BISP kicks off poverty census

ISLAMABAD: Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP) on Sunday kicked off countrywide poverty census in order to develop more effective and transparent identification of deserving families in regard with eligibility for cash grant.

The poverty survey has been completed earlier in 38 Districts of the country as an initial phase of the census. BISP Chairperson Farzana Raja said the scope of the programme had been expanded further with the enrollment of recent devastating flood victims, which would enhance the registered families with BISP up to 7 million and more than 35 million individuals.

The BISP chairperson inaugurated the survey by completing a survey form of a poor family after a random ‘knock at door’ here in the locality of Sidu Pura. Besides others, Raja Riaz Ahmad, senior minister of the Punjab government was also present on the occasion.

Ms Raja informed the media representatives that new deserving families would be included in the programme as beneficiary as soon as poverty survey was completed in respected districts. She said that the survey teams of the BISP had already been sent to Punjab Sindh, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, FATA, AJK and Gilgit-Baltistan to complete countrywide poverty survey. She said that survey is absolutely free of charge and if someone demands even a rupee for the completion of survey, a complaint could be made at 080026477 immediately.

Ms Raja said that it was the first ever poverty survey being conducted in Pakistan and every effort has been made to make this survey foolproof and comprehensive. She said that service to poor and underprivileged of Pakistan was dream of Shaheed Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto and Shaheed Benazir Bhutto had scarified her live while her struggle to complete this mission. She said the BISP was carrying forward same dream and it has set 20 percent decrease in the poverty during next 3 years. She said the programme had been attributed with the name of Shaheed Benazir Bhutto; therefore we would leave no stone unturned to make this programme a complete success.

“BISP not only provides monthly cash grants to its beneficiaries, ’’ she said and elaborated that under the Waseela-e-Haq and Waseela-e-Huner initiatives of the programme, entrepreneurship and skill development among under privileged segments of the society are being promoted to enable these segments to live self sustained lives.

Time over for APC on floods: Nawaz

LAHORE – Terrorist activities being perpetrated in various parts of the country are part of enemy’s plan to destabilise Pakistan, PML-N Chief Nawaz Sharif said here on Monday.
He maintained that the nation was determined to frustrate the enemy designs through concerted efforts.

The two-time prime minister said this while talking to reporters in the Emergency section of a local hospital where he inquired after the health of those injured in Wednesday’s three back-to-back blasts near Karbala Gamay Shah, which killed more than 40 people and injured some 300 others.
Security at the hospital had been tightened and traffic diverted.
“

The nation will not give in to the terrorists,” said the PML-N leader.
Replying to a question, Nawaz said the enemy could harbour the desire to consign Pakistan to yet another military rule. He, however, made it clear that the country could not afford such an eventuality yet again.
He said the National Assembly had already addressed in detail the speech made by MQM Chief Altaf Hussain on the subject.
When it was pointed out to him that the NAB prosecutor-general, whose sacking had been ordered by none else but the Supreme Court, was still there on the job, Nawaz said it was regrettable to find that the Apex Court’s decision had not been implemented.
He called upon the government to enforce the verdict.
The former prime minister said the judiciary had been restored not with a hope that it would provide a chance to the government to flout its verdicts.


He said if President Asif Ali Zardari was obstructing the judicial verdict, the Prime Minister should stop him. Otherwise, he said, both the President and the Prime Minister would be held responsible for defiance
He told a questioner that an all-party conference being considered by the government on the issue of flood situation had lost its utility as the time to hold it was already over.

'N' decides to end friendly Opp role

ISLAMABAD - Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz) on Tuesday decided to stop playing role of a friendly Opposition and evolve a strategy to give tough time to the ruling PPP over its failure in evolving a transparent mechanism for rehabilitation of the flood-hit masses.
These decisions were taken during an important consu-ltative meeting of the party chaired by Muhammad Nawaz Sharif that was attended by all the central leaders, MNAs and Senators here at the Punjab House.
The meeting reviewed the recent floods in the country, scale of devastation and the Federal Government’s response to the national disaster.

The meeting deplored that the apathy of the Government in addressing the problems of the flood-affectees and its failure in paying cash compensations to those willing to return to their flood-ravaged residential localities before the forth-coming Eid.
Insiders informed TheNation that the party Quaid Nawaz Sharif also apprised the party colleagues of the Government’s failure in paying Rs 20,000 cash compensation per family despite the fact there was plenty of money received from the US and other countries of the world.

Sources were of the view that Nawaz Sharif vented his anger over the Government’s apathy after his meeting with visiting US envoy Brain D Hunt, who had apprised him of the money US government had paid to the Federal Government so far for flood relief work.
Sources further said that Nawaz Sharif also rejected the resignation of MNA Sardar Mehtab Abbasi and directed him to participate in the coming session.

