Mar
16
Pakistan to restore chief justice
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ISLAMABAD – Pakistan agreed Monday to reinstate a fired Supreme Court chief justice, a move that will help defuse a political crisis that has sparked street battles and raised fears of instability in the U.S.-allied country at a time of surging Islamist violence.
Opposition leaders and lawyers had vowed to sit-in at the parliament later Monday until Iftikhar Mohammed Chaudhry, known for his independence and willingness to challenge authority, was reinstated. The capital has been barricaded and scores of extra police brought in amid fears of violence.
In a dawn address to the nation that capped a night of high drama, Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani announced Chaudhry would be sworn back in on March 21, the day the current chief justice was due to retire. The speech triggered scenes of jubilation outside Chaudhry’s home in the capital, Islamabad.
Gilani also ordered all lawyers and political activists arrested over the past week to be freed immediately and appealed for political reconciliation in the nuclear-armed country, which is facing a punishing economic crisis as well as rising al-Qaida and Taliban violence.
The concession came as thousands of protesters led by Nawaz Sharif, the head of the largest opposition party and a longtime foe of President Asif Ali Zardari, were traveling to Islamabad to join the planned sit-in. Sharif joined the convoy after ignoring a house arrest order in his hometown of Lahore in Punjab, where his supporters fought running battles with police.
Supporters in Gujranwala mobbed Sharif’s rose-petal covered car following Gilani’s announcement. Sharif said lawyers and other activists had agreed to call off the so-called Long March. He thanked Zardari, Gilani and the Pakistani people.
“From here, God willing, the fate of this nation will change,” Sharif said using a microphone from inside his jeep before heading back to Lahore. “From here, a journey of development will start. From here, a revolution will come.”
Former President Pervez Musharraf fired Chaudhry, 60, in 2007 after he took up cases challenging the leader’s rule, sparking a wave of protests that helped force Musharraf from power in 2008.
Musharraf’s successor, Zardari, pledged to reinstate Chaudhry within 30 days of his party forming a government, but reneged on the promise, apparently fearing the justice might examine a deal that he and his wife, slain politician Benazir Bhutto, struck with Musharraf to grant the pair immunity from prosecution over alleged corruption cases.
Zardari’s broken promise and his government’s repression of the protesters will likely leave him in a politically weakened position. Sharif has projected an image of strength and stands to gain from leading a successful movement against the president, who has been the focus of popular anger.
Lawyers and civil rights activists have remained committed to the cause of Chaudhry’s reinstatement, believing it was a vital first step in getting an independent judiciary in Pakistan. The court system has often been abused by past rulers to cement their grip on power.
“This is a victory for the people of this country,” lawyer leader Baz Mohammad Kakar said after Gilani’s announcement. “Chaudhry is the first chief justice in the history of Pakistan who has proved himself to be a judge for the people, as a chief justice for the people.”
The lawyer’s movement got a boost last month when Sharif threw his full weight behind it after he and his brother, Shahbaz, were banned from elected office by the Supreme Court. Zardari then dismissed the government led by Shahbaz in the Punjab province, the wealthiest in Pakistan and a vital prize for politicians.
Gilani repeated a pledge made Saturday to appeal that verdict to the Supreme Court.
In recent days, U.S. officials, including Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, had spoken to Zardari and Sharif, urging them to reach a deal. The U.S. Embassy in Islamabad issued a statement welcoming the move Monday.
“This is a statesmanlike decision taken to defuse a serious confrontation, and the apparent removal of this long-standing national issue is a substantial step towards national reconciliation,” the statement said. “Now is the time for all Pakistanis and their political representatives to work together, with the support of their friends and allies, to peacefully strengthen their democracy and ensure a positive dialogue as they move forward to deal with the many issues confronting them.”
Washington and other Western capitals had been concerned the crisis was distracting Pakistan from its fight against Taliban and al-Qaida militants operating along the Afghan border.
Before dawn on Sunday, hundreds of police surrounded Sharif’s residence in Lahore, carrying an order for his house arrest. Sharif denounced the order as illegal and later left the house in a convoy of vehicles as police stood by. It was unclear why they relented, but Lahore is Sharif’s political stronghold.
Some of the protesters defied police barricades to gather near the city’s main courts complex and pelt riot police with rocks. One mob smashed the windows of buses parked along the route of Sharif’s convoy, while another broke into the main Post Office building, trashing furniture and then clambering onto the roof to hurl rocks at police below.
