Posts Tagged ‘Sui’

Gilani vows to protect constitution; go extreme to fight his case

Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani. – File Photo by Reuters

LONDON: Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani on Saturday vowed to protect the constitution of Pakistan at all cost and not to be deterred by any threat.

“Come what may I will protect the constitution of Pakistan, I will go to the last limit and exhaust all my options and exercise my right to appeal,” Gilani told a large gathering of leaders and workers of Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) here at a local hotel.

The prime minister said his case was related to the interpretation of the constitution of the country and his only crime was protecting the constitution.

He said, “I am not one of those who will stab the party in the back as he believed that under Article 248 of the constitution and Vienna Convention the President of Pakistan has complete immunity and he is not required to write any letter, as it is a violation of the constitution.”

The premier expressing resolve to protect the country said, “We will reject any unconstitutional step in Pakistan.”

Gilani said the opposition wants him to resign on moral grounds. “But I want to know that hundreds of cases are lying pending with the courts against them and I wish that a decision is taken on these cases as well.”

The prime minister said there were a number of cases against the Sharifs with the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) and especially the Mehran Bank case has been pending for the past twenty years, besides several other cases were with the judiciary.

He questioned that “while cases against Nawaz Sharif were pending in the courts, how they were taking out rallies in support of judiciary. Would it not embarrass the judiciary?”

Gilani said though there was no law for the contempt of court in the country and even Babar Awan has not been charge sheeted, yet he has been convicted.

He said there was also a contempt of court case related to the Chief Justice against a police official but it was also lying pending.

During the address interspersed with loud slogans of support from the large gathering of the PPP workers here on the last day of his five-day visit to the United Kingdom, Gilani said certain self-created leaders were now through their “so-called” public gatherings, trying in vain to tell the world that he was no longer the prime minister of the country.

On the contrary, he said, the leadership of the United Kingdom received him at all three important fora of the parliament, the government and Royalty.

“We do not care if you do not accept me. The world acknowledges me, the constitution of Pakistan recognises me, the people of Pakistan recognise me,” he added.

“Who are you, the one who was convicted for hijacking a plane?” Gilani asked.

Prime Minister Gilani said the judiciary gave General Pervez Musharraf the right to oust Nawaz Sharif, and gave approval to all his acts. “Why the party did not raise a voice for a long march at that stage?” he asked.

He said the people of Pakistan want to know the details of Nawaz Sharif’s journey from Attock to Jeddah in the dark of the night.

Gilani said Nawaz Sharif left the country after a plea bargain, which was a confession and pledged not to be part of any politics for ten years.

He termed it an act, shameful for any politician. He recalled that Javed Hashmi himself said that for years they claimed that there was no deal with the dictator, but when Nawaz Sharif returned he himself gave a statement saying actually it was for five years and not ten.

Gilani regretted that the PPP inked the Charter of Democracy (CoD) with Nawaz Sharif and extended him full support when he was in difficult time, however in return it got undue criticism from the Pakistan Mulim League-Nawaz (PML-N), that despite being in government was acting like an opposition.

He quoted late Nawabzada Nasrullah Khan who regretted that Nawaz Sharif and his family left secretly in the dark of night with 40 suitcases and remarked that it was the first time that he was dealing with a businessman, who has nothing to do with politics or a commitment to the party or the country.

Prime Minister Gilani said the entire politics of Nawaz Sharif revolves around creating disruption in traffic, burning tyres and causing lawlessness. He said it was also for the first time that a province was leading protests against the federation, which in itself was an act of high treason.

Gilani also shared the decisions taken at a recent energy conference in Lahore, where it was decided to have two-weekly offs and closing down businesses early to save electricity, but the Sharif brothers again declined to follow the decisions and were trying to launch protest against the government.

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Via DAWN.com

India agrees $560 mln US artillery deal: officials

An Indian Army armoured personnel carrier (R) is lifted by cranes before maneuvers during the Shoor Veer military exercise near Hanumangarh, located near the India-Pakistan border, May 3, 2012. — Photo by AFP

NEW DELHI: India has agreed a $560-million deal to buy 145 howitzer guns from BAE Systems of the United States as it upgrades its antiquated military hardware, an official said Saturday.

