PAKISTAN-DAILY BRIEF NEWS: BRIEF NEWS UPDATE: 30.12.2011

PAKISTAN-DAILY BRIEF NEWS: BRIEF NEWS UPDATE: 30.12.2011: Taxila: 8 including doctor killed in rescue operation TAXILA: Police conducted an operation to rescue a kidnapped doctor in Tehsil Taxil...

BRIEF NEWS UPDATE: 30.12.2011

Taxila: 8 including doctor killed in rescue operation

TAXILA: Police conducted an operation to rescue a kidnapped doctor in Tehsil Taxila of Rawalpindi where eight persons were killed including the abducted doctor, six kidnappers and a sub-inspector, Geo News reported Thursday.According to police sources, a doctor was kidnapped from Haripur area a month ago and demanded Rs10 million ransom.Police conducted an operation Thursday morning to rescue the kidnapped doctor in Tehsil Taxila. During operation, six kidnappers including two women were killed while check post in-charge Raja Hasnain and the doctor were also killed in the cross fire.Police has recovered hand grenades and other ammunition from the possession of kidnappers. Security forces have cordoned off the area while investigations are underway.

Funeral of Dr Baqir Shah today

DERA MURAD JAMALI: The dead body of martyred police surgeon Dr Baqir Shah has been sent to Dera Murad Jamali area of Naseerabad. The funeral prayers will be held in his native town of Chattar Friday morning, Geo News reported.

According to sources, people gathered near the dead body of Baqar Shah who was gunned down by unidentified gunmen at Sabzal road, at a hospital in Quetta on Thursday, December 29. Friends and relatives of the murdered surgeon have started reaching here to attend his funeral.

Shah had earlier spoken about death threats from unknown people in a televised press c onference earlier this year after he resisted pressure to fudge the postmortem reports of four unarmed Russians and a Tajik shot dead by police in Kharotabad.

Pasha visits Qatar to repair ties with US

ISLAMABAD: Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) Chief Lt-Gen Shuja Pasha’s visit to Qatar, home to US Centcom’s regional headquarters, has led to speculations about an ‘intelligence back channel’ between Pakistan and the US to reset troubled security cooperation.
Gen Pasha, whose overseas trips are not officially announced, is said to have returned on Wednesday from a trip to Qatar, which had been ‘authorised’ by Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani.
Mr Gilani had earlier this week himself disclosed Gen Pasha’s visit during a media interaction when he said he had approved the trip.
Mr Gilani would travel to Doha next month.
A western diplomatic source claimed that Gen Pasha during his stay in Qatar met the US officials.
The claim could not be independently verified.
Gen Pasha’s visit followed the release of Centcom’s preliminary report on the November 26 Nato attacks on Pakistani border posts.
Centcom Commander Gen James Mattis initially planned to visit Islamabad this week for sharing with the Pakistani military authorities findings of the probe, but had to cancel the visit after his hosts expressed their inability to receive him because of the situation at home, where anti-America sentiments are running high and a parliamentary body is working to review the terms of engagement with Washington.
No comments were available from military’s public affairs wing, the ISPR.
But diplomatic observers insist that indications from both Islamabad and Washington point towards an impending thaw in relations that went into a free fall after the Nato attacks.
While Gen Mattis directed Isaf (International Security Assistance Force) to improve ties with Pakistan and Pentagon hinted at possible punitive action against those responsible for the border incident — something desired by Pakistan Army, the Foreign Office on Thursday too spoke about efforts to mend ties.
“We are on speaking terms with the US. Doubtless there are problems but we are trying to put our relations on a track that is transparent and in sync with our aspirations. I am reluctant to discuss specifics,” FO spokesman Abdul Basit said at the weekly media briefing.
“We want to have a good relationship with the US, a relationship that is based on mutual trust and mutual respect,” Mr Basit said.
The FO has all along said that normalisation of ties will begin only after parliament completes the review of ties.
“Please wait for our parliamentary process to complete,” the spokesman said when asked about back channel diplomacy to end impasse in the ties.
The diplomatic observers are also attaching importance to the timing of Kabul’s withdrawal of objection to Qatar hosting Taliban’s office because the announcement came while Gen Pasha was in Qatar, supposedly talking to US officials.
Afghan President Hamid Karzai had on Tuesday for the first time agreed to setting up of the Taliban office in the Gulf state, something which he had all along opposed.
Cooperation between the US and Pakistan over Afghan reconciliation efforts too came to a halt after the border incident.
Pakistan boycotted Bonn conference on Afghanistan earlier this month and the trilateral Pakistan-US-Afghanistan meeting was also cancelled because of strained ties.

