|





















News Archives
Latest News
January 2008
December 2007
November 2007
October 2007
September
2007
August 2007
July 2007
June 2007
May 2007
April 2007
March 2007
February 2007
December 2006
November 2006
October
2006
September 2006
August 2006
July 2006
June 2006
May 2006
April 2006
March 2006
February 2006
January 2006
December 2005
November
2005
October 2005
September 2005
August 2005
July 2005
June 2005
May 2005
April 2005
March 2005
February 2005
January 2005
December 2004
The Rediff
Interview/Benazir Bhutto
|
 |
January 2007

Presidential
fatigues
Vinod Sharma
January 31, 2007
Politics is in a state of flux in Pakistan. This after all is the year of
the generel elections that may precede or follow the renewal of Pervez
Musharraf’s presidential term till 2012. There is no dearth of advice
available to Musharraf. But all of them beg the question: will he get
re-elected by the new electoral college or take the ‘easy’ but risky course
of retaining office with the help of assemblies whose term ends in November?
Quite intrinsic to the presidential polls is Musharraf’s barely concealed
desire to continue wearing the uniform. He had first promised to demit
office as Chief of the Army Staff (COAS) by December 31, 2004, a deadline he
prolonged to November 15, 2007, by making a section of the Opposition — the
mullah party combine of Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal (MMA) — put its stamp on
what is called the 17th Amendment.
Okayed by Parliament on December 31, 2003, the Constitution (17th Amendment)
Act, 2003, was a New Year’s gift for Musharraf. It allowed him to keep the
uniform till the end of his presidential term while according constitutional
sanctity to the Legal Framework Order (LFO) through which he had
appropriated powers to sack the Prime Minister, dissolve the National
Assembly and appoint the chiefs of armed forces.
The political icing on the cake for Musharraf was the fissure the amendment
created between a supportive MMA and a bitterly opposed Alliance for
Restoration of Democracy (ARD) comprising Benazir Bhutto’s Pakistan People’s
Party (PPP) and Nawaz Sharif’s Pakistan Muslim League (PML).
Three years down the line and a little over nine months to the November
deadline, the President continues to don the khaki. The 17th Amendment that
once divided the Opposition is now a constitutional validation of the
ARD-MMA’s demand that Musharraf keep the promise of demitting office as the
army chief.
Technically, a simple majority in the bicameral Parliament and the
provincial assemblies of Punjab, Sindh, the North West Frontier Province and
Balochistan, whose terms also expire in November, can give Musharraf another
five years as President. Contemplated at the Federal Cabinet’s January 17
meeting, the move is likely to be resisted tooth and nail by the Opposition.
For its part, the MMA, given the numbers it has in the NWFP, could even
render the electoral college for presidential polls incomplete by forcing
dissolution of the House.
Musharraf could, if driven to the wall, take recourse to
extra-constitutional measures. The consequent near-total political isolation
would compound his dependence on the ruling Pakistan Muslim League (Quaid) —
pejoratively called the ‘King’s Party’ for its record of kowtowing to army
rulers — and would probably derail his domestic agenda of ‘enlightened
moderation’ and the three-year-old peace talks with India.
The general, in fact, seems caught in a chakravyuh of his own making. The
17th Amendment gives him sweeping powers as President while putting a time
bar on holding office as COAS. Worse, Article 43 of the Constitution that
will come into force after November states: “The President shall not hold
any office of profit in the service of Pakistan or occupy any other position
carrying the right to remuneration for the rendering of services.”
So, in the absence of a mutually beneficial deal with the Opposition or a
section of it, Musharraf lacks risk-free options to retain a uniformed
presidency reminiscent of Ayub Khan’s ‘representative dictatorship’ that
doesn’t quite promote parliamentary sovereignty. By himself, he can
perpetrate the existing arrangement either through a Provisional
Constitutional Order (PCO) — of the kind promulgated in 2001 to enable him
become President — or rig the elections to secure a captive National
Assembly that will amend Article 43 to let him wear two hats.
But that would be a slippery course for the President who, until Balochistan
happened, had sold himself to the West and the United States as a benign
military ruler committed to promoting ‘modern values’, fighting extremism
and promoting peace in the subcontinent. In 2005, Benazir’s husband Asif
Zardari stated that Musharraf’s record of curtailing individual and
political freedoms was no better than Zia-ul Haq’s. Yet, his assiduously
cultivated image of a ‘liberal’ denied the Opposition the sympathetic
international audience it had during previous spells of military rule.
How then can Musharraf beat the Catch-22 situation? Political reliance on
the mullah-driven, pro-Taliban MMA would be self-defeating. That leaves
Nawaz Sharif, whom Musharraf distrusts, and Benazir Bhutto, the ‘lesser
evil’ with whom a rapprochement may be possible at a political price. But
what is the price? The 17th Amendment offers an opening for a quid pro quo
with Bhutto. It is believed that a presidential assurance of the repeal of a
law the Amendment validates against a person holding the PM’s post thrice
could provide the basis of an accord with Bhutto, who, like Sharif, has been
premier twice.
Unlike Sharif, who cannot return to Pakistan without Musharraf’s approval,
Bhutto is in a self-imposed exile in Dubai since 1998. There is no
impediment to her return to Pakistan — except the corruption charges on
which she could be jailed. Analysts do not discount a convergence of
interests rooted in Musharraf’s anxiety to retain the uniform and Bhutto’s
desire to reclaim the PM’s office.
Practically, it would mean the PPP swapping places with the MMA to replicate
2003. For his part, Musharraf has kept the back-channels open with Bhutto,
his close friend and secretary of the National Security Council Tariq Aziz
reportedly playing the go-between along with a former British envoy to
Pakistan. This sub-plot to the confusing political drama is perceived to
have the blessings of international players keen on seeing Musharraf broaden
his mass support, something on which the ruling PML(Q) has failed him
miserably.
Musharraf will eventually follow the advice of his corps commanders and a
few trusted constitutional experts. For Bhutto, however, the choice will be
many times more difficult, entail as it would a tacit or overt agreement to
let Musharraf continue to be General.
A PPP climbdown on what has come to be recognised as the core issue will
split not just the ARD but also the MMA. The resultant polarisation could
see the rabidly anti-Musharraf Jamat-e-Islami severe its uneasy ties with
the Jamiatul-Ulema-e-Islam (JUI) and join Nawaz Sharif.
Sceptics like Imran Khan do not see the PPP leader rising to the bait. But
they are reluctant to forecast the next turn in a polity that witnessed
Bhutto playing ball with the civil-military establishment in the 1993 polls.
The compromise, after all, helped her become PM the second time.
Email Vinod Sharma:
vinodsharma@hindustantimes.com

