Pakistani Daily Top News

Altaf Hussain arrested in UK

2014-06-03T03:38:00.000-07:00

ALTAF HUSSAIN ARRESTED IN UK

LONDON – The police in London have arrested Altaf Hussain, a UK-based leader of the Mutahidda Qaumi Movement (MQM), on charges of money laundering, local and foreign news channels reported on Tuesday.

Scotland Yard has confirmed that the MQM chief has been arrested in connection with the money laundering case. The arrest took place at a North West London property. Altaf had confirmed in recent TV interview that all his bank accounts in the UK had been frozen by the British authorities.

MQM Rabita Committee will soon issue a statement regarding the arrest of its leader in London and will inform everyone about the situation. Journalists and political commentator Javed Chaudhry said that the London Police were investigating Altaf Hussain for three cases of money laundering, hate speech and the murder of Imran Farooq.

SP CID Chaudhry Aslam martyred in Karachi blast

2014-01-09T09:33:00.003-08:00

SP CID CHAUDHRY ASLAM MARTYRED IN KARACHI BLAST

KARACHI: CID Police suffered a major blow as SP Chaudhry Aslam and two other policemen were martyred while 11 more sustained injuries in a blast in the Essa Nagri area near the Lyari Expressway.

The outlawed Tehreek-e-Taliban Mohamand Agency claimed responsibility for the attack.

DIG Munir Sheikh said the bomb was a planted device and according to reports over 25 kilograms of explosives were used. The DIG added that Aslam was not travelling in a bullet-proof vehicle as his regular car was being repaired. Two police mobiles which were part of Aslam's convoy were damaged in the blast.

Initially it was reported that the blast was a suicide attack and the bombers had arrived at the site in a yellow cab.

Condemning the attack, Sindh Information Minister Sharjeel Memon said the attack was being investigated.

CPLC chief Ahmed Chinoy said the attack will not dampen the morale of Sindh police and the operation against the terrorists would continue.

Meanwhile, CID anti-extremism cell In-charge Raja Umar Khattab said: “Tehreek-e-Taliban and Lashkar-e-Jhangvi were and still are a threat.”

He vowed to continue the mission of Chaudhry Aslam.

Reactions

Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif condemned the attack and called Chaudhry Aslam a brave officer, saying his sacrifice would not go to waste.

PPP Patron-in-Chief, Bilawal Bhutto Zardari tweeted: “Shaheed Chaudary Aslam had been threatened & attacked B4. He didn't back down. He died a brave man. Shame on cowards.”

MQM chief Altaf Hussain called for the immediate arrest of terrorists behind the attack. He added that terrorist activity in a major city like Karachi was a great cause of concern.

The attack was also condemned by PTI chairman Imran Khan who placed responsibility on authorities in Sindh.

Profile

Chaudhry Aslam, was seen as one of Pakistan’s toughest police officers. He survived several attacks on his life, including a suicide attack on his residence in September 2011 in which almost eight people were killed

Starting his career as an ASI in 1984, Muhammad Aslam Khan, commonly known as Chaudhry Aslam, was serving as the Superintendent Police (SP) of the Central Investigation Department (CID). He had served as a station house officer (SHO) at a number of police stations in the metropolis.

He originally hailed from Manshera in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Chaudhry was added in front of his name due to his role in the Karachi operation. In 2010, Khan was appointed as a head of the Investigation Wing of the CID. Earlier, he also headed the Lyari Task Force (LTF) to uproot gangsters from Lyari.

ISRAELI AIR STRIKES POUND GAZA AS DEATH TOLL HITS 38

2012-11-17T01:38:00.002-08:00

ISRAELI AIR STRIKES POUND GAZA AS DEATH TOLL HITS 38

GAZA CITY: An Israeli air strike on Rafah in southern Gaza killed four people on Saturday, Palestinian medics said, raising the overall death toll from the aerial campaign to 38. The attack came as the Tunisian foreign minister crossed into southern Gaza through the Rafah border crossing with Egypt. It followed hot on the heels of other strikes elsewhere in the city which killed one, and a raid on a refugee camp in central Gaza which killed another three, medics said.

“Four people were killed in a third raid on Rafah that targeted a group of citizens in the Zuhur neighbourhood,” said Adham Abu Selmiya, spokesman for Gaza’s Hamas-run emergency services. Meanwhile, similar air strikes destroyed the cabinet headquarters of Gaza’s Hamas rulers.

“The IDF (army) has targeted Ismail Haniya’s headquarters in Gaza,” an Israeli army spokesman told AFP, referring to the Hamas prime minister. Haniya’s government said four “barbaric Israeli” strikes “completely destroyed” its headquarters and that neighbouring houses were damaged.

Witnesses said the damage was extensive but there were no reports of casualties. The latest strikes raised the overall death toll in Gaza to 38 as a relentless Israeli air campaign against Gaza militants entered its fourth straight day. The identities of the four killed in the latest Rafah strike were not immediately clear.

Earlier, medics said three people had been killed in Maghazi refugee camp in central Gaza and another man had died in a raid on Tel al-Sultan neighbourhood in Rafah. “Three men died in an Israeli air strike on Maghazi camp in central Gaza,”said emergency services spokesman Adham Abu Selmiya.

Palestinian security sources told AFP that all four were Hamas militants. They named the three who died in Maghazi camp as Ali Manameh, Hossam Abdel Jawad and Assaf Gharwish, while the man who died in Rafah was Mukhlis Adwan.

Potential ground war. The Israeli military earlier said it had sealed off all the main roads around the Gaza border, declaring the area a closed military zone, as it called up thousands more reservists in readiness for a potential ground war. UN and Palestinian officials said UN chief Ban Ki-moon would travel to the region in days to push for a truce.

“Ban went to the region during the last Israeli offensive against Gaza in 2009 and worked hard to end that conflict. He is looking to produce a truce and ceasefire this time as well,” one senior UN diplomat said. Even before the latest rocket fire, senior cabinet minister Moshe Yaalon warned that Israel was poised for a ground offensive.

“We are preparing all the military options, including the possibility that forces will be ready to enter Gaza in the event that the firing doesn’t stop,” he said. As ground troops massed, there was no let-up in Israeli air attacks. The overthrow early last year of veteran strongman Hosni Mubarak, a staunch supporter of Egypt’s three-decade-old peace treaty with Israel, has cast a chill over the already lukewarm relationship between the two neighbours.

Egypt’s new President Mohamed Morsi, who like Hamas has his roots in the Muslim Brotherhood, has moved to establish closer relations with the Gaza authorities. Washington appealed to Egyptian leaders as well as to allies such as Turkey to use their sway with the Palestinians in a flurry of telephone diplomacy aimed at containing the crisis. In Obama’s call to Netanyahu, the president “reiterated US support for Israel’s right to defend itself, and expressed regret over the loss of Israeli and Palestinian civilian lives”, the White House said in a summary of the conversation.