India is updating its military capabilities with hardware worth tens of billions of dollars in the face of long-standing tensions with regional rivals China and Pakistan.

“The contract for the ultra-light howitzers was awarded on Friday to BAE Systems Inc” of the United States, a unit of Britain-based BAE Systems Plc, a senior defence ministry official told AFP on condition of anonymity..

The government will spend 30 billion rupees ($560 million) on the field guns, the official said.

The howitzers, with a maximum range of 30 kilometers, will be used by the army’s mountain artillery divisions along India’s high-altitude frontiers.

India has fought three wars with Pakistan since independence in 1947, but China is increasingly seen as the main focus of its ambitious military modernisation and procurement policy.

The military is acquiring a slew of new equipment from combat aircraft to submarines and in March, the country announced military spending for the current financial year would total 1.93 trillion rupees ($40 billion).

Saturday’s announced purchase marks the first time in more than a quarter of a century that India is buying howitzers.

India last purchased guns for the army in 1986 when it bought 410 howitzer field guns from the Swedish arms giant AB Bofors.

A year later, Swedish media alleged top Indian politicians and military officials had been bribed in connection with the deal.

Corruption accusations over the Bofors contract cost then Congress prime minister Rajiv Gandhi the 1989 national elections. His name was cleared by an India court in 2004, 13 years after he was killed by a Tamil suicide bomber.

But the scandal cast a long shadow. Analysts say concern over graft has made it difficult to get Indian defence deals cleared with bureaucrats unwilling to make decisions for fear of being accused of “procurement irregularities.”

Finalisation of the howitzer deal could take up to at least a year, other defence officials said.

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Via DAWN.com

Britain’s MI6 key to al Qaeda agent: Officials

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— File Photo

WASHINGTON: The double agent in the foiled al Qaeda bomb plot had a British passport, making the UK’s intelligence agency key to the international sting operation.

Two officials briefed on the investigation said the double agent had a British passport.

The officials requested anonymity to discuss the operational details. One official said the British intelligence agency, MI6, gave the double agent the passport as part of the ruse.

Al Qaeda wants terror recruits that have a US or British passport because they are more likely to be able to travel to and from the West without raising suspicion.

British Prime Minister David Cameron’s office on Friday declined to comment in any detail on the reports of the country’s role in thwarting the new bomb plot uncovered in Yemen.

Last month, al Qaeda’s Yemen branch entrusted a new, sophisticated underwear bomb designed to take down and airplane with a would-be suicide bomber.

But the bomber was actually a double agent, working with the CIA, Saudi intelligence agencies and the MI6. The double agent turned the bomb over to the US government.

The operation shows the close cooperation among the US, Britain, and Saudi Arabia, whose intelligence service played a major role in infiltrating the organization, and helping communicate with the agent.

The British intelligence role was first reported by NBC News.

The explosive has been described as an upgrade over the 2009 Christmas bomb that nearly brought down an airliner over Detroit. This new device contained lead azide, a chemical known as a reliable detonator.

After the Christmas attack failed, al Qaeda used lead azide as the detonator in the 2010 plot against cargo planes.

Security procedures at US airports were unchanged despite the plot, a reflection of both the US confidence in its security systems and recognition that the government can’t realistically expect travelers to endure much more.

Increased costs and delays to airlines and shipping companies from new security measures could have a global economic impact too.

Security officials said they believe airport security systems put in place in the United States in recent years could have detected the new device or one like it. But the attempt served as a stark reminder that security overseas is quite different.

While airline checks in the United States mean passing through an onerous, sometimes embarrassing series of pat-downs and body scans, procedures overseas can be a mixed bag.

The US cannot force other countries to permanently adopt the expensive and intrusive measures that have become common in American airports over the past decade.

