NAB board okays references against two former secretaries

 

ISLAMABAD: The executive board of the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) on Friday approved the filing of references against two ex-federal secretaries for illegally awarding a $72 million contract to a company with regard to the Guddu Rental Power Plant. Chairman NAB Qamar Zaman Chaudhry chaired the board meeting.
The accused former secretaries — Shahid Rafi and Ismail Qureshi — are charged with awarding the Guddu Rental Power Plant project without the approval of the Economic Coordination Committee and extending undue and illegal benefits to the sponsors of M/s PPR.

The contract was awarded to M/s PPR in violation of the PPRA Rules, the Nepra Act and without any feasibility study and approval of the government.According to sources, Wapda initially started the tender process for the Guddu Rental Power in 2007. M/s ProGas was declared the lowest bidder but the MD Pepco raised objections to the award of the contract and the review committee suggested to award the tender again.However, sources said, the Wapda authorities decided to award the contract to the lower bidder.

Following Wapda’s bifurcation in 2010, MD Pepco scratched the tender and fresh advertisements were issued and a fresh evaluation was made. Subsequently, a committee was constituted that declared M/s PPR as the lowest bidder.

Sources said advance payment was increased from 7 percent to 14 percent illegally and Cod was extended without invoking panel clauses, encashing performance payments as well as advance payments.

Sources said the machinery imported for the Guddu Power Plant was transferred to the Naudero 2 Power Project. Another reference was approved against Maqbool Ahmed Lehri, ex-chairman Quetta Development Authority (QDA), Ali Muhammad Baloch, ex-director QDA, and others.

In this case, the accused persons are involved in corruption by making irregular allotment of govt land and by changing the location and number of plots.In another complaint against Senator Ms Sehar Kamran of PPP, ex-principal Pakistan International School, English Section (Pakistan Embassy), Jeddah, the board referred the matter to the Awareness and Prevention Division to look into the complaint and coordinate with the Ministry of Overseas Pakistanis.

In this case, Sehar Kamran is alleged for corruption, misuse and embezzlement of school funds.The board authorised an investigation against Col (retd) Muhammad Ishaq, former additional director NAB(B); Samiullah Kakar, Junior English Teacher Education Department, District Bolan, and others.

In this case, the accused persons are allegedly involved in corruption and corrupt practices. They are accused of impersonation, abetting and misuse of authority.The board also decided to close an inquiry against Mir Aslam Bizenjo, ex-MPA from Balochistan and former provincial minister, for want of incriminating evidence against him.

Action against terrorists on both sides of border agreed

 

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan and Afghanistan on Thursday agreed to launch indiscriminate action against the terrorists on both sides of the border.
This was decided during a meeting of Rangin Rahimi Dafdar Spanta, Afghan National Security Adviser, with Prime Minister Muhammad Nawaz Sharif at the PM House. Matters relating to mutual and bilateral interest came under discussion.

The meeting was attended by Afghan delegation comprising Janan Mosazai, Ambassador of Afghanistan to Pakistan, Atiqullah Hatifmal, Afghan Deputy Foreign Secretary, Major General Asadullah Akramyar, Ministry of Defence, and Hakimullah Hakmatullah Foushanji, Director International Affairs. The Pakistani side comprised Adviser to PM on Foreign Affairs and National Security Sartaj Aziz, Special Assistant to PM on National Security Tariq Fatimi and Secretary Foreign Affairs Aizaz Chaudhry.

APP adds: Rangin Dafdar Spanta called on Chief of the Army Staff (COAS) General Raheel Sharif at the General Headquarters. During the meeting, views were exchanged on matters of mutual interest.

Besides, measures to enhance security cooperation, particularly in the wake of the ongoing operation Zarb-e-Azb along the Pak-Afghan border and the latest situation in Afghanistan, were also discussed.

Saudi king orders steps against "terrorist threats"

RIYADH: King Abdullah ordered all necessary measures to protect Saudi Arabia against potential "terrorist threats" after chairing a security meeting to discuss the fall-out from Iraq, the state news agency SPA said on Thursday.

The world´s top oil exporter shares an 800-km (500-mile) border with Iraq, where the militant Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) and other Sunni Muslim groups have seized towns and cities in a lightning advance this month.

Riyadh has long expressed fears of being targeted by jihadists, including some of its own citizens, who have taken part in conflicts in Iraq and Syria, and earlier this year decreed long jail terms for those who travel overseas to fight.

"Concerned for the national security of the kingdom of Saudi Arabia against any measures that terrorist organisations or any other groups might resort to ..., (the king) has ordered all necessary measures to protect the gains of the homeland and its stability, and the security of the Saudi people," SPA said.

King Abdullah acted a day before he was due to meet U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry in Jeddah to discuss the crisis in Iraq and Syria, and a day after two Saudi men were involved in a suicide bombing in Lebanon.

The Saudi ambassador in Lebanon said on Thursday he was not able to rule out that Wednesday´s attack in a Beirut hotel, which killed one of the Saudis and injured three security guards, was intended to target the embassy, located nearby.

