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ISLAMABAD: The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly unanimously passed a resolution that bars women from being sold, or married without consent.

The resolution was tabled by JUI-F member Zarqa Bibi during the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa assembly’s session on Thursday.

The resolution stated that an illegal network was operating in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, selling  young girls to other provinces in the name of marriage. It also stated that girls are sold to people who use them as dancers.

The resolution was adopted unanimously by the KP Assembly.

KP Information Minister Mian Iftikhar Hussain assured the assembly that any person involved in such acts will be dealt with an iron hand.

He also assured the house that the government will soon introduce legislation to stop such nefarious practices.

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) chief Nawaz Sharif and Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) chief Altaf Hussain on Thursday asked their respective party leaders not to issue personal statements against each other.

After the recent verbal warfare between the two parties, the PML-N chief asked his party workers not to lose patience over the statements issued by the MQM.

According to a declaration issued from the MQM international secretariat, Altaf Hussain also asked the MQM coordination committee, senators, parliamentarians and other party members not to express anger in response to the statements issued by the PML-N leaders.

Updated from print edition (below)

Verbal skullduggery: Temperatures rise as MQM, PML-N trade charges

Verbal sparring between the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) and the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) descended to historic lows of ugliness on Wednesday when leaders of the two rival parties dragged out skeleton after skeleton from their family cupboards while trading charges of corruption and poking fun at each other’s foibles.

By the end of Wednesday’s skirmish – the third consecutive and most virulent day of political jousting – it was virtually impossible to separate the personal insults from the political invective. While one leader accused their rival of being alcoholic, the other retorted with jeers about donning a toupee and getting a hair transplant.

In tit-for-tat attacks outside parliament, the second tier leaders of the two parties mounted scathing attacks on the personal lives and family relationships of Nawaz Sharif and Altaf Hussain. The focus of the PML-N diatribe was the self-imposed exile of MQM chief Altaf Hussain and his allegedly troubled family life. Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan, the leader of the opposition in the National Assembly and a prominent member of the PML-N, fired the first salvo, threatening to reveal what the former spouse of Altaf Hussain had deposed in a British court while seeking a divorce from him. He claimed that the MQM leader owned property worth billions and was often found in a woozy state. Chaudhry Nisar openly ridiculed Altaf for offering to challenge Sharif to a public debate on national issues. “We know he (Altaf) is not conscious most of time when he speaks…he is not somebody we should take seriously,” he said when asked to comment on Hussain’s challenge to Nawaz. “But for a debate with us Altaf will have to return to the country and I’m sure he cannot,” said Chaudhry Nisar in a mocking tone.

He then made allusions to Altaf’s troubled marital life and his mental condition. “During the debate we can produce a certificate from a London rehabilitation centre where Altaf was treated for a mental disorder,” Chaudhry Nisar added.

The MQM did not hold back any venom either. Its federal lawmakers Haider Abbas Rizvi and Waseem Akhtar were even more vicious as they thundered that they knew “whose daughter had run away with whom” and charged that “dance parties” were held in Lahore “in every house” and “prostitution was widespread”.

The two MQM parliamentarians did not spare the daughters of the Sharif family and resorted to crude and ‘uncivilised’ language to castigate their party’s rivals. “We know whose daughters have been flirting with whom…and we are also aware of what was recovered from Nawaz Sharif’s bedroom after a military coup in 1999,” one of them said.

Currently, the MQM is in a three-way tussle with major political parties. It has taken on the ANP in Karachi, it is engaged in a political row with the PPP and is busy in a vicious verbal battle with the PML-N.

The MQM wants the ruling PPP to restore the old local body system, opposes the restoration of commisionariate system and does not want the introduction of RGST. It has already withdrawn its members from the federal cabinet and has threatened to sit on the opposition benches if its demands are not met.

Meanwhile, Muttahida Qaumi Movement chief Altaf Hussain, has directed members of the MQM Rabita Committee as well as all office-bearers and members of the provincial and national assemblies to refrain from giving any statements or reacting to the “personal attacks” made by PML-N leaders.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 30^th, 2010.

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Railways became the first federal ministry to have its annual budget rewritten by Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani and his cabinet within six months of its budget’s approval.

After dragging its feet, the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) government finally gave in to the demands of senior railways officials and agreed to pay Rs8.1 billion to repair the locomotives and coaches, which were burnt in Karachi and Sukkur divisions in the aftermath of former premier Benazir Bhutto’s assassination in 2007.

