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Interview/Benazir Bhutto
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April 2006

PPP urges CEC
to stop induction of army officer into police force
Islamabad, 28 April 2006: Pakistan Peoples Party has urged the Chief
Election Commissioner to stop the conspiracy to rig the elections through
induction of army officers in the police force.
PPP Senator Sardar Muhammad Latif Khan Khosa, Coordinator Election
Monitoring Cell PPP in a letter addressed to the Chief Election Commissioner
apprised him of the plan of the regime enlisting 150 Captains / Majors into
the Police Department under the garb of Highway Patrolling Officers.
He further said, "under the covert operation undertaken as part of the
conspiracy to rig the elections, the military officers will be inducted into
the Highway Police as a first soft measure for public consumption.
Subsequently they will be designated as Sub Divisional Police Officers and
sent to the districts with guidelines to manipulate the election results."
He also wrote, "I draw your attention to the use of the Police force in
kidnapping candidates or their proposers and seconders during the local
bodies elections of 2005 as well as the filing of false criminal complaints
to cripple the campaign of the pro democracy candidates to the benefit of
those from the ruling party."
Senator Latif Khosa urged the Chief Election Commissioner to stop these
inductions of army officer into police force.
Mohtarma Expresses Solidarity with Workers on May Day
Calls for repeal of anti-labour laws
Islamabad, April 30 2006: Former Prime minister and the Chairperson Pakistan
Peoples Party Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto has expressed solidarity with the
working class and said that the Party would not abandon the labour, the
peasants, the fisher folk, the government servants and the wage earners in
their struggle for emancipation and freeing themselves from the shackles of
exploitation.
In her message on May Day she said that nothing could deter the PPP from
standing shoulder to shoulder with the workers of the country and fight for
their rights.
The former Prime Minister said that the Pakistan Peoples Party was committed
to the welfare of the working class and will continue to work for the
welfare of the workers and labourers. The PPP has always derived its
strength from the working classes of Pakistan and it had always fought for
their rights and will continue to do so in the future as well, she said.
Mohtarma Bhutto said that the military regime had introduced anti-labour
legislation such as the IRO 2002, which was also given protection in the
infamous 17th Constitutional amendment.
She said this anti labour legislation needed to be reviewed by the
Parliament so as to restore the rights of workers. She asked all the
political forces to join hands with the PPP in undertaking a parliamentary
review of the labour related legislation enacted by the military regime
usurping the basic rights of the workers.
Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto said that foreign investment in the country had
dried up and the local investors were reluctant to invest because of poor
law and order situation and growing uncertainty. "It is deplorable in such
conditions the regime had thrown out of jobs thousands of poor people in the
name of rightsizing and downsizing on the one hand and inducted serving and
retired military officers into civilian jobs at hefty perks and salaries, on
the other".
Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto also recalled the valiant and heroic struggle of the
Chicago workers who had laid their lives for the collective right of the
working class. She paid rich tribute to the Chicago martyrs for their
struggle against oppressive socio-economic system a century ago.

JOINT PRESS
RELEASE OF MOHTARMA BENAZIR BHUTTO AND MUHAMMAD NAWAZ SHARIF ON TALKS IN
LONDON
London April 24, 2006: Two former Prime Ministers Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto
and Muhammad Nawaz Sharif met here today at the Park Lane residence of PML(N)
leader. The teams included Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto, Makhdoom Amin Fahim,
Wajid Shamsul Hasan and Dr Rehman Malik from PPP, and Muhammad Nawaz Sharif,
Muhammad Shahbaz Sharif, Iqbal Zaffar Jhagra and Syed Ghaus Ali Shah from
PML (N).
The two exiled former Prime Ministers expressed deep concern on the
deteriorating political and worsening economic situation in the country and
called for free and fair elections through an interim government of national
consensus under an independent and autonomous election commission open to
all political parties and political leaders.
Both the leaders agreed to vigorously pursue the course of democracy and
reaffirmed their resolve to restore the 1973 Constitution. They also
rejected the National Accountability Bureau's attempts to pervert the course
of justice through politically motivated cases to re-engineer the political
system in the country. They demanded withdrawal of all politically motivated
cases.
They called for the release of political prisoners including former speaker
of the National Assembly Syed Yousaf Reza Gilani, acting PML(N) President
Makhdoom Javed Hashmi, Khawaja Saad Rafiq, Zaeem Qadri, Junaid Bulland,
Bismillah Kakar, Pir Mukarram, Afaq Ahmed Khan, Amir Khan and other
political detainees. They expressed concern over the social deprivation of
the people and condemn increasing terrorism in the society.
They also decided to hold the next round of talks on the 14th May, 2006, in
order to chalk out future strategy for the forthcoming elections and
announce the charter of Democracy / Code of conduct for placing before the
ARD summit meeting scheduled for 2nd July, 2006.
PPP clarifies reports about elections under caretakers
Islamabad, April 26, 2006: -Central Information Secretary of Pakistan
Peoples Party Sherry Rehman, has clarified reports in some newspapers about
the press conference on Monday by herself, Senator Dr. Babar Awan and Naveed
Qamar (MNA) after meeting the Chief Election Commissioner in Islamabad on
that day.
In a statement today she said that it is not correct that the Party has
welcomed the announcement of holding elections under a caretaker set-up.
While elections under caretaker set up is better than elections under the
present partisan political set up, it is not the same as elections under an
interim government of national consensus as demanded by the opposition, she
said.
She said that the PPP had asked for free and fair elections under an interim
government of national consensus and in which all political parties and
leaders were allowed to take part in a level playing field.
PPP also urged the Chief Election Commissioner to play his constitutional
role to ensure the safe return of the popular leaders Mohtarma Benazir
Bhutto and Nawaz Sharif to Pakistan for participation in the forth-coming
election. "Elections cannot be termed free and fair without their
participation".
Further she said that no questions were asked during the press conference
about boycotting the polls.
She said that the PPP delegation apprised the CEC of its concerns about the
forthcoming elections in the light of its experience of the 2002 general
elections and also the recent Local bodies polls.
The PPP said that the misuse of state resources by General Musharraf had
already begun on March 23 that amounted to pre-poll rigging and demanded an
end to it. The PPP team also presented him a memorandum of pre-poll,
polling-day and post-poll rigging experiences to take cognisance of, she
said 
Former prime
ministers meet in London today
Nawaz calls for ‘new political contract’
Benazir admits next elections will be major challenge to PPP
Islamabad,
Monday, April 24, 2006: Former prime minister Nawaz Sharif said
on Sunday that his Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz party and its allies were
looking to establish a new political contract based on democracy,
restrictions on future military intervention in politics and respect for
political mandates.
In a press statement, the PML-N chief said fair, free and transparent
elections under a neutral set up and independent election commission were a
top feature of the ‘Charter of Democracy’ that he and Benazir Bhutto, the
Pakistan People’s Party chief, will discuss today when they meet in London.
They are likely to sign the charter and also discuss the future strategy of
the Alliance for the Restoration of Democracy (ARD), whose major members are
the PPP and PML-N.
He said the long periods of military rule in Pakistan had destroyed the
foundations of institutional governance and people had lost faith in
judicial institutions. “The time has come that all those democratic forces
which sincerely believe in restoring the supremacy of the 1973 Constitution
should join hands to uproot the dictatorship,” Sharif said.
Sharif said his party would not compromise on its beliefs that the 1973
Constitution should be restored to how it stood in October 1999, and the
military should never again intervene in politics. “We are members of the
ARD and believe that consensus among the two mainstream parties of Pakistan
on these fundamental issues will mark the beginning of a new era in the
democratic history of the country,” he added.
Meanwhile in London, speaking at a meeting of the parliamentary board of the
PPP’s Azad Kashmir chapter, Bhutto said that the next general elections
would be a major challenge to her party because it would have to “confront
state agencies”, Online reported. However, she was confident the PPP still
had enough supporters to do well in the general polls.
The two former prime ministers will meet at Sharif’s Marble Arch residence
in London at lunchtime, sources told Daily Times. PPP Parliamentarians
President Amin Faheem and PML-N Secretary General Iqbal Zaffar Jhagra will
attend the first round of the meeting, but Bhutto and Sharif will meet
one-on-one after lunch, the sources said.
Daily Times Monitor adds: The PML-N and PPP have consensus over replacing
the “current sham democracy in Pakistan with real democracy”, former Punjab
chief minister Mian Shahbaz Sharif told Aaj television.
Shahbaz said both parties were ready to “sacrifice everything” to restore
democracy in Pakistan. “Nawaz and Benazir will meet soon to proceed with the
ARD agenda,” he said. It is too early to say whether the PML-N and PPP will
contest the next election with joint candidates, he added.
PPP workers court hearing today
Islamabad April 24, 2006: The case
against PPP activists accused of attacking the Parliament House eight years
ago will be heard in the court of civil judge and Judicial magistrate
Islamabad on Tuesday April 25.
About fifty activists of the Party including Ms Naheed Khan MNA, Nayyer
Bokhari MNA, Farhatullah Babar, Shahzadi Kausar Gillan, Qazi Sultan Mahmood,
Syed Ibrar Rizvi, Javed Mir, Syed Ansar Gillani, Babar Minhas, Syed
Ibn-i-Rivi, Shahnawaz, Shabbir Babar, Jehangir Akhtar, Majeed Niazi and
Sohail Rumi besides others have been charged with storming the Parliament
building on April 22, 1998 and threatening the Speaker National Assembly.
The case was registered when PPP activists staged a protest rally outside
the Parliament House against the anti-terrorism legislation, which gave
sweeping powers to the executive. The demonstrators were forcibly dispersed
when the police resorted to baton charge resulting in injury to many Party
workers and activists.
The protestors were demanding review of the law. Later the Supreme Court
struck down various provisions of the proposed legislation including the one
relating to the setting up of military courts to try terror cases.
A large number of protestors were arrested on the spot and sent to jail.
All were initially booked under the anti-terror law against which they were
protesting. Later however the government withdrew the terrorism charges and
booked the protestors under eight different sections of the Criminal
Procedure Code.
Meanwhile the PPP has asked all those named in the FIR to appear before the
court on Tuesday.
Bhutto, Sharif to fight Musharraf
London: Former Pakistani prime ministers
Nawaz Sharif and Benazir Bhutto met in London on Monday to plan out a
strategy for the 2007 elections. Both leaders are also said to be working
towards a common agenda for the elections.
Both Sharif, leader of Pakistan Muslim League-N (PML-N) and Bhutto, leader
of Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) are determined to return to Pakistan and
lead their parties. The two leaders, who were rivals in the past, are now
attempting to forge an alliance to resist continuation of Musharraf's rule.
"Their meeting is significant in the context of next year's general
elections and Musharraf's efforts to keep them separate," said PPP
spokesperson Farhatullah Babar.
But Musharraf has repeatedly stated that he would not permit either of the
exiled leaders to return. Bhutto and Sharif, have also decided to order
their respective parties to boycott the elections if not allowed to return
to Pakistan.