Sunni Muslim Saudi Arabia has been one of the biggest supporters of mainly Sunni rebels in Lebanon´s neighbour Syria fighting against President Bashar al-Assad, who is backed by Riyadh´s main regional adversary, Shi´ite Muslim Iran.

However, it has shied away from arming rebel groups like ISIL that it fears are connected to al Qaeda, which waged a campaign of attacks inside the kingdom a decade ago led by veterans of jihad in civil wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Saudi Arabia´s envoy in Lebanon, Ali Awad Asiri, said it was important to find out who was behind Wednesday´s bombing in Beirut, in which local security forces said the Saudi bomber was killed and another Saudi wounded and then arrested at the scene."We want to know why a Saudi citizen was involved in such a criminal act," Asiri told television channel al-Hadath.

His comment that the attack may have been directed at the Saudi embassy came in a later interview broadcast on the al-Arabiya channel.

"We need to know how they were lured into this, who finances them, why they were in that place to carry out this criminal act. We have special ties with the security forces in Lebanon and the Lebanese government," he said.

Interior minister approved action against Musharraf, court told

ISLAMABAD: Interior Secretary Shahid Khan on Wednesday told the Special Court trying former president General (retd) Pervez Musharraf for treason that the prime minister did not approve the complaint against Musharraf but the interior minister did.

A three-member bench of the court, headed by Justice Faisal Arab, heard the case. Defence counsel Barrister Farogh Naseem started cross examination of the interior secretary and the complainant Shahid Khan. The counsel asked the secretary who gave the approval to take action or lodge the complaint against Musharraf. He also questioned was the PM’s statement recorded in the case, was the Law and Justice Ministry consulted, and who drafted the complaint against Musharraf?

Shahid Khan said the interior minister approved action against Musharraf after receiving the investigation report from the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) in the case. However, the PM and federal cabinet did not give approval of action against the former president under Article-6, he added.

Shahid Khan said, “No statement of the prime minister was recorded in the case.” Before lodging the complaint against Musharraf, the Law Ministry was consulted several times in the light of the FIA investigation report and then the decision was taken to register the complaint under Article-6.

He said although several drafts were prepared to lodge the complaint against Musharraf but he himself drafted the final complaint.Farogh Naseem said the complaint was registered against Musharraf based on malicious intent. The special court adjourned the hearing till Thursday.

US warns Russia against sending troops into Ukraine

WASHINGTON: The United States warned Friday it would not accept any use of Russian troops in Ukraine as it confirmed that Moscow had redeployed "significant" military forces near the border.

"We are monitoring the situation carefully. We will not accept the use, under any pretext, of any Russian military forces in eastern Ukraine," said Josh Earnest, a White House spokesman.

"Reports from Moscow that the Russian defense ministry is considering creating military cordons in eastern Ukraine are also troubling.

"A Russian defense ministry source told RBK news agency this week that troops were prepared to enter Ukraine´s insurgent regions in order to "put up barriers between the civilian population and the Ukrainian army.

"Ukrainian officials have separately told EU and G7 teams in Kiev that they have evidence of 10 additional tanks and sealed trucks coming over the border close to Lugansk in the past 24 hours.

"We have our own information that Russia has redeployed military forces to its border with Ukraine," State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki told reporters.

"This is the closest Russian troops have come to the Ukrainian territory since their invasion of Crimea.

"Moscow has annexed the southern Ukrainian peninsula, after invading the territory earlier this year.

Ukraine´s Western-backed President Petro Poroshenko meanwhile declared a weeklong unilateral ceasefire to give pro-Russian rebels a chance to disarm and released a sweeping peace plan for curbing the uprising.

The 14-point initiative came after two calls made by Poroshenko to Russian strongman Vladimir Putin to try to garner his support.

The US Treasury Department blacklisted seven Ukraine separatists, saying their activities threaten the peace and sovereignty of the country.

Topping the list was Vyacheslav Ponomaryov, the rebel leader in the eastern separatist stronghold of Slavyansk whose group kidnapped observers from the European security body OSCE in May and continues to hold them.

The US is "confident" that Moscow sent tanks and rocket launchers last week from the deployment site in southwest Russia into eastern Ukraine where pro-Russian separatists are fighting to break away Kiev, Psaki said.

Washington has information that "additional tanks have been prepared for departure" at the same site, she added, saying artillery had also been gathered at a deployment site.

England 320-6 against Sri Lanka

LEEDS: England were 320 for six in reply to Sri Lanka´s first innings 257, a lead of 63 runs, at stumps on the second day of the second Test at Headingley on Saturday.

Matt Prior was three not out and Chris Jordan on four after Australia-born opener Sam Robson had made 127 -- his maiden Test century.

The two-Test series is level after the opening match at Lord´s was drawn on Monday.(AFP)

Gene flaws may protect against heart disease

WASHINGTON: A rare set of genetic mutations found in fewer than one percent of the population may cut the risk of heart disease by 40 percent, researchers said Wednesday.

