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The Rediff Interview/Benazir Bhutto
 

July 2005

Another Face of Terror
By NICHOLAS D. KRISTOF

The Ambivalent Ally
We need Pakistan in the war on terror. But does it fuel Islamist passions?
BY ALYSSA AYRES

Thursday, July 28, 2005 12:01 a.m. EDT: Soon after London's July 7 subway and bus bombings, investigators discovered that three of the suicide terrorists were children of Pakistani immigrants and had traveled recently to Pakistan. Two may have attended a militant training camp there.

The problem isn't only Britain's. In the U.S. last month, a father and his son--both U.S. citizens of Pakistani descent--were arrested in California, technically on charges of having lied to the FBI. The indictment declares that the son, contrary to his claims, received jihad training at an al Qaeda camp in Pakistan in 2003 and 2004. The camp's training methods apparently involved target practice with photographs of President Bush, and the U.S. featured prominently in a menu of countries from which the trainees could select a jihad of their choice.

In the U.S., no less than in Britain, the pressing question is whether such Islamist extremists belong to a larger network of citizen sleeper-cells. But behind that question lies another: What is Pakistan's part in this dystopian tale? That a major non-NATO ally seemed to harbor an al Qaeda training camp as recently as 2004 should be cause for alarm.

Formally speaking, of course, Pakistan is a frontline partner in the terror war. President Bush has even characterized Pakistan's president, Gen. Pervez Musharraf, as the last bulwark against a radical Islamist takeover, praising the general for his commitment to "banning the groups that practice terror." Thus the U.S., otherwise pledged to promoting democracy around the world, finds itself in an awkward embrace with a military ruler.

Against this backdrop, Husain Haqqani's "Pakistan: Between Mosque and Military" should give Washington policymakers sleepless nights--and everyone else too. Mr. Haqqani knows whereof he speaks: He enjoyed an illustrious career in Pakistan as a journalist, diplomat and adviser to three prime ministers before coming to the U.S. in 2002. The analysis in his book benefits from his deep knowledge of Pakistan's political history and, no less important, from his insider access to top political and military figures.

Mr. Haqqani hopes to defy the conventional wisdom that sees Pakistan as perpetually balancing two forces, with a strong military holding in check the radical excesses of the country's mosques. Mr. Haqqani does not believe that the generals and the mullahs are adversaries at all. Rather, they exist in a kind of symbiosis--an alliance by which each helps the other "in their exercise of political power." What is more, the alliance has been in place since the country's founding.

After each of Pakistan's many coups, Mr. Haqqani shows, the Pakistani military has "adopted Islamic ideology" to fashion itself as the guardian of the nation and its core beliefs. In doing so it has repeatedly co-opted Islamist organizations--notably the Jamaat-e-Islami--for cover and support. The military has also followed a policy of divide and rule, patronizing existing Islamist groups while seeding new ones that might rival them.

Mr. Haqqani marshals a wealth of evidence to document such claims. He describes in detail the mosque-military alliance during Pakistan's first two military regimes--that of Field Marshall Ayub Khan (1958-69) and Gen. Yahya Khan (1969-71), both generally regarded as secular, whiskey-swilling good old boys. He thus shows that Pakistan's creeping Islamization predates the rule of Gen. Zia ul-Haq (1977-88), the man widely held responsible for giving Islam a major role in all aspects of Pakistani life. Gen. Zia, it turns out, only tightened an alliance that already existed.

Mr. Haqqani argues that, over the past two decades, Pakistan's army has fueled the passions of some of the country's most extreme radicals. Bankrolling these groups has served the strategic purpose of rendering the military desirable by contrast. International observers--not least the U.S. State Department--thus conclude that the military is necessary for Pakistan's stability. The shadowy Inter-Services Intelligence agency (ISI) has played an especially critical role in this game.

As a 1990 ISI report on the future of U.S.-Pakistan relations concluded: "It was important to maintain the impression of widespread anti-U.S. sentiment in Pakistani society, which could be assured by periodic demonstrations by Islamists. This would create sympathy for Pakistani military and intelligence officials among their US counterparts." Flash forward to 2005: Gen Musharraf's regime bans the protest rallies of journalists, feminists and members of the Pakistan People's Party, headed by former prime minister Benazir Bhutto. Meanwhile, Islamists manage to hold anti-American "million man marches" throughout the country. How little times have changed.

Mr. Haqqani's book is not an easy read for the nonspecialist. His detailed narrative at times assumes a familiarity with Pakistan's political history that many people will not possess. This quibble aside, though, his analysis will reward anyone who seeks to understand one of the most perplexing foreign-policy challenges facing the U.S. today.

After all, America does need Pakistan's cooperation in the war against al Qaeda. What Mr. Haqqani shows is that a Manichean dichotomy--army good, Islamists bad--obscures the partnership between the two. A better way of combating Islamic radicalism, Mr. Haqqani argues, is to strengthen the very democratic forces that the military abhors.

Ms. Ayres, who is writing a book about nationalism in Pakistan, is deputy director of the Center for the Advanced Study of India at the University of Pennsylvania.

Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto issues instructions to Party office bearers regarding Local Bodies Election

Islamabad, 30 July 2005: Former Prime Minister and Chairperson Pakistan Peoples Party has issued instructions to the district, tehsil and city presidents and other office bearers to file official complaints regarding the acts of rigging and victimisation of party workers and Awam Doct candidates to the returning officers, session judges and additional session judges.

Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto also asked these party officials to send immediately a copy of the complaint to the Central Secretariat Islamabad, Media Office Islamabad, Bilawal House Karachi and the provincial presidents. In case of any kidnapping of Awam Dost candidate or PPP worker the party officials have been instructed to file an FIR immediately and if the police and administration refuses to register FIR then they should file a complaint with the Returning Officer, Session Judge or Additional Session Judge.

Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto has also instructed the Peoples Lawyers’ Forum to extend every possible legal help to party workers and Awam Dost candidates

PPP issues fact Sheets regarding Violation of Election laws and victimisation of opposition candidates

Islamabad, 30 July 2005: Pakistan Peoples Party has very strongly condemned General Musharraf, Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz, Chairman Senate, Governors and Chief Minister of Punjab and Sindh, federal and state ministers and other government official for running campaign of King’s party and its allies and demanded of the Election Commission to take notice of these violations of election laws and victimisation of Awam Dost candidates and their supporters.

The media coordinator of the Central Monitoring Committee PPP for the local elections, Nazir Dhoki issuing fact sheet regarding cases of rigging in the elections and the victimisation of Awam Dost candidates said that General Musharraf is running the campaign of King’s party supported candidates in Sindh and Punjab. He summoned DPOs of the four provinces to Islamabad and gave them the task to ensure the victory of government supported candidates. Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz attended MQM’s political gathering in Hyderabad and announced a package of one billion rupees after which the MQM ministers hoisted MQM flags on the government buildings and vehicles.

He said that the governor and the chief minister Punjab are distributing Nazimship of different districts. Chief Minister Sindh Arbab Ghulam Rahim, federal ministers Liaqat Jatoi and Ghous Bux Mehar are using the administration and police for getting their candidates elected. The chairman Senate Mohammad Mian Soomro visited Jacobabad to campaign for his mother Saeeda Begum and after his visit police raided hundreds of houses of PPP supporters and Awam Dost candidates.

