Posts Tagged ‘Musharraf’

Interior ministry directs for probe completion

ISLAMABAD – Deputy Commissioner Amir Ali Ahmad has formally received a written direction from the interior ministry through Chief Commissioner Office to probe into the matter why an incomplete inquiry regarding alleged involvement of Sharif brothers in Supreme Court attack case was closed during Musharraf regime.
Two days ago (Friday), the government has decided to fix responsibility to decide …

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Demand for South Punjab

LAHORE: While the demand for a separate South Punjab province has been making the rounds at discussions, editorials, and other forums for decades, it gained political traction in February 2011 after the ruling Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) parted ways with the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz’s (PML-N) provincial government in the Punjab.

Between 2008 and 2011, when the PPP sat on treasury benches in the Punjab Assembly, it sided with the PML-N on knocking out resolutions pertaining to South Punjab province. PML-Q’s MPA Mohsin Leghari submitted tens of resolutions, in almost every session, but none were supported by the PPP.

After the fallout, PPP’s Co-Chairman, President Asif Ali Zardari, asked the party’s manifesto committee to prepare recommendations for a new province. The committee has held only one meeting since 2011, but never discussed the issue of South Punjab.

Gaining traction

Before being taken up by the leading parties, the PPP and the PML-N, the issue also lacked electoral support.

Leaders, like the Pakistan Seraiki Party’s President Barrister Taj Muhammad Langah, who have been most vocal about a Seraiki or South Punjab province, have never been elected to parliament or provincial assemblies.

The tide, however, turned around after the PML-N wrapped up the local government system in 2008, introduced by former president Pervez Musharraf under his regime.

As authority centered back in Lahore, the demand for South Punjab went from drawing rooms to the street.

Budget figures

At the 2010 budget speech in the Punjab Assembly, lawmakers from South Punjab protested on the floor of the house over the allocation of “Rs5 billion” for South Punjab.

Terming the amount “equivalent to Zakat,” the lawmakers lashed out at Rs21 billion spent on Raiwind road that leads to the Sharifs’ residence outside Lahore.

Chairman Planning Department of Punjab, however, refuted the claim.

Giving official figures to The Express Tribune, the chairman said the PML-N government increased the allocation of development budget to South Punjab from Rs22 billion in 2007-08, or 15% of total development allocation in the Punjab, to Rs70 billion in 2011-12, or 32% of total allocation.

The allocation, however, does not necessarily translate into disbursements which may be far lower.

Rhetoric versus action

The PML-N says the resolution in National Assembly is an attempt to deflect pressure on the government following conviction of Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani in a contempt case.

Analysts second that, saying the resolution is merely a political gimmick that attempts to cash in on public support on the issue in , what is widely perceived to be, an election year.

Caving out a new province will require a bill, not a resolution, they say, adding that a resolution has no legal weight and does not make South Punjab imperative. Since a new province would require amending the Constitution, the PPP, if it is serious about South Punjab, should have moved a bill.

What is the process? 

The process for amendment to the Constitution, which is essentially what a new province would entail, is laid out in Article 239 of the Constitution.

A bill has to be moved in either houses of parliament, National Assembly or Senate, and has to pass with a two-thirds majority in both. Any regular bill would then be sent to the president for endorsement but sub article 4 adds an extra provision for this case, which states: A bill to amend the Constitution which would have the effect of altering the limits of a province shall not be presented to the president for assent unless it has been passed by the provincial assembly of that province by the votes of not less than two-thirds of its total membership.

Few months ago, the Muttahida Qaumi Movement submitted a bill to remove the aforementioned clause. The bill, however, is pending in National Assembly secretariat and has not been entertained.

South Punjab, therefore, needs the assent of both – the PPP and the PML-N – if it has to become a reality under the current Constitution, and before the next election.

PML-N’s counter-proposals

The PML-N does not disagree on the creation of new provinces, but demands that they should be created on an “administrative basis” only.

The party, in its policy presented last year, has called for a commission, like the States Reorganisation Commission constituted in India in 1953, which should form new provinces after detailed study.

According to the PML-N’s manifesto committee, the party has plans for 13 new provinces in Pakistan; and while not much progress was seen on that front, the party was jolted into action on Friday.

Hours after PPP’s resolution was passed by the National Assembly, the PML-N submitted a counter resolution to the NA secretariat, calling for the creation of not one but four provinces – South Punjab, Bahawalpur, Fata and Hazara.

