DWS, Sunday 28th July to Saturday 3rd August 2013

	DWS, Sunday 28th July to Saturday 3rd August 2013
The DAWN Wire Service (DWS) is a free weekly news-service from Pakistan's largest English language newspaper, the daily DAWN. DWS offers news, analysis and features of particular interest to the Pakistani Community on the Internet. DWS is sent by e-mail every Saturday. What’s Inside? National News | Editorial | Columns & Articles	For suggestions and comments: Email: webmaster@dawn.com Website: http://dawn.com Fax: +92(21) 35693995 Please send all Editorial submissions and Letters to the Editor to: letters@dawn.com
NATIONAL NEWS
Gunmen kill seven coast guards By Saleem Shahid QUETTA, July 27: Seven Pakistan Coast Guards personnel were killed and seven others injured when gunmen attacked a PCG checkpost in Kuldan area of Gwadar district early on Saturday morning.. The banned Baloch Liberation Front (BLF) organisation claimed responsibility for the attack. Sources said that unidentified armed men riding a vehicle and a motorcycle stormed the PCG checkpost, about 64km from Gwadar town towards the Pak-Iran border at around 3am, and attacked it with rockets and guns. At least seven PCG personnel died and as many suffered injuries. Home Secretary Akbar Hussain Durrani confirmed the casualties. The sources said that after the attack a heavy exchange of fire took place between the coastguards and the assailants in which two attackers were injured. “It was a pre-dawn rocket attack on the checkpost that left seven soldiers dead and injured seven others,” Mr Durrani told Dawn, adding the dead and the injured had been taken to the Pakistan Navy hospital. He said rescue teams and law-enforcement agencies personnel, including coastguards and Levies, had been sent to the scene of the attack. A search operation was under way. The sources said that assailants took away official weapons and other belongings of the coastguards. They said that 14 PCG personnel manned the checkpost located close to the border with Iran. They are tasked to keep vigil on those crossing the border illegally and drug and human trafficking. Gohram Baloch, a spokesman for BLF, told media by satellite phone that 25 PCG men had been killed in the attack and another two had been taken hostage.
PPP calls for resignation of chief election commissioner By Amir Wasim ISLAMABAD, July 27: Syed Khurshid Ahmed Shah, Leader of Opposition in the National Assembly, has called for resignation of the chief election commissioner and all four members of the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) for “failing to protect their independence”.. Talking to Dawn on Saturday, the PPP leader said his party would raise the issue of the “partiality” allegedly shown by the ECP in the lead-up to the presidential election during sessions of the National Assembly and Senate on Monday. Sources in the PPP told Dawn that the opposition members would lodge a protest in the two houses through points of order. The sources said leaders of the opposition in the NA and Senate, Syed Khurshid Shah and Chaudhry Aitzaz Ahsan, would raise the matter and explain the reason for the party’s decision to boycott the presidential election after the Supreme Court allowed the ECP to advance the polling date to July 30 from Aug 6 at the PML-N’s request. “The chief election commissioner, along with all the four members, should immediately resign,” said Mr Shah, who was head of the parliamentary committee that had approved the appointments of retired justice Fakhruddin G. Ebrahim as the CEC and the other ECP members. He said through the 18th and 20th amendments, the ECP had been made a powerful and independent institution, but regretted that it had abdicated its powers and independence. “The May 11 elections were RO (returning officers) elections and the presidential election is the chief RO election,” he alleged. The PPP leader said his party would never accept the results of the “manipulated presidential election” and continue to raise its voice against the alleged “nexus between the PML-N government, the ECP and the courts”. Mr Shah also lashed out at the PML-N for seeking the Muttahida’s support for its presidential candidate. “In my speech in the assembly (on Monday), I will congratulate Mian Sahab (PM Nawaz Sharif) for joining hands with the MQM and remind him about a resolution which the PML-N had moved in an all-party conference in London terming the MQM a terrorist party,” he said. Mr Shah said since the PPP had announced boycott of the presidential election, its members would not attend sessions of the provincial assemblies and the parliament on the polling day. A PPP senator told Dawn that his party would also raise other matters of public importance in the Senate. Farhatullah Babar, a PPP Senator and the presidency’s spokesman, in a statement on Saturday again asked the government to provide complete details of payment of Rs480 billion made to settle the circular debt of Rs503bn. JUI-F UNDECIDED: Meanwhile, the JUI-F announced on Saturday that so far it had not decided about its vote in the July 30 presidential election. Sources said the JUI-F, which is sitting on the treasury benches at the centre, wanted to join the Balochistan government as well and was using this demand as a bargain during the presidential election. But the PML-N is facing a strong opposition from its nationalist allies on the issue of including the JUI-F in the ruling coalition in the province. Talking to Dawn after a meeting of the JUI-F Majlis-i-Shoora here, party’s spokesman Jan Achakzai said that the Balochistan chapter of the party had shown serious concerns over the political situation in the province. He said the JUI-F was a genuine stakeholder in Balochistan, but it had been ignored. Mr Achakzai said that some initial contact had been made by the PML-N on the Balochistan issue, but the JUI-F was awaiting further discussion on it. He clarified that JUI-F chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman, during his recent meeting with Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, had exclusively focused on the law and order situation in Balochistan. He said the Maulana had complained to the prime minister that the JUI-F was not taken on board on several issues.
Soldier dies in LoC firing By Our Staff Reporter ISLAMABAD, July 27: Pakistan lodged a protest with India on Saturday over an unprovoked attack from across the Line of Control (LoC) in which a Pakistani soldier was killed and another injured. . “Pakistan strongly condemns the unprovoked firing by Indian soldiers along the LoC near Rawalakot this morning which resulted in the killing of a Pakistani soldier and serious injury to another,” Foreign Office Spokesman Aizaz Chaudhry said. The Indian government was asked to prevent recurrence of violations of ceasefire along the LoC and thoroughly probe the Saturday incident. The soldier killed in the attack in Nezapir sub-sector was identified by the military authorities as Sepoy Asim Iqbal, a resident of Rawalpindi district, while the injured naik was identified as Mohammad Khan. The attack occurred at 10:30am. Meanwhile, Indian Border Security Forces in another incident resorted to unprovoked firing along the working boundary near Sialkot in the evening. No loss of life was reported. “It is unfortunate that such an incident should have taken place at a time when the two governments are making sincere efforts towards improving relations for resolution of all outstanding disputes,” Mr Chaudhry said. AFP adds: The Indian army said intermittent firing was continuing along the heavily militarised ‘border’ late on Saturday. “Pakistani troops started firing unprovoked in the morning, firing rocket-propelled grenades, heavy machinegun fire and small arms,” Indian defence spokesman Colonel R.K. Palta said. “Our side retaliated in a calibrated manner and there were no casualties on our side,” he said, adding he had no comment on Pakistan’s statement that Indian firing had caused Pakistani casualties. Tensions spiked between New Delhi and Islamabad in January and February as six soldiers were killed in exchanges along the Line of Control. Four of the soldiers killed were from Pakistan while two were from India. Relations between the two countries were also strained earlier this year with both sides protesting the deaths of prisoners held by the other. The murder of an Indian prisoner in a Lahore jail was followed by the tit-for-tat killing of a Pakistani prisoner in an Indian jail.
Bomber shot dead By Our Staff Correspondent QUETTA, July 27: Private security guards foiled an attempt to attack an Imambargah in Hazara Town on Saturday and killed the suspected suicide bomber.. Sources said the guards told the three suspects to prove their identity after they saw them moving surreptitiously near the Imambargah. But they ignored the warning and instead started running towards the place of worship. The desperadoes resorted to gunfire, but one of them died when the guards hit back. The two others managed to escape. Police and other law enforcement agencies took the body to the Combined Military Hospital. Fayyaz Sumbal, Deputy Inspector General of Police, confirmed that the private guards had killed the suspected suicide bomber. “The suspected bomber was wearing a suicide jacket,” he said. A hand-grenade was found on his body. Security forces cordoned off the area and launched a search operation.
LNG permit of three firms revoked By Sohail Iqbal Bhatti ISLAMABAD, July 27: The Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (Ogra) has cancelled the permit of three companies because of their failure to take steps for import and sale of 1,400mmcfd of liquefied natural gas (LNG). Cancellation of terminal construction licences assigned to these private companies is also likely soon.. Pakistan Gasport Limited, Global Infrastructure Limited and Elengy Terminal Pakistan Limited (Engro Corporation) did not submit a $5 million performance bank guarantee and also didn’t fulfil six other conditions of a contract to import gas. Ogra decided to cancel the 400mmcfd capacity allocation of Pakistan Gasport Limited, 500mmcfd of Global Infrastructure Limited and 500mmcfd of Elengy Terminal Pakistan Limited at a meeting on Thursday. Later, the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority, in a letter to the ministry of petroleum and natural resources, a copy of which is available with DawnNews, said: “Arguments of the companies for their failure to achieve the milestones and conditions are not tenable and their conditions precedent for progress of the project, including financial close, are hard to be met within next one or two years. “Therefore, keeping in view [the] lack of progress and failure to meet the aforesaid milestone, non-compliance of capacity allocation conditions, and TPA rules, etc., by the project developers, the authority has decided to revoke the capacity allocation of said project developers forthwith. However, in future, if the said project developers show progress on their projects then pipeline capacity can be allocated afresh.” The Ogra had on Oct 27, 2011 approved the natural gas pipeline capacity allocation of Pakistan Gasport Limited (400mmcfd), Global Infrastructure Limited and Elengy Terminal Pakistan Limited (Engro) under which the LNG firms were allowed to import LNG and transport imported gas through the transmission system of Sui Southern Gas Company Limited (SSGCL) and Sui Northern Gas Pipelines (SNGPL). The regulator had issued these permission letters with certain conditions under “third party access rules” to the LNG firms. The capacity allocation to the three companies was, however, subject to certain conditions/milestones with the provision that failure to achieve these goals will lead to cancellation of the allocated capacity. According to the Ogra letter, the LNG firms were also required to pay the fees to the SSGCL and the SNGPL over the use of transmission system of the two state-owned gas utilities before the direct sale of gas to the power and industrial sectors. The organisations were also required to purchase LNG from the local market and construct floating storage and re-gasification unit in Karachi. The SSGC was expected to lay a pipeline at a cost of $1 billion from Karachi port to the Sindh-Punjab border. Although their construction licences have expired, none of the firms has requested Ogra to extend the same. The relevant sections of the Ogra letter read: “The LNG developers have failed to make any significant progress. They have yet not initiated construction of their terminal, no binding agreement has been signed with any potential consumer and no credible evidence has been provided about build-up of financial resources for the purpose. “The government of Pakistan has indicated its intention to import LNG under integrated and tolling arrangements through gas companies which has also dampened the pursuit of LNG developers for private consumers. “The capacity allocation was made for LNG business under third party access regime and when the government itself enters the business through import of LNG and buying of RLNG (regasified liquefied natural gas), the third party concept takes the back seat, rendering the pipeline capacity allocation unnecessary for a feasible future.”
SC sets aside LHC order, allows woman to live with father By Nasir Iqbal ISLAMABAD, July 27: The Supreme Court has expressed disappointment over what it has called a ‘subjective sense of morality’ shown by a Lahore High Court (LHC) judge through an order which overshadowed his responsibility of protecting a citizen’s constitutional right to liberty. . “We may observe that we have felt saddened by the fact that through the impugned order a judge of a high court had allowed his responsibility of protecting a citizen’s constitutional right to liberty to be overshadowed by his own subjective sense of morality,” Justice Asif Saeed Khosa of the Supreme Court said in a verdict. The controversy began when the LHC judge disposed of a habeas corpus petition on July 4 and ordered that Naseem Akhtar, 28, be sent to Darul Aman in Lahore so that the veracity of two nikahnamas could be adjudged by the relevant court. The dispute revolves around claims by Mohammad Imran Khan and Mohammad Tariq that they contracted marriage with the same woman. Mr Khan cited May 14 as the date when he married Ms Akhtar whereas Mr Tariq said he entered into wedlock on Dec 25 last year and that the marriage was still intact — a claim acknowledged by Ms Akhtar and her father Ali Mohammad, the petitioner in the case. Ms Akhtar pleaded that she was not in confinement or restrained while living with her father and wanted to live with him. She had filed on June 26 a jactitation of marriage suit against Mr Khan and the case was pending with a family court in Sillanwali, Sargodha district. Ms Akhtar denied that she had married Mr Khan and pleaded that he should be restrained ‘from being her husband’. The same arguments were advanced by her father. But the high court did not accept the plea, saying the contention was untenable and the court could not allow a person to live an ‘immoral life’. She was sent to the Darul Aman to ‘save her from the commission of an offence’. She would stay in the Darul Aman till the time her suit for jactitation of marriage was decided, the high court judge ruled in his chambers. Consequently, the father came to the Supreme Court by filing a petition against the high court order, which was taken up by a two-judge bench headed by Justice Khosa. In his judgment released by the court this week, Justice Khosa said Ms Akhtar was a grown-up lady not involved in any criminal case as an accused. Her consistent stand before the high court and the Supreme Court had been that she was not in any kind of confinement or under any restraint while living with her father. “Although she has two rival suitors yet she has expressed a clear desire before the apex court that she wishes to go and live with her father,” the verdict said. “We have found it to be rather disturbing that despite her eagerness to continue living with her father she had been deprived of her liberty and ordered by the judge in chamber of the LHC to be lodged at Darul Aman and that too for an indefinite period,” it said. It was quite ironic and shocking, the judgment said, that the habeas corpus proceedings before the LHC, meant to secure release of a person from an illegal or improper custody or confinement, had been utilised for depriving a free person of her liberty and the net result was that a grown-up, young lady who was not found to be in any kind of confinement or under any restraint had been locked up and incarcerated within the confines of Darul Aman for an indefinite period. Such an approach and the result achieved by the judge ran contrary to the very essence and purpose of a writ or petition for habeas corpus which was securing freedom and not curtailing liberty, it said. The Supreme Court converted the petition into an appeal and ordered that Ms Akhtar be set free. “She may go and live with her father, namely Ali Mohammad, petitioner, as desired by her,” the order said. It said it was unfortunate that in his zeal and eagerness to prevent commission of an imagined or apprehended sin or crime the high court judge had not only chosen to ignore the divine command but had also decided to disregard the constitutional mandate. The high court judge had not even levelled an allegation but had only imagined a possibility of commission of zina in future and had then proceeded to punish Ms Akhtar by depriving her of her liberty and putting her in the confines of a Darul Aman for an indefinite period, it said. The apex court asked the registrar of the LHC to bring the verdict to the notice of the judge-in-chamber.
ECP moves to protect secrecy of presidential vote By Iftikhar A. Khan ISLAMABAD, July 27: The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has finalised arrangements for holding the presidential election on July 30.Mamnoon Hussain, the PML-N candidate, and retired justice Wajihuddin Ahmed of the PTI are now left in the field after withdrawal of candidature by Mr Hussain’s cover candidate, Iqbal Zafar Jhagra.. An ECP official told Dawn that transportation of about 2,000 ballot papers would be completed by Monday. If required, C-130 planes and helicopters would be used for the purpose, he added. He said the voters (members of the Senate, National and the four provincial assemblies) would not be allowed to carry mobile phones or cameras in order to maintain secrecy. He said after receiving the ballot paper the voter was required to proceed to the place reserved for marking the ballot paper with a cross-mark against the name of a candidate and then drop it in a box without delay. The voter will have to produce the identity card issued by the secretariat of his house if asked by the presiding officer to prove his/her identity. A candidate might nominate not more than one agent for observing the polling and counting by giving a notice in writing to the presiding officer. The ECP official said under Rule 16 of the presidential election rules of 1988, any act or thing was required or authorised to be done in the presence of a candidate or his agent, but his failure to present at the time and place appointed for the purpose shall not invalidate any act or thing otherwise validly done. The presiding officer shall, subject to such instructions as the returning officer may give on this behalf, regulate the number of persons other than voters to be admitted to the place of poll and exclude all other persons except the polling officers or any other person on duty in connection with the poll, the contesting candidates and one representative authorised in writing by each candidate and any other person as may generally or specifically be permitted by the returning officer. Any person who fails to obey any lawful order of the presiding officer may immediately, by order of the presiding officer, be removed from the place of poll and the person so removed shall not, without the permission of the presiding officer, re-enter such place. The power shall, however, not be exercised so as to deprive the voter otherwise entitled to vote of an opportunity to vote. Immediately before the commencement of the poll, the presiding officer shall ensure that the ballot box to be used is empty, show the ballot box to the contesting candidates or their agents as may be present, close and seal the ballot box so that its slit is open and place the ballot box within his sight for the purpose of polling. The presiding officer shall make arrangements so that every voter may be able to mark the ballot paper in secret before the same is folded and dropped in the ballot box.As soon as the poll commences, the presiding officer shall regulate the entry of voters in the alphabetical order of their names as entered in the list of voters so that, at a time, only one voter enters the place reserved for marking the ballot paper. Before a ballot paper is issued to a voter, a mark shall be placed on the list of voters against the name of the voter to indicate that the ballot paper has been issued to him, the ballot paper shall, on its back, be stamped with the official mark and initiated by the presiding officer and the voter shall put his signature or thumb impression on the counterfoil of the ballot paper. The voter shall, if so requested by a contesting candidate or his agent, show to him the official mark on the back of the ballot paper.
Anger looms over NA, Senate sessions By Raja Asghar ISLAMABAD, July 28: The National Assembly and Senate will likely abound with anger when the two houses meet on Monday (today), a day before they and four provincial assemblies elect the country’s next president in a vote made controversial by a mix of political and judicial moves. . The main opposition Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) has made it known it would make what could be its loudest noise in both houses after the May 11 general elections to protest against a Supreme Court-ordered change of the presidential election’s schedule on the demand of the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-N (PML-N) that provoked a boycott of the Tuesday vote by the previously ruling PPP and some of its allies. While the 342-seat National Assembly is likely to see opposition leader Khurshid Ahmed Shah lead a political assault, the opposition leader in the 104-seat Senate, Chaudhry Aitzaz Ahsan, and possibly Senator Raza Rabbani, who has withdrawn his candidature from the presidential race, are expected to question the change of schedule on legal grounds as well. PML-N candidate Mamnoon Hussain, a Karachi businessman, would have, in any case, won the majority of the 706-member electoral college of the two houses of parliament and the provincial assemblies of the Punjab, Sindh, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan, to occupy the presidency when the PPP’s incumbent President Asif Ali Zardari vacates it on completing his five-year term on September 8. Yet the PML-N went to the Supreme Court through its chairman, Senator Raja Zafarul Haq, seeking to bring forward the polling date to July 30 from the earlier date of August 6 after the Election Commission had rejected a similar request. And a three-judge bench, headed by Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, did just that in a single hearing on Wednesday without hearing other parties on the petitioner’s controversial religious grounds that August 6 would be too close to Eidul Fitr and many parliamentarians at the time were likely to be engaged in non-obligatory Umra pilgrimage to Saudi Arabia or confined to mosques for ‘aitkaf’ prayers in seclusion. While the PPP, the largest opposition party in parliament that governs Sindh province, announced a boycott of the election the next day on grounds of not being heard by the court and that the new schedule left little time for its candidate to campaign in the provinces, some unexpected happenings in the aftermath included a Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf decision — that won some PML-N praise — to keep its candidate, former Supreme Court judge Wajihuddin Ahmed, in the run after some earlier hints of a boycott. Though the PML-N already has in its coalition some one-time PPP allies like Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam and Pakistan Muslim League-Functional (PML-F), it found its strangest bedfellows in the opposition Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM), which announced its unconditional support for the PML-N candidate on Friday. PPP’s Khurshid Shah — if he is able to make it to Monday’s session after the funeral of a sister who died in Sukkur on Sunday — has vowed to “congratulate” Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif for joining hands with the MQM although a declaration signed by the PML-N and several other parties at 2008 a conference in London called the Karachi-based party terrorist with whom none of them would make a coalition. After the expected fireworks on Monday, when both houses have been summoned to meet at 4pm, the next day’s vote at a joint sitting at the parliament house as well as those of the provincial assemblies will likely be a smooth affair as the boycotting PPP and its allies will keep away. The National Assembly’s agenda for Monday includes a motion to be moved by Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Shaikh Aftab Ahmed for a voice vote to allow the use of the lower house chamber for polling for the presidential election, which is likely to be chaired by Chief Election Commissioner Fakhruddin G. Ebrahim or a nominee. The provincial assemblies, which will have equal votes not exceeding 65 of the smallest strength of Balochistan Assembly, will cast their votes at their respective chambers. Apparently to guard against some reported cases of a violation of a constitutional requirement of a secret ballot in the last presidential election in 2008, the Election Commission issued directive asking the presiding officers for Tuesday’s vote to ensure the secrecy of the ballot and barring members of parliament and provincial assemblies from carrying mobile phones or any other electronic device that can be used to take pictures.
Mamnoon eyes over 400 votes By Amir Wasim ISLAMABAD, July 28: While some smaller parties are yet to announce which of the two presidential candidates they will support on Tuesday, PML-N’s Mamnoon Hussain appears certain to win by a large majority and poll more than 400 of the 674 electoral votes.. Mr Hussain, along with some PML-N leaders called on JUI-F chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman on Sunday to seek support of his party. JUI-F spokesman Jan Achakzai told Dawn that Mr Hussain, Raja Zafarul Haq, Ishaq Dar and Iqbal Zafar Jhagra had met the Maulana at his residence. He said the JUI-F chief had told the PML-N team that his party would take a final decision on Monday. After the decision of the PPP and its allies to boycott the election in protest against the Supreme Court’s decision to advance the polling date to July 30 from August 6, more than 50 per cent members of the Senate and the Sindh Assembly would stay away from the voting process. This boycott may not affect the chances of Mr Hussain’s victory but it will raise questions about the election’s credibility. In the 104-member Senate, the ruling party’s candidate is expected to get only 37 votes because 60 senators will not turn up on the polling day. Retired justice Wajihuddin Ahmed of the PTI will not get any vote from the Senate since his party and its ally Jamaat-i-Islami have no representation in the upper house because of their boycott of the 2008 polls. A total of 154 electoral votes (23pc) will not be polled on Tuesday due to the boycott of the PPP, Awami National Party, Balochistan National Party-A and Awami Muslim League and the PML-Q’s decision to abstain. A projected outcome of the presidential poll shows the PML-N candidate will secure 402 votes and PTI’s Justice Wajihuddin get 74 votes. And if the JUI-F also decides to vote for Mr Hussain his vote tally is expected to go up to 436. The votes will be calculated according to a formula given in the Second Schedule of the constitution. The formula gives equal representation to provincial assemblies. The Presidential Election Rules of 1988, devised in the light of Article 41 of the constitution, provide for a 1,170-member electoral college of both houses of parliament and the four provincial assemblies. But the total number of votes, according to the formula, is 706. As some 50 seats are vacant in all legislatures, the number of electoral votes will be 674. The electoral college comprises 342 members of the National Assembly, 104 of the Senate, 371 of the Punjab Assembly, 168 of the Sindh Assembly, 124 of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly and 65 of the Balochistan Assembly. As the Balochistan Assembly is the smallest house with 62 members, votes in the three other provincial assemblies will be divided by 62 and 5.98 MPAs of Punjab, 2.71 of Sindh and 2.0 of the KP will be equivalent to one vote. On the other hand, one-member-one-vote formula is applied in the NA, the Senate and the Balochistan Assembly. In the National Assembly, the coalition comprising the PML-N, the PML-F, the PkMAP, the NP and other smaller groups has the strength of 229 MNAs, compared with 34 of PTI and JI. On the other hand, 46 members of the PPP, the ANP, the BNP-A, the PML-Q and AML of Sheikh Rashid will not be polled because of the boycott. The PML-N enjoys an absolute majority in the Punjab Assembly with 302 MPAs in a 354-member house. Thus the PML-N is expected to get 54 electoral votes in Punjab against five of the PTI. The PTI’s candidate is, however, far ahead in the KP Assembly and is expected to poll 33 votes against Mr Hussain’s 12. In Sindh, the PML-N and its allies are expected to get 25 electoral votes whereas 35 votes will not be polled due to the boycott by the PPP. Justice Wajihuddin is expected to get only two votes. The following tables depict a picture of all legislatures with projected electoral votes:
Karzai plans Pakistan visit KABUL, July 28: Afghanistan’s president will make his first visit to Pakistan in more than a year in an effort to mend strained relations between the two countries and in the hopes that he can enlist the support of the new government to help end the nearly 12-year Afghan war, an official said on Sunday.. The two nations have had tense ties for years, and Afghanistan has accused Pakistan in the past of supporting the Taliban in the movement’s fight against the Afghan government. But the election of a new prime minister in Pakistan has raised hopes in Kabul that Islamabad will be more open to helping start peace talks with the Taliban than the previous government – which it perceived to be more hostile to Afghanistan and President Hamid Karzai. Pakistan is seen as a key player in the Afghan peace process, and the US has been trying to enlist its support to help coax the Taliban into peace talks. Islamabad is believed to have ties to the Taliban that date back to the 1990s, and many of the group’s leaders are reportedly detained or living on Pakistani territory. Afghanistan’s government recently charged that Pakistan had floated the idea of a power-sharing deal with the Taliban, while Mr Karzai’s chief of staff went so far as to suggest that a recently opened Taliban office in Qatar was a plot by Pakistan or the United States to break up the country. Afghan Foreign Ministry spokesman Janan Mosazai told reporters that Mr Karzai had accepted an invitation delivered by Pakistan one week ago and that a date for the visit would soon be set. He last visited Pakistan in mid-2011. “Afghanistan in the past 10 years very honestly tried to strengthen cooperation and relations with Pakistan,” Mr Mosazai said. “ Afghanistan tried to establish a trust building effort between both countries, unfortunately we didn’t get what we expected from the former governments of Pakistan, so we are hopeful that with the establishment of the new government under the leadership of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif we will be able to open a new page between both countries.”
Consulate official missing By Saleem Shahid QUETTA, July 28: An official of the Afghan Consulate in Quetta is reported to be missing.. According to police, Mohammad Hashim of the consulate’s passport section left his home for the office on Thursday but neither reached there nor returned. His son Siddiqullah has lodged a complaint with police about his father’s disappearance. He told police that the family had no contact with his father since July 25.
Imran seeks exclusive briefing, rejects APC By Amjad Mahmood LAHORE, July 28: PTI chairman Imran Khan has announced that he will not attend the all-party conference the government is planning to hold for devising a joint policy against terrorism. . Addressing a press conference here on Sunday, he also threatened to give a call for street protests if his party’s demand for a thorough investigation into rigging in four constituencies in the general elections was not accepted. He hinted at joining an opposition alliance on a minimum agenda. “There is no use of attending the APC. Such moots had been held previously and they reached the conclusion of holding talks (with the Taliban). I want to know why the talks are not held?” Accompanied by PTI’s presidential candidate retired Justice Wajihuddin Ahmed and other party leaders, he said he wished to hear the ‘truth’ from the prime minister and the army chief and get “inside information” in closed-door meetings about the ‘war against terrorism’ because of confessions by former military ruler Gen Pervez Musharraf that he had allowed drone attacks. He said there were many sensitive issues that could not be discussed at an open forum like APC. Being one of the major stakeholders in the present set-up, he said, he wanted an exclusive briefing from the PM and the army chief. He said his party was taking part in the July 30 presidential polls under protest because the Election Commission had not given the candidates adequate time for canvassing in the amended election schedule. He criticised the ECP for making the presidential polls controversial. He said that like other opposition parties he was in favour of boycotting the elections but had decided to the contrary on the plea of Justice Wajih that the field must not be left open for the PML-N. The PTI, he said, would approach the lawmakers through their families to persuade them to vote for Justice Wajih. Regarding his party’s allegations of rigging in the general elections, he said they were pinning hopes on the chief justice of the Supreme Court for whose restoration they had taken so much pain. The PTI chairman said that if he felt that the CJP was no more neutral regarding his demand for a thorough probe into rigging in four constituencies and was siding with a particular party, he would give his supporters a call to take to the streets. He said there were ample reasons for the opposition to unite on a minimum agenda, particularly because of the alleged steps the government was taking for rigging the forthcoming by-polls. Justice Wajih said the ECP had announced the election schedule too late and that too without applying its mind on the date fixed for polling.
US drone kills 7 in Waziristan By Pazeer Gul MIRAMSHAH, July 28: Seven suspected militants were killed and three others injured in a US drone attack on a residential compound in Shawal tehsil of North Waziristan Agency on Sunday evening.. According to sources, the drone fired two missiles minutes before Iftar at the compound in Sheenkai Narai area, about 50km from the Afghan border. The house was destroyed. The bodies of the deceased were charred beyond recognition. Local people retrieved the bodies from the debris as the drone continued to hover over the area.
Power tariff reduced for distribution companies By Khaleeq Kiani ISLAMABAD, July 28: The National Electric Power Regulatory Authority has notified a reduction of Rs1.147 per unit in electricity tariff for all distribution companies of Wapda.. “The authority has reviewed and assessed a decrease of Rs1.1472 per unit in the applicable tariff for ex-Wapda distribution companies on account of variation in fuel charges for the month of June,” said a notification issued by Nepra. It said the assessed fuel charge reduction of “Rs1.473 per unit for the month of June 2013 was lower by Rs2.2682 per unit than the increase of Rs1.1209 per unit for the month of May 2013. Therefore, effectively there will be a decrease of Rs2.268 per unit in the bill on account of fuel charges adjustment compared to the month of May 2013”. The major contribution for the tariff reduction comes from better generation by hydropower producers because of improved water availability. The hydropower generation contributed about 41 per cent of the total energy mix during June compared to 32.5pc in May. As a result, dependence on furnace oil-based thermal power generation dropped to about 30pc in June from 35pc in May. The high-speed diesel-based power generation also came down to 0.34pc in June from 0.82pc in May. This had a positive impact on overall tariff as diesel-based electricity costs about Rs21 per unit and furnace oil-based generation at Rs16.2 per unit, compared with just 8 paisa per unit cost of hydropower generation. The generation by projects using natural gas also dropped in June to about 22pc from 24.45pc in May. Interestingly, the generation cost of gas-based plants also dropped to Rs4.96 per unit in June from Rs5.21 in May. The notification said the reduction in tariff would apply to all consumer categories except lifeline and agricultural consumers of all distribution companies because they were already enjoying a subsidised fixed rate. The distribution companies have been directed that the fuel charges adjustment for June should be reflected in the billing month of August. Nepra deplored that the ministries of water and power and finance did not attend the public hearing despite repeated notices. Likewise, no public representative or consumer group participated in the hearing. The regulator said that while reducing the tariff for Wapda companies, it did not allow an increase of 20 paisa per unit in the cost of operation and maintenance because it did not fall in the category of fuel charges and hence should be considered at the time of annual revision in base tariff.
Pakistan for deep political, economic ties with US By Anwar Iqbal WASHINGTON, July 28: Pakistan is seeking deepened economic, trade and political ties with the United States despite differences over how to conduct joint anti-terror efforts, says Minister for Planning and Development Ahsan Iqbal. . In an interview to the Voice of America radio, the minister also said that close cooperation between the US and Pakistan was vital for a smooth security transition and stability in Afghanistan after 2014 when most American troops would leave that country. The interview precedes an expected visit by US Secretary of State John Kerry to Islamabad for talks on bilateral relations and Pakistan’s role in Afghanistan. Mr Iqbal conceded that Pakistan would be the first to suffer if a smooth political transition did not happen in Afghanistan and the country remained unstable. He recalled that the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan in the 1980s and subsequent civil war in the 1990s had caused up to four million Afghans to seek refuge in Pakistan. The minister noted that about three million refugees still lived in Pakistan, causing a strain on the national economy. The dislocated population, he said, was also partly blamed for the rise in militancy on both sides of the border. That’s why, Mr Iqbal said, Pakistan needed to work very closely with the United States and other Nato countries so that this transition could be managed in a peaceful manner. “My greatest worry is not just 2014, but post-2014 because in the last 10 years there was a big war economy which was constructed in Afghanistan and, as the [foreign] forces and the military withdraws from Afghanistan, this war economy will collapse and this is going to cause many dislocations,” he warned. “Now again, if there is an influx of Afghan refugees or unemployed Afghan youth who come to Pakistan, we would have very serious implications.” Mr Iqbal said he saw strong ties with the United States, particularly in economy, energy and trade, as critical for Pakistan, adding that there were a number of US-funded projects in place as part of efforts to help Pakistan overcome its energy and power crisis. Mr Iqbal also rejected suggestions that the recent warming of Pakistan’s traditionally strong ties with neighbouring China were meant to move away from the relationship with the United States. “There are some areas in which cooperation of US is not substitutable. For example, [the] United States is a major export market for Pakistan’s textile sector, and we would like to develop it further,” he says. “Similarly, the opportunity of learning in the universities of [the] US is also second to none. We would like more and more of our young boys and girls to have access to higher education in [the] US.” The United States, he noted, had been a major trading partner and investor in Pakistan and Islamabad would like to further enhance these ties.