The findings in the New England Journal of Medicine show how certain flaws in a gene called APOC3 work to reduce a certain type of fat found in blood, known as triglycerides.

About one in 150 people carry one of these four genetic mutations, said the findings based on a study of the DNA of nearly 4,000 people of European and African ancestry.

Normal levels of triglycerides are generally less than 150 milligrams per deciliter (mg/dL).

Among those with any of the four APOC3 mutations, triglyceride levels were around 85 mg/dL."Based on our findings, we predict that lowering triglycerides specifically through inhibition of APOC3 would have a beneficial effect by lowering disease risk," said senior co-author Alex Reiner, a research professor of epidemiology at the University of Washington´s School of Public Health.

Drugs already exist that can lower triglycerides -- which like cholesterol are a type of lipid in the blood -- but these have not been proven to lower the risk of heart disease, perhaps because they don´t lower the lipids enough, researchers said.

Recent studies have also suggested that the long-running effort to improve Americans´ "good" cholesterol, or high-density lipoproteins (HDL), was not the magic bullet against heart disease that some experts had hoped.

"The combination of our genetic results, together with recent clinical trials of drugs that raised HDL levels but failed to prevent heart disease, are turning decades of conventional wisdom on its head," said senior author Sekar Kathiresan, a Broad Institute associate member and director of preventive cardiology at Massachusetts General Hospital.

"It has long been presumed that low HDL is the causal factor in heart disease, and triglycerides are along for the ride.

But our genetic data indicate that the true causal factor may not be HDL after all, but triglycerides.

"Heart disease is the leading killer in the United States, taking nearly 600,000 lives per year.

Plunkett and Broad strike against Sri Lanka

LEEDS: Liam Plunkett took his Test-best figures and Stuart Broad his second Test hat-trick as Sri Lanka were bowled out for 257 by England on the first day of the second Test at Headingley on Friday.

England at stumps were 36 without loss. Alastair Cook, the England captain, was 14 not out and Australia-born opener Sam Robson 21 not out.

England, who had seen Cook win the toss and opt to field first in overcast conditions were clearly confident of inflicting a fresh collapse upon Sri Lanka having come within one wicket of victory after dismissing nine of the tourists´ batsmen on the last day at Lord´s. But England´s early good work threatened to be undone by Sri Lanka star batsman Kumar Sangakkara, who was given four reprieves on the way to top-scoring with 79.

Sangakkara eventually exited when he square-drove at Broad and Ian Bell, in his 100th Test, held an excellent catch in the gully.

Sangakkkara batted for just over three-and-a-half hours, facing 147 balls with 13 fours.

His departure was the start of a rapid collapse that saw four wickets lost for one run in nine balls.

Plunkett, who had already performed impressively Friday then had Dhammika Prasad caught behind for a duck.

Broad returned next over and ended an enterprising knock from Chandimal, playing in place of injured wicketkeeper Prasanna Jayawardene, when he was caught by Cook at first slip.

Broad then had his hat-trick when tailender Eranga was caught behind although neither the bowler nor his England team-mates were aware of his feat until an announcement was made over the public address system.

Plunkett, appropriately, ended the innings when he had Nuwan Pradeep, who´d frustrated England at Lord´s by holding out for the final five balls of the match, caught behind.

The 29-year-old former Durham paceman surpassed his previous Test-best of three for 17, also against Sri Lanka, in Birmingham in 2006.

Sri Lanka thought they had Cook caught at slip by Sangakkara on five but, with replays inconclusive, the left-hander survived. There was further drama before stumps when play was briefly held up after a piece of cheese was thrown from among the crowd in the Western Stand at Eranga.(AFP)

Sri Lanka 257 all out against England

LEEDS: Liam Plunkett took his Test-best figures and Stuart Broad his second Test hat-trick as Sri Lanka were bowled out for 257 by England on the first day of the second Test at Headingley on Friday.

Fast bowler Plunkett, on his Yorkshire home ground, took five for 64 in only his second Test in seven years after he was recalled for the drawn first match of this two-Test series at Lord´s.

Broad, who previously took a hat-trick against India at Trent Bridge in 2011, became the first England bowler, and only the fourth in all to perform the feat twice in Tests, when he removed Kumar Sangakkara (79), Dinesh Chandimal (45) and Shaminda Eranga with successive deliveries split across two overs.

It was only the third Test hat-trick at Headingley after Broad´s England predecessors J.T. Hearne (against Australia in 1899) and Peter Loader (against the West Indies in 1957) also performed the feat at Yorkshire´s headquarters. (AFP)

Murder case sought against PM, CM, others

LAHORE: The Minhaj-ul-Quran International (MQI) leadership lodged a formal application with the Faisal Town police on Thursday to register a murder case against the top leadership of the ruling PML-N for killing 10 workers and wounding nearly 100 by the police on Tuesday.