Pakistan at
crossroads
By Burhanuddin Hasan
In its chequered, crises-ridden history, Pakistan has once again reached the
milestone of another impending crisis looming large on the horizon. Just ten
years after its faulty tryst with democracy, the country succumbed to
military rule when General Ayub Khan emerged as a `strong man' with full
moral and military support of the United States. The US being the
torchbearer of democratic values all over the world could not support naked
military dictatorships without certain strings being attached. President
Eisenhower, the first US president to visit Pakistan one year after Ayub's
takeover, might have advised him to introduce some sort of representative
government not only to legitimise his own coup but also to provide the US
government a plausible excuse for its unequivocal support to a military
dictator. In 1962, Ayub Khan was compelled to consider the revival of
political parties which were banned by him soon after his coup. With the
revival of these parties, it became unavoidable that President Ayub himself
would join one of the parties or make a party of his own. It was decided to
adopt the latter course – that is to create a party from the top. The party
which was selected was the Muslim League as it could lend its hallowed name
to the new regime.
The Muslim League (Convention) was therefore recognised as the official
government party deriving its name from a convention that had been convened
to form a new party. The army, the feudal classes, the business community
and of course the all-powerful bureaucracy joined hands with Ayub Khan. In
December 1963, Ayub Khan was elected President of his faction of the League
and with this, his dream to run the government without political parties
faded into history.
In 1968, after a serious illness which left him completely shattered, Ayub
Khan made the final mistake of violating his own constitution by handing
over power to Army Chief, General Agha Muhammad Yahya Khan and not the
Speaker of the National Assembly who incidentally was a Bengali. Once again,
Martial Law was proclaimed in the country on March 25, 1969, and a few days
later, General Yahya Khan installed himself as the President of Pakistan.
The ill-fated government of Yahya Khan was responsible for the breakup of
Pakistan and emergence of Mr. Bhutto's democratic government which gave the
country its Constitution (1973), which despite being bashed and battered
many times still exits. Mr Bhutto was a moderate and enlightened ruler but
the general elections held in 1977 were rigged, undoubtedly with his advice
and consent. This gave the religious parties a plausible excuse to form an
alliance under the name of the PNA, which launched a powerful agitation that
shook the foundations of the Bhutto government and gave army chief General
Ziaul Haq a chance to overthrow the democratic government of Mr Bhutto and
later hang him for a murder that he did not commit.
General Zia's rule was a dark night of repression under the guise of the
so-called Nizam-e-Mustafa. He nurtured retrogressive Mullaism and at
America's behest created the Taliban, who are still looming on the horizon
of Afghanistan.
After his death in a plane crash, Pakistan was ruled by incompetent and
corrupt governments of Benazir Bhutto and Nawaz Sharif which made the
country bankrupt and gave General Musharraf an opportunity to seize power.
He has been ruling the country for the last seven years with an iron first.
But he has elaborately installed all the trappings of a democracy without a
soul as had been done by General Ayub Khan. The only difference is that
General Musharraf did not abrogate the constitution but drastically amended
it to suit his requirements. Also, like General Ziaul Haq, he tried to
legitimise his rule by winning a rigged referendum. He is also harvesting a
crop of radical mullahs like Ziaul Haq.
Pakistan is perceived throughout the world as the bedrock of terrorism and
despite President Musharraf's protests and assurances that he is doing his
best to curb terrorists, the American government and media seem to be
convinced that Pakistan's intelligence agencies are secretly supporting the
Taliban.
Amidst this scenario, President Musharraf, in the time-honoured tradition of
military rulers, is trying his best to extend his rule for another term
which the Constitution does not allow. He has the moral and material support
of America to fight terrorism in the region. The opposition parties
including the MMA are determined to block President Musharraf's effort to
get elected for a third term by the existing assemblies wherein the ruling
Muslim League has a majority. They are demanding that if General Musharraf
wants to contest the elections next year, he should doff his uniform and
fight fairly and squarely as a politician and not as a general in uniform.
But their pleas will not be accepted because the president, following the
footsteps of his predecessors, is determined to prolong his rule by hook or
by crook. He has hired top lawyers who in the past invented the "law of
necessity" and other such gimmicks to keep military rulers in their chairs
by distorting constitutional clauses in their favour. General Ziaul Haq had
no qualms of conscience when he declared that the constitution was just a
"piece of paper" which he could "tear any time" he wanted. It is this
nation's misfortunate that generals and politicians alike have treated the
constitution as a piece of paper which can be mercilessly mutilated by
jugglery of words.
As regards the hue and cry of opposition parties, President Musharraf knows
that opposition leaders, except those who have been bargaining with him for
a piece of the pie, are in complete disarray and cannot unite for the cause
of restoration of real democracy in which they themselves do not really
believe.
The only way the opposition parties can stop President Musharraf from
getting elected by the present assemblies is through the combined power of
resignation from assemblies which will break the electoral college. But this
is not likely to happen and President Musharraf will be elected by the
present assemblies and his magician lawyers will prove the election as
constitutional. However, one can only hope that President Musharraf before
being elected by the present assemblies will take off his uniform, hold fair
and transparent elections, rule the country as a civilian president and lay
the foundation of true democracy in Pakistan which he claims to be his goal.
He is a leader who can turn the country around by breaking the cycle of
military rule, establish genuine democracy and go down in history as a
reformer and a democrat.
The writer is a former director of PTV. Email:
burhanhasan@hotmail.com

Present
assemblies have no right to re-elect President Musharraf: Shah Mehmood
Qureshi
NEW YORK Thursday December 31st, 2007:
PPP President Punjab, Shah Mehmood Qureshi has said that incumbent
assemblies have no right to re-elect President Gen Pervez Musharraf for
consecutive second term and opposition will fully oppose this decision.
He expressed these views while addressing a press conference at New York on
Wednesday.
He said that opposition is united on this point that present assemblies will
not become successful to re-elect the President Musharraf. While criticizing
the government for inflation, unemployment and increasing rate of crimes in
the country especially Punjab and said that government has literally failed
to control all the civic problems and Police is busy to protect the
culprits.
Replying to a question about upcoming general elections, he said that the
whole world is looking at these elections and Benazir Bhutto has decided to
arrive in Pakistan before the elections.
He further said that Nawaz Sharif is the leader of a big political party and
he should be allowed to participate in the elections as well.

Bhutto wants
opposition summit put on hold
ISLAMABAD Tuesday, 30 January, 2007:
Pakistan People's Party (PPP) Chairpesron Benazir Bhutto has asked Pakistan
Muslim League-N Patron-in-Chief Nawaz Sharif to put his proposed All Parties
Conference (APC) on hold till an "appropriate time", political sources said
here yesterday.
Although two rounds of talks between the two exiled leaders had failed,
sources said that in a recent contact with Sharif, Bhutto has also asked the
PML-N leader not to announce the APC until an appropriate time came.
"The PPP had never accepted the proposal to host the APC, rather it has told
the PML-N to not to announce the event under unilateral hosting, while it is
better to wait for an appropriate time," a source said.
A senior PPP office-bearer, who is involved in the deliberation since
December 2006, said that indirect deliberations went for two weeks, but a
PML-N faction rejected the proposal to postpone the APC till April this
year.
"Bhutto has not agreed to give her consent to participate in the APC
proposed to be held in London early March as she thinks that signatories of
Charter of Democracy - PPP and PML-N - should hit a final blow to the fluid
ouster of military regime," the PPP source said.
"But a strong faction of the PML-N does not want the Bhutto-Sharif alliance
to be highlighted as country's supreme democratic force," he added.
The PPP official said that time was not ripe to expose the names of the
dissent voices in the PML-N as the PPP was trying to strengthen the alliance
between the two major political game planners.
Brushing aside the rumours of a possible Bhutto-Sharif split in the event of
indecision on the APC, sources in the PML-N said that Sharif would not let
the democratic force let down."
"Both the parties recognise the importance of gathering at one platform to
put pressure on the General Musharraf-led PML," the PML-N sources added.
Sources in both the parties said that the PPP and the PML-N were busy
working on a way out of the crisis, as the breakdown of the alliance would
give a free hand to the military to supervise the political moves in the
country. – Internews

Zulfikar Bhutto
did not sell rivers: Shah
KARACHI: Pakistan Peoples
Party-Parliamentarians (PPP-P) Sindh President Syed Qaim Ali Shah, Aga Siraj
Durrani and Abdul Salam Thahim have refuted a statement recently made by of
Awami Tehreek Chief Rasool Bux Palijo, saying that PPP founder and former
prime minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto handed over six rivers of Pakistan to
India.
In a joint statement issued on Sunday, the PPPP leaders said that, in fact,
General Ayub Khan had handed over the six rivers to India and not ZAB. They
said that Palijo had started a campaign to malign Zulfikar Ali Bhutto and
Benazir Bhutto but he would not succeed. They said that Zulfikar Ali
Bhutto’s struggle for the development and prosperity of the country was
exemplary. “He even sacrificed his life for the welfare of the masses.” ppi

