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A US missile attack killed at least four militants when it targeted a vehicle in a tribal district of North Waziristan on Friday, local officials said.

Two missiles fired by a US drone hit the vehicle in Ghulam Khan town, some 15 kilometres northwest of Miranshah, the main town in North Waziristan tribal district close to the Afghan border, officials said.

“It was an American drone attack. Four militants have been killed — the death toll may rise,” a security official in Miranshah told AFP. Another security official in Peshawar confirmed the attack and the death toll.

Security officials in Miranshah and Peshawar said that militants killed in the strike were associated with the powerful, al Qaeda-linked, Haqqani network, but that they were still seeking more information.

Officials said militants were moving from one area to another when their vehicle was struck by the unmanned US aircraft. Militants frequently relocate in an effort to avoid the intensifying campaign of drone attacks.

The US has doubled missile strikes in the tribal belt this year, most of which have been in North Waziristan, along with a recent expansion of drone strikes in to the Khyber region.

Blasphemy laws: Clerics refuse to withdraw call for nationwide strike

The government’s fresh endeavours on Thursday to appease religious groups failed to make any headway as angry clerics remained defiant and refused to withdraw a strike call for Friday to protest against reported plans of repealing or amending blasphemy laws.

Leaders from religious groups refused to call back their strike despite several denials by the government.

Religious groups representing both Deobandi and Barelvi schools of thought said they would not withdraw the call backed by trade unions and transporters from across the country.

Their leaders said they would not accept any clarification by anybody less than either the president or the prime minister after several top officials denied plans of touching Zia-era’s controversial act.

Blasphemy laws are at the centre stage of the country’s beleaguered politics since President Asif Ali Zardari announced a pardon for a Christian woman whom a local court in a central Punjab district sentenced to death for allegedly insulting Prophet Muhammad (pbuh).

The government on Wednesday told the National Assembly it would never repeal or amend a law which was an integral ‘part of Muslims’ faith’.

On Thursday as well, at least two federal ministers and one provincial minister came up with a clarification that the law would neither be repealed nor amended.

State Information Minister Sumsam Ali Bukhari stated categorically there was no proposal to amend the anti-blasphemy act as the Namoos-e-Risalat was a sensitive matter not only for the religious-political parties but for all Muslims.

“Neither the Pakistan Peoples Party nor the government has discussed the issue, to bring any amendment in the blasphemy law,” he told a news conference on the eve of what could be a shutter-down and wheel-jam strike across the country.

Leaders from Wafaqul Madaris Al Arabia urged ‘all faithful Muslims to make the strike a success to teach a lesson to the infidel powers’, a reference to the government.

Trade unions and associations for transporters were also firm on their positions to back the strike, indicating that it might be a successful venture.

Vice-chairman of All Pakistan Traders Association Ajmal Baloch told The Express Tribune that traders across the country will not open shops to support the cause of Namoos-e-Risalat.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 31^st, 2010.

ISLAMABAD: At least 94 journalists died in violence this year, the International Federation of Journalists said Friday, adding that Pakistan was the most dangerous place in 2010 for media workers.

“Journalists and media personnel remain prime targets for political extremists, gangsters and terrorists,” the Brussels-based organisation said in a report, adding that another three died in accidents over the past 12 months.

The death toll came at the hands of “targeted killings, bomb attacks and crossfire incidents,” it said.

In 2009, the total was 139 journalists.

The IFJ said 15 media workers died in Pakistan this year, adding that the majority of the annual fatalities comprised “victims of violence connected to the insurgency war in Pakistan, the drug war in Mexico as well as the political unrest in Honduras.”

“Nearly 100 journalists killed is a heavy loss which ought to stir the world governments into action to offer better protection to journalists,” said Jim Boumelha, IFJ president.

Two different reports this month have said that Pakistan is the deadliest country for journalists.

The full list is available on the IFJ site at: http://www.ifj.org/assets/docs/205/203/5d21bcd-97a13cb.pdf.

Opposition leader, Chaudry Nisar Ali on Friday demanded a house committee to investigate MQM’s use of derogatory language outside the parliament house.

He was addressing the National Assembly during a session on Friday.

The war of words between the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) took an ugly turn on Wednesday, with politicians from both sides making personal attacks on one another.

Expressing his disapproval, Nisar asked the media not to air such language. The opposition leader said that a line should be drawn between abusive language and criticism. Waseem Akhtar from the MQM made a similar demand. Akhtar also apologised for using derogatory remarks against PML-N chief Nawaz Sharif.

Speaking on the same issue, Gilani said parliamentarians should show responsibility while speaking at any forum, adding that losing one’s temper is against the political attitude. “Politics is all about patience,” he said.

Gilani said the nation has put responsibility on the shoulders of politicians and they should prove their commitment.

