EDITORIAL:DAILY TIMESThe Supreme Court’s (SC’s) verdict on the petitions challenging the ruling of the Speaker of the National Assembly (NA) that rejected the argument that Prime Minister (PM) Yousaf Raza Gilani stood disqualified after being convicted and sentenced for contempt of court has pronounced that he does stand disqualified, not only from the premiership, but from membership of parliament as well. Not just that, the SC in its short order has laid down that he cannot stand for election for five years. To that end, the SC has sent instructions to the Election Commission (EC) to issue a notification to that effect. Meantime the PPP’s Central Executive Committee (CEC), which happened to be meeting when the verdict was announced, revealed its decisions on the crisis through a press conference by PPP leaders. The gist of the CEC’s decisions was that despite having reservations about the SC’s verdict, they had accepted the court’s finding that the conviction and sentencing till the rising of the court of Gilani for contempt on April 26 meant that he was no longer the PM, and with retrospective effect, had been removed on and since that date. The PPP has appealed to its workers and supporters to remain calm and restrained, despite the fact that the verdict is bound to inflame opinion in the PPP and allied camp. The CEC has empowered party Co-chairperson President Asif Ali Zardari to take whatever decisions he thinks fit regarding a replacement for Gilani. The intriguing question of course is whether the new PM will suffer the same pressure from the SC to write the letter to the Swiss authorities regarding President Asif Ali Zardari that the court was insisting on Gilani writing, and refusal to comply with which had attracted the contempt conviction for the former PM. In that case, the looming confrontation between state institutions, which began as a confrontation between the judiciary and the executive, could expand to now a confrontation between the judiciary and parliament as well. After all, the SC’s verdict overruling the Speaker of the NA too has set an unprecedented example, one that will reverberate in our jurisprudence for a long time to come. Questions have also been raised whether all the decisions and acts of the former PM since April 26 to date stand. The most important of these acts was the passing of the budget. It is possible that the detailed judgement may throw more light on this matter. Normally, courts are mindful that retrospective judgements should not disrupt things done and transactions closed to an extent that causes greater difficulties. Yousaf Raza Gilani was unanimously elected PM after the 2008 elections, arguably in the context of the assassination of Benazir Bhutto in end 2007, a tragedy that led to widespread unrest and riots, especially in Sindh. The sympathy factor had a great deal to do with the results of the 2008 elections in which, despite garnering only a plurality, the PPP was the only party in a position to form a coalition government. The other factor that worked in favour of the consensus that surrounded Gilani’s election as PM was the relatively good relations at the time between the PPP and the main opposition party the PML-N. By 2009, those relations had already soured to the point where the coalition saw the departure of the PML-N and its open opposition to the seeming reluctance of the PPP to restore Chief Justice of Pakistan Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry and the deposed superior judiciary. Since then, the impression has been unmistakable that the SC has tilted more against the incumbent PPP than in any other direction, even resorting to picking and choosing which cases to hear on a priority or fast track basis. This has invited criticism of the judiciary for alleged bias. True or not, such criticism may well find a fresh lease of life after the SC, in an unprecedented verdict, has deposed a sitting PM. Such ‘treatment’ at the hands of the judiciary is likely to resurrect the party’s memory of past injustices at the hands of the judiciary, the most poignant example being the case of Z A Bhutto. This verdict will have legal as well as political implications. Whether our nascent democratic system will survive these fresh storms can only be left to the imagination at this point
M WAQAR..... "A man's ethical behavior should be based effectually on sympathy, education, and social ties; no religious basis is necessary.Man would indeed be in a poor way if he had to be restrained by fear of punishment and hope of reward after death." --Albert Einstein !!! NEWS,ARTICLES,EDITORIALS,MUSIC... Ze chi pe mayeen yum da agha pukhtunistan de.....(Liberal,Progressive,Secular World.)''Secularism is not against religion; it is the message of humanity.'' تل ده وی پثتونستآن
Tuesday, June 19, 2012
Pakistan: Virtual judicial coup
Afghanistan:Students treated in latest Afghan fainting incident