Police responded with tear gas, and beat several protesters with batons. Associated Press reporters saw several injured officers being helped away. A handful of protesters were detained and bundled into police vans.
Later, the crowd swelled to several thousands and police again pulled back. Many were black-suited lawyers, but most appeared to be supporters of Sharif, equipped with party flags and chanting “Go Zardari go!”
For days, the government has been seeking to squelch the protest movement.
Authorities have put the army on alert and temporarily detained hundreds of activists nationwide to prevent them traveling to Lahore or Islamabad. But its resolve appeared to waver Sunday amid signs of internal party dissent. A day earlier, a prominent minister quit Zardari’s Cabinet, apparently over attempts to censor critical media coverage.
The Sharifs and 16 other protest leaders were initially ordered under house arrest, said Rao Iftikhar, a senior government official. Later, he said authorities reached an “understanding” with Sharif that he would address the protesters in Lahore and then return home – an arrangement that authorities failed to enforce.
Sharif accuses Zardari of being behind the Supreme Court ruling last month that disqualified put Sharif and his brother from elected office over convictions dating back to Musharraf’s rule.
Mar
15
Pakistan police battle protesters as crisis grows
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LAHORE, Pakistan – Pakistan’s opposition leader defied house arrest on Sunday to join anti-government protests that quickly descended into violence and chaos, with running battles between stone-throwing protesters and police.
The power struggle between Pakistan’s president and the opposition leader Nawaz Sharif threatens to paralyze the government and, alarmingly for the U.S., distract the nuclear-armed country from its fight against Taliban militants operating along the Afghan border.
Hundreds of police surrounded the Lahore residence of Sharif, a former prime minister, before dawn on Sunday and detained him along with scores of his supporters, a party spokesman said.
Officers in the eastern Pakistani city showed party officials an order placing Sharif and his politician brother Shahbaz under house arrest for three days, spokesman Pervaiz Rasheed said.
Sharif denounced the order as illegal and later left the house in a convoy of vehicles packed with chanting, flag-waving supporters, headed for a downtown rally that had already turned violent.
Mobs accompanying the swelling convoy smashed the windows of buses parked along the route. Others torched tires, sending plumes of black smoke into the blue sky over a usually bustling boulevard littered with stones and empty tear gas shells.
“These are the decisive moments,” Sharif told supporters before he climbed into his car. “I tell every Pakistani youth that this is not the time to stay home; Pakistan is calling you to come and save me.”
Rao Iftikhar, a senior government official, said authorities reconsidered the restrictions on Sharif to allow him to address the rally and return home afterward.
Washington worries that the crisis will further destabilize the shaky the year-old government and prevent it from being an effective ally in the fight against insurgents in Afghanistan.
Suspected militants attacked a transport terminal in northwestern Pakistan used to supply NATO troops in Afghanistan before dawn on Sunday and torched dozens of containers and military vehicles, police said.
Lawyers and opposition party supporters had planned to gather near Lahore’s main court complex before heading toward Islamabad to stage a mass sit-in front of Parliament, in defiance of a government ban.
To thwart them, authorities parked trucks across major roads on the edge of the city, and riot police took up positions outside the railway station and government buildings.
Still, several thousands flag-waving demonstrators pushed past police barricades to reach the courts.
Protesters pelted some of the hundreds of riot police ringing the area with rocks, triggering running clashes. An Associated Press reporter saw one officer led away with a head wound.
Police repeatedly fired tear gas, scattering the crowd, and beat several stragglers with batons, only for the demonstrators to return with fresh supplies of sticks and stones.
Shahbaz Sharif and a host of other protest leaders went underground to dodge their own detention orders. Iftikhar said they had been issued for the head of Pakistan’s main Islamist party and cricketer star-turned-politician Imran Khan.
Television images showed police commandos wearing flak jackets and armed with assault rifles apparently searching for Shahbaz in Rawalpindi, just south of the capital.
The political turmoil began last month when the Supreme Court disqualified the Sharif brothers from elected office, over convictions dating back to an earlier chapter in Pakistan’s turbulent political history.
Zardari compounded the crisis by dismissing the Sharifs’ administration in Punjab, Pakistan’s biggest and richest province, of which Lahore is the capital.