LAHORE: Pakistan has made only limited progress in improving human rights with reports of thousands of disappearances despite US pressure on its wartime partner, a State Department report claimed on Thursday.

In a report mandated by the US Congress, the State Department told lawmakers that the United States was vetting units’ human rights as it extends billions of dollars to the country in the war on terror.

The US State Department, in the report completed in late November, said that Pakistan “has made limited progress in advancing human rights and continues to face human rights challenges.”

“The State Department continues to press military and civilian authorities in Pakistan, at the highest levels, to take serious and sustained action to eliminate extrajudicial killings, provide humanitarian access and investigate all cases of disappearances,” it said.

The assessment, which was first reported on Thursday by The New York Times, voiced its concerns  about Balochistan’s long-running insurgency. The State Department said that non-governmental organisations “have reported thousands of disappearances, mostly in Balochistan,” with hundreds of cases pending in the courts.

The State Department also pointed to some progress, such as hearings by the Supreme Court into the missing in Balochistan.

Amnesty International, in a report in October, called on Pakistan to investigate the alleged torture and killing of more than 40 political leaders and activists in Balochistan.

Earlier this month, Human Rights Watch said that at least 22 teachers and other education professionals were killed by suspected militants in Balochistan between January 2008 and October 2010.

T Kumar, the international advocacy director of Amnesty International USA, praised the Obama administration for paying greater attention on human rights in Pakistan but said: “Obviously, they can do more.”

Kumar expressed his fear that the Pakistani government may be using its cooperation with the US to cover up its crack downs in other parts of the country, in particular Balochistan. Focusing on human rights, Kumar said, would help lower anti-US sentiment in Pakistan.

“In the long run, you’re going to be the losers by keeping the population resentful,” Kumar said. “Instead you can send a message to the people who live in the area and are against terrorism that the US is not against civilians.”

Pakistan entered a complicated partnership with the United States after the September 11, 2001 attacks, with the US dependant on Pakistan for crucial access to Afghanistan and providing the country with various types of aid.

In diplomatic cables recently released by WikiLeaks, the US embassy in Islamabad said there was credible evidence of abuses by Pakistani forces but hoped to raise the matter quietly so as not to alienate the military.

ISLAMABAD: At least two people were killed and two others injured in a blast outside the police lines in Lakki Marwat on Friday.

The blast occured when policemen fired shots at a terrorist who was planting a bomb outside the police lines. The blast killed the terrorist and another man. The two injured in the blast have been shifted to Lakki marwat hospital.

Police lines Lakki Marwat have come under terrorist attacks in the past. In September, at least 19 people, including several policemen, were killed and several injured after a suicide bomber rammed his explosives-laden vehicle into a police station in the Lakki Marwat district.

Pakistan last week asked all foreigners, including US nationals, engaged in flood relief activities to leave the country by December 30 at the latest, official sources told The Express Tribune.

The government order will be applicable on all foreigners working in different parts of the country in their individual capacities, the source said.

All concerned persons have been told that their visas will not be extended after December 30, sources added.

Islamabad had sent letters to the Federal Investigation Agency’s (FIA) provincial officials to ensure that all foreigners, particularly US nationals, leave Pakistan within the stipulated time.

“Inform the FIA headquarters in case any of them try to prolong their stay under any pretext,” the letter directed the officials in the provinces. “They will have to leave Pakistan by December 30 as their jobs have been completed,” it added.

A senior official of the FIA, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) when contacted by The Express Tribune, confirmed having received the letter last weekend. He refused to explain the reason behind the federal government’s decision. “Yes we have received a letter to that effect,” he said, requesting anonymity.

Another source in the special branch of police, Peshawar, told The Express Tribune that a security concern may be the reason for the issue at hand.

Meanwhile, the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) chief has asked all foreign relief agencies involved in flood relief operations, including the UN aid workers, to discontinue their activities by January 30, 2011.

The NDMA chairman (retd) Lt Gen Nadeem Ahmed has sent letters to all foreign NGOs and relief agencies asking them to pack up by the said deadline. In a letter faxed to the UN humanitarian coordinator the NDMA chairman said, “The national disaster management authority highly appreciates the support by the entire humanitarian community, including the UN and their lead coordination agencies during the relief operation for one of the worst natural disasters ever faced by a nation.”

“Keeping in view the magnitude of the disaster, it would not have been possible for the Government of Pakistan to manage the situation so effectively on its own, without help from the humanitarian community in delivering relief.”

“Currently, nearly five months later, we feel satisfied to note that the situation is approaching a stable stage very fast.”

“The government had decided to conduct relief activities till the end of January 2011, hence the humanitarian community, UN agencies and concerned clusters are advised to shut down their relief operations in the affected areas by January 31, with the exception of some areas of Sindh and Balochistan where water is still standing and people are unable to return to their homes.”

Details of the areas in question will be intimated to all concerned sections by the end of December, the letter concluded.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 31^st, 2010.

