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KABUL:?Half a million Afghans displaced by war have been left homeless and struggling to survive because of government and international neglect, Amnesty International said Thursday.

Around 400 people join makeshift shelters around the country every day, Amnesty said in a report entitled “Fleeing war, finding misery”, based on three years of research.

The Afghan government estimates that more than 40 people froze to death this winter, the harshest in 15 years, with at least 28 children dying in camps around Kabul.

The government is “not only looking the other way but even preventing help from reaching them” in an attempt to avoid making the settlements permanent, Amnesty researcher Horia Mosadiq said.

“Local officials restrict aid efforts because they want to pretend that these people are going to go away. This is a largely hidden but horrific humanitarian and human rights crisis,” she said.

The report calls on the government to remove conditions placed on humanitarian assistance and on international donors to “ensure that their humanitarian assistance addresses the needs of internally displaced people”.

Kabul alone houses up to 35,000 displaced persons in 30 slum areas around the city, according to the report.

Most slum residents told Amnesty that they had fled their homes to escape the escalating war which has seen the number of civilian deaths rise steadily to a record of more than 3,000 in 2011, according to UN figures.

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DAMASCUS:?Two Western journalists were among dozens killed by Syrian forces Wednesday, fuelling Western outrage over the regime’s assault of the rebel city of Homs amid calls for a humanitarian truce.

At least 24 civilians were killed in shelling of the Homs neighbourhood of Baba Amr on Wednesday, the 19th straight day of a government forces assault on the central city, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.

Veteran American journalist Marie Colvin, who reported for London’s Sunday Times, and French freelance photojournalist Remi Ochlik were killed in the latest onslaught of the district, French Culture Minister Frederic Mitterrand said.

US State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland condemned the “tragic incident” as “another example of the shameless brutality of the Assad regime.”

France’s President Nicolas Sarkozy said the killing of the journalists showed that “this regime must go,” while Britain’s foreign ministry summoned the Syrian ambassador to lodge a protest over the deaths.

The London Times said Colvin’s reporting and subsequent death had strengthened global opposition to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s rule.

“Marie Colvin stood for truth and courage, which, when brought together, are the greatest moral force on the planet,” said the paper’s editorial.

From inside the besieged quarter, activist Omar Shaker told AFP that the two journalists were killed and three others wounded as a shell crashed into a makeshift media centre set up by anti-regime militants.

French newspaper Le Figaro said one of its reporters, Edith Bouvier, was wounded in the legs, and Rupert Murdoch, who owns The Sunday Times, said the paper’s photojournalist Paul Conroy was injured.

Syrian citizen journalist Rami al-Sayyed, who provided live footage on the Internet from Baba Amr, was also killed late on Tuesday when a rocket hit a car in which he was travelling, activist Hadi Abdullah told AFP.

Underscoring the growing security problems unfolding in Syria, Iraqi forces said they had arrested the head of a Sunni insurgent group believed to be linked to Al-Qaeda, as he tried to cross into Iraqi territory from Syria.

The latest attacks in Homs came the day after security forces killed at least 68 across Syria, adding to an overall toll of 7,636 — most of them civilians — since anti-regime protests erupted last March, according to the Observatory.

Outside Homs, the Britain-based watchdog said two civilians were killed by Syrian troops on Wednesday in the city of Khan Shaykhun, in the northwestern province of Idlib.

It said seven others, including a five-year-old child and a woman, were killed by security forces in Idlib’s Jebel al-Zawiya area.

A call by the International Committee for the Red Cross for a two-hour daily truce to deliver aid to afflicted areas has meanwhile gained support from the United Nations, as well as from the United States and Russia.

Tuesday’s call came a day after the ICRC said it was in talks with Syrian authorities and rebels to halt the violence.

The talks are still at “the initial stage,” Saleh Dabbakeh, the ICRC spokesman in Damascus, told AFP. “We are exploring what can be done to implement a ceasefire.”

In Geneva, the Syrian National Council began talks with ICRC officials on getting vital aid to crisis-hit areas.

The SNC, Syria’s main opposition group, demanded the international community create “safe havens” and called on Russia to force the regime to allow access for aid convoys.

UN aid chief Valerie Amos backed calls for Syria to allow relief groups unimpeded access to the country.

A UN spokesman said that Amos would seek Syrian permission to visit the country to assess the ongoing crisis.

In Paris, the SNC said it would attend a summit of the countries known as the “Friends of Syria” and ask for safe zones to protect civilians.

The rebel Free Syrian Army head, Colonel Riyadh al-Asaad, has welcomed the humanitarian truce call but voiced doubts that the “criminal” regime would abide by a ceasefire.