The fact sheet says that hundreds of PPP workers and supporters have been kidnapped in Thar, Diplo and Mithi in the Chief Minister’s constituency. False cases have been registered against Khan Mohammad Lund, former member national assembly Dr. Khattoo Mal Jiwan. The police and administration stopped Awam Dost candidates from filing their nomination papers. On the behest of Liaqat Jatoi, property of PPP supporters were destroyed in Dadu and the candidates of Nazim and Naib Nazim were arrested. Chief Minister Sindh pressurised the medical superintendent of Chandka Medical College to support government candidates. Police raided houses of Awam Dost candidates and their supporters in Larkana, Qamber and Shahdadkot. When the former tehsil Nazim Mohammad Chandio refused to change his loyalty, he was put behind bars. Police is carrying out raid to arrest Awam Dost candidates Nazir Hussain Gopang, Sikandar Ali Gopang, Liaqat Ali Gopang, Iqbal Ahmed Brohi and Ghulam Haider.

In Jacobabad, police raided the house of Mai Gul Khatoon to arrest her because she is contesting against the mother of Chairman Senate Mohammad Mian Soomro. DPO Jacobabad threatened her son Manzoor Brohi of serious consequences if Mai Gul Khatoon keeps insisting to contest election against Saeeda Soomro. The houses of Awam Dost candidate Ayub Ghunjo and his supporters were raided in Jacobabad.

Nazir Dhoki said that the PPP workers are also being harassed in Thatha, Badin, Mirpurkhas, and Gothki. The Awam Dost candidate for Naib Nazim in New Saeedabad, Abdul Rauf Kaka has been arrested and Amin Bhaio, the candidate of Naib Nazim in Shikarpur has been kidnapped on the behest of the federal Minister Ghous Bux Mehar. Supporter of Amin Bhaio Maulana Abdullah Noori has also been kidnapped and the police has refused to register FIR.

The fact sheet says that all these complaints have been sent to the Election Commission but so far the Commission has taken no action. Nazir Dhoki said that these cases of victimisation have exposed the hollow claims of holding free and fair elections. He urged the Human Rights Organisation and the Bar Councils to take notice of these cases and raise their voice against the victimisation of Awam Dost candidates and supporters and violation of election laws by the government officials

Pakistan's Problem

Decades ago, Daniel Patrick Moynihan, onetime U.S. ambassador to India, asked sarcastically if New Delhi exported anything but poverty. Today, Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf needs to ensure that Pakistan is known for exports other than terrorism.

Three of the four men involved in the London subway and bus bombings this month traveled to Pakistan last year; police are investigating if they received training or planned the attacks there. In Egypt, police are looking for five Pakistanis they say are connected to last week's Sharm el Sheik bombings. In India, army officials said Monday that they had killed five armed infiltrators crossing from Pakistan into Indian-controlled Kashmir. Closer to home, the FBI last month arrested five men in Lodi, Calif., who have links to Pakistan; while all of them deny involvement in terrorism, two have agreed to be deported, and the others await a deportation hearing and a trial on charges of lying to federal agents.

Yes, there's a pattern here. To be clear, it is not that Pakistanis are more inclined toward terrorism than are citizens of any other country. It is that Musharraf is unable, or unwilling, to confront the terrorists in his midst. Musharraf has even had the gall to say that while, yes, Pakistan has a problem with Islamic extremism, so does Britain and the government there needs to address it.

Pakistan is no stranger to radical Islam. The government used U.S. funds and support to train anti-Soviet warriors after Moscow's 1979 invasion of neighboring Afghanistan. After the communists were defeated, the Pakistanis sponsored the Taliban fundamentalists who seized control and gave shelter to Osama bin Laden and Al Qaeda. But after 9/11, Musharraf threw in his lot with Washington and pledged to root out terrorism; President Bush praises Pakistan as a close ally in the battle.

Pakistan has arrested hundreds of suspected terrorists, including top Al Qaeda operatives. For his efforts, Musharraf has twice been the target of assassins. But terrorist training camps can still be found in Pakistan, and the army cracks down on infiltration into India only under foreign pressure.

Pakistani Cabinet minister Faisal Saleh Hayat told The Times editorial board Monday that most of the much-criticized Islamic schools known as madrasas - where boys are educated, fed and clothed - are moderate, like most Pakistanis. He contended that "no country in the world has done so much in combating terrorism" as Pakistan.

But Musharraf could direct his underlings to crack down harder. When outside pressure reaches a boil, he reacts. When the pressure eases, so does he. That's not good enough.

The U.S. mistakenly turned away from Islamabad when the Cold War ended. But after 9/11, Washington's interest rekindled, and the U.S. agreed to provide the impoverished nation with $3 billion, much of it to be spent on secular schools that teach reading and math, not just the Koran. Musharraf should use the money to educate a generation adhering to the moderate form of Islam that most of the country has long practiced.

Complain Filed by MNA

July 29, 2005
The Chief Election Commissioner,
Election Commission of Pakistan,
Islamabad.

Dear Sir,

On 28-7-2005 three police mobiles came to the houses of the following candidates and were taken away by Kamber police. First to PS Kamber and then to some unknown place

1- Nazir Hussain Gopang Candidate for General Councilor Union Council 2, Kamber City.
2- Sikander Ali Gopang For General Councilor, Union Council 2, Kamber City.

On 28-7-2005 Kamber police raided the houses of the following candidates in Kamber Town. They were not present in their houses.

1- Liaqat Ali Gopang for Nazim Union Council 1
2- Abdul Hameed Brohi Nazim Union Council 1
3- Ghulam Hyder Gopang Councilor Union Council 1
4- Noor Hussain Gopang Councilor Union Council 1

About 12 days back, Mohammad Chandio sitting Nazim UC Mirpur, Tehsil Warrah was taken away by police. He was chained and defained at different police stations of Larkana, Kamber and Shahdadkot Police Stations. While he was detained at PS CIA Larkana, he was forced by SHO Khan Tunio to change loyalties. He refused to accept it. After about 7 days he was released. Again during the dates of filing of nominations, police raided his house. Some how he managed to file papers.

You are requested to kindly take notice of this.

Sincerely,

Khalid Iqbal Memon, MNA
0741-446666, 0300-3400494

Two Militants Place Suspect at a Camp in Pakistan
By ARIF JAMAL and SOMINI SENGUPTA

Two experienced militants told an independent Pakistani journalist here last week that they had met one of the July 7 London bombing suspects.

LAHORE, Pakistan, July 25 - Two experienced militants, both veterans of the war in Afghanistan, told an independent Pakistani journalist here last week that they had met one of the July 7 London bombing suspects, Shehzad Tanweer, on a trip to a known militant training camp north of the capital, Islamabad.

One of the militants interviewed said Mr. Tanweer struck him as "a good Muslim" who was eager to assassinate the Pakistani president, Gen. Pervez Musharraf. "I wish I could do that," he recalled Mr. Tanweer as saying.

The militants, both members of Jaish-e-Muhammad, an organization officially banned by the government and implicated in two assassination attempts against General Musharraf, spoke on condition that their names not be used because they do not want to be apprehended by the government. They said they met Mr. Tanweer, 22, a Briton of Pakistani descent, last winter, but they would not be more specific on dates for fear of revealing their own identities.

Their statements could not be independently confirmed, and a senior government official who is following the investigation said he had "no knowledge" of such a visit. The militants were not interviewed by a correspondent for The New York Times, but spoke extensively on two occasions to a journalist working on contract for this newspaper.