Pakistan and Afghanistan appear to have stepped up efforts for peace-making with the Taliban, as the Afghan Peace Council formed to seek reconciliation with the insurgents is due to visit Islamabad next week.

The 70-member High Council for Peace representing a broad spectrum of Afghan society includes two former Presidents, Burhanudin Rabbani and Sibghatullah Mujadadi, tribal leaders, former members of the Taliban regime that ruled the country for six years, ex-members of insurgent group Hezbi Islami and eight women.

The council was formed in September this year by Afghan President Hamid Karzai as part of his efforts to seek a negotiated settlement for the nine-year-old war in Afghanistan.

This will be the first visit of the council to Pakistan, which is believed to have a vital role in bringing the Afghan Taliban to the negotiating table.

“We are looking forward to intensive discussions with the delegation and Prof Buhranuddin Rabbani,” said the Foreign Office Spokesman at his weekly briefing on Thursday. The delegation arrives in Islamabad on January 5.

Abdul Basit said that council members will have three-day deliberations with the Pakistani officials and other concerned people.

“Pakistan will continue to support and help in whatever way the Afghanistan government wants us to help. We are committed to supporting Afghanistan-led efforts towards reconciliation and reintegration. Pakistan will continue to engage actively in trilateral and quadrilateral processes involving Afghanistan, Iran, Turkey, US, Russia and Tajikistan,” he added.

The visit of the Afghan Peace Council is being seen as very significant, as the Karzai administration is expected to formally ask Pakistan to play its role in ending bloodshed in the war-torn country.

Pakistan has already extended support to a proposal that seeks a Taliban office in a neutral country in order to open talks with the insurgents led by Mullah Omar.

Experts are of the view that Islamabad still has considerable influence on the Afghan Taliban and any political settlement will be incomplete without its involvement.

Despite efforts by the Karzai administration, there is little progress on the ground yet. There have been indirect contacts but so far top Taliban leaders refrained from holding direct talks with the Karzai government.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 31^st, 2010.

The signed copy of the Afghanistan-Pakistan Transit Trade Agreement (APTTA) is under lock and key to avoid opposition to some provisions likely to be misinterpreted as being detrimental to the national interest.

“The government decided that the agreement would be kept confidential for which special instructions were issued by the commerce minister,” said an official requesting anonymity. Kabul was therefore selected as the venue for signing the APTTA on October 28, this year, The Express Tribune has learnt.

Both countries reached the understanding that Afghan trucks would be allowed to carry Indian goods to Afghanistan on their return from Wagah after delivering Afghan cargo, ostensibly the reason for keeping the agreement a secret.

Officials believe that this could be misinterpreted as being a veiled insertion which Pakistan would be obliged to honour in the near future. “It was also agreed that no Indian export to Afghanistan will be allowed through Wagah at this stage,’’ according to the APTTA. However, it was decided that ‘a feasible proposal in this regard could be discussed in the future’.

To make transportation economical, Afghan trucks will be allowed to carry goods from Pakistan to Afghanistan.

Another part of the agreement that forced the government to avoid making the document public was that no part of the accord refers to Kabul reciprocating the gesture by permitting Pakistan to export its goods to Central Asia via Afghanistan.

Pakistani goods make their way to Central Asia through Afghanistan without a formal agreement.

Pakistan and Afghanistan had finalised the agreement on July 19 in the presence of US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. The move invited a public outburst and critics said it was dictated by the US to benefit India.Various trade and transport bodies had also raised objections to the agreement, fearing competition from Afghan truckers.

According to the APTTA, Afghan trucks will be allowed to carry Afghan transit export cargo to Pakistani seaports and to the border at Wagah.

Sponsored by the United States, Presidents Asif Ali Zardari and Hamid Karzai signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on the Afghan transit trade in Washington on May 13 last year to allow India to use Pakistani soil for trade with Afghanistan.The two presidents were to seal the agreement before Dec 31, 2009, allowing Afghanistan-Pakistan-India to trade overland. But the question of allowing the land transit facility to India evoked a strong reaction in Pakistan resulting in the deadline being missed.

The federal cabinet in its meeting approved the APTTA in the first week of October. An announcement revealing certain clauses of the new agreement had specified that Afghan trucks will be allowed to carry goods to the Wagah border, but they will not be allowed to carry Indian goods to Afghanistan. In return, Pakistani trucks will be allowed to go through Afghanistan to Central Asia, Iran and Turkey.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 31^st, 2010.

WASHINGTON: Pakistan has decided to contest a lawsuit filed in a US court against the chief of the country’s top spy agency for its alleged involvement in the November 2008 Mumbai attacks.

The New York court recently summoned ISI chief Lt-Gen Ahmed Shuja Pasha, his predecessor Lt-Gen (retd) Nadeem Taj and other officials in connection with the attacks.The court has also summoned Hafiz Saeed, the chief of banned Lashkar-e-Taiba and his operational commander Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi.