‘Aitzaz main proponent of boycott’ ISLAMABAD, July 28: Who was the driving force behind the PPP’s decision to boycott the presidential election? . Although office-bearers of the party claim it was a unanimous decision, a PPP insider told Dawn that Chaudhry Aitzaz Ahsan insisted on withdrawing the nomination papers of Senator Raza Rabbani and the party accepted his stance. Despite repeated attempts, Mr Ahsan couldn’t be reached for comments. However, the party source said that on July 24, when the Supreme Court passed its judgment to hold presidential election on July 30 instead of Aug 6, Senator Ahsan raised voice against the ruling and pushed for a boycott. “In the absence of Leader of Opposition Syed Khursheed Shah, who on the day of SC ruling was recuperating after surgery, Senator Ahsan led his party in talks with other opposition parties, asking them to join the PPP in its boycott,” said the source. On July 25, Mr Ahsan besides holding in-house party meetings went to see Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain of the PML-Q and Imran Khan of the PTI and argued in favour of boycott. Had Khursheed Shah, known for his dovish demeanour in politics, not been absent the PPP would not have decided to boycott the election, the source said. When asked whether or not President Asif Zardari was consulted on the matter, the PPP leader said that after being briefed on the SC decision the president, who was in London at the time, allowed the party leaders to take a decision after consulting other opposition parties. Since the entire argument about boycotting the election was weaved around the SC decision and Senator Ahsan as the ‘legal eagle’ of the party was unequivocally opposing the ruling, leaders like Amin Faheem couldn’t give any input. On July 26, when it was decided that the PPP would boycott the election, Khursheed Shah was asked to attend a press conference. Still recuperating from surgery, Mr Shah came to the party secretariat but remained in pain and left immediately after the press conference. “By the time Mr Shah came to know about Senator Aitzaz’s talks with opposition parties, the decision had been made and he couldn’t say much about it,” said the party source. He said the PPP’s decision could also be attributed to Imran Khan who in his meeting with Senator Aitzaz agreed with the PPP’s contention that the SC decision only favoured the PML-N candidate. “Once President Zardari was informed about talks with Mr Khan and the PML-Q and ANP leaders, who all were for boycotting the election, he also agreed with Senator Aitzaz,” said the source. However, after consultations within his party, Mr Khan decided to contest the election and fielded Justice Wajihuddin Ahmad as candidate. —Khawar Ghumman
Militants storm jail in D.I. Khan By Irfan Mughal DERA ISMAIL KHAN: July 29: Militants stormed one of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s oldest and largest central jails in the city close to midnight on Monday with rockets and heavy weapons and unconfirmed reports said they succeeded in breaking the prison wall and helping some of their jailed colleagues escape. . The British-era central prison located close to Dawn’s district correspondent’s office has the capacity to house thousands of inmates and had around 250 militants affiliated to the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan and Lashkar-i-Jhangvi. Militants attacked the prison with rocket propelled grenades and heavy machine guns, leading to a series of deafening sounds of bomb explosions and staccato of gunfire. There were between 30 and 40 explosions. It was not immediately clear if suicide bombers were also involved in the attack. But the explosions continued for some time amid reports that jail guards did return fire to protect the prison. A senior security official told Dawn in Peshawar on phone from Dera Ismail Khan that militants had attacked the prison and that the military and police had been called in to secure the area. The security official quoting eye witnesses said that around 40 militants had attacked the prison located in the middle of the city in a thickly-populated area. He said witnesses claimed having seen some prisoners escape. “Firing is continuing,” the official said. “Yes, some prisoners have escaped,” he added. “But we wouldn’t know the exact number unless we secure the prison and do a head-count.” Unconfirmed reports said the military was trying to get closer to the prison and secure it but it was not clear if they had managed to get inside the prison compound. The attack came a day after some inmates inside the prison snatched rifles from guards and escaped. The district police officer later acknowledged the escape but claimed that all 10 of those who had escaped had been recaptured. Dera Ismail Khan sits close to the restive South Waziristan tribal region bifurcated by the semi-autonomous Frontier Region Jandola. This is the second large-scale attack by militants on central jail in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Militants had attacked central prison in neighbouring Bannu district in April last year, freeing hundreds of inmates, including Adnan Rashid, a former Pakistan Air Force official and mastermind behind the assassination attempt on former president Gen Pervez Musharraf. Adnan has since joined the TTP and is believed to be in North Waziristan heading a group called Ansarul Aseer. He had released a video early this year, pledging to free all militants held in Pakistani prisons and made target jail officials for their “inhuman” treatment.
Comfortable victory likely for Mamnoon By Iftikhar A. Khan ISLAMABAD, July 29: In the presidential election that has become controversial by the PPP boycott, PML-N’s candidate Mamnoon Hussain appears to emerge as clear winner on Tuesday.. About 148 of the 674 electoral votes would not be polled because of the boycott by the PPP, ANP, PML-Q, BNP-A and AML. After the last-minute decision of the QWP of Aftab Sherpao and the PML-Q’s Balochistan chapter to vote for Mr Hussain, the PML-N is likely to bag 414 votes – in the event of 100 per cent turnout. If the JUI-F also decides to vote for the PML-N candidate his tally will go up to 448. Of the 520 votes expected to be polled, the PML-N will require 263 votes to win – a target the party is now in a position to achieve with its own 281 electoral votes. The MQM, PML-F, PkMAP, QWP, NPP, NP, PML-Z, AJIP, JQM and independents will also support Mr Hussain. Even if the JUI-F, BNP-M, APML and MWMP, which collectively have 38 electoral votes, decide to support the PTI its candidate retired justice Wajihuddin Ahmad may not poll more than 200 votes.The voting will take place simultaneously at a joint sitting of the two houses of parliament in Islamabad and in the provincial assemblies in Lahore, Karachi, Quetta and Peshawar. An official of the Election Commission of Pakistan said on Monday that under Article 12 of the second schedule, the election would be held by a secret ballot. Chief Election Commissioner Fakhruddin G. Ebrahim has directed all presiding officers to ensure that the secrecy of the ballot was not violated. He said the voters would not be allowed to enter the polling area carrying mobile phones or any other electronic device through which pictures could be taken. He said the names of voters will be called out in alphabetical order. Soon after receiving the ballot paper, the voter would be required to proceed to the place reserved for marking the ballot paper with a cross against the name of a candidate with a copying pencil to be provided by the presiding officer. He said any mark other than a cross would nullify the vote. He said a ballot paper shall be invalidated if it carried any name, word or mark by which the voter might be identified; if it does not contain initials of the presiding officer; and if it does not contain any mark or if a mark is placed against the names of more than one candidate. He said the voter should carry with him the identity card issued by the secretariat of the respective house and produce it if asked by the presiding officer to prove his identity. Before the commencement of polling, a candidate may appoint not more than one agent for observing voting and counting by giving a notice in writing to the presiding officer. Any person who fails to obey any lawful orders of the presiding officer may immediately, by the order of the presiding officer, be removed from the place of polling and the person so removed shall not, without the permission of the presiding officer, re-enter the place. Immediately before the commencement of the poll, the presiding officer shall ensure that the ballot box to be used is empty, show the ballot box to the candidates or their agents, close and seal the ballot box so that its slit is open and place the ballot box within his sight for the purpose of polling.
PPP’s boycott has set a bad precedent: Nawaz By Khawar Ghumman ISLAMABAD, July 29: Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif criticised the main opposition PPP on Monday for boycotting the presidential election and said the party which was ruling the country till the other day had set a bad precedent and its leaders would surely regret in the years to come for having taken the decision. . “Throughout the PPP’s tenure, we supported the government and in the process was branded friendly opposition by our critics. Now look at them, what they are doing with us, creating an issue out of non-issue,” a PML-N lawmaker quoted Mr Sharif as saying at a meeting of the party’s parliamentary committee held at the Parliament House. He said the PPP had taken this decision on ‘flimsy grounds and without the controversy triggered by it the country would have witnessed for the first time a truly smooth and trouble-free democratic transition. He praised the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf for its decision to participate in the election and fill the vacuum created by the withdrawal of nomination papers by PPP candidate Senator Raza Rabbani. The May 11 elections were held on time despite the fact that the security situation was extremely bad at that time. No political party had boycotted the general elections, he said, adding that the PPP had no ‘genuine reason’ to boycott the presidential election. All parties should uphold and take democratic principles forward. “We have left behind the politics of the late 1980s and 90s which was largely based on vendetta,” an official handout quoted the prime minister as saying. With tomorrow’s election, a new president will be stepping into the shoes of his predecessor and this should have been taken in the right spirit by opposition parties. “Democratic era has arrived and we have to move on this path steadfastly and with the courage by upholding the sanctity of the ballot box,” Mr Sharif said. He said PML-N nominee Mamnoon Hussein was a man of integrity and commitment and was fully capable of holding the office of the president. His election will add to respect and dignity of the party, its allies and the nation. The prime minister expressed the hope that after his election Mr Hussein would meet the nation’s expectations. Mr Sharif directed his party’s legislators to reach the assemblies on time to cast their vote. Addressing the meeting, Mr Hussein said the office of the president was the symbol of federation. He pledged to serve the country and its people. Prime Minister Sharif also briefed the meeting on his recent visit to China and said implementation of the agreements signed by the two countries would turn out to be a game-changer for Pakistan and the region. He underlined the importance of improving the security situation in the country and said the economic growth and improved law and order went hand in hand. Good security situation boosts economy, attracts foreign investment and promotes development. Water and Power Minister Khawaja Asif briefed the meeting on the energy situation and outlined broad contours of the national energy policy.
Talks with insurgents soon, says Baloch By Amanullah Kasi QUETTA, July 29: A committee comprising elected representatives and tribal elders would be constituted to initiate dialogue with separatists and religious extremists for peacefully resolving the Balochistan issue, Chief Minister Dr Abdul Malik Baloch said in the provincial assembly on Monday. . Answering legislators’ questions, he said the committee would contact the militants soon after Eid. The chief minister said all unlawful checkpoints of the Frontier Corps, police and Levies in the province would be abolished, but posts suggested by legislators and deputy commissioners for their areas would remain. He said he would discuss with the federal government the abolition of unnecessary FC posts. He said there had been increasing incidence of bribery at the posts and this corruption should end and problems people faced there should be solved. The chief minister condemned the recent killing of coastal guards by militants in Gwadar and assassination in Turbat of a nephew of Mir Jan Mohammad Buledi, the spokesman of the provincial government. He said his government was also looking into complaints about bribery at police stations.He said honest and senior police officers would be posted in district headquarters and they would be required to curb corruption. Dr Baloch said shortage of electricity was a serious problem being faced by farmers and other people in the province and the issue would be resolved in cooperation with the federal government.
SC, ECP come under fire in parliament By Raja Asghar & Amir Wasim ISLAMABAD, July 29: Both the Supreme Court and the Election Commission came under opposition fire in parliament on Monday for a perceived wrong done in cutting short the schedule for presidential election due on Tuesday, with some upper house members demanding that Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry and Chief Election Commissioner Fakhruddin G. Ebrahim resign.. In simultaneous one-day sessions of the National Assembly and Senate, the PPP, which has boycotted the controversial election and withdrawn the candidature of Senator Raza Rabbani, its nominee for the country’s top, but figurehead, office, led the attack on both political and legal grounds against what some leading figures of the main opposition party called a “tyrannical” violation of the constitution and rigging. Lawmakers of the PPP and some smaller allied parties, who wore black armbands as a mark of protest against the Supreme Court’s July 26 order for the election commission to advance the polling date to July 30 from August 6, walked out of the National Assembly after speeches by two opposition figures and a minister, but stayed on in the Senate before both the houses were prorogued after about two hours of sitting. The PPP and its allies will not vote in Tuesday’s presidential election beginning at parliament and the four provincial assemblies at 10am, which the PML-N nominee, Mamnoon Hussain, a Karachi businessman, is sure to win with a big majority against a former Supreme Court judge Wajihuddin Ahmed, candidate of the Pakistan Tehrik-i-Insaf, which has preferred to stay in the race for what it called advancing the democratic process, though it endorsed the alleged lapses blamed by the PPP on the election commission and the apex court. In the absence of opposition leader Khurshid Ahmed Shah from the lower house owing to the death of a sister in Sukkur on Sunday, PPP parliamentary leader Amin Fahim mounted only a low-pitched attack there, mainly targeting the PML-N for going to the Supreme Court to get the election schedule abridged on some controversial religious grounds and a three-judge bench for doing just that in single hearing without hearing other parties, but he seemed soft on the election commission, accusing it only of showing weakness. But the fireworks were more resounding in the Senate, where an opening lambaste by Senator Rabbani was followed by strong assault by opposition leader Aitzaz Ahsan against what he saw as illegal and unconstitutional orders of the judiciary and demands for the chief justice and the chief election commissioner to resign from their office. BOMBSHELL: Acknowledging the numerical superiority of the ruling party and its allies in the existing 674-vote electoral college of the two houses of parliament and four provincial assemblies, Mr Fahim said the PPP had just begun campaigning for its candidate when “all of a sudden a bombshell” came in the form of the Supreme Court order for curtailing the election schedule on a petition from PML-N chairman Senator Raja Zafarul Haq on grounds that August 6 would be too close to Eidul Fitr and many lawmakers at the time were likely to be in Saudi Arabia for Umra or confined to mosques in ‘aitkaf’ (prayers in seclusion).
Mamnoon accuses PPP of exerting pressure on judiciary By Our Staff Reporter LAHORE, July 29: The PML-N’s presidential candidate, Mamnoon Husain, alleged on Monday that the PPP had boycotted the election in a bid to bring the judiciary under pressure. . Talking to reporters at the Lahore airport, he said the boycott was aimed at putting pressure on the judiciary before it took up (corruption) cases against the PPP leadership. He said the PPP leadership knew that since there was ample evidence, the court’s verdicts could be against them. Hence, as a pre-emptive measure, they have started maligning the judiciary. He said the PPP should have contested the election for the sake of continuity of democracy. Staying away from the process is not a good precedent. The former Sindh governor, who had come to the city to address a meeting of the PML-N’s parliamentary party in the Punjab Assembly, claimed that he enjoyed majority in all electoral houses and was sure to win the election. Mr Hussain said he would try to be a symbol of federation and prefer to be known as president of the whole country. In reply to a question, he said one must work under a system instead of accepting dictation or coming under pressure. Asked about the fate of condemned prisoners, he said he would not forgive anyone who had been handed down a verdict after due legal process. But he hastened to add that since the execution of condemned prisoners had become quite an issue, he would take civil society and other quarters concerned on board before taking a decision. At least 400 condemned prisoners in different jails are waiting for a decision about their fate after President Asif Ali Zardari kept pending all mercy petitions during his five-year term in the presidency. The last PPP government had given a commitment to the international community that it would not undertake any execution during its tenure. Addressing the parliamentary party’s meeting, Mr Husain said he would discharge his duty in accordance with the constitution. “It is a good omen that the democratic process is being accomplished in a democratic way,” he added.
Kerry’s visit may bring major developments By Baqir Sajjad Syed ISLAMABAD, July 29: The Pakistani government is expecting important announcements, including resumption of ministerial-level bilateral strategic dialogue, by US Secretary of State John Kerry when he finally reaches here on July 31.. Secretary Kerry’s official engagements, meanwhile, are scheduled for Aug 1. No official announcements about the visit have been made as yet because of security concerns. Mr Kerry’s visit was preceded by haggling over the schedule of the trip for days which made the trip look uncertain. However, an intense desire on both sides to meet ensured that they finally get to meet. Agenda priorities for Pakistan at talks with Secretary Kerry are economy and trade and revival of ministerial-level strategic dialogue, whereas the Americans are keen to get unconditional support from Islamabad for putting the stalemated Doha process (for reconciliation in Afghanistan) back on track and see fast-tracked normalisation of Pak-Afghan ties. Mr Kerry after his early morning meetings at the Foreign Office would visit Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif for further discussions after which a presser is being planned. Prime Minister Sharif wants to hold a joint media conference with Secretary Kerry, but the Foreign Office was reportedly opposing it. Up till now the plan is to hold the media conference at the Prime Minister House, but Adviser on Foreign Affairs and National Security Sartaj Aziz would stand with Mr Kerry instead of Mr Sharif. Sources say Mr Kerry would make a couple of major announcements, including resumption of strategic dialogue and economic support during the media interaction. He may also announce support for Diamer-Bhasha Dam. DRONE ATTACKS: The Foreign Office on Monday again warned the United States that continued drone attacks could affect bilateral ties. “These drone strikes have a negative impact on the mutual desire of both countries to forge a cordial and cooperative relationship.”
CCI to take up power dues deduction issue tomorrow By Khaleeq Kiani ISLAMABAD, July 29: Even though the provinces are sticking to their stance of not allowing at-source deduction of electricity arrears from their share in the divisible pool, a meeting of the Council of Common Interests (CCI) has been convened on Wednesday to find a way to end the deadlock. . At a recent meeting of federal secretaries for finance and the Prime Minister’s Secretariat and provincial chief secretaries presided over by Prime Minister’s Special Assistant Dr Mussadik Malik, the provinces had insisted that the federal government and its distribution companies should improve their efficiency and reduce line losses instead of mixing up the functions of two constitutional forums — the CCI and the National Finance Commission (NFC) — for narrow objectives. A senior government official said the provincial governments had suggested some changes in the energy policy and Dr Mussadik Malik promised to incorporate the suggestions into the policy to be presented to the CCI on Wednesday for approval. The meeting will be presided over by the prime minister. The federal government suggested that 90 per cent of bills should be recovered through at-source deduction. It should be scaled down to 50pc and the rest adjusted against final reconciliation of dues. “The provinces are not ready to allow any at-source deduction,” a provincial representative told Dawn. The provincial governments say that the responsibility of NFC is quite different from that of the CCI and as such the issue of electricity dues should not be discussed at the CCI level. Divisible pool transfers under the NFC are sacrosanct and protected by the constitution and, therefore, the government should not sow seeds of acrimony between the provinces and the centre. The provinces said they did not oppose the action against gas and electricity theft but suggested to the federal government to seek independent legal opinion if punishments proposed in the act were in line with basic principles of jurisprudence. They are of the opinion that a maximum punishment of 14 years imprisonment and Rs10 million fine may create problems because with maximum imprisonment the amount of fine is usually kept nominal so that the period of imprisonment is not increased significantly in case of non-payment of the fine. The Sindh government urged the centre that while making a shift in energy mix from oil and gas to coal it should keep in mind that conversion of generation companies should be based on specifications of Thar coal because this resource of Sindh is going to play a key role in the shift. The province was of the opinion that since 71pc of gas and almost 50pc of oil were produced by Sindh it made all the more sense to restrict specifications of generation companies to that of Thar coal so that coal-based generation became feasible for 20 years and beyond.
PSO MD sacked after inquiry By Our Staff Reporter ISLAMABAD, July 29: The government fired on Monday Naeem Yahya Mir, managing director of Pakistan State Oil, and appointed Amjad Parvez Janjua in his place on a temporary basis.. A former Kuwait Petroleum Company consultant, Mr Mir was hired by the then prime minister Yousuf Raza Gilani in December 2011 and his contract was valid until July next year, according to a PSO spokesperson. The decision came following completion of an inquiry into the affairs of the company. According to a notification issued by the petroleum ministry, the charge was immediately handed over to Mr Janjua – currently working as the company’s Executive Director and Senior General Manager – for three months ‘or until further orders’, whichever comes first. The government had already advertised the post of PSO managing director along with other public sector companies in the energy sector. Mr Janjua headed the Asia Petroleum – a subsidiary of the PSO – before he was moved to the oil company by outgoing managing director Mr Mir to replace Yaqub Suttar who is now heading the APL. He previously worked for the World Business Council for Sustainable Development, Geneva, as senior adviser and as a member of the advisory committee of the World Economic Forum Global Corporate Citizenship Initiative. He has postgraduate qualification and advanced training from the University of Glasgow, University of Pennsylvania, Harvard and Oxford. He has also worked with the World Bank and the Scottish Enterprise UK. Early last month, the government had ordered an investigation into financial and administrative affairs of the company. A petroleum ministry spokesman had said that a special audit and inquiry into internal controls of the company had been ordered following complaints of irregularities. Some cases of the PSO, like a long-term $5 billion import deal and quality of petroleum products, particularly furnace oil, being marketed or supplied had been taken up by the National Accountability Bureau and the Supreme Court previously.
Rawalpindi’s famous hotel to be handed over to Punjab By Syed Irfan Raza ISLAMABAD, July 29: The government is set to start the process of handing over assets of the Pakistan Tourism Development Corporation free of cost to the provinces.. Sources told Dawn on Monday that a meeting would be held at Flashman Hotel in Rawalpindi to hand it over to Punjab on Tuesday. It was decided earlier that the process would be started from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa by handing it PTDC assets and resorts, but it appeared that the decision has been changed to please the PML-N government in Punjab. According to sources, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif had taken a notice of media reports two weeks ago about starting the process without evaluation of PTDC assets and ordered the authorities concerned to adopt a proper procedure. Then Finance Minister Ishaq Dar put the PTDC on the list of state entities to be privatised after getting approval from the Council of Common Interests. But it appears that the ministry of inter-provincial coordination (IPC) has ignored the directive of the prime minister as well as the decision of the finance minister and decided to hand over PTDC assets to the provinces. A senior official of the IPC ministry, Furqan Bahadur, who is serving as acting Managing Director of the PTDC, said: “I am busy somewhere, please call me tomorrow.” According to a document of the IPC ministry, a meeting of the PTDC board has decided that a liquidator will be appointed to evaluate the worth of corporation’s assets spread all over the country after making adjustments of their current liabilities, including financial dues of employees like gratuity, leave encashment, provident fund and other benefits to the deceased and retiring employees. It was decided earlier that after evaluation under the companies ordinance, the corporation will be wound up accordingly prior to the transfer of its properties to the provinces. If the decision of the IPC ministry is implemented, the KP will benefit most because majority of the PTDC resorts are located in the province. IPC ministry’s Secretary Faridullah Khan had earlier said the PTDC resorts and other assets were being handed over because of pressure being exerted by the provinces. He said that only administrative control of PTDC assets would be given to the provinces and their value would be calculated later so that their cost could be obtained from the provinces. After passage of the 18th Amendment, the tourism ministry was devolved, but the fate of PTDC, its assets and employees remained undecided. The IPC ministry had brought out an advertisement in print media for the appointment of a liquidator, but the process was not completed. Surprisingly, the decision of the PTDC board was bulldozed by its secretary, Zaffarullah Siddiqui, at a meeting held in the IPC ministry on July 4. It was decided that no liquidator would be appointed and the properties/assets of the PTDC will immediately be handed over to provinces on geographical basis.
No alliance with MQM: Sana By Our Staff Reporter LAHORE, July 29: Punjab Law Minister Rana Sanaullah Khan has said that PML-N has not changed its stance on the MQM despite the visit of a party’s delegation to the MQM headquarters to seek support for its presidential candidate Mamnoon Hussain.. Talking to a TV channel on Monday, Mr Sanaullah said PML-N had not changed its views about the MQM as the case of bogus voting in Karachi was still pending with the Election Commission. He denied the PML-N had entered into an alliance with the MQM. Meanwhile, federal Information Minister Pervaiz Rashid rejected Mr Sanaullah’s remarks about the MQM and said they were not in conformity with the official stance of the PML-N. He said MQM enjoyed confidence of the masses since long and the PML-N respected its mandate. He asked the MQM leadership not to let the remarks hurt relations between the two parties, adding that Mr Sanaullah had been directed to support the reconciliation process with the MQM.
Mamnoon elected with ease, but with a blemish By Raja Asghar ISLAMABAD, July 30: The nominee of the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-N, Mamnoon Hussain, won the presidential election on Tuesday with ease, but with a blemish due to a boycott led by the largest opposition party that may rankle during his five-year term beginning in September. . Mr Hussain, a 73-year-old Karachi businessman, secured 432 votes of an existing 674-vote parliamentary electoral college against just 77 of opposition Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) candidate Wajihuddin Ahmed in polling held at parliament in Islamabad and in four provincial assemblies. The Pakistan Peoples Party and four smaller parties boycotted the election for the country’s 12th president over a controversial Supreme Court order carried out by the Election Commission to advance the polling date by a week from August 6 to July 30 on a ruling party’s petition without hearing other parties. The PPP withdrew its candidate, Senator Rabbani, from the contest while three of its allies in the previous PPP-led coalition government -- Awami National Party, Pakistan Muslim League-Q, Balochistan National Party-Awami -- as well as the usually anti-PPP Awami Muslim League of former information minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed joined the boycott, though PML-Q members in the Balochistan Assembly cast their votes because of the party’s alliance with the PML-N-backed provincial government there. The vote came a day after strong PPP-led protests in the National Assembly and the Senate where both the Supreme Court and the Election Commission came under fire, with some members of the upper house demanding that Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry and Chief Election Commissioner Fakhruddin G. Ebrahim resign for the alleged wrongs done in curtailing the campaign time on PML-N grounds that the original polling date of Aug 6 would have been be too close to Eidul Fitr and that many lawmakers at the time would be in Saudi Arabia for the non-obligatory Umra pilgrimage or confined to secluded ‘Aitkaf’ prayers. Mr Ebrahim, a former Supreme Court judge, like the PTI candidate, seemed undeterred by the protesters’ demand for his resignation as he came to the Parliament House for a while to witness some of the most listless voting at a combined session of the National Assembly and the Senate where 314 of the total 426 existing votes of the two houses -- with 19 seats of the 342-seat lower house and one of the 104-seat upper house being vacant -- were cast. While three votes of the two houses were declared invalid, the remaining 112 members did not turn up, apparently due to the boycott. The result of the polling at the Parliament House, announced by Islamabad High Court Chief Justice Anwar Kasi as the presiding officer, gave Mamnoon Hussain 277 votes and Wajihuddin Ahmed 33. Unlike the enthusiasm witnessed during previous presidential elections at the same venue of the National Assembly chamber, general visitors’ galleries were empty and most lawmakers, including those of the ruling party, left the house after casting their votes, though some hectic activity was seen when, after a long wait, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif came to the house to cast his vote just 10 minutes before the close of polling at 3pm. But while the prime minister stayed in the house until the victory of his party’s candidate at the Parliament House voting was announced, PTI chairman Imran Khan, who too came quite late in the day, betrayed an apparent lack of sportsman’s spirit -- despite being a former cricket hero -- as he left the chamber with all his party members much earlier without hearing the bad news about his party’s candidate who too was not seen around. Some desk-thumping cheers by the ruling coalition members rang out in the hall, in a scene that was a far cry from resounding ‘jeay Bhutto’ chants from packed visitors’ galleries and much more vociferous cheers by PPP lawmakers when Asif Ali Zardari was elected president on Sept 6, 2008, with 479 of the then 702-vote electoral college against 153 of the then PML-N candidate, former Supreme Court judge Salimuzzaman Siddiqi, and 44 of PML-Q’s Mushahid Hussain. The chief justices of the four provinces, who acted as presiding officers at their respective provincial assemblies, announced the polling results there while a consolidated result was announced by the chief election commissioner later at a brief news conference at the Election Commission. The presence in the house of the PML-N candidate, who is due to assume office on Sept 9, a day after Mr Zardari becomes the first elected president to completes his five-year term, encouraged speculation about the future relationship of the new president with opposition parties. As Mr Hussain sat next to Mr Sharif when the prime minister stayed in the house, speculation was rife in the corridors of parliament about whether the opposition parties would at some stage close the chapter of the present controversy about the presidential election or chant hostile slogans whenever the next president addresses parliament as had happened with former presidents Pervez Musharraf, Farooq Leghari and Ghulam Ishaq Khan. There were queues of voters when polling began at about 10.15am with two separate booths set up for National Assembly members and one for senators to mark their ballot before inserting them into a single ballot box. But there was only sporadic voting later in the day with quite long gaps when the polling staff sat idle when no voters were in the house.
Zardari, Nawaz felicitate president-elect By Syed Irfan Raza ISLAMABAD: Notwithstanding PPP’s boycott of the presidential election, President Asif Ali Zardari, who is co-chairman of the party, felicitated Mamnoon Hussain on Tuesday on his election as the 12th president of the country. . “In his message of felicitation President Zardari wished the president-elect well in the discharge of his responsibilities as head of the federation,” president’s spokesman Senator Farhatullah Babar said. He said the election of new president was another major step towards smooth transfer of power in a democratic dispensation which was a good augury for democracy. “All our efforts should be geared towards strengthening democracy and the federation,” President Zardari said. Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif also congratulated Mr Hussain and expressed the hope that he would come up to people’s expectations and the trust that their representatives had reposed in him. PTI chairman Imran Khan also felicitated the president-elect but expressed concern over the change of schedule of the election and termed it non-transparent. Mr Khan said in a statement: “President is a symbol of federation and we hope that Mamnoon Hussain will rise above his political affiliation while performing his duties as head of the state.” MQM chief Altaf Hussain also felicitated the newly elected president and Mr Sharif.
JUI-F may get two ministries By Amir Wasim ISLAMABAD, July 30: The JUI-F’s strategy to delay till last minute its decision to support PML-N’s nominee Mamnoon Hussain in the presidential election is going to pay it with two posts in the federal cabinet, Dawn has learnt. . Although the Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-F officially denies having any “underhand deal” with the ruling PML-N, sources in the two parties said the PML-N had agreed to offer two ministries to the religious party as a reward for its support. Talking to reporters outside the Parliament House, JUI-F chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman claimed that his party had extended “unconditional support” to Mr Hussain and the issue of cabinet positions had not been discussed. But later in a statement issued in the evening, he said: “The party will submit the names for the cabinet at an appropriate time.” Justifying the delay in decision to support Mr Hussain, the Maulana said his party only wanted to register its reservations over the “ruling party’s attitude” of not taking its allies into confidence on issues of national importance. The sources in the two parties said Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif had asked the Maulana to propose two names from his party for the federal cabinet. They said the JUI-F had been offered the ministry of communications while negotiations were pending on the second ministry. The JUI-F is also expected to get the chairmanships of some important standing committees. A source in the party said Maulana Fazl had already nominated former Khyber Pakhtunkhwa chief minister Akram Durrani for one of the cabinet slots while the other name was being finalised. Meanwhile, in a statement issued by JUI-F spokesman Jan Achakzai on Tuesday evening, the Maulana denied that his party had struck any deal with the PML-N and said it had complained to the PML-N that it had been kept in the dark on a number of important issues like the prime minister’s visit to China, sharing of intelligence briefing on security matters and the ruling party’s recent understanding with the Muttahida Qaumi Movement. The JUI-F chief said his party was unhappy over the PML-N’s decision to nominate Mr Hussain without consulting it. The JUI-F actually wanted to warn the PML-N of the situation in Balochistan where the chief minister had failed to even constitute his cabinet for two months, the Maulana said. As far as the federal cabinet is concerned, he added, the JUI-F was not in a hurry and would submit its names at an appropriate time. He also said the JUI-F and the PML-N had an agreement on priorities and both parties would strive to ensure their implementation through policies of the government. He also congratulated president-elect Mamnoon Hussain and expressed the hope that he would be a “neutral president”. The JUI-F had previously supported the PML-N in the elections for the speaker and deputy speaker of the National Assembly and the prime minister. MQM: Talking to reporters after casting his vote, MQM’s parliamentary leader Dr Farooq Sattar said his party would support every positive and good decision of the PML-N government while remaining in the opposition. He said the MQM had extended unconditional support for Mamnoon Hussain after he visited the party’s headquarters in Karachi. The doors of “Nine Zero” are open to everyone, he added. Mr Sattar said the office of the president represented the federation and, therefore, it should not be made controversial. He stressed the need for devising a “national anti-terror policy”.