Sources in the party, however, say the PML-N’s stance on a prospective ‘Bahawalpur’ province is a political attempt to counter PPP’s demand of a ‘South Punjab’ province.

Bahawalpur versus South Punjab

While the debate on southern Punjab, until recently, focused on South Punjab versus Bahawalpur, PML-N’s resolution submitted on Friday now calls for creation of both.

The party is not the only one calling for a Bahawalpur province though.

Former information minister Senator Muhammad Ali Durrani, a leading figure in the movement for a separate Bahawalpur province, has demanded that the former princely state be given a provincial status.

It is the constitutional right of the people of Bahawalpur to have their own province, just like it is the right of the people of DI Khan and Multan to have their own province, Durrani said in a statement on Thursday.

Any effort to pitch the people of Bahawalpur against the people of DI Khan and Multan will fail, he added.

PML-Functional Punjab President Makhdoom Ahmad Mehmood has also demanded that Bahawalpur should be restored as a separate province, instead of inducting it into a Seraiki or South Punjab province.

Hazara province

Following through on its counter-proposal submitted to the NA secretariat on Friday, the PML-N submitted a resolution in the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Assembly Secretariat, calling for forming the Hazara division a separate province. The resolution, filed on Friday, is signed by six lawmakers .

“Once it is carved into a new province, the revenue generated [through its resources] will be used on this region,” Muhammad Javed Abbasi told reporters. “It is very difficult to administer this division from Peshawar.”

The resolution states that the Hazara division is gifted with natural resources but unjust treatment by successive governments have led to feelings of depravation amongst the people.

“This provincial assembly asks the provincial government to recommend to the federal government to amend the Constitution of Pakistan to make Hazara a separate province,” the resolution reads.

Meanwhile, pro-Hazara province activists have called for a protest and sit-in in Islamabad on May 14, against the ignoring of their demands. Members of the Suba Hazara Tehrik criticised the PPP for ignoring the demand of Hazarawals at a meeting in Abbottabad on Friday, saying their demand is an administrative one in nature.

The road to Seraiki province

Pakistan Seraiki Party’s President Barrister Taj Muhammad Langah believes that creation of a Seraiki province is imperative, and a boundary commission should therefore be established immediately.

If the process is delayed, however, he has several short-term proposals to offer.

The Punjab Assembly could be divided informally into Punjab and Seraiki region, he said, while talking to The Express Tribune.

Members from the Seraiki regions in the Punjab Assembly should prepare budget proposals for their areas separately and allocation of funds to the Siraiki area should be based on population and the area’s contribution to the national economy, he said.

Similarly, the federation should have separate financial allocation in the budget, as well as in the NFC award, for a future Seraiki province, he added.

He proposed that until a separate province is created, the Punjab Assembly should, on temporary basis, be divided into two houses for legislation and development allocation purposes.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 5^th, 2012.

Former king’s party wants to be kingmaker

LAHORE – The Pakistan Muslim League-Q, which was once known as the king’s party as it was launched before the 2002 polls to keep Gen Musharraf in power for as long as possible, is trying to get the role of a ‘kingmaker’ after the next general elections.
It is preparing a strategy to win as many seats from Punjab as make it impossible for any other party to form government …

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Bureaucrats removed: Govt pulls plug on lucrative postings at mega schemes

The decision to remove the bureaucrats was taken by the government nearly a year ago, but is being implemented now.

The move is expected to save millions of taxpayer rupees, otherwise being spent on expenses related to the managing of offices, vehicles and paying monthly salaries to these select bureaucrats.

Bureaucrats, who had been given this additional responsibility, had also been drawing multiple salaries from the government, securing privileged packages for themselves and extending their projects for personal benefits.

In some cases, bureaucrats who were also working under the federal department, while serving as project directors were given a hefty project allowance fixed according to their pay scale.

The misuse of taxpayer rupees was so visible that Punjab withdrew its bureaucrats from such projects back in 2011. However, the three other provinces were not ready to implement such austerity measures, mostly due to clout wielded by the provincial bureaucracy.

New guidelines

According to new guidelines issued by the finance ministry and the planning commission, if the cost of a project is more than Rs1 billion, an independent project director will be hired through a competitive hiring process, while bureaucrats will not be allowed to apply for such an opening.

On the other hand, if the cost of a project is less than Rs1 billion, the government will delegate the responsibility to civil servants.

