Benazir
condemns violence against citizens’ rally in Lahore
Islamabad: Former prime minister and
chairperson of the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Benazir Bhutto has
criticised use of force against participants of a run organised to raise
awarness about crime and violence against women.
Ms Bhutto particularly condemned brutal treatment by male police officers
who according to her tried to tear the clothes of Asma Jehangir, a United
Nations Rapporteur and former chairperson of the Human Rights Commission of
Pakistan (HRCP).
She said the police action showed tyrannical means being employed to deny
citizens their constitutional right to freedom of movement, association and
expression.
She said the police had also tortured PPP workers to disperse a peaceful
airport reception for Asif Ali Zardari last month. She demanded that the
federal administration condemn police action ordered by the Punjab
administration to improve its credibility.
A citizens rally organised by the HRCP and the Joint Action Committee of the
People’s Rights on Saturday in Lahore was violently dispersed by law
enforcement agencies who arrested dozens of activists and whisked them off
to police stations.
Ms Jehangir and Iqbal Haider, the HRCP general secretary, were among those
who were brutally tortured. Others who were detained included Hina Jillani,
Shahtaj Qazalbash, Tahseen Ahmad, Farooq Tariq and Joseph Francis.
The police claimed that they had received information of an impending
assault on the citizens rally by activists of the Shabab-i-Milli, the youth
wing of the Jamaat-e-Islami.
Ms Jehangir had received a threatening phone call from someone claiming to
be the president of Shabab-i-Milli, Ahmad Salman, but later it was found
that the police had made a fake phone call from a tyre shop.
Ms Bhutto said that the incident had distorted claims of enlightened
moderation and demonstrated that the Punjab administration was secretly in
contact with the extremist elements.
The former prime minister said that the pictures of Ms Jehangir and other
women being roughed up by male police and with their clothes torn had
brought shame on the government.
Ms Bhutto called upon the judiciary to protect people’s right and take suo
moto action against those responsible. She also urged lawyers, the media and
human rights organisations to raise their voice against state violence.
She also sympathised with Ms Jehangir and other activists. “You have
suffered humiliation and torture at the hands of state agencies for
exercising your fundamental human rights,” she said. online
Mohtarma
Bhutto rejects auctioning of fishing rights in Sindh as unjust
Voices support to All Parties Conference against contract system
Islamabad May 31, 2005:
Former Prime Minister and Chairperson Pakistan Peoples Party, Mohtarma
Benazir Bhutto has rejected the plans for auctioning fisheries rights in
Sindh province as unjust and amounting to depriving the local fisherman of
their traditional source of living and trade.
The provincial government has announced a two month schedule of contracting
all the fishing grounds in the province during May and June 2005.
The new system deprives the fishermen of their due share of catch and does
not allow them to sell their catch in open market. It also degrades the
fishing grounds by using chemicals to enhance fish catch threatening to
irreversibly deplete the fish species from the fishing grounds.
Tens of thousands of fishermen in Sinhd and their families have come on
roads against the abolition of decades old license system and introduction
of exploitative contract system. The regime retaliated by arresting the
protesting fishermen and sealing the offices of their representatives.
"The demand of the Sindh fishermen not to abolish the existing license
system is lawful, in accordance with past practices and consistent with the
Sindh Fisheries Act 1980".
Arresting fisherman demanding restoration of their rights was adding insult
to injury, she said.
"The forcible ejection of tenants of Okara and other military farms in the
Punjab, the uprooting of fisherman in Sindh and the sacking of labour and
civilian employees showed how dictatorship hurts the rights of a people".
She also demanded the release of the leaders of Pakistan Fisherfolk Forum (PFF)
and other fishermen.
She said that what was happening at the military farmlands in the Punjab, in
the fishing grounds in Sindh and the induction of armed forces personnel on
civil posts only increased the isolation of the security personnel from the
people.
This is detrimental to the morale of the security forces, she said.
The former Prime Minister said that the PPP will continue to support the
historical struggle of the fishermen of Sindh. She said that the PPP will
also participate in the All Parties Conference against Contract System in
Fisheries scheduled to be held in Karachi on June 8, 2005.
Mohtarma
Bhutto condemns assault on press freedom by military dictatorship
Islamabad may 29, 2005:
Former Prime Minister Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto has expressed concern over the
continued assault on the freedom of information by the military dictatorship
in Pakistan.
She was commenting on reports that the military regime is continuing with
its ban on state-sponsored advertising in two newspapers owned by a leading
media company, the Urdu-language daily Nawa-i-Waqt and the English-language
daily The Nation.
