AI demands UN investigation in Israel-Gaza conflict war crimes

LONDON: Amnesty International (AI) has urged the UN to urgently mandate an independent international investigation into Israeli airstrikes on Gaza as well as Palestine’s indiscriminate shelling of Israel, and hold accountable those responsible for war crimes.

The UN questions the legality of Israel’s Gaza offensive, while Netanyahu is dismissive of international pressure.

Despite claims by Israel that its operation “Protective Edge”, launched June 8, targets Hamas militants, most of more than a hundred Palestinians killed in airstrikes on Gaza are civilians, Amnesty says, adding that at least 24 children and 16 women were among the casualties.

Simultaneously, at least 20 people in Israel have been wounded by rocket attacks from Palestinian territories, according to the human rights watchdog, calling on the UN to set up a “fact-finding mission to Gaza and Israel to investigate violations of international humanitarian law by all parties to the conflict.”

“Swift UN action is needed as lives hang in the balance,” said Philip Luther, Director of the Middle East and North Africa Program at Amnesty International. “The international community must not repeat previous mistakes, standing by and watching the devastating consequences for civilians of both sides.”

Amnesty sees arms embargo on Israel and all Palestinian military groups as a means of preventing the violence escalating further.

“Pending such an embargo, all states must immediately suspend all transfers of military equipment, assistance and munitions to the parties, which have failed to properly investigate violations committed in previous conflicts, or bring those responsible to justice,” Amnesty's official statement reads.

Strikes on homes, performed as part of Israel’s military operation, are a matter of particular concern to human rights groups. The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Navi Pillay, on Friday questioned the legality of such attacks.

Israel has argued that all targets in the Gaza strip are either military facilities or are homes of Hamas militants.

In case of doubt, buildings ordinarily used for civilian purposes, such as homes, are presumed not to be legitimate military targets,” Libi Vice, spokeswoman for the Israel Defense Forces (IFD) told RT on Thursday.

Human rights watchdogs want proof that 340 housing units, destroyed in Gaza, were actually used for military purposes.

“Unless the Israeli authorities can provide specific information to show how a home is being used to make an effective contribution to military actions, deliberately attacking civilian homes constitutes a war crime and also amounts to collective punishment against the families,” said Amnesty's Luther.

“Firing indiscriminate rockets, which cannot be aimed accurately at military targets, is a war crime, as is deliberately targeting civilians,” he added. “There can be no excuse for either side failing to protect civilians, including journalists, medics and humanitarian workers, or civilian facilities.”

Amnesty International has also called on Israel and Egypt to “ensure that sufficient amounts of medical and humanitarian supplies are allowed into Gaza”. Healthcare services in the region have been on the brink of collapse due to shortages of supplies, the World Health Organization earlier warned.

Friday saw thousands of activists in London and Oslo protesting against Israeli strikes in Gaza. Organizers of the massive rallies said Palestinians are facing “a horrific escalation of racism and violence” at the hands of the IDF.

After 36 years, PFUJ factions agree on merger move

ISLAMABAD: The representatives of all the three factions of the Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists have agreed to unite all the groups.

According to a press release, the decision was taken at a meeting of the Reunification Committee held here today. The committee consists of senior journalists IA Rahman, Hussain Naqi, M. Ziauddin, Nasir Zaidi, Khawar Naeem Hashmi and Idrees Bakhtiar. The representatives of the three factions, Afzal Butt, Pervaz Shaukat and Idrees Bakhtiar, signed a memorandum of understanding to unite the three factions. Rana Azeem and Amin Yusuf were also taken on board on phone.

The matter will be taken to the respective Federal Executive Council of the various factions for final approval by August 25. The Reunification Committee will again meet on Aug 30 to announce the final decision and suggest the future strategy of unification.

The meeting was also attended by senior journalists Farooq Faisal Khan, Khursheed Abbasi, Mazhar Abbas, Arshad Ansari, Shafiq Awan and Nisar Abbas, who also contributed their valued suggestion for resolving the disputes.

It is for the first time that after a long period of 36 years, the various factions of PFUJ sat together and resolved to unite the journalist organizations in the interests of working journalists and freedom of the Press.

