Ind vs Pak: India crush Pakistan by 8 wickets

The Times of India

Ravichandran Ashwin and Yuvraj Singh set it up with a superb display of spin bowling before Virat Kohli took centrestage with an unbeaten 78 as an inspired India thrashed arch-rivals Pakistan by eight wickets to keep their title hopes alive in the ICC World Twenty20 on Sunday. Scorecard | Match in Pics Ashwin (2/16) and Yuvraj (2/16) snapped up four wickets between themselves as Pakistan were shot out for a meagre 128 in 19.4 overs. Lakshmipathy Balaji also complemented the 'spin twins' with impressive figures of 3/22 in 3.4 overs. Kohli, who has been Pakistan's nemesis in the past, hit a scintillating unbeaten 78 off 61 balls as India won with three overs to spare. The Delhi lad hit nine boundaries and two sixes to take the team home in the high-voltage contest watched by a capacity crowd. However, Pakistan are still ahead in terms of net run rate of -0.426 which is shade better than India's -0.452. Had India won with 20 balls to spare, they would have been No. 2 in the group. India will now have to defeat South Africa in their last group-2 match on Tuesday to make it to the semifinals. India's unbeaten record against Pakistan in ICC World Cups has thus been kept intact having beaten them five times in the 50-over version and thrice in the T20 format. Kohli started with a thickish outside edge off Raza Hasan for a boundary but then played some lovely strokes. A backfoot cover drive off Saeed Ajmal and lovely cover drive off Yasir Arafat were glorious strokes. He also lofted Shahid Afridi over long-off for a six. Whether driving on the up or playing off his hips, Kohli was a treat to watch. Virender Sehwag, on the other hand, was happy to play the second fiddle during the 74-run partnership for the second wicket but did play a lovely lofted shot off Umar Gul's bowling. Pakistan captain Mohammed Hafeez's decision to bat first on a slow Premadasa track failed to produce the desired result as Ashwin and Yuvraj frustrated the opposition batsmen by maintaining superb line and length. Ashwin, who operated from round the wicket, had superb figures of two for 16 from four overs while Yuvraj also had identical figures but from three overs. The duo snapped four Pakistan wickets for only 32 runs in seven overs and it was the reason why Hafeez and Co could not reach a respectable total. Lakshmipathy Balaji also complemented the 'spin twins' with impressive figures of 3/22 in 3.4 overs. The only notable partnership was of 47 runs between Shoaib Malik and Umar Akmal. Malik was the top scorer with 28 before he gave an easy catch to Rohit Sharma. Last match's hero Umar Akmal played a pull shot off an Ashwin delivery but couldn't clear Suresh Raina in the deep. India versus Pakistan matches are never short of drama and this match was also not an exception. Zaheer Khan's first over saw him bowl three wide deliveries and then being square driven by Imran Nazir for a boundary before Virender Sehwag dropped the opener at first slip. Irfan Pathan started off the collapse by removing Nazir who had shuffled a long way but the umpire thought that left-arm seamer's incoming delivery would have hit the stumps. Nazir stood his ground for a while before leaving. To everyone's disbelief, Shahid Afridi walked in at No 3 and smashed the first delivery from Pathan over his head and then another boundary off the bowler through the cover region. However, with the former Pakistan captain, opposition teams always fancy a chance and Balaji bowled a short one which Afridi tried to pull it over mid-wicket boundary but was caught by Suresh Raina at the boundary ropes. Afridi made only 14. Yuvraj then got into the act as he removed left-hander Nasir Jamshed and wicketkeeper-batsman Kamran Akmal in quick succession to reduce Pakistan to 49 for four. Both hurried onto their shots. Jamshed tried to play a slog-sweep which was smartly taken by Dhoni while Kamran tried an expansive cover drive of an arm ball only to give the Indian captain his second catch. Pakistan captain Hafeez scratched around for 28 balls for his 15 before he dragged one onto his stumps off part-timer Virat Kohli's bowling. Umar and Malik then got together to conjure a partnership but Ashwin dismissed both of them in quick succession to end Pakistan's chances of a big score.

Bahrain Faces Riots After Boy Dies in Protest

Riot police officers in Bahrain fired tear gas and stun grenades on Saturday in clashes with protesters who broke away from a funeral procession for a 17-year-old boy killed the day before during street battles with the security forces.Thousands of mourners took part in the funeral march, chanting antigovernment slogans and waving Bahraini flags. Later, smaller groups of several hundred demonstrators broke away and hurled stones at police units. There were no immediate reports of injuries. The death of the boy late Friday could stir more tensions between the forces backing the Sunni-led monarchy and groups from Bahrain’s Shiite majority who are seeking a greater voice in the country’s political affairs. More than 50 people have died, including protesters and police officers, in almost 20 months of political turmoil in Bahrain, an island nation in the Persian Gulf and the headquarters of the United States Navy’s Fifth Fleet. The Shiite-led protests are aimed at breaking the Sunni minority rulers’ monopoly on power in Bahrain. They started in February 2011 and were inspired by other Arab Spring revolts against authoritarian governments in the region. Bahrain’s largest Shiite political bloc, Al Wefaq, said the security forces killed the boy, Ali Hussein Niema, 17, when they fired birdshot — used often by the riot police in Bahrain — during street clashes on Friday in the village of Sadad, southwest of the capital, Manama. Last month, a 16-year-old boy was also shot and killed during a protest. Bahrain’s Interior Ministry confirmed that one person had been killed in what it described as a terrorist attack on a security patrol that included firebombs thrown at the police.

Bangladesh Muslims torch Buddhist shrines

Crowds of angry Muslims attacked Buddhist shrines, torching some of them, over the weekend in Bangladesh to protest after a photo of a partially burned Quran was posted on Facebook, police said Sunday. The protesters chanted anti-Buddhist slogans, blaming the burning of the Muslim holy book on a Buddhist boy, district police superintendent Saleem Jahangir said. The boy is tagged in the photo but did not post it himself, Jahangir said. The boy's account has been deleted and police are not naming him. Police sent extra officers to restore calm in Cox's Bazaar, a town south of the capital Dhaka on the coast, said Jahangir. "Now the situation is under control," he said. The south Asian nation is about 90% Muslim, the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life estimated in its 2011 survey of the global Muslim population. It is less than 1% Buddhist. Actual or reported Quran burning has led to violence in Pakistan and Afghanistan. Relatively peaceful Bangladesh was one of many countries that saw demonstrations recently against the online video "The Innocence of Muslims," which portrays the prophet Mohammed as a womanizer and child abuser.

US and Afghan forces clash, leaving 5 dead

Associated Press

A firefight broke out between U.S. forces and their Afghan army allies in eastern Afghanistan Sunday, killing two Americans and three Afghan soldiers and pushing the number of U.S. troops killed in the long-running war 2,000. The fighting started Saturday when what is believed to have been a mortar fired by insurgents struck a checkpoint set up by U.S. forces in Wardak province, said Shahidullah Shahid, a provincial government spokesman. He said the Americans thought they were under attack from a nearby Afghan army checkpoint and fired on it, prompting the Afghan soldiers to return fire. The Afghan Defense Ministry said the gunbattle was the result of a "misunderstanding" between international forces and Afghan soldiers manning a checkpoint in the Sayd Abad district. NATO's International Security Assistance Force, commonly referred to as ISAF, provided a different account. "After a short conversation took place between (Afghan army) and ISAF personnel firing occurred which resulted in the fatal wounding of an ISAF soldier and the death of his civilian colleague," the coalition said in a statement. It said the three Afghan soldiers died "in an ensuing exchange of fire." NATO did not say whether it considered this an "insider" attack on foreign forces by Afghan allies. There has been rising tide of such attacks in which Afghan soldiers or police assault their international allies. The killings pose one of the greatest threats to NATO's mission in the country, endangering a partnership key to training up Afghan security forces and withdrawing international troops. While it may be days before it becomes clear who fired on whom first, the incident illustrates how tense relations have become between international troops and their Afghan allies. Officials on both sides went into damage control mode, arguing that Saturday's violence did not mark a new low in Afghan-U.S. relations and urging patience while investigators tried to figure out exactly what had happened. The deputy commander of NATO's military force in Afghanistan, British Lt. Gen. Adrian Bradshaw, called a last-minute news conference in Kabul to address the incident, even though he had few details to give. He said the initial report of an insider attack should be amended to note that the incident "is now understood possibly to have involved insurgent fire," and tried to stress that relations between international troops and their Afghan allies "are very strong and very effective." A spokesman for the Afghan Defense Ministry, Gen. Zahir Azimi, also sought to downplay the incident. "In a misunderstanding shooting broke out between Afghan army and ISAF forces. As a result of the shooting, three army soldiers were killed, three other soldiers were wounded and number of ISAF forces were killed and wounded," Azimi said in a statement. One U.S. official confirmed that the service member killed was American, while another confirmed that the civilian was also American. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because the nationality of the dead had not yet been formally announced. The number of American military dead reflects an Associated Press count of those members of the armed services killed inside Afghanistan since the U.S.-led invasion on Oct. 7, 2001. In the south meanwhile, three Afghan police officers were killed when insurgents attacked a checkpoint in Helmand province Sunday morning, provincial police spokesman Fareed Ahmad said.

