April 2007
PPP
rejects Bannu Bye election
Urges CEC to cancel results of polls and hold fresh election
Islamabad, April 2, 2007:
The PPPP has rejected the results of the bye election on 29 March to the
National Assembly seat in Bannu N-A 26 and demanded of the Election
Commission to cancel the results and hold fresh elections.
In a statement today provincial PPP President Rahim Dad Khan said that acts
of intimidation, rigging and bogus voting in the bye election to get elected
his son the Frontier Chief Minister had broken all previous records and were
not acceptable.
He said that the process of rigging was set in motion when the provincial
government first had the elections postponed by a few weeks only to enable
the son of the Chief Minister to attain the age as he was not eligible to
take part in elections under the prevalent law.
A network of some 30 civil society organizations that is accredited with the
Election Commission to monitor the polls has also in its preliminary report
said that the elections were marred by serious irregularities. Massive use
of local government machinery, lax enforcement of election laws, bogus
ballots used in women polling stations, coercion and intimidation and
defective voters’ lists have marred the by polls in NA-26, according to the
initial report of the Fair and Free election Network (FAFEN) made public on
Sunday.
Rahim Dad Khan said that a Taliban like atmosphere was created just before
the elections intimidating people from coming to the polling stations. Armed
and bearded men roamed the city in pick ups and vans to create an artificial
impression of Taliban having taken over the city and sounding warning
against participation in polls, he said.
Staff at the women polling stations was held hostage to enable the
administration cast fake and bogus votes, he said. The polling agents of
opponents were beaten and thrown out of the polling stations by people who
were pretending to be Taliban.
He said that according to all independent observers the actual turn out was
no more than 9%. However, in the afternoon polling stations were occupied by
relatives of CM and the district nazim accompanied with police officials.
The bogus votes cast during the occupations swelled the vote count of the
Chief Minister’s son to the unbelievable figure of over 85,000 votes, he
said.
He said that before the election the Chief Minister himself threatened the
concerned polling staff and officers that his son must be given 80,000
votes. About 60 polling staff protested and refused to declare bogus
election results but were later pressurized by the administration to fall in
line.
Rahim Dad Khan said that due to massive rigging people will lose all faith
in democratic institutions which will have a serious backlash. He said that
the 1971 crisis was the result of denying the people the right to choose
their own government and had played havoc with the federation.
The PPP leader called upon the Election Commissioner to cancel the by
election of NA-26 and order fresh polls in the constituency.
Mohtarma Bhutto
condemns cancellation of special bogies for Larkana bound Party workers
Demands immediate withdrawal of cancellation order
Mohtarma Bhutto condemns cancellation of special bogies for Larkana bound
Party workers
Demands immediate withdrawal of cancellation order
Islamabad April 1, 2007:
Former Prime Minister and Chairperson of the Pakistan Peoples Party Mohtarma
Benazir Bhutto has condemned the Punjab government decision to cancel the
booking of special train bogies to carry PPP workers to Larkana for the
barsi function on April 4 and demanded that the decision be immediately
reversed.
Hundreds of PPP workers today gathered at the Railway Station Lahore to
board the special bogies they had already booked for Larkana were shocked to
learn that the reservation of bogies had been cancelled by the Punjab
government without reason and without intimation.
The PPP workers gathered today at the Lahore Railway Station to take the
train for Larkana to participate in the barsi function of Shaheed Zulfikar
Ali Bhutto that is held every year on April 4 in the home town of former
Prime Minister to pay homage to him and to renew their pledge to uphold the
principles for which he laid down his life. However, after waiting for
sometime the workers were told that the special reservations had been
cancelled and asked to vacate the Railway Station.
In a statement today the former Prime Minister said that the cancellation of
reserved booking was an act of political vendetta and only showed how
fearful the Punjab administration was of the PPP. “Through such
highhandedness and policy of coercion and intimidation of political workers
the PML-Q wanted to set up a one Party rule in the country”.
Mohtarma Bhutto called upon the administration to immediately restore the
train reservations and allow the workers to travel to Larkana for
participation in the barsi function.
The former Prime Minister also urged the human rights bodies to raise their
voice against this blatant attack on the basic rights of the people.
She also complimented the workers for their courage and steadfastness in
turning up in large numbers to proceed to Larkana for the function. “Your
sacrifices and sufferings will not go in vain”, she said.
Mohtarma Bhutto also directed Party leadership and senior lawyers to rush to
the Railway Station and take up the matter with relevant.