Pakistan
Panorama: Sharif sandwiched between Bhutto, Qazi (by Kamran Rehmat)
DEPOSED
PRIME minister Nawaz Sharif has had a tough time in exile though he cannot
complain too much after leaving the almost forgotten, even if palatial,
existence in Saudi Arabia for his current abode in London. Sharif’s attempts
at forging a united opposition front for an all parties conference (APC) he
has called has run into snags with the two most wanted participants – former
prime minister Benazir Bhutto and Jamaat-e-Islami chief Qazi Hussain Ahmed –
at loggerheads over sitting across the same table.
Sharif is taking pains to assemble the flock in a bid to fight General
Pervez Musharraf’s plan for re-election as president, which theoretically,
will cause a tremor or two in the corridors of power, but practically
speaking, will be little more than a storm in a tea cup. There is a reason
for this. Ms Bhutto is unlikely to break bread with Qazi not only because of
ideological differences but also since such a step is seen by liberal
elements across the world as politically incorrect. It is no secret that
Washington wants to get rid of the clergy, and by extension, General
Musharraf.
To Musharraf’s credit, he realises it was a mistake to have co-opted the
rightwing Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal (MMA) in the first place, ostensibly to
stop Ms Bhutto’s Pakistan People’s Party from coming into power. But then,
Musharraf was pushed into it also because of Ms Bhutto’s own intransigence
to let her man, Amin Fahim, be anointed as PM. Ironically, she may now be
willing to have such an arrangement but it would seem the military regime
has tired of the battle of attrition so much that Musharraf let the ruling
party, Pakistan Muslim League, announce him as their candidate for president
early this month.
Ms Bhutto however, is not yet calling time on the issue of co-option, which
explains why she has caused Sharif so much grief by openly contesting his
decision to call the APC from the platform of his Pakistan Muslim
League-Nawaz (PML-N) party. Many pundits believe Ms Bhutto’s call for
organising an APC from the wider platform of the secular Alliance for
Restoration of Democracy (ARD) – that combines hers and Sharif’s parties –
was an attempt to upset Sharif’s plan of grabbing the limelight as the
binding force of the opposition with an eye on the forthcoming elections.
However, to everyone’s surprise, Sharif called Ms Bhutto’s bluff and has
relented to host the APC from ARD’s platform. But there’s a catch. Now, the
Jamaat chief is not willing to attend the APC from ARD’s platform – for
understandable reasons. Ms Bhutto has still not confirmed her participation
but it would be difficult – and politically, damaging – for her not to
accept Sharif’s invite anymore. She may lose a vital chunk of her support
base in Punjab if she “betrays” Sharif now.
Nothing is more enthralling than to have a chat with Sarfraz Nawaz, the
burly former Pakistan pace bowler and inventor of reverse swing. A colourful
and jovial character, he minces no word in saying it like it is. I met him
during the inauguration of a major cricket club in Islamabad by the prime
minister recently. Some very interesting conversation followed but not all
of what Big Saf – as he is known – said is printable!
Beginning with Shabbir Ahmed’s action, which was rectified by Sarfraz after
the bowler was banned for a year for over-reaching the flexibility limit set
by the ICC, the former star castigated the Pakistan Cricket Board for not
taking up his offer to fight Shabbir’s case in The Hague (no less!) by
pointing out similar bent in the action of four other current pace bowlers
including Australian spearhead Brett Lee.
He dwelt at length on the overtly religious brigade in the Pakistan team,
where half the team members are reportedly into tableegh (preaching). He
claimed that a converted cricketer was into some other “tricks” as well and
recalled he was told during a Test against Sri Lanka last year where
Pakistan was predicted to lose on a wearing last day pitch against a
menacing Muttiah Muralitharan that the Lankan match-winner would come
unstuck, enabling Pakistan to save the day. Laughable as the suggestion
seemed, he said that’s exactly what happened!
He then recalled – much to my amusement – how the same cricketer piled on
the runs against the West Indies in a recent rubber with Caribbean fielders
dropping dollies offered by him. Sarfraz said this prompted him to rib the
cricketer and ask him he was willing to join forces to make it good in the
political arena – much to the consternation of the cricketer. But wait till
you hear this. Sarfraz revealed he would be contesting a parliamentary seat
in the forthcoming elections as a nominee of the ruling party. He said he
had been promised a hefty election fund “because I don’t have any money”.
When I asked him who his opponent was and how did he visualise the promised
sum ensuring victory for him, Sarfraz alluded it was not a problem at all.
He said he knew all the tricks needed to win an election – no-one has ever
accused him of not having a bagful – and in fact, candidly counted on the
“angels” to deliver. For the discerning, “angels” in the Pakistani parlance
refers to stuffing of ballots by “invisible” gentry.
Admittedly, one has never been an avid fan of his brand of politics –
slightly raunchy for anyone with good taste – but it would tantamount to
being economical with the truth not to concede his political instincts and
winsome ways. The current prime minister was annoyed with his overboard
style and ability to impose himself even above the PM where soundbytes were
concerned. The PM managed to have him removed as information minister last
year. The other day I asked him about rumours of a comeback in jest, to
which he responded with characteristic ease that he did not wish to get back
to “dirt” – an oblique reference to the ministry he left behind – and said
he was pleased with how he had washed the “dirt” that Railways was before he
made his entry.
It should be interesting to see how he keeps track of whose dirty linen,
come election time. Where polls are concerned, Rashid always manages to come
clean!

Are Multan
stalwarts ready to desert parties?
MULTAN: A number of stalwarts from
various parties are waiting for the turn of tide, especially from Multan’s
traditional families, pundits predict.
They say if the PPP and the PML-N successfully adjust seats with each other
it will guarantee both parties not only a clean sweep in the City but also
will play a key role in defeating the ruling party.
Ruling PML sources say a number of turncoats from the PPP and ML-N are in
contact with their MNAs, MPAs and kingmakers, while they too want to see
them in their fold. A senior PML-N leader and former MPA Mazhar Abbas Ran
has joined the PML, while PML-N MPAs Nafees Ansari and Haji Ehsanuddin
Qureshi have refused to desert their party.
The induction of Punjab PPP president Makhdoom Shah Mahmood Qureshi is
considered to be a worker-friendly move. Workers want that Benazir Bhutto
should not be blackmailed by any stalwart of the turncoat breed as it was
the time for those committed workers who did not leave the party during hard
rimes.
High-rankers in the PPP have disclosed that the party chairperson Benazir
Bhutto has asked the leaders to allot party tickets only those candidates
who offered sacrifices. However, the situation is quite disappointing to PPP
senior vice-chairman Syed Yousaf Raza Gillani who is interested in getting
at least four tickets for his favourites. PPP insiders revealed that Gillani
had already threatened to quit the PPP in the last general elections on the
party’s refusal for not allotting tickets to his nominated three candidates.
“His nephew Syed Asad Murtaza Gillani, his brother Syed Ahmed Mujtaba
Gillani and a close member of their family Dr Javed Siddiqui applied for the
party ticket in 2000. However, party chairperson Benazir Bhutto issued a
ticket to his younger brother Syed Ahmed Mujtaba Gillani only following
party’s intelligence reports on personality assessment, which informed that
the three had no major contribution to the party,” said sources, adding the
PPP stalwart Raza Rabbani had Gillani in jail, promising him to give three
tickets to his nominated candidates and after that he remained loyal to the
party.
Ahmed Mujtaba Gillani lost the seat, while one of his recommended candidates
Syed Ahmed Mujtaba Gillani has quitted the PPP and joined the PPP-Patriot by
getting the office of parliamentary secretary. Gillani’s third nominee Dr
Javed Siddiqi, however, has captured a seat and has developed very close
relations with the bigwigs of the PML.
A senior PPP leader with a key role in allotting party tickets observed that
it would be very difficult for Benazir Bhutto to welcome all nominations by
Gillani or accept any sort of blackmailing. He said some respectable elders
from Gillani family had shown interest to join the PPP but they were not
ready to give this credit to Syed Yousaf Raza. “In fact, Yousaf Raza always
protects interests of his brother and son and ignores the rest of group. He
has betrayed his real uncle Makhdoom Syed Hamid Raza Gillani in the past.”
The Gillani elders dominated in the last local government polls as the third
group after Awam Dost and PML groups led by former MNA Syed Tanveerul Hassan
Gillani, Syed Yazdani Gillani and Federal Parliamentary Secretary Syed Asad
Murtaza Gillani. The Gillani elders also avoided to invite or include Yousaf
Raza Gillani in the group.
Major changes are also expected in the PML as all its sitting MPAs are
eyeing the slots of MNAs and it would be very difficult to the party leaders
to make a choice. It is pertinent to mention here that all PML legislators
are either from the PPP or the PML-N.
However, the PML-N would be in very tough position following being deprived
of electoral bigwigs who have joined the PML and the party would have to
face challenges in selecting suitable candidates to capture the seats.
Staunch PML-N MPA Mazhar Abbas Ran has already joined the PML which would
create problems for Makhdoom Shah Mahmood Qureshi in his traditional
constituency.
Makhdoom Shah Mehmood Qureshi and former MPA Malik Salahuddin Dogar have
played a key role in the victory of Awam Dost Group without the
participation of Gillani and this was the only group in Multan who nominated
its candidates in each union council.

Bhutto’s party
boycotts opposition conference
ISLAMABAD 1/22/2007: The People’s Party
Parliamentarians (PPP) has put the opposition Alliance for the Restoration
of Democracy in an awkward position as it refused to attend a multi-party
conference being convened by the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) to
develop a strategy for the forthcoming general elections.
Putting on a brave face over the PPP decision to convince former prime
minister Nawaz Sharif to organise the meet under the aegis of the Alliance
for the Restoration of Democracy (ARD), PML-N Information Secretary Ahsan
Iqbal said the proposed London meeting would be held next month.
Iqbal, who was otherwise at pains to stress that the ARD remained
unimpaired, could not help recalling that Sharif had spoken to all
opposition leaders over telephone before dispatching invites to them.
“And there are no prizes for guessing that the first person he spoke to was
Benazir Bhutto because the PPP is a major component party of the ARD,” he
said with ill-concealed disappointment.
Analysts said the PPP decision, which was announced by President Makhdoom
Amin Fahim at a press conference following a joint meeting of the party’s
central executive committee and federal council, would bring the ARD under
severe strain.
Fahim, who is chairman of the ARD, told reporters that the PPP would hold
more talks with PML-N leaders to convince them widen the scope of the
multi-party conference.
Sources privy to the proceedings of the PPP meeting said there was a wide
divergence of opinion among senior party leaders over PPP Chairperson
Benazir Bhutto’s participation in the proposed conference.
They said some leaders believed that Bhutto’s whole-hearted participation in
the meet would finally lay to rest all the speculation about the party’s
secret talks with the establishment.
Others, the sources said, were vexed by the expected presence of the
Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal in the conference.
The naysayers pointed out that since Sharif could not return home any time
soon, the PML-N should not be allowed to hijack the 15-party opposition
alliance, the sources said.
The PPP decision would be communicated to Sharif through a letter in a day
or two.
Political observers feel certain that the PPP wants to make preparations for
the forthcoming elections untrammelled by the resolutions of the proposed
conference, which may decide to boycott the polls.