MQI Director Admin Jawad Hamid on Thursday went to the Faisal Town Police Station along with political allies to file an application for registering the murder case. PML-Q Information Secretary Senator Kamil Ali Agha, a former judge of Lahore High Court Dr Khalid Ranjha, Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC) president Sahibzada Hamid Raza and other leaders also accompanied him.

Those who were nominated in the application included Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif, Hamza Shahbaz Sharif, federal ministers Khawaja Asif, Chaudhry Nisar Ali, Pervaiz Rasheed, Khawaja Saad Rafiq and Abid Sher Ali along with Punjab Minister Rana Sanaullah, DIG Operations Rana Abdul Jabbar, SP Tariq Aziz, former CCPO Shafiq Gujjar, Faisal Town SHO, Gullu Butt and others. However, no case was registered till the filing of this report.

Senator Agha told the media that Naib Moharrir Ansar Amin had issued a receipt 657/5B/FB against the application but the case was not registered despite waiting for over one hour because the SHO left the police station with the plea that he would return within 10 minutes. But he did not appear again even after over an hour while the staff could not explain his schedule.

Agha said the MQI had fulfilled their legal right and now it was the legal responsibility of the police to register the case and start an investigation. He feared that the police would not register the cases against the rulers.He said the chief minister had announced supporting those who would follow the legal procedure, adding that it was the CM’s turn now to move on the application according to the law.

He warned the government that if it did not act on the application according to the Constitution and the law, then they would be compelled to take direct action whose responsibility would rest with the rulers.

US leaders assured of operation against TTP, Haqqani Group

WASHINGTON: Before initiating the recent North Waziristan offensive, the top Pakistani leadership took the US in confidence, saying that Pakistan was ready to take action against all the militant groups, which included the notorious Haqqani Network. The US has been watchful of the ongoing operation but remains sceptical of the reported results given the history of distrust between the countries.

Over the last few weeks, senior officials of the two countries addressed the issue in different meetings, where the political as well as military leadership of Pakistan assured the US officials about their decisive action against the militants.

The assurance came not just from one quarter but from almost all the stakeholders tasked with security of the country.Ambassador James Dobbins, the US Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan, told the US Senate Committee on Foreign Affairs on Wednesday: “We have been assured by Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, army chief Raheel Sharif, Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar and the head of the ISI Gen Zaheer.”

Dobbins went on to say that according to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee General Rashad Mahmood, “They [Pakistan] are going to treat all militant groups similarly and that they are going to force all foreign militants out of North Waziristan and Pakistan.”General Mahmood is visiting Washington this week, and has had numerous meeting with state and defence department officials.

Answering a question raised by Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Sen. Robert Menendez about the willingness of Pakistan to confront the Haqqani Network during the operation, Ambassador Dobbins said that there were concerns that were justified but “we will be examining this carefully, we have gotten the right assurances but there is a historical pattern of activity which indicates that there are habits here that are going to be difficult to break.”

Referring to the military action against the militants, he said: “We have made our position clear that it’s a right thing.”For years, the United States has been pushing Pakistan to root out the Haqqani Network, who allegedly were given sanctuary in the country’s tribal areas. The State Department in its latest country report on terrorism highlighted the issues once again: “Afghan Taliban and Haqqani Network leadership and facilitation network continued to find safe haven in Pakistan, and Pakistani authorities did not take significant military or law enforcement action against these groups.”

Lately, the US has also linked military aid, including the Coalition Support Fund payments to Pakistan, directly to an operation in North Waziristan. According to the terms of the National Defence Authorisation Act for the upcoming year, senior US officials had to issue a waiver certifying that “Pakistan has undertaken military operations in North Waziristan that have significantly disrupted the safe haven and freedom of movement of the Haqqani Network.”

Testifying before the committee members on US policy in Afghanistan, Ambassador Dobbins said: “It’s notable that among the targets that Pakistan is going after vigourously are the Uzbek groups.”

He also said that the civilian and military point of view was to give the TTP a chance to disarm and respect the Constitution. The US, he said, had no objection to it. The move was to appeal some of the elements of the insurgency off, Dobbins said adding, “They needed to go into the massive operation of this sort — which was going to produce a lot of refugees, a lot of cost, a lot of damage to innocent people as well as to the guilty, on the basis of a strong national consensus.”

Dobbins said that Pakistan now had a strong national consensus. He maintained that civilian and military leadership in Pakistan had had their differences but the said operation suggested that both parties were on the same page now.

“Historically, there has been a strong distinction between civilian and military leadership, and while this has not gone entirely away, the two are a lot closer and civilian authority over the military is gradually being demonstrated,” Dobbins said, adding that “the prime minister has authorised and directed this particular action, while I think military might have had a different view throughout this period they saluted and done what they have been told.”

Scotland Yard drops one investigation against Altaf

LONDON: Scotland Yard has decided to drop the ‘incitement of hate speech’ investigation against the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) leader Altaf Hussain.