The Musharaf dictatorship imposed this ban to financially squeeze the paper
as revenge for an April ad that both dailies ran from the opposition
Pakistan People’s Party (PPP).The ads were taken out to inform the public
about the arrival of Opposition leader Asif Ali Zardari. Most of the ads by
the opposition were not carried by the major media due to the government
threats for the entire campaign. However, after the Nation group ran the
ads, some others also got the precedent to run the ads too.
The PPP Chairperson said that the policy to crush freedom of press by the
Musharaf dictatorship was contrary to the public statements of building an
enlightened society. She said that intolerance and immoderation fuelled
extremism. The action against the newspaper company was an action that could
only damage the standing of the country in the international community while
usurping the fundamental rights of the people.
The former Prime Minister noted that the regime has ruthlessly crushed the
newspapers and media. They are not allowed to report on the corruption of
the ruling men in uniform or their families. Those who carry news that the
dictatorship does not like get summary punishment. They are intercepted at
traffic lights pulled out of cars and beaten or their cars are robbed.
She welcomed the statement by Committee to Protect Journalists which has
issued a statement in the matter. She said that it was disappointing to see
how the rulers bent backwards when foreign organizations took up issues but
ignored domestic critics when they said the same thing. The former Prime
Minister said that ignoring domestic criticism while bending backwards to
please foreign organizations has given rise to ridicule the most recent
example being of the cartoon showing a dog running up to a foreign soldier
to deliver goods. She said it would be much wiser for the regime to listen
to the voice of the people so that matters could be resolved internally
instead of Islamabad's dirty linen being washed internationally.
She said that the ban on ads to the Nawai Waqt group was all the more
sinister coming as it does on the eve of the Budget session. The Budget is
expected to be yet another anti people measure in a country that has seen
the worst economic deterioration. Today twenty percent richest people are
richer than they were in the seventies whereas the twenty percent poorest
people are much poorer than they were then.
The windfall of reschedule of loans where Pakistan got cash in its hand was
squandered. Instead of paying off capital debt to make the country self
reliant and self respecting, the money was wasted on white elephant expenses
like building a second General Headquarters costing three billion dollars as
well as an army of ministers and cars for party leaders.
Mohtarma Bhutto said that it was shocking that more debt had been incurred
when there were no repayments to be made due to reschedule. She said that
had PPP been in power it would have taken advantage of the economic
generosity of the international community to build Pakistan into a
prosperous and modern nation free of unemployment and misery. She asked the
people of the country to unite for the restoration of democracy in which lay
their economic and social salvation.
Musharraf's
'Honest' General, Rattled by Exposure of His Corruption
By Senator Farhatullah Babar
ISLAMABAD, May 29: Lately
the Fauji Foundation, a trust for the welfare of ex-servicemen, has been in
the news. The Foundation's response to the strident criticism of its
performance in Parliament and in the media, however, has been at best
deafening silence and at worst jeering at the protesting MPs by rejecting
through newspaper ads the information about it placed on the floor of the
house by the government itself.
During question hour in the National Assembly last month, a member belonging
to the ruling coalition, Mrs Shamim Akhtar, had asked the defence minister
as to why the Khoski Sugar Mill belonging to the Foundation had been sold.
The written reply was a masterpiece of contradiction.
In his written reply the defence minister stated that the Sugar Mill was
incurring heavy losses and therefore sold for Rs300 million to the highest
bidder in a transparent manner after completion of all formalities.
The matter would have ended but, intriguingly, it also stated, "It has been
sold at the low price in any case." (Whatever that means.)
The claim of selling the mill to the highest bidder on the one hand and the
admission that it had been sold at a low price was offensive to the meanest
intelligence. There was uproar. In unison with the MPs' demanded truth and
nothing but the truth.
The Parliamentary Secretary for Defence Tanvir Hussain then admitted to what
came like a bombshell: the sugar mill had been sold at Rs300 million,
against the highest bid of 387 million.
Some intrepid press reporters then chased the parliamentary secretary to his
chamber. A number of facts were revealed: the transaction had taken place
during the tenure of the present boss of the Foundation, who was previously
chairman of the National Accountability Bureau. A high-level inquiry had
already been ordered by the Defence Ministry. The entity to which it was
sold had not even participated in the bidding process.
Initially the Foundation did not respond but after two weeks rejected the
information given to the MPs through quarter-page advertisements in national
dailies. The ads titled "Fauji Foundation Rejects" not only dismissed
allegations but also claimed that the Khoski Sugar Mill was sold "in the
best interest of the Foundation" and in keeping with the "established
corporate norms and business practices."
"We have received no government assistance in cash or kind," the ads
announced, and vowed to "jealously guard its reputation for impeccable
conduct."