Bhutto, Nawaz
to meet in London on Monday
By Shafqat Ali, Indo-Asian News Service
Islamabad, April 23 (IANS): As political
pundits keep their fingers crossed regarding the political future of
Pakistan, former prime ministers Benazir Bhutto and Mian Nawaz Sharif meet
in London on Monday for a 'joint struggle' against the Pervez Musharraf
regime.
Bhutto arrived in London on Saturday en-route to the US. During her brief
stay in Britain she will also attend party meetings besides meeting Sharif.
The two former prime ministers, who have both been forced to live abroad,
continue to have a strong popular base in the country. Both have previously
been arch rivals taking turns in power twice and being sent home on both the
occasions prematurely by the then presidents.
While Bhutto has been living in self-imposed exile in Dubai since 1998,
Sharif went into exile in 2000, along with his entire family, as part of an
understanding with Musharraf after he was exonerated of all charges.
After the military coup of October 1999, the parties led by Bhutto and
Sharif were part of a larger alliance of opposition to Musharraf.
Bhutto's spokesman Farhatullah Babar said that both the former prime
ministers are eager to return home before the next elections, due in 2007.
'The PPP (Pakistan Peoples Party headed by Bhutto) wants end to illegitimate
rule of Musharraf. This meeting will be one step towards a joint struggle
against dictatorship,' Babar told IANS.
He said another option would be to go for seats adjustment during the polls.
'The PPP will get major share if adjustment is opted for because we have
better strength in the parliament,' he said.
The PPP spokesman also condemned the surveillance network apparently set up
by the military regime in London to spy on Bhutto's activities in Britain.
The spokesman said: 'The regime is worried over the prospects of the
opposition parties joining hands against the military dictatorship.'
PPP Parliamentary President Makhdoom Amin Fahim is presently in London
working out details of the meeting.
Mohtarma Bhutto
arrives in London in transit to United States
Islamabad April 22, 2006: Former Prime
Minister Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto arrived in London early today on a transit
visit to attend to some Party matters in the UK.
The former Prime Minister will attend the preliminary parliamentary board
meeting of the PPP AJK on Sunday April 23. After making a transit visit to
London during which she will attend to Party matters she will leave for the
United States to meet with her husband Senator Zardari who is undergoing
treatment in New York following a series of ailments due to the harsh
treatment meted out to him in eight years of prison in solitary confinement.
Mohtarma will then return to London where she has several political
engagements lined up.
During her visit in London, Mohtarma will also meet with PML N leader and
former Prime Minister Mian Nawaz Sharif.
PPP Parliamentary President Makhdoom Amin Fahim is presently in London
working on the proposed visit.
The two former Prime Ministers, who have both been forced to live abroad due
to the victimisation by the military dictatorship, continue to have a strong
popular base in the country. Observers believe no election can be fair which
does not include their participation. Both leaders will be discussing the
political situation in the country with a view to strengthening the movement
for the restoration of democracy.
Meanwhile a spokesman of the Party has condemned the surveillance network
set up by the military regime in London to spy on her activities in UK.
On arrival early today a surveillance team apparently set up by Musharraf
regime was at Heathrow airport that took her pictures of arrival and later
also followed her. The spokesman said that the regime was worried over the
prospects of the opposition parties joining hands against the military
dictatorship.
Mohtarma Bhutto condemns assault on Khurshid Junejo
Calls for probe and arrest of culprits
Islamabad April 22, 2006: Former Prime
Minister and Chairperson of the Pakistan Peoples Party Mohtarma Benazir
Bhutto has condemned the assault and attempted kidnap of former district
Nazim Larkana district Mr. Khurshed Ahmed Junejo.
Former district Nazim Khushed Ahmed Junejo was travelling from Larkana to
his village Dhamrahh on the Larkana-Ratodero section of the Indus high way
driving his own car. Suddenly some armed men stopped his car at gunpoint.
The assailants snatched cash, mobile phone, rupees and a ring before letting
Khurshid Juneho go.
Khurshed Junejo immediately complained to the DPO (District Police Officer)
about the event but no action has been taken nor any arrests made. The PPP
Larkana also held protest demonstrations against the incident demanding
probe and arrest of criminals.
In a statement today the former Prime Minister said that she was shocked to
learn about the assault on Khurshid Junejo. The regime is wasting time and
money on chasing and hounding political opponents but has turned a blind eye
to the criminals and dacoits that roam free, she said.
She said that there was no writ of the state in Balochistan, in the tribal
areas of North and South Waziristan and in the interior of Sindh where the
dacoits ruled and it was due to the policies of the regime that were aimed
at only perpetuating itself in power.
Mohtarma Bhutto demanded a probe into the attempted kidnap of Khurshid
Junejo, arrest of the culprits and punishing them in accordance with the
law.
She also sympathised with Khursheed Junejo and admired him for his courage
in facing the dacoits and goondas who attacked him.

Mohtarma Bhutto -Nawaz Sharif meeting fixed for Monday
Islamabad April 22, 2006: Former Prime
Ministers Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto and Mian Nawaz Sharif will meet in London
on Monday April 24, 2006.
Mohtarma Bhutto arrived in London early this morning en route to the United
States. During her brief stay in UK she will also attend Party meetings
besides meeting Mian Nawaz Sharif.
The two Prime Ministers are likely to discuss a host of political issues
during their meeting.

PPP says govt
scared of London meeting
ISLAMABAD, April 21: Central Information
Secretary of the People’s Party Parliamentarians (PPP) Sherry Rehman on
Friday said the government was in total panic after reports of the meeting
between the two former prime ministers Benazir Bhutto and Nawaz Sharif in
London and it had intensified its disinformation campaign against the
opposition parties.
Talking to a group of reporters at the residence of a PPP activist Syed
Kashif Rizvi, the newly-appointed information secretary of the party said
that the government was perturbed over the proximity between the PPP and the
PML-N.
Ms Rehman said there had been complete chaos in the government ranks which
was evident from the Saturday’s meeting of Gen Musharraf with the members of
the Patriots group.
Similarly, she said the government was unable to reshuffle the federal
cabinet due to internal rifts and crisis. She claimed Gen Musharraf and
Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz during their meeting on Friday failed to
finalize changes in the federal cabinet as all the coalition partners were
demanding their shares.
In her first chat with the reporters after assuming the office of the
party’s information secretary, Ms Rehman expressed the hope that Ms Bhutto
and Mr Sharif would sign the “charter of democracy” in May, this year. She
said that her party had suggested some new points in the already agreed
“charter of democracy.”
When asked why the opposition had failed to launch a movement against the
regime, Ms Rehman said that the opposition parties had been struggling for
the restoration of democracy. She said in the past, whenever the party
leaders announced any public meeting or a rally, the government enforced
Section 144.
“Remember the time, when we were going to receive Asif Zardari at Lahore
Airport and the government arrested all our leaders and workers and put them
in jails,” she said.
Criticizing the economic policies of the government, Ms Rehman said the
government had failed to control price-hike. 
Naheed Khan
condemns government economic policies
Islamabad, 18 April 2006: Naheed Khan
MNA and Political Secretary to the Chairperson Pakistan Peoples Party
Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto has warned the military regime of peoples' wrath
because of fast increasing poverty and price hike and demanded to relinquish
power at once pave the way for fair, free and impartial elections.
In a statement Naheed Khan said that on one hand the regime claims economic
boom and record foreign exchange and on the other people of Pakistan are
forced to commit suicide. According to governments own admission in a report
of Federal Bureau of Statistics prices of essential items have increased and
prices of lentils to onions and potatoes are on the rise. Price of sugar has
more than doubled in the last six months from 19 rupees a kilogram to 45
rupees per kilogram. Naheed Khan condemned National Accountability Bureau
for dropping the investigations into sugar scam under pressure from the
sugar mills on the behest of General Musharraf. Naheed Khan said that petrol
price is 56 rupees per litre out of which government makes 26 rupees per
litre as surcharge. On one hand on the other, people of Pakistan are crushed
under utility bills.
Naheed Khan said that Pakistan Peoples Party was criticised for Independent
Power Projects but the military regime has revived PPP power policy. The
difference is that the PPP government had agreed far less rates with the
IPPs whereas this military regime has increased the rates to benefit private
power producers.
Naheed Khan said that the country is in economic mess and Pakistan is
engulfed in cement crisis, sugar crises, foreign trade crisis, trade deficit
crisis and crisis of legitimacy because of its anti-people agenda. The
growth rate which the government had predicted 8 percent has come down to 6
percent. The military regime is selling profitable assets like Pakistan
Steel Mills at throw away prices to pay for trade deficit which has
increased to record level because of loot and plunder and economic
mismanagement by this military regime.
Naheed Khan warned the military regime of its policy of leaving Pakistani
public the mercy of market forces. Naheed Khan said that the only solution
of problems faced by the Pakistani people is to hold free, fair and
impartial elections and handing over power to the elected government.

