Karachi attack worst example of security failure: Opposition

 

ISLAMABAD: The National Assembly (NA) on Monday deplored the terrorist attack on the Karachi airport while the opposition expressed its dismay over the government’s silence on the terror bid and questioned the absence of Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar from the House.
It demanded that Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif take the parliament into confidence on the matter and said the government and the opposition were on the same page for taking solid steps to formulate a policy against the terrorists.

The NA session resumed after a delay of two hours due to disturbance of flights schedule in Karachi. Members from both the sides unanimously condemned the terrorist attack on the Karachi airport and on the pilgrims in Taftan in Balochistan.

Opposition Leader Syed Khursheed Shah said the terrorist attack on the Karachi airport was a “national security disaster”. He questioned the government’s silence on it and absence of Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar from the NA.

Sheikh Rashid suspected involvement of a foreign hand in the incident and questioned who will benefit from the attacks on Pakistan. He questioned what benefit will the tribal people from North Waziristan gain from the attack. “If such an incident had happened in India, they would have brought their forces to (our) borders.”

Minister for States and Frontier Regions Lt Gen (retd) Abdul Qadir Baloch said the war against terrorism was a national war.

Khursheed Shah urged the prime minister to take the House into confidence in this regard. “We don’t speak out as we are afraid of being killed. Who will speak if we keep quiet,” he questioned.

The opposition leader said, “We will fight like a lion and make Pakistan a cradle of peace. How can the people of Pakistan feel safe when the government is itself confused?”

He said there was no response from the interior ministry to the incident, which shows that the concerned ministry was unaware of what was going on in Karachi. “It seems that the prime minister tried to find out the interior minister the whole night and he was able to find him on Monday morning. Then the prime minister sent the interior minister to Karachi,” he added.

He said the Taliban had accepted responsibility for the attack and the government was silent over it.

The opposition leader said all the political parties of the country authorised the government to do anything for peace eight months ago but the government had not taken parliament or the political leadership into confidence on the fate of the dialogue.

The opposition leader was of the view that even the Parliament House was not secure anymore as a few weeks back, Sikh protesters entered it and no one stopped them. He said it was time that the prime minister take the nation into confidence and explain which ministry was responsible for the attack – the Defence Ministry, Interior Ministry or Aviation Division.

He said the PM’s adviser on aviation had reached Karachi on Sunday night but the interior minister was not able to reach there. He said by doing so, Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar wanted to give a message to “someone” that he did not want to fight with anyone.

The opposition leader said he wanted to ask the question from all the institutions of the country that when pilgrims entered Iran, they were always safe but as soon as they returned home, they were attacked and martyred.

He said the parliamentarians’ phones were tapped, and their activities were monitored but “they” (those who tap phone calls) did not know about the terrorist attacks.

He said even they are more interested to know what TV channels the government was with and slogans were raised against those TV channels. “We are busy in such petty fights and nobody cares about the security of Pakistan,” he said.

Shah said if anyone wanted to live, then live like a lion rather than a jackal. “Pakistan belongs to all of us and all of us have to come forward to make our land safe and secure,” he added.

The opposition leader also appealed to the media not to telecast such incidents live as it will create a wrong impression.

PTI’s Deputy Parliamentary Leader Shah Mehmood Qureshi said the government looked paralysed following the terrorist attack.

He said the interior minister should have rushed to Karachi on Sunday night. “The interior minister should have gone to Karachi after taking parliament into confidence,” he added.

Qureshi said Pakistanis wanted peace in the country and in the wake of terrorist attacks, the debate on budget was meaningless.

“When Karachi bleeds, how the finance minister can achieve the revenue target of Rs3.7 trillion which he proposed for the next fiscal year,” he added.

Ameer Zaman of the JUI-F extended support to the government to tackle the menace of terrorism.Abul Waseem of the MQM said the party was raising its voice against the Taliban in Karachi for long.

Minister for Science and Technology Zahid Hamid strongly condemned the terrorist incidents in Karachi and Taftan.He paid tributes to the armed forces for bravely foiling the bid of terrorists. He said the interior minister had gone to Karachi to get details of the incident and will give a detailed statement in the House on Tuesday (today).

Minister for Kashmir Affairs and Gilgit Baltistan Chaudhry Barjees Tahir said today was a very sad day for the nation. He said the nation had to make a resolve to fight terrorism. He said the government will not compromise on its writ. “The government is clear that it will hold a dialogue with those who are ready for it,” he added.

He said the PML-N government had inherited terrorism. The House offered Fateha for those who lost their lives in Karachi and Taftan to terrorists on Sunday night.