PPPP demands
suspension of LBs before elections
Qaim says free, fair polls under present govt not possible
By Imtiaz Hussain
KHAIRPUR: PPPP Sindh chief Syed Qaim Ali
Shah has demanded that the district governments should be suspended for
three months after the announcement of the schedule of the coming general
elections.
Talking to The News at the Jilani House here on Monday, he said the
government had removed pro-PPPP Nazims during the local bodies elections and
in the presence of the district governments there was no any guarantee of
fair and transparent elections in the country.
Qaim said the Pakistan People’s Party Parliamentarians had never signed
agreements to hand over Sindh’s islands to foreign companies. In fact, he
said, Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto had the Port Qasim built when the Karachi port was
saturated.
He said the Buddo and Bundal islands belong to Sindh and the Centre has no
right to sell them without its permission. The PPPP leader stated that Chief
Minister Sindh Arbab Ghulam Rahim was issuing baseless statements about the
islands’ issue to cover up his mistakes. He said a PPPP delegation had met
the chief election commissioner (CEC) and informed him about reservations of
the party over the holding of the general elections under the present
government.
The delegation called upon the CEC to ensure the holding of fair and
transparent elections under an independent caretaker government, he added.
The electoral lists and other issues were also discussed during the meeting.
Qaim said there is complete harmony between the PPPP and the Pakistan Muslim
League-Nawaz over the holding of the by-election to the NA-250 seat, adding
that the PML-N candidate had withdrawn in favour of PPPP candidate Nafees
Siddiqui.
He said this bond between the PPPP and the PML-N proved that there was no
differences between them. He said that in Sindh the Alliance for the
Restoration of Democracy (ARD) is playing its vital role and there is no
rift in the alliance.
Qaim said Benazir Bhutto had never announced a date or a month about her
return to Pakistan. He said she will be back before the election schedule.
He said the PPPP will sweep the polls across the country. He added it will
depend on the results of the general elections whether the party will
consider the Muttahida Qaumi Movement and the PML-Functional as its
coalition partners. However, he added everything was possible in politics.
The PPPP leader said the Baloachistan issue will affect the formation of new
governments, hoping that the issue will be resolved through dialogue. He
urged that the operation in the province should be ended.
The PPPP leader said economists have suggested that poverty and inflation
have increased and are destabilising the economy of the country. He said
hundreds of youths were committing suicides due to joblessness.

Pakistani
Critics Decry Musharraf Re-Election Ploy
by Philip Reeves
Morning Edition, January 29, 2007:
Pakistan's Gen. Pervez Musharraf is entering a crucial period of his
military rule. His aides say he intends to seek re-election when his term in
office expires in November. But an intense dispute has already begun over
the way he's planning to go about it.
More than seven years have elapsed since Musharraf seized power in a coup.
As president and Army chief of staff, he says he practices "enlightened
moderation."
His opponents disagree. They say the army and intelligence agencies are now
by far the most powerful forces in Pakistan.
"Military is controlling this country 100 percent," says Tariq Mahmood, a
civil-rights lawyer and Musharraf critic. "Everywhere you go, whether it is
education or health, whether it's the national highway authority, everywhere
where there's stakes involved, where money is lying, the military officers
whether they are serving or retired, they are holding the job."
Despite several attempts on his life, Musharraf wants another five-year
term. That's not in doubt.
What is at issue is the way he appears to be planning to go about it.
In Pakistan, the president is appointed by an electoral college made up of
the provincial and national legislatures.
Musharraf's aides make little secret of his plans to seek re-election from
these bodies, even though their five-year terms also expire at the end of
the year.
Doing it that way, Musharraf knows that he will get the simple majority he
needs.
"This has never happened before and it is probably what we feel is
unconstitutional and undemocratic," says Iqbal Zafar Jhagra. He is a member
of the PML-N, the party of Nawaz Sharif, the prime minister ousted by
Musharraf's coup.
Jhagra believes Musharraf should hold free and fair elections for new
legislatures before seeking re-election himself.
The MMA, a powerful alliance of Ilamic parties, is also outraged by a plan
that one representative, Professor Khurshed Ahmad, calls "preposterous."
"An assembly elected for five years cannot elect a president for ten years,"
he says. "Although [Musharraf] says he's a very brave person, he's not
prepared to meet the people in a normal democratic process."
Humayan Gohar, a staunch Musharraf supporter, says he edited the president's
recent autobiography. He's widely believed to have served as ghostwriter.
He says Musharraf's re-election plan conforms with the constitution.
"If you are talking about spirit and morality, then what are you talking
about?" he asks. "It's there in writing."
The argument does not impress Musharraf's opponents. They point out that
Muhsarraf has changed the constitution in the past to ensure that he would
keep his job.
The job is not an easy one. A fresh reminder came a few days ago when a
suicide bomber killed himself and a guard with a blast at Islamabad's
Marriott Hotel. The following day, more than a dozen people were killed in
another suicide attack, this time in the frontier city of Peshwar.
Musharraf's Pakistan is full of sectarian bloodletting, with separatist
unrest in the country's largest province, Baluchistan.
Above all, there's the rising power of the Taliban in Pakistan's tribal
areas on the border with Afghanistan, plus an assortment of additional
Islamist militants who despise Musharraf and his alliance with the U.S. in
the so-called war on terror.
That alliance, says Humayan Gohar, is why the United States wants Musharraf
to secure another term.
"As long as the war on terror is going on, they would like a person who has
control of the situation," Gohar says. "In a critical situation like this,
you need a person — you don't need looters, blunderers. So, yeah, the
Americans may like it."
America's support for Musharraf is a sore point with Pakistan's opposition
parties.
Iqbal Zafar Jhagra believes the U.S. wants Musharraf to continue his
military rule simply because he's a key ally.
"They have a dual policy," he says. "They want democracy for their own
people, but they don't really feel that they should have democracy here in
Pakistan. They are more worried about their own personal interests in the
region."
For now, Musharraf looks unassailable. The democratic parties who oppose him
are divided. But they are limbering up for a fight.
They plan a conference in London to try to create a united front. If the
elections are rigged again, they vow to resort to mass street protests.
Supporters of Pakistan's best-known opposition politician, former prime
minister Benazir Bhutto, have begun making their feelings known.
Bhutto says she plans to return to Pakistan this year. She risks being
jailed on charges of corruption — allegations her supporters say are
politically motivated.
Though there seems little immediate prospect of unseating Musharraf,
Farhattulah Babar — a senior member of Bhutto's Pakistan People's Party —
believes the time will come, and soon.
"Who would have though that the Berlin Wall would be dismantled?" Babar
asks. "Who would have thought that in South Africa the apartheid would be
demolished? Who would have thought the Russians would be defeated in
Afghanistan?"
But the Russians were in Afghanistan for a decade. Musharraf has a few years
yet to run.

Rao Sikander
trying to convince Benazir on cooperation
From our correspondent
LAHORE 29 January 2007: Defence Minister
and Chairman Pakistan People's Party (Patriots) Rao Sikander Iqbal is trying
to persuade self-exiled former prime minister Benazir Bhutto to cooperate
with President Pervez Musharraf as both are liberal and progressive leaders
having identical views on many issues.
In an interview here, he expressed the hope that his efforts would bear
fruit before the next elections, due to be held during the current year. The
minister said certain elements were opposing his initiative as it ran
counter to their interests. He said it would be an ideal time when the
general and the former prime minister would be cooperating with each other.
Rao Sikandar is a classmate of President Musharraf and one of the senior
leaders of the PPP. He headed the provincial wing of the PPP of Benazir
Bhutto for several years. He broke ranks with the PPP after the 2002 general
elections when President Musharraf told him that since no party had got
clear majority, he was left with no option but dissolve the assemblies and
go for fresh elections.
Rao said to prevent the general from doing what he was planning, he had
approached Ms Bhutto with the request that she cooperate with the general or
the assemblies would be no more. Ms Bhutto, he recalled, enumerated the
excesses committed by the general. However, Rao told her that it was Mr
Sharif who had instituted various cases against her and her spouse Asif
Zardari.
Replying to a question, he predicted that the Kashmir issue would be
resolved by February or March next year, if not by the end of this year as
being pronounced by certain quarters. Rao said whatsoever All-Parties
Hurriyat Conference leaders were doing was with the involvement of the
Pakistani government. "We should not be hopeless about the situation as the
present run of activities will bear positive results, and Kashmir will be
liberated by February or March 2008, if not by December this year," he
added. He maintained that the credit must be given to Pervez Musharraf for
his efforts in maintaining peace in the region.
"One-man's efforts could not do the required as India is not responding
positively. If the situation has to be changed, then India must come up with
some positives," he said.
In reply to question about the recent arm deals between India and Russia,
and Indo-US last year, Rao Sikander said it was not a new thing as it was
continuing for decades.
'Russia is supporting India as the latter is six times bigger than Pakistan,
which is so to our misfortune. But I assure you with the kind of sagacity
Musharraf possesses, India could be defeated in a short time," he said,
while accepting the fact that Pakistan did not match India in matter of the
traditional weaponry and nuclear arsenal.
"But Pakistan is a determined nation, and we have some pluses about which I
don't want to talk about.
However, nothing wrong could be done to us, and we must not be bothered by
the US tilt towards India," the defence minister reiterated.

