Pakistan is able to fulfil only half of its energy requirements from its own sources annually as it has only 12-million-tonne refining capacity. Contrary to this, India exports 25 per cent of its 185-million refining capacity.      

For further reading:

For further reading:

India’s dramatic behind-the-scenes intervention in 2009 in Sri Lanka meant that it had stared down the mighty US, even though it had been forced to hold its own nose from the stench that emanated from the Tamil killings.

In fact, the trio that ran India’s Sri Lanka policy at the time – then National Security Advisor and now Governor of West Bengal M K Narayanan, then Foreign Secretary and now National Security Advisor Shiv Shanker Menon, as well as then Defence Secretary (now retired) Vijay Singh – kept in close touch with Rajapaksa and his all-powerful brothers, Basil and Gotabhaya Rajapaksa. Today, too, one is the Cabinet minister for economic development and the other the defence secretary in Sri Lanka.

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“The deeper the reform proceeds, the more difficulties and resistance we might encounter, and the more specific and complex issues might arise,” said Li Zhaoxing, spokesman for the fifth session of the 11th National People’s Congress (NPC).

“But generally speaking, opportunities outweigh challenges,” Xinhua quoted him as saying.

China has made notable progress in some crucial sectors, such as by promoting reforms in the fiscal, taxation and financial systems, Li said.

He said China is ready to work with the global community to offset the fallout of the global financial crisis for the common benefits of people in China and around the world.

For her five audio albums Rahman chose to sing the ‘Gitabitan’. She says, “In my pursuit of Rabindra Sangeet I find the lyrics of ‘Gitabitan’ to be the most versatile. In it are compositions of every genre, although the poet himself had based them on the broad categories of Puja, Bichitra, Saundarya, and so on. I can express my innermost feelings through the words in this volume.”

It wasn’t easy travelling frequently betweenDhakaand Kolkata – where the album was recorded, or spending over 10 hours every day inside a recording studio, but she did it because she wanted to do something special for aficionados of Tagore’s music.

Of course, if Rahman on CD is a treat to the ears, Rahman ‘live in concert’ is another experience altogether. Best loved for her absorbing performances, at a recent concert inNew Delhishe enthralled everyone with her innovative style and her interactive approach. For instance, surprising everyone present, instead of starting off with a traditional ‘puja’ (devotional) number, Rahman chose to render the love song, ‘Sheyee bhaalo…’. She invested each word with poignancy as she sang in a slow-flowing style – and that too sans a fixed rhythmic beat – so that the pathos of the lyrics was conveyed perfectly. Her performance covered all of Tagore’s genres, including the tappa-oriented compositions, raga-based ones and, of course, his nature poetry, particularly the number, ‘Megher parey megh jomechey’ that he composed at his family estate at Shilaidaha inBangladeshwhile monsoon clouds were gathering slowly in the sky.

As the evening grew, Rahman was inundated with requests from the audience, which she readily responded to, much to the delight of everyone present. Of course, thehigh pointof the concert was when she was coaxed into singing ‘Amar Sonar Bangla’, theBangladeshnational anthem, even as the crowd readily joined in.

But it’s not just inIndia, Rahman has captivated audiences across the world. She says, “The words and tune are Tagore’s but I deliver them as my own. I find great ‘ananda’ (happiness) in singing, even if the song is about ‘viraha’ (estrangement). Prior to a concert, I prepare a rough list of numbers that I will sing, but as the mood sets in I find myself going with the flow and according to requests from the audience. That makes it an enjoyable experience for all.”

Today, Rahman is a performer par excellence, but she has got to this point only after years of ‘riyaaz’ (practice), under some of the best gurus. She began training in this genre from an early age. Initially, she learnt classical music, more specifically the ‘khayal’ style, at home under the supervision of the late Ustad Fazlul Huq. Later, she studied music at Chhayanat, the well-known cultural organisation inDhakafor two years. Finally, she trained at the Bulbul Academy of Fine Arts (BAFA),Dhaka, under the late Atiqul Islam for five years. Four decades after her first training session, Rahman brought out her first album, ‘Lukale Boli’ in 1997. Four more albums have followed over the years. Says Rahman, “I heard my first Tagore songs as a child. Even today, I read the Gitabitan every day so that the words and tune are meticulously imbibed. You can now say that I literally breathe Tagore and feel that he had written those songs especially for me!”

Rahman may have grown up listening to the legends of Tagore songs – according to her she used to listen to Dwijen Mukherjee, Konika Banerjee, Debobrato Biswas and others – but she has evolved a distinct style of her own. “For a while I was influenced by these personalities. But I eventually built up my own style of singing. I think every artiste has this in them and the original style comes out at one time or the other,” she says.

To make sure she gives her best each time, Rahman, a mother of two, is particular about the musical accompaniments in her entourage. Although she plays the harmonium herself, she has a tabla ‘ustad’ (maestro), who plays the conventional beat as well as simulates the sounds of the khol, a high-pitched earthen drum accompaniment that is popular with the kirtan-based melodies of the Vaishnava sect. Of course, modern instruments too make their presence felt, with the keyboard providing melody and volume to vocal rendition. However, the star in her orchestra is the nearly-forgotten string instrument, the esraj.

There are not many esraj exponents nowadays, so for theDelhiconcert, esrajist Shubhayo Sen-Majumdar joined her since he is familiar with her timbre and musical strengths and has accompanied her on several tours. Says Rahman, “The esraj is enough for me. I can fathom all the moods of the song through it. Many a time, other instruments seem to ‘disturb’ me and I’m not able to feel Tagore’s songs.”

In fact, she is always reluctant to end her concerts. As she put it during herDelhiconcert, “I feel I could sing Tagore all night for you.” That’s vintage Rahman for you.

For Rahman, Tagore is an ever-present reality, and she believes there is “a bit of Tagore in all our lives”. As she had once put it, “When I am happy, sad or in trouble, I take shelter in Rabindranath. I like to share that experience with people… [And] the response I get from my audience is my greatest reward.”

 (© Women’s Feature Service)

]]> http://indiacurrentaffairs.org/bangladesh-bangladeshs-shama-rahman-is-a-hit-with-tagore-music-lovers-subhra-majumdar/feed/ 0 http://indiacurrentaffairs.org/indian-doctors-return-from-pakistan-with-lots-of-love-m-r-narayan-swamy/ http://indiacurrentaffairs.org/indian-doctors-return-from-pakistan-with-lots-of-love-m-r-narayan-swamy/#comments Wed, 15 Feb 2012 09:05:18 +0000 India Current Affairs http://indiacurrentaffairs.org/?p=109810 A group of doctors has returned to India after two successful liver transplants in Lahore, with “lots of love and lots of goodwill” from Pakistan.

A seven-member team led by Subhash Gupta of Apollo Hospital here along with Pakistani doctors conducted the lengthy surgeries in Lahore’s Shaikh Zaid Hospital — the equivalent of Delhi’s AIIMS — Feb 9 and 10.

The first transplant involved a sister who donated a part of her liver to her brother. This one, on Feb 9, lasted from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m., a gruelling 16 hours.

In the second case, a son donated a part of his liver to his mother. This operation took two hours less.

K. Lalitha, the Apollo anaesthetist who was in the team, explained that the surgeries involved taking out a person’s half or two-thirds of a liver and transplanting it on another person.

Meticulous care is needed when the surgery is on — it involves two lives, the donor and the receiver. The Indian doctors charged no fees.

“Doctors from Pakistan trained in this wanted to start this programme,” the 53-year-old Lalitha told IANS.

“They had done one transplant with help from a British team. But apparently the Brits didn’t travel this time due to security reasons. So they requested Apollo Hospital,” said Lalitha, who became a doctor in 1980. She added that Gupta had done many such transplants in Delhi and elsewhere.

“This was the first time we went to Pakistan. You may say it was a goodwill mission. There were competent Pakistani doctors too with us. Our team included a technician, two nurses and two assistants.”

After reaching Lahore Feb 8, the transplants happened over the next two days. “In the end, both patients are doing fine, and we are naturally very happy.”

The Delhi-born Lalitha — who along with her doctor-husband N. Subramanian is a versatile singer of Bollywood classics — is full of praise for the numerous Pakistanis she met.

“They were excellent people, beautiful people. They looked after us really very, very well.”

And keeping in mind the uncertainties of Pakistan, commandos were provided to protect the Indians.

“We of course did not have much time to go around Lahore. But the people — doctors, their families, the patients’ families — all of them gave all of us so much happiness and joy.

“I am really happy I went to Pakistan. I now want to go again, for tourism perhaps. I went there for the excitement of going to Pakistan,” she said.

“We had fun. We could speak the language, the food was ours, the language was ours, Lahore was just like Delhi.

“And we were stuffed with more food than we would normally eat!”

Happy with what Gupta and his team had done for the two patients, the Pakistani hosts presented the Indian team shawls and carpets as souvenirs.

But Lalitha said the real gifts from Pakistan were not that.

“What we got in Pakistan was priceless… We got lots of love and lots of goodwill. And new friends.”

(M.R. Narayan Swamy can be contacted at narayan.swamy@ians.in)

The documents were signed here between Defence Minister A.K. Antony and Sultanate of Oman’s Minister Responsible for Defence Affairs Sayyid Badr bin Saud bin Hareb Al-Busaidi here during the latter’s three-day visit that concludes Thursday.

With the bilateral defence cooperation between India and Oman growing over the years, the navies of the two countries are conducting a joint exercise “Naseem Al Bahr” off the coast of Mumbai Dec 26-31.

A fourth child, 10-year-old Shoaib Hassan, survived as he woke up gasping for breath. He moved out of the room and into the balcony, an act that saved his life.

The incident came to light when Hassan’s uncle Ramzan Ahmad came to look up the family as his father was out of town, reported Dawn.

Hassan told the police that his mother had cooked dinner on firewood and after feeding them, she tucked them in. She left the coal stove burning after closing the door and shutting the single window.

An editorial in the News International said that Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani’s remarks about a ‘state within a state’ caused quite a sensation in political circles.

‘It looked as if the premier’s indirect reference to the military and the ISI was a challenge to the establishment,’ it said.

Pakistan Army chief General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani’s statement the very next day about the army being cognizant of its constitutional obligations and responsibilities was welcomed by the prime minister.

Gilani later also made it clear that there is no clash between the government and the military.

‘Some analysts have called it a ‘retreat’ by the federal government even though it was only logical that the prime minister would accept and welcome the army chief’s positive statement at face value.

‘But it is important to read between the lines… Tensions may have been defused but there are some questions that were left unanswered.’

The editorial went on to say that General Kayani’s statement the other day referred to national security and how no compromise would be made on this issue.

‘In Pakistan, ‘national security’ has always been defined by the military even though in any modern democratic state, it is defined by the government in consultation with its subservient military.

‘The military in Pakistan considers itself a state within a state and uses the jihadist networks to defend its national security paradigm,’ it said.

The editorial added that it would not be wrong to ‘remind the military that its definition of national security led to the loss of half the country in 1971, it led to a disaster called Kargil, and the same ‘national security’ is now responsible for the kill and dump policy being pursued by our military in Balochistan’.

The Kargil conflict between Pakistan and India took place in 1999.

‘It is time to allow the democratic government to define what constitutes national security instead of making one blunder after another… The last thing this country needs at this critical juncture is institutional infighting,’ the editorial said.

Addressing a huge gathering at Benazir’s mausoleum in Garhi Khuda Baksh on her fourth death anniversary Tuesday, Zardari said Aseefa will be the flag bearer of the party and will carry on the family tradition of serving the people of Pakistan.

The Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) is not a party of inheritance, Associated Press of Pakistan quoted him as saying.

The president has three children – Aseefa, 18, Bakhtawar, 21, and Bilawal, 23.

It was not clear from Zardari’s remark as to what role his son Bilawal will play once Aseefa leads the party.

In April, Zardari had said that Bilawal, who is PPP chairman, will ‘take up some political responsibility in September’.

When President Asif Ali Zardari abruptly left Pakistan to go to Dubai Dec 6 over a heart ailment, it was Bilawal who met Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani as rumours swirled about the state of the president’s health and whether he was stepping down.

Bilawal had deliberated on the current political situation with Gilani.

Bilawal was made the PPP chairman after his mother Benazir Bhutto was killed in 2007. It was also decided then that till completion of Bilawal’s education, Asif Ali Zardari would run the party affairs as co-chairman.

Benazir was assassinated Dec 27, 2007, as she was leaving Liaqat Bagh in a motorcade after addressing an election rally in Rawalpindi, the twin city of Islamabad.

Gilani said Tuesday at Benazir Bhutto’s mausoleum in Garhi Khuda Baksh that the investigation into her assassination was almost complete and its details would be revealed in due course of time.

‘I don’t want the inquiry to be affected in any manner,’ Associated Press of Pakistan quoted him as saying.

Gilani said the decision to share details of any aspect of the probe could only be made by central executive committee of the Pakistan Peoples Party.