The brothers then threw their support behind plans by lawyers to stage an indefinite sit-in in Islamabad – a move officials say would bring the government to a standstill and present a target to terrorists.
On Saturday, after U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton spoke to both Zardari and Nawaz Sharif by telephone, the government announced it would appeal the Supreme Court ruling in the coming days.
Sharif’s party welcomed the move but stuck by its demand for a shake-up of the judiciary.
Zardari refuses to reinstate a group of independent-minded judges fired by Musharraf.
Many observers suspect Zardari fears the judges could challenge a pact signed by Musharraf that quashed long-standing corruption charges against him and his wife, slain former leader Benazir Bhutto.
Skeptics suspect Sharif of hoping to force early elections, from which he and Islamist parties would likely profit.
Dec
11
Pakistan under pressure over Islamic charity
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personnel look towards the Indian side, as they participate in the ‘Beating …* Pakistan Slideshow: Pakistan
* Terrorists at Large Play Video Video: Terrorists at Large FOX News
* 911 call from Clack. bank attack Play Video Video: 911 call from Clack. bank attack KGW NewsChannel 8 Portland, Ore.
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan – Pakistan was under pressure Thursday to clamp down on an Islamic charity after the U.N. declared the group a front for the group blamed for the Mumbai terrorist attacks.
At the prompting of India and the U.S., a Security Council panel late Wednesday declared Jamaat-ud-Dawa a terrorist group subject to U.N. sanctions including an asset freeze, travel ban and arms embargo.
Pakistani government officials could not be reached immediately on Thursday for comment on how they will respond to the decision. However, officials have said they are already weighing tough measures against the group.
Abdullah Muntazir, a spokesman for Jamaat-ud-Dawa, said the U.N. decision was unjust, and denied that the group had anything to do with al-Qaida or the Taliban.
He appealed to Islamabad not to move against the charity, saying it would only harm poor Pakistanis who benefit from the group’s extensive welfare and health care programs.
“As there is no appeal mechanism in the U.N., we will take our case before the people of Pakistan,” Muntazir, without spelling out whether the group would call for protests.
Washington says the charity is a front for the banned terror group Lashkar-e-Taiba, blamed by India for the terrorist attack last month that killed 171 people in its commercial capital.
A crackdown on Jamaat-ud-Dawa would underpin the promise by Pakistan to pursue the Mumbai conspirators.
But the government complains that India has not shared evidence from its investigation of the attack, underlining the mistrust hampering U.S. efforts to avert a deeper crisis between the nuclear-armed neighbors.
On Wednesday, Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani said Pakistani authorities had detained Zarrar Shah, a second key suspect in the Mumbai plot.
Indian news reports citing intelligence officials identified Shah as Lashkar’s communications chief and said he worked out ways for the group’s leaders in Pakistan to stay in touch with the 10 gunmen during the three-day siege in Mumbai.
The New York Times has reported that the attackers and their handlers used Internet phone services to make it harder for investigators to trace their calls.
Gilani also confirmed that Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhvi, another alleged plotter identified by India, was detained during a raid Sunday in Pakistan’s portion of Kashmir. That predominantly Muslim region in the Himalayas is claimed by both nations and has been the focus of two of their three wars since 1947.
The prime minister said Pakistan was moving against militants based only on information released by Indian authorities through the media.
“That is a good message to our neighbors and the rest of the world that Pakistan is a responsible nation,” Gilani said. “We want to defuse the situation.”
U.S. officials have told Pakistan that it must go beyond mere arrests and prevent any repeat of the Mumbai attack, whose victims included six Americans. India released information Tuesday purporting to show that all 10 gunmen in Mumbai were from Pakistan.
Washington wants the South Asian rivals to resume a painstaking peace process so Pakistan can focus on fighting Taliban and al-Qaida militants along the Afghan frontier.
But dismantling Lashkar will be politically dangerous for Pakistan’s leaders because of the group’s leading role in the dispute with India over Kashmir.
Pakistan’s military and intelligence services are widely believed to have helped create Lashkar as a proxy fighting force in India’s part of Kashmir, where Muslim separatists have engaged in a long insurgency.
While Pakistan’s young civilian government has voiced a strong stance against Islamic extremism and reached out to India, there are doubts that the military, which has ruled for about half the country’s 61-year history, will turn decisively against its unofficial allies.
