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The terrorists sneaked into Pakistan Navy’s airbase PNS Mehran on May 22, destroying two P3-C Orion surveillance aircraft and holding off military commandos for 15 hours before they were killed in a final predawn assault the next morning. At least 10 security personnel were killed in the attack.

According to a preliminary investigation report tabled before the National Assembly Standing Committee on Defence on Wednesday, some navy officials were in custody for questioning over their possible links with the attackers.

Senior officials briefed the committee about the investigations into the PNS Mehran attack – one of the most potent terrorist attacks on the country’s security installations.

The briefing was confidential, but some participants speaking on the condition of anonymity confirmed that the navy officials admitted that  the terrorists received help from people working at the airbase.

The report indicates that some people had conducted reconnaissance of the base before the attack. It also points out that closed-circuit TV cameras installed at the base were not working, making it easier for the attackers to slip through.

However, navy officials would not comment on the report. Briefing reporters after the meeting, Dr Azhra Fazal Pechuhu, head of the defence committee, said that the naval authorities had completed their internal investigations into the PNS Mehran attack.

“According to investigations, four terrorists were involved in the attack,” she said, adding that the mastermind would be brought to book after the completion of the probe.

She said the investigators were now looking into the external aspects of the probe where they would also try to ascertain if there was any foreign hand involved.

The May 22 attack on the well-guarded base raised questions about the ability of the security forces to protect their key installations from terrorist raids. And security analysts said it wasn’t possible for terrorists to launch such an attack without inside help.

Despite the briefing, committee members from the PML-N expressed dissatisfaction over the findings of the report. “What we have been told is nothing new as lots of information has already appeared in the media,” said an opposition member, who requested not to be named.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 30^th, 2011.

Releasing a report titled ‘Balochistan: Blinkered Slide into Chaos’ at a press conference, the HRCP painted an alarming picture of the situation in the restive province, warning that it could get even worse if immediate steps were not taken.

The report accused the security forces of being behind enforced disappearances in the province, and said that the bodies of 140 missing persons had been found, while 71 people were still missing in the province since July 2010 to May this year

“The Balochistan government seems non-existent…

They have surrendered their authority to security forces and they (forces) are calling the shots,” said HRCP Chairperson Zohra Yusuf at the press conference, which was also addressed by HRCP Secretary-General IA Rehman, President Supreme Court Bar Association and former chairperson of HRCP Asma Jehangir, Council member Hina Jillani and Saleema Hashmi.

The report says that 18 people were murdered in target killings, while five innocent citizens became victims of sectarian killings during 2011 in Balochistan.

The mission observed that there were credible allegations of the involvement of security forces, particularly the Frontier Constabulary (FC), in the cases of enforced disappearances. “There was material on record to substantiate claims of the families that the victims were disappeared by the FC or had been killed while in custody,” says the report.

The mission learnt that agents of the state as well as the insurgents and extremists operating in the province share a common disregard for rights of the citizens. “The insurgents have murdered ‘settlers’ in target killings with impunity, while the extremists have treated the members of religious minorities as fair game,” the commission further observed.

“Enforced disappearances continue to be reported from all parts of the province and little headway has been made in ensuring the release of a large number of missing persons from unacknowledged custody of security agencies,” Jahangir said while quoting the findings of the report.

The HRCP chairperson said that there was a sense of alienation among the people of Balochistan.  Yusuf added that there is a disturbing trend of bodies of missing persons being found with signs of torture.

Hina Jilani said that there was an imbalance between civil-military relations in the province, adding that there is no political space. “There is no mechanism of accountability of security forces and they do not interact with the public,” she said.

IA Rehman said that they should make it clear that the issue of Balochistan is not one of law and order, but a political issue.

The report says that the FIRs registered against personnel of security forces in enforced disappearances remained uninvestigated without exception and courts had failed to ensure compliance with their orders.

The fact-finding commission says that at least 78 organised gangs were reported to be involved in abduction for ransom in the province and there was a widespread perception that criminal gangs and individuals involved in heinous crime enjoyed support of politicians and security forces.

The commission observed that ‘Inquiry Commission on Enforced Disappearances’ set up to investigate the cases of the missing persons had been largely ineffective, leading to people’s frustration.

The fact-finding commission says that use of forces rather than political engagement remained the preferred approach in Balochistan and the promises made in the Balochistan Package remained little more than promises.