However, they will not receive any of the benefits given to independent project directors, planning commission spokesperson Ishfaquallah Khan said. Khan went on to add that officials given the additional responsibility will receive a maximum allowance of Rs 6,000.

Earlier, a grade-20 officer was given Rs50,000 as project allowance, while a grade-21 officer was given Rs60,000 including a 1300cc vehicle for official use.

The project director is given the responsibility of project execution which includes managements of costs and meeting schedules. However, the office was being used as a tool to give additional benefits to blue-eyed bureaucrats, especially in capacity-building projects.

Interestingly, even though the government had abandoned Vision 2030 propagated by General Pervez Musharraf, the planning commission up till recently had a project director for the plan; costing hundreds of thousands rupees monthly.

The planning commission has been running 19 capacity-building projects, mostly to accommodate either serving or retired bureaucrats. It has now decided to shut down 15 projects, saving Rs24 billion on this account. The projects will be formally shut down on June 30.

“If an independent project director is required to be appointed for a project costing less than Rs1 billion, the case should be submitted for approval to the Central Development Working Party (CDWP),” said the new guidelines.

The decision was taken last May in a meeting of the executive committee of the National Economic Council, headed by Finance Minister Dr Abdul Hafeez Shaikh.

The comprehensive rules also state that if retired officers are required as project directors, prior permission of the federal government will be sought. In the case of former civil servants, the permission will be authorised by the establishment division, while military officers will be given permission from the defence ministry.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 1^st, 2012.

Not holding LB polls is violation of Constitution: CJ

Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry said the court’s job is to identify the problem – and it is for the government to address it. However, he added that the court orders are continuously ignored. Justice Chaudhry was heading a three-judge bench which was hearing a case regarding LB elections at Quetta Registry on Monday.

He said that whenever the third force came to power, the first thing they did was to hold LB elections. The late Gen Ziaul Haq and former military ruler Gen Pervez Musharraf conducted LB elections, but it was not understandable why a democratic government was reluctant.

Powers to hold LB election have been devolved to the provinces under the 18th Constitutional Amendment, but they have not fulfilled their constitutional obligation, Justice Chaudhry further remarked.

He said the court appreciated Parliament after the 18th Amendment, but Parliament was not happy with the judiciary. However, the bench was informed that Parliament was not unhappy with the court.

He said that if LB elections were not held, the bench will pronounce its judgment on the next hearing.

Punjab’s Advocate General Ashtar Ausaf apprised the bench of difficulties his province was facing in holding LB elections. “You had to conduct the polls earlier,” shot back Justice Chaudhry.

Sindh’s Advocate General Attah Malik informed the bench that the provincial administration would conduct the polls by October 2012.

Balochistan’s Advocate General Amanullah Kanrani said that his province was ready to conduct LB elections. However, it wanted to hold them along with the other provinces.

But Justice Chaudhry said the Balochistan government should hold the elections at the earliest in light of the problems it was facing. “This will help the province restore peace in the region.”

The bench also issued a notice to the chief election commissioner to present in the court new voters’ lists at the next hearing.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 1^st, 2012.

Separate electorate: Dual voting right for minorities urged

The Pakistan Christian Post (PCP), in a recent memorandum to the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP), has demanded minority representation in Parliament on the basis of “dual voting rights” after members from the Christian and Hindu community expressed serious reservations on the joint electorate system, introduced by former president Gen (retd) Pervez Musharraf in 2000.

Dual Voting Right is an electoral system through which religious minorities can elect their representatives in Parliament, similar to separate electorates, while simultaneously voting for general seat candidates.

Highlighting the joint electorate system as one based on patronage, the PCP has said that the joint electorate system empowers “Muslim political parties to distribute minority reserved seats in parliament in a ratio to their seats in assemblies through selection of their favoured religious minority leaders, often after taking bribes in millions of rupees”.

In recent PCP polls 59% minorities favoured dual voting, 27% favoured joint electorates while 14% voted for separate electorates.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 1^st, 2012.

Gilani maintains defiant stance

ISLAMABAD, April 30: There is no let-up in the rising political temperature in the country. Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani, at centre of a controversy after his conviction for contempt, continued with his defiant mood on Monday.

The prime minister, while speaking at a ceremony in the morning, publicly criticised the Supreme Court judgment and then while addressing the Senate in the evening he hit out at the Pakistan Muslim League-N for demanding his resignation in the aftermath of the conviction.