Jamaat-ud-Dawa denies any link to Lashkar. But Washington says it is a mere alias for a terror group that has developed ties to al-Qaida. Some analysts suspect the charity may supply recruits for militant operations. Source
Dec
9
Prime Minister Syed Yousaf Raza Gilani chaired the meeting of cabinet’s defence committee in Islamabad.
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The meeting discussed the security situation in the country. Defense minister Ahmed Mukhtar, minister for defense Production Abdul Qayyum Jatoi, foreign minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi, information minister Sherry Rahman, advisor on finance Shaukat Tarin, advisor on Interior Rahman Malik, national security advisor Mehmood A. Durrani, chairman joint chiefs of staff committee and chiefs of the three armed forces participated in the meeting.
Dec
8
Eidhul Azha will be celebrated in the country tomorrow with religious zeal and fervor.
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Eid prayers will be held mosques and Eidgahs in all towns and cities of the country. The ulema in their sermons will highlight the siginificance of the day and the philosophy of sacrificying of animals on the day. On this occasion, special prayers will be offered for the progress and prosperity of Pakistan, unity and solidarity of the ummah and liberation of the occupied territories.
Elaborate security arrangements have been made in Islamabad and other major cities.
Dec
8
In some other parts of the world, Eidhul Azha was celebrated today.
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In Al-Quds, thousands of Palestinians flocked to Al-Aqsa mosque in the old city to attend the early morning prayer marking the start of the four-day feast. After prayers, families turned to local cemeteries where according to tradition they should pay visits to their relatives graves.
In the west bank city of Al-Khalil, where tensions rose last week amid Israel’s eviction of settler families from a disputed building, Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad joined local residents for prayers at the tomb of patriarchs.
Fayyad said he had come to Al-Khalil to express solidarity with the people of the area.
In Gaza city, where economic hardships under an israeli blockade overshadows Eid al-Adha celebrations, Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh attended the main prayer and told reporters that the Palestinian people should unite against the Israeli occupation. In Iraq, the Muslims marked Eid al-Adha with hopes to live in peace in the coming year.Iraqis in Baghdad offered Eid prayers and gathered to buy sheep for slaughter. Tighter security measures in baghdad have encouraged families to spend time outside their homes with most families heading for the central Al-Zawra fun park. In Indonesia, the world’s most populous Muslim country, Eidhul Azha was celebrated today. The event is celebrated on different days depending on which the sect of the follower, but this year, the Indonesian government declared the Eid al-Adha will be commemorated nationally.
In Afghanistan, President Hamid Karzai, his cabinet ministers and other high ranking officials, performed Eid al-Adha prayers in the mosque of his fortified presidential palace.
Dec
8
Armed persons early today torched dozens of more vehicles supplying goods to NATO forces in Afghanistan.
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This was the second such raid in two days.The latest attack on a container terminal at ring road Peshawar came a day after 200 vehicles were destroyed in the area. Firefighters called to the scene managed to save 40 vehicles.
A security guard said around 200 armed men had attacked the terminal in the early hours before fleeing. The armed attackers also carried out firing. However, no loss of lives have been reported.
Dec
7
As millions of Muslims from across the world today performed the most important ritual of hajj, Waqoof –e -Arafat, grand mufti of Saudi Arabia called on the Muslims to stick to Islamic teachings and develop unity to confront the grave challenges facing the Ummah.
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Starting just after dawn today, in mild weather, the faithful made their way slowly on foot or by bus onto Jabl-e-Arafat, where Prophet Mohammed Sallalah-o-Alaihe -Wa Alaihe Wasallam delivered his last Khutba more than 14 centuries ago. For the second day of the hajj, which lasts four days or more, the male pilgrims wore two pieces of unstitched cloth, serving as a shroud, while the women were entirely covered apart from face and hands. The crowd continued to recite Labaik allahhuma labaik as they converged on Jabl-e-Arafat to seek Allah’s blessings and forgiveness for their sins.
They spend the rest of their time on mount Arafat praying and beseeching god for his forgiveness, as a symbol of the wait for Judgement day. In his hajj sermon, grand mufti of Saudi Arabia, Sheikh Abdul Aziz, bin Abdullah al-sheikh called upon the Muslims to implement Taqwa in their lives as it is the essence of Islam.
He asked them to follow the teachings of Islam for success in this world and the hereafter.
