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NEW YORK: Pakistan will assume its seat on the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) on Sunday as a non-permanent member for a two-year term.      

Earlier in October 2011, Pakistan was elected to the 15-nation Council in by a narrow margin contest when 129 out of 193 members of the UN General Assembly voted for it.

Kyrgyzstan, which had challenged Pakistan, was far behind with 55 votes.

Pakistan’s Ambassador to the UN, Abdullah Hussain Haroon, who spearheaded the campaign, had said that Pakistan would play a constructive role in resolving key global issues that the Council is dealing with or may face.

He added that Pakistan was committed to multilateralism and promoting the principles and purposes enshrined in the UN Charter.

“We hope to play our usual role of taking on matters which affect the underdog, so as to speak.”

The Security Council, a primary instrument for establishing and maintaining international peace, has five permanent members -Britain, China, France, Russia and the United States – and ten non-permanent members elected by the General Assembly for two-year terms, from five different regions of the world. Pakistan will replace Lebanon, which completes its two-year term on the Asian seat at midnight on Saturday.

Pakistan has previously served on the Council in 1952-53, 1968-69, 1976-77, 1983-84, 1993-94 and 2003-04, making this Pakistan’s seventh time on the UNSC, and the fourth time its term will overlap with India, as it did in 1968, 1977 and 1984.

Along with Pakistan, the General Assembly in October also elected Azerbaijan, Guatemala, Morocco and Togo to serve as non-permanent members. The newly elected countries will replace Bosnia and Herzegovina, Brazil, Gabon, and Nigeria.

HONOLULU: President Barack Obama signed a sweeping US defense funding bill on Saturday which includes new sanctions on financial institutions dealing with Iran’s central bank, and curtailing up to $850 million in aid to Pakistan. The bill was signed despite concerns about sections that expand the US military’s authority over terrorism suspects and limit his powers in foreign affairs. 

The massive defense bill Congress passed on earlier in December freezes 60 per cent of the $850 million aid, or $510 million, until the US defense secretary provides lawmakers with assurances that Pakistan is working to counter improvised explosive devices (IEDs). US lawmakers say that many Afghan bombs that kill US troops are made with fertiliser smuggled by militants across the border from Pakistan into Afghanistan.

“The fact that I support this bill as a whole does not mean I agree with everything in it,” Obama said in a statement, citing limits on transferring detainees from the US base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and requirements he notify Congress before sharing some defense missile information with Russia as problematic.

The bill, approved by Congress last week after its language was revised, aims with its Iran sanctions to reduce Tehran’s oil revenues but gives the US president powers to waive penalties as required. Senior US officials said Washington was engaging with its foreign partners to ensure the sanctions can work without harming global energy markets, and stressed the US strategy for engaging with Iran was unchanged by the bill.

The bill may also prove problematic for Pakistan in ways other than providing assurances of concrete steps to counter the manufacture of IEDs. The sanctions placed on dealing with Iran’s central banks may weigh on Pakistan’s plans for the Iran-Pakistan pipeline which aims to provide gas to Pakistan.

Pakistan needs the gas supplies from Iran to augment its own gas reserves which have been shrinking fast, leading to widespread gas shortages affecting its industry and daily life.

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KARACHI: The authorities claim to have arrested five militants from the ‘Punjabi Taliban’ group on Saturday. They seized two suicide jackets, 145 kilogrammes of explosives, six detonators, 23 rockets grenades, three Kalashnikovs, a 9mm pistol, 10 kilogrammes of fertiliser and detonating wires from them.

Officials from the Crime Investigation Department (CID) of the Sindh Police identified the suspects as Alauddin alias Shakirullah, Farhan Khan alias Ali, Amir Shahzad alias Mufti Asadullah, Irfan alias Mavia and Shah Jahan alias Adnan Munna.

While speaking to the media, Additional IG CID Ghulam Shabbir Sheikh and SP Mazhar Mashwani said that Alauddin was the chief of the Punjabi Taliban group in Sindh. They added that the group was led by Ustad Aslam.

According to Sheikh, they conducted a raid on the National Highway near a thermal factory in Shah Latif Town on a tip-off. He said that the suspects were targeting high profile judges, police officers and government officials.

SP Mashwani said that Alauddin was arrested while his accomplices threw a hand grenade and managed to escape in an attempted bank robbery in 2010 in Orangi Town. He added that Alauddin’s accomplices managed to escape from police custody and went to Punjab. The police officer said that the suspect received Rs1.7 million to do some work in Sindh.