248 inmates escape after jail attack By Irfan Mughal DERA ISMAIL KHAN, July 30: Twelve people, including five policemen, were killed and 13 others injured after over one hundred heavily armed militants stormed the central jail here on Monday night, leading to the escape of 248 prisoners.. Authorities clamped a curfew in Dera Ismail Khan and plugged exit points leading to the tribal region to look for suspects and escaping prisoners. But police said that the search yielded just a handful of prisoners and no arrests were made. A spokesman for the outlawed Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan, Shahidullah Shahid, said the attack was carried out by TTP militants and claimed that more than 200 of its inmates had been freed from the prison. Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Pervez Khattak has ordered a joint investigation by civil and military officials and asked them to submit a report within 15 days. Inspector General of Police Ihsan Ghani has suspended the superintendent of police and DSP of Elite Force along with 27 policemen for negligence of duty. He formed the joint probe committee comprising senior member revenue Waqar Ayoub, additional IGP special branch Syed Akhtar Ali Shah, special secretary home and a representative of 11 Corps. The committee will submit its report to the government within 15 days. Talking to newsmen in the KP Assembly after casting his vote in the presidential election on Tuesday, Chief Minister Pervez Khattak said the Dera jailbreak incident was a major failure of intelligence agencies and the provincial home and tribal affairs department. He said stern action would be taken against those found guilty of negligence. In reply to a question about the number of hardened criminals who escaped from the jail, Mr Khattak said there were 30 to 35 “most wanted persons” among the 250 prisoners who had escaped. A security official said that a group of 60 to 65 militants led the frontal assault on the central prison, while another group of 10 to 15 entered the jail and dynamited the cells and barracks to free their men after ascertaining their identities through megaphones. He said another group of 20 to 25 militants comprising Chechens, Uzbeks and Afghans had set up pickets in various parts of Dera Ismail Khan city to facilitate the main group in approaching the target and securing their exit. “No resistance was offered by prison police. Only one guard at the rooftop opened fire,” the official said. “The main militant group involved in the assault has reached South Waziristan,” he said, citing intelligence reports. “A large number of those who have escaped are still believed to be inside the city,” he said. “It was a tactical failure,” the official said. “The Elite Police had been assigned certain tasks in view of the intelligence received, but when the time came they failed to respond.” The official warned that an attack on Haripur jail could be in the offing. Militants convicted in Gen Musharraf and former prime minister Shaukat Aziz assassination attempts cases are in the prison. “Intelligence has been shared with KP,” he said. The TTP militants, equipped with sophisticated weapons, came in seven flying coaches and dozens of motorcycles, launching a three-pronged attack on the jail at 11:22pm. The shootout continued for three hours.
CEC tried to set aside apex court order By Iftikhar A. Khan ISLAMABAD, July 30: Chief Election Commissioner retired Justice Fakhruddin G. Ebrahim was displeased by the Supreme Court’s decision to change the presidential poll schedule and went to the extent of making an abortive attempt to set aside the verdict on the day he scrutinised the candidates’ nomination papers.. According to an official of the commission, the CEC had written a note declaring the court’s decision an attack on the independence of the ECP. He wanted his fellow members to endorse the note and decide that the election would be held in accordance with the original schedule announced by the commission. But the move was not supported by three (of the four) available members who were of the view that the ECP should have taken that stand during the hearing of PML-N leader Raja Zafarul Haq’s petition seeking change in the election schedule. An official said the time for scrutiny of the nomination papers was extended twice by the CEC in the hope that he would be able to persuade the members to support his point of view. Under the Second Schedule of the constitution, the ECP is to conduct election to the office of president with the CEC as the returning officer. It is for the CEC to fix the time and place for depositing nomination papers, holding scrutiny, making withdrawals and holding the poll, by public notification. The official said that under Article 41(4) of the constitution, the election was to be held not earlier than 60 days and not later than 30 days before the expiry of the term of the president in office. He said the CEC firmly held that the schedule announced by the commission was in conformity with the relevant constitutional provisions and did not like the change in it made by the Supreme Court at the eleventh hour. “This was seen by the CEC as an encroachment into the domain of the ECP by the apex court mandated under the constitution to interpret the constitution.” He said the decision had come two days after the ECP had rejected a similar government plea for amending the schedule. He pointed out that the ECP had clarified its position after the SC verdict, saying that any aggrieved party should approach the court because it was not a decision of the ECP. The official said the CEC was disappointed by the ‘weakness’ demonstrated by the members of the commission and believed that it was tantamount to surrendering the powers given to the commission by the constitution. The official claimed that Justice Ebrahim was considering to resign in protest because he found it difficult to work with such members.
CCI to discuss new draft of power policy By Sohail Iqbal Bhatti ISLAMABAD, July 30: At a meeting of the Council of Common Interests (CCI) to be held on Wednesday the government will present an amended draft of its energy policy, now renamed as the National Power Policy, 2013. It proposes to offer uninterrupted, albeit expensive, supply of electricity. The policy first moved at a CCI meeting on July 23 and referred to an inter-provincial committee.. The new draft, a copy of which is available with DawnNews, has a number of new proposals that were not in the earlier draft. The policy recommends a raise in power tariff ranging from Rs3 to 7 per unit for different categories of consumers. The policy proposes a reduction in the use of gas in transport sector, increase in CNG price and a raise in power and gas tariff for all sectors, except the poor domestic consumers. The policy proposes uninterrupted power supply at higher rates to commercial and industrial consumers and to those who can afford generators. After paying the required charges to power distribution companies (Discos) or National Transmission Dispatch Company (NTDC), the generation companies would be able to provide uninterrupted supply to the private sector. Under the new policy, power tariff would stay at Rs10/unit till 2017. Although the new draft does not mention the ratio of increase in the prices of electricity and gas, officials of petroleum and power ministries indicate that the power tariff will be increased by Rs3 to 7 per unit for all consumers except the poor domestic consumers and the increase in CNG price will range between Rs20 to 35 per kg. A raise in gas tariff ranging from Rs100 to Rs600/mmbtu for all except small domestic consumers will also be made. The gas tariff for fertiliser, industrial and commercial sectors and for captive power plants will be at par with the price of furnace oil. The new policy also suggests diversion of gas to the power sector. A 10 per cent gas diversion can generate 2,000MW of electricity. The government is reported to be actively considering innovative business models, including various wholesale business models supported by wheeling charges. These models will likely allow generation companies to sell electricity to NTDC, Discos and the private sector. Successful implementation of these models will encourage rapid investments in power generation and take generation closer to load centres. Significant efforts will be made for building medium- and long-term hydel capacity. Six projects of 388MW hydel power are expected to be completed by February 2015. The smaller Patrind and Gulpur hydropower projects are expected to be completed by December 2017 and will add 247MW to the grid. An additional 969MW is anticipated from the Neelum-Jhelum HPP (hydropower project) by November 2016. A number of hydel projects are expected to come online in 2017, including the fourth and fifth Tarbela expansions which have the potential to add 1,910MW (1,410MW in fourth expansion, 500MW in the fifth). The government is expected to announce a ‘coal corridor’ with a capacity to generate 6000-7000MW in near future.
17 burnt alive after coach-truck collision By Nasir Iqbal Khattak KARAK, July 30: At least 17 passengers were burnt alive when a coach caught fire after colliding with a truck on the Indus Highway here on Tuesday. . According to witnesses, gas cylinder of the coach going to Peshawar from Dera Ismail Khan exploded after the collision near Amberi Kalla Chowk. The truck was loaded with mangoes. Khalid Khattak, an eyewitness, told Dawn that none of the passengers could find time to get out of the coach and escape the inferno. The driver and cleaner of the truck fled the scene after the accident. Local people rushed to the area and tried to rescue the passengers from the burning coach. But they failed to do so and helplessly saw the passengers burning alive inside the coach. Police with the help of local people retrieved the charred bodies and moved them to hospitals in Karak. Most of the bodies were burnt beyond recognition.
Jailbreak: it wasn’t an intelligence failure for once By Ismail Khan IF it was for intelligence information, Dera Ismail Khan’s Central Prison debacle should not have happened.. On July 27, a letter marked “secret” and “most immediate” by the country’s intelligence agency addressed to the commissioner, deputy commissioner, deputy inspector general of police, district police officer and the superintendent of Dera Ismail Khan central jail, stated: “It has been reliably learnt that miscreants namely Umer Khitab and his associates affiliated with Gandapur Group/TTP are planning to carry out terrorist attack against Central Jail – Dera Ismail Khan on the pattern similar to Bannu jailbreak in near future. According to information, miscreants are in possession of sketch/map of Jail and have reached in the vicinity of Dera Ismail Khan for this purpose.” The letter went out the day skirmishes broke out inside the prison between prisoners and guards, which say some security officials, was probably the day the attack could have been launched. To ensure that the letter reached its destination, properly signed receipts were also obtained from offices of the respective officers mentioned in the letter. The warning was followed by another demarche to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa the following day, on July 28, from the National Crisis Management Cell, Ministry of Interior, Islamabad. The letter marked “secret” and “most immediate” “Threat Alert 699” said: “It has been learnt through reliable source that Umer Khitab, along with TTP elements, are planning to carry out Bannu jailbreak-like attack on Dera Ismail Khan Central Prison and for this purpose, the group has reached the vicinity of Dera Ismail Khan.” The letter went to the KP Home Secretary, Peshawar, Provincial Police Officer, Additional Chief Secretary Fata, Inspector General of Frontier Corps, Inspector General, Prison, KP and Commandant Frontier Constabulary, KP, Peshawar. To reinforce the urgency of the matter further, officers were again warned through text messages on Sunday to take appropriate security measures. As a consequence, civil and military officers visited the prison to work out a security plan. The home secretary followed up on the threat. On July 29, hours before the most audacious attack on the prison located in the middle of a populated area, the Dera commissioner held a conference of all law-enforcement agencies and the civil administration to discuss the issue. The intelligence was not merely confined to information about gathering of militants in Dera. The administration was warned that militants would be launching a three-pronged attack from Sabzi Mandi, Girls Degree College and Town Hall where they parked their 14 vehicles. Also, the administration was told that militants might blow up power transmission line to cause a blackout and they were in possession of night vision goggles. Additionally, they were told that the convergence of hardcore militants in 12-A Barrack inside the prison was a recipe for disaster and that immediate steps be taken for their dispersal. As it happened, 105 jail guards and 75 men from the Frontier Reserve Police (FRP) were least prepared to forestall the ferocious attack with rocket-propelled grenades, time devices, other explosives and heavy firearms. The attack took place at around 11.30pm and went on till 2am – three hours with one hour inside the jail compound. The militants equipped with megaphones called out names of their brothers-in-faith and broke open their cells with explosive devices, all the while raising slogans of Allah-o-Akbar and TTP Zindabad. Then they went on a slaughtering spree, beheading four inmates, taking away heads of two of them. In all, by the last count, 248 prisoners have escaped, among them 30 hardcore militants, including Qari Asif and Khalil, the group involved in bombing in Dera Ismail Khan that had left 25 mourners dead on the ninth and tenth of Muharram last year. Law-enforcement agencies scrambled and the army was called in but what they found in pitched darkness were bodies of the slain prison guards, slaughtered and beheaded inmates, a strong stench of explosives and smouldering lockups. The hundred or so militants, along with a horde of escaped prisoners, melted away amid the ensuing mayhem and confusion. The incident has thus become the biggest jailbreak in Pakistan’s history. NO LESSONS LEARNT: That no lessons were learnt from the Bannu jailbreak hardly comes as a surprise. Pakistanis as a nation, it appears, never learn from history, but what boggles the mind is that the administration would take its time to prepare for an assault which, it thought would come at a time of their choosing, said one official. They were upstaged by militants. The irony is, according to a senior official, the civil and military authorities had done mock exercises, assigned specific tasks and roles and worked out a clear standard operating procedure of who was to do what. “On paper everything was worked out meticulously to prepare for both day and night assault. It was a video game played out in real time,” the official said. What seems more bizarre, the minutes of the meeting presided over by the commissioner were properly recorded. “Everybody had taken the threat alert seriously,” the official said. Light machinegun-mounted armoured personnel carriers and mobiles of the Elite Police force were deployed and guards deployed on rooftops. But what happened was even more unbelievable. When the attack came, the mobiles disappeared along with the Elite force which was to stop the assault. The district police officer went to seek help from the brigade commander, but neither showed up. “The gun was there, but there was no one to pull the trigger,” an official said. There was no breach of wall of the prison. The main gate remains intact and the guard manning the gate told investigators that when he saw the militants blowing up the APC and when they approached the gate and ordered him to open it he had no option but to open it. The militants walked in, made announcements on the megaphones and took away their men. And to cap it all, the statements of the KP chief minister and his hand-picked Information Minister Shaukat Yousafzai that no intelligence was shared with KP on the Dera jail assault were brazenly misleading and untrue. “We could not have been more specific,” said an angry security official. It was incompetence and lack of preparedness, he said. The answer to Dera jail debacle was not setting up another intelligence agency within the police at a cost of Rs3 billion, as the PTI chairman said on Tuesday as clearly, the intelligence was there. It was a tactical failure. The Elite Police which had been assigned the task to guard the prison in view of the intelligence did not respond when the attack came. Neither was this an intelligence failure nor coordination failure. It was a failure of nerves and it all boils down to one stark reality: cowardice.
LHCBA demands reference against three judges By Our Staff Reporter LAHORE, July 30: A general house meeting of the Lahore High Court Bar Association adopted a resolution on Tuesday demanding presidential references against Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, Justice Jawad S. Khwaja and Justice Sheikh Azmat Saeed for their alleged violation of the constitution in their judgment on the election of the president. . Advocate Rashid Lodhi, an activist of PPP, moved the resolution which criticised the Supreme Court judgment directing the Election Commission to advance the date of presidential election by a week and hold it on July 30. Bar president Abid Saqi presented the resolution which was adopted with majority. Mr Saqi said the bar had always raised voice against both military and judicial dictators and for supremacy of the constitution. The house held that the presidential election conducted on the order of the Supreme Court had no sanctity of law or the constitution and the bar would not accept what it called a ‘dubious exercise’. It demanded that the chief election commissioner and all his provincial counterparts should immediately resign over their failure to hold the election on schedule given by the ECP. The house decided that the association would file references against the CJP and the other judges before the Supreme Judicial Council if the president failed to do so. Pakistan Bar Council vice-chairman Syed Kalbe Husain, Supreme Court Bar Association’s former president Asma Jahangir, LHCBA’s former president Ahmad Awais, Mian Jamil Akhtar and Rashid Lodhi spoke on the occasion and criticised the court’s verdict.
Policeman killed in attack on polio team By Saleem Shahid QUETTA, July 30: A policeman was killed when gunmen attacked a team administering polio drops to children in the Killi Tarata area of Pishin district on Tuesday. . The District Communications Officer of Unicef, Shamsullah Tareen, told journalists that assailants on a motorcycle opened fire on the team when volunteers were administering polio vaccine to children outside a house in Killi Tarata. “The gunmen came there and opened indiscriminate fire on the volunteers. Policeman Shah Mohammad, who was escorting the polio team, was wounded in the attack,” he said. Later, the policeman died on way to hospital. The volunteers remained unhurt. The attackers managed to escape. After the attack, anti-polio teams stopped their vaccination campaign in Pishin and Qila Abdullah districts.
Dejected Fakhru Bhai resigns as CEC By Iftikhar A. Khan ISLAMABAD, July 31: The controversy generated by advancing the schedule of the presidential election worsened on Wednesday as Chief Election Commissioner retired Justice Fakhruddin G. Ebrahim resigned from his post after heading the prime electoral body for a little over a year. . It is for the first time in the country’s history that a CEC has quit the high-profile position. The resignation came three weeks before by-elections in 42 constituencies of the national and provincial assemblies. Sources privy to the development told Dawn that the main reason for the resignation by Justice Ebrahim enjoying the reputation of being a man of principles was encroachment by the Supreme Court in the exclusive domain of the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) and failure of his fellow members to effectively act to protect the commission’s independence. According to a source, Fakhru Bhai was displeased by the court’s decision to change the presidential poll schedule on a petition of a PML-N legislator without hearing other parties. Justice Ebrahim had decided to set aside the court’s order and wrote a note hoping that it would be endorsed by other members of the commission on the day he scrutinised the nomination papers, but failed to muster support. “That was the time he decided to resign soon after the presidential election,” the source said, adding that the CEC was not ready to work with members who he believed were responsible for losing independence of the commission. Justice Ebrahim, however, chose not to mention the reason in his resignation sent to the president. He stated that he had been appointed through a consultative process by the last parliament and his constitutional term would end in 2017. “However, in my humble opinion, the newly elected members of the parliament should have the opportunity to forge new consensus and choose a new Chief Election Commissioner,” he wrote. He observed that this would also give the next CEC sufficient time and opportunity to prepare and lead the Election Commission for the general elections in 2018. “Therefore, in accordance with Article 215 (3) of the constitution, I hereby resign from the office of the Chief Election Commissioner of Pakistan,” he said. He recalled that he had taken oath as CEC on July 23 last year, approximately nine months prior to the general elections. “I did not seek this high office, but in fact accepted the same with reluctance, upon persuasion from senior members of the parliament that I was the only person on whom the members of the opposition and the government could both agree upon.” He said that now the transition from one elected civilian government to another had been completed for the first time in the country’s history. It is belated and has come with much sacrifice. Too many have fallen at the hands of terrorists. Political workers, teachers, lawyers, journalists, personnel of police and armed forces, government servants and ordinary men and women have all paid a heavy price. Even children have not been spared. Six-year-old Aimal Khan was killed, along with his father, an election candidate, when they came out of a mosque after Friday prayers. “These are the true heroes of our democratic struggle,” Justice Ebrahim said. He said that in the performance of professional duty he had done his utmost to hold true to democratic values, the dictates of his conscience and the commands of the constitution. “I am proud that the Election Commission has acted without fear or favour and strived to create as level a playing field as possible. Despite personal threats and even brazen gun attack on my family, I quietly stood firm against those forces who first tried to derail and then delay the 2013 elections,” he said. On the acceptance of Justice Ebrahim’s resignation, the chief justice will appoint from among the sitting judges of the apex court as acting Chief Election Commissioner who will hold the office till the appointment of a new CEC by a parliamentary committee. The Supreme Court’s decision to advance the schedule for presidential election from Aug 6 to July 30 had triggered a volley of criticism against the judiciary as well as the Election Commission in and outside parliament. The opposition, surprised by what it called a ‘hasty decision’ and a weak stand taken by the ECP representative in the court, had also sought resignation of the CEC and members of the commission for losing independence of the ECP. Ironically, the ECP did not file a review petition under Article 188 of the constitution against the verdict. Meanwhile, Leader of Opposition in the National Assembly Khursheed Ahmed Shah of the PPP welcomed the resignation by Justice Ebrahim and said other members of the ECP should also follow suit.
Kerry to meet president, PM today By Baqir Sajjad Syed ISLAMABAD, July 31: US Secretary of State John Kerry arrived here on Wednesday for talks with the country’s newly elected leadership on critical issues that could shape the bilateral relationship in the near future.. He will meet Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, outgoing President Asif Ali Zardari, Adviser on Foreign Affairs and National Security Sartaj Aziz and other key government functionaries on Thursday. This is his first visit to Pakistan after installation of the PML-N government. Mr Kerry, who frequently visited Pakistan as the head of the influential US Senate foreign relations committee, mostly as a trouble shooter in the vacillating relationship, is moreover here for the first time as Secretary of State. He was initially due here last month, but had postponed the visit. Even this time round the visit was preceded by scheduling problems. Mr Kerry will begin his day by meeting Mr Aziz at the Foreign Office. From there both of them will go to the Prime Minister’s House for meeting Mr Sharif. The talks will be followed by a joint press stakeout by Secretary Kerry and Adviser Aziz.The secretary will also meet President Zardari and speak at a ceremony at a power house. Mr Kerry has a packed agenda in Islamabad and is expected to hold intense discussions on bilateral relations and reconciliation in Afghanistan, besides touching upon the more contentious issue of drone strikes. The Pakistani side is keen to hear from Mr Kerry about the key elements of the relationship that the US intends to have with Pakistan in future. Elements of particular interest here are economy and trade, market access, energy cooperation and defence assistance. A senior official disclosed that the hosts would also flag the government’s desire for civilian nuclear technology, although there are no hopes of US accepting the request. Prime Minister Sharif chaired a preparatory session held to finalise the agenda for Mr Kerry’s visit. The meeting was attended by key foreign policy and security aides, including Chief of Army Staff Gen Ashfaq Parvez Kayani and Inter-Services Intelligence Director General Lt Gen Zaheerul Islam. Speaking at the meeting, the prime minister expressed the hope that strained ties with Afghanistan would soon be put on a cooperative plane. While deliberating on various options for reviving the stalemated Afghan reconciliation process, he reiterated his government’s commitment to helping Afghanistan achieve the goals of peace and stability. Anwar Iqbal adds from Washington: The secretary of state has shortened his stay in Pakistan due to security reasons, diplomatic sources told Dawn. John Kerry had originally planned to spend a few days in the country, but is now expected to spend only a day in the capital. Sources said that Monday’s attack on a prison in Dera Ismail Khan contributed to the decision to reduce Mr Kerry’s stay in Islamabad. But senior Pakistani diplomats in Washington said that Mr Kerry’s stay would depend on how the talks progress. “If both sides felt the need for him to stay longer, he may,” said a senior diplomat. Although the secretary’s trip was not announced, journalists covering theState Department were informed and asked not to make his schedule public. James Dobbins, special US envoy for Afghanistan and Pakistan, who reached Islamabad before Mr Kerry, may stay longer.
Pay high tariff and wait for improvement By Khaleeq Kiani ISLAMABAD, July 31: Making a lot of high-sounding promises about the future energy scenario, the government’s power policy officially announced on Wednesday envisages an immediate increase of more than 50 per cent in the electricity tariff for consumers in industrial and commercial sectors and for domestic and agricultural from Oct 1.. The five-year National Power Policy was approved at a meeting of the Council of Common Interests (CCI) presided over by Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and attended by the four chief ministers. Because of strong resistance put up by Sindh, Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, a proposal for at-source deduction of electricity arrears from the provinces’ share in the divisible pool was deferred. Power Minister Khawaja Asif said the proposal would be taken up again about a month later. He claimed that the country had achieved a record electricity generation of 16,170 megawatts on Tuesday and was maintaining an average generation of 15,000-16,000MW. He said the centre had requested the provinces to jointly work out a timetable for closing markets during peak usage hours to save 1,200MW so that maximum business was done by using sunlight. About six million energy savers will start reaching consumers this year to help save about 800MW. “Look at the gravity of the energy shortage and the extravagance that we exhibit in our power uses as if there is no problem at all,” he said and appealed to people to adopt energy conservation habits. He said the CCI had approved laws to increase punishment and fine for electricity and gas theft and to make them non-bailable and non-compoundable offences. The judiciary will be requested to set up special utility courts to dispose of such cases quickly. The secretary for water and power said 23,713 cases of energy theft had been registered last year and about a third of them had reached the conviction stage with the maximum punishment of three-month imprisonment and Rs1,000 fine. Now such cases will attract a maximum imprisonment of three years and Rs10 million fine. However, representative of one province said the laws had not been approved by the CCI. At the request of provincial governments, the attorney general and some independent legal experts would give opinion about making the steps conform to principles of jurisprudence. The power policy promises energy surplus by the end of the current government’s five-year term by using coal and hydropower resources and the overall tariffs declining to less than Rs10 per unit. But the immediate step to be taken under the policy is to increase tariff by up to 66pc for industrial and commercial consumers with effect from Aug 1 and for domestic and agricultural consumers from Oct 1. Addressing a news conference after the CCI meeting, Khawaja Asif said the exact revised rates would be announced in a day or two after approval of a summary by the prime minister. “There will be no change in the rates for consumers using less than 200 units per month,” he said. He said the slab benefit of lower rates for higher consumption groups in the domestic sector had been done away with. Consumption will be charged at the rate of highest slab. For example, someone consuming 701 units will be charged at the highest rate without getting the lower rate benefits of 100, 300, 500 units slabs. An official accompanying the minister said the average tariff for industrial consumers would go up to about Rs15 per unit from Rs9 and the average commercial tariff would rise to Rs13.22. The rate for bulk sales to residential colonies will be about Rs12 and average domestic rates will touch Rs15.50. “The basic principle is to implement the minimum determined tariff of Nepra for each category to reduce a current gap of Rs5.81 per unit between the applicable and determined rates,” he said. The minister said the increase had been necessitated by a 13-14 month freeze on tariff imposed by the previous government. “Had the previous government gradually adjusted the tariff, the situation would have been much better and we would have paid Rs480 billion to retire circular debt.” He conceded that electricity theft and system losses cost up to Rs200bn a year and that honest consumers were being made to pay for that. He said the tariff increase was ‘inevitable’ to ensure that circular debt did not accumulate again and to contain the subsidy and protect poor consumers.
Petrol, diesel prices raised By Khaleeq Kiani ISLAMABAD, July 31: The government increased on Wednesday the prices of petrol and diesel by Rs2.73 and Rs3 per litre with immediate effect.. Ministers for finance and petroleum Ishaq Dar and Shahid Khaqan Abbasi at a late-night meeting authorised the oil companies to notify fresh prices. Except for high-speed diesel, the full impact of international prices and rupee devaluation has been passed on to consumers. In case of diesel, the government decided to absorb an impact of Rs1.50 per litre by reducing petroleum levy and allowed its prices to go up by Rs3 per litre. Ogra had worked out an increase of Rs4.50 per litre in diesel price. The ex-depot price of diesel has been raised to Rs109.76 per litre from Rs106.76. Retail prices are generally higher by 10-40 paisa per litre than ex-depot prices depending on distance from major oil depots. The ex-depot price of petrol has now been jacked up by Rs2.73 to Rs104.50 per litre from Rs101.77. The ex-depot rate of kerosene has been raised by Rs4.99 to Rs101.28 per litre from Rs96.29. The price of high octane blending component (HOBC) has been increased to Rs129 per litre from Rs123.46. The light diesel oil price has been fixed at Rs96.12 per litre, up by Rs3.95 from Rs92.17.
Imran told to appear in SC tomorrow By Nasir Iqbal ISLAMABAD, July 31: The Supreme Court took exception on Wednesday to what it called derogatory remarks made by Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf chairman Imran Khan against the judiciary and judges of the apex court at a press conference and asked him to appear before it on August 2 to explain why contempt proceedings should not be initiated against him. . “Prima facie, it seems that Imran Khan has started a deliberate campaign to scandalise the court and bring judges into hatred, ridicule or contempt,” said an order dictated by Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry. At the press conference on July 26, the PTI chief had criticised the role of the judiciary and the Election Commission of Pakistan and termed it shameful. He alleged that the May 11 general elections had been rigged because of the role played by the two institutions. A note by the SC registrar on the basis of which the contempt notice was issued stated that Imran Khan had also alleged that he wanted to ensure that no such shameful elections were held in future. “The PTI accepted the election results, but not rigging,” he said. At the press conference, Mr Khan expressed lack of trust in the judiciary and alleged that the judiciary/Supreme Court had a hand in rigging the elections. The double standards of the judiciary have come to surface as his party’s candidates were knocked down on technical grounds, the PTI chief had alleged. “Thus these acts call for action for contempt of court under Article 204 of the constitution, read with section 3 of the Contempt of Court Ordinance, 2003. Therefore, notice be issued to Imran Khan to appear before the court on Aug 2 and explain why contempt proceedings should not be initiated against him,” the court said in its order. Attorney General Muneer A. Malik has also been asked to assist the court. If the court is not satisfied with the explanation it can indict Mr Khan for committing contempt and initiate a trial in an open court till finally adjudged to be a contemnor. Section 19 of the contempt law, however, provides an intra-court appeal before a larger bench which can suspend the conviction or any impugned order pending disposal of the appeal. Under section 2 of the law, a contemnor can tender an apology at any stage and the court, if satisfied, can discharge the proceedings. The SC decision triggered immediate reaction from legal circles as well as politicians. The PTI’s vice-chairman, Shah Mehmood Qureshi, said the party would examine legal aspects of the contempt notice and react accordingly. “Imran Khan said nothing derogatory. Rather he talked with reason on the floor of the National Assembly, questioning lack of transparency in the conduct of general elections,” he said while talking to Dawn. The party leadership had not yet received the contempt notice, he said, adding that the PTI was a political party and would definitely adopt a legal course. He said the recent developments, especially helplessness shown by the Chief Election Commissioner while resigning from his office, had raised a number of questions and doubts. Mr Qureshi cited a news report and said the CEC had expressed reservations over intrusion into the domain of the Election Commission. The PPP’s information secretary, Qamar Zaman Kaira, described the issuance of contempt notice to Mr Khan as “very unfortunate” and said such notices always put national leaders in a very “painful situation”. He said Mr Khan might have used some harsh language and he would definitely explain his position before the court, but every political party and every segment of society had the same viewpoint and feeling about the general and the presidential elections. The PPP leader said that even the CEC and some retired judges had expressed reservations over the Supreme Court’s decision to advance the schedule of presidential election. Pakistan Bar Council’s vice-chairman Qalbe Hassan said the judiciary should have distanced itself from the appointment of returning officers because their role in the general elections had forced leaders like Imran Khan to utter something which culminated in the issuance of contempt notice. A former president of the Supreme Court Bar Association, Tariq Mehmood, urged both the judiciary and Imran Khan to show maturity and desist from creating a crisis-like situation. Mr Khan should maintain the delicate balance between the institution and individuals if he has complaints against an individual. At the same time, Mr Mehmood said, the judiciary should also avoid making this an issue of ego. Advocate Chaudhry Faisal Hussain was of the opinion that the chief justice should have avoided interfering in the political domain and ignored political statements for the sake of dignity of the Supreme Court. Delivering appropriate legal judgments, and not issuing contempt notices, elevated the respect of the apex court, he added. Former SCBA president Yasin Azad said it was the right of every citizen to criticise judgments of the apex court, but it should be in a temperate language so that the dignity and respect of institutions were maintained at all cost.
Glasgow tycoon is Punjab governor By Syed Irfan Raza ISLAMABAD, July 31: Mohammad Sarwar, a UK-based Pakistani businessman, was appointed governor of Punjab by President Asif Ali Zardari on Wednesday.. Mr Sarwar is said to be a close aide to Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and he recently ceded British citizenship. Before his appointment he had dual nationality and under the constitution a person having dual nationality cannot hold any public office in the country. The president’s spokesman, Farhatullah Babar, said he had appointed Mr Sarwar as governor of Punjab on the advice of the prime minister. “In terms of Article 101(1) of the constitution, the governor of a province is appointed by the president on the advice of the prime minister,” he said. The post was vacant since the resignation of former governor Makhdoom Ahmed Mahmood.
Ministry claims unearthing Rs760m scam in TDAP By Mubarak Zeb Khan ISLAMABAD, July 31: The ministry of commerce has found out that officials of the Trade Development Authority of Pakistan drew Rs760 million on a single day against fake claims.. The amount was drawn from a bank on April 5 when the caretaker government was in power. The issue came to light when the ministry received complains from within the TDAP and the private sector that required formalities were not completed before the withdrawal of money. Spokesman of the ministry Mohammad Ashraf confirmed to Dawn that the amount had been drawn on a single day. “The amount approved for disbursement in April was nearly Rs760m,” he said. But, he added that the total disbursement included genuine claims. The ministry, according to Mr Ashraf, ordered a departmental inquiry and the committee which carried out the probe has submitted its report. “The committee has recommended action against the officials involved in the scam,” he said and confirmed that some TDAP officials were involved. A source in the TDAP told Dawn that senior officials of the commerce and trade group and district management group were involved in the scam. Earlier, a multi-billion scam was unearthed in the National Insurance Company Limited, another subsidiary of the ministry. The coalition government headed by the PPP had announced a three-year trade policy framework. The policy included proposals for providing cash subsidies to exporters to promote trade and exports during 2009-12. It envisaged that the government would bear 50 per cent cost of rent and salary of three employees of exporters who opened their offices abroad and 50pc cost of retail outlets. The officials allegedly involved in the scam had prepared bogus documents of several companies and also opened bank accounts in their own names. They issued cheques against claims in the name of fake companies and drew money. The finance ministry had decided to release Rs1.27 billion for subsidies to be given to genuine exporters during 2012-13. The amount was released on March 25, nine days after the PPP government had completed its tenure. The officials whose identity has not been revealed were posted in key positions in the TDAP by the PPP government and they continued to work after the induction of the caretaker set-up. About 60 companies are major recipients of subsidy from the TDAP for having opened their offices and retail outlets in foreign countries, but it now appears that only three to four genuine companies benefited from the scheme. About 50pc of the amount is believed to have been claimed in the name of fake companies as air freight subsidy for seafood exports. Although the amount projected for 2009-12 was Rs26bn, the finance ministry released only Rs4.27bn in three years. An amount of Rs1bn was released in 2010-11 and Rs2bn in 2011-12.
Tribal elder, two guards shot dead in Quetta By Our Staff Correspondent QUETTA, July 31: Gunmen killed a tribal elder and his two guards and injured six people here on Wednesday evening, police sources said.. Abdul Rauf Kurd was passing through Prince Road in his jeep when gunmen attacked him near the Government Science College. He and his two guards died on the spot. Four other guards and two pedestrians suffered serious injuries in the attack. “Armed men, also riding a jeep, opened fire on Mr Kurd’s vehicle when it reached the Government Science College roundabout,” police said. The victims were taken to the Civil Hospital by the FC and police personnel. The condition of the two injured was reported serious. The deceased guards were identified as Aminullah and Farid and their injured companions as Altamash, Babal, Maqbool and Taj Mohammad. The pedestrians under treatment were identified as Asadullah and Aalam Shah. The motive behind the attack on Mr Kurd, a former union council nazim, could not be ascertained immediately. The Civil Lines police have registered a case against unnamed suspects and started investigation. No arrest was reported.
