India-Pakistan |
Benazir's kids to follow footsteps to |
2013-12-28 |
![]() All children of Benazir Bhutto will start taking part in active politics before the next elections, Bilawal told a huge public meeting on the sixth death anniversary of former prime minister Benazir Bhutto. He asked people to support him and his sisters, Bakhtawar and Aseefa, who attended the rally along with their father, former president Asif Ali Zardari. Calling terrorists wild animals who are thirsty for human blood, the PPP leader said that his party would stand against terrorism. They carry out attacks in mosques and kill innocent people in the name of Islam... they are not humans, he said. Bilawal also demanded that the Punjab government launch a crackdown on the militants safe havens in the province. He said that if the government succeeded in resisting terrorists from getting shelter in Punjab, he would himself commend the act. If the arrow [electoral symbol of PPP] and lion [electoral symbol of ruling PML-N] jointly hunt the animals [terrorists], they could save the country from monsters. Bilawal said he would launch a jihad against terrorists because elimination of terrorists is the only way to restore peace in Pakistan. Criticising the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), Bilawal said the terrorist outfit killed Benazir and many other innocent people. Accepting that the path he has chosen was full of dangers, Bilawal, in an obvious reference to the tombs of his mother and grandfather Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, said his destiny was martyrdom and Garhi Khuda Bukhsh. I am not afraid. Martyrdom is my destiny and Garhi Khuda Bukhsh is my final resting place, he added. |
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India-Pakistan | |
PPP boycotts Pakistan presidential vote | |
2013-07-27 | |
Pakistans main opposition party announced on Friday that it would boycott next weeks election for a ceremonial head of state to protest against the manner in which the vote was brought forward. The Supreme Court ruled on Wednesday that the ballot would be held on July 30 instead of August 6 after the main ruling party complained that the original date clashed with the end of Ramadan. Many lawmakers tasked with electing a successor to President Asif Ali Zardari will be on pilgrimage or offering special prayers at the tail end of the holy fasting month, the court said. Twenty-four candidates applied to contest the vote, although the election of Mamnoon Hussain, the candidate for the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-N (PML-N) party is considered a foregone conclusion. We have been left with no alternative, but to boycott the election, said Senator Raza Rabbani, the presidential candidate for the opposition Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP). The Supreme Court did not issue us any notices, nor did they hear us or provide us an opportunity to present our point of view... a unilateral decision was made, Rabbani said. We see it is part of moves to impose the centres rule again. Pakistans new president will be elected by members of the upper and lower houses of parliament and of four regional assemblies. Rabbani said that the Supreme Court decision made it difficult for him and other opposition candidates to campaign in four provincial capitals and the federal capital Islamabad in just two days. Rabbani is a highly respected senator and one of the few PPP politicians who could have commanded cross-party support in the vote, although the PML-N is expected to vote as one for Hussain. The last PPP government had a turbulent relationship with Pakistans top court, and Rabbani said his party would struggle against the mindset which interfered with the election process. The boycott is not the end of the story. The story begins here and we will continue our struggle against the current system and the mindset behind it, Rabbani said. Pakistan Tehreek-E-Insaf, the second largest opposition party led by former cricket hero Imran Khan, said they would contest the election despite reservations over the change of schedule. After consultations, we have decided to contest the presidential election, Khan told a Press conference. My party and I think the PPP is right that very little time has been given to candidates for canvassing. The election commission should have thought about this." Retired judge Wajihuddin Ahmed, a retired Supreme Court judge with a reputation for being competent and honest is the PTIs candidate for president. Zardari was elected after the PPP won elections in 2008 following the assassination of his wife, former premier Benazir Bhutto. The PPP served a full five-year term in office, but lost heavily in May general elections won by a PML-N landslide. Zardari is hugely unpopular, reviled for alleged corruption and for presiding over a government that oversaw deteriorating economic growth and increasing attacks from the Taleban. He did, however, earn grudging admiration
Those constitutional amendments mean that the presidency is now a ceremonial post and Hussain, a staunch loyalist of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, has little personal clout. | |
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India-Pakistan |
Karachi Korpse Kount |
2013-07-20 |