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Via DAWN.com

Staring at a scary scenario

After hiding behind a family wedding, much like the proverbial ostrich, for the better part of two weeks, I really don’t want to face reality anymore. I do not want to hear about the worker of a sugar mill, who was so depressed after being beaten up by the mill owner’s goons on demanding his four months’ salary that he decided to commit suicide by setting himself on fire. His …

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Round table debate: Medical council and drugs authority to stay under Islamabad

KARACHI: Representatives of the Pakistan Medical and Dental Council (PMDC) and Drug Regulatory Authority (DRA) along with the civil and legal community passed a resolution to keep the two bodies federally regulated instead of transferring powers to provinces.

This was decided at an open-ended roundtable discussion on the status of the PMDC and DRA after the 18th Amendment. The event was organised by the Pakistan Medical Association (PMA) at PMA House on Wednesday.

Doctors and speakers agreed that both PMDC and DRA should be federally regulated whereas the implementation could be handed over to the provinces.

The PMA Centre general secretary, Dr Mirza Ali Azhar, pointed out that although it may be early to take up the issue, the medical community is being proactive since the Sindh health minister has already asked the federal government to transfer the two bodies to the province under the 18th Amendment.

The consensus was that such a move would be suicidal for both the departments. The division of PMDC, which regulates medical education, would result in different curriculums for different provinces. Doctors said that would provide innumerable opportunities for corruption such as opening up new medical colleges to make money.

Similarly, provincial DRAs would create an issue of different medicines, different prices and different rules for issuance of licences in each province.

Former minister of law and human rights activist, Iqbal Haider, said that parliament did not consider the issues that would arise after the transfer of education and health to provinces. According to the constitution, the right to make laws lies with the bodies, said Haider while offering to file a case against this issue.

All in favour say aye

The Pakistan Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Association (PPMA) chairperson, Haroon Qasim, brought up the ordinance to keep the two bodies under federal regulation which was passed by President Asif Ali Zardari on February 16, 2012. He said that it needs to be made into a law for full effect.

Haider advised the doctors to get the promulgated ordinance passed before the budget session otherwise it would be delayed further. His suggestion was unanimously agreed upon and a resolution to this effect was passed after the debate.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 11^th, 2012.

Total 314 missing persons traced by commission: Imtiaz Warraich

A view of the Senate in Islamabad. — File photo

ISLAMABAD: Minister of State for Interior Imtiaz Safdar Warraich on Friday informed the Senate that the PPP-led coalition government was pursuing the cases of missing persons vigorously and that a total of 314 missing persons had been traced due to these efforts.

Responding to supplementary questions raised by the members during the question hour, the minister said that an inquiry commission had been formed on enforced disappearances which former Supreme Court judge Justice (retd) Javed Iqbal was presiding over. He said the commission had been able to trace 181 missing persons.

He said that initially the commission was headed by Justice Fazlur Rehman, former Balochistan High Court (BHC) judge, who was later appointed as member Election Commission of Pakistan.

Warraich said that the report of the commission under Justice Fazlur Rehman had also been presented in the apex court while the same had also been submitted with the prime minister. He said under Justice Rehman, 133 persons were recovered while the commission under Justice Iqbal had helped trace 181 more missing people.

The minister said that the number of cases transferred to the recently formed commission were 138 while 538 new cases had been received by the commission. He said till date, 209 cases had been disposed while 467 cases were pending.

Replying to a question regarding the missing prisoners who had been set free from jails, the minister said that the courts’ decisions were binding on all state institutions and that agencies had no role in such matters.

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Via DAWN.com

US denounces suicide bombings in Syria

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A handout picture released by the Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) shows onlookers gathering amid the debris and destroyed vehicles at the scene of twin blasts in Damascus. -AFP Photo

WASHINGTON: The United States on Thursday strongly condemned the suicide bombings in the Syrian capital Damascus and called the indiscriminate killing of civilians “reprehensible.”

In the deadliest attacks of the country’s 14-month uprising, two suicide bombers killed at least 55 people and wounded nearly 400 in Damascus on Thursday, authorities said.

