lahore Bar Association (LBA), on Friday banned the entry of all journalists in the premises of all subordinate courts of the city for showing live video footage of thrashing of an ASI at the hands of the custodians of the law. They warned if any journalist dared enter the premises of the subordinate courts he or she would receive treatment not different from the one received by the ASI, a family court judge and two media men.
On Thursday, a group of lawyers gave a good thrashing to a reporter and a cameraman of a private news channel at the Sessions Court for making footage of some lawyers who were beating an ASI of Nishtar Colony police station three days back. They also manhandled an Additional District & Sessions Judge, when he refused to cancel the FIR registered against them on the complaint of the victim cop.
Two days ago, the lawyers thrashed senior court reporter Shaheen Attique and his camera man Nasir Hussain. The latter fell unconscious due to the brutal torture by the violent lawyers who were led by M. R. Awan, vice president the Lahore Bar Association.
The lawyers involved in the incident were identified as Sajjad Afzal, Mehar Jahangir, Malik Mohammad Hanif and Rana Asif. After the incident, journalist community announced to boycott all functions of the lawyers until the high ups take action against the lawyers.
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[12] Comments Post Your Commets |
| Uniform vandalized, media paid back by ‘idolized’ lawyers |
A group of macho lawyers beat an assistant sub-inspector (ASI) outside Lahore Sessions Court for allegedly conducting an inquiry against their client. Barrister Rana Asif Raza, Rana Saeed Anwar, Sajjad Afzal, Malik Muhammad Hanif and Mehar Jahangir leading the group thrashed ASI Faqir Muhammad of the Nishtar Colony Police Station. Lahore Islampura Police Station House Officer (SHO) Maqsood Ali told that the militant lawyers attacked the ASI as he stepped outside the court after submitting the records of a case. The ASI nominated the lawyers in his application submitted before the Islampura Police for the registration of a first information report (FIR) against the accused lawyers.
The people could hardly have come out of this shock, when on the very next day lawyers’ brigade of the Lahore Bar Association (LBA) on Thursday attacked the crew of a private TV channel, severely injuring one, for airing footage of the lawyers’ beating of a policeman on Wednesday. The lawyers thrashed and injured the channel’s cameraman Nasir Masood, and also tore his shirt. They also thrashed the channel’s court reporter Shaheen Attique.
Earlier the daredevil lawyers had abused and shoved a Lahore Civil Judge right in the court, dragged him down from the rostrum, even didn’t allow him to take refuge in his chamber, who in his utter frenzy ran for his life all the way in the corridor to the Session Judge’s court.
Where is the judicial activism--why no suo motto now? Perhaps, they are too busy in meeting the target assigned to them by those, who financed the lawyers’ movement for long two years, throwing the country to dirt.
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[12] Comments Post Your Commets |
| Rupee on judicial activism plummets to more than 83 to a dollar |
Has anybody ever realized the devastating economic impacts of the so-called judicial activism, which thus far has failed to come out with anything good for the economy and the country except doling out generous relief to the selected few elites, who facilitated by the judicial power-drive seem to have intensified their spree of loot and plunder in their mutually agreed territory.
Meanwhile, the country’s economy continues fast sliding down from bad to worse. Rupee depreciated beyond Rs83 against a dollar on Tuesday as dealers rushed to buy greenback in anticipation of a rise in its demand in the open market, said a report published in the media today.
Analysts point out that rupee depreciation means that rising foreign exchange reserves of the SBP (thanks to US aids and grants and the expatriate’s hard-earned foreign exchange remittances) are not helping to boost perception of economic stability.
Last year, rupee depreciated steeply, when the country’s foreign exchange reserves fell to less than half of current level of over $11.8 billion. That proved devastating for many companies dependent on revenues in dollars and imports. National airline, oil refineries and petroleum marketing companies were battered as rupee cost of imports surged out of control. Experts are questioning the rationale for letting rupee depreciate. The SBP has refused to interfere by taking on the burden of oil payments again. “The central bank fears that it won’t be able to meet annual foreign debt obligations, if continued to pay for oil imports,” a former banker said.