PML-N made Punjab bankrupt

Deputy Prime Minister and PML central leader Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi said on Saturday circumstances in Punjab would have been different if the PML-N government had concentrated more on improving the lot of poor people, control lawlessness and set the education system right instead of getting the IRI survey done in its favour. Talking to party leaders at his residence on Saturday, he said the popularity of political parties was judged by masses’ support on elections day and not by survey reports as people voted on the basis of performance and not on surveys. He said such surveys were also made before the 2008 elections but contrary to survey reports, the PML secured maximum votes in Punjab and was number two in Pakistan in terms of cotes bagged. He alleged the PML-N had made Punjab financially bankrupt and according to a report of State Bank of Pakistan, Punjab was heavily indebted despite his PML government had left the province with Rs 100 billion surplus. He said the growth rate during his tenure in 2007 was 8 per cent whereas it was only 1.8 per cent in 2012. He said another report of State bank said his government had utilised 98 per cent of development funds whereas the Shahbaz Sharif government used only 43 percent. He alleged the PML-N government had wasted billions of rupees on fake and flop schemes like Sasti roti, Tandoor, Ashiana Housing, Laptop, Danish Schools and Lahore Metro Bus. He said where one would find good performance when doctors, nurses, teachers and low-paid employees were protesting on roads for their rights while the crime rate had increased by 33 percent.

The Problem With Mengal’s Six Points

The Baloch Hal

Soon after his much-hyped return to Pakistan, Sardar Akhtar Mengal, Balochistan’s former chief minister and the president of the Balochistan National Party (B.N.P.), has submitted six points before the Supreme Court as a minimum Baloch demand for deescalating tensions in his native province. Mengal has dramatized the situation by emulating Shiek Mujib-ur-Rehman, the founder of Bangladesh, whose Six Points eventually culminated in Pakistan’s dismemberment in 1971. Before we analyze Mengal’s six-point demands, the sad news is that the Pakistani security establishment categorically rejected Mengal’s proposal within 24 hours of his submission and the country’s Interior Minister, Rehman Malik, has warned Mengal not to speak against Pakistan or “defame our country’s armed forces”. The intelligence agencies told the Supreme Court that they did not run or sponsor any death squads, as pointed out by the former chief minister, nor was any missing person in their custody. A joint response submitted by Chief Secretary Balochistan at the Supreme Court on behalf of the civil and military authorities also argued, contrary to Mengal’s statement, that all political parties in Balochistan enjoyed ‘full freedom’ and did not face any kind of official restrictions. Here is what Mengal has proposed in his six points. 1. All covert and overt military operations against the Baloch should immediately be suspended. 2. All missing persons should be procured before a court of law. 3. All proxy death squads operating under the supervision of Inter Services Intelligence (ISI) and Military Intelligence (MI) should be disbanded. 4. Baloch political parties should be allowed to function and resume their political activities without any interference from intelligence agencies. 5. Persons responsible for inhuman torture, killing and dumping of dead bodies of the Baloch political leaders and activists should be brought to justice. 6. Measures should be taken for the rehabilitation of thousands of displaced Baloch living in appalling condition. Almost all of the above-mentioned demands have been repeatedly made by Baloch nationalists, human rights groups such as the Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, and local and international media in order to build peace in Balochistan. In fact, B.N.P. had made some of these demands as early as 2005 in front of the Parliamentary Committee on Balochistan. Even the Pakistan People’s Party-led government, without consulting the B.N.P. and other Baloch nationalists, promised in the text of the Aghaz-e-Haqoo-e-Balochistan Package in November 2009 to resurface and release the missing persons. The promise was never kept. There has never been a dearth of recommendations on Balochistan nor will there ever be. What has hindered conflict resolution is the lack of political will on the part of the Pakistani security establishment, the federal and provincial governments. That situation has not changed and we do not see an atmosphere where such idealistic demands could willingly be implemented. Two of Pakistan’s top opposition leaders, former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif of the Pakistan Muslim League and Imran Khan of the Pakistan Justice Movement, have publicly endorsed Mengal’s six points. Mr. Sharif and Mr. Khan have both spoken in support of Mengal’s demand not because they passionately feel for the rights of the Baloch people but because they are both staunch rivals and getting ready for upcoming general elections. We have been urging Mr. Sharif and Mr. Khan not to confine their love and concern for the Baloch people to mere media statements. They should practically launch long-marches in Punjab, as was done for the restoration of Chief Justice in 2008, to coax the army to halt its kill and dump operations in Balochistan. Only Mr. Sharif can pressurize the Pakistan army because the bulk of the army comes from the Punjab province. Likewise, Mr. Khan has passionately campaigned against drone strikes but hardly bothered to take out a march to Dera Bugti or Gwadar in support of thousands of Balochs who have been killed or disappeared during the current conflict. Mengal treats the Supreme Court as the ‘last hope’ for the Baloch people. This is a false expectation. The Supreme Court cannot resolve a dispute that requires basic constitutional changes and parliamentary protection. Pakistan’s Supreme Court has become very controversial and is believed to be a tool in the hands of the country’s army to destabilize the democratic government. Thus, a very strong Supreme Court is as dangerous for the Baloch as a strong Pakistani army. For instance, can one imagine a scenario if controversial judges like Justice (Javid Iqbal or Justice Sharif (who have respectively presented wrong statistics about the number of missing persons or settlers killed in Balochistan) are in position to hear Balochistan’s case? Given the past experiences, we do not think that Islamabad’s policies will change in near future. After all, what will convince the Chief Justice to punish security personnel responsible for whisking away young Baloch boys and killing them if video footage and testimony by members of the Balochistan Assembly and senior police officers fail to convince him? At the end, he can’t do much for himself or for Mengal because both of them do not wear a military uniform.

Mengal’s Political Blunder

Editorial:The Baloch Hal

The unilateral decision of former Balochistan Chief Minister Sardar Akhtar Mengal to return to Pakistan to support the country’s Supreme Court will hurt Baloch interests. Sardar Mengal, who heads the Balochistan National Party (BNP), certainly has a democratic right to make his own decisions but his actions will tarnish the international image of the Baloch nationalist movement. At a time when the United Nations sent a Working Group in Balochistan to investigate the cases of enforced disappearances and also come up with recommendations criticizing the Pakistani military, this was not the right step for a senior Baloch leader to express faith in the Pakistani Supreme Court. Balochs have reached some steps away from a next U.N. intervention or decision on Balochistan but Sardar Mengal’s return will provide the United Nations a reason to step aside and treat Balochistan as Pakistan’s “internal issue”. At this point, the Baloch interest lies in internationalizing the issue so that more international human rights groups and representatives of the media observe transparency in resolving the Balochistan conflict according to the wishes of the Baloch people. With such a dramatic decision, one is compelled to doubt the depth and clarity of B.N.P.’s political vision for Balochistan. The B.N.P. had previously asked for provincial autonomy for Balochistan but subsequently hardened its stance and began to ask for the right to self-determination. People seek the right to self-determination when they fully lose confidence in a state. Expression of trust in the Pakistani Supreme Court completely disqualifies B.N.P.’s plea for international intervention in Balochistan. 2012 was a glorious year in Balochistan’s history when the nationalist movement made extraordinary achievements. In February, the United States Congress held a hearing on Balochistan and members of the U.S. Congress, both from the Democratic Party and the Republican Party, supported the Baloch right to self-determination. On March 27th, these congressional friends of Balochistan addressed a press conference in Washington DC’s National Press Club to once again reiterate their support for the Baloch people’s right to self-determination. As the Baloch issue gained more international attention, the United Nations also sent a Working Group to probe the cases of missing persons. With his return, Sardar Mengal has made Islamabad’s job easier: to shut down all doors for future U.N. interventions in Balochistan. Because, as understood from Sardar Mengal’s decision, Pakistani institutions can internally manage the Balochistan imbroglio. We agree with the Baloch Students Organization (BSO-Azad) that Sardar Mengal’s action amounts to joining hands with those who are responsible for killing the Baloch people. The Supreme Court has been bluffing with the Baloch people. While this court has remained in place for ages, the first disappearances (in the ongoing insurgency) began in early 2000. A decade after the initial disappearances, this Supreme Court has not been able to punish a single official for their illegal action. There is an enormous wealth of evidence that proves the security establishment’s involvement in brutal actions against the Balochs. The Chief Justice has been using the Baloch missing persons as a political card but failed to deliver. It does not make much sense when Mr. Mengal says that the Supreme Court is last hope for the Balochs. How can one trust the Pakistanis when their executive and legislative branches of government have made no confidence building measures to appease the Baloch? While the issue of the missing persons is the most sensitive and critical one, it is not the sole bone of contention between Balochistan and Islamabad. Balochistan’s problem is not as narrow as the issue of human rights. Balochistan’s is a much more complicated political vendetta which cannot be resolved only by addressing human rights issues. However, if Islamabad genuinely addresses the issue of human rights then it should be considered as a confidence building measure to start dialogue on other outstanding political issues. Balochs have been receiving bullet-riddled dead bodies even during the visit of the working group. The so-called Pakistani liberal politicians like Senator Raza Rabbani have gone public to express their anti-Baloch intentions by brazenly announcing that the United Nations would not be allowed next time to send another mission on Balochistan. When Pakistani politicians and opinion makers unite against the Baloch people, our leadership must also learn the art of putting forward Baloch demands without mincing words. We do not fully know the details of Sardar Mengal’s understanding with the Pakistani government that culminated in ending his four-year self-imposed exile. We consider it a political blunder by B.N.P. which may offer it some temporary benefits but any contacts with Pakistan at this point will harm the broader Baloch interest. While some Baloch parties criticized Sardar Mengal in 2006 for not consulting them while quitting parliamentary seats in protest against Nawab Bugti’s killing, he now deserves his share of criticism for making another decision without consulting other key stakeholders. B.N.P. is going to isolate itself and end up getting itself recognized among soft pro-Establishment parties like the National Party or the Jamori Watan Party.