OSAMA, ZAWAHRI AND I HAD SAME TEACHER: SAYS HAFIZ SAEED CHIEF OF JAMAAT UD DAWA

2012-02-07T23:47:00.000-08:00

ISLAMABAD: Hafiz Mohammad Saeed, the chief of Jamaat ud Dawa (JuD) a charity organisation accused by West and India for exporting terror from Pakistan, has confessed for the first time about his meeting with al Qaida founding father Osama Bin Laden and said that he studied from the same scholar who taught bin Laden and Ayman al-Zawahiri.

“Yes once I had met Osama Bin Laden but that is an old story I met him probably in 1982 in Saudi Arabia and in that meeting we just waived at each other,” said Saeed in an interview with news. Saeed’s organisation was banned by the United Nations Security Council days after the Mumbai attacks in November 2008 for its alleged involvement in the attacks and extremists activities. However local courts have allowed the organisation to work in Pakistan.

Saeed, the most wanted man by India, is a holder of double master’s degree in Islamic Studies and also is a former teacher at Engineering University, Punjab. He said he was a proud student of Sheikh Bin Baz. Bin Baz was the grand mufti (scholar) of Saudi Arabia from 1993 to until his death in May 1999.

AfPak head and a retired CIA officer, Bruce Riedel in his book titled “The Search for Al Qaeda” has described Bin Baz as one who “preached a very reactionary brand of Islam, proclaiming earth is flat, banning high heels for women as too sexually provocative, barring men from wearing Western suits and imposing other restrictions on behavior.” When asked is it not a coincidence that he studied under the same cleric who taught Osama Bin Laden and Aiman al al-Zawahiri? Saeed said it was the honour for both the students and the teacher.

When asked about the reports regarding the financial help by Osama Bin Laden for establishing Lashkar-i-Taiba back in 1989-90, Saeed denied by calling it “baseless allegation.” Asked how it was possible that he could not have met Bin Laden in neighboring Afghanistan while he was waging Jihad next door in Indian administered Kashmir, Saeed brushed aside the question saying, “put this matter aside.”

Saeed declared the killing of Osama Bin Laden as extra judicial act and in the same breath he said that it was yet to be verified if the al Qaeda chief was in the Abbotabad compound or not. He said that US was the biggest terrorist who did not prove anything against bin Laden in any court of law. When asked if his men or he himself were helping the jihad in Afghanistan, Saeed said that the Afghanis were doing well themselves and they did not need anybody’s help. “We are doing what we can do for them,” he added.

Saeed who used to hide from cameras has started appearing on television screen these days, when asked about the reason behind this change of mind he said that he has taken this decision to counter the propaganda against himself and his organization.

Explosion in FACTORY Lahore DEATH TOLL NOW 20

2012-02-07T23:45:00.000-08:00

LAHORE: A massive search and rescue (SAR) operation continued on the second day on Tuesday after a three-storey building owned by a pharmaceutical company collapsed in Hanjarwal allegedly owing to boiler explosion on Monday morning.

At least 10 more bodies were found in the rubble till the filing of this report by Tuesday midnight, raising death toll to 20. The families of missing factory workers complained about slow rescue work and non-cooperation on the part of rescuers and police as every passing moment was dashing their hopes. Officials of Rescue-1122, Civil Defence, Solid Waste Management and local town administration were seen removing debris throughout the day.

A large number of people, mostly family members of the missing victims, saw the SAR operation with enormous anxiety, hoping against the hope that their near and dear ones were still alive. Sadar Operations SP Shoaib Khurram Janbaz told news the bodies of 16 women and three boys had been recovered while 20 people had been recovered alive with cuts and grazes. He said nine of them were still under treatment in different city hospitals while the remaining 11 had been discharged from the infirmaries.

He said the SAR operation was in progress to recover at least nine trapped victims and some of them were still believed to be alive. The SP said Saleh Khatoon, of Khushab, the elderly woman who was recovered alive 31 hours after the collapse, told rescuers that at least four people were still alive in the rubble.

A Rescue-1122 official said it transpired during initial investigations that explosion in the 350KW generator installed at the rooftop of the building also jolted the building, leading it to collapse suddenly. He said gas leakage could be a factor behind the blast. Also, substandard material used in the construction of the building was being believed as another factor leading to the disaster. The SAR operation is likely to be completed by Wednesday (today). Haji Muhammad Javed, a local resident, told this reporter that a loud explosion shook the entire locality at around 8:15am. Locals had rescued at least six victims before the Rescue-1122 personnel arrived at the scene. He said that first batch of Orient Labs workers used to arrive at 7:30am and casualties could have been a lot more had the second batch arrived at 8:30am.

The family of 32-year-old Shazia Bibi, who was still missing, said the rescuers worked very slowly and also they would not answer their queries. Muhammad Shafique, of Kharak Main Bazaar, was waiting for the recovery of his 40-year-old wife. “I don’t blame anyone for the incident, but the factory owners instead of escaping should have stood with us for moral support.”

The father of four said he reached the spot soon after the incident and started taking part in the rescue work along with scores of other locals. Zafar Iqbal, of Kharak, who lost his 35-year-old wife Musarrat Bibi (also mother of four), said though he didn’t blame anyone for the incident, the rescuers should have performed a swift SAR operation.

He said his wife had got the employment in the washing section of the factory only three months ago. Muhammad Saeed, of Dunyapur, also bemoaned poor arrangements at the factory, causing the death of his two sisters, Asima and Nosheen. The victims whose bodies were found on Tuesday were identified as Bashiran Serwer, 40, Asma Bashir, 18, Musarrat Nawaz, 26, Muhammad Adil, 13, Falahuddin, 50, Shahnaz Kauser, 35, Shaizia Bibi, 39, and Sheikh Ejaz, 52. The body of a 40-year-old woman was yet to be identified.

Also, funeral for the victims were held in Lahore, Vehari, Multan and other districts of Punjab on Tuesday. At least five bodies were taken to Mailsi for burial. Meanwhile, DIG Major (retired) Mubashirullah and CMIT chairman Najam Saeed, who are members of a three-member inquiry committee constituted by Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif to probe into the incident, visited the scene and recorded statements of locals.

PPP, PML-N FAIL TO BRIDGE DIFFERENCES OVER CARETAKER SET-UP

2012-02-07T23:43:00.000-08:00

ISLAMABAD: The deadlock between the ruling Pakistan People’s Party and the main opposition Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz on the 20th Constitution Amendment Bill persisted on Tuesday as the two sides stuck to their stances on a caretaker set-up for holding general elections, but agreed to meet again on Wednesday noon ahead of the National Assembly session to be held in the evening.

The representatives of the government and the opposition met for the second day in the chamber of Leader of Opposition Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan in the Parliament House, but again failed to reach an understanding on the major demand of the PML-N to make it constitutionally binding upon the government to appoint a caretaker set-up with ‘consensus’ for holding general elections, instead of ‘consultation’ with the opposition as envisaged in the Constitution.