The two men said they had all traveled together from Rawalpindi, a garrison town adjacent to the capital, to the Shah Ismail Shaheed Madrasa in Mansehra, a heavily forested mountainous district where guerrilla training camps continue to operate, said diplomats and militants interviewed by The New York Times.

Mr. Tanweer, the two militants said, was at the madrasa, which doubles as a training camp, on a short "study tour," which is akin to an orientation session for potential guerrilla recruits. He was accompanied by two other men: a Pakistani and another Briton of Pakistani descent, they said. None of them were there to receive arms training, they said. Mr. Tanweer and his companions left after four or five days; the two men would not say where the three went.

Its remoteness and landscape have made Mansehra, situated on the ancient Silk Route, an ideal address for jihad training. For at least 15 years, it has housed a number of rotating makeshift camps for fighters eventually dispatched to Kashmir and Afghanistan.

Mr. Tanweer, along with another bombing suspect, Mohammad Sidique Khan, also a Briton born to Pakistani parents, visited Pakistan between November 2004 and February of this year, according to Pakistani immigration records. They arrived in Karachi, a sprawling Arabian Sea coast city, but it is unclear where they went from there and whom they saw.

Mr. Tanweer's maternal uncle, Tahir Pervez, said Mr. Tanweer had visited the family home in a dusty village, Kota Chotiya, near the central Pakistani city of Faisalabad. Mr. Pervez had recounted his nephew's admiration for Osama bin Laden, a Pakistani newspaper reported.

But in an interview with The New York Times last week, he denied that report and characterized Mr. Tanweer as a deeply religious young man who spent over a month in the village, doing little other than praying and playing cricket.

A third bombing suspect, Hasib Mir Hussain, had also been reported to have visited Pakistan last July, according to Pakistani immigration records. It later turned out that the immigration records actually referred to another young man by the same name, not the bombing suspect.

Pakistani officials have maintained that no arrests have been made in connection with the July 7 attacks, but that hundreds have been picked up in an intensified campaign against banned militant organizations.

Mohtarma Bhutto condemns continued harassment of opposition candidates in local polls Asks Party leaders to provide legal assistance to victims

Islamabad July 27, 2005: Former Prime Minster and Chairperson of the Pakistan Peoples Party Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto has expressed grave concern over the continued harassment and intimidation of awam dost candidates in the local bodies polls and urged the Chief election Commissioner and the judiciary to take note of these incidents which were increasing with the passing of every day.

She said this in a statement to day after receiving further complaints of harassment and intimidation of awam dost candidates contesting local polls in the home district of Sindh chief minister.

One complainant Mir Mohammad Khan Lund of Kaloi, Tehsil Diplo in Tharparker district said that police in civil clothes attacked him and the Awam Dost candidates as they were returning from Kaloi resulting in injury to several members of the party including women. He said that the awam dost candidates attacked are candidates for Nazim and Naib Nazim positions against Arbab Abdul Khaliq, elder brother of Chief Minister Arbab Ghulam Rahim from his home UC Kaloi.

The complainant said that the Diplo police refused to register his complaint and instead filed FIR against all the male members of his family, who had proposed and seconded these Awam Dost candidates. The FIR No. 21/2005 has been registered against 20 people, including the complainant and all the male members of his family, the complainant said.

The former Prime Minister said that such disgraceful incidents had exposed the claims of the regime to hold free and fair elections. She said that the playing filed had been dislevelled for the opposition candidates to pave ground for rigging the next general elections.

The former Prime Minister also urged the human rights groups and the international community to take note of these incidents and stop the rulers from rigging the polls. She also paid tributes to the courage and steadfastness of the awam dost candidates for standing up to the tyrannical rulers.

She also directed the Party leaders to assist the complainant in filing FIR against the attackers and also to provide him legal assistance in the false and fabricated cases registered against him.

Mohtarma Bhutto condoles with Mohammad Hussain Azad

Islamabad, 27 July 2005: Former Prime Minister and Chairperson Pakistan Peoples Party Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto and her spouse Senator Asif Ali Zardari have condoled with Mohammad Hussain Azad on his mother’s death.

Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto in a condolence message addressed to Mohammad Hussain Azad wrote, "Senator Asif Ali Zardari and I are writing to condole the sad demise of your mother. The loss of a parent is a great tragedy. Our sympathies are with you at this difficult time".

She also prayed to Almighty Allah for eternal peace to the departed soul and courage to the family members to bear this irreparable loss with equanimity.

PPP to apprise foreign diplomats regarding Election Rigging by the government

Islamabad, 28 July 2005: Central Monitoring Committee of the Pakistan Peoples Party, for the Local Bodies Elections has very strongly condemned the government officials including General Pervez Musharraf for using state resources in the elections. The committee also denounced continued victimisation of opposition by the government party, its supporters and officials.

The meeting of the Monitoring committee was held today at the Central Secretariat Islamabad, chaired by Coordinator of the Committee, Senator Sardar Latif Khosa and attended by Syed Nayyar Hussain Bokhari MNA, Kamran Zafar, Masood Sharif, Nazir Dhoki and Palvasha Behram.

Media Coordinator of the Committee Nazir Dhoki in a statement said that cases of rigging in the elections in Sindh and Punjab provinces are increasing by the day. The administration of Chief Minister Sindh is continuously harassing and victimising the Awam Dost candidates and state resources are being spent on the election campaigns of pro-government candidates. He said that the Coordinator Foreign Liaison Committee PPP, Senator Enver Beg would brief the foreign diplomats regarding rigging in the elections and government victimisation of the opposing candidates on 8 August in Islamabad and these diplomats would be provided all the material and applications, which have been submitted to Election Commission.

Nazir Dhoki said that the police on the orders of Chief Minister is forcing the Awam Dost candidates and their supporters to change their loyalties. He said that party would raise the issue of rigging in the election by the military government at every forum.

PPP Files Application against Information Minister

demands Chairman NAB to try Sheikh Rashid in competent court

Islamabad, 28 July 2005: Pakistan Peoples Party has filed an application with the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) against the Minister for Information and Media Development, Sheikh Rashid Ahmad for being guilty of corruption and corrupt practices.

Shah Khawar Advocate on behalf of Pakistan Peoples Party filed the application under section 5 and 18 (B) sub-section-II of the NAB ordinance 1999, which is punishable offence under section 10 of the NAB ordinance.

The application has referred to a news item published in Daily Times dated 14 June 2005, which asserts that the respondent has been training Kashmiri fighters and in a clarification thereof, the respondent did admit that he has been looking after the Kashmiri refugees at his place. It was later revealed that in 1989 during the government of Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), the ISI without clearance from the government had given the respondent, the then a Member of Opposition, hundreds of acres of prime land in the Islamabad / Rawalpindi areas. The spokesperson of PPP also clarified that when the then PPP government took up this matter with the ISI, it was informed that the land was given for support to the Kashmiri groups.

According to the policy adopted by the present government, training of Kashmiris has now been stopped. The question arises as under what circumstances, huge piece of land was given to the respondent by ISI and after the change in the policy regarding Kashmiris, under which authority the respondent still retains the said land worth billions of rupees and why the same has not been taken back.

By giving land worth billion of rupees to the respondent, a great financial loss to the government exchequer has been caused and the respondent has been benefited. The then ISI authorities and the respondent are jointly and severely responsible for causing great financial loss to the Nation.