Mohtarma Bhutto demands release of all activists
Says state repression cannot stifle the voice of people
Islamabad March 31, 2007:
Former Prime Minister and Chairperson of the Pakistan Peoples party Mohtarma
Benazir Bhutto has expressed grave concern over the continued detention of
Party activists arrested in the wake of peaceful protest demonstrations and
demanded their immediate release from captivity.
“The continued detentions of peaceful activists in jails in different parts
of the country is a manifestation of the policy of political vendetta and is
condemned”, she said in a statement today.
A number of PPP and ARD activists who were arrested last week in the week of
protests by the bar against the suspension of Chef Justice have since been
shifted to jails in far off places in Punjab to keep them away from their
families. The activists sent to Attock, Sahiwal, Lahore and Adiyala jails
include Khalid Nawaz Bobi, PSF President Punjab, Sardar Shaukat Hayat,
Ex-President Rawalpindi Bar Association, Sultan Mahmood Qazi, Iqbal Razzaq
Butt, Maqbool Ahmed Khan, Agha Ttaimur, Tariq Bin besides several nazims of
Rawalpindi and many other activists.
Mohtarma Bhutto said that the detention of these activists was without
reasons and unlawful and demanded that they be released immediately.
She complimented the party workers for staging peaceful demonstrations and
for not getting provoked on the face of state repression.
She expressed concern over the issuance of blank detention orders by Punjab
administration to police officials to arrest workers of the ARD before the
3rd of April. Nearly two hundred Party activists are still facing raids by
the state agencies to apprehend them.
Mohtarma Bhutto demanded that the illegal detention orders be also withdrawn
immediately. “State repression has never been able to stifle the voice of
the masses”, she said.
Mohtarma Bhutto calls for imbibing love and humility on Eid-i-Milad
Islamabad, March 31, 2007:
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).
Following is the text of her message on the occasion.
"On the auspicious day of the birth of the Holy Prophet (peace be upon
him) 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.
"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.
"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 monopolize the Prophet’s (peace be upon
him) teachings or sought to force any exclusive interpretation of it”.
Mohtarma Bhutto slams maltreatment of Sajida Mir
Maltreatment and humiliation of women had exposed regime’s claims of
moderation
Islamabad April 1, 2007:
Former Prime Minister and Chairperson of the Pakistan Peoples Party Mohtarma
Benazir Bhutto has condemned the victimization of and maltreatment of
Presidnet Women Wing PPP Lahore Sajid Mmir and said that the treatment meted
out to Sajida had exposed the double standards of the regime behind the
façade of so called enlightened moderation.
President Women Wing of PPP Lahore was slapped by the SHO while she was
addressing a Union Council meeting in connection with the party
elections before being arrested. For three days Sajida Mir and her
sister were kept in a police station before formally detaining her under MPO
and shifted to Kot Lakhpat jail. Her family members were not allowed to
meet. At midnight Sajida was asked to board a police van and whisked to
Mianwali jail without escort of lady police.
The PPP women wing leader has been in jail because of her very vocal
protests against dictatorial polices of the military regime.
In a statement today Chairperson Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto said that the
maltreatment of Sajida Mir was shocking and demanded that those responsible
for it must be brought to book.
“The arrest of Sajida Mir and deliberately inflicting upon her torture and
humiliation is a cheap tactic to send warning signals to political activists
with a view to imposing one party rule in the country”, she said.
Mohtarma Bhutto warned that brutal repression of pro-democracy activists
would result in backlash that could endanger undermine the unity and
integrity of the federation.
“Political activists must not be pushed too hard with their backs to the
wall”.
Mohtarma Bhutto demanded that a judicial inquiry must be held in the
manhandling of Sajida Mir and those responsible be brought to justice
according to the law of the land.
She also urged the human rights bodies to raise their voice against attempts
to impose one Party rule in the country.
She said that the Party activists were men and women of great courage and
conviction who are not deterred by such strong arm tactics.
Pakistan: US ally, US
dilemma
Howard LaFranchi Staff writer of The Christian Science Monitor Date:
04/01/2007
WASHINGTON - Ever since the 9/11 attacks, Pakistan's President Pervez
Musharraf has doggedly made the case to
Washington that he is the finger in the dike holding back a wave of Islamic
extremism that could again reach America's shores.
Having successfully argued his own indispensability, General Musharraf has
reaped billions of dollars in economic aid and arms sales – while
encountering little challenge from Washington over his backsliding from
steps toward democratic rule.
But now it is political protest, fueled by Musharraf's steps to consolidate
and extend his power, that is washing over Pakistan. And that is presenting
the US with a classic dilemma of the war on terrorism: Does a key leader's
security value outweigh his authoritarian practices, and when does
democratic rule become the greater guarantor of security?