Afghan presidential rivals agree to vote audit

KABUL, Afghanistan — After nearly 12 hours of often tense negotiations, Secretary of State John Kerry announced Saturday that Afghanistan would audit all eight million votes cast in a runoff presidential election last month as part of a deal to end a tense power struggle between the top two candidates.

The audit, intended to resolve allegations of widespread fraud, is to begin almost immediately, he said, and will be supervised by international monitors. Its results will be binding, and the winner will go on to head a national unity government whose shape has yet to be finalized.

“Every single ballot that was cast will be audited,” Mr. Kerry said at a news conference where he was flanked by the two candidates, Abdullah Abdullah and Ashraf Ghani, who endorsed the agreement.

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The breakthrough came on the second day of a visit that Mr. Kerry hastily arranged to try to prevent Afghanistan’s first democratic transfer of power from collapsing. Both Mr. Abdullah and Mr. Ghani had said the election was marred by fraud, but both had also claimed victory.

Tensions were heightened Tuesday when Mr. Abdullah threatened to form his own government following the release of preliminary results from the runoff, raising the possibility of an ethnically and regionally divided Afghanistan just as American troops prepare to complete their combat mission.

Mr. Kerry spent Friday largely listening to the proposals of the Abdullah and Ghani camps and meeting with President Hamid Karzai.

And then on Saturday, shortly before 9 a.m., he began what would turn out to be an entire day of shuttling between meeting rooms at the American Embassy, where each candidate had gathered with a handful of advisers. He also met with Mr. Karzai at the presidential palace in the afternoon.

By the time they announced the deal, Mr. Kerry looked like a man who had put in a long day’s work. Mr. Abdullah and Mr. Ghani looked similarly worn out by the marathon negotiations, which had achieved what they alone could not in the weeks since the June 14 runoff.

“This is unquestionably a tense and difficult moment,” Mr. Kerry said, “but I am very pleased that the two candidates who stand here with me today and President Karzai have stepped up and shown a significant commitment to compromise.”

Mr. Kerry said the audit would begin within 24 hours and take several weeks, and Mr. Karzai indicated that he would agree to postpone the inauguration, though he urged that the auditors try to complete their work in time to meet the scheduled date of Aug. 2.

He did not set a new date, only saying it would take place after the audit.

Mr. Karzai seemed comfortable with the outcome, something of a turnaround, as he had previously refused to allow international “interference” in the elections.

Mr. Kerry and Mr. Karzai have been through painfully long negotiations on previous occasions, but the two men seemed at ease together on Saturday night.

If it is implemented successfully, the deal will be an accomplishment for Mr. Kerry, who has long played a troubleshooting role on Afghanistan.

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When he was a senator and chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Mr. Kerry persuaded Mr. Karzai to accept a runoff in the contested 2009 presidential election. In March 2013, Mr. Kerry went to Kabul to rebuild relations with Mr. Karzai after he publicly accused the United States of wanting to destabilize the country.

Not all of Mr. Kerry’s efforts on Afghanistan have held up. In November 2013, Mr. Kerry announced that the United States and Afghanistan had completed the wording of a bilateral security agreement that would establish a legal basis for keeping American forces in Afghanistan after 2014. Mr. Karzai later refused to sign the agreement, though Mr. Abdullah and Mr. Ghani have each indicated that they would do so shortly after assuming office.

The accord on the terms of an audit follows several recent setbacks for Mr. Kerry, most notably the failure of an intensive effort to secure a Middle East peace agreement. His push to encourage productive talks between Russia and Ukraine has also fallen short.

But in Kabul, Mr. Kerry had more leverage than he had in the Middle East. Afghanistan’s security forces depend on billions of dollars of assistance from the United States. In calls to each of the candidates last week, President Obama stressed his support for a review of the fraud, but warned pointedly that resorting to violence or taking extraconstitutional actions “would result in the end of U.S. assistance to Afghanistan.”

To ensure security — and to give the candidates confidence that no new vote tampering was taking place during the audit — the NATO-led military coalition in Afghanistan is to fly ballot boxes that are currently in the provinces to Kabul, the capital, and work with Afghan forces to provide security for the boxes once they arrive. United Nations and other international observers will watch the entire process.