At the ceremony organised by Radio Pakistan, Mr Gilani for the first time publicly criticised the seven-member Supreme Court bench’s judgment in which he had been found guilty of contempt charges.

“Even though the entire world is aghast over the SC judgment against me, we have accepted it.

“Can a court convict somebody with a criminal offence when there are civil charges against him?”

The prime minister also said in a sarcastic tone that his 30-second punishment deserved to be included in the Guinness Book of World Records.

He said there was no law in the world under which a court could send home an elected representative, thus he would continue to serve as prime minister.

Since the announcement of the court judgment on April 26, legal experts are divided on its impact. Some say it automatically disqualifies Mr Gilani as a member of the National Assembly and he ceases to be the prime minister. But there are others who believe that only the speaker can decide on the matter as the final authority.

From his hard-hitting remarks, it appears the soft-spoken prime minister has decided to take his opponents head-on.

And for the first time, the prime minister bracketed the SC judgment and PML-N’s response to his conviction, saying that from the opposition party’s reaction it appeared as if they knew the judgment in advance.

“The implementation of law by the SC should be even-handed,” said the prime minister while referring to the court’s lack of interest in the Mehrangate scandal in which PML-N leaders are allegedly involved. “Strangely, the SC was quick to announce decision on my cases but showing no urgency on Mehrangate scandal.”

In response to a question, the prime minister outrightly dismissed a perception of a constitutional crisis following his conviction.

“Only the Sharif courts based in Raiwind are getting impassioned and want to send the current set-up packing. Otherwise, there is nothing wrong.”

Mr Gilani also asked the Sharif brothers to explain under which court judgment they had been released from Adiala jail and flown to Jeddah.

In response to the opposition’s demand for his resignation, Mr Gilani said only the speaker of the National Assembly had the power to ask him to leave the charge as prime minister and if asked, he would not think for a second and go back to Multan.

“What is the hurry, let the detailed judgment come. And what about my right of appeal against the decision which the Constitution gives me,” he said in response to a query.

LETTER TO AITZAZ: “At the end of the day, it is the people of Pakistan who judge the performance of their government and this right of the people, expressed through their elected representatives in parliament, cannot be taken away and should not be allowed to be taken away from them,” the prime minister said in a letter addressed to Senator Aitzaz Ahsan along with a Rs100 cheque as fee for what he termed his priceless services as his lawyer.

“In representing me, in fact, Senator Aitzaz Ahsan was upholding and defending the principle of supremacy of the Constitution which was no small matter, especially in the face of an adverse propaganda by some political entities and relentless bias by a section of the media.”

The prime minister referred to Chaudhry Aitzaz’s book ‘Divided by democracy’ in which he wrote that in the political history of Pakistan not once had the judiciary “invalidated the incumbent regime of a military adventurer” and expressed the hope that some day this would prove to be untrue.

CONSPIRACY: Speaking in the Senate after a protest walkout by PML-N members against his appearance in the house after conviction, Mr Gilani accused the opposition party of conspiring to derail democracy and advised it to desist from influencing the court’s decision.

He said the law provided for an appeal against the judgment followed by a procedure. He said he would quit the day he was de-notified by the speaker.

He also claimed that even if he went, the next prime minister would be picked by him.

The prime minister said he was not a beneficiary of the National Reconciliation Ordinance (NRO) and his only crime was that he wanted to protect the Constitution. He said he had given respect to former prime minister Nawaz Sharif after his conviction in a hijacking case.

He said Mr Sharif had become the first beneficiary of the NRO when he proceeded to Jeddah from Adiala jail under an agreement. However, he kept misleading the nation by saying that he had not signed any agreement.

Prime Minister Gilani said he had followed the rules and procedures and accepted the advice, which was correct, that a letter for reopening cases against the president could not be written because the head of the state enjoyed complete immunity in and outside the country under the Constitution.

The prime minister said even his successor would not write such a letter if he left.

He said Mr Sharif’s moves were driven by his ‘Imran phobia’. “That is why they want to hold a long march before him.”

Mr Gilani said the bar on becoming prime minister for the third term had been lifted to favour Mr Sharif.

DAR’S DEFENCE: Leader of Opposition in the Senate, Mohammad Ishaq Dar, sharply reacted to the remarks, saying Mr Sharif had not gone to Saudi Arabia through any NRO but Muslim countries had played a role to save the leader who could have been hanged by Gen Pervez Musharraf.