Moscow, a staunch ally of Syrian, also supported the truce call, but Deputy Foreign Minister Gennady Gatilov said Russia was not backing a French proposal for aid corridors because these would require support from foreign troops.

Saudi King Abdullah told Russian President Dmitry Medvedev it was “futile” to have dialogue about Syria, saying Moscow should have “coordinated with the Arabs… before using the veto” to block a UN Security Council resolution on Syria.

The conversation came two days ahead of an international conference in Tunisia to be attended by the Syrian opposition and not the regime, to find ways to end the bloodshed.

Russia announced it would not attend the “Friends of Syria” meeting because it was being convened “for the purpose of supporting one side against another in an internal conflict.”

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who will participate, said the Assad regime is increasingly isolated.

Meanwhile the European Union is set to slap fresh sanctions on Syria, including a ban on Syrian-run cargo flights into the 27-nation bloc, EU diplomats said Wednesday.

Other measures include a freeze on the European assets of the Syrian central bank and restrictions on trade in gold and precious metals.

A further seven people are to also be added to an existing list of almost 150 entities and people, including President Assad and his inner circle, already under EU travel bans and asset freezes.

The additional sanctions will be announced Monday when EU foreign ministers meet in Brussels, one source said.

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KABUL:?The Taliban urged Afghans on Thursday to target foreign military bases and kill Westerners in retaliation for burnings of copies of the Holy Quran at NATO’s main base in the country as a third day of violent protests began.    

Thousands of demonstrators rallied across the country, some chanting “Death to America!”, Reuters witnesses and officials said. In eastern Kabul, hundreds of youths threw rocks at police, who fired shots into the air to try to disperse the crowds.

“Our brave people must target the military bases of invader forces, their military convoys and their invader bases,” read an e-mailed Taliban statement released by spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid.

“They have to kill them (Westerners), beat them and capture them to give them a lesson to never dare desecrate the Holy Quran again.”

Large protests erupted in eastern Laghman province and the eastern city of Jalalabad, despite an appeal by President Hamid Karzai on Wednesday for calm after officials said six people were shot dead and dozens wounded in demonstrations.

Protests also kicked off in the relatively stable northern provinces of Badakhshan and Takhar on the border with Tajikistan, as well as nearby Baghlan province.

The fury could complicate efforts by US and NATO forces to reach agreement on a strategic pact currently under consideration with the Afghan government that would allow a sharply reduced number of western troops in the country well beyond their combat exit deadline of end-2014.

Underscoring these concerns, hundreds of students in Jalalabad rejected any strategic pact with the United States, saying they would “take up jihad” if one were sealed.

The US government and the American commander of NATO-led forces in Afghanistan apologised for “unintentional” burnings after Afghan labourers found charred copies of the Holy Quran while collecting rubbish at the huge Bagram Airbase, about an hour’s drive north of Kabul.

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SRINAGAR:?At least nine Indian soldiers on duty in the mountains of Kashmir were killed in avalanches overnight with several others missing, officials said Thursday.

Two avalanches swept through army camps in Dawar and Sonamarg, both near the heavily-militarised Line of Control that divides Kashmir between India and Pakistan.

A defence spokesman who declined to be named said that six soldiers were killed at Dawar and 15 others were dug out of the snow, while three soldiers died at Sonamarg, a popular destination for Indian tourists in the summer.

“Efforts are underway to rescue the trapped soldiers whose exact number is being ascertained,” said Lieutenant Colonel J.S. Brar, the military spokesman in the Indian Kashmir summer capital Srinagar.

The mountainous, Muslim-majority region of Kashmir was split in two in the aftermath of independence on the subcontinent when British rule ended in 1947.

Both India and Pakistan claim the whole territory, which is divided by the de facto border known as the Line of Control.

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BUENOS AIRES:?A packed commuter train slammed into a retaining wall at a railway terminus in Buenos Aires during rush hour Wednesday, leaving at least 49 dead, 675 injured, and dozens trapped in the wreckage.

“The train was full and the impact was tremendous,” a passenger identified only as Ezequiel told local television, adding that medics at the scene appeared overwhelmed by the scale of the disaster.

Witnesses said the train’s brakes failed as it was arriving at the Once station on the western outskirts of Argentina’s capital.

Passengers were hurled on top of each other and knocked to the floor of the train, some losing consciousness and others seriously injured, they said.

“Unfortunately, we must report that there are 49 dead in the accident,” including a child, police spokesman Nestor Rodriguez told a news conference.