The suspects confessed to have killed seven suspects including a police constable in Hyderabad. The police said that they would share more details with the media later.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 1^st, 2012.

LONDON: Pakistan’s High Commissioner to the United Kingdom Wajid Shamsul Hassan on Saturday refused to present himself in front of the Abbottabad commission due to his poor health.

Speaking to Express News in London, Shamsul Hasan said that his physician has prescribed him to avoid air travel.

However, Shamsul Hasan requested the commission to let him answer the questions over video conferencing.

The commission rejected his request and directed him to come to Pakistan.

The commission formed to probe the May 2 operation at the alleged compound of Osama bin Laden, had earlier summoned  Shamsul Hasan over statements he had made regarding the raid.

He was asked to appear before the panel by the end of December, however, no specific date was given for his interview.

An Indian TV channel had telecast an interview of Shamsul Hassan during which he had claimed that the Pakistan government was aware of the operation. He had said that Bin Laden’s presence in the area was known 10 days before the operation took place

Shamsul Hasan also did not attend the conference of Pakistani envoys in Islamabad.

WASHINGTON: Al Qaeda has sent militants to Libya in a bid to recruit a fighting force after the fall of Muammar Qaddafi’s regime, but the group has yet to gain a strong foothold there, US officials said Friday.

The assessment of al Qaeda’s efforts in Libya came in response to a report by CNN television that experienced militants from the network – including a former British terror suspect – had been dispatched to the country and had managed to mobilise fighters.

US officials confirmed that al Qaeda had sent some members to Libya and was pushing its north African branch, al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM).

“Al Qaeda has sent some operatives, and is encouraging local affiliates – namely AQIM – to infiltrate Libya in an attempt to drum up extremist activities,” one American official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told AFP.

But the official said al Qaeda was badly damaged by a decade-long US campaign and that the extremist network found itself marginalised by a wave of popular uprisings in Libya and across the Arab world.

“When it comes to the overthrow of Qaddafi, and the Arab Spring in general, al Qaeda is arriving late to the game,” the official said in an email.

“It shouldn’t be a surprise that an organisation so close to strategic defeat would seek opportunities to rehabilitate its image and be relevant again.

“But this is a threat we are well aware of and are working with Libyan authorities to counter.”

According to CNN, al Qaeda chief Aymanal Zawahiri personally ordered a seasoned operative – a former British detainee – to Libya, the television news channel reported citing a Libyan source briefed by Western officials.

The operative, who arrived in Libya in May, has allegedly recruited some 200 fighters in the country’s east and Western intelligence agencies are tracking his efforts, CNN said.

Another operative, with European and Libyan passports, was arrested en route to Libya from the Afghanistan-Pakistan region in “an unnamed country,” according to CNN.

US officials, however, could not confirm Zawahiri’s role or the estimated number of fighters recruited.

Following the collapse of Qaddafi’s regime in the face of an armed rebellion and a Nato-led air campaign, Western governments have voiced concern about extremists trying to exploit instability in the country or getting their hands on surface-to-air missiles.

A second US official said there was no sign al Qaeda was making headway in Libya.

“It is way too early for people to suggest that al Qaeda is going to establish a firm foothold in Libya,” said the US official, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

“It is entirely conceivable they would reject out of hand any attempt by al Qaeda or other extremist groups to shape their future.”

A US diplomatic cable from 2008 published earlier this year by the anti-secrecy group WikiLeaks portrayed the eastern Libyan town of Derna as a bastion for extremists.

The ranks of al Qaeda in Iraq had large numbers of Libyan volunteers from the eastern area, according to documents found in Iraq.

ALLAHABAD, INDIA: The 8th joint convention of Pakistan-India Peoples Forum for Peace and Democracy on Friday called for initiating joint efforts by the peoples of the two countries to ‘frustrate the hegemonic designs’ of global capitalist powers in the region.

The 8th joint convention is being held with a focus on promoting peace between India and Pakistan through people-to-people initiatives and stepping up promotion of peace and democracy in the two countries besides encouraging the efforts for early peaceful resolution of outstanding disputes between the two countries, including the lingering issue of Jammu and Kashmir.

The delegates pointed out that many states lack the capacity to resist the dictates of the power controlling the world resources. They called upon the governments of India and Pakistan to pursue people-friendly policies. If this is not done, they warned, the two countries will risk conflict with their own citizens.

The convention reviewed progress on issues the forum has been discussing in its joint sessions since 1995. The convention reiterated its demand for greater democratisation of state institutions, struggle against fundamentalist groups, religious intolerance and the escalating arms race in the region.