PPP demands action against Hasan Waseem Afzal for damaging and misusing
Badshahi Mosque
Islamabad, 18 April 2006: Pakistan
Peoples Party demanded to re-open investigations against the former Home
Secretary Punjab and currently Deputy Chairman National Accountability
Bureau, Hasan Waseem Afzal and his wife cooperatives Secretary Farkhanda
Afzal for damaging a religious premises and violating the Punjab Special
Premises Preservation Ordinance 1985, for holding their daughter's wedding
ceremony in
Badshahi Mosque.
In this regard Northern Circle Federal Archaeological Director Saleem-ul-Haq
wrote a letter dated 16 November, 2005 to the then Punjab Chief Secretary
about the provision of an inquiry report conducted by the Punjab
Archaeological Director General on holding a nikah ceremony at Badhshahi
Mosque.
In July, 2005, the then Home Secretary Punjab, Hasan Waseem Afzal and his
bureaucrat wife Farkhanda Afzal damaged the splendid Badshahi Mosque, built
by Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb in 1674, which is a protected Mughal Monument
under the Antiquities Act of 1975.
Pakistan Peoples Party Senator Rukhsana Zuberi has apprised the Secretary
General Commonwealth, Donal McKinnon, of the misuse of authority by the
current Deputy Chairman NAB, Hasan Waseem Afzal who has been given the task
to malign the PPP Chairperson Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto, by the military
regime. Senator Rukhsana Zuberi in a letter addressed to Secretary General
Commonwealth, Donal McKinnon wrote, "the Badshahi Mosque was taken over by
Mr Afzal and his wife, and fellow bureaucrat, Cooperatives Secretary
Farkhanda Afzal, for their daughter's marriage ceremony. The facade of the
entrance was illuminated and holes were made in the courtyard to put down a
red carpet and to set up lights. The passage from the entrance hall to the
main prayer chamber was ornamented with lights of different colours on
portable stands and a red carpet was also laid from the entrance to the
prayer chamber. To illuminate the red carpet, lights were fixed to the red
sandstone floor by hammering in handy iron stakes."
She further wrote, "leaving the magnificent historical mosque rattled for
his own purposes, the bureaucrat couple made sure that their VIP guests were
made truly comfortable in the July heat by providing for a 100 pairs of
special silk "shoes" made particularly for the guests since they couldn't be
expected to go totally barefoot inside the mosque. Sofa
sets and chairs and pillows were placed in the main prayer chamber and with
the help of intensive damage afflicting hammering, air-coolers were
installed to keep the guests feeling comfortable. In response to an inquiry
that was later brushed under the carpet, the Archaeology Department in its
report objected that iron stakes that were driven into
the red sandstone. The report also mentions the department's concern about
the installation of lights, wires and switches to the walls and floor of the
mosque because of its historical importance. An inquiry was conducted on
Punjab Chief Secretary's directive, but the action to be taken was hushed up
despite the Federal Government had asked the
Punjab government to provide the inquiry report prepared by the Punjab
Archaeology Director General."
Senator Rukhsana Zuberi apprised the Secretary General Commonwealth that the
offence committed by Hasan Waseem Afzal is liable to imprisonment and fine
but Hasan Waseem Afzal and his bureaucrat wife Farkhanda Afzal remain beyond
the grip of law of the land.
Senator Rukhsana Zuberi has requested the Secretary General Commonwealth to
circulate her letter to members of Commonwealth.

Mohtarma Bhutto
condoles the death of Mushtaq Qureshi
Islamabad, 18 April 2006: Former Prime
Minister and Chairperson Pakistan People Party, Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto and
her spouse Senator Asif Ali Zardari have condoled the death of Mushtaq
Qureshi.
Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto in a condolence message to Mushtaq Qureshi’s son
Yasir Qureshi wrote, "the loss of a parent is a great tragedy. Our
sympathies are with you at this difficult time. Mushtaq Qureshi will be long
remembered by the leadership and workers for his services for the cause of
Pakistan Peoples Party. Please accept our heartfelt condolences and convey
the same to other members of the bereaved family."
She also prayed for the eternal peace to the deceased’s soul and courage to
the bereaved family and friends to bear this irreparable loss with
equanimity
PPP demands action against Hasan Waseem Afzal for damaging and misusing
Badshahi Mosque
Islamabad, 18 April 2006: Pakistan
Peoples Party demanded to re-open investigations against the former Home
Secretary Punjab and currently Deputy Chairman National Accountability
Bureau, Hasan Waseem Afzal and his wife cooperatives Secretary Farkhanda
Afzal for damaging a religious premises and violating the Punjab Special
Premises Preservation Ordinance 1985, for holding their daughter’s wedding
ceremony in Badshahi Mosque.
In this regard Northern Circle Federal Archaeological Director Saleem-ul-Haq
wrote a letter dated 16 November, 2005 to the then Punjab Chief Secretary
about the provision of an inquiry report conducted by the Punjab
Archaeological Director General on holding a nikah ceremony at Badhshahi
Mosque.
In July, 2005, the then Home Secretary Punjab, Hasan Waseem Afzal and his
bureaucrat wife Farkhanda Afzal damaged the splendid Badshahi Mosque, built
by Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb in 1674, which is a protected Mughal Monument
under the Antiquities Act of 1975.
Pakistan Peoples Party Senator Rukhsana Zuberi has apprised the Secretary
General Commonwealth, Donal McKinnon, of the misuse of authority by the
current Deputy Chairman NAB, Hasan Waseem Afzal who has been given the task
to malign the PPP Chairperson Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto, by the military
regime. Senator Rukhsana Zuberi in a letter addressed to Secretary General
Commonwealth, Donal McKinnon wrote, "the Badshahi Mosque was taken over by
Mr Afzal and his wife, and fellow bureaucrat, Cooperatives Secretary
Farkhanda Afzal, for their daughter's marriage ceremony. The facade of the
entrance was illuminated and holes were made in the courtyard to put down a
red carpet and to set up lights. The passage from the entrance hall to the
main prayer chamber was ornamented with lights of different colours on
portable stands and a red carpet was also laid from the entrance to the
prayer chamber. To illuminate the red carpet, lights were fixed to the red
sandstone floor by hammering in handy iron stakes."
She further wrote, "leaving the magnificent historical mosque rattled for
his own purposes, the bureaucrat couple made sure that their VIP guests were
made truly comfortable in the July heat by providing for a 100 pairs of
special silk "shoes" made particularly for the guests since they couldn't be
expected to go totally barefoot inside the mosque. Sofa sets and chairs and
pillows were placed in the main prayer chamber and with the help of
intensive damage afflicting hammering, air-coolers were installed to keep
the guests feeling comfortable. In response to an inquiry that was later
brushed under the carpet, the Archaeology Department in its report objected
that iron stakes that were driven into the red sandstone. The report also
mentions the department’s concern about the installation of lights, wires
and switches to the walls and floor of the mosque because of its historical
importance. An inquiry was conducted on Punjab Chief Secretary’s directive,
but the action to be taken was hushed up despite the Federal Government had
asked the Punjab government to provide the inquiry report prepared by the
Punjab Archaeology Director General."
Senator Rukhsana Zuberi apprised the Secretary General Commonwealth that the
offence committed by Hasan Waseem Afzal is liable to imprisonment and fine
but Hasan Waseem Afzal and his bureaucrat wife Farkhanda Afzal remain beyond
the grip of law of the land.
Senator Rukhsana Zuberi has requested the Secretary General Commonwealth to
circulate her letter to members of Commonwealth. 
Judicial probe into torture killing of driver by FWO demanded
Islamabad April 19, 2006:
Pakistan Peoples Party has demanded a judicial probe into the reports of the
killing of a bus driver allegedly by the personnel of Frontier Works
Organization (FWO), a military organization that has taken over the
collection of toll tax on most of the country’s highways and motorways.
According to press reports a bus driver Qaiser Mahmood was beaten to death
with belts after exchange of hot words with the personnel of FWO during
entry into the M-3 via Kamalpur interchange in Faisalabad on Sunday.
The press reports said that due to excessive bleeding the driver became
unconscious and died on the spot. Drivers and staff of other buses who
gathered on the scene were not allowed to physically check the injured
driver.
In a statement today spokesman of the Pakistan Peoples Party demanded a
judicial probe into the incident by a judge of the High Court and to make
the findings public.
"A thorough judicial probe is critical for doing justice to the victim and
also for the image of the security forces" he said adding, "The follow up
press reports of the incident are even more disturbing".
Follow up press reports on Tuesday said that the police declared the killing
of the driver as accidental before handing over the body to the relatives
without post mortem.
Further government officials forced the deceased’s relatives to take the
body without formal legal formalities. The Nishatabad police reported in
their daily diary that the driver died accidentally after a scuffle with
‘someone’ at the Kamalpur interchange.
The doubts created by the reports are most serious that demand a thorough
judicial probe, he said. The Party also urges human rights bodies and
members of the legal fraternity to agitate the matter and ensure that
nothing is kept secret and that justice is done, he said.
The spokesman said that if such incidents of high handedness involving
security personnel are not investigated impartially and the culprits not
punished it would do incalculable harm.
He recalled that on Nov 26 last an 82 year old man was hit by a car near
Golra Mor in Rawalpindi by an official vehicle driven by a soldier in
uniform who after seeing that the victim had died fled from the scene.
The incident was reported in the press a month later and was immediately
taken up by the Human Rights Committee of the Senate that met on January 17.
It transpired that neither the driver nor his department had bothered to
secure bail before arrest even though the incident had taken place on Nov 26
and the FIR had been lodged immediately, he said.
The driver applied for bail before arrest after nearly five weeks of the
incident on January 4, 2006 and compromised with the victims’ heirs only
after the Senate body started the probe.
The spokesman said that incidents like the Kamalpur brought a bad name to
the security agencies and must not be condoned under any circumstances. The
PPP will continue to demand probe in the Kamalpur incident and punishment to
the offenders. Meanwhile the PPP Faisalabad has been directed to visit the
family of the victim for condolences.