He said the clause about bar on premiership was also applicable to the late Benazir Bhutto.

Senator Dar said the PML-N would accept the decision if the sentence was set aside after an appeal.

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Via DAWN.com

Fawad Ch made special assistant to PM

LAHORE – Prime Minister Syed Yusuf Raza Gilani has appointed Fawad Ch, formerly a spokesperson for Pervez Musharraf, as special assistant to the prime minister. A notification to this effect was issued on Sunday. It may be mentioned here that Fawad Ch is already acting as counsel to prime minister’s son, Musa Gilani in the Epherdine (chemical) case. 

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Forces acting against 5th friendly budget: PM

The upcoming budget will be historical, and seal the PML-N’s fate, which is why the party is afraid of it, the premier said while talking to a delegation of Lahore Press Club at the Governor House.

Despite the fact that the Punjab government is running on a stay order, the federal government has never demanded that Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif is ousted from office, Gilani said.

He added that he respected Shahbaz and has never said that he does not accept him as the chief minister.

Gilani said the Sharifs are also facing court proceedings in Mehran Bank scandal, and should therefore avoid issuing irresponsible statements.

After the last by-poll in Multan, won by the ruling Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), the Sharifs are afraid that southern Punjab will slip from their hands if the PPP establishes it as a separate province, Gilani added.

“Why were they silent when Pervez Musharraf held a fake referendum,” Gilani said, indirectly referring to the judiciary.

The stakeholders were silent when the dictator forcibly established his government with a simple majority after the 2002 election and did not hold a session of the National Assembly for several months, he added.

“We are called on but no one has called the perpetrator of the National Reconciliation Ordinance,” he added.

Gilani said he did not require any permission from the opposition leader to enter the National Assembly because he was a unanimously elected prime minister and a member of parliament, according to a statement from the PM’s media office.

The prime minister said he would uphold the supremacy of the Constitution, “come what may.”

Gilani said that Nawaz was “desperate after losing popularity,” citing the recent by-elections in Multan.

“Under the Charter of Democracy, the PPP favoured a third term for prime minister only for Nawaz. Had we not favoured this, he would have been irrelevant in national politics,” the premier said.

Referring to the NRO, the prime minister said the first NRO was the one under which Nawaz was sent into exile with an agreement that he would not take part in politics for 10 years.

“First, Nawaz vociferously denied the existence of the agreement but later confessed that it was not for 10 years but five years,” Gilani added.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 29^th, 2012.

Malik alleges Nawaz Sharif involved in money laundering

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Interior Minister Rehman Malik. – File Photo

ISLAMABAD: Interior Minister Rehman Malik on Saturday alleged that PML-N Chief and former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif was involved in money laundering.

Addressing a news conference in Islamabad, he said evidence against Nawaz Sharif would be placed before the Supreme Court and National Accountability Bureau (NAB) for alleged corruption of $32 million.

Rehman Malik said a commission may be formed to investigate alleged involvement of Nawaz Sharif in money laundering.

He appealed to the Supreme Court to call him and he would present all evidence. He further alleged that Nawaz Sharif made an NRO with former President Farooq Ahmed Leghari and as a result, Benazir Bhutto’s elected government was unconstitutionally dismissed in November 1996.

Rehman Malik also alleged that Nawaz Sharif made a second NRO with dictator Pervez Musharraf and went abroad after signing an agreement and violated the Charter of Democracy (COD) he signed with Benazir Bhutto in 2006.

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Via DAWN.com

Ispr change of guard: Maj Gen Bajwa named new military spokesperson

A military official confirmed that Chief of Army Staff General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani on Friday named Bajwa as the replacement for incumbent Director General of ISPR Maj Gen Athar Abbas, who retires in June.

Maj Gen Bajwa is currently posted in Dera Ismail Khan as General Officer Commanding (GOC) and has supervised key military operations against militants in the South Waziristan tribal region.

Bajwa also served former military ruler General Pervez Musharraf as deputy military secretary and commanded the important 111 Brigade. He will take charge as the new DG ISPR after Maj Gen Abbas retires in June this year.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 28^th, 2012.

Military’s grip on foreign policy easing: Khar

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s military, which has dominated the country for much of its turbulent history, has less sway over foreign policy, and a new power equation is emerging within America’s strategic ally, said the foreign minister.      

