* Shahenshah was among BB’s personal security guards
* Sindh home minister says murder aimed at destabilising PPP-led govt

KARACHI: Gunmen killed a senior security officer for Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari in Karachi on Tuesday, police and party officials said.

Ejaz Durrani, a spokesman for Bilawal House, said unidentified gunmen opened fire on Khalid Shahenshah’s vehicle outside his home in Khayaban-e-Bukhari in Defence Housing Authority (DHA) Phase VIII. Doctors at the nearby Ziauddin Hospital in Clifton were unable to save him, Durrani said.

Karachi police chief Khalid Mahmood confirmed the incident. Shahenshah, a long-time PPP activist, was among a coterie of party security guards who failed to prevent the murder of former prime minister Benazir Bhutto in a gun-and-bomb attack in Rawalpindi on December 27, 2007.

According to details, Shahenshah, 45, had arrived at his house at around 2:40pm after attending a meeting at Bilawal House, when assailants attacked his vehicle – a Toyota double cabin – shooting him six times in the back.

Shahenshah was rushed to hospital where he later died. His body was taken to the Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre for legal formalities before being moved to Bilawal House.

The police have found a white Suzuki Mehran vehicle with fake registration plates near Sultan Masjid, Clifton Town Superintendent of Police Azad Khan said. The police are looking for the vehicle’s owner, Khan said, adding the vehicle might have been used in the attack. Senior officials of the Sindh police inspected the scene. The investigators found 39 empty shells at the site. The officials believe that the assailants fired for two to three minutes and used an SMG rifle, .222 rifle and 9mm pistols.

Zardari, who was in Islamabad when the attack took place, condemned the killing.

Mirza: Sindh Home Minister Dr Zulfiqar Mirza declined to speculate who could have been behind Shahenshah’s killing, but said it was aimed at destabilising the three-and-a-half-month old coalition led by the PPP. Sindh Inspector General of Police Sultan Sallahuddin Babar Khattak said that these were the same men who were behind the July 7 explosions.

PM, Kayani discuss security

LAHORE: Pakistan is a peaceful country and does not have aggressive designs against any other, Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani said on Tuesday. He was talking to Chief of the Army Staff General Ashfaq Kayani at Prime Minister’s House. Gilani said Pakistan believed in maintaining a credible minimum deterrence to ensure peace in the region. Both leaders discussed the security situation and the operation in the Tribal Areas. Kayani briefed Gilani over the ongoing operation in the FATA and security at the Pak-Afghan border.

‘Pakistan would never compromise with militants’

* Gilani says Pakistan eager to enhance co-operation with US in education, health, energy, science and technology

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan is committed to fighting terrorism, which is clearly in its own interest and the government would never compromise with militants, Prime Minister (PM) Yousuf Raza Gilani said on Tuesday.

He was talking to US Ambassador to Pakistan Anne W Patterson who visited Prime Minister’s House ahead of Gilani’s United States tour. “The upcoming visit to the US is very important and it will help enhance the existing close ties between the two countries,” he said.

Expand relations: The PM said that Pakistan accords high priority to its strategic relationship with the US and is keen to further expand its relations in various fields. “Pakistan is also eager to enhance co-operation in the fields of education, health, energy, science and technology,” he said.

He said that his government would not talk to militants, but would keep the doors of dialogue open for those who have laid down arms.

Welcoming Pakistan’s efforts in curtailing extremism and terrorism, Patterson said that America’s relations with Pakistan were very important.

Patterson said the US is committed to extending all possible support to the broad-based elected coalition government of Pakistan.


LAHORE: Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif said the nation would soon hear good news regarding the reinstatement of sacked judges, a private television channel reported on Tuesday. Aaj TV quoted Shahbaz as saying that talks were underway among coalition partners. He said the sacked judges would have been reinstated on February 18, had the PML-N won a majority in the elections.


ISLAMABAD: The heads of the ruling coalition, sans PML-N chief Nawaz Sharif, are scheduled to meet today (Wednesday) to remove their differences and thrash out a strategy to fight terrorism. Sources within the government said that the meeting seeks to remove differences that have arisen within the coalition, especially those concerning the paramilitary operation the PPP-led government launched in the Tribal Areas. “We will demand the government withdraw from the so-called war on terror,” JUI-F Secretary General Ghafoor Haideri told Daily Times. PML-N spokesman Siddiqul Farooq said the party would press the government for the impeachment of President Pervez Musharraf. ANP Information Secretary Zahid Khan said his party would give input on how to maintain law and order. Sources said that Gilani and Zardari would also attempt to convince the PML-N to rejoin the federal cabinet and that the formula for distribution of slots of chairpersons of standing committees would be finalised at the meeting.