The convention took note of the resistance movements being waged by people throughout the region for their democratic rights and social justice and expressed the hope that these movements will prevail.

Over 200 delegates from all over Pakistan and Azad Jammu and Kashmir, comprising politicians, social and human rights activists, lawyers, business community, journalists, educationists, and working women are participating in the convention being held under the auspices of the India chapter of the Pakistan-India Peoples Forum for Peace & Democracy in the capital of the Indian state of Utter Pradesh.

The convention focused on global hegemonies and challenges to democratic rights in South Asia, an early peaceful democratic solution of the Jammu and Kashmir issue and demilitarization of the region. The convention also took serious note of the emerging issues, including the global war on terror, imperialism, sovereignty and security perspectives in governance.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 31^st, 2011.

ISLAMABAD: As uncertainty regarding Pakistan-US relations continues to grow, a bipartisan and bicameral parliamentary panel is expected to finalise its recommendations next week to review Islamabad’s ties with Washington in the wake of last month’s Nato airstrikes.

The parliamentary committee on national security prepared on Friday a 30-point-draft-recommendation that envisages a complete overhaul of Pakistan’s diplomatic, economic and military cooperation with the US.

However, before finalising its proposals, the committee has asked Finance Minister Dr Abdul Hafeez Shaikh and the communication minister to brief lawmakers on Tuesday regarding the economic implications of the review.

The finance minister is believed to have opposed some radical changes in the relationship, as according to him, the country’s fragile economy cannot afford more shocks.

At a recently-held envoys’ conference, the finance minister reportedly warned that complete disassociation with the US would be a “blunder” and would have a negative impact on the country’s economy.

Committee Chairman Senator Raza Rabbani told the media after the meeting that a draft containing proposals to rewrite the terms of engagements with the US had been prepared.

Sources told The Express Tribune that a major portion of the draft recommendations include proposals finalised by ambassadors of the selected capitals.

Committee members, including those from rightwing religious parties, have agreed that Pakistan should not seek a breakup in its relationship with the US, however, its future cooperation must be transparent and based on respect for the country’s national interest and sovereignty.

The foreign ministry’s suggestions, which were already tabled before the parliamentary panel, have called for renegotiations of key agreements signed between Pakistan and the US during former military ruler General Pervez Musharraf’s rule.

The agreements relate to resuming Nato supplies, allowing logistic support and blanket permission to use Pakistan’s air corridor.

A committee member said supplies would now only be resumed under a new arrangement. It is believed that the government will tax Nato supplies passing through Pakistan.

The committee will take another week or so to finalise its recommendations, said the member, requesting not to be named.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 31^st, 2011.

The government had withdrawn the first notification to raise the rate of CNG by Rs13 per kilogramme after the All Pakistan CNG Association (APCNGA) Chairman Ghiyas Abdullah Paracha announced on Friday during a press conference to observe an indefinite strike across Punjab from January 1. After the press conference, Ogra issued another notification to raise the price of CNG by Rs8 per kilogramme. The new price of CNG has been notified as Rs74.30 per kilogramme in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P), Balochistan and Potohar Region (Rawalpindi, Islamabad and Gujarkhan) and Rs69.62 per kilogramme in region-2, including Sindh and Punjab.

Ogra has banned CNG for public transport, causing the CNG association to go on an indefinite strike from January 1.

The increase in gas prices was necessitated owing to the cess imposed by the federal government, rise in the cost of gas, decrease in gas sales volume as well as prior year adjustments of gas companies in respect of line losses and non-operating income, the notification said.

About the adjustment in CNG consumer prices, the Ogra notification said it was necessitated owing to a hike in natural gas prices and the imposition of gas cess by the federal government.

Tariffs for CNG in region I consisting of K-P, Balochistan and Potohar region at the rate of 1070 BTU has been increased by 28.7% from Rs571.88 mmBTU to Rs736.40 mmBTU, including a cess of Rs84 mmBTU. This has raised the consumer price from Rs66.42 per kilogramme to Rs74.34 per kilogramme. Whereas in region 2, consisting of Sindh and Punjab at the rate of 950 mmBTU the tariff was increased by 22.26% from Rs571.87 to Rs699.20 mmBTU, including a cess of Rs47.40 mmBTU. Consumer price has been increased from Rs63.11 to Rs69.62 per kilogramme.

It was immediately rejected by the APCNGA which announced a province-wide strike in Punjab on Sunday in order to dissuade the government from implementing the decision.