After the second round of talks with a government team headed by Minister for Religious Affairs Syed Khursheed Shah, the opposition leader told a group of reporters that there had been ‘no progress’ on the issue of caretaker set-up because the PPP was not ready to accept the PML-N’s demand. He, however, indicated that two sides might succeed in breaking the impasse on Wednesday. He said: “There could be some progress tomorrow.” Chaudhry Nisar justified his party’s position on the issue by citing his past experience when the government twice appointed controversial persons as chairman of the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) without holding a meaningful consultation with him, thus forcing him to take the matter to the Supreme Court.

He alleged that the government had misused the term ‘consultation’ and merely ‘informed’ the opposition about its decisions. “Instead of consultation, the government informs us,” he said, adding that the opposition parties had ‘reservations’ over the way the term ‘consultation’ was used by the government. Chaudhry Nisar, however, acknowledged that the ruling party had agreed to most of the opposition’s demands about making the Election Commission more independent.

But, he said, the PML-N was not ready to give up its demand about the caretaker set-up, adding that the country’s future depended on transparent and fair elections which were possible only under a neutral caretaker government. The original two-clause draft of the 20th Constitution Amendment Bill, already approved by a house stranding committee, only sought to rectify an alleged flaw relating to by-elections to 28 seats in both houses of parliament and provincial assemblies that cropped up in the Supreme Court during the hearing of another case on the ground that the votes were held when the EC was not complete. On Monday, the Supreme Court suspended the membership of the 28 legislators, mostly belonging to the PPP and the PML-N, till the approval of the amendment law by the parliament. The PML-N has made its support for the bill conditional to acceptance of its own amendments.

The ruling coalition has been saying that it has two-thirds majorities in both the houses of parliament required to pass an amendment to the Constitution but would prefer an agreement with the opposition as was done in the unanimous adoption of the 18th and 19the amendments. But Chaudhry Nisar said things might become difficult for the coalition to arrange a two-thirds majority after the suspension of its lawmakers. He claimed that so far the government parties had failed to assemble more than 190 members it required the support of 228 members in the National Assembly to get the constitution amended. He asked the government to go ahead with its plan of putting the law for voting if it had the required majority.

Answering a question, Chaudhry Nisar said the suspended members were not at fault and blamed the chief election commissioner for the chaos. He questioned the logic behind announcing the election schedule for the by-elections by the CEC when he knew that the commission was incomplete. He also said that under the Constitution, the tenure of the CEC could not be extended. Sources in the two parties told news that the PPP had already agreed to three of the four demands presented by the PML-N as a condition for supporting the 20th Amendment. The sources said the PPP had agreed that the tenure of EC members would be increased from two years to five.

Similarly, the sources said, there had been an agreement on the PML-N’s demand that a mechanism should be devised under which EC members could only be removed the way judges of the superior courts could be removed from their posts. The PPP, the sources said, had also agreed to the demand that political parties should have the right and powers to change the list of candidates on reserved seats for women and minorities at any time after the elections. The issue surfaced when after the resignation of PML-N’s MNA Maimoona Hashmi the party was deprived of its representation on the reserved seat as Ms Hashmi’s name was last on the list that had been submitted by the party to the EC at the time of the 2008 general elections.

The sources said the PPP was not ready to agree to the demand about the caretaker set-up believing that it would be almost impossible for all registered parties to reach a consensus on the names of the caretaker. The sources said the PML-N had even threatened to challenge the caretaker set-up in the apex court if established by the government without consensus.

APPEAL FILED AGAINST PRIME MINISTER OF PAKISTAN YOUSUF RAZA GILANI CONTEMPT CHARGES

2012-02-07T23:40:00.000-08:00

ISLAMABAD: An intra-court appeal requesting the Supreme Court to suspend its decision of framing contempt charges against Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani was filed on Wednesday.

On Feb 2, the apex court had issued summons for the premier for Feb 13 for him to be indicted with contempt over his refusal to pursue corruption cases against President Asif Ali Zardari. The announcement significantly escalated pressure on the embattled prime minister, threatening to plunge his weak government deeper into crisis and force early elections within months.

The appeal, filed by the prime minister’s counsel, Barrister Aitzaz Ahsan, requested the court to postpone the indictment. It moreover said that the ruling was given without the premier being given an opportunity to defend himself directly.

STALEMATE CONTINUES OVER 20th AMENDMENT BILL

2012-02-07T08:32:00.001-08:00

ISLAMABAD: The government of Pakistan and the opposition on Tuesday failed to build consensus on 20^th Amendment bill.

Both parties could not agree upon the procedure for setting up a caretaker government once again. Earlier on Monday, deadlock persisted over the issue and the meeting was called off for today. Federal Ministers Naveed Qamar and Khursheed Shah along with Senator Raza Rabbani called upon the Opposition Leader in National Assembly Chuadhry Nisar Ali Khan. However they failed to build consensus on the issue. The meeting was also attended by Senator Ishaq Dar. Briefing the media representatives on proceedings of the meeting, Nisar said that Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PML-N) had to get directions from the party chief Nawaz Sharif.

He, moreover, said that there was no change in his party’s stance on the issue. The opposition demanded that the caretaker government should be setup with consensus of all stakeholders. Nisar, however, hoped that ‘some progress’ would be achieved by tomorrow. He also said that the chief election commissioner could not be granted extension in his/her tenure according to the Constitution.

The PML-N leader showed his concerns over lack of consultation by the government on key issues. “Government does not consult us, it only informs,” he added. The meeting was adjourned to Wednesday.

IMRAN KHAN CHAIRMAN P.T.I BLAMES “POLITICAL TRIO” FOR MASSIVE CORRUPTION

2012-02-07T08:29:00.000-08:00

ISLAMABAD: Chief of the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) Imran Khan on Tuesday said that the trio of President Asif Zardari, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) chief Nawaz Sharif and Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman has brought much harm to Pakistan.

Speaking at a press conference in Islamabad, the PTI chief said that corruption and incompetence has cost the country over Rs3.1 trillion. He alleged that Zardari, Nawaz and Fazl were responsible for the losses. The former cricketer added that PTI was ready to “topple all three wickets in one delivery”, and that the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) was not an issue for his party.

GOVERNMENT RESPECTS SUPREME COURT OF PAKISTAN DECISIONS, SAYS REHMAN MALIK, INTERIOR MINISTER

2012-02-07T08:28:00.000-08:00

ISLAMABAD: Interior Minister Rehman Malik on Tuesday said Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) led coalition government respects the Supreme Court and is implementing its decisions in letter and spirit.

Talking to media representatives outside the Parliament House, he said “We are honouring and implementing the decisions of Supreme Court in letter and spirit.” The minister said there were reports indicating involvement of foreign hands in the prevailing situation of Balochistan. “Natural resources are in abundance in Balochistan and it is a conspiracy hatched by the anti-state elements to keep the situation disturbing there,” said the interior minister. Around 60 FC personnel have lost their lives while fighting against terrorism, he added.