The demand was put across in the cabinet meeting on Wednesday. The officials also revealed that the Pakistan Railways had lost Rs10 billion since July 2010. They had also brought a new financial bailout package of Rs11.2 billion to the meeting and a demand to revise their annual estimated budget from Rs50 billion to Rs61.2.

The officials, giving a breakdown of the Rs11.2 billion bailout plan, said that Rs6.1 billion were required to rehabilitate locomotives, Rs2 billion each for deferred maintenance of tracks and coaches and Rs1 billion to create strategic oil reserves.

According to sources, Prime Minister Gilani only paid “lip-service” to the SOS calls sounded by the railways ministry and to their demand that Rs11 billion must be released immediately to avoid closure of more sections across Pakistan.

After a long presentation to cabinet members on the performance of railways, Gilani was said to have expressed empathy with the officials but told them to sit down with the finance minister and his team and convince them to raise their annual budget.

The railways ministry is the first federal government institution to have presented its revised annual budget before the cabinet. According to a copy of the briefing given to the cabinet, which is available with The Express Tribune, the cabinet members were told that all estimates from six months ago had turned out to be inaccurate as the ministry now required billions of rupees to run its operations. Further, when the budget was approved, the railways ministry was to receive a subsidy of Rs21.9 billion but it actually received Rs43.5 billion in government subsidies.

Cabinet members were told that when budget estimates were drawn up, railways was expected to generate revenue of Rs28.2 billion. The total budget was estimated at Rs50 billion, including a government subsidy of Rs21.9 billion. However, within six months, the railways had to revise its revenue estimate to Rs18 billion.

The officials said that the reason for the financial collapse was a constantly declining revenue stream, which was caused by several factors. A failure to secure supply of spare parts for Chinese locomotives was cited as one of them. Also, officials said, railways did not get the 75 new Chinese locomotives and tariff was not increased. They said that railways was yet to receive the amount to repair locomotives that were burnt in 2007 and the closure of three routes — Peshawar to Nowshera, Kot Addu to Multan and Shikarpur to Quetta — due to floods caused further revenue shortfall.

Gilani said that the restructuring plans of Pakistan Railways, Pakistan Steel Mills and Pakistan Electric Power Company (Pepco) should be presented in the next cabinet meeting. Gilani said that the plans for Pakistan International Airlines and the National Highway Authority be presented in the subsequent meeting.

(With additional input from APP)

Published in The Express Tribune, December 30^th, 2010.

ISLAMABAD: Backchannel negotiations between the estranged coalition partners – the MQM and the PPP – continued on Wednesday but no breakthrough appeared to be in sight, sources said.

On a day when a full-frontal clash between the MQM and PML-N appeared to overshadow coalition worries, talks between the allies were quietly carried on at a senior level.

Federal Interior Minister Rehman Malik held a two-hour long one-on-one meeting with Sindh Governor Dr Ishratul Ibad in the evening. The key sticking points between the two parties figured in the discussions and a final proposal was crafted before it is presented to President Asif Ali Zardari.

Immediately after the meeting, Rehman Malik went to the Chief Minister House where he met Qaim Ali Shah and Federal Labour Minister Khursheed Ali Shah.

President Zardari had appointed Malik and the chief minister to sort out the issues with the MQM. However, Khursheed has also now joined in the mission to make peace with the party.

Malik informed the two about the irritants that remained after his discussions with Governor Ibad, and the trio devised a strategy to deal with the situation. The three are expected to brief the president about the progress made so far, over the next 24 hours.

Presidential spokesperson Farhatullah Babar denied that President Zardari met Governor Ibad for the second time in as many days late in the night. “It seems that the television channel representatives attended the meeting without my being part of it,” he quipped, adding that if there was to be a meeting, it was not expected tonight. Television reports insisted that a meeting took place at the Bilawal House late on Wednesday night with Zardari, Ibad, Qaim Ali Shah and Malik in attendance. A source from the MQM, however, confirmed to The Express Tribune that Governor Ibad was summoned to the Bilawal House late in the night.

President Zardari even made a phone call to MQM chief Altaf Hussain late at night, in which he reiterated his message of reconciliation.

MQM’s deputy parliamentary leader Haider Abbas Rizvi said it was not true that the party had lost its focus on its issues with the PPP in the face of the escalating feud with the PML-N.

“Contacts are being made with us from the PPP and we are responding to them,” he said, adding that if the grievances of the party were addressed, the coalition would stay intact. Rizvi said it was important to keep the ball rolling. However, he added that no breakthrough had been achieved thus far.

