Monday, December 10, 2012
9 including 3 policement killed in Bannu police station attack
Pakistan: US drone strike kills al-Qaida commander
Associated PressA U.S. drone strike has killed an al-Qaida commander in Pakistan's northwest, the second member of the Islamic militant network killed in the area in less than a week, Pakistani intelligence officials and a Taliban militant said Monday. Mohammad Ahmed al-Mansoor died Sunday when drone-launched missiles hit a house in Tabbi village in the North Waziristan tribal area, the main sanctuary for al-Qaida and Taliban fighters in the country, the officials and militant said. Al-Mansoor was a close aide to senior al-Qaida leader Sheik Khalid bin Abdel Rehman al-Hussainan, who was killed in a drone strike in North Waziristan on Thursday, said the officials, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to the media. Al-Hussainan was also known as Abu Zaid al-Kuwaiti. Covert CIA drone strikes have killed a series of senior al-Qaida and Taliban leaders in Pakistan's tribal region over the past few years. The attacks are controversial because the secret nature of the program makes it difficult to determine how many civilians are being killed. Pakistani officials often criticize such strikes as a violation of the country's sovereignty, which has helped make them extremely unpopular in the country. But senior Pakistani officials are known to have cooperated with strikes in the past, and many people believe they still do. There were conflicting accounts of who died in the strike Sunday along with al-Mansoor. The intelligence officials said his wife and son were also killed, while the militant said two Punjabi Taliban fighters died with him. The Taliban militant spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of being targeted by the government. Al-Qaida's central leadership in Pakistan has been dealt a series of heavy blows in the past few years, including the U.S. commando raid that killed Osama bin Laden in the Pakistani town of Abbottabad last year. A significant number of senior al-Qaida leaders have also been killed in U.S. drone attacks in the country. Also Monday, Taliban militants armed with a rocket, hand grenades and automatic weapons attacked a police station in northwestern Pakistan, killing six people, police said. The attack occurred in the city of Bannu, which serves as a gateway to the North Waziristan tribal area and which has been hit by repeated attacks over the years. The militants began the attack by firing a rocket at the gate of the police station and tossing hand grenades, triggering a battle with police that last lasted over an hour, said senior police officer Wagar Ahmed. Three policemen and three civilians were killed in the attack, said Ahmed. The civilians were coming out of a nearby mosque when they were shot by the militants. Eight people were wounded, including three policemen and five civilians. Three militants were killed during the attack and one escaped. Pakistani Taliban spokesman Ahsanullah Ahsan claimed responsibility for the attack in a telephone call to The Associated Press from an undisclosed location. Elsewhere in the country, gunmen attacked a checkpoint manned by paramilitary forces on the outskirts of the southern city of Karachi, killing two soldiers, said police officer Azhar Iqbal. Two policemen were wounded in the attack, he said. In the eastern city of Lahore, an elderly Swedish woman who was shot and critically wounded a week ago by an unknown assailant was flown home for medical treatment, said police officer Zahoorul Haq Qureshi. The woman, Bargeeta Almby, is in her 70s and was a volunteer at a church in Lahore. She was flown home in an aircraft sent by the Swedish government, Qureshi added.
Pakistan, corruption remain stumbling blocks in Afghanistan: Pentagon
thenewstribe.Safe havens in Pakistan, corruption and limited Afghan government capabilities are the greatest obstacles to stability in Afghanistan, according to a Pentagon report delivered to Congress and made public today. According to a US Department of Defense press release, the Report on Progress Toward Security and Stability in Afghanistan also states that the coalition surge accomplished its mission. The enemy has lost capability, the report says. The number of attacks is down and, while the Taliban and its al-Qaida allies can launch a few flashy attacks, the terror group’s capabilities have waned. Pakistan remains a problem, but there is some progress on that front, according to the report. “The insurgency and al-Qaida continue to face US counterterrorism pressure within the safe havens,” the report says. “US relations with Pakistan have begun to improve following the re-opening of Pakistani ground lines of communication, and there has been nascent improvement with respect to cross-border cooperation between Pakistan and Afghanistan.” In fact, the report continues, there has been some cooperation on both sides of the border in coordinating counterterror offensives. Most