He said investigation was underway to arrest killers of Bakhtiar Domki’s wife and daughter, adding his statement about the killing of 60 FC men in Balochistan should not be interlinked with killing of Domki’s family. Malik said Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) and Taliban have claimed responsibility of carrying out terrorist activities in the province. Commenting on negotiations with the opposition on 20th Amendment, he said that Federal Minister for Religious Affairs Khursheed Shah was holding talks with opposition parties to evolve consensus. He hoped that all the conflicting issues would be resolved through negotiations.

He said that the Federal Investigating Agency (FIA) was investigating the spurious drugs issue, which has taken several lives of innocent people in Punjab. He said Police, Rangers and FC were responsible for external security of the parliament and every person was searched thoroughly before entering the jurisdiction.

PAKISTAN MUSLIM LEAGUE NAWAZ GROPU TO BRING THE REAL CHANGE, SAYS NAWAZ SHARIF

2012-02-07T08:27:00.000-08:00

MULTAN: Pakistan Muslim League-N (PML-N) President Nawaz Sharif said on Tuesday his party would bring about a real and practical change in Pakistan and put it on the road to progress and prosperity.

Addressing students during a ceremony here at Bahauddin Zakariya University, Sharif said the PML-N had brought about changes in the country during its previous tenures. He said that some elements were raising hollow slogans for change. “Efforts are being made to change cultural values in the name of politics,” he added.

He further said the PML-N had a revolutionary thinking as it had showed it in previous tenures by launching different development projects. Sharif claimed Pakistan was ahead of India during his previous tenures. “Our both governments were dislodged due to a revolutionary stance of the party. The PML-N would compensate for injustice to people of the country,” he added. The PML-N chief said his party was ready to spend a huge amount to educate the masses.

UNITED STATES LAWMAKERS FREEZE $700 MILLION TO PAKISTAN

2011-12-12T22:47:00.000-08:00

WASHINGTON: The leaders of a US House-Senate negotiating panel said on Monday they had agreed to freeze $700 million in US aid to Pakistan until it provides some assurances of assistance in the fight against improvised explosive devices in the region.

The explosive devices are among militants’ most effective weapons against US and coalition troops in Afghanistan. Many are made using ammonium nitrate, a common fertilizer shipped across the border from Pakistan. The freeze on US aid was agreed as part of a defence bill that is expected to be passed this week. The United States wants “assurances that Pakistan is countering improvised explosive devices in their country that are targeting our coalition forces,” Representative Howard McKeon, a House Republican, told reporters.

The United States has allocated some $20 billion in security and economic aid to Pakistan since 2001, much of it in the form of reimbursements for assistance in fighting militants. But US lawmakers have expressed increasing frustration with Pakistan’s efforts in the war. There have been numerous proposals to make US aid to Pakistan conditional on more cooperation in fighting militants such as the Haqqani network Washington believes operate out of Pakistan and battle US troops in Afghanistan.

US lawmakers allege that many Afghan bombs are made with fertilizer smuggled by militants across the border from Pakistan into Afghanistan. “The vast majority of the material used to make improvised explosive devices used against US forces in Afghanistan originates from two fertilizer factories inside Pakistan,” Senator John McCain, a Republican, said in the Senate last week. The provision freezing $700 million in aid to Pakistan was agreed upon by leaders of the armed services committees from both parties in the House and Senate, including McCain. It is part of compromise legislation authorising US defence programs expected to be approved this week, McKeon said. He said the bill would also require the Pentagon to deliver a strategy for improving the effectiveness of US aid to Pakistan.

STRANDED NATO VEHICLES CLOG UP PORTS

2011-12-11T07:04:00.000-08:00

KARACHI: The decision to block supplies for Nato forces has brought a knotty problem for an unlikely quarter the country’s two sea ports since supplies ordered before the Mohmand air strikes have been reaching the Karachi and Bin Qasim ports anyway. Four container ships and two vehicle carriers have unloaded around 2,000 boxes and 1,200 military vehicles since late last month, clogging the container terminals. Already over 600 trucks loaded with containers and oil tankers which were on way to Afghanistan through Torkham and Chaman before the imposition of the embargo are stranded there because they were not allowed by security forces to cross the border.

Port users told that if the large number of Nato containers were not removed from the two ports soon, there will hardly be any space left for movement of commercial cargo, badly affecting the country’s imports and exports. Terminal operators wondered who would pay the demurrage, plugging and other charges in case of any change in the government’s blockade decision. According to official documents, three container carriers belonging to American President

Line (APL), an official carrier of US military hardware and equipment, called at country’s ports during the past 15 days. Another container carrier was expected to call any time and may be given berth at the Karachi port. Shipping sources said a large number of reefer containers (meant to keep perishable goods fresh) are also clogging the terminals and clocking phenomenal plugging charges. “Since ports are transit points, and not meant for storage, the government should immediately arrange the removal of these containers from ports so that the movement of commercial cargo does not suffer,” a terminal operator told.

According to shipping sources, one day before the transit facility for US-led forces was withdrawn by the government after the November 26 attacks, a vehicle carrier, Alliance Charston, unloaded 400 military vehicles belonging to the US army. On a second trip the same carrier brought 800 military vehicles. The other container carriers which reported during this period are Liberty Promise and President Jackson, which called on Nov 29, and President Truman (Dec 7). According to the manifest, these ships mostly carried military hardware, spares, vehicles and foodstuffs.

Shipping sources told that altogether, containers worth 950 TEUs (twenty feet equivalents) and around 500 boxes are occupying a substantial space in the two ports. On an average the allied forces stationed in Afghanistan import around 150,000TEUs per annum of goods. The cargo includes military hardware, spares, vehicles, food and perishable consumer goods.

PAKISTANI TALIBAN SPOKESMAN DENIES PEACE TALKS

2011-12-11T06:57:00.000-08:00

PESHAWAR: A Pakistani Taliban spokesman and another commander have denied the group is in peace talks with the government. The militants contacted The Associated Press by telephone Sunday, a day after Maulvi Faqir Mohammed, recognized by many as the Pakistani Taliban’s deputy chief, announced the group was negotiating with the government. He was the first named commander to confirm talks. Spokesman Ehsanullah Ehsan denied the claims, saying there would be no negotiations until the government imposed Islamic law, or Shariah, in the country. He has previously denied reports of peace talks by unnamed commanders and intelligence officials.

“Talks by a handful of people with the government cannot be deemed as the Taliban talking,” Ehsan told The Associated Press by telephone from an undisclosed location. Maulvi Faqir Mohammed has long been identified as the group’s Bajaur head. But he reportedly fled to Afghanistan in recent years to escape army operations. He has long been identified as head of the Pakistani Taliban in Bajur and said a deal with the government there could be a “role model” for the rest of the border region. But another commander, Mullah Dadullah, also now claims to be Taliban chief in Bajur. Dadullah contacted the AP on Sunday and denied the group, also known as the Tehrik-e-Taliban, or TTP, was negotiating with the government.