Sardar Mehtab Abbasi had rendered his resignation by having reservations over the name of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and he favoured the estab-lishment of Hazara province.
Sardar Mehtab Abbasi assured his party leader that he would do his utmost in highlighting the party’s stance on the floor of the

National Assembly scheduled to meet from 2nd September on the requisition of the PML-N to discuss the topical national issues.
Earlier, in another meeting with MPs from Chakwal district, Nawaz discussed about awarding the party ticket for NA-61 Chakwal-11 which fell vacant after the resignation of the PML-N MNA Faiz Muhammad Tamman.

Benazir Bhutto Chair at KU launched

KARACHI: The launching ceremony of Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto Chair at the University of Karachi was held at the campus on Tuesday. Sindh Culture Minister Sassui Palejo was the chief guest on the occasion.

The culture minister also presented a cheque of Rs 25 million, which was announced by Chief Minister Sindh Qaim Ali Shah at a function held at the University of Karachi. She promised to arrange a further Rs 100 million for research and other expenses of the chair. She announced that an auditorium would also be built in the university, with the capacity for 2,000 people where the offices of the Chair would be constructed.

Palejo said the basic objective of the chair should be to delve deep into the oriental school of thought introduced to the West by Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto by her ideologies that helped in bridging the gap between the East and the West, as her main objective was to end the clash between the two polarities.

In a message read out on the occasion, President Asif Ali Zardari said that there was a vast treasure of the ideas, thoughts and philosophy of Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto as well as on the life she lived so gloriously and vigorously.

Vice-Chancellor of Karachi University Prof Dr Pirzada Qasim, PPP leaders Prof ND Khan and Taj Haider appreciating the efforts of establishing the chair, said it was pertinent to research and redefine the political and democratic philosophy of Benazir Bhutto because academia could not be separated from democracy.

Pirzada Qasim said that establishing this chair at Karachi University was similar to organising and rejuvenating the history of Pakistan.

UN rejects govt stance on Benazir report

UNITED NATIONS: The UN Secretary-General, Mr Ban Ki-moon, rejected on Monday the Pakistan government’s position on the Benazir Bhutto Inquiry Commission report, saying that “the work of the commission is complete.

In a letter delivered to Pakistan’s permanent mission to the United Nations, the UN chief “reiterated his strong support for the commission and stated that the commission carried out its work professionally in fulfilment of the Terms of Reference agreed between the government of Pakistan and the secretariat and noted by the Security Council”.

The UN Chief said “the report speaks for itself and can be helpful to any subsequent investigations”.

Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi had questioned the “credibility and reliability” of the report and said that “the lack of source attribution leads to vagueness and ambiguity in some parts of the report which has undermined its credibility as a fact-finding report”.

Mr Ban asserted in the letter that “the terms of reference of the commission called for the commission to conduct an inquiry into the facts and circumstances of the assassination of Ms Bhutto”.

“The report painstakingly sets out the facts regarding the assassination and provides an extensive description of the circumstances around the crime,” he said.

The UN spokesman said in a statement: “The secretary-general has full confidence in the committee’s judgment. He believes that the report produced by the commission speaks for itself and can be helpful to any subsequent investigation.”

In his letter Mr Qureshi mentioned, among other things, lack of attention paid to any international dimension of the Dec 27, 2007, killing of the former prime minister.

Pakistan needs officers like Leghari: Nawaz

ISLAMABAD – PML-N Quaid Mian Nawaz Sharif, Sunday, took serious exception to the PPP-led government’s “coercive and intimidating tactics” against the HEC Chairman Dr Javed Leghari and warned that any attempt to destabilise and undermine the democratic order would meet an irresistible opposition that would ultimately frustrate the government’s conspiracies.
“I warn the government to refrain from its threatening conduct against a dutiful officer who has set examples of truthful working in evaluating academic degrees of lawmakers that ought to be emulated by all government officials in discharge of their duties”, PML-N Chief said in a statement issued on Sunday.

He said his party was fully alive to the situation and would in no way allow the government to manipulate wrong from the process. Nawaz Sharif was of the view that the way the PPP-led government was using coercive tactics against the HEC chairman speaks high of the vested interests that wanted the HEC serve in the degree assessment process.
He pointed out that the arrest and release of Dr Javed Leghari’s brother Farooq Leghari and attempt to assault his village in Sindh only exposed the government’s designs of exploiting the process to serve vested interests of the government “I understand Mr Javed Leghari has set higher standards of truthful professionalism in refusing to accept the government dictates and work on merit and worthy dispensation alone”, Sharif added. Pakistan, the PML-N chief said, needed officers like Javed Legahri in striking a balance between commendable conduct and wrongdoing for which he deserves the highest praise.
He advised the government to shun its behaviour that points out to deriving certain nefarious political designs out of the degree evaluation process.