Sharif, Bhutto
join hands against Musharraf
ISLAMABAD Sunday, January 21, 2007:
Pakistan government's effort to get President Pervez Musharraf re-elected by
the existing legislatures appear to have brought unity of sorts among the
country's divided opposition parties as Pakistan People's Party (PPP) voiced
its opposition to the plan.
Former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto's PPP, while threatening to quit the
national and provincial assemblies along with other opposition parties if
Musharraf went ahead with his plans, showed willingness to attend the All
Party Conference, (APC) convened by exiled former Prime Minister Nawaz
Sharif provided it is convened under the banner of Alliance for Restoration
of Democracy (ARD).
PPP's central information secretary, Sherry Rehman, in a statement said her
party rejected the puppet cabinet's decision to get Musharraf re-elected by
the same assemblies later this year before they get dissolved.
"The ARD, in which PPP is a dominant partner, would never countenance this
illegal and unconstitutional re-election as anything but a dictator's
flagrant violation of democratic norms, laws and traditions," she said.
The PPP has decided to consider attending the meet if it is reconvened under
the ARD banner in which PPP and PML-N are members, PPP spokesperson
Faratullah Babar said on Sunday.
The party's views would be conveyed formally to PML-N leaders on Monday
after which it was up to Sharif to decide, he said.