Pakistan has been directly ruled by generals for more than half of its 64-year history and indirectly for much of the rest. The military has largely controlled foreign and security policies, and has taken the lead in relations with Washington.

Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar said new dynamics were now taking hold in Pakistan.

“I want you to also understand that things have changed in Pakistan,” she told Reuters in an interview.

“I think this overbearance of the role of the military in the foreign policy of Pakistan is something which will recede as time passes.”

“I think all institutions in Pakistan are realising that there is a place and role for every institution,” said Khar, 35, Pakistan’s first woman foreign minister.

“And it is best to serve Pakistan’s interests that each of the institutions remains within the boundaries of the roles which are constitutionally defined. It’s a new sort of equilibrium.”

Khar, one of a number of rising women politicians in Pakistan, started her political career with a party affiliated with former military ruler General Pervez Musharraf, and eventually rose to junior finance minister.

She since switched to the ruling Pakistan People’s Party (PPP), whose ties with the military have been strained.

US-educated Khar said the current government’s staying power in a country prone to coups had given it sway and room to manoeuvre, on issues ranging from ties with the United States to trade with arch-enemy India.

“As far as the new equilibrium … you have consistent four years of democracy, it’s the longest term a democratic governments has had in Pakistan,” said Khar, who is from a political family in southern Punjab.

Khar pointed to the reaction to a NATO cross-border raid in November that killed 24 Pakistani soldiers and plunged relations with the United States to a low point as one sign that civilian leaders have a bigger say in policy.

A Pakistani parliamentary committee reviewed ties with Washington and demanded a halt to US drone aircraft strikes, which US officials see as a highly effective weapon against militants along the border with Afghanistan.

“It is not the first time that foreign policy has been discussed in parliament,” said Khar, in her modest Islamabad office. “But is it not the first time that relations with the United States and other important countries were put on hold until the parliament gave a green signal?”

Khar also said the government’s approach to India suggested Pakistan’s democracy was becoming more robust and the military’s grip on policy had loosened.

In the face of some domestic opposition, the Islamabad government last November vowed to grant India most favoured nation status, which will end restrictions that require most products to move via a third country.

The move was hailed by India and the two countries are now focused on resolving economic issues before moving on to more intractable problems such as the disputed Himalayan region of Kashmir.

“Don’t underestimate the importance of what this government did with trade with India. Since 1965 there was no political or military government that could open up trade with India. And it was considered a no-go area,” said Khar.

“And that to me shows, one the maturity of democracy, the maturity of views, and the maturity of the decision-making exercise in Pakistan.”

US not listening: ‘Drone strikes must stop’

Khar said Pakistan had spelt out in no uncertain terms that US drone aircraft strikes against militants inside its territory must stop, but Washington is not listening.

“On drones, the language is clear: a clear cessation of drone strikes,” she said.

“I maintain the position that we’d told them categorically before. But they did not listen. I hope their listening will improve,” she told Reuters in an interview late on Wednesday.

Khar’s sharp comments on the drone strikes came ahead of a two-day visit to Islamabad by the United States’ special envoy for Afghanistan and Pakistan, Marc Grossman.

Ambassador Grossman was due to hold bilateral meetings with Pakistani officials and take part in a “core group” meeting with officials from both Pakistan and Afghanistan, where the United States is hoping to revive stalled peace talks with the Taliban.

Khar said other methods should be used to take out militants in the border region between Afghanistan and Pakistan.

“We have to look at effective tools which are mutually acceptable. The cost of using tools which are not mutually acceptable is far, far too high. We’re looking at alternatives,” she said, without elaborating.

The commander of the frontline corps in Pakistan’s northwest told Reuters last week that one alternative would be for the United States to share intelligence so that its ally’s F-16 fighter jets could target militants there.

K-IV water project inches forward

KARACHI, April 25: While approval for the much-needed first phase of the ambitious water supply project of K-IV has finally been given by a Sindh Assembly standing committee, it has still to go through many stages of approval before its implementation, it emerged on Wednesday.

The recommendation of the standing committee, set up to look into Karachi’s water needs for the next 25 years, in the form of a bill will now be submitted in the next assembly session. After the assembly’s approval, the case or PC-1 will be sent for approval to the federal government to decide on where the grants to initiate the project will be coming from.

According to earlier plans, the K-IV project was to be implemented in three phases: 260 million gallons per day (mgd) in 2011, another 260mgd in 2015 and the final 130mgd in 2019. However, it hit snags when the Sindh government did not approve additional 1,200 cusecs quota for it. The recent approval given by the standing committee for 260mgd will help in initiating work on the first phase at least.