Opposition dubs budget removed from reality

 

ISLAMABAD: Opposition parties Tuesday rejected the new budget as anti-people and alleged it was aimed at promotion and protection of the capitalists and businessmen interests.
Leader of Opposition in the National Assembly Syed Khursheed Shah in his reaction alleged that the budget carried no good news for the masses, big figures were shown but the fact was that the federal government has miserably failed to achieve its own targets.

“Finance minister’s speech was based on unrealistic figures and had no connection with ground realities of Pakistan. The government claims to have controlled the inflation whereas prices of onions, tomatoes, potatoes, atta and other commodities are at all time high. Even bananas today are touching Rs200 a dozen,” he noted.

Expressing deep concern over the current situation, Shah said that the security issues were threatening the nation while people continued to live in darkness because of long hours of load-shedding.

Finance Minister Dar mentioned austerity measures in his speech but he forgot that Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif had 14 official foreign visits to his credit in the first year of his government, he noted. “Austerity begins at home so the government needs to cut its own expenses and provide immediate relief to people,” he said.

The 10 percent ad hoc salary increase, he said, also sounded like a joke when everything was so expensive, adding salary increase should be in balance with ground realities and government seemed to be insensitive about it.

He said that the government had totally failed to meet its own budget targets and was now again setting higher targets which they would never meet. Shah said that it was sad to see that an amount of only Rs10 million was kept for Lyari Expressway while the Karachi Circular Railway also given an insufficient allocation of only Rs250 million.

“PPP believes in equitable distribution of resources and wealth and all cities of Pakistan should be treated equally in terms of development”, Shah said.Other opposition leaders termed the budget speech of Finance Minister Muhammad Ishaq Dar as a jugglery of words and statistics and claimed there was nothing in it for the common man.

They contended that linking of GST to electricity bills of big plaza and shopping centres would ultimately be a burden on the consumers, as it would be shifted to them by enhancing prices of goods.

Withdrawal of exemptions on some dairy items, they pointed out, would also be affecting the common man and the increase in tax on compressed natural gas (CNG), mostly used by the lower and middle segments of the society, would also increase its price by at least Rs3 per kilo.

The Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) Ameer Sirajul Haq called the budget as anti-people and alleged the government intended to provide no relief to 95 percent of the total population. “In no way, it is a revolutionary budget and just a traditional budget which serves interests of the 5 per cent elite class,” Sirajul Haq in his immediate reaction to the federal budget, said.

The JI Ameer also regretted a meager 10 percent rise in salaries of the government employees and 10 per cent raise in pensions of retired persons.Siraj also lamented imposition of tax on retailers and dairy product and increase in taxes on the CNG sector. “Such taxation will directly affect the common man,” he said.

Deputy Speaker of the Sindh Assembly, Shehla Raza, who belongs to PPP, in her reaction to the budget, said that the budget was for the interests of industrialists and capitalists. She pointed out already the prices of common kitchen items like pulses and vegetables were sky-rocketing.

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf MNA Ayesha Gulalai also came hard on the government for presenting a budget that offered no real relief to the masses. She pointed out if the rulers were sincere in giving some relief to the common man, the GST should have been slashed.

The cut in revenue, she contended, could have been made up or even much more would have been pocketed by focusing on 4 million potential persons, who must be brought in the tax net.The legislator from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa reiterated that the masses’ money stashed in foreign banks should be brought back to give a push to the national economy.

She contended there was a mechanism to find out whether or not the massive amounts kept in off-shore banks was legitimately earned or otherwise. “Politicians’ reluctance to bring back it to Pakistan clearly indicates they are not ready for audit of it,” she maintained.

Talking to media persons outside the Parliament House, Awami Muslim League President Sh Rashid Ahmad rejected the budget and charged that the government failed to achieve even a single economic target during the out-going financial year.

Independent MNA Jamshaid Dasti also did not appear happy with regards to the budget and alleged that instead of offering relief and breathing space to labourers, capitalists had been given further protection in the budget.

Our correspondent add from Lahore: Awami Workers Party (AWP) has termed the federal budget 2014-15 as a document favouring the corporate sector of the country and carrying very little for the poor.

In a statement issued Tuesday, AWP Secretary General Farooq Tariq stated that human development had almost been ignored and major preference had been given to the infrastructure. He said Rs113 billion had been allocated for construction of roads but for the health sector, an amount of Rs26 billion, quite lesser, had been allocated.