Mohtarma Bhutto condemns
murder of Allama Fazil Hussain Alvi
Islamabad, 19 April 2006: Former Prime
Minister and Chairperson Pakistan Peoples Party, Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto and
her spouse Senator Asif Ali Zardari have condemned the murder of Allama
Fazil Hussain Alvi.
Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto in a condolence letter addressed to Allama Fazil
HussainAlvi’s son Qamar Abbas wrote, "Senator Asif Ali Zardari and I were
shocked to hear the tragic news of the unfortunate murder of your father
Allama Fazil Hussain Alvi. The loss of a parent is a great tragedy. Our
sympathies are with you at this difficult time. The Pakistan Peoples Party
condemns the murder and hopes that the culprits will be brought to book."
She also prayed for eternal peace to deceased’s soul and courage and
fortitude to the family and friends to bear this irreparable loss with
equanimity.

PPP demands
arrest of attackers
Islamabad April 14, 2006: Raja Pervez
Ashraf MNA and deputy parliamentary leader of the Party in the National
Assembly has expressed concern over the inability of the political
administration of Khyber in Frontier province to apprehend the culprits
involved in attacking the house of Party activist Inayatullah Afridi in Fort
Slope in the Khyber Agency last month.
Khyber Agency has been the battle ground between two clerics for the past
over two months, each cleric accusing the other of heresy. Businessmen and
shopkeepers in Bara in Khyber Agency have now hired private security guards
to protect themselves from attacks by the followers of the two religious
leaders.
Last month the gun-totting supporters of one of the clerics Mufti Muneer
Shakir also made hostages innocent tribesmen and damaged their houses while
attacking house of rival Badshah khan in Soor dhand near Fort Salop area of
Bare tehsil of Khyber Agency. They also attacked the house of Inayat Ullah
Afridi,an activist of Pakistan Peoples Party Parliamentarian damaging
computers, arms and other things.
Later they picked up father of Inayatullah Afridi his maternal uncle Noor
Mast Khan and cousin Fazal Mast Khan.
PPP activist Iayatullah Afridi complained that even though his family had
nothing to do with either cleric his house was also attacked. He said that
although the attackers fled but not without behind some valuable clue as to
their identity. Inayat Afridi lodged a formal complaint with the political
administration also identifying the attackers but despite the passage of
more than two weeks the political administration had not apprehended the
culprits.
In a statement today Raja Pervez Ashraf expressed concern over the
deteriorating law and order situation throughout the country and the
inability of the local administration in Khyber Agency to arrest the
culprits despite having been identified.
He said that the regime was chasing political opponents and had turned a
blind eye to the protection of life, honour and property of the citizens.
Raja Pervez Ashraf demanded the immediate arrest of attackers and punishment
to them in accordance with the law. 
Naheed Khan condemns Steel Mills Privatisation
Islamabad, 13 April 2006: Naheed Khan
MNA and Political Secretary to the Chairperson Pakistan Peoples Party
Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto slated the sale of Pakistan Steel Mills at throwaway
price of Rs. 21.6 billion and has supported the demand of Steel Mills
employees who have appealed to the Chief Justice of Pakistan to take suo
moto notice of this act of massive corruption in the name of privatisation.
Naheed Khan in a statement said that the military government is busy in loot
and plunder of the national wealth and selling profitable assets at throw
away prices. She said that it is surprising that the regime has sold 4,500
acres of land, steel manufacturing plant, 165 mega watt power plant, 110
kilometres metalled road, 70 km long railway track, a water treatment plant
and an inventory priced at 27 billion rupees including raw material. She
said that selling such a huge and profitable asset for only rupees 21.6
billion is a criminal act on the part of the anti-labour and anti-people
military regime of general Musharraf. She said that this huge Steel Complex
was founded by the Quaid-e-Awam Shaheed Zulfikar Ali Bhutto for the people
of Pakistan and not for the benefit to some business concern. She said that
during Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto’s government extension of this plant was
carried out. Selling this plant, which gives a profit of 10 billion rupees
annually for only 21 billion rupees is a monstrous crime against the people
of Pakistan and the nation, Naheed Khan said.
Naheed Khan said that there is massive evidence of wrongdoing in the sale of
Steel Mills as Privatisation Commission did not set any reference price of
Pakistan Steel Mills. In addition to this, no report on the valuation of
assets was filed by any financial consultant that could have enabled to set
a reference price. Naheed Khan said that the wrongdoing is also reflected by
the fact that no evaluation of the bid was conducted by the Privatisation
Commission on privatisation of Pakistan Steel Mills, which is headed by the
Prime Minister. It is also ironic that the Privatisation Commission within
six hours approved the bid, which is unprecedented in the history of
privatisation in Pakistan.
Naheed Khan said that General Musharraf is at the heart of this corruption
because on 30th March, he inaugurated a plant of Twarki Group at Port Qasim
and asked the group to participate in the privatisation of Steel Mills and
subsequently on the 31st March the Mill was sold to Twarki Group for
pittance.
Naheed Khan demanded a judicial enquiry into the privatisation of Steel
Mills and reiterated PPP resolve to protect the rights of labour including
12,500 workforce of Pakistan Steel Mills. 
Shaheed Zulfikar Ali
Bhutto’s Martyrdom Anniversary Observed all over the World
Islamabad, 12 April, 2006: The 27th
martyrdom anniversary of the first directly elected Prime Minister of
Pakistan, Shaheed Zulfikar Ali Bhutto was observed in several countries of
the world including Holland, United Kingdom and the United States.
The martyrdom anniversary in Holland was observed at Aroza Hotel, Amsterdam
where message of Party Chairperson Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto was read out. A
large number of party workers, sympathisers and supporters attended the
gathering addressed by Raja Riaz, President PPP Holland, Saifullah Saifi,
Media Officer PPP Holland, Karamat Ali, Nasir Nizami, Syed Muzhari Bukhari,
Khawaja Aftab, Zafar Iqbal, Khizer Hayat, Malik Muhammad Afzal and Munir
Jamil who paid rich tributes to Shaheed Zulfikar Ali Bhutto who sacrificed
his life for the nation. They pledged to forge unity under the leadership of
Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto for achieving the objectives of the first directly
elected Prime Minister of Pakistan, Shaheed Zulfikar Ali Bhutto who stood
for the rights of downtrodden masses of Pakistan.
A function was organised by the President PPP California, Khuda Bux Bhutto
at the office of Tariq Khan. Dr. Malik Kayoom was the chief guest at the
anniversary function. Prayers were offered for eternal peace to the departed
soul of Shaheed Zulfikar Ali Bhutto. The event was attended by Sultan
Bhutto, M Safeer, M Sageer, M Ateq, Zahid Zaif, Rais Kha, Malik Imtiaz Awan
and dozens of party workers and supporters. Addressing the gathering Khuda
Bux Bhutto and Malik Kayoom paid glowing tributes to Shaheed Zulfikar Ali
Bhutto who gave Pakistan a unanimous constitution, nuclear capability and
progress. He provided leadership to the have-nots and enabled them to earn
their respectable living. The meeting passed several resolutions demanding
immediate end to the media trial of Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto, holding of free
and fair elections under independent election commission, withdrawal of all
concocted and false cases against PPP leadership and release of all
political prisoners.
The 27th martyrdom of Shaheed Zulfikar Ali Bhutto was observed all over
United Kingdom including Oldham, Bradford, Manchester, Birmingham, Glasgow
and London. Ch. Ghulam Abbas was the Chief guest at functions in Bradford,
Oldham, Manchester and Birmingham. A large number of party workers and
supporters attended these functions. Ch. Ghulam Abbas and Ayub Tariq paid
rich tributes to Quaid-e-Awam Shaheed Zulfikar Ali Bhutto. Addressing the
events, speakers said that Shaheed Zulfikar Ali Bhutto gave voice to the
ordinary people to demand their basic and fundamental rights. They
reiterated their resole to fight against tyranny under the leadership of
Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto until the last victory for the people.