“As TTP chief responsible for Bajur, I am categorically saying there are no talks going on between the government and the Tehrik-e-Taliban at the Bajur level or the central level,” Dadullah said, also speaking from an undisclosed location. Ehsan, the spokesman, said Dadullah rather than Mohammed was the head of the Pakistani Taliban in Bajur.

UNITED STATES PERSONNEL VACATE SHAMSI AIRBASE OF PAKISTAN

2011-12-11T06:48:00.000-08:00

ISLAMABAD: US army personnel vacated the Shamsi airbase located in the Washak district of Balochistan on Sunday. It was reported that the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) and Frontier Corps personnel have taken control of the base. Pakistani security forces also removed the US flag from the base and waved the National flag at the base. According to the security sources, drones, military hardware and 71 US soldiers have been moved from Shamsi airbase to Afghanistan. Pakistan has deployed 2,500 security persons at the Shamsi airbase. Pakistan had served a 15 day notice to United States to vacate the air strip, located some 300 km south of Quetta. The decision came after a NATO air strike on a Pakistani border post killed at least 24 soldiers on November 26.

MILITANT HIDEOUTS POUNDED IN ORAKZAI, OVER DOZEN KILLED

2011-12-03T04:34:00.000-08:00

PARACHINAR: Helicopter gunships attacked militants’ hideouts in the northwestern tribal region of Orakzai, killing around a dozen insurgents, local security officials said.

Five hideouts were destroyed, they said. There was no independent confirmation of the death toll and militants often dispute official figures.

PENTAGON SAYS PAKISTAN NOT JOINING BOMBING PROBE

2011-12-03T04:24:00.000-08:00

WASHINGTON: Pakistan is refusing to participate in the US investigation of last week’s Nato bombing along the Afghanistan border that killed 24 Pakistani soldiers.

At a Pentagon briefing Friday, Defence Department press secretary George Little said the US asked Pakistan to be part of the investigation, but the Pakistanis have ”elected to date” not to participate. That decision is just one in a series of actions Islamabad has taken in retribution for the incident, including a move to shut down supply lines that the United States uses to get food, fuel and other equipment from ships at Pakistani ports on the Arabian Sea to troops in Afghanistan. At the same time, however, US military officials said Friday that Pakistan has continued to have representatives at the border coordination centres working with Afghan and coalition forces.

So far, the US has sufficient supplies on hand and has been able to find other ways to get shipments through to Afghanistan, including alternate routes through Uzbekistan. ”Logistics is about alternatives; it’s about options, and we’re certainly working through what sort of options we may need to pursue,” said Navy Capt. John Kirby, a Pentagon spokesman. Asked why the US has chosen to express its regrets for the incident but has not explicitly apologised to the Pakistanis, Kirby said that ”in this case, this was clearly a military engagement…that cross-border fire resulted in the deaths of some two dozen Pakistani soldiers, not innocent villagers or civilians.”

Kirby added that it is too early to assign blame for the deaths because the investigation is not yet completed. Other defence officials have told The Associated Press that when US and Afghan forces came under fire, the US checked with the Pakistan military to see if there were friendly troops in the area and were told there were none. Pakistani officials have said that the US gave them the wrong location when asking clearance to return fire. Defence officials deny that, and say the investigation is likely to point substantial blame at the Pakistanis. The US officials spoke on condition of anonymity because the investigation is not complete.

German Brig. General Carsten Jacobson, a spokesman for the Nato coalition in Afghanistan, said it will take much of December to complete the investigation. ”We need Pakistan to join this process so that we have a rounded picture,” he said, adding, however, that, ”we have to understand that emotions obviously are very high on the Pakistani side.” The incident has deteriorated the already shaky US relationship with Pakistan, endangering the war in Afghanistan, including reconciliation efforts with members of the Afghan Taliban who often seek sanctuary in Pakistan. But defence officials said that so far the retribution from Pakistan, including the shutdown of supply lines, has had negligible effect on the war effort, including operations to go after insurgents. ”I don’t think, if I was a member of the Haqqani network or the Taliban, that I’d be lollygagging around that area,” said Kirby.

US Defence and State Department officials also said the US continues to reach out to Pakistan and hopes that the relationship can be mended. At the State Department, spokesman Mark Toner told reporters that efforts were continuing to persuade Pakistan to participate in next week’s conference in Bonn, Germany, on the future of Afghanistan. The Pakistanis withdrew from the event this week. ”We think it would be regrettable if Pakistan were not to attend this conference,” Toner said. ”It’s important for the region. It’s important for the neighborhood. It’s important that we all work to put Afghanistan on a square and solid footing.” Toner said that the US and Pakistan had a shared interest in combating extremist groups operating in Pakistani-Afghan border areas and that cooperation needed to be improved.

Pakistan wants those responsible for attack punished

2011-12-03T04:15:00.000-08:00

ISLAMABAD: Setting terms for renewal of ties with the United States, Pakistan has sought punishment for and an ‘apology’ from those responsible for Saturday’s deadly NATO attack on two of its border posts.

The demand, military sources say, was made through a letter sent to Washington earlier this week. “Nothing short of this will be acceptable,” a senior official said in a background interview with News Agency, adding that Pakistan would otherwise be constrained to “reconsider its partnership in the war on terror”. Even as the inquiry initiated by the US military is yet to identify who, if anyone, is culpable, a Pakistani general at a media briefing on Tuesday said that International Security Assistance Force chief Gen John Allen was ultimately responsible in his capacity as commander. However, military officials would not explicitly say if they would like to see his (General Allen’s) exit.

Moreover, the US has been asked to clarify why its helicopters returned to attack the post after they had disengaged following contacts between senior Pakistani and Isaf commanders. Civilian and military leaderships from both sides have been interacting quite regularly to find the way forward, but the mood in Islamabad and Rawalpindi suggests that no progress is likely until the Americans come up with a ‘tangible response’ to Pakistani demands. Robert Raines, a spokesman for the US Embassy, said discussions were taking place. However, he refused to confirm or deny if any specific demands had been made.

A Pakistani diplomat at the Foreign Office confirmed the demand and said Washington had been categorically told to “stop treating Pakistan as a client state”. Relations between Pakistan and the US have been on a downward spiral since the start of this year, but the most recent incident has made the much talked about likely breakdown in bilateral ties more imminent.

The government has already expressed its fury by blocking crucial Nato supply route, calling for vacation of the Shamsi airbase by Dec 11 and by pulling out of the Bonn conference on Afghanistan. Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar, in a telephonic conversation with Italian counterpart Giulio Terzi, said the attack reflected the “callous behaviour” of the US and NATO. Maj-General Ishfaq Nadeem, the Director-General of Military Operations, stepped up the rhetoric earlier in the week by claiming that the attack was deliberate.