Civil defense officials said that at least 675 people were hurt in the crash, 200 of them seriously.

Medevac helicopters landed in the street outside the station to ferry the most seriously wounded to hospitals, as ambulances raced in and out of the area.

“There were people who were crushed and shouting desperately. I saw bodies and blood all over the place,” said passenger Alejandro Velazquez.

The government called for two days of mourning and suspended Carnival celebrations, including a massive parade planned in Buenos Aires on Friday.

Argentine President Cristina Kirchner suspended a news conference on the dispute with Britain over the Falkland Islands following news of the crash.

Condolences from the British minister of state for Latin America, Jeremy Browne, were among numerous foreign sympathy messages sent to Argentina.

Transport Secretary Juan Pablo Schiavi said the train entered the station at a speed of 20 kilometers (12 miles) an hour and failed to stop, crashing into a retaining wall at the end of the track.

“It was a very serious accident,” he said at a news conference. “Cars piled up on top of each other and one them went six meters (yards) inside another car.”

Dozens were trapped in the twisted wreckage of the first and second carriages.

Firefighters and rescue workers had to break through skylights in the train’s roofs to reach those trapped inside.

The train’s driver was injured but rescue workers pried him loose from the wreckage of his cabin. He was 28 years old and had an excellent record, according to Schiavi.

The Sarmiento rail line, owned by private company TBA, links the center of Buenos Aires to a densely populated suburb 70 kilometers (44 miles) to the west of the city. It uses rolling stock made in Japan and acquired in the 1960s.

TBA said it did not know the cause of the crash and would bring “all information and videos to the courts.”

Schiavi said officials had a recording of conversations between the driver and the person in charge of the line that they would give to legal authorities.

As a probe got under way, rail workers complained about a lack of investment following the privatization of the rail network in the 1990s.

Unionist Roberto Nunez, speaking on Radio del Plata, criticized “irregularities, deficiencies and a situation limited to the provision of services.”

Twelve hours after the crash, families of missing passengers desperately searched hospitals, the morgue and a public cemetery where dozens of bodies were taken.

Authorities gave lists of hundreds of wounded, but the identities of many of the deceased and wounded remained unknown.

“I was in five hospitals and I couldn’t find my wife,” said a man who gave his name as Jose and said his pregnant wife had been in one of the first cars.

“They told us there are people being operated on and they don’t know who they are. There’s no way to know until they come out of surgery,” said Luisa, looking for her 24-year-old son.

TV channels broadcast photographs of missing people as social networks filled with messages from people searching for information.

The Bolivian embassy said one of its workers was missing and had presumably been on the train.

The toll from Wednesday’s crash surpassed the city’s last major rail disaster just five months ago when two trains and a bus collided during rush hour, killing 11 people and injuring more than 200.

The region’s transit system has been plagued with serious accidents in recent years.

In March 2008, 18 people were killed and 47 injured when a bus was hit by a train in Dolores, 212 kilometers south of Buenos Aires.

Argentina’s deadliest train tragedy was in 1970, an accident that killed 236 people in northern Buenos Aires.

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KABUL:?An Afghan soldier on Thursday shot dead two Nato troops, the military said, as fierce anti-US protests over the burning of the Quran swept the country.

“An individual wearing an Afghan National Army uniform turned his weapon against International Security Assistance Force service members in eastern Afghanistan today, killing two service members,” ISAF said.

ISAF did not identify the nationalities of the dead soldiers and gave no further details of the incident, which came on the third day of fierce protests against the burning of the Quran at a US-run military base.

Asked whether the events were connected, an ISAF spokesman would only say: “There was a demonstration in the province.”

Afghan troops defending a foreign base in eastern Nangarhar province had “joined demonstrators and opened fire on foreign troops”, a protester told the Afghan Islamic Press news agency.

“Four foreign soldiers were killed and two more injured when the Afghan forces opened fire on them. An Afghan cop was killed and three more injured when the foreign forces returned the fire,” he said.

Just hours earlier, Taliban insurgents exhorted demonstrating Afghans to attack and kill foreign troops to avenge the burning of Qurans at the US-run Bagram base north of Kabul.

“You should bring the invading forces’ military bases under your brave attack, their military convoys, kill them, capture them, beat them and teach them a lesson that they will never again dare to insult the Holy Quran,” the Taliban said in a statement.

Afghanistan is a deeply religious country where slights against Islam have frequently provoked violent protests, and many Afghans are incensed at the discovery of charred Qurans at the US-run Bagram airbase north of Kabul.