The application prays that respondent has shown wilful indulgence in corrupt practices under Section 9 of the NAB Ordinance 1999. Such person is subject to punishment under Section 10 of the NAB Ordinance. So the Chairman of the National Accountability Bureau is called upon to initiate investigation in connection with matters set out herein above and further proceed to file a Reference against respondent for violating the provisions of Section 9 of the NAB Ordinance 1999 punishable under Section 10 of the NAB Ordinance 1999 in competent court of law.

Islamabad, 25 July 2005: Former Prime Minister and Chairperson Pakistan Peoples Party, Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto on behalf of Pakistan Peoples Party condemning the acts of terrorism in London has condoled the families of the victims of London blasts and conveyed sympathy for the injured.

Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto in a letter addressed to the British Prime Minister Tony Blair wrote "The vast majority of the world's Muslims abhors terrorism and rejects the claim of certain terrorist groups to speak in the name of the Muslim Community. Moderate and democratic Muslims all over the world will continue to support the struggle against obscurantism, authoritarianism and terrorism, all of which feed each other".

Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto wrote, "The PPP pays tribute to the people of the United Kingdom who, under your leadership, faced the terrorist assault with courage and calmness".

PPP women’s wing rejects Talibanisation of Pakistan

Islamabad, 25 July 2005: "Depriving women of their basic right of expression is un-Islamic, un-democratic, un-constitutional, immoral and illegal and the military regime has the responsibility to take measure to assure women participation in the elections". This was said by the president Pakistan Peoples Party Women Wing Islamabad, Nargis Faiz Malik while addressing a large gathering of women at Aabpara Chowk Islamabad on Monday.

Hundreds of women from every walk of life demonstrated against the decision by some religious and political elements in Dir and Batagram in NWFP of disenfranchising women from their right of participation in the forthcoming local bodies elections. Protestors displayed placards condemning the decision and raised slogans in favour of women rights. The demonstration was led by Nargis Faiz Malik and attended by Asmat Jabeen, Mansha Bokhari, Mrs. Anwer, Gulzari Begum, Qasida Murtaza, Shamim Aijaz, Farza Begum, Akhtar Bibi, Khairunisa, Rashida Bibi, Mah Jabeen Naqvi, Shumaila Akhtar and others.

Addressing the demonstrators, Nargis Faiz Malik said that Pakistani women would not allow anyone to Talibanise Pakistan and usurp women’s rights. She said that the PPP under the leadership of Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto would continue to fight for women’s rights. She said that a women leader who during her tenures as Prime Minister had taken several measures to emancipate women and enable them to contribute in the country’s development leads the PPP. Nargis Faiz Malik criticised the double standards of the religious parties who have made their daughters and daughter in-laws senators, MNAs and MPAs but want to keep women of their constituencies backward and in dark ages in the name of traditions.

She announced that the PPP Women’s Wing Islamabad will hold demonstration in front of the Parliament House if the military government fails to establish writ of the government in the areas where women are deprived of the electoral rights.

Mohtarma Bhutto denounces Hisba bill as reminder of taliban

Persecution of moderates by Musharraf had pushed country into dark ages

Islamabad July 16, 2005: Former Prime Minister and Chairperson f the Pakistan Peoples Party Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto expressed concern over the Hisba Bill of the Frontier Government and said that the bill was violative of the fundamental human rights of citizens.

In a statement today she said that the bill was a bid to copy the policies of the Taliban in our country, which did not bode well for the strength, and stability of the nation.

The former Prime Minister deplored the intrusion in the private lives of citizens whereby official were now empowered to snoop around private individuals to push people back into the dark ages.

She said that all this was being done by exploiting the name of Islam while Islam categorically prohibited its followers from spying on each other. The bill aims at setting up a Moral Brigade to deny freedom of choice through a chain of priest judges at the provincial, district and tehsil levels to enforce what the politically appointed Mohtasib regards as 'virtue' and whip out what he considers as 'evil' in the name of religion.

The enforcement of virtue and vice brigade would remind many of the darkest days of the Taliban in Afghanistan, she said and added, ‘the establishment of the Hisba brigade was one more step towards unenlightenment, immoderation and tyranny which had flourished since the PPP government was overthrown in 1996".

The draconian Hisba force, which can interfere with the media, Provincial Assembly and private lives of individuals but not the armed forces, has no provision of appeal.

Ironically, Mohtarma said, that while the bill claims to protect women, minorities and disadvantaged groups, its sponsors reject legislation aimed at eliminating honour killings, bar women from participation in polls and hound women NGOs in the province. They refuse to protect the minorities by amending the blasphemy law and exploit the poor by increasing poverty to force the youth to join madrassahs to become cannon fodder in their fights for political power.

She said that General Musharraf's regime had taken Pakistan backwards by persecuting moderate parties and allowing full freedoms to religious parties. She said this was being done to frighten the world that the choice in nuclear Pakistan is only between military dictatorship and religious fascism.

Karachi July 13, 2005: Mr. Shuja Kamal elder brother of Peoples Party activist Mrs. Iffat Farrukh wife of Mr. Ijaz Farrukh Sr. Vice President PPP, USA passed away.

Shuja Kamal had a heart attack at the age of 59; he passed away peacefully at his residence in Karachi.

PPP workers, sympathizers and family friends all over the world are deeply grieved over the tragedy. Many people visited the residence of Mrs. Iffat Farrukh in New York to pay respect and offer condolence on untimely demise of her brother.

Extremism still thrives in Pakistan

By Husain Haqqani International Herald Tribune
 

WASHINGTON JULY 20, 2005: Just as the 9/11 terrorist attacks highlighted Saudi Arabia's responsibility in encouraging Islamist extremism, the July 7 bombings in London must lead to scrutiny of Pakistan's role in fomenting global jihad. Three of the four London bombers were Britons of Pakistani origin and had visited Pakistan recently. The Pakistan connection to the bombings is as significant as the nationality of the 9/11 attackers, fourteen of whom were Saudi nationals.

Pakistan's pro-Western ruler, General Pervez Musharraf, has responded to the London attacks by ordering a crackdown on extremist groups. Pakistan's suave diplomats, Western-educated technocrats and articulate generals will be busy over the next few days highlighting their government's cooperation in the war against terrorism since Musharraf abandoned support for Afghanistan's Taliban regime in 2001.

There is no doubt that Musharraf has selectively cooperated with Western governments since 9/11, and Pakistan has made some high-profile Al Qaeda arrests. But Pakistan has yet to acknowledge, let alone deal with, the ideology of hatred and militancy that has been cultivated as state policy for over four decades.

Some of Pakistan's religious schools, the madrassas, are no longer just bastions of medieval theology. They have evolved into training centers for radical anti-Western militancy. Pakistan's school curriculum cultivates the sentiment of Muslim victimhood and inculcates in young minds the hatred of non-Muslims in general and Jews and Hindus in particular.

When it emerged as an independent state in 1947, Pakistan was considered a moderate Muslim nation that could serve as a model for other emerging independent Muslim states. Pakistan's founder, Muhammad Ali Jinnah, was a Shia Muslim. Its first law minister was a Hindu. Its foreign minister belonged to the Ahmadiyya sect, which opposes jihad. Although Pakistan's birth was accompanied by religious riots and communal violence, the country's founders clearly intended to create a nonsectarian state that would protect religious freedoms and provide the Muslims of South Asia an opportunity to live in a country where they constituted a majority.