TOUGH POSTURE: The manner in which the government moved from its initial reaction to the decision to boycott the Bonn conference and the simultaneous toughening of the tone of Pakistani authorities, observers felt, reflected Islamabad’s dissatisfaction with the US response. The US has expressed regrets, offered condolences for the fallen soldiers, and opened investigations into the incident, a report on which is expected by Dec 23.

Comments by General Martin Dempsey, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, in an interview with ITV News that there was “absolutely” nothing to apologise are likely to further inflame the situation. The military has proposed a set of five options to be exercised in case Washington refuses to accept its mistake, apologise and punish those responsible. The options remain a closely guarded secret, but military sources say some of them are quite extreme. “We have very few options left with us and we clearly understand their implications,” a Pakistani general said, without elaborating what was being considered.

GOVERNMETN WORKING TO CREATE IQBAL’S PAKISTAN: PRIME MINISTER YOUSUF RAZA GILANI SAYS

2011-11-09T02:11:00.000-08:00

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani said the government is utilizing all available resources to provide social and economic justice to people as envisioned by Allama Mohammad Iqbal.

In a message on the occasion of 134th birth anniversary of Allama Mohammad Iqbal to be celebrated on November 9, the Prime Minister said, “our leaders Zulfikar Ali Bhutto and Benazir Bhutto always took significant steps at a national level for political and social progress in line with the thoughts and teachings of Allama Iqbal.”

The Prime Minister said, “By following the footsteps of our leaders, our government is working constantly to make our dear country, Pakistan, envisioned by Allama Iqbal.” Gilani said political values are strengthened in Pakistan and here people have all those basic constitutional rights which are manifestation of a civilised society. “With the grace and beneficence of Allah, today the journey of democracy is successfully continuing in Pakistan. State institutions are performing their responsibilities by remaining within their constitutional limits, the media is free and the people enjoy their basic rights,” he added.

He said a new political culture of reconciliation and consultation is being introduced in the society and such steps are being taken for national sovereignty and public welfare, which are in accordance to the political thoughts of Allama Iqbal. He said today the whole nation is celebrating the birth anniversary of the “Poet of the East” with great devotion and reverence.

Allama Iqbal presented the comprehensive concept of Khudi in his poetry to construct and create collective consciousness and feelings of Muslims, which are basically in harmony with the Islamic teachings, he added. The great poet presented the Momin as a symbol who is a practical illustration of Islam and comes up as an exemplary character to guide the Muslims, Gilani noted. Gilani said the political wisdom of Allama Iqbal changed the history of subcontinent. The great poet persuaded Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah to return from England and take up political leadership of Muslims.

Allama Iqbal made Muslims realise that they will have to make the ideological and political affiliation with the universal system of Islam, their destination, he added. The ideological foundation of Pakistan is an Islamic, democratic and moderate state and the Pakistan Peoples Party has always continued its journey in this direction, he added. This is the destination for which the Pakistan Peoples Party is striving,” he said.

AID GROUPS WARN OVER SINDH FLOOD FUND

2011-11-09T02:06:00.000-08:00

ISLAMABAD: Aid groups warned on Wednesday that vital relief efforts for five million people affected by floods in Pakistan’s fertile southern belt could be cut back because of a shortfall in foreign donations.

Supplies of clean water, sanitation, food, shelter and healthcare are all under severe threat and impoverished farmers in waterlogged Sindh face losing yet another winter crop, just as the cold weather closes in. The badly affected province was already reeling from floods last year that were the worst ever in Pakistan. Less than a third of the UN’s $357 million floods appeal for 2011 has been met and global aid organizations Oxfam, Save the Children, Care and umbrella group ACTED are urging donors to give more or see aid flows stop.

“Over two months into the crisis, millions of people are still without basics. If relief operations stop, it could lead to an unimaginable catastrophe,” said Neva Khan, Oxfam’s country director in Pakistan. “With winter approaching fast, millions of people who are still without shelter will be left out in the cold. We urgently need to see the same donor generosity and giving that took place last year during the floods.” Save the Children has raised only 35 per cent of its required funds, while Care faces a shortfall of 91 per cent.

The United States and European Commission have given the most money to the United Nations appeal, donating $13.4 million and $20.6 million respectively. Stacey Winston, from the UN, said the 2011 fund “remains distressingly underfunded with a 73 percent shortfall and if more funding is not received relief supplies will run out within weeks.” According to official figures, more than 1.58 million homes in Sindh and 26,000 in neighboring Balochistan province have been damaged in the flood disaster. About 800,000 people remain displaced. Latest estimates suggest that three million people are in urgent need of emergency food supplies.

Farmers badly need help to plant a new season of crops or find other ways to earn a living, while millions of others are at risk of disease from stagnant waters, raising the risk of malaria, dengue and respiratory disease. “We had expected the situation to stabilize by now but conditions are going from bad to worse,” warned Save the Children’s Pakistan country director David Wright. “Malnutrition levels among children under five are among some of our worst-recorded cases.”

ACCORD IN ISTANBUL FOR PEACE, DEVELOPMENT IN AFGHANISTAN

2011-11-02T22:18:00.000-07:00

ISTANBUL: A day-long conference attended by key regional countries and western players on Wednesday saw the international community agree to join hands to ensure peace, security, development and prosperity in the war-ravaged Afghanistan.

Turkish President Abdullah Gul inaugurated the Istanbul conference which was also addressed by his Afghan counterpart Hamid Karzai, foreign ministers of neighbouring countries and representatives of international organisations which are playing an active role for ensuring peace and security in the region. Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu announced that over a dozen countries had signed up to a package of ‘confidence-building measures’ for cooperation in fields, including security, reconstruction and health and the fight against terrorism and drug trafficking.

“This is the commitment of regional and international actors to work together and rebuild Afghanistan until peace and stability prevails,” Mr Davutoglu said at a press conference with Afghan counterpart Zalmai Rassoul. The two foreign ministers said they were confident that Istanbul Declaration adopted at the conference would be implemented to ensure peace and security in Afghanistan and in the region. The participants reaffirmed their desire for enhanced cooperation for fighting terrorism, including through exchange of information.

US Deputy Secretary of State William Burns hailed the agreement as “the first clear, region-wide statement of support for Afghanistan in this time of transition and reconciliation”. The signatories included Afghanistan, China, India, Iran, Pakistan, Russia, Saudi Arabia and Turkey, according to a statement. The regional players also vowed to “respect Afghanistan’s sovereignty, unity and territorial integrity,” it said.

The Istanbul talks were intended to chart the way ahead for Afghanistan, with the US-led Nato mission already locked into military drawdowns that are scheduled to bring all foreign combat troops home by 2014. Addressing the conference, Mr Karzai warned there would be no hope for peace in Afghanistan without help from its neighbours, particularly Pakistan, to combat ‘terror groups’. “Terrorist networks are by far the major threat to Afghanistan’s security,” he said. “They continue to have sanctuaries outside of our border from where they conduct their merciless campaign of destruction,” he said.