Business News

  LATEST/BRIEF NEWS:

·        Memogate: Verdict on admissibility likely today

·        US mulls Taliban prisoner transfer in peace bid

·        US mulls Taliban prisoner transfer to Afghanistan‎

·        Pak -US ties pass through hard times in 2011

·        Gujr’wala mayhem: 5 accused held; booked for murder

·        Target killing: CID police nab killer of 9 amid resistance

·        CNG stations shut for 24 hours

·        Oil higher in Asian trade

·        Babar Awan nominated Vice President PPP

·        MQM submits resolution for new provinces

 

Mohammed Saleem Mansoori

BRIEF NEWS UPDATE: 29.12.2011

 Iftikhar Ch Asks, ‘How To Interpret President’s Silence On Memo’

A nine-member bench of the Supreme Court headed by Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry resumed the hearing of the ‘memogate’ scandal case on Tuesday. Chief Justice asked how the court should interpret president’s silence on memo case.
The counsel said that her client was in favour of the investigation of the issue but only in an appropriate forum, stressing that the parliamentary committee should complete its investigation. Husain Haqqani’s Attorney Asma Jahangir said the things are being driven to president’s impeachment. The nine-member bench heard the memo case headed by the chief justice of Pakistan.
During the hearing, Asma Jehangir said memo case is not related to fundamental rights present in the constitution. She said if it is assumed that Haqqani is related to the issue, even then it comes under s criminal case. Jahangir, during the hearing, said that the court should not usurp the rights on the basis of national security, adding that Haqqani was being made a scape goat in the controversy.
The counsel argued that the Memo case has been based on a piece of paper. The counsel said that her client was in favour of the investigation of the issue but only in an appropriate forum, stressing that the parliamentary committee should complete its investigation.
The CJP asked Asma Jahangir to trust the court. Asma Jahangir said in her reply she did trust her husband but could not surrender her rights to him. Jehangir, in her arguments, also said if Haqqani faces the charges of writing the memo, then the case should be filed against the president as her client is only being used as a victim.
Justice Tassaduq Hussain said that facts behind the scandal could only be established after the investigation. In an apparent reference to ISI chief Gen. Shuja Pasha, Jahangir questioned as to who delegated power to the chief of a secret agency to institute an inquiry against its government.

Business News

 LATEST/BRIEFNEWS:

·        SC resumes Memogate scandal case hearing

·        Aimal Kansi handed over to US during Nawaz’s rule: Jawed Hashmi

·        Pak rejects US report on Nato attack

·        Increase in gas tariff for all sectors proposed

·        Nawaz lashes out at government for defying court orders

·        Benazir Bhutto murder case hearing fixed for January 4

·        US briefs Kayani on investigation

·        ‘Improve coordination with Pakistan’

Mohammed Saleem Mansoori

BRIEF NEWS UPDATE: 28.12.2011

Asif Ali Zardari vows defiance at Garhi Khuda Bux

GARHI KHUDA BUX: An embattled but defiant President Asif Ali Zardari used the fourth anniversary of the death of his wife Benazir Bhutto to say he would not resign in the face of numerous crises building around him.
“We want to make history, not headlines. I tell you, politics — which we have left to our prime minister and the cabinet — is the art of the possible,” he told a rally of tens of thousands of supporters. “But making a nation is the art of the impossible and I believe I’m doing the art of the impossible.”
The president in his fiery speech said that democracy was still in its infancy in the country, and it will take time to grow stronger. We will only fight for democracy, he said.
I am a constitutional president, added President Zardari, and (Gilani) is a constitutional prime minister.
In a jab at the Supreme Court, which is currently pursuing several corruption cases against Zardari, who currently enjoys immunity as head of state, he asked about the as yet unsolved case of his wife’s assassination.
“People ask what happened to Benazir Bhutto’s case,” he said. “I ask (Chief Justice) Iftikhar Chaudhry: what happened to Benazir Bhutto’s case?”
The rally came two days after cricketer-turned-politician Imran Khan brought at least 100,000 people into the streets of Karachi in a rally that increased pressure on the government.
Taking a jibe at Pakistan Tehrik-i-Insaf’s rising popularity, which Imran Khan terms a political “tsunami,” the president said it was not a “tsunami”, but a “Zoo-nami”.
“We were compared to countries like Singapore,” said President Zardari, commenting on Imran Khan’s speech two days earlier. “Look at their population, and look at ours.”
“We do not want to enter into any theatre of war. We are friends of all. Nobody can dictate who we trade with and who not,” he added.
Police estimated Tuesday’s crowd at more than 70,000. Colourful banners sprouted from the throng, which spread out beneath the graceful, white marble mausoleum that contains the bodies of Pakistan’s most famous political family.
Speaking from behind bulletproof glass, Zardari appeared relaxed and healthy, which would likely calm rumours of his ill health.
Zardari “struck a defiant note, but refrained from attacking the military establishment”, at the rally, said security analyst Imtiaz Gul. “This comes a day after Gilani also backed down, and based on that this smacks of some sort of ‘backdown’ on the part of the government.”
Party members on the scene were upbeat.
“The army or the Supreme Court can do nothing to the government and our party,” said Ali Gohar, 45, a PPP worker from the town of Sukkur who had come to pay homage to Bhutto.
“The PPP has the blood of martyrs in its foundations and we will support it as long as we live.”