The MPs took the Foundation's ads, which rejected the official information
placed before them a few days before, as an affront and breach of their
privilege. Parliamentary Secretary Major Tanvir also bemoaned that the
Foundation had breached the privilege of Parliament.
One is indeed puzzled by the Foundation's claim that it had not received
government assistance in cash or in kind. Under SRO No 395, issued in March
1972, all the properties of the Post War Services Reconstruction Funds of
the former West Pakistan were vested in the federal government, which in
turn transferred these properties to the Fauji Foundation under the
Charitable Endowments Act. With such a kick start from day one, how can the
management today claim that it has not received from the government "any
assistance in cash or in kind"?
According to the Scheme of Administration under the SRO, the Fauji
Foundation is also authorized"to receive from government or other bodies or
person any contribution to the Foundation."
Why would the SRO authorize the Foundation to receive contributions if it
was not intended that it actually received contributions?
When the opposition demanded that the sale of the sugar mill be investigated
by the NAB, apologists for the Foundation claimed that its income wasn't
covered under the definition of "public fund," and therefore the NAB had no
jurisdiction to probe, much the same way as it cannot probe the financial
decisions of any other private undertaking.
Several hundred private housing societies functioning in the country operate
private and not public funds. If the NAB has been probing the housing
societies, why can't it probe the Foundation's dealings, particularly when
as a charitable trust, the Foundation, is supposed to serve the welfare of
ex-servicemen? The Taj Company also did not operate public funds but was not
spared by the NAB.
According to the Scheme of Administration of the Foundation, its
administration is in the hands of a committee whose chairman is the defence
secretary and its members include four principal staff officers of the GHQ
and two senior officers of the Pakistan Navy and the Air Force, all paid out
of the public funds. The assertion defies logic that the Foundation's funds
should not only be treated as private but also kept beyond the purview of
the NAB.
It has also been asserted that no government tribunal has legal authority to
probe the affairs of the Foundation and that the administrative committee
alone is competent to initiate proceedings against any wrongdoing in a
manner it deems appropriate. It amounts to saying that the committee shall
sit in judgment on the propriety of its own financial and administrative
decisions. Heads I win, tails you lose. Isn't it?
The claim by the Foundation's management through press ads paid out of funds
meant for the welfare of servicemen, instead of categorically stating its
position on allegations of underbidding, is a most cavalier attitude, to say
the least. The issue will not die down by weaving around it a complex web of
legal terminologies. When foundations are shaken it beckons men of courage
to save the structures from collapsing. Individuals and institutions which
have great strengths approach their criticism and weaknesses with a sense of
confidence and condor.
It will do the Fauji Foundation and its boss (Lt. General Syed Mohammed
Amjad, Pix Top, Left), who is known for personal integrity, enormous good if
it volunteered to dispel the misgivings about the sale of the sugar mill
before the appropriate Parliamentary Committee, admitted that it erred in
placing the costly ads to rebut parliamentary criticism, and returned to the
Foundation's account the money meant to be spent on the welfare of
ex-servicemen misspent on ads.
Apart from his reputation of integrity, the present head of the Foundation
has spent a lifetime in a profession which must have taught him what
collateral damage is. One hopes that he will demonstrate courage and condor.
and save the institution he served so ably for several decades from colossal
collateral damage.
The writer, a PPP Senator, is a member of the Senate Committee on Defence.
This article was written for "The News"
PRESS BRIEF
ON PIA’s DECISION TO SELL A-300 B4
On May 27th 2005 at Karachi Press Club By Pakistan
Peoples Party Parliamentarians Senator Rukhsana Zuberi, Senator (R) Rashid
Rabbani & Engr. Muhammad Rafiq MPA & Mr.Zafar Khan.
PIA is leasing aircrafts for passenger and freight operations
from MNG and Fly Air soon after inception of the present regime. PIA is now
selling MNG six A300 aircraft for a partly sum of $ 10.1 million.
Mind you , these aircraft were advertised as airworthy and JAR 145
compliant. The PIA stand, that the six A300s had completed their life and
were no longer safe for flying as such there was no point in keeping the
aircraft when they were not airworthy is distortion of facts.
Facts:
If these aircraft are not airworthy then why PIA has offered 18 sets of
pilots and flight engineers to MNG to fly these aircraft for them.
Are these aircraft safe for the PIA crew and unsafe for passengers ?
If A300 has completed its life in 22 years then why PIA is still risking the
lives of passengers by commuting them in their 21 years old B-737s and 50
year old F-27s. The fact is that no aircraft is young or old; it has to be
AIRWORTHY with Certificate of Airworthiness & Certificate of Maintenance.