PPP Punjab
voters' list released on Website
Islamabad, 24 January 2007: The
elections for office bearers of Pakistan Peoples Party, Punjab would take
place on 30 March 2007. In this regard, the chief Election Commissioner of
the PPP, former Senator Sajjad Bukhari has released the voters' list on
Website www.dailymusawaat.com. These lists are for all the 34 districts in
Punjab.
Pakistan Peoples Party had conducted its membership drive last year. In the
first phase, elections will be held in the Punjab, where the process has
begun and polling is scheduled for 30th March.
There are a total of 10,000 elected councillors of the PPP in the Punjab.
These elected councillors would elect office bearers including President,
Senior Vice Presidents, Vice Presidents, General Secretaries, Joint
Secretaries and Public Relation Secretaries in Provincial Assembly
constituencies and in more than 3,000 Union Councils. These office bearers
would be elected for a period of three years.
Any objections on the voters' lists could be accepted till 10th February and
the final list would be released on the 20th February. Nomination papers
will be received from February 22 to 28 and objections would be accepted
from March 1st to 5th while nomination papers could be withdrawn from March
9th to 12th. The final list of the contestants will be released on March17
and elections would be held on March 30. The contenders will be given 13
days to run their campaigns.
Mohtarma Bhutto condemns baton charge and arrest of women activists
Demands release of the arrested workers
Action against those responsible for highhandedness
Islamabad January 24, 2007: Former Prime
Minister and Chairperson of the Pakistan Peoples Party Mohtarma Benazir
Bhutto has condemned the baton charging and arrest of women workers of the
Party in Karachi and demanded immediate release of the arrested activists
and action against those responsible for the incident.
Police baton charged PPP women workers in regal Chowk in Karachi on Monday
who were protesting against the Sindh Chief Minister Arbab Ghulam Rahim
resorting to verbal abuse in his campaign against the democratic forces.
About two dozen women activists were arrested and sent to jail.
Those arrested included Ms. Farzana Baloch, Rukia Baloch, Nazeeran Jan
Mohammad, Zareen Khan, Razia Palijo, Naheed Tahir, Najma Saeed Chawla,
Nasreen Akhtar, Farzana Lateef besides others.
In a statement today the former Prime Minister said that it was undemocratic
and an attack on the constitution to beat up women activists exercising
their legal right to protest verbal abuse by the present dictatorial regime.
The lady activists were beaten and sent to lock ups only for holding a
peaceful protest.
She said that the by resorting to a reign of terror the regime proved it was
made up of frightened cowards and bullies who could not face the people of
the country with dignity as was done in democratic societies around the
world. She said that those who abused the constitution were committing a
crime as well as tarnishing the image of the country. She said that the PPP
was a party of the strong and the brave which was fighting for the rights of
the masses and would not be deterred by the strong arm tactics by cowards
and bullies.
She asked the Party workers to be strong in the face of the frightened
regime which was growing more fearful every day, "The handpicked nominees of
the dictators had resorted to political victimisation because of their fears
that the candidates of King's Party would be routed in the forthcoming
elections".
She said that victimisation and political vendetta was an extension of a
regime which had had allowed the Taliban to regroup and al Qaeda to become
active leading to attacks which resulted in civilian casualties. Poverty,
unemployment and corruption under the present set up were once again giving
birth to sectarianism, extremism and suicide bombers. She said that the
unrepresentative anti people regime relied on force
because it had lost the battle for ideas.
Mohtarma Bhutto also paid tributes to the women activists for their courage
and steadfastness against state repression. "Your courage is a source of
inspiration to the Party workers and all those who are waging struggle for
democracy and human rights", she said.
The former Prime Minister also the judiciary and the human rights bodies to
take suo moto note of the incident and enforce the constitutional right to
peaceful protest by taking action against those police officials who had
abused the law and acted as an extension of the ruling party.
Mohtarma said that the country needed a clean administration which would
uphold the law rather than allow itself to be exploited for political
purposes out of fear of transfer or suspension. 
Mohtarma Bhutto condemns burglary in the apartments of MPs
Calls for judicial probe
Islamabad January 23, 2007: Former Prime
Minister and Chairperson Pakistan Peoples Party Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto has
condemned the burglary in the apartments of Senator Rukhsana Zuberi and MNA
Manzoor Wassan in the Parliament Lodges in Islamabad last week and demanded
a thorough probe into the incident.
The PPP MPs have alleged that some secret agencies personnel had intruded
into their apartments last week and stole computer discs and other important
documents bearing on the corruption of the high and mighty of the regime.
In a statement today the former Prime Minister said that it was a reflection
on the increasing crime and collapse of law and order that the official
residences of Members of Parliament were being burgled in the federal
capital and the law enforcing agencies were unable to do anything.
She said that the fact that only documents and computer discs were stolen
from the apartments shows that the perpetrators of the crime were interested
more in taking away the record of regime's corruption preserved on the
computer discs by PPP legislators and not in any other valuables.
Mohtarma Bhutto said that such tactics would not intimidate the PPP
legislators from continuing to expose the regime's corruption.
The former Prime Minister also demanded a judicial probe into the incident
and arrest of the culprits. 
PPP debunks Arbab’s claims about Karachi Islands
Islamabad January 21, 2007: “The
handpicked Chief Minister and apologist for the military regime Arbab Rahim
is wrong in claiming that the Karachi islands were given to the federal govt
by Sindh government to do with it what it liked”.
In a statement today a spokesperson of the Party said that the PPP upholds
the constitutional position according to which all lands belong to the
provinces. The federal govt and its agencies may ask for such lands for a
specific purpose but if not used for that specific purpose the land reverts
to the province concerned, he said.
He said that while the Karachi islands may have been requested by the
federal govt for a particular purpose, the federal government no longer
needs it for that purpose and the lands therefore revert to the provincial
government of Sindh.
The spokesperson said that any agreement about the islands must be signed by
the government of Sindh and the revenues generated must also go the
provincial government.
While signing the agreement the Sindh government must also take necessary
steps to protect the rights of the fisher folk, the mangroves and other
related issues, he said.
“The signing of the agreement by the federal government is illegal as the
land does not belong to the federal government”
He said that while PPP is in favour of foreign investment and developing
Sindh’s economy to benefit the joblessness and the poor, the usurpation of
the rights of a province by the federation is illegal, meant to deprive the
province of its just shares that could result in further weakening of the
federation..
National interest demands that the rights of the province of Sindh, as
indeed of other provinces, be safeguarded through just treatment in
accordance with law and constitution, the spokesperson said. 
Presidential Elections not due till December 2008 after election of new
assemblies
Mohtarma Bhutto calls for extension of Political Parties Act to tribal areas
Says it is also imperative to involve all political parties in reaching
people in the tribal area
Refusal to extend Political Parties Act in tribal areas has led to militancy
Islamabad January 19, 2007: Former Prime
Minister and Chairperson of the Pakistan Peoples Party Mohtarma Benazir
Bhutto has demanded the extension of the Political Parties Act to the Tribal
areas of the country with a view to bringing the tribal areas into the
mainstream of national life.
“Because of the non application of the Political Parties Act the political
parties could not function in the tribal areas (FATA) to mobilise the
tribesmen against politics of militancy and for addressing various political
and social issue facing them”, she said in a statement today.
She said that the fact that political parties fielded candidates in the
January 10 bye-election in the Bajaur Agency under the Party banner has
already made the ban on political parties to function in the tribal areas as
redundant. However, since the Political Parties Act was not extended to the
tribal areas, all political parties did not have a level playing field in
the area. More importantly political parties were denied the right to field
candidates under their party symbol and people of the area could not
identify which candidate represented which party due to lack of party
symbol.
“It is hypocritical to pretend that political activities cannot be permitted
in the tribal areas because of one reason or the other”. After the extension
of adult franchise areas it makes no sense to withhold the operation of
Political Parties Act in the tribal areas, she said.
She said that the people of tribal areas have also been demanding an
opportunity to express themselves politically recalling that respecting the
tribesmen’s demand the federal cabinet during PPP government in 1977 had
taken a decision to provide 20 seats to tribesmen in the Frontier Assembly.
The Election Commission was directed to make arrangements for setting up of
the polling stations and appointment of enumerators. A record of this
decision would be available in the Cabinet Division and the Governor House
Peshawar where the cabinet meeting had been held, she said.
She said that later however, the implementation of the decision was deferred
for one year in view of the peace dialogue with the then Afghan President
Sardar Muhammad Daud that had been undertaken by the then PPP government and
was aimed at covering a wide range of issues.
The former Prime Minister said that in view of the war on terror and focus
of this war being in the tribal areas also it was imperative that the
tribesmen were involved in the political process by allowing the political
parties to operate in these areas as well.
“More than through mere military operation conducted in secrecy the war on
terror also need to be fought politically with a measure of transparency ”
she said, adding “this can be done by allowing full freedom to political
parties to mobilise public opinion against terrorism”.
The former Prime Minister also urged the Supreme Court to take suo moto
notice of the situation arising out of the non extension of the Political
Parties Act to the federally administered tribal areas. 
PPP asks Election Commission Not to be Politically Pressured
Islamabad, 18 January 2007: The Pakistan
Peoples Party has rejected the proposed re-election of military dictator
General Musharraf as President from the present assemblies as
unconstitutional.
A spokesperson of the Party said this in a statement today commenting on the
recommendation by the handpicked Cabinet of the military dictatorship to
re-elect the same person President of Pakistan from the present assemblies.
The spokesperson said that any attempt to violate the law by forcing through
the re-election of General Musharraf, a man in uniform and ineligible to
contest elections as president, would be opposed by the PPP and other
alliance parties in the ARD.
The spokesperson recalled that General Musharraf held a vote of confidence
on December 31, 2003 after the election of the present assemblies in October
2002. Through this vote of confidence General Musharraf assumed to have
elected himself as President from the present assemblies.
As the term of president is for five years, the re-election of the president
of Pakistan will occur on December 31, 2008 whereas the term of the new
assemblies will begin latest by February 2008 if assemblies are dissolved by
their last date in November 2007.
One assembly can elect one president once, the spokesperson said, although
one assembly can elect another person president if the office of president
falls vacant through resignation or through death.
Any attempt to elect the same person president from the same assembly would
be to deny the people of Pakistan the right to hold that person accountable
in the court of the people as envisaged by the constitution. It would be
violative of democratic norms as well as illegal and unconstitutional.
A second issue is that General Musharraf happens to hold the position of
both army chief and president. The constitution of Pakistan does not
envisage a person who holds an office of profit to be eligible to contest
the presidency until two terms are over.
The PPP rejects and condemns the decision and will oppose it at all
available forums. By seeking to re-elect himself from the present cabinet
General Musharraf would spark a protest movement and cause internal
instability at a time when the country needs security given the situation on
its borders in Balauchistan, the Frontier and its traditional issues with
India.
The spokesperson said that General Musharraf, given his claims to create
"democracy" and promote "enlightened moderation" would be best advised to
reject the advice of a group in the ruling coalition of the PML Q which is
seeking to strengthen its weaknesses by exploiting the offices of army chief
and president.
The spokesperson noted that it was the job of the Election Commission and
not the Cabinet to determine when the office of President fell vacant or
when its term expired and to call a presidential election. He hoped that the
Chief Election Commissioner and the Election Commission would resist any
attempt to be pressured by the present military regime into calling illegal
presidential elections when the term of the president had not expired, the
people had a right to hold accountable the president through the new
electoral college that would come into being following the dissolution of
the parliament latest in November 2007 and that the issue of eligibility of
a man in uniform contesting was threatening to render the army, a national
institution, controversial.
The spokesperson said that the people of Pakistan hoped that the Election
Commission, which is part of the system of checks and balances, would
exercise its independence and refuse to be pressured by the present military
dispensation. It said that history would forever recognise those heroic
individuals who answered the call of their conscience and played a part in
upholding the supreme national and democratic interest of the country and
the people. 
PPP files complaint with NAB against Federal Minister for Religious
Affairs
Islamabad, 18 January 2007: Pakistan
Peoples Party has lodged a complaint with National Accountability Bureau
(NAB) against Federal Minister for Religious Affairs, Ijazul Haq under
Section 5 and 18(b) Sub-Section-II of the NAB ordinance 1999 reportedly for
indulging in corruption and corrupt practices causing huge financial loss to
the national exchequer.
The petition filed by Advocate Aleem Abbasi on behalf of Pakistan Peoples
Party reads, "The Respondent being Minister for Religious affairs had
announced the Hajj Policy for Year 2007 wherein the number of persons who
were to perform Hajj from Pakistan would be 150,000 out of which 75,000
would be performing Hajj through Ministry of Religious
Affairs and 75,000 would perform Hajj through Hajj Operators. For the Hajj
2006, 100,000 people performed Hajj through Hajj Tour Operators and 50,000
through Ministry of Religious Affairs. The number of persons performing Hajj
through Hajj Tour Operators was increased by 25,000 without considering that
the people feel that less expenses are incurred by performing Hajj through
Ministry of Religious Affairs as compared to Hajj Tour Operators. The
Respondent without considering the convenience and benefit for the pubic had
decreased the number of persons through Ministry of Religious Affairs, thus
favoured Hajj Tour Operators for their benefit."
It further reads, "Member National Assembly, Mr. Amjad Ali Warraich had
accused the respondent on the floor of the House alleging that the
Respondent had allotted quotas to the Hajj Tour Operators in a non
transparent manner."
Petition reads, "Respondent had acted in a manner which extended benefit to
those Hajj Tour Operators who were either working for Respondent or those
associated with the Respondent and thus caused a huge financial loss to the
National Exchequer and the Public". The petition asks the NAB, to initiate