Earlier this month, Musharraf suspended the country's Supreme Court chief
justice. Ever since, Pakistan's middle classes – ironically one of the
chief beneficiaries of the military leader's eight-year rule – have taken
to the streets. Also fueling the uproar are suspicions that Musharraf is
paving the way to another term as both president and chief military leader.
The protests are prompting concern, both in Pakistan and the US, that
pent-up political frustrations and social stagnation threaten the stability
of a key American ally at least as much as Islamic extremism in the
country's less-advanced regions.
"For too long, we've heard that the only alternative to Musharraf is
something worse. But the fact is we don't need him if he doesn't move
towards a civilianized government with broadened representation of
Pakistan's people," says Selig Harrison, director of the Asia program of the
Center for International Policy in Washington. The lack of political reform
and civilian rule has exacerbated divisions, he says, "and the more
polarized Pakistan is, the more unstable it's going to be.
While no one expects the social unrest to cause Musharraf's imminent demise,
many observers do see the coming months as crucial to Pakistan's direction.
"This is not just a flare-up. It is reflective of a broader discontent about
the failure of the Musharraf regime to take concrete steps to restore
civilian rule," says Karl Inderfurth, a former assistant secretary of State
for south Asian affairs. "With elections on the horizon, this could be an
important turning point."
Musharraf cited "abuse of power" when he suspended Chief Justice Iftikhar
Muhammed Chaudhry on March 9, and many Pakistanis agreed – with the charge
at least, though they attached it to the president himself. Mr. Chaudhry had
taken the government to task over hundreds of disappearances of Pakistanis,
some suspected Islamic extremists but others human rights activists and
representatives of ethnic minority populations.
Perhaps more telling for many Pakistanis, Chaudhry had also expressed his
view that it was not legal under the Constitution for Musharraf to seek
another presidential term while remaining the Army chief. In addition, he
had said publicly that he anticipated a number of ways in which the issue
could come before him.
Such open threats to the continued reign of Pakistan's military became
intolerable, says Mr. Harrison. "The military establishment is deeply
involved in a wide range of business in the country, and they have a big
stake in staying in power," he says.
So far, the Bush administration has trod lightly on the political uproar. It
has expressed concern over some clashes that have turned violent but has
reiterated support for Musharraf as a valuable ally in the war on terror.
But even there, cracks are beginning to show. Last month, in what some
Pakistanis called the "tough love" visit, Vice President Dick Cheney made a
surprise call on Musharraf to warn him that he risked losing support in the
United States unless he took tougher steps against the Taliban and Al Qaeda.
The Afghan government has pressed the US for months to get tough with
Musharraf over the border issue.
Additional pressure is now coming from Congress, where several moves are
afoot to set conditions for US support. Democratic senators John Kerry,
Joseph Biden, and Christopher Dodd have introduced a resolution calling for
US military assistance to Pakistan to "correlate" to Pakistan's efforts to
strike Taliban and Al Qaeda bases on its territory. The House has already
adopted even tougher legislation.
The Pakistani military in particular would seem to have good reason to worry
about any threat to US military assistance. A study by the Center for Public
Integrity in Washington shows that military aid to Pakistan grew from under
$10 million in the three years prior to 9/11 to more than $4 billion in the
three years after.
Musharraf's approach to the tribal regions along the Afghan border has been
to pursue accords with local leaders to deny sanctuary to foreign fighters
taking refuge there. The third such accord was signed this week, with some
experts suggesting the approach is showing the first signs of results.
Critics, however, believe the approach is more reflective of the close ties
between Islamists andPakistan's intelligence services, as well as
Musharraf's own ambiguous relations with Islamist forces.
Some experts see an Iran factor in US reluctance to turn the screws on
Musharraf. "There's probably more than meets the eye on the administration's
resistance to pushing for civilianization in Pakistan," says Harrison. "It
is clear we are undertaking covert operations in Iran from Pakistan, aiding
disaffected minorities there," he says. "And we have an undetermined agenda
with Iran that could include military action at some point down the road,
and we would need Pakistan for that."
Still, some see unrest in Pakistan's middle classes as a bigger long-term
worry, and they say the US is going to have to take a firmer stand on
democratization.
"US policy must be clear that Musharraf can only be elected again as a
civilian, and that he must open up to the opposition parties," says Manjeet
Kripalani, a fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations in New York.