security metrics have improved, the report says. It compares the first year of the surge – 2010 – with April through September of this year, noting that enemy-initiated attacks have declined by 12 percent. Detonations of improvised explosive devices declined 9 percent. The percentage of civilian casualties caused by NATO forces declined 28 percent. Direct- fire attacks have dropped by 9 percent, and indirect-fire attacks are down by 24 percent. However, civilian casualties caused by enemy attacks are up 11 percent, according to the Pentagon report. The report’s findings point to progress with the Afghan national security forces, which will take over security operations when US and coalition forces leave at the end of 2014. “The ANSF has grown by 88,464 personnel, and has dramatically increased its capabilities,” the report states. “The areas of the country influenced by the insurgents and the ability of the insurgency to attack the population have been significantly diminished.” The report to Congress highlights the improvement in security of populated areas. “Security dramatically improved in most of Afghanistan’s five most populous districts, with [enemy-initiated attacks] in the first nine months of 2012 compared to the same period in 2011 dropping 22 percent in Kabul, 62 percent in Kandahar, 13 percent in Herat, 88 percent in Mazar-e-Sharif, and rising 2 percent in Kunduz,” the report says. Insurgent attacks are taking place away from these populated centers, the report says, noting that the majority of Afghanistan’s 405 districts now experience very low levels of enemy attacks. Eighty percent of attacks occur in districts encompassing only 20 percent of the population, and nearly half of all attacks in Afghanistan occur in just 17 districts that contain only 5 percent of the population, the report states. The Taliban’s ability to attack Afghans is diminished particularly in Kandahar, the group’s operational and ideological base. But overall, the report paints a picture of mixed progress toward security and stability, with the area along the Afghanistan-Pakistan border remaining a hot zone. “Pakistani-based sanctuary for insurgents, such as the Haqqani Taliban Network in North Waziristan, as well as the financial and operational support that insurgents receive from various sources, keeps the security situation along the border with Pakistan in Regional Command – East volatile,” the report says. While enemy attacks in the region declined slightly, eastern Afghanistan accounted for almost a third of all insurgent attacks throughout the country. “The Taliban-led insurgency remains adaptive and determined, and retains the capability to emplace substantial numbers of IEDs and to conduct isolated high-profile attacks,” the report says. “The insurgency also retains a significant regenerative capacity.” As ISAF and Afghan forces erode Taliban efforts, insurgents have increasingly resorted to asymmetric tactics in an attempt to regain territory and influence, including assassinations, kidnappings, intimidation tactics, encouraging insider attacks and strategic messaging campaigns, the report states.
Number of killings in Sindh has gone up this year: HRCP
The Express TribuneThough Karachi is notorious for its volatile law and order situation, the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan’s (HRCP) statistics indicate that the rest of the province isn’t much better either – around 1,162 people have been killed in the first 10 months of the year. HRCP’s Sindh Task Force issued a report on the eve of United Nations Human Rights Day. It paints a very bleak picture of the situation in the areas outside of Karachi as well. The reports states that 772 men, 310 women and 78 children were killed. Among them, 99 men, 146 women and 10 children were killed in the name of honour. Some people also lost their lives in tribal conflicts. “The number of overall killings has gone up from the previous year, when the figure remained within three digits,” HRCP’s coordinator for Sindh Task Force, Ashothama Lohano, told The Express Tribune. In addition to the murders, 305 people committed suicide while another 180 were unsuccessful in taking their own lives. Men are more suicidal than women or children, with 181 killing themselves and 90 attempting to do so. “More deaths occurred in the areas hit by floods this year or those recovering from the natural calamity from last year,” said Lohano. The report indicates a drop in the incidents of karo kari (honour killing). In 2011, more than 600 incidents were reported from the province, but the figure for this year has dipped to 255. “Interestingly, the killing of women has dropped more dramatically than of men,” Lohano said, adding that 99 men and 146 women were among the victims of this crime. There was also a considerable decrease in rape cases this year with 131 cases reported so far – almost half the number as compared to 2011. About 65 children and 63 women were victims of such incidents.