“The United States condemns in the strongest possible terms today’s attacks in Damascus,” State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland in a statement.

“Any and all violence that results in the indiscriminate killing and injury of civilians is reprehensible and cannot be justified,” she added.

“We continue to call on the Syrian regime to fully and immediately implement” the six-point peace plan brokered by UN and Arab League envoy Kofi Annan “in order to prevent another escalation of violence,” Nuland said.

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Via DAWN.com

Syrian capital rocked by two powerful blasts

Syrian army soldiers are seen through a damaged military truck window which was attacked by a roadside bomb in Syria’s Daraa city, May 9, 2012. — Photo by AP

DAMASCUS: Two powerful blasts in quick succession rocked the Syrian capital early on Thursday, sending plumes of smoke billowing into the sky and rattling windows of buildings, an AFP correspondent said.

It was not immediately clear what caused the explosions. Damascus has been the target of a number of bombs in past months as President Bashar al-Assad faces a revolt against his regime which his forces are attempting to crush.

The blasts came a day after a bomb attack on a UN observer convoy in the southern city of Daraa, which injured six Syrian troops escorting the vehicles.

Responding to the Daraa attack, UN leader Ban Ki-moon warned Syria’s government and opposition there is only a “brief window” to avoid civil war and indicated the future of the ceasefire monitoring mission was in doubt.

Highlighting an “alarming upsurge” of roadside bombs, alongside government attacks, Ban said both sides “must realise that we have a brief window to stop the violence, a brief opportunity to create an opening for political engagement between the government and those seeking change.”

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights says that almost 12,000 people, mostly civilians, have been killed in Syria since the revolt, inspired by Arab Spring uprisings, broke out in March last year.

About 800 of them have died since a UN-backed truce was supposed to have taken effect on April 12.

Damascus was hit by two blasts on May 6, with three soldiers wounded in one of the attacks. Television footage showed a mangled car destroyed by one of the explosions.

A deadly suicide bombing at Zein al-Abidin mosque in the capital’s central Midan district on April 27 killed 11 people and wounded dozens, according to state media.

A group calling itself Al-Nusra Front had earlier claimed responsibility for a deadly suicide bombing on April 20 near the Syrian city of Hama that targeted a restaurant used by the security forces.

The Syrian authorities regularly blame the blasts on “terrorist groups” they say are behind the violence that has swept the country for the past 14 months.

The opposition accuses regime forces of being behind the bombings in an attempt to discredit protesters demanding the ouster of Assad.

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Via DAWN.com

Beverly Hills Hotel marks 100 years of swank

In this April 25, 2012 photo, the entrance to the Beverly Hills Hotel is seen in Beverly Hills, Calif. The Beverly Hills Hotel is celebrating its 100th anniversary this year. – AP Photo

BEVERLY HILLS, California: Stand on the Beverly Hills Hotel’s red carpet, leading into its chandeliered lobby, and you can’t help but visualize a century’s worth of celebrities, royalty, politicians, musicians and actors who have stayed there, from Marilyn Monroe and Elizabeth Taylor to Madonna, Reese Witherspoon and Katy Perry.

The luxury hotel on Sunset Boulevard marks 100 years since it opened May 12, 1912, two years before the city of Beverly Hills itself was built around it. It remains one of the swankiest destinations in Southern California, home to Oscar and Grammy parties and star-filled lunches.

Its breezy, old Hollywood air comes from an incomparable list of superstar guests that has ranged over the decades from Charlie Chaplin, Cary Grant and Clark Gable, to John Lennon and Jack Nicholson, to the androgynously elegant Marlene Dietrich, who convinced the hotel’s Polo Lounge restaurant to change its “no slacks for women” dress code in the 1940s.

In his new book “The Beverly Hills Hotel and Bungalows — The First 100 Years,” Robert S. Anderson, the hotel’s official historian and great-grandson of its founder, tells the hotel’s story, from its beginnings amid acres of bean fields, to the present day, when celebs such as director Sofia Coppola think nothing of stopping by the coffee shop for a bite with friends.