investigation in the aforementioned matters and a Reference be filed in the
court of competence jurisdiction for trial. 
'Musharraf regime a threat to press freedom' – PPP
Islamabad, January 15: The Pakistan
Peoples Party has reacted strongly to the report compiled by media
development NGOs that single out Pakistan as the most dangerous zone for
journalists in the region.
According to a South Asia Free Media Association report, Pakistan tops the
list for abductions and killings of journalists during the past year. The
tribal areas have been turned into no-go areas for journalists and the
situation in Balochistan and interior Sindh remains quite dangerous for
journalists.
Central Information Secretary PPP, Sherry Rehman registered her party's
strong protest over the threat that journalists of the country face in the
line of duty from the "secret elements" backed by the government. Describing
the SAFMA report as a tight slap on the face of the government that doesn't
get tired of claiming the credit for giving press freedom to the country,
Rehman pointed out that brutal treatment meted out to "unfriendly
journalists" is a violation of basic human rights and a damning indictment
of the military regime's bare-faced lies about media protections and
fundamental rights. "Pakistan lost four journalists last year, and their
murder still remains a mystery. The regime's policy of eliminating
dissenting voices or staying quite when atrocities are committed against
journalists speaks volumes of both its shocking record of abuse of power as
well as its contempt for freedom of speech or media independence."
Pointing to another report by an NGO that stated that 19 journalists were
killed in Pakistan during the last seven years, Rehman said that the figures
speak for themselves. "The report says that the last seven years saw 68
journalists abducted, arrested or detained; 81 tortured or injured; 114
threatened or intimidated, while there have been 36 attacks on media
property."
Rehman said that the regime has also played no role in providing protection
to journalist endangered in the line of duty. "Surely private elements have
also been involved in such gruesome acts, but one sees government playing no
role in solving the murder of journalists. Furthermore, there have been very
clear indications of state involvement in the murder of journalists,
especially those who lost their lives while performing their duty in the
traditionally no-go areas. Even the foreign press is not free from the
clutches of the intelligence agencies, " Rehman said pointing to the
harassment of Ms Carlotta Gall of the New York Times who was roughed up by
intelligence agents in Quetta recently despite the fact that she had a valid
visa to visit the province.
Rehman observed that in tribal areas the controversial Frontier Crimes
Regulation (FCR) is frequently invoked against media but when media persons
are killed, it is never invoked against suspect assassins. "The same
regulation is rigorously pursued when a government employee is killed in
tribal areas. Tribes of that certain area are given a collective punishment
in such cases. However, it's just journalists whose life is cheap enough to
be allowed to be wasted."
"On the one hand, the government and secret agencies pose a direct threat to
the lives of those journalists who report against it, on the other hand, the
Musharraf regime, through the black law called PEMRA seeks to curtail the
freedom of the press by way of manipulative and anti-democractic laws,"
Rehman said, adding that over the years PEMRA has proved that it's an
institution formed to curb, rather than to allow, the healthy growth of
media in the country. 
PPP holds ‘election rally’ in Pindi
RAWALPINDI, Jan 14: The Pakistan
People’s Party (PPP) on Sunday ruled out any deal with the government and
announced that former prime minister Benazir Bhutto would return to the
country during the current year.
Speaking at a rally at the Liaquat Bagh, PPP leaders said the party workers
would not tolerate any hurdles in Ms Bhutto’s return.
About 50,000 people attended the party’s first election rally after reaching
the place in processions from different areas of the city. All Pakistan
Minorities Association president Shahbaz Bhatti also attended the rally with
his supporters.
Speaking on the occasion, Punjab PPP president MNA Shah Mehmood Qureshi said
Ms Bhutto had decided to return to Pakistan this year ahead of the
elections.
He said Ms Bhutto did not need the permission of President Pervez Musharraf
for returning to the country. He warned the government of serious
consequences if it created any obstacle in the former prime minister’s
return.
“We will resist any hurdle in the way of Ms Bhutto and we expect that nobody
will block her arrival,” Mr Qureshi said.
He alleged that the government intended to rig the elections but said the
PPP would mobilise the public in this regard by holding countrywide rallies.
He said the prevailing price hike, unemployment and deteriorating law and
order situation had multiplied the miseries of common people but the regime
was oblivious to their problems.
Mr Qureshi claimed that the PPP would emerge as the winning party if fair
and transparent elections were held.
PPP general-secretary Raja Pervez Ashraf requested Ms Bhutto to land at
Islamabad airport, claiming that the people of the Potohar region would
extend an exemplary reception to her.
He said that the presence of a large number of people at the rally proved
that the masses wanted Ms Bhutto to be the prime minister for the third
time.
A large number of the student and youth workers were raising slogans urging
the party’s chairperson to return to the country at the earliest.
MNA Naheed Khan said the anti-state policies of the military regime had
spread hatred among the provinces. She expressed the fear that the
federation would collapse if free and fair elections were not held in the
country.
MNAs Nayar Bukhari and Zamurd Khan, MPAs Farzana Raja and Ishtiaq Mirza and
Senator Dr Babar Awan also spoke.
Online adds: AJK PPP president Chaudhry Abdul Majeed alleged that the
government wanted to divide Jammu and Kashmir. 
PPP activists, police clash at blockades
ATTOCK, Jan 14:
People’s Party Parliamentarian (PPP) activists clashed with law-enforcement
agency personnel on Sunday at a number of blockades put in place to prevent
them from taking part in a party meeting at Liaquat Bagh, Rawalpindi.
Heavy contingents of police barricaded main roads connecting different towns
with Rawalpindi since Sunday morning. Attock bridge on G.T. Road, Shergarh
bridge on Kohat-Pindi road and Jharikus on Hazara road were partially closed
for traffic.
Teams were also deployed at Teen Meela Chowk, Kamra Chowk, and Hattian and
Haro bridges. Barriers and barbed wire placed across the roads caused great
inconvenience to people, even those undertaking routine journeys with no
plans of attending the PPP rally.
Two processions led by PPP leader Malik Hakmeen Khan and Syed Azmat Ali
Bokhari were intercepted by the police at Teen Meela checkpoint on
Attock-Kamra road. 
Case against PPP workers adjourned till March 5
Islamabad January 15, 2007: The civil judge and judicial magistrate
Islamabad Musa Muzammil today adjourned the case against PPP workers till
March 5.
The case was last heard on December 5, 2006 during which the bail bonds of a
dozen activists that had been cancelled were restored after the defence
attorneys submitted their applications and pleaded their case.
Those present in the court today included former Advisor Chaudhry Aslam,
former city president Ibrar Rizvi, Sultan Qazi, Rashid Mir, Malik Abdul
Majid, Raja Mansoor, Shabbir Anjum, Raja Shiraz Ahmad, Shabbir Babar, Haji
Muhammad Rashid, Ibni Rizvi, Jehangir Akhtar, Amjad, Qamar Zaman, Haji Ijaz
Ahmad Javed, Tariq Amin, Khawaja Wasim and former Senator Farhatullah Babar
besides others.
Dozens of Party activists were charged for holding protest demonstration in
front the Parliament building on April 22, 1998 against the anti-terrorism
legislation, which gave sweeping powers to the executive. 
PPP deplores anti democratic measures
Asks human rights bodies to raise voice against imposition of one party
dictatorship
Islamabad January 13, 2007: Pakistan
Peoples Party has deplored the continued persecution of the Pakistan Peoples
Party and targeting of its supporters and sympathisers.
In a statement today Deputy Parliamentary leader in the National Assembly
Raja Pervez Ashraf said that while the regime mischievously planted stories
of a so-called deal with the PPP, behind the scenes the regime was busy
persecuting the Party.
Raja Pervez Ashraf said that the regime had made plans to remove Sardar
Abdul Qyum Jatoi District Nazim Muzaffargarh for the only reason that Qayum
is a former MNA of the PPP and loyal to the Party and its leadership. The
federal and provincial governments have been trying for the last over one
year to dislodge him but failed. But now the Punjab Chief Minister and
provincial Local Government Minister Raja Basharat had finalised plans to
remove Sardar Qayum from his position, he said.
Raja Pervez Ashraf said that the Party had credible information that the
Punjab government had decided to suspend the nazimship of Mr Jatoi during
the next two days and break his group by applying policy of carrot and
stick. He said that on Friday the Punjab Chief Minister met the local
government minister in a rest house in Multan to finalise a strategy.
Earlier he said, an election tribunal in Lahore had disqualified a PPP MPA
Mamooka. The disqualification was a shock considering that not a single
member of the ruling party has thus been disqualified during the four years
since the election and an election petition against Ch. Shujaat had still
not been taken up.
The picking and choosing of petitions and suspension of PPP supporters from
the Nazimship of districts was aimed at narrowing the size of the democratic
forces in the Parliament and in local government, he said.
“This violates democratic norms and amounts to imposing a one party
dictatorship leaving the streets as the only option of change”.
The PPP leader said that Pakistan's national interests call for a peaceful
and democratic change. However, the signs are that the regime is not
interested in peaceful change and is bent upon destroying the integrity of
the federation, he said.
Raja Pervez Ashraf said that the PPP deplored the breaking of the opposition
unity by the regime to promote its undemocratic agenda. He also urged the
human rights bodies to raise voice against imposition of one party
dictatorship in the country. 
PPP to hold Central Executive Committee meeting on Jan 20
Islamabad, January 13: The Pakistan
Peoples Party will be holding its Central Executive Committee meeting on the
20th January, 2007 at its Central Secretariat in Islamabad. All CEC members
and Federal Council members have been asked to attend.
The meeting will deliberate over upcoming political developments, as well as
other outstanding issues on the national agenda. Makhdoom Amin Fahim will
chair the meeting. 
An Orwellian state?
By Farhatullah Babar
January 13, 2007
On January 9 the Supreme Court directed the interior ministry to speed up
efforts to trace and recover the missing persons allegedly kidnapped and
detained by the intelligence agencies. Despite the court's directive no
representative of the three agencies accused by the relatives of kidnappings
namely the ISI, MI and IB turned up at the hearing.
In July last the defence ministry flatly told the Sindh High Court that it
was not responsible for locating and recovering missing persons. That it
exercised only administrative control over the ISI and MI but had no
jurisdiction over their operations. In other words the agencies were free to
do what they liked. Even the name of the director of an intelligence agency
in Karachi mentioned in abduction complaints was not given saying that it
amounted to issuing his 'death warrants'.
In November last when the deputy attorney general informed the Supreme Court
that a comprehensive report on the missing persons had been prepared but was
not produced before it because the interior secretary was not available to
sign it. The apex court then sternly warned the government to come out with
full and accurate information about missing persons by December 1. However,
full and accurate information was not provided even at the last hearing less
than a week ago.
On October 20, 2003, the writer asked in the Senate that the law that
authorised the ISI to conduct raids and detain people should be placed on
the table. Within days, On November 3, I was formally and sternly told to
shut up because how dare I had asked 'for information on a matter
prejudicial to the security of the country'. A state where there is no
respect for rule of law and where laws are made for the privileged few is
called an Orwellian state, thanks to novelist George Orwell and his famous
novel 'Animal Farm' (and also 1984). Whether a story meant only for the
children or as a serious satirical work, it makes sense to revisit Orwell's
novel.
Animal farm opens with a conference of animals in which an old bear named
Major summons all animals for a last meeting and warns them against common
enemy. 'Man is the enemy of all animals and fellow animals must get united
and drive their enemy out of the farm'. One day the owner forgot to
supervise the farm and a hungry cow broke the door of the store-shed. Seeing
this other animals also rushed to the store and a melee sets in.
Remembering the advice given by their old comrade 'Man is their enemy' the
beasts instinctively launch an attack driving the owner and his men out of
the farm. In the absence of any organised planning in staging the revolt an
enthusiastic boar named Napoleon assumes the task of running the farm.
The new empire starts with a pledge that 'all animals are equal'. A number
of executive orders are issued and written on the walls. Committees are
formed and key positions are given to favoured pigs. One of the seven
executive orders read, 'Napoleon is always right'. One favoured pig is
assigned the task to extol each and every action of Napoleon.
A few months later the farm owner and his men tried to recapture the farm
but are repulsed. Napoleon is decorated with 'Animal Hero, First Class' by
his fellow animals. Having completely routed the man, Napoleon declares that
all his opponents were actually traitors. A firm discipline is imposed as
Napoleon alone is projected as the saviour and his detractors as risk to the
security of the farm.
The pigs could read a little and therefore claimed ruling status and
occupied key positions in the new kingdom. Some animals then moved into the
house of the farm owner where Napoleon occupied the drawing room and
insulating himself from other animals, start issuing orders.
Then came the winter and food shortages forced starvation. The hens revolted
by dropping eggs from rooftops but were soon forced into submission by
Napoleon's trained dogs. The experts now spun the theory that the opponents
of Napoleon were actually spies of the neighbouring farm, are banished from
the farm and ordered never to return.
The novel then winds through several funny episodes of folly and cunning of
the animal leaders. The farm is attacked once again by men in the
neighbourhood but the attack is repulsed. Special songs were composed to
praise Napoleon who was called 'Father of all animals'.
The pigs that considered themselves as the ruling class had already taken to
luxuries. Soon Napoleon and the privileged pigs discovered that they could
not observe their own orders and policies and had to flout them. But they
also had to find a way for it.
Whenever a policy order was flouted by the privileged the experts got into
action to secretly rewrite the order at night and make it appear as if it
was the original order. For instance an order that originally forbade
animals to sleep was secretly changed to read, "No animal shall sleep in bed
with sheets". Another order forbidding drinking was re-worded to read: "No
animal shall drink alcohol to excess". When lesser beasts protested the
privileges of higher species the relevant order forbidding killing of fellow
animals was rewritten as: "No animal shall kill another animal without
cause".
Other animals however did not like the selective changes in the orders to
suit a certain privileged class. So one night an older animal walked up to
the wall where the manifesto 'All animals are equal' was written and added
the words "but some are more equal than others". No sooner the admission
that "some are more equal than others' appeared to become official policy
there was uproar among the animals. An open fight ensued and the empire
collapsed. The animals' revolution had come full circle.
For some Animal farm provokes laughter. But for many others it is a painful
depiction of the fate of a people whose dreams are shattered by lawlessness
and anarchy. Thanks to judicial activism under the present chief justice,
there is hope that there will not be some more equal than others before the
law. There is hope that Pakistan will not slip into an Orwellian state.
The writer is a former member of the Senate belonging to the PPP. Email:
drkhshan@isb.comsats.net.pk