Missing man’s father faints in courtroom; KP police chief summoned By Nasir Iqbal ISLAMABAD, July 31: An aged man collapsed in Courtroom 1 on Wednesday after learning that the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa police had again come empty-handed, without any progress in finding his son Khairur Rehman who has been missing since Feb 9, 2009, from Bajaur. . Abdul Rehman, who is running from pillar to post and had attended a number of proceedings of the Supreme Court along with his old wife, was immediately taken outside the room for treatment. But he soon regained consciousness and instead of going to the medical centre situated inside the court premises, insisted on leaving quietly. A three-judge bench, headed by Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, ordered Khyber Pakhtunkhwa police chief Ehsan Ghani to appear before it on Aug 2 and explain the reasons of the department’s failure to trace Khairur Rehman. Before falling down, Abdul Rehman wailed over his plight, only to be told by the Islamabad police personnel on duty not to make noise. Eventually, he fainted. Khairur Rehman had been serving as a prayer leader in the Bilal Mosque in Bajaur for 13 years. An Afghan refugee who used to offer prayers in the mosque, got acquainted with him and started living in the upper portion of his house without rent. On Feb 9, 2009, the local authorities and police raided his house and arrested the Afghan national along with Khairur Rehman, his sister and her mentally retarded husband. The woman and her husband were released nine days latter. Since then, his whereabouts are not known despite repeated directives by the apex court to the police to trace him. Referring to an application of Abida Malik, the court held that the Military Intelligence, accused of picking up her husband Tasif Ali alias Danish, was not involved in the crime as an institution but it was a case of a missing person and some private party might be involved in his disappearance. Additional Attorney General Tariq Khokhar submitted a statement that the matter had been taken up with the MI directorate in the General Headquarters. The Military Intelligence had replied that Tasif Ali had neither been apprehended nor was he in their custody and their own ground check had shown that Maj Haider, who was being accused of having arrested the man, had no link with the abduction. The court ordered the authorities to deal with the matter in accordance with the law, meaning thereby that police could arrest Maj Haider in his individual capacity for his alleged role in the disappearance. According to Abida, her husband Tasif Ali was allegedly picked up by Maj Haider of the MI on Nov 23, 2011, from Azad Kashmir. His father-in-law Dr Mohammad Aslam had informed the court earlier that his son-in-law had an altercation over telephone with the major a day before his abduction. According to him, Maj Haider may be a business partner of Tasif, a timber trader. Dr Aslam said he had also met Maj Haider, but the latter was not accessible since the meeting. About one Humayun Asad, the court held that it was not a case of enforced disappearance since the person himself was involved in seven offences, including terrorism. Asad was a computer businessman who went missing on Feb 9, 2011.
US agrees to revive strategic ties, but with a caveat By Baqir Sajjad Syed ISLAMABAD, Aug 1: The United States announced on Thursday resumption of its suspended ‘strategic dialogue’ with Pakistan but cautioned that the country would have to eradicate ‘terrorist safe havens’ from its territory for the relationship to progress. . Secretary of State John Kerry, who was here on his first visit after moving to the US State Department and the change of government in Pakistan, firmly but politely told the Pakistani authorities that they needed to move decisively on eradicating violent extremism from the country and more specifically tackling the issue of cross-border militancy that is said to be posing threat not only to US interests, but also to its allies in the region. “Choice for Pakistan is clear. Will the forces of violent extremism be allowed to grow more dominantly, eventually overpowering the moderate majority,” Secretary Kerry said as he announced that Pakistan and the US would be resuming the strategic dialogue that had been suspended following the challenging events of 2011. The US hopes to address most of the issues of concern to it, including border management, counter-terrorism and non-proliferation, which Mr Kerry referred to as “irritants”, during the strategic dialogue process whose ministerial session will take place in six months but working groups will meet earlier. Mr Kerry discussed the issue of cross-border militancy at length in his talks at the Foreign Office and with Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif. He again flagged the matter during his talks with Chief of Army Staff Gen Ashfaq Parvez Kayani at a dinner. Secretary Kerry on more than one occasion during his joint press conference with Adviser on Foreign Affairs and National Security Sartaj Aziz underscored that the offer to move the relationship back to the higher plane of “full partnership” came with the condition of effectively tackling terrorism that has claimed some 50,000 Pakistani lives in the past 10 years. “Addressing the threat posed by cross-border militancy is key aspect of our strategic dialogue,” he said. He said the resumed dialogue was meant to “advance shared vision of future that is marked by peace, stability and prosperity”. Discussions on counter-terrorism will continue in the strategic dialogue, while President Barack Obama is likely to take up the matter with Prime Minister Sharif when he meets him in Washington later this year. The prime minister has been invited by President Obama to visit the White House. Although no date has been mentioned, it appears that the visit to Washington may take place along with the PM’s trip to New York for the UN session in September. “The conversation would continue. I expect lot of progress, lot of definition to come to the forefront. I’m confident that we are going to find effective ways to manage the challenges,” Mr Kerry said. He skilfully mixed his expression of concerns with deference for people of Pakistan, the armed forces and the government. Referring to the ups and downs in the relationship in the past, he said: “We cannot allow events that might divide us in small ways to distract from common values and common interests that unite us in big ways. Common interests far exceed, far outweigh any differences.” He said the relationship was not defined by the “threats we face”, it was rather about helping the people of Pakistan at this critical juncture by contributing to economic revival. Mr Kerry praised Pakistan’s “march towards democracy” and contributions to reconciliation efforts in Afghanistan and saluted the losses suffered by the armed forced because of militancy. Drone attacks: The controversy over CIA operated pilotless drones also came up during the US secretary’s meetings. Mr Kerry hinted at continuation of the drone attacks, saying President Obama had laid out the legal justification of the strikes in a policy speech a few months ago. Mr Kerry hit out at the assertions that drones violated Pakistan’s sovereignty, saying it were Al Qaeda leader Ayman Al Zawahiri and terrorists attacking people in mosques and markets who were trampling the country’s sovereignty. Adviser Aziz conceded that Pakistan’s call for stopping drone attacks had been rejected and said the “discussions will continue”. He said all tribal agencies had been cleared of militants, except for North Waziristan. He said the government would first attempt to hold dialogue with the militants and would launch an offensive only if talks failed. Mr Aziz also mentioned that an all-parties conference was being convened to develop a national response to domestic terrorism. Secretary Kerry also called on outgoing President Asif Ali Zardari and telephoned president-elect Mamnoon Hussain. IMRAN: PTI chief Imran Khan, who had been invited to meet the visiting secretary, preferred to see him at the residence of US deputy chief of mission Richard Hoagland, outside the diplomatic enclave. “The US secretary of state listened to Mr Khan’s perspective and the meeting was held in a cordial manner,” The PTI said in a statement on the 30-minute meeting in which the party’s chief repeated his stance on drones and the ‘war on terror’. Mr Kerry visited a power station near Zero Point. The USAID has funded the installation of ‘smart meters’ at the grid station. During his talks earlier in the day, he reiterated US commitment to supporting the Diamer-Bhasha dam project. He also visited the Fatima Jinnah University. Reuters/AFP add: Mr Kerry told PTV that President Obama had a timeline for ending the US programme of drone strikes. “I think the programme will end as we have eliminated most of the threat and continue to eliminate it. “The president has a very real timeline and we hope it’s going to be very, very soon,” he said in reply to a question. EGYPT: In an interview to a private TV channel, Mr Kerry said the Egyptian army which had deposed President Mohamed Morsi had intervened at the request of millions of people to protect democracy. “In effect, they were restoring democracy,” he added.
25-year plan to produce 50,000MW: Nawaz GADANI, Aug 1: Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif said here on Thursday his government had prepared a 25-year long-term plan to generate 50,000MW power to end the energy crisis and meet future needs of the country.. Addressing a gathering after attending a briefing on the Rs60 billion Pakistan Power Park to generate 660MW electricity, the prime minister said a number of measures were being taken to address the power crisis. He said the project would also help generate employment opportunities for the people of Sindh and Balochistan. A similar power park needs to be set up in Thar to utilise its huge reserves of coal. Mr Sharif said the government had resolved the issue of Rs480bn circular debt, but added that it could rise again if difficult decisions were not taken. He said the country was able to generate 1,700MW of additional power after this payment. The total generation reached a record 16,170MW, with the shortfall declining to 3,000MW and the demand standing at 19,000MW. The prime minister was informed that the power park would include eight projects of independent power producers and generate 660MW. The project will have a dedicated jetty to provide access to ships for an LNG terminal. Prime Minister Sharif said future plans included construction of coal-based plants which could produce 5200MW of electricity. Gas-powered plants will also be set up to meet the growing energy needs. He said the Neelum-Jhelum hydropower project would also produce 950MW. He regretted that because of inefficiency and poor policies in the past, the cost of the project had escalated from Rs45bn to Rs250bn. Referring to the Kashgar-Gwadar trade corridor, he said small industrial zones will be set up along its route to attract investment from China because the cost of production in Pakistan was still low. The corridor will help generate huge business opportunities for the people of Pakistan because they will have access to over three billion people in the region. About the motorway proposed to be built between Karachi and Lahore, the prime minister said the six-lane road would ensure swift and economical transportation of goods.—APP Our Staff Reporter adds: Prime Minister Sharif said the PML-N accepted the mandate of the PPP and the Muttahida Qaumi Movement in Sindh under a spirit which was needed to strengthen democracy and curb extremism. “With this spirit we can beat extremism and put the country on road to progress and provide relief to the common man. We need to respect each other and make democracy a success story,” he told reporters at the Quaid’s Mazar after offering Fateha. It was his first visit to Karachi after becoming prime minister two months ago. The prime minister ignored a question about the bitter history of relations between the PML-N and the MQM with reference to the visit last week by a delegation of the former to Nine-Zero to seek support for presidential candidate Mamnoon Hussain. He only said that “we would have to move forward with all parties which enjoy people’s mandate”. Answering a question about the law and order situation in Karachi, he said the government was aware of the crisis the country’s financial capital was facing and it would take time to come up with credible policy for a lasting peace in the city. “We need to raise a counter-terrorist force. Terrorism is an issue of the entire country. I personally talked to the chief ministers and asked them to come up with proposals in this regard. We will take the provinces on board while framing any policy against terrorism,” he said. About the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner retired Justice Fakhruddin G. Ebrahim, he said: “It was my desire that he would have continued his office, but he thought it appropriate not to work further. His services for the 2013 elections will always be recognised.”
Imran rules out apology By Khawar Ghumman ISLAMABAD, Aug 1: Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) chairman Imran Khan is not backing off from the position he has taken on the role of the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) and Supreme Court in the May 11 elections and will reiterate it on Friday when he will appear in the apex court on a contempt notice issued to him by the court. . In an interview to a private television channel, Imran Khan said he was ready to go to jail, but would not offer any apology over his remarks. He said that as a politician it was his right to lodge protest. “I have not done anything wrong. I am fighting for democracy,” he said. The PTI chief will appear before a three-member SC bench headed by Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry. He will be accompanied by Advocate Hamid Khan and senior party leaders. The court has directed Attorney General Muneer A. Malik to assist it in the matter. Since the May 11 elections, the PTI chief has been repeatedly accusing the two institutions of having failed to conduct free and fair elections and respond properly to rigging allegation. Objecting to his latest outbursts the apex court issued a contempt notice to him and asked him to respond on Friday.
Power tariff hike to generate Rs144bn By Khaleeq Kiani ISLAMABAD, Aug 1: The government has decided to increase electricity charges and set a target of generating Rs144 billion during the current financial year through a two-phase tariff rationalisation plan.. According to a summary prepared by the government, the tariff for industrial and commercial sectors will be increased by up to 99 per cent from August 1. In the second phase, the rates for domestic and agricultural consumers will be raised by up to 117pc from October 1. The implementation of the plan will reduce subsidy to Rs252bn from Rs396bn (estimated without tariff increase). This will take the total revenue of all distribution companies (excluding KESC) to over Rs1 trillion from Rs875bn under the existing tariff. Three basic principles have been adopted in the plan. The industrial tariff will be increased by between 25pc and 98.42pc depending on various slabs and categories so that there is “zero subsidy on budget” for the industrial sector. To achieve this, the National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (Nepra) has approved the minimum determined tariff (MDT) of the best performing distribution company plus 81 paisa penalty in the name of equalisation charge on each unit of electricity to cross-subsidise inefficient power companies. The tariff for commercial, bulk and other consumers will be jacked up to the level of MDT for the best distribution company (generally the Islamabad Electric Supply Company) so that the overall budgeted subsidy in these sectors comes down, but not completely eliminated as in the case of industry. For example, Azad Kashmir will see the highest gross tariff increase of about 117pc, although a part of it will be settled through a special arrangement with the federal government. AJK’s peak time-of-day (TOD) will be increased by 35pc to Rs18 per unit, and off-peak rate by 51.5pc to Rs12 per unit. The commercial tariff will increase between 22pc and 65pc.The tariff for agricultural and domestic consumers will remain unchanged, but in some cases will go up by more than 72pc in October. Despite the massive jump in rates, the domestic sector will still get around Rs50bn subsidy. COMMERCIAL: The tariff for commercial consumers will be increased to Rs18 per unit from the current notified tariff of Rs14.77, up 22pc. Regular 20kw commercial rates will go up by almost 65pc to Rs16 per unit from Rs9.72. The TOD rate for commercial consumers will be increased to Rs18 per unit from Rs13.20 for peak consumption while off-peak rates will go up to Rs12.50 per unit from Rs8.01. Temporary commercial rates will remain unchanged at Rs15 per unit. INDUSTRIAL: With the addition of 81 paisa per unit equalisation surcharge for all industrial consumers, the tariff for B-1 consumers will increase to Rs15.31 per unit from Rs10.51. The B-1 TOD peak rate will increase to Rs18.81 per unit from Rs13.99 while off-peak rate will jump to Rs16.31 per unit from Rs8.22. The B-2 tariff will go up to Rs14.81 per unit from Rs9.14; B-2 TOD peak rate to Rs18.81 per unit from Rs12.77 and off-peak rate to Rs13.11 per unit from Rs8.01. The B-3 TOD peak rate will increase to Rs18.81 per unit from Rs12.68 and off-peak rate to Rs10 per unit from Rs7.75. The B-4 TOD peak rate will increase to Rs15.31 per unit from Rs12.37 and off-peak rate to Rs9.91 per unit from Rs7.46. SINGLE-POINT BULK: The C-1 (A) tariff will be increased to Rs13 per unit from Rs11.50 and C-1 (B) rate to Rs11.50 per unit. Its TOD peak rate will increase to Rs15 per unit and off-peak rate to Rs9.30. The highest increase in this category has been made for C-3 of 60/132kv supply by 24pc to Rs9.10 per unit and C-2 of 11/33kv will be increased by 17pc to Rs14.70. RESIDENTIAL: Although power rates for domestic consumers will be increased from October 1, the highest hike of 73pc will be for consumption of more than 200 and 300 units per month – the tariff will go up from Rs8.11 per unit to Rs14. For consumers using less than 200 units the tariff will remain unchanged, but this will require an amendment in rules and hence a delay of two months. For consumers using 301 to 700 units the tariff will be increased by about 30pc to Rs16 per unit from Rs12.33. Those using more than 700 units will face an increase of 20pc to Rs18 per unit from Rs15.07. The rate for peak load exceeding 20kw will increase by 52pc to Rs12.50 per unit from Rs8.22.
US, Pakistan to stay engaged against terrorism By Anwar Iqbal WASHINGTON, Aug 1: Special US Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan James Dobbins will continue the dialogue with Pakistani leaders as Secretary of State John Kerry wraps up a key visit to the country, says the State Department. . A State Department spokesperson, Marie Harf, told a briefing that Ambassador Dobbins was already in the region for meeting Afghan and Pakistani leaders. Before joining Secretary Kerry in Islamabad, Ambassador Dobbins was in Kabul where he met Afghan President Hamid Karzai. His discussions in the region include “Afghanistan’s coming economic and political transitions, including the 2014 elections, as well as, of course, reconciliation and other topics of regional interest,” Ms Harf said. Despite repeated attempts by journalists, the US official refused to criticise Pakistani for allegedly continuing to allow the smuggling of IED-making materials into Afghanistan. “We have very good cooperation on counter-terrorism issues with the Pakistanis,” she said when asked if the current dialogue would also include US concerns on IEDs. “Obviously, we’ll continue to talk about issues of cross-border militancy and the reality that safe havens that threaten both Pakistan and Afghanistan and US interests and regional stability are operating in that area,” she said. “So we’re going to continue working with the Pakistanis on this issue going forward.” Asked if the United States would review its drone policy to accommodate Pakistan’s concerns on the air strikes, Ms Harf said: “Broadly speaking, we are going to continue working with the Pakistanis on counter-terrorism in the region. And beyond that, I have nothing further.” The United States, she said, would focus on “regional security” in its discussions with Pakistan and counter-terrorism will be a part of those talks. Meanwhile, diplomatic observers in Washington said that the US position on drones should not overshadow America’s willingness to rebuild its ties with Pakistan. They pointed out that in the days preceding Secretary Kerry’s visit to Islamabad, the White House and the Pentagon joined the State Department in conveying their desire to rebuild those ties. “Our relationship with Pakistan is extremely important to America`s national security interests,” said White House Press Secretary Jay Carney. “It is a complicated but important relationship,” he added. The White House official also underlined “our joint efforts to fight terrorism” while pointing out that “Pakistanis have been among the most significant victims of terrorist attacks.”
USF money transferred as per rules, govt tells SC By Nasir Iqbal ISLAMABAD, Aug 1: The federal government informed the Supreme Court on Thursday that an amount of Rs62 billion had been lawfully transferred to the federal consolidated fund (FCF) from the universal services fund (USF) after necessary amendments to the relevant law. . “The funds were placed from the Ministry of Information Technology-USF account to the FCF of Ministry of Finance in pursuance of the Economic Coordination Committee’s decision and the federal government issued necessary notification for amendments to the USF Rules 2006,” said a statement submitted by the IT ministry to a three-judge bench headed by Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry. The court had asked the ministries of information technology and finance to justify the transfer of USF funds to the FCF on a petition filed by Khurram Shehzad Chughtai, an IT expert. The petitioner had regretted that the entire telecommunication sector in the country was running unbridled and without effective regulation because the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority was virtually non-existent. He also sought a court order for the government to complete the process of auctioning 3G licences within 60 days in a transparent manner and deposit its proceeds in the federal treasury. Advocate Ali Raza, representing the petitioner, had informed the court that the transfer of Rs62bn from the USF to the FCF had been made through an executive order. “The funds cannot be used [for] other than the telecommunication sector,” he contended. In its statement submitted on Thursday, the IT ministry said the existing rule was substituted by the one stating that “the USF shall be kept in the FCF and the ministry of finance shall release funds of the USF, in accordance with procedure laid down in these rules, through budgetary mechanism”. It said the USF was being used in accordance with the relevant rules suggesting that the USF could exclusively be utilised for providing telecommunication services to people in un-served, under-served, rural and remote areas by the federal government in a transparent manner. Finance Secretary Dr Waqar Masood also informed the court that the USF money had been transferred to the FCF after amending the relevant rules. But Advocate Raza argued that under the constitution only the money generated through revenue could be deposited in the FCF while the USF was deducted from the income of mobile operators and meant for welfare of the people living in remote and underdeveloped areas. The court asked the finance secretary to submit a reply by August 6. It directed the cabinet division secretary to submit his comments on the auction of 3G spectrum and give reasons for its delay. The IT ministry said the process of 3G licence auction was being reviewed. The government wants to hold early auction of not only 3rd generation technology but also 4G and long-term evolution technologies. The ministry said it had issued a policy directive for the auction on Dec 19, 2011. Subsequently, the PTA initiated the process of hiring consultants, but it was stopped on the instruction of the auction supervisory committee. The process was again initiated in November last year, but it could not be completed. The IT ministry said the spectrum being auctioned represents three blocks of 10Mhz each in the 2100Mhz band. In view of the previous expressions of interest received at least five blocks could be auctioned for ensuring competition or alternatively raising the base price of the spectrum, the ministry said.
Al Qaeda men among drone attack victims ISLAMABAD, Aug 1: A drone strike in Pakistan this week killed three Al Qaeda operatives who ran a training camp in Afghanistan to prepare militants for attacks including the recent jailbreak in Dera Ismail Khan, a Taliban commander has said. . About 30 militants and more than 200 other inmates escaped from the Dera Ismail Khan jail after a squad of highly trained Taliban fighters armed with grenade launchers and dressed as police overran the facility on Monday night. A day earlier, a US drone strike killed at least six militants in North Waziristan, according to local security officials. The commander with the Pakistani Taliban said those killed in the strike included three Al Qaeda training experts who had crossed the border from Afghanistan to look at ways of setting up a similar camp on Pakistani territory. The Taliban source identified the three as Abu Rashid from Saudi Arabia, Muhammed Ilyas Kuwaiti from Kuwait and Muhammed Sajid Yamani from Yemen.—Reuters
Policy on missing persons soon By Our Staff Reporter ISLAMABAD, Aug 2: The federal government informed the Supreme Court on Friday a national policy on missing persons and monitoring of their recovery through coordinated efforts of all stakeholders would be announced soon by a federal task force constituted on July 24. . The task force was appointed after the court had directed Attorney General Muneer A. Malik to come up with a government policy on the missing persons. It comprises Additional Attorney General Tariq Khokhar, additional interior secretary, four provincial home secretaries, additional chief secretary of Fata, four additional inspectors general police of the special branch, a member of the Commission of Inquiry on Enforced Disappearances, chief commissioner of Islamabad, joint secretaries of defence and law, inspector general (prisons) of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and representatives of the Inter-Services Intelligence Agency and Military Intelligence. In a statement submitted to a three-judge bench headed by Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry hearing a number of cases of missing persons, AAG Tariq Khokhar said the first meeting of the task force was held on July 29 in the Ministry of Interior. It constituted a sub-committee and asked it to formulate concrete proposals for the policy on missing persons. The sub-committee held a meeting on July 30 and agreed on an action plan to implement the court’s orders. The AAG said a meeting had been held in the office of the attorney general on July 31. It was also attended by the authorities regulating different internment centres in Fata, Pata and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The meeting was informed about three notifications issued on May 21 by the KP home and tribal affairs department for the constitution of oversight boards under Regulation 14 of the Action (in Aid of Civil Powers) Regulations 2011 for all internment centres in Kohat and Malakand and Bannu divisions. The department submitted standard operating procedures for meetings of the relatives with detainees in the internment centres. It also submitted copies of some orders of internment as samples in order to show the basis of specific allegations for detaining the suspects in the centres. The AAG assured the court that the federal government would fully implement all its orders. Taking up the case of Khairur Rehman who went missing on Feb 9, 2009, from Bajaur, the court provided the KP police another opportunity to recover him by August 6 without fail.
Imran Khan in the dock By Nasir Iqbal ISLAMABAD, Aug 2: It was a battle of wits between the Supreme Court and Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf chairman Imran Khan. Attired in a dark grey shalwar-kameez, Mr Khan appeared before a three-judge bench in the courtroom-1 on Friday to face charges of contempt. . Short of expressing regrets or remorse for the utterances he had made at press conferences on three occasions about the role of judiciary in the May 11 elections, Mr Khan offered two different explanations. But the Supreme Court was not convinced and expressed its dismay over the choice of words he had used, particularly the one “Sharamnak” (shameless). The court repeatedly said that Mr Khan was a national leader and words like ‘shameless’ amounted to abusing the judiciary. Mr Khan later quipped outside the court building that he had come to know for the first time in his life that ‘shameless’ was an abusive word. The PTI chief entered the court premises amid greetings and slogans by his party supporters. Tight security measures and the presence of a large number of his supporters caused a traffic jam on the Constitution Avenue. The courtroom was packed to capacity. Mr Khan was accompanied by Javed Hashmi, Jehangir Tareen, Shireen Mazari and other party leaders. The Supreme Court refused to accept the explanations, but Mr Khan’s counsel Hamid Khan, who cut short his vacation in the United States to defend his party’s chief, managed to get an opportunity to submit a concise statement on August 28. The court had taken exception to what it called derogatory remarks made by the PTI chief against the judiciary at the press conferences on July 26, 29 and 30 and asked him to appear before it on Friday to explain why contempt proceedings should not be initiated against him. By standing behind the rostrum for a brief statement, Mr Khan joined the list of politicians who had earlier faced contempt charges like former prime ministers Yousuf Raza Gilani and Raja Parvez Ashraf, Rehman Malik, Babar Awan, Taj Haider and Sharjeel Memon — all from the PPP — and MQM chief Altaf Hussain. In his statement, Mr Khan grumbled over what he called the court’s indifference towards complaints filed by members of his party in the apex court against massive election riggings and said he was the only politician who had spent eight days in jail during the struggle for independence of judiciary. Although Mr Khan had criticised the apex court for its decision to advance the date of the presidential election, in the courtroom he deliberately avoided mentioning it. Rejecting his first statement, the court allowed him to draft a proper explanation in consultation with his counsel. But when the case was taken up again, Hamid Khan read out a single-page statement saying that the July 26 press statement had been made in good faith and the word ‘judiciary’ was used as a reference for returning officers and district returning officers (belonging to the district judiciary) involved in the election process. The counsel said Mr Khan highly respected the Supreme Court and had high expectations from it for addressing the grievances of the PTI arising out of the general elections. He requested the court to recall the contempt notice and said there was no question of ego. Mr Khan did not want to scandalise the judiciary. “We will always stand for the dignity of the judiciary,” he said. But even this could not appease the court. Justice Sheikh Azmat Saeed, a member of the bench, expressed disappointment over the statement and asked if the next elections should be conducted by DPOs, DCOs or Tehsildars. Justice Jawwad S. Khawaja said the statement had come as a surprise for him, adding that he would prefer to go home if there was no honour or dignity. Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry asked what expectation the PTI would have when the next elections would be held by maligning the district judiciary and reminded that the local government elections were in the offing. Hamid Khan explained that a large number of complaints and cases had created such perceptions about the role of the lower judiciary and its role was criticised not because of judicial functions but because of administrative functions in the conduct of elections. The chief justice recalled that Yousuf Raza Gilani had been disqualified as a member of parliament on a petition of Imran Khan, although the then attorney general had repeatedly requested the court to avoid taking up the matter. The court observed that the judiciary was required to be respected and if there was any grievance the remedy was available under the law.
Heavy rain batters Peshawar, Chitral By Zahiruddin and Zulfiqar Ali CHITRAL/PESHAWAR, Aug 2: Floods killed five people, swept away several houses and damaged road links in different valleys of Chitral district, while hill torrents and rainwater courses swelled and inundated low-lying areas in parts of Peshawar on Friday. . The Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) asked the administration in Peshawar and Charsadda to take precautionary measures for the safety of people living along Kabul river. The authority issued a flood warning and said Chitral river was in high flood and 50,000 cusecs of water would enter the river early on Saturday morning. “Therefore, the local administration should take precautionary measures to avoid any loss of public and private property downstream Warsak dam,” the PDMA quoted the provincial hydrology irrigation division as saying. Widespread rains started in Chitral on Thursday and it rained intermittently on Friday. Torrential rains continued to play havoc across the district. About 60 houses were swept away in Reshun village and after the warning people fled to higher ground for safety. A couple herding their cattle in the village’s pasture drowned in the flood water. Their bodies could not to be found. Former union Nazim Amirullah told Dawn that floods had washed away all five suspension bridges over the stream flowing through the village and the area was cut off from other villages. Over 200 families have been displaced. They have put up with their relatives in the village. Eleven vehicles have been swept away by flood. Violent currents hit Reshun village intermittently throughout the day. Three people went missing after a fresh wave hit Jughoor village. Seven houses were washed away by the flash flood in Parabek village of Lotkoh valley. Floods also hit other parts of Chitral district, including Denin and Karimabad, but there was no report of casualties or damage to property. Razhoi, a major irrigation channel, has been washed away by the flood, disconnecting Khot village and depriving 2,000 people of drinking water. Water supply schemes and irrigation channels have been damaged and people are facing shortage of potable water. Chitral’s Deputy Commissioner Mohammad Shoaib Jadoon visited the flood-affected area of Reshun and supervised relief work. In Peshawar, heavy rain triggered floods in three dry water courses passing through Hayatabad. A man was killed and two others were injured in rain-related incidents in Sheikh Mohammadi locality on Friday. Violent currents swept away several mud houses in Gulabad area of the provincial capital. Floodwater also washed away 20 houses in Khyber Agency. Floods wrecked havoc in Hayatabad Town and other areas along notorious Budhani Nullah. Water flooded basements of houses in Hayatabad and streets turned into virtual streams. Residents blamed the Peshawar Development Authority for the flooding of their houses and said the authority had allowed reclamation of water courses, which narrowed the beds of dry streams. The reclaimed land was sold to the private sector and construction of educational institutions and other commercial structures was allowed. Rescue 1122 said several stranded people were rescued in Hayatabad. The PDMA said 110,000 cusecs of water would enter the Kabul rive in the midnight and pass through Charsadda and Nowshera districts. The rising water level in Budhani Nullah submerged a portion of the highway linking Peshawar with Charsadda district, suspending traffic. People living near Kabul river have started vacating their homes after a fresh warning by the local administration. The PDMA said floodwater had entered houses in Sardar Ahmad Jan Colony and areas along Pajagai road. Rescue operation was in progress. Residents were seen shifting to safe areas in tractor trolleys.
Shia leader, son killed By Our Correspondent RAHIMYAR KHAN, Aug 2: Sheikh Manzoor Hussain, a local leader of Shia Ulema Council, and his son were shot dead just before Friday prayers. . Sheikh Manzoor, 62, and his 20-year-old son Haider Manzoor left their home in Umar Block of Abbasia Town to offer prayers and attend a rally when four men on motorcycles sprayed their car with bullets. Sheikh Manzoor died on the spot and his son succumbed to his injuries while he was being taken to hospital. The bodies were handed over to charged relatives after an exchange of harsh words between them and policemen at the Shaikh Zayed Medical College Hospital. As the news of the killing spread a large number of people gathered at the Imambargah Langar Hussaini. They raised slogans, demanding immediate arrest of the killers. Arms and club-wielding youths demonstrated on roads and in markets. They broke showcases of many shops in Nishtar Bazaar, Sadiq Bazaar, Milad Chowk and Railway Road. DCO Nabeel Javed told Dawn that law-enforcement personnel had brought the situation under control and efforts were being made to restore peace in the city. The DCO said those involved in violence would be sternly dealt with. Rangers patrolled Railway Chowk to maintain law and order. Leaders of Shia Ulema Council demanded arrest and punishment of the killers.
Call to change gas-sharing formula By Khaleeq Kiani ISLAMABAD, Aug 2: The federal government has asked provinces to make necessary changes in a gas sharing formula in order to get maximum economic output instead of wasting the scarce resource in non-productive consumption. . “We have taken up the issue with the Council of Common Interests at a recent meeting and requested provinces to rationalise gas distribution,” said Minister for Petroleum and Natural Resources Shahid Khaqan Abbasi on Friday. “We also need to look into the intention of the drafters of constitution” who perhaps wanted no discrimination against domestic consumers of a province when they made it part of constitution to first meet requirement of local people of a province before supplying gas to others,” he told journalists at his first media interaction as petroleum minister. He said it was unfair that CNG was available for vehicles in a gas-producing province while fertiliser plants were closed in another province due to non-availability of gas, even though the former may be the major consumer of fertiliser produced in that province. It is also unfair that electricity is being generated from fuel which is an expensive method and has its impact on all sectors and natural gas is supplied to CNG stations. Mr Abbasi said his ministry would persuade provinces to find some other way of determining uses of gas to minimise waste. “This needs to be rationalised. Pakistan belongs to all and provinces are part of it,” he said. At present about 67 per cent of natural gas is produced in Sindh, 19 per cent in Balochistan, 9 per cent in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and 5 per cent in Punjab. He said the narrow interpretation of Article 158 of the constitution had created a lot of problems for the country. The article requires that “the province in which a well-head of natural gas is situated shall have precedence over other parts of Pakistan in meeting the requirements from the well-head, subject to the commitments and obligations as of the commencing day.” Answering a question, the minister said it was for the first time in many years that the power sector (independent power producers and generation companies) was being provided about 1 billion cubic feet of gas per day although power sector required another 60MMCFD gas to run a couple of more IPPs. LNG IMPORT: The minister said there was a propaganda campaign against LNG import projects and most of it was not based on facts. He said Pakistan had not reached or signed any agreement with Qatar for LNG import or discussed its pricing so far. Pakistan has discussed with Qatar the option of LNG import on a government-to-government basis. Qatari oil minister, he said, had asked if Pakistan had terminal facilities for LNG re-gasification because LNG supply project could only be discussed once a terminal was in place. Four failed attempts in the past show that a terminal is important to move to the second phase of LNG imports. “Therefore, it has been decided to develop terminal in the public sector first and hold bidding for LNG supplies,” he said. He said the bidding process for terminal construction would begin in a few days so that “we have at least a firm commitment about setting up the terminal” before seeking bids of supplies at minimum price, otherwise gas price negotiations would become more complicated. Under the fast track import project of 200 MMCFD of LNG, bidding will be held among parties having jetties or Floating Storage Re-gasification Unit (FSRU) under which gas is delivered in 6-9 months after award of the contract or by October next year. Secondly, another project called SSGC Retrofitting was being examined for which bids have already been received. The minister said the technical bids were previously opened but financial bids were not opened for unknown reasons. Only one compliant bid of 4Gas Consortium, he added, was on the table and the SSGC board had been asked to examine the bid results and if found feasible go ahead with it. Thirdly, another green field terminal project for handling 500-1000 MMCFD of LNG was also being examined which may be set up at Port Qasim, offshore or at Gwadar that will take more than 26 months to complete. Answering another question, he said the government would go ahead with the Iran-Pakistan Pipeline Project and a couple of technical details would be discussed with the Iranian government. He said major financing for the project had to be arranged by the Iranian contractor who would also have to arrange co-contractors because of hesitation of international parties in view of US opposition.