Anderson’s great-grandmother Margaret Anderson — who managed a hotel on the site of what’s now the Hollywood & Highland Center, where the Academy Awards are held — built the Beverly Hills Hotel for $500,000 with architect Elmer Grey.

In this undated image released by Beverly Hills Collection, a historic view of The Beverly Hills Hotel is seen. The Beverly Hills Hotel is celebrating its 100th Anniversary in May. – AP Photo

“Elmer Grey designed the hotel in such a way so that every room got sunlight in one point of the day or another,” said Robert S. Anderson during lunch in late April in the Polo Lounge, beneath its green-and-white striped patio ceiling. “An acre of land was set aside for the guests to grow vegetables and flowers while staying here, so they would feel at home. That acre of land now is probably worth $25 million.”

Making its famous guests feel at home, and giving them privacy, have always been part of the hotel’s mission, beginning with silent film-era stars such as Chaplin and Buster Keaton, who shot movies at the hotel. The 1920s Hollywood power couple Mary Pickford and Douglas Fairbanks met at the hotel, then renovated a palatial house above the property. Liz Taylor honeymooned in the hotel’s lavish bungalows with six of her husbands, including Richard Burton. Bungalow Five was one of their favorite hangouts.

Reclusive billionaire Howard Hughes not only lived in the bungalows on and off for 30 years, but starting in 1942, he parked his Cadillac in front of the hotel for so long that plants started growing out of it. He also had hotel staff leave late-night meals, including roast beef sandwiches, in a nearby tree. Monroe stayed in bungalows 20 and 21 in 1960 while reportedly having an affair with her “Let’s Make Love” co-star Yves Montand.

In this image released by Beverly Hills Collection, actress Marilyn Monroe is seen at The Beverly Hills Hotel. The Beverly Hills Hotel is celebrating its 100th Anniversary in May. – AP Photo

Lennon and Yoko Ono stayed in bed for a week in another bungalow. “She was well-behaved, and he wasn’t,” said Anderson, laughing. “Lennon would sing loud, Irish songs. One night Prince was up here singing to some girl in a suite upstairs, in the ’80s. People yelled to him, ‘Knock it off!’”

The hotel remains a place where celebrities can let down their hair, attracting the East Coast elite as well as Hollywood locals. But paparazzi, beware. “Stars felt safe here, as they do today,” said Anderson. “For example, even getting through the front door. If you’re wielding a heavy-duty camera, they ask you what the hell you’re doing.”

Four stories high, surrounded by acres of gardens and flowers, the hotel evokes a lush Mediterranean fantasy island, decorated with banana leaves, palm fronds and fuchsia azaleas. In the 1940s, African-American architect Paul Williams designed the hotel’s looping handwritten script logo and redesigned the Polo Lounge, which had previously been called El Jardin. Williams also designed the more casual Fountain Coffee Room below the lobby, which still has a curved dark counter and green banana leaf wallpaper. The hotel was nicknamed the “Pink Palace” after being painted a salmon hue in 1948 to reflect light shades of the sunset.

Some things have changed, of course. Gone are stables for guests’ horses; the school, movie theater, billiard room and bowling alley that were once downstairs; and fox hunts that were staged in nearby barren hills. There have also been financial ups and downs. The Great Depression forced the hotel to close in 1933 and reopen 10 months later under the ownership of Bank of America before being sold again later, according to Anderson’s book. The hotel was bought by the Brunei Investment Agency in 1987 and is now part of the agency’s Dorchester Collection of luxury hotel properties.

In 1992, the hotel closed for a $100 million restoration, reopening in 1995. Today it has more than 200 rooms and suites, including 23 private bungalows big enough to accommodate staffs and families. Five bungalows date to 1915, while new presidential bungalows unveiled last year include outdoor rain showers. Rooms, decorated with peachy marble bathroom floors and green granite countertops, now run upwards of $500 a night. Cocktails at the Polo Lounge, 15 cents in 1944, now start at $17. But spotting A-listers at the hotel remains a regular occurrence, whether in the Polo Lounge, the Cabana Cafe, Bar Nineteen12 overlooking the hotel’s citrus garden, or down a winding staircase to the enormous art deco Crystal Ballroom.