Benazir Bhutto (1953-2007) was the first woman prime minister of Pakistan. She was twice the prime minister – 1988-90 and 1993-96 – but could not complete any term.

She was removed in 1996 as prime minister on charges of corruption, and went into self-imposed exile to Dubai in 1998. Benazir returned to Pakistan in October 2007 after an understanding with then president Pervez Musharraf. She was granted amnesty and all corruption charges were withdrawn.

She was assassinated Dec 27, 2007, after a Pakistan Peoples Party rally in Rawalpindi, just two weeks before the scheduled parliamentary elections of 2008.

An editorial in the News International Tuesday said that a commission the government set up to look into the murder has submitted a report which the PPP top brass has decided to keep a secret.

‘Essentially we stand rooted at the same spot where we were in 2007. Fingers point in many directions; there is no real evidence to suggest which version is the most accurate.

‘As is also true of so much else in our history, we may never learn the truth.’

Parliament is supreme and will take decisions on all issues of national importance, said Gilani during a brief interaction with reporters as he visited former prime minister Benazir Bhutto’s mausoleum, APP reported.

The supremacy of parliament would be ensured, he added.

Asked if any conspiracy was being hatched against the government, Gilani said Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) was not an ordinary party and it was strong enough to confront any conspiracy.

Gilani said he had already dispelled the notion that General Ashfaq Pervez Kayani and Inter Services Intelligence (ISI) chief General Shuja Pasha might be dismissed.

The country witnessed heightened tension between the government and the army after Gilani Thursday said, ‘Nobody can say that he is not under the government.’ He added that conspiracies were being hatched to ‘pack up an elected government’.

Replying to a question about investigations into Benazir Bhutto’s assassination, the Pakistan prime minister said he was not in a position to make any remark on it as the matter was sub judice.

Bhutto was assassinated Dec 27, 2007, after a Pakistan Peoples Party rally in Rawalpindi, just two weeks before the scheduled parliamentary elections of 2008.

After a gap of four years, Pakistan and India Monday held talks on conventional CBMs, while discussions on nuclear CBMs were held Tuesday.

The talks are the first formal engagement since Pakistani Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani met his Indian counterpart Manmohan Singh in the Maldives at the SAARC summit meeting early in November.

The Wall Street Journal reported that Pakistan made the proposal on removing heavy artillery Monday.

Islamabad suggested that artillery of greater than 120 mm be moved 30 km from the LoC. The LoC divides Jammu and Kashmir between India and Pakistan.

The expert-level meeting on nuclear and conventional CBMs is being held after a gap of four years.

Y.K. Sinha, joint secretary in charge of Pakistan desk in India’s external affairs ministry, is leading the Indian side at the talks on conventional CBMs. The talks on nuclear CBMs were led by Venkatesh Verma, joint secretary in charge of disarmament in India’s external affairs ministry.

Munawar Saeed Bhatti, additional secretary in Pakistan’s ministry of foreign affairs, heads the Pakistan delegation for both expert groups.

Pakistan and India resumed in February early this year their dialogue process that was stalled after the Nov 26, 2008 Mumbai terror attack perpetrated by Pakistani terrorists.

The former prime minister was assassinated Dec 27, 2007, after a Pakistan Peoples Party rally in Rawalpindi, just two weeks before the scheduled parliamentary elections of 2008.

An editorial in the News International Tuesday said: ‘Her (Benazir’s) death changed our history; it may have changed our destiny and is perhaps one reason at least for the pitfalls we have stumbled into. Perhaps Benazir could have prevented some of this.’

‘But speculation about what could have been serves very little purpose and does not help us today.’

It said that the country has to live with the facts – and ‘some of these are extremely disturbing’.

‘For one, it is a true irony that even with Bhutto’s own PPP in government, even with her husband (Asif Ali Zardari) occupying the presidency and her son (Bilawal) heading the party his grandfather founded, we are no closer than before to solving the riddle of Benazir’s murder,’ the editorial said.

‘Indeed we seem further away and need to question why this is the case.’

The editorial went on to say that a commission the government set up to look into the murder has submitted a report which the PPP top brass has decided to keep a secret.

‘Essentially we stand rooted at the same spot where we were in 2007. Fingers point in many directions; there is no real evidence to suggest which version is the most accurate.

‘As is also true of so much else in our history, we may never learn the truth.’

Describing it as a ‘disturbing thought’, the editorial said it raises all kinds of doubts in our minds, and ‘perhaps the most striking among these is why our current set of rulers, given their affinity to Benazir, should be quite so reluctant to uncover the truth and place it before the people.’

‘The uncertainty that persists is unsettling. A woman of as much sagacity and courage as Benazir deserved better.’

The assurance came during the three-day visit of Chinese President Hu Jintao’s representative Dai Bingguo, said China’s Ambassador to Pakistan Liu Jian.

Dai Bingguo is an expert on South Asian affairs and his visit took place as a tussle broke out between the Pakistani army and the government.

The ambassador said the visit, though short, proved fruitful, reported Associated Press of Pakistan.

He said China supports Pakistan’s efforts in maintaining its national stability and unity, creating a sound external environment, developing its economy, and improving the livelihood of its people, by fully exploiting its geographical advantage.

Islamabad has said that its sovereignty was compromised when US commandos flew into Abbottabad May 2 and killed Al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden without informing Pakistan. Also, NATO airstrikes Nov 26 on two Pakistan Army checkposts left two dozen soldiers dead, sparking outrage in the country.

Dai Bingguo emphasized that the international community should fully recognize the significant contributions made by Pakistan for the international campaign against terrorism and continue to render strong support for Pakistan.

During the visit, Dai Bingguo held in-depth discussions with Pakistan’s civilian and military leaders and reached broad consensus on further promoting China-Pakistan strategic cooperative partnership.

A tearful Awan had announced her resignation during a televised cabinet meeting Sunday morning, saying: ‘I endorse your leadership (but) I think I am not competent enough to continue as cabinet member and hence submit my resignation.’

Gilani Monday directed Awan to evolve a strategy to showcase achievements of the government, reported Associated Press of Pakistan.

He also called for projection of development work undertaken during three and a half years involving funds worth Rs.1.5 trillion.

Gilani Monday rejected as ‘absurd’ the impression and rumours that the government had any intention to remove General Kayani or General Pasha.

‘There are rumours that the government probably wants to remove them (Kayani, Pasha). This is absurd. Some opportunist are presenting this theory before the nation, which is wrong,’ Associated Press of Pakistan quoted Gilani as saying.

The prime minister said it was on his request that General Kayani and General Pasha were given extension.

‘I am happy with him,’ Gilani remarked in reference to General Kayani.

The country witnessed heightened tension between the government and the army after Gilani Thursday said: ‘Nobody can say that he is not under the government.’ He added that conspiracies were being hatched to ‘pack up an elected government’.

General Kayani, however, dispelled speculations of a military takeover and assured the naion that the army will support the democratic process in the country.

The meeting took place Monday, reported Associated Press of Pakistan.

India Nov 5 welcomed Pakistan’s decision to send the judicial commission.

Pakistan’s High Commissioner Shahid Malik had met Indian Home Minister P. Chidambaram and conveyed to him that the Pakistani government would be sending the commission to take forward the process of bringing to justice the perpetrators and conspirators of the Mumbai carnage.

The commission is expected to record the statements of Mumbai Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate R.V. Sawant Waghule and investigating officer Ramesh Mahale, who had recorded the confessional statement of Ajmal Amir Kasab, convicted of the terror attack.

Kasab is the lone surviving terrorist caught alive during the 26/11 attacks and he has already been convicted in the case by an Indian court.

Islamabad has contended that the charges against seven LeT militants, including its ‘operation commander’ Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhvi, who are currently lodged in a Pakistani jail, were based on Kasab’s statement and hence the magistrate and the investigating officer’s statements were necessary to furnish before the anti-terror court.

Two brothers died of suffocation Monday while repairing the sewer pipeline in Allama Iqbal colony in Gujranwala city, reported Online.

The third brother jumped into help them. But, he was rescued.

Geo News said that the talks Monday were being held at the Pakistan Foreign Office on conventional CBMs, while the talks on nuclear CBMs will be held Tuesday.

The talks are the first formal engagement since the leaders of the two countries met in the Maldives over two months ago.

The expert-level meeting on nuclear and conventional CBMs is being held after a gap of four years.

Y.K. Sinha, joint secretary in charge of Pakistan desk in India’s external affairs ministry, is leading the Indian side at the talks on conventional CBMs. The talks on nuclear CBMs Tuesday will be led by Venkatesh Verma, joint secretary in charge of disarmament in India’s external affairs ministry.

Munawar Saeed Bhatti, additional secretary in Pakistan’s ministry of foreign affairs, heads the Pakistan delegation for both expert groups.

In the fifth round of expert-level discussions on conventional CBMs, officials of the two countries will focus on implementing the cross-Kashmir trade and travel CBMs that were unveiled during the talks between the foreign ministers in July.

Issues relating to nuclear security and missile tests will be discussed Tuesday when the two sides hold the sixth round of expert-level discussions on nuclear CBMs.

The two sides are expected to explore the possibilities of expanding the scope of nuclear CBMs to include a pre-notification of cruise missile test launches. The Indian side may again push for a no-first-use commitment from Islamabad.

Pakistan and India resumed in February their dialogue process that was stalled after the Nov 26, 2008 Mumbai terror attack perpetrated by Pakistani terrorists.

Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani met his Indian counterpart Manmohan Singh in the Maldives on the sidelines of the SAARC summit in November and decided to push trust-building measures to add momentum to the revived dialogue process.

The electricity shortfall surged Saturday to over 40 percent for common consumers, hitting a new winter peak, Dawn reported.

Power generation went down to 8,500 MW while demand soared to 12,500 MW, leaving a 4,000 MW deficit.

Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani had constituted a high-powered committee in August to resolve the issue of unscheduled power outages in the country. However, it has been able to achieve little.

The country has witnessed protests over the lack of electricity.

In July, two people were killed and 30 injured in a pitched battle between police and locals who were upset over acute electricity shortage in a town in Punjab province.

Kamran threw acid at Zarin, 19, and Irum, 18, in Surjani area. The two teenagers were friends and their families had been former neighbours, Dawn reported.

Pakistani parliament’s upper house, the Senate, Dec 12 unanimously passed two landmark bills meant to protect women from negative customs and traditions and seeking severe punishments for violators.

The bills, which have already been passed by the lower house, the National Assembly, were moved by Senator Nilofar Bakhtiar. These bills seek to amend the Pakistan Penal Code, 1860 and the Code of Criminal Procedures, 1898.

The Anti-Women Practices bill, consisting of five clauses, seeks to penalise evils such as the so-called marriage with the holy Quran, forced marriage and depriving women from inheritance.

The other bill, that aims at preventing incidents of throwing acid at women, recommended that whoever hurt by corrosive substances shall be punished with imprisonment for life or imprisonment of either description which shall not be less than 14 years and a minimum fine of Rs. one million.

British officials believe that a ‘last push’ in 2012 may destroy Al Qaeda’s remaining senior leadership in Pakistan, The Guardian reported.

Many senior Al Qaeda members have been killed in air strikes by unmanned drones and ‘only a handful of the key players’ remain alive, said an official.

Al Qaeda’s top leader Osama bin Laden was gunned down in Pakistan’s Abbottabad town May 2 by US commandos who launched a daring operation using stealth helicopters.

Sources said at least two relatively senior Al Qaeda leaders have made their way to Libya, with others intercepted en route. This has caused fears that north Africa could become a new ‘theatre of jihad’.

‘A group of very experienced figures from north Africa left camps in Afghanistan’s (northeastern) Kunar province where they have been based for several years and travelled back across the Middle East,’ a source said, adding: ‘Some got stopped but a few got through.’

The media report said it was not clear whether the move from Afghanistan-Pakistan to north Africa was prompted by a desire for greater security that may be unlikely as coalition forces begin to withdraw from Afghanistan or part of a strategic attempt to exploit the aftermath of the Arab spring.

A smaller flow of volunteers reaching makeshift bases in Pakistan’s tribal areas has complicated matters for Al Qaeda.

‘I think they are really very much weakened,’ an official was quoted as saying.

‘You can’t say they don’t pose a threat — they do — but it’s a much lesser one.’

Intelligence sources told The Guardian they estimate that there are less than 100 ‘Al Qaeda or Al Qaeda-affiliated’ militants in Afghanistan.

On the Haqqani network, an official said there was evidence it had been acting as intermediaries between the Pakistani secret services and militant groups.

‘To move against the Haqqanis is a no-win option for the Pakistani military. If they suffer heavy casualties and fail to eliminate the group, they lose their authority and a key interlocutor. If they succeed, they lose a key asset,’ the official said.

Imran Khan had held a mammoth rally Oct 30 in Lahore and his next massive rally was held in Karachi Sunday.

An editorial in the News International Monday said after the Lahore rally it had asked: Is Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) a jalopy or a juggernaut?