The 6 A300s being sold have both certifications!!!
Should all aircraft with an age of 22 years and above be grounded
immediately??
CERTAINLY NOT!! AS THEY ARE SAFE
Also PIA is leasing similar or older aircrafts on lease. Given are details:
The economic comparison of flying PIA owned planes with the leased ones is
given here to give you an idea that after taking 10.1 Million Dollars as
sale proceeds we will be paying almost 80 Million Dollars extra every year.
Meaning, more money to the lenders, the banks, whose representatives are at
the highest echelons….. to safe guard their Principal’s interests.
It’s a Test case for us both; as we need to work together, to put a stop to
this blatant plundering of People’s money. Also put an end to the dilution
of National Assets and increasing liabilities on our future generations.
May God help us!!
PAKISTAN PAINDABAD
In case of query please contact:
Senator Engr. Rukhsana Zuberi
Phone: 0333-2285058
E-mail:
rkzuberi@hotmail.com
PPP protests
closing of NADRA office in Rato Dero in Larkana
Demands it immediate opening
Islamabad May 27, 2005:
Pakistan People Party has protested the closing of the sub office of the
National Database and Registration Authority
(NADRA) in Rato Dero and demanded its immediate re-opening.
The NADRA registration sub office in Rato Dero in Larkana district was
closed down last week for no apparent reason leaving people in a quandary as
to where to get themselves registered.
In a letter to NADRA Chairman today the President of Sindh PPP and former
Chief Minister Syed Qaim Ali Shah said that the shifting of the office was a
"malicious attempt to deprive the residents of the area to obtain national
identity cards and thus reduce the number of voters of Mohtarma Bhutto’s
constituency".
He said that Rato Dero Office of NADRA was located in NA-207 which is
Mohtarma Bhutto’s constituency and its shifting had affected the residents
of a large number of villages. The villages whose people were affected by
the decision, he said, included Garhi Khuda Baksh Bhutto, Nau Dero, Bhai
Khanm Ghanghro, Khan Wah, Juma Agham, Waris Deno Mashi, Bosan, Wasoo Bhutto
Azit-Ji, Bangul Dero and Bando Qubo.
"Politics should not be involved with administrative units", he said and
asked the NADRA chief, "NADRA should remain neutral and should not fall prey
to political gimmicks of the current administration".
"You are therefore requested to reopen the sub-office at Rato Dero
immediately to enable the residents of the area to obtain NICs and get
registered as voters", the letter said.
Pre Budget Seminars of the
PPP
Islamabad May 27, 2005:
The Economic Coordination Cell of the Pakistan Peoples Party will hold a
series of seminars on the state of Pakistan’s economy on the eve of the
2005-06 Budget.
This has been stated by the Coordinator of the Economic coordination cell of
the PPP former finance Minister and sitting MNA Syed Naveed Qamar today. He
said that the seminars will highlight the issues being faced by the people
and also suggest ways how to overcome their problems.
A large number of noted experts and intellectuals will address these
seminars.
The first seminar in the series will be held in Karachi PC on May 30 to be
followed by similar seminars in Islamabad at the Marriott on June 2 and in
Lahore at the Avari Hotel on June 4, he said.
PPP does not
accept Musharaf as legitimate President
Islamabad May 27, 2005:
"It is incorrect to say that the PPP-P has shown its willingness to accept
Musharraf in uniform on condition of forming a government of national
consensus by holding general elections within a specific time frame".
This has been stated by Deputy Parliamentary leader of PPP-P in the National
Assembly Raja Pervez Ashraf in a statement today in response to a report
published in a Lahore based newspaper purported to be based on an interview
given by Chaudhry Ahmad Mukhtar former Commerce Minister. The report said
that the Party was willing to accept Musharraf in uniform in return for
forming a government of national consensus by holding general elections.
The PPP-P position is quite clear; General Musharraf has not entered upon
the office of the President in a legal and constitutional manner. The
democratic opposition parties opposed the 17th Amendment that was designed,
among other things, to make General Musharraf sneak into the Presidency
through the back door. The PPP-P did not accept General Musharraf as
legitimate President let alone as President in uniform.
Raja Pervez Ashraf also clarified the remarks in the same report about the
Swiss investigations against Mohtarma Bhutto.
The PPP believes that the these investigations were triggered after
Islamabad filed malicious allegations against Mohtarma Bhutto before Swiss
authorities and also filed cases against her in Pakistani courts, he said.
The allegations however fell to the ground after the tape recorded
conversation of the judges proved the murder of justice as was evident from
the SC observations "Bias of the trial judge floated on the surface of the
record".