Meanwhile, Rabita Committee member Wasay Jalil added that MQM chief Altaf Hussain has given instructions to all his party followers to stop giving any statement against the PML-N. Jalil said that no one from their party from now on would be issuing any kind of statement against the PML-N.

Jalil, added that opposition leader in the National Assembly Chaudhry Nisar Ahmed Khan had alleged that Engineer Tariq Mehmood, who was federal minister in the MQM government in 1990 was killed by the party, which is untrue.

“Mehmood is still alive and we will soon be holding a press conference at his house, proving that no one from the MQM ever harmed him or his family,” he said.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 30^th, 2010.

KARACHI: President Asif Ali Zardari Wednesday assured Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) will not let Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) quit the coalition and keep respecting the parties’ mandates.

He was addressing provincial ministers and members of the Sindh assembly in a meeting held in Bilawal House. Earlier the president was briefed about three year’s performance of Sindh government.

He said local body’s elections would be held in 2011 and PPP would get clear majority in the elections. He reiterated that the reconciliatory policy will be enhanced and reservations of annoyed parties will be addressed including the MQM. He added that PPP will respect the mandate of the MQM in local bodies’ elections.

During the course of his address, the president said the Sindh Government will present a bill related to restoration of Commissionerate System after taking all allies including the MQM on board.

President Zardari further said that all coalition partners will be consulted in all key decision making. He directed members of the provincial assembly to pay more time in their constituencies to resolve public issues and to arrange seat adjustments with coalition partners for local bodies’ elections.

He said that PPP came into power bearing huge public mandate and caring for their mandate we will continue serving the nation.

President criticised on the performance of provincial ministers and said that he himself would monitor their progress from now and ministers showing unsatisfactory progress will be replaced.

After the meeting, advisor to CM Sindh Sharmila Farooqi said that the president directed PPP members to collectively work with coalition partners and stressed provincial ministers and members’ assembly to take interest in resolving public issues. She said that the president urged Sindh government to provide more employment opportunities.

KARACHI: Federal Minister for Labour and Manpower and Religious Affairs Syed Khurshid Shah says the government is not considering repealing or amending the Blasphemy Law.

Speaking on a point of order in the National Assembly, Shah said it is the responsibility of the government to protect the law. Shah also assured minorities that they will not be discriminated in any sense and the government will also do its best to eliminate the misuse of this law.

Also speaking on a point of order, JUI-F member Maulana Ataur Rehman demanded that the Governor Punjab be removed by the government for declaring Blasphemy Law a black law.

He also demanded the government dissolve the committee formed to purpose amendments to the law.

Addressing a Tahaffuz Namoos-e-Risalat Convention at Aiwan-i-Iqbal, SIC chairman Sahibzada Fazle Karim, a member of the National Assembly, demanded that the government clearly deny rumours that it planned to amend the blasphemy laws.

The SIC, a coalition of eight Sunni parties, had organised Monday’s convention apparently in a bid to build some momentum against the moves to amend the blasphemy laws and ensure there is no presidential pardon for Aasia Bibi.

It was attended by about 2,000 associates of the participating parties who regularly chanted slogans against blasphemers and also demanded action against those they accused of sympathising with Aasia Bibi.

KARACHI: Leaders in Pakistan’s main ruling party appeared confident Wednesday of reaching a deal to prevent their main coalition partner from quitting the cabinet and joining the opposition.

“One should not waste time when there are problems among friends. We are in contact with MQM and things will return to normal pretty soon,” Information Minister and PPP lawmaker Qamar Zaman Kaira told reporters.

He conceded that there had been a “delay” in addressing its partner’s political concerns, which he attributed to Monday’s third anniversary of the assassination of former PPP prime minister Benazir Bhutto. “But we will sit together and address their reservations,” said Kaira.

“The government wants to be in good terms with all its allies in line with its policy to bring on board all political forces to face the enormous challenges facing the country.”

In a move that sent tremors through Pakistan’s fractious world of politics the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) said it was leaving the federal cabinet. Farooq Sattar, minister for overseas Pakistanis, and ports and shipping minister Babar Ghauri sent letters of resignation to the presidency, but stopped short of quitting the government and joining the opposition.

MQM has been at odds with the PPP over political violence in Karachi, tax reforms demanded by the International Monetary Fund, corruption and inflation.

With the PPP’s coalition numbering 185 seats in the 342-member national assembly, just 13 more than the 172 required for a majority, any withdrawal of MQM’s 25 lawmakers could bring down the government.