As hundreds of thousands poured into the grounds in Karachi Sunday and rallied in Imran’s support, the answer to the question has become clearer: ‘Not only has Imran’s status as a rising star in politics been cemented, his PTI will also be a force to reckon with in the coming days.’

The editorial noted that after the Lahore rally, it was said that it would be weeks before we could properly assess the impact of the rally and months before the party’s real prospects in the 2013 general elections became clear.

‘But as the crowds came to cheer for Imran in Karachi, it could be reasonably said that the show of force and numbers in Lahore wasn’t a one-off. What we are seeing is a trend of growing support for Imran and his party.’

It, however, went on to say that at the Karachi rally, just like the Lahore one, the ‘big picture view was missing’.

‘We heard that Imran would do away with corruption in 90 days (!), computerise all land records, introduce a new labour policy, reform the civil services, strive for development in Balochistan, promote small farmers, and so on.

‘But the question remained: exactly how will the PTI do this? It’s a million-dollar question, one that the PTI cannot be said to have answered fully.’

Interior Minister Rehman Malik said Sunday that red warrants had been issued against the assassins of Shahbaz Bhatti and they would soon be brought to justice, Associated Press of Pakistan reported.

‘The two assassins are activists of the banned outfit Sipah-e-Sahaba. They managed to reach the Middle East. However, we are making efforts for their arrest and will bring them back to the country,’ he added.

Bhatti, a 42-year-old Christian, was shot dead March 2 as he left his mother’s house in a posh locality in the heart of Islamabad.

He was the second high-profile person to die after Punjab governor Salman Taseer who was shot dead by his own bodyguard Jan 4.

Both had sought presidential pardon for Aasia Bibi, a 45-year-old Christian farmhand sentenced to death on charges of denigrating the Prophet.

The police conducted a raid in Badin and found the 28 peasants, including 11 children and 13 women, in the illegal captivity of the local landlord, Geo News reported Monday.

Police said the raid was conducted on the directives of a judge.

The family members of those who were in prison had filed an application stating that the landlord had imprisoned them near Gulab Leghari in his private jail and was using them as forced labour.

The prisoners said that they were not paid for their work.

Felicitating the Christian community on Christmas, Gilani reiterated his government’s commitment stating: ‘The Pakistan government regards the protection of rights of the minorities as its constitutional duty and is committed to their welfare.’

The Constitution of 1973 guarantees complete religious freedom, social justice, and equality of rights to the minorities, Gilani said in his message on this occasion, Associated Press of Pakistan reported.

Addressing the 100th meeting of the federal cabinet here on the 135th birth anniversary of Pakistan’s founder Muhammad Ali Jinnah, the prime minister said the parliament would complete its five-year term and this will strengthen the democratic institutions, APP reported.

It’s an honour for the present government that it has completed its 45 months and it will complete the five-year term mandated to it by the people of Pakistan, Gilani said.

Pakistan’s elected government has been following the principles of Jinnah and is taking all decisions through consultation with the elected representatives, he said.

He also said the government held full respect for all the national institutions like judiciary, military and parliament including media and emphasised the need that all these institutions should work within their constitutional framework.

The country witnessed heightened tension between the government and the army after Gilani Thursday said: ‘Nobody can say that he is not under the government.’ He added that conspiracies were being hatched to ‘pack up an elected government’.

Pakistani Army chief General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani has dispelled speculation of a military takeover and assured the nation that the military would support the democratic process in the country.

A tearful Awan had announced her resignation during a televised cabinet meeting earlier Sunday morning, saying: ‘I endorse your leadership (but) I think I am not competent enough to continue as cabinet member and hence submit my resignation.’

Awan might have been forced to resign due to her failure to convincingly defend the government in the memogate scandal, according to some analysts, Dawn reported.

Later, Gilani during his one-on-one meeting with Awan, assured the minister of addressing her grievances.

The minister later told reporters that Gilani declined to accept her resignation and assured he would address her all reservations.

‘I talked openly and expressed my reservations to the prime minister. I do not want to stick to a position where problems and hurdles are created in the effective running of the affairs of the ministry,’ Awan said.

She said the prime minister assured to address her reservations relating to her ministry. ‘Now I am satisfied. I always stand with party and leadership’.

In his message on the 135th birth anniversary of Pakistan’s founder Muhammad Ali Jinnah Sunday, President Asif Ali Zardari called for respecting the power of the ballot as the instrument of change and not allow force and intimidation for such a change to take place.

Stating that Jinnah envisaged Pakistan as a democratic nation, Zardari said: ‘The Father of the Nation rejected any change by bullet and always favoured that it be done through ballot,’ Associated Press of Pakistan (APP) reported.

‘Let us pledge that we will not allow any change through force and intimidation and respect the power of ballot as the instrument of change,’ president added.

Jinnah stood for constitutionalism, rule of law, respect for human rights, pluralism and honouring the mandate of the people, Zardari said.

In Karachi, Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani said parliament was the supreme institution and if anyone wanted either the prime minister or the president to quit, they must take recourse to laid down constitutional procedures, Geo News reported.

Any deviation from the set principles would pave way for the third party to encroach, he added.

‘We respect everyone’s mandate and have great regard for all institutions, but we all must function within the ambit of 1973 constitution’, said Gilani while paying his homage to Jinnah at his mausoleum.

Gilani also pledged that the government would respect all institutions and would resolve all crises facing the nation.

Zardari’s sudden departure earlier this month for Dubai for medical treatment had led to intense speculation with Gilani telling the Senate that the president feared for his life in Pakistan hospitals.

Though the president returned to Pakistan having spent nearly two weeks in Dubai, speculation is rife that he would not stay in the country for too long.

It was not appropriate for the prime minister to talk about martial law and conspiracies against the democratic system, Leader of Opposition Nisar Ali Khan (Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz) said at a press conference Saturday, adding that Gilani’s remarks were ‘irresponsible’, the Daily Times reported.

Khan was referring to Gilani’s statement in the National Assembly in which he questioned the army about how Osama remained undetected in the Abbottabad compound for six years.

He also warned the government against taking any step against the army chief, Gen. Ashfaq Parvez Kayani and Inter-Services Intelligence chief Lt. Gen. Ahmad Shuja Pasha prior to the Supreme Court’s decision on the memogate scandal.

Pakistan’s Supreme Court is hearing the case about a secret memo sent to Washington that claimed President Asif Ali Zardari feared a military coup following the May 2 killing of Osama by US commandos.

Khan urged the government to refrain from taking any step in this regard, otherwise his party and the entire nation would resist it.

He also advised Gilani to retract his statement and avoid pointing fingers at the defence institutions.

Awan announced her resignation at the meeting presided over by Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani, Dawn News reported.

‘I endorse your leadership (but) I think I am not competent enough to continue as cabinet member and hence submit my resignation,’ said a tearful Awan during the televised cabinet meeting.

Awan might have been forced to resign due to her failure to convincingly defend the government in the ‘memogate scandal’, according to some analysts.

Pakistan’s Supreme Court is hearing the case about a secret memo sent to Washington that claimed President Asif Ali Zardari feared a military coup following the May 2 killing of Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden in the Abbottabad garrison town by US commandos.

Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani had not accepted Awan’s resignation till last report.

Speaking at a ceremony Saturday ahead of the 135th birth anniversary of Pakistan’s founder Mohammad Ali Jinnah, the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz president said that dictators had always ruined the country, Daily Times reported.

‘When I was removed from the office of the prime minister and sent to jail, I said at that moment that injustice had been done to the country,’ he said, adding that Pakistan suffered in consequence.

‘Thousands of people have been killed in suicide attacks while the economy sustained a loss of $7 billion,’ he said.

Sharif said Pakistan’s economy was in dire straits, as the country’s GDP growth rate stood at 2.5 percent while India’s GDP was gaining momentum on a faster track.

He urged the government to focus on the country’s economic growth and address the common man’s problems.

Awan announced her resignation at the meeting presided over by Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani, Dawn News reported.

Of greatest significance was the deterioration of its ties with the US, mostly because of a daring American commando operation to kill the world’s most wanted terrorist Osama bin Laden, and a US-led air strike that killed 24 Pakistani soldiers.

From the assassinations of two top politicians to cricketers being found guilty of match-fixing, Pakistan witnessed some of the worst events ever.

A bid to reform the country’s blasphemy law, and support for a Christian woman sentenced to death, led to the deaths of two prominent politicians — Punjab governor Salman Taseer by his own bodyguard, and minorities minister Shahbaz Bhatti.

One of the most important events that put Pakistan in the dock in front of the whole world was the May 2 killing of bin Laden. The Al Qaeda founder was gunned down in a unilateral operation by US commandos at his hideout at Abbottabad.

While Pakistan claimed it had no idea about the whereabouts of the terrorist, Washington said it did not inform Islamabad about the raid because it did not want to ‘jeopardize’ the mission.

The Taliban struck back.

Twin suicide bombers attacked Pakistani paramilitary personnel as they were about to leave a training centre in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. At least 73 troops and 17 civilians were killed.

Then, there was the Raymond Davis episode. A CIA contractor, suspected to be an undercover agent, he shot dead two people in Lahore. Davis allegedly had links with the Pakistani Taliban.

For the media too, the scenario was bleak. At least seven journalists were killed while reporting from the field. The most prominent among them was Saleem Shahzad.

In May, Shahzad, who was Southeast Asia bureau chief for Asia Times Online and also worked for Italian news agency Adnkroknos International, disappeared from Islamabad. His body was recovered two days later 150 km from the capital. The killing occurred just days after Shahzad published an article alleging links between Al Qaeda and Pakistani Navy officers.

Another bone of contention between Pakistan and the US was drone strikes.

Pakistani officials reportedly told top CIA authorities that the raids have become a ‘major source of embarrassment’ for the government as it was blamed for failing to stop a foreign power from killing its own citizens. Since June 2004, when the strikes began, more than 2,500 people have been killed in around 250 such incidents.

However, the worst infraction was yet to come for Pakistan.

A US-led NATO and International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) air strike from across the Afghan border against two Pakistani army border check-posts killed 24 soldiers Nov 26.

Though NATO said Pakistan had given the go-ahead, Islamabad insists US army authorities gave them the wrong coordinates, saying the check-posts were Taliban hideouts.

Pakistan retaliated by shutting down NATO supply routes to Afghanistan through its territory, boycotting an international conference on the future of Afghanistan and ordering the US to vacate the key Shamsi air base in Balochistan.

Ties with the US further suffered with Pakistan’s ambassador to the US Husain Haqqani quitting in November over a secret memo to Washington that said President Asif Ali Zardari feared a military coup after Osama’s killing.

Pakistani American businessman Mansoor Ijaz alleged that a ‘senior Pakistani diplomat’ asked for help in getting a message from Zardari to the then chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, Admiral Mike Mullen.

Zardari added fuel to fire when he abruptly left the country for Dubai Dec 6, and underwent treatment for a heart condition, giving rise to speculation that he feared a coup.

Even in sports, Pakistan had a bad year. Former cricket captain Salman Butt and fast bowlers Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Aamir were jailed for their involvement in spot-fixing during a Test match against England.

On the economic front too, Pakistan suffered.

The Pakistan Economic Survey 2010-11 said the country suffered losses of up to $67.93 billion due its role as a frontline state in operations against terrorists since 2001.

An annual report published in the Foreign Policy magazine titled ‘The Failed States Index 2011′ ranked Pakistan at number 12. From refugee flows to poverty, public services to security threats, the list gathered together a country’s performance to reflect its stability.

An article on the Jamestown Foundation website, which cited Butt, said that despite denials, evidence is emerging that ‘elements within the Pakistani military harboured Osama with the knowledge of Musharraf and Kayani’. Ashfaq Parvez Kayani is the current army cheif.

Ziauddin Butt, a former army chief, told a conference on Pakistani-US ties in October 2011 that according to his knowledge then director general of Intelligence Bureau, Brigadier (retd.) Ijaz Shah, had ‘kept Osama bin Laden in an Intelligence Bureau safe house in Abbottabad’.

Osama bin Laden was gunned down May 2 by US commandos who mounted a daring operation using stealth helicopters.

The retired general said in the same address that the Inter Services Intelligence (ISI) had helped the CIA to track Osama down and kill him.

The report said that stunning revelation was unreported for some time as some intelligence officers had asked journalists not to publish Butt’s remarks.

The report said Butt told the daily Dawn Dec 11 that he fully believed that ‘(Brigadier) Ijaz Shah had kept this man (bin Laden in the Abbottabad compound) with the full knowledge of General Pervez Musharraf…’ Butt added, ‘Ijaz Shah was an all-powerful official in the government of General Musharraf’.

To a query on whether the present army chief knew about it, Butt said yes, but later added: ‘(General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani) may have known – I do not know – he might not have known.’

The former army chief has, however, not been able to explain as to how Osama was not found even after Brigadier Shah and Musharraf went out of power.

Butt had been the ISI chief under then prime minister Nawaz Sharif. Sharif had promoted him as the army chief after forcibly retiring General Pervez Musharraf Oct 12, 1999, but the army’s top brass then revolted.