The Swiss investigations are being used to serve a collateral political
purpose at home case and have no basis in law and morality, Raja Pervez
Ashraf said.
He said that the Party workers had full faith in the leadership of Mohtarma
Benazir Bhutto who was in constant touch with the workers. It was a measure
of the bond between the leader and the workers that several workers in the
recent past attempted self immolation to protest the victimization of
Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto and Senator Asif Ali Zardari.
He said that the views expressed in the interview may be that of an
individual but were not the Party’s views.
Mohtarma Bhutto condemns
mayhem in Barri Imam
Islamabad May 27, 2005:
Former Prime Minister and chairperson of the Pakistan Peoples Party Mohtarma
Benazir Bhutto has expressed deep shock and anguish over the mayhem on
Friday in Barri Imam near Islamabad killing dozens of people and injuring
many more some of them seriously.
In a statement today she said she was grieved beyond measure over this
senseless act of terror and frenzy murdering innocent devotees who had
gathered at the shrine as part of religious festival.
Mohtarma Bhutto said that lawlessness, terrorism and sectarianism had
increased manifold during the dictatorship. One of the reasons for this was
that the rulers spent time and resources on hounding political opponents and
had no time to address the real issues and problems facing the country.
She asked the rulers to provide emergency medical aid to the injured on a
priority basis.
Mohtarma Bhutto also prayed for those who had lost lives in the gory
incident and for the speedy recovery of those injured. She said her thoughts
were with those who had lost their near and dear ones in the gory incident.
The Party Chairperson also asked the Party leaders and workers to provide
succor to the bereaved families and those injured.
Mohtarma Bhutto also called upon the rulers to pay compensation to the
families of those killed in the blast and also to those injured.
Bhutto
welcomes Amnesty report
ISLAMABAD Thursday, May 26, 2005 :
Former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto welcomed the annual Amnesty
International human rights report, which said the government ‘used the war
on terror to arrest political protesters.’
In a report released on Wednesday, the organisation said the military-led
government used emergency powers to arrest journalists and political
protestors. Continued violence against women, including a spate of honour
killings had been approved by quasi-judicial tribal councils, the report
added.
Meanwhile, Bhutto expressed grief over the death of renowned Indian actor
and politician Sunil Dutt who died on Wednesday. “Mr Dutt will be remembered
by all who knew him. He worked for every thing he did whether it was his
profession as a film personality or whether it was his political life. For
us in Pakistan he had a special connection,” she said.
PPP seeks reduction of
tension with India
Islamabad May 25, 2005: A
spokesman of the PPP has issued the following statement today.
"Reports in a segment of the press give the impression that the Pakistan
Peoples Party objects to the peace process with India. This is incorrect.
The PPP has been the foremost party seeking reduction of tension with India
and conflict management over the Kashmir Dispute.
"As a matter of fact it is under pressure of the PPP that the present
military regime has finally reviewed its policy and adopted the PPP formula
for safe and open borders. The recent redeployment of troops in the Siachin
area was also a plan drawn up under the PPP government in 1989 with Prime
Minister Rajiv Gandhi.
"However, PPP has reservations on the legitimacy of the process under a
military dictator. It is concerned about continuity of policies in the
absence of taking the people of Pakistan and of Kashmir into confidence.
"While PPP supports the peace process it does it without prejudice to the
position of the parties concerned with regard to the UN resolutions. As such
it has reservations on new formulas such as the seven point one recently
proposed by General Musharaf without taking Parliament in Pakistan or Azad
Kashmir into confidence.
"The PPP believes that one should proceed on confidence building towards the
goal of safe and open borders and common trading market as opposed to
discussing controversial formulas".
Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto
Condoles the Death of Sunil Dutt
Islamabad, 25 May 2005:
Former Prime Minister, Chairperson Pakistan Peoples Party Mohtarma Benazir
Bhutto has expressed her grief and sorrow over the death of renowned Indian
actor and politician Sunil Dutt who died on Wednesday.
Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto in a condolence letter addressed to Sunil Dutt’s son
Sanjay Dutt expressing her sadness over the death of Sunil Dutt also a
minister in Man Mohan Singh’s Cabinet, wrote, "I had the privilege of
meeting with the Minister during my last visit to New Delhi. I found him
fully dedicated to serving the people, in particular the poor. Mr. Dutt was
a symbol of communal understanding. He had kindly attended my wedding in
Pakistan in December 1987. He offered to help in what way he could when my
husband was facing the difficult days of political incarceration. There was
much sorrow in my family upon hearing the sad news that he had suffered a
heart attack and left this world."