He said holy prophet Hazrat Muhammad (Sallalahoo Alaihi Wa Alaihi Wasalam) showed the path of righteousness to the humanity and by following the very basics of Islam, we can rid the society of all evils. He said Islam is a complete code of life, addressing all the requirements of the people. Sheikh Abdul Aziz warned that the enemies of Islam wanted to disintegrate the Ummah and gain control on the Muslim resources. He said the evil design of such elements could be foiled only if the muslims remain firm on the teachings of Islam.
He said Islam is a religion of peace and there is no extremism in our religion. He said those who kill their own brethren in terrorist acts had no link to Islam. After the sermon, the Hujajj offered combined Zuhr and Asar prayers. They also visited Jabl-e-Rahmat, the mount of blessings.
After Waqoof-e Arafat, at sunset the faithful will move towards the valley of Muzdalifah where they will spend the whole night in the open sky and seek forgiveness and blessings of almighty Allah.Tomorrow, the Hujjaj will return to mina, perform Rammi or stoning of the big Satan, sacrifice animal, usually a sheep, in pursuit of the Sunnah of Hazrat Ibrahim Alaihissalam and perform other rituals. The next day, the Hujjaj will again perform Rammi at Jamrat, stoning the smaller Satan. Later, they will return to Makkah to perform Tawaf-e-Ziarat. Over 2.5 million muslims are performing hajj this years. Of these one hundred and sixty-five thousand are Pakistanis. The Saudi authorities have made elaborate arrangements to facilitate the pilgrims.
The Saudi interior ministry has assembled 100,000 stewards to ensure safety during the hajj and the health ministry has supplied 11,000 of its medical and paramedical staff along with 140 first aid points and 24 field hospitals containing a total of 4,000 beds.
Nov
6
NATIONAL NEWS – The executive committee of national economic council met in Islamabad with Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani in chair.
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The meeting reviewed new development projects in the country. The projects which were reviewed include housing and physical planning, power sector, health, energy, transport, communication, environment and social sector development. The ECNEC also reviewed the Diamir Bhasha dam project and the plan to rehabilitate the affectees of Bhashah dam project.
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Nov
6
Bomb kills 9 anti-militant tribesmen in Pakistan
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KHAR, Pakistan – A suicide bomber attacked a gathering of anti-militant Pakistani tribesmen Thursday, killing nine and wounding 45 in a northwestern region where the military has clashed with insurgents for months, officials said.
The attack in the Batmalai area of the Bajur tribal region was the latest to target tribal militias that have sprung up – with government backing – to take on al-Qaida and Taliban fighters nested along the Afghan border.
Pakistan launched an offensive in Bajur three months ago to dismantle what it said was a virtual Taliban mini-state that is a source of militants flowing into Afghanistan.
The Salarzai tribesmen were preparing to stage an assault on local militant hide-outs when the blast occurred, said Iqbal Khattak, a government official. Malik Rahimullah, a tribal elder, said the bomb exploded as soon as armed contingents began to move.
He and officials initially said it appeared that a remote-controlled bomb was used, but later Khattak said mutilated body parts of an apparent suicide bomber were found, and that witnesses said they saw a young man rushing into the crowd before the explosion.
Amir Khan, a tribesman, said the scene was littered with severed limbs and that several tribal elders were among the dead.
Khattak said nine people were killed. Mohammad Kareem, a hospital official in Bajur’s main city of Khar, said two dozen of the wounded were in serious condition.
The army claims to have killed some 1,500 insurgents in its offensive. At least 73 troops and 95 civilians have also died, it says. Lack of security and government restrictions make verifying accounts of the fighting impossible.
U.S. officials praise the operation in Bajur, saying it has reduced violence on the other side of the border. The U.S. has long been concerned that pockets of Pakistan’s northwest are sanctuaries for militants involved in attacks on American and NATO forces in Afghanistan.
Militants have responded to the military offensives – as well as stepped-up U.S. missile strikes in parts Pakistan’s border zone – with a wave of suicide attacks that are adding to concern about the U.S.-allied country’s stability.
The militants also have gone after the tribal militias, including beheading some of the elders involved. A suicide attack in October in the nearby Orakzai tribal region against another such militia left dozens dead.
On Wednesday, an airstrike killed 15 suspected militants in Airab village in Bajur, according to Jamil Khan, a senior government official. He said the 15 dead included a Pakistani militant commander named Wali Rehman. Khan said Rehman was known to shelter foreign militants linked to al-Qaida.