Malala symbol of peace and moderate Pakistan
Shabaz Sharif: The mighty ruler of Punjab
Daily Times
By: Yasser Latif HamdaniAfter the Lahore High Court’s verdict, Mr Sharif’s bravado is calculated to rally the people of Punjab behind the PML-N ‘Shahinshah-e-Punjab’ Shahbaz Sharif is the great Muslim ruler of the mighty province of Punjab in this ‘Islamic’ Republic of ours, or at least he likes to think so. He thinks and acts not as the elected chief executive of the largest province of the country, responsible to the provincial Assembly, but more as a despotic Mughal emperor. Maybe the ‘Hakim-e-Ala’ has heard the saying of the Ummayad Caliph Umar Bin Abdul Aziz who said that he was responsible even for a dog starving on the banks of Dajla. Religious minorities, forced or otherwise, in the province of Punjab are treated worse than even animals. At least that is what Chief Minister Sharif’s conduct makes us believe. The last years of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz’s (PML-N) government in Punjab have been the worst for religious minorities in the province since the bloodletting in the immediate aftermath of partition in 1947. Then at least you had men like Iftikhar Mamdot, Mian Iftikharuddin and Sir Francis Mudie in the government of Punjab who made every effort to stem the massacre of Hindus and Sikhs. Mr Sharif’s government is either unable or unwilling to act. Consider the plight of the much maligned and hated Ahmadi community. The May 2010 attacks on Ahmadis as well as the recent desecration of graves happened in a one-mile radius of the chief minister’s residence. To date no security has been provided to the Ahmadis. Should we be surprised? This is the same chief minister under whose watch the Auqaaf department holds regular government funded conferences against this community. Ahmadis are not the only community at the receiving end of this government’s ‘anti-minorities’ policy. The ethnic cleansing of Christians in Gojra in 2009 happened during this government’s tenure. Countless Christians and Hindus have suffered under this government, the latest being the Swedish Christian NGO worker who was shot the same day as the desecration of the Ahmadis’ graves, again a stone’s throw away from the chief minister’s residence. Countless places of worship have been destroyed in the name of development. A church (not to mention the beautiful Kufic Kalima Chowk sculpture) on Ferozepur Road razed to make way for the concrete monstrosity that Mr Sharif says is a flyover. Even the parking plaza in Liberty market was built on the United Christian Hospital’s property in flagrant violation of the Protection of Communal Properties Ordinance of 2001. Nor has Mr Sharif even tried to justify his prejudiced policy. Not long ago, he appealed to the Taliban that they should spare Punjab because the Punjab government had the same objectives as them. Now his party’s alliances with the sectarian anti-Shia organisations have become known. Just so that we are clear, Mr Sharif’s development record does not inspire any confidence either. First of all the blatant favouritism for Lahore at the cost of the rest of Punjab in terms of development funds is itself indicative of the lopsidedness of this government. Really, Mr Sharif is better suited to be Lahore City Nazim than the chief minister of a province that on its own is also the 40th largest economy in the world. However, even in terms of Lahore, his record is abysmal not just on the security and law and order front. Consider his rapid bus transit system. The whole of Lahore rues the day he went to Istanbul and got this fantastical idea. Turkey has a lot to offer to Pakistan in terms of how a Muslim majority society can reconcile with modernity but the rapid bus transit system is not one of those things. The essential issue in Lahore is of space, which meant that any transit system would either have to be a monorail or a subway system. Our solution in this case lay in looking eastwards to that great city of the subcontinent: Delhi. Instead the chief minister has created an eyesore, which will remain an eyesore and not solve the traffic problems of the city. Given the urgency of elections, the work on the panacea of all our traffic problems has been accelerated. This has brought untold misery on the hapless residents of this once great city who every morning are forced to calculate alternative routes to their destinations only to find alternative routes also dug up. There has to be an impartial investigation and analysis of the total costs of this bus transit project, i.e. not just the cost of building, which is allegedly close to Rs 100 billion, but the social cost, i.e. environmental pollution and other hidden costs such as the fuel costs that have been incurred as a result of continuous traffic jams in the city. I do not hold a brief for the Chaudhries of Punjab who had their own shortcomings, but one cannot help but feel that Lahore was a much better governed city under them. A clue to his predicament comes from Mr Sharif’s recent statements regarding the Kalabagh Dam. After the Lahore High Court’s verdict, Mr Sharif’s bravado is calculated to rally the people of Punjab behind the PML-N. Having miserably failed in providing even the most basic form of government to the people of Punjab, do not be surprised if he continues to talk about the Kalabagh Dam because the citizens of Punjab are likely to be fooled by that promise. It is the personal opinion of this writer that the Kalabagh Dam should be made but it should not become a cheap slogan for electioneering, either for or against. All the parties concerned know that the Kalabagh Dam is unlikely to see the light of day but it is a good issue to play politics over.