Musharraf, who toppled Sharif and became the new chief executive of the country, stepped down in 2008.

Nawaz Sharif and the Pakistani top military officials had major differences, including on Pakistan’s ties with Osama bin Laden.

According to Butt, Sharif had made up his mind to cooperate with the US and track down Osama in 1999.

Citing a senior advisor to the prime minister, the report said, ‘the general staff ousted Sharif to scuttle the `get-Osama’ plan’.

Butt said that Nawaz Sharif had set up a special task force of 90 US-trained commandos to track down Osama in Afghanistan.

‘If the Sharif government had continued on this course, this force would likely have caught bin Laden by December 2001, but the plan was aborted by Ziauddin Butt’s successor as ISI general director, Lieutenant General Mahmud Ahmed,’ the report added.

The chargesheet, which also names Lashkar founder Haafiz Sayeed and seven others, was filed in a special National Investigation Agency court here. The Patiala House court here will rule early next month whether or not to accept the charges.

Headley, who is in a US court undergoing trial, has entered into a plea bargain with the authorities there under which he cannot be extradited to any counrty, including India.

Also named in the charges are alleged Mumbai attack mastermind Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhvi, Al Qaeda operative Illyas Kashmiri, Headley’s accomplice Tahawwur Rana, Major Iqbal and Major Samir, the latter two are believed to be working for the ISI, the Pakistani spy agency.

The accused named in the chargesheet are alleged to have conspired in a ‘Karachi Project’ to strike at select Indian targets. Indian security agencies allege the project was sponsored by ISI.

Lakhvi is in a Pakistani jail undergoing trial for the terror attack that killed 166 people, including foreigners, when 10 Pakistani terrorists sneaked into Mumbai Nov 26, 2008 and went on a killing spree.

The government Wednesday gave the go ahead to the NIA, which was formed in the aftermath of the Mumbai mayhem, to file charges against the accused.

However, sources say the case in an Indian court may not be of any significance because it won’t lead to the deportation of Headley, who has confessed to having surveyed potential targets in India for the Lashkar.

The NIA has based its charges on inputs from the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the CIA and the interrogation of Headley in the US earlier this year.

An editorial in the Daily Times Saturday said that Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani’s ‘unusually blunt remarks the other day about moves to oust his government implied that the usual cast of suspects were once again up to their tricks’.

It said this candour sent alarm bells ringing throughout the country.

‘The received wisdom was that the prime minister, known for his soft demeanour and reconciliatory manner, had come out swinging against the military establishment and this inevitably meant that the latter would retaliate in customary style,’ it added.

Despite the alarmist prognoses, it must have come as ‘a bit of a dampener to learn that (army chief) General (Ashfaq Parvez) Kayani had categorically refuted all such speculations, stating that the military had no intentions of staging any intervention, direct or indirect, and that it respected democracy and the mandate of the people’.

It said that scepticism can hardly be blamed, ‘given the dark history of the country where military domination of national life has become a seemingly irreversible fact since the late 1950s’.

‘However, this may not be a 1958, 1969, 1977 or 1999 moment.’

The daily noted that ‘a tectonic shift below the surface of things, albeit still embryonic and halting, appears to be emerging’.

It went on to say that ‘…one is tempted to venture that we may be on the cusp of a defining historic moment, one in which the legacy of military domination can no longer as confidently call upon the services of one section of the political class to topple a sitting democratically elected government’.

‘In the civil-military relationship, badly skewed in favour of Rawalpindi in our history, is there a shift in perception and thinking?,’ it asked.

And responded: ‘Only time will tell.’

Seventeen others were injured in the attack at the Frontier Corps’ office in Bannu town of Khyber Pakhtonkhwa province, Geo TV reported.

The bomber drove his vehicle packed with explosives into the main office of Tochi Scouts next to Kohat road in Bannu.

The explosion damaged the office building and destroyed a check post near it.

The injured were shifted to the Combined Military Hospital in the city.

The Frontiers Corps’ troopers are deployed in the North Waziristan district, bordering Afghanistan.

Media reports had earlier put the toll at five.

A preliminary probe revealed that at least 200 kg of explosives were used in the blast. No organisation has claimed the responsibility for the blast yet.

The parliamentarians extended full support to the prime minister for his assertion that ‘State within a State is not acceptable’ and that all institutions should perform their responsibilities in accordance with the constitution, reported Associated Press of Pakistan.

The country witnessed heightened tension between the government and the army after Gilani Thursday said: ‘Nobody can say that he is not under the government.’ He added that conspiracies were being hatched to ‘pack up an elected government’.

Pakistan Army chief General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani, however, dispelled speculations of a military takeover and assured the naion that the army will support the democratic process in the country.

A press release issued by the PM House said the parliamentarians stood firmly behind the prime minister for safeguarding and promoting democracy.

In a meeting held at the PM’s House, the parliamentarians expressed their satisfaction over the fact that the political leadership of all shades of opinion were pro-democracy and opposed any unconstitutional move.

The dead and the injured were paramilitary soldiers, said Geo TV.

The attack took place at about 6 a.m. Saturday when a suicide bomber rammed his vehicle into a checkpost at a camp of Frontier Corps in the country’s northwest Bannu district, which is located near the insurgents-infested North Waziristan tribal area bordering Afghanistan, reported Xinhua.

Residents were quoted as saying they heard a huge blast in the pre-dawn attack which was followed by heavy firing.

The camp was completely destroyed in the powerful bombing.

No group has claimed responsibility for the attack.

Saturday’s attack on security forces is the second of its kind reported in the country in two days.

On Friday, armed militants attacked a security checkpost near South Waziristan tribal region and killed one security person and injured four. The attackers also reportedly kidnapped several soldiers and a Taliban spokesman had threatened to kill the kidnapped security personnel.

Taliban militants have stepped up attacks after a lull in the wake of conflicting reports that they are engaged in talks with the government.

The Pakistani army and interior minister have denied the talks, but the deputy chief of the banned Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan Maulvi Faqir Muhammad has confirmed it.

Gilani Friday said Pakistan and China’s comprehensive cooperation and robust partnership was in the fundamental interest of their people and conducive to peace, progress and stability of Asia.

‘There is a complete convergence of views of our two countries on the global and regional issues and a commonality of approach to advance the international agenda for peace and prosperity,’ Gilani said while speaking at a banquet he hosted in honour of the visiting State Councillor of China Dai Bingguo here.

Dai Bingguo, an expert on South Asian affairs, is visiting Pakistan as a representative of Chinese President Hu Jintao.

The visit takes place as a tussle broke out between the army and the government.

‘There cannot be a state within a state. Nobody can say that he is not under the government,’ Gilani said in the National Assembly Thursday, adding: ‘Conspiracies are being hatched to pack up an elected government.’

Pakistan Army chief General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani, however, dispelled speculations of a military takeover and assured the nation that the army will support the democratic process in the country.

Dai Bingguo, while reiterating China’s commitment to further bolster the deep-rooted ties with Pakistan, said that Beijing wants to intensify amicable and cooperative relations with Islamabad.

‘China is firmly committed to deepening friendship and partnership with neighboring countries. We want to intensify amicable and cooperative relations with Pakistan and other neighboring countries,’ Dai Bingguo said.

The prime minister Friday termed the friendship with China as the cornerstone of Pakistan’s foreign policy and said: ‘The relations between Pakistan and China go beyond governments and are deeply rooted in the hearts and minds of our peoples.’

‘China’s economic transformation, technological excellence and spirit of innovation elicit our respect and admiration,’ Associated Press of Pakistan quoted Gilani as saying.

Gilani said that Pakistan desires stability and peace in the region.

‘We believe that regional economic cooperation is essential for progress and prosperity.’

The meeting took place Friday, a day when Pakistan Army chief General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani assured that the army will support the democratic process in the country, dispelling speculations of a military takeover.

The meeting at the President House reiterated that all institutions of the state have to work within the ambit of the constitution without trespassing into domain of others, reported Associated Press of Pakistan.

President’s spokesperson Farhatullah Babar said the two-hour long meeting reviewed overall political situation in the country with special reference to the most recent developments.

The spectre of a clash between the army and the government haunted the country after Gilani spoke out Thursday.

‘There cannot be a state within a state. Nobody can say that he is not under the government,’ Gilani said in the national assembly, adding: ‘Conspiracies are being hatched to pack up an elected government.’

At the meeting Friday, the prime minister gave a comprehensive briefing on the overall situation.

‘The meeting reiterated its unswerving commitment to the principles of parliamentary sovereignty, constitutionalism and rule of law and said that the party and the government will uphold these principles under all circumstances,’ a statement from the President House said.

‘The parliament was supreme and state institutions were answerable to it.’

General Kayani reiterated that the army has and will continue to support the democratic process in the country.

?The army is (aware) of its constitutional obligations and responsibilities,? an Inter Services Public Relation statement Friday quoted General Kayani as saying during his visit to the forward posts in Mohmand and Kurram Agencies Thursday.

‘He (General Kayani) strongly dispelled the speculations of any military takeover and said that these are misleading and are being used as a bogey to divert the focus from the real issues. He emphasized that the issues of national security need to be considered on merit alone. He concluded by saying that irrespective of all other considerations, there can be no compromise on national security.’

The spectre of a clash between the army and the government haunted Pakistan after Gilani spoke out Thursday.

‘There cannot be a state within a state. Nobody can say that he is not under the government,’ Gilani said in the National Assembly, adding: ‘Conspiracies are being hatched to pack up an elected government.’

The army chief was visiting the area where two dozen Pakistani soldiers were killed in Nov 26 NATO airstrikes, an incident that sparked outrage in the country and led Islamabad to stop passage of NATO supplies to Afghanistan, boycott an international conference on Afghanistan’s future and order the US to vacate the Shamsi airbase that was used to launch drone attacks against Taliban insurgents in Afghanistan.

General Kayani said: ?The men and women of Pakistan Army are performing their duty of defending Pakistan in accordance with the oath they took. They will continue to do so with the support and prayers of their countrymen, regardless of the cost.?

Speculations swirled in the country after Gilani Thursday stressed that ‘nobody is above the law’ and all institutions in the country are ‘subservient to parliament’.

In the National Assembly, he reaffirmed the supremacy of parliament.

‘Every institution of this country, including the ministry of defence, is under the prime minister of Pakistan,’ Gilani said.

‘If they say they are not under the ministry of defence, then we should get out of this slavery, then this parliament has no importance, this system has no importance, then you are not sovereign,’ he added.

The defence ministry Wednesday admitted in the Supreme Court that it does not have operational control over the military and the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) agency.

On Friday, Chief Justice of Pakistan Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry said that no takeover would take place in the country. He said no institution would be allowed to cross constitutional limits, reported Online news agency.

?Reports about takeover are making rounds in the country. Martial law will never be allowed to be imposed in the country,’ he said while presiding over a nine-member bench of Supreme Court (SC) during the course of hearing of a set of petitions over the Memo Issue.

The Supreme Court is hearing the case about a secret memo sent to Washington that claimed President Asif Ali Zardari feared a military coup following the May 2 killing of Al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden in the Abbottabad garrison town by US commandos.

Pakistani-American businessman Mansoor Ijaz had revealed about the secret memo. It led to the resignation of Pakistan’s ambassador to the US Hussain Haqqani.

General Kayani said the army would continue to support the democratic process, reported Geo News.

The army chief was speaking in Mohmand Agency where two dozen Pakistani soldiers were killed in Nov 26 NATO airstrikes.

Gen. Kayani said rumours of a military takeover were false and were being spread to divert attention from the real issues facing the country.

The spectre of a clash between the army and the government haunted Pakistan after Gilani Thursday said conspiracies were being hatched to oust the elected Pakistani government from power.

Gilani insisted that ‘nobody is above the law’ and all institutions in the country are ‘subservient to parliament’.

‘There cannot be a state within a state. Nobody can say that he is not under the government,’ Gilani said at a photo expo.

He said: ‘Conspiracies are being hatched to pack up an elected government.’

In the National Assembly, he reaffirmed the supremacy of parliament.

‘Every institution of this country, including the ministry of defence, is under the prime minister of Pakistan,’ Gilani said.

‘We have the highest respect and regard for the army as they have stood firmly against the terrorists.’

‘If they say they are not under the ministry of defence, then we should get out of this slavery, then this parliament has no importance, this system has no importance, then you are not sovereign,’ he told the National Assembly.

Pakistan’s defence ministry Wednesday admitted in the Supreme Court that it does not have operational control over the military and the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI).

The Supreme Court is hearing the case about a secret memo sent to Washington that claimed President Asif Ali Zardari feared a military coup following the May 2 killing of Al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden in the Abbottabad town by US Marine commandos.

The defence ministry’s one-page reply said it was not in a position to submit any reply on behalf of the armed forces and the ISI.

Pakistani-American businessman Mansoor Ijaz had revealed about the secret memo that said President Asif Ali Zardari had feared a military coup following the May 2 killing of Al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden. It led to the resignation of Pakistan’s ambassador to the US Hussain Haqqani. Former minister Sherry Rehman was then appointed the new US envoy.