Bilawal Bhutto: EC a great achievement of Govt

THE NEWS

Pakistan People’s Party Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari has said that the setting up of a non-controversial election commission was a great achievement of the government, while efforts were afoot in favour of the dual nationality holders, Geo News reported. Addressing USA International Convention here, Bilawal Bhutto condemning the anti-Islam film demanded that the strings of such hate campaign must stop. He said that Islam was a religion of peace and those protesting peacefully against the blasphemous film were the real followers. Speaking on Balochistan's situation, Bilawal Bhutto said that his party considers Baloch people part and parcel of Pakistan. He said that historic actions have been taken for meeting the challenges in Balochistan. The share of Balochistan in national resources has been doubled through the NFC Award. Bilawal Bhutto said no one has the right to doubt the patriotism of Pakistanis residing abroad. Efforts were afoot that Pakistanis holding dual nationality could participate in the country’s affairs. He said PPP believes in independent judiciary and, as such, it sacrificed in supporting the lawyers’ movement.

‘Pakistan may lose major share in textile export this year’

http://www.brecorder.com

Pakistan may lose its major share in textile exports and suffer negative growth during the current fiscal year, as about 20-25 industries face closures or are being diverted to neighbouring countries such as India, Turkey, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. Sources said on Saturday that because of sky-rocketing prices of inputs, limited availability of basic inputs of textile units such electricity and gas, inconsistent government textile policies and worsening law and order situation had forced many textile mill owners to either to close down their units or to shift their businesses to nearby countries where the cost of doing business was comparatively less than Pakistan. “During the past fiscal year, 15 percent of the total number of textile units of Pakistan shut down completely, while during 2012-13, 20-25 percent of the rest of textile mills are likely to divert to the other South Asian countries”, sources added. “You can well imagine the rapidity at which the situation is worsening…just during the past month and a half, six hosiery processing factories have shut down in Karachi while some mill owners from the Faisalabad region also shut down their factories mainly because of the energy crisis”, sources disclosed. “Unfortunately, most of the times untimely delivery of our textile products to buyers abroad due to power crisis has resulted in considerable reduction in overall textile exports. Even our old clients are now hesitant to place orders for our textile products due to delays in delivery and comparatively high costs”, sources lamented. During the last fiscal year, the textile sector added $ 12.35 billion to the national exchequer against the export target of $ 16 billion while the target set for 2012-13 is $ 12-13 billion. Chairman All Pakistan Textile Mills Association (APTMA), Mohsin Aziz, while talking to the Business Recorder, said that prolonged electricity load-shedding and shortage of gas are key factors in the decline of overall productivity of textile sector , adding that the government has failed to resolve the crisis. “The Indian government’s decision to allow Pakistani investment on its soil would also trigger capital flight from Pakistan because of deteriorating law and order and energy crisis,” the APTMA chief argued. The decision by India to relax the ban on investments from Pakistan was made in April 2012 while Pakistan had never imposed restrictions on investments by Indians.

Bhagat Singh’s revolutionary legacy

DAILY TIMES: BY LAL KHAN

Bhagat was a fervent torchbearer of the proletarian struggle. He rejected the prejudices of caste, creed, nationality, race, gender, and, of course, religion This September 28 marked the 105th birth anniversary of one of South Asia’s iconic revolutionaries, Bhagat Singh. His heroic struggle for a revolutionary change and overthrow of the British Raj through a militant struggle has been a source of inspiration for generations. Bhagat was executed by the imperialist despots in the wee hours of March 23, 1931 at the tender age of 23, but he had left a mark in the annals of history of the class struggle in the region. His urge to understand Marxist theory and passionately educate his comrades in prison and during intense activities to develop as revolutionary cadres is a hallmark of his relentless struggle. Although he has been dubbed as a nationalist and anarchist by historians and analysts of the elite and the reformists, Bhagat was none of that at the end of his short but eventful life. Even when he was called from his death cell for the gallows, he was reading Lenin’s State and Revolution. The sort of independence that was achieved after a bloody partition, in which 2.7 million innocent souls perished, would have repulsed Bhagat Singh. The independence sought by him and his comrades of the Hindustan Socialist Republican Association (HSRA) was spelt out in one of his epic speeches during the peak of their struggle. It has been portrayed superbly in Raj Kumar Santoshi’s brilliant film, The Legend of Bhagat Singh. He says, “We don’t want independence! We don’t want independence where the English rulers are replaced by the local elites. We don’t want freedom where this wretched system of exploitation and slavery continues. We are striving for an independence that would transform the whole system thorough revolutionary socialism.” Bhagat Singh, who was initially a diehard follower of Mohandas Gandhi, had revolted against him when the latter had called off agitation against the British after the killing of some policemen in a clash with a procession of youth and workers demanding the eviction of the imperialist rulers from India. Bhagat was deeply influenced by the Bolshevik revolution of 1917 in the Soviet Union and he diligently studied the works of Marxism and contemporary revolutionaries. Through his experience, he came to the conclusion that Gandhi’s politics was to preserve the system imposed by the British colonialists rather than its overthrow. He had also read The Programme of the Communist International, which was adopted at the second congress and published in September 1920. On the Indian situation the Programme stated, “Tendencies like Gandhi’s in India, thoroughly imbued with religious conceptions, idealise the most backward and economically most reactionary forms of social life. They see the solution of the social problem not in proletarian socialism, but in a reversion to these backward forms, preaching passivity and repudiating the class struggle, and in the process of the development of the revolution, they become transformed into an openly reactionary force. Gandhi’s, more and more, is becoming an ideology directed against mass revolution. It must be strongly combated by communism.” Gandhi later came out in his true colours, revealing on the side of which class he really was. On January 15, 1948, he stressed the ownership of the capitalists and the landlords: “I will never be a participant in snatching away the properties from their owners and you should know that I will use all my influence and authority against the class war.” Bhagat, on the other hand, was a fervent torchbearer of the proletarian struggle. He rejected the prejudices of caste, creed, nationality, race, gender, and, of course, religion. One of his most celebrated works is his pamphlet: Why I am an atheist. There is an intense and controversial debate going on, especially in India, on Gandhi’s role in the conviction and execution of Bhagat Singh along with his comrades Raj Guru and Sukhdev. However, on Bhagat’s execution, Gandhi remarked in his characteristic hypocrisy, “The government certainly had the right to hang these men. However, there are some rights which do credit to those who possess them only if they are enjoyed in name only.” Gandhi and the British viceroy Lord Irwin signed the Gandhi-Irwin Pact on March 5, 1931, and yet the executions were carried out just weeks after the signing of the pact. There was immense anger and sorrow throughout the subcontinent at these executions. Just after this brutality, the annual convention of the Congress at Karachi resulted in Subhash Chandra Bose and the left taking over the leadership of the Congress despite Gandhi’s efforts. There were violent demonstrations against Gandhi at the convention. The New York Times reported at the time, “A reign of terror in the city of Cawnpore in the United Provinces and an attack on Gandhi by the youth outside Karachi was amongst the answers of the Indian extremists today to the hanging of Bhagat Singh and two fellow assassins.” Revolutionaries are always pronounced by the imperialist media as extremists and assassins. But Bhagat Singh was extremely popular in the subcontinent. Sir Horace Williamson, Director of the Intelligence Bureau, wrote about Bhagat’s popularity years after the executions, “His photograph was on sale in every city and township and for a time (Bhagat Singh) rivalled in popularity of Mr Gandhi himself.” Although the aims, objective, ideology and ideals of his struggle have been distorted, tarnished and caricatured by the intelligentsia of the capitalist status quo, the truth cannot be concealed forever. At a seminar organised by the Punjabi University Research Scholars Association (PURSA) at the Patiala University on September 25, 2012, the main speaker, Professor Balkar Singh said, “Bhagat Singh sacrificed everything for socialist revolution...His thinking was relevant today as it was during his lifetime and he qualified to be placed among people like Lenin and Che Guevara.” After 65 years of so-called independence, the masses of the subcontinent are worse off. There is excruciating misery and deprivation through which the vast majority of the population is made to suffer by capitalist exploitation and repression. The system the British Raj imposed is very much there. Without its overthrow the emancipation of the oppressed massed can never be achieved. Bhagat Singh’s revolutionary legacy is a beacon of light for the revolutionary workers and youth of the region in struggle today. This revolutionary mission can ultimately be accomplished by the creation of a voluntary socialist federation of South Asia. The writer is the editor of Asian Marxist Review and International Secretary of Pakistan Trade Union Defence Campaign.