Even if the project finally kicks off this year, its first phase is expected to take at least four years to complete.

“Karachi generates 72 per cent revenue for the federal exchequer. It is a big and thriving metropolis. The approval by the Standing Committee, set up to look into the city’s water needs for the next quarter of a century, has been given in view of the industrial and commercial needs of Karachi along with the horizontal and vertical increase in population here,” said Misbahuddin Farid, managing director of the Karachi Water & Sewerage Board (KWSB) while speaking to Dawn on Wednesday.

Karachi got its first additional supply of water in the form of the Greater Karachi Water Supply in 1958 under which the city received 280 million gallons of water by enhancing the pumping capacity from Dhabeji in phases of 70mgd that was spread over 28 years. The supply reached completion in 1985/86.

In 1988, in view of the increasing Karachi population, former mayor of the city Dr Farooq Sattar presented the plan for the Karachi-II or K-II Project that was to be carried out with the help of the World Bank. K-II, one of the largest water schemes in Asia, was inaugurated in 1996 when 100mgd was diverted to Karachi after the setting up of more pumping stations.

This was followed by the K-III scheme in 2002 that was made possible through grants approved by the Musharraf government.
K-III was completed in 2006 when Syed Mustafa Kamal was the city nazim. It saw the laying of water trunk mains to help water reach the most affected areas such as Baldia, Orangi, Manzoor Colony, Keamari, Clifton, Malir, parts of Shah Faisal Colony, etc.
The induction of 100mgd under the K-III project prevented major shortages of water until 2011.

“Mustafa Kamal’s foresight also made him look into alternative routes and corridors to bring more water into the city. That is when he submitted plan for the K-4 Water Supply Project,” said the KWSB MD.

“There was a request for 1,200 cusecs. But I am both glad and grateful to the standing committee, the honourable members of the Sindh Assembly, the irrigation department, et al for looking into the matter of increasing the city’s water supply by 260mgd for now. Their approval in the form of the NOC for the first phase is also good enough as it will make way for the next phase and so on to take care of our growing water requirements.”

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Via DAWN.com

APML welcomes UK decision not to extradite Musharraf

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The APML welcomed the British government’s decision of not extraditing former president Pervez Musharraf from the UK in connection with the assassination of Benazir Bhutto. -File Photo

ISLAMABAD: All Pakistan Muslim League (APML) welcomed the decision of the British government not to extradite APML Chief Pervez Musharraf from the UK, stating that the PPP-led ruling alliance should identify the real culprits behind Benazir Bhutto’s assassination instead of seeking political mileage on her name and fooling the people.

In a press statement released on Tuesday from APML Central Secretariat, APML (Youth Wing) Secretary General Muhammad Amoun Pasha said that the British government has foiled the conspiracy of PPP to extradite former President of Pakistan Pervez Musharraf from UK by implicating him in BB murder case as the government of Pakistan does not have any such agreement with the British government.

“The PPP-led ruling elite should identify the real culprits of BBs assassination as the elements who were responsible for Benazir’s security were being bestowed now with ministries and privileges by the ruling party,” Pasha said.

“The incapability of the incumbent government has resulted in crisis, chaos and confrontation across the country. At one side PPP is promising to create a Seraiki province in South Punjab to compensate its four years of sheer negligence and on the other side its fanning confrontation with the judiciary by trying to become political martyrs,” Pasha said.

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Via DAWN.com

Treaty on hold: Musharraf’s expulsion hits capital roadblock

Officials from the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) and the foreign ministry revealed on Sunday that an extradition treaty between Pakistan and the UK remains ambivalent because the joint judicial team assigned to finalise the accord differed over the likelihood of the ‘death sentence’.

“Capital punishment is the main hurdle now. It is difficult to bring back Musharraf without signing an extradition treaty with the UK,” FIA’s prosecutor Muhammad Azhar Chaudhry told The Express Tribune.

Azhar, who is representing the FIA in Benazir Bhutto’s murder case, revealed that the UK government has expressed reservations over the existence of the death penalty in Pakistani laws.

Musharraf is wanted by the local police for alleged involvement in former prime minister Benazir Bhutto’s murder. A local court has already declared him an absconder and issued a warrant against him.