Mohtarma Bhutto gravely concerned over increasing number of missing
persons
Calls for Release of Sardar Akhtar Mengal
Urges Parliamentary Committee to investigate Disappearances
Islamabad January 12, 2007:
Chairperson Pakistan Peoples Party and former Prime Minister Mohtarma
Benazir Bhutto has expressed grave concern over the increasing incidents of
kidnappings and mysterious disappearances of citizens by state agencies and
called for full disclosure of the those disappeared, recovery of victims and
respect to the due process of law.
“It is a national embarrassment that increasing number of citizens of the
state not only vanish without a trace but their disappearances is greeted
with deafening silence by the state agencies”, said the former Prime
Minister in a statement today.
The Supreme Court during proceeding in a suo moto case of missing persons on
Wednesday criticised as insufficient efforts by authorities to trace people
allegedly held by intelligence agencies. The bench directed the government
to speed up the process of recovery and that all the remaining untraced
persons should be located.
According to human rights bodies hundreds of people have been picked up by
the law enforcing agencies during the past five years without due process.
Mohtarma Bhutto said that innocence or guilt can be established only in
court of law and disappearances are a negation of human rights, law as well
as the signs of a civilised society.
“The Human Rights Committees of the Senate and the National Assembly should
jointly take up the issue and set up an independent commission to
investigate the growing number of disappeared citizens in Pakistan”.
The former Prime Minister also deplored the position taken by the Ministry
of Defence in July last before the Sindh High Court that it exercised only
administrative control over the ISI and MI but had no operational control
over them. She said that such statements gave a wrong impression that
Islamabad was a failed society. She said it was important to remove such
impressions to strengthen the integrity and unity of the country.
She said that the Pakistan Peoples Party is proud that no disappearances
took place under its government. Mohtarma reaffirmed the commitment of the
PPP to respect human rights and called upon the people of the country to
elect the Pakistan Peoples Party in the forthcoming General Elections and
vigorously reject the present administration, which has played havoc with
the lives of the people on all fronts, social, political and economic. She
said that not even the earthquake victims were spared and continued to live
under open and cold skies whereas the middle classes and working classes
found it hard to survive the price rise and joblessness.
Mohtarma Bhutto drew attention to Article 4 of the Constitution, which
provides to every citizen with protection and equality under the law. She
noted that disappearances are an internationally recognised criminal
offence. Article 9 of the Constitution provides that no person shall be
deprived of life or liberty save in accordance with law, she said adding,
“it is a dark chapter in the history of the country that the military regime
is in place to violate these Fundamental Rights”. She assured the people of
Pakistan that the PPP would respect the Constitution and asked them to
defend their constitutional rights by voting for the PPP which is the party
of the masses.
She called upon the regime to review its policy of disappearances that were
damaging the name and honour of the country. She assured the families of the
disappeared that the PPP was with the oppressed and would always stand with
the downtrodden against tyranny.
Mohtarma Bhutto also condemned the treatment meted out to Sardar Akhtar
Mengal. She said the PPP was shocked to learn that this well respected and
representative political leader was being kept in a cage as disclosed by the
Pakistan Human Rights Organisation. She said that such acts of humiliation
could not break the spirit of the victim but spoke of the petty and bullying
nature of the victimizer. She said that the treatment meted out to Sardar
Akhtar Mengal was against the traditions of the people of Balochistan and
would alienate Pakistan's largest province from the Federation.
The former Prime Minister recalled how PPP had saved the Federation from
disintegration in 1971 and in 1988 by giving respect to all the leaders of
the Federating units and respect to all the people in the different
provinces that made up the Federation. She called for the immediate release
of Sardar Akhtar Mengal and action against those who had ordered his
mistreatment. She said that this was not the mistreatment of an individual
but symbolised for the people of Balochistan the mistreatment of their
entire province.
She said that she was concerned that the present dispensation was harming
the integrity and solidarity of the country and laying the seeds of
disintegration. She called upon the people of the country, especially the
people from the most populous province of Punjab, to vote for the PPP and
save the Federation from the multiple political, economic and social dangers
that it was facing. 
No let up in regime’s chase of Mohtarma and PPP
Islamabad January 12, 2007: President
Punjab PPP Shah Mahmood Qureshi has issued the following statement today.
“A section of the press has misquoted me as claiming that the regime ‘is
getting friendly’ towards the PPP.
“The fact of the matter is that there has been no let up in the regime’s
persecution of the Party leadership through the National Accountability
Bureau at state expense.
“Far from getting friendly towards the PPP the regime continues to chase its
leadership because it is frightened of the return of Mohtarma Bhutto to the
country.
“The regime is scared of the prospects of the mobilisation of the people
under her leadership to restore democracy and provide the hard working
people of Pakistan jobs, price control, drinking water and a decent and
respectful life.
“For this reason the regime’s persecution and hounding of Mohtarma Bhutto
continues unabated.
“What I had said in my interview was that a section of the establishment
also realised that by marginalizing the mainstream democratic parties
particularly the PPP the regime had created a vacuum and given rise to the
extremist parties in the country.
“The regime is viciously chasing Mohtarma Bhutto by going to every foreign
jurisdiction against her at state expense and has not let up a campaign that
continues unabated. However, Mohtarma is facing the tribulations because she
is determined to work for the welfare of the common citizen who is groaning
under the burden of price hike, joblessness, lack of drinking water, lack of
agricultural water, power shut downs and neglect of education and health.

PPP clarifies reports: Participation or boycott of elections under
Musharraf
|