Addressing a press conference soon after the Ogra notification, APCNGA Chairman Paracha said the government was conspiring to eliminate the CNG sector and paving the way for costly LPG and LNG imports.

The tariff for domestic consumers using up to 100 cubic metres will be increased from Rs107.87 per mmBTU to 122.95 mmBTU. This will increase the Rs448 per month bill by Rs63 to Rs511 per month. Tariff for consumers using up to 300 units will jump from Rs215.74 to Rs245.89 mmBTU. It will cause an increase of Rs313 in the monthly bill of Rs2,240 to Rs2,553 per month. Tariff for commercial consumers will be increased by 14% from Rs526.59 to Rs600.19 per month.

The industrial sector tariff will be increased by 16.97% from Rs434.17 to 507.86 mmBTU which will also include Rs13 mmBTU as cess. The power sector tariff for Wapda and Kesc will jump by 13.58% to Rs507.86 from Rs447.14 mmBTU, including a cess of Rs27 per mmBTU. Tariff for IPPs will increase by 34.57% to Rs507.86 from Rs377.39 mmBTU, including a cess of Rs70 mmBTU. Tarrif for the cement sector has been increased 14% from Rs609.09 mmBTU to Rs694.22 mmBTU but no cess has been imposed.

The tariff for feed-stock for old fertiliser plants will be jacked up by 207.10% from Rs102.01 to Rs313.27 mmBTU, including a cess of Rs197. While tariff for new fertiliser has been increased only 1.81% from Rs59.59 to Rs60.67 mmBTU and no cess has been imposed. Gas tariff for direct sales to Wapda from Kandhkot to Guddu will increase 17.58% from Rs431.94 to Rs507.86 mmBTU, including a cess of Rs27. Tariff from Sara and Mari to Guddu will increase 20.89% from Rs420.09 to Rs 507.86 mmBTU, including a cess of Rs27 mmBTU.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 31^st, 2011.

MULTAN: Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani dismissed on Friday any chance of early polls, saying that the general elections will be held after parliament completes its tenure. 

Talking to reporters after inaugurating a new building of the Pakistan Television, the prime minister said that the demand for early elections was an old technique of ‘the have-nots to become haves’.  The government, he said, will follow the constitutional and legal process to hold the elections.

Gilani , who is on a three-day visit in his hometown Multan, said that the coalition government was stable and that other political parties also supported the view that parliament should complete its tenure.

He added that all the ‘hue and cry’ for early polls was aimed at sabotaging the upcoming Senate elections in March.

‘PPP faces no threat’

The premier said that Zulfikar Ali Bhutto was the only leader in the history of Pakistan who managed to bring about a revolution in the country.

Commenting on the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, he said, “Such parties are made overnight and come to an end overnight.” He added that the PPP was an ideological party and will not be affected by such parties.

Gilani was quick to play down any differences between civil and military forces, saying that the government had ‘excellent relations’ with the army.

He rejected the impression of ‘begging’ or ‘requesting’ the army chief to accept an extension in his service, and said the misunderstanding was caused by the ambiguity of the English translation of his version.

US relations

Gilani also discussed Pakistan’s relations with the US and India, saying that the new terms of engagement with the US will now be decided by parliament.

He added that his government will strive for maintaining peaceful relations with India.

Seraiki province

While speaking about the issue of a new province in the Seraiki region, Gilani assured that his government will raise the issue in parliament and will take all stakeholders into confidence.

“PPP has always addressed the grievances of the people of Seraiki region and only PPP would help create a new province in the area,” he said.

Gilani, while nominating his son for the NA-148 seat vacated by Shah Mahmood Qureshi said that the assembly seat belonged to the PPP and the people of the area will help get it back.

Development projects

During his visit, the prime minister laid a foundation stone for the Askari bypass and inaugurated the PTV centre in Multan.

He also launched a flyover project which will connect the area directly to a new international airport in Multan.

Gilani further distributed 300 cheques under the Benazir Income Support Programme. (with aDDITIONAL INPUT from APP)

Published in The Express Tribune, December 31^st, 2011.

FAISALABAD: Child prodigy Aarifa Karim Randhawa continued to startle the world on Friday, when she showed signs of life a day after doctors at Lahore’s CMH hospital gave up all hope for her survival after she suffered a cardiac arrest on December 22.

A day after her doctors suggested switching off her life support saying there was ‘no hope’; Aarifa started showing some brain activity and twitched her fingers, her father Lt Col (Retd) Amjad Karim Randhawa told The Express Tribune. The youngest-ever Microsoft certified professional, however, is still in critical condition.