The commission has recommended that the illegal practice of enforced disappearances stop and all security forces in the province be brought under civilian control. It recommended that the powers of decision making and governance must be restored to civilian political authorities in the province.

A detained person must be promptly informed about the charges against him and in accordance with the constitutional guarantees, should be produced in court within 24 hours and his due process rights should be respected and facilitated, the commission said.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 30^th, 2011.

The full report can be read on the HRCP website here.

ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court was informed on Wednesday that two missing persons, Masood Janjua and Faisal Faraz, had in fact been killed by al Qaeda six years ago.

Additional Attorney General for Pakistan Karim Khan Agha told a three-member bench headed by Justice Javed Iqbal that the data gathered from laptops in possession of Masood Janjua and Faisal Faraz indicated the two men had links with al Qaeda. He said Janjua and Faraz had been killed some six years back and such was highlighted by the media as well.

Amna Masood Janjua, wife of Masood Janjua, and the chairperson of Defence of Human Rights, claimed that her husband and Faisal Faraz were alive and were in the custody of sensitive agencies.

She demanded that their graves of those which the defence claimed to be of Janjua and Faraz should be exhumed and DNA tests be carried out to determine their true identity.

Justice Javed Iqbal directed her to provide evidence to support her claim in his chamber.

The bench took up issue of chronic missing persons cases and expressed their dissatisfaction over delayed action against Frontier Constabulary personnel who had been identified by six of the missing persons’ families, for taking away their loved ones.

Asma Jehangir, president Supreme Court Bar Association and Counsel, apprised the bench that despite recommendations of Commission on Missing Persons, so far no action had been taken against the FC personnel.

The bench also directed the police to present a report on the case of MNA Fazal Rab Pirzada who had gone missing few years back at the next hearing.

The next hearing has been adjourned till next Wednesday.

NEW DELHI: Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh expressed hope that Pakistan will “leave Kashmir alone”, as it has its own share of internal problems to deal with, in an interview on Wednesday.

In a meeting with editors of a select five Indian newspapers on Wednesday, he claimed that Pakistan had not done much against terrorism and needs to do more.

Singh said India is not a big player in Pakistan – but whatever its role-engagement is a commitment to our shared geography.

Responding to a question about trade with Afghanistan through Pakistan – he said Pakistan is not ready, adding that Afghanistan is quite keen for trade with India – but they also have to reckon with Pakistan’s capacity to protect their enterprises since the situation on the ground is not that good.

On a question, regarding the Taliban, Singh said that the reconciliation talks should be Afghan-led and that one cannot carry the good-bad Taliban distinction much too far, adding that the Haqqani group on the other hand was a much more determined group-perhaps not in league with the Pakistani establishment, but expressed concern about it.

LAHORE: An inquiry committee has found a suspended Punjab University (PU) professor guilty of sexual harassment.

The inquiry commission formed by the Home Secretary found that professor Iftikhar Baloch had sexually harassed a student and an administrator.

Professor Iftikhar Baloch, the principal of PU’s College of Earth and Environment Sciences was suspended by the Vice Chancellor on charges of sexual harassment.

The Punjab University had dismissed the professor in April after a four-member inquiry commission found him guilty of sexually harassing a PhD student and an administrator.

This however did not sit well with the Governor who pressured the chancellor of Punjab University and issued an ultimatum to the Vice Chancellor to restore the post of the professor. However, since the Governor can no longer ‘advise’ the Vice Chancellor after the 18^th amendment, a second inquiry commission was formed by the Home Department of Punjab.

However, professor Baloch has denied the allegations.

KABUL: The expected Taliban summer surge seemed to have matured when six militants stormed the Intercontinental hotel late on Tuesday night. Further evidence to increased Taliban activity was discovered after Afghan security forces started discovering caches of weapons by the dozen over the past two weeks.

An ISAF release said that Afghan National Security Forces had been recovering caches in villages, thereby thwarting terrorist activity. “Taking weapons and communication equipment out of the hands of the enemy is one way to disrupt its network – and one many Afghan civilians are helping with,” said German Army Brig. Gen. Josef Blotz, International Security Forces Afghanistan spokesman, during a press conference held on June 27.

The release said that the Afghan and coalition forces had seized more than 100 weapons caches in the past two weeks which were used to carry out insurgent attacks. For example, one cache contained more than 35 rockets, 24 mortars and 22 rocket propelled grenades.