Rejecting only 10 percent raise in the salary of the government employees, Farooq Tariq said at least 50 percent increase should be announced in this regard. He demanded that minimum wage of labourers should be Rs20,000 per month. The AWP leader demanded more allocation for health and education.

Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) ameer Sirajul Haq termed federal budget as anti people and scripted by IMF, with privileges for the elite class and deprivations for the 95 percent of the masses.

Far from being a revolutionary budget, this is yet another traditional jumble of words that aims at giving false hope to the masses, Sirajul Haq said, adding the rulers believed that masses were speechless and won’t react to the budget. However, he said, it would have been better if the government had announced a pro-poor budget.

JI chief said electricity was the basic requirement of masses and budget proposed an advance tax on every household, which was sheer injustice.

JI Secretary General Liaqat Baloch described federal budget as highly disappointing, especially for the poor workers, womenfolk and pensioners. JUP president Pir Ijaz Hashmi said the budget is a jugglery of words prepared by elite businessmen to plunder the basic needs of the poor. He termed the budget as “anti-poor” which contain heavy privileges for the affluent class while giving nothing to the poor.

JUI-S secretary general Maulan Abdul Rauf Farooqi said those working to please the IMF and World Bank were simply unable to prepare a poor-friendly budget, and any budget from them has to be anti-poor.

Agencies add: All Pakistan CNG Association (APCNGA) has rejected additional taxes imposed on the CNG sector in the budget 2014-15.Additional taxes and double taxation will destroy the limping CNG sector, said Pervaiz Khan Khattak, central chairman APCNGA.

In a statement, he said that government has been collecting over 26 percent sales tax from CNG outlets illegally as the Supreme Court has directed collection of 17 percent sales tax. He said government has been collecting double taxes which will have an impact of Rs3 per kg which will be impossible for CNG owners to absorb. In this scenario an upward revision in the price of CNG has become imperative, said Khattak.

He rejected efforts to provide cover to illegal sales and income taxes in the budget. Pervaiz Khattak said that why prices have been increased when the commodity is not available for the masses.

Price hike can be justified if supply of natural gas is increased to the CNG outlets. National textile industry has outrightly rejected government’s decision of any further increase in gas, electricity tariff, warning that implementation of such would bring country’s industry to edge of virtual destruction.

The chairman All-Pakistan Textile Mills Association (Aptma) expressed his strong concerns at the way the largest and shining export industry of Pakistan was suffering due to accursed load shedding; especially more than 10-hours of load shedding in industrial sectors of Punjab and northern areas, forcing these hapless victims to resort to more expensive alternate means of energy, which raised production costs.

He also pointed out that textile industry provided 38% of nation’s employment, which was in danger of suffocation due to this tariff increase of electricity.

PML-Q Punjab has termed the federal budget as one of the biggest fraud with the masses and has announced a protest against it.

Commenting on the budget 2014-15, PML-Q leader Muhammad Basharat Raja said the government of has failed to save the interest of poor. AML head Sheikh Rashid Ahmad has termed the 2014 budget as an IMF-oriented ‘Dar Budget’.

Talking to media outside Parliament House on Tuesday, he berated the budget’s failure to provide for the common man, saying that Ishaq Dar had no talent except that of filling a pile of paperwork. He also expressed his displeasure at the failure of government to provide Altaf Hussain with passport, due to which he thought Hussain was arrested in London.

Senate opposition boycotts president’s address to joint sitting

ISLAMABAD: The opposition in the Senate and the National Assembly came up divided on Monday, as the former boycotted the address of President Mamnoon Hussain to the joint sitting of parliament in protest against Prime Minister Muhammad Nawaz Sharif for not attending the House proceedings since taking the oath of the office.

Before the address of President Mamnoon Hussain to the joint sitting, Opposition Leader Aitzaz Ahsan chaired a meeting of the Senate opposition parties at the Parliament House. The PPP, ANP, BNP-Awami and PML-Q attended the meeting.

The PPP was clearly divided in both the houses, as the party led by Opposition Leader in the National Assembly Syed Khursheed Shah attended the session during the presidential address while the opposition led by Senator Aitzaz Ahsan in the Senate boycotted the session.

The senators were of the view that it was useless to attend the president’s address, as the premier had not taken the upper house of parliament seriously.Meanwhile, treasury members Ahsan Iqbal, Ishaq Dar and Zahid Hamid tried to convince the opposition to attend the session but their effort drew a blank.Later, taking to media persons, Aitzaz said the opposition in the Senate had reservations about the attitude of the prime minister towards the Senate.