The family has been receiving calls from across the world for Aarifa’s health and prayers for her recovery, her father said. After the latest development in her condition, doctors and experts at the hospital shifted their strategy on trying to save Aarifa.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 31^st, 2011.

QUETTA: At least 13 people, among them women and children, were killed in a powerful explosion near the residence of a local politician in Quetta, on Friday evening.

“A car packed with around 50 kilogammes of explosives exploded in front of the house of Shafiq Mengal, the son of a former federal minister Naseer Mengal, on the Abab Karam Road,” Deputy Inspector General of Police Nazir Kurd told reporters.

However, police said the Mengal family remained safe.

The banned tribal militant group, Baloch Liberation Army, reportedly claimed responsibility for, what it called, the first suicide attack by the outfit.

The entire city of Quetta was rocked by the explosion which was heard within a radius of several kilometres. A house and several cars parked nearby were gutted in the fire triggered by the blast. Windowpanes of scores of houses and shops on Arbab Karam Khan Road, Saryab Road and surrounding neighbourhoods were smashed by the impact of the blast.

Police said the majority of the dead were passers-by, making it even harder to piece together what happened.

“We are facing difficulties to know about the nature of the blast because many of the witnesses who were present at the scene have been killed,” said Kurd.

Soon after the blast, private guards hired by Shafiq Mengal opened fire and gunshots rang out at the scene for up to half an hour, according to AFP.

A photo journalist for a local news agency was wounded by the firing in the chaotic aftermath of the blast.

Until late in the night rescuers sifted through the rubbles in a desperate search for survivors and bodies of victims.

Heavy contingents of police and paramilitary Frontier Corps troops threw a security cordon around the area as rescuers shifted the casualties to the Provincial Sandeman Hospital where a state of emergency was declared.

“We have shifted 13 bodies, including a woman and two children, to hospitals,” Babul, a rescuer, told The Express Tribune.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 31^st, 2011.

Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani’s statement is a ‘charge sheet’ against defence authorities, Chaudhry Nisar said, and asked the premier to ‘explain the wisdom’ behind his statement. “This statement can be exploited by anyone on the international forum and in court,” he said.

Premier Gilani had said earlier that those questioning the government about the Memogate affair should first explain who had given a visa to Bin Laden, allowing him to enter and live in Pakistan.

The opposition leader, however, said his party would accept a clarification by the PM regarding the issue and suggested that the premier’s remarks be expunged from the record.

The incumbents have made the parliament “dysfunctional” because of their non-serious attitude, Chaudhry Nisar said, and asked the government to provide details for the ongoing power crisis. “The government should accept its failure and sack the ministers concerned,” he demanded, particularly censuring Petroleum and Natural Resources Minister Dr Asim Hussain.

“We are asked to give [former PML-N leader] Javed Hashmi a prominent position, but what have you — the Pakistan Peoples Party [PPP] done? You have accommodated cronies [Dr Asim] who are not politicians and lack the people’s mandate,” he said.

“The absconding minister should appear before the house,” and the government should tell us what steps it has taken to overcome the energy shortfall otherwise there will be agitation, he warned.

Coming to the government’s rescue, Religious Affairs Minister Syed Khursheed Shah referred to a stay order issued by the court in 2009 due to which 300 million cubic feet of gas from Kunar was not added into the system.

He suggested that the opposition have “a special committee constituted” to probe the matter. Rejecting the offer, Chaudhry Nisar said, “There is no parallel in history for the number of special committees set up over the last four years. And yet, there has been no result because the government has not implemented the resolutions of the parliament.”

‘PPP or PML-N should come into power’

In an apparent shot at the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI), Shah said, “I pray that it’s either us or the opposition [PML-N] that comes into power, instead of those moving forward with the team of former military dictator Pervez Musharraf.”

A humble Chaudhry Nisar responded to Shah’s statement by saying, “We do not have the right to decide who should come into power. It is the right of the people to elect … even if it’s Musharraf’s cronies.”

Shah clarified his statement saying, “I meant that the opposition is a government in waiting”.

The house earlier passed the Carriage by Air Bill, 2011 under which a carrier is liable to compensate a passenger in case of death or injury due to the destruction of or damage caused to an airplane. The bill was moved by Defence Minister Chaudhry Ahmed Mukhtar.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 31^st, 2011.

LAHORE: Pakistan Peoples Party’s (PPP) newly appointed Vice President, Babar Awan on Friday reiterated that the federal government had no role in memo scandal and said that the country’s sovereignty could not be affected even by a hundred such memos.