The US military report released Thursday concluded that US forces ‘acted in self-defense and with appropriate force after being fired upon’ when they attacked.

Islamabad has demanded an apology for the Nov 26 incident, which led it to close its border crossings used to bring supplies to NATO troops in Afghanistan and the expulsion of US troops from a base in southern Pakistan used for drone attacks.

Air Force Brig Gen Stephen Clark, who led the US probe, told reporters Thursday there were two key elements that contributed to the incident.

First, a mistake by a US officer that led to Pakistani officials being given the wrong location for the US attack, and second the ‘overarching lack of trust’ between the two sides that made American commanders reluctant to share precise locations of their troops with Pakistani officers.

Pentagon officials expressed ‘our deepest regret’ for the loss of life and the lack of proper coordination that led to it. But like other US officials, including President Barack Obama, they declined to ‘apologise’ for the incident.

Asked if the US would offer an apology to Pakistan after the Pentagon report, State Department spokesman Mark Toner said: ‘I would just say – and we have said – we’ve expressed our deep regret.’

However, Toner declined to ‘apologise’ and in response to persistent questioning kept repeating ‘I think there’s a shared responsibility in this incident, and we’ve said very clearly that we accept responsibility for the mistakes that we made.’

Asked what was the diplomatic distinction between ‘regret’ and ‘apology’, Toner said: ‘I think ‘we regret’ speaks to a sense of sympathy with the Pakistani people. I don’t know an apology – you can figure that out for your own.’

Toner also declined ‘to speak to the accuracy’ of a New York Times report that the decision not to issue an actual apology came from the White House over the State Department’s objections as an apology would be a political liability for the president in an election year.

(Arun Kumar can be contacted at arun.kumar@ians.in)

Minister for Information and Broadcasting Firdous Ashiq Awan said Thursday that Rs.3,092,043,836 has been paid to various newspapers and periodicals as advertisement charges, Associated Press of Pakistan reported.

She said said the payment of advertisement bills are made by the sponsoring department through their appointed advertising agencies. The advertisement agencies are required to arrange the payments to the newspapers within 90 days of the publication of an advertisement, she added.

–Indo-Asia News Service

rd/vm

Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said that the Pakistani Army ‘does not agree with the findings of the US/NATO inquiry as being reported in the media’.

‘The inquiry report is short on facts,’ it said, adding: ‘Detailed response will be given as and when the formal report is received.’

The Nov 26 airstrike on two border checkposts in Mohmand Agency left 24 soldiers dead, sparking outrage in the country. Islamabad promptly barred the passage of NATO supplies through the country, boycotted the Bonn conference that discussed the future course of action in Afghanistan and told the US to vacate the key Shamsi airbase that was used to launch drone attacks.

A probe by the Pentagon has concluded that the NATO bombing of two Pakistani border posts last month was unintentional and stressed that ‘inadequate coordination’ between the US and Pakistani security forces was to be blamed for the air strikes.

The alliance forces have ‘acted in self defence’, the Pentagon said Thursday.

‘The investigating officer found that US forces, given what information they had available to them at the time, acted in self defence and with appropriate force after being fired upon,’ a Pentagon statement said.

‘He also found that there was no intentional effort to target persons or places known to be part of the Pakistani military, or to deliberately provide inaccurate location information to Pakistani officials.’

NATO spokesman Colonel Gregory Julian said in Brussels: ‘The investigation has ascertained that a series of mistakes were made on both sides in failing to properly coordinate their locations and actions, both before the operation and during the resulting engagement.’

Xinhua quoted sources as saying that US ambassador Cameron Munter met Pakistani Foreign Secretary Salman Bashir late Thursday evening at the Foreign Office and delivered the report.

Foreign Office spokesman Abdul Basit had earlier said that Pakistan will look at the findings very carefully and then articulate a response.

The Pakistani army and civilian leadership have sought action against those responsible for the attack, which has dented ties between the US and Pakistan.

‘A spectre is haunting Pakistan – the spectre of a clash between the army and the government that threatens to turn fatal,’ an editorial in the News International said.

On Thursday, the Supreme Court heard the case relating to a secret memo sent to Washington saying President Asif Ali Zardari feared a military coup following the May 2 killing of Al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden.

The editorial said: ‘…the prime minister upped the chances of a deadly collision between the civilians and the uniformed.’

Addressing a gathering at the Pakistan National Council of the Arts, Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani said conspiracies were being hatched to pack up the elected government, but he would ‘not allow anyone – an obvious reference to the army – to form `a state within a state’.’

Gilani went on to pose a few questions regarding the raid to take out Osama bin Laden in Abbottabad: ‘I want to ask how Bin Laden was living in Pakistan for the past six years? On what type of visa was he living here? Why was security not taken care of, if he entered Pakistan without a visa?’

The editorial said that the implication was clear: ‘Before the army asks the civilians whom they issued visas to, it should also answer what it knew about Bin Laden’s presence in the country’.

‘For all practical purposes, the prime minister had burnt all bridges,’ it added.

It went on to say that the ‘alarming escalations and tensions’ between Islamabad and Rawalpindi have promoted a frenzy of speculation.

Advising restraint by both the government and the army, the editorial said: ‘At this point in time, any deviation from the constitution, by any party involved, will have extremely threatening implications for the future of democratic processes.’

Geo TV anchor Hamid Mir said Wednesday that he received threatening messages after his talk show criticised the security establishment.

Mir stated publicly that if anything happened to him, the security establishment would be responsible.

Rehman Malik Thursday strongly condemned the threatening messages and said the government would ensure full protection and security to Hamid Mir and the journalists’ community.

‘The government has taken strong notice of this issue and (a) deputy superintendent of police has been deputed for Hamid Mir’s security,’ Associated Press of Pakistan quoted Malik as saying.

He said a parliamentarians’ committee has been constituted to probe the issue.

An opposition leader will lead the committee, he said, adding the government will provide all possible assistance in this regard.

President Asif Ali Zardari too ordered an investigation into the threats received by Hamid Mir.

Hamid Mir also sent his message to the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) in New York which quickly issued a blog condemning the threat and accused the Pakistani government of not doing anything about similar threats to journalists in the past.

Pakistan has seen journalists being killed in the past.

Munir Ahmed Shahkir, a senior journalist with the Waqt News newspaper, was shot several times and rushed to a hospital where he succumbed to injuries Aug 14.

On Aug 10, a journalist was manhandled for exposing malpractices at a premier hospital in Karachi.

Journalist Saleem Shahzad, 40, was kidnapped in Islamabad May 29. Two days later, his body, bearing marks of severe torture, was found dumped in a canal in Punjab province.

Shahzad is widely believed to have been picked up by intelligence officials for alleging in an article that terrorists attacked a key naval base in Karachi May 22 after the navy refused to free sailors held for suspected militant links.

In June, a journalist working for Britain’s Guardian newspaper was attacked by policemen apparently over his appearance in a TV talk show.

Geo News reported that Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR) rejected the findings of the US-NATO probe.

A statement termed the report as biased as well as lacking in key facts.

The Nov 26 airstrike on two border checkposts in Mohmand Agency left two dozen soldiers dead, sparking outrage in the country.

A probe by the Pentagon has concluded that the NATO attack was unintentional and stressed that ‘inadequate coordination’ between the US and Pakistani security forces was to be blamed for the air strikes.

The alliance forces have ‘acted in self defence’, the Pentagon said Thursday.

‘The investigating officer found that US forces, given what information they had available to them at the time, acted in self defence and with appropriate force after being fired upon,’ Xinhua quoted a Pentagon statement as saying.

Geo TV anchor Hamid Mir revealed Wednesday that he received seriously threatening messages after his talk show criticised the security establishment, the Geo TV reported.

Mir stated publicly that if anything happened to him, the security establishment would be responsible.

He also sent his message to the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) in New York which quickly issued a blog condemning the threat and accused the Government of Pakistan of not doing anything about similar threats to journalists in the past.

‘There cannot be a state within a state. Nobody can say that he is not under the government,’ Gilani said.

He said: ‘Conspiracies are being hatched to pack up an elected government.’

He was addressing a gathering at a photo expo here of the Father of the Nation, Mohammad Ali Jinnah, Geo TV reported.

‘Nobody is above the law, all the institutions are subservient to parliament,’ he said.

Earlier, in the National Assembly, he reaffirmed the supremacy of parliament.

‘Every institution of this country, including the ministry of defence, is under the prime minister of Pakistan.

‘We have the highest respect and regard for the army as they have stood firmly against the terrorists.

‘If they say they are not under the ministry of defence, then we should get out of this slavery, then this parliament has no importance, this system has no importance, then you are not sovereign,’ he said in the National Assembly.

Nobody should claim himself as independent (of the government), he said.

‘They are being paid from the state exchequer, from your revenue and from your taxes.

‘If somebody thinks that they are not under the government, they are mistaken. They are under the government and they remain under the government, because we are the elected representatives of the people of Pakistan,’ Gilani said.

‘All state institutions acquire their powers from parliament.’

He said the government has stood by the security forces during crisis situations like the killing of Osama bin Laden, the Nov 26 NATO attack and the 2008 terror attacks in Mumbai.

‘In the worst circumstances, we doubled their salaries. They have to be accountable to parliament.’

‘We are being asked by the judicial commission (examining the May 2 US raid that killed Osama) about issuance of visas (to Americans).

‘But I want to ask how was (bin Laden) living here for the past six years? On what type of visa was he living here? Why was security not taken care of,’ Geo TV quoted Gilani as saying.

Headley’s extradition to face charges and stand trial in India was an option that US federal prosecutors had taken off the table as part of a deal in exchange for which he has already pleaded guilty on all 12 counts. He is currently awaiting formal sentencing which is expected to be handed down by a court in the US sometime in spring. Another plea deal condition that won the prosecutors a full guilty plea is that he will be spared the death sentence.

There are next to no prospects of Headley’s plea deal being revoked to facilitate his extradition, particularly because he was seen to have met the condition of full cooperation during the trial and helped the prosecutors win the eventual conviction of his childhood friend and fellow accused Tahawwur Hussain Rana.

Although Rana survived conviction in connection with his alleged role in facilitating Headley’s travels to Mumbai to scout targets, he was found guilty of helping a plot to attack a Danish newspaper’s offices.

While official sources would not publicly comment on whether India can do anything to compel the US government to revoke the non-extradition condition, it is clear that the chances of that happening are practically non-existent.

Although the fact is that Rana was not found guilty of any involvement in the Mumbai terror strike case, something the prosecutors were rather unhappy about, it was hard to lay the blame for that failure solely on Headley. From all indications, Headley did cooperate with the authorities to the extent he was required to but in the end the prosecutors could not convince the jury.

There are no compelling grounds at this stage for the US authorities to renege on the plea deal that spared Headley his worst nightmare scenario of facing Indian investigators in India. While an NIA team did interrogate him in Chicago in June 2010, it was conducted in US controlled conditions and under many ground rules. Headley ought to be aware what it might mean to be lodged in Indian judicial custody and be subjected to interrogation by Indian investigators.

Another factor that may discourage US authorities from considering Headley’s extradition may have to do with strong suspicions in India of his possible role as an informer of the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) who went rogue. There is no predicting what Headley might tell Indian investigators about his life as a DEA informer in order to talk his way out of tight corners.

On balance, the perception in the US seems to be that the Headley case has run its course with him awaiting sentencing along with Rana. There is no particular interest in sending him to India to face the justice system there.

The death of six US citizens in the Mumbai attacks gave the US prosecutors enough legal leverage to subject him to the law of the land in the US rather than handing him over to India under the extradition treaty between the two countries. In any case, extradition of US citizens is a rare occurrence and is almost always discouraged.

With this as the backdrop, it is anybody’s guess what Indian investigators might gain by formally charging Headley along with others, including the shadowy Major Iqbal, a suspected operative of Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) to whom Headley has admitted to have been reporting.

Perhaps the only person the NIA might be able to lay their hands on is Rana, who after pleading not guilty, was convicted earlier this year. There is no plea deal in place for Rana that precludes his extradition. However, the fact that he is a Canadian citizen, who is also a permanent citizen of the US, now waiting to be handed down his sentence which could be anywhere between 15 and 30 years, could complicate matters.

All others that the NIA seeks to charge are based in Pakistan and they were also named in the US indictment. If the US has been unable to bring them to justice here, it is unlikely that India would be able to compel Pakistan to send them there.

Unless the NIA is working out of some undisclosed arrangement with US authorities about Headley, the formal charges could turn out to be more symbolic than consequential.

(Mayank Chhaya is a US-based writer and commentator. He can be contacted at m@mayankchhaya.net)

The Ministry of Defence Wednesday conceded that it has no operational control over the armed forces as well as the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), reported the daily Dawn.

The Supreme Court is hearing the case about a secret memo sent to Washington that claimed President Asif Ali Zardari feared a military coup following the May 2 killing of Al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden in the Abbottabad town by US Marine commandos.