Tips from Afghan citizens have aided forces in finding the caches, which is a sign of their trust in ANSF and their local police forces – the Afghan Local Police (ALP), said Blotz.

The ALP forces are selected by their community to provide local defence against insurgents and are trained by the Afghan Ministry of Interior (MOI). They are legitimate, enrolled members of the MOI.

“They are not militia. They are vetted, trained, and enrolled by the MOI, and, where available, wear a distinctive brown uniform,” said Blotz.

Role of ALP highlighted

The ALP has been instrumental in protecting the local populace. Today, there are 41 validated sites with more than 6,500 members, said Blotz.

“Afghan National Security Forces grow stronger every day,” said Dominic Medley, NATO senior civilian representative’s spokesman. “The transition is on track. In 2014, Afghanistan’s security will rest with the ANSF and that’s exactly where it should be.”

“The ANSF are showing more and more resolve,” stated Blotz. “We salute them for their resilience and commitment to their country.”

Increased Taliban activity

Traditionally, the summer months see increased insurgent activity. This was witnessed in the rising number of cross border Taliban attacks into Pakistan from Afghanistan.

The recent jailbreak where Taliban were able to aid the escape of up to 500 of their comrades is believed to have bolstered Taliban ranks.

The Afghan security forces now face a stiff challenge of tackling with the Taliban in wake of the US troop drawdown announced by US President Obama a few days ago which will see up to 30,000 troops being withdrawn by the end of 2012 and more territories being handed over to the Afghan security forces.

ISLAMABAD: The Defence Ministry refused to submit the inquiry report into the Air Blue crash accident to the National Assembly’s (NA) Standing Committee on Human Rights, on Wednesday.

Ministry officials briefed the standing committee about the investigations’ progress and admitted that they have all facts and figures regarding the accident but are not authorized to forward information to the committee, citing some legal issues which will be resolved soon, after which the report will be forwarded to Prime Minister Syed Yusuf Raza Gilani and made public afterwards.

The NA Committee, however, expressed its reservations on the non- payment of compensation to the crash affectees and directed it to be paid within four months.

Meanwhile, earlier in the day, Defence Minister Ahmed Mukhtar had said that officials know the reason behind the Air Blue crash in 2010, but details could not be made public at this time.

Speaking during a press briefing, Mukhtar also said that some important details regarding the attack on the PNS Mehran base had been uncovered, but these too could not be made public at this time.

These details have however been shared with the national assembly standing committee on defence in private.

Relations with the US

The Defence Minister said that Pakistan is reviewing its relations with the US on the war on terror.

During a meeting of the national assembly standing committee on defence, Mukhtar said Pakistan is spending its own money in the war on terror as the coalition support funds are halted.

He further said that losses continue to mount for Pakistan, in human and financial terms.

The defence minister denied any knowledge of the whereabouts of Mullah Omar and said that after the Bin Laden raid, even if he were here, he would have fled Pakistan.

Pakistan was expecting $500 million (Rs43 billion) in the last tranche of the Coalition Support Fund (CSF), which was set up by the US Congress after the 9/11 attacks to reimburse allies for costs in supporting the US-led war on militancy. On April 25, Finance Minister Abdul Hafeez Shaikh had announced after a visit to the US that the Obama administration was “firmly committed” to releasing at least $500 to $600 million by June 30.

A finance ministry official said that the US Congress is yet to clear the transaction.

US bases in Pakistan

Mukhtar said that Pakistan told the United States to leave Shamsi air base reportedly used as a hub for covert CIA drone attacks.

“We have told them (US officials) to leave the air base,” national news agency APP quoted Mukhtar as telling a group of journalists in his office.

The air strip is 900 kilometres southwest of the capital Islamabad in Baluchistan province.

A US embassy spokeswoman told AFP there were no US military personnel at the Shamsi base.

CNN reported in April that US military personnel had left the base, said to be a key hub for American drone operations, in the fallout over public killings by a CIA contractor in Lahore and his subsequent detention.

Reports said operations at the base, which Washington has not publicly acknowledged, were conducted with tacit Pakistani military consent.

Mukhtar also denied the presence of American troops at Ghazi base in Tarbela, stating that it is being operated by Pakistan.

KARACHI: An Anti-terrorism Court (ATC) hearing the Rangers killing case on Wednesday charged six members of the paramilitary force with murder for the killing of Sarfaraz Shah, the unarmed youth who was shot in Karachi last month.