Just two weeks ago, the country’s most prominent religious party walked out of the government, costing the coalition the support of seven lawmakers. Zardari held overnight crisis talks with Interior Minister Rehman Malik and close ally Qaim Ali Shah, chief minister of southern Sindh province, and by Wednesday PPP leaders appeared confident that a deal could be cut.

One prominent PPP member told AFP, on condition of anonymity, that Malik and Shah were in contact with MQM and that the PPP was “confident that MQM will remain in government with more influence and share in the coalition.” MQM spokesman Wasay Jaleel denied contacts but left open the door to a deal.

“Our doors are open for dialogue. We want to settle the problems amicably. We are not stubborn,” he told AFP. Neither did the party back a call from the country’s most prominent Islamic politician, who took Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam Fazl (JUI-F) out of government on December 14, for Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani to resign.

“Our demands relate to the government’s action to end increasing corruption and inflation. We don’t demand the removal of the prime minister,” Jaleel said.

KARACHI: The legal counsel of former City Police Officer (CPO) Rawalpindi Saud Aziz, Waheed Anjum, claimed that his client is being victimized by his portrayal as the killer of Benazir Bhutto as the allegations against him are yet to be proven.

Aziz’s lawyer, while addressing a press conference in Rawalpindi on Wednesday, said that the allegations leveled against the former CPO were baseless. He said that both the accused were public servants and did not have links with any political factions.

The lawyer said that while two other police officers were not being made a part of the investigation by the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA), a media trial of his client and Superintendent Police (SP) Khurram Shahzad was being held.

He asked why a probe was not being launched to trace Ms Bhutto’s mobile phone and why only his client was being held responsible while the likes of Ashfaq Anwar, the police official responsible for overseeing Ms Bhutto’s security, had been allowed to go on a three year leave out of the country.

Anjum reiterated Saud Aziz’s claims of innocence saying that his client had not ordered Ashfaq Anwar to leave Ms Bhutto’s procession.

The lawyer, quoting from the joint investigation team’s (JIT) report showed that the security advisors of Benazir Bhutto had been warned against her coming out of her vehicle’s roof-top and were assured that it would not happen again. He further said that the crime scene was washed only after the collection of evidence, adding that the order for not having an autopsy of the body was given by her husband, President Asif Ali Zardari, and not his client.

Court denies physical remand of police officers

An Anti Terrorism Court (ATC) in Rawalpindi on Wednesday refused to extend the physical remand of former CPO Saud Aziz and Superintendent Police (SP) Khurram Shahzad in the Benazir Bhutto murder case.

FIA officials had requested that the court extend the physical remand of Aziz and Shahzad for nine more days. The ATC turned down the request and sent the accused to jail on a judicial remand, the court has also ordered the FIA to present the two accused in court on January 12.

KARACHI: Intelligence reports from the Pak-Afghan border state that rival militant organisations in the region have joined hands to regain losses after attacks from allied forces in Afghanistan, said a New York Times report on Wednesday.

According to the report, evidence recovered from dead militants after recent clashes showed that they belonged to three different factions. The militants belonged to the Afghan Taliban, Haqqani network and fighters from Hekmatyar group.

United States (US) officials believe that the new alliances are a result of militants feeling the pressure after operations by the US and allied forces on one side of the border, and Pakistan army operations and drone strikes on the other side of the border.

American and Nato officials say that there is also evidence of “loose” cooperation between the Lashkar-e-Taiba and the Tehrik-i-Taliban.

“This is actually a syndicate of related and associated militant groups and networks,” said one American officer, summarising the emerging view of Pakistani officials. “Trying to parse them, as if they have firewalls in between them, is really kind of silly. They cooperate with each other. They franchise work with each other.”

The alliances are not controlled by central leaders but work along the lines of relationships that are made when attacks are mounted on Afghan, Pakistani or allied interests. The groups give safe passage to rivals and share recruits when responding to allied actions.

The report also reveals that a large number of militants are expected to remain in Afghanistan during the winter season and return to fight in Pakistan during spring.

KARACHI: Militants in Landikotal attacked two NATO supply trucks early Wednesday, killing a driver and wounding two other people, officials said.

Half a dozen militants armed with assault rifles launched the attack in Landikotal, in Khyber district.

“The militants started firing from the hilltop. A driver of one truck was killed on the spot, while his helper and another driver of another truck were injured,” local administrative official Iqbal Khatak told AFP.

Officials said the militants fled after the attack, and confirmed that the trucks were carrying goods for NATO troops in Afghanistan.

Pakistan shut its northwestern border crossing to NATO supply vehicles on September 30 for 11 days after a cross-border NATO helicopter assault killed two Pakistani soldiers.