KARACHI: Three members of different political parties were shot dead in separate incidents of target killing across the city on Friday. In the first episode, a worker of the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) was shot dead and his son wounded in Orangi Town. Police officials said the deceased was identified as Amanullah, 45, son of Maqbool and his injured son as Kashan, 14. Unidentified gunmen entered into the house and resorted indiscriminate firing, and later managed to escape from the scene. The dead body and injured, after the incident, were taken to Abbasi Shaheed Hospital (ASH) for autopsy and medical treatment. Police has not yet ascertained the motive behind the incident, and further investigation is underway. No case has been registered so far. In another happening, a person belonging to the outlawed Peoples Aman Committee was shot dead in Block 15-A, Gulistan-e-Jauhar within the remits of Shahrah-e-Faisal police station. According to the police, the 40-year-old victim Ghulam Hussain Baloch was on his way when unidentified armed assailants targeted him. Resultantly, he sustained multiple bullet injuries and died on the spot. After being informed, police rushed to the spot and shifted the body to Abbasi Shaheed Hospital (ASH) for autopsy. The dead body was later handed over to his heirs. Separately, a worker of the Awami National Party (ANP) was gunned down in Naseerabad area, within the limits of Bin Qasim police station. |
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India-Pakistan | |
PML-N gets enough heads to elect Nawaz | |
2013-05-27 | |
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) has secured simple majority in the National Assembly after eighteen independent members of the House submitted their affidavits with the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) to join the party.
The PML-N needs the support of 135 members to elect its leader of House, speaker and deputy speaker, and after securing 144 members, it will not need any support from the other parliamentary groups in the House. However, it has the support of PML-Functional, Pakhtunkhwa Milli Awami Party, National Peoples Party and National Party which have five, three, two and one members in the House, respectively. With the support of these parties, PML-N candidates for the slot of leader of House, speaker and deputy speaker will have the support of 155 directly elected members of the House. The PML-N is set to grab majority of the reserved seats for women and minorities. The National Assembly has 60 seats reserved for women and ten for minorities, which take the total strength of the house to 342. For every reserved seat for women, the support of 4.58 directly elected members is needed. Keeping in view the total strength of 144 members, PML-N will bag 32 reserved seats of women, and five of minorities out of the ten reserved for non-Muslims. With the support of women and minorities elected on reserved seats, the PML-N is sure to achieve strength of 192 on its own which is quite high against the required strength of 170 in the incomplete House of 338. For simple legislation in the House, PML-N will not require the support of opposition by reason of having comfortable simple majority. However, for constitutional amendments, it would need the support of opposition parties like the Pakistan Peoples Party Parliamentarians (PPPP) and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI). On the other side, the total strength of likely opposition is much lower than the government side. The PPPP has secured 32 directly elected seats and PTI has 28 seats in the House. The MQM has 18 members, JUI-F 10, Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) 3, PML-Q 2 and there are seven parties which have only one seat in the House. The combined strength of opposition would come out to 92. However, it has to be seen whether a joint opposition will come into existence or not. | |
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India-Pakistan | ||
Pak court extends Musharraf remand | ||
2013-05-15 | ||
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This was the first hearing after the main state prosecutor handling Bhuttos 2007 murder and the 2008 Mumbai attacks, Chaudhry Zulfiqar Ali, was shot dead in Islamabad en route to court on May 3. Musharraf is accused of conspiracy to murder two-time prime minister Bhutto, whose Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) was elected into power in February 2008 on a wave of sympathy over her death. Musharrafs government blamed the killing on Pakistani Taleban chief Baitullah Mehsud, who denied any involvement and was killed in a US drone attack in 2009.
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India-Pakistan | |||
Imran boosts his political clout | |||
2013-03-25 | |||
![]() After years of trying to gain a foothold in Pakistani politics, the shaggy-haired, ruggedly good-looking 60-year-old has finally elbowed his way into the big league. Casting himself as a populist anti-corruption crusader, he is seen as a threat to the two parties that have long dominated elections. Imran has almost mythical status in cricket-crazy Pakistan. He was the captain of the national team that won the 1992 World Cup the only time the country has claimed the sports highest prize and polls show hes the nations most popular politician by a wide margin. But its uncertain how effective he will be in converting his personal appeal into votes for his party when Pakistan holds parliamentary elections on May 11 the first transition between democratically elected governments in a country that has experienced three military coups. Much of Imrans support has come from young, middle-class Pakistanis in the countrys major cities, a potentially influential group. Almost half of Pakistans more than 80 million registered voters are under the age of 35, but the key question is whether Imran can get his young supporters to show up at the polling booth. This is going to swing the election, Imran told in an interview before the rally. The youth is standing with us and change.