The hearing was presided over by Judge Bashir Ahmed Khoso in ATC-I. The judge read out the accusations levelled against the Rangers in the court.

He said that Shahid Zafar was the Rangers official who shot and injured Shah, after which the youth bled to death. The other Rangers officials who were present at the time of the incident were also present in court.

“The court has formally framed charges of murder and terrorism against all the accused,” public prosecutor Mohammad Khan Buriro told reporters.

Absar, the man who took Shah to the Rangers in the park where the incident took place, was also at the hearing.

The judge asked the six Rangers officials and Afsar whether they accepted the charges levelled against them.

The men denied the charges, and claimed that the incident was not a murder.

The judge thereby issued notices to all the witnesses to record their statements in court tomorrow.

The Rangers lawyers vowed that they would soon prove that the security officials are innocent.

19-year-old Sarfaraz Shah was shot in the Benazir Bhutto Shaheed Park on June 8. The incident was caught on videotape and broadcast on television channels nationwide.

Concluding his arguments, the president’s counsel Dr Babar Awan contended that he only wants to prove three points before the court. First, legal requirements were not fulfilled in Bhutto’s case, second, the judges were biased and finally, fundamental rights of citizens guaranteed in the Constitution were violated. The apex court awarded the wrong sentence to Bhutto which was a ratification of the high court’s decision. Presiding over an 11-member bench, Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhary asked Awan to present concrete arguments instead of just maligning the judges who had pronounced the verdict.

The court asked the counsel to point out instances of bias in the judgment. Awan said former chief justice Anwarul Haq gave benefit of doubt to the Lahore High Court, whereas in principle if there was an iota of doubt, it should have gone in favour of the convict. Maulvi Mushtaq had submitted an application to the police in which he had stated that Bhutto was to be held responsible in the event of his death, he added. Awan questioned how a judge who was a complainant against an under-trial prisoner could have been neutral. He said Justice Durab Patel, one of three dissenting judges, had said that there was no case against Bhutto.

The bench observed the case would be referred to a trial court for a review because the counsel has failed to present new evidence before the court. It is the trial court’s jurisdiction to review evidence. State approvers will also have to appear before the court. Awan said the government would like to restrict itself to the reference since the president has raised questions of law under Article 186 which authorises him to solicit the Supreme Court for its opinion on a case. He referred to cases in various countries where the judiciary, the parliament and the executive pardoned convicts after their execution. “The cases you are referring to were reopened on the basis of new evidence whereas that is not true in this instance,” remarked Justice Javed Iqbal. “It is not appropriate to seek ‘pardon’ for ZA Bhutto,” the chief justice observed. “Neither Bhutto nor his family had asked for pardon when he was on death row,” said Awan and clarified he was reading from the record.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 29^th, 2011.

QUETTA: A shutter-down strike was observed in various areas of Balochistan on Wednesday against a court decision to sentence Sardar Yar Muhammad Rind to life imprisonment.

Updated from print edition (below)

ATC hands MPA Yar Mohammad Rind, son life terms

The Quetta Anti-Terrorism Court (ATC) awarded life-imprisonment to Balochistan Assembly MPA and former Federal Minister Sardar Yar Mohammad Rind, his son Sardar Khan Rind and four other people for allegedly kidnapping a man and failing to appear before the court, on Tuesday in absentia.

A case was registered at Shoran police station in 2009 against Yar Mohammad Rind, who is also Chief of the Rind tribe, his son former district Nazim Sardar Khan Rind and his other accomplices Sabzal Khan, Mohammad Yusuf, Allah Dina, Wali Mohammad and Din Mohammad.

In the FIR they were accused of kidnapping a person Imamudin in 2009 from Sanni area.

The Challan of the case was submitted to ATC Quetta-II upon which the court issued notices to Yar Mohammad Rind and other accused, to appear before the court.  However, despite the frequent notices none of the accused turned up during the hearings.

The judge of ATC Quetta-II Aminuddin Bazai convicted the six accused on the charges of kidnapping a man, awarding life imprisonment and a fine of Rs 50,000, each, for ignoring court notices and deliberately not ensuring their presence in court during the hearings.

The verdict further said that in failing to deposit the fine, the accused will face a year imprisonment. One of the accused namely Din Mohammd was declared innocent by the court as no charges were proved against him.

WASHINGTON: A senior US military officer said Tuesday Pakistani leaders show no sign they are ready to crack down on Haqqani militants operating from sanctuaries near the Afghan border, despite repeated US requests.