The bulk of supplies and equipment required by foreign troops in Afghanistan is shipped through Pakistan, although US troops increasingly use alternative routes through central Asia.

KARACHI: The chances of resumption of the stalled peace process between Pakistan and India appear to be fading away because of the persisting deadlock over the trial of Mumbai attacks suspects.

“India now seems to be backtracking on its earlier commitment to allow a Pakistan judicial commission to verify statements of investigation officers who recorded the confession of Mumbai attacks’ lone-surviving gunman Ajmal Kasab,” officials said.

They added that the verification of Indian prosecutors’ statements was a legal requirement to expedite the trial
of seven suspects held in Pakistan in connection with the Mumbai attacks.

The suspects include the alleged mastermind of the attack on India’s financial capital, Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi and a Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) operative named Zarar Shah.

The court indicted the seven men on the eve of the first anniversary of the attack, which ended a fragile peace process between the two countries.

But Pakistan officials have since implied that the trials cannot proceed until its judicial commission is allowed to verify statements of Indian prosecutors and doctors.

New Delhi agreed, in principle, to accept Islamabad’s request. The Indian government had now made a counter proposal, seeking access to suspects being tried in the anti-terrorism court of Rawalpindi, officials said.

Officials argue the government could only entertain India’s request if the suspects volunteered themselves to be questioned by the Indians.

“According to information, the suspects have refused to record their statements and provide voice samples to the Indian commission,” a government official told The Express Tribune.

Foreign Office spokesperson, Abdul Basit, confirmed that New Delhi had officially conveyed to Islamabad on December 25 that it wanted to send a commission to Pakistan to quiz Lakhvi and others like Zarar Shah, Abu al Qama, Hamad Amin and Shahid Jamal Riaz. All are currently lodged in the high-security Adiala Jail near Rawalpindi.

“The Indian request will be dealt with according to Pakistan’s law,” said Abdul Basit. Another official said the latest Indian move was nothing more than a ploy to delay accepting Pakistan’s request. “We fear that everything will fall apart on this issue,” he cautioned.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 29^th, 2010.

KARACHI: The politicians in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa allegedly misused Watan Cards to oblige their political supporters, The Express Tribune has learnt.

However, the provincial government denies any wrongdoing in the distribution process.

According to reliable sources, a large number of Watan Cards have been distributed among supporters of federal and provincial ministers and legislators during over the last three months.

In retrospect, the federal and provincial governments had pooled Rs5 billion to offer financial help to more than 282,000 flood survivors in the impoverished province. The money was transferred to the United Bank Limited (UBL) selected by a federal government authority in mid September.

But flood survivors claim that most of the Watan Card recipients were not affected by the deluge and that they were obliged by lawmakers and ministers, both federal and provincial. Opposition legislators also endorse this claim. They allege that Watan Cards worth Rs2 billion have been misused during the last three months.

The Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) claims to have distributed Rs3.7 billion worth of Watan Cards to 190,000 flood survivors, thus far. And another 92,000 are yet to be issued the coveted cards. The statistics don’t include hundreds of families who did not apply for financial help to save them the “humiliation” of shuttling between government offices.

Flood survivors allege that several ministers and lawmakers have used Watan Cards for political purposes, allegedly to strengthen their vote-bank. They allege that thousands of supporters of Pervaiz Khattak, a provincial minister, have been issued Watan Cards in Nowshera district alone, which is his constituency.

PDMA chief Shakil Qadir, finding himself helpless, wrote a letter to the provincial government calling for ensuring transparency in distribution.

A top provincial bureaucrat seeks to play down the issue. “The situation isn’t as alarming as you think,” Chief Secretary Ghulam Dastagir said.

Asked about Qadir’s letter, he sought to shift the responsibility, saying the survey of the flood victims was supervised by the PDMA chief. He rejected the claims that Watan Cards were issued on political grounds. “Your information is not based on facts,” Dastagir said.

District coordination officers were tasked to finalise lists of flood survivors who qualified for Watan Cards. But the unceremonious removal of DCO Nowshera Ali Anan Qamar by the chief minister on a complaint of Minister Khattak caused panic among his peers elsewhere in flood-hit districts.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 29^th, 2010.

KARACHI: Federal investigators have tightened the noose around Transparency International Pakistan chairman Adil Gilani after they gathered credible information that he was secretly in touch with absconding National Insurance Company Ltd board member Qasim Amin Dada.

Gilani has been summoned to appear before the inquiry officer in Lahore before January 10 after a series of contradictions were found in the statement he had earlier submitted to the agency.