Paying rich tributes to Sunail Dutt, she further wrote, "Mr. Dutt will be
remembered by all those who knew him. He worked wholeheartedly for every
thing he did whether it was his profession as a film personality or whether
it was his political life. That he won his Mumbai seat five times in a row
is an expression of the trust that the people of his area had in him. For us
in Pakistan Mr. Dutt had a special connection. He was born in Jhelum and
although he left in 1947 after Partition, the people of the country
continued to follow his rise to celluloid glory and to power."
"Mr Sunil Dutt may have left this world but he will live on in the hearts of
those who knew him, in his many films where he gave much admired
performances, the people of India whom he served as a Cabinet Minister and
the people of South Asia who respected him for his talent and for his
tolerant views towards religious harmony and interfaith understanding",
Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto concluded.
Mohtarma Bhutto felicitates
PPP Gilgit
Islamabad May 26, 2005:
Former Prime Minister Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto has felicitated the PPP Gilgit
on the vindication of Party candidate Aftab Haider through court decision.
Aftab Haider PPP candidate for NA-1, Gilgit-3 had filed an appeal in the
court against the election results. The court granted the appeal Wednesday.
In a letter to Mehdi Shah Coordinator PPP Northern Areas the former Prime
Minister said that she was happy with the news of court decision in favour
of the PPP candidate Mr. Aftab Haider who had appealed against the result in
NA 1.
"It is a great vindication for the Party that Mr. Haider has been declared
the successful candidate".
"I take this opportunity to congratulate Mr. Aftab Haider and all the
members, workers and officials of the PPP in the Northern Areas who made
this victory possible by canvassing for Mr. Haider during the elections",
she said.
Opposition
Leader in Senate apprises Christiana Rocca of political situation in
Pakistan
Islamabad May 26, 2005:
Leader of the Opposition in the Senate Mian Raza Rabbani apprised US
Assistant Secretary of State Cristiana Rocca of the political situation in
the country when she met him and representatives of the government in the
Parliament House today.
Mian Raza Rabbani apprised her of the absence of democracy in the country
and how the democratic political opposition was continually being denied
level playing field.
General Musharraf, Mian Raza Rabbani said, claimed that he believed in
democratization, modernity, tolerance and giving same level playing field to
democratic opposition parties as had been allowed to the alliance of
religious parties the MMA and ruling coalition PML(Q). But in actual
practice what he preached was different from what he practiced.
Party workers were not allowed to welcome Senator Asif Zardari at Lahore
airport on April 16 on return from Dubai. Thousands of Party workers were
arrested and beaten up. After the workers were bailed out by courts, the
rulers, exploiting the war on terror, charged them with terrorism for no
other crime but to welcome their leader Asif Zardari. Many workers are still
in jails and have not been released just because they wanted to go to the
airport to receive their leader
He said that General Musharraf had still not distanced himself from the
incident either through public statement or by suspending the officials
involved in it.
Mian Raza Rabbani also apprised the US Assistant Secretary of State of the
sentiments of the Muslims over the desecration of Holy Quran in Guantamano
Bay and said that it had upset the Muslims not only in Pakistan but
throughout the world.
Attention of Christina Rocca was also drawn to the deterioration of human
rights situation in the wake of 9/11. He said that the rulers in Pakistan
were using the war on terror to victimize the political opponents in the
country. This he said had been acknowledged by the Amnesty International
also in its latest report which was published on Wednesday.
Explaining how the PPP was denied level playing field Raza Rabbani said that
a massive rigging plan had been drawn up by the rulers to rig the general
elections whenever they are held by first rigging the forthcoming local
bodies elections. As a first step the elected mayor of her home district of
Mohtarma Bhutto in Sindh was dismissed, her constituency was broken and
registration office located in her home district was closed so that voters
could not register themselves for voting. This was followed by the breaking
of other districts where the voters are predominantly PPP sympathizers.
He said that the rulers had decided to dismiss the elected mayors in all the
districts and replace them with handpicked administrators to be appointed by
the chief ministers of provinces from bureaucracy.
With such massive rigging already underway for the local and general
elections and the talk of denying Mohtarma Bhutto and Nawaz Sharif any role
in the elections the Party would be forced to consider whether it would be
worthwhile participating in the elections at all, he told Rocca..
Raza Rabbani said that Musharraf had said just two days ago that he wanted
to invite the democratic political parties for dialogue but that such
dialogue would take place without their leaders. This amounted to dividing
the political parties, Raza told Rocca and added "This did not work in the
past; it wouldn’t work now also"..
