Zehri’s statement a lie: Senator Leghari

LAHORE: Senator Jamal Leghari on Monday said a statement by Senator Sanaullah Zehri was incorrect that burying women alive was part of Baloch tradition. Talking to Express News, Leghari said Zehri’s statement was absolutely wrong, as burying women alive was not a Baloch tradition. “We do not believe in the investigation report of the government because the provincial minister whose brother is a suspect in this case is Umrani Khosa. The chief secretary of Balochistan is also a Khosa and so is the head of the investigation team,” he told reporters. He said they oppose it on the floor of the House.


ISLAMABAD: The Senate and the Sindh Assembly on Monday unanimously passed resolutions condemning the burying alive of five women in Balochistan and demanded stern action against those responsible. Acting Senate Chairman Jan Muhammad Jamali referred the issue to the Standing Committee on Human Rights. Adviser on Interior Rehman Malik told the Senate that the government had received conflicting accounts of the incident, but would conduct a forensic analysis to ascertain the cause of the women’s death. PML-Q Senator Yasmeen Shah moved the resolution in the Senate and Sindh Information Minister Shazia Marri moved the resolution in the Sindh Assembly.


QUETTA: Jaffarabad District Police Officer (DPO) Nazeer Ahmed Kurd on Monday informed a division bench of the Balochistan High Court that investigations had been completed into the killing of three girls in Osta Muhammad Town and sought time to file a report. Advocate Zahoor Ahmed Shahwani appeared on behalf of the HRCP and sought time to file a report about the killing of the three girls on the next date of hearing. The bench consisted of Chief Justice Amanullah Khan and Justice Akhtar Zaman Malghani. The high court had taken a suo motu notice on July 16, 2008 of the three girls’ murder on July 13. The case has been adjourned until September 22.

Fathers, brother arrested for burying five Baloch women alive

* Provincial police chief says two girls’ brother has confessed to crime, federal govt sending top official to conduct probe
* Investigators exhume three bodies for autopsy

DERA MURAD JAMALI: Naseerabad police on Monday arrested seven suspects after the government ordered an investigation into the killing of three girls and two women who were allegedly shot and buried alive around two months ago in Babakot village, 320 kilometres east of Quetta.

According to Dawn News, investigators have exhumed three of the five bodies and sent them for autopsy. The arrested include the fathers of the three girls, a brother of two of the girls, a cousin of one of the girls and two others whose identities have not been disclosed.

According to reports, the five had been buried alive because the three girls had married men of their choice, while the two women had allegedly helped them. “Police have arrested seven suspects, including the brother of two of the girls,” provincial police chief Asif Nawaz Warraich told reporters.

Warraich said the brother had confessed to the crime before investigators and said that he had shot and injured his two sisters and another woman - a close relative, who had allegedly helped the girls marry men of their choice - and had later buried them alive.

The two sisters, Fozia and Janat, along with the woman, Fatima, had been buried in the jurisdiction of the Baba Kot Police Station after they had gone to Osta Muhammad, the Jaffarabad district headquarters, to marry men of their choice.

“The federal government is also sending a top police official to Quetta to investigate the murders,” said Warraich, adding, “We have no evidence so far which may substantiate media reports about the killing of the five women.”

Adviser on Interior Rehman Malik said he had ordered an inquiry into the killings and deputed a top police officer to conduct the investigation. He said he wanted a report within a week, adding, “We want facts. This isn’t a European society. We’re a different society, but violence against women cannot be tolerated either in the name of culture or religion.”

Rights groups, including the Women’s Action Forum, have demanded immediate action. “Are Pakistani women not human beings? Or are they not considered citizens, deserving equal protection under the constitution and law?” asked the group, adding, “The government needs to provide immediate answers and to take urgent action.”

More than 4,000 people, mostly women, have been killed in the rural areas of Pakistan in recent years in the name of family honour. In 2005, former president Gen (r) Pervez Musharraf signed a bill into law, introducing the death penalty for honour killings.

SBP directs banks to freeze TTP accounts

LAHORE: The SBP has directed all the commercial banks to freeze the bank accounts of the banned TTP, Geo News reported. The channel quoted SBP spokesman Syed Wasimuddin as saying that these accounts would no longer be usable for the deposit or withdrawal of money. According to the channel, the commercial banks have been asked to provide complete details of these bank accounts.

Lashkar captures Taliban stronghold in Kurram

PARACHINAR: A tribal lashkar formed to end militancy in Kurram Agency on Monday re-took Char Dewal and Jalmai villages, strongholds of the Taliban, while six militants among nine were killed and 26 injured in fresh clashes. Meanwhile, the local tribesmen have intensified their peace efforts and plugged all entry points to stop entry of the militants into the Kurram Agency.

Nine killed in Darra operation

* Army says militants’ back broken g Stray shell kills 10 civilians
* Tribal lashkar burns houses of four Taliban commanders

LAHORE/KHAR: At least nine people were killed and 52 others injured as the operation against militants in Darra Adam Khel continued for the fourth consecutive day on Monday, Geo News reported.

