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India-Pakistan
JUI-F alleges killing of its scholars in custody
2009-08-22
[The News (Pak)] Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (Fazl) has accused the NWFP government of killing scores of religious scholars and demanded the release of 120 activists of the party forthwith.

Speaking at a news conference after a meeting of the provincial executive council and district heads of the party, JUI-F Provincial President Maulana Gul Naseeb Khan alleged a number of non-militant religious scholars had been arrested during the military operation in Malakand Division and several of them were killed in custody.

He alleged that the spokesman for banned Tanzim Nifaz Shariat-e-Mohammadi Ameer Izzat Khan, Maulana Mohammad Alam, Maulana Fazle Haq, Maulana Liaqat, Maulana Mohammad Ameen and Maulana Mohammad Yaqub had been killed after their arrest.

He said that 10-15 religious seminaries and mosques were destroyed during the operation, while more than 120 activists of the JUI and religious scholars were still under detention. He said the government should immediately announce reconstruction of the demolished seminaries and mosques. The government should also release all the detained "innocent" people. The JUI-F leader condemned the military operation in the settled districts of the Frontier and adjacent tribal belt and said the use of force could not be a solution to any problem.
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India-Pakistan
JI says no to APC under Musharraf
2007-10-25
Jamat-e-Islami (JI) has categorically decided to refrain from participating in the All Parties Conference being convened by Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid-e-Azam on national consensus over prevailing political situation and terrorism in Pakistan if General Pervez Musharraf presided over the conference, Daily Times learnt.

The JI also showed its reservation to name anyone for the interim government being set up under the supervision of President Musharraf. The JI leadership was of the view that ice has been melting between the Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal president Qazi Hussain Ahmad and general secretary Fazlur Rehman. The sources said Jamat-e-Islami, the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (Fazl) would part away from participating in the interim set-up and in the APC if headed by President Musharraf.

Talking to Daily Times, Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal (MMA) central leader and JI Naib Ameer Liaqat Baloch said that the government had only invited verbally and no formal invitation had been received so far from the government corner on national consensus over prevailing political situation and recent serial of terrorists’ activities in the country.
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India-Pakistan
Perv withdraws from Kabul jirga
2007-08-09
President General Pervez Musharraf on Wednesday cancelled his visit to Kabul to attend the three-day joint Pak-Afghan Jirga, on account of "engagements in Islamabad".
Think another general might be ready to dump him?
Gen Musharraf called up Afghan President Hamid Karzai on Wednesday and informed him that he would not be able to attend the jirga, but assured him that Pakistan fully supported the talks and Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz would be attending in his place, Foreign Office spokeswoman Tasnim Aslam said in a statement. The jirga begins in Kabul today (Thursday).
I don't think Perv's presence lends that cachet he thinks it does. But his failure to attend gives the impression he doesn't want the jirga to succeed -- which nobody really expects it to do anyway.
Mr Karzai emphasised the importance of the Pakistani president's attendance presence during their telephone conversation, the Afghan leader's office told AFP. A government source in Islamabad told AFP that Gen Musharraf's no-show was over security fears.
Notice they didn't say whether they were in Kabul or Islamabad.
The Afghan foreign ministry said Gen Musharraf's absence would not affect the talks, and welcomed the participation of Prime Minister Aziz, AFP reported.
"We don't really care if he shows up or not."
The initiative to hold the jirga was brokered by US President George W Bush in talks with the Pakistani and Afghan presidents in September last year.
Both of whom consider Perv to be a weak reed that's getting closer and closer to snapping. Bush is more polite about it than Karzai.
Talat Masood, a Pakistani political analyst, told AP that Gen Musharraf's pullout was "to convey a strong message to the United States. There have been a lot of statements coming out of Washington about violating Pakistan's sovereignty and so on. That could be one reason."
Nobody here listens to Barak O'Bama, Boy Genius. Why should they there?
"Another is that it shows that the chemistry between Karzai and him is so poor that he wants to back out at the last minute. Why call him just hours before the jirga? I don't see why he could not go to Kabul for a few hours," he said.
Because he's afraid somebody else will take over while he's out of the country? Or somebody will shoot his plane down when he comes back?
Mr Aziz and Mr Karzai will now address the opening session of the jirga, which aims to draw up a joint anti-terror strategy. Mr Aziz told reporters in Kallar Kahar that he was hopeful the jirga would help resolve security issues between the two countries. Tribal elders from North and South Waziristan, as well as invitees from the pro-Taliban Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (Fazl), are boycotting the jirga.
... since they're determined it's going to fail.
One Pakistani delegate, who will not be attending, told AP that in all about 100 of Pakistan's 350 delegates are boycotting.
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India-Pakistan
Mehsud was hiding in Fazl stooge's house
2007-07-25
More detail on yesterday's story...
Taliban leader Abdullah Mehsud blew himself up to avoid arrest after he was surrounded by security forces in a house in Zhob, Balochistan on Tuesday. Police arrested three of Mehsud’s accomplices, including his brother Abdul Rehman Mehsud. Anti-terrorist Force (ATF) commandoes raided the house of Sheikh Ayub, a district leader of Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (Fazl), before morning prayers after learning that Mehsud was inside. A gun battle ensued, and Mehsud was surrounded. “The ATF asked Abdullah Mehsud to surrender and take off his shirt when they had almost overpowered him. However, he refused to surrender and blew himself up with explosives,” said a source in Quetta. The ATF also arrested Sheikh Ayub’s younger brother, Sheikh Azam, and his son, Sheikh Sheryar. The whereabouts of Sheikh Ayub were unknown.