The defence ministry’s one-page reply said it was not in a position to submit any reply on behalf of the armed forces and the ISI.

Pakistani-American businessman Mansoor Ijaz had revealed about the secret memo, leading to the resignation of Pakistan’s ambassador to the US Hussain Haqqani. Former minister Sherry Rehman was appointed the new US envoy.

Pakistan’s behaviour and its policies are a fully rational response to its leaders conception of the country’s national interest, especially those in the military, Stephen D. Krasner, former US director of policy planning at the State department wrote in the January/February issue of Foreign Affairs magazine.

‘Pakistan’s fundamental goal is to defend itself against its rival, India. Islamabad deliberately uses nuclear proliferation and deterrence, terrorism, and its prickly relationship with the United States to achieve this objective,’ Krasner, currently professor of international relations at Stanford University said.

‘Pakistan’s nuclear strategy is to project a credible threat of first use against India. The country has a growing nuclear arsenal, a stockpile of short-range missiles to carry warheads, and plans for rapid weapons dispersion should India invade,’ he said.

So far, the strategy has worked, Krasner said noting that although Pakistan has supported numerous attacks on Indian soil, India has not retaliated.

Transnational terrorism, Pakistanis believe, has also served to constrain and humiliate India, he said noting that as early as the 1960s, Pakistani strategists concluded that terrorism could help offset India’s superior conventional military strength.

Pakistan’s double game with the US has been effective, too, Krasner said suggesting that the only way the US can actually get what it wants out of Pakistan is to make credible threats to retaliate if Pakistan does not comply with US demands and offer rewards only in return for cooperative actions taken.

‘Malign neglect would mean ending all US assistance, military and civilian; severing intelligence cooperation; continuing and possibly escalating US drone strikes; initiating cross-border special operations raids; and strengthening US ties with India,’ he said.

Active isolation would include, in addition, declaring Pakistan a state sponsor of terrorism, imposing sanctions, and pressuring China and Saudi Arabia to cut off their support, as well, Krasner said.

(Arun Kumar can be contacted at arun.kumar@ians.in)

Sadat Anwar Kambrani, chairman of the Balochistan Development Authority, has ‘just made history and re-appointed himself for a further three years’, an editorial in the News International said.

‘A precedent has been set, and if allowed to stand, it has serious implications countrywide.’

Kambrani re-appointed himself on the ground that ‘he was not adequately reimbursed of the perks and privileges he was due when he was suspended, then reinstated, and that his entitlement is best fulfilled by extending his tenure’.

‘This is preposterous,’ said the editorial.

It added: ‘Allowing anybody, whatever their rank, to sign their own appointment extension in government service is so far beyond the bounds of standard operating procedures and accepted protocols that it is truly in the realm of Wonderland.’

If one senior civil servant is allowed to get away with it, then why not others, the editorial wondered.

It went on to say that Kambrani had been compensated with payment of his salary in full for the period he was suspended.

‘Yet…Kambrani is still firmly rooted in his seat,’ it said, adding: ‘This matter needs swift and decisive resolution before others jump on the bandwagon.’

Minister for Science and Technology Mir Changez Khan Jamali along with French Ambassador Philippe Thiebaud and Secretary Ministry of Science and Technology Ikhlaq Ahmad Tarar were present at a ceremony to ink the pact.

Jamali said promotion of science and technology was need of the hour for socio-economic development of the country, reported Associated Press of Pakistan.

He hoped that the MoU will help students and the youth in arousing their interest in science and technology.

Ambassador Thiebaud highlighted Pakistan-France collaborative programmes. He said signing of the MoU was evidence of strong bilateral relations Pakistan and France, which would be further strengthened in the future.

Non-interference in Afghanistan’s internal affairs is fundamental to Pakistan’s policy, he added, while speaking to a visiting Afghan parliamentary delegation that called on him Wednesday.

‘Pakistan wants to have friendly relations with all ethnic and political groups of Afghanistan. We have made consistent and sincere efforts to improve our relations with Afghanistan,’ Associated Press of Pakistan quoted Naek as saying.

He said Pakistan has all along supported Afghan President Hamid Karzai’s peace efforts.

Naek had officiated as Pakistan’s president while Asif Ali Zardari was in Dubai for the treatment of a heart ailment. Zardari returned to Pakistan Sunday night.

Pakistan had boycotted an international conference held in Bonn that focussed on Afghanistan’s future to protest the Nov 26 NATO airstrike that left two dozen soldiers dead in Mohmand Agency.

Malik Wednesday said that home remittances surged from $4.6 billion to $11.2 billion in the last three years.

He said that illegal transfer of money has considerably declined, giving boost to home remittances through banks, reported Associated Press of Pakistan.

He added that money changers have completed the $1 billion target for the year and voluntarily chosen the target of $2 billion for next year.

According to an estimate, there are seven million Pakistanis living abroad.

Khar informed the National Assembly in a written reply Wednesday that out of a total 87 Pakistan’s missions abroad at the level of ambassador/high commissioner, 10 missions are currently headed by female ambassadors.

In addition, the government has nominated Sherry Rehman as ambassador of Pakistan to Washington, Associated Press of Pakistan quoted her as saying.

Rehman took over from Husain Haqqani, who quit following a controversy over a secret memo to Washington that claimed President Asif Ali Zardari had feared a military coup after the May 2 killing of Al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden in Abbottabad.

Pakistan has an estimated population of 180 million, half of whom are women.

The prime minister was referring to the May 2 killing of Al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden by US commandos who carried out the daring raid by swooping into Abbottabad town without informing Pakistan.

Gilani Wednesday said Pakistan wanted new rules of engagement with the US with a guarantee to respect the country’s sovereignty and assurance of ‘no Abbottabad-like unilateral action in future’, reported Associated Press of Pakistan.

He said that in case any credible and actionable information was available, it must be shared with Pakistan for necessary action.

He stressed that the drone attacks must be stopped as they were causing collateral damage and were detrimental to the government’s efforts to isolate terrorists from local population.

Pakistan’s ties with the US deteriorated following the Abbottabad operation. The ties were put under further strain over the Nov 26 NATO airstrike that killed 24 soldiers at two check posts near the Afghanistan border.

Zardari had been admitted at a Dubai hospital for what officials described as a heart ailment. Reports on his health ranged from the president suffering a heart attack to his suffering a stroke that caused bleeding in his brain and facial paralysis.

The president arrived back in the country Sunday night at the port city of Karachi, putting to rest coup rumours.

President’s spokesperson Farhatullah Babar said that Zardari reached Islamabad from Karachi Wednesday night, reported Associated Press of Pakistan.

The London-based newspaper The Independent reported this month that Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) Chief Lt. Gen. Ahmed Shuja Pasha travelled to Arab countries to discuss a move to oust Zardari, according to Xinhua.

The newspaper’s website also quoted Pakistan-American businessman Mansoor Ijaz as having said: ‘Their (US intelligence) information was that Pasha had travelled to a few Arab countries to talk about what the necessary line of action would be in the event that they had to remove Zardari from power, and so forth’.

The Pakistan Army rejected the report and said that the paper has made false assertions regarding the ISI chief’s visits to Arab countries.

‘It has been said that the DG (Director General) met senior Arab leaders and asked permission for a military coup in Pakistan. The story has been published without verification at any level,’ an army statement said.

The statement clarified that Shuja Pasha had not met any Arab leader May 1-9 as had been mentioned in the report Dec 13.

‘The DG ISI’s other visits to Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and UAE only, prior to or after this period, were part of routine intelligence sharing activity, during which he interacted with his counterparts only,’ the statement from the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said.

‘Contents of the article are strongly and categorically denied. A legal notice is being served to the newspaper to retract the story and apologize,’ it said.

A NATO strike last month on two border posts left 24 Pakistani soldiers dead, prompting a review of future engagements with the US and NATO.

The attack sparked angry reactions in Pakistan. The government closed the supply line for NATO forces in Afghanistan, vacated a strategically important airbase in Balochistan province from the US military personnel and boycotted the Dec 5 Bonn Conference on Afghanistan.

A two-day conference of Pakistani envoys was called this month to make recommendations for the future relationship with the US and NATO.

Khar told the National Assembly or Lower House of the parliament that recommendations of the envoys’ conference after the NATO attack in Mohmand Agency would be presented before the parliament for further discussion, Xinhua reports.

In a written reply, the foreign minister said the conference deliberated on ‘different aspects’ of the foreign policy focusing to reassess the relationship with the US and NATO.

She said the conference also aimed at charting out new avenues of the emerging challenges on the international scene.

The foreign minister said in the wake of the NATO attack, Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani directed a reassessment of the foreign policy and accordingly an envoys’ conference was convened to deliberate upon the issue.

She said the meet reaffirmed Pakistan’s external relations continue to be based on the principles of respect for independence and territorial integrity in accordance with the international law enshrined in the UN Charter.

A ceremony was held at the police headquarters in Peshawar, the provincial capital, to mark the occasion, Xinhua reported quoting the official APP news agency.

The donations were made by the US embassy’s narcotics affairs section under its police assistance programme, the spokesman for the US Consulate in Peshawar said.

US Consul General Marie Richards paid tribute to security forces at the event and said: ‘I would like to praise the courage and dedication of the police of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.’

‘It is their commitment to duty that protects the people of Peshawar and KPK from criminals. I hope that the equipment we are providing today will help them carry out their duties safely and effectively in future,’ she said.

The US has committed $75 million in aid to the Khyber Pakhtunkwa police to build capacity and improve security across the province. Previous donations have included police vehicles, armoured troop carriers, generators, solar panels, radios, binoculars, first aid supplies and other items.

Highly placed sources said Wednesday that the NIA would soon be filing a charge sheet against nine accused, including Headley and LeT militant Sajid Mir and Major Iqbal, said to be in the Pakistan Army who also allegedly works for the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI).

Headley’s accomplice and Pakistani-Canadian Tahawwur Hussain Rana is also expected to be named in the charge sheet for allegedly plotting the terror attack that left 166 people dead in the three-day carnage in India’s financial hub.

‘The charge sheet has been finalised. The home ministry has sanctioned to file the charges in an NIA court,’ a source privy to the latest development told IANS.

Also to be named in the charge sheet are LeT founder Hafiz Saeed and top commander Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhvi.

Lakhvi is already in a Pakistani jail undergoing trial for the terror attack.

They are alleged to have conspired with another Lashkar terrorist, Mohammed Amjad Khan, in a plot named Karachi Project to strike at selected Indian targets.

Indian security agencies allege that the Karachi Project was sponsored by Pakistan’s spy agency ISI.

Others likely to figure in the charge sheet are Lashkar terrorists – Muzammil Bhat, Abu Hamza, Abu Qahafa and Mohammed Usman.

They are alleged to have trained and instructed the 10 Pakistani terrorists who sailed into Mumbai to launch the strikes at multiple points on Nov 26, 2008. The NIA has been probing the Mumbai case since it was formed soon after the terror attack.

The NIA has based its charges on inputs from the US’ Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the CIA and the interrogation of Headley by sleuths of NIA in the US.

]]> http://indiacurrentaffairs.org/home-ministry-green-signal-for-charges-against-headley/feed/ 0 http://indiacurrentaffairs.org/why-not-asylum-to-pakistani-hindus-court-asks-government/ http://indiacurrentaffairs.org/why-not-asylum-to-pakistani-hindus-court-asks-government/#comments Wed, 21 Dec 2011 09:48:32 +0000 India Current Affairs http://indiacurrentaffairs.org/why-not-asylum-to-pakistani-hindus-court-asks-government/ New Delhi, Dec 21 (IANS) The Delhi High Court Wednesday sought the government’s response on a petition seeking grant of asylum to 151 Hindus from Pakistan who are facing deportation following expiry of their pilgrimage visas.

A bench of Acting Chief Justice A.K. Sikri and Justice Rajiv Sahai Endlaw issued notices to the external affairs ministry and the home ministry and sought their responses by 29 Feb, 2012.

The court also directed the government to stay the deportation of the 151 Pakistan nationals till it arrives at a decision on the issue.

The order came in response to a public interest litigation (PIL) filed by Akhil Bharat Hindu Mahasabha seeking the court’s direction to the government to provide political asylum or extension of stay in India to the 151 Pakistani Hindus.

The petition said that a total of 151 Pakistan Hindus entered India in different batches last year on one-month pilgrimage visas issued by the Indian consulate at Islamabad.

The petition stated that the validity of the visas had expired and the 151 Pakistan nationals face threat of deportation.

According to the petitioner, a plea has also been made to the prime minister and the National Human Rights Commission that the lives of the Pakistani Hindus would be in danger if they are sent back.

Kim, who ruled North Korea with an iron hand, died Saturday during a train journey. His youngest son, Kim Jong-un, has succeeded him.

An editorial in the Dawn described Kim as ‘an enigmatic personality who drew attention to himself and his country in ways that often defied geopolitical logic’.