The 26-page lawsuit was filed in the court in November by some relatives of victims and survivors of the Mumbai attacks.

The lawsuit accused the ISI of aiding and abetting the LeT in the killing of 166 people. “The ISI has long nurtured and used international terrorist groups, including the LeT, to accomplish its goals and has provided material support to the LeT and other international terrorist groups.”

However, Pakistan denies the charges. Officials see this as propaganda to malign the country’s intelligence outfit. “The government of Pakistan and the Pakistan embassy in Washington shall defend the legal suit on behalf of the ISI and its directors general fully and properly,” said a statement issued by the Foreign Office.

It added that Prime Minister Gilani has already said “We do not believe the ISI, as an agency of the Government of Pakistan, or its present and former officials could be subjected to civil litigation in the courts of the United States and we intend to take appropriate steps to obtain dismissal of this action.”

There is a concept of state immunity under which a state or any of its organs cannot be persecuted in the US, said Ahmer Bilal Sufi, a well-known international law expert. “The government can defend its case by referring to the State Immunity Act of the US,” he argued.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 31^st, 2010.

BRUSSELS: The government has started a headhunt for a new chairman of Pakistan Agriculture Research Council (Parc) who will take over from incumbent Dr Zafar Altaf whose fate hangs on the success or failure to complete his current research assignment within the given deadline.

A search committee has already been constituted for the purpose of selecting the new chairman. The committee comprises Dr Nadeem-ul-Haque, Deputy Chairman of Planning Commission, Muhammad Ismail Qureshi, Rector NSPP, Salman Siddique, former Secretary Finance and Junaid Iqbal Chaudhry, Secretary Food & Agriculture with Dr Haque as it chairman.

Advertisements will soon be placed in the international media to shortlist a panel of suitable names for the job.

The President in his letter to the Prime minister on the subject has also directed that Dr Zafar Altaf be placed on notice and be asked to submit a written timeline for development and sowing of hybrid varieties of cotton, and sugarcane within seven days with clear understanding that he will be held accountable.

President Asif Ali Zardari is said to have taken a decision on the issue after attending a briefing by the committee constituted for performance review of Agricultural Research Council on December 13, this year.

The President has also proposed that Pakistan Central Cotton Committee be reorganised and reinforced by the ministry of food & agriculture and relocated in cotton growing area and chartered to undertake development of hybrid seeds.

Earlier, Dr Altaf was accused by the National Assembly’s standing committee on food and agriculture of making illegal appointments in the Council.

The panel in October, 2010 had alleged that Dr Altaf had made 1,000 appointments in PARC in violation of rules and regulation.

He was also charged with nepotism and favouritism in the process of recruitments.

There were media reports that he appointed 300 sons and nephews of high-ups as consultants and honorary consultants in a top scientific institution of the country and has even confirmed 122 of them as permanent employees.

These consultants were offered salaries from Rs20,000 to Rs150,000 and were assigned jobs for which many trained and experienced regular employees were already present.

He is also being accused of appointing 95 consultants besides making 125 other appointments in Parc during his tenure whereas all the projects initiated by him have miserably failed, according to the National Assembly record.

Dr Altaf was appointed for a two-year term in August 2008, which expired four months ago on August 12.

He has strongly rejected all the allegations pertaining to the illegal appointments on political recommendations and said that whatever he did was in the greater interest of the country.

“My crime has been not appointing unqualified persons recommended by you know who and for that I have been accused of all these misdemeanours which I did not commit,” he maintained.

When asked about his performance report which was presented to the president he said it was more of an “inquisition” report and claimed that the real work of research has been done by a scientist whom he had brought from Khyber-Pukhtunkhwa and who he further claimed has not been paid anything by the Parc.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 31^st, 2010.

ISLAMABAD: Incriminating evidence implicating the chief of the Pakistan chapter of Transparency International will be produced before the Supreme Court on January 9, the next date of hearing of the multi-billion-rupee NICL scam.

Transparency International Pakistan Chairman Syed Adil Gilani is facing serious charges of harassing government institutions and their heads, compelling them to sign memorandums of understanding (MoUs) and maneuvering to become head of departmental committees tasked with awarding lucrative contracts.

The evidence was said to have been gathered by the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA).

The Supreme Court would also be handed over a handwritten statement of Ayaz Khan Niazi, former chairman of the NICL in which he has alleged that Adil Gilani committed perjury and gave wrong facts to teach the corporation “a lesson”.

FIA’s initial report revealed that government institutions which signed memoranda with Adil Gilani in the recent past had done so out of fear of being dragged to court.

In NICL case, its chairman and directors landed in jail after Adil Jilani wrote a letter to the chief justice of the apex court, urging him to take action against the organisation for alleged misdeeds.