Pakistan: Putin’s visit

THE FRONTIER POST

Islamabad has long been saying it cherishes the desire and talking a lot of making a “paradigm shift” in its foreign policy and also took a few steps to come closer to China-Russia dominated Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) as an associate member. But they were not sufficient enough for Russian President Vladimir Putin to pay his first official visit to Pakistan. And thus, a languid and incompetent administration has lost a rare opportunity of not only downsizing the country’s heavy reliance on the West but also getting closer to the dynamically emerging bloc which the future of the world belongs to. Pakistan’s overwhelming population, if asked, would vote for a change in foreign policy which has time and again sent shock waves to the country’s vital interests. The Russian president was due here for the first time to open the door to a new era of Pakistan and East coming closer to each other besides entering the SCO as a full member. Mr Putin’s focal person for relations with Pakistan and Afghanistan Zamir Kabulov told an Indian newspaper that Islamabad talked a lot of rhetoric with little progress towards “meaningful cooperation”. Russia-Pakistan relations have been on the rise in recent years but economic ties between them have still lagged behind the desired level. The two countries finalized three memorandums of understanding at a meeting of the Pakistan-Russia Inter-Governmental Commission earlier this month and they were to be signed during President Putin’s planned trip. The MoUs relate to expansion of Pakistan Steel Mills and cooperation in energy and education sectors. Russia thinks that the MoUs are largely a reiteration of agreements signed last year during President Asif Ali Zardari’s visit to Moscow. Russia’s main concern is Pakistan’s slow progress towards major projects in the energy sector, including Central Asia-South Asia electricity transmission from Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan to Afghanistan and Pakistan (CASA-1000), and construction of rail tracks and motor roads from Tajikistan to Pakistan to create new trade routes in the region. Russia also showed interest in the Iran-Pakistan gas pipeline project and Mr Putin also pledged an investment of $500 million in CASA-1000 and offered to finance and build other projects. But no headway is seen in these schemes. Another factor that might have contributed to Mr Putin “delaying” his visit to Pakistan is that Russia smells rat in its objectives in Afghanistan as Pakistan seems closer to Washington whims in the region and Moscow thinks that a sustainable resolution of Afghanistan’s issue is possible only with the active involvement and this may not be forthcoming because of Pakistan’s foreign policy which is unnecessarily aligned to the west, particularly the United States. No wonder if Washington may be influencing Islamabad not to come closer to Moscow because Pakistan has the unfortunate ability of yielding to such pressure. For how long Pakistan would want to be left high and dry in the hour of need, is a decision the political leadership has to take and transform it to the new emerging global realities?

Pakistan: 15th polio case surfaces

The total number of polio cases in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa has reached 15 after the government confirmed the virus in a 15-month-old boy. Bilal, son of Adalat Khan, resides in Village Sangu on the border of Bara, Khyber Agency. His twin on the other hand is an active and healthy child. “Village Sangu borders the volatile Bara sub-division and this family had initially refused to inoculate their children. The twins were administered the drops this year on the National Immunisation Days in July,” said K-P Expanded Programme on Immunisation Deputy Director Dr Janbaz Afridi. He added that the boy was on bottle-feed and has a history of frequent chest infections. “He is a resident of an area where security problems are at their worst,” he said. This is the third case reported this year from Peshawar, while two each were reported from Charsadda, Mardan and Lakki Marwat. One case each has been confirmed in Tor Ghar, Hari Pur, Shangla, Swabi, Kohat and Karak. With the detection of this new polio case, the figure of such cases in the country has reached 38 compared to 122 that were reported until September 2011 last year. The government has decided to run a two-week anti-polio campaign in all districts for the next five months to stop the spread of polio virus. K-P Chief Minister Amir Haidar Khan Hoti and Chief Secretary Ghulam Dastagir Akhtar have shown serious concerns over emergence of new cases in a meeting held on September 16 with a World Health Organization official.

Pakistan’s nuclear programme fully secure

http://www.sananews.net

Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani khar

has said that nuclear programme of the country is completely safe and is in the secure hands. Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar said, in a speech to a high-level meeting held under UN on Countering Nuclear Terrorism, that Pakistan gives the “highest priority” to ensuring a fool-proof safety and security mechanism for the country’s nuclear programme. “Nuclear security is both a global challenge and a national responsibility,” “Over the years,” “we have put in place extensive physical protection measures, robust command and control structures, comprehensive export controls and wide-ranging regulatory regimes,” she said. The foreign minister said that Pakistan’s regulatory regime encompasses physical protection of materials and facilities, material control and accounting, transport security, prevention of illicit trafficking and border controls, as well as plans to deal with possible radiological emergencies. “We have also developed technical solutions, personnel responsibility programmes and intelligence capabilities to deal with WMD- (Weapons of Mass Destruction) related terrorism,” she said. The foreign minister said Pakistan would cooperate in international efforts to strengthen regulatory mechanisms and establish effective barriers against the common threat of nuclear terrorism. “We are part of global efforts to make sure that terrorists do not law their hands on nuclear materials, knowledge and expertise,” she added.

Hina Rabbani Khar denies Bilawal Bhutto affair

http://www.telegraph.co.uk

Pakistan’s foreign minister has been forced to deny she is having an affair with Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari, the son of President Asif Ali Zardari.

Claims of an affair between Hina Rabbani Khar,

the 34-year-old glamorous foreign minister, and the 24-year-old scion of the country’s most powerful dynasty have fuelled feverish speculation and outrage in Pakistan since they were reported in a Bangladeshi tabloid earlier this week. According to Blitz Weekly, the married foreign secretary, who has two young children with her millionaire husband, and Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari, the Pakistan People’s Party [PPP] co-chairman, want to marry and have been regularly talking on the telephone and sending one another cards. The tabloid claimed President Zardari is firmly opposed to their alleged relationship and had sought details of their mobile telephone conversations to establish the facts. The paper cited “western intelligence agencies” as the source of details of messages the ‘couple’ had sent each other. Ms Rabbani Khar and her husband have dismissed the claims as “reprehensible" and "trash", but they have been reported widely in Pakistan where they spawned conspiracy theories among Islamabad’s political classes.Senior PPP figures on Thursday said they believed the claims were part of a plot by the country’s feared Inter-Service Intelligence [ISI] agency to damage Ms Rabbani Khar’s reputation because it blames her for her part in facilitating a UN investigation into thousands of missing people detained by the security forces. One PPP official told The Daily Telegraph that the ISI expects the United Nations’ Working Group on Enforced and Involuntary Disappearances to recommend senior army and intelligence officials be charged for their role and blame Ms Rabbani Khar for allowing the delegation into the country. “They are not happy with her,” the official said. “The UN mission received a cold reception but Hina was called in by the president to meet him and the army chief. She crossed some red line.” The government has not officially commented on the allegations. Ms Rabbani Khar, the daughter of a powerful Punjab landowner, has been the subject of rumours concerning her private life since she first became a minister in General Musharraf’s government in 2004. There was speculation then that she might marry the then prime minister Shaukat Aziz, but instead she married businessman Firoze Gulzar. She later stood as a PPP candidate in the 2008 elections and was appointed as finance minister in the new PPP-led government. She won many admirers for her stylish clothes and designer bags during her visit to India last year where the two countries made significant progress in improving their relationship.

Pakistan: Monsoon rains, flooding kill 422 people

Associated Press

Monsoon rains and flooding killed more than 400 people across Pakistan during the rainy season this year, authorities said Friday. Pakistan suffers every year from flooding caused by massive monsoon rains that sweep across the country late in the summer and cause rivers and streams to overflow. The National Disaster Management Authority said 422 people have been killed and nearly 3,000 have been injured during the season of heavy rains. About five million people have been affected by the resulting floods, according to statistics that were posted on the authority's website. Sindh province in southeastern Pakistan was the hardest hit with 239 deaths. An official with the authority, Maj. Iftikhar Ahmed, told The Associated Press that the rainfall this year was significantly less than in 2010, when catastrophic floods put one-fifth of the country under water and killed 1,985 people. Last year 443 people were killed in flood-related incidents. Pakistan has in recent years struggled to cope with the chaos, caused by the rains and flooding around the country. Authorities have often relied on international help to provide those affected by the floods with food, water and housing. UNICEF called on international donors to provide $15.4 million to help protect people affected by the flooding over the next three to six months. In a statement Friday, the UN agency said it has been helping with supplies of drinking water to people affected by floods in the provinces of Balochistan, Punjab and Sindh. "Some of the affected children are living in areas that are experiencing devastating flooding for the second or third time over the past three years, and these new floods have disrupted their recovery," said UNICEF Pakistan Deputy Representative, Karen Allen. As Pakistan struggles with another natural disaster, the country is also trying to suppress a violent insurgency in the northwest. A senior police officer died Friday while defusing a roadside bomb in Peshawar, a city that is considered the gateway to Pakistan's volatile tribal regions, from which violence often spills over into its streets. Hakam Khan rushed to the city's Matni neighborhood after being alerted that insurgents had planted two bombs near a road, which is used by security convoys, traveling to the Khyber tribal region, said senior police officer Fazal Mola Dad. Khan successfully defused one bomb, but while he was working on the second one, it exploded. Khan had played a key role in battling militants and defused dozens of bombs in recent years, Dad said. __

Pakistan to be a horrid place for children and minorities

A report from a child protection group has termed Pakistan to be an unpleasant place for kids to grow. The report has been prepared by a child rights organization known as Society for the Protection of the Rights of the child (SPARC). According to their mission statement, “the child advocacy group promotes and protects the rights of children and strives to empower them by using international standards as a yardstick through assistance supported by research, awareness raising, service delivery and human and institutional development.” The report has raised the issue of under age marriage, neonatal deaths and religious discrimination against children. The report states that the country has seen increased maltreatment against children with the passage of time. With Child labor already prevailing at the highest level within the country, the report highlights other issues that have been used to continuously molest children rights. The findings of the report shows a rather awful picture of children rights. According to the report, the infant mortality rate stands at 70 per 1000 live births, with more than half attributed to the neonatal period. The under-five mortality rate stands at is 87 per 1000 live births. The report findings with respect to child abuse cite 2,747 children from different parts of the country being subjected to various forms of violence and abuse. The issue of underage marriage has also been highlighted within the report. According to the report, seven percent of girls were married by the age of 15 years and 24% by the age of 18 years during the period of 2000-2010. This underage marriage has also been highlighted with respect to marriage of underage Hindu girls in order convert them to Islam against their will. The report also features issues of persecution and discrimination against minorities. According to the report, Non Muslim girl children are subjected to forced conversion to Islam via abduction and rape. The report even goes further to state that these forced conversions are carried out at the behest of religious parties.