Interior Ministry spokesman Javed Iqbal Cheema told a news briefing in Islamabad that Mehsud was wanted for the kidnapping of two Chinese engineers in 2004 and for “many terror attacks”. He was also an “active Taliban commander and staunch Al-Qaeda supporter,” Cheema said. He said an autopsy performed at Zhob district hospital confirmed Mehsud’s death.
"What do you make of this, Dr Quincy?"
"Hmmm... Looks like part of a kidney. The northern half, I'd say."
"And this?"
"Part of a testicle, I think."
"And this?"
"Three quarters of a head."
"Could you make a diagnosis based on the available forensic evidence?"
"I'd say he was deader'n a rock."
He denied the US had shared any intelligence with Pakistan about Mehsud’s hideout. US-allied Afghan forces captured Mehsud, who earlier lost a leg fighting for the Taliban, in Afghanistan in December 2001. He was incarcerated in at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and was released in March 2004. He took up arms again, leading militants in South Waziristan. Mehsud’s brother Baitullah is a leading Taliban commander in the tribal regions.

Agencies add: A Pakistani intelligence official said Mehsud was intercepted on his way back from Afghanistan’s Helmand province, where the official said he led supporters fighting alongside the Taliban against Afghan and US forces. The intelligence official said Mehsud had been in Afghanistan for more than a year and that there was no evidence he organised violence in Pakistan.
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India-Pakistan
Durrani and Fazl in hospital: JUI-F executive council to meet in Lahore
2007-02-03
An executive council meeting of Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (Fazl) (JUI-F) that was scheduled for February 4 in Islamabad will now be held in Lahore because of Fazlur Rehman and NWFP Chief Minister Akram Durrani’s angioplasty in Lahore, JUI-F Information Secretary Amjad Khan said on Friday. He said that doctors had advised rest to the JUI-F leaders and they could not travel to Islamabad.

The meeting could not be postponed, he said, because the National Assembly session would begin on February 6. “JUI-F will decide about participating in the assembly session and resignations from parliament at the meeting,” he said. Fazlur Rehman will head the meeting. He said Durrani was recovering from the one-hour operation and might be discharged from hospital on Saturday. Other JUI leaders including Abdul Ghafoor Haideri were already in the city, he said. Meanwhile, an NWFP government spokesman denied the reports that Durrani had a heart problem or was advised to undergo angioplasty. Durrani was in Lahore to visit Fazlur Rehman, he said in a press statement. “The chief minister was also examined and found healthy.”APP reported that Durrani did undergo angioplasty on Friday and his condition was satisfactory.
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India-Pakistan
Qazi, Fazl spar over resignations
2007-01-10
Qazi Hussain Ahmed, president of the Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal (MMA), and Maulana Fazlur Rehman, the six-party alliance’s secretary-general, continued sparring over the issue of resignations from parliament following a ‘grand jirga’ of NWFP parliamentarians here at Frontier House on Tuesday. “The MMA Supreme Council is the body to take the final decision on resignations from the National Assembly,” said Qazi. Fazl was quick to respond that his Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (Fazl) party had already decided that it would not resign from the NA. He added that he would not allow any MMA member to quit parliament in protest at the Women’s Protection Act.
Settle this like true sons of Allan, gentlemen. Scimitars at one pace.
However, both later told reporters that there were no differences in the MMA.
I agree. It's the same old tired posturing, pouting, preening, and pomposity day after day after day.
The two held separate meetings with NWFP Chief Minister Akram Duranni and Senator Maulana Gul Naseeb Khan. Sources told Daily Times that the MMA’s internal differences and national politics were discussed at the meetings. The sources said that Qazi demanded that the government conduct an inquiry into the bombing of a madrassa in Bajaur Agency before the by-election to a National Assembly seat there, vacated by MMA member Sahibzada Haroonur Rashid, that is due today. Fazl said the present assemblies could not re-elect President General Pervez Musharraf.
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India-Pakistan
Qazi unlikely to step down as MMA president
2007-01-09
Qazi Hussain Ahmed will not quit as president of the Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal (MMA) and his recent statement that he wants to resign was only a message of anger to the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (Fazl), MMA sources told Daily Times on Monday.