According to the channel, security forces used helicopter gunships and artillery to target suspected hideouts of militants in Orakzai Agency.

Army spokesman Major General Athar Abbas told the Associated Press, “In our view, the back has been broken. Main leaders are on the run and the people of the area are now openly defying whatever the militants had achieved there.”

Stray shell: In Bajaur Agency, at least 10 people — including eight children — were killed and eight others wounded when an army mortar shell hit a house in the Anayat Kala area, officials and residents told Daily Times. .

A Frontier Corps (FC) official confirmed the incident, and said the deceased were civilians and that their death was an accident, AFP reported.

Houses burnt: Separately, a tribal lashkar burnt the houses of four local Taliban commanders in the agency’s Salarzai tehsil, bringing the number of burnt houses of the Taliban to 18. Locals said militants had been expelled from the Kasai, Pusht, Chelagam, Danqun and Kotki areas, following the formation of the lashkar.

TTP is an extension of Al Qaeda: Rehman

ISLAMABAD: The Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan is “an extension of Al Qaeda” and the organisations have close ties, Interior Adviser Rehman Malik said on Monday.

“We have certain evidence that there is a close connection [and] links, and that there are similarities between Al Qaeda and the TTP,” he told reporters in Islamabad.

Asked if Al Qaeda’s deputy chief Ayman Al-Zawahiri is directly or indirectly talking to the TTP, Malik said: “If Al Qaeda is to move in a tribal area, they have to look to the TTP to get a refuge.”

“The TTP is a host to Al Qaeda and is their mouthpiece,” Malik said, adding that there was evidence that foreign fighters are operating in Pakistan. The federal government had banned the TTP last month.

According to Reuters, Malik said the security forces had missed a chance to capture Zawahiri.

Rehman Malik did not say when that was or give any more detail about the incident. He also did not say where Osama Bin Laden might be.

Malik said Zawahiri was moving between Pakistan’s Tribal Areas and the eastern Afghan provinces of Kunar and Paktia.

“We certainly had traced him at one place, but we missed the chance. So he’s moving in Mohmand and, of course, sometimes in Kunar, mostly in Kunar and Paktia,” he said.

“We have also found traces of militants from the Uzbek and... Chinese militant movements in the tribal regions,” he said.

Baloch militant groups suspend their activities ‘for people’

LAHORE: Militant groups in Balochistan have suspended their ‘activities’ indefinitely, Aaj TV reported on Monday.

The groups include the Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA), Balochistan Liberation Front (BLF) and the Balochistan Republican Army (BRA), according to the channel.

The channel quoted BLA spokesman Sarbaz Baloch as saying that the group had suspended its ‘activities’ for the Baloch people. He denied the suspension was a result of any deal with the government. He, however, warned of retaliation if security forces did not stop the use of force against the group. He demanded the government stop establishing cantonments and launching new projects in the province.

Nationalist groups in Balochistan are demanding more control over and additional benefits from the exploitation of natural resources in the province. There have been a number of attacks on gas and electricity installations in the province.

Moon sighted, 1st of Ramazan today

ISLAMABAD: The holy month of Ramazan starts today (Tuesday) after the Central Ruet-e-Hilal Committee announced the sighting of the moon on Monday. Committee Chairman Muneebur Rehman announced in a press conference that sufficient evidence had been received from different parts of the county that the moon had been sighted. He asked the faithful to set their watches according to the daylight saving time, under which clocks had been moved forward by one hour in June. The government had initially decided to revert the time from September 1, but the cabinet decided to continue with the daylight saving time until November 1.

‘I will be Chief Executive’

* PM says burying alive of five women in Balochistan ‘utterly disappointing’

ISLAMABAD: I will be the country’s chief executive despite Asif Ali Zardari becoming president, said Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani on Monday.

In an interview with a private TV channel, the prime minister said he had good relations with former president Gen (r) Pervez Musharraf and would keep the same spirit with the new president. He said talks with India were continuing, adding that no compromises would be made on national integrity.

He said load shedding was a serious concern for the people, but added that the government was trying its best to control it. The prime minister said his statements regarding sacked chief justice (CJ) Iftikhar Chaudhry were being taken out of context, adding that he had never said the sacked CJ was the “Imam of sacked judges”. Gilani said the sacked judges were taking oath without any pressure.

Honour killing: Gilani said it was utterly disappointing that five women had been buried alive in the name of honour in Balochistan.

Punjab govt owes existence to PPP, says Taseer

LAHORE: It is because of the PPP’s support that the PML-N has been able to form a government in the Punjab, Governor Salmaan Taseer said on Monday. According to Geo News, he said no one would be allowed to use state resources in Punjab for the presidential election.

Nawaz asks PPP to respect PML-N’s mandate in Punjab

* PML-N chief says ongoing political crisis will persist if judiciary not restored
* Zardari’s personal agenda overrides national agenda

LAHORE: The Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) should respect the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz’s mandate in Punjab the way the PML-N respects the PPP’s mandate in the Centre, PML-N chief Nawaz Sharif said on Sunday.