People of Pakistan to Decide
Fate of Mohtarma and of Musharraf Dictatorship
Islamabad, 12 April 2006: A spokesperson
of Pakistan Peoples Party has rebutted the Musharraf dictatorship which
claimed that the political future of former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto
was linked to a Swiss investigation.
The PPP spokesperson said that the future of Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto was
safe in the hands of the people of Pakistan whom she had served and for
whose democratic rights she and her family were rendering unprecedented
sacrifices. The spokesperson said that the people of Pakistan would decide
the fate of the military dictatorship as it had earlier decided the fates of
the Ayub, Yahya and Zia dictatorships. It was because the military
dictatorship was frightened of the verdict of the people that it was
hounding the popular leadership of the country and rigging elections while
exploiting the war against terrorism to sustain its unrepresentative,
unaccountable and anti people regime.
The spokesperson said that it was ridiculous for the regime to claim that by
abusing the international Legal Mutual Assistance Treaty to institute a
series of litigations against Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto as part of its
psychological war games against her, it could undermine her standing before
the people of Pakistan. The people of Pakistan could see through the
military regime's conspiracy to eliminate popular political leadership of
the country through politically motivated charges. The people know fully
well that the corrupt people are sitting in the military dictator's cabinet
including those who were facing NAB investigations until they switched sides
and were given key cabinet posts. Moreover, the Minister of Information
himself was facing corruption allegations for having usurped state land by
claiming that he would train Kashmiri freedom fighters there. The Minister
of Information has now admitted that he no longer trains Kashmiri freedom
fighters but has still not returned the state land causing a huge loss to
the national exchequer.
As far as former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto and her family are concerned,
their assets are lawful and it is evident that the military regime has not
stopped talking about corruption. Instead it now talks about owning property
or selling property which is the lawful right of every citizen. In fact the
regime owes an apology to the people of Pakistan for lying to them and
embezzling state funds to spend for partisan political reasons over a decade
causing a huge loss to the exchequer.
It may be recalled that the Minister of Information claimed that former
Prime Minister would not have a role in the country's politics if a Swiss
Investigating Magistrate found that she was involved in a "land sale case".
Earlier the regime had claimed that the Swiss Magistrate was investigating
into corruption allegations.
Former Prime Minister is the first in South Asia to have appeared before
foreign courts to counter false charges made by Islamabad which has filed
cases against her in a series of politically motivated litigations to
silence her over her support for the democratic rights of the people of
Pakistan.
The Spokesperson rebutted the allegation by the Minister of Information that
all the cases had been filed by Mr. Nawaz Sharif the former Prime Minister.
The spokesperson said that the BMW case of disputed duty was filed by the
Musharraf dictatorship against Senator Zardari whereas the Interpol notice
and the Requests for Mutual Assistance to Spain and other jurisdictions were
all filed in 2006 by the Musharraf dictatorship against Mohtarma Benazir
Bhutto. The spokesperson said that the National Accountability Bureau was
composed of former military officers and their puppets who opposed Mohtarma
popularly elected government. The PPP believes that its government was
destabilised by elements of the establishment which wanted to pave the way
for Al Qaeda to form a base in Afghanistan in 1996 and they oppose the
return of the PPP because they believe that it would stop Taliban from
destabilising Karzai government in Afghanistan.

Mohtarma Bhutto
condemns Karachi blast
Islamabad April 12, 2006:
Former Prime Minister and chairperson of the Pakistan Peoples Party Mohtarma
Benazir Bhutto has condemned the bomb blast in a religious gathering Karachi
on Tuesday which killed 60 people and injured many more as ‘an act of
barbarism that no words are strong enough to condemn’.
A bomb blast at a religious gathering at Nishtar Park in Karachi on Tuesday
killed at least 56 people including top leaders of a religious party and
injured more than 100.
In a statement today the former Prime Minister said that no religion
condoned such barbarism and therefore those who perpetrated this heinous act
are criminals of the worst kind deserving no mercy or leniency.
"The barbaric incident is the outcome of regime’s policies of directing all
its energies to eliminating political opposition while turning a blind eye
to the pathetic state of law and order in the country".
The former Prime Minister demanded a judicial probe into the incident,
immediate arrest of the perpetrators and the masterminds behind it and
severe punishment to them in accordance with the law. Questions like whether
the perpetrators of the crime were manipulated by those who had some hidden
political agenda must also be answered.
She also demanded compensation to the killed and injured victims of the
blast. The former Prime Minister prayed for those who lost their lives and
sympathized with those who lost their near and dear ones. She also prayed
for the early recovery to those injured.