Earlier Zafar Ahmad Qureshi, director of the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) in Lahore, reprimanded Gilani for claiming some credit for the recovery of Rs1.6 billion from the main accused in the multi-billion rupee NICL scam.

Disputing the claim in a written response, Qureshi said the recovery was only made possible through Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry and his backing for the investigators.

Gilani confirmed in a written statement to the FIA Lahore that Amin Dada and NICL finance director Zahoor had visited the TI-Pakistan office and had held a meeting with them. But he did not say why Dada had visited the office and what sort of discussions had taken place between them. NICL chairman Ayaz Khan Niazi and three board members in their statements to the FIA had alleged that after this meeting, Dada had brought an offer from Gilani to sign an MoU in exchange for a clean bill from him on their past deals.

Gilani drew more suspicion in the minds of the investigators when he used classified information – privy only to Dada – in his response to a set of questions, 22 in all, posed by the FIA director. After going over his responses, the FIA authorities came to the conclusion that Gilani was secretly in touch with the absconding NICL board member.

When Gilani told the FIA that Dada had quit the NICL board, the agency wanted to know how he knew this since neither its ex-chairman nor the commerce ministry were aware of that.

Subsequently the FIA bosses informed him that they were under the impression that he did not want to assist the investigation. Gilani has been told that he was being summoned in the light of statements of ex-chairman Ayaz Khan Niazi and three members of the board who had accused Dada of carrying an offer from TI.

Gilani was reminded that he had himself confirmed in an earlier statement that he did not know any NICL board members, including Niazi and had never met them or visited the NICL offices.  Yet, the FIA officials pointed out, Gilani had admitted that Amin Dada and Zahoor had visited TI Pakistan and met him.

The FIA asked him that in the statement he had written that Dada had submitted his contentions to the FIA in which he did not state that TI Pakistan had asked him to get an MoU signed with the NICL. The agency wanted to know how he knew about what Dada had dispatched to the FIA when the man was still at large. “Are you still in touch with him?” the agency officials asked Gilani.

He has also been asked to explain one of his interviews with an English newspaper in which he had claimed that since the matter of a 803-kanal plot of land bought by NICL was in the Supreme Court, how could he have given the NICL a clean bill since it was already taken up by the apex court.

Investigation : More questions for Transparency chief

The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) has sent a second set of questionnaire to Chairman Transparency International (TI), Pakistan chapter, Syed Adil Gilani in the Rs5.9 billion National Insurance Company Limited (NICL) scam, The Express Tribune has learnt.

FIA Punjab Director Zafar Ahmad Qureshi has sent the second questionnaire to the TI Pakistan chief by post requesting an answer to the 18 questions at the earliest.

The FIA would like him to answer some new questions that have come up during the course of the investigation and further clarifications to clear up some ambiguities for the investigation team.

The FIA decided to include Gilani in the investigation after former NICL chairman, Ayyaz Niazi, implicated him in his confessional statement.

Three NICL board members have corroborated Niazi’s statement that their absconding colleague, Amin Qasim Dada, had offered to mediate on behalf of TI.

Subsequently, Director FIA contacted Adil Gilani for his side of the story. At Gilan’si refusal to travel to Lahore, the FIA sent him a list of 22 questions.

The counsel for the TI chief, Rana Asadullah Advocate has confirmed they were formulating replies for the second set of questions.

“As Gilani had pointed out the monetary misappropriation in NICL deals, the FIA should not harass his client while investigating the matter,” he said while talking to The Express Tribune.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 29^th, 2010.

KARACHI: Pakistan’s Ambassador to Saudi Arabia Umar Khan Alisherzai has denied a report in The Express Tribune on December 25 captioned “Saudi Prince withdraws complaint” alleging that “the letter sent by the Saudi Prince to the Supreme Court of Pakistan was sent at the instigation of Pakistan’s Ambassador in Saudi Arabia”.

Terming the report as “false and malicious”, the ambassador said he was directed by the ministry of foreign affairs to confirm the authenticity of Prince Bandar bin Khalid bin Abdul Aziz’s letter as desired by the Supreme Court of Pakistan.

The ambassador said he had contacted the prince accordingly who confirmed the authenticity of the letter, says a press release received from Jeddah on Tuesday. The ambassador denied any personal involvement saying “how could an ambassador instigate a Saudi prince to write a letter to the chief justice of the Supreme Court.”