US not to give up drone attacks By Anwar Iqbal WASHINGTON, Aug 2: “In no way would we ever deprive ourselves of a tool that would help us fight a threat if it arises,” says the US State Department while explaining Secretary of State John Kerry’s statement that US drone strikes in Pakistan will end soon.. Mr Kerry declared in an interview with Pakistan Television on Thursday the drone strikes in the country would soon come to an end. “I think the programme will end as we have eliminated most of the threat and continue to eliminate it,” the secretary said. Asked if there was a timeline for ending the drone strikes, Mr Kerry said: “I think the President (Obama) has a very real timeline, and we hope it’s going to be very, very soon.” The two quotes were read out at a news briefing at the State Department and spokesperson Marie Harf was asked to give a timetable for ending the drone programme. The official referred to President Barack Obama’s policy speech in May this year when he said the US had made significant progress against core Al Qaeda by using the drones and as it made more progress, the need to use the drones would also reduce. Ms Harf said that in his interview to Pakistan Television, Secretary Kerry only “reinforced the changes” that the US expected to take place in the drone programme over time, “but there is no exact timeline to provide. Obviously, a lot of this is driven by the situation on the ground”. She added: “The goal…is as we have success against Al Qaeda…we need to use this tactic less going forward, and that’s what the secretary was referencing.” She was reminded that Secretary Kerry talked about ending the strikes, not reducing them. “Well, clearly the goal of counter-terrorism operations, broadly speaking, is to get to a place where we don’t have to use them because the threat goes away. Now, we’re all realistic about the fact that there is a threat that remains and that we have to keep up the fight in this and other places around the world,” Ms Harf responded. The secretary’s statement, she said, was “in no way indicating a change in policy”. The State Department official pointed out that US drone strikes had eliminated a number of key Al Qaeda leaders but “nobody is naive about the threat, certainly, which is why we remain very focused on it, there and elsewhere”. Asked why the secretary was then talking about ending the use of a tool which the administration regards as so highly effective, she said: “We would all like to get to a place where there is no threat. Now, nobody’s naive about the fact that one still exists, and that we’re going to keep up the pressure.” If the US will not deprive itself of an effective tool like the drone, will it start using it again even if it was stopped, a journalist asked. “In no way would we ever deprive ourselves of a tool to fight a threat if it arises,” she responded. “That’s a point I’d like to make very clear.” The United States, however, would continue to discuss a broad range of counter-terrorism issues with the Pakistani government going forward, she said. Reminded that keeping the option available meant using it when needed, Ms Harf said: “I would not want to further expand on what it means when I say, ‘We would not deprive ourselves of a tool’. There’s a very different thing between saying we would keep tools that we think help us achieve our goals, and saying we reserve a certain right to do a certain thing in a certain place. I’m not going to commit to the specific hypothetical that you have raised.”
Motorcycle riding banned in Bajaur KHAR, Aug 2: The authorities again slapped a ban on motorcycle riding on Friday in the entire Bajaur Agency due to security concerns. . Talking to journalists, Political Agent Syed Abdul Jabar Shah said the decision had been taken in the interest of the people. “Imposing ban on motorcycle riding was a difficult decision but the step was taken to protect the lives of people,” he said. The elders and members of peace committees were also against the use of motorcycles in the region because they believed that militants could use two-wheelers for undesirable activities in the area, he added. On the other hand, tribesmen from various parts of the agency expressed concern over the decision and said it would badly affect people’s lives. Fazal Manan, a resident of Khar, said that motorcycle was the only means of transportation for the common people as the agency did not have a proper transportation system and the people could not afford vehicles for the purpose. The ban on the use of motorcycle in the agency was last lifted on July 10 after five years.—Anwarullah Khan
Editorial NEWS
Cycle of militancy: Parachinar bombed again FRIDAY’S twin bombings in Parachinar illustrate just how fragile the security situation in the Kurram Agency headquarters is. Some 50 people have been killed in the blasts, which targeted a marketplace and taxi stand clogged with a pre-iftar crowd. Such blasts targeting civilians in crowded public places have become routine in Parachinar and occur every few months. At least two similar bombings in markets took place in the town last year, resulting in high death tolls. The area where the blasts occurred is a Shia-dominated one and reports indicate that a group calling itself Ansarul Mujahideen has claimed responsibility for the bombings; in fact, it has said it would also target the Shia community in future. The attack has occurred at a sensitive time, in the run-up to the Youm-i-Ali observance on Ramazan 21.. Kurram is located in a tough tribal neighbourhood, where tribal politics mix with militancy and the wider sectarian conflict that is playing out in Pakistan. The sectarian tensions in the region predate the rise of militancy in this country. Yet with militancy becoming Pakistan’s biggest security headache over the last decade or so, the violence jihadi and sectarian groups have unleashed in the region has only intensified tribal and communal divisions. It is a positive sign that Kurram’s major tribes, including the Turi and Bangash, are still keen on mending fences and seeking a peaceful settlement to outstanding issues. Nevertheless, whenever militants, believed to be operating from outside Kurram, perpetrate violence, there are valid fears that the desire for peace may give way to renewed sectarian and tribal conflict. As in so many other parts of the country, militancy is the biggest security challenge in Kurram. There are numerous militant groups, with varying motives, that are active in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and the tribal belt. In Kurram’s context, clearing the neighbouring Orakzai Agency of militants could be key to establishing a lasting peace. Though the military has carried out operations in Orakzai, pockets of militants remain. There may be layers of security in Parachinar, including the army and checkposts manned by community volunteers, but more effort is required to keep a watch over the tough terrain between Kurram and Orakzai through which militants can infiltrate. To ensure that these militants do not exacerbate tensions between the tribes adherence to the Murree accord signed some years ago is necessary; all points agreed upon in the document, such as those relating to compensation for internally displaced persons, should be implemented.
Principled stand: Nawaz Sharif on Egypt IN calling for the immediate release of deposed Egyptian president Mohammed Morsi and for the restoration of ‘democratic institutions’ as early as possible, Prime Minister Sharif’s Foreign Office has taken a tougher line on events in Egypt than has been the case since turmoil erupted in that country two and a half years ago. There has been considerable violence in Egypt recently, and undoubtedly informed by his own personal experience with coups, Mr Sharif, who has kept the foreign ministry portfolio with himself, has staked out an interesting position on the Middle East. Several Gulf countries, including Saudi Arabia, whose leadership is a long-standing supporter of the Pakistani prime minister, backed the Egyptian army after its ouster of Mr Morsi and announced a $12bn emergency aid package to help stabilise the unravelling Egyptian economy. So, at the very least, the Foreign Office spokesperson’s comments on Egypt on Friday indicates the willingness of the Sharif government to take a contrarian stance where principle demands it.. To call for Mr Morsi’s release and for the quick return of Egypt’s nascent democratic process is the right stance. The Pakistani experience suggests that given a choice between problematic civilian leadership and a self-righteous military one, the former is always preferable. But Mr Sharif would do well to also focus on what Mr Morsi did wrong in his year in charge, if only to help himself better navigate Pakistan’s own fraught civil-military ties. In some ways, Mr Morsi’s year in power echoed the Sharif governments of the 1990s: an instinct to push hard and push immediately against entrenched power structures instead of consolidating power quietly and more methodically. Over the life of the last assemblies and since coming to power, Mr Sharif appears to be a changed man. In truth, however, he has yet to take up issues that go to the heart of the military’s institutional interests. Only when Mr Sharif turns to those matters will the country truly know just how much he has changed and how capable he is to guide the country towards civilian supremacy.
The larger picture: MQM-PML-N bonhomie IRONIC as it appears, the PML-N’s victory on May 11 has opened up new opportunities for the MQM. The PPP was all but routed, but the MQM managed to hold its ground — something the PML-N found it had no reason to bewail. With the Sharifs firmly in the saddle in Islamabad, the Muttahida can now bargain with the PML-N and put pressure on the PPP. This is perhaps the second irony, for the MQM, though never in a position to form a government on its own, had been part of the provincial coalition for five years, and there is no reason why it should not join hands once again with Chief Minister Qaim Ali Shah to reflect a rural-urban balance in the provincial set-up. However, the MQM’s choices have not always been consistent. It has previously walked out of coalition governments with both the PML-N and PPP, and even when in government its tactics have often resembled those of an opposition party. . On Friday, Mamnoon Hussain and Ishaq Dar met Dr Ishratul Ibad and Senator Babar Ghauri at Governor House, and then visited the party headquarters at Nine Zero. The party announced its support for Mr Hussain’s candidacy for the presidency, and the PML-N reportedly offered it a federal slot or two. With the Sindh PPP wooing the party leadership, the Muttahida at the moment has the upper hand. Unfortunately, the larger picture is being ignored in this politicking. The problems that torment the teeming millions of urban Sindh do not appear to matter; the party should look beyond cadres’ welfare and having stakes in the law enforcement machinery. For this, a broader, more mature vision that gives precedence to the welfare of the people in its constituencies should inform the party’s political moves and tactics.
Noisy opposition: Resignation call THE call on Saturday by Leader of the Opposition Khurshid Shah for the ECP commissioners to resign en masse is yet another missed opportunity in the quest to build an independent, autonomous and powerful election commission. Remember that it was the PPP itself which led the way on the constitutional amendments that created a legally more robust election commission during the last parliament. And the members of the ECP that Mr Shah has now demanded step down were picked by a parliamentary process in which the PPP itself played a lead role. Moreover, in the very recent past, when rural Sindh was paralysed by protests against alleged rigging in the May 11 general election, the PPP leadership did not seem quite as displeased with the ECP’s performance as the party appears to be now. The cynical partisanship, then, is not hard to miss at the moment.. Had Mr Shah and other opposition parties upset by the docility of the ECP really wanted to focus on improving the commission’s performance, there are any number issues they could focus on. The single most important task the ECP is entrusted with is to hold a general election for parliament and the provincial assemblies. But, as the recently held general election proved, the road from acceptable and credible elections to truly free and fair elections is a long one. From the compilation of voter lists to the scrutiny of candidates’ papers and from facilitating everyone who wants to vote on polling to dealing efficiently with the post-election appeals process, the ECP has much room to improve. Take just the issue of how the provisions of Article 62 and 63 of the Constitution were expansively applied during the initial scrutiny of candidates by returning officers who ultimately came under the ECP’s purview. Could parliament not be urged to revisit that unhappy episode by the Leader of the Opposition? Similarly, problems with the electoral rolls are far from over with. Could parliament not examine ways to support the ECP in keeping electoral rolls current and up to date? Or the countless polling day violations that have been summarised by various election observers and political parties — could parliament not spend some time examining how to iron out these problems and make the next general election, or more likely the local government elections, freer and fairer? If Khurshid Shah and the PPP simply want to be a noisy opposition, calling for the resignation of the ECP leadership will achieve that. But if they want to be a democracy-strengthening bloc, there are many other routes that can be taken.
No escape: Quota system extended THE federal cabinet’s decision on Thursday to once again extend the provincial quota system in federal services is not surprising. It is germane to conditions in Pakistan and has to be of necessity perpetuated. Meant to safeguard the interests of the people of ‘backward areas’, the quota system has acquired an obscene permanence because there is hardly any improvement in the lot of the people the scheme was to benefit. In the late 1940s, the decision made eminent sense. There was hardly any middle class in two of (West) Pakistan’s four provinces, the literacy rate was shockingly low, and the ‘central’ bureaucracy reflected an ethnic pattern that was a legacy of the British Indian civil service. The partition holocaust also brought with it an overwhelming number of bureaucrats who belonged to what was called the steel frame of British rule in India. Mostly from Punjab and the Urdu-speaking community, they acquitted themselves well during the country’s formative phase when a new political and bureaucratic structure was being created. Recruitment through competitive examinations would have merely reflected the same ethnic pattern. So a quota system was introduced as a temporary measure to have more people from the ‘backward areas’ in federal jobs. . Regrettably, we are stuck with it because it has not achieved its aim. A pitiable 7.5pc merit quota is still there, but people from Fata, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan are still not in government jobs in the numbers they should be. In Sindh, there are urban and rural quotas, and that anomaly continues to be extended. The issue has to be examined from two points of view: one, have the Constitution’s quota provisions enabled the bureaucracy to deliver? Two, has it served the interests of the backward regions? Independent of the quotas, the real challenge before the state is to ensure Pakistan’s uniform development to give the people a better life. It is only a well-developed state which can dispense with the aberration that is the quota system.
Justice on wheels: Mobile courts JUSTICE is an essential component of society everywhere and the provision of it an essential responsibility of the state. Given that state infrastructure in Pakistan, including the courts, tends to be located in urban areas, there are a great many areas where the justice system has little to no reach. From the villages and towns in the mountains of the tribal areas and the northwest parts of the country to the interior of Sindh, Punjab and Balochistan, the complaint is frequently heard that citizens cannot benefit from the court system because it is located too far away. How serious an issue this is can be gauged from the fact that several years ago, in the run-up to the Taliban’s takeover of Swat, the people of the area initially responded to the extremist group’s promise of providing speedy justice. And lack of access to the justice system is what, in part, allows forums such as jirgas — whose version of fair-dealing often involves illegal practices such as using women as dispute-settlement currency — to continue to be convened.. It is in this context that the mobile courts system inaugurated on the premises of the Peshawar High Court on Saturday must be viewed. The court has been pursuing the matter for over a year and it is to its credit that it has achieved its aim through notifications despite the inaction of the provincial government to pass the relevant laws. The idea behind the system is sound: the specially designed vehicle will travel about to resolve petty criminal and civil disputes. The idea has proved effective in India and Bangladesh and could prove of value here too. There are several parts of the country where an effective mobile court system could help aggrieved citizens.
History’s verdict: President’s election AS the country’s elected representatives prepare to elect the 12th president of Pakistan today, it is worth reflecting on the office itself and the men who have occupied it since its creation in 1956. The first three presidents were Iskander Mirza, Ayub Khan and Yahya Khan. None have been judged kindly by history, and rightly so. Next came Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, who inherited the job and a broken country from Yahya Khan. Mr Bhutto was perhaps this country’s greatest politician, but a leader whose flaws unhappily often matched his talents. As far as the presidency is concerned, however, Mr Bhutto was the leader who gave it its present-day shape under the 1973 Constitution. Some historians have suggested that the founder of the PPP preferred some variation of the presidential system he inherited from successive military dictators, but did not find much political support for the idea. Forty years on, there is a near-universal consensus among the political class that a parliamentary system is very much the preferred, if not the only workable, model for the country.. Of course, a ceremonial president was a short-lived idea: Fazal Ilahi Chaudhry spent five years in office before Gen Zia gave himself the job and then proceeded to recover all powers, and more, that the presidency held before 1973. Sadly for Mr Chaudhry, a largely anonymous figure, he was mocked by posterity for being a toothless president — particularly the posterity that had vested interests in re-empowering the presidency. After Zia came the era of the super-bureaucrat: Ghulam Ishaq Khan, a man who mastered the art of palace intrigue and was convinced that civilian politicians were an inferior class of leader as compared to, for example, himself. Ishaq Khan and the man who came after him, Farooq Leghari, were the 58-2-B presidents, non-military leaders who just could not resist picking sides and staying out of power politics. Next up was the 13th Amendment president, Rafiq Tarar, symbolising yet another short-lived attempt at reinstating the figurehead presidency. The Musharraf coup deposed the government that had Mr Tarar elected and that essentially guaranteed yet another U-turn ahead for the office of the presidency. All powers arrogated to the presidency once more, it took the 2008 elections and a generous Asif Ali Zardari to allow matters to revert to the 1973 model. And there matters rest today, with Mamnoon Hussain set to become the country’s 12th president. Politically, democratically, the country is stronger today than it was 40 years ago. Perhaps in five years’ time, it will be strong enough to have an altogether apolitical president.
No end in sight: Deaths in Egypt IS Egypt going to become a police state — worse than what it was under Hosni Mubarak? Following more than 70 deaths after two days of clashes, President Adly Mansour has authorised Prime Minister Hazem el-Beblawi to give army troops powers to arrest civilians. That the army should now get police powers underlines two painful realities for the generals: the Muslim Brotherhood remains defiant and the civilian security establishment is unable to control the bloodshed the coup makers had not foreseen. Concern over the deaths is being voiced across the world. That may not worry army chief Gen Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, because the US has announced aid to Egypt will continue. However, what he should worry about is the trap in which he has landed himself, for the future is going to see the regime getting deeper into the bog. Thousands of ex-president Mohammed Morsi’s supporters and their families have refused to leave Cairo’s Rabaa al-Adawiya mosque, and Interior Minister Mohammad Ibrahim’s claim that the protesters would be dispersed “soon” means a costly crackdown on the mosque camp is likely. . State terror and sophistry are not going to help Egypt. The only way for the army-backed regime to get out of the worsening crisis is to tackle the dissent politically and work sincerely and fast for a transparent election. The anti-Morsi camp’s euphoria was brief, for the generals realised within 24 hours of the coup that they had mistaken the street protest for a mandate to overthrow an elected government. The charges against Mr Morsi have sounded contrived. True, Mr Morsi’s failings are many, and he arrogated more powers to himself than was necessary. Nevertheless, it should have been left to the people to throw him out at the hustings. Last Wednesday Gen Sisi’s intentions to consolidate power became clear when he asked the Egyptian people to take to the streets in his favour. Unfortunately, this show of strength through street demonstrations has only polarised Egypt further.
Toying with life: Guns in children’s hands VERSIONS of ‘cowboys ’n Indians’ may be amongst the classics in children’s games, but in a place such as Pakistan, awash as it is with weapons, there are strong reasons why it should be discouraged. Yet when pressed by Junior to buy him the latest in plastic replicas of machines designed to deliver death, far too many people will comply. The fact is that guns are such a common accessory in today’s Pakistan that in an odd sort of way, the purpose for which they are designed seems to have been relegated to an afterthought. Children of all backgrounds playing with toy guns and pretending to shoot each other dead is thus a common sight, and why not? They are only indulging in a game that mirrors the realities they see around them — the problem, of course, being that in the process, the idea of holding a gun becomes more and more normalised. Someone who handled toy weapons in childhood may well feel more comfortable with the real thing in adulthood.. Pacifist ideas don’t sit too well in the context of modern Pakistan but, thankfully, they haven’t entirely evaporated yet, as one modest effort to counter the gun culture shows. An organisation that works in Karachi’s Pakhtun slums has initiated a campaign through the social media, radio and posters to persuade people to refrain from giving children Eid gifts in the form of toy guns. Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and the tribal areas, where weapons are carried as a cultural norm, are being targeted in particular. It is a drop in the ocean, true, but every effort has to begin somewhere. Wringing one’s hands over the fact that the gun culture is entrenched in Pakistan and leaving it at that is hardly a viable course of action.
History & controversy: Presidential election IT was, in the end, a result that the numbers had suggested was inevitable in the wake of May 11: the PML-N candidate cantered to victory in the presidential election yesterday. President-elect Mamnoon Hussain is now the final piece in what has, despite waves of controversy and occasional uncertainty, been a relatively smooth, and certainly significant, transition of power. May democracy live long and prosper. Before turning to the controversial nature of yesterday`s election, it is worth reflecting on who the candidate put forward by the PML-N is and what signal it was meant to send. TheN-League government has rightly been criticised for the overwhelmingly Punjabi, and within that Lahori, roots of the individuals it has assigned high-profile jobs to and the presidential election was an opportunity to improve its record. Among the less-populous provinces, Balochistan had already seen a significant concession by the PML-N when it offered the chief ministership to another party, while in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the PML-N resisted the urge, and pleadings of potential allies, to try and form its own coalition in the province. Sindh, where the PML-N`s presence is negligible, was the province to which no significant gesture had been made — until Mr Hussain`s candidacy for president was announced. At least at the outset of the presidential election, then, the PML-N`s choices deserved credit.. Then came the wholly unnecessary and still quite puzzling controversy. It is not clear, even now, why the PML-N was so opposed to the original election schedule announced by the ECP nor why the Supreme Court was so keen to weigh in on this issue and swiftly announce a court order that has attracted significant criticism. No one has emerged unscathed from this most peculiar of kerfuffles: not the ECP, not the PML-N, not the PPP or the PTI, and certainly not the court. Once again it appears that a miscalculation or miscue by one side triggered a cascade effect that no side foresaw or perhaps wanted. Still, the controversy cannot eclipse an overall gain for the democratic project. A president-elect is now among us, waiting to be sworn in to an office whose lack of powers has rendered it politically acceptable and non-controversial. Some complaints from the periphery notwithstanding, there is immense support for a parliamentary form of democracy in which the president is purely a figurehead. That choice may be theoretically imperfect, but the practice of democracy wholly endorses it here. President-elect Hussain must turn now to serving the country with dignity and grace.
Numbing paralysis — again: Raid on DI Khan jail IT was along the lines of shock and awe: residents of Dera Ismail Khan were jolted awake around 11pm on Monday night by a massive explosion followed by a series of blasts and gunfire. The area surrounding the Central Jail — located in a peopled area adjacent to a hospital and a school — was plunged into darkness as members of the TTP took out electricity transformers, set ambushes and fought their way in, firing rocket-propelled grenades and machine guns. Inside, they called out over loudspeakers the names of those they were there for. How many escaped is being disputed: KP chief minister Pervez Khattak has said that the figure is around 175, including 35 hard-core militants; the TTP claim 300, and other intelligence reports put the figure at over 230. Meanwhile, the raiders’ organised brutality is evident in that, notwithstanding the chaos, some Shia prisoners were identified and killed.. If the audacity of the attack is breathtaking, so is the fact that despite a similar assault on Bannu jail last year, the authorities were so easily caught out again — even though, this time, provincial security and administrative authorities had intelligence that a raid on the internment facility was imminent. Increasingly, the militant network appears an organised, emboldened and well-armed force running rings around a sluggish, even inept, security network. The PTI-led provincial government has, like the centre, failed to formulate any sort of policy towards countering militancy. The KP administration has not even gone as far as owning the war. This head-in-the-sand approach can only boost the confidence of the militants, while demoralising the people that resist them. It may well be that the militants are changing their tactics to springing their men out of jail as opposed to negotiating with the government for their release. This necessitates an urgent fortification of detention centres, not just in KP but across the country. Perhaps even more importantly, it necessitates the recognition that it is the state of Pakistan itself that is under assault.
Perception and reality: MQM and the media AS far as Pakistani media is concerned, the discourse about the MQM has changed significantly over the past few years. Today, both print and electronic media outlets seem to be pushing the envelope — as far as local standards are concerned — by carrying stories related to allegations of political violence and strong-arm tactics that have long swirled around the Muttahida. Perhaps even a few short years ago, such discussions would not have been possible. A lot of this has to do with changing global media trends; now, it is perfectly normal for international media outlets to pick up issues related to local politics and discuss them threadbare, as the British media has done with allegations linking Altaf Hussain with money laundering and incitement to violence. However, the party’s response has not evolved with the times; the allegations have been dismissed by the MQM machinery as “baseless” and “fake propaganda”. Instead of addressing the issues squarely in a more measured tone, such reactions come across as evasive. The Muttahida, and all other political parties in Pakistan, must realise that today, everything is under the microscope and instead of simply brushing accusations under the carpet, these must be addressed.. The media focus on the MQM has also sparked a debate on what shape Karachi’s political situation will take should Altaf Hussain no longer remain the party leader. The Muttahida is highly centralised with Mr Hussain calling the shots, and senior leaders have rejected a ‘minus Altaf’ formula. However, it would be legitimate to ask if an empowered second-tier leadership would be ready to steer the party — and the city of Karachi — out of choppy waters should the need arise. There is too much at stake to simply let the chips fall where they may — the MQM needs to meaningfully plan ahead lest crisis suddenly engulf its top leadership.
Poor ability to fight: D.I. Khan jail attack A DAY after the epic debacle that was Monday’s assault on Dera Ismail Khan’s Central Jail, KP Chief Minister Pervez Khattak said it was “very strange that people came in pickup trucks, motorbikes, broke into the jail and took away 250 prisoners easily”. Strange may be the correct term but it is equally applicable to the failure of his administration whose responsibility it is to ensure that such security breaches are prevented. This was no repeat of the Bannu jail raid last year. In this case, security and administration officials knew that such a hit was imminent. On Monday, hours before the attack, the area’s commissioner held a conference to discuss the matter with law-enforcement agencies and the civil administration. For the provincial administration to say, then, that it was an intelligence failure was both disingenuous and an irresponsible effort to deflect culpability. It was a tactical failure, pure and simple.. Why this tactical failure occurred, though, is extraordinarily disturbing in its implications. After the jail-break information was shared, standard operating procedures were fleshed out and specific response tasks were worked out. Over 100 jail guards and 75 personnel of the Frontier Reserve Force were available, as well as the Elite Police Force and armoured personnel carriers. But when it came to holding the line, the defences melted away. As a disgruntled security official said, metaphorically, the gun was there but there was no one to pull the trigger. Do law-enforcement personnel even have the capability of facing hordes as organised, single-minded and well-armed as the various militant groups clumped under the TTP? True, money has been pumped into the police force, particularly in KP, but most of it has gone towards salaries and increased strength. There has been little consideration of the fact that the numbers of personnel are immaterial if they aren’t trained for a fight that makes very specific demands. If we are not to reach a situation where militant groups can set their sights on ever higher targets, the law-enforcement apparatus needs an immediate overhaul to meet the escalating challenges posed by what has been the reality for several years now. Pakistan needs to set up modern maximum-security prisons designed to resist assault and prevent escapes; colonial-era internment centres, relics of another age, are simply not enough. The equation is, on paper, simple: the militants are increasingly well-organised, trained and armed; the state law-enforcement apparatus is not. The outcome of the conflict will ultimately be decided on the basis of the disparity between the two sides’ capabilities.
Welcome drive: Gas and power theft in Punjab THE PML-N government has launched a crackdown against power and gas thieves in Punjab. The drive has been welcomed and is an important part of the new national energy policy. It is expected to help public power and gas utilities save billions of rupees and cut their surging revenue losses. The FIA has also been engaged in this campaign to make it more effective. The two gas companies are facing theft and losses of around 11pc, with each percentage point costing them over Rs2bn. Similarly, the theft and losses suffered by Pepco are estimated to be a whopping 25-28pc of the total electricity output. Each percentage point adds Rs8.5bn to the revenue loss of the company. Gas and power theft not only adds to the losses incurred by the utilities, it also puts additional financial burden on consumers who pay their bills honestly as governments tend to incorporate these losses into their bills. . While the results achieved so far have been encouraging, those involved including powerful businessmen and corrupt officials have yet to be apprehended. Many of the suspected gas and power thieves are either related to politicians or are elected members of the provincial and national assemblies. Mostly they belong to the ruling party and sometimes to opposition parties, including the PPP. The crackdown should not be seen to be aimed at political opponents alone and it is hoped that the government will also punish its own people who are involved. The drive launched by the utilities against gas and power pilferage is not new. The PPP government had also launched a campaign to prevent theft. But it lost momentum before it could even take off because the companies did not get the required cooperation from the PML-N provincial government then. Police would refuse to accompany the raiding teams and to register cases if PML-N leaders were involved. With the PML-N in power at the centre and in the province, it is hoped that the campaign maintains its momentum in the weeks to come.
Helipads not the answer: Fighting fire MINUS the hare-brained helipad part of it, the plan to give a modern fire-fighting system to Lahore’s multistorey buildings has many positive points. Knocked into consciousness after the Lahore Development Authority Plaza tragedy on May 9, the civic agencies of the provincial capital have got together to give input to a fire safety commission set up on the orders of the Lahore High Court. The commission has representatives drawn from the city government, the LDA and the Pakistan Engineering Council. Their recommendations make eminent sense: there should be sprinklers on all floors (except the basement), emergency lights, smoke detectors, external stairs for emergency exits and regular fire drills. These are quotidian measures that should have been in place long ago instead of being discovered and suggested now. Were these rules not already there in the LDA’s worm-eaten building manuals? If they were, why were they ignored? Well, since wisdom tells us it is never too late, let’s hope the recommendations will be implemented not only for high-rises that are to come up but in the case of existing ones as well — assuming of course that their construction, location and unauthorised alterations leave room for such essentials.. The interesting part of the input concerns helipads which high-rises are supposed to have. We assume that the new constructions will be strong enough to withstand a helicopter’s landing and take-off, because we would not want the roofs to cave in. But the question is why we go for such mod solutions when the meticulous observance of time-tested techniques could do just as well. Fires grow. Timely action can stop a minor blaze from turning into a conflagration. Old is gold. Let’s not forget those red-coloured fire-extinguishers bequeathed to us by the British. We need them rather than helipads.
More controversy: CECs resignation A PRESIDENT has been elected, but the fallout from the controversial electoral process continues. The chief election commissioner, Fakhruddin Ebrahim, has resigned and, while he has not said so directly, it has been reported that Mr Ebrahim was unhappy with the Supreme Court amending the presidential election schedule and the lack of support he received from the other ECP members. Meanwhile, the Supreme Court has summoned the PTI chief Imran Khan today to explain why he should not face contempt charges for comments critical of the judiciary made in the run-up to the presidential election. All in all, it is an extraordinary surge of controversy after the event — and has the potential to tarnish the reputations and democratic credentials of all involved.. Mr Ebrahim’s resignation in particular seems driven more by frustration and emotion than calm rationalisation. As the CEC who presided over an election that is largely seen as credible and acceptable but not entirely free and fair, Mr Ebrahim was uniquely positioned to push the project of electoral transparency forward, especially since he was only a year into the job. From electoral rolls to vetting of candidates’ papers to enforcing campaign rules to ensuring a transparent polling-day process and much, much more, there is a lot that remains to be done. Mr Ebrahim may have chafed under the constraints of his office — previous CECs, before the last parliament’s constitutional amendments, wielded much power, whereas now the CEC has just one of the five votes in the ECP — but to give up so early into his job, even if a general and a presidential election are now under his belt, surely does not send the right signal. Yet, when seemingly clear-cut constitutional prerogatives are taken over by another institution, resignation may be the only honourable thing to do. But rather than try and wade out of controversy, the court has waded deeper in with the summons to Imran Khan. The PTI supremo’s words were uttered in public and made a clear distinction between undermining the integrity of the judicial pillar of the state and criticising specific actions or judgements handed down by the judiciary in recent electoral matters. The right to criticise a judicial pronouncement is very much a part of the democratic order. In fact, it is also part of the judicial order of things: after all, the recently forgotten practice here of dissenting opinions by judges has through near-universal legal history helped developed the law as it stands today. Too many battles and too much controversy is unhealthy for any institution.
Rare consensus: New power policy THE new power policy has broken fresh ground already. The fact that it carries with it the consensual support of the provinces is something new, and certainly a source of strength. It is also heartening to note that the provinces did not play a purely obstructionist role, but were discerning in raising their objections. They protected their entitlements to the country’s fiscal resources, but agreed on energy conservation measures and agreed also to take tough action against power and gas theft. They also did not raise any undue objection to the tariff hikes envisaged by the policy, which shows they resisted the impulse to play populist politics. All of this is a welcome change; no power policy in the past has commanded such deep consensus and this means that there is one less excuse left for failure.. This brings us to the crux of the matter. The real test for the policy, indeed for the government, is now poised to begin. On Wednesday, Minister for Water and Power Khawaja Asif took the opportunity to remind the country that the amount of electricity being generated in the country is now at a peak — 16,000MW. He was right to point out that this state of affairs will be short-lived if crucial reforms are not put into place quickly. Empowered with the consensus amongst the provinces, the debate has ended and the implementation phase must now begin. From here onwards, we all expect to see hikes in power tariffs, but we also hope to see losses reduced and gas diverted to the power plants in spite of objections from the powerful CNG and fertiliser lobbies. We hope that the matter will not run out of steam after the tariff hikes, and that the government will find the wherewithal to make the tough calls necessary to see the policy implemented in letter and spirit. All eyes are now on the cabinet that will oversee implementation, and the timelines are not very long.