PPP Dallas observes 4th death anniversary of BB

DALLAS: The fourth death anniversary of Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto was observed by Pakistan People s Party North Texas chapter in Irving Texas.Party officers, friends and community leaders attended the event and offered fateha for Shaheed Mohtarma Bhutto. The President of North Texas chapter Zahid Khanzada and Senior Vice President of PPP North Texas, Syed Fayyaz Hassan addressed on the occasion.Khanzada stated that trials of killers of BB Shaheed will strengthen democracy and democratic institutions in Pakistan. He said the jiyalas of PPP has converted the sorrow into strength for democracy. We have taken revenge by strengthening democracy in Pakistan; we promise that we will carry the mission of Benazir Bhutto to its conclusion. PPP founder member Sardar Zahoor Ahmad, Kashmiri leader Raja Muzaffar, Dr, Ghulam Nabi and Imtiaz Jan and others also addressed the meeting. Renowned Urdu poet of USA Younus Ajaz presented poem to pay tribute to Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto shaheed.

Ch.Aitzaz Ahsan set to play major role in PPP affairs

ISLAMABAD: Barrister Aitzaz Ahsan, who became a household name when he successfully led the lawyers’ movement for the restoration of judiciary in 2007-09, is set to play an important role in the affairs of the PPP, according to sources.
The leadership of the ruling party —facing a hostile establishment and a not-so-friendly judiciary in the wake of the memo crisis —had decided to bank on the legal and political acumen of Mr Ahsan, they said.
A PPP office-bearer said that in the coming days the people would see Mr Ahsan playing an active role in the party’s affairs. Of late, Mr Ahsan has been visiting the Presidency regularly.
Mr Ahsan slipped into the background after his party came to power in the 2008 general election. According to media reports, differences between the party leadership and Mr Ahsan cropped up due to the latter’s refusal to contest elections on the PPP ticket.
Some reports back then had suggested that Mr Ahsan was joining the PML-N and such reports created misgivings within the PPP ranks about him. Recognising Mr Ahsan’s role in the lawyers’ movement, Mr Sharif had announced that in case Mr Ahsan decided to contest the elections, his party would support him unconditionally.
After playing a key role in the reinstatement of incumbent Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry, who was sacked by Gen Musharraf, Mr Ahsan also decided not to appear before him, a move that restricted him to Lahore.
“You may call it the re-launching of Mr Ahsan in the PPP when he was asked to make a speech at the fourth death anniversary of former prime minister Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto alongside President Asif Ali Zardari,” said a PPP office-bearer.
“Yes, he will be playing a key role in all major decisions of the party,” the party official added.
When asked to comment on Mr Ahsan’s presence in Garhi Khuda Bakhsh and making a political speech there, Dr Hassan Askari Rizvi, a political scientist, was of the view that his active participation in party politics would definitely prove a major morale booster for the Gilani government.
“His presence in the party will also help the government ease ongoing tension between the judiciary and federal government.
I met him at a function in Lahore on Dec 24. What I gathered from his talk was that he is going to play an active politics in coming days,” said Mr Rizvi.
When the same question was asked to PML-Q Senator S.M. Zafar, he saw Mr Ahsan’s presence in Naudero the result of the party decision to bring back all its annoyed leaders into the party fold.
He said that after Javed Hashmi’s decision to join PTI which was a major loss to Mian brothers, all political parties, including the PPP, were in a rush to get back their key leaders.
“Of course, Mr Ahsan is a big name, his mere presence, in politics or anywhere else, can make a huge difference, which the PPP at the moment just cannot afford to miss,” said Mr Zafar.
However, Senator Zafar said that knowing his legal stature in the country “I don’t think he would play an anti-judiciary role in the current scenario”.

Business News

 FSD industry out of gas even on 7th day

FAISLABAD: Industries in Pakistan’s Manchester remained out of gas due to extremely low pressure even on the seventh day here, Geo News reported.

Enraged industrialists today announced continuing their protests. The industrials and the workers have been staging protests burning notices/bills from the gas company, vowing not to pay any more.

Gas outages have crippled the already staggering manufacturing sector denting production and depriving daily-wagers of days’ livelihood.

On the other hand the domestic consumers are suffering even worse with gas pressure too low to cook.

Meanwhile, All Pakistan Textile Exporters Association’s Chairman has said that if their demands were not met, then the industrialists and the workers would be staging protests on the Motorway choking the flow of all sorts of traffic.

  LATEST/BRIEF NEWS:

·        At Garhi Khuda Bux: PPP stares down critics with own show of strength

·        Pak-India talks: Vital accords on nukes, missile tests extended

·        Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani has re-emphasized that he never talked about removing the Chief of Army Staff and DG ISI.

·        President Asif Ali Zardari has vowed to defend the Constitution and said he would not let anyone damage the federation.

·        Memo case: Asma pleads SC to call Mansoor Aijaz

·        CNG stations closed in Sindh, Balochistan for 24 hours

·        PPP Jiyala stages bloody protest for not arresting Benazir Bhutto’s killers

·        President Zardari gives dinner party in Naudero House

·        US briefs COAS Kayani on investigation

·        Veena regrets ‘tragic’ nude photo shoot

·        Asifa to bear BB’s flag: Zardari

·        'Didn’t beg Kayani, Pasha for extension'

 

Mohammed Saleem Mansoori