Zardari writes to Nawaz, pinpoints ‘spoilers’

* PPP co-chairman expresses desire to continue coalition setup with PML-N
* Says reinstating judges through executive order could compel Musharraf to invoke Article 58 (2b)

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari has written a letter to Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) chief Nawaz Sharif complaining that PML-N leaders Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan, Makhdoom Javed Hashmi and Ahsan Iqbal are playing the “role of spoilers”.

According to sources within Zardari House, the PPP co-chairman was responding to correspondence from the PML-N chief seeking clarification from the PPP leadership on various coalition issues. They said that Nawaz had written that he needed to know the PPP’s plans to decide his party’s future course of action.

Continue coalition: The sources said that Zardari had expressed his desire to continue the coalition setup with the PML-N to take the country out of its current situation. “The PPP co-chairman appreciated the ‘positive’ role of Khawaja Asif and Ishaq Dar during meetings with the PPP, but complained of PML-N ‘hawks’ playing the role of spoiler,” they said.

Quoting Zardari’s letter, they said that while Khawaja and Dar were involved in constructive talks, Chaudhry Nisar, Hashmi and Iqbal were always trying to create problems for the coalition through the media. “Sometimes, they even adopt an opposite stance from their own party colleagues during meetings with the PPP,” the sources added.

Worried: On the reinstatement of the sacked judges, the sources said that the PPP co-chairman had written that he was worried that reinstating the judges through an executive order could instigate President Pervez Musharraf into invoking Article 58 (2b).

In response to the PML-N’s complaints about not being taken into confidence in the day-to-day decision-making process, the sources said that Zardari had invited the PML-N to rejoin the cabinet and participate in the country’s governance.

PML-N moves to secure Punjab

LAHORE: The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) is wooing the PML-Quaid (PML-Q) legislators to its side to ensure numbers in the Punjab Assembly in case the PML-N parts ways with the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP), sources said on Tuesday. According to sources, the PML-N wants certain PML-Q legislators to resign from the provincial assembly and get re-elected on PML-N tickets. The entire scheme is to tackle any legal challenge that might come from the PML-Q leadership. A senior official at the Punjab Secretariat told certain quarters that the PML-Q legislators, who have formed a forward bloc in the party, would resign in three stages and join the PML-N. The official added that there were high chances of a PMLN-PPP break up.

Taliban extend ultimatum deadline to NWFP govt

* TTP asks for a halt to operation in Hangu and Swat

LAHORE/KHAR/PESHAWAR: Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) spokesman Maulvi Umar said the deadline given to the NWFP government to resign had already ended but the Taliban would await the provincial government’s response until Wednesday morning, a private television channel reported on Tuesday.

According to Geo News, Maulvi Umar asked for a halt to military operation in Hangu and Swat, as their deadline for the NWFP government to resign expired on Tuesday. He said they would launch attacks against the government if operation was not stopped in the two districts.

The channel quoted Umar as saying that important decisions were taken at a Taliban Shura meeting held on Tuesday. According to the channel, TTP chief Baitullah Mehsud chaired the Taliban Shura and discussed with his colleagues a future course of action, adding that important decisions regarding the ultimatum to the provincial government were taken.

Maulvi Umar welcomed the NWFP government’s announcement that it is willing to resolve all problems through negotiations. He said that despite the use of force in Swat and Hangu, the government has failed to redress any of the region’s problems. He went on to say that the TTP preferred talks over confrontation.

NWFP Information Minister Mian Iftikhar had told a press conference on Monday that his party was against violence. They would however be “compelled” to use force if the other side continued to challenge the writ of the government.

Mehsud had on July 18 given the NWFP government a five-day ultimatum to either resign “or else face dire consequences”, inviting strong reactions from the provincial government.

The NWFP government responded the next day, saying they would not resign, nor become hostage to any militant group.


LAHORE/HANGU/ PESHAWAR: A decision has been taken to stop the military operation in Hangu at the request of the NWFP government, a private television channel reported on Tuesday.