FIA is also said to have gotten hold of a new memorandum which the TI signed with the Pakistan State Life Insurance after the NIC fiasco.

According to Niazi’s statement, officials of the NICL felt that they were being blackmailed and had to pay the price for refusing to sign an MoU with Transparency International, Pakistan chapter.

On Thursday, Adil Gilani told The Express Tribune that the corruption watchdog’s board of trustees had directed its lawyer to ask the FIA to provide them copies of the Niazi’s statement.

The statement is co-signed by all directors on the NICL board, including Qamar Zaman Chaudhry.

Adil Gilani said the TI would only then be in a position to comment if it is also provided minutes of the board’s meetings in which land or property acquisition is mentioned.

Referring to an 803-kanal land deal, Niazi said that when it was being approved, Adil Gilani sent Amin Dada to his house with a message that he (Ayaz Niazi) should sign an MoU with the TI for the award of tenders so that the TI could help NICL decide who and how to award such contracts.

Gilani, he said, also urged him to cancel the land deal and retender it. Niazi said that Gilani promised him that he would award it to the “same party if NICL board wished so, and that too at the same price, but “the entire process should be carried out all over again” under his (Gilani’s) supervision.

Niazi said he was astonished at Adil Gilani’s audacity. The offer, he said, also included that once NICL would engage TI officially by signing an MoU with the approval of board of directors, Gilani would withdraw previous allegations on all other property purchases and would give them a clean bill of health.

Niazi wrote that later Amin Dada shared this offer with NICL board members. NICL secretary Athar Naqvi was also present in that board meeting.

However, board members refused to accept the offer.

Niazi wrote that TI had signed similar contracts with PSO and PIA and he (Niazi) believed that these firms’ managing directors had cancelled the MoUs with Gilani after a few months “after realising Mr Gilani’s (real) motives”.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 31^st, 2010.

The Express Media Group has strongly refuted a media campaign being run by daily Dawn in its pages over the past year. A statement by the Group issued on Thursday stated that daily Dawn has been running biased and misleading stories about the affairs of the McDonald’s chain in Pakistan for the past year in the guise of “public interest journalism.” Express Group and McDonald’s are sister companies. “25 articles have appeared in a space of one year. Each story is riddled with gross inaccuracies, fabricated information, twisted facts and original fiction. This ‘reporting’ can only be described as malicious and malafide,” said the statement by the Express Media Group, of which The Express Tribune is a part.

Hence, it is now incumbent upon the Express Group to speak out against what can only be described as a witch-hunt. “It is unclear what interest such malicious stories serve Dawn group – but it is of particular interest that the disinformation is being spread deliberately while the matter is before the honourable Supreme Court of Pakistan. Despite McDonald’s having followed every instruction of the Court in letter and spirit, Dawn has continued to claim to the contrary,” adds the statement.

The misreporting against McDonald’s began with an article published on January 3, 2010 under the heading “50 years of Islamabad: failures over shadow achievements.” The article states that the “Establishment of Jinnah Convention Centre and McDonald’s in F9 Park were some of the violations of the master plan”. No violation had occurred, but Dawn passed its judgment.

More baseless allegations followed. The title of the article (in italics), date of publication, allegation levelled (in italics) and the on-ground facts are summarised as follows:

1. “City bosses scramble after SC hard talk”, dated May 14, 2010, “The meeting also took notice of the disappearance of record regarding approval of establishment of the McDonald’s outlet in the Fatima Jinnah Park” – No files / documents regarding the approvals of the project were missing. This false story was planted to create doubts regarding the transparency of approvals.

2. “McDonalds told to fold up”, dated June 9, 2010, “The CDA has leased 6,000 square yards of the park land to Messrs SIZA Food, a franchise of the McDonald’s for 20 years at the rate of Rs317,000 per month.” The article fails to mention that the rent approved was Rs317,250 or five percent, which ever was higher. CDA till the closure of the restaurant was getting approximately Rs900,000 per month (280% higher than the amount
mentioned in the article.)

3. “McDonald’s is outside park, say CDA bosses”, dated June 15, 2010.

“According to a senior official of CDA, SIZA Foods has been paying to the authority Rs0.8 million per month under the lease agreement and has so far earned over Rs570 million since 2006” – daily Dawn crossed all limits of misreporting in its attempt to discredit McDonald’s. – The amount of Rs570 million is sales revenue. This amount is from the sales of burgers, french fries, cokes, ice cream, etc – this is not the income made by McDonalds as reported. Dawn was juggling the numbers to portray that McDonald’s was raking it in while paying CDA only Rs800,000 per month.