The United States has long demanded Pakistan go after the Haqqani network in North Waziristan that has staged attacks on NATO-led forces in Afghanistan.

But top officers indicated they did not expect any improvement in Islamabad’s cooperation and that Pakistan lacked the will and the resources to move against Haqqani militants.

“Sir, I don’t think it is likely to change,” Vice Admiral William McRaven, who oversaw a raid last month by Navy SEALs that killed Osama bin Laden in his Pakistani hideout, told senators.

Referring to talks with Islamabad military leaders, McRaven said “it is both a capacity issue for the Pakistanis and I think potentially a willingness issue.”

McRaven, nominated by President Barack Obama to take over US special operations command, said the situation in northwest tribal areas “is difficult for them to deal with.”

Lieutenant General John Allen, named as the next commander in Afghanistan, suggested Pakistan was keeping its options open by allowing Haqqani fighters to operate within its borders.

“It’s a function probably of capacity. But it might also be a function of their hedging, whether they have determined that the United States is going to remain in Afghanistan, whether our strategy will be successful or not,” Allen told the Senate Armed Services Committee.

“At some point, as we have emphasized to the Pakistanis, we’ve got to bring pressure to bear on this insurgent safe haven,” he said.

Senator Carl Levin, after hearing the officers answer his questions on Pakistan, said Islamabad’s approach was unacceptable.

“Well, something’s got to give, something’s got to change,” Levin said.

His comments came amid calls from some lawmakers to scale back the billions in US aid for Pakistan due to the presence of extremist safe havens.

Another senator, Lindsey Graham, said it was time Pakistan track down the leader of the Afghan Taliban, Mullah Omar.

McRaven confirmed to Graham that the US military believed Omar was in Pakistan and had asked the country’s army to find him.

General Allen also confirmed, when asked by Graham, that roadside bombs used to assault US-led forces were being constructed in Pakistan and that the United States had provided Islamabad with information about the location of bomb-making sites.

PML-N activists in Nakyal (LA-9 Kotli II) were protesting the election’s result in that constituency when they clashed with supporters of the Muslim Conference, who were also protesting. Many political analysts feel that the Muslim Conference deliberately ran strong candidates in several constituencies to ensure that the PML-N lost the election after the latter abandoned its traditional support for the former and entered AJK electoral politics directly. As police tried to break up the fighting by firing gunshots in the air, the crowd turned its anger on the police, injuring 12 of them. PML-N officials claim that the police attacked a peaceful protest.

Meanwhile, the news agency INP reports that two people were killed and ten injured in Rawalakot in clashes between several political activists. PML-N and Muslim Conference supporters have been riled up at their party’s losses in the June 26 AJK elections and blame the winning PPP for rigging the election.

Yet these charges of rigging, even as they moved PML-N supporters to violence, did not appear to convince the party’s eponymous chief, Nawaz Sharif, who blamed his campaign managers for failing to win the party’s target of 17 seats out of the 41 elected positions on the AJK Assembly.

“The PML-N had set itself a target of winning 17 seats but it has barely broken out of single digits in terms of its number of wins, which upset the party leadership,” sources familiar with the discussions told The Express Tribune.

Sources said that the PML-N was particularly perturbed at winning only four of the eight seats representing the Kashmiri diaspora in Punjab, where the party is in office. Sharif is reported to have berated his party’s senior members for allowing the PPP to win two seats in Rawalpindi.

MNAs Khawaja Saad Rafique and Perveiz Malik along with Anosha Rehman were asked by Sharif to explain the PML-N’s losses, which they were reportedly unable to do after the party chief reacted angrily to their excuse that the PPP had rigged the election.

Nonetheless, the party has decided to contest the legitimacy of the AJK elections in court. The move follows a similar decision by the MQM to challenge the election’s fairness in the Supreme Court of Pakistan.

Meanwhile, sources said that the PML-N leadership appears to be formulating a strategy to establish ties with the MQM as the latter joins the opposition after quitting the treasury benches in protest over the AJK election.  It is unclear whether the PML-N will seek a formal alliance.

The PML-N appears to be gearing up for a political showdown with the PPP, as several members of the party’s leadership were told by Sharif to increase their outreach to the electorate over the next two months.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 29^th, 2011.

The report is spread over 100 pages, official sources said. The government has not made any report public so far and officials avoid commenting, saying it will be premature to say anything.