He said Nawaz Sharif was the only prime minister in the world who had not attended any session of the Senate during the whole parliamentary year. “Neither the prime minister nor the defence minister and interior minister came to the Senate, which is a breech of parliament,” he said.

The PPP leader said Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif, who was fond of making world records, should also note the performance of the prime minister. “The name of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif should be included in the Guinness Book of Records.”

ANP Senator Haji Adeel said there was no better option available with the opposition to register their protest.PPP leader Senator Raza Rabbani said a powerless president was addressing parliament. He said President Mamnoon Hussain could not persuade the government to include the development projects for his home province in the annual budget.

Opposition insists PTI-led KP govt failed to bring change

PESHAWAR: When the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) formed government in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa last year, Chief Minister Pervez Khattak boasted about his party’s preparedness to run the government.

“We aren’t among those governments that start thinking what to do after coming into power. We have come prepared,” he said in his first speech in the provincial assembly. As his young and inexperienced MPAs thumped desks, he continued: “As soon as we sit in our offices, we will start work. We will not waste time in thinking what we have to do because we exactly know what we will do.”

After a year, critics say, most of his government policies are in disarray. They are still figuring out what to do by flirting with different ideas. “In the first year, at least it dawned on them that policies don’t exist,” said Sikandar Sherpao, Qaumi Watan Party’s provincial president. He served as senior minister in the PTI-led government for over five months, but parted ways when unilateral action was taken against his two of party’s ministers on charges of corruption.

“The first year of PTI government is disappointing,” said Afrasiab Khattak, a leader of the Awami National Party. PTI created a wave, particularly in KP, on the slogan of change. It promised in its manifesto to eradicate corruption, introduce a uniformed education system, hold local government elections, bring revolutionary improvement in health, put in place a system of accountability, ensure rule of law and good governance and set up a library in the Chief Minister House.

What many doubted even then was Imran Khan’s claim to realise several of the objectives within three months. Many wondered how he would do it, but PTI chairman appeared cocksure to deliver on the promises. He wanted corruption to go away in three months and hold local government elections during the same period. He wanted to bring a change and introduce a system of accountability in three months. And he wanted the Chief Minister House turned into a library.

“The way he made promises, people thought it would establish a role model government. He dashed people’s hopes,” said Pir Sabir Shah, provincial president of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz and former chief minister. “The change people hoped for never arrived,” he added.

After a year, Afrasiab Khattak believes the PTI squandered ANP’s gains against terrorism. “They blamed terrorism on our policies and said they would control it as soon as they would assume power. Today, we see an upsurge in acts of terrorism,” he alleged.

He said the PTI government’s policy of appeasement enabled militants to run a state within a state. He alleged that the government was unwilling to take ownership of the “struggle against terrorism” which had turned police into a demoralised force. “The minorities are insecure. The well-heeled people pay bhatta and ‘Fatafication’ of settled districts including Bannu, Kohat and Charsadda is underway,” he said.

The PTI claims it brought down the level of corruption, but its critics don’t buy it. “The corruption couldn’t be eliminated in 90 days. It continues even today,” Sikandar Sherpao said. “Action speaks louder than words,” Afrasiab sneered.

According to Sikandar Sherpao, it was the first time in the province’s history that a sitting chief secretary issued a charge-sheet against the chief minister. Khalid Masood, provincial general secretary of PTI, said they discouraged practices that could allow opportunities for corruption. “We discouraged corruption at ministerial level and we are still microscopically watching ministers,” he said.

The PTI fired two of its ministers a month ago on bad performance, but many believe the action was partly taken on charges of corruption against the two ministers. “Not we, the party itself produced a charge-sheet against its ministers,” said Afrasiab while making the point that the PTI government is corrupt. “We offer tenders online and made appointments in education through NTS,” Khalid Masood claimed. “We ended political interference in police,” he added.

The Fata Research Centre, a non-governmental organisation, in its one year government review concluded that corruption under PTI government has declined. However, it did not explain how it had declined.

The PTI failed to hold local government elections even after one year, let alone three months. According to Khalid Masood, the PTI government is ready for it since April 2014 but the Election Commission of Pakistan is not yet prepared.

Opponents also criticise PTI government for its ‘bad governance and incompetency.’ It failed to utilise funds of the annual development plan of 2013-14. “Around 70 percent ADP could not be spent,” Afrasiab said. The FRC report substantiates his claim as it says the government spent only 31.22 percent of the ADP. “There is no leadership in the PTI,” Afrasiab said, adding that it appointed a battalion of ministers, advisors and special assistants. “We thought they would work with 10 ministers,” he added.