On foreign policy, he has struck a chord by criticising Pakistans unpopular alliance with the United States and controversial American drone attacks targeting Al Qaeda and Taleban militants in the countrys northwest tribal region. He also believes the Pakistani army should pull out of the tribal region, where it is fighting a domestic Taleban insurgency, and resolve the conflict through negotiations. Imrans message has helped him rally huge crowds in Pakistans major cities. Some people estimated that up to 200,000 people packed into the park in downtown Lahore on Saturday, despite periods of lighting and driving rain. Many of the people at the rally were middle-class youths like Wasim who danced to music blaring over loudspeakers and waved the red, white and green flag of Imrans party, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, or the Movement for Justice. But plenty of older Pakistanis, some of whom had switched from other parties out of frustration, also turned up. Imran hopes the momentum from the rally will push forward what he calls his political tsunami and help his party win a majority of the 272 National Assembly seats that are up for election. That would allow Imran to form the next government and position him to become prime minister. He is up against the two groups that have dominated the countrys politics for decades, the Pakistan Peoples Party, which led the most recent government, and the main opposition party, the Pakistan Muslim League-N. Both have broad alliances with local leaders who use political The reason why we are in politics is to break the stranglehold of these two parties who have plundered this country, Khan told. Many analysts are less bullish and believe Khans party will win 20-40 seats. They predict the PML-N, which is led by former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, will lead the polls and Khans party will come in third behind the recently ruling Peoples Party. The conventional wisdom is that no party will win a majority of the seats, and Sharifs PML-N will end up having to put together a weak coalition government. I think third place is the safest bet for Khans party, but if he could gain second, which is not impossible, it would be a big political revolution for the country, said Rasul Baksh Rais, a political science professor at Lahore University of Management Sciences. A breakout performance by Khans party could spell trouble for the PML-N because both parties appeal to urban, middle-class voters in Punjab. Some analysts predict that if Khans candidates can steal away enough votes from Sharifs party, they could swing the balance in favor of the Peoples Party and allow it to once again form the next government. The Peoples Partys largest area of support is outside Punjab, in southern Sindh province, where Khan has less backing. Senator Tariq Azim Khan, who runs the PML-Ns media operations, acknowledged Khans potential role as a spoiler, but claimed his partys lead is so great after five years of misrule by the Peoples Party that its unbeatable. He also painted Khan as someone who doesnt have the experience to handle the countrys problems. He might have good intentions, but winning a cricket World Cup does not make you a good prime minister, said the senator.
He risked losing support during the past year when he was criticized for opening his party up to traditional politicians who could deliver votes but clashed with promises to change Pakistans corrupt political system. He said he addressed that criticism by holding the first intra-party elections in the countrys history, so members can recommend who runs on the partys ticket. One of the main reasons for the weekend rally in Lahore was to take an oath from the 80,000 newly elected party workers. | |||
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India-Pakistan |
Pakistan refuses to reopen graft case against Zardari |
2012-07-26 |
ISLAMABAD: Pakistans government told the Supreme Court yesterday that it will not reopen an old corruption case against the president, defying a judicial order that has brought down one prime minister and threatens his replacement. The dispute centers on a graft case against President Asif Ali Zardari dating back to the late 1990s in Swiss court, a time when he became known as Mr. 10 percent for his reputation of demanding kickbacks on government contracts. The Pakistani Supreme Court has demanded the government write a letter to Swiss authorities asking them to reopen the case. The government has refused, saying Zardari enjoys immunity from prosecution while in office. The court convicted former Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani of contempt and ousted him from office in June for refusing to write the letter. The ruling Pakistan Peoples Party rallied support to elect a new premier, Raja Pervaiz Ashraf, and has remained defiant. Pakistans attorney general, Irfan Qadir, appeared before the court Wednesday and told the judges that Ashraf also refused to reopen the case because of the presidents immunity. Your order is not implementable, said Qadir. He accused the lead judge, Asif Saeed Khosa, of being biased against the president and said he should recuse himself from the proceedings a demand rejected by Khosa. Khosa demanded the new prime minister write the letter to the Swiss, but also seemed to soften the courts stance, saying the judges would respect the presidents immunity if the government obeyed their