“Unless regional cooperation is assured to address the core and root of this issue peace in Afghanistan will remain elusive.” “Our hope is that, with the help from our brothers in Pakistan, we will manage to wean away the Taliban leadership from some of the long-established networks of support they enjoy outside Afghanistan and integrate them into the peace process,” Mr Karzai said.

Pakistan denies that the Afghan Taliban’s top leaders are based on its territory. It has bristled at US and Afghan accusations it plays a double game, fighting some militant groups while supporting others it views as potential useful proxies in future conflicts with India. The Istanbul Regional Conference which brought together representatives from some two dozen countries as well as organisations such as Nato, the EU and the United Nations was the first in a series of international conferences on Afghanistan to be held over the next six months. It will be followed by Bonn conference on Dec 05.

The conference was held a day after a trilateral summit hosted by President Gul brought together Pakistan’s President Asif Ali Zardari and his Afghan counterpart Karzai in a bid to ease tensions between the two neighbours. Tuesday’s talks saw Afghanistan and Pakistan agree to cooperate with an investigation into the September assassination of former Afghan leader and peace negotiator Burhanuddin Rabbani.

CONFUSION OVER MFN STATUS FOR INDIA

2011-11-02T22:15:00.000-07:00

ISLAMABAD: A flurry of contradictory statements by the information minister and the commerce minister in a single day kept the answer to the question unclear: has Islamabad given India the status of the most-favoured nation (MFN) or not?

The issue of granting MFN status has been much-hyped in recent days, especially since the prime ministers of India and Pakistan are expected to meet during the Nov 10-11 Saarc summit in Maldives. A cabinet meeting on Wednesday was to discuss the normalisation of trade with India. Information Minister Dr Firdous Ashiq Awan told a crowded press conference that the cabinet meeting presided over by Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani had ‘unanimously’ decided to grant India the MFN status to improve trade relations between the two countries.

Defending the coalition government’s decision, she said the step was taken in view of national and geo-strategic interests. “All stakeholders were taken into confidence, including our military and defence institutions,” she claimed, adding that no compromise would be made on national sovereignty. Furthermore, she said, the move would not affect Pakistan’s stance on the Kashmir issue a sore point between the two countries that for decades has marred economic and trade relations. When asked if Kashmiri leaders had been taken into confidence, the minister said the two parts of Kashmir were already trading across the Line of Control (LoC), bus services were operational, and that the Kashmiri leadership had been engaged on the issue.

To further justify her government move, Dr Awan gave the example of China, which has bolstered its trade relations with India despite having territorial disputes. “We cannot live in regional isolation,” she insisted. However, a press note issued after the briefing by the commerce ministry did not mention that Pakistan had granted MFN status to India. It just said that the ministry apprised the cabinet on the current process of trade normalisation with India.

“The cabinet fully endorsed the efforts of the ministry for complete normalisation of trade relations and directed to implement in letter and spirit the decisions taken in this regard,” the statement read. It further said that the cabinet gave the ministry “the mandate to take the process of normalisation forward, which would culminate in the observance of MFN principle in its true spirit”. When Dawn contacted Secretary Commerce Zafar Mehmood, who briefed the cabinet on the trade talks held so far with India, he too avoided saying that “MFN status for India had been granted” but admitted that it was a vital part of the trade normalisation process.

He elaborated that a roadmap for trade normalisation would be finalised during his meeting with his Indian counterpart in November. “But the entire trade liberalisation process is linked with the removal of non-tariff barriers (NTBs) by the Indian government,” he insisted. India granted Pakistan MFN status in 1996, but Islamabad was reluctant to reciprocate arguing that India maintained a long list of NTBs that restrict Pakistan’s exports to India despite having the MFN facility.

Meanwhile, after the issuance of the commerce ministry statement when Dawn approached the information minister, she backtracked from her earlier announcement. Asked whether the cabinet had granted MFN status to India, she replied that the cabinet had granted approval to the secretary commerce to continue the trade normalisation talks with India. “Commerce secretary cannot talk to India without the cabinet approval.” Ms Awan said the commerce secretary would meet his Indian counterpart in India in mid-November to discuss ways to boost trade. “They will sign documents during the meeting,” she said but did not elaborate on the nature of the documents.

Statistics show that trade between the two countries was $1.4 billion in the year 2009-10. Of these, Indian exports to Pakistan stood at $1.2 billion, while Pakistan exports to India were a mere $268 million clear proof that India had not opened up its market for Pakistani goods. This is not surprising as Pakistan trades with India under the positive trade list. While Pakistan has allowed 1,946 items to be imported from India, the latter does not allow trade of 850 items from Pakistan.

Under the trade normalisation process, one issue would be the switching over from positive list to negative list based trade, and if word is to be believed then the ministry of commerce has already worked out a negative list in consultation with all stakeholders. This list is awaiting approval of the cabinet. Meanwhile, responding to a supplementary question in the Senate, Minister for Commerce Amin Fahim said India had assured that it would support Pakistan in the World Trade Organisation for getting access to the European market. Mr Fahim, who did not inform the house about the cabinet proceedings whether it granted the MFN status to India or not, just referred to the one-time trade facility that the European Union announced last year for Pakistan to help the flood-affected people but that facility was blocked by India in January last.

PRIME MINISTER TO MEET RAILWAYS HIGH-UPS TODAY

2011-11-02T22:10:00.000-07:00

LAHORE, Nov 2: Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani will be meeting Pakistan Railways high-ups in Islamabad on Thursday (today) to ascertain the causes of the present state of affairs of the organisation.

“Railway high-ups will try to convince the prime minister to finalise the national transport policy to make the railways an efficient public sector organisation by treating it on a par with the road transport sector,” a senior officer at the railways headquarters in Lahore told this reporter on Wednesday.

Minister for Railways Haji Ghulam Ahmad Bilour, PR Board Chairman Javed Iqbal, General Manager (Operations) Saeed Akhtar and other senior officials would be apprising the prime minister of the acute shortage of locomotives that not only brought the freight service to almost a standstill but also badly affected passenger trains` operation, he said. “The PR even doesn`t have locomotives to operate its first trans-country container train between Pakistan, Iran and Turkey,” said the officer who sought anonymity.

Frequent failures of available locomotives have made it difficult to maintain credible operations and punctuality of all passenger and freight trains, resulting in daily protests by commuters. “Of the out-of-order locomotives, 46 require repairs on a small scale and will be made operational as soon as Rs600 million allocated for the purpose are received by the organisation. Locomotives in need of overhaul or repairs on a large scale require Rs50 million each,” said the officer.