Pakistanis out of line: All about queues IT was a readable and rare caption to a picture in this newspaper — “customers scream their iftari orders”. With their hands stretched out, the customers in Hyderabad had no choice but to implore and scream to draw the salesman’s attention because standing in line is not a part of South Asian culture. Whether it is a bank counter, a nihari shop or a railway ticket office, forming a queue is one of urban life’s many requirements Pakistanis have not cared to adopt. Surprisingly, there are places where Pakistanis have always stood patiently in line — cinemas, for instance. There was mutual respect, for everyone conceded the other’s right to entertainment. Not getting a ticket was one of life’s great disappointments and had to be endured. But to be deprived of a ticket because someone jumped the queue would have meant a brawl. Pakistanis also queue up — rather, are made to do so — at airports because of stringent security procedures. In any case, the atmosphere at most airports since 9/11 has been grim.. Basically, queues — or their absence — give an insight into a people’s civic consciousness, their level of education, and a commitment, or lack of it, to egalitarianism and human rights. A society that believes in queues is a classless society. From this point of view we have a long way to go. As once observed by defence analysts about the 1973 Middle East conflict and Arabs’ lack of discipline, the latter were unable to queue up for a bus let alone pose a security threat to Israel. But the moment Arabs learn to stand in line, Israel must worry about its security. In the zero-sum game between Pakistan and India, neither side need worry, because people on both sides are good at screaming out their orders.
Battle of wills: Imran Khan in court IT is a wholly unnecessary episode, but not necessarily just for the reasons discussed in Courtroom No 1 yesterday in the Supreme Court. Twice Imran Khan’s counsel claimed that his client had never had the intention to commit contempt of court nor had he in any way committed contempt by criticising the Election Commission of Pakistan or election returning officers for their conduct during the general election. The position Mr Khan staked out was an expected one — and arguably even a reasonable one. But the Supreme Court bench appeared to want Mr Khan to seemingly issue an unreserved apology for the words he uttered that have been construed as an insult by the superior judiciary. . Mr Khan now has nearly a month to finesse a written statement that can bridge the gap between what the PTI chief is willing to admit and what the court expects him to say. It can only be hoped that the next few weeks produce a familiar Pakistan-style distraction that allows the country to leave behind this quite vexing and bizarre of episodes. But that may be a forlorn hope given that both Mr Khan and Chief Justice Chaudhry are not exactly known for backing down on questions of ego and personal reputation. Even if a solution is to be found — and surely, it is hard to conceive of Mr Khan being put on trial or being sent to prison for his comments relating to the conduct of the general election — that still leaves a broader issue of a court that has waded deep into controversy on many fronts and which does not appear to be reflecting about the cost that is inflicting on the judicial institution. By now, with just a few months left until the completion of Chief Justice Chaudhry’s tenure, it is extremely unlikely that the style and substance of the court’s workings will see a significant reversal. If anything, with the clock rapidly winding down on the chief justice’s tenure, there may be a temptation to cap off a historic chief justiceship with judicial fireworks of even greater intensity. But strong as that temptation may be, if institutional strengthening and deepening the democratic project are indeed the ultimate goals, the temptation must be avoided. After December, there will still be a Supreme Court and it will need to be as strong, fair and independent as it has ever been. Judicial overreach or a hair-trigger in the months ahead will surely undermine that ultimate goal.
Still a slippery slope: Pakistan-US ties LIKE a cliché-ridden soap opera, the Pakistan-US relationship also seems to revolve around familiar plot lines in which the protagonists wax lyrical about their strong relations and common interests while the irreconcilable differences are far too obvious to those watching the show. Secretary of State John Kerry’s visit to Pakistan, which was his first since having replaced Hillary Clinton and also the first since the new government has arrived on Constitution Avenue, was a successful one — on the surface. The American official congratulated Pakistan on its smooth democratic transition; praised its reconciliatory efforts towards Kabul; met a number of civilian political leaders and also announced the resumption of the famous strategic dialogue that had been brought to a halt by the Salala attack in 2011. . However, beyond the smiles and the photo ops, the words exchanged once again highlighted the differences that keep the Islamabad-Washington relationship on a permanent roller coaster ride. There is little doubt that “cross border militancy”, which Kerry called “a key aspect of our strategic dialogue” could once again turn the smiles into scowls. And though he didn’t mention North Waziristan, his references to “safe havens” were simply a less intrusive way of pressing the old American demand — that militants operating out of Pakistan had to be stopped by use of force if necessary. Similarly, the confusion over what the secretary of state said about drone attacks and of course Islamabad’s constant refrain about ending them was also a reminder of the many sticking points in the relationship. Indeed, both the countries have been at this juncture before where they have spoken of a new beginning. But the problem is that this beginning can quickly turn into a dead-end because of the militants that use the Pakistan territory to strike into Afghanistan. Or for that matter, a particularly lethal drone strike or another cross border foray like Salala can also transform today’s friends and allies into scorned lovers. A happily ever after ending is still not in sight.
Undemocratic move: Ban on Bangladesh party THE Dhaka high court’s ruling, whose consequences debar the Jamaat-i-Islami from taking part in the general elections due early next year, raises a question or two about the future of democracy in Bangladesh. The three-judge judgement declared the country’s leading Islamic party illegal, saying its charter breached the constitution, it cannot register with the election commission and, thus, will not be able to take part in any elections. Independent of the nature of the Jamaat charter and philosophy, the issue must be examined from the point of view of its impact on Bangladesh’s politics and society already rent by violence following the death sentence given to a Jamaat leader for war crimes. The country needs to strengthen its nascent democracy, and this cannot be done by keeping religious forces out of the electoral process. Every polity has its quota of radicals and rebels without a cause. Ultimately it is their own philosophy that marginalises them, provided the state permits a free play of democratic forces.. There is no doubt Bangladesh’s constitution is secular, but it is the very antithesis of secular philosophy if the judiciary’s interpretation infringes upon citizens’ right to elect their representatives. Secularism does not mean war on dissent; in fact, in a democratic context it implies granting the citizen the right to differ. To say that this right in a given situation could ‘breach’ the constitution amounts to a serious digression from democratic principles. Besides, while affirming the constitution’s secular character, the document’s preamble declares that the aim of the state is to realise “through the democratic process” a society in which “fundamental human rights and freedoms … will be secured for citizens”. The judges will be hard put to explain how Thursday’s judgment upholds the constitution’s preamble.
Columns and Articles
Clarity is still missing By Muhammad Amir Rana THE new government is in search of a counterterrorism policy. Meanwhile, militants that are evidently clear about their agendas and goals are busy expanding the range of their targets and diversifying their tactics.. The recent attacks on foreign mountaineers in Diamer and a university bus of women in Quetta are just two among many examples of the militants’ changing targets and attack tactics. These and other similar attacks challenge our law-enforcement agencies’ vigilance and response mechanism; they have failed to understand the exact nature and strength of the militant groups. The protracted confusion about the Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and other militants and their acts that exists in Pakistan at the level of the state and society not only emboldens the militants but also provides them the space to expand and strengthen their operational infrastructure and capabilities and sharpen their destructive edge. Those who are aware of Pakistani militants’ ideology and views about the country’s social order, political system and the Constitution find it extremely hard to find a reason why the militants would stop launching attacks. The years-long spree of militant attacks in Pakistan that has intensified over time offers concrete evidence to support this fact. The attacks also indicate that the militants think ahead of Pakistan’s security agencies and law-enforcement agencies. A diachronic comparison of the militants’ targets and attack tactics reveals that until 2008, groups affiliated with Al Qaeda and the Pakistani Taliban were using sophisticated techniques that were used by insurgents in Iraq. Such tactics were employed, among others, in three major terrorist attacks in 2008: the attack on the Federal Investigation Agency building in Lahore and attacks on the Danish embassy and Marriott Hotel in Islamabad. In 2009, they further enhanced their operational strategies and successfully imitated the Mumbai attacks in four major assaults here: the attack on GHQ in Rawalpindi, that on the Sri Lankan cricket team in Lahore, and two on the Manawan Police Training School in Lahore. Also, 2009 was the year when militants started targeting particular cities through repeated strikes to increase the impact of the terror, a trend that continues to date. For instance, in 2009, they targeted Peshawar, in 2010 it was Lahore and in 2011-12 they focused on Karachi, Quetta and Peshawar. A major change noticed in the militants’ strategy in 2010 was the use of women in suicide attacks. While they have continued to do this, it has not become a popular trend. Cultural sensitivity could be one reason, but it also indicates that the militants have little female human resource available for the purpose. In 2011 and 2012, extremists intensified sectarian-related attacks and increasingly resorted to targeted killings. Law enforcement agencies noticed that militants increasingly used the peripheries of cities, mainly recently developed settlements, as hideouts. Previously, they considered it easier to hide in more populated areas. This trend was noticed in Islamabad, Lahore and Karachi. The first half of this year reflected that militants’ international credentials are getting stronger. The news of the TTP’s engagement in Syria did not, indeed, surprise many as its links with some global jihadist groups are known to all. The attack on the foreign mountaineers also indicated that local extremist groups’ nexus with Al Qaeda had now been nurtured to the extent that they had started diversifying their targets in the international context. Most often, militants use bogus identification and wear the uniforms of the security forces; this has become a major security concern. In the GHQ, Mehran and Kamra attacks the extremists wore army uniforms and used vehicles painted in the same manner as military vehicles. They used a similar tactic in transporting explosives as well. On the whole, a strong sense of insecurity prevails in Balochistan, Fata, Karachi and most parts of KP. Fata has been a flashpoint of the TTP insurgency and terrorism since 2004. Successive governments have failed to evolve any approach, whether military, political, talks or reintegration, to address the issue. Despite a continuing increase in the frequency and intensity of the attacks in the country and domestic and global pressures to counter the threat, the responses of security and political circles are still to be synchronised to build a counterterrorism policy. What does this delay yield except strengthening the militants and weakening the state responses? The persistence of critical security issues and flaws in policy and coordination provided militants the opportunity to develop their nexus with criminal networks, which ultimately resulted in a rise in crime. Militants are now involved in abductions for ransom across Pakistan. Some reports also suggest that they are aiding criminals in their activities. With regard to the militant-criminal nexuses, Karachi, Balochistan, parts of Punjab, the tribal areas and even Islamabad have become critical areas. The police force still needs to be equipped with new technologies and resources but utilising the resources available and allocated for the force is also a critical issue. In Islamabad, the police acquired two helicopters for aerial surveillance to counter terrorism and crime in 2012, but there were serious doubts if they would be able to use them effectively. In the recent past, scanners worth billions of rupees were disposed of because of the reluctance to use technology and on account of incompetence of the police. It has been the same case with the elite police force, which is trained for specific targets, mostly dealing with terrorists or hardened criminals; its officials are instead made to perform functions that fail to utilise their specialised skills. Terrorists are using diverse attack tactics to hit targets across Pakistan but the state and society are still unclear about where to start. A segment of the intelligentsia and the media is also promoting confusion while missing different socio-political and religious trends pertaining to terrorism. The clarity that is required to address the issue is still missing and it seems that the new government has also failed to assess the nature of the threat. The government should realise that confusion on its part will be conceived as a victory by the militants.
An ill-explained order By Sameer Khosa THE boycott of the upcoming presidential election by several of the opposition political parties in the wake of the shifting of the presidential election forward by a week to July 30 has put the spotlight squarely on the Supreme Court’s intervention in the matter. . The court decided the matter through a five-page order, in a single hearing, giving the impression of it being a straightforward matter. Yet, the court has not acknowledged serious constitutional and legal hurdles. Could the Supreme Court have simply second-guessed the election schedule prepared by the Election Commission of Pakistan because it felt it would be more convenient? The Supreme Court is a powerful court, but even its power is regulated by the Constitution. The only direct way for a petitioner to approach the Supreme Court is under Article 184(3) of the Constitution. This requires that there must be a matter of ‘public importance’ and it must relate to the ‘enforcement’ of ‘fundamental rights’ protected by the Constitution. The Supreme Court’s order makes no attempt to discuss whether this threshold has been fulfilled. Does the shifting of the election from Aug 6 to July 30 ‘enforce’ the fundamental rights of the people of Pakistan? What is worrisome is that the Supreme Court did not attempt to articulate a position vis-à-vis this constitutional provision to justify whether it can pass such an order. With respect, the Supreme Court needed to justify how holding the election on Aug 6 would breach fundamental rights and how holding it on July 30 enforces those rights. Merely finding the election schedule unreasonable or impractical does not give rise to the justification or jurisdiction for the Supreme Court to exercise its power. Moreover, what is the justification and is it constitutionally sufficient? The Supreme Court has effectively held that sitting in aitekaf, or proceeding on umrah by some voters in an election are sufficient grounds for changing the election date. Is the absence of voters ground for changing election dates? How many voters must be absent for this ground to be available to a political party? On what grounds must they be absent? Inability to get voters to the election booth (because ultimately that is what the PML-N’s ground boils down to) should not be a constitutional reason for the political party to get changes in an election date. Would this apply in a general election, and if not why not? Could a political party state that elections at one time are inconvenient because its voters would not be able to make it, so the election date should be changed? No figures were provided in the Supreme Court as to how many members would be abroad (none at least are mentioned in the order). Crucially, none of the members who would actually not be able to vote approached the court asking for a change in the date. Senator Zafar-ul-Haq did not state that since he would not be able to vote, his rights were being violated. He simply said that there may be some other people who may not be able to vote, so on that hypothetical premise (not backed by statistics) the election date should be changed. Yet, none of those ‘other’ people had actually approached the court asking for redress. Should an election date be changed on the basis of hypothetical unavailability of people, when none of the people suspected to be unavailable have actually made an issue out of it? The only justification provided in the order is that the Constitution provides that Muslims will be allowed to order their lives in accordance with Islamic principles. That voting may involve a sacrifice of the voter’s spiritual ‘plans’. Thus an election on Aug 6 would be unconstitutional. Having an election in the last 10 days of Ramazan does not prevent a Muslim from “ordering his life” in accordance with Islamic principles. He or she can still pray, fast, worship and carry on living freely as a Muslim. Inconveniencing an optional religious ‘plan’ once in five years for a constitutional election does not prevent their life from being “ordered” according to Islam. This is not a violation of the Constitution. After all, the citizens of Pakistan do not stop working in the last 10 days of Ramazan and it is not unconstitutional to work in those 10 days. Why should parliamentarians not report to their work? How is that unconstitutional? However, circle back and the question remains, where is the “enforcement of fundamental rights” that is the only situation in which the Supreme Court can directly intervene? Where is even the pretence of a discussion of that question? Then there is the procedural question mark. One political party has been heard and the entire matter has been decided on its stance alone. No opportunity was granted to any other candidate or any other party to present its stance. Courts usually hear interested parties before deciding a question that will impact them. Changing the date of an election may have a significant impact on the outcome of that election. The availability (or lack thereof) of the voters for a candidate on any given date is crucial to an electoral contest. Therefore, it was imperative that at least the other candidates (if not parties) should have been heard. The Supreme Court’s order is too simple. Constitutional hurdles involved have simply not been explained. The numbers in this presidential election already pointed to a heavy favourite. However, by bringing the date forward at the behest of one party to ensure that the maximum number of their voters would be present, the Supreme Court (knowingly or unknowingly) made a game-changing intervention but left its wisdom and jurisdiction unexplained. The writer is a lawyer. skhosa.rma@gmail.com
The anti-Zia By Cyril Almeida SOMETIMES, it’s the unrelated that have the most in common.. The Supreme Court fiddled around with an election schedule and the ISI was attacked in Sukkur. Two entirely separate episodes that can’t possibly have anything in common, right? Wrong. There is a common thread, and that thread is religion. Or, more precisely, religiosity. And if religiosity is a complex enough problem to begin with, what compounds the problem is that no one dare push back. Start with the court. By now we know the decision to expedite the presidential election is terribly controversial. And the reason it is terribly controversial, according to lawyers and politicians who have spoken about it publicly, is that a) the court only heard the PML-N and b) it was a decision that was, ultimately, the ECP’s to take. Except, not really. The court has long ached to establish itself, à la Bush, as The Decider. If there’s a dispute on hand and a bit of the limelight to be had, the Court of Chaudhry wades in and let’s everyone know who’s boss. That’s the way things have been and that’s the way things will be, until December. But it’s the line of argument the court has deployed so often — and there is now a list of judgements long enough to establish the pattern — that is more instructive, and worrisome. Essentially, the court has ruled that our legislators’ right to spend Eid in their hometowns or to go on umrah this Eid or to choose to spend the last days of Ramazan in a thoroughly optional religious retreat is a fundamental right guaranteed under the Constitution. And so fundamental are these newfangled rights of our legislators that they override the legislators’ constitutional duty to elect a president. This is, of course, absurd. The Constitution says no such thing. Which is why the court made no attempt to explain its reasoning — there is no reasoning available that is legally or constitutionally tenable. But there is one line of reasoning that can be deployed that is immune to criticism: religion. Listen carefully to what has been said in criticism of the court order. Folk have risked the gavel of contempt being brought down on them by publicly suggesting that the court has issued a political ruling. But no one has dared challenge the quasi-logic of religiosity at the core of the judgement. The 27th of Ramazan isn’t a public holiday. The country functions normally, or as close to normal as Pakistan can function in Ramazan, on the day. If everyone else has to work on the 27th of Ramazan every year, what is this fundamental right our elected representatives enjoy that allows them to skip work, ie electing a president, that will come up just once in their five-year terms? And if our elected representatives do have a right to not work on the 27th of Ramazan this year, then surely the rest of us are entitled to that right every year. Ever pity the poor sod who has to work in a hospital emergency room or in air-traffic control or in a war zone on Eid day itself? Well, they probably never thought of it, but in the Supreme Court may lie their salvation, or at least a bit of R&R over Eid.Or ever feel sorry for the guard who has to work at iftar time… Which helpfully brings us to Sukkur and the attack on the ISI. Here’s the scenario: a truck laden with explosives is wending — possibly speeding — its way through Sukkur towards its target in a so-called high-security zone; the truck’s passengers have their suicide vests strapped on and bags of grenades knocking together at their feet; and wingmen with guns are motoring alongside the truck on their bikes. Quite the spectacle that may or may not get pulled over before it gets to its target on any given day. But if it’s iftar time, our little spectacle on wheels can be almost sure it won’t get pulled over. And that, when it arrives at its destination, no one will be ready to defend against it. Why? Because it’s iftar and the ritual of breaking the fast, and breaking it as a group, trumps whatever training has been imparted, and even the instinct for self-preservation. And nobody can say anything about it. At most, someone will trot up to a camera or microphone and berate the terrorists for not respecting the unwritten code of iftar-time habits. Few would dare question and absolutely no one would dare excoriate the men who were responsible for protecting themselves and others for failing at the very moment that the danger is the highest and is known to be the highest. And that’s because sympathy for individuals who are trying to fulfil their religious obligations in the culturally appropriate way trumps everything else. Everything else including possibly justified anger at what amounts to a dereliction of duty, or at the very least negligence, that allowed the militants to kill and maim and inflict yet another psychological blow on the country. You see, they, the guards, were just trying to be good Muslims. No job in the world can take precedence over that. Even if it means some of them die. Even if it means others die. Religiosity has taken over, and there’s nothing anyone can do about it. Well, maybe not nobody. It took a Zia to get us here; it will take an anti-Zia to walk us back. But an anti-Zia in this place, now, today? May as well take the 27th off and have a hearty iftar: the wait will be a long one. The writer is a member of staff. cyril.a@gmail.com Twitter: @cyalm
Humanity and its heritage By Hajrah Mumtaz GIVEN the scale of the violence in Syria at the moment, it is worth noting that the world nevertheless found it in itself to care when, last week, a historic shrine was destroyed.. In an attempt to retake a ‘rebel-held’ area of Homs, shelling by the Syrian army destroyed the mosque-mausoleum of Khalid bin Walid, a notable figure in Islamic history. Shelling also damaged the complex of Syeda Zainab’s shrine in the outskirts of Damascus. This is far from the first of heritage sites damaged or destroyed in the war under way in that country. In April, the minaret of the landmark Umayyed mosque in Aleppo was destroyed, and in September, parts of the city’s souks — which were the largest covered such market in the world and portions of which date back to the 14th century — were burnt down. Another of the sites destroyed in that country was the tomb of Ammar ibn Yasir in Raqqa, blown up by anti-government protesters in March. It is an unfortunate reality that conflicts in the present inevitably have an effect on heritage and history that, it has been argued, belong to humanity at large. History is not the purview or focus of interest of that group alone to which it relates directly, obviously; ie, the shrine of Khalid bin Walid is not of significance to Muslims alone but is the legacy of humanity at large and to anyone that has an interest in linking the past with the future or studying it. And for this reason, while any conflict is viewed of course through the lens of the damage it has caused to how many lives, it is also considered through that of what it has cost the world in terms of history lost. When the war is over, the rubble cleared up and lives pieced together again, what remains in human memory are these twin costs. We mourn the Second World War for the lives it cost, but also for the dozens of sites in various cities that were decimated, taking physical markers of history with them. Julius Caesar is remembered for the many battles he launched and his victories, but also for the burning down (possibly incorrectly; there are conflicting accounts) of the library of Alexandria. In some cases, the destruction of heritage is an accidental consequence of the conflict; the spots are not targeted specifically but merely happen to be located in the wrong place at the wrong time. In other cases, however, they are directly targeted by human actors, assaulted for being markers of a group, ideology or religion that the aggressors seek to obliterate. As an example, consider the destruction of the giant sixth-century statues of Buddha in Bamiyan, Afghanistan, destroyed by the Afghan Taliban in 2001. Their obliteration was an act of wanton damage, a signal sent out to the world that the Afghan Taliban’s power was unchallengeable and that the group could do as it liked in the country. Also, subliminally, it was an assault that spoke volumes for the Taliban’s intolerance of absolutely anything in the region that deviated from the manner in which they interpreted the past and the present, and the space they afforded to ideas they considered deviant. This is hardly a curious phenomenon. The point of any war, obviously, is to comprehensively take out the group against which you are fighting. When furies compound enough to erupt into conflict, that is hardly an emotional position from where concern can be shown towards history or heritage; the warrior is by definition far from kind-hearted or concerned. The whole point of war is to obliterate, often not just people but also the places and ideas that are testament to the existence of those people. The culture of Poland was as much a target of the Nazis, to take one example out of many, as the people themselves. Germany formulated a fleshed-out policy on how to do this, which included arrests and killings as well as the destruction of buildings and artefacts. If mankind is remarkable for anything other than its predilection towards killing others (humanity is the only species that kills for sport, and also one of the extremely few that kills its own kind), it is for the culture it has also created. That it simultaneously creates and destroys the very things that raise it above the level of the animal kingdom is something that poets and philosophers have pondered over the millennia. Because the remarkable thing about the destruction of historical sites and artefacts is that, in some cases, it has been done even in the absence of conflict and for reasons that are hard to agree with or sometimes even understand. Take the Bamiyan statues again as an example: also encapsulated in that act of the Taliban is the value they afford to history and heritage. Some societies and peoples accord the past with lesser importance than others, one must suppose. Some of the venerable walls of the Lahore Fort were assaulted by the British, when they set up a mobile hospital in part of it. In contemporary times, nails were hammered into those same halls during a period where commercial events were allowed to be held in it; and on occasion access to the public has had to be restricted here and at other historical sites because of people’s regrettable habit to carve names and hearts wherever they can. And Saudi Arabia is redeveloping parts of Makkah which involves the wiping out of many sites and artefacts that are part of Islam and humanity’s historical record. Yet there isn’t even a war going on — unless, one looks beyond the surface. The writer is a member of staff. hajrahmumtaz@gmail.com
Towards media reforms? By Zohra Yusuf WHILE there is much hand-wringing in society on the powerful and irresponsible role the media has assumed for itself in Pakistan, little attention was paid by the media itself to the report released by the two- member media commission appointed by the Supreme Court in January 2013. . The authors of the report, retired Justice Nasir Aslam Zahid and former information minister and senator, Javed Jabbar, express their concern on the apathy they observed. In their letter to the registrar of the Supreme Court, they write: “… to date ie end May 2013. A period of about 45 days since the placement of Part One of the Report on the website of the Supreme Court, there has not been a single report of the Commission’s findings, observations and recommendations on TOR No. F ie “to inquire into allegations of media-related corruption and suggest steps to ensure impartial and independent media for the upcoming elections”. The commission members also express their concern over the lack of public response to the nine-point terms of reference (TOR) earlier published in all leading newspapers in all languages. The media commission was constituted by the Supreme Court in response to a petition filed by two journalists requesting the court to order the Ministry of Information to release details of secret funds disbursed to media persons. The TOR was broadened to cover wider issues of corruption and to propose recommendations for a fairer media, particularly in view of the general elections scheduled for May 2013. Spread over two parts with annexures, the commission’s report is possibly the first to touch on the media in Pakistan in totality. The Commission members have done a painstaking job of not only analysing media structures, ownership patterns and policies but have put forward many recommendations, some of which go to the heart of the issues that ordinary citizens have with the mass media. Certain aspects of the report are an eye-opener even for those fairly familiar with the workings of the media in Pakistan. The four categories of media (print, electronic, social & classical/below the line) studied, have, for example, different conditions and criteria for functioning even though audiences for most overlap. And while the proliferation of private television channels gives the impression that it is relatively easy to enter this competitive and crowded field of electronic media, the requirements are the toughest. Apart from meeting the eligibility parameters set by Pemra, the electronic media regulatory authority, which include the payment of a licence fee of Rs5 million, there is heavy investment involved in equipment and facilities — not to mention the running cost. Understandably, it is only those with deep pockets who can enter the charmed world of private television, raising serious issues of corruption and lack of transparency. Allegations of corruption were, in fact, among the prime reasons for the setting up of the commission itself. And it has done a fairly good job of looking at both the issue of conflict of interest in terms of media ownership, as well as the editorial corruption that seeps in when advertisers begin to exercise control over media content. In fact, the report puts forward several recommendations for regulating advertising in the media, through “legally mandated institutions such as an Advertising Council and an Advertising Standards Authority in view of the strong impact that advertising delivers on media content”. The authors also point to the fact that “Advertisers virtually dictate prime time content preferences by using a narrow, relatively non-representative, heavily urban and consumption-oriented rating system to pressurise channels into cut-throat competition and to a lowering of standards of content”. This cut-throat competition has also led to the sensationalising of news and the “breaking news” phenomenon. The report’s recommendation that Pemra facilitate community-based electronic media is particularly welcome. If the proposals are adopted it would open up opportunities for not-for-profit organisations to contribute to development through one of the quickest and most effective channels of social change. However, it needs attitudinal as well as major policy changes. Amendments in media laws, which have become antiquated in view of current developments and realities, are also needed for which various recommendations to the government and parliament have been made in the report. The unchecked competition referred to has resulted in a frenzied pace of reporting, often with facts unverified. Television audiences have thus developed a love-hate relationship with the medium. They freely quote television reports as proof of corruption in government — or of other misdeeds by the powers-that-be and, yet, accuse the channels of spreading despondency and negativism. The need for a self-regulatory body for the media has been under discussion for about a decade and the media commission’s report also stresses the need for such a body. In fact, it goes further in not only recommending parliamentary oversight but also proposing major restructuring of the information ministries and departments at federal and provincial levels. With such sweeping proposals, the recommendations of the report need open debate. Some would seem contentious to those working in the media. I, for one, was irked by the chauvinistic tone of one of the ‘negative facets’ listed, i.e. the “Tendency on the part of some sections of media to conduct criticism of civil and military institutions in terms that are remarkably similar to criticism of the same institutions by sections of overseas media including Indian media, thereby adversely impacting internal national cohesion and solidarity during a time when the country faces harsh internal as well as external threats”. Such arguments are commonly used by those in power to stem criticism. There should be no holy cows and, the military establishment, if anything, is treated with undue reverence by the media. There are also allegations of linkages between television anchors and those in the military’s intelligence agencies. There is a lesson to be learnt from the Indian media — the day it decided (by and large) to echo official policies on ‘national’ issues it began to lose its credibility and stature. The writer is a freelance contributor.
Justice for the ‘disappeared’ By Reema Omer THE attorney general of Pakistan recently informed the Supreme Court that over 500 persons reported to be ‘missing’ were in the custody of security agencies.. This revelation comes after security agencies had for years denied involvement in cases of enforced disappearances in the country. Three years ago, Pakistan ratified the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), undertaking to safeguard the right to life and liberty, including freedom from arbitrary detention, of its people. Coupled with a newly restored independent Supreme Court committed to defending human rights, many Pakistanis hoped the ratification would help improve Pakistan’s grave human rights record. But the expected improvements have not taken place — in fact, in some cases, the human rights situation has deteriorated. This remains true especially for enforced disappearances, which continue with impunity. It is now time for the Supreme Court to take the necessary steps to hold those state agencies (and agents) accountable that have subjected hundreds, if not thousands, of Pakistanis to enforced disappearance. Under international law, enforced disappearance is the arrest, detention, abduction or any other form of deprivation of liberty by state agents followed by a “refusal to acknowledge the deprivation of liberty or by concealment of the fate or whereabouts of the disappeared person”. The UN General Assembly has repeatedly described enforced disappearance as “an offence to human dignity” and a grave violation of international human rights law. Pakistan’s Supreme Court first assumed jurisdiction of enforced disappearances in December 2005 by taking suo motu notice of a news report. Chief Justice Chaudhry acknowledged evidence that many of the ‘disappeared’ were being held in security agencies’ custody and committed to “deliberate on the role of agencies and pass a detailed judgement” at a later stage. Seven years later, and following many more remarks on the culpability of security agencies, there are still no judgements, prosecutions, or convictions related to the multiple ‘missing persons’ petitions pending in the Supreme Court. When questioned about the fate of ‘disappeared’ persons, security agencies either deny knowledge, or in blatant defiance of court orders, resist releasing those found to be in their custody. A primary tool to facilitate enforced disappearance is the Actions (in Aid of Civil Powers) Regulations 2011 (Fata/Pata Regulations), a law that empowers the military to detain suspected militants indefinitely without presenting them before a court. Suspects are often kept incommunicado, and denied access to family, legal counsel, and human rights groups. The Supreme Court’s efforts to assume jurisdiction of human rights violations and trace ‘disappeared’ persons are commendable first steps towards combating impunity for enforced disappearances. However, these steps alone do not meet Pakistan’s human rights obligations under international law. Under international law, states are obligated to prevent human rights violations, and undertake prompt, thorough, independent and impartial investigations where violations take place. The United Nations Impunity Principles specifically require states to ensure “that those responsible for serious crimes under international law are prosecuted, tried and duly punished”. Obligations under international law are binding on all branches of the state — including the judiciary. Multiple factors allow impunity for enforced disappearances to continue such as a compromised criminal justice system, inadequate witness protection laws, and the absence of civilian oversight of the military. The executive authorities must discharge their responsibility to conduct prompt, thorough and impartial investigations into allegations of enforced disappearance, with a view both to determining the fate and whereabouts of ‘missing persons’ and prosecuting those responsible. Pakistan’s independent and assertive Supreme Court has done well to trace ‘missing persons’ and more recently, seek a comprehensive strategy on enforced disappearances from the government. However, it can play a more effective role in ensuring that ‘disappeared’ persons are either released or, if charged with a recognisable crime, receive a fair trial before an independent and impartial civilian court. They can also ensure perpetrators of enforced disappearances are brought to account and that victims or their families are able to access a remedy and reparation for the human rights violations they have suffered. First, the Supreme Court could invalidate sections of the Fata/Pata Regulations that are incompatible with Pakistan’s obligations under national and international human rights law. Recently, the court declared the Contempt of Court Act 2012, a law that sought to curtail the judiciary’s contempt powers, void in less than two months after it was passed by parliament. However, petitions challenging laws decried by human rights organisations for facilitating enforced disappearances have been pending in the Supreme Court for years with little progress. Second, the court could direct and supervise criminal investigations, as well as order institution of criminal proceedings against members of security agencies implicated in enforced disappearances. The Supreme Court has frequently exercised this authority in corruption cases, but has rarely invoked this power effectively to address enforced disappearances and other violations allegedly carried out by agencies of the armed forces. Third, the Supreme Court could use the wide range of contempt powers at its disposal to compel authorities to implement its orders. In recent years, the court has used these powers frequently against journalists, lawyers, and even former prime minister Yousuf Raza Gilani, resulting in his disqualification from office. Security agencies, however, have so far escaped such action despite their failure to follow directions of the court in cases of enforced disappearances. At a time when public trust in other state institutions is low, the Supreme Court still remains a source of hope for justice for the many ‘disappeared’ persons and their families. The court has recognised the seriousness of the situation. However, it would do well to move beyond merely tracing ‘disappeared’ persons to recovering them and holding perpetrators accountable. This will bring Pakistan closer to meeting its obligations under international law and be instrumental in combating impunity enjoyed by the security forces for their role in perpetrating human rights violations. The writer is a legal advisor for the International Commission of Jurists (ICJ).