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BAGHDAD:?Simultaneous early morning attacks on mostly Shia targets across Iraq killed at least 60 people and wounded dozens on Thursday in one of the bloodiest days of violence since US troops pulled out in mid-December.             

The attacks that appeared to pitch al Qaeda-linked Sunni Muslim militants against Shias raised fears of a return to the widespread sectarian carnage that tore Iraq apart and cost thousands of lives in 2006 and 2007.

The violence breaks weeks of relative calm as Shia Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki and Sunni leaders have sought to resolve a political crisis that followed the US withdrawal.

At least 32 people were killed in blasts in Baghdad where 10 explosions tore through mainly Shia neighbourhoods during rush hour and other attacks targeted police patrols, commuters and crowds gathered in shopping areas.

More than a dozen blasts and attacks hit other cities across Iraq from Mosul in the north to Hilla, south of Baghdad, many of them targeting police.

The violence was aimed at Shia neighbourhoods and security forces, a frequent target of Sunni insurgents. Iraqi officials had predicted such groups would try to stir sectarian tensions with attacks after American forces went home.

While violence has ebbed since the height of the war, Sunni insurgents affiliated to al Qaeda are still capable of large-scale assaults, often targeting government buildings and police in an attempt to show Maliki cannot guarantee Iraqis’ security.

In Thursday’s violence, one car bomb in the capital killed at least nine people and wounded 27 in the upmarket Karrada neighbourhood, hurling shrapnel into the next street and blowing out glass from nearby buildings.

At least two other blasts hit Karrada, including another car bomb attack that killed one person, police said. Witnesses saw at least four wrecked cars full of shrapnel and bloodied seats near a popular ice-cream shop.

In at least three Shia neighbourhoods in Baghdad, nine policemen were killed, and in the capital’s northwestern Kadhimiya district, a car bomb killed six people when it struck a street lined with restaurants.

Another car bomb targeting a police patrol in the mixed Mansour neighbourhood killed two people. Twin roadside bombs killed two people and wounded 9 in a mostly Shia district of the southern Doura neighbourhood, police said.

In the biggest attack outside the capital, a car bomb killed seven people and wounded 33 in the town of Balad, north of Baghdad.

Iraq’s political crisis erupted after Maliki moved against two senior members of the Sunni-backed Iraqiya political bloc shortly after the US troop withdrawal in December, prompting a walkout by Iraqiya lawmakers that lasted until late January.

Tensions eased as Sunni, Shia and Kurdish blocs tried to negotiate an end to the crisis. But a week ago a panel of judges detailed 150 attacks they said were carried out by death squads under Sunni Vice President Tareq al-Hashemi’s command. Maliki sought Hashemi’s arrest in December.

Hashemi, who has taken refuge in the autonomous region of Kurdistan, has denied accusations made against him, dismissing them as part of a plot to destroy Maliki’s opponents.

The crisis was followed by a wave of attacks in December and January on Shia neighbourhoods, including a suicide bombing on a Shia funeral procession that killed 31 in Baghdad and an attack on Shia pilgrims that left 53 dead in Basra.

Violence had ebbed until Sunday when a suicide car bomber killed 19 people in an attack on a Baghdad police academy.

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The Abbottabad District Police Officer said that the slain policemen were patrolling the area when an encounter with bandits led to the shootout. The two policemen, before succumbing to their injuries, also killed a bandit while attempting to defend themselves.

Published in The Media, February 23^rd, 2012.

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Baloch, who had earlier spoken to the media from his residence, was arrested without any intimation following fierce resistance.

He demanded that Balochistan should be declared independent and areas of Punjab populated with Baloch residents such as Dera Ghazi Khan and Rajanpur should be constituted as an integral part of the territory.

Senator Aktar Jaan Mari of the BNP facilitated Baloch’s release who was held at the civil lines police station Dera Ghazi Khan, sources said.

Following his release, Baloch told The Media that “I’m not afraid of being kidnapped nor am I against Pakistan, the institution defending and guarding Pakistan is the core threat to its integrity, independence and solidarity”.

He added that the Baloch people have an innate right to self-determination.

Published in The Media, February 23^rd, 2012.

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The World Wildlife Fund for Nature’s (WWF) newly appointed Earth Hour Ambassadors for the year 2012 gathered at Pearl Continental to officially inaugurate this year’s Earth Hour, albeit exactly one hour later than it was scheduled to begin. Each ambassador was escorted by students of WWF’s leading ‘Green School’, Dawood Public School, holding candles in their hands.

The dignitaries include renowned actress and comedian Bushra Ansari, hockey legend Sohail Abbas, singer and philanthropist Shehzad Roy, tennis star Aisam-ul-Haq Qureshi, actor Faisal Qureshi, model Nadia Hussain and singer Fawad Khan.