The writer is a lawyer based in Lahore and the author of the book Jinnah; Myth and Reality. He can be contacted via twitter @therealylh and through his email address yasser.hamdani@gmail.com
Pakistan: Dead chicken and deadbeat officials
Frontier PostAfter the initial arrests of the drivers transporting three-containers full of chicken meat, the Peshawar district authorities have not taken any action to apprehend the owner of the warehouse, the supplier of the unhealthy chicken meat and the proprietors of food outlets in the city who were to cater the same to their valued but unsuspecting customers. The containers were despatched from Punjab and the chickens, which were said to have died of natural causes and then sliced to pieces, were to be distributed to hotels of the Khyber Pakthunkhwa metropolis. The first concern is religious. Animals and birds dying of natural causes are not kosher according to Muslim jurisprudence. The second concern is health: According to the officials who seized the containers from a warehouse on Chamkani Road, the chicken meat had gone stale and the odour was so intense that the raiding personnel could not stand it. It is obvious that the said chicken meat was not fit for human or even animal consumption and yet it was to be supplied to hotels, restaurants and fast food joints and fed to customers. These customers would have been paying many times more for the unhealthy food than they would have spent if they had cooked freshly slaughtered chicken at their homes. The three containers could not have contained less then about thirty to sixty kilograms of stale and unhealthy chicken meat. Supply of such quantity of the stale chicken leads one to suspect that most of the hotels and fast food joints were to get the same. The reason for this belief is that all food outlets have long-term contracts with suppliers and that no supplier would in his right mind transport perishable goods unless he has confirmed buyers. This creates the notion that the supply of unhealthy chicken may have been going on for quite sometime. Nobody knows for how long the people of Peshawar have been paying high prices in trendy outlets for unhealthy food treated with vinegar and spices to kill the odour. Yet unhealthy and stale chicken meat is not the only food item transported to this province from Punjab. There have, also been instances of unhealthy beef and mutton arriving from that province, also. We did not see the official outrage in the case of stale beef and mutton and by the inaction, it seems, we would see no action in this recent incident. Such illegal operations cannot run either without official patronage or without the active cooperation of those who cater to the end-user. Nevertheless, the high officials have not taken upon themselves to direct and supervise action in this regard. We, it seems, have lost all our religious and health sensitivities. After all what goes around comes around: it seems senseless, but it seems anyway, that those on the high posts in the provincial government think that they and their families can avoid eating this non-kosher and unhealthy food. Whatever, those in government choose for themselves, The Frontier Post and the people of Peshawar demand that action should be immediately taken in this regard and all the culprits responsible for this horrendous crime be apprehended. For once we will like to see a meaningful action against the criminals who have lost all sensitivities to peoples’ religious feelings the care for their health.
President Zardari: Committed to promote girls' education
Pakistan‚ UNESCO sign MOU for establishment of Malala Fund
Radio PakistanDirector General of UNESCO Irina Bokova and Federal Minister Sheikh Waqas signed the document at UNESCO headquarters in Paris. President Asif Ali Zardari was also present on the occasion. Pakistan will provide seed money of 10 million dollars for the fund. Under the agreement‚ the UNESCO will strengthen cooperation with the ministries of education of all the countries. Later‚ addressing joint news conference along with Director General UNESCO Irina Bokova in Paris on Monday‚ the President said the Government is committed to empowering women. He said the democratic Government is taking all possible measures for this purpose. He said policy of women empowerment is in line with the vision of Shaheed Benazir Bhutto. The President said women are being encouraged in all spheres of life in Pakistan. The Director General UNESCO said education is basic right of every child including girls. She said no country can achieve sustainable progress without promoting education.
Sunday, December 9, 2012
Karzai’s allegations may bottleneck Pak-Afghan progress
Pakistan Polio: Crippling effect: Qilla Abdullah serves as greatest polio threat
Inspired by Malala, We Must Make School Accessible to the World's Children
Malala Yousafzai gets Mother Teresa Memorial Award
Malala's dad named UN education adviser
Obama meets with Boehner on fiscal cliff: aides
Egypt opposition rejects planned referendum