To abide by the court’s order, Pakistan requested the International Police (Interpol) to help bring back Musharraf to face trial for the charges against him, particularly in Benazir Bhutto and Nawab Akbar Bugti’s murder cases. Interpol will respond to Pakistan’s request within two to three weeks. Azhar hopes that the legal complications would be resolved soon and that the UK will consider Pakistan’s request to repatriate the former president.

The legal director of the foreign ministry, Sher Bahadur Khan, claimed that the joint judicial team found it difficult to reach an agreement because there are two different laws – capital punishment exists in Pakistan, but not in the international law or UK law. “If Pakistan wants to reach an agreement with the UK, it will have to rule out this law at all costs,” he said.

Pakistani officials designated to discuss legal matters, however, wished to sign the treaty without changing local laws. Minister for Foreign Affairs Hina Rabbani Khar also informed the National Assembly on March 13 that the government was negotiating various agreements, particularly the ‘extradition treaty’ and ‘exchange of prisoners’, with 32 countries.

Ahmer Bilal Sufi, an expert on international laws, was of the view that if Pakistan wants to sign an extradition treaty with European countries, it will have to amend its extradition laws first. Islamabad has to assure the UK and other European countries that those who will be handed over from Europe and tried in Pakistan will not be executed, he said.

Whether parliament is prepared to bring about such changes in its existing extradition laws is a serious question, he added. Under the existing extradition laws, people can be given the death sentence if charges against them are proved true, Ahmer added.

Pakistan and the UK have held several meetings, after which a joint judicial group was constituted to step up bilateral ties since 2009. Interior Minister Rehman Malik also met his British counterpart Theresa May in March 2011 but did not succeed in convincing her for such a treaty.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 23^rd, 2012.

Bhoja Air plane crash: PML-N rejects ‘partial’ judicial commission

Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan, the leader of the opposition in the National Assembly, said on Sunday that the government formed the judicial commission without the consent of the apex court.

“The so-called commission cannot be termed a ‘judicial’ commission, which has been set up to cover up facts,” he told a news conference in Islamabad.

A judicial commission is one which includes serving judges and is set up either in consultation with a high court chief justice or the chief justice of Pakistan, Khan said.

The judges, who took oath under the Provisional Constitution Order (PCO) of former military ruler Pervez Musharraf, faced contempt charges themselves and did not qualify to be called judges, he added.

The commission named by the government comprises Justice (retd) Syed Zahid Hussain and Justice (retd) Nasim Sikandar and a police official to be appointed by the interior ministry.

Accusing President Asif Ali Zardari of favouring the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), Chaudhry Nisar said that his party, the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz, would not accept false findings. “We will challenge this cover-up even if we have to go to the courts.”

Chaudhry Nisar also accused one of the commission’s members of being a ‘blue-eyed’ official of President Zardari.

“Can the prime minister not help appointing controversial persons?” questioned Chaudhry Nisar. “It is a planned move as the commission will do whatever is desired by the government,” he said.

He also accused the government of concealing facts in several cases, including the May 2 Abbottabad raid, Mehran base attack, Memogate scandal and the ongoing Ephedrine quota case against the premier’s son.

“The government has once again turned a national tragedy into a controversy, but we will question this in the National Assembly,” Khan said.

Referring to the 2010 Airblue tragedy, he said: “The people still don’t know the reasons for the crash: Who is responsible? How can such accidents be avoided in the future? We want to know the facts, whosoever is responsible.”

Published in The Express Tribune, April 23^rd, 2012.

143 Bannu jail escapees back to prison

Over 100 militants stormed the central prison in Banu on April 16 and freed 384 prisoners. TTP had claimed responsibility for the attack. — File Photo

PESHAWAR: Efforts are under way to capture the prisoners who escaped in last weeks Taliban-orchestrated jailbreak in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s southern district of Bannu, DawnNews reported.

Provincial Home Secretary Azam Khan while talking to Voice of America, said that out of 384 prisoners who had fled 108 have voluntarily returned while 35 others had been arrested.

He added that four teams had been constituted to ensure the capture of all the escaped detainees whereas the authorities in Bannu in this regards, contacted the law enforcement agencies and authorities of various districts and tribal areas via the provincial government.

In what is described as the, biggest jail-break in the country’s history,, over 100 militants stormed the central prison in Banu on April 16 and freed 384 prisoners, among them a man sentenced to death for trying to assassinate former president Pervez Musharraf.

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Via DAWN.com