4. “CDA to lease McDonalds land again” dated August 28, 2010, “The area under the use of McDonald’s is 6,000 square yards – 1.2 acres covered area and 5.62 acres open space.” The fact is that McDonald’s has covered only 8,800 square feet (980 square yards) out of the leased land area of 6,000 square yards (1.2 acres). This is only 16.33 % of the leased land. The remaining area of 5.26 acres of land was developed by McDonald’s (as part of the lease agreement) as a park for the general use of the citizens of Islamabad at a cost of Rs13,976,315. There is no levy of any fees, and the park is maintained by McDonald’s and not an inch of this area is in the use of McDonald’s. The annual cost of such maintenance is Rs1,020,000.

5. “McDonald’s to make a comeback” dated 29 December 2010. “The city managers on Tuesday paved the way for McDonald’s management to make a comeback in Fatima Jinnah Park by disqualifying two main contestants from the bidding held to again lease out land of the closed fast food chain, sources told Dawn.”  Dawn now takes a shot at the reputation of the city managers, insinuating that they are working with McDonald’s to disqualify other main contestants. The fact is that CDA invited Request for Qualification from National and International fast food outlets on Tuesday, August 31, 2010 with the deadline of submission of application as September 15, 2010. This was extended till September 30, 2010. Only three bidders responded, all international food franchises. To encourage more contestants, another Expression of Interest for pre-qualification of local and international food chains was published on Friday, October 29, 2010 with the deadline for receipt of applications as November 23, 2010. The same three and two more applied. These additional two were local companies. Three were qualified – McDonald’s, Dominos and Hanif Rajput. As per rules of prequalification, Rahat Bakery did not qualify as it is only a bakery and Hardees did not qualify as they had less then three years of experience. No rule of prequalification was changed or altered an any manner to disqualify. A totally open and transparent bidding process was followed and after a tough contest of bids, McDonald’s came out as the highest bidder. Daily Dawn is now making its last ditch effort to derail the entire process of transparent bidding.

In the same article it is stated that “Experts say if compared with the price paid by builders of Centaurus, the land of McDonald’s should have been auctioned for over Rs1 Billion.” The fact is that daily Dawn in its articles has continuously written about the Centaurus project of Islamabad and keeps comparing it with the McDonald’s restaurant in F9 Park. In at least foure different articles they have continued to make convoluted comparisons between the value of the space McDonald’s has and the value of the space Centaurus has. To set the record straight, it is important to let everyone know the true figures.

Centaurus is an approximately two million square feet project, consisting of two residential towers of 22 stories each, one office tower of 22 stories, one seven star hotel of 30 stories and a five storey, 550,000 square feet mall. They own the land which is approximately 6.59 acres. Compared to this McDonald’s covered area of the restaurant is approximately 8,800 square feet and all of it on the ground floor and while Centaurus holds the land in perpetuity, McDonald’s is a tenant.

No other newspaper has covered this issue in the libelous and slanderous manner that daily Dawn has and that is of great concern, the statement adds. These malicious reports have been continuously ignored by the management of McDonald’s – giving daily Dawn the benefit of doubt – but it is now seems this gratuitous campaign, which goes against all tenets of journalism, has no end in sight.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 31^st, 2010.

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan might float a fresh tender for a multi-billion-dollar Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) import project as the petroleum ministry has tabled two proposals for the Economic Coordination Committee’s (ECC) consideration. In another proposal Ogra has indicated that prices of petroleum products may be increased from January 1.

“The petroleum and natural resources ministry has sent a new summary to the ECC, proposing that the tender should either be floated again or the contract awarded to [a company named] 4Gas,” the ministry’s federal secretary Imtiaz Kazi said on Thursday. Kazi said that the entire process of retendering and awarding the contract to a new party will take at most six months and could help save money, as new discoveries in the US have brought down LNG prices in the international market. However, he said, nothing could be said about this with surety just yet.

He said that should the ECC cancel the project, it will not have adverse consequences for Pakistan as the government had taken certain measures to avoid a legal battle.

Earlier this year, under the Mashal LNG import project, Pakistan awarded the contract to GDF-Suez for importing  3.5 million tons of LNG per annum (500 million cubic feet of gas per day) which could  generate 2,500 megawatts of electricity per day. For setting up the terminal, the contract was awarded to 4Gas. However, following media reports that the government had lost $1 billion due to awarding the contract to GDF-Suez, the Supreme Court (SC) directed the government to revisit its decision and bundle together the two projects (supply and building the terminal).

The petroleum ministry has now sent a summary for awarding the contract to the same party as earlier, taking the plea that the SC did not ask for retendering. However, the law ministry opined that instead of awarding the contract to the same party, the petroleum ministry should retender it. This difference of opinion has led to a tug of war between the two ministries.

Kazi also indicated that prices of petroleum products may be increased from January 1, due to a hike in oil prices. This increase, he said, will have to be passed on to consumers as “one has to keep a realistic link with the international market”.