Over the years, however, Pakistan became a major center of Islamist extremism. The Ahmadis were declared non-Muslims through an amendment to Pakistan's constitution during the 1970s. Shia-Sunni sectarian violence has plagued the country since the 1980s. Religious minorities, like Hindus and Christians, complain of discrimination and have periodically been subjected to violent attacks by extremists. The disproportionate influence wielded by fundamentalist groups in Pakistan is the result of state sponsorship of such groups.

Pakistan's rulers have played upon religious sentiment as an instrument of strengthening Pakistan's identity since soon after the country's inception. Fears of Indian domination were addressed by embracing an Islamist ideology. Islamist militants were cultivated, armed and trained during the 1980s and 1990s in the Pakistani military's efforts to seek strategic depth in Afghanistan and to put pressure on India for negotiations over the future of the Himalayan territory of Jammu and Kashmir.

In an effort to justify the ascendancy of the military in the country's affairs, a national ethos of militarism was created. An environment dominated by Islamist and militarist ideologies is an ideal breeding ground for radicals and exportable radicalism: In their search for identity, British-born Pakistanis, like the July 7 bombers, have been drawn into the whirlpool of their parents' homeland.

The United States and other Western nations have put their faith in the promises of Musharraf's military to move Pakistan away from its Islamist radical past and toward "enlightened moderation." But the London attacks point out the deep-rooted problems there.

The major Kashmiri jihadist groups retain their infrastructure because the Pakistani military has not decided to give up the option of battling India at a future date. The Taliban have also continued to find safe haven in parts of Pakistan. Afghan and American officials complain periodically of their still training and organizing in Pakistan's border areas. But American officials also continue to express the belief that Pakistan has turned the corner and that Musharraf must be trusted as an American ally.

Western policy makers would rather see Pakistan's glass as half full rather than half empty. This approach distracts Pakistan's rulers, and their Western supporters, from recognizing the depth of Pakistan's problem with Islamist extremism.

(Husain Haqqani is author of "Pakistan: Between Mosque and Military." He was Pakistan's ambassador to Sri Lanka from 1992 to 1993 and teaches International Relations at Boston University.)

Editor South Asia Tribune placed on Exit Control List

ECL Removed from NAB Web Site
 

Musharraf Asks US to Silence His US-based Critics

I

ISLAMABAD, July 22: The Editor of the South Asia Tribune, Shaheen Sehbai, the Washington-based journalist and critic of Pakistani General Pervez Musharraf, has been placed by the Government of Pakistan on the infamous Exit Control List (ECL), which bans its citizens to leave the country.
 

The move comes as Pakistan’s intelligence agencies have made an informal request to the US authorities to “contain” some of the US-based Pakistani writers and journalists who criticize the Musharraf Government “because they are harming Pakistani efforts to fight the US war on terror."

The ECL was up-dated on the web site of the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) on July 14, 2005 and interestingly mentioned the names of several sitting ministers of the Musharraf cabinet, including the Interior Minister, Aftab Ahmed Khan Sherpao himself, who is basically incharge of maintaining and updating the ECL.

When newspapers broke the story of latest ECL nominees, Aftab Sherpao was so angry he ordered the NAB to remove the entire list from its web site and that was quickly done. By the evening of July 20, the ECL was no longer available to the public, as in the past.

In the developments on the other track, some of those critics Musharraf wants contained in the US include Washington-based scholar-diplomat Husain Haqqani (left), a former police officer and author of a recent book Boston-based Hassan Abbas (right), and a Wisconsin University Professor Dr. Tarique Niazi, who writes scathing articles in the South Asia Tribune.
 

A California-based businessman and intellectual Khawaja Ashraf (left), some American scholars including well-known Asia expert Steve Cohen (right) and probably Marvin Weinbaum of the Middle East Institute are also on the hit list.
 

The name of Shaheen Sehbai (left) was put on the ECL sometime in the recent past but it appeared in the ECL on the web site of the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) when it was up-dated on July 14, 2005. Click to view ECL, saved before it was removed by NAB

It provides the name and Pakistan and US addresses of the SAT Editor as well as his passport number and places him in the company of some important politicians including even some current ministers of the Musharraf cabinet.

Among those on the ECL available on the web site of NAB are Interior Minister Aftab Khan Sherpao, Kashmir Affairs Minister Faisal Saleh Hayat, PPPP Leader Makhdoom Amin Faheem, Government PML-Q leader Nasrullah Dareshak and many others in and out of the Government.

Of course the most prominent on the ECL are Benazir Bhutto, Nawaz Sharif, Asif Ali Zardari, Shahbaz Sharif, MQM leader Dr Farooq Sattar, Rape Victim Mukhtaran Mai and even Public Accounts Committee Chairman Malik Allahyar of PML-Q and former NWFP Chief Minister Sardar Mehtab Ahmed Khan Abbasi who recently traveled to a number of European countries as a member of the Senate Foreign Affairs Committee.

Interestingly some of those who have left this world are still not allowed to leave Pakistan, according to the NAB list. These unfortunate ones include Mian Mohammed Sharif, father of Nawaz Sharif, former minister Abdus Sattar Lalika and top terrorist Riaz Basra. A sick Begum Nusrat Bhutto and Asif Zardari’s father Hakim Ali Zardari also remain on the list.

Political observers, however, say the ECL has been turned into a joke by the military Government as it is being used totally and exclusively for persecution and harassment of political opponents of the regime while those who support the army are allowed to travel even though their names stay on the ECL.

The entire Sharif family was on ECL but was forced out of the country, these observers point out. Asif Zardari was permitted to leave without his name being struck off, at least from the NAB list on the web site. Mukhtaran Mai was permitted to leave the country under US and Western pressure but her name is still there.

Newspaper Dawn contacted Aftab Khan Sherpao, the Interior Minister under whose jurisdiction the ECL is compiled and updated, to seek an explanation as to how he himself and a fellow Minister Faisal Saleh Hayat were on the list. The interior minister responded: “Our names are not on the ECL.” Asked if he would direct the authorities to make corrections in the list, the minister replied in affirmative.

But Dawn quoted a NAB official saying that the Interior Minister’s name was put on the web site as cases were pending against him in courts. The official, requesting anonymity, said the interior minister’s name would be taken off only on the directives of a court of law.

Asked why the Kashmir affairs minister’s name was on ECL, the official said perhaps the concerned officials had not updated the list as court cases against the minister had been withdrawn.

About Mukhtaran Mai still featuring on the NAB web site, the official said the list was maintained by the interior ministry and the government might have put her name on ECL. The official said NAB got the names of only those people on ECL who had any corruption cases pending against them.

Asked if the NAB had the legal power to place a person’s name on ECL or publish it on its web site, NAB spokesperson Nasir Jamal said there must be some provision but he would have to check the exact position with the legal department on Wednesday.

As this ECL joke continues, a more sinister move by the Musharraf Government is getting more attention in Washington. According to sources the ISI and Military Intelligence (MI) have given several names to the US intelligence agencies and other authorities to “contain” some of the critics of the Musharraf Government who are based on US as they are “harming Pakistani efforts to fight the war on terror by attacking General Musharraf.”

The name of South Asia Tribune Editor Shaheen Sehbai also figures prominently on this list of US-based trouble-makers.