Jostling, jeering and jabbering

Hey, I have a question. Why does it always have to be the Bhutto/Zardari children who get to visit China? This truly hurts my feelings sometimes. I mean, what's wrong with my children? Why don't they ever get to fly a free flight to China? Trust me, my children are a good-looking lot too. They photograph very well, are entirely Pakistani, come from a lineage of taxpaying ancestors and, to top it all, one of them even looks Chinese! I am sure if somebody could teach them how to eat with chopsticks, they would literally shine in China. Don't you think it is a matter of human rights here? The VIP children are regular globe-trotters, whereas my poor kids haven't even seen the Karachi airport. Tusk tusk, and I thought we were a democracy.

Please don't think I have anything against the Bhutto children. Those of us who have grown up on Benazir Bhutto's politics, and find her life struggle hopelessly romantic, have sure followed the aspect of her life called motherhood. O sure we love the Bhutto/Zardari trio. Who wouldn't who has a heart? We still well up every time we see the baby pictures. But as BB's voters, what we sure don't understand is what exactly young Bilawal was doing sitting next to President Obama, or why his picture once appeared next to the Quaid's on a billboard, or why Asifa appears on a polio vaccine advertisement.

Hey, I have a question. When are they going to find something for Bakhtawar?

But then a very strong argument is: who cares? This seems to be a pretty weighty argument around here, this 'who cares?' business. Especially when there is so much going on inside the country, who really cares what the VIP kids clap at in China, or which governor they endorse on a billboard? The only people who care are the agents of the establishment, namely the J for journalists, constantly conspiring to discredit the government 24/7.

Hey, I have a question. Who was trying to discredit the government in the US when the Obama girls planned that trip to Indonesia along with their daddy? Although the trip was official with some tracing of familial roots thrown in, and was later cancelled; yet we did hear something that sounded like taxpayers' expense!

But then this is Pakistan where since time immemorial there has been a tradition of grooming the VIP children to become future leaders. So it is grooming that is happening in China these days. Hey, I have a question. Since it is OK to groom one's kith and kin while on job doing business for the country, what is wrong with Shahid Afridi's children? Why don't we allow him to groom his children on the field and rid ourselves of the cricket board? The only thing he will have to do is give them a cricket ball to chew, tie a blindfold around their heads, and let them loose around the field. The more they run around clueless, dropping catches, munching balls, and hurting their fingernails or earlobes, the more they will be groomed for the future of cricket in Pakistan.

You know, this suggestion of mine is quite a hit in the Punjab Assembly. All the MPs have decided to do some grooming and brooming while on job. The strategy is three 'J'ayed; focusing on the art and craft of jostling, jeering and jabbering. The learners can take notes if they want to. The only condition is that they will have to spell their journals with a G.

Or was it generals with a J? Hey, wait a minute, I have a question…

Jostling, jeering and jabbering

Hey, I have a question. Why does it always have to be the Bhutto/Zardari children who get to visit China? This truly hurts my feelings sometimes. I mean, what's wrong with my children? Why don't they ever get to fly a free flight to China? Trust me, my children are a good-looking lot too. They photograph very well, are entirely Pakistani, come from a lineage of taxpaying ancestors and, to top it all, one of them even looks Chinese! I am sure if somebody could teach them how to eat with chopsticks, they would literally shine in China. Don't you think it is a matter of human rights here? The VIP children are regular globe-trotters, whereas my poor kids haven't even seen the Karachi airport. Tusk tusk, and I thought we were a democracy.

Please don't think I have anything against the Bhutto children. Those of us who have grown up on Benazir Bhutto's politics, and find her life struggle hopelessly romantic, have sure followed the aspect of her life called motherhood. O sure we love the Bhutto/Zardari trio. Who wouldn't who has a heart? We still well up every time we see the baby pictures. But as BB's voters, what we sure don't understand is what exactly young Bilawal was doing sitting next to President Obama, or why his picture once appeared next to the Quaid's on a billboard, or why Asifa appears on a polio vaccine advertisement.

Hey, I have a question. When are they going to find something for Bakhtawar?

But then a very strong argument is: who cares? This seems to be a pretty weighty argument around here, this 'who cares?' business. Especially when there is so much going on inside the country, who really cares what the VIP kids clap at in China, or which governor they endorse on a billboard? The only people who care are the agents of the establishment, namely the J for journalists, constantly conspiring to discredit the government 24/7.

Hey, I have a question. Who was trying to discredit the government in the US when the Obama girls planned that trip to Indonesia along with their daddy? Although the trip was official with some tracing of familial roots thrown in, and was later cancelled; yet we did hear something that sounded like taxpayers' expense!