While addressing a lawyers gathering outside the Lahore High Court (LHC) at GPO Chowk, he criticised the PML-N chief Mian Nawaz Sharif for approaching the Supreme Court over the memo case. Awan said “everybody knows that who had asked him (Nawaz) to file a petition on the issue.”

Awan added that the PML-N was misleading the nation by raising alarm on non issues.

About the SC decision on the memo petitions, Awan said the decision was a case of “mourning day” for Nawaz.

The PPP leader was of the view that democratic system was not fully independent in the country as democracy had been forced to a crawl. He said that the country had to face challenges like a severe power crisis but the PML-N was misleading the nation. Holding the Punjab government responsible for crises in the country, Awan said “Punjab government does nothing for people, nor it allows others to do something.”

Lawyers belonging to PPP had gathered to welcome Awan, on his first visit to city after becoming vice president of the PPP.

Awan alleged that Punjab police had been tasked to gather a crowd for PML-N’s public meeting on December 31. He said that there will be another show of patwaris in Gujranwala.

Expressing grief over killings of 14 persons in Gujranwala, Awan said there was no administration in the province as people were being killed without retribution. He alleged that Punjab rulers were utiliding all government recourses to further their political motives

ISLAMABAD: The paramilitary rangers has started taking possession of highly sensitive US cargo stranded in Pakistan following the blockade of the Nato supply route by Pakistan in protest against the November 26 air strikes that killed two dozen Pakistani border guards.

Sources told Express News that Pakistan Rangers has been directed by ‘high authorities’ to take over the cargo containing military hardware and ammunition till the government makes a decision about the re-opening of Nato supply route.

Pakistan Rangers is said to have acquired a yard, namely Mega 6, at Karachi’s Port Qasim for this purpose. “We have acquired a suitable place at Port Qasim where the sensitive cargo will be stored for the time being,” a senior official told Express News.

Sources said the National Logistic Cell (NLC) was earlier tasked to keep the US military hardware and ammunition into its custody. But later on the responsibility was assigned to Pakistan Rangers.

Sources in the Rangers confirmed to Express News that as soon as any vehicle loaded with US cargo appears on Superhighway they take it into their custody. “After taking possession of the cargo we transport it to the Port Qasim Mega 6 yard,” a senior official said.

So far, sources say, Pakistan Rangers have taken possession of as many as 250 cargo units whereas the paramilitary force has been directed to keep an eye on nearly 3,256 more cargo units stranded in Pakistan after the blockade of Nato supply route.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 31^st, 2011.

ISLAMABAD: The judiciary’s most ardent supporter at one time turned its loudest critic on Friday when the apex court announced upholding the petitions on Memogate scandal.

It is the darkest day for the judiciary because the apex court has subjected fundamental rights to national security, said Asma Jehangir, counsel for former ambassador to US Husain Haqqani, while speaking to reporters after the announcement of the order.

Terming the court’s judgment ‘disappointing’, Jehangir said the civilian authority had come under the army.

“I am forced to think if it is the judiciary of the people or the judiciary of the establishment,” she said.

Jehangir added that the court gave the petitioners more than they had asked for.

The court directed High Commissioner to the UK to assist in the probe, although the petitioners never asked for his involvement, Jehangir said, adding: “We know very well that the establishment had been trying to target him too.”

“I was expecting at least one dissenting voice against the judgment, but I did not see any ray of hope in the court today,” she said.

Jehangir added that the decision had compromised a person’s right to justice.

“It is sad that the highest court of judiciary has done it and if saying this is contempt of court, then so be it.”

Jehangir said she will wait for the final verdict and then see if she has to appeal for a review of the case.

She added that the judgment was against the rule of law and said she was ready to go to jail for the implementation of the rule of law.

However, she said, “I accept the court’s decision even if I don’t agree to it.”

“One day, this judgment would hurt the petitioners – and one day the petitioners will say that one woman said in the Supreme Court that, one day they will say this judgment is not according to rule of law”

(Read: SC verdict on memogate)

Published in The Express Tribune, December 31^st, 2011.

ISLAMABAD: The Parliamentary Committee on National Security – tasked by the government to investigate the Memogate scandal – summoned on Friday top spymaster Lt Gen Ahmed Shuja Pasha and former ambassador in Washington Husain Haqqani to explain their respective positions on the matter.

The 15-member panel also decided ‘in principle to invite’ Pakistani-American businessman Mansoor Ijaz, the so-called whistleblower on the scandal, which seems to have the military and the executive at loggerheads.