Sources in Islamabad said by asking the US authorities to “contain” these writers and intellectuals, the Pakistan Army wishes that some of these Pakistanis should be handed over to Islamabad while the US citizens be asked by the Washington Establishment to tone down their attacks on General Musharraf in the name of serving US National Security interests.

The US reaction to this request is not yet known but experts say it would be wishful thinking on the part of the Pakistani Generals to believe that any US Government would link “political dissent” and “criticism of General Musharraf” to the war on terror and forcibly silence or expatriate these critics.

Mohtarma Bhutto criticises Congressman for offensive remarks about Makkah Sahrif Asks congressman to tender apology

Islamabad July 21, 2005: Former Prime Minister and Chairperson Pakistan Peoples Party Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto termed "offensive, provocative and irresponsible" the suggestive remarks by a U.S. congressman that the United States could "take out" Islamic holy sites if Muslim attackers targeted America in a nuclear strike.

In a statement today she said that the Congressman’s remarks could fuel extremism. "When a crime was committed, the criminal was punished and not the whole community".

She said it would be wise for the Congressman to tender an apology for his comments with a view to cool the inflamed passions.

The former Prime Minister said that religious tolerance was the need of the hour. When religious sites were targeted, as Pakistanis have unfortunately experienced in their own homeland, hatred and intolerance grew, she said.

She said that the Congressman’s statement that the Washington could retaliate to an extremist attack by bombing Makkah Sharif, the House of God for Muslims, would anger and provoke Muslims and was most unfortunate.

She said that the PPP deplored it and warned that such statements could play into the hands of terrorists who could claim that Islam, and Makkah Sharif, was in danger to make fresh recruitments.

The former Prime Minister noted that the U.S. State Department called the congressman's statement "insulting and offensive" and said Americans "respect the dignity and sanctity of other religions."

One of the five pillars of Islam calls upon Muslims to pay a holy pilgrimage to Makkah Sharif once in their lives.

NAB is a Jihadi Organisation -Naheed Khan

Islamabad, 21 July 2005: Naheed Khan, member national assembly and the political secretary to the chairperson Pakistan Peoples Party, Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto has asked the chief justice of Pakistan to take suo moto notice of NAB's interference with the judicial process and demanded of the regime to restrain its political arm, the NAB, from meddling with the judiciary.

Naheed Khan in a statement today said that NAB's intrusive actions in the matters of judicial nature prove that this organisation is functioning with ulterior motives. The way NAB demonstrated interests in the Mir Murtaza murder case reminds Gestapo of Nazi Germany. She said that NAB is a hideout of the Jihadi elements where the extremists conspire against the democratic forces of the country.

Naheed Khan warned the regime and the NAB that the days of terror and victimisation are numbered and now the international situation demands transparency in governance. In changing environment the Jihadi cannot hide their true identity whether in the government or in its political arm. She urged the Human Right Bodies, the legal fraternity and the civil society to take notice of NAB's illegal actions and raise their voice against this Jihadi organisation.

Musharraf’s address betrays two faces of Pakistan's military ruler

Islamabad July 21, 2005: The address of General Musharraf tonight demonstrated once again the two faces of Pakistan’s military ruler.

In a statement today spokesman of the Pakistan Peoples Party Senator Farhatullah Babar said that General Musharraf’s rhetoric of enlightened moderation was a façade to conceal how he was chasing the democratic political opposition with their back to the wall and thereby actually spawning forces of extremism.

The General spoke of provincial harmony but in the same breath struck at the root of provincial harmony by insisting that he will build the controversial Kalabagh dam, he said.

The PPP spokesman said that the General appeared to sound tough against the extremists but this is not the first time that he has sought to present this side of his face.

On January 12, 2002 after the tragic events of 9/11 he sounded as tough against extremists when he warned them against becoming an Army of God. As later events showed the tough talk of January 12, 2002 was rhetoric and sound and fury signifying nothing.

The tough talk tonight against the extremists is déjà vu and fails to arouse any credibility, he said. General Musharraf has yet to demonstrate that the tough talk against extremists is a shift in strategic thinking and not a mere tactical manoeuvre, the PPP said.

General Musharraf appeared to stake claim of a better Muslim than others by flaunting credentials that the doors of the House of God were opened for him.

This will not impress those who know from history that many tyrants and dictators before him also had the doors of House of God opened for them, the spokesman said.

General Musharraf failed to admit that the interference by a previous military dictator in Afghanistan in early 80’s was a mistake. His defence of the role Pakistan played in 80s in Afghanistan betrayed that no lessons had been learnt form treating Afghanistan as providing strategic depth as the country’s fifth province.

Mohtarma Bhutto Supports Registration of Maddrassas

Says the approach that London bombings were London's problems unacceptable

Stresses modern education along with religious teachings in madrassa

Islamabad July 22, 2005: Former Prime Minister and Chairperson of the Pakistan Peoples party Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto said that following the London bombings by bombers who had visited Pakistan prior to the events of 7/7 it was essential for Islamabad to take action to demonstrate its commitment to fighting terrorism.

In this context, she said in a statement today that the PPP welcomed the military regime's announcement that it would register all madrassas and schools by December this year and establish a special cell to carry out the task.

She noted that many Maddrassas were carrying out solely religious functions. However, some had been set up to fight the occupation of Afghanistan in the eighties. She said that these political maddrassas were brainwashing young men into becoming robots in a deadly move of terror.

In an address to the nation General Pervez Musharraf vowed to reform the madrassah education so as to fight against extremism and terrorism. He also asked the people for support in this task.

The former Prime Minister said that such a move if implemented in letter and spirit it would be welcomed by all those who are concerned about Pakistan's image abroad as well as the stability and well being of the country itself.

She said that the PPP had noted General Musharraf's pledge not to allow banned organizations from operating under a new name.

She said that in the wake on London bombings and the revelations that some suicide bombers had visited Pakistani madrassas before carrying out the attacks it was important that the madrassa education was closely watched and also reformed.

The former Prime Minister cautioned that the line taken by some elements of the regime that the London Bombings were London's problems was unacceptable. Too many terrorists had ended up with some link to Pakistan, which meant that Islamabad must be seen to be taking the issue with seriousness to allay international concerns.

She said that Islam was a religion of peace and harmony and it was important that our madrassas were reformed so that the education imparted in these schools truly reflected the humane and peaceful traditions of Islam and Islamic teachings.

Mohtarma Bhutto said that modern education and skills along with religious teachings was important for striking a balance so essential for peace and stability.

"Balance is at the centre of a society's survival", she said and added that societies lost their moorings when the delicate balance was upset. Modern education is important so that instead of producing robots that mechanically followed the command the nation produced thinking individuals with critical faculties to observe, analyse and debate issues, she said.

She said that sermons from the pulpits of mosques that spread venom and hate had taken its toll on the people of Pakistan. She said that too many Pakistanis had fallen victim to terrorism, as had those outside Pakistan. She noted that the attack on Bari Imam earlier this year was one illustration of how terrorism was a domestic as well as international problem.

Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto felicitates World Punjabi Congress

on holding international Conference on Waris Shah

Islamabad, 23 July 2005: Former Prime Minister and Chairperson Pakistan Peoples Party, Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto has wished the delegates from all over the world who have come to Lahore to attend three day International Conference on the great poet Waris Shah a warm welcome and hoped that this conference will be constructive

Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto in a message to the Chairman World Punjabi Congress, Fakhar Zaman wrote, "I recall sending a message to the 1st World Punjabi Conference organised in Lahore in 1986. In that message I called for giving all languages of the soil a rightful place. In the case of Punjabi, this is all the more so since it has been neglected in Pakistan".

Regarding PPP policy towards culture and heritage she wrote, "Quaid e Awam Zulfkar Ali Bhutto Shaheed was the first Leader to encourage the establishment of a number of Cultural institutions. His government took positive steps for the development of languages rooted in with the land. The PPP Governments that I led followed Quaid-i-Awam's policies. We took great interest in the flourishing of institutions relating to Art, Culture and Literature. With the support of many intellectuals, the PPP Government I led promulgated the first Cultural Policy of Pakistan. Mr Fakhar Zaman was the architect of that policy and ensured its success as Chairman of National Commission on History and Culture and Pakistan Academy of Letters".

Emphasising the need of tolerance and brotherhood in Pakistani society and Sufi contribution to a peaceful civilization she wrote, "Sufi poets of Pakistan historically symbolise a culture of brotherhood, enlightenment and progress. They repudiated extremism, religious bigotry, obscurantism and mullahism. The poetry of Waris Shah, the social and cultural doyen of Punjab people, is extremely relevant today. We need to relate the teachings of our Awami poets to the present conditions where our society is marred by reactionaries and fanatics. Sufi poets Waris Shah, Baba Farid, Shah Hussain, Bullhe Shah, Sultan Bahu, Khwaja Farid, Mian Mohammad Baksh from Punjab or Sachal Sarmast and Shah Latif Bhatai from Sindh, Khushhal Khan Khatak and Rehman Baba from NWFP or Jam Durak and Mast Tawakkali from Balauchistan are beacon lights helping brighten the path for us to determine our directions. Their teachings aim at rendering a human dimension to society".

Felicitating the World Punjabi Congress on organising the Conference she wrote, "I Congratulate Mr. Fakhar Zaman, Chairman of World Punjabi Congress, for holding this Conference. He is a writer and Intellectual of high calibre, an asset to the country as well as to the Pakistan Peoples Party. I am proud if his determination to continue his admirable efforts to propagate the message of the mystic poets. He is much respected too for his Initiatives in the context of Indo-Pak friendship".

PPP asks CEC to take measures for free and fair elections

Islamabad, 23 July 2005: Secretary General Pakistan Peoples Party Parliamentarians Raja Pervez Ashraf MNA and the media coordinator Local Bodies Election Central Monitoring Committee PPP, Nazir Dhoki in a joint statement have very strongly condemned the statement of Chief Minister Sindh, Arbab Rahim that his administration has made the entire Sindh a "No Go" area and warned him of restrain himself from such type of statement because people of Sindh and the entire country are no longer ready to live in an environment of fear of the dictators.

Raja Pervez Ashraf and Nazir Dhoki said that this statement of the Chief Minister displays the military regimes intentions of not holding free, fair and transparent elections. The regime is trying to usurp the peoples’ right to vote freely. They said that the government has two masks. One is the so-called enlightened mask for the West and other is the real face of the dictatorship, which is continuously victimising the liberal and progressive forces of the country.

PPP leaders said that all over Sindh province, the police and administration is harassing Awam Dost candidates and initiating false and concocted cases including murder cases against them to keep them out of the electoral process. Raja Pervez Ashraf and Nazir Dhoki said that Arbab Ghulam Rahim should not forget that such tall claims were also made by General Zia who is rotting in the dustbin of history but the PPP is still the largest political force in the country under the leadership of Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto. They said that such claims by Arbab Rahim would not deter the party workers from carrying out a vigorous campaign to oust the dictatorship from the country. They demanded of the Chief Election Commissioner to take notice of Arbab Rahim’s statement and play its role in holding free, fair, impartial and transparent elections.

PPP asks CEC to take measures for free and fair elections

Islamabad, 23 July 2005: Secretary General Pakistan Peoples Party Parliamentarians Raja Pervez Ashraf MNA and the media coordinator Local Bodies Election Central Monitoring Committee PPP, Nazir Dhoki in a joint statement have very strongly condemned the statement of Chief Minister Sindh, Arbab Rahim that his administration has made the entire Sindh a "No Go" area and warned him of restrain himself from such type of statement because people of Sindh and the entire country are no longer ready to live in an environment of fear of the dictators.

Raja Pervez Ashraf and Nazir Dhoki said that this statement of the Chief Minister displays the military regimes intentions of not holding free, fair and transparent elections. The regime is trying to usurp the peoples’ right to vote freely. They said that the government has two masks. One is the so-called enlightened mask for the West and other is the real face of the dictatorship, which is continuously victimising the liberal and progressive forces of the country.

PPP leaders said that all over Sindh province, the police and administration is harassing Awam Dost candidates and initiating false and concocted cases including murder cases against them to keep them out of the electoral process. Raja Pervez Ashraf and Nazir Dhoki said that Arbab Ghulam Rahim should not forget that such tall claims were also made by General Zia who is rotting in the dustbin of history but the PPP is still the largest political force in the country under the leadership of Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto. They said that such claims by Arbab Rahim would not deter the party workers from carrying out a vigorous campaign to oust the dictatorship from the country. They demanded of the Chief Election Commissioner to take notice of Arbab Rahim’s statement and play its role in holding free, fair, impartial and transparent elections.

Mohtarma Bhutto denounces Hisba bill as reminder of taliban

Persecution of moderates by Musharraf had pushed country into dark ages

Islamabad July 16, 2005: Former Prime Minister and Chairperson f the Pakistan Peoples Party Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto expressed concern over the Hisba Bill of the Frontier Government and said that the bill was violative of the fundamental human rights of citizens.

In a statement today she said that the bill was a bid to copy the policies of the Taliban in our country, which did not bode well for the strength, and stability of the nation.

The former Prime Minister deplored the intrusion in the private lives of citizens whereby official were now empowered to snoop around private individuals to push people back into the dark ages.

She said that all this was being done by exploiting the name of Islam while Islam categorically prohibited its followers from spying on each other. The bill aims at setting up a Moral Brigade to deny freedom of choice through a chain of priest judges at the provincial, district and tehsil levels to enforce what the politically appointed Mohtasib regards as 'virtue' and whip out what he considers as 'evil' in the name of religion.

The enforcement of virtue and vice brigade would remind many of the darkest days of the Taliban in Afghanistan, she said and added, ‘the establishment of the Hisba brigade was one more step towards unenlightenment, immoderation and tyranny which had flourished since the PPP government was overthrown in 1996".

The draconian Hisba force, which can interfere with the media, Provincial Assembly and private lives of individuals but not the armed forces, has no provision of appeal.

Ironically, Mohtarma said, that while the bill claims to protect women, minorities and disadvantaged groups, its sponsors reject legislation aimed at eliminating honour killings, bar women from participation in polls and hound women NGOs in the province. They refuse to protect the minorities by amending the blasphemy law and exploit the poor by increasing poverty to force the youth to join madrassahs to become cannon fodder in their fights for political power.

She said that General Musharraf's regime had taken Pakistan backwards by persecuting moderate parties and allowing full freedoms to religious parties. She said this was being done to frighten the world that the choice in nuclear Pakistan is only between military dictatorship and religious fascism.

Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto meets with Secretary General Commonwealth

Islamabad, July 20: Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto, former Prime Minister of Pakistan and Chairperson PPP met with the Secretary General of the Commonwealth Mr Don Mckinnon here yesterday. The two held wide ranging discussions on various issues of importance and also political situation in Pakistan and the prospects of forthcoming local bodies elections.

NAB calls for file in murder case against Senator Asif Zardari
PPP condemns NAB action as based on ulterior motives
Urges Supreme Court to take suo moto notice

Islamabad July 20, 2005: Pakistan Peoples Party has expressed shock and condemned interference by the NAB in the judicial process in the Mir Murtaza Bhutto murder case against Senator Asif Ali Zardari now being the Sessions Judge East Karachi and termed it as yet another proof that the NAB was being used for the political re-engineering of the country.

The acquittal application of Mr Zardari in the Mir Murtaza Bhutto murder case was heard by the Sessions Judge East Karachi Mr. Sherwani on July 19 who reserved his judgment till August 20.

As soon as the Sessions Judge reserved his verdict the NAB prosecutor Zaheer Khan called for the file of the case from the special prosecutor Ilyas Khan in the Mir Murtaz murder case. The Sindh law secretary also called for the details of the case from the district public prosecutor.

In a statement today PPP vice chair Makhdoom Amin Fahim said that NAB has nothing g to do with the murder case pending before a court of competent jurisdiction. NAB was a self styled investigation and prosecution agency only in cases of corruption and had nothing to do with murder cases, he said.

Makhdoom Amin Fahim said that NAB’s going out of the way and showing interest in the case demonstrated its ulterior motives.

The NAB and the regime owe an explanation as to why such extraordinary interest is being taken by the NAB in a case with which it has nothing to do in terms of its mandate and stated functions, he said.

Makhdoom Amin Fahim said that the PPP has always maintained that NAB was serving as political arm of the rulers to re-write the political landscape of the country so as to give a permanent role to the military in the country’s politics.

He urged the Supreme Court to take suo moto notice of NAB’s interference in the murder case against Senator Zardari. He also asked the legal fraternity and the human rights bodies to take notice and raise their voice.

Makhdoom Amin Fahim said that the Party will raise the matter with the UN Rapporteur on Judges and also with the diplomats and international bodies.

PPP demands CEC to take notice of violations of election rules

Islamabad, 20 July 2005: Pakistan Peoples Party has asked the Chief Election Commissioner to take notice of victimisation of party workers in Jamshoror, Larkana and Nawabshah and has demanded of the Election Commissioner to take action against the Chief Minister Sindh Arbab Ghulam Rahim who has reportedly said that it is the right of the government party to use state resources during local body elections.

These demands were made in a meeting of PPP Committee formed for monitoring local bodies elections. The meeting was held today at Central Secretariat Islamabad chaired by Syed Nayyar Hussain Bokhari MNA and attended by Senator Enver Beg, Media Coordinator of the Central Monitoring Committee Nazir Dhoki, B A Malik, Ilyas Mohsin and Mansoor Sheikh.

The committee expressed its concerns over prime minister Shaukat Aziz’z recent visit of Hyderabad in which in a public meeting organised by MQM, he announced several development project as part of election campaign. The meeting also took notice of transfers of officials and demanded of the election commissioner to take measures to stop these violations of elections rules.

Raja Pervez Ashraf awarded Honorary Citizenship of Houston Texas

Islamabad, 13 July 2005: Secretary General Pakistan Peoples Party Parliamentarians and Deputy Parliamentary Leader in the National Assembly, Raja Pervez Ashraf MNA arrived back in Islamabad today after an extensive tour of the United States, United Kingdom and Dubai.

During his stay in the United States, he attended a seminar organised by APNA, an organisation of Pakistani doctors practising in the Unites States. Raja Pervez Ashraf also held meetings with party chapters in different American cities.

During his visit, Raja Pervez Ashraf was awarded honorary citizenship of Houston Texas by the Mayor of the city, Mr. Bill White and was also appointed a goodwill Ambassador of the city for his services to the people and for his achievements in his political career. Mr. Bill White presented a scroll to Raja Pervez Ashraf in this regard.

Raja Pervez Ashraf MNA, during his stay in the United States also held meetings with US Senators, congressmen and Think Tanks.

During his stay in the United Kingdom, Raja Pervez Ashraf visited several cities and met with the office bearers of party organisation.

On his way back, Raja Pervez Ashraf made a brief stopover at Dubai, where he called on to Senator Asif Ali Zardari to enquire about his health.

Islamabad, 13 July 2005: On the instructions of Chairperson Pakistan Peoples Party, Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto a monitoring committee for monitoring the local bodies elections has been constituted. Senator Latif Khosa would be the Coordinator and Senator Enver Beg, Syed Nayyar Hussain Bokhari MNA, B.A. Malik, Kamran Zafar, Ilays Mohsin, Masood Sharif, Sheikh Mansoor, Palwasha Behram and Nazir Dhoki would serve as its members.

The monitoring committee would apprise the foreign embassies, diplomats and Human Rights Organisation regarding irregularities in the elections, violations of human rights, rigging and cases of victimisation of political opponents by the government.

The committee held its first meeting today at the Central Secretariat of the Party in Islamabad, chaired by Senator Latif Khosa and attended by members as well as party Secretary General Jahangir Bader who conveyed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto’s instructions to the committee. The meeting condemned victimisation of party workers and supporters in Sindh province. The Secretary General, PPP instructed the party district office bearers to send all cases of irregularities in the elections and cases of victimisation of party workers and supporters to the Central Secretariat, Islamabad.

PPP will oppose disenfranchising women in LB Polls

Islamabad July 14, 2005: Pakistan Peoples Party believes in gender equality and empowerment of women and will resist any attempt to disenfranchise women during the forthcoming local or general elections.

A section of the press today reported that efforts were afoot at the local level by candidates of different political parties in the Frontier province to agree on keeping the women out of elections.

In a statement today the President of Frontier PPP Rahimdad Khan categorically denied that the Party was taking part in such deliberations.

He said the Party’s political principles were well known and it was unthinkable that its leaders or workers would enter into any arrangement at local level that was inconsistent with its policy, principles and manifesto.

He said that the Party will mobilise women voters from Chitral to Dera Ismail Khan come rain or sunshine in the polls.

If any candidate who claims affiliation with Party manifesto in any manner takes part in the undemocratic and unconstitutional practise of debarring women from exercising their right of franchise will be so doing in violation of the Party’s discipline and will be dealt with accordingly, he said.

Rahimdad Khan urged the women throughout the province to come forward and not abandon their legal and constitutional right in the face of opposition from obscurantist.

Islamabad July 13, 2005: Former Prime Minister and Chairperson of the Pakistan Peoples Party Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto has expressed profound grief and shock over the train accident near Gotki in Sindh in which about 130 people were killed and some two hundred people injured mostly seriously.

Three trains collided in the wee hours of Wednesday at railway station Sarhad near Gotki in Sindh resulting in the death of 130 people and serious injuries to countless more passengers in what was one of the worst train accidents in the country.

In a statement today she said that she was profoundly grieved over the tragedy and called for immediate and adequate compensation to the kin of those killed in the accident and free treatment of those injured in the accident.

She said that it appeared that the accident was the result of carelessness and improper supervision of the