Even if Qazi tries to step down, the MMA Supreme Council will not accept his resignation, the sources said. “Currently the leaders of all MMA parties are in favour of Qazi as president and if he tries to quit his resignation will be rejected,” said the sources. Qazi is a strong proponent of the idea that MMA legislators must quit parliament, in protest at the Women’s Protection Act, but is being opposed by Maulana Fazlur Rehman, chief of the JUI-F. The sources said Qazi’s threat to quit was an expression of anger at Fazl.
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India-Pakistan
JUI-F refuses to back anti-govt rallies in NWFP, Balochistan
2006-12-14
The Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (Fazl) has not agreed to back anti-government rallies in NWFP and Balochistan, so the Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal (MMA) has decided to postpone the rallies, MMA sources told Daily Times on Wednesday.

According to the sources, MMA Balochistan President Maulana Muhammad Khan Shirani believes rallies in Balochistan and NWFP would harm the provincial governments. The MMA is a coalition partner in the Balochistan government and runs the NWFP government.

The MMA has announced a schedule of protest rallies in Punjab and Sindh. The rallies will be held in Punjab on January 22 and 23 and in Sindh on January 29, 30 and 31. No schedule for rallies in the other two provinces has been announced. In both provinces, the JUI-F has more street power and seats than any other party of the MMA, so the alliance cannot go ahead with protests there without the JUI-F, said the sources, adding that this was the second time the MMA faced such a situation. The JUI-F had previously backed down from the MMA decision to quit the assemblies, and now it disagrees with the alliance about holding rallies in the provinces where it has public support, said the sources.

They said that at the MMA Supreme Council meeting of December 7, the JUI-F had agreed to organise demonstrations, in collaboration with other opposition parties against the government, but it had now changed its decision.

Earlier, Hafiz Hussain Ahmed was supposed to attend the MMA Supreme Council meeting, but the JUI-F leadership later asked Abdul Ghafoor Haideri to attend in his stead. Hafiz Hussain is the only JUI-F leader who supports the decision to resign from the assemblies. “The JUI-F, fearing potential problems if Hafiz was at the meeting, decided to send Haideri instead,” the sources said.
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India-Pakistan
MMA leaders split over issue of resignations
2006-12-07
The six-party Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal (MMA) has split down the middle over the issue of resignations, with three of its components refusing to quit the National Assembly in protest at the Women’s Protection Bill.

The Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (Fazl), JUI (Senior) led by Pir Abdur Rahim Naqshbandi, and Jamiat Ahle Hadith led by Professor Sajid Mir said at an MMA parliamentary party meeting on Wednesday that they would not resign from the National Assembly.

Qazi Hussain Ahmed, MMA president and chief of the Jamaat-e-Islami, is the biggest proponent of resignations. He said at the meeting that the MMA should resign because that was what the Supreme Council had decided. He said it was right to resign because parliament had just passed an “un-Islamic” bill. However, other MMA leaders disagreed. “The decision to resign from the assembly was not taken unanimously. It was a decision which was imposed by the alliance president (Qazi) on all of us,” the sources quoted Mir as saying. “We should not leave the parliament open for PPPP by resigning,” he added.
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India-Pakistan
Qazi and Fazl still at odds over resignations
2006-07-18
The Jamaat-e-Islami and Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (Fazl), the two major components of the Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal (MMA), have failed to reach agreement on the issue of mass resignations from parliament.

The matter was discussed in an MMA Supreme Council meeting chaired by MMA President Qazi Hussain Ahmed, who is also chief of the JI, at Markaz-e-Islami on Monday. "Every effort by the JI and JUI to convince each other over the issue failed," sources said. JUI chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman reportedly opposed Qazi Hussain's stance on the mass resignation on opposition parliamentarians, saying this was not an "appropriate time".
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India-Pakistan
Four Frontier MPAs resign
2006-03-26
Four members of the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (Fazl) resigned from the NWFP Assembly on Saturday on the directions of their party. Addressing a news conference in Peshawer, Qari Fayyazur Rehman, the provincial JUI-F president, said his party had expelled the four MPAs – Yasmin Khalid, Rukhsana Raz, Dildar Ahmad and minority member Gor Saran Lal – for violating the party discipline.