According to the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (Ogra), petroleum product prices have increased from three to nine per cent in the international market. Petrol prices have increased by 9.2 per cent, kerosene oil by 5.4, high-speed diesel by 5.8, furnace oil by 3.1 and Arab light crude oil by 6.6 per cent.

Ogra has proposed a minimum of six to eight per cent surge in the prices of petroleum products. The government, however, is in a fix whether or not to pass on the increase or absorb it – as it did last month by taking a hit of Rs1.5 billion.

“The government earns Rs250 billion in revenue from petroleum products. The decision of not passing on the increase will not only affect revenue but also result in additional burden on the budget in the form of subsidies,” Kazi said.

He said that to meet the soaring energy needs, the government was working on a four-tiered strategy. It was also working on exploiting domestic oil and gas reserves and the work on the 7.6-billion-dollar Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India (TAPI) gas import project was in full swing. He also said that India was still an active partner in the 1.2-billion-dollar Iran-Pakistan-India (IPI) gas pipeline project.

He also said that there was significant progress on import projects as the private sector had also come forward to import LNG. However, the import by private sector is subject to sovereign guarantees. He said that Independent Power Producers (IPPs) in Punjab have sought permission for LNG import and want to use the government’s gas supply system.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 31^st, 2010.

ISLAMABAD: Chief of his own faction of the Pakistan Muslim League, Nawaz Sharif, has said that his party wants democracy in the country and will not support a “corrupt government” for this purpose.

In a veiled reference to the Muttahida Qaumi Movement, Sharif said that some people were supporting the government and still sitting on treasury benches despite rampant corruption in government departments.

Addressing PML-N workers in Lahore on Thursday, Sharif said corruption in government departments was a crucial issue; people were being appointed on important posts in violation of court rulings.

Referring to political instability in the country, Sharif said the country could not afford another martial law. “I will not become a part of any ‘puppet show’,” he added, however. “We have buried dirty politics forever.”

Quashing the impression that his party was indirectly supporting the PPP-led government, Sharif said that the PML-N only wanted continuity of democracy.

He warned that problems would multiply if those who violated the constitution in the past were not held accountable. “Pakistan was not created for the rule of the establishment,” he added.

The PML-N chief also blamed the government for ignoring the volatile situation in Balochistan. “We have not learnt a lesson from the East Pakistan debacle as the same mistakes are being repeated in Balochistan,” Sharif told the gathering organised in connection with the 104th foundation day of the Muslim League.

The former prime minister proposed that a committee of national politicians and senior parliamentarians be formed to review all issues facing the province and recommend solutions.

Sharif strongly criticised the government for giving former military ruler Pervez Musharraf a respectable exit from power.  “It’s a bad precedent that the person who held the constitution in abeyance, attacked the Lal Masjid, killed innocent people and imprisoned judges was given a guard of honour,” Sharif said. “He should have been tried for his serious crimes.”

The PML-N chief said President Asif Zardari had backed out from three written agreements with the PML-N, compelling his party to quit the coalition.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 31^st, 2010.

ISLAMABAD: President Asif Ali Zardari is now personally leading the talks with the MQM in what appears to be a last-ditch effort to bring the Muttahida back into the fold of the ruling coalition as Rehman Malik – thus far the party’s chief mediator – had failed to achieve a breakthrough and left the city for Islamabad, sources say.

According to these sources Sindh Home Minister Zulfiqar Mirza would perhaps be the first casualty of any patch-up finally agreed upon between the PPP and the MQM.

“Mirza knows a bit too much about the MQM and he’s a threat to them,” the sources remarked. Sources within the PPP are extremely critical of the role played by the federal interior minister and claim that because of his lack of negotiating skills, the party might be forced to make a new round of concessions to the MQM.

“He’s been repeatedly trying to pacify the MQM, but he just doesn’t know how to troubleshoot a problem. His achievements as a mediator are zero. He’s the main reason why no breakthrough could be achieved and now the president himself is directly supervising the MQM  issue,” a senior PPP leader said.

The PPP leaders say the party needs the MQM for stability in Sindh and this is not just to ensure majority in parliament. “If it was only a numbers game, an arrangement could have been made with some other parties,” the source said, adding that the PPP “wants to resolve everything with the MQM”.

Sources within the MQM also acknowledge that no breakthrough has so far been made in talks with the PPP. Although Sindh Governor Dr Ishratul Ibad did not meet any PPP leaders on Thursday, an MQM source said some meetings with them are expected on Friday.

Meanwhile, President Zardari telephoned Nawaz Sharif on Thursday night and discussed the domestic political situation, with particular reference to the ongoing war of words between the PML-N and the MQM.

Presidential spokesperson Farhatullah Babar said the two leaders stressed the need for strengthening democracy in the country. But sources said that Wednesday’s bad-mouthing between second tier leadership of the two parties also featured in their talks.

Zardari is reported to have urged Sharif to cool down tempers, besides stressing on the importance of the MQM as a coalition partner for the PPP.