It noted that Jong-il’s death Saturday was announced Monday and this shows ‘the totalitarian and dynastic system he inherited continues to maintain its chokehold on the country’.

‘Kim Jong-un is in his 20s and has no political experience, but is a general in the army and a member of the ruling Workers’ Party of Korea. More importantly, he was educated in Switzerland and belongs to that generation of young reformers who, despite opposition from the old guard, gave North Korea the Internet and mobile phones (though to a very limited elite),’ the editorial said.

The editorial added that the younger kim is ‘saddled with enough plutonium to build six to seven nuclear bombs and a stockpile of 1,000 missiles and 3,000 chemical weapons built at the cost of the country’s economic development, with perpetual food shortages a hard reality’.

While China is keen to invest in North Korea, the editorial suggested the US should also tempt the new leader into pulling his country out of isolation.

‘Pakistan’s own linkage with North Korea has exposed Islamabad to charges of nuclear proliferation. But with the help of a common neighbour, China, Pakistan can help North Korea chart a new course for itself to become a responsible member of the international community.’

This was critical for the convenience of the people and also to aid the economy, Associated Press of Pakistan quoted Gilani as saying.

The government in October decided to provide Rs.4 billion to revive the ailing Pakistan Railways. It was pointed out at the time that over the last decade, the railways has received over Rs. 200 billion from the government putting a heavy burden on the exchequer despite the fact that its performance has been deteriorating while causing huge annual losses.

The president’s spokesperson Farhatullah Babar Tuesday contradicted reports that Zardari was planning to leave for London, reported Associated Press of Pakistan.

Babar said the president was in the country and here to stay. There were no plans for travel abroad, he added.

Zardari had suddenly flown out of Pakistan Dec 6 to Dubai where he was admitted in a hospital. His exact health status is not known with reports ranging from a heart attack to a stroke that caused bleeding in his brain. He returned to Pakistan Sunday night.

New York Times quoted some Pakistani and Western officials last week as saying that ‘if Zardari returned, it could be only for a cameo appearance before Dec 27′, his wife and former prime minister Benazir Bhutto’s fourth death anniversary Dec 27.

After that, Zardari would probably leave for a long – perhaps permanent – convalescence in London or Dubai, the report quoted officials as saying.

Benazir Bhutto, the first woman prime minister of Pakistan, was assassinated in December 2007, after a Pakistan Peoples Party rally in Rawalpindi, just two weeks before the scheduled parliamentary elections of 2008.

PTV managing director Yousuf Baig Mirza told a special committee of the Senate Monday that PTV cannot telecast news about any department without confirmation from its spokesperson and ‘sometimes we do not get permission to telecast a news’, reported the daily Dawn.

He said PTV cannot telecast Indian shows and news regarding Indian stars, due to which ratings of PTV News have gone down.

The committee expressed concerns over the plummeting ratings and viewership of PTV news.

Committee member Wasim Sajjad pointed out that all private channels spoke about the return of President Asif Ali Zardari, but PTV News was 15 minutes behind them.

He said viewers continuously switched to private channels, adding the teledramas of private channels were also more attractive than those on PTV.

Another member, Tahir Hussain Mashhadi, said PTV had competent officers in the past, but majority of them now run private channels.

Pakistan entered the TV age with a small pilot TV station established at Lahore from where transmission was first beamed in black and white Nov 26, 1964. Television centres were established in Karachi and Rawalpindi/Islamabad in 1967 and in Peshawar and Quetta in 1974.

Indian film stars are a rage in Pakistan, a country whose film industry has failed to flourish.

Jameel Ahmed, Communist Party of Pakistan chairman, Monday sought prompt removal of the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) head, reported the daily Dawn.

The petition referred to articles in the foreign media that said General Pasha allegedly got approval from the Arab world to sack President Asif Ali Zardari.

‘Till date these allegations have not been denied by both the ISI DG and the ISPR (Inter Services Public Relation),’ he was quoted as saying in his petition.

Pakistani-American businessman Mansoor Ijaz had revealed about a secret memo, leading to the resignation of Pakistan’s ambassador to the US Hussain Haqqani. Zardari had feared a military coup after the May 2 killing of Al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden by US commandos in Abbottabad and had appealed for US help, according to the memo.

Ahmed sought an interim relief in which the court should direct the government to suspend the ISI chief till his petition was dealt with.

‘If whatever stated by Mansoor Ijaz about the `memogate’ is correct, then what about his opinion concerning the ISI (DG) that he got approval from the Arab world for the removal of the president,’ asked Ahmed.

‘This is alarming and shows involvement of the ISI DG,’ he added.

Zardari’s sudden departure to Dubai Dec 6 over a heart condition had sparked coup speculations. The president returned to Pakistan late Sunday night.

Zardari had suddenly flown out of Pakistan Dec 6 to Dubai where he was admitted in a hospital. His exact health status is not known with reports ranging from a heart attack to a stroke that caused bleeding in his brain. He returned to Pakistan Sunday night.

New York Times quoted some Pakistani and Western officials last week as saying that ‘if Zardari returned, it could be only for a cameo appearance before Dec 27′, Benazir’s fourth death anniversary.

After that, Zardari would probably leave for a long – perhaps permanent – convalescence in London or Dubai, the report quoted officials as saying.

Benazir Bhutto (1953-2007) was the first woman prime minister of Pakistan. She was twice the prime minister – 1988-90 and 1993-96 – but could not complete any term.

She was removed in 1996 as prime minister on charges of corruption, and went into self-imposed exile to Dubai in 1998.

Benazir returned to Pakistan in October 2007 after an understanding with then president Pervez Musharraf. She was granted amnesty and all corruption charges were withdrawn.

She was assassinated in December 2007, after a Pakistan Peoples Party rally in Rawalpindi, just two weeks before the scheduled parliamentary elections of 2008.

Associated Press of Pakistan reported that the impression that border coordination centres were closed and Pakistan Army officers at those centres were recalled was incorrect.

A statement from Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR) said few officers were called only for consultations and had now gone back to the border coordination centres.

The Nov 26 airstrikes on two Pakistani Army checkposts in Mohmand Agency killed two dozen soldiers, sparking outrage in Pakistan. Islamabad promptly barred the passage of NATO supplies through the country and decided to boycott the Bonn conference that would discuss the future course of action in Afghanistan.

US officials have reportedly said their Pakistani counterparts at a border coordination centre gave the NATO forces the nod for the airstrikes.

Kayani, spoke ‘by chance’ with Zardari Dec 16. It was their first conversation since the president abruptly flew out of the country to Dubai Dec 6. Zardari returned back to the country late Sunday night.

The conversation took place a day after Kayani told the Supreme Court that a secret memo, which said Zardari feared a military coup, had indeed been sent to Washington.

Inter Services Public Relations Monday issued a statement, saying that Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani had a meeting with Kayani during which he ‘received a telephonic call from the president by chance’.

‘When I informed the president that I was having a meeting with the army chief, the president asked me to convey his regards to General Kayani. On this, the (army chief) showed his desire to speak to the president,’ the statement quoted Gilani as saying.

The telephonic conversation between Zardari and Kayani lasted approximately one minute in which he enquired about the health of the president. ‘Hence, attributing anything more to this telephonic conversation is unfounded and unnecessary.’

He told the National Assembly Monday that there would be no martial law or any caretaker set-up in the country as no one, including civil society and the media, would accept it.

The abrupt departure of ailing President Asif Ali Zardari Dec 6 to Dubai had led to speculation of a coup. Though the president returned to Pakistan late Sunday, uncertainty still persists over a secret memo to Washington that claimed he had feared a military takeover following the May 2 killing of Al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden in Abbottabad.

‘We should not provide such chances which can derail democracy,’ Associated Press of Pakistan quoted Gilani as saying.

He appreciated leader of opposition Nawaz Sharif for giving statements in support of democracy.

The former president, who is wanted by an anti-terrorism court in Pakistan over accusations that he failed to protect former prime minister Benazir Bhutto from being killed in December 2007, had earlier said he would return by March 2012.

In a 32-minute video address from London Sunday, Musharraf — also the founder of the All Pakistan Muslim League (APML) — focused on President Asif Ali Zardari’s illness, the country’s economy, destruction of profitable state organisations, terrorism and the NATO air strike, The Nation daily reported.

Musharraf said Pakistan was passing through a ‘permanent state of turmoil’ and that the threats faced by the country could only be countered by selecting ‘wise and credible leaders’.

Terming the NATO air strike in Mohmand Agency that killed 24 Pakistani soldiers as a ‘dangerous issue’, Musharraf asked the government as well as the people of Pakistan not to handle the issue ‘emotionally’.

He said the economy of the country was in ‘complete shambles’ and factories were being shut down due to energy crisis.

If he comes to power, the former president said he would initiate dialogue with ‘extremist elements working inside the country’, the daily reported.

In September, Musharraf announced he would return by March.

‘If there is such politicisation that the courts absolutely go berserk and they arrest me or something, which I don’t think is a possibility, well let them arrest me. I’ll go to jail. Let’s see what happens then. I’ll go back,’ he told BBC.

Musharraf grabbed power in a bloodless coup in October 1999. He ruled as chief executive 1999-2001 and as president 2001-08.

The 56-year-old Zardari arrived at the port city of Karachi having spent nearly two weeks in Dubai, Geo News reported. He resumed work Monday.

Zardari’s sudden departure had led to intense speculation with Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani telling the senate that an ailing president feared for his life in Pakistan hospitals.

A special plane carrying Zardari landed past 1 a.m. at the Pakistan Air Force’s Masroor base in Karachi, from where he was taken to his Karachi residence, Bilawal House, according to Dawn News. The president was accompanied by his daughter Asifa.

Ejaz Durrani, spokesperson at Bilawal House, said Monday the president was completely fit and would resume political activities from Monday and meet party leaders.

Zardari would leave for Islamabad after spending some days in Karachi, Durrani was quoted as saying by Xinhua.

There had been a lot of confusion over Zardari’s health.

Initial reports said he had flown out of Pakistan Dec 6 over a heart ailment. While Pakistan Army doctors had declared him fit, a US-based magazine said he had suffered a minor heart attack.

Later, some media reports said Zardari had suffered a stroke that caused bleeding in the brain and facial paralysis.

Tight security arrangements were also made in Islamabad for the president’s landing.

Sources told Geo News that Zardari spoke on the phone with army chief Gen. Ashfaq Pervez Kayani Saturday, and also consulted Gilani.

The army chief later ‘officially clarified’ that there were no differences between the two major government institutions.

Firdous Ashiq Awan, minister for information and broadcasting, said Zardari’s return to Pakistan has ended all rumours and foiled attempts of those who were creating chaos and instability.

She criticised rumour-mongers who created political instability and damaged economic activity in the country, reported Associated Press of Pakistan.

Zardari is scheduled to address a gathering on the death anniversary of his wife and former prime minister Benazir Bhutto in Larkana city of Sindh province Dec 27.

Sindh Home Minister Manzoor Wassan, who was present at the Bilawal House, said the president had neither retreated from his position nor had he accepted any pressure.

Wassan said Zardari’s return was not part of any deal. He said Zulfikar Ali Bhutto and Benazir Bhutto had sacrificed their lives but never compromised.

Meanwhile, sweets were distributed Monday in the Supreme Court premises in Islamabad after Zardari’s return, Geo News reported.

Khar said breaking off diplomatic ties with other countries was not in national interest and asserted that Pakistan wanted amicable relations with all countries of the world.

She said in Lahore that parliament would take decisions on ties with the US in the larger interest of the country and the nation, reported Associated Press of Pakistan.

Pakistan had held a two-day envoys’ conference to discuss the modalities to re-evaluate the country’s policies, keeping in view national interests.

The conference was called after the US-led NATO fighter jets and helicopters Nov 26 carried out what Pakistani leaders viewed as an intentional attack on two border posts in the country’s Mohmand tribal region bordering Afghanistan, leaving 24 soldiers dead.

Islamabad angrily reacted to the attack as the military leadership said the NATO aircraft violated the ‘Red Lines’ clearly defined to the coalition forces in Afghanistan. Pakistan military said that NATO had carried out eight strikes on Pakistani posts in three years, killing 72 soldiers and injuring hundreds of others.

Khar said breaking off diplomatic ties with other countries was not in national interest and asserted that Pakistan wanted amicable relations with all countries of the world.

She said in Lahore that the parliament would take decisions on ties with the US in the larger interest of the country and the nation, reported Associated Press of Pakistan.

Pakistan had held a two-day envoys’ conference to discuss the the modalities to re-evaluate the country’s policies, keeping in view national interests.

The conference was called after the US-led NATO fighter jets and helicopters Nov 26 carried out what Pakistani leaders viewed as an intentional attack on two border posts in the country’s Mohmand tribal region bordering Afghanistan, leaving 24 soldiers dead.

Islamabad angrily reacted to the attack as the military leadership said the NATO aircraft violated the ‘Red Lines’ clearly defined to the coalition forces in Afghanistan. Pakistan military said that NATO had carried out eight strikes on Pakistani posts in three years, killing 72 soldiers and injuring hundreds of others.