Ambassador Alisherzai said that the report appears to have been concocted at the behest of the vested interests’ group, who are involved in the Hajj scam. The ambassador also denied any involvement in the hiring process and added that it was carried out by the DG Hajj. He once again showed his sincerity and readiness to appear before any court at any time to help the judiciary in this respect.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 29^th, 2010.

LAHORE: NICL scam beneficiary, Abdul Malik, carried out monetary transactions in the names of unsuspecting individuals to skim Rs320 million and deflect suspicion from himself.

The At-Tahur manager opened various bank accounts by appropriating the identities of individuals who in the normal course of their lifetime cannot aspire to such fortune.

He submitted their copies of CNICs and operated the accounts in their name, The Express Tribune has learnt.

The manager at Moonis Elahi’s firm is being interrogated by the FIA after being granted four days’ physical remand by the Court of Judicial Magistrate on Tuesday.

The FIA has registered a fresh case against Abdul Malik, manager at At-Tahur Pvt Ltd, with the police for operating fake bank account and withdrawing huge sums of money.

FIA investigators have so far not been able to determine whether the money was spent by Malik or transferred to any other account.

The amount transferred by Privilege Farms Pvt Ltd in these accounts, Mohsin Warraich‘s account and the amount embezzled in the National Insurance Company Limited (NICL) land scam amounts to Rs2.75 billion.

The FIA also summoned Adil in whose name one of the accounts was operated. Currently a cardboard factory worker, he denied opening the bank account.

FIA has traced another fake account operated by Malik. The total amount withdrawn exceeded Rs350 million, sources said. The FIA has requested the court to ensure the recovery of the embezzled amount from Malik.

The post-arrest bail of former state minister for defence production, Major retired Habiullah Warraich, arrested in the NICL scam has been adjourned by the Lahore High Court till January 3, 2011 since the notice from the government’s attorney had not been received.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 29^th, 2010.

KARACHI: A lawmaker from the ruling PPP has pointed a finger at the country’s security establishment for the assassination of Benazir Bhutto as the government promised it will make public an investigation report into the high-profile murder.

“Those who prepared mujahideen for the sake of American dollars and then nurtured another generation of terrorists for more dollars are behind her (Bhutto) murder,” said MNA Nadeem Afzal Gondal in the National Assembly.

Though the statement carried a not-so-veiled reference to the country’s top spy agency, Gondal preferred not to name an individual or institution.

He also said that as the head of a parliamentary committee that probed the murder of a Baloch youth, he found out that a serving colonel of the Pakistan Army killed the youth. “The killers of Benazir Bhutto are the same,” he said.

Another PPP lawmaker, Nawab Yousaf Talpur said the government would present a report into Benazir’s murder to the party’s Central Executive Committee (CEC). That will also be made public, he added.

Earlier, several members from the opposition asked the government to explain why it had failed to punish Benazir’s murderers despite being in power for almost three years.

Drone strikes

The ruling PPP appeared to be backing calls from the opposition for a review of the national anti-terror policy that envisages putting an end to drone strikes inside the tribal regions.

PPP Information Secretary Fauzia Wahab said the government supported demands for holding a debate in parliament on Pakistan’s role in the global war on terror but rejected a call to convene an all parties’ conference for this purpose.

“The debate should be here (in parliament) … it is the most appropriate forum for that,” Fauzia told the house after opposition MPs said that the government must overhaul what they called a flawed security and foreign policy.

But Fauzia urged the parliamentarians to also debate rising trends of militancy and extremism in the country and suggest a way out.

Muttahida Qaumi Move­ment’s (MQM) Wasim Akhtar demanded an all parties’ conference to also discuss what he called rising corruption in the government departments.

Disfiguring women’s face

Women lawmakers from across the house voiced support for enhancing punishment for those involved in throwing acid on women’s faces or disfiguring parts of their bodies.

But a bill on domestic violence that PPP’s Justice (retd) Fakhrunnisa wanted the house to pass was deferred till next week to incorporate suggestions from other members in an attempt to make it comprehensive.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 29^th, 2010.

KARACHI: “You will go to heaven before any of us, if you blow up yourself the way I tell you,” Meena Gul recounted the persuasive promise of her brother, a Taliban commander.

The twelve-year-old girl was apprehended by security personnel from the Munda area on the boundary of Dir district and Bajaur Agency in January.

Meena Gul managed to escape from the clutches of the Taliban in Charmang when militants’ hideouts were reduced to ashes in the bombardment. Her story, distressful in itself, was overshadowed by an ominous revelation of a women’s wing of the Taliban across the border to carry out suicide attacks.