order. He also gave the government more time to come up with a solution. Wednesday was the initial deadline for the government to say whether it would fulfill the courts order, but Khosa adjourned the hearing until Aug. 8. The judges somewhat softer stance could be a reaction to criticism of the court for threatening to bring down the first civilian government poised to finish its five-year term in the countrys history. Past governments were toppled by direct or indirect intervention by the countrys powerful army, often with help of the judiciary. The current governments term ends in early 2013. Its unclear whether the judges comments will alter the governments stance. Zardari has said in the past that his government would never write the letter. I will make a genuine and serious effort to solve this issue, said Qadir. The case against Zardari relates to kickbacks he and his late wife, former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, allegedly received from Swiss companies when Bhutto was in power in the 1990s. They were found guilty in absentia in Swiss court in 2003. |
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India-Pakistan |
Zardari: wait for 8 months for new polls |
2012-07-22 |
![]() I will request my impassioned opposition friends to wait for eight more months for the general elections. The present government is under no threat and it will complete its tenure that ends in March 2013, the president said while addressing Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) ministers and senior party leaders at Bilawal House here on Friday. During the meeting, the concerns of the coalition partners and the issue of Lyari were discussed and the president made it clear that the incumbent government would set a new precedent by holding free and fair elections in the country and advised Sindh PPP leaders to continue the policy of reconciliation. Zardari, who is Co-chairman of the ruling PPP, urged the party leaders to resolve all issues and complaints of the coalition partners the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM), the Pakistan Muslim League-Functional (PML-F) and the Awami National Party (ANP). The PPP will jointly contest the next general elections and form again a coalition government. For this we have to redress their concerns without delay. All the three coalition partners the MQM, the PML-F and the ANP had voiced deep concerns over the law and order situation in Karachi and have been openly criticising the policies of the Sindh government. Unhappy with the present resentment of the people of Lyari, the president directed the leaders to tackle the issues on priority basis. Lyari is PPPs fortress and we cannot lose it at any cost, Zardari told the meeting. |
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India-Pakistan |
Gilanis fate to be decided on Thursday |
2012-04-26 |
![]() I have been summoned by the court for the third time in recent months, Gilani said adding that he has decided to respond because he has always held the court in high esteem and would continue to do so in future as well. His legal team would work out strategy over whatever is the verdict. Cabinet members expressed solidarity with Gilani and decided to accompany him in the court. Legal opinion is divided whether Gilani would lose his job if convicted by the court. His counsel Chaudhry Aitzaz Ahsan maintains that Gilani would continue to be prime minister even if sent to jail for, what he claims as the maximum punishment of six months. But most leading jurists differ with him saying he would be ousted if convicted. There is a strong contrary argument that even on moral and political grounds Gilani must step down. Even if he decides to seek review of the judgment by a larger bench of the apex court, it would prolong political crisis and instability would have devastating effect on the economy, the administration and international image. The seven-judge bench headed by Justice Nasirul Mulk may either exonerate the prime minister of all charges, or slap him with contempt. The punishment can range from sentence till rising of the court to six months in jail. The court can also disqualify him from holding any public office. The Swiss case involves President Zardari and six others including his slain wife Benazir Bhutto and a Swiss lawyer who is alleged to have brokered $60 million graft on a deal. The case was withdrawn in 2008 by then attorney-general Malik Qayyum under National Reconciliation Ordinance (NRO) that pardoned corruption charges against politicians in 2007 following a deal between military ruler Gen. Pervez Musharraf and Benazir Bhutto. The Supreme Court annulled the ordinance in December 2009 and ordered reopening of all cases including the Swiss case. The court indicted Gilani for refusal to write the letter. Gilani says it would mean betraying the Pakistan Peoples Party and President Zardari who enjoys immunity from being prosecuted at home or abroad. |
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India-Pakistan | ||||||
Pakistans top court targets army | ||||||
2012-03-11 | ||||||
The case has showcased the emerging power of the Supreme Court, which is also hearing a contempt case against the prime minister that could see him imprisoned. The courts activism has led to some uncomfortable headlines for politicians and pierced the perception of the generals invulnerability. But its unclear who, if anyone, will be held accountable.