UNITED STATES WELCOMES ISTANBUL CONFERENCE ON AFGHANISTAN SECURITY

2011-11-02T22:06:00.000-07:00

WASHINGTON: The United States on Wednesday welcomed agreement between Afghanistan,its neighbours, and the wider region on the Istanbul Process on Regional Security and Cooperation for a Secure and Stable Afghanistan.

“Afghanistan’s neighbors and near-neighbors have come together to offer support to a sovereign, independent and democratic Afghanistan,” State Department Spokesperson Victoria Nuland said in a statement. “They have endorsed Afghan priorities including Afghan-led reconciliation, transition to Afghan security leadership, and regionally integrated economic growth (e.g the New Silk Road vision),” the statement said.

The United States was pleased to participate in the Istanbul conference as a supporter of the process, and they will continue to offer our support to Afghanistan and its region as they work to follow on from the commitments in the declaration to deepen regional cooperation, starting with technical meetings in Kabul in the coming months and a foreign ministerial in Kabul next June, Nuland added. “We look forward to the Bonn Conference for Afghanistan on December 5, at which we will urge the international community to build on these regional efforts by making our long-term commitment to Afghanistan clearer and more specifi,” the spokesperson said.

NUSRAT’S YEARS OF TORMENT END THE, WIDOW OF FORMER PM ZULFIKAR ALI BHUTTO, MOTHER OF FORMER PM BENAZIR BHUTTO AND MOTHER-IN-LAW OF PRESIDENT ASIF ZARDARI PASSED AWAY IN DUBAI ON SUNDAY

2011-10-23T21:20:00.000-07:00

ISLAMABAD: Begum Nusrat Bhutto, who suffered the longest torment among Pakistani politicians but put up an epic fight against military dictatorship, died in a Dubai hospital on Sunday after a long illness. She was 82.

Thus came a quiet end to the life of the widow of former prime minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, mother of former prime minister Benazir Bhutto and mother-in-law of President Asif Ali Zardari, away from her homeland, where she will be brought on Monday for burial in a graveyard laden with family tragedies. The government declared 10 days of national mourning and a national holiday on Monday while the ruling Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) announced a 40-day mourning for the woman who led it for several years with a steely determination while facing some of the worst political persecution seen in the country’s history after a military coup toppled her husband in 1977.

President Zardari, who reached Dubai on Sunday after cutting short a visit to London, will personally bring her body by a chartered plane on Monday, the family announced. The family said Nusrat, who lived in Dubai for 10 years after taking exile there and was suffering from Alzheimer’s disease, was admitted to Dubai’s Iranian Hospital a day earlier in a critical condition and expired in the afternoon on Sunday to become the first member of Mr Bhutto’s family to die in hospital bed. Nusrat had lived a life of comfort after marrying Mr Bhutto as his second wife in 1951 and then of glamour when her husband was foreign minister in the government of then president Field Marshal Ayub Khan in the 1960s and then as the first lady when he was prime minister from 1971-77, often promoting women’s causes mostly from the party platform.

But she showed real mettle when she confronted then military ruler Gen Ziaul Haq after his July 5, 1977 coup by leading the PPP and a campaign that forced the dictator to postpone for years an election he had promised to hold within 90 days, and remained dauntless, as was her daughter Benazir, even when Mr Bhutto was executed in the Rawalpindi Central Jail in 1979 after a controversial conspiracy-to-murder trial. But that was not the end of Nusrat’s tragedies. Her younger son, Shahnawaz, died in mysterious circumstances at his flat in southern France in 1985 in what family members and party officials thought was a case of poisoning and a conspiracy by Zia’s intelligence operatives.

After a troubled sharing of party leadership with Benazir and then serving as senior minister in her daughter’s two prematurely ended prime ministerial terms, came what proved to be a shattering blow from which she never recovered: the Sept 20, 1996 assassination of her elder son, Murtaza Bhutto, in a shooting spree near his home in Karachi, only 46 days before Benazir, with whom he had strained relations, was sacked as prime minister by then president of her own party, Farooq Leghari. And finally came the Dec 27, 2007 assassination of Benazir in Rawalpindi at a time about which hardly any reliable account is available about Nusrat’s health or her feelings. According to a spokesperson of Bilawal House in Karachi, the funeral will take place at Garhi Khuda Bux near Larkana. She will be flown to Larkana where she will be laid to rest beside the grave of her husband at the mausoleum, which is also the last resting place of Benazir, Murtaza and Shahnawaz. Born on March 23, 1929 in a rich Iranian business family, Nusrat was married to Mr Bhutto on September 8, 1951. She had four children, Benazir, Murtaza, Shahnawaz and Sanam.

Nusrat went to Dubai along with her daughter Benazir, who spent eight years in self-exile and took care of her ailing mother apart from leading the PPP from abroad. That was the time when charges of corruption were brought by the government of then prime minister Nawaz Sharif against both mother and daughter as well as Mr Zardari, and some of those cases were still pending before Nusrat’s death.

Begum Bhutto was elected member of the National Assembly in 1977, 1988, 1990, 1993 and 1997 before she shifted to Dubai with daughter Benazir Bhutto. As the first lady she was in the forefront of social activities aimed at alleviating the lot of poor peasants through official channels and as minister.

As first lady from 1973–77, she functioned as a political hostess and accompanied her husband on a number of overseas visits. In 1979, after the trial and execution of her husband, she succeeded her husband as leader of the Pakistan Peoples Party as chairperson for life.

In 1982, ill with cancer, she was given permission to leave the country by the military government of Gen Ziaul Haq for medical treatment in London, at which point her daughter, Benazir Bhutto, became acting leader of the party, and by 1984, the party chairperson.

In the 1990s, she and Benazir became estranged when Nusrat was seen as taking side of her son Murtaza during a family dispute, but later reconciled after Murtaza’s murder. She lived the last few years of her life with her daughter’s family in Dubai and suffered from the combined effects of a stroke and Alzheimer’s disease.

According to president’s spokesman Farhatullah Babar, besides President Zardari, his son Bilawal and daughters Bakhtawar and Assefa as well as Sanam Bhutto will accompany the body from Dubai. Former political secretary to Benazir Bhutto and now a party dissident Naheed Khan recalled that Nusrat Bhutto’s health started deteriorating soon after the death of Murtaza Bhutto in Karachi, after which she had started losing her memory.

Talking to the Media, she said that she was unaware about the health condition of Nusrat Bhutto in the past four years, but said that she had already lost her memory in the lifetime of Benazir Bhutto. However, she said that Nusrat Bhutto was not bedridden and even used to take a walk with a special stick. The family feud dating back to Murtaza’s lifetime revived on Sunday when his Syrian-born widow Ghinwa Bhutto and daughter Fatima Bhutto blamed President Zardari for keeping Nusrat Bhutto abroad. Both of them appeared on private TV channels before leaving Karachi for Larkana that they were purposely kept away from Nusrat Bhutto. According to sources, Murtaza’s only son Zulfikar Ali Bhutto Junior is also expected to arrive in Larkana from London on Monday.