Once the programme got under way Shehzad Roy jokingly quipped, “the electricity goes quite frequently in Pakistan anyway, so we are already quite environmentally friendly.”

He then took on a more serious note, pleading with Sindh Environment Minister Sheikh Muhammad Afzal who was present, “we have to stop dumping sewerage from Karachi into the ocean. The government can be pushed through our pressure groups to do this much.”

WWF Pakistan President Khalid Mahmood supported Roy’s statement saying, “there are poorer countries around the world that have managed to stop dumping untreated sewerage into the ocean, Pakistan can do it too.”

Earth Hour is a symbolic action that turned into a movement for change, becoming the biggest global climate change initiative. For cynics, it represents just another campaign that extends only to the privileged and guests highlighted this issue. “We have to convey this message in Urdu as well, not just in English for the small population that speaks it,” asserted Bushra Ansari. Roy had earlier added that even the privileged community wasn’t aware of many environmental issues.

Olympic hockey star Sohail Abbas continued in a similar vein. “We should take this hour and reflect on how we live our lives,” he suggested. Nadia Hussain added to Abass’ words by saying, “I’ve realised that I have to create awareness as a mother to educate my child, as a housekeeper to educate those who work with me, and as a neighbour.”

The ambassadors were decorated with badges honouring them and the ceremony was concluded by all the guests lighting a candle in unison, to officially inaugurate the efforts for the awareness campaign that will take place over the next month until Earth Hour.

Published in The Media, February 23^rd, 2012.

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Around 18 employees were fired from Lahore, 11 from Sargodha, 10 from Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, nine from Islamabad, six from Balochistan, five from Sukkur and two from other areas.

The director general of NADRA’s Sindh chapter, Zahid Hussain, confirmed the terminations, but denied that anyone from Sindh was fired over the protests. He said those sacked from the Sindh offices were already facing disciplinary action, claiming that their inquiries were already under process. “The rest will be regularised in 15 days,” he added.

A committee was also set up to go over the employees’ demands and is due to meet on February 28. “But the employees have to realize that these things take time,” said Hussain, adding, “We have submitted our proposal to the government.”

Hussain said that NADRA provides essential services to the country. “Making unions and creating disturbances in service have no room here.” Referring to the NADRA Employees Welfare Association, he said those involved with unions were terminated.

Meanwhile, the protests continued for a third consecutive day and all offices of the NADRA Provincial Headquarters (PHQ) Islamabad remained closed.  The employees gathered at the Parade Lane in front of the parliament house on Wednesday for a sit-in until their demands are met.

The president of the association, Raza Khan Swati, said that the protests will continue till the chief secretary handed over the notification for the regularisation of all employees with the endorsement of the Prime Minister.

“We made NADRA what it is today and now we are rewarded with termination letters,” said Malik Sajid Awan, the vice president of the employees association. “We have not committed any sin we are demanding our rights.”

Iftikhar Ali Magsi, the general secretary of the employees association at Sindh, received his termination letter on Wednesday. However, he said that the termination letters were not as important as the regularisation of all the contract employees.

Around 14,700 employees were hired on contract under the NADRA Ordinance 2000, according to the employees union. Making the jobs permanent would require a long process of legislation because the ordinance itself will have to be amended.

Earlier, the employees had rejected a notification issued by the chairman of the authority which extended the contracts of all employees till their retirement. The protestors said they would not be entitled to any pension if they retire as contract employees after working for a lifetime for the authority. They vowed not to return to work until their demands are met. (With additional reporting by Umer Nangiana)

Published in The Media, February 23^rd, 2012.

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The issue was taken up by Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) lawmaker Javed Abbasi on an adjournment motion, drawing attention of the house to the motion moved by Congressman Dana Rohrabacher. In his speech, he termed it an insult to every Pakistani.

He asserted that conspiracies were afoot to try and split Pakistan. He termed the bill an attack on the sovereignty of this country, adding that both the assembly and senate sessions should have been called earlier to discuss this issue.

Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (JUIF) lawmaker Maulana Kifayatullah alleged that America was funding efforts to break up Pakistan. He claimed that it suffered losses worth US$70 billion to fight the war on terror and lost 40,000 lives to the cause, while it was given a paltry sum of US$4 billion in return. Kifayatullah said that peace would return only if Pakistan opted out of the US-led coalition on the war.