Wanted: a real people’s party By Anjum Altaf IT would be hard to find citizens in Pakistan or India who believe their governments really care for the people.. The Nobel laureate, Amartya Sen, has repeatedly termed India a disaster zone in which pockets of California exist amidst a sea of sub-Saharan Africa; where millions of lives are crushed by lack of food, health, education and justice. Sen wants India to “hang its head in shame” contrasting its performance with China where massive investments in health and education in the 1970s laid the foundation for sustained economic growth. Sen points out that even within South Asia, barring Pakistan, India is at the bottom in terms of social indicators. Bangladesh is doing better with half the per capita income of India. This juxtaposition of India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and China allows some myths to be laid to rest in explaining this outrageous neglect of people. First, Pakistan’s social problems are not due to the bogey of over-population. Bangladesh has a similar sized population and China’s is over five times larger. Second, Pakistan’s problems are not due to its interrupted democracy. India, with uninterrupted democracy since 1947, is socially speaking an embarrassment of colossal proportions with some of the worst human development indicators in the world. Third, China’s success is not just due to its authoritarianism. Decades of authoritarianism in Pakistan made things worse not better. Fourth, Pakistan’s problems do not stem from a lack of money. Bangladesh has forged ahead with fewer resources. What then is the answer and where is the source of optimism for a better future? Sen believes India suffers from an absence of vision and the political will to implement it. He puts his faith in the middle class and wants to shame it into shedding its indifference to the wretchedness of its fellow citizens. Pointing to the response triggered by last year’s gang rape case in Delhi, he believes the middle class can be moved and once it is positive political action would follow. Many in Pakistan subscribe to the same perspective but this begs a number of questions. First, how does one explain the lack of vision? Why does China, or Bangladesh for that matter, have a better vision than India and Pakistan? Sen himself expresses befuddlement as to how governments and the middle classes can’t see the economic and ethical costs of not investing in people. Second, what is the basis for reposing faith in the middle class? Sure, there will always be members of the middle class who would align themselves with the people in the struggle for rights. But would the middle class really be a part of the political vanguard? The evidence is not convincing by any means. Arundhati Roy seems more on the mark when she observes that the upper and middle classes are seceding from the rest of the country. Her characterisation of this secession as vertical and not lateral is particularly evocative — “They’re fighting for the right to merge with the world’s elite somewhere up there in the stratosphere.” This trenchant observation ties in quite seamlessly with Sen’s characterisation of India as pockets of California amid a sea of sub-Saharan Africa. The middle class wants more pockets of California — without load-shedding and low pressure gas supply, with clean water and secure perimeters — and it doesn’t really mind if that comes at the expense of the people. If the latter’s habitats need to be razed for development, so be it. History seems to validate Arundhati Roy and not Amartya Sen on this count. People have never been given their rights by a benevolent and visionary upper or middle class. On the contrary, people have extracted their rights through protracted struggle with the assistance of committed members of the upper and middle classes. Whether one looks at the French Revolution, where extended dissemination of ideas about human equality, liberty and fraternity paved the way to an end to the rule of privilege, or Brazil today, where citizens are in the streets demanding better services, the lesson is the same — people have to mobilise for effective political action. It is that kind of a mass movement which changes the orientation of society, realigning it from a vertical patron-client axis to a horizontal one, in which all citizens are politically equal. In fact, it is that kind of movement that transforms a subject into a citizen which could well be considered amongst the most profound transformations in human history. Only on that foundation of political equality can be built the edifice of representative governance in which representatives are accountable to citizens. Without that equality, governments would revert, in one way or another, into caricatures of the monarchies that they never outgrew. The transformation from subject to citizen has yet to occur in India and Pakistan where the old privileged elites remain in dynastic control. To some degree, and with all its peculiarities, it has transpired in China with the People’s Revolution and in other countries in East Asia that were forced to undertake extensive land reforms to forestall the threats of popular insurrection. Sen concedes this reality. In his latest book, An Uncertain Glory: India and its Contradictions, the last chapter is poignantly titled ‘The Need for Impatience’. And there is a telling quote in the book: "Patience is a minor form of despair, disguised as a virtue.” It is said that the only photograph in Sen’s study in Cambridge is that of Rabindranath Tagore who named him Amartya. But now, towards the end of his incredible intellectual journey marked by an exemplary gentility, he expresses a grudging admiration for Kazi Nazrul Islam. Tagore was too patient, he says; Nazrul Islam urged action. The writer is dean of the School of Humanities and Social Sciences at the Lahore University of Management Sciences.
MQM in its labyrinth By Zahid Hussain THE MQM has pledged its support to the PML-N in the presidential elections and the party may also join the federal government soon. Is one surprised? Not really. We have seen this happen many times before. . Seemingly, a visit to the MQM headquarters Nine Zero is enough for any new government in Islamabad to clinch the party’s allegiance. But it may not be so simple, more so in the case of the latest marriage of convenience between the two erstwhile antagonists. The MQM’s latest cartwheel does not merely reflect a case of political opportunism; it is also indicative of the party’s predicament of being hostage to its own circumstances. With its top leadership living in permanent exile the party is not an independent actor. Many, if not all, of its political decisions over the last few years — seem to have been largely dictated by the quandary that the MQM faces in operating from a foreign base. The latest bonhomie with the ruling PML-N is testimony to the entangled circumstances the party finds itself in. An MQM leader, whom I met the night before the party’s decision to support Mamnoon Hussain for president, told me that the British advised the party to support the government and that the party could obviously not say no. It was certainly not the first time that the MQM has heeded such ‘friendly advice’ from the British administration, I was told. During the five years of the PPP government the MQM left the coalition more than half a dozen times only to be back in the fold a few days later. Many MQM leaders concede in private that these flip-flops have dented the party’s image among its own supporters. In most cases, according to party sources, the backtracking came at the intervention of British officials both in Pakistan and London. Britain’s deep interest in Pakistani politics is not a secret. Senior British diplomats played a pivotal role in the reconciliation between the PPP and Musharraf’s military-led regime. They also apparently played an important role in getting the MQM to endorse the PPP’s move to force Gen Musharraf to step down. Since the 1999 military coup, the MQM had stood firmly by Musharraf’s military regime. The alliance helped the party revive its political stronghold in Karachi that had been affected after the crackdowns launched by previous governments. Understandably, the party was reluctant to ditch its benefactor even when his downfall seemed imminent. But the party’s significant electoral support was important to ensure Mr Zardari’s smooth sailing. A close confidant of Mr Zardari who lived in London reportedly approached the British Foreign Office to persuade the MQM to switch sides, and was successful in his endeavours. Now once more British intervention seems to have worked for the PML-N government. For the MQM it is also amounts to buying security. Surely the latest development has come at a time when the MQM stands at its most vulnerable point. The recent raids on the party’s London office in connection with the investigation into the Imran Farooq murder case is certainly cause for serious concern among the party leadership. More worrying for them, however, is the recovery of hundreds and thousands of pounds in cash from various properties owned by the party. The telephonic address of the MQM chief to his supporters in Pakistan last month illustrates the gravity of the situation. If allegations of money laundering are proven in a court of law, they could have serious repercussions for the MQM leader. Formed in 1985, the MQM has seen tougher times. The 1992 military operation divided the party and forced Altaf Hussain and hundreds of other party members to flee the country and seek asylum in Britain and the US. Another operation three years later virtually eliminated the party’s hardcore elements. Since then Altaf Hussain has run the party from London. Although the party was back in the corridors of power after the 1999 coup, London remained the MQM’s operational nerve centre. Many Pakistani political leaders have spent time in self-imposed exile in London. But Altaf Hussain is the only Pakistani political leader to have acquired British citizenship. The MQM supreme leader is not likely to return to Pakistan. Britain is his permanent home now. This situation makes the organisation more vulnerable to pressure from the British government. The fast changing of bedfellows raises questions about the MQM’s credibility as one of the country’s most powerful political forces representing the urban middle classes. Although its support base is confined to Sindh, the party has remained a critical part of every coalition government in the country for the past two decade. It is not only outside pressure that influences MQM politics; apparently it is also a deep sense of insecurity that compels the party to remain on the right side of the Pakistani security establishment. That explains the party’s steadfast support for Musharraf’s military-led government. Since its inception some three decades ago the MQM has been allegedly used many times by the intelligence agencies to undermine elected governments. But at other times it has also been ruthlessly persecuted by the same agencies. The party’s capacity to bring the country’s economic and financial jugular to a halt through strong-arm tactics makes the security establishment uneasy. For that reason each government has wanted to keep the MQM inside the tent rather than outside. No other political party is as paradoxical as the MQM. It can rightly claim to be the only middle class, liberal and secular party in the country with no dynastic politicians in the hierarchy. But it is a one-man show when it comes to decision-making. Now with the leader under a cloud the future of the party is uncertain. The writer is an author and journalist. zhussain100@yahoo.com Twitter: @hidhussain
Hubris as justice? By Babar Sattar THE Election Commission of Pakistan should not have abdicated responsibility. . It should have definitively fixed a date for the presidential election, passed a reasoned order in response to the PML-N’s application seeking a date change on religious grounds and defended its position in court. But notwithstanding the ECP’s failings, what the Supreme Court did was inexplicable. As the repository of infallible wisdom it instantly passed an order without even bothering to hear other interested parties. The manner in which the Supreme Court assumed jurisdiction and summarily exercised it highlights the apex court’s mindset under Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry. The question is not whether the court is pro PML-N, but whether its perception of its own role and jurisdiction is leaving any room for it to function as a neutral arbiter of the law. Leaving the good aside and at the risk of offending the mighty lords (and one’s livelihood as a lawyer), a few traits are evident in the manner our apex court has conducted itself since Chief Justice Chaudhry’s restoration that raises concerns about the quality of justice being meted out: populism; overt moralism; appropriation of functions of other institutions; and subjectivity injecting lack of consistency in the law being developed. The populist streak first manifested itself when the Supreme Court suspended the carbon surcharge on petroleum products imposed by the Finance Act, 2009, and has gained momentum since. Having been restored through a street movement, the Supreme Court leadership seems to view itself as a people’s court in two senses: that it shares representative credentials of an elected government; and that it must satiate public expectations by coming to the rescue of people whenever they feel wronged even if the matter involves non-justiciable political questions. None of the modern democratic constitutions make the judicial arm of the state directly accountable to the masses. Given that democracy is run by majority rule, it is the judiciary that acts as a safety valve and guards against tyranny of the majority by upholding fundamental rights even when a transient surge in popular opinion militates against such a role. A politician might be beholden to popular opinion if lacking in foresight and the ability to build opinion instead of following it. But a judge is required to decide legal questions without taking into account considerations of fear or favour. Popularity when actively sought is a consideration of favour. Judicial codes of conduct everywhere, including in Pakistan, require judges to eschew publicity and exposure to public. Is there another country in the world where the court dominates daily news feed? Unfortunately a two-way demand-supply relationship has evolved between our media and the Supreme Court: the court creates news which the media reports prominently every hour and generates more demand for Supreme Court intervention; and the media appeals for the court’s intervention after breaking a scandal which then leads to more suo motus. It’s a vicious cycle. The Supreme Court’s populism seems to go hand-in-hand with moralism. Are courts supposed to be courts of law or enforcers of moral virtue? The question is not whether morality is desirable or not, but whether it is for the court to enforce morality or view itself as a social reformer and cleanser of vice. Forget the sermons during court hearings that become headlines. Just read judgements from the last four years and you will find them littered with moral lectures that might have little or nothing to do with questions of law that form the subject matter of the case in hand. This populism and moralism then encourages the court to not worry excessively about restraints embedded in the letter of the law, but focus instead on ‘doing good’. And thus we see exercise of suo motu in a manner that interferes with the role and function of other institutions. Once the court takes suo motu cognisance of a matter based on press reports, it has already developed a prima facie view that a wrong has been committed that requires court intervention to be set right. How can the court sit with an open mind and give parties a fair hearing as a neutral arbiter once it has already decided to intervene to correct a perceived wrong on the basis of media reports? What we end up witnessing is simultaneous judicial and media trials. Take the Employees Old-age Benefits Institution (EOBI) scandal. If you sat in Court 1 during the first hearing, the bench knew from the word go that all involved were guilty and the only question was how they were to be arrested and the loot recovered. What about impartial determination of facts or recording of evidence etc.? Corruption is a cancer that must be removed surgically. But will culpability be determined on the basis of media reports? Defence Housing Authority and EOBI officials might be of the most rotten variety. But isn’t the right to a fair trial a fundamental right of all, including criminals? Who will uphold it once the Supreme Court wipes out any distinction between the accused and the guilty? Can the Federal Investigation Agency dare furnish a report that refutes conclusions the court has already drawn? Can a prosecutor refuse to file a case because he believes there isn’t enough evidence? Will a subordinate court grant bail to any accused after a suo motu? What kind of justice is produced when the Supreme Court becomes investigator, prosecutor and adjudicator all at once? And what about consistency and lack of partiality in applying the law and principles? If Musharraf is to be tried for high treason, why should judges who abetted him be retired with full pension and benefits? If use of all public funds is to be audited and scrutinised without exception, why is the scrutiny of Supreme Court expenses an exception? Should there be one set of principles for rehiring civil servants and another for rehiring officers that serve in the court registry? Let us hope that post-December the Supreme Court’s new leadership will review the courts relationship with the media and the bar and rebuild its self-image as a neutral arbiter of the law as opposed to being a dispenser of morality and populism. The writer is a lawyer.
The truth shall not set you free By Mahir Ali A VERDICT in the military trial of Bradley Manning seemed imminent at the time of writing. The US army private, who has already been in detention for more than three years during which he has endured degrading treatment and cruelty tantamount to torture, faces 20 years in prison for the charges to which he has pleaded guilty. . That wasn’t enough for the American authorities. He has been accused of deliberately aiding the enemy — not WikiLeaks, but Al Qaeda and its affiliates. In his closing argument last week, lead prosecutor Major Ashden Fein went out of his way to highlight this aspect. The charge, if proved, carries the possibility of more than 100 years in military prison. Even relative leniency could entail a lifetime behind bars. And for what, exactly? Well, for leaking documentary evidence that the US military campaigns in Iraq and Afghanistan weren’t exactly benevolent enterprises. That notable war crimes were committed with wilful intent. Sure, anyone with an ounce of objectivity already knew or suspected as much. But hard evidence matters. It destroys the prospect of plausible deniability. Were the US in any meaningful sense the exemplary democracy it purports to be, it would be devoting its energies to challenging the personnel and policies that brought it to this sorry pass. Not surprisingly, it has chosen instead the path of vindictive punishment for those who betray its dirty secrets. Is it any surprise, then, that Edward Snowden prefers the inconvenience of temporary facilities at Moscow’s Sheremetyevo airport to the idea of facing ‘justice’ at home? Snowden’s father, who was initially keen that his son should return home and face the consequences of his devastating revelations about the incredible reach of the National Security Agency, has changed his mind. Edward, he declared last week, would be better off in Russia. That may indeed be the best interim option for Snowden junior. Sure, Russia isn’t an ideal sanctuary. Its attitude towards domestic dissidents is completely ruthless and utterly deplorable. But President Vladimir Putin has declared that extradition is not an option and suggested that Snowden could stay provided he stops revealing secrets. A week ago there were seemingly credible reports that Snowden had received documents authorising him to leave the airport, but they turned out to be false. A few weeks earlier he was purportedly prepared to board a flight to Havana, en route to sanctuary in another Latin American country, but his seat remained empty. The undiplomatic ordeal that Bolivia’s president Evo Morales was compelled to endure on his way home from a conference in Moscow — his aircraft was denied the right to fly over France and Spain, and was forced to land in Vienna, where it was subjected to a search, in case Morales was transporting Snowden — suggests missing that flight to Cuba was probably a wise choice. The Morales episode, decried by most Latin American leaders as a travesty, points to the extent to which all too many European nations — including ones that have bristled, in the wake of Snowden’s revelations, at being spied on by their US ally — consider themselves beholden to Washington. None of the countries concerned has revealed exactly why it suspected Morales of harbouring Snowden (France at least had the decency to apologise to Bolivia), but they were obviously alerted to the prospect by American authorities and instructed to do their bit. The big bully in international relations has pretty much had its way with western and allied nations since the Second World War. Its remit has expanded considerably since the end of the Cold War. The extent to which Russia will hold out remains an open question. Hopefully, it will not change its stance on the basis of a message last week from the US attorney-general, Eric Holder, in which he assures Moscow that Snowden will not face torture or the death penalty if he is tried in the United States. American citizens ought to consider this communication deeply shameful. It’s an admission that the US practises torture. Troublingly, it often doesn’t designate it as such, with the possible exception of waterboarding — which, incidentally, has been the norm since the 19th-century invasion of the Philippines. The death penalty, meanwhile, continues to be awarded in many states even to the intellectually deficient. Instead of pursuing the likes of Manning and Snowden, what the US really needs to do is take a good, hard look at itself. It may then begin to discern an image of a less-than-benign Uncle Sam. This guy is by no means the only one who violates human rights, but he does it on an unprecedented scale, at home and abroad. In an article in The Observer on Sunday, John Naughton pointed out that the attention focused on Snowden was a sidebar — the real story actually related to all the unpleasantries he had revealed. He is, no doubt, correct in pinpointing the “human interest” aspect of the story as essentially a distraction. Snowden’s fate is arguably less significant than the realisation that anything posted on Google, Microsoft and Apple sites by anyone anywhere in the world is fair game for the information gatekeepers. In the case of Bradley Manning, too, the attention on his personality conveniently outweighs the wealth of information he helped to publicise. And there is evidence, highlighted among others by The New York Times, that an indictment is being prepared against WikiLeaks and Julian Assange, holed up for more than a year in the Ecuadorian embassy in London. The only conclusion one can draw is that the truth does not set you free, particularly where unpalatable facts are concerned. mahir.dawn@gmail.com
Fallout of Syrian conflict By Najmuddin A. Shaikh IS there some hope to be entertained that the tragedy in Syria will be brought to an end either by the efforts of the international community or by some miraculous meeting of minds within Syria? . The newly elected president of the Syrian National Council, Ahmed Jarba, has said in an interview in New York that he would be willing to participate in the much-heralded and much-postponed Geneva II that the Russians and Americans have agreed to convene. Previously the opposition’s position was that they would not attend such a conference until they had been supplied weaponry and had used it to recover the ground they had lost to the Bashar forces after Hezbollah had sent in its troops to reinforce Bashar’s army and militia. This could therefore be considered a positive development. However, this is not going to happen soon. Secretary Kerry had said sometime ago that because of Europe’s proclivity for shutting down in August the meeting could not be convened earlier than September. As to the results from the conference, Jarba was not optimistic about the prospects for success. The reason for his pessimism was clear. He said that the war could come to an end if the conference resulted in the formation of a transitional government but Assad’s staying on in such a transitional government was not acceptable nor was he prepared to offer Assad and his family safe passage out of Syria. In other words, the expectation, belied by the situation on the ground is that the regime would send a delegation that would negotiate only the terms of surrender and offer up Assad for the same accountability to which Mubarak had been subjected in Egypt. In the meanwhile, the situation in Syria is deteriorating by the day. Last month, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) announced that by their conservative count, some 93,000 people had been killed since the insurgency began in March 2011. Now the figure has clearly crossed the 100,000 mark. Syrians have been fleeing their country at the rate of 6,000 a day. In Jordan alone there are now 550,000 Syrian refugees. The UNHCR chief, AntÓnio Guterres, says that his organisation has registered some 1.8 million Syrian refugees in neighbouring countries. It is almost certain that counting unregistered refugees the total number will exceed 3m. Within Syria, the UN office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) estimates that some 4.5m have been displaced. By the UNHCR’s estimate, some 6.8m refugees abroad or within Syria need “urgent help” and the organisation would require more than $3 billion for the rest of this year to provide such assistance. The state of Syria’s war-wracked economy is parlous. Its foreign exchange reserves have fallen from $18bn to around $3bn. The Syrian pound, which had an exchange rate of 47 to the US dollar, has now fallen to 330. Western economists say that with inflation running at almost 90pc, Syria has joined the rare band of countries suffering hyperinflation comparable to what the Germans experienced in the 1920s. Perhaps most ominously from the perspective of an eventual recovery there has been a massive brain drain from Syria. A Middle East expert at the London School of Economics maintains that “the entire professional class has basically migrated” and opines that without their return reconstruction and even reconciliation will not be possible. Assad’s current military advances after a series of setbacks are owed to the assistance provided by the battle-hardened Shia militia, the Hezbollah, and by the soldiers of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard from Iran. One must note that in the eyes of the orthodox Shias — and this means the clergy in Iran and Iraq and the Hezbollah — the Alawites are not true Shias and many would even term them heretics. Thus, the presence of Iranian and Hezbollah fighters in Syria is ostensibly motivated by the desire to protect the Shia shrines in Syria that extremist Sunnis have been accused of seeking to destroy and has nothing to do with perpetuating the minority Alawite regime. The truth is that support for Assad is grounded entirely in “reasons of state”. Syria is Iran’s only Arab ally and is the conduit for Iran’s support for the Hezbollah. This is also why Hezbollah is committed to Assad’s survival despite the problems this creates for it within Lebanon. But in the eyes of the world the situation has now become a battle between the Shias and Sunnis. Other international support, notably that offered by Russia and to a more limited extent by China, is prompted not merely by a desire to defend the norms of inter-state conduct but also by apprehensions about what an Islamist regime in Syria may mean in terms of the spread of pernicious influences to the Muslim minorities in these two countries. This concern is shared in slightly different terms in western Europe where it is feared that volunteers from the Muslim communities now joining the Syrian opposition will return home bringing with them the fundamentalist ideology of the Islamist forces that seem to have become the vanguard of the rebellion. The impact in Iraq and Lebanon as I will explain in a subsequent column has been enormous. The Gulf countries too — particularly those with a substantial Shia minority — have now to contend with what this resurgence of the Shia-Sunni divide means. For the Muslim world this exacerbation of the sectarian divide is perhaps of greater importance than the theoretical secular-Islamist divide that has caused such havoc in Egypt. For Pakistan, where a sectarian divide was allowed to come into being and which now has become our principal internal security problem, the Syrian situation and its prolongation is particularly dangerous even if reports of the Taliban having sent their forces to Syria are exaggerated or even totally false. It would be prudent for the government’s ministry of religious affairs to be in touch with leaders of both sects in Pakistan to seek their assistance in trying to insulate Pakistan, to the extent possible, from the after-effects of Syria. n The writer is a former foreign secretary.
Women and property By Rafia Zakaria IT was a story of one woman and two men, each one alleging that she was married to him.. There were two accounts and two marriage contracts. The first man, Mohammad Tariq, said that he had married the woman, 28-year-old Naseem Akhtar, on Dec 25 last year. The second man, Mohammad Imran Khan, said that he had married the same woman on May 14. The woman herself said that she had only married Mr Tariq and never Mr Khan. Her father, Ali Mohammad, corroborated his daughter’s claim that she was married only to Mr Tariq. Fed up with Mr Khan’s claim that he was married to her, Ms Akhtar filed a jactitation suit. Under Pakistani law, the jactitation cause of action is available to anyone who faces another person wrongfully alleging that he is married to him or her. Under a jactitation lawsuit, the defendant (the person accused of making a wrongful claim of marriage) can defend themselves in three ways: they can deny that they ever made a claim of marriage; they can say that the allegations are not false (that the marriage actually exists); or they can assert that the other party actually consented or acquiesced to making the claims of a marital relationship. In this case, Ms Akhtar filed her suit against what she maintained were Mr Khan’s false claims of marriage on June 26 in the family court of Sillanwali, Sargodha district. While the suit was pending, she lived at her father’s residence. Before the suit for jactitation of marriage could be decided by the family court, an annoyed Mr Khan filed his own lawsuit. In a habeas corpus petition at the Lahore High Court (LHC), he alleged that it was unfair that Ms Akhtar was still being permitted to live at her father’s residence. The petition, therefore, sought to recover the custody of Ms Akhtar from her father. Implicit in that allegation was the claim that since Ms Akhtar’s father was not a neutral party in the case (he was supporting the claim that the position being maintained by Mr Khan was false), Ms Akhtar should not be allowed to stay with him. The LHC heard Mr Khan’s petition on July 4. At issue was whether she should be permitted to stay at her father’s house while the matter of who she was really married to was still pending in the Sargodha court. The LHC ruled that because the court in Sargodha had not yet ruled on the jactitation case, Ms Akhtar must go and live at the Darul Aman shelter instead of her father’s house until a determination was made regarding which of the two marriages (and marriage documents) was authentic. Following the decision, Ms Akhtar was forced to leave her father’s home and go live at the Darul Aman shelter indefinitely. On her behalf, her lawyers filed an appeal with the Supreme Court on the issue of whether the LHC had been correct in making Ms Akhtar leave her father’s house. That was the long and complex story of how the case ended up before the SC, with Justices Asif Saeed Khosa and Ijaz Ahmed Chaudhry presiding. A judgment was issued following a hearing on July 19. Vacating the judgment of the LHC, the SC held that the latter had misjudged the use of habeas petitions in the case. The purpose of habeas, the higher court clarified, was to provide relief to a person whose liberty has been curtailed — instead of the opposite. In a terse decision, the SC not only vacated the existing order, leaving Ms Akhtar free to return to her father’s home as she wished, but also warned against the LHC’s excessive moralising which used the possibility of wrongdoing to sequester the woman at the centre of the issue. A grown woman, the SC ruled, cannot be subjected to such a restriction of her liberty. The twists and turns of the case and the allegations and counter-allegations of its legal history provide a picture of the conundrums placed before courts when personal relationships such as marriage go awry. Foremost among these is the challenge of determining legal truths while also respecting personal choice. On the one hand is the issue of who Ms Akhtar was legally married to. On the surface, that issue should seem easily resolved by simply listening to her own testimony regarding the authenticity of her marriage to one party. However, since marriage is also a legal relationship with consequences for property division, documentary proof must be considered before such dispensations are made. Actual truths can be told and witnessed but legal truths are created through the court record, through the admission of evidence and restricted by its rules. At the same time, it must also be remembered that there is a thin line between respecting the material consequences of marital contracts and considering one of the parties as disputed property to be put away in a neutral place. Courts everywhere are swamped, and because of that they often attempt, through orders and injunctions, to stop time — that is, prevent matters from proceeding in either direction — until they can reach a decision. In this case, the SC was correct to point out that the effort to do so was an unjustifiable impingement on the freedom of an adult female. Hence, the legal question in the case was answered. What remains untouched is the sociological concept of female freedom reflected in the facts of the case, where until the intervention of the highest court in the land, few distinctions are visible between women and property. The writer is an attorney teaching constitutional law and political philosophy. rafia.zakaria@gmail.com
Smile of the alien within By Jawed Naqvi ‘Wo ghareeb dil ko sabaq miley ki khushi ke naam se dar gaya; . Kabhi tum ne hans ke jo baat ki to hamara chehra utar gaya.’ (The trauma of your betrayals, inflicted year upon year; Turned your promise of togetherness into a lurking fear.) The Urdu couplet rather nicely applies to the essential Afghan conundrum though it may have been written in an entirely different context. I was looking for some background material on Afghanistan given Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s possible visit to Pakistan and perhaps even to Kabul some time soon. As often happens in the labyrinth of the internet I found myself scouring the absorbing US military website CALL — Centre for Army Lessons Learnt. Many of the lessons learnt or not learnt involved Afghanistan. There were analytical features, experiences and expert opinions assembled on the pages by military and civilian professionals. One such article began with a thesis on the predominantly Shia concept of taqqiyah or dissimulation, which the author described as “plain, right-out lying”. The author tried to apply it to other, non-Shia, sects of Afghans. The thesis began with a quotation from Abu al Darda, who was among the first converts to Islam. “We smile for some people, while our hearts curse,” Darda is quoted as having said. The ancient words set the backdrop to palpable contemporary mistrust that foreign forces apparently harbour towards the Afghans and vice versa. What the author didn’t observe though was that Darda’s own preachings focused on the insignificance of worldly wealth and the minor details of life. According to him, this life was comparable to a loan. How were military forces representing a compulsive consumerist ideology going to marshal the destiny of a people who may own and embrace Darda’s mystical worldview bereft of market-sponsored greed? An article by a US air force colonel exuded frustration at not being able to win over the Pakhtun populations against the Taliban. The people’s reluctance to join the battle was given the label of the ‘battered spouse syndrome’. A conversation between an American army captain and a village elder was used to stress the point. “We cannot come closer to you. We have no security. The Afghan forces and International Security Assistance Force come occasionally and only stay for a little time. When they leave, the Taliban come in and hurt us because they think we are cooperating with you,” the village elder explained. “What if we arm your men and pay you to protect yourselves?” the young American captain asked. “Ridiculous. They would kill us.” “How many Taliban come in at a time?” “10 to 20.” “How many men could we arm, who could fight and protect you?” “250.” “So, why do you say we can’t arm you to protect yourselves? 250 is a lot more than 10 or 20.” “Because the Taliban will kill us.” Regardless of whether the dialogue depicts a battered spouse syndrome or not, there is a marked cluelessness it betrays on how some foreign forces intend to tame or subdue an alien culture militarily. Village elders in Zabul had convinced themselves, according to the author, that despite facts to the contrary, the insurgents possessed almost superhuman capabilities. The American officer’s response was one of frustration laced with rage. “While the elders’ words and actions signified broad, passive support for the insurgents, the shame and humiliation they felt at the hands of insurgent treatment was also evident. We were not seeing the fiercely independent and aggressive Afghan. Could this really be the ‘Graveyard of Empires’? “We were not seeing great men of honour. Could this really be the land of Pashtunwali — the unwritten code of conduct that places such an emphasis on honour? Clearly, significant gaps existed between Afghan behaviours described in books and in our training and how Afghans actually behaved.” As they prepare to wind down their controversial combat operations in Afghanistan, American troops, it becomes evident from a cursory reading of CALL strategies, have been leaning on desperate survival kits, including failed colonial prescriptions from British adventures in Kandahar. A 1933 British view of the Afghan character was quoted in a CALL article thus: “The Afghan character is a strange blend of virtue and vice. Hardy, brave, proud, simple in their mode of living, frank, prepared to die in accordance with their code of honour yet faithless and treacherous; generous to a degree yet devoured by greed for money; capable of great endurance and of feats of great energy but constitutionally lazy; merry, cheerful, humorous and fond of music yet inclined to be austere. “Cupidity, instability, a suspicious nature, intense jealousy, bitter vindictiveness, excitability, impatience, want of self-control and a complete disregard for truth form the chief characteristics of the Afghan nature. They are capable of strong personal attachments but never forget a wrong.” I am not sure if Machiavelli, Sun Tzu or Chanakya would have prescribed a different military strategy to the one practised by Afghan fighters, first against the Soviet Union and later on the US. Deception seems to be a key factor in war, whether it’s a guerrilla campaign or a conventional military assault. Historical lenses focus on the British, Soviet, and other military failures inside Afghanistan, and would spawn a view of Afghans rebelling against centralised government or foreign influence, unwilling to be marshalled or tamed. One lesson that the America’s military and the civilian establishments may have failed to learn is that they need not travel to a remote Golgotha to probe the mystery of a deceptive smile. Just look at Bradley Manning and Edward Snowden to rediscover the anger and turmoil within. The writer is Dawn’s correspondent in Delhi. jawed.naqvi@gmail.com
The Pakistan presidency By I.A. Rehman THE election of a new president of Pakistan having been completed, efforts should now be concentrated on securing for the presidency the dignity that it is supposed to be guaranteed in responsible democracies. . Before discussing such efforts, one must regret the fact that Tuesday’s presidential election became quite controversial. Hopefully the unwelcome episode will be forgotten before long. Meanwhile, the government must be felicitated on foiling the Election Commission of Pakistan’s plot to disrupt Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s plans to be in Saudi Arabia on Aug 6. His visit to the holy places this year is especially significant. Thanksgiving prayers ought to be offered at the earliest. Also in future aitkaf in Saudi Arabia may not be easy for a fully functional prime minister as the exercise demands a break from all worldly concerns and a ban on speaking — something quite hard for a politician to manage. Circumstances over the past five decades have almost continuously undermined the prestige of the presidency. Gen Iskander Mirza, the first president, earned fame for changing the country’s prime ministers as casually as he changed his tuxedo. He also invited obloquy for proclaiming martial law and abrogating the constitution that had been enforced under his own signature. Then we had presidents-general Ayub Khan, Yahya Khan, Ziaul Haq and Pervez Musharraf. As president, they were subservient to their rank as general. What Ayub, Yahya and Zia did in that capacity is history. Even Pervez Musharraf carried out a coup against his own regime on Nov 3, 2007 as general and not as president. The anti-democratic actions of the presidents-general considerably compromised the dignity of the presidency. The last few years have been especially bad for the presidency’s image. The persistent vilification of President Asif Ali Zardari by the media and other actors — whether justified or not is beside the point —– made the presidency a legitimate target for ridicule, invective and slander. It is to be hoped that all parties while exercising their right to criticise the government will do so in a manner so that the institution of the presidency is not downgraded. There is much to be learnt from the Supreme Court’s ruling against arresting a brigadier on the ground that the dignity of institutions should not be harmed. The first thing that is needed to establish the presidency as an august symbol of the federation is to ensure that the president knows how to function within his constitutional limits. One hopes the president-elect does not share the ambition of retired justice Wajihuddin Ahmed who was reported to have said that if elected he would change the face of the country. He should have known that by himself the president cannot change even the façade of President House. Mr Mamnoon Hussain has resigned from his party membership. His new office will demand much more than that — he will be required to completely forget his party affiliation, something easier said than done. For that reason democratic countries often choose as head of state eminent citizens instead of party loyalists. India set a good example by electing educationists/scientist Dr Radhakrishnan, Dr Zakir Husain and Dr Abul Kalam although it also elected a president who was proud of polishing the prime minister’s shoes. It is a pity Pakistani kingmakers have never thought of honouring persons outside their favourites or men whose favours had to be repaid. In the days when presidents had sweeping powers there could be a reason for ruling parties to have their trusted man (women are still out of the reckoning) in the presidency. But now the president is a ceremonial head of state and it is possible to take the risk of choosing him from among some outstanding citizens who are respected by the people both for their accomplishments and uprightness. Some thought should also be given to making the presidential addresses to parliament meaningful. These addresses are essentially statements of what governments wish to do during their terms of office or from year to year. The president merely reads out the government brief. In Pakistan’s polarised politics, presidential addresses have become occasions for a trial of strength between the ruling party and the opposition. The people are the losers because the objective of a rational debate on the government’s vision/programme is lost. The need for a forward movement in this area is obvious. As the symbol of the state the presidency is looked up to by citizens in distress as the final executive authority. Our people have a long tradition of seeking relief through the presidency’s intervention. They present their plaints to the president’s public secretariat where a generally bored factotum marks the papers to X,Y,Z and X,Y,Z reply after long delays that the case has been taken note of and there the matter ends. This is shoddy eyewash. It should be possible to ensure timely and reasonable action on public complaints to the presidency. The president represents the state’s capacity for benevolence, for mercy. It is to serve that purpose that provisions similar to Article 45 of the Pakistan Constitution — providing for the president’s power to pardon and commute sentences — are included in the basic laws of most countries. This article has unnecessarily been rendered controversial since the Qisas and Diyat law was enforced. Nothing has happened to extinguish the president’s powers under Article 45. In any case, the Qisas law does not affect the president’s powers in cases in which murder is not the offence. A greater exercise of the president’s power of clemency will endear the people to the state. The restrictions on the use of his authority under Article 45 must be substantially relaxed. The non-partisan status of the president will appear in bold relief if he is seen overseeing an even-handed fulfillment of the state’s benevolent functions that have progressively been consigned to oblivion.