According to Dawn News, Nawaz told foreign reporters the ongoing political crisis was likely to persist if the sacked judges were not restored.

According to Geo News, he said Pakistan could not afford another round of political confrontation and urged political parties to act responsibly.

He said he did not want to recall the memories of differences among political parties in the past. Talking to Aaj TV, the PML-N chief said Pakistan needed to evolve a national policy to combat terrorism and extremism.

“The PML-N has time and again said that the issue of terrorism and extremism should be discussed in the parliament as the country direly needs a national policy on the issue.”

To a question, he said the PML-N would play a “constructive role” in the parliament and support the PPP-led government in all its “positive endeavours”.

Personal agenda: In an interview with the Indian Tehelka magazine, Nawaz said PPP Co-chairman Asif Zardari’s personal agenda overrode the national agenda.

Talking about his party’s withdrawal from the ruling alliance, he said: “We wanted to put the country back on the rails, correct all the wrongs done by the dictators. We wanted to throw out all the amendments to the constitution that were brought in by the dictators. In fact, we wanted to examine military intervention in politics for all times to come. This was the real agenda ... What I would say here is that there was a personal agenda which became more important than the national agenda.”

Musharraf victim of liberal policies, says Mushahid

LAHORE: Gen (r) Pervez Musharraf is the victim of the success of his own liberal policies, Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q) Secretary General Mushahid Hussain wrote in an article for Tehelka Magazine’s September 6 issue.

Mushahid said in the article that Musharraf was a military ruler with a difference. He had a liberal outlook and his economic policies led to the emergence of an assertive and articulate middle class. In fact, he was the victim of his own success, he said.

Musharraf will be remembered for three major pluses, Mushahid said.

He was the first military ruler to engage India in an institutional peace process. The main security threat to Pakistan was redefined, away from India, to the internally generated spectre of extremism.

He presided over one of the fastest media revolutions in any third world country. Within five years, Pakistan moved from one state-owned television channel to over 50 privately owned news and entertainment channels. The media revolution gave the urban middle class the confidence to challenge state authority, the PML-Q leader wrote.

The role and representation of women in Pakistan’s public life received a boost through Musharraf’s policies, ranging from reversing the wrongs of the Zia era, to promoting one-third representation for women in Pakistan’s electoral system.

Balochistan PA resolution backs Zardari

QUETTA: The Balochistan Assembly unanimously passed a resolution on Monday supporting Pakistan People’s Party Co-chairman Asif Ail Zardari for the office of the president for the September 6 presidential election. Balochistan Chief Minister Aslam Raisani moved the joint resolution on the floor of the Balochistan Assembly, which had been signed by leaders of various parties. Raisani said the assembly supported Zardari’s candidature for the office of the president because he was the most suitable candidate in the present circumstances. The assembly also debated the controversial role of the FC in Balochistan.

Real test after September 6, says Zardari

LAHORE: Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari has said that his party’s real test will begin after it enters the Presidency, Dawn News reported on Monday. Addressing PPP lawmakers from Punjab at a dinner hosted by Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani at the PM House, Zardari said his party wanted to take along all other political parties for the sake of democracy and political stability in the country. Giving credit to the PPP for ousting a dictator through dialogue, Zardari thanked Muttahida Qaumi Movement chief Altaf Hussain for proposing his name for the Presidency

New PML-Q ‘forward bloc’ to back Zardari

* 8 PML-Q MPs meet PM
* Zardari contacts PML-Q members
* Malakand MPs including Amir Muqam to back PPP candidate

ISLAMABAD: A new group of dissident Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q) legislators assured Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani in a meeting on Monday of support for Pakistan People’s Party presidential candidate Asif Ali Zardari.

A delegation led by Acting Senate Chairman Jam Muhammad Jamali met Gilani at the prime minister’s house.

The group includes Senator Wali Muhammad Badini, Senator Muhabat Khan, Senator Amjad Abbas, Senator Zafar Iqbal, Senator Kulsoom Parveen, Senator Rehana Yahya and Member of National Assembly Ahmadan Khan Bugti.

Meanwhile, the PPP intensified lobbying for its co-chairman and its top leadership contacted legislators from the PML-Q individually.

Sources privy to the developments said Zardari had been contacting members of the former ruling party. A number of these lawmakers, including some top PML-Q leaders, have assured Zardari of support, they added.

“I have received at least three calls from Zardari and the prime minister has made several requests. If our leadership fails to evolve a clear policy, I may vote for Zardari,” said a top PML-Q leader, holding a key portfolio in the National Assembly.

To a question, he said a National Assembly member from the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz had also contacted him, but not the top PML-N leadership.

Several PML-Q leaders confirmed Zardari or Gilani had approached them.

MPs: Parliamentarians from Malakand Division including PML-Q’s Amir Muqam also announced their support for Zardari in a meeting with State Affairs Minister Najamuddin Khan.



Source: Daily Times.

__________________
Regards,
P.R.