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In this 1938 image released by Beverly Hills Collection, pool at The Beverly Hills Hotel is seen upon completion. The Beverly Hills Hotel is celebrating its 100th Anniversary in May. – AP Photo

A celebration of the centennial is planned for June 15-17 to benefit the Motion Picture Television Fund, with a filmmaker panel, an evening party hosted by director Brett Ratner and a Polo Lounge brunch hosted by Warren Beatty and DreamWorks Animation CEO Jeffrey Katzenberg.

Regular folks who want a taste of the anniversary can try drinks from “These Walls Are Talking” cocktail menus featuring drinks such as “100 Year Sidecar,” ”The Rat Pack” and “The Norma Jean.”

In a new film timed to the anniversary celebration, directed by Chuck Workman, Michael Douglas mused about the hotel’s nostalgic appeal to both celebs and those without Hollywood ties.

“I’ve been going to the Beverly Hills Hotel for over half of its life. You feel timeless,” said the actor. “There’s a thoughtfulness that makes you feel like you’re coming home. It could be 50 years ago, except of course for the cell phones.

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Via DAWN.com

LHC issues notice to PML-N MPA Shumaila Rana

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The Lahore High Court. – File Photo

LAHORE: The Lahore High Court on Wednesday issued notice for June 26 to PML-N MPA Shumaila Rana on petitions challenging her election as member of the Punjab Assembly.

Justice Umar Ata Bandial issued notice on two identical petitions filed by Adeeba Ashraf and Aysha Ahsan. Earlier, the petitioners’ counsels arguing before the court submitted that Shumaila Rana was elected as a member provincial assembly in 2008 on seat reserved for women but later, she resigned from her seat due to involvement in a criminal case.

He said the provincial election commission and deputy secretary election on April 24, 2012 issuing a notification declared her a returned candidate despite the fact that she resigned from her seat.

He contended that no election had been held for reserved seats, therefore, the notification was illegal and unlawful. He pleaded the court to set aside notification declaring Shumaila Rana as a returned candidate.

Meanwhile, Justice Umar Ata Bandial also dismissed a petition filed by Shumaila Rana for restoration of her seat in Punjab Assembly, after being withdrawn.

Shumaila Rana said PML-N leaders had pressurised her to resign which was accepted by the Speaker Punjab Assembly against rules and regulations.

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Via DAWN.com

Petition seeks injunction for PAF to shoot down drones

Foundation for Fundamental Rights has filed two petitions before the Peshawar High Court on behalf of victims of the drone strike carried out on March 17 last year.

The petitions cite the federation of Pakistan, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Ministry of Defence among others as its respondents. One of the petitioners is Noor Khan, the surviving son of Malik Daud Khan, who was the head of a North Waziristan Jirga and was killed along with 50 other tribal elders and notables by CIA operated drones last year.

On March 17, 2011, a US drone fired missiles, brutally killing 50 people, including Khan, five members of the Khasadar force, and a small child.

FFR works along with British legal charity Reprieve which had filed a similar petition in London earlier against involvement of the British government in drone strikes in Pakistan.

According to the PHC petition, over 3,000 people have been killed in over 320 drone strikes in FATA.

The petitioners are seeking court orders asking the federal government to take up the issue before the United Nations Security Council, International Court of Justice and UNHRC.

They have also stated that the federal government should order the Pakistan Air Force to shoot down drones flying inside Pakistani territory in order to protect its citizens and initiate criminal proceedings against those involved on Pakistani or American side.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 9^th, 2012.