Specialist Crime and Operations officers had opened an inquiry in May last year — soon after the 11th May general elections — after thousands of people had written to the Metropolitan Police complaining that the MQM leader had threatened protesters in Karachi who had gathered at the Teen Talwar venue in Karachi and also another of Hussain’s speeches in which it was alleged that Altaf Hussain had issued open threats and incited violence against the democratic protesters.

But the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) has told the police that there was no sufficient evidence against Altaf Hussain to prosecute him, therefore, the case shall not be pursued any further. The News understands that a letter has been sent to the MQM informing the party that the investigation had been dropped.

When contacted by The News, the Scotland Yard confirmed that Altaf Hussain’s speeches of the time “do not constitute a criminal offence” and “consequently there will be no further action taken by police.”

Without naming Altaf Hussain, the spokesman said that in May, 2013, the Metropolitan Police Service received “a large number of complaints, totalling several thousand, following speeches from an individual associated with the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM).”

He added: “Specialist Crime and Operations officers carried out extensive searches to locate and gather, what was a substantial amount of material, all of which required translation.“After careful examination and in close consultation with the CPS, the Met has concluded that though the comments may offend some members of the community, they do not constitute a criminal offence. Consequently, there will be no further action taken by police.”

The spokesman added that the police take all allegations of crime seriously, responding to the concerns raised and will take action where appropriate. He confirmed that the “hate speech inquiry” was “in no way linked to the investigation into money laundering offences which was widely reported, following an arrest being made, earlier this month”.

The decision by the police will come as a relief to the MQM leader who is currently on police bail in relation to the money-laundering investigation.The News has learnt that the police used different Urdu language interpreters and language experts to look into the words of Altaf Hussain and then took advice from criminal law experts who told the police that if the matter reaches the court, Altaf Hussain’s lawyers could interpret his speech in totally different meaning and context than the one suggested by the prosecution. The CPS advised that in front of a jury, the chances of this case succeeding were very poor. The CPS advised the police not to bother with this investigation anymore.

The MQM had contested that its leader didn’t threaten protesters belonging to Imran Khan’s party, the PTI. Farooq Sattar had sent a letter to the police stating that Altaf Hussain was not “responsible for the murder of Ms Zahra Shahid Hussain” as alleged by Imran Khan.

Sattar explained in the letter that Altaf Hussain had not threatened anyone and translated Altaf Hussain’s Urdu words “may laraee jhegra nahee chahta werna tau may apnay satheeon ko kehoon tau wo teen talwar phohonch ker talwaroon ko asel shakel day dain gey” in English as “I do not want to quarrel or fight with anyone otherwise I would only have to order my associates that they reach Teen Talwar (Three swords monument in Clifton) and make them real”.

Sattar explained in the letter: “The above quoted words of Mr Hussain very clearly indicate his intentions that he doesn’t want to fight anyone and the phraseology that swords of monument could be converted into real swords would have carried any real meaning and threat only if Mr Hussain had failed to clarify that he doesn’t believe in physical fight.”

Bombs against Kurds, other attacks in Iraq kill 33

BAGHDAD: A double bombing tore through Kurdish political party offices in northern Iraq in the deadliest of a series of attacks nationwide that killed at least 33 people, officials said.

It was the second such assault in as many days. Nobody claimed responsibility for Monday´s attack.

But an al-Qaida splinter group known as the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant claimed responsibility for the previous double bombing Sunday against Kurdish offices in Jalula, northwest of Baghdad, killing 19 people.

The group said in an online statement that the bombings in Jalula were in response to the detention of Muslim women by authorities in the self-rule Kurdish region in northern Iraq.

Iraq is grappling with its worst surge in violence since the sectarian bloodletting of 2006 and 2007, when the country was pushed to the brink of civil war despite the presence of tens of thousands of U.S. troops.

The Americans withdrew at the end of 2011.Monday´s attack took place in the town of Tuz Khormato, about 200 kilometers (130 miles) north of Baghdad, when a suicide bomber drove his explosives-laden truck into a checkpoint leading up to the offices of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan and the nearby Kurdistan Communist Party.

Bombs against Kurds, other attacks in Iraq kill 33

BAGHDAD: A double bombing tore through Kurdish political party offices in northern Iraq in the deadliest of a series of attacks nationwide that killed at least 33 people, officials said.

It was the second such assault in as many days. Nobody claimed responsibility for Monday´s attack.

But an al-Qaida splinter group known as the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant claimed responsibility for the previous double bombing Sunday against Kurdish offices in Jalula, northwest of Baghdad, killing 19 people.

The group said in an online statement that the bombings in Jalula were in response to the detention of Muslim women by authorities in the self-rule Kurdish region in northern Iraq.

Iraq is grappling with its worst surge in violence since the sectarian bloodletting of 2006 and 2007, when the country was pushed to the brink of civil war despite the presence of tens of thousands of U.S. troops.