Costs of power By Khurram Husain LAST week I pointed out that the forthcoming power policy gives the cost of generating electricity as Rs12 per unit. I pointed out that in previous on-record comments, high officials from the power bureaucracy and the ministry have said the figure is Rs15.. I pointed out that this Rs3 discrepancy is too large to be some sort of rounding error, and too important to just be shrugged off. After all, if 90 billion units of electricity are sold in the country every year, then a Rs3 discrepancy in the per unit cost adds up to Rs270 billion per year, almost half the total bill for projected power sector subsidies if tariff and entity reforms are not advanced urgently. I concluded by speculating on the reasons behind this discrepancy, and left off saying that we are owed an explanation. Subsequently I received a call from Mr Musadik Malik, special adviser to the prime minister, offering this explanation. “I have done the working on these numbers myself,” said the adviser, “and presented them to the prime minister.” The adviser was kind enough to share the presentation that was given to the prime minister on the power policy, and offered this explanation for the discrepancy I had pointed out. He said the cost of generating one unit of electricity is indeed Rs12 at the power plant. But when that unit of electricity travels down the transmission line, then enters the network of the distribution company, and gets routed to the relevant grid station, and is finally sent out to the final consumer, it picks up an additional Rs3 in costs in this long voyage. So the Rs15 figure that we have been given in the past, is not just the ‘cost of generation’ but includes the costs of transmission and distribution along the way. The adviser further said that the electric power regulator Nepra calculates the final cost of generating electricity and delivering it to the end consumer as Rs14.6. “But there is an important assumption beneath this number,” he said. “Nepra assumes 100pc recovery, whereas average recovery rates in our system are closer to 86pc,” he said. So if you include the unrecovered amount in the cost build-up, then the cost rises by another rupee to Rs15.6. And that is the real cost of generating a unit of electricity and delivering it to the end consumer in Pakistan, as calculated by data provided by the power bureaucracy and verified by independent experts like Mr Malik. Fair enough I say. A perfectly reasonable explanation has been furnished for a very important number. Now the problems. The presentation kindly shared by the adviser contains a little graph at the very top on page 6 titled “generation cost”. It’s a bar graph, and gives a visual indication of how much it costs to generate a unit of electricity using various fuels. The longest bar in the graphic is the most expensive fuel, with other bars that tell the cost of generation associated with other fuels. The tallest bar is on the left, representing the most expensive electricity in our system, generated from diesel, with the cost per unit coming in around Rs23. Next to it is furnace oil at Rs16 or just above. Then wind, at Rs13 or so and so on. And here’s the kick: the average generation cost, across all classes of fuels, given in the graphic is Rs8.81 per kilowatt hour. Then a little further down, on page 9 of the presentation, there is another interesting graphic which shows what the “target aspiration” is in various areas. So the shortfall in the supply of electricity is shown as 5000MW currently, and the “target aspiration” is shown as zero. Likewise with transmission and distribution losses that are shown as 23pc currently with a “target aspiration” of below 16pc. And then the “average commercial cost” is shown as Rs12, with a “target aspiration” of Rs9.99. So now I’m left a little confused. I’m no expert so perhaps I’m getting something wrong, but from the presentation given to the prime minister it would appear that the cost of generation has been shown as Rs8.81, which rises to Rs12 by the time that unit completes its voyage to the end consumer. What else do the terms “generation cost” and “average commercial cost” mean if not this? The statement of intent, and many of the steps outlined in the presentation are to be lauded, and if this government is able to implement this agenda, then we all have serious grounds to be hopeful. But considering that the generation cost is our starting point, it’s worth our while to have as much clarity on that number as is possible, since all other steps follow from this. It reminds one of that Persian saying about how a building whose first foundation stone has been laid wrong will never seem right to the eye. The costs we are talking about here are the foundation stone of the power sector and its reforms. They lie at the very heart of the power crisis. You cannot calculate theft and losses and tariffs and subsidies and growth of demand and peak load and factor efficiencies or anything else nearly as fancy if you’ve got the cost of generation wrong. I’m not suggesting that they’ve got this cost wrong, I hasten to add. All I’m saying is I’m not convinced that they’ve got it right, or that they’ve got it at all. Not yet anyway. But the attempt to clarify, from the top levels of government, is appreciated nonetheless. The writer is a Karachi-based journalist covering business and economic policy. khurram.husain@gmail.com Twitter: @khurramhusain
Outcastes By Aasim Sajjad Akhtar NOW that the formality that was the presidential election is over, some time and energy should be spent appraising the symbolic boycott of the process by the PPP.. Not because the PPP had any chance of winning back the presidency, or even because we must definitively establish the legitimacy of the Supreme Court’s decree to conduct the exercise a week in advance of the originally stipulated date. The controversy is important because it yet again proves just how difficult it is for anyone in this land of the pure to dispute any public decision taken in the name of faith. In the holy month of Ramazan, the imperative of following the righteous path is magnified more than during normal times. That the elected government itself chose to invoke the ‘aitekaf-umrah’ argument in requesting a change in the election schedule, and that the court wasted no time in backing up the argument of the ruling party indicates that virtually all institutions of the state — the military at the forefront — see eye-to-eye with regard to the question of Islam as state ideology. This hardly counts as news. Even when purportedly secular parties such as the PPP and the Awami National Party have held the reins of government, religion has remained the raison d’être of the Pakistani state. This does not mean we should discount the differences between the parties currently occupying the treasury benches and those that have just vacated them. Moreover, the permanent institutions of the state indeed appear suspicious of the PPP and others of its ilk and far more trusting of the various Muslim Leagues and religious parties. Yet, in the final analysis, who is willing to stand up in the National Assembly or Senate and call openly for the separation of matters of faith from the affairs of the state? As with every other major issue in this country, the theocracy versus secularism debate — if it is even reasonable to depict it as a debate — is not purely one that rages within the corridors of power. This is a battle, a war even, that has to be waged in the trenches of society. The few in the media, educational institutions, workplaces, homes and even places of worship that are willing to demand that all Pakistanis be treated equally regardless of their creed are unsung heroes in an increasingly cynical society. The efforts of these few are what compel at least a handful of elected politicians to push, even if cautiously, the established boundaries of politically correct practice. Yet as with all other transformative battles, this one too has to be fought with tact, and an appreciation for the way in which Islamised discourse and everyday practices play out at all levels of society. I want to point only to one social fault line here to illustrate just how overbearing the state ideology is. Caste is one of the most pervasive and powerful identities operative in Pakistani society. The typical refrain of most (Muslim) Pakistanis is that there is no such thing as caste in Islam. This is neither here nor there, because all forms of caste behaviour are visible in this country, including the ritual pollution that we are fond of associating exclusively with Hinduism. Endogamy — that is the practice of only marrying within caste — is particularly widespread. Most Pakistanis prefer to explain marriage practices in terms of ‘biradaris’ but the fact there is a clear stigma associated with those who marry outside of their ‘biradari’ suggests caste-like behaviour. Then there are peculiarly Pakistani forms of caste discrimination that are either misunderstood or simply not flagged. For example, in parts of Malakand and Hazara the community known as ‘Gujjars’ is subject to something approximating caste discrimination by ‘Pakhtuns’ and ‘Swatis’ respectively. Even though substantive changes have taken place in the local social structure that have allowed many Gujjars to secure autonomous sources of wealth and power, old biases and practices have proven hard to break down. In rural Punjab numerous strategies have been employed by those at the lowest rung of the caste hierarchy to secure upward mobility. The most widespread practice is renaming. Most prominently, agricultural labourers commonly known as ‘Musallis’ have attempted to claim respectability by rebranding themselves as ‘Muslim Sheikhs’. I mention these anecdotes only to establish that caste is a very real fact of modern Pakistani life. Unlike in neighbouring India, however, where caste is a major political signifier, it is regularly swept under the carpet in this country. And the explanation for simply ignoring such a major marker of social distinction? We are all Muslims. It is in this context that the struggle for secularism must be viewed. The question is not whether one is religious or not, which, unfortunately for too many enlightened Pakistanis, defines whether or not one qualifies as a progressive. Everyone in Pakistan could be very religious but that would count for little if religion was not brought to bear on every matter of public significance. To be sure, the struggle for secularism in Pakistan must be understood, and then waged, holistically. The refrain ‘we are all Muslims’ is harmful precisely because it facilitates a deliberate sidelining of many forms of discrimination, including that of the caste variety. The formal recognition of all Pakistanis as equals would at least set us on the way to bringing taboos such as caste into the political field. We are still a long way from such formal recognition. It is fitting that the election for the position of head of state for which only Muslims are eligible was brought forward by the highest court of the land so as to facilitate the commitments of the pious. One can only hope that we live to see the day when the outcastes of this land are recognised every bit as equal as the proverbial Muslims who rule the roost. The writer teaches at Quaid-i-Azam University, Islamabad.
Education: no vision By Faisal Bari ESTIMATES of out-of-school children go up to 25 million in Pakistan. Through the inclusion of Article 25 (a) in the Constitution three years ago, the state acknowledged that five- to 16-year-olds have a right to free and compulsory education.. The call from all quarters about the need for quality education for our children has been significant. But little has actually been achieved on the implementation of Article 25 (a) so far. Even the laws necessary to ensure the implementation of the article have either not been made or not made effective by all of the provinces and the Islamabad Capital Territory. More than 35pc of currently enrolled children attend private schools in the country. The percentage increases substantially in urban areas, and for the largest cities it seems the majority of children now attend private schools. Yet, there is no vision across the political spectrum of the role of private education in Pakistan in general particularly with regard to the implementation of 25 (a). All political parties acknowledge that the responsibility of providing an education to every child rests with the state. But in the same breath all of them also say they want to encourage the private sector to ‘do its part’. Clearly the question of whether the private sector has a role in the provision of education was decided, by design or default, long ago. Today when 35pc or so enrolled children go to private schools and the growth of private education is faster than that of public education, going back to this question seems pointless, irrespective of ideological positions. But key issues still remain: what is the envisaged balance between private and public education? And more importantly, what do we make of the ‘promise’ of the state for ‘free’ and ‘compulsory’ education? Generally speaking, we seem to have a strange attitude towards education provided by the private sector. Most of the people who can afford to send their children to private schools also complain that provision by the private sector is only for profit especially in the case of the elite private school sector, the charges are too high, there is no regulation of the curricula and so on. There is unease when it comes to accepting the role of private-sector education but at the same time, given the generally poor quality of state education there is a demand for education by the private sector. More or less the same attitude exists within political parties and the bureaucracy. Political parties, by and large, take the position that they do not want to ‘discourage’ the private sector while acknowledging that the primary responsibility for provision lies with the state. The usual way of squaring this position is through the acknowledgement that though the state is responsible for education, it is not necessary for the state to actually provide the education through state institutions as well. The state could pay for the private sector to manage schools etc. Or, more often, there is acknowledgement that despite granting the basic right to education the state just does not have the resources to expand the public education system to ensure quality education for all and so needs the private sector to step in and share the burden. But the problem starts after that. None of the political parties, or the government for that matter, has a vision of how the two sectors are going to evolve and develop to ensure quality education for all children. There is no enunciation beyond the general statements about a role for both. The private sector serves areas where there is effective demand ie where parents can pay. Even for the low-fee private sector, since its services have to be paid for through tuition fees, the latter have to be high enough to cover the cost of provision. The quality can vary, and it does, but clearly the private sector cannot be free. Given the current poverty levels in the country, and the likely growth trajectory for the next few years, education for a substantial proportion of children must be subsidised. This is a fact. The question is how is this subsidy to be provided. Are we going to do it through ‘free’ public schools or with the state subsidising the enrolment in private schools (vouchers, fee waivers etc)? Is society going to pay for it through taxes (through the state route) or are we going to harness private philanthropy and bypass the state? Given that the number of children we are talking about is in the millions, we will probably need to employ all these tactics. But all this needs to be thought through and a proper vision has to be in place. To make better policy we need to have consensus across society, across provincial governments and across party lines. For the moment there is little awareness and/or acknowledgement of the issue even within the government or parties. The private sector is usually defensive about giving the state any role in overseeing its activity. And rightly so. Given the corruption and incompetence levels within state institutions, the private sector fears interference. The state sector, by and large, thinks that the private sector is too ‘greedy’ and profit-driven. Yet there is a realisation that both sectors need to work together if we are going to keep the promise of education for all children as envisioned in our Constitution. But this requires a lot of work especially on the part of the state and the mainstream political parties. At the moment, there is nothing beyond slogans. If we are serious about implementing Article 25 (a), the work needs to be done straight away. The writer is senior adviser, Pakistan, at Open Society Foundations, associate professor of economics, LUMS, and a visiting fellow at IDEAS, Lahore.
Positions in opposition By Asha’ar Rehman OVER the last few weeks, there was speculation in the media about Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani’s uneasy ties with the PPP of which he has been a member since the late 1980s. . The most eager of the probes went so far as to claim that the former prime minister had not only decided to quit the PPP, he had, despite the differences with the Sharifs over all these years, discovered some ingenious route to actually plant himself back in the Muslim League. Nothing is impossible in Pakistan but if these rumours were true, Gilani’s mood has since seemed to have changed. After a longish period, he has felt the conviction to loudly endorse a PPP call — the boycott of the presidential polls. According to Gilani this was a “200pc correct” decision. The politician who had been made rather ineffective by his party’s preferences had finally found cause to re-associate with the PPP. His voice finally rose above the grumble born out of deep frustration, even a sense of betrayal at the prospects of his sacrifice going to waste. Yousuf Raza Gilani’s is an open and shut case. Removed as the prime minister by the court over the Swiss letter and with other legal cases staring him in the face, he has been for long looking to the PPP to build a solid political initiative around his sacrifice. There have been spurts of statements by him along the way pressing for what is generally called the political handling of the repercussions of the legal cases ‘against’ the PPP. It is not about the merits of the cases. There can be no escape from legal battles but a political party must come up with a strategy to politically deal with the convictions of its leaders. The question is, can the PPP survive as it is accused by some within the party of not responding strongly enough to what they call targeted trials? The Zardari camp has been faced with the dilemma of carrying on presenting its argument in court, or protesting outside of it as a way of communicating to the people and preventing the PPP’s erosion as an organisation with the capacity to influence as well as gain from public opinion. Being in power left it handicapped on the political front in this context, and the ouster from government, complete with the departure of Asif Zardari from the presidency, reignites the debate about the PPP getting its political angles right. One understanding makes it incumbent on the PPP to quickly develop the idiom and means of conveying to the people a counter-narrative to messages emanating from the courts of law which are inevitably viewed as its defeats in the political arena. It was being anticipated that this counter political argument would emerge once Asif Ali Zardari’s rather mysterious affair with the presidency had run its course. The boycott of the ‘early’ presidential vote under a court ruling could turn out to be a sign of a changed PPP policy. The protestations may grow with time and the PPP cadres who have all along been waiting for Zardari to complete his term could now be seen claiming a share in the statement columns of the newspapers. But they may discover that their ceremonial wake for their leader’s five-year stay in the presidency has left them cramped for political space. A few years ago, when Babar Awan was dealing with the fallout from the PPP’s legal battles, this was a party in power quite sure of its strong presence in Pakistani politics. Even if it was to be ousted from the government, it could nurse realistic ambitions of staying the old course as the main pretender for power, and thus, the main opposition. Awan’s loud campaign had many critics but when the PPP did finally give in to calls for greater restraint, it not just replaced Awan, it chose to convey a message that it was altogether discontinuing the wing that Awan was leading. Instead, a less confrontational approach was adopted, personified in the revival of the affable Aitzaz Ahsan as the PPP spokesman. In time, Ahsan, too, has been forced to in his own way criticise rulings. The complicated part is that he is most certainly speaking on behalf of a considerably weakened party. The trends thrown up by May’s general elections have gravely disturbed the old PPP vs PML-N equation. Today, when Imran Khan adds his voice to the opposition complaint about a court decision, he adds substance to a cause. Imran threatens to replace the PPP, despite the PPP’s superior numerical presence in the elected assemblies, as the party to the issue at hand. The jiyalas are today seen bracing themselves for a resumption of politics which had been put on hold in aid of Asif Zardari’s reconciliation policies in the presidency. This wait has been just as excruciatingly painful for some among them as the lull after Imran Khan’s pre-election fall had been for many of the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf’s (PTI) pro-action cadres. The PPP is really up against it. Hailed in the past as the party naturally cut out to be in the opposition, it will have to sweat and earn it this time around, and that will require an effort far greater than an endorsement from its most recent martyrs such as Yousuf Raza Gilani. There is another strong contender for the main opposition title in the PTI and the PTI is increasingly coming up with its own complaints of discrimination to add to this reputation. The writer is Dawn’s resident editor in Lahore.
Killing for utopia By Irfan Husain IT has now become a cliché to say: “One man’s terrorist is another’s freedom fighter”. But like most clichés, it contains an element of truth.. In this space last week, I offered this generally accepted definition of a terrorist: somebody who targets innocent, unarmed non-combatants to further a political agenda. But in this discourse, everything is relative. Who, after all, is innocent? Surely, all decent people will argue, a child in, say, New York, has nothing to do with the Israeli repression of Palestinians. Wrong, insists Al Qaeda: until the American people and state feel the pain of losing a child to random violence, they will continue backing Israel in its occupation of Palestine. As for adult Americans, they have elected the government, and are therefore legitimate targets. This is the argument jihadis make in justifying terrorist attacks against US interests. In these tactics, they have, I suspect, the silent support of a majority of Muslims. However, the latter then exclaim that the Holy Quran specifically bars the killing of one believer by another. Not so, reply the jihadis. They base their attacks on Muslims on the takfiri concept developed by Ibn Taymiyya, the 14th century theologian, and spiritual godfather of many theorists of political Islam. According to this concept, once a Muslim is declared an apostate, it becomes incumbent on true believers to kill him. The Takfiris — an offshoot of the Salafist tendency in Islam — also justify suicide as a legitimate weapon in the cause of the faith. Thus, the slaughter of fellow Muslims to impose their version of the Sharia is being carried out with religious zeal. In fact, more Muslims have been killed by fellow Muslims over the last few decades than by drones and other Western weapons. These quasi-theological arguments sow confusion in the minds of many Muslims, and prevent them from confronting and defeating the cancer of Islamist militancy that is devastating their societies. The other factor inhibiting a robust response to the terrorists in some Muslim countries like Pakistan and Afghanistan is that they are perceived as warriors fighting to free their soil from foreigners and their local agents. Support for both strands is visible in the media and in the public discourse. And when these militant groups carry out a particularly vicious attack, the general refrain is that the killers are actually agents of foreign powers because no Muslim could have carried out such an act. Given the ambiguity and confusion surrounding Islamic militancy, it ought not to come as a surprise that politicians like Imran Khan and Nawaz Sharif should consider them not as violent criminals, but as legitimate partners for negotiations. Another aspect of the issue liberals like me tend to overlook is that whether we like it or not, groups like Al Qaeda and the Taliban are killing for the sake of an ideal. Their utopia is the just society that is supposed to have existed in the days of early Islam. And in this utopia, these zealots would rule under a caliph presumably chosen by them. Many would recoil from the reality of this construct, but most pay lip service to it, and hence the confusion. However, idealists have used terrorism in an effort to create their particular utopia in the past. In the second half of the 19th century, Europe saw a spate of terrorist attacks carried out by anarchists and other radical groups. Their aim was to topple the governments of the day so they could usher in a socialist utopia where all were equal. They, like Islamist militants today, denounced democracy because they knew they just did not have the numerical support to get elected. Although they spoke in the name of the masses, they were an intellectual elite who justified their violence by saying they were acting for the greater good. In his extensively researched book The World That Never Was: A True Story of Dreamers, Schemers, Anarchists and Secret Agents, Alex Butterworth delves deeply into the underworld of European radicalism. Men like Bakunin, Kropotkin and Reclus, to name only three, were passionate idealists who, despite their humanism, believed that to make an omelette, it is necessary to break eggs. They acted on the principle of ‘propaganda of the deed’, setting off bombs to create an environment of fear which, they hoped, would destabilise the system and enable the birth of the Promised Land. There was much infighting among various groups and theoreticians, but basically, they were all motivated by a burning desire to change the status quo. Predictably, the states of Europe responded with varying degrees of repression. Radical groups were infiltrated by police spies and agents provocateurs who encouraged acts of increasing violence to discredit the movement. And though governments had largely stamped out most radical groups by the early 20th century, the ideas they developed and espoused live on. Fast forward to the 21st century: in varying forms, terrorism is being used by different groups to further different agendas. And while some militants are Muslim, many of their causes are nationalistic, not religious. Whether it is Hamas or groups fighting to liberate Chechnya, they are not interested in global jihad. Until very recently, the IRA in Ireland and ETA in the Basque region of Spain were conducting terrorist operations to set up their own states. Ultimately, terrorism is a weapon of the weak. Outnumbered and outgunned, terrorists resort to attacks against the soft targets offered by markets, schools and buses. But as we have seen in Pakistan, jihadis now slug it out with security forces, and often win. Campaigns against terrorism have only succeeded when they were underpinned by unyielding political will. As long as politicians and the media collude to convince the public that we can negotiate with the jihadis, we will go on witnessing brazen attacks like the jailbreak in D.I. Khan. irfan.husain@gmail.com
Secrecy in democracy By A.G. Noorani DR Samuel Johnson wondered “whether a secret has not some subtle volatility by which it escapes imperceptibly, at the smallest vent, or some power of fermentation, by which it expands itself, so as to burst the heart that will not give it away.”. The conflict, ever present in individuals, between the need to keep secrets and the desire to reveal them, acquires a new dimension in democratic governance. There is a legitimate public interest in the protection of sensitive matters from disclosure. There is also a clear public interest in transparency in democratic governance. The people have a right to know, which is enforceable by courts since it is an inseparable aspect of the fundamental right to freedom of speech. The Supreme Court of India has ordered publication of reports of inquiries more than once. Astonishingly in the one country that prides itself on the unfettered right to freedom of speech, the United States, there has been a veritable witch-hunt of persons suspected to have leaked secret documents, the much hailed First Amendment to the US Constitution notwithstanding. A cascade of disclosures has provoked a war on leaks. There was a time when as senator, Barack Obama asserted that “such acts of courage and patriotism should be encouraged rather than stifled”. As president, he, his Justice Department led by Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr., and the director of National Intelligence, Denis C. Blair, have sought aggressively to punish anyone they deem to be guilty of leaking official secrets. Some notable victims are Julian Assange of WikiLeaks; Bradley E. Manning, a US army private imprisoned since May 2010 (although cleared of the charge of “aiding the enemy”, he was convicted recently by a military tribunal of multiple counts under the Espionage Act for leaking secret documents to WikiLeaks); Stephen Jin-Woo Kim, a US State Department security adviser, for giving classified information about North Korea to a reporter; a State Department adviser and retired general, James E. Cartwright, who was vice-chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff until August 2011; and of course, Edward J. Snowden, former NSA contractor recently granted a year’s asylum in Russia. But can any fair-minded person consider any of these persons a spy rather than a whistleblower? All of them operated under a certain clime in which the United States administration rode roughshod over the citizen’s right to privacy. The NSA monitored traffic patterns from American telephones; the Prism surveillance programme accessed troves of customer data from internet firms like Microsoft and Apple; the FBI used drones to tail suspects within the US. Even the media’s right to protection of its sources of information has come under challenge. Some years ago The New York Times pointed out in an editorial entitled ‘Freedom of the Press’, that “Without the ability of reporters and news organisations to protect confidential sources, many important reports about illegal, incompetent or embarrassing behaviour that the government is determined to conceal would never see the light of day. In recent years, the abuse of prisoners at Abu Ghraib, the secret CIA prisons in Eastern Europe for terrorists and warrantless wiretapping all came to light through the unauthorised disclosure of classified information.” Governments use double standards. They leak information to target political opponents. The cabinet secretary aptly remarked to Jim Hacker in Yes Minister, that the ship of state is the only ship which leaks from the top. Disclosures in Bob Woodward’s book Obama’s Wars are clearly based on information leaked by senior officials. Stephen Kim’s lawyer had pointed out that the classified information about North Korea that Kim is alleged to have passed on to Fox News pales into insignificance besides that given in Woodward’s book. Disclosures unsettle insecure regimes and drive them in desperation to extreme measures — executive or legislative. Britain enacted the first Official Secrets Act in 1889 after a clerk in the Foreign Office had passed to the Globe details of a secret treaty between Britain and Russia. He had sensibly committed them to memory and thus averted the charge of removing a state document. The subcontinent has a fine record of disclosures in the public interest. A Calcutta daily published in October 1838 the text of the foreign secretary Sir Mortimer Durand’s opinion against the annexation of Gilgit. It cheekily added that the viceroy would find the original in the Foreign Office. We now have the protection of the fundamental right to freedom of speech. All laws must conform to the constitution. No leak can be punished if it was done in the public interest and in a clime of persistent official deception. Both Pakistan and India inherited the Official Secrets Act, 1923 based on the British Act of 1911. The act must be tested on the anvil of fundamental rights. Official deception can make disclosure of an official document an act “in the interests of the state”, albeit not in those of “the government”. In the case of Clive Ponting, a senior official of the defence ministry, the trial judge M.C. Cowan interpreted the words “in the interests of the state” to mean “the policies of the state”, adding “the policies of the state mean the policies laid down by those recognised organs of government and authority”. The jury rejected the interpretation and brought a verdict of “not guilty”. In the House of Lords, Lord Denning welcomed the verdict and criticised the judge’s interpretation. In his view, the words mean “the interests of the country or realm”. Public interest is a good defence to a charge under the Official Secrets Act. The writer is an author and a lawyer.
Drones to end nightmare? By Abbas Nasir THE week that ends tomorrow even by our standards was so hectic and, well, so insane it left one completely breathless.. Each passing day and event underlined the work we have to collectively put in if we desire to be counted among the ranks of civilised nations. While our, that is the media’s, attention remained fixated on non-issues a more serious, sinister matter had slipped from the radar. The win of the PML-N candidate Mamnoon Hussain in the presidential race was a foregone conclusion even if the governing party had not asked the superior judiciary to intervene on the grounds of faith and, thus, take a bit of the shine off its own victory. The PPP and a handful of allies promptly boycotted the poll, where the National Assembly and provincial assemblies and the Senate form the electoral college, because the opposition party believed the governing party, the Supreme Court and the Election Commission of Pakistan had acted against it by advancing the poll date. We spent hours analysing the legitimacy of a poll where the major opposition party had boycotted it. Some even went ahead and analysed the challenges the president-to-be would face on assuming office. The mass murder of Parachinar Shias was relegated to secondary status. There was hardly any mention of the minor detail that after the passage of constitutional amendments by the last parliament, scrapping the powers of the president under the erstwhile Eighth Amendment, the presidential office has very little role to play apart from a ceremonial one. The election of the soft-spoken and seemingly decent Mamnoon Hussain was obviously the lead story with the Dera Ismail Khan jailbreak again competing and failing to make the lead. And we all know how much follow-up attention it is likely to receive. As in the case of the Kurram Agency bombings, that the Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) represent a hate-filled, toxic ideology was again on display as the ‘Taliban task force’ attacked the D.I. Khan jail and facilitated the escape of dozens of prisoners described by the authorities as dangerous. They also slaughtered four Shia prisoners before leaving. Being a city person, I take refuge behind complete ignorance of the geography and security arrangements around D.I. Khan and South and North Waziristan. So, will a knowledgeable security expert tell me if there are no ‘checkposts’ on all routes in the area? The irony is whether the answer is in the affirmative or negative, it’ll be equally shocking. If a hundred, or double that number, armed men can freely travel out of and then back to an area described as the epicentre of all terrorism in the country, something is horribly wrong. And it goes beyond the sort of criticism the Pakhtunkhwa minister Ali Amin Gandapur has levelled at the police and jail guards. In fact, the local police could also have bought into the theory that TTP are drone victims’ heirs and the government needs to talk to them; not fight them. But surely the checkposts on all access routes into and inside the two tribal agencies must be manned by members of a much better trained, armed, motivated and organised force than the D.I. Khan police. How could dozens of motorcycles and coaches, yes coaches, travel to and fro freely? One was beginning to ponder the ramifications of the prison attack when news came of the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Fakhruddin G. Ebrahim. Given how he was being attacked by all sides and then had his toes stepped on by the Supreme Court, he had run out of options. The attacks were of a nature that they didn’t just target his perceived shortcomings in office but social media was replete with ageist remarks against him by people who normally claim to be civilised and enlightened. Thanks Fakhru Bhai, you are a decent man and did the best you could. Amazing how your critics didn’t even mention or laud that you voluntarily left a constitutionally protected tenure of office years ahead of time. Surely, there are few, if any, examples of such conduct. Before Fakhru Bhai’s exit could sink in, the focus shifted again to the Supreme Court after the apex court summoned Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) leader Imran Khan to explain why contempt proceedings shouldn’t be initiated against him for his remarks against the judiciary. The matter is before the court. Therefore, any further thoughts on that would be out of line. So, I’ll refrain. But one thing that caught my attention was a remark attributed to the PTI leader as he emerged from the court. He was quoted to have said he didn’t know that sharmnak (shameful) was an abuse. Don’t know about ‘abusive’ but it is a derogatory word. One really wishes the time Imran Khan had spent chiding Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari for the latter’s Urdu, he’d invested in some lessons for himself. On the eve of Imran Khan’s appearance before the apex court, US Secretary of State John Kerry made the dramatic disclosure that drone attacks were being tapered and would end “very, very soon”. The remarks must come as a huge relief to all Pakistanis. But particularly to the Pakhtuns and all sectarian and religious minorities who have had to face the brunt of the wrath of the TTP and allies who somehow think all these groups represent those who launch the pilotless aerial attack vehicles. I, for one, will be looking forward to a quick end to the drone attacks so we can get on with our lives in safety and comfort without the ever-looming spectre of terrorism. Equally, I hope the connection between the two is that straightforward. What’ll we do if it isn’t? PS: It was good to see one of my favourite columnists, Babar Sattar, on these pages. There have been many occasions I have disagreed with him but continue to hold him in esteem. The writer is a former editor of Dawn.
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