Major opposition bloc says President Morsi's decision to rescind controversial decree "falls short of expectations".A major Egyptian opposition group has said that President Mohamed Morsi's decision only to rescind a decree that gave him sweeping powers and not scrap a referendum on a controversial draft constitution has "fallen short of expectations" required to defuse tensions in the country. In an announcement on Sunday, the National Salvation Front, the main umbrella group for opposition parties, said it rejected the planned December 15 referendum, and warned that it would lead to "more division and sedition." "We do not recognise the draft constitution because it does not represent the Egyptian people," said Sameh Ashour, who spoke on behalf of the coalition.The opposition is planning large rallies on Tuesday to protest the decree. Supporters of the Muslim Brotherhood are also organising their own rallies on Tuesday in Cairo, Alexandria and Assiut. Late on Saturday Morsi annulled the November 22 decree that also made all his decisions immune to judicial review, but insisted that the vote will go ahead as planned. The opposition has repeatedly said that the constitution, drafted by a Muslim Brotherhood-led constituent assembly, disregards the rights of women and ignores personal freedoms. "I cannot imagine that after all this they want to pass a constitution that does not represent all Egyptians," Ahmed Said, another member of the National Salvation Front coalition and the head of the liberal Free Egyptians Party, told Reuters news agency. He said the Front would meet later on Sunday to make a formal response to Morsi's decision to scrap the decree. Selim al-Awa, an official who attended Saturday's meeting between Morsi and politicians from smaller opposition groups, said that, legally, Morsi was unable to change the date of the referendum on the draft charter. He said that if the draft was voted down in the December 15 referendum, Morsi would call for an election within three months to pick a new constituent assembly. The main opposition groups had boycotted the talks, which lasted over 10 hours, and called on their supporters to step up protests. Sameh Ashour, from the opposition National Salvation Front, was among those calling on Egyptians to protest on Tuesday to refuse the constitution. "The National Salvation Front announces its total rejection of the referendum and will not legitimise this referendum which will definitely lead to more strife," he said. "The Front invites Egypt's great people to protest peacefully in various liberation squares in the capital this coming Tuesday to show dissatisfaction at the president's disregard of the people's demands and in refusal of the constitution that infringes on rights and freedoms." Annulment 'meaningless' Khaled Dawood, spokesperson for the National Salvation Front, said annulling the decree was "relatively meaningless". "The key issue of securing the process of adopting of the constitution is done," he told Al Jazeera.Asked whether the opposition's goal was to unseat Morsi, Dawood said: "This is definitely not in our agenda at all. Our agenda is basically limited to having a new draft constitution that everybody is satisfied about before going to a referendum. "We respect he was elected with 51.7 per cent of the vote, but 48 per cent did not vote for him. "That means that he has to compromise, he has to build consensus." On Sunday, a day after Morsi appeared to bow to political and public pressure, a wall is being built around his presidential palace. The barricade blocks any attempt by anti-government protesters from reaching the palace gates. Egypt has been hit by angry protests in the past two weeks to push Morsi to reverse his expanded powers and suspend the constitutional vote. The crisis has been the country's worst since Morsi took office in June.
Saudi Arabia coercing convicts and death row inmates to fight in Syria
http://www.examiner.comSecret documents “leaked to the media” disclosed on Sunday that Saudi Arabia has been sending death convicts to Syria to join the armed campaign against President Bashar a-Assad's government, according to a FARS news agency report.
“According to the document, the Saudi Interior Ministry has conceded to pardon these people who have been sentenced to death on charges of drug trafficking, murder and rape after they accepted to go under military trainings and be sent to Syria." Credits: FARS news agency“According to the document, the Saudi Interior Ministry has conceded to pardon these people who have been sentenced to death on charges of drug trafficking, murder and rape after they accepted to go under military trainings and be sent to Syria to help terrorist groups and the FSA in the war on President Assad. Families of the convicts do not have the right to leave Saudi Arabia, but they receive monthly salaries from the Al Saud regime. The regime has taken the families hostage to make sure that the criminals remain loyal to their missions and plots in Syria. Pardoning inmates in return for terrorist operations in Syria is not confined to Saudi Arabia, and Qatar and some other Persian Gulf states have followed suit” (source: Saudi Arabia Sending Death Convicts to Syria to Help Rebels http://english.farsnews.com/newstext.php?nn=9107125672 ) . The report indicated that so far thousands of criminals have been loosed on Syria to help wage a foreign sponsored terrorist war against the regime. We contacted the U.S. State Department which, not surprisingly refused comment on this story.