Senior Minister Bashir Ahmed Bilour told the house that the federal government should continue its blockade of Nato supplies through its borders into Afghanistan. He added that Akbar Bugti’s killing led to the deterioration of Balochistan. Bilour appealed to the government to take the province’s issue seriously, and announce an amnesty for those in custody. He said the US resolution held no value.

Bilour read out the agenda, implying that the “resolution calling for making Balochistan into an independent territory was a conspiracy against Pakistan’s territorial integrity, national security and sovereignty.”

It added that Rohrabacher’s stance had led to a wave of anger among Pakistanis, and was a violation of the UN Charter on international laws.

The session concluded by demanding the federal government to summon the US Ambassador to the Foreign Office and lodge a protest with him.

Published in The Media, February 23^rd, 2012.

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Reportedly, a deal has been struck between the PPP and its coalition partners over the distribution of seats in the upcoming elections.

Out of 12 seats, seven will be given to PPP, four to the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) and one to the Pakistan Muslim League-Functional (PML-F).

Dr Karim Khwaja, a PPP candidate who had applied for two Senate seats, withdrew his nomination papers for the technocrat seat and will contest the elections on the general seat.

Other PPP candidates whose names have been finalised include Raza Rabbani, Saeed Ghani, Mukhtiar Ahmed, Kareem Khawaja, Hafeez Shaikh, Hari Ram Kishori Lal and Muddassir Sehar Kamran.

Meanwhile, leaders of the PML-Q (Likeminded) are crying foul. Talking to The Media, PML-Q (Likeminded) Senator Ghaffar Qureshi said that PPP leaders, including Federal Minister Khurshid Shah, had approached Dr Arbab Ghulam Rahim to withdraw candidates from the elections, but the latter turned down his request.

He added that under the reconciliation policy, they can only support the government’s initiatives, but will not withdraw from their constitutional right to contest elections.

He further said that during the last Senate elections, the PPP had promised to back one of their candidates in these elections.

“Instead of supporting a candidate from our party, the PPP leaders insist that we withdraw. We have refused them,” he said.

Qureshi, who belongs to the Mirpurkhas district and is going to retire on March 12, has applied for another term.

“I have not only the support of a few PPP members, but MPAs of other parties will also vote for me,” he said.

“There is polarisation within the ranks and files of PPP in Sindh.  We have talked to leaders of National Peoples Party as well.  My victory is obvious in the election,” he added.

Published in The Media, February 23^rd, 2012.

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Special Judge ATC-II Rana Massod Akhtar released Abid Malik after testimony by a close relative of the deceased minister. According to investigators, the minister’s family had alleged that Malik along with another man had been involved in the murder, and cited property issues as a reason behind it.

However Tahir Naveed Chaudhry, the relative in question, informed the court that the family had neither suspected Malik’s involvement in the murder nor had nominated his name in the case. Chaudhry claimed that the police themselves had implicated Malik in the case.

Allegations against Malik had already been in doubt after SHO Industrial Area Police Rukhsar Mehdi had on Tuesday submitted a report before the court stating that the police, after seven days of interrogation had found no link between Malik and any militant organisation. Police added that they had checked relevant records and discovered that the suspect was present in Singapore on the day of the murder.

Malik had been arrested on February 14 from the Lahore Airport after his return from Dubai. The investigators had previously declared him an absconder of law along with another suspect, Ziaur Rehman, after warrants for their arrest were obtained from the ATC on August 29 last year.

Published in The Media, February 23^rd, 2012.

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Attorney General Maulvi Anwarul Haq submitted, before a three-member bench of the apex court, that the Gilgit-Baltistan Self Governance & Empowerment Ordinance 2009, under which the affairs of the area are currently being run, was issued by the federal government.

Justice Jan asked the attorney general whether, under article 248 of the Constitution, the president could only issue such an ordinance, on the advice of prime minister, for areas that do not fall in any province. “If it’s true that the president did not issue the ordinance then the court could declare it null and void,” he said.

Haq told the court that the status of the area was also not clear due to some international disputes.

Highlighting the importance of the matter, the court directed the attorney general to submit a concise statement on the issue before the court.

However, on Haq’s request, the court issued notices to the federal government and the relevant ministry to submit their written reply in this regard within 15 days.

The court was hearing a petition by Dr Ghulam Abbas, a resident of the area, against the appointment of Rana Mohammad Arshad Khan as chief judge of the G-B Supreme Appellate Court.

The attorney general told the court that an appellate court had been established under the 2009 governance ordinance to ensure the right to appeal against G-B court decisions.

Responding to a query, Haq conceded that the appointments are made in the G-B court following an old method of appointment instead of the 2009 governance ordinance.