The Americans withdrew at the end of 2011.Monday´s attack took place in the town of Tuz Khormato, about 200 kilometers (130 miles) north of Baghdad, when a suicide bomber drove his explosives-laden truck into a checkpoint leading up to the offices of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan and the nearby Kurdistan Communist Party.

Blasphemy against Ahle Bait: More pleas against TV channels

LAHORE: A case against TV channels and some people was registered for airing blasphemous content against the Ahle Bait at the City Police Station Mianwali.
On the other hand, Sargodha’s sessions’ court reserved verdict until June 7 on a petition filed against 20 TV channels, the information and broadcasting minister, Pemra officials and cable operators.

Moreover, petitions have been filed with the Gujranwala district and sessions judge and Sialkot DPO to register cases against ARY Chief Executive Salman Iqbal, Mubashar Lucman, Haji Jan Muhammad, ARY director Muhammad Iqbal, director Muhammad Mehboob, director Anwar Maqsood, Dunya TV Chief Executive Mian Amir Mehmood, Samaa TV CEO Naveed Siddiqui, Express News CEO Sultan Ali Lakhani, Amjad Sabri, Zaki Zaman and others.

District and Sessions judge Syed Tauqir Bokhari will hear the petition today (Thursday). A petition against the TV channels was filed by a citizen Prof Shahid Mehmood in Sialkot. In a village of Sargodha, Fatima Jinnah Colony; a resident Muhammad Ilyas Qadri filed a petition against the information minister, Pemra officials, cable operators, ARY, Express, Dunya News, Samaa TV, Aab Taak TV and Geo TV owners and others in the sessions’ court.

In Mianwali, on a petition filed by local trader Falak Sher Awami, a case was registered against ARY CEO Salman Iqbal, anchorperson Mubashar Lucman, anchor Nida Yasir, Amjad Farid Sabri qawwal, Samaa TV CEO, Dr Shaista Lodhi, Veena Malik, Asad Bashir Khattak and other responsible persons of Geo on the orders of district and sessions judge Sohail Ikram.

On court orders, a case was registered against Geo in Jaranwala while orders were issued for registering a case in Burewala. In Sahiwal, a court disposed of a petition against Geo, directing the police to register a case if the applicant is aggrieved otherwise if allegations are not proven then legal action should be taken against the applicant.

Any action against freedom of media ‘unacceptable’: CPNE

QUETTA: The Council of Pakistan Newspaper Editors (CPNE) Standing Committee has announced that suspension of licence of any TV channel and declaration of any newspaper would be intolerable, Geo News reported.

The CPNE committee issued its statement after meeting here Sunday. It asserted that any action against freedom of media would be unacceptable at any cost.

The meeting deeply reviewed the situation, emerged after attack on Geo News anchorperson Hamid Mir.

It expressed concerned over coverage pertaining to DG ISI and called upon all the media organization to ensure implementation on code of conduct.

The statement further says despite the plea of Defence Minister was being heard in the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA), cable operators had shut down Geo TV transmission in various areas, adding hurdles were being put in the circulation of Daily Jang newspaper as well.

The CPNE termed all such actions illegal and demanded action against those responsible.

The meeting also showed its concerns over media houses infighting.

Dilshan helps Sri Lanka reach 256-8 against England

Dilshan helps Sri Lanka reach 256-8 against EnglandCHESTER-LE-STREET, United Kingdom: Tillakaratne Dilshan made a crucial contribution of 88 runs as Sri Lanka finished on 256-8 after being put in to bat for the second successive one-day international against England on Sunday.

Dilshan was involved in an intriguing battle at the start of the innings with James Anderson, who took two wickets, including his 250th in ODI cricket.

Ashan Priyanjan added an important 43 runs for the tourists and there were three wickets for Harry Gurney near the end of the innings.
James Anderson posed problems for the opening batsmen Dilshan and Lahiru Thirimanne and the latter faced 18 balls before finally getting off the mark.

Anderson claimed the wicket his excellent opening burst deserved when Thirimanne was caught at slip by James Tredwell after scoring only ten in nine overs.

Dilshan was in fine form, however, and after almost being run out in the 16th over went on to score his 35th half-century in ODI cricket. It was invaluable for Sri Lanka, however, and his partnership with Kumar Sangakkara provided a solid foundation. The partnership added 96 runs before Sangakkara, who hit only two boundaries in his 40, hoisted a Tredwell delivery high into the air and wicketkeeper Jos Buttler took the catch.
The new batsman, Mahela Jayawardene, survived only eight deliveries before he was run out for two by an excellent throw from Gary Ballance.
Dilshan was 12 short of a deserved century when Chris Jordan, the star of England´s success in the opening encounter at The Oval, found movement off the pitch to hit the top of his off-stump. It was a delivery that could only enhance his prospects of a Test call-up this summer.
Ashan Priyanjan now emerged as the main threat to England. He struck two sixes from Tredwell´s final over after being dropped by Harry Gurney at third man in the previous over.
His partnership with Angelo Mathews reached 50 in 44 deliveries before Mathews again benefited from poor fielding when Ravi Bopara failed to take an easy catch at deep midwicket.
Bopara did succeed when Mathews offered another chance off the bowling of Harry Gurney, ending a fifth-wicket partnership of 66 at better than a run a ball.
Priyanjan soon followed him for 43 as a catch by Eoin Morgan gave Anderson is 250th wicket in ODI cricket, while Dinesh Chandimal and Nuwan Kulasekara soon followed.
(AFP)