Raza Rabbani said that the ARD had made it clear that if Musharraf wanted to
talk to the political parties he should write letters to the two former
Prime Ministers Mohtarma Bhutto and Mian Nawaz Sharif. Actually Musharraf
did not want to talk with the democratic political parties and he only
wanted to divide the political parties, Raza Rabbani told Rocca.
He said that the party believed that a solution to the country’s political
problems lay in fair and free elections at the earliest. Elections will have
no legitimacy without the participation of the two former Prime Ministers,
Raza Rabbani told her. He said that elections minus the two former Prime
Ministers were held in 2002 but those elections did not give political
stability to the country as they lacked legitimacy.
Mian Raza Rabbani said that Musharraf claim of wanting to have a dialogue
with PPP was a hoax. He said that every time the PPP refused to give up its
demand for free and fair elections in which Mohtarm Bhutto and Mian Nawaz
Sharif and their parties were allowed to participate freely the regime
activated the so called Swiss investigations. This had happened in 2003 and
in 2004 and happened just two days ago also, he told her.
Mian Raza Rabbani said that the PPP had noted US concerns about democracy in
the Central Asian states. People in Pakistan expected that the US will shoe
the same degree of concern for democracy in Pakistan also.
Rocca was also informed about political leaders still held in jails
including Syed Yousuf Raza Gillani, Makhdoom Javed Hasmi, Bismillah Kakar,
Pir Mukarram and others.
ARD rejects
talks with "undemocratic" Musharraf
IslamabadMay 25, 2005:The
Alliance for Restoration of Democracy (ARD) has rejected Pakistan President
Pervez Musharraf's offer for talks saying that no such offer could be
accepted unless two main political leaders - Benazir Bhutto and Nawaz Sharif
- were also invited.
The Alliance leadership said that they had no intentions of holding meetings
with "undemocratic forces".
ARD Secretary General Zafar Iqbal Jhagra said that no offer of talks sans
Benazir and Nawaz would be accepted.
He added that before such an offer is accepted by the ARD, the Federal
administration must "resolve all issues" with it.
"Issues should be sorted out first and invitations sent to Nawaz Sharif and
Benazir Bhutto for such meetings. Only they could decide whether or not to
attend these meetings," The News quoted Jhagra as saying.
He said the ARD would not allow holding of any election in the country sans
Benazir Bhutto. "The ARD will not accept any election if held without the
popular leadership of the country as these would not be election but
selection and no one would accept them," he added.
The ARD head also claimed that the federal government could not keep Benazir
and Nawaz out of the country for long.
Hundreds
of PPP activists reportedly still in jail
WASHINGTON Wednesday, May 25, 2005:
“Scores, possibly hundreds, of activists of Benazir Bhutto’s Pakistan
People’s Party (PPP) remain in detention after a massive crackdown launched
last month by the US-backed military regime of Pervez Musharraf,” according
to a commentary published on Monday by an online news and analysis service.
The World Socialist Web Site (WSWS) in a commentary by Vilani Peiris points
out that some of those detained have been charged under Section 7-A of
Pakistan’s Anti-Terrorism Act, when their only “crime” was to seek to
organise peaceful anti-government protests. The article takes the view that
the “attack on the PPP is part of a wider campaign of repression.” In this
context, it refers to the observation made by the National Assembly speaker
that legislators who criticise Musharraf for serving as both President and
chief of Pakistan’s armed services could be barred from participating in the
assembly. It also notes that police attacked journalists who were marking
World Press Freedom Day with a demonstration outside the Prime Minister’s
official residence. The beating up of women and human rights marchers who
were part of a marathon race is also cited as evidence of the government’s
increasing intolerance for dissent.
Writes Peiris, “Following a longstanding practice of the Pakistani military,
the Musharraf regime has actively promoted the Islamic fundamentalist right
as a bulwark against the working class and the traditional ruling class
parties, most notably Bhutto’s PPP and the section of the Pakistan Muslim
League that has remained loyal to the elected prime minister whom Musharraf
deposed, Nawaz Sharif … The state repression against the PPP points to the
authoritarian character of the Musharraf regime - a regime the Bush
administration has repeatedly praised for its contributions to the war on
terrorism and commitment to building democracy … The mass arrests also
underscore the increasing nervousness of Musharraf and the civilian
government that he and the Pakistani military have constructed from
defectors from the PPP, the Muslim League of Nawaz Sharif, and other members
of the country’s business and political elite. Musharraf is rightly seen by
broad sections of the Pakistani people as a pliant ally of the Bush
administration in its policy of neo-colonial aggression in the Middle East
and Central Asia.”