“But it is not looking at the repercussions.” Pakistan’s key textile exports depend on imported raw material like synthetic fiber and artificial silk yarn besides plant equipment, which is imported on regular basis. “It is always better to built foreign exchange reserves through increase in exports,” he said, adding that depreciation of rupee would never help exporters in the long run. Till a few days back, rupee was trading at under Rs81.50.
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[11] Comments Post Your Commets |
| Sindh objects to Chashma-Jhelum link canal powerhouse |
Persistent water and power crisis in the country continued creating bad blood among the provinces, while a recent advertisement of Nepra inviting objections over proposed Chashma-Jhelum link canal powerhouse, has triggered an unprecedented outbursts in the Sindh Assembly, when all the political parties including those outside the assembly, the nationalists were seen in great fury over the mighty Punjab roller coasters its projects, especially those relating to water and power, detrimental to the interests of smaller provinces and starving their agriculture and industry of water and power.
Sindh had raised objections over the proposed powerhouse at Chashma-Jhelum link canal, Sindh Irrigation Minister Murad Ali Shah informed the Sindh Assembly on Monday.
Responding to the point of order of Heer Soho, the minister said that the Sindh Chief Minister had also raised this issue before the federal government. He said that the National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (Nepra) had given advertisement in newspapers, inviting objections over the proposed power plant. He urged the legislators to write their objections to Nepra against the project.
Heer Soho said that the proposed power plant would divert thousands of cusecs of water from the link canal and would turn Sindh into an arid zone starved of water. She added that the link canal had been constructed to store floodwater, but now the powerhouse was being set up in district Khushab.
Earlier, many excuses were made such as the autocratic rule in the country, the democratic government not in place, the judiciary in chain and so on, but now when all these complaints stand removed, where are those promises of honey milk flowing automatically, what to speak of settling the inter-provincial disputes amicably?
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[9] Comments Post Your Commets |
| Judiciary failed democracy; let’s pray it does no more |
The Chief Justice of Pakistan, Mr. Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, spoke from the bench in the course of hearing cases related to the application of the provisional Constitutional Order (PCO) under General Pervez Musharraf and said on Monday that judges should accept responsibility for the failure of democracy in the country, and that “the judiciary will have to put its house in order”.
The larger bench was hearing two petitions, one against the validation of the November 2007 PCO oaths and the other against the validity of the judges still in service after having taken oath under the said PCO. Justice Chaudhry said: “Had the judiciary stood firm in those cases, the November 3, 2007 mishap could have been averted”. The bench will review the Tikka Iqbal case that validated the November 2007 emergency. He observed that decisions in the Tikka Iqbal and Maulvi Tameezuddin cases came about because of the “judiciary’s own fault”.
It is understandable that Justice Chaudhry should hold the judiciary responsible for the failure of democracy in Pakistan. It is at the court of law that each dictator is challenged after he has wrested power from an elected government. It is at the court of law that the fine points of validity or non-validity of the new military order are discussed and adjudicated upon. And it is at the court of law that coup-makers have been legitimized on the basis of the law of necessity and monopoly of force.
The realization of the fault on the part of judiciary, better late than never, appreciable, but the whole gamut of the mess, especially an honest catharsis of the self must be taken care of in their zest for reforms and initiating radical measures that it doesn’t turn into a repeat performance of failing the fledgling democracy--albeit the entire structure of the state this time.
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[17] Comments Post Your Commets |
| Why not hold trial of all judges, who gave erroneous decisions? |
Supreme Court Chief Justice (CJ), Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry in his remarks said that the court decisions, which were made from Molvi Tameezuddin to Tikka Iqbal case, were based on errors and regretful.
Supreme Court 14-member larger bench was hearing the Sindh High Court (SHC) two judges’ case.