Lawyers, civil society, labourers join protest against Geo closure

LAHORE: The Protest against the ban/suspension of Geo TV is gaining strength with every passing day as more people from all walks of life, including members of civil society, lawyers, the journalist community, labourers and workers of the Geo/Jang Group, thronged outside the Jang, Geo offices to hold a protest demonstration here on Saturday.

The protesters, carrying banners, placards in favour the Geo/Jang Group, and terming the ban on Geo against fundamental rights, said that any such action would be tantamount to economic murder of around 50,000 workers of the largest media house.

Among the prominent persons who attended the protest were senior journalists Nasrullah Malik, Khawar Naeem Hashmi, Maqsood Butt, Bedar Bakht Butt, Sadia Sharif, Ameen Hafiz, Jang Workers Union President Rukhsana Nazli, General Secretary Waseem Babar, Fakhira Tehreem, Shahzada Irfan, Jamaat-e-Islami general secretary Ameerul Azeem, Sadia Jabeen of the PPP, Shahid Aslam, Imdad Qureshi, Zahid Rafique Bhatti, Sabir Awan, Zahid Ali Khan, Ijaz Manzoor, Ijaz Mirza, Farooq Chohan, Naseer Baig, Azhar Maqbool, Sadia Aziz, Huma Mir Hassan, Naveed Aslam, President Civil Society Pakistan Abdullah Malik, Sohail Butt, Muneer Khokhar, Adeel Khokhar, Shafqat Imran, Asim Naseer and Waheed Butt.

Nasrullah Malik said he had come to join the protest as defending freedom of press was the duty of every journalist. He said our (media) victory lies in defending our freedom against all dictatorial acts. Which Constitution allows to forcibly snatch copies of newspapers and to threaten the cable operators to shut a channel (Geo), Malik asked, adding that some black sheep exist in our community which need to be thrown out now.

Allama Siddique Azhar said it was a matter of grave concern that Geo TV is off air as employment of thousands of workers is attached with this largest media house. He said nefarious designs with the help of some other channels have been made to discredit the most reliable source (Jang/Geo) of information for the public only to serve some vested interests.

Bedar Bakht Butt said the attack on senior anchorperson Hamid Mir was not an attack on him alone, rather the whole community came under attack from some powerful quarters who do not want free speech and freedom of the media. He said a planned conspiracy has been put in place after the attack on Hamid Mir to cause unbearable loss to the Geo/Jang Group to oust democracy from the country. He said the time has come to join hands to fight with the ‘angels’ and dictatorial mindset if we want to continue telling the truth to the general public.

Maqsood Butt said by attacking Hamid Mir it seemed that a serious campaign has been launched to eliminate all those journalists who speak the truth and stand in front of all wrongs.

Yousaf Shah and Khursheed Shah while condemning the ban on Geo said all labourers and worker’s unions of the country are with the workers of the Geo/Jang Group at this crucial time, adding that Geo is being targeted only for raising a voice for the poor and the needy.

In his speech, Ameerul Azeem demanded all illegal actions initiated against the Geo/Jang Group be stopped immediately, saying that the media house is the pride of Pakistan. He said Geo and Jang are the voice of millions of Pakistanis and efforts were underway to malign their favourite channel and newspapers which is highly condemnable.

Shahida Jabeen said by discrediting the Geo/Jang Group through such malicious campaigns, some forces want to again impose martial law in the country by throwing out hard-earned democracy. She also asked her leadership to throw persons like Israr Abbassi and Mian Shams out of the PPP as they were dancing to someone else’s tune while sitting in the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (Pemra).

Nisar Safdar Advocate and Iftikhar Shahid Advocate said religious elements are being used by some quarters to settle scores with Geo and Jang as this media house always stood against the high and mighty of the country. He said the media along with the lawyers’ community fought for the independence of the judiciary and now the lawyers will support the media in their fight for freedom and justice.

A representative of the Baloch Ittehad said that it was Geo and Jang alone which highlighted and raised the issues of Balochistan. He said the Baloch nation stands with the workers of the Geo/Jang Group in their fight for truth and freedom.

Abdullah Malik said Geo and Jang always promoted truth, harmony, equality, rule of law in the country. He said damaging this largest media organisation of the country means damaging democracy as every one knows that the independent media would not allow any unconstitutional act in the country again. He said all other channels and media houses should learn some lessons from the management of Geo/Jang Group as they accepted suffering a huge loss in the past one month or so but they never surrendered their freedom to the ‘angels’. He demanded that the government should intervene by finding a solution to the whole mess, otherwise things may go from bad to worse.