“All (three) will help us prepare consequential recommendations on the matter for parliament,” said the committee’s chairperson Senator Raza Rabbani. However, he would not say when the three would appear before the panel.

The multi-party, bicameral committee has also been assigned to review Pakistan’s terms of engagement with the United States following the November 26 deadly Nato air raid on Pakistani border posts in the Mohmand tribal agency.

“Primarily, we will finalise recommendations for Pakistan’s relations with the United States,” Senator Rabbani said.

The committee will finalise its 30-point recommendations on Tuesday and submit them to the prime minister, who will then put them before a joint session of both houses of parliament.

“The committee is likely to take up the Memogate issue after January 11,” said a member of the committee. “We have invited Mansoor (Ijaz) in line with his public statements that he is willing to appear before Pakistan’s parliament and Supreme Court to assist them on the issue.”

The foreign secretary will send the invitation to Ijaz through the proper channel. “It will be the first of its kind case where a foreigner will be recording his statement before the parliamentary committee,” added the lawmaker.

Director General of the Inter-Services Intelligence Lt Gen Ahmad Shuja Pasha and Husain Haqqani will appear before the committee sometime in the first half of January. “We will send our recommendations to parliament in February, next year,” he said.

In an informal chat with reporters, Defence Secretary Lt Gen (Retd) Naeem Khalid Lodhi said that he hasn’t received any show-cause notice from the Prime Minister Secretariat. “I have already explained my position by submitting defence ministry’s reply to the Supreme Court,” he added.

Lodhi had invited the wrath of the government when he told the apex court earlier this month that the government did not have ‘operational control over the armed forces’ of the country.

The defence secretary also briefed the meeting on the steps taken by the government to ‘tackle the Memogate scandal amicably.’

Published in The Express Tribune, December 31^st, 2011.

ISLAMABAD: Investigations by a panel of the supreme body of the land, the parliament, will not be enough.

The Supreme Court on Friday formed a commission, comprising High Court judges, to probe into the scandal, which has left the country’s executive and military at loggerheads. The commission is to submit its findings within a month.

Delivering a unanimous verdict on the maintainability of petitions, the apex court on Friday said that the petitioners succeeded in establishing a case of public importance with regard to enforcement of fundamental rights, prima facie, under Article 9, 14 and 19-A of the Constitution.

The court cast aside arguments that it could not interfere in matters involving deep political questions and that a violation of a fundamental right was a must to invoke its jurisdiction.

The commission will probe into an unsigned memo that purportedly sought from the US a strong message to the army against an attempt to overthrow the civilian apparatus.

One of the petitioners, Nawaz Sharif, chief of the largest opposition party, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz, had asked the court to unmask the individuals who tried to ‘destroy the armed forces’ through the ‘treasonous memo’. Listed as respondents in the petitions, Chief of Army Staff General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani and ISI Director General Ahmed Shuja Pasha had also asked the court to hold a probe into the memo scandal.

Former ambassador to the US Husain Haqqani, meanwhile, challenged the court’s jurisdiction to conduct such an exercise through his counsel, Asma Jehangir.

Specifics of the order

Rejecting Jehangir’s argument, the nine-judge bench directed Attorney General Maulvi Anwarul Haq to secure the most important piece of evidence: confirmation on the authenticity of the messages allegedly exchanged between Haqqani and Pakistani-origin American businessman Mansoor Ijaz on their Blackberry phones.

The court directed the foreign secretary and the High Commission of Pakistan in Canada to assist the attorney general and the commission in getting forensic evidence of the conversation from Blackberry’s parent company, Research In Motion.

The order stated that the commission shall ascertain the origin, authenticity and purpose of the memo delivered to former chairman of the US joints chiefs of staff Admiral Mike Mullen.

Balochistan High Court Chief Justice Qazi Faez Isa, Islamabad High Court Chief Justice Iqbal Hameedur Rehman and Sindh High Court Chief Justice Mushir Alam have been appointed as the members of the commission, while Raja Jawad Abbas Hasan was named secretary of the commission.

The commission is free to avail services of lawyers and experts of forensic science and cyber crimes for completion of the probe in a month, the order stated.

It added that all federal secretaries, the chiefs of Federal Investigation Agency, inspectors general of police of all provinces and Pakistan’s ambassador to the US and high commissioner to the UK shall also assist the commission.

Will the government comply?

Whether the government will comply in terms of logistical and political support, however, remains in question, especially in the backdrop of its refusal to write a letter to the Swiss authorities for reopening cases against President Asif Ali Zardari.