Pakistan: Rumours of pigs and plots dog polio fight in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa

It took three months and 30 visits from UN aid workers to convince Haidar Khan to let his son have the polio vaccination. The day before he relented and allowed Yahia to take the two drops of vaccine, he almost came to blows with the Unicef staff trying to inoculate the four-year-old against the disease, which can bring paralysis in a matter of hours. Like thousands of parents in the northwest, Khan had heard and believed the rumours and conspiracy theories about the vaccine, which have helped the country maintain its unenviable status as one of only three nations in the world where polio is still endemic. “I heard that the vaccine contains pig, that it’s haram (forbidden in Islam),” the 27-year-old Khan told AFP at his stall in Peshawar, surrounded by crates of fizzy drinks. “Sermons from the mosque loudspeakers said it was an American conspiracy to damage our children.” There have been 30 confirmed cases of polio in Pakistan this year according to the government, 22 of them in the tribal areas of the northwest, bordering Afghanistan. Pakistan had a total of 91 polio cases last year, but the battle to convince people in the tribal areas, where education is limited and deeply conservative values hold sway, is a tough one. Doctor Syed Irfan Ali Shah, 28, spent two years raising awareness among the local population and now heads the local Unicef team in Peshawar. “We are welcomed because every member of my team is a local, well known in his neighbourhood,” he said. “Trust is built up, and it is usually at the end of a number of visits that we manage to persuade the families.” People in the area were already deeply distrustful of foreign intervention, and suspicions soared even further last year after the CIA used a hepatitis inoculation programme as cover to try to find Osama bin Laden. The CIA used Pakistani doctor Shakil Afridi to set up a hepatitis drive in Abbottabad – where Bin Laden was later found and killed by US special forces – in the hope of obtaining DNA samples to identify the al Qaeda leader. The episode made people all the more suspicious of vaccination, but campaign worker Zain Al Abedin said it was not the only reason people refused to give their children the drops. “Massive illiteracy creates all sorts of fantasies. I’ve heard everything – the vaccine makes you sterile, it gives you AIDS, even that we urinated in it!” he said with a rueful smile. Fighting between government troops and tribal militias in the northwest, as well the Taliban banning inoculations in protest at US drone strikes, have also hampered efforts to fight the disease. In July officials said the problems were jeopardising more than 350,000 children in the tribal areas. To improve matters, Unicef has tried to rally influential religious leaders to the cause. In the poor Peshawar neighbourhood of Yakatoot, as naked children play in stagnant water, a team with a fatwa or religious ruling approving vaccination try to persuade a young father, Noor Zamin. But his brother, a member of a religious group, steps in. “I have made scientific studies on this. I cannot say what I discovered, but the vaccination is anti-Islamic,” he says, stroking his beard, before asking the aid workers to leave. In a small mosque in the neighbouring area of Sadiqabad, the mufti Fidah refused to give a fatwa backing the vaccination. “On one side, the United States and the Westerners bombard us with their drones, and on the other one they want to inoculate our children,” he said. He was convinced “there is necessarily something bad” in the vaccine, but Shah the doctor says the cleric is softening his position, bit by bit. Will he agree to the next vaccination campaign, in October? “Inshallah,” he says: if God wills it.

Pakistan: Putin’s visit setback

EDITORIAL:DAILY TIMES

It had taken 65 years for any Russian President to decide to visit Pakistan. However, for ostensibly some pressing issues at home, President Vladimir Putin wrote to President Zardari that he could not attend the quadrilateral summit scheduled to be held in Pakistan amongst Russia, Afghanistan, Tajikistan and Pakistan on October 2-3. That the summit to discuss Afghanistan in the backdrop of the US’s withdrawal by 2014 stands cancelled has set off an array of speculations about the actual reasons that may have made the Russian President change his mind. Soon after independence, Pakistan allied itself with the US-led west, leading to the visit to the then Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) of Liaquat Ali Khan, the first Prime Minister of Pakistan, being cancelled. This preference to the west’s friendship over the USSR soured relations between the two countries over time, especially when India and the USSR closed ranks and the latter was on the receiving end of the decade-long resistance to the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan. Things have changed radically since the end of the Cold War. The retreat of the US-led west from this region is increasingly persuading regional countries to look to each other for handling problems and enhancing economic, political and security cooperation as can be seen in the developing SCO bloc. President Zardari has taken relations between Russia and Pakistan forward. Realising that Pakistan’s energy requirements can be addressed with the assistance of Russia, which is one of the largest producers of oil and gas in the world, Pakistan reached out to its giant northern neighbour, with the result that Russia has shown interest in projects like the Iran-Pakistan (IP) gas pipeline and the Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India (TAPI) gas pipeline, apart from involvement in the project to export electricity from Tajikistan to Pakistan. The IP gas pipeline is still subject to delay due to US hostility towards Iran. However, Russia is undeterred and is ready to offer financial and technical support to the project. Russia’s only caveat is that it be awarded the contract without international tendering. Russia is also willing to assist Pakistan in oil and gas exploration and the modernisation and expansion of the Steel Mills originally set up by the USSR. It is being speculated that Putin might have decided to postpone his visit to let the issue of the blasphemous film run out of steam. Some believe that Putin wants Mr Zardari to first visit Russia in order to clarify that it is not Russia but Pakistan that is seeking economic cooperation between the two. Whatever the cause of the visit’s cancellation, in the aftermath of US forces withdrawing from Afghanistan, the region’s countries are groping their way to a new closeness to effectively tackle common problems such as terrorism, poverty alleviation through mutual economic cooperation, and maintaining peace after the scars of the conflicts afflicting the region heal. Though Putin’s visit would have been a game changer in the region vis-à-vis Pakistan’s image, one setback should not discourage Islamabad from continuing to pursue a new and beneficial architecture of cooperation with Russia and the region as a whole.

Pakistan: DISCOs fail to recover Rs 232.78b

Numerous electricity distribution companies (DISCOs) have failed to recover a collective amount to the tune of Rs 232.78 billion from consumers belonging to both private and government sectors until July this year. According to documents available with Pakistan Today, the Lahore Electric Supply Company (LESCO), providing electricity to Lahore, Okara, Sheikhupura and Kasur areas, had a total of 0.435 million defaulters from whom LESCO failed to collect dues worth Rs 7.97 billion until July. Of these 0.435 million defaulters, 4847 belong to the government sector and owe Rs 3.546 billion to LESCO. The Gujranwala Electric Power Company (GEPCO) failed to collect Rs 2.466 billion from over 2,500 defaulting consumers belonging to the government sector and 0.249 million from the private sector from Gujranwala, Gujrat and Sialkot areas. The Faisalabad Electric Supply Company (FESCO) providing power to Jhang, Sargodha and Faisalabad also failed to recover Rs 880.80 million from 0.296 million consumers. The documents made available to Pakistan Today showed that a total of 0.720 million consumers owed the Multan Electric Power Company (MEPCO) Rs 3.765 billion. Of these, 8,000 defaulters belonged to the government sector who failed to pay Rs 1.255 billion to MEPCO that supplies power to Multan, DG Khan, Vehari, Bahawalpur, Sahiwal, Rahim Yar Khan, Muzaffargarh and Bahawalnagar. Until July, the Peshawar Electric Supply Company (PESCO) also failed to recover Rs 42.501 billion from its 0.840 million defaulters. Of the above PESCO defaulters, 8,000 belonged to the government sector who collectively owed Rs 5.566 billion. PESCO also had to recover Rs 36.934 billion from a total of 0.832 million consumers. The Hyderabad Electric Supply Company (HESCO) failed to recover an amount of Rs 31.717 billion from 0.468 million consumers. Of these, 11,000 were government employees. The Sukkur Electric Supply Company (SEPCO) failed to recover Rs 48.593 billion from 0.461 million consumers belonging to Sukkur, Ghotki, Khairpur, Ranipur, Rohri, Larkana, Larkano, Shikarpur, Jacobabad, Dadu, Mehar, Naushero Feroze, and Moro areas. The Tribal Areas Electricity Supply Company (TESCO) providing electricity to FATA Peshawar, FATA Bannu, FATA Tank Div, and FATA Circle had to recover Rs 32.110 billion from 0.434 million consumers until July. The Quetta Electric Supply Company (QESCO) had 0.230 million defaulters until July this year from whom it had to recover Rs 50 billion. Four thousand of these were government employees who still had to pay Rs 3.77 billion to QESCO. The Islamabad Electric Supply Company failed to receive Rs 12.78 billion until July from its 197,000 defaulters. Of these, 191,000 belonged to the private sector, who owed IESCO Rs 496 million. Of the total IESCO defaulters, 5633 belonged to the government sector Rs 12.287 billion. From its defaulters in Rawalpindi, IESCO had to receive a total amount of Rs 6.19 billion from 66,464 defaulters. Of these, 64,819 were private consumers who failed to pay their dues worth Rs 210 million to IESCO, while 1,645 were government employees who had to pay Rs 5.986 billion until July this year.