But then this is Pakistan where since time immemorial there has been a tradition of grooming the VIP children to become future leaders. So it is grooming that is happening in China these days. Hey, I have a question. Since it is OK to groom one's kith and kin while on job doing business for the country, what is wrong with Shahid Afridi's children? Why don't we allow him to groom his children on the field and rid ourselves of the cricket board? The only thing he will have to do is give them a cricket ball to chew, tie a blindfold around their heads, and let them loose around the field. The more they run around clueless, dropping catches, munching balls, and hurting their fingernails or earlobes, the more they will be groomed for the future of cricket in Pakistan.

You know, this suggestion of mine is quite a hit in the Punjab Assembly. All the MPs have decided to do some grooming and brooming while on job. The strategy is three 'J'ayed; focusing on the art and craft of jostling, jeering and jabbering. The learners can take notes if they want to. The only condition is that they will have to spell their journals with a G.

Or was it generals with a J? Hey, wait a minute, I have a question…

Pakistan court issues notices to Sharif brothers for bank loan defaults

LAHORE: The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) has begun a move to try and save the membership of its provincial legislator Sanaullah Mastikhel, the MPA responsible for moving the ‘anti-media resolution’ in the Punjab Assembly on Friday.

Sources in the party told Daily Times on Wednesday a three-member committee had sent its investigative report regarding the “act” of Sanaullah Mastikhel to party chief Nawaz Sharif.

The sources said the committee had requested Nawaz to review his decision to expel Mastikhel from the part, as he was only one of 18 members who had prepared the resolution against the media in the Punjab Assembly’s Committee Room.

The committee was constituted by Nawaz Sharif to probe the matter of the resolution presented by Mastikhel against the media. Punjab Law Minister Rana Sanaullah, Senator Pervaiz Rasheed and Senior Adviser to the CM Sardar Zulfiqar Khan Khosa are members of the aforementioned committee. The sources told Daily Times that the committee had sent its comprehensive report on the issue to the party chief after completing its investigations, and had requested him not to sack Mastikhel “because he was not alone in moving the resolution in the House”.

The report claimed that Mastikhel had been supported by 17 other legislators from different parties including the Pakistan People’s Party, Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid and the MMA, the sources said, adding that the committee had strongly suggested that they did not recommend that Mastikhel be expelled from the party or the Punjab Assembly because such an action was not “justified”.

There have been reports that the resolution had been drawn up a day before it was presented and passed in the House. According to sources, a special meeting was held at the Punjab Assembly’s Committee Room-A at 10am on July 8 with the agenda set on the media coverage of the fake degrees of parliamentarians.

The meeting was attended by PML-N members Chaudhry Waheed, Sanaullah Mastikhel, Amir Saeed Ansar, Rahila Khadim Hussain, Naveed Anjum, Col Shuja and Shams Hyder, PPP members Muhammed Abbas, Nargis Faiz Malik, Amna Buttar and Zulfiqar Gondal, PML-Q dissident group members Sheikh Alauddin, Dr Tahir Ali Javed, Ijaz Shafi and Shaukat Aziz Bhatti, MMA legislator Ali Hyder Noor Niazi and PML-Q members Samina Khawer Hayyat and Seemal Kamran.

Also on Wednesday, while talking in the Punjab Assembly on the resolution, Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif said the government had no plans of imposing curbs on the media, as it was the fourth pillar of the state. Appreciating the “pro-media resolution” passed a day before, he said the resolution would end the “misunderstandings” between the media and the government.

Pakistan court issues notices to Sharif brothers for bank loan defaults

LAHORE: The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) has begun a move to try and save the membership of its provincial legislator Sanaullah Mastikhel, the MPA responsible for moving the ‘anti-media resolution’ in the Punjab Assembly on Friday.

Sources in the party told Daily Times on Wednesday a three-member committee had sent its investigative report regarding the “act” of Sanaullah Mastikhel to party chief Nawaz Sharif.

The sources said the committee had requested Nawaz to review his decision to expel Mastikhel from the part, as he was only one of 18 members who had prepared the resolution against the media in the Punjab Assembly’s Committee Room.

The committee was constituted by Nawaz Sharif to probe the matter of the resolution presented by Mastikhel against the media. Punjab Law Minister Rana Sanaullah, Senator Pervaiz Rasheed and Senior Adviser to the CM Sardar Zulfiqar Khan Khosa are members of the aforementioned committee. The sources told Daily Times that the committee had sent its comprehensive report on the issue to the party chief after completing its investigations, and had requested him not to sack Mastikhel “because he was not alone in moving the resolution in the House”.

The report claimed that Mastikhel had been supported by 17 other legislators from different parties including the Pakistan People’s Party, Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid and the MMA, the sources said, adding that the committee had strongly suggested that they did not recommend that Mastikhel be expelled from the party or the Punjab Assembly because such an action was not “justified”.