Justice Khosa adapts Khalil Jibran’s poem

KHALIL Gibran, a Lebanese American poet and writer, authored the poem ‘Pity the nation’ in the 1900s (published in 1933). To Justice Khosa, the theme of the poem suits so well to the current imbroglio that he included an adaptation of the poem in his 6-page additional note annexed to the detailed verdict.
The full version of Justice Khosa’s addition to ‘Pity the …

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Interpol issues arrest notice for fugitive Iraq VP

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Tareq al-Hashemi speaks at a news conference in Baghdad, in this file picture taken February 28, 2011. Global police body Interpol called on May 8, 2012 for help in arresting fugitive Iraqi Vice President Tareq al-Hashemi on suspicion of planning and funding attacks in Iraq. -Reuters Photo

BAGHDAD: Interpol on Tuesday put Iraq’s fugitive Sunni vice president on the equivalent of its most-wanted list at the behest of the Shia-dominated government in Baghdad.

Tariq al-Hashemi, who is currently in Turkey, is being tried in absentia in Baghdad on charges of terrorism as well as guiding and financing death squads that targeted government officials, security forces and Shia pilgrims.

The Iraqi government links him to about 150 bombings, assassinations and other attacks, and says the death squads were largely composed of the vice president’s bodyguards and other employees.

The trial was postponed last week after lawyers for al-Hashemi, who has denied the charges, appealed to have parliament create a special court to hear the case. The Sunni vice president has vowed not to return to face what he calls politically motivated charges.

Interpol said on its website that it has issued a so-called ”red notice” for al-Hashemi, responding to a request from Baghdad. A red notice by Interpol seeks the arrest of a wanted person with a view to eventual extradition. The subjects of red notices are considered to be on the organization’s most-wanted list.

Interpol Secretary General Ronald K. Noble said the red notice for al-Hashemi ”will significantly restrict his ability to travel and cross international borders.”

”It is a powerful tool that will help authorities around the world locate and arrest him,” Interpol’s website quoted Noble as saying.

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan told reporters during a visit to Italy that al-Hashemi would likely return to Iraq after finishing medical treatment.

”Mr. al-Hashemi is in our country due to his health problems and to hold talks regarding latest developments,” Erdogan said. ”I believe, he will return his country following his treatment.”

Many member countries consider a red notice to be a valid request for the arrest of a suspect, but Interpol cannot demand individual nations make an arrest. Turkey, which has provided sanctuary to al-Hashemi and is on tense terms with his opponents in the Iraqi government, has not formally responded so far to the Interpol notice.

Al-Hashemi, who has been in Turkey since mid-April, is staying under the protection of Turkish security agents at a luxury apartment in Istanbul, Turkey’s NTV television said. A policeman with a machine gun guards the entrance of his apartment building, and several police cars were parked outside on Tuesday, according to NTV.

In an interview last week in Istanbul, al-Hashemi told The Associated Press that his trial was part of a political vendetta that has wider repercussions for Iraqi unity and sectarian tensions across the Middle East.

He also alleged that Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, a Shia, may have engineered the proceedings to snuff out domestic opposition in case he is threatened by a revolt in Iraq similar to that in neighboring Syria.

Al-Hashemi’s representatives maintain he left Iraq for diplomatic meetings with regional leaders, not to escape arrest.

Al-Maliki’s media adviser, Ali al-Moussawi, on Tuesday called on al-Hashemi to return to Iraq and face trial.

”After the issuing of this red notice, I think that the best choice for al-Hashemi now is to return to Iraq and stand a fair trial,” al-Moussawi told the AP.

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Via DAWN.com

Man hangs himself to death

TOBA TEK SINGH – A farmer committed suicide here in Pirmahal the other night.
Deceased Qamar Gadhi, a resident of Mauza Kohalan reportedly had a quarrel with his wife over a domestic issue. At which he he committed suicide by hanging himself from a ceiling fan.        –Reporter

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Pak-US ties: Challenges ahead

The Gordian knot the two sides are trying to untie in Islamabad is over an overdue apology for the intermittent attack that not only bruised egos in Pakistan but also brought the bilateral relationship to a grinding halt – a turning point that also gave Pakistan the opportunity to review its terms of engagement with the US. Pakistan did well by putting parliament at the centre of the ‘reset’. It made the resumption of the ground lines of communications (GLOCs) practically contingent upon the apology as well as a halt to drone strikes in its tribal areas.