Five foreigners, including four Russians and a Tajik national, were shot dead by Frontier Corps (FC) and police personnel on May 17.

Balochistan Chief Minister Nawab Aslam Raisani had ordered that a tribunal be formed after conflicting and controversial statements emerged from police officials and witnesses. The tribunal recorded statements of 28 witnesses, including police, FC officials and private witnesses, in its month-long hearing.

Key witness, the driver who brought the victims from Kuchlak to Quetta, had retracted from his statement twice saying he was under threat from police officials.

Police Surgeon Dr Baqar Shah, who conducted the autopsies, had also refuted police claims.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 29^th, 2011.

Pakistan took this position at a Core Group Meeting with US special envoy Marc Grossman and Afghan Deputy Foreign Minister Javed Ludin in Kabul on Tuesday.

Foreign Secretary Salman Bashir explained during the meeting that the bombardment was not directed at Afghan civilians.

A similar meeting between the US, Afghan and Pakistan security officials also took place at the Army Headquarters in Peshawar the same day, highly placed sources told The Express Tribune.

The officials were to discuss cross border strikes by Afghan militants and Pakistan’s retaliation operations.

Shelling by Pakistan on Afghan militants during the week has so far claimed several civilian lives besides a large number of miscreants who crossed over to Pakistan to attack its security forces.

Ambassador Sadiq was summoned by the Afghan ministry of foreign affairs last week to receive a demarche over the shelling which, according to the Afghan media, led to the deaths of several civilians, forcing others to flee their houses in Kunar and adjoining areas.

The recent shelling on Afghan villages by Pakistan’s security forces was not an intentional act on the part of its forces, Sadiq told the Afghan foreign minister.

“Several hundred civilians and security personnel were killed by Afghan militants who crossed over into Dir and Bajaur during the last few weeks, Sadiq said, adding “the armed lashkars from across the border targeted Pakistan’s security forces six times during the last three months”.

US-Taliban contacts

Ambassador Sadiq confirmed that Washington was in contact with the Taliban for reconciliation. However, he said that at present there was no discussion between the US and Afghan Taliban on reconciliation and transition.

“Washington was in contact with former Taliban spokesman Syed Agha,” he said, adding that they had held three meetings in the past in Qatar, Kandahar and Germany.

Contact with Syed Agha was arranged by Germany which is pleading for a negotiated settlement of the Afghan crisis. “We have learnt that both sides have exchanged terms and conditions for the talks,” Sadiq explained.

Regarding reports of talks between the UK and the Afghan Taliban, Sadiq said there were no such negotiations between the two parties.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 29^th, 2011.

Wapda Chairman Shakeel Ahmed Durrani told the National Assembly standing committee on water and power on Tuesday that power outages could not be stopped till 2018 due to the imbalanced utilisation of power generation resources.

While the session was in progress an irate member of the committee from Okara – Sajjadul Hassan – strongly criticised the state-owned power generation companies for 22 hours a day blackouts in his district. “It is unacceptable,” Hassan said and threatened to set the office of Pakistan Electric Power Company (Pepco) on fire, if the situation did not improve. “The electricity demand could swell up to 130,000MW by 2030,” Durrani said. However, the government was committed to shifting power generation from thermal to hydel by 50 per cent to overcome the crippling crisis.

According to him, the Gilgit-Baltistan region has the capacity to generate 60,000 to 100,000MW electricity. Therefore, he said, this potential must be tapped to add more megawatts to the national grid.

Durrani said his authority has started work on Diamer-Bhasha Dam and that its ground breaking ceremony would be held next month in the presence of President Asif Zardari. Other than that, he said the overall power generation capacity would increase by 15 per cent after the upgradation of Mangla Dam. The Wapda chief said that per unit generation cost of thermal power was Rs10.18 per unit – 870 per cent higher than power generated through Hydel sources which costs Rs1.05 per unit.

When asked about the current status of the Neelam-Jhelum hydropower project, Durrani claimed a 16-kilometre-long tunnel of the project being built near Muzaffarabad had been constructed.

The Wapda chairman informed the committee that the overall power generation capacity was around 13,669MW against the demand of about 18,114MW, showing a shortfall of 4,445MW. He added that 600MW could be added to the national grid if the adequate furnace oil was made available to the companies. Currently, the power sector is receiving 20,000 tons of furnace oil per day against the demand of 28,000 tons.