Coalition partners entrust Zardari to nominate next PM
The Express TribuneAll coalition partners of the ruling Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) met under the chairmanship of President Asif Ali Zardari and handed him the mandate to decide on a candidate for election as the new Prime Minister of Pakistan, Express News reported. The emergency meeting was called after the Supreme Court of Pakistan declared Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani ineligible to hold office. Gilani will not be a member of parliament following the verdict, and his name was also removed from the Press Information Department website. “The Election Commission shall issue a notice of disqualification and the president is required to take necessary steps to ensure continuation of democratic process,” said Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry. The election commission subsequently issued a notification declaring Gilani’s membership of the National Assembly as null and void. The coalition partners said that since the previous Prime Minister belonged to the PPP, the next one too should be from the PPP. Disqualified Prime Minsiter Gilani too attended the meeting. Earlier, Express News reported that Senior PPP leader Ahmed Mukhtar said that he heard the party may be nominate him for the post of prime minister. “I’m not sure about the party’s decision but if the party considers me for the position of prime minister, I would duly serve the country,” he said.
Babar Awan criticizes PM's advisers
Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Senator Babar Awan said on Tuesday that the people responsible for advising Prime Minister Gilani to not appeal against the conviction in the contempt of court case would be soon unveiled, Geo News reported.
He was speaking to the media after a case hearing outside the Islamabad High Court.
Babar Awan said after the chief executive case ruling, no client would forget the lawyer who charged Rs100. He said that in this amount, it is only possible to purchase petrol to reach the Adiala Jail.
He further said that it appears as if there would be a huge upset in the Supreme Court Bar elections this time around.
The Senator added that he is more interested in advocacy rather than politics.
President Zardari cancels Russia visit to consult allies

Britain: 7mn working adults struggle to survive
A recent study has revealed that almost seven million adults of working age in Britain “face money woes” finding it difficult to feed themselves and their families.
An Experian study for The Guardian has revealed that about 3.6 million households are not able to live on their income and are struggling to feed themselves because they have no assets or savings to fall back on.
“What's shocking about this is that these are people who want to work and are working but who, despite putting their faith in the politicians' mantra, find themselves in another cul-de-sac. Recent welfare cuts and policy changes make it difficult to advise these people where they should turn to get out of it - it really is genuinely shocking”, said Frank Field, Britain’s former welfare minister.
The research study revealed that 2.2 million children live in families which are financially struggling while one or both parents work in a low or middle-income job.
“What is clear and this research shows, is that the existing system doesn't help those families who strive to do the right thing”, said a spokesperson for the Department for Work and Pensions.
This comes as the research only investigated those who fell outside the most deprived. Moreover, another study by the Trades Union Congress (TUC) showed that long-term youth unemployment in Britain increased by 78 percent over the past decade.
Obama immigration shift a hit with voters
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Gilani no more Prime Minister


Kabul accuses Pakistan over suicide attack
Afghan authorities on Tuesday said “regional spy agencies” were behind a rare suicide attack targeting Shia Muslims that killed more than 80 people in a veiled reference to Pakistani intelligence.
Attorney General Eshaq Aloko said two men had been arrested over the December attack, which struck a crowd of worshippers on Ashura in Kabul.
President Hamid Karzai blamed Pakistani sectarian extremist outfit Lashkar-e-Jhangvi for the atrocity, which was unprecedented on such a holy day, and urged Islamabad to act.
Aloko said the attack was planned in Pakistan’s northwestern city of Peshawar, by “regional spy agencies” aimed at “provoking sectarian violence”.
“Although the Jhangvi group claimed responsibility, it was masterminded by some spy agencies in our neighbouring countries,” Aloko said.
Afghans blame Pakistan for fuelling much of the violence in their country, where the Taliban are leading a 10-year insurgency against the government and 130,000 Western troops.
The prosecutor said one of those arrested came from Afghanistan’s Nangarhar province, which borders Pakistan’s militant-infested tribal belt, and was paid 10,000 Pakistani rupees ($100) to bring two suicide attackers to Kabul.
“One attacker blew himself up, the second fled the area,” Aloko said.
He said the two arrested men both confessed over the plot and the case was now closed.
The explosion happened at the entrance to a riverside shrine, where hundreds of Shias had gathered.
The Taliban denied responsibility for the attack, the deadliest in the Afghan capital in three years.
“The case is closed for us now. We have completed our investigation, and the case will be sent to the court,” Aloko said.