There have been reports that the resolution had been drawn up a day before it was presented and passed in the House. According to sources, a special meeting was held at the Punjab Assembly’s Committee Room-A at 10am on July 8 with the agenda set on the media coverage of the fake degrees of parliamentarians.

The meeting was attended by PML-N members Chaudhry Waheed, Sanaullah Mastikhel, Amir Saeed Ansar, Rahila Khadim Hussain, Naveed Anjum, Col Shuja and Shams Hyder, PPP members Muhammed Abbas, Nargis Faiz Malik, Amna Buttar and Zulfiqar Gondal, PML-Q dissident group members Sheikh Alauddin, Dr Tahir Ali Javed, Ijaz Shafi and Shaukat Aziz Bhatti, MMA legislator Ali Hyder Noor Niazi and PML-Q members Samina Khawer Hayyat and Seemal Kamran.

Also on Wednesday, while talking in the Punjab Assembly on the resolution, Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif said the government had no plans of imposing curbs on the media, as it was the fourth pillar of the state. Appreciating the “pro-media resolution” passed a day before, he said the resolution would end the “misunderstandings” between the media and the government.

Parliament protected martial laws: Ramday

ISLAMABAD – The incumbent legislators have destroyed the parliamentary image through different clauses, including 175-A, 63-A and 239, of the 18th Constitutional Amendment which are negating the basic structure of the Constitution, Abdul Hafeez Pirzada argued Tuesday before a 17-member larger bench of the Supreme Court.

The 17-member bench headed by Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry is hearing identical petitions against certain clauses of the 18th Amendment. Justice Khalil-ur-Rehman Ramday said that the courts accorded temporary validation to martial laws, but others (Parliament) provided every time permanent protection to it and only the institution of judiciary was being singled out.
Pirzada said in his arguments that it was a unique characteristic of the 1973 Constitution that it

was passed unanimously and no dictator had courage to abrogate it though it was put in abeyance by General Zia-ul-Haq and General Pervez Musharraf. He said except a few amendments,


the other changes in the Constitution were quite appreciative.
Abdul Hafeez Pirzada said that the 18th Amendment had destroyed the parliamentary image of
the 1973 Constitution and its Article 239 barred the jurisdiction of the court to examine the laws passed by the Parliament. He said that the Supreme Court had the powers to decide disputes between the Federating Units and the Federation.

Justice Saqib Nisar asked Pirzada what was the correlation between the convention and the expressed will of the people. He stated if the constitution was a living document, then the future

generation could make changes in it.
Justice Nasir-ul-Mulk asked, “Can the court strike down an expressed will if it is against the convention?”

Pirzada replied where was the will of the people when General (Retd) Pervez Musharraf imposed emergency in the country as the then National and Punjab Assemblies had supported him.

The Chief Justice said that the Parliament did not validate the action but it only passed the resolution.

Justice Jawwad S Khawaja citing a politician said that the parliamentarians considered themselves as servants of the people and the masses were the real masters of their government.

Benazir's muder probe completed: Ban Ki-moon

New York, Jul 14: United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon told that the UN probe into the assassination of former Prime Minister of Pakistan, Benazir Bhutto, was complete.

Ban Ki-moon rejected Pak's appeal to reopen the UN probe into the assassination of Benazir Bhutto.


The three-member United Nations commission, which was headed by Chile's former UN ambassador Heraldo Munoz, presented its report on 15 Apr 2010.

On Jul 2010 Pakistan raised objections to the report and appealed UN to reopen the probe.

Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi wrote a letter to Ban Ki-moon stating the objections over several aspects of the report, including the panel's observations implying a nexus between the Pakistan Army and the Taliban.

54 year old Bhutto was killed on 27 Dec, 2007 when a suicide bomber exploded himself close to her car in Rawalpindi while she was campaigning for the Pakistan People's Party (PPP) in parliamentary and provincial elections.

The report slammed the Musharraf government for both failing to protect Bhutto after she returned to Pakistan and for not properly probing the circumstances leading to her murder.

The report also found that some elements of Pakistan's spy agency ISI deliberately prevented investigations.

Nawaz cheating the nation: Baba

LAHORE: Law Minister Dr Babar Awan has said that PML-N Quaid Nawaz Sharif is deceiving the nation now by making Sanaullah Mastikhel a scapegoat after passing resolution against the media.

He also stressed the PML-N Quaid to name the real player behind the entire episode against the media rather than shifting the responsibility on a party MPA.Talking to the mediapersons at the Lahore Airport Sunday, the federal minister said the party, which had been blowing the trumpet of clash between the government and institutions, had itself adopted the path of confrontation against media.

He said tolerance level of the “princes of Lahore” had been exposed in this recent incident.Commenting on the PML-N Quaid’s decision to seek resignation from Sanaullah Mastikhel, the PML-N MPA, who moved resolution against the media, Babar Awan said Nawaz Sharif had tried to hoodwink the nation, without realising that camera eye had shown the real picture.