But others echo the State Department stance, saying the US won't get very
far issuing orders. "What we can do is present the case for why this is in
their interest," says Mr. Inderfurth, now director of graduate
international-affairs studies at George Washington University. "We can make
the case that if he does not respond to the calls all around him [for
political reform], Musharraf risks losing many of the considerable gains he
has accomplished."
PML-N apathetic to
ARD reorganisation, Fahim tells BB
ISLAMABAD:
In a telephone talk on Friday, Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Vice Chairman
Makhdoom Amin Fahim complained to party’s Chairwoman Benazir Bhutto about
the indifference of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) towards the
reorganisation of the Alliance for the Restoration of Democracy (ARD), Daily
Times has learnt.
Fahim, who heads ARD, also complained to Ms Bhutto about the presence of
only two PML-N leaders at an ARD meeting in Islamabad a day ago. He asked Ms
Bhutto to formally take up these issues with PML-N chief Nawaz Sharif.
Sources quoted Fahim as telling his exiled leader that the PML-N appeared to
be more interested in collaborating with the Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal for an
anti-Musharraf movement than organising the ARD at provincial and divisional
levels. He also said that the PPP had ensured participation of its all
provincial presidents in Thursday’s ARD meeting. But, he said, only two PML-N
leaders, Raja Zafarul Haq and Syed Zafar Ali Shah turned up at the meeting
and they too showed no interest in the ARD reorganisation. He said such
indifference by the PML-N could weaken the ARD. Fahim called the ARD meeting
on Thursday to discuss alliance’s reorganisation, but it could not discuss
the matter after the PML-N leaders expressed ignorance about the agenda.
PPP won’t join hands
with MMA in protests
By Zulfiqar Ghuman
ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan
People’s Party (PPP) has reiterated to the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N)
that it will not join hands with the Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal (MMA) in the
protest campaign against the suspension of chief justice of Pakistan (CJP)
or any other anti-government movement, Daily Times has learnt.
“The PPP also complained of the poor participation of the PML-N in the
meeting of the Alliance for Restoration of Democracy (ARD) at the PPP’s
Central Secretariat despite clear instructions by Nawaz Sharif. All our
senior leaders, including provincial presidents, participated,” said a
senior PPP leader on condition of anonymity after an ARD meeting on
Thursday. The PPP leader said PML-N Chairman Raja Zafarul Haq, who
represented his party along with Syed Zafar Ali Shah, told the meeting that
they had informed all the senior leaders of the party about the meeting, but
could not justify their absence.
“The PML-N leader also complained that Ms Bhutto was not attending the PML-N
sponsored all parties conference in London. The PPP leaders told him that Ms
Bhutto had decided to send a delegation to attend the APC despite the fact
that it was called without taking them into confidence,” he said. The PPP
leader said that they also told the PML-N to consult the PPP before
important decisions. “However, we have told them that the PPP has no
objection to the PML-N’s contacts with MMA,” the leader said.
Some 40 political leaders belonging to different components of the ARD
attended the meeting. However, the original agenda of ARD organisation at
the divisional level could not be taken up because the PML-N was unprepared.
The PML-N claimed that its was not intimated about the agenda, while the PPP
insisted that it had informed all its ARD partners. ARD Chairman and PPPP
President Makhdoom Amin Fahim, speaking at a later press conference,
reiterated the opposition’s support for the lawyers struggle against the
removal of the CJP and promised full ARD participation in a protest on April
3 in front of the Supreme Court.
He also urged other opposition parties to participate in the protest on
April 3 to express solidarity with the suspended CJP, but skipped questions
regarding joint protests by all opposition parties including the MMA. “The
ARD, MMA and PONM are three different political alliances and they take
their own decisions,” he said.
PML-N
invitation to MMA for ARD demo angers PPP
By Tahir Hasan Khan
KARACHI: The
participation of the Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal (MMA) in the protest lodged by
the Alliance for the Restoration of Democracy (ARD) for the restoration of
Chief Justice of Pakistan would be tabled as the main item at the meeting of
the central leaders of the ARD being held in Islamabad on Thursday (today).
Disclosing this, sources said that the PPP leadership has already decided to
take up this matter at the ARD meeting by lodging strong protest against
former prime minister Mian Nawaz Sharif’s PML-N for inviting the MMA in the
ARD protest.
Sources said that Benazir Bhutto has taken serious notice of the
participation of the MMA leaders in ARD rallies and directed the party
leaders to take up this matter in protest at the ARD meeting in the federal
capital.
Insiders claimed that the PPP leadership had already lodged strong protest
with the PML-N leaders for inviting the religious alliance in the ARD
protest. The PPP leaders, sources said, had already conveyed to the PML-N
that Benazir’s stand against the MMA was very clear as the party did not
like to sit in any meeting or protest with the religious alliance owing to
their policies.