Akram Chaudhry, Abbas’ counsel, had prayed the court to declare the appointments of retired judges in the G-B Supreme Appellate Court illegal, unconstitutional and against the fundamental rights of the people.

After hearing of the court, Suleman Akram Raja, lawyer of the bar association of G-B, told The Media that there was no dispute on the status of the area.

The enforcement of fundamental rights there was an issue due to which they approached the highest court of the country.

Published in The Media, February 23^rd, 2012.

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As more families from Balochistan and Southern Punjab arrived at the camp for release of missing persons, the encamped protestor including elderly men and women decided to go on a hunger strike. One of the women, whose three sons are missing, went ill twice due to low blood pressure.
She was being given medical supplies at the camp by the paramedics at the spot as she refused to leave the camp. The families said they will not eat or drink until they are reunited with their husbands, sons, brothers and fathers.

Published in The Media, February 23^rd, 2012.

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Speaking at a reception hosted in honour of an Indian parliamentary delegation headed by Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar here at the Prime Minister House, Gilani added that Pakistan is committed to “result-oriented, constructive and productive engagement with India.”

The Indian speaker, along with members of Indian parliament, is currently on a five-day visit to Pakistan on the invitation of her Pakistani counterpart Dr Fehmida Mirza.

A statement issued by the PM House said that the Indian Lok Sabha speaker endorsed the view that all contentious issues between the two countries must be settled through dialogue. Separately, in an interview with a private television channel, Lok Sabha Speaker Kumar pointed out that “war is no solution to any problem and the two countries must shun the path of violence”.

In his remarks, Gilani lauded Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh for his efforts to seek peace between the two countries.

“I respect Dr Manmohan Singh from the bottom of my heart and I share his desire for peace,” said Gilani.

He emphasised the need for India and Pakistan to work together to eliminate hunger, disease and poverty in the two countries.

“We should think about the future of the people so they can have drinking water, health and education,” he said, adding that strong relations between parliaments of the two countries can prove to be vital.

“Governments come and go but love of people remains and your visit will pave the way for strengthening relations between the people,” he told Kumar.

In her other engagements of the day, the Indian speaker along with her delegation met the Pakistan-Indian Parliamentary Friendship Group (PFG).

The maiden meeting of the Pakistan-India PFG with Indian parliamentarians was jointly chaired by Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) leader Qamar Zaman Kaira and Indian Speaker Kumar herself.

It was agreed that dialogue was the only way forward in addressing the contentious issues between the archrivals and peace was the only way to regional prosperity and harmony.

In a gesture of goodwill, Kumar also planted a sapling of Mangolia Grandiflora in the lawn of the Parliament House along with National Assembly Speaker Dr Fehmida.

Published in The Media, February 23^rd, 2012.

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The decision was taken at a meeting of the finance ministry with the prime minister to discuss the broader parameters of next year’s budget and review performance of the current year

A source in the ministry of finance revealed that the government decided that if the need arose, it may increase tax rate itself, but no new taxes will be introduced.

A senior official of the ministry told The Media that the process of simplification of taxes would also continue in next year’s budget. The government has also decided to hold a few more meetings to finalise broader parameters of the next budget.

The official privy to the development said that the main purpose of the budget will be “to provide relief to the masses”.

For the current fiscal year, the government has allocated Rs300 billion for public sector development programme. According to a handout of the Prime Minister House, the government would utilise 100 per cent budget. It said during first seven months, Rs221 billion have already been released.

The Prime Minister directed that budget should reflect a focus on economic stability, prudent fiscal policy, generation of economic opportunities for the youth and protection of the vulnerable groups through further control of inflation and social safety net programme, said the PM House.

The meeting focused on four basic areas: overall state of the economy, expenditure management, revenue expansion and the public sector development programme.

The premier was briefed that the projected growth rate of 3.6 per cent is likely to be achieved and inflation will be lower than the budgetary projection of 12 per cent.

While the economic team claimed that it implemented prudent economic policy during first seven months of the fiscal year, the reality seems contrary to that. From July through January, the budget deficit remained at Rs1,047 billion or 5% of total size of national economy — Rs 62 billion (0.3%) higher than the annual revised projection of 4.7%.

The premier was informed that from July through January exports registered an increase of 7% as compared to the corresponding period of the previous financial year. The ministry has also provided the prime minister with receipts-based data. While on the basis of the actual shipment during this period, exports marginally grew by 0.25%.

The prime minister was briefed that remittances by the overseas Pakistanis remained at $7.4 billion in the first seven months registering a 21% increase.