As a result, the talks have reached a deadlock, adding to the frustration of the US-led Nato. US patience is also seemingly wearing thin, manifest in two latest developments:

Defence Secretary Leon Panetta has vowed that the US will do everything it can, use whatever operations they have to, in order to protect the US, including drone strikes while the US Secretary of State Hilary Clinton has also followed suit, saying she was ‘well aware’ that the Pakistani government had not yet taken steps to help secure Hafiz Saeed’s conviction, who is wanted over the 2008 Mumbai attacks.

Clearly, Pakistan is under the squeeze, largely for its own frustratingly snail-paced review process as well as inner contradictions. This primarily represents the serious challenges ahead.

Key officials, for instance, say the parliament’s role in foreign policy is the new reality of Pakistan and Washington must adjust to it. But other officials say they are trying to clinch a deal with the Americans, regardless of what the parliament recommended. What is the reality then?

Secondly, what will the hyped up ‘reset’ actually mean? Will the new transactional deal delink cooperation with, and assistance for Pakistan from occasional frictions arising out of new acts of terror in Kabul?

Thirdly, will this mean that the new deal will ensure a continuous flow of money from the Coalition Support Fund, which the US administration and Congress still treat as aid and not reimbursements to Pakistan? Will the status of these funds really change into “reimbursement against services rendered?”

The fourth challenge comes from Leon Panetta‘s reiteration on the “indispensability of drone strikes.” Clearly, the American position is in sharp contrast to parliament’s demands. How will the government circumvent the PCNS recommendation on the issue?  Can the Pakistani interlocutors really dissuade Americans from such attacks, or persuade them for a – even if symbolic – joint management of the remotely controlled predators? If not, then what about the PCNS being the key to our foreign policy? Or will it be business as usual ie overt condemnation and covert approval?

Unfortunately, Pakistan is pitched against heavy odds. On the one hand, past associations with militant groups, and the unbridled anti-India/US activism of the Defense of Pakistan Council render its protests and verbal belligerence ineffective vis-à-vis the US-led international community which is currying favour with India too. One the other hand, Pakistani tendency to embed its arguments in morality and reference to international law, unfortunately weighs little when viewed against the global geo-political objectives of the US-led Nato.

The only way out of this extremely unfavourable situation is to invoke pragmatism, indulge in introspection, shun contradictions and focus on reviving and strengthening the economy. That will largely remain contingent upon the sweet will of the US-led Nato and much, therefore, will depend on to what extent can the ministry of foreign affairs, the General Headquarters  and the political leadership narrow down their intellectual and tactical discord into a long-term strategic framework, urgently needed to deal with internal and external challenges.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 8^th, 2012.

Punjab public funds: Financial team to reconcile missing amount

A report published by The Express Tribune on Monday indicated that the provincial government is at a loss to explain the difference between its accounts and expenditure.

The finance secretary has written a letter to the AG and assured him that a team will pay a visit shortly.

The team’s aim will be to settle disputes arising from the discrepancy, work to reconcile the numbers and answer queries related to the issuance of funds to public-private companies, said an official from the provincial government.

The office of the AG has stopped issuing funds to various companies established by the provincial administration saying that they were not following accounting procedures laid down for public consolidated funds.

The official said that these companies were allegedly transferring public funds worth millions of rupees in commercial bank accounts without approval from relevant authorities.

The Lahore Waste Management Company, for example, was established under the Companies Act, but was never listed by the provincial government as an independent entity with financial autonomy.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 8^th, 2012.

Don’t shoot from the hip on Qaeda chief, US warned

ISLAMABAD – Pakistan has said it does not have any intelligence suggesting that al-Qaeda chief Ayman al-Zawahiri was hiding in the country and urged the US to share information if any instead of issuing speculative statements.In a briefing to the Parliamentary Committee on National Security (PCNS) on Monday, Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar stated: “Pakistan has no information about …

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