Babar said it was on record and camera was watching the entire proceedings as to who had suspended the rules of business, who announced its adaptation, who changed the agenda and eventually passed the resolution against the media.

He said Mian Sahib should come up with the real person who tried to play trick with the nation rather than making his one MPA a scapegoat. The minister said one must not think of imposing restrictions on the media and making any effort against freedom of expression in democracy. He said there was no provision to withdraw resolution; however, definitely there could be some way out. He said they wanted that media should work with more freedom.

To a query about massive disqualifications of parliamentarians as a result of fake degrees, Babar said it wasn’t going to affect the democratic system, and there would be no mid-term polls even if a large number of MPs were disqualified.

To a question about release of Dr Aafia Siddiqui, Babar said he had given in writing a piece of advice to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for an appeal or use federal sources to look for ways for Dr Aafia’s release or a request for handing her over to Pakistan.

APP adds: The law minister said that the absconder of Sindh should be given a chance of appearance before the court so that he could be tried there. He said if there was any ground for transfer of the case and law was enacted, then cases of President Asif Zardari and his father would have to be transferred (to Sindh). He said Farooq Sattar was tried in Sindh, and he faced it. He reiterated that all PPP leadership is present before today’s courts.

Later, addressing a meeting of women lawyers at the Governor’s House, he said the PPP could not ignore 51 percent of the population which were women. He said the government had launched the largest scheme in the world for the betterment of women in the form of Benazir Income Support Programme, which was supported and appreciated by the World Bank and other organisations of the globe. He said there was no party which had given women due status in the society other than the PPP as it was the PPP that had nominated Begum Rana Liaquat Ali Khan as first woman governor in Sindh, first lady SHO and first lady attorney general was also appointed during the rule of the PPP.

LHC summons NAB chief over seized Sharif property

LAHORE: A division bench of the Lahore High Court on Thursday issued a notice to the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) chairman and restrained the bureau from harassing the Sharif family, in the family’s seven identical appeals seeking the release of their property which was seized in 2001.

Headed by Justice Ijazul Ahsan, the bench also sought replies from the NAB authorities within two weeks.

The Sharif family had argued that NAB was not releasing properties seized in 2001 in order to recover fines imposed by an accountability court and an anti-terrorism court on PML-N chief Nawaz Sharif in a plane hijacking case as well as the purchase of a Russian helicopter.

Initially, these appeals were filed at the Rawalpindi bench of the LHC but were later transferred to Lahore due to the unavailability of the bench in Rawalpindi. The appeals were filed by Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif, Sabina Abbas, Hudabiya Paper Mills, Hudabiya Engineering Services, Chaudhry Sugar Mills, Ramzan Sugar Mills and Hamza Spinning Mills.

On July 22, 2000, an accountability court sentenced Nawaz Sharif to 14 years of rigorous imprisonment and Rs20 million in fines in the helicopter case. An anti-terrorism court in Karachi had convicted Nawaz on April 6, 2000 in the plane hijacking case, and awarded him life imprisonment, a Rs500,000 fine and the attachment of his movable and immovable property.

However, the conviction was set aside by the Supreme Court on October 30, 2000.

The appellants argued that despite the conviction being set aside by the Supreme Court, NAB had not released their properties.

In a petition filed by Hudabiya Paper Mills through its secretary Syed Ajmal Sibtain and 15 shareholders, the company sought the recovery of 7.07 million share certificates attached by Mohammad Shabbir Khan, the then-director of NAB in Lahore on May 16, 2001, to recover the fine.

Shahbaz Sharif’s appeal was filed by Tariq Dastagir Khan and sought the recovery of an original sale deed executed by Murree Improvement Trust in Shahbaz’s favour for a plot in Murree. The agreement was seized by Lahore NAB authorities on January 16, 2002.

Sabina Abbas, daughter of Mian Abbas, sought the detachment of a sale deed of May 12, 1984, registered with sub-registrar of Murree in her favour with regard to a property in Murree.

Chaudhry Sugar Mills, through its secretary Syed Ajmal Sibtain, sought the recovery of Rs5 million acquired by NAB Lahore on April 6, 2002, through cross cheques.

Ramzan Sugar Mills sought recovery of Rs110 million cashed by the bureau in 2001 and 2002 through six bank transactions.

Hudabiya Engineering Services, through its secretary Syed Ajmal Sibtain, sought the recovery of 204,500 company share certificates attached by NAB in Lahore on May 16, 2001.

Hamza Spinning Mills, through its secretary Tariq Dastagir Khan, sought recovery of 2.735 million share certificates.

The appellants argued that it was unlawful of NAB to recover the fines imposed on Nawaz Sharif from other members of his family.