Also on Thursday night, President Zardari called senior members of the Sindh cabinet and other PPP leaders to discuss the prevailing situation in the province and matters pertaining to the coalition partners.

The meeting was also attended by the chief minister, Senior Minister Pir Mazharul Haq, Home Minister Zulfiqar Mirza, Local Bodies Minister Agha Siraj Durrani and Law Minister Ayaz Soomro.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 31^st, 2010.

ISLAMABAD: A fresh probe has uncovered the role of nine men, including an army brigadier, in the December 27, 2007 assassination of former prime minister Benazir Bhutto. The assassination plot was hatched in the official residence of the army brigadier mentioned in the investigation report.

The findings of the probe, conducted under the interior ministry’s supervision, have deliberately been kept under wraps — even from the ruling Pakistan Peoples Party’s leading lights. The report is in the possession of Interior Minister Rehman Malik and has only been seen by President Asif Ali Zardari in its entirety.

Earlier this week, President Zardari temporarily shelved plans to share the contents of the inquiry report. The president was keen to first take the army leadership into confidence before ordering the arrest of certain uniformed personnel over their alleged involvement in Benazir’s assassination.

Five of the nine co-conspirators are still alive, according to the inquiry report. They were the ones who hired the killers and gave them shelter and logistical support. The five men will now be formally charged-sheeted and put on trial. The remaining four men, including those sent to kill Benazir, are already dead.

Both logistical support and rehearsals for the murder were arranged by uniformed persons, who were part of the plot. Militant groups, which  were working closely with the nine plotters, provided the manpower.

It has also been confirmed to The Express Tribune that the joint investigation team had traced two new mobile phone sims that were used to communicate on the day Benazir was assassinated.

Sources said that the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) had drawn up a tough questionnaire for General Pervez Musharraf on the basis of investigations conducted by the joint investigation team. The questions were framed once the role of the nine plotters became clear and the inquiry team managed to lay its hands on the main accused who was part of the plot to eliminate Benazir.

Sources said that Zardari was still undecided on how to handle the more explosive contents of the inquiry report. They claimed that President Zardari had deliberately withheld presentation of the inquiry report before the PPP central executive committee in Naudero.

Although Zardari had agreed in principle to make the report public, he wanted to give it some more thought. The president and his party leaders are keen to fight off the somewhat popular impression that they are disinterested in tracking down Benazir’s killers.

At one stage, President Zardari had made up his mind to unveil the inquiry report on Benazir’s third death anniversary, sources said. But he changed his mind at the eleventh hour and told the interior minister to drop the idea for the time being. The absence of Bilawal Bhutto from the CEC meeting was only used as a pretext to delay the presentation of the report. The president did not want the present army leadership to be caught off guard when the names of certain uniformed persons feature in the report.

For their part, the military leadership signalled their willingness to cooperate with the civilian government and put any accused military officer on trial, sources said. Even when a cabinet inquiry team led by Rauf Chaudhry was constituted, the military leadership had backed the initiative to an extent that the director general of Military Intelligence, Nadeem Ejaz, was made available to a three-member inquiry committee.

Sources said that the committee chairman was even told by the top military authorities that a serving lieutenant general would be available round the clock for as many days as they need for questioning, till they reached any conclusion about his innocence or guilt.

The interior minister refused to comment on the inquiry report on the pretext that the matter was in a court of law. When asked whether he intended to share the findings of the probe with the PPP’s CEC members, the minister said he would definitely place the inquiry report before his party’s elders.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 31^st, 2010.

LAKKI MARWAT: Minister for Labour and Religious Affairs Syed Khursheed Shah has urged political parties not to use religion as a “tool to play politics”.  He was addressing a press conference in Karachi.

Earlier in the day, Federal Minister for Information Sumsam Bukhari has said no PPP parliamentarian has endorsed the statement of Punjab Governor that blasphemy law was a black law. He has also claimed that no proposal is under consideration to amend or repeal the blasphemy law.

While speaking at a press conference in Islamabad, he said certain parties are exploiting the emotions of people in the name of Prophet (PBUH) which are highly uncalled for. He advised Aasia Bibi, a Christian woman who has been sentenced to death by a court on charges of blasphemy, to approach the higher court to prove her innocence in the case.

Although the government has already announced that it has no plan to amend the controversial blasphemy law, the JUI-F and other religious parties are still carrying out street agitation, citing a government conspiracy to repeal the blasphemy law.

Speaking at a news conference in Islamabad, JUI-F leader Maulana Abdul Ghafoor Haideri said his party is not satisfied with the statements given by the ministers.

He says such a statement should come from the prime minister or the president. The JUI-F leader also insists that the President can not pardon Aasia.

The JUI-F has announced a nationwide shutter-down strike on Friday and most business centres in major cities of Pakistan will remain closed.