Alarming debts of Pakistan

Every penny of debt beyond the threshold of 90 per cent of GDP results in decline of economic growth by at least one per cent because this deficit financing, the worst form of economic management, causes raises in budget deficit and inflation. At a time when external and domestic debt has risen to a colossal Rs4.3 trillion, twice the size of annual revenue collection, the national economy is extremely sluggish. This is the main cause of the recent European recession as several EU states, including Greece, Italy, Belgium and Ireland have obtained heavy debts without matching collaterals. But Pakistan’s economic managers seem to have learnt no lessons as they added another Rs37.5 billion to the distressing debt by auctioning Pakistan Investment Bonds on Wednesday making every Pakistani indebted to an amount of Rs 61,000. A State Bank of Pakistan report says that the outstanding amount of all such bonds floated so far touched the pinnacle beyond Rs4 trillion on Aug 31 this year. This means that at least this much debt has been added by the successive governments to the country’s outstanding liability. And yet, this government has been trying to obtain more loans from world donors which, however, refused to oblige Islamabad owing to the country’s poor economic management. Pakistan is now a classical example of bad economic governance (undoubtedly political also) as fiscal deficit as ranged between seven and eight per cent although international lending agencies have been urging Pakistan to bring it down to four per cent. The IMF even entered a programme with Pakistan to bring the deficit down and extended a loan of more than $11 billion but no results were achieved. Pakistan has not been adhering a fiscal discipline and all the economic policies are ill-conceived and priorities are also not determined judiciously. Economic managers probably prefer an easy, unrealistic and apolitical approach of begging for more loans for every scheme rather than mobilizing internal resources. This is an obvious outcome of not making efforts for the revival of state-owned enterprises and not reforming the revenue receipts and make revenue collection equitable by bringing in all groups and individuals eligible to pay to the tax net. This is a matter of serious concern as situation might become unsustainable as bulk of resources would be consumed on debt servicing and nothing would be left for development and pro-poor spending. Practically, this is a political probleem because almost all in the ruling elite do no pay due taxes. They cannot be taxed as the rulers lack political will and the intent of socio-economic development of the country seems a distant scheme of things. With parliamentary elections approaching, any remedy seems a distant probability. One fails to understand all this money has gone and how this debt is going to be repaid. The value of Pakistani rupee has fast eroded during the last four-and-a- half years and is feared to soon touch Rs100 to a dollar. Are we heading to Zimbabwe like situation where 100 billion Zimbabwean dollars can buy only three eggs?

Nawaz Sharif corruption references

THE FRONTIER POST

The application filed by the National Accountability Bureau calls for the reopening of three corruption references relating to Hudabiya Paper Mills, Ittefaq Foundries and Raiwind assets in which members of the Sharif family are allegedly involved. Today’s proceedings over the NAB chief’s application were carried out in the accountability court of judge Chaudhry Abdul Haq. During the proceedings, an assistant of Khawaja Harris Ahmed, a senior counsel for Pakistan Muslim League – Nawaz (PML-N) chief Nawaz Sharif, apprised the court that a hearing over the quashing of an FIR over the references was to be held at the LHC’s Rawalpindi bench on Oct 1. The counsel’s assistant requested the judge to postpone the hearing until the said date. The judge subsequently adjourned the case’s hearing to Oct 10. Earlier on Sept 15, the same court had stopped its proceedings on the corruption references after the Sharifs’ counsel submitted a restraining order of the Lahore High Court to it. Barrister Maqsooma Bokhari, representing the Sharif family, had informed the court that a division bench of the LHC had in its order restrained the accountability court from proceeding till the matter was adjudicated by it. In October last year, the LHC acting on a petition by the Sharifs had stopped the federal government from going ahead with the matter. The order, however, had not issued any such directive for the accountability court at the time. NAB references against Sharifs The NAB had prepared the references during the Musharraf regime in the year 2000 when the Sharif brothers were detained in the Attock Fort. On April 4, 2001, the references were adjourned sine die. On Aug 8, 2007, the NAB filed an application for revival of the references. But the court did not proceed with the matter which was again adjourned sine die in Aug 2008 because it was not routed through the NAB chairman. Another application filed by the NAB in Feb 2010 was rejected on the same grounds. In its references, the NAB accused the Sharifs of committing Rs642.743 million worth of corruption in the Paper Mills case. The second reference – the state versus Nawaz Sharif, etc. – relates to the Raiwind assets. The main allegation is that the accused had acquired vast tracts of land upon which palatial houses and mansions were built with resources which appeared to be grossly disproportionate to their known sources of income. Apart from Nawaz Sharif, his mother is an accused in this case. In the state versus Ittefaq Foundries case, Nawaz Sharif, Abbas Sharif and Kamal Qureshi are accused of committing corruption of Rs1,063 million. The main allegation in the case is that Ittefaq Foundries Ltd obtained cash finance from the National Bank. According to the NAB, the company wilfully defaulted on the amount in 1994.

Afghan troops get a lesson in American cultural ignorance

A new Afghan army-issued guide explains to soldiers here that when their Western counterparts do something deeply insulting, it’s likely a product of cultural ignorance and not worthy of revenge. Eleven years into the war in Afghanistan, NATO troops and Afghan soldiers are still beset by a dangerous lack of cultural understanding, officials say, contributing to a string of insider attacks that have threatened to undermine the military partnership. Fifty-one coalition troops have been killed this year by their Afghan counterparts. To address a laundry list of cross-cultural pitfalls — and to avoid their potentially fatal consequences — the Afghan Ministry of Defense this month introduced a pamphlet called “Cultural Understanding — A Guide to Understanding Coalition Cultures.” The 18-page training guide, written in Dari, will soon be distributed to Afghan military leaders across the country. The booklet will be taught in three one-hour sessions to all soldiers as well as new recruits. It is intended to “strengthen our understanding of our [NATO] counterpart,” according to an English translation of the pamphlet that was provided to The Washington Post. But in doing so, it also reveals seemingly minor — and rarely acknowledged — cultural faux pas that have created palpable tension between the two forces. “Please do not get offended if you see a NATO member blowing his/her nose in front of you,” the guide instructs. “When Coalition members get excited, they may show their excitement by patting one another on the back or the behind,” it explains. “They may even do this to you if they are proud of the job you’ve done. Once again, they don’t mean to offend you.” And another tip: “When someone feels comfortable in your presence, they may even put their feet on their own desk while speaking with you. They are by no means trying to offend you. They simply don’t know or have forgotten the Afghan custom.” Pointing the soles of one’s shoes at someone is considered a grievous insult in Afghanistan. The guide also warns Afghan soldiers that Western troops might wink at them or inquire about their female relatives or expose their private parts while showering — all inappropriate actions by Afghan standards. As NATO winds down its mission here, the “Cultural Understanding” guide marks the Afghan army’s most significant effort to identify long-standing points of contention and confusion between the two forces. Despite those points, the coalition is described glowingly, often in florid language. The United States is “a little like a lovely carpet. Different colored strands combine to make a beautiful whole.” NATO’s coalition is described as a “work of art.” The task of laying out a set of commonly misinterpreted behaviors fell to Brig. Gen. Mohammad Amin Nasib, the bearish, affable head of religious and ideological affairs at the Ministry of Defense, and his senior military adviser from the NATO side, Michael W. Gore, a mild-mannered Navy commander and chaplain. “Some would argue that we’re too late, but any time is the right time to promote understanding of each other’s culture,” Gore said. “The Golden Rule goes a long way in any culture in helping to foster tolerance and understanding.” Nasib wasn’t quite as buoyant. “Unfortunately, it’s too late,” he said. “It should have been done early.”

Bashar Al-Asad: "Turkey dreams of a new Ottoman Empire"

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad on Thursday criticized Turkey for supporting the insurgents fighting the government in Damascus and sees that his neighbor has the ambitious dream of establishing "a new Ottoman Empire." Moreover, the Syrian president spoke of Qatar and claimed that this Arab country is using terrorists. In an interview with the Egyptian newspaper Al-Ahram, the full text will be published on Friday, Ankara regretted that instead of worrying about "the interests of their people" Al-Asad focused "solely on their ambitions, including the creation of a new Ottoman Empire. " The Ottoman Empire, also known as the Turkish Ottoman Empire was a multiethnic and multi-ruled by the Osmanli Dynasty. Moreover, the Syrian president spoke of Qatar and claimed that this Arab country is using "the power of money and revolves in the Western orbit by providing weapons and money to terrorists to repeat the Libyan scenario." In this regard, he said that Qatar has been one of the premier governments in fueling the violence in Syria. Finally, the Syrian authorities said that Turkey, Qatar and Saudi Arabia, which have supported the insurgents in his country "would not win the battle." Since mid-March 2011, Syria lives with strong disturbances and bloodshed, orchestrated from abroad, a critical situation that worsens every day due to the incessant terrorist acts seeking foreign military intervention. Ed. As is well known, Turkish history is one of tremendous bloodshed, the Turks being a nomadic tribe that murdered the original inhabitants of the land that now comprises the artifically created entity known as Turkey. Turkey has been a useful vessel through which the various western powers have exerted their will in the region. It is also worthy to note that many Zionists as well would like to see the re-establishment of the Ottoman Emire, as they considered they were welcomed and treated well in their dealings with the Ottomans when expelled from Spain.