“The power companies cannot pay off their oil bill to the suppliers due to circular debts,” he said and added that around 500MW shortfall could be overcome if the gas companies ensured proper supplies to the power generation companies. However, in a statement issued later in the evening, the ministry of water and power said the government has added about 3500MW to the system thus far, which helped bridge the supply and demand gap and reduces power cuts. It added that the statement was being wrongly projected that load-shedding will not end by 2018.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 29^th, 2011.

Speaker Aslam Bhootani presided over the session. The House adopted 50 demands of grants to the tune of Rs128.71 billion. Estimates for development expenditures in the next budget are Rs31.35 billion while Rs97.35 billion have been earmarked for development expenditures.

Balochistan Finance Minister Mir Asim Kurd presented 50 demands for grants in the House which were approved unanimously by lawmakers when the speaker put them up for vote one by one. However, the budget for the next financial year was approved within a span of 40 minutes.

The Balochistan government faces no criticism or difficulties while approving the budget for fiscal years 2011-12 as no opposition member turned up or brought any cut-motion. The Balochistan Assembly has one opposition leader, Yar Mohammad Rind, who did not attend the sessions except on the day he was sworn in.

Soon after the budget was approved, all the members got up and embraced the finance minister for what they considered to be a “good budget”.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 29^th, 2011.

Bhatti was gunned down by unknown persons in front of his residence in Islamabad in broad daylight on March 3, 2011.

The group had planned to kill Bhatti with the help of Asmatullah Mawaia, the self-proclaimed leader of the Punjabi Taliban, according to a six-page report by the Ministry of Interior, based on the findings of the Joint Investigation Team (JIT) probing Bhatti’s murder case.

“[The plan] was executed by elements of Tehreek-i-Islami, coupled with the disgruntled lot of ‘Ghazi Force’ stationed at Islamabad,” the JIT report stated. Efforts to identify other executors are ongoing, it added.

The JIT report continued to reveal that a man calling himself Shabbir Haidri informed MPA Chaudhry Tahir Naveed by telephone about the plan to kill Bhatti.

Terrorists Umarul-Bashar and Ameer Mawia of Faisalabad and Abu Saeed and Tahirul-Hassan of Islamabad had executed the plan, the report alleged.

They abided by the directions of terrorist Khilji of Ameer-i-Taliban, it added.

The JIT, through its findings, learnt that the actual name of Umarul-Bashar is Abid Malik and he lived in Nai Abadi, Faisalabad. Abu Saeed’s actual name is Qari Ziaur-Rehman, also from Faisalabad. According to the findings of the report, both terrorists fled to Dubai, from Karachi via Sri Lanka.

The JIT also discovered that the actual name of Shabbir Haidri is Nazar Muhammad, a resident of district Narowal, and had been temporarily residing in Akhtar Colony in Karachi.

Haidri was apprehended from Karachi and brought to Islamabad on April 24 for interrogation, which is still in progress.

The report also claimed that as soon as the culprits involved in this high-profile murder are traced, investigation will be concluded on merit.

State Minister for Minorities’ Affairs Akram Masih Gill on Monday demanded the formation of a judicial commission to investigate his predecessor Bhatti’s murder.

The demand was made at a time when the Islamabad police decided to close the case “for want of evidence”. SSP Islamabad Tahir Alam had informed parliamentarians that the JIT interrogated 519 suspects across four districts adjacent to the federal capital, but not a single lead has come about.

The JIT also questioned Mumtaz Qadri, the self-confessed assassin of former governor Punjab Salmaan Taseer, regarding Bhatti’s killing, as well as Tehreek-i-Islami activists, but to no avail, Alam said.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 29^th, 2011.

Appearing before the Banking Offences Court on Tuesday, the witnesses, Safdar, Hafiz Junaid and Mahroofur Rehman, employees of Allied Bank Limited, Multan Road branch, said that they had not recorded any statement under Section 161 of the Criminal Procedure Code to a FIA team. However, they said, FIA authorities had obtained their signatures on a few blank papers and bank records were handed over on February 5 as per the FIA’s demand. They also denied the FIA’s claims that they had met Moonis in person.

They denied that Moonis’ manager had opened any account and stated that the accounts in question were personally opened and operated by two individuals, namely Adil Manzoor and Khadim Rasul.

Summoning further prosecution witnesses, the court adjourned hearing to July 5.