The analysis stresses that while the President and his Prime Minister
“boast” about the economic progress made in Pakistan, it is “widely conceded
in the press that the privatisation and retrenchment policies of the regime
have resulted in growing poverty and social inequality and that these have
been compounded in recent months by a spurt in inflation, which is currently
running at an annual rate of more than 10 percent.
Peiris writes that the regime released Asif Ali Zardari as a sop to PPP but
adds, “even if the PPP leadership has bent over backwards to demonstrate its
readiness to deal with Musharraf and repeatedly affirmed that the military
is the bulwark of the Pakistani state, so isolated is the regime that it
dare not allow the PPP to make any public display of its popular support. To
thwart the April 16 PPP welcome rally for Zardari, the Punjab provincial
government, which is led by the pro-Musharraf Pakistan Muslim League
Quaid-e-Azam (PML-QA), invoked Section 144 of the Criminal Procedure Code.
Designed by the British colonial authorities, Section 144 makes gathering of
four or more persons illegal.” khalid hasan
Musharraf
renews dialogue offer to Bhutto's PPP
Islamabad, May 24:
Pakistan President General Pervez Musharraf today renewed his offer for
dialogue with the opposition Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) headed by former
Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto.
The PPP is welcome to meet me in the presidency, the General said in an
interview with the 'Daily Times.'
General Musharraf's statement has triggered speculations in the country on a
possible role of the PPP in the future political dispensation. The
opposition has been demanding fresh elections describing 2002 polls as
rigged and manipulated .
Responding to a query about his recent meeting with the PMLQ members, he
said, they wanted a meeting and I met them. If the PPP wants to come, they
are more than welcome, he added.
When asked about his expectation from possible talks with the PPP, General
Musharraf said, “I look at the future.”
PML and PPP are among the major political parties in the country and they
ought to play a vital role in the functioning of the nation, Geneal
Musharraf said.
He emphasised that the moderates should be strengthened and extremists
weakened in the near future. The President also said that he was looking
forward to free and fair elections in the country.
About the stability of the government, he asserted, the government is very
stable and things are going on well.
Women in
Business conference looks at economic development issues
Reforms, education, transparency emphasized in first international event of
its kind held in Damascus
By Rhonda Roumani
Special to The Daily Star
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Monday, May 23, 2005 DAMASCUS:
Syrian first lady Asma Assad opened the country's first international
women's business conference with a message on the importance of reforms,
education and transparency for building a stronger economic market for Syria
and opportunities for women.
"We need to see more far-reaching political and institutional reforms,"
Assad told a crowd of more than 1,000 at the Omayyad Conference Palace just
outside Damascus.
The two-day conference, organized by Women in Business International with
the cooperation of the British-Syrian Society and Modernizing and Activating
Women's Role in Economic Development (MAWRED) - a Syrian non-profit women's
organization, brought over 1,000 delegates from across the Middle East,
Asia, Europe and the United States to participate in panels and networking
events aimed at empowering women in business and the workplace. This is the
first year that it is being held outside of the U.K.
Egyptian first lady Suzanne Mubarak; Emine Erdogan, the wife of the prime
minister of Turkey; and former Pakistani Prime Minister Mohtarma Benazir
Bhutto also gave speeches at the opening ceremony on Saturday morning.
Bhutto's address delighted the crowd, which erupted into applause numerous
times.
"Women have a long way to go, especially Muslim women," said Bhutto,
pointing to problems of domestic violence, female genital mutilation and
sexual assault.
While outlining the challenges facing women in Muslim societies, Bhutto also
talked of the influence of her father in her education and her personal
journey to become prime minister.
"My message to delegates, to career women, to business women is don't take
no for an answer," said Bhutto. "This conference in Damascus on women in
business this morning gives me great confidence. The number of women in
business, in politics is increasing. I have great hope for the future."
In a session titled Muslim women in business, former Malaysian Prime
Minister Mahatir Mohamad warned against the immodesty that has accompanied
the rights gained by Western women.
Other sessions during the conference included starting a business, banking
and financial planning, marketing and branding, and international business
perspectives.
Pakistan:
US-backed military regime mounts new wave of repression
By Vilani
Peiris
23 May 2005
Scores, possibly hundreds, of activists of Benazir Bhutto’s
Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) remain in detention after a massive crackdown
launched last month by the US-backed military regime of Pervez Musharraf.
Some of the PPP detainees are facing charges under Section 7-A of Pakistan’s
Anti-Terrorism Act. Yet their only “crime” was to seek to organize peaceful
anti-government protests.
In a statement issued last Wednesday, PPP Senator Mian Raza Rabbani and
Naheed Khan, the political secretary of PPP Life Chairperson Benazir Bhutto,
accused the gove