He said the party took the action because the expelled members didn’t vote for their party’s candidates in the Senate election. He said another Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal provincial leader, Mufti Kifaitullah, was also suspended for three years on his “irresponsible behaviour” in the Senate election. The NWFP Assembly speaker has accepted the resignations and issued a notification in this regard.
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Afghanistan/South Asia
Ruling coalition on top in poll 1st phase
2005-08-20
* MQM ahead in Karachi
* ANP puts in strong showing in NWFP, JUI-F down
* Mixed results in Balochistan
* Official results today

The ruling Pakistan Muslim League and its allies have won the most seats in the first phase of local elections in 53 districts, according to unofficial results issued by the Election Commission (EC) on Friday. Returning officers will issue final notification of the winning candidates today. With results in from 1,300 of the 1,654 union councils in 17 districts that went to polls in Punjab, the PML appears to be heading for a clean sweep, though the opposition made gains in Multan, Sialkot, Sargodha and Gujranwala cities.
  • In Sindh, PML-ally the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) won convincingly in Karachi. The PML and allied parties, including the PML-Functional, also won in Tharparkar, Thatta, Umerkot, Mirpurkhas, Tando Allahyar and Naushehro Feroze. The PPP-backed Awam Dost panel was doing well in the three other districts of Jacobabad, Kashmore and Sanghar.

  • In NWFP, the Awami National Party made a strong comeback from its poor showing in the last general elections, emerging as the single largest group in Peshawar, Charsadda, Swabi, Mardan and Tank. The Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (Fazl) won in Dera Ismail Khan and Bannu. The Jamaat-e-Islami was top in Buner.

  • The results in the 14 districts that went to polls in Balochistan were mixed. The JUI-F claimed victory in Qilla Saifullah, but other results were not clear. Nationalist parties and the PML claimed to have majorities in the other districts.
Voter turnout was 48 percent in Punjab, 47 percent in Sindh, 38 percent in NWFP and 33 percent in Balochistan, the EC announced. Among women, the turnout was 43 percent in Punjab, 26 percent in Sindh, 21 percent in Balochistan and 16 percent in NWFP. Turnout was higher in urban areas than rural areas. Interior Minister Aftab Sherpao told a television news channel the female voter turnout was “encouraging”, particularly in the NWFP, where women had been barred from voting in some districts.

Chief Election Commissioner Justice Abdul Hameed Dogar said the polls were free and transparent. “With the exception of sporadic incidents, the overall process of polling was very fair and peaceful. Foreign and local observers also praised the conduct of polls,” he told Daily Times. He said the EC had not yet received one formal complaint of rigging. He said the EC would not hesitate to act when and if it did receive a complaint. In the NWFP, the ANP was buoyant about its results. “We are back with a bang,” ANP Information Secretary Zahid Khan told Daily Times.

ANP Provincial President Bashir Bilour hinted the party might ally with the JI, a traditional rival, to form governments in some districts. The ANP would need a coalition partner to form government in Peshawar. The ANP claimed also to have won at 25 of the 48 union councils in Nowshera, but a blockade of GT Road made the claim difficult to confirm. The Pakistan People’s Party, PPP-Sherpao, PML and PML-Nawaz failed to win majorities in any of the 12 NWFP districts that went to polls on Thursday.

The results in Tank were a setback for the JUI-F, which was behind the ANP and PML. JUI-F chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman won a National Assembly seat from the district in the 2002 general elections which he later vacated for his brother to take in a by-poll. The JUI-F also did worse than expected in Karak, constituency of NWFP Law Minister Malik Zafar Azam, where no single group emerged with a clear majority.

In Punjab, the PML looked to have won all 17 districts. The party had a clear majority in Gujranwala, Rahimyar Khan, Sargodha, Sialkot, Multan and DG Khan. The results in Vehari and Muzaffargarh were mixed. Chief Minister Pervaiz Elahi hailed the victory of “80 percent of our candidates”, while the opposition continued to make rigging charges. “The magnitude of rigging in the first phase has rendered the whole process of local government elections doubtful,” said PPP spokesman Farhatullah Babar.

In Balochistan, there were no clear winners. The Khushhal Pakistan panel backed be the PML emerged as the single largest group. The JUI-F secured a majority in Qila Saifullah and Pishin districts, while the PML was leading in Barkhan, Nasirabad, Kharan, Jaffarabad and Gwadar. Candidates backed by the Rind and Kurd clans, both of the PML, were fighting it out in Bolan. The National Party appeared to have secured the most votes from among the nationalist parties in southern Balochistan, winning seats in Gwadar, Khuzdar and Mastung. Many results are still awaited.
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