CJ Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry during the hearing in his remarks said that Tikka Iqbal and Molvi Tameezuddin type of decisions came due to the judiciary’s own fault. He further said that one elected prime minister was hanged in 1977 and then one more dictator came and he threw out the elected prime minister.
CJ said that it was now the responsibility of judiciary to get the constitution and the law strictly adhered to, as no one should have any doubt that our democratic institutions could not work.
CJ said, “The issue is not merely the dismissal of few judges—the judiciary will have to adopt a categorical stance for the rule of constitution and law.”
During hearing of judges’ appointment case before the same bench, Sindh High Court Bar president Rashid A. Rizvi, while arguing said that the court decision in Tikka Iqbal case was a legal blunder and this case had no legal standing also.
Will it not be more appropriate to start the reform from within?
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[17] Comments Post Your Commets |
| Confusion worse confounded on ‘kangaroo courts’ |
PML-N spokesman Siddique-ul-Farooq, while hailing the court ruling that cleared Nawaz Sharif in the plane hijacking case, said it brought to a close the final criminal case against the two-time prime minister, paving the way for his return to public office.
Sharif's opposition party, the Pakistan Muslim League-N (PML-N), welcomed the ruling. "A judgment given by a kangaroo court nine years ago has been nullified by an independent and sovereign apex court in the light of the constitution, law and evidence on record," PML-N spokesman Siddique-ul-Farooq told a French news agency.
He said the party would now endeavour to bring former "dictator Pervez Musharraf to book and hold him accountable." "There is no case pending against Nawaz Sharif now," Farooq said, adding, "He is technically clean and could contest elections."
The five-judge court Friday quashed convictions against former prime minister, Nawaz Sharif for plane hijacking and terrorism, clearing the way for a full return to public office for the opposition leader.
Nawaz was sentenced to life imprisonment twice by the Karachi Anti-Terrorism Court (APC) in April 2000, after the APC found him guilty of refusing to allow a commercial aircraft – carrying Gen (r) Pervez Musharraf, the army chief at that time, along with 200 other passengers – to land at the Quaid-e-Azam International Airport, Karachi on October 12, 1999. Later on October 10, 2000, Sindh High Court had upheld the ATC decision.
"Looking at the case from any angle -- the charge of hijacking, attempt to hijack or terrorism does not stand established against the petitioner," the Supreme Court ruled on a petition filed by Sharif.
"The conviction and sentence of the appellant are set aside and he is acquitted," said the order. The "petitioner had neither used force nor ordered its use and undisputedly no deceitful means were used."
Pakistan's attorney general Latif Khosa said there was no legal or constitutional impediment now facing Sharif, after the court also decided in May to overturn a ban on him holding office, allowing him to contest elections.
Previously, supreme court decision in February to disqualify Sharif and his brother Shahbaz sparked massive protests that plunged the nuclear-armed country into turmoil and faced with political crisis last March, the government agreed under Western pressure to reinstate Chief Justice, Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, whom Musharraf had sacked and whose promised reinstatement, the government had stalled.
Nawaz Sharif was first elected prime minister in 1990, but was sacked three years later on corruption charges. He returned to power in 1997, but was ousted in the 1999 coup by Musharraf, who brought criminal charges against him for hijacking, terrorism and attempted murder. Convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment on charges he said were politically motivated, Sharif retreated into exile in December 2000, returning to Pakistan in November 2007 with Musharraf's agreement.
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[25] Comments Post Your Commets |
| Life is going to be hard for the returning IDPs |
Spending more than two months in camps after the commencement of the military operation in Malakand Division, over two million internally displaced persons (IDPs) are set to return home from today (Monday)-- returning in a manner that has a degree of planning and forethought behind it.
Information Minister Qamar Zaman Kaira has said 125,000 displaced families have already been paid Rs25,000 each through the UBL visa cards. He said facilities like electricity, Sui gas, telephone and running water have been restored in the affected areas of Swat. One-month foodstuff would be provided to the IDPs prior to their return.