Aitzaz sees SC in ‘blind alley’

Former Supreme Court Bar Association president and PPP Senator Aitzaz Ahsan says the Supreme Court has entered a blind alley after convicting former prime minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani and now wants an acceptable solution of writing a letter to Swiss authorities. Talking to reporters on the Lahore High Court premises on Thursday, Barrister Ahsan, who was also counsel for Mr Gilani in the NRO contempt of court case, said he was not sure that the letter would be written as directed by the court. He said the concession being given to incumbent PM Raja Pervez Ashraf was commendable but regretted that Gilani was not extended such a concession by the SC. He further said the SC had been left with only one option of sending another prime minister home but it was a difficult task now. Replying to a question about the draft of the letter, he said he had not seen the draft written by Law Minister Farooq H Naek but had some reservations on it. He said if the letter was written on the dictation of the SC, there would be many complications. Mr Ahsan dispelled an impression that the presidency and the Supreme Court had any joint venture to oust Gilani. “There was no such understanding between them,” he said.

Pakistan: Internet users cross 25m mark

PakTribune.Com

Internet users in Pakistan have increased to more than 25 million due to its online accessibility through mobile phone services on affordable rates. According to Internet Service Providers Association of Pakistan (ISPAK), the estimated Internet users are on the rise with its increasing trend of utility via mobile phones reaching the figure of up to 15 million. The mobile phone subscribers go online through different Internet services including, EDGE, GPRS and Blackberry Internet Services (BIS). The cellular phone companies have been working aggressively on the promotion of Internet services for last two years mainly for earning extra revenues besides voice calls and text messages. These companies introduced different bundle packages of Internet services in their youth brands to promote Internet services as an essential for young customers for education and entertainment purposes. The trend of using Internet is increasing rapidly with the arrival of smartphones of different handset makers though low-cost handsets are available in the market having options of online connectivity. It was further given impetus through providing easy connectivity to users for using Facebook and Twitter. Mobile phone companies and handset makers alike have provided easy connectivity of Facebook and Twitter Internet users that gave further impetus to Internet usage among the customers. Officials of the mobile phone companies said the Internet consumption of their subscribers varies due to different needs of individuals in their daily life. They said the customers having postpaid connection are large users of Internet services due to their business and professional demands. Besides youngsters usage of Internet is limited on mobile phone as they usually avail Internet services for social networking sites, informative webs and browsing. Cellphone operators have created demand of Internet usage among customers through different tools like applications of education, infotainment and entertainment by their own portals. The excessive branding and marketing campaigns of mobile phone companies are generating positive results on their business in fact creating awareness among the customers before the launch of high data service—3G technology. The Internet users having demand of high-speed services are also increasing particularly through broadband. As per industry estimate, there are more than five million broadband users in the country through 2 million connections. The Internet users mainly do connect with one IP connection and consume Internet services through sharing at home, office and educational institutions. There are 50 Internet services providers in which 10 are broadband companies exploring untapped market in big cities.

Zardari: Education helps fight militant mindset

President Zardari said that education holds the key to socio-economic development. President Asif Zardari while talking to UN Special Envoy for Global Education‚ Gordon Brown said that education is the most effective tool to fight militant mindset and to lead the nation on the path to socio-economic development and upward mobility. Gordon Brown briefed the President about the objectives of UN initiative "Education First". Brown said that he will visit Islamabad soon and his mission aims at ensuring greater enrollment‚ provision of quality education‚ training of the teachers and promotion of education technology in Pakistan.

Pakistan rejects U.S. media report on drone strikes

Pakistan has rejected an American media report that the U.S. drone hits were taking place with the "tacit consent" of the Pakistan government, a Foreign Ministry statement said on Friday. According to the Wall Street Journal report, the intended target areas are "outlined" to the Pakistani intelligence service which then gives an unspoken consent to the U.S. forces to conduct these strikes within its borders by clearing the airspace and does not "interfere physically with the unpiloted aircraft in flight." The report also claimed that Pakistan clears airspace of a certain area where a drone attack is planned, in correspondence with the faxes its intelligence service receives once a month from the American CIA. Responding to the report, the Foreign Ministry Spokesperson categorically rejected the insinuation made in the report and reiterated Pakistan's long-standing position on drone attacks. "There can be no question of Pakistan's agreement to such attacks," the Foreign Ministry spokesman said. He said that the U.S. drone attacks are illegal, counterproductive, in contravention of international law and a violation of Pakistani sovereignty. Drone attacks in Pakistan tribal regions are one of the irritants in relationship between the two countries for years. Pakistan opposes these strikes but the United States defends the CIA-controlled campaign as an effective source to eliminate al- Qaeda and Taliban militants blamed for cross border attacks. On Thursday, Pakistan Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar called the drone strikes inside Pakistani territory "illegal, unlawful and counterproductive", saying they were among the reasons for the rise of anti-Americanism in Pakistan. "Drones are a reason why the United States is unpopular in Pakistan," she said in response to a question at Asia Society in New York where she spoke to a packed-to-capacity audience on the foreign policy goals of the democratic government. She insisted that the use of unilateral strikes on Pakistani territory is illegal. "It is illegal and it is unlawful." the foreign minister said, according to text of her speech released by the Foreign Ministry in Islamabad. She added Pakistan's government needs to build popular support for its own efforts to crush armed militant groups, but this is impossible as long as the war is viewed as U.S. interference.

Experts fear a 'Talibanization' of Afghan justice

The lashing of a teenage girl in Afghanistan for having an "illegal relationship" has caused an uproar inside and outside the country. Experts fear a "Talibanization" of the Afghan justice system. On September 16, three mullahs in the southern Afghan province of Ghazni sentenced 16-year-old Sabera to 100 lashes for having an "illegal relationship" with a boy. On Monday, September 24, hundreds of students and rights activists took to the streets to protest so-called "desert trials" such as the one which tried Sabera, which take place without due process of law and are held by the Taliban and local clerics. The protesters demanded the government take measures to stop such unlawful trials and punishment. A day later, Afghan authorities reported the arrest of five people connected to Sabera's lashing. Authorities said they were investigating the case. Sabera's sister Shafiqa was among the demonstrators. She had watched the sentence being carried out."At first, no one had the courage to carry out the lashings," she told Deutsche Welle. "When a local police chief said he would take responsibility, that's when one of his officials went forward and carried out the order." Expecting justice? Shafiqa said she tried to get the legal authorities involved in her case but that they had not been cooperative. "Basically they said, 'what do you expect if you want justice?'" Parastu Yari, one of the demonstrators in Kabul, said the justice system should get involved in such cases. "We want the organizers of arbitrary trials to be brought before a court of law. The government must become active and prohibit these kinds of acts." Shahgul Rezai, an MP from Ghazni province, where the trial took place, joined the protesters in Kabul to show her solidarity with the teenage girl. She also agreed to commission a parliamentary delegation to investigate Sabera's case. Equal rights? Amnesty International welcomed the decision of the Afghan parliament to investigate the incident. At the same time, the rights organization criticized the country's government and its legal authorities for not taking any action in such cases in the past. The impunity for violence against women was widespread in Afghanistan, Huria Musadiq of Amnesty International told DW - despite the fact that the Afghan constitution guaranteed equal rights to men and women. In reality, she said, women faced much discrimination.Referring to a 2011 report by the UN Mission in Afghanistan, Musadiq said very few judges and prosecutors in Afghanistan even had any knowledge of equal rights laws: "The discrimination of women starts in families and goes all the way to the justice system and to the top leaders of government." Preparing for the worst? For many, it was quite a surprise that Sabera was subjected to this form of parallel justice in an area like Jaghori District, where the Taliban is not active and has no followers, and which is generally seen as forward-thinking. The government, for the most part, has control over security and administration in the region. Afghan expert Musadiq fears the incident could be an indication of a "re-Talibanization" of Afghan justice. "We are observing a self-imposed censorship and the withdrawal of women from the public sphere," he told DW. "An incident like the one in Jaghori could be an indication that the people there fear the return of the Taliban and are simply preparing themselves by demonstrating that they follow shariah law."