Bhutto To Mujib
"Na main na tum, hum dono aur ek Pakistan"
By: Wajid Shamsul Hasan
April 4, 2006: Life in Pakistan ever
since the judicial murder of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto (April 4, 1979) has been 27
years of gory developments, conspiracies, disruptions, dislocations, rise of
ethnicity, divisiveness, sectarianism and an unending struggle between the
Bonapartist generals, the military establishment and the people who have so
far refused to allow dissipation of their democratic dream of a homeland
promising them freedom from exploitation of all sorts and equality in life
irrespective of one's caste, creed or colour. This tug-of-war that has been
going on since almost 58 years has brought the masses to the point of no
return. Challenge before them is clear-they have to bury the perception for
all times that Pakistan was created for the army and that it can only be
kept together by the military. And that, no more barrel of the gun will be
the source of power. If Pakistan has to stay, it will be its people who
shall be the sole sovereign rulers.
How much longer this struggle shall continue is written large on the walls.
The battle lines have been drawn. On the one hand are the forces led by the
military establishment and Bonapartist generals doing every bit in their
power as parasites to scavenge the body, while on the other are the
patriotic political elements who still see hope for a national survival
through restoration of democracy as envisaged by the Quaid. No doubt odds
are heavy, the multifaceted socio-economic and political challenges are much
too many. Not only they have to get rid of the Bonapartist generals but also
to show boot to their foreign godfathers.
By opting the role of human condoms, Pakistan's otherwise anorchous generals
have sold Pakistan's vital national interests. General Pervez Musharraf
chosen as the blue-eyed 'democratic' leader by the West of one of the "most
militarised states" in the world keeps getting pats of legitimacy on his
back not from his own people but from President Bush for being his Knight
Templar in war against what they call Islamic terrorism and executioner of
President Bush's grand design for "enhancing uncertainties abroad". No doubt
all of Pakistan past military dictators-starting from Ayub Khan-had been in
the pay of their Western masters for services rendered to them in the Cold
War in return for support to their own illegitimacy in total denial of the
democratic rights of their own people, General Musharraf, however, has
outdone all of them. He has rendered Pakistan into a stable for the American
horses. And that is the reason that the most despised man in the West on the
eve of 9-11 continues to be Bush's "best friend" although the game of his
running with the American hare and hunting with the jihadi/Taliban hounds is
wearing off the gloss of his credibility in Washington's eyes. That perhaps
is the reason that the recent visit of his mentor to Islamabad caused spate
of rumours, raised question mark on his future and signalled the beginning
of a countdown on him.
Significant indicators have started firming up and the writing on the wall
spells worsening scenario all over. While the powdered-kegged pile of
self-created problems that he haunches upon is getting heated under him like
lava waiting to explode any moment. Notwithstanding the limits of
self-censorship on the Pakistani media, the amount of growing criticism
against him in the West is enough to give him sleepless nights. His game of
deceit and chicanery stands completely exposed. Not only the Western press
is full of reports these days about his increasing game of deception to
blackmail Bush and party in providing him continuous sustenance, numerous
analytical reports by prestigious think tanks that have been surfacing since
quite some time especially those on the eve of President Bush's visit to
Pakistan, have made it clear to Washington that time has come to call off
Musharraf's bluff about the growing Islamist peril. Their sane advise to
Washington is to withdraw support from the last of the military dictators-a
source of great embarrassment for democratic movements--- and to put in
action measures that could ensure earliest return to democracy through free,
fair and transparent elections with level playing field for the main
stream political parties and their leaders including former Prime Ministers
Benazir Bhutto and Mian Nawaz Sharif since only a strong democratic
government in Islamabad can guarantee democratic stability and peace in
Afghanistan and in the region.
There is a consensus that the Bonapartist generals have pushed Pakistan into
a quagmire of problems that pose much more serious a challenge than that of
1971. Although fall of Dhaka was a colossal tragedy in Islamic history, the
country had in the leadership of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto a saviour who had the
enormous capacity to pick up the pieces, re- ssure
its people, re-galvanise them into a nation, give them hope and carve a new
state of Pakistan out of the debris of the old.
Shaheed Bhutto's crowning glory-first and foremost task that he took upon
himself-- was to rally round the political leadership of the four remaining
provinces of the dismembered and vanquished Pakistan at the hands of the
Indian army. When he mentioned about a New Pakistan in his initial speeches
after the fall of Dhaka many criticised him for it since according to them
there was an element of self-glorification in it. A devout and serious
student of history that he was, his words had enormous depth in them and
force of historic conviction to carry him forward in his mission to
establish a New Pakistan, bound by a sacrosanct constitution that resolved
the most sensitive issue of provincial autonomy-that is---fair and just
sharing of power between the provinces and the Centre-an issue whose failure
to resolve had played a major role in the break up of Quaid's Pakistan and
earlier also had led to the partition of India.
The 1973 Constitution is the crowning glory of Bhutto because it served more
than the religion Islam-a binding force to gather around once again the four
residual federal units into re-establishing a new state voluntarily when the
old state of Pakistan that had come into being through a British imposed
partition plan had ceased to exist with the creation of new state of
Bangladesh overwhelmingly Muslim in population. Remember in case of Quaid's
Pakistan he had no options in 1946-47. The British ultimatum to him was to
"take it or leave it". And he had to accept a "truncated Pakistan" perforce
of the British imperial diktat.
A fractured, mauled out of shape Pakistan that was what General Yahya and
his coterie of drunkard generals had handed over to ZAB in late December
1971. Not only General Manekshaw (later made Field Marshal for his
Bangladesh operation) had promised the Indians yet another "good news and a
bigger gift" (after all, under his heels were writhing generals like 'Tiger'
Niazi plus 90,000 Pakistani troops, his military was in occupation of over
5000 square miles of West Pakistani territory and an international war
crimes trial was threatening a defeated Pakistan army for committing massive
genocide). A broken Pakistan lay asunder with its so-called invincible
military establishment in shambles, no face to show to their people who had
preferred to self- starvation to feed them fat, while the Bonapartist
general (supported by the West Pakistani civil and judicial bureaucracy) had
bypassed
Pakistan's political leadership including its founding fathers, overwhelmed
its civil society at gun point and held it hostage to their whims and
ambitions of converting it into a garrison state. Had General Ayub, and his
coterie comprising of senior generals, civil and judicial bureaucrats
including the then Chief Justice of Pakistan-Justice Muhammad Munir-not
subverted the 1956 Constitution, allowed the principle of parity accepted
generously by the Bengali leadership sacrificing Eastern Wing's numerical
majority to work-Pakistan by now would have remained united and would have
perfected a federal system of co-existence on the basis of just and fair
arrangement of autonomy, power and resource sharing.
Being a student of history with keen insight into the forces that interplay
and generate dynamics of their own ZAB who had seen the growth of an
absolute West Pakistani oligarchy as a member of Ayub government, left no
opportunity go by to plead for sanity and caution since he also had eyes
that could read the writing on the walls in East Pakistan that warned him of
imminent secession if genuine provincial autonomy and democratic rights of
the people were not restored. Being an insider who was witness to the
obduracy of absolute power he raised his voice time and again that
step-motherly treatment of the people of East Pakistan, denial of democracy
and oppression through an over-centralised system would leave the Bengalis
with no other option but to secede. And when Sheikh Mujibur Rehman came up
with his six points-drafted and given finer shape by Ayub's Goebbels (late
Choudhri Muhammad Ali, Maulvi Farid Ahmed and Fazlul Qadir Chouhdry among
many others, had openly accused Altaf Gauhar as the author), the conspiracy
to break Pakistan as hinted by Justice Muhammad Munir in his book "Jinnah to
Zia" as a move under Ayub to peacefully detach the majority province from
the rest of Pakistan started taking firm shape towards what was described as
logical end.
ZAB's pleadings for sanity fell like seeds on the stony ground. His repeated
warnings that Mujib's six points should not be taken lightly were ignored.
At that juncture he had realised that the Ministry of Information's
propagation of Six Points had a hidden method. I remember as a working
journalist then we were discouraged by Altaf Gauhar's eyes and ears not to
be critical of the Six Points. And that the government wanted it to gain
circulation came out in the open when ZAB-still a minister in Ayub's
cabinet-threw a challenge to Sheikh Mujib for a public debate on his Six
Points at the Paltan Maidan in Dhaka. He even announced a date for it. This
Bhutto challenge to Mujib tantamount to ZAB throwing a spanner in
Ayub-Gauhar sinister scheme of things. Ayub did not allow Bhutto to go to
East Pakistan and stopped him from debating Six Points. He knew well that
Bhutto's higher intellect, his razor-like sharp logic and legal acumen would
make mince meat of the Six Points and thereby subvert his dream of getting
rid of "a liability" that was hanging around Pakistan's neck as an
albatross.
Pakistani military establishment's mindset is self-deceptive. It has the
mentality of a prostitute who would sleep with a dozen of her customers but
whenever she is in the company of a new client she would not only pose but
also insist on her being a virgin. Both in the battlefield and in the art of
state management Pakistani Bonapartist generals have proved to be no more
than tin pot soldiers. They failed in the first Kashmir war and tried to
blame it all on Pakistan's first Prime Minister Liaquat Ali Khan. Not only
that, while they had no contribution in the struggle for the creation of
Pakistan, once it had become a reality some of the more ambitious ones among
them, set the precedence for coups as early as 1951.
Remember Operation Gibraltar of 1965. It was a brainchild of Pakistan's
first ceremonial Field Marshal and his so-called highly professional
colleagues. When their operation miserably failed to get the necessary
support from the local population resulting in deaths of hundreds of our
valiant commandoes and led India into crossing militarily the international
border to the point of almost capturing Lahore, no military heads rolled
over this outright bankruptcy in professionalism. Rather, Ayub and his
Goebbels who had drowned Pakistan's virtual defeat in their propaganda
blitzkrieg, picked on Pakistan's Foreign Office with
ZAB as Foreign Minister of having advised the Field Marshal that "go ahead
and send whatever number of commandoes you want to into Indian-held Kashmir"
and Delhi would keep quiet about it and would not dare choose opening of a
front on the international border. What a joke!! I am sure Ayub and Altaf
would have put the blame of their sell-out at Tashkent on ZAB had he not
distanced himself away from the Soviet-sponsored surrender and made his
opposition to it publicly known followed by his resignation from Ayub's
government.
Tashkent Declaration proved to be a catalyst. Wheel of fortune took an
adverse turn for Ayub Khan. Both Bhutto's formation of PPP and his manifesto
of roti, kapra and makkan and Mujib's Six points caught the imagination of
the masses in West and East Pakistan respectively as the panacea to their
socio-economic and political ills. Public agitation
against Ayub mounted and restoration of democracy through elections became
inevitable. Instead of choosing an honourable course to facilitate return of
democracy, Ayub preferred to violate his own constitution and instead of
handing over power to the Speaker of the
National Assembly for holding elections, transferred power to his
Commander-in-Chief General Yahya Khan who imposed yet another martial law in
the country.
Yahya and his coterie resorted to a web of deceptions. People were made to
believe that martial law would not last long and that power would be
transferred to the elected representatives whoever the electorate chose.
Elections were announced and one-unit was dissolved. While the public
posture of the regime was encouraging, behind the scene moves were being
made by his generals to support the Islamists and rightwing parties and
dilute PPP's support in West Pakistan while undermining Mujib's in East.
However, 1970 cyclone in East Pakistan altered their whole scheme of things.
As recorded by late Brigadier Siddiq Salik in his "Witness to Surrender" and
Brigadier A.R. Siddiqi in his book "East Pakistan: The End Game", Yahya and
his generals resorted to various overt and covert moves that were aimed at
retaining Yahya in the office of the President.
Yahya and his coterie had believed that by felicitating secretly Dr Henry
Kissinger's visit to Beijing to negotiate the historic American surrender in
North Vietnam, they would get a free hand to commit genocide in East
Pakistan. To an extent they were right. The book
"Kissinger on Trial" says it all in so many words that the American State
Department under Kissinger slept over and ignored the classified telegrams
from its diplomats in Dhaka and Islamabad reporting to Washington about the
genocide and of rapes by the Pakistani army.
Indiscriminate massacre of the civilian population had so heavily burdened
the conscious of some of them that they preferred to seek transfers so that
they do not act as silent witness to one of the most horrendous human mayhem
in modern history. It is also a historic fact
that Pakistani troops had looked hopefully forward to be rescued by the
American aircraft carrier "Enterprise".
As a consequence of Praetorian machinations to deny people their right to
have their own government and to keep the Bonapartist generals and military
in power, Pakistan was dismembered. While it was part of an age-old scheme
hatched by the overbearing West Pakistani oligarchy to shed the East
Pakistani liability, they had in ZAB on the western front a challenger to
their status quo. Despite his warnings, pleadings and protestations they
deliberately pursued the path to dismemberment and through a sinisterly
conceived conspiracy, put the blame for their military and political defeat
on ZAB on a trumped up slogan udhr tum idhar hum.
I distinctly remember his speech of March 14, 1971 of Nishtar Park in
Karachi. Each and every word that he spoke that day as doubly confirmed by
my friend Parvez Ali (He has written exhaustively and with finality on the
controversy) was filled with appeals to Sheikh Mujib to see reason, putting
it again and again to him that a compromise was possible but let us agree to
a constitution acceptable to all the people of Pakistan without insisting on
Six Points, "let us try to keep the country intact". Reciting the "Kalima"
and swearing by Allah, ZAB spoke on conspiracies being hatched against the
people. He dwelt at length on the Six Points telling Sheikh Sahib that if
you have majority "there" we have majority "here" (udhar tum, idhar hum) and
I have to explain to the masses all facts about the Six Points before
agreeing to them, if at all. He again appealed to Sheikh Sahib not to "act
upon incorrect advice". He said a constitution could be framed.to the mutual
satisfaction for the sake of Pakistan. "But if you're to go on talking about
a 'Bangladesh', we too in view of our majority can talk about Sindhudesh or
Punjabidesh." But in that case, said ZAB, people will ask where has the
Pakistan of the Quaid-i-Azam gone?
Except Daily Azad of Lahore no other newspaper in West or East Pakistan
(including the government owned National Press Trust papers that had been
pouring venom against him) carried the headline "udhar tum, idhar hum".
Subsequently the very next day (March 16, 1971) Daily Azad carried ZAB's
categorical rebuttal under the headline "Na main na tum, hum dono aur ek
Pakistan" (Neither me, nor you, but us and one Pakistan). It is nothing but
typical of military mindset that to this day Praetorian henchmen in and
outside the media especially in the rightist press and the rightist parties
who had been collaborators in the massive genocide in East Pakistan with the
army, leave no stone unturned to keep on
orchestrating udhar tum, idhar hum distortion without ever referring to
Bhutto Sahib's rebuttal, to blame it all about dismemberment on ZAB in their
crude attempt to launder themselves of the rivers of blood that they shed so
that they could remain in power.
History has the tendency to repeat itself especially when it has to cater to
the mindset of those people who are condemned to make the same mistakes.
Like Yahya, General Musharraf too, has opened too many fronts. Like Yahya he
is drunk with the support of his foreign mentors who only know expediency as
the name of their game. The free hand given to Musharraf in the name of
their war against terrorism, to carry on genocide against his own people in
Balochistan and northern areas, to deny the people of Pakistan their right
to rule through a democratic civil society, their share in resources and
provincial autonomy-it is nothing but an agenda for total disaster in the
region.