Meanwhile, the governing body of the Lahore Press Club on Saturday held its meeting with the chair of LPC President Arshad Ansari and expressed their serious concerns over the ban/suspension of Geo TV across the country.

In a statement issued here, the members of the governing body, while terming the ban on Geo as the economic murder of thousands of employees of the largest media house, said that such action against the Geo/Jang Group on any pretext would not be acceptable to the journalists’ community. “We will not let anyone ban/suspend any channel or media house of the country. If such actions were initiated against any group, the whole community would resist the move with full force,” they said.

The participants of the meeting asked the cable operators to restore Geo TV’s transmission throughout the country otherwise protest rallies would be taken out in all parts of the country.

Besides Arshad Ansari, LPC Secretary Shahbaz Mian, Afzal Talib, Farzana Ch, Asif Ch, Zahid Rafique Bhatti, Qamar Zaman Bhatti, Rizwan Khalid, Khwaja Naseer, Mehboob Ahmed, Imran Sheikh and Bilal Ghauri participated in the meeting.

Four more cases registered against Geo

 

LAHORE: On the court orders, more cases were registered against the Geo channel on Friday in Vehari, Sarai Alamgir, Peshawar and Aroop (Gujranwala) for the alleged broadcast of blasphemous content in a morning show.
In Lahore, on the application of a local lawyer Azfar Kamal, Additional Sessions Judge Safdar Ali Bhatti ordered the registration of an FIR against the morning show host Shaista Lodhi, actress Veena Malik and her husband Asad Khattak.

However, Awami Justice Party President Mehar Ghulam Mustafa Mankan withdrew his application from a court in Faisalabad he had submitted for the registration of a case against the Geo administration. He said the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, some media organisations and individuals were hatching conspiracies against the Geo TV network.

Shuhada Foundation demands stern action against ARY

ISLAMABAD: Shuhada Foundation (Lal Masjid) of Pakistan has written a letter to the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (Pemra) chairman calling for a stern action against ARY TV for airing programmes blaspheming Ahle Bait and defaming the judiciary besides seeking issuance of instructions to cable operators to unblock Geo TV transmission in the country immediately.

It also sought cancellation of licence of cable operators for blocking Geo TV transmission. The Foundation’s spokesman Hafiz Ehtesham Ahmed said in a press release that the Foundation has put up a writ petition in the Islamabad High Court (IHC) making secretary information, chairman Pemra, chairman CII, chairman PTA, chairman Cable Operators Association, chief executive ARY TV, ARY anchor Mubashir Lucman, ARY morning show host Nida Yasir, Dr Shaista Lodhi, Qawal Amjad Farid Sabri and poet of ‘blasphemous’ Qawali Aqeel Mohsin Naqvi as respondents. He said the IHC judge Justice Noorul Haq Qureshi has issued notices to all respondents.

He said Geo TV morning show host Dr Shaista Lodhi publicly apologised on May 15 for the inadvertent mistake she did in her show on May 14. He said Geo administration sacked the team of the programe and started inquiry. He said known clerics hold that Dr Shaista Lodhi could not be declared a culprit in the light of Quran and Hadith after she has apologised publicly.

He said Pemra received thousands of applications complaining about the programme and three of its controversial members — Israr Abbasi, Mian Shams and Fareeha Iftikhar — recommended cancellation of Geo TV licence after holding an illegal session of Council of Complaints in Karachi on May 20, 2014.

The spokesman said Pemra notices blasphemous transmission of Geo TV but ignores the fact that ARY TV was airing blasphemous content. He demanded that Pemra should take action against ARY TV similar to what they have done with Geo TV. He said ARY anchor Mubashir Lucman intentionally aired Geo TV’s morning show which blasphemed Ahle Bait unintentionally. He said Lucman has not apologised for this mistake and ARY has also ignored it. He said Lucman has not only committed blasphemy intentionally but also tried to fan religious hatred, putting lives of Geo TV workers in danger. He said due to this despicable act of Lucman, many Geo TV employees have been attacked. He said this act of Lucman falls in the category of terrorism so Pemra should order registration of a case against him under ATA.

The spokesman added that ARY host Nida Yasir has carried out a programme containing similar content as Dr Shaista Lodhi but Nida has not apologised so far. He said in the light of these facts, ARY TV is a bigger culprit than Geo TV. He demanded a stern action against ARY host Nida Yasir.

He demanded a blasphemy case against ARY TV Chief Executive Salman Iqbal for allowing airing of blasphemous content on his TV.He said lyrics of the Qawali are blasphemous so it should be banned on TV. He said Mubashir Lucman in his programme “Kharra Sach” disrespected judiciary, not least Justice Jawwad S Khawaja on May 21, 22. ARY TV Islamabad Bureau Chief Sabir Shakir was also involved in these programmes, he said. He said Pemra should direct cable operators to unblock Geo TV transmission otherwise he would go into litigation against Pemra.