Dilip Kumar’s 90th birthday to be celebrated in Pakistan
Veteran actor Dilip Kumar`s 90th birthday tomorrow (Tuesday) will be celebrated in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa where he was born before he migrated to India, Zee News reports. The Cultural Heritage Council (CHC) of Khyber Pakhtukhwa will mark the occasion in Peshawar, an Indian peace activist said on Sunday. "The CHC has decided to celebrate the 90th birthday of the legendary actor for the first time ever," Jatin Desai told IANS. He said CHC had invited prominent personalities including film personalities, journalists, lawyers, peaceniks and commoners to celebrate the birthday of Dilip Kumar aka Muhammed Yusuf Khan. Ironically, Dilip Kumar will not celebrate his birthday in Mumbai as he is still grieving the death of several prominent personalities in the past few months. These include Shiv Sena chief Bal Thackeray, former union minister NKP Salve, filmmaker Yash Chopra, Rajesh Khanna, Dara Singh and others. On his 89th birthday last year, he had a mega bash at his Pali Hill residence that attracted, among others, Yash Chopra and Rajesh Khanna. In July, a public effort was initiated to conserve Dilip Kumar`s ancestral home, now in a dilapidated condition in Peshawar. It was launched by civil society groups in Pakistan and Bangladesh and other organisations. The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa administration recently planned to acquire the ancestral homes of Dilip Kumar and another Indian legend, Raj Kapoor and preserve them as national heritage monuments. Locals have urged the authorities to rename certain parts of Peshawar after Dilip Kumar and Raj Kapoor.Daily Times
Karachi: Pakistan’s largest city suffers murder wave, Taliban seen using chaos to strengthen position
Afghanistan: Attack on NDS chief will not undermine peace process
http://www.afghanistantimes.af
Karzai: U.S. Troops Can Have Immunity In Exchange For 'Sovereignty'
http://www.rferl.orgAfghan President Hamid Karzai says he is willing to consider giving immunity to U.S. troops in a security agreement to be signed next year if his demand for "Afghanistan's sovereignty" is respected. The deal will outline the form of a U.S. military presence in Afghanistan, as well as the number of troops and bases, after NATO forces withdraw in 2014. Karzai said his key demands were that the United States hand over all detainees in its custody and shut all its jails in the country, rescind control of Afghan airspace, and refrain from raids on Afghan villages. "Within those conditions, and once those conditions are fulfilled...Afghanistan is willing to consider immunity" for the troops, he said. The United States still has more than 65,000 soldiers in Afghanistan.
Peshawar-Torkhum Highway project under review: USAID
Managing waste: Peshawar’s sewage system going down the drain
The Express TribuneThe sewage system of Peshawar is in dire need of restructuring and proper maintenance, but for the elected representatives the issue has remained on the back burner for the past decade. The 19th century Shahi Khata drainage system is still intact albeit in a debilitated state. It is now barely able to carry all the sewage water from the inner parts of the city, where the population has substantially increased. Moreover, the three different portions made for drainage purposes in Shahi Khata are barely functioning. And with accumulation of dirt in the pipelines with little or no maintenance, residents of the walled city complain that the system is not tending to the increasing drainage needs of Peshawar. Sewerage water from most parts of the city, including areas around the City Circular Road drain into Shahi Khata, which is unable to accommodate all the water, especially during rain. The Shahi Khata system runs through the Bala Mari, Asia Gate, Kakshal, Sher Shah Suri Bridge, Firdous Cinema Chowk areas before going through the Afghan Colony and finally draining the water into the Budhni stream. “In the past, governments have constructed faulty sewerage lines in various localities, due to which several areas are now left with permanently clogged pipelines,” said an elder from Eshrat Cinema Road, Ali Jahangir Khan. A major sewage line, laid in 1996 for those residing in the eastern part of the city, running through areas of Shaikabad, Gulbhar-I and Gulbhar-II, Asad Anwar Colony, Afrido Ghari, Akhunabad and Peshawar Fruit Marker is also obsolete. Another sewage line starts from the city area of tehsil Gorghatri and goes through Karim Pura, Hashtnagri, Shahi Bagh and some parts of Charsadda Road. This too, like the two others, drains into the Budhni stream. Residents of these areas face surmounting problems in the rainy season when the Budhni stream overflows, resulting in filthy water flowing onto the streets outside their homes. A resident of City Town area, Rahimullah Shah complains: “The whole area turns into a huge puddle, which serves as a breeding ground for insects and germs.” The number of workers responsible for cleaning sewage lines of the 25 city union councils is not more than 180, of which around 40 employees are consistently absent from duty. The leader of representative body of local government employees, the United Municipal Workers Union, Salahuddin Chava said most of the cleaning staff are constantly absent, but still get salaries. He accused them of working for elected representatives and other high-profile government officials instead of showing up for duty. Town Municipal Officer Javed Amjid also complained of faulty sewerage lines. He, however, blames the burgeoning growth of residential towns in the surrounding areas of Peshawar. “In the last ten years, dozens of small residential towns have been developed without any proper planning for their sewerage system.” “There is a need for systematic planning to deal with the sewerage issue and to fix faulty lines,” Amjid said, adding that the town municipal administration is doing its best with the meagre resources at its disposal.