Bhutto's
footprints on nuclear Pakistan
By: Farhatullah Babar
April 4, 2006: Bhutto's twenty-seventh
death anniversary falls at a time when the United States has signed a
nuclear deal with India that former President Jimmy Carter has described as
'dangerous' on the one hand and the United Nations Security Council has
given Iran only 30 days to halt uranium enrichment on the other. As the
region is poised for strategic nuclear imbalance and Iran is accused of
building atomic weapons, thoughts naturally go to the foot prints of
Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto on the country's nuclear programme.
Bhutto was the real architect of Pakistan's nuclear programme. In this
respect his role may be likened to that of Nehru in India. Idealist Nehru
was driven by a dream; to wipe off centuries of past humiliation and had
grasped the significance of atomic energy for this purpose. Soon after
independence he set up the Indian Atomic Energy Commission, placed it under
his charge and presided over its first meeting that was convened within a
week of independence.
Bhutto also had a dream and understood the role of atomic energy but could
translate his dream into reality only after 1970 when he had acquired real
political power.
But even before that and as Minister of Minerals and Natural Resources,
Bhutto laid the foundation stone of PINSTECH in Islamabad in 1963. The
plaque was removed during his political winter after 1967. Much later it was
recovered from junk in the basement of the building and reinstalled in 1985,
as it was impossible to erase his memory.
As a minister Bhutto also tried to persuade President General Ayub Khan to
acquire advanced nuclear technologies. In December 1965 Ayub was on an
official visit to the UK. Bhutto planned a meeting of some nuclear experts
with him and persuaded Ayub Khan to meet late Munir Ahmed Khan former
Chairman of the PAEC who at the time was working in the IAEA.
Late Munir Khan had recalled that when he was told that these technologies
could eventually place in the hands of Pakistan a nuclear option, the
General simply smiled and said that if needed, Pakistan could get it from
China.
Munir Khan had also recalled that Bhutto was pacing up and down in the lobby
waiting as he was meeting Ayub. When Munir came out Bhutto asked him what
had happened. "The President did not agree" Munir told him. "Do not worry --
our turn will come", Bhutto had said, according to Munir Khan.
Bhutto has been associated with the nuclear programme from 1958 as minister
to 1979 when he was sent to the gallows.
"When I took charge of Pakistan's Atomic Energy Commission, it was no more
than a sign board of an office. It was only in name. Assiduously and with
granite determination, I put my entire vitality behind the task of acquiring
nuclear capability for my country", recalls Bhutto in his book If I am
Assassinated.
Bhutto commissioned Edward Stone for designing PINSTECH the foundation stone
of which was also laid by him. He negotiated the agreement for the 5-WM
research reactor at PINSTECH. Bhutto himself has recalled that in the face
of stiff opposition from Finance Minister Shoaib and the Deputy Chairman
Planning Commission he negotiated with success the 137 MM KANUPP plant from
Canada and performed its opening ceremony on November 28, 1972. In 1976 he
approved the setting up of the Chashma nuclear power plant and also
negotiated and concluded the nuclear reprocessing plant agreement with
France.
Bhutto approved the construction of a research laboratory for uranium
enrichment near Chaklala airport. And when the PAEC selected the Kahuta site
for the uranium enrichment plant in early 1976, Bhutto promptly approved it
and ordered immediate construction of civil works.
In August 1976, former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger met Bhutto at
Governor House Lahore to dissuade him from the reprocessing plant deal with
France. Kissinger said that it was offensive to US intelligence when Bhutto
insisted that Pakistan needed the reprocessing plant for its energy needs;
but Bhutto demanded that the US should also not insist that Pakistan give up
the reprocessing plant.
After Bhutto's ouster, no one heard of the reprocessing plant until General
Zia disclosed in a press conference in Rawalpindi on August 23,1978 that he
had received a "very polite" letter from the French President suggesting
modification in the reprocessing plant contract. As a matter of fact, France
had refused to follow with the military government the agreement it had
concluded with a constitutional, civilian government.
Bhutto pursued the nuclear programme even from jail. An indelibly larger
than life footprint of his is the letter addressed by him from the death
cell to the French President. The letter was released by the French
President's office after Bhutto's execution. While in jail he also sent
several messages to late Munir Khan enquiring about how various projects
were progressing.
Late Munir Khan confided to the present writer who was then working in the
PAEC some of these messages. In one such message Bhutto suggested that the
reprocessing plant be completed through indigenous efforts even if the
French refused. He expressed his determination to step up the project once
he came out of jail. I hope Thera Khan, Munir Khan's caring and assiduous
wife, has preserved the private letters.
After India's nuclear explosion, Germany reneged on its contract for a heavy
water plant and Canada stopped supply of fuel heavy water and spare parts
for KANUPP. Bhutto asked the commission to continue with its programme
through indigenous efforts and instructed the finance ministry to make
available all monies asked for. He abolished the inter-ministerial committee
dealing with atomic energy and took direct charge of the programme.
In his book The Myth of Independence, he said in 1969 "If Pakistan restricts
or suspends her nuclear programme, it would not only enable India to
blackmail Pakistan with her nuclear advantage, but would impose a crippling
limitation on the development of Pakistan's science and technology… our
problem in its essence, is how to obtain such a weapon in time before the
crisis begins." No one individual in Pakistan has left such huge footprints
on the country's nuclear programme as Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto. But as one
watches the foot prints with awe there is a nagging question: does the shame
of the nuclear black-market that our unrepresentative rulers have presided
over, lie at the root of denying Pakistan strategic nuclear parity in the
region, and thereby turning sour Bhutto's dream?
I do not know; I really do not want to know.
The writer is a former senator

NAB's desperate
smear campaign of character assassination nailed
Islamabad April 6, 2006: Rejecting NAB
allegations seeking to link Mohtarma Bhutto with corruption through the oil
for food program in Iraq, a spokesman of the PPP has said that NAB during
the last decade has been desperate to link Mohtarma Bhutto with corruption
but it failed miserably.
"Owning companies or doing business in foreign countries is legitimate as
long the money involved is not derived from corrupt practices. Companies
associated with Mohtarma Bhutto have nothing to do either with the
government or abuse of office, he said.
"To say that Mohtarma Benazir owns a company in Dubai or a company in Spain
as if it was illegal to set up companies is an attempt by the NAB to confuse
people and obfuscate the issue.
"Every person can lawfully own assets abroad as long as these have not been
acquired through illegitimate means. Mohtarma Bhutto is a person of means
who has inherited from her father property and assets and has never denied
ownership of legal assets abroad.
However she has denied the Geneva SGS accounts as well as the surrey house.
"It is for the regime to prove that she has acquired anything from alleged
corrupt practices. The regime has failed in its bid as has been proved in
the verdict of the Isle of Man.
NAB has nothing to do with foreign companies set up by non-resident
Pakistanis that are unconnected with government abuse of office?
"The latest smear campaign aimed at character assassination should be seen
in the backdrop of a series of judicial victories for former Prime Minister
Benazir Bhutto and her spouse. NAB lost a number of concocted cases
including the SGS case, the Steel Mills case, the KESC case, the PIA case,
the Isle of Man case and has not been able to produce any evidence in the
Geneva investigations.
"The scandalisation of legitimate businesses is but a pretext to punish
through judicial abuse a symbol of the democratic aspirations of the people
of Pakistan".