Zardari’s finest hour at the UN

By:Wajid Shamsul Hasan

President Zardari did the nation and Muslim Ummah proud at the UN General Assembly session when he stood tall amidst world leaders to forthrightly present Pakistan’s case in its correct perspective as well as resonate worldwide condemnation of the blatant act of incitement of hate against Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) in the comity of nations. I watched his speech on television and I saw in him a different man in a mood that is true manifestation of how hurt a Muslim feels inside on the horrendous act of blasphemy. While not condoning violence, he forcefully urged the international community not to remain a silent witness to criminalisation of the freedom of expression, which endangers the global peace and security. As the sole spokesman of the brave and courageous people of Pakistan, Zardari underlined the enormous challenges faced by his resilient nation. He recounted the sacrifices in blood to fulfill its enormous commitment to provide better future not only to itself but to entire world moving from one crisis to another in what has come to be a century of terror. Zardari asserted Pakistan’s image as a lead player determined to bridge interfaith and cultural harmony across the globe in opposition to Samuel Huntington’s “Clash of Civilisations” by fostering equality irrespective of caste, creed, colour or gender for eliminating poverty through equitable distribution of wealth and empowerment of all classes of people. Zardari nailed squarely the constant media diatribe against Pakistan aimed at blackmailing it with the objective of forcing it into a corner to make it dance to the tunes played by various vested interests with varied geo-strategic ambitions. He was absolutely right in asserting that the sinister design behind the anti-Islam film was to provoke protests and violence in the Muslim world to weaken them internally and externally. Zardari did not lose his statesmanlike cool while conveying to the comity of nations the grievously injured feelings of the Muslims across the globe. Indeed, as he put it, in Islam the best revenge is compassion and the world at this critical juncture needed to follow the martyred leader Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto’s legacy of reconciliation and tolerance. He made an impassionate appeal to the world leaders to get down to bridging the ever-increasing widening of gulf so that God’s little earth is not plunged into a quagmire of violent polarisation from which there would be no pulling back. The president highlighted the inbuilt mechanism of compassion, mercy and forgiveness in Islam. He stressed what could be the panacea for resolving the issues emanating from increasing outrageous blasphemous acts. To pull the world back from the suicidal brink he pleaded for organising and mobilising saner, civilised and universally effective response for nipping in the bud all those conspiratorial elements who seek to make fortunes by sowing seeds of discord among communities and religions. A united approach is needed to combat this other “form of terrorism”. It can only be vanquished by pulling the rug from under the feet of fly-by-night carpet beggars who believe in making hay by dividing people and nations. Besides, President Zardari did not forget to raise his voice in support of the right of self-determination for the people of Palestine and the people of Jammu & Kashmir. He strongly conveyed his profound concerns to wake up the sleeping conscience of the international community to the never-ending plight of the people of Palestine and Kashmir – two of the oldest issues lying unattended in the UN morgue. He pleaded with the world leaders to fulfill the aspirations of the Palestinian and Kashmiri people who have given blood in hundreds and thousand for the much promised right of self-determination. President Zardari harkened the world about the most counter-productive drone strikes in total contempt to enormous sacrifices rendered by the people and armed forces of Pakistan as a frontline state in the war against terror. In putting Pakistan’s case straight, President Zardari highlighted it by telling the world leaders, “I am not here to answer questions about Pakistan but to tell how much wronged Pakistan has come to be.” His words like that of Shaheed Zulfikar Ali Bhutto’s in 1971 will resonate in the Hall of the United Nations for many decades to come. He said, “The people of Pakistan have already answered them. The politicians of Pakistan have answered them. The soldiers of Pakistan have answered them. We have lost over seven thousand Pakistani soldiers and policemen, and over 37,000 civilians. We have lost our Minister for Minority Affairs, Shahbaz Bhatti and my friend Salmaan Taseer, the governor of our most populous province of Punjab, to the mindset of extremism. And I need not remind my friends here today, that I bear a personal scar. On December 27, 2007, knowing her life was under threat from the mindset she had warned the world against, Pakistan’s first elected woman leader and my wife Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto was martyred through the bullets and bombs of terrorists.” “Terrorism and extremism have destroyed human lives, torn social fabric, and devastated the economy. Our economy, our lives, our ability to live in the shadow of our Sufi saints and our freedom-loving forefathers have been challenged. We have responded. Our soldiers have responded. So I am not here to answer questions about Pakistan. To those who say we have not done enough, I say in all humility, please do not insult the memory of our dead, and the pain of our living. Do not ask of my people, what no one has ever asked of any other peoples. Do not demonise the innocent women, and children of Pakistan. And please, stop this refrain to do more,” the president said. These painful words coming from a man whose brave spouse gave her life for freedom and empowerment of the people moved every one in the UNGA. It was not just forceful expression of a man hurt deep inside. His conclusion, indeed, must have left indelible imprint on all those present. Zardari’s humility in his speech must have left enormous food for thought for the global leaders. They must have noted that though hurt yet he was not arrogantly defiant. His sincere pleading for “global cooperation, connectivity, and mutual respect” as “stake holders in each other’s futures” is the need of the hour. It is a question of now or never. By pursuing goals of peaceful co-existence sans discrimination, sans double standards and no preference to expediency over principles can guarantee a better, brighter, prosperous, progressive and peaceful future for this world.

Zardari meets Karzai, discusses bilateral ties and regional situation

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President Asif Ali Zardari met with Afghan President Hamid Karzai here on Thursday night on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly meeting in New York and discussed bilateral relations, situation in the region and peace process. During his meeting with President Karzai, President Zardari said, "Pakistan believes that the destinies of the people of the two countries were intertwined and the two neighbours who are linked with historic cultural and religious bonds should work together in confronting the shared challenges and issues." The President said Pakistan has abiding interest in the peace, stability and socio-economic development of Afghanistan and will continue to support every effort of the international community in this regard. He said that Pakistan was supportive of an Afghan-led and Afghan owned reconciliation process in Afghanistan. Discussing common challenges and issues, President Zardari said that militancy, terrorism, narco-trade, illiteracy with less economic opportunities were among the main issues being confronted by the two countries but "we must join hands to overcome these issues". The President said the goal of completely eliminating militancy and terrorism from the region would remain elusive until an enabling environment is created where the militancy is automatically defeated. He said that education and provision of economic opportunities would be instrumental in winning the battle of hearts and minds and weaning away youth falling into the traps of militants. The President also emphasized upon the need for the two countries to focus on financial mechanisms involved in funding the terrorist activities. He said that there was a nexus between the large scale heroin trade and terrorism, adding "we must urgently cut this cord". The President said equally important in this quest was to offer alternatives to the people. President Zardari said that hosting of an international conference on the issue of narco trade later this year by Pakistan was a measure of the commitment to collectively fight the menace and to promote real-time substantive cooperation for effectively addressing the issue of drug production and trafficking. The President underlined the need for enhanced regional connectivity saying that Pakistan was eager to extend Afghan-Pakistan Transit Trade Agreement (APTTA) to the Central Asian states for promoting trade and economic activities in the region. He expressed the hope that, as a first step, Pakistan, Afghanistan and Tajikistan will be able to sign the trilateral transit and trade agreement this year. President Hamid Karzai thanked President Zardari for the assistance being provided by Pakistan to his country. The two leaders besides discussing bilateral ties, regional situation and peace process in Afghanistan also exchanged views on the issues of international importance as well as the challenges facing Muslim Ummah. They also agreed to build trust and reduce trust deficit so that they could enhance cooperation in all the fields including intelligence sharing. Those who were present during the meeting from Pak side included among others Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar, Dr. Asim Hussain, Secretary General M. Salman Faruqui, Foreign Secretary Jalil Abbas Jilani, Ambassador Sherry Rehman and Ambassador Masood Khan. Afghan Foreign Minister Dr. Zalmai Rassoul, Chief of High Peace Council Salauddin Rabbani and Ambassador Eklil Ahmad Hakimi among others were also present during the meeting.

Pakistan: INTERIM SET UP OPPOSED

The Federal Information Minister, Mr. Qamar Zaman Kaira, has put at rest all speculations by saying that the interim set up will be established once the sitting Government completes its constitutional tenure. He specifically said that the interim set up can be established after March 16 next as the Government is completing the constitutional tenure on March 18 next. After the categorical statement from the Qamar Zaman Kaira, the minister informed other political parties that the Government is not holding negotiation on this issue. Thus he had closed the chapter We are opposed to the formation of any interim set up as it proved useless and powerless in the past and they played no role to curb electoral fraud and powerful personalities and dishonest groups in politics manipulated the elections in their own favour. The public functionaries rigged the elections at will and ensured that their favourites should return to the Assembly. They succeeded in their efforts to dominate the assemblies by sending their own handpicked people. Transparent elections are not possible under the present circumstances as powerful sections in our Government and society will not allow their opponents to win the election with comfortable majority to rule the country single-handedly. As the interim set up is unable to prevent poll rigging and electoral fraud, there is no need to form an interim Government for a few months.

Dr Najeeb was follower of Bacha Khan: Iftikhar

ANP observes death anniversary of late Afghan president

ANP observes death anniversary of late Afghan president

Awami National Party (ANP) Thursday observed the death anniversary of former Afghan President Shaheed Dr. Najibullah with great reverence here at Bacha Khan Centre. Provincial Minister for Information and Broadcasting Mian Iftikhar Hussain and other party workers including MPAs attended the event and paid rich tribute to Shaheed Dr. Najibullah. Speaking on the occasion, Mian Iftikhar Hussain said that Dr. Najibullah was follower of Bacha Khan's teaching and rendered his life for establishment of peace in the area, adding that he left the leadership of the country for peace in Afghanistan. He lamented that United Nations could not protect Dr. Najibullah from terrorists' attack. Despite passage of 30 years not a single leader in Afghanistan could succeed to establish peace in the country, he noted. Mian Iftikhar said that the war on terror has deteriorated the situation in Afghanistan and Pakistan as well but the followers of Bach Khan did not bow to terrorists and sacrificed their lives for peace. He said peace in Pakistan could only be maintained if there is peace in Afghanistan and it needs pragmatic and sincere measures against the terrorists and miscreants by the two governments. He said terrorists have no religion rather they are exploiting innocent people for their ulterior motives and killing people in Mosques, Imam Barghas and other religious places to fan sectarianism and terrorism. He said USA and European countries should have to play their role positively for peace in Afghanistan and Pakistan.

Abidi stands by charges against CJP

Senator Faisal Raza Abidi, parliamentary leader of the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP), on Thursday recorded his statement with Islamabad Police in connection with his press conference about Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry and his son, Dr Arsalan Iftikhar. In his statement, Abidi said he stood by the allegations he had made against the CJP and his son on TV talk shows and conversations with the media. He denied being part of any campaign against the chief justice. However, the ruling party’s leader said the CJP had been taking suo motu notices over “minor issues such as recovery of wine bottles and slaps of Waheeda Shah”, but was not taking notice of the killing of Pakistan Army personnel, rape of women in Parachinar, and the killing of Shia community members. He said that he was not intending to humiliate the chief justice and his son, but wanted “their reformation” and supremacy of law in the country.