Jan Kubis, the United Nations special representative in Afghanistan, called on other nations to send extra observers to assist with the audit as soon as possible.

Discussions on Saturday concerned how to determine how many ballots should be re-examined for fraud and how to ensure that the audit was impartial. Both sides had wrangled over the technical details, in particular the threshold for selecting which ballots should be reviewed.

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RECENT COMMENTS

Cole W 12 minutes ago
I highly doubt this will solve anything once the audit is all said and done. One side will claim victory once again and the other will cry...
Yoandel 51 minutes ago
So both sides agree that ballot stuffing by the other side was incontrovertible and by the hundreds of thousands... yet an audit, which can...
Withheld 1 hour ago
I am looking forward to the follow-up article in the Times on how you audit a flawed election. What are the auditors going to be looking...
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Mr. Kerry had to seek not only agreement by the two candidates, but also acceptance by Mr. Karzai, who will step down after 13 years in power and has by all accounts remained a powerful presence behind the scenes.

In the first round of voting on April 5, Mr. Abdullah emerged the top vote-getter against 11 other candidates, with 45 percent to Mr. Ghani’s 31 percent. Because neither won more than 50 percent of the vote, a required runoff between the two was held on June 14.

Preliminary results from the runoff show Mr. Ghani leaping ahead with 56 percent of the vote, and Mr. Abdullah with 44 percent. The turnout in the runoff also increased by more than a million voters, to eight million.

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Mr. Abdullah’s campaign has accused his opponents of conducting extensive institutional fraud, and has alleged that members of the Independent Election Commission, government officials and Ghani supporters orchestrated large-scale ballot stuffing to enable Mr. Ghani to win the presidency.

Mr. Ghani’s team has said that fraud took place on both sides and insists that his better showing in the runoff was the result of an energetic campaign to mobilize his fellow ethnic Pashtuns to vote for him.

The dispute, which has delayed results for nearly a month since the initial vote, comes amid a rise in violence around the country. Civilians are killed and wounded more frequently now in Afghanistan than at any point since the arrival of American forces, the International Crisis Group said in a statement on Saturday.

Seven members of the Afghan security forces were killed in clashes with the Taliban east of the capital in Laghman Province on Saturday.

Two tribal elders and a family of eight were killed in three separate attacks in southern Afghanistan, electricity has been knocked out in the city of Kandahar, and a bomb killed two people in Jalalabad.

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The power struggle between the candidates had threatened to once again plunge the country into ethnic violence. Some officials here warn that such an outcome could be even more dangerous for the country than the continuing Taliban insurgency.

“The legitimacy of this voting process is obviously at stake,” a senior administration official traveling with Mr. Kerry said in a briefing to journalists Friday evening. He was speaking on the condition that he not be named in accordance with State Department rules.

“There were millions of people that voted in the first round and then again in the second round of elections,” he said. “They deserve to be counted accurately and to demonstrate that democracy works.”

Correction: July 12, 2014
Because of an editing error, an earlier version of this article misstated the day of the initial vote. It was April 5, not June 14. (The latter date was the day the runoff vote was held.)

Michael R. Gordon contributed reporting from Washington.

A version of this article appears in print on July 13, 2014, on page A1 of the New York edition with the headline:

Nisar orders high security alert in twin cities

ISLAMABAD: Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan on Saturday directed the police and district administration of Rawalpindi and Islamabad to keep the twin cities’ security on high alert, as the situation was sensitive in the wake of the ongoing military operation in North Waziristan.

He said this while chairing a meeting of the district and police administration of the twin cities here.

The minister said the security agencies need to work beyond their call of duty and show utmost responsibility to counter any unfortunate incident.

Reviewing the overall security plan of the twin cities, the minister said there should be flawless coordination between the security apparatus for effectively tackling emergency situations.

He also directed the police to further enhance their capacity through physical training and modern equipment.

The minister directed tightened security of sensitive places. He said surprise search operations, especially in adjoining areas of Islamabad Airport, be made more intensive.

He said joint patrolling teams of the Rangers and police had given a sense of security to the residents but their services need to be made more target-