PPP accuses
Musarraf regime of covering up its role in buying oil by three companies
that paid surcharg
Islamabad April 9, 2006: The Pakistan
Peoples Party accused the Musharaf regime of covering up its role in buying
oil from three companies during the Musharaf dictatorship that had made
payment of surcharge in the United Nations Oil for Food program.
According to documentary evidence available, under the Musharaf military
dictatorship, three companies brought oil for it from Iraq under the oil for
food program worth nearly five hundred million dollars paying cumulatively
over 4 million dollars in surcharge to the Saddam regime.
As this oil was sold to Pakistan, these alleged offences are in the legal
jurisdiction of Pakistan and come under the purview of Pakistani law. The
three contracting companies involved are first M/s A&A Services second M/s
B.C International (Pvt) Limited, and third M/s Oil and Gas Services Group.
The NAB has not moved against them.
Recently the military regime's political re-engineering tool, the National
Accountability Bureau claimed that a non Pakistani company involving non
residents and associated with former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto had paid
commission during the Oil for Food Program. Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto stated
that she was unaware of such payments being made and rejected the charges
that she had been involved in such payments. The PPP claimed that having
failed to find governmental corruption in the Mohtarma's PPP led government,
the NAB was overextending its legal reach to investigate a private citizen
in exile.
In a statement today Vice President of the Party Makhdoom Amin Fahim has
questioned why the Musharaf regime has tried to cover up the alleged
offences of surcharge payment by companies doing business with Pakistan and
demanded to know their association with the regime, which is stopping NAB
from taking action against them.
He said that the PPP has called for a parliamentary probe into the said
companies to identify their association with the regime as well as
challenged NAB to move against them if they indeed believe that surcharge
was a bribe were paid in the oil for food program.
Allocations for the oil for food program were made by the United Nations.
Companies registered with the United Nations and allocated oil by the United
Nations had to pay a surcharge to the Iraqi company called SOMO. The three
companies selling oil to Pakistan paid this surcharge too. The United States
has taken exception to the payment of surcharge by American companies.
However, no other country has so far moved against the payment of surcharge.
He said that the NAB had failed to fulfil its function of investigating
corruption as it was involved in political persecution. Human rights groups
have independently confirmed the political persecution by NAB and executive
influence over the judiciary.
He said that the regime had failed to investigate the sugar price scam and
other corruption allegations filed by the PPP before the NAB.
According to documents available with the PPP, the following amounts of oil
were lifted by and surcharge paid:
i) The A&A Services lifted 100, 000 barrels of oil for 14 million dollars
for which it paid 240,000 dollars in surcharge.
ii) The B.C International lifted over 8 million barrels of oil for 174
million dollars after paying a surcharge of over 1.4 million dollars.
iii) The Oil and Gas Services Group lifted over 14 million barrels of oil
valuing over 300 million dollars after paying 2.6 million dollars in
commissions.
The surcharge amounts were deposited in the Jordan National Bank, between
March 2001 and October 2002. One deposit was also made in Fransabank.
The PPP said that the regime through NAB is wasting national funds chasing a
Gulf based company established after the fall of the PPP government for the
alleged payment of surcharge where there is no misuse of official authority
involved. However, it is refusing to investigate the other companies that
paid the same surcharge.
The PPP believes that as the PPP ran a clean and honest government, the
regime's near decade long witch-hunt and political persecution where false
charges of terrorism, narcotics, murder etc were used to fish for assets has
failed to deliver wrong doing. A desperate NAB is now seeking to victimise
former Prime Minister Mohtarma Bhutto through false accusations relating to
her period in exile to keep its propaganda
machine moving. However, people of Pakistan respect Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto
for having the courage to face the state sponsored victimisation which has
see the regime file criminal complaints under the Legal Mutual Assistance
Treaty in several foreign jurisdictions including UK, Switzerland, Spain and
the Gulf. The weight of such a litigation would have broken the will of many
a person but Mohtarma has chosen to walk the path of the people suffering on
their behalf to restore democracy, the rule of law and the economic rights
of the people of Pakistan. 
Mohtarma Bhutto Greets Nation on Eid-i-Milad
Prays for guidance and wisdom to imbibe the great teachings of love and
humility
Islamabad, April 10, 2006: Former Prime
Minister and Chairperson of the Pakistan Peoples Party Mohtarma Benazir
Bhutto has greeted the people on the auspicious eve of Eid-i-Milad-un-Nabi
and prayed for guidance to follow the teachings of the Holy Prophet (Peace
be upon him).
"Today is the birthday of the Holy Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him),
undoubtedly, the greatest of the prophets and the greatest of mankind.
"Muhammad (Peace be upon him) was sent by Allah to the entire mankind indeed
for the entire universe. That is why he was given the title of
Rahmatulil-Aalamin, the benefactor of the entire universe. Since he was for
all ages and all climes, homage is paid to him everywhere and at all times.
It is therefore against the spirit of his teachings if any one
individual or single school of thought sought to monopolise the Prophet's
(peace be upon him) teachings or sought to force any exclusive
interpretation of it.
"The Prophet (peace be upon him) brought a message of peace, love,
compassion and humility. He preached tolerance and understanding. He also
taught us to fight against tyranny, injustice and oppression. The need for
imbibing all these virtues is as great today as it was at any time before.
Let us therefore bow our heads in reverence to allow the clear light of his
teachings illumine our path and transform our lives.
"On this auspicious day I send my greetings to every one particularly to the
Muslims throughout the world and in Pakistan. I also pray that Allah give us
the wisdom and guide us on the path to dedicate ourselves to the teachings
of the Holy Prophet (peace be upon him) and rekindle our souls with the
light lit by him". 
People of Pakistan to Decide Fate of Mohtarma and of Musharraf Dictatorship
Shaheed Zulfikar Ali Bhutto's Martyrdom Anniversary Observed all over the
World
Islamabad, 12 April, 2006: The 27th
martyrdom anniversary of the first directly elected Prime Minister of
Pakistan, Shaheed Zulfikar Ali Bhutto was observed in several countries of
the world including Holland, United Kingdom and the United States.
The martyrdom anniversary in Holland was observed at Aroza Hotel, Amsterdam
where message of Party Chairperson Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto was read out. A
large number of party workers, sympathisers and supporters attended the
gathering addressed by Raja Riaz, President PPP Holland, Saifullah Saifi,
Media Officer PPP Holland, Karamat Ali, Nasir Nizami, Syed Muzhari Bukhari,
Khawaja Aftab, Zafar Iqbal, Khizer Hayat, Malik Muhammad Afzal and Munir
Jamil who paid rich tributes to Shaheed Zulfikar Ali Bhutto who sacrificed
his life for the nation. They pledged to forge unity under the leadership of
Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto for achieving the objectives of the first directly
elected Prime Minister of Pakistan, Shaheed Zulfikar Ali Bhutto who stood
for the rights of downtrodden masses of Pakistan.
A function was organised by the President PPP California, Khuda Bux Bhutto
at the office of Tariq Khan. Dr. Malik Kayoom was the chief guest at the
anniversary function. Prayers were offered for eternal peace to the departed
soul of Shaheed Zulfikar Ali Bhutto. The event was attended by Sultan
Bhutto, M Safeer, M Sageer, M Ateq, Zahid Zaif, Rais Kha, Malik Imtiaz Awan
and dozens of party workers and supporters. Addressing the gathering Khuda
Bux Bhutto and Malik Kayoom paid glowing tributes to Shaheed Zulfikar Ali
Bhutto who gave Pakistan a unanimous constitution, nuclear capability and
progress. He provided leadership to the have-nots and enabled them to earn
their respectable living. The meeting passed several resolutions demanding
immediate end to the media trial of Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto, holding of free
and fair elections under independent election commission, withdrawal of all
concocted and false cases against PPP leadership and release of all
political prisoners.
The 27th martyrdom of Shaheed Zulfikar Ali Bhutto was observed all over
United Kingdom including Oldham, Bradford, Manchester, Birmingham, Glasgow
and London. Ch. Ghulam Abbas was the Chief guest at functions in Bradford,
Oldham, Manchester and Birmingham. A large number of party workers and
supporters attended these functions. Ch. Ghulam Abbas and Ayub Tariq paid
rich tributes to Quaid-e-Awam Shaheed Zulfikar Ali Bhutto. Addressing the
events, speakers said that Shaheed Zulfikar Ali Bhutto gave voice to the
ordinary people to demand their basic and fundamental rights. They
reiterated their resole to fight against |