The bench also reiterated its December 1 directions to Haqqani for not leaving the country without permission.

The court also kept ruling party’s Vice President Babar Awan on the hook.

“Office is directed to put a separate note in the Chambers of Chief Justice of Pakistan along with the transcription of the press conference dated December 1, 2011, of Mr Babar Awan along with replies of the Prime Minister for an appropriate order,” the bench stated.

(Read: SC verdict on memogate)

Published in The Express Tribune, December 31^st, 2011.

As part of some behind the scenes efforts, Director General Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) Lt General Ahmed Shuja Pasha visited Doha this week where he was believed to have met senior US military and intelligence officials.

The US military has a strong presence in Qatar as Centcom maintains its regional headquarters in what is known as the Arab world’s financial capital.

Pasha, who returned from his two-day trip on Wednesday, visited Doha just days after the US made public its probe into the November 26 Nato attack that killed 24 Pakistani soldiers.

The inquiry was conducted by the US Centcom and it was said that the ISI chief’s visit was linked to that.

In its initial response, Pakistan rejected US findings that said Pakistani soldiers fired first at American and Afghan forces, but conceded that Nato has to share the majority of the blame for the attack.

The army, however, hasn’t given its detailed reply which is likely to clarify which direction the relationship between Pakistan and the US will head towards. However, the visit of the ISI chief and his reported meetings with US officials is an indication that the two sides are willing to work through this ‘bad patch’.

There was no official word, however, from either side regarding the ISI chief’s visit. Despite repeated attempts, the chief military spokesperson was not available for an official reaction.

But Pasha’s visit to Doha was confirmed by Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani. A military official also confirmed that the ISI chief toured the Arab state but would not comment on the purpose of his trip. “It could be anyone’s guess,” the official said.

Another official indicated that the trip may be linked to the proposal for setting up a Taliban office in Doha for the reconciliation process in Afghanistan.

However, there are speculations that Qatar is mediating between the civil and military leadership over the Memogate controversy that pitted the two against each other, as Premier Gilani is also expected to visit the Qatari capital in the second week of January.

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

Awan has been defending the constitutional and political affairs of the party for the last two decades. A renowned politician and lawyer, he has written several books and is a respected orator.

He was made member of the Central Executive Committee of the party in 1997 by the late Benazir Bhutto.

Later, he was nominated as Coordinator of International Affairs of the Party in 1999. He held the office of Central Finance Secretary of the Party in 2000 and was awarded the ticket of National Assembly during the general elections of 2002.

He became senator in 2005 on the only PPP seat from Punjab and proved himself as an established legislator.

Awan defended several cases against Benazir Bhutto and President Zardari.

He remained counsel of PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, Bakhtawar Bhutto and Asifa Bhutto in the case of Peoples’ Foundation.

Senator Awan voluntarily tendered his resignation from the portfolios of Minister of Law and Justice, Minister of Parliamentary Affairs and Minister of Information Technology to plead the Zulfikar Ali Bhutto reference sent to the Supreme Court by President Zardari. 

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

The contentious appointment of banker Kausar Iqbal Malik as the Director General (DG) of the Financial Crime Investigation Wing, (FCIW) has been reversed and Malik has now been repatriated to the National Bank of Pakistan (NBP). He was also the acting DG Operations at NAB headquarters.  A notification with regard to the reversal of his appointment, obtained by The Express Tribune, was issued on December 27.

Malik had earlier been sacked by NAB in February 2011, when he had returned to NBP – only to return as recently as December 12 to his top-ranking position, on the basis of deputation. Malik, who was previously a senior executive vice president in NBP, had served as the FCIW DG since 2005.

The banker, however, was sacked on his earlier return to NBP within a month, then restored, and then sent to the Oil and Gas Development Company Limited (OGDCL) for an assignment, sources said – only to return to NAB this December.

Malik’s transfer is not the only shakeup in NAB’s top ranks, however. Brigadier (retd) Muhammad Musaddiq Abbasi has been transferred from the post of Special Operations Division DG to the acting Awareness and Prevention DG at NAB Headquarters, while his predecessor Siraj Naeem has been appointed acting Training DG at NAB Headquarters. Abbasi’s post is now to be filled by Shahzad Anwar Bhatti.

Khurshid Alam, previously the HR and Finance DG, has been appointed the acting Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa DG and is being replaced by Col (retd) Subah Sadiq. Another notification stated that the NAB chairman “is pleased to appoint” Muhammad Zafarullah Khan as a director at headquarters in Islamabad on an acting charge basis.

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