According to Aaj TV, the federal government accepted the provincial government’s request and decided to stop the Hangu operation. The channel quoted an NWFP minister as saying that the provincial government wanted to resolve the problems though negotiation.

Security forces continued however a search operation in the Doaba area of Hangu district – making no arrests – while curfew was relaxed in the city.

The continuous curfew in Hangu city and Doaba has resulted in a food crisis as edible items and medicine are vanishing from markets.

Also on Tuesday, a jirga of religious leaders met the Taliban leadership and the district administrator here before leaving for Kohat to inform Regional Co-ordination Officer (RCO) Omar Afridi about the Taliban demands.

ISPR spokesman Maj Gen Athar Abbas said the operation carried out against Taliban in Hangu has achieved all desired results. Talking to the BBC, he declared that all troubled areas in Hangu district have been cleared of militants. Separately, Hangu SSP Muhammad Idris told a news conference that an elite force had been established to ensure the people’s security. He said Hangu city had been divided into three sectors where the army, paramilitary and police personnel would continue their patrol.

Storm in Indian parliament as govt accused of corruption

NEW DELHI: The stormy session in the Lok Sabha (India’s lower house of parliament) was marred by a furore over opposition allegations that the ruling coalition paid out large sums of cash in bribes to ensure its win. Three BJP MPs waved bundles of cash worth Indian Rs 30 million ($715,000) that they said they had been paid for their votes. “Never in the history of our parliament has such a shameful and revolting scandal unfolded,” BJP President Rajnath Singh said. The cash allegedly received by the three MPs at their residence have been captured by an IBN-CBN cameraman – tapes of which the TV channel has handed over to the speaker.

Singh govt survives, gets trust vote

* 275 votes cast in favour of confidence motion, 256 against g 12 MPs including 7 from BJP cross-vote in govt’s favour
* Gilani congratulates Indian premier

NEW DELHI/ISLAMABAD: Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s coalition government survived a chaotic parliamentary confidence vote on Tuesday night with a comfortable margin of 19 votes, clearing the way for it to forge ahead with a civilian nuclear energy deal with the US.

The vote pitted the Congress-led coalition that negotiated the nuclear deal against its former communist allies and opposition parties led by the Hindu-nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

Singh needed just a simple majority to survive and see through the last year of his mandate. Had he failed, the world’s largest democracy would have headed into early elections – with his opponents emboldened.

The win also put an end to rumours that Singh’s government would have become a minority in parliament upon the withdrawal of support by leftist parties. The trust vote was seen as a majority of the Lok Sabha, the lower house of parliament, giving a green signal to the government to go ahead with the Indo-US nuclear deal by signing the safeguards agreement with the International Atomic Energy Agency and securing the clearance of the Nuclear Supplier Group countries. The deal is now expected to be in operation by the end of the year – ahead of the US presidential elections.

Vote: As many as 275 votes were cast in favour of the confidence motion while 256 against it, Speaker Somnath Chatterjee announced following a tense hand-count of some votes that apparently were not properly recorded by machine.

Cross-votes: Twelve members of parliament (MPs) cross-voted in favour of the government in the trust vote, defying their parties’ whip, with seven of them from the BJP alone. Opposition leader Lal Krishna Advani admitted that seven of his party MPs cross-voted but did not spell out any action stipulated against them for defying the party whip. Advani said the government may have scored a numerical victory but it was not at all a moral one.

PM: Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani on Tuesday congratulated his Indian counterpart Manmohan Singh for taking the vote of confidence.


LAHORE: The threat to PPP Co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari’s life has increased following the death of his security officer Khalid Shahanshah, PPP Punjab Secretary General Ghulam Abbas said on Tuesday. He told a News One television programme that conspiracies were being hatched against the present government and some elements were trying to dismember the PPP. In the same show, PML-N leader Naseer Bhutta also condemned Shahanshah’s killing.


LAHORE: Deputy Speaker Sindh Assembly Shehla Raza said that the killing of Khalid Shahenshah might be linked to the assassination of Benazir Bhutto, Dawn News reported on Tuesday. Raza said Shahenshah was an eyewitness to the murder of Benazir Bhutto and his statement was likely to be recorded before the United Nations-led team that would possibly probe the incident. She termed the killing a great loss to the party.



http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/

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P.R.