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa : School crisis
Pakistan: Suddle Commission
The Supreme Court’s decision of dissolving the judicial commission, headed by Dr Shoaib Suddle, that partially investigated a Rs342 million business deal between Dr Arsalan Iftikhar, son of Chief Justice of Pakistan Iftikhar Mohammad Chuaudhry, and real-estate magnate Malik Riaz Husain, after it had only submitted an interim report, comes as a big surprise particularly when the SC took the plea that this is an issue between two individuals and they can take it up at any forum. The decision gives rise to a valid question as to how and why the country’s apex court had admitted for hearing the case at the filing stage when the two litigant parties have, of late, in one voice, contended that the SC should dispose the matter of. The commission has been dissolved at a time when it had only submitted an interim report and approached authorities in London to secure additional evidence. It seems pertinent to mention here that Malik Riaz did not appear before the Suddle Commission and moved the SC in an attempt to get its proceedings stayed; the court rejected this plea.
The Chief Justice of Pakistan himself, on June 5, took a notice of the alleged business deal between his son and Malik Riaz. On June 14 the court ordered the attorney general of Pakistan to take strict action against the main characters of the case – Dr Arsalan Iftikhar, Malik Riaz and his son-in-law Salman Ahmed. In its order the court had noted, “Nonetheless, attempts by individuals to obstruct the course of justice are indeed a matter of serious and grave concern and imperil the reputation of the justice system at large. This is why such exchange of bribes with the attempt, even a failed one, to influence the course of justice, has been declared illegal and punishable under various laws. If proven guilty by a court of competent jurisdiction, the parties involved are liable to be punished.” The attorney-general referred the matter to NAB for a probe, but Dr Arsalan raised questions over the impartiality of NAB’s Joint Investigation Team and filed a review petition against it which was accepted by the SC. On August 30, the court formed the judicial commission comprising former police officer Dr Shoiab Suddle to probe the alleged business deal which was aimed at influencing the judicial process.
The Suddle Commission, in the preliminary report, said the CJP’s son has admitted that he had availed two of the three foreign visits alleged by Malik Riaz and also confessed that he had received ‘favours’from Malik Riaz, his friend or his son-in-law. But it does not answer why he had accepted these and the businessman’s claim is that he had ‘favoured’Arsalan in order to get court cases settled in his favour. The commission also alleged Malik Riaz of a ‘plan’ to defame the chief justice and bring the highest court of the country into disrepute and also accused him of shady business deals, including the Bhria Town project. Yet, the report is silent about how Arsalan Iftikhar became a millionaire in no time and entered into telecom contracts worth Rs900 million. The commission has also implicated Dr Arsalan Iftikhar and Malik Riaz in massive tax evasion of Rs 51.3 million and 119.4 billion, respectively, and recommended imposition of a penalty for concealment of assets in wealth statements filed with income tax returns.
However, the matter boils down to the amount of money paid to Arsalan. Malik Riaz says he paid Rs342 million but provide the evidence of paying Rs5.58 million and the son of CJP also accepts this. It is certainly not the issue of how much was paid; it is the matter that Arsalan received the amount, no matter how big or small it may be. This is a fit case of illegal transaction and an offence cognizable by police. Arsalan must not only stand trial for this but also for the fact that he has maligned the name of the top most judge of the country in this scandalous affair. It is also not understandable why the commission itself not suggested the criminal proceedings against the two although this was part of the terms of reference. It is not an ordinary matter but involves the country’s chief justice and superior judiciary. It is, therefore, absolutely critical that highest standards of integrity of the judiciary are not compromised under any circumstances.
Pakistan asks Karzai to share information about attack on spy chief
Why we chose Bilawal Bhutto Zardari
The young generation of every country in the world is considered a great asset as it plays a key part in the process of the country’s development. Positive role of youngsters always keeps the nation upfront at the international level because through their contribution, the nation can move on and on in the right direction of prosperity. Pakistan’s growth depends heavily on the thinking of youngsters and the country will remain on safe grounds if our youth loves our country perpetually and works hard to make it an eminent nation on this planet. Along with the youth’s potential to change the fate of this country we also need an educated, futurist and potential young leadership. The primary role of young people is to get a good standard education today, to become quality citizens of tomorrow. They need to learn skills to serve the nation and boost the economy of the country. They also need to know how to perceive, understand, think and analyse multiple issues facing their country and actively participate in its political affairs. They need to study its history, to be proud of its past, to make sense of its present, to chart the course of its future. In the recent past the social media has vastly influenced our youth and we are witnessing their interest in political affairs of the country in both the domestic and international domain but it is not sufficient because politics is a practical service of the nation that cannot be accomplished alone through using social media, a few tweets and comments on facebook