The convoys of the IDPs would be streaming in the beautiful valley amid tight security arrangements, backed by military gunship helicopters. The security is aimed at avoiding any untoward incident during the IDPs’ return. Moreover, health unit would also accompany the convoys to meet any emergency. It said the curfew would remain in force on the way and no vehicle would be allowed to stop en route the valley. It was learnt that curfew passes were being issued to government employees and farmers. Meanwhile, welcome banners have been installed on roads leading to Swat, Dir and Malakand Agency. The banners with slogans of Long live Pakistan, welcome our displaced brethren and say no to militancy have been fixed on various corners of the roads.
There is much that needs to be done before the damage that these communities have suffered is repaired, and the cost in purely financial terms is huge. The Undersecretary General for Humanitarian Affairs John Holmes who is the lead UN relief coordinator warned that ‘billions’ of dollars would be needed for rehabilitation and reconstruction in the first year alone. ‘Billions’ of dollars do not grow on trees. In May of this year the United Nations launched a flash appeal for $542 million in emergency assistance, of which 42 per cent has so far been donated. Mr. Holmes hoped that donors will respond generously – but the indicators are that donors are being tardy with their money.
Mr. Holmes has now returned to the US, but it is the turn of President Zardari to pay a visit to the IDPs on Monday. He is going to pay tribute to the various national and international organisations and members of civil society who have struggled over recent months to support the IDPs. Well he might, because without their help the plight of the displaced would be infinitely worse than it is. We hope that he will not forget to mention the generosity of the ordinary people of Pakistan as well, who put their hands in their pockets and put their trucks on the road, loaded with supplies, for those more needy than themselves. The ceremony of thanks is being timed to coincide with the return of the first IDPs who will go back to their homes in a phased and organized manner (hopefully).
As pointed out by Mr. Holmes IDPs security is not yet fully guaranteed and for many they will have lost homes, crops, flocks and fields and businesses. For those who rent their land rather than own it there will be a debt they cannot pay – perhaps for years.
Homecomings are not always happy, and for the IDPs of Swat and Malakand life is going to be hard and uncertain for years to come.
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[9] Comments Post Your Commets |
| Pakistan system neither presidential nor parliamentary: PM |
Prime Minister, Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani Sunday said the prevalent system in the country is hotchpotch of systems, terming it neither parliamentary nor presidential, in response to a query by a student.
Addressing the ceremony of convocation of International Islamic University, he said the constitutional reforms are being affected in the constitution, vowing to restore the 1973 constitution after introducing proper amendments in it.
‘We believe in democracy and there is no restriction on media in the country,’ he added saying the government will not slap any constraint on media. “We believe in freedom and democracy.”
He said if all the institutions function properly, there could not be any clash. ‘It is only education with which the problems facing the nation could be braved.’ The real reason behind extremism and terrorism is lack of education, Gilani said adding the extremists are working on foreign agenda and foreign powers are employing them for their ulterior motives.
The PM Gilani said the stable Afghanistan is in the interest of Pakistan; therefore, we will make efforts for stability there.
Pakistan’s political system, education panacea for the ills of terrorism and stable Afghanistan in the interest of Pakistan are the issues on which we welcome your views briefly.
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[9] Comments Post Your Commets |
| Will LG elections in the backdrop of PPP past record ever be held? |
Prime Minister, Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani has announced dissolving the local governments throughout the country and postponed local bodies elections till improvement in the law and order situation, perhaps taking the lead from Punjab Chief Minister, who at the very outset sidelining the Local governments had brought back the British legacy of bureaucratic system by appointing deputy commissioners and commissioners all across Punjab.
The decision would mean an effective return to the old ways of bureaucratic bigwigs lording over the masses, who would once again have no influence or say in the management of matters at the grassroots level. The women and the minority, who were given significant representation in the local government system, would perhaps be the greatest losers.
The prime minister said non-political administrators would replace elected Nazims from August. He also revived the executive magistracy system in the country.