They said since the Supreme Court had acquitted Nawaz Sharif, NAB should have released the seized property and shares. But it failed to do so despite repeated applications.

UN report on Benazir

THE government’s reaction to the report of the United Nations Commission on Ms Benazir Bhutto’s murder, as expressed in a letter to the UN Secretary General, is surprisingly negative considering that the PPP had virtually based its post-murder election campaign on the holding of a UN enquiry into the murder. The President himself, who had been made a widower by the murder, had called for the UN enquiry. The enquiry itself, by a Commission headed by Chiles former UN ambassador Geraldo Munoz, was obtained only after great effort and with the country bearing all the expenses.

Just because the Commission did not play the role of an echo chamber, and reflect the government’s views, should not be the reason for such a rejection. The reasons given all reflect precisely the findings of the Commission that caused the greatest controversy when the report was made. The Foreign Minister’s letter defends the official agencies which the Commission had pointed at, including the intelligence agencies, as well as the PPP individuals responsible for Ms Bhutto’s security, including those who have not just been included in the Federal Cabinet, but are characterised as being virtual representatives of the President.
Another reason given for the rejection of the report, implied by the strong criticism of the report by the Foreign Minister, is the Commission’s failure to question foreign heads of state, including Afghan President Hamid Karzai. The letter also says that Pakistan refuses to be bound by any of the Commission’s findings. The only states with an animus against Pakistan sufficient to use the findings against it are India and the USA, both of which are unduly favoured by the present

government.
Before sending the letter, the PPP should have thought about its next step, now that its main plank in the 2009 election turned out to be a damp squib. If the Commission report does not lead to the arrest of the guilty, then what will. And that too with the PPP in power?

PPP asks Punjab CM to sack Sanaullah

LAHORE: The Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) has asked Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif to sack Law Minister Rana Sanaullah Khan without delay as his “links with banned outfits” are stopping him to launch a ‘genuine’ crackdown on militants.

“In spite of calls from several moderate religious forces, the PML-N government does not seem to fire the law minister. It seems that Sanaullah is the chief minister’s blue-eyed boy,” says PPP Punjab Information Secretary Dr Fakharuddin Chaudhry.

At a press conference at the Lahore Press Club on Tuesday, the PPP leader said Sanaullah instead of quitting his “Kalashnikov-wielding friends” was levelling allegations against federal ministers Rahman Malik and Babar Awan.

“I want to tell him that both the ministers are pillars of the party as they were also the most trusted fellows of Benazir Bhutto,” he said and asked the chief minister to rethink about retaining Sanaullah in the cabinet.

He also asked PML-N chief Nawaz Sharif to remove Sanaullah on “moral grounds”.

Dr Fakharuddin Chaudhry also criticised the judiciary for summoning the parents of President Asif Ali Zardari. He said some forces were helping a particular party to establish a “dynasty” in Punjab, but the PPP would not let them succeed.

PPP’s Punjab Finance Secretary Aurangzeb Burki alleged that the provincial government was patronising “extremists and militants”. “The governor’s rule cannot be ruled out if those living in a palace in Raiwind do not stop patronising such people,” he warned.

He further alleged: “Raiwind is the headquarter of ‘Lahori Taliban’, and the Punjab government must shun its support to extremists.”

PPP Central Deputy Information Secretary Haider Zaman Qureshi said the PML-N’s “soft policy” on terrorism had been encouraging extremists to strike at will. “We only want the Punjab government to come hard on militants for the sake of the people,” he said.

Party’s Lahore chapter president Asghar Gujjar demanded resignation from the Lahore High Court chief justice saying he had lost his mandate to remain in his office after making comments against the PPP.

“He should resign and contest election,” he said.

Meanwhile, Lahore PPP women’s wing President Faiza Malik said making Swiss cases a “matter of ego” would weaken the country and democracy.In a statement, she said the PML-N instead of demanding mid-term polls should utilise its energies in fighting terrorism. She said to press the government for holding talks with Taliban was tantamount to committing treason.

She said the PPP would strengthen democracy in face of all conspiracies.

India, Pak should build on progress made in any area: Qureshi

India and Pakistan should build on any "positive development" in any issue including Kashmir and look at ways to make progress where it has not been achieved, Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi has said.

He, however, trashed former President Pervez Musharraf's four-point formula for resolving the Kashmir issue, saying it was "his thinking" which did not have the endorsement of Parliament or Cabinet.

"We will not like to ignore anything. We will not like to ignore any development or any positive development that has taken place between India and Pakistan," Qureshi told PTI in an interview here.

He was responding when asked to comment on India's emphasis that there was a need to "reaffirm" the progress made through "complex negotiations and dialogue through patient and unsung effort" whether in the composite dialogue or back channel diplomacy.