while sitting in well facilitated cafes. Our youth needs to come forward and take over the driving seat in order to take the country towards right directions. Young people can also help to build a nation by becoming actively involved in social causes along with participation in politics so that they can work for peace, human rights, and environmental issues and for the cause of minorities. Pakistan is presently facing terrorism and extremism for which we do not need a leadership that is either silent on terrorism or has sympathies with terrorist organizations for the sake of a few votes. This way we cannot rescue Pakistan from the quagmire of terrorism and extremism. It is welcoming to see youngsters like Bilawal Bhutto Zardari Co-Chairman Pakistan Peoples Party, Moonis Elahi from Pakistan Muslim League, Hamza Shahbaz and Maryam Nawaz from PMLN on the political front. It was the vision of President Asif Ali Zardari who, after martyrdom of Shaheed Benazir Bhutto chose one of our youth in order to appreciate and evaluate the role of our youth in the political affairs of our country. If we look deeply into our past, we see a young MA Jinnah, ZA Bhutto then Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto who were all highly energetic and active participants in the political affairs of Pakistan. No doubt it was all because of these few personalities that Pakistan’s name has shone globally. However, it is quite crucial and important to choose visionary leadership today for a better Pakistan tomorrow. These political scions indeed boast a political background but it does not mean that they were capable or had the vision to run this country on better lines, for vision alone is inadequate to run a country in the absence of an ideology. At this stage, when Pakistan is at the cross roads facing mammoth challenges on political, economical and security fronts, it would be quite sagacious to narrow the lens of our choice. It is very unfortunate that only PPP is inheritor of secular norms and principles that nudge this country on the way of prosperity and progress. Z.A Bhutto Shaheed, Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto Shaheed and then President Asif Ali Zardari practiced these norms of secularity and tolerance. Bilawal Bhutto Zardari indeed cannot deviate from the set ideology and principles of his forefathers. Unlike other youngsters that proved much introvert under the narrow minded policies of their parties, Bilawal Bhutto Zardari seems quite extrovert with a better vision, perception and ideas about global changes. Where there is an issue of human rights violation, brutality of the inhumane Taliban, exploitation of minorities, we see only Bilawal Bhutto Zardari single-handedly condemning it and asking his party workers to stand like a solid rock wall against terrorists and extremists. Bilawal has always vehemently condemned human rights violation and boldly spoken against atrocities committed by Taliban, something that is quite amongst the present political stalwarts. Engulfed by huge problems, we cannot afford that our future leaders be of limited ideology that fuels only domestic politics and gimmicks to remain in power. In order to integrate ourselves with the modern, developed world we need leaders of international standards like Z.A Bhutto and Shaheed Benazir Bhutto. Following the life and policies of his mother and grandpa, Bilawal Bhutto Zardari can fulfil the vacuum, created after the martyrdom of Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto Shaheed. Although Bilawal is not practically into politics, the statements and speeches delivered by the younger Zardari, brings on the nostalgia of the past period of PPP rule by his mother. We have seen that Bilawal Bhutto Zardari is following the footsteps of his grandfather and his mother who sacrificed their lives for Pakistan and its people. Shaheed Benazir Bhutto’s entire life is marked with struggle for the empowerment of the poor oppressed people, empowerment of women and for the rights of minorities. PPP is the only secular party of Pakistan that always fought for the rights of minorities and gave them maximum protection. Considering PPP as merely a political party is totally wrong. PPP is an ideology, a vision and a thought. Indeed, Shaheed Zulfikar Ali Bhutto and Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto Shaheed were the founders of the very basis of this party, but after them deeming that the party’s existence is over, is absurd. Bilawal Bhutto Zardari has the potential, courage, vision and ideology that can keep Pakistan afloat on both the domestic and international fronts. Moreover the workers of PPP, from the earthly paradise Parachinar and mountainous Gilgit-Baltistan to the seashore of Karachi, love and trust the leadership of Bilawal Bhutto Zardari just as they had loved ZA Bhutto and Shaheed Benazir Bhutto after that. Presidential Adviser Farahnaz Ispahani rightly says, “The politics of principle is still alive and I believe that the PPP chairman is delivering and will continue to deliver into the future. Give him a chance.”By Riaz Ali Toori
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US drones kill 3 suspected militants in Pakistan
Associated PressPakistani intelligence officials say a U.S. drone strike has killed three suspected militants near the Afghan border. The two officials say four missiles struck a residential compound Sunday morning near Miran Shah, the main town in the North Waziristan tribal region. The identity of the suspected militants was not known. North Waziristan has been a frequent target of U.S. missile strikes. The tribal region is home to a mix of insurgents from Pakistan, Afghanistan and al-Qaida-linked foreign militant groups. Pakistan publically protests the drone strikes, although officials say Islamabad has secretly supported the program. The intelligence officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to the media.
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