“A decision to this effect has unanimously been taken by all the provinces and now I would consult the president on the subject and a decision is expected within four weeks,” he said while addressing a press conference after chairing an Inter-Provincial Coordination meeting at the Prime Minister Secretariat.
The prime minister said, “The local government elections could not be held due to prevailing law and order situation in the country as there is insurgency in the NWFP and whenever there is an environment conducive for an election exercise it would be held,” he said.
Gilani said the administrators would be non-political people and the provincial government would appoint them from the bureaucracy. “The appointment of the administrators is the prerogative of the provincial governments as we believe in the provincial autonomy,” he added.
He, however, said competent and neutral government officers would be appointed as administrators. He said there was consensus among the provinces that the magistracy system should be revived and for this necessary amendments would be made to the law.
Asked whether the government would hold the local government elections on party basis or non-party basis, the prime minister replied the PPP in its election manifesto had clearly taken the line of party-based local government elections, but the holding of the local government elections was a prerogative of the provincial governments and it was up to them to decide the mode of the elections.
It may be recalled that PPP since its inception has a record of not holding any local bodies elections during its tenures.
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[5] Comments Post Your Commets |
| How to meet this Rs122bn revenue gap on SC verdict? |
The Supreme Court’s interim order to suspend the imposition of carbon surcharge on petroleum products has put the IMF programme of $7.6 billion loan at stake because the government will have to find ways and means to fill the revenue gap of Rs122 billion during the fiscal year 2009-10.
Not filling this gap would mean increasing fiscal deficit by almost 0.8 per cent of the GDP, jacking it up to 5.7% from the existing target of 4.9%, which the IMF will not allow at any cost.
“It is not possible to stick to the budgetary measures for fiscal 2009-10 if carbon surcharge is not to be collected. So all budgetary targets will have to be revised,” a senior official of the finance ministry said soon after the announcement of interim order issued by the Supreme Court on Tuesday.
Minister of State for Finance and Economic Affairs, Hina Rabbani Khar admitted that it would put the government in a difficult situation because there are few alternatives to fill this huge gap of Rs122 billion. The options are limited to cutting down on the Public Sector Development Programme (PSDP) or printing more notes, which will be inflationary, she added.
Defending the imposition of carbon surcharge, she said that the government introduced transparent mechanism and the prices of POL products might have come down next month keeping in view the declining trend in international market.
During the budget-making exercise, the finance ministry officials has expressed apprehensions that the Supreme Court might even block the Petroleum Development Levy (PDL) because the government continued to charge this amount from the masses on the basis of an ordinance promulgated in 1961.
“The double taxation such as sales tax as well as PDL was considered the most difficult issue to be defended before the Supreme Court,” said an official. He said the government by imposing fixed carbon surcharge tried to achieve two objectives: to ensure uninterrupted stream of revenue and to achieve parliament’s support.
It was the view of the budget-makers that with carbon surcharge becoming part of the budget, the Supreme Court would not block the way of the government to generate Rs122 billion in the fiscal year 2009-10.
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[14] Comments Post Your Commets |
| Enhancement of petroleum prices, what the Govt. is up to? |
The people from all segments of society have in one voice rejected the bulk increase in petroleum prices. The working class, terming the hikes a ‘mini-budget’, demanded from the government to withdraw this anti-people decision forthwith and meet the shortfall in revenue, if any, by cutting their wasteful expenditures. Meanwhile, traders have termed the increase a bombshell for the common man already groaning under hyper-inflationary pressure.
Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRA) had sent the summary of increasing Rs6 to Rs7 per litre on petrol and diesel prices effective 12.00 midnight Tuesday (July 1), while Advisor to Prime Minister on Petroleum, Dr. Asim Hussain for reasons best known to him made it public on Tuesday afternoon, which, in fact, aided and abetted the petrol pumps’ lust for fleecing the hapless consumers by suspending supply forthwith and forcing the consumers to buy at the enhanced rates.