Awan said that Zardari had a commitment to the nation and he has returned, reported Associated Press of Pakistan.

She criticised rumour-mongers who created political instability and damaged economic activity in the country.

She advised the media to play a responsible role.

Zardari who suddenly left for Dubai Dec 6 over a heart ailment returned back to the country late Sunday night. His departure had sparked coup rumours, which US had scotched.

Zardari, 56, arrived in the port city of Karachi having spent nearly two weeks in Dubai for medical treatment, Geo News reported.

Zardari’s suddent departure had led to intense speculation with Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani’s address in the Senate adding to the intrigue. Gilani had said that an ailing Zardari had feared life threats in Pakistan hospitals.

Ejaz Durrani, spokesperson at Bilawal House, Zardari’s official residence in Karachi, said the president was completely fit and would resume political activities from Monday and meet party leaders.

Durrani added that Zardari would leave for Islamabad after spending some days in Karachi, reported Xinhua.

He had arrived by a special plane that landed at a Pakistan Air Force base in Karachi.

There had been a lot of confusion over Zardari’s health.

Initial reports had said that he had flown out of Pakistan Dec 6 over a heart ailment. While Pakistan Army doctors had declared him fit, a US based magazine said he had suffered a minor heart attack.

Later, some media reports said he had suffered a stroke that caused bleeding in the brain and facial paralysis. There were also rumours of a military coup, which US had scotched.

He will resume his political activities from today, the report added.

The president, who was accompanied by his daughter Asifa, arrived in a special plane that landed at PAF base Masror, the largest airbase of Pakistan Air Force (PAF). The plane landed two minutes late.

President Zardari’s medical team has declared him completely fit, allowing him to resume his official duties.

Prior to his visit, security was already beefed up from airport to Bilawal House in anticipation of the president’s arrival.

According to Bilawal House spokesman, the president is completely fit and would resume political activities from today and meet party leaders.

He would leave for Islamabad after spending some days in Karachi, the spokesman added.

Zardari will also address on the occasion of death anniversary of former prime minister and his wife Benazir Bhutto in Larkana city of Sindh province Dec 27.

There had been a lot of confusion over Zardari’s health.

Initial reports had said that he had flown out of Pakistan over a heart ailment. While Pakistan Army doctors had declared him fit, a US based magazine said he had suffered a minor heart attack.

Later, some media reports said he had suffered a stroke that caused bleeding in the brain and facial paralysis. There were also rumours of a military coup.

The president arrived in a special plane that landed at PAF base Masror, the largest airbase of Pakistan Air Force (PAF). The plane landed two minutes late.

Zardari was accompanied by his daughter Asifa.

Earlier, the medical team of President Zardari declared him completely fit, allowing him to resume his official duties.

Security was already beefed up from airport to Bilawal House in anticipation of the president’s arrival.

There had been a lot of confusion over Zardari’s health.

Initial reports had said that he had flown out of Pakistan over a heart ailment. While Pakistan Army doctors had declared him fit, a US based magazine said he had suffered a minor heart attack.

Later, some media reports said he had suffered a stroke that caused bleeding in the brain and facial paralysis.

There were also rumours of a military coup.

The Dawn, in a humorous editorial, says the monkey should be sent back home as a zoo official feels that it ‘is not a trained spy and couldn’t have been sent across the border for espionage purposes’.

Taking a dig at ‘eagle-eyed’ security forces at the border, it says: ‘Vigilance is the key when it comes to patrolling borders and our eagle-eyed Rangers did not let us down last month when, showing valour in the face of grave danger, they cunningly nabbed a monkey that had strayed across into Pakistan from Indian territory.’

The monkey was apparently found strolling in the desert area of Rahimyar Khan, where it was captured and handed over to the Bahawalpur zoo.

‘So was this an Indian-Zionist-US plot against the Islamic republic?,’ the editorial asked.

It continued: ‘The zoo’s curator, in a point scored for sanity, doesn`t seem to think so.

‘He feels that this `common monkey’ is not a trained spy and couldn`t have been sent across the border for espionage purposes. But he also hastens to add that such monkeys cannot be released because they are `usually naughty and can harm the civilian population’ – as opposed to men in uniform, one presumes. He has a point though. ‘

The editorial noted that ‘naughty monkeys are the last thing this country needs in these times of trouble on almost every conceivable front’.

‘The visa-less primate is now locked up with several other monkeys, including a brother-in-arms who earlier also wandered across the border in the pursuit of possibly nefarious ends that would rock humanity,’ it said in jest.

The editorial went on to say that monkeys do not recognise international borders and the search for food can take them into territory that has been demarcated and carved out by men, not the forces of nature.

‘In this latest case, an Indian animal rights group has asked that the monkey in question be released back into the wild. That is not an unreasonable request and to oblige would be the right thing to do. This monkey needs to go home, the sooner the better,’ it added.

The conversation took place Friday night, a day after General Kayani told the Supreme Court that a secret memo had indeed been sent to Washington that said President Asif Ali Zardari feared a military coup.

Coup rumours resurfaced strongly following the abrupt departure of Zardari to Dubai over a heart ailment.

Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani said that during a meeting with General Kayani Friday night he received a telephone call from the president by chance, reported Dawn.

He said he told Zardari that he was having a meeting with the general and the president asked him to convey his regards to Kayani.

The prime minister said he handed over the phone to the army chief who had a chat with Zardari. He, however, did not reveal the content of the conversation.

President’s spokesperson, Farhatullah Khan Babar, said no political matter was discussed with the army chief.

Babar said General Kayani enquired about the president’s health.

He said it was not a planned contact and ‘they talked by chance’.

Pakistani-American businessman Mansoor Ijaz had revealed about the secret memo, leading to the resignation of Pakistan’s envoy to the US Hussain Haqqani. Zardari had feared a military coup after the May 2 killing of Al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden in Abbottabad and had appealed for US help, according to the memo.

His comments came after army chief General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani told the Supreme Court that a secret memo had indeed been sent to Washington that said President Asif Ali Zardari feared a military coup.

Pakistani-American businessman Mansoor Ijaz had revealed about the secret memo, leading to the resignation of Pakistan’s envoy to the US Hussain Haqqani. Zardari had feared a military coup after the May 2 killing of Al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden in Abbottabad and had appealed for US help, according to the memo. Coup rumours resurfaced strongly following the abrupt departure of Zardari to Dubai over a heart ailment Dec 6.

Gilani Saturday expressed his confidence that both the government and army were pro-democracy and did not want derailment of the system.

‘Both the army and judiciary are pro-democracy and I am confident that they do not want derailment of system, as it takes years to put the system back on rail,’ Associated Press of Pakistan quoted Gilani as saying.

The incident took place in Mardan of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, Xinhua reported citing Urdu TV channel Dunya.

The report said the police vehicle was on routine patrol duty in Bakhtali road of the city when it was ambushed by the gunmen.

Meanwhile, in another incident that took place Saturday, three security personnel were reportedly killed in a landmine blast in Katasarai area of Kurram Agency, one of the tribal areas along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border.

US ambassador to Islamabad Cameron Munter congratulated the students ahead of their departure to the US Friday, the Daily Times reported Saturday.

The students would attend universities under the Global Undergraduate Exchange Program (UGRAD).

Munter said this was one example of the US government’s long-term commitment to the education of Pakistani students and to increasing mutual understanding between both countries.

The UGRAD programme covers all costs for one semester of studies at an American university.

The Indians were arrested by the Maritime Security Agency. Two of their boats were also seized, an official was quoted as saying by the Online news agency.

In October, as many as 48 Indian fishermen were arrested in the Pakistani port city for a similar violation of the country’s territorial waters.

Mushtaq Ahmed Shah, inspector general of police in Sindh province, appreciated the efforts made by US consul general William Martin and his team for the training, the Daily Times reported Saturday.

The provincial information ministry said the training course was valuable in curbing crimes in the streets and clandestine terrorist operations.

Martin said peace and security in the country would help open many economic and commercial opportunities and attract the much-needed foreign investment.

Imran, who heads the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party, said both the ruling Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) and the main opposition, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), had passed on the leadership of their parties from one family member to another, Geo News said.

The former cricketer, at a political rally in northwest Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, was referring to the PPP’s first chairperson Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, who was succeeded by his wife Nusrat Bhutto and later by his daughter Benazir Bhutto.

After the assassination of Benazir Bhutto in December 2007, the party was led by her husband Asif Ali Zardari, who passed on the mantle to their 23-year-old son Bilawal Bhutto Zardari.

Similarly, the PML-N is led by former prime minister Nawaz Sharif, whose brother Shahbaz Sharif is a key party member and the chief minister of Punjab. Shahbaz Sharif’s son Hamza Shahbaz Sharif is also an important party leader as well as an MP.

This was not democracy as the political parties are being run like dynasties, Imran said.

Karachi police’s specialised unit Friday arrested outfit leader Asghar alias Omar, and five of his accomplices — Zahid alias Osama, Abid, Usman alias Hamza, Shakir and Ali Akbar, the Daily Times reported Saturday.

The Anti-Extremist Cell of the Crime Investigation Department said the suspects were involved in at least eight cases of terrorist activities in the city, including an attack on a club in April in which 22 people were killed and 50 injured.

A huge cache of arms and explosives, including 50 kg of explosives material, three hand grenades, 10 mini rocket grenades, three remote controlled bombs, five kg ball bearings and nut bolts, 30 litres of hydrogen peroxide, five Kalashnikov rifles and other materials were recovered from their possession.

Police said the group had attacked wine shops, gambling dens and cinemas. Group leader Asghar is said to be an expert in making bombs and was trained in Waziristan.

Immigration officials from the Federal Investigation Agency said the people illegally tried to enter Greece via the Iran-Turkey route without passports and other documents three months back but were held by Turkish police, the Online news agency reported.

They were taken into custody by the interrogation cell of Turkish police and sent back to Pakistan through a special flight Friday.

The detainees were taken into custody by Pakistani passport cell officials following their arrival at the Benazir Bhutto International Airport.

The deported people include 28 from Gujrat in Punjab province, two from Islamabad, six from Faisalabad and the rest from Peshawar and Lahore.

Without saying so in so many words, the State Department here and the US embassy in Islamabad suggested that all that the US has to do is certify Pakistan’s good behaviour whether it actually mends its ways or not.

The freeze provision is part of a giant $662 billion defence budget for fiscal 2012 passed by US Senate 86-13 Thursday, a day after the US House of Representatives approved it 283-136.

It will now be sent to President Barack Obama, who has said he would reluctantly sign it after months of fighting over the handling of suspected terrorists, especially those who are US citizens.

The bill, which also places sanctions on Iran, calls for a hold on 60 percent of Pakistan Counterinsurgency Fund over the issue of Pakistan failing to act against the flow of improvised explosive devices (IEDs) and raw materials for bombs.

The bill requires that the Secretary of Defence submit a report that would ‘include a strategy for enhancing Pakistan’s efforts to counter improvised explosive devices (IED) and information on whether Pakistan is making significant efforts to implement a strategy to counter IEDs.’

However, the State Department sought to downplay the Congress move to suggest that the legislation does not actually cut $700 million in military aid to Pakistan. Rather, it includes a reporting requirement.

‘What this piece of legislation requires is that the Administration make certain certifications as to how our general relationship with Pakistan is going in certain categories in order to release the money, but this is not about cutting funding or freezing funding,’ spokesperson Victoria Nuland told reporters Thursday.

‘In addition, I would say that they usually include some kind of waiver authorities for the Secretary,’ she said adding, the certifications are to be made by the US Administration and ‘are not responsibilities of the Government of Pakistan.’

The aid freeze move is seen as being linked with Pakistan’s sharp reaction to last month’s NATO attacks that killed 24 Pakistani soldiers.

The US, Nuland said has been in constant and intense dialogue with Pakistan over the Nov 26 incident that prompted Islamabad to shut down NATO supplies and review cooperation with the US.

‘We understand their concern. Frankly, there is plenty of concern on the American side as well,’ she said.

(Arun Kumar can be contacted at arun.kumar@ians.in)

Air Marshal (retd) Malik Nur Khan died Thursday after a long illness at Rawalpindi’s Combined Military Hospital, reported Dawn.

Khan was commissioned in the British Indian Air Force in 1941 when he was 18 years old. He rose to become PAF’s sixth commander-in-chief at the age of 42 on July 23, 1965, barely a few weeks before the war broke out between Pakistan and India.

Pakistan and India have fought three wars since their partition in 1947.

Khan had also been president of the Pakistan Hockey Federation and the Pakistan Cricket Board.

Pakistan Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani gave the assurance during a telephonic conversation with Calmy-Rey, the Associated Press of Pakistan reported.

Ocholivier David and his wife Wipmerderielayy Omer were abducted by gunmen while travelling in Balochistan. Their vehicle was later found abandoned.

Gilani said security agencies were trying to ensure the safe return of the Swiss nationals.