Sikandar Sherpao alleged that the PTI government interfered in bureaucracy and transferred administrative secretaries frequently. He sees no improvement in education and health. “People have felt no change at all,” he said.

Opposition in NA stages token walkout

ISLAMABAD: The opposition parties on Thursday staged a token walkout from the National Assembly against the ‘unsatisfactory reply to their queries regarding the $1.5 billion foreign assistance and preventing Shaikh Rasheed’s departure for Canada’.

The opposition members were protesting on the issue of foreign aid and an increase in electricity tariff but the Awami Muslim League (AML) chief Sheikh Rasheed Ahmad prompted them to stage a token walkout from the House.

The members from all the opposition parties, including the PPP, MQM and PTI, left the House for a few minutes but they were not supported by the Jamaat-e-Islami (JI), Qaumi Watan Party (QWP) and Pakhtunkhwa Milli Awami Party.

The PPP members, including Syed Naveed Qamar and Dr. Nafeesa Shah, questioned why the government was reluctant to disclose the name of the friendly country that had extended $1.5 billion assistance to Pakistan.

PTI chairman Imran Khan also apprehended that there might be some conditions attached to the financial assistance from a friendly country.

Imran Khan said it was the right of the parliamentarians to ask why dollars had been doled out to Pakistan. “Such gifts in the past have brought nothing but miseries for the country,” he said. He said in the 1980s, the Mujahideen were raised after should remain away from Sunni-Shia conflict, which is being enhanced internationally.

He regretted that no apology was sought by the Pakistan government from a foreign country for not allowing Sheikh Rashid Ahmad to go abroad. He recalled that similar treatment was also meted out to him and JUI-F chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman.

Parliamentary Secretary for finance Rana Afzal Khan said doubts and suspicions should not be raised about the grant received from a friendly country. He said the friendly country has left it to the Pakistani government to decide the usage of this money.

He said finance minister Senator Ishaq Dar has already given a categorical statement on the floor of the House that Pakistan has no intention of interfering in the matters of any other country.

He clarified that there has been no raise in electricity tariffs rather fuel adjustment charges have been added to utility bills of the month of March.He said Sheikh Rashid Ahmad was not cleared for Canada visit under an agreement signed by the previous elected government.

However, Sheikh Rashid Ahmad disagreed with the information provided by the parliamentary secretary saying the record of the Foreign Office had been checked and there was no such agreement.

Federal minister for Kashmir affairs Chaudhry Birjees Tahir while responding to allegations of the opposition members said that during the tenure of PPP government foreign debts increased from $5,000 million to $14,000 million and the present government inherited a weak economy.

He said Sheikh Rashid Ahmad had said that he would resign from the National Assembly if the value of dollar comes down to Rs98. “Now that the US dollar has comes down to Rs97, he should to fulfil his promise,” he said

Sheikh Rashid Ahmad asked the opposition parties to stage a token walkout as his said the sanctity of the whole House was hurt when he was not allowed to leave for Canada. “Today such treatment has been meted out to me, tomorrow others too could face similar situation,” he said.

Ex-Indian army chief joins opposition party

NEW DELHI: A former Indian army chief who resigned from the military following a controversy over his age Saturday announced he had joined the Hindu nationalist opposition ahead of looming elections.
India's massive armed forces normally stay out of politics, but retired General V.K. Singh had been tipped to enter the arena since resigning as the head of the army in May 2012 after being accused of fudging his birth date to extend his service term.
Singh said he was joining the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) -- tipped to sweep the polls due by May -- to "elect a stable, powerful government that can take decisions in the national interest".
The ex-army chief had been expected to become a BJP member after appearing last year at a rally with the opposition party's prime ministerial candidate, Narendra Modi, where they addressed retired soldiers.
BJP backers are hoping Singh's support will bring votes from India's million-strong defence forces, an important constituency.
Several other former defence officers joined the BJP with Singh, who sought to rally the crowd with cries of "Jai Jawan, Jai Kisan" -- "hail soldier, hail farmer".
Singh's relations with the scandal-tainted Congress government, which is struggling in opinion polls, were soured by the row over his birth date.
In an unprecedented move by a serving army chief, Singh dragged the government to the Supreme Court in a bid to prolong his tenure by nearly a year.
The trouble sprang from two sets of birth records held by the army for the former general. The court sided with the government in its view that the birth date, which made Singh older, should prevail.
After retiring from his post, Singh blamed the government for a host of problems during his two years as army chief including rows over dilapidated weaponry.
In his address at the BJP's headquarters in New Delhi on Saturday, Singh accused the government of failing to ensure the security of India's armed forces.