"Any issue, whether it is Kashmir, Siachen, Sir Creek, Water, any issue where progress can be made, should be made. Where it hasn't been made, we should look at ways and means how to make progress. Where progress has been made, let us build on it further," Qureshi said in a wide-ranging interaction.

He will be having talks with External Affairs Minister SM Krishna in Islamabad on July 15 to discuss ways to reduce trust deficit and improve ties.

Asked whether his government endorses the four-point formula floated by Musharraf in December 2006 to resolve Kashmir issue, the Foreign Minister said, "The four-point formula that Gen Musharraf made then was his thinking. It was being done through quiet back-channel diplomacy."

The formula envisaged softening of Line of Control (LoC), self-governance, phased withdrawal of troops from entire Jammu and Kashmir and joint supervision by India and Pakistan.

"We are a democracy, Parliament has to own them, Parliament has to endorse them, Cabinet has to discuss them," the Foreign Minister said, adding these proposals were "neither discussed by Cabinet, nor endorsed by Parliament. So, as democrats, there are certain Parliamentary procedures that we have to fulfill."

Shaheed Benazir Bhutto Park inauguration today

Shaheed Benazir Bhutto Park located on Boat Basin will be inaugurated on Wednesday (today) by Pakistan People’s Party’s (PPP) Senator Almas Perveen.

Party sources disclosed that the decision to have Senator Parveen to inaugurate the park was taken on the directive of President Asif Ali Zardari who wished that a party worker should be handed the task. Senator Parveen has long been associated with the PPP and started as a worker in the party. Chief Minister Syed Qaim Ali Shah, his cabinet members and prominent citizens have been invited as guests to the inaugural ceremony.

Work on Shaheed Benazir Bhutto Park started two year ago. Located on around 50 acres of land situated at Boat Basin, Clifton, the park was built under Zardari’s Green Karachi programme and is the most expensive park in Pakistan with a sum of Rs. one billion having been spent on it. However, to date, half of the park remains incomplete and yet another two million would be spent on the construction of this portion.

Officials confirmed that the cost of one tree planted in the park is Rs45000 and hundred of such trees have been planted in the park. Most of the decorative items have been imported from China. PPP’s women wing chief, MNA, Faryal Taplur, who is also the sister of Zardari, has supervised the construction and purchasing of the beautification items installed in the park.

Though one half of the portion was completed six months ago, President Zardari was invited more then four times to inaugurate the park. However, arrangements for the inauguration were postponed at the last minute as every time the president changed his mind, official concerned informed.

Nancy Pelosi pays tribute to Benazir Bhutto at documentay premiere

WASHINGTON, June 30 (APP): Speaker of the US House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi paid glowing tribute to Pakistan’s martyred prime minister Benazir Bhutto as politicians and policymakers gathered at the premiere of a documentary chronicling courageous life and democratic contributions of the popular leader.“She gave hope for future of the country and was a model of women’s development,” Speaker Pelosi told the gathering including American lawmakers, intellectuals and Pakistan’s ambassador to the United States Husain Haqqani, senior Pakistani diplomats and Ms. Sanam Bhutto, Benazir’s sister and only living sibling.

Speaker Pelosi recalled her meeting with the Muslim world’s first and youngest woman prime minister in 1989, when Benazir Bhutto visited Washington and met with members of US Congress. Pelosi described the meeting with the young leader as a “thrill of the lifetime.” Pelosi spoke at the National Geographic Society headquarters where ‘Bhutto,’ a riveting documentary on life and work of the Pakistani icon of democracy - was screened by the Independent Television Service.
Speaker Pelosi told the audience she found Benazir Bhutto an “informal and unassuming” figure, although she was an immensely popular and fascinating politician.
She was a “great leader in the world,” Pelosi said of Benazir Bhutto, who was assassinated on December 27, 2007, months after her return to Pakistan.
Ambassador Husain Haqqani, paying tribute to one of the most popular and influential leaders of the era, said Benazir Bhutto represented aspirations of the Pakistanis for modern democracy, empowerment of the poor and a model for intelligentsia. “She was a tolerant leader and had full faith in democracy, an inspiring figure for the people desiring change in their lives,” he added.
The ambassador informed the audience how the former prime minister motivated people to stand up against extremism and said she was the first politician who “fearlessly” spoke against parochialism.
Highlighting her ideas and ideals for democratic advancement, Ambassador Haqqani hoped that Pakistan would become a modern democracy as envisioned by Benazir Bhutto.
The 150-minute documentary captures the epic tale of the life, career, and assassination of Benazir Bhutto, who broke the glass ceiling as the first elected woman leader of Muslim world.
A post-screening discussion hosted by PBS NewsHour’s Judy Woodruff provided additional perspective on the film and Benazir Bhutto’s life and work. The film’s director Duane Baughman and producer Mark Siegel participated and answered questions.