The PPP has also conveyed that the ARD would be welcoming the MMA if the
religious alliance quits the Balochistan government’s coalition with the
ruling PML-Q.
The party leaders pointed out that the Sindh PML-N leader Zain Ansari
admitted that he had invited the MMA on the instructions of his party leader
Raja Zafarul Haq, who had asked him to invite the MMA leadership in the ARD
protest demo.
According to sources, PML-N’s Secretary General Zafar Iqbal Jhagra is the
main leader of the ARD in Pakistan after Makhdoom Amin Fahim but Raja
Zafarul Haq enjoys no position in the ARD.
The MMA leaders had also planned their protest on the same day fixed by the
ARD leaders Benazir Bhutto and Nawaz Sharif to press the demand for the
restoration of Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry.
The ARD and MMA had earlier announced separate venues for their protests but
at the last moment the MMA joined the ARD protest in Karachi and other parts
of the country.
The PPP sources said that Benazir Bhutto had refused to participate in the
multi parties conference (MPC) convened by the PML-N chief Nawaz Sharif
because she did not want to sit with the MMA leaders. The PML-N had also
invited the MMA in its MPC in London but the conference was later postponed
due to the stand of the PPP chairperson.
ARD meeting ends
without decision
By Amir Wasim
ISLAMABAD: A meeting of
the Alliance for the Restoration of Democracy (ARD) here on Thursday ended
without taking any decision owing to differences between two main components
— the People's Party Parliamentarians and the Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz)
— over the agenda, sources at the two parties told Dawn.
According to the PPP leaders, the meeting of the heads of alliance’s
component parties had been convened to discuss the reorganisation of the ARD
at the provincial and district levels, while the PML-N leaders claimed that
they were told that the meeting had been called to discuss the prevailing
political situation in the country, with particular reference to the ongoing
judicial crisis.
The PPP sources told Dawn that the party had directed all its provincial
presidents, information secretaries and other office-bearers to attend the
ARD meeting to finalise a plan for reorganising the ARD at the provincial
and district levels in the light of decisions taken at a meeting between
Benazir Bhutto and Nawaz Sharif in London last week.
They said all top leaders of the PPP and office-bearers from three provinces
were present in the meeting. They regretted that from the PML-N side only
chairman Raja Zafarul Haq and vice-president Syed Zafar Ali Shah attended
the meeting.
The sources said the PML-N leaders told ARD chairman Makhdoom Amin Fahim and
other PPP leaders that they were not aware of the agenda of the meeting and
had come there without any preparation. The sources said the PPP leaders
expressed displeasure over this reply and said the PML-N was not taking
practical steps to strengthen the ARD.
A PPP leader alleged that the PML-N had failed to bring its office-bearers
to the ARD meeting because it was facing some internal organisational
problems.
A senior PML-N leader said the Thursday's meeting had been convened by
alliance chairman Makhdoom Amin Fahim without any consultation with the PML-N.
He said the PML-N was not aware of any decision taken in the Nawaz-Benazir
meeting regarding reorganisation of the ARD.
Replying to a question, he said PML-N secretary-general Iqbal Zafar Jhagra
was present in the London meeting but he had not communicated any such
decision to them. He said the PML-N was an organised party and had
office-bearers all over the country and it was wrong to say that the party
was facing any organisational crisis. He said it was good to know that the
PPP had realised the need for reorganising the ARD after seven years.
Meanwhile, briefing the media after the meeting, Makhdoom Amin Fahim said
that they had decided to hold a protest demonstration from the ARD platform
outside the Supreme Court on April 3 -- the day Chief Justice Iftikhar
Mohammad Chaudhry would appear before the Supreme Judicial Council.
There was a great Prime Minister, the first Prime Minister, the father
of the present Prime Minister of India, who said, "We were too old, we
were too tired to oppose Pakistan, and Pakistan had to come into being.
But we hope that one day we will get together gain." I too hope so, not
that Pakistan will emerge as subservient to India but in the sense that
we will get together again as equal friends, in a common fraternity,
living in a common subcontinent and sharing the common effort of seeing
that poverty, ignorance and misery are wiped out. If there are any two
countries in world that are the poorest in the world, they are Pakistan
and India. Our resources might be tremendous, but the fact is that we
two are the poorest in the world. Yet in the last 24 years, we have gone
to war three times. Three times there has been conflict in the
subcontinent. I remember that Prime Minister of the Soviet Union once
telling me that even rich nations try to avoide war; poorer nations
should make a greater attempt to avoid war.