The court is acting on a petition filed in 1996 by former Air Vice Marshal Asghar Khan, demanding it investigate what he claimed were payments to right-wing politicians made by the army-run Inter-Services Intelligence spy agency, known as the ISI. The money was to be used to ensure that the Pakistan Peoples Party currently in power would not win the 1990 general elections. Without explaining why,
On Thursday, Yunus Habib, a 90-year-old banker from the state-owned Mehran Bank, testified that he doled out the equivalent of $1.5 million in bank funds to politicians and ISI officers on the orders of then army chief Gen. Aslam Beg and President Ghulam Ishaq Khan, who was considered close to the army. Some of the politicians who allegedly took the funds remain powerful political players, including opposition leader and former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif. He has denied taking any money.
The alleged bribes didnt give the alliance victory, however. It won 53 seats in the National Assembly, 49 less than the PPP that went on to form the government. Khans lawyer Salman Raja said he wanted criminal cases brought against all those who distributed and received the money. That would roil the political scene and likely be opposed by the army. Moreover, the nature of the evidence against them is unclear. Retired justice Tariq Mahmood said the case was a morale booster for the current government, but that it was unlikely anyone would be put on trial. The government now has a chance to bring the intelligence agencies ... under its control, he said. Political analyst Moeed Pirzada said the case put both the military and Nawaz Sharif on the defensive, which benefits the current PPP government, but would likely remain inconclusive. He said the court saw the case as an opportunity to assert itself following criticism by some over its pursuit of President Asif Ali Zardari. Supreme Court justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudry has been accused of pursuing a vendetta against Zardaris PPP government. Zardari opposed Chaudrys reinstatement to the job in March 2009. The court has ordered Prime Minister Yusaf Raza Gilani to reopen a corruption probe against Zardari. Gilani has refused, arguing that Zardari has immunity from prosecution so long as he remains president. If found guilty of contempt for ignoring the order, Gilani could be imprisoned for six months and lose his job. | ||||||
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India-Pakistan | |
Nationalists refuse to attend All-Parties Conference on Balochistan | |
2012-02-27 | |
QUETTA: Baloch and Pashtun nationalists have declined the invitation of the Difa-e-Pakistan Council to participate in the All-Parties Conference (APC) on Balochistan, scheduled to be held in Quetta today (Monday).
The Baloch National Front, an alliance of several hardliner nationalist parties and students organisations, had already boycotted the APC. On the other hand, the DFCs contact committee is busy in persuading political and nationalist parties for the past four days to ensure their participation, but Balochistan PPP former president Nawabzada Lashkari Raisani, JWP President Nawabzada Talal Akbar Bugti and PML-N leader General (r) Abdul Qadir Baloch have announced their boycott of the APC. Arrangements have been finalised for the APC, which would be chaired by DFC Chairman Samiul Haq. All leaders of the council, including Maulana Samiul Haq, JI Secretary General Liaquat Baloch, Jamaatud Dawa chief Hafiz Saeed, former ISI chief General (r) Hameed Gul, Jamaat Ahle-Sunnat leader Maulana Muhammad Ahmed Ludhianvi, Ulema Pakistan Council leader Tahir Ashrafi and PML-Zia President Ejazul Haq have reached to attend the APC. | |
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India-Pakistan | ||
Cases against Baloch leaders to be dropped | ||
2012-02-24 | ||
ISLAMABAD: Interior Minister Rehman Malik on Thursday announced withdrawal of cases against the Baloch leaders currently residing abroad.
He said Balochistan needed a political solution to its problems and the coalition government of the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) was determined to addressing the issue through political means. He dispelled the impression created by certain elements regarding the situation in the province, saying, We want to bring development in order to ensure stability and prosperity. Malik also urged all Baloch and national leaders to participate in the All-Parties Conference being convened by Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani on the unrest in Balochistan. I do not say the situation in the province is normal, but the way it has been propagated and portrayed is not right, he said while responding to another question. He told the reporters that another decision taken during the meeting was FC Balochistan would not move in any district of the province without permission of the deputy commissioner. He further added that no FC checkpost would be established without permission of the Balochistan chief minister and that the FC and Coast Guards would exercise powers under the Customs Act, strictly in accordance with the law, and keep their deployment restricted to 10 kilometres of the international border.
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