According to the FIA, Moonis had opened bogus accounts in the name of his manager and his wife. Later, the FIA lodged two FIRs against Moonis, alleging that his manager opened forged accounts in Allied Bank Limited, New Airport branch, and Dubai Islamic Bank, Main Boulevard branch, in Lahore. Mohsin Warraich deposited a total of Rs320 million – Rs220 million in the first account and Rs100 million in the second account. The first FIR was registered on December 27, 2010, while the second was lodged on January 27, 2011.

The FIA alleged that the money was actually taken by Moonis. As per the FIA report, Malik had stated that he opened an account on Moonis’ instruction and Rs220 million were allegedly transferred to that account. Later, Malik also denied his statement.

Earlier, eight other witnesses had denied recording any statement to the FIA. At the last hearing, FIA investigation officer Basharat had said that Moonis was not included in the main FIR.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 29^th, 2011.

According to an official source, in the second phase the government will disburse at least Rs20,000 to help flood victims in the reconstruction process. “The promised amount is Rs40,000 which has been divided into phases consisting of Rs20,000 each,” he said.

He said that the National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA) will be the executing agency for disbursement of the amount.

The source said that international donors will transfer the amount in the first week of July into the federal government’s account. He said that the survey has been completed by provinces and particulars of affected people have been sent to the centre.

He also said that a third party, designated by international donors, has verified the survey to ensure transparency. He also mentioned that the government of Pakistan has engaged NADRA in the second phase on the request of donors.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 29^th, 2011.

In separate press conferences held on Tuesday, both the MQM and PML-N criticised the government for its handling of the elections to the AJK Legislative Assembly – albeit for slightly differing reasons.

While both accused the PPP of abusing its influence as the party in office in the federal government, the MQM’s concerns had to do primarily with the postponement of the elections for the seats representing the Kashmiri diaspora in Karachi, whereas the PML-N seemed to take issue with the electoral rolls and alleged vote fraud. The MQM won those two Karachi seats in 2006 and was expected to win again.

“The PPP used fake ballot papers to get the desired results in the AJK general elections,” alleged PML-N leader Saddiqul Farooq. “This exercise has damaged the two Kashmirs’ cause of self-determination.”

The party does not appear to have made a decision as to its future course of action yet. “We have decided to chalk out a new strategy for holding fresh elections for the Legislative Assembly of AJK,” said former AJK prime minister Raja Farooq Haider Khan of the PML-N in a press conference. “A final decision about the demand for fresh elections will be taken by PML-N chief Nawaz Sharif tomorrow (Thursday),” said Siddiqul Farooq.

Meanwhile the MQM appears incensed over what they see as a repeated betrayal on the part of the PPP, which had been a coalition ally until MQM leader Altaf Hussain on Monday called for his party to resign their positions in the government and join the opposition benches at both the Sindh and federal levels.

A 14-member delegation of MQM members of the Sindh cabinet formally visited the Sindh governor’s mansion in Karachi on Saturday to submit their resignations to Acting Governor Nisar Ahmed Khuhro, who took office after the MQM’s Ishratul Ebad Khan resigned from that position on Monday.

While the MQM has left the coalition with the PPP many times before, only to return later, this is the first time that Governor Ebad has resigned. As if to underline the finality of their resignations, Ebad left ‘indefinitely’ for London and MQM ministers vacated their offices, taking home their personal belongings and saying “We will not be back.”

Sources familiar with the matter told The Express Tribune that the PPP leadership is actively pursuing a reconciliation with the MQM, though they allege that the real reason for the MQM’s departure from the ruling coalition was not the AJK elections but rather the PPP’s insistence on bringing former Sindh Home Minister Zulfiqar Mirza of the PPP, the MQM’s bugbear, back to the Sindh government.

“This postponement of the election is just a drama. The PPP was strengthening its bargaining position by postponing the election and demanding one seat from MQM as an opening bid in order to get the MQM to accommodate Mirza,” sources said.

Meanwhile, sources say that Ebad’s resignation as governor may have more to do with internal dissent within the MQM. Sources say that many MQM members were not happy with Ebad as Sindh governor and wanted another nominee. This latest spat with the PPP provided them with an excuse to show Ebad the door.

“There is a chance that, after a successful reconciliation between the PPP and the MQM, another candidate from the MQM might be appointed governor of the province,” said sources familiar with the situation, adding that the final decision would be taken together by President Asif Ali Zardari and MQM leader Altaf Hussain.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 29^th, 2011.