Polio vaccination ban: Militants put thousands of children at risk
The Express TribuneOver 16,000
President Zardari invites Presidents of Russia, Afghanistan, Tajikistan for summit

MASSIVE KILLING IN KARACHI

Punjab rulers responsible for loss of life, says Kaira
Frontier PostMinister for Information and Broadcasting Qamar Zaman Kaira said on Monday that the Punjab rulers were instigating the people against the federation and they were personally responsible for the loss of life and damage to the public and Pakistan People's Party leaders and workers' property. He was talking to media persons at Faisal Mosque after attending funeral prayers in absentia for Saudi Crown Prince Nayef bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, who died on Saturday. While replying to a question, he said no doubt that loadshedding during past couple of days had increased, but that was no justification for attacking the public property and property of the PPP leaders. "Loadshedding is being done in all four provinces, but violent protest demonstrations are being held only in the Punjab. The Punjab police has become silent spectator, and the provincial rulers and the administration are not only part of the protest but they are instigating the people". Kaira said that the PPP through the 18th Amendment has tried to end the sense of deprivation among the smaller provinces but the rulers in the Punjab are fanning hatred to get petty political gains. He said that there was 800 mw low head hydro power potential in the Punjab but not a single mega watt has been produced so far. The minister said that 200 mega watt electricity will be added in the system from wind sector and 600 mw will be added from the same sector next year. He said that some Independent Power Plants (IPPs) are commissioned only on gas and their closure due to shortage of gas has added to loadshedding problem. He said that the incumbent govern was paying the price of the decisions of its predecessors which could not prepare proper energy policy and diverted gas towards CNG sector. Replying questions about the deceased Saudi crown prince he said the entire nation was praying for his soul. Kaira said that Saudi Arabia is brotherly country of Pakistan which has always supported Pakistan on all forums of the world. The minister said that the Saudi Arabia and Pakistan enjoy historic relations and the place where we have offered the funeral prayer is also a gift of the Saudi government to the people of Pakistan. To a question, he said that Fauzia Wahab was central leader of the PPP whose services would be remembered for long. He said that the PPP has lost a hard working parliamentarian and the National Assembly has lost a dedicated member. He said that the deceased PPP leader fought the case of the party and the poor masses in a very efficient manner. Replying to a question, Kaira said that the doctors belong to noble profession and work in unusually difficult conditions, however, if their negligence proved in the death of Fauzia Wahab, action will be taken against the responsible.
Pashto singer Ghazala Javed gunned down in Peshawar
Dawn.ComProminent Pashto singer Ghazala Javed and her father were gunned down by unidentified persons at Dabgari area here on Monday night. Family members of the deceased told police that Ms Javed had gone to a beauty parlour along with her father Mohammad Javed. Unidentified motorcyclists sprayed them with bullets when they came out of the parlour, they said. The bodies were shifted to mortuary for autopsy from where they were taken to a police station by police and Farhat Bibi, a sister of Ms Javed. An official of Shah Qabool police station told Dawn that they were collecting details of the occurrence and could not say anything with accuracy as to who was behind the crime. He said that Farhat Bibi might be complainant in the case and it was not known as to who she would charge. Hailing from the scenic Swat valley, Ms Javed married around two years ago Jehangir Khan, a native of Peshawar. However, last year, differences emerged between the couple following which she left residence of her husband and started living with her father. The singer had also filed a suit for dissolution of her marriage in Swat. She got fame few years ago and her audio and video CDs and cassettes were selling like hot cake not only in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa but also in Middle East where Pashtuns work in large number. Following her marriage, Ms Javed had stopped singing, but recently she resumed attending private functions.
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