The Federal Board of Revenue assured the premier that it would be able to achieve Rs1,952 billion in annual collection targets. Authorities have so far collected Rs975 billion with an increase of 26% as compared to the corresponding period of last fiscal year.

Published in The Media, February 23^rd, 2012.

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ISLAMABAD:?Mansoor Ijaz, the central character in the Memogate scandal, continued with his testimony on Thursday at the Pakistan High Commission in London.

The Pakistani-American businessman continued from where he had left his statements on the first day of the recording and presented more documents to the judicial commission panel.

He read out his BlackBerry conversation with former ambassador to US Husain Haqqani and told the commission that he had sent a message to Haqqani on May 9 at 1:40pm saying that he has forwarded his message to the Americans, referred to as “Isphanis”.

Haqqani replied at 1:44pm in which he talked about director-general Inter-Services Intelligence and the army chief, said Ijaz.

Media is not being allowed inside the Pakistan High Commission to avoid disruption. Express News correspondent Mujahid Umar reported that an official of the High Commission had requested that the media avoid asking Ijaz any questions on his arrival.

The judicial commission panel questioned him at Pakistan High Commission in London, while the judicial commission in Islamabad quizzed him via a video link.

Haqqani’s lawyer opposes video link

The judicial commission probing the Memogate scandal earlier heard applications of Zahid Bukhari, counsel of former ambassador to US Husain Haqqani, against the questioning of Mansoor Ijaz via video link, Express News reported.

Bukhari, in his applications, had demanded that Ijaz be quizzed personally in London rather than via a video link and said that all the evidence that Ijaz is providing should be photocopied and sent to Pakistan.

Ijaz’s lawyer Akram Sheikh, however, replied saying that the evidence is of a ‘secretive’ nature and cannot be shared with everyone. The ones that can be shared will be provided to the commission, he said.

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Today’s top editorial topic was Interior Minister Rehman Malik’s Sindh Assembly briefing on Benazir Bhutto’s assassination.

The Media says Malik’s address to the Sindh Assembly “brings up some intriguing facts along with a lot of old hat”.

The paper goes on to say that:

“The revelation by Malik that former students of the Darul Uloom Haqqania does offer food for thought…the account given, provided that it is backed by sufficient evidence, should make us think harder about the role played even by the better known seminaries in our country.”

Dawn declares Malik’s briefing “rambling and disjointed” and says:

“taking up the investigation into the assassination of Ms Bhutto with seriousness of purpose ought to be something that can and should be attempted.”

The paper adds that “playing politics with the death of Benazir Bhutto is a disservice to her memory.”

The News says the briefing ”directly points an accusing finger at General (r) Pervez Musharraf.”

Bringing up the Darul Uloom Haqqania, the paper adds that the report “does raise questions about the possible scale of the plot and all the elements involved in it.”

The Nation declared Malik’s briefing ‘full of contradictions’ and said the interior minister “failed to make the eager Pakistani, particularly her fans in the party, any wiser in that he unveiled virtually nothing new.”

With regards to pinning the blame on Musharraf, the paper adds:

“The question is: How the Interior Minister would establish collusion between the self-exiled President and the militant outfits. It would hardly convince the man in the street, let alone an informed person, who is quite aware that General (retd) Musharraf was, in fact, fighting these outfits.”

Daily Times also agreed that “Malik did not reveal anything new as such.”

The paper adds that:

“Some people have observed that the Sindh Assembly resolution and Mr Malik’s briefing was an attempt at political point scoring in order to gain political capital. Given that the next general elections may be held in a few months time, this cannot be ruled out.”

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The JUI-F Chief, who is also the Chairman of the Parliamentary Committee on Kashmir, has given this statement at a time when an Indian parliamentary delegation is visiting Pakistan.

“Why is America silent over the killings of Kashmiris, even though Jammu & Kashmir is an internationally recognized disputed territory,” he asked. “America is discussing Balochistan in its parliamentary hearings, although, it is an integral part of Pakistan,” he said, adding, “It is clearly interference in the internal matters of Pakistan.”

He said the US has incriminated Dr Ghulam Nabi Fai to please India, while he was projecting the Kashmir issue there. India has been killing Kashmiris since 1947, he said adding that the world powers were silent spectators in the meanwhile.

Appreciating a report by the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) Observer Margrat Sakagaya on Indian administered Kashmir, Fazlur Rahman urged the UN and the international community to pressure India into stopping human rights violations perpetrated by Indian security forces.

He said that the UNHRC Observer has confirmed the atrocities India was inflicting on the hapless Kashmiris. There can not be a more authentic document on this issue, he added, terming it a test case for the UN.

Published in The Media, February 23^rd, 2012.

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