“My sister-in-law, Zainab, was responsible for their training. She escorted eight  women from our village to Afghanistan,” Gul told The Express Tribune. Zainab battled Pakistani forces dressed as a man.

“My younger sister blew herself up in a suicide attack in Afghanistan. I, however, managed to escape. I was too scared,” Gul confessed.

A police officer burst into laughter on that cold winter morning at the DPO’s office in Lower Dir at the incredible disclosure. “Has the child lost her mind?” He exclaimed. “She cannot be taken seriously,” added another.

Gul’s words proved to be true when a burqa-clad suicide bomber detonated explosives, killing some 47 people and injuring over a hundred, 11 months later.

Meena Gul was a resident of Afghanistan. At the time, the police record showed her family had travelled across the country, residing in Karachi, Lahore and refugee camps in Peshawar.

The last suicide attack by a woman was in December 2007; she blew up herself at a checkpoint in the heart of Peshawar. It was also the first. The woman in her thirties, enveloped in a burqa, was the only casualty.

She was also identified by the authorities as an Afghan. But at the time they insisted she was more of a carrier than a bomber.

“The perpetrators of the Bajaur bombing were from Afghanistan,” said Corps Commander Peshawar, Asif Yasin Malik, on his visit to Bajaur Agency.

He condoled with the tribesmen, promising them that those involved in the massacre of innocent people will be brought to justice.

“People in the tribal belt are being influenced from across the border,” he stated.

The TTP has always acknowledged their women’s wing. They have been mentioned in the FM broadcasts of Maulvi Faqir Muhammad in Bajaur and the absconding chief of the TTP chapter in Swat, Maulana Fazlullah.

Enforcing greater gender equality in security checks implies stepping on a minefield of cultural constraints.

Searching women is considered taboo in Pakistan’s more conservative Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and Fata.

If women are seated in a vehicle, it is typically not checked by security personnel.

The threat of terrorism is so pervasive that the centuries-old tradition of automatically excluding women from being suspect in crimes against humanity may have to be revised.

“Like all other cultural values distorted by the ongoing war, it is the sanctity of women that is now at stake,” concludes Sabir Shah, a resident of Peshawar.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 29^th, 2010.

KARACHI: Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) chief Altaf Hussain has challenged Pakistan Muslim League – Nawaz (PML-N) leader Nawaz Sharif for a public debate.

He condemned Sharif for criticising his party in a public meeting in Muzaffarabad. Referring to Sharif’s allegations that the MQM was somehow involved in the May 12, 2007 violence in Karachi, Hussain said he was ready to respond to the charges in a public debate with the PML-N chief.

As the MQM supremo threw down the gauntlet, the Nawaz League quickly accepted the challenge, with its senior leader Khawaja Asif saying that his party was ready for public debate with the MQM in Lahore, Karachi or anywhere.

Addressing a large gathering of MQM workers at Nine-Zero  by telephone from London on Monday night, Hussain also spoke about his party’s straining relations with the PPP. He said the future of the ruling coalition in the centre and in Sindh rests on the government’s attitude.

“If the government does not improve its attitude, we will sit on the opposition benches,” Hussain told a large gathering of MQM workers at Nine-Zero, the party’s headquarters, and Hyderabad Zonal Office by telephone from London.

He challenged PPP leaders who insisted that they did not need the MQM, saying: “Adopt a resolution in this regard and we will quit the Sindh government immediately. We still want the PPP government to complete its five-year tenure and the continuation of the democratic process. If the government changes its approach … the MQM will continue to support it. The MQM cannot be intimidated into accepting the government’s actions.”

In his address, lasting over an hour-and-a-half hours, Hussain cited the reasons for quitting the government, particularly the PPP’s attitude, breach of promises and inappropriate behaviour of certain PPP leaders.

“Over the past three years, the MQM supported the government through thick and thin and co-operated with President Zardari in every way possible.”

He said the president had assured him several times about addressing MQM’s complaints, but “nothing happened”.

“Despite repeated breach of promises by government we have only decided to leave the federal government (posts) but we have not yet decided about sitting on opposition benches. Our future course of action will depend on the government’s attitude.”

Addressing Zardari, he said: “We … have taken this decision with a heavy heart … I passionately appeal to change your attitude and ways. You will have MQM’s support if you start serving the country and its people. The (wrong kind of) attitude of highhandedness will not work with the MQM. The ball is now in PPP’s court. Everything now depends upon them.”

Zardari and Sindh Governor Ishratul Ibad met late at night to try and resolve differences and save the coalition.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 29^th, 2010.