The customers irked by the hassles of running here and there for getting some petrol on their way back home in the evening complained many petrol pumps have suspended their supplies, while at few of the pumps, long queue of harassed bike riders were seen anxiously awaiting their turn to get the whimsically rationed petrol. The pump owners are fleecing the customers, where is the government writ, asked the commuters.
Disappointed citizens also asked why government has put series of taxes on petroleum products to generate direct income in billions, while hard pressing common man. “Right with the inception of fiscal year government has increased petroleum prices, which is a bad omen for the coming year,” men from the civil society observed.
The working class termed the fresh increase in petroleum price a “mini budget” and rubbing salt to their injuries. They said due to high inflation it was already hard for them to make their both ends meet and the current increase in petroleum prices would further burden them.
They said instead of increasing petroleum prices, the rulers should have cut their own expenditures and taken to austerity measures. They feared that this would let loose yet another bout of inflationary pressure by sending the prices of almost everything skyrocketing.
Traders termed the surge in petroleum prices a bombshell for common man, as it would increase the cost of production and, thereby the prices of goods and services badly affecting them. The exporters feared that the emanating situation might render them uncompetitive in the international market.
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[16] Comments Post Your Commets |
| Sindh wants implementation of 1991 Water Accord |
Sindh doesn’t want “acrimony and misunderstanding” among the provinces over the distribution of water, said Sindh Chief Minister Qaim Ali Shah on Friday while winding up the general discussion on the provincial budget 2009-10 at the Sindh Assembly.
In an apparent reference to the recent protest by Punjab’s legislators over the alleged curtailment of their province’s share of water, the CM said, “Sindh wants implementation of 1991 Water Accord. The CM said that being a lower riparian, Sindh was also facing a shortage of water.
He said that huge tracts of lands in the province could not be irrigated owing to the water shortage. He hoped that the water situation would improve with the start of the rains.
Opposition leader Jam Madad regretted the protest by Punjab on the water issue. “The vehemence with which Punjab has protested reflects that it does not consider itself a big brother,” he said. “It shows that Punjab considers itself a ‘separate entity. Such protests further increase the importance of provincial autonomy.”
Irrigation Minister Murad Ali Shah, while giving a statement before the House and later talking to media, said that Sindh’s share was 130,000 cusecs but it was getting 95,000 cusecs since June 10 because of a dip in the Indus river system. He said that as per the 1991 Water Accord, the provinces had to share the shortage of water, and this shortage was natural. “We are finding the best possible ways to overcome this problem,” he said, adding that Balochistan was also sharing the shortage.
Earlier, during question-hour in the assembly, the irrigation minister said that toxic water from Punjab was destroying the agricultural land of Sindh. He said Punjab was releasing around 350 cusecs of toxic water in Sindh daily, which has affected about 70,000 to 75,000 acres of land in district Ghotki.
Despite 1991 Water Accord signed during the reign of Nawaz Sharif, mighty Punjab never allowed its implementation in letter and spirit, very often, souring relations among the provinces. Shouldn’t the CoD signatories urgently be focusing on this lingering issue?
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[8] Comments Post Your Commets |
| Aren’t events unfolding give rise to fear that Pakistan has lost chance of ever having an impartial judiciary? |
Prime Minister, Syed Yusuf Raza Gilani early Monday morning (March 16, 2009) announced reinstatement of the deposed Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry and other judges. “I restore the deposed chief justice and others according to the promise made by me and the President,” Gilani said in a televised address to the nation.
The announcement, in light of the directive of President Asif Ali Zardari, met the main demand of the political parties and the lawyers’ community.
He said, “A notification to this effect is being issued now.” He said Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry would replace Justice Abdul Hameed Dogar, who retires on March 21.
Gilani said and pledged to “continue the politics of reconciliation.” Former President Pervez Musharraf on March 9, 2007 had deposed the Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, sparking a wave of protest that led to his resignation from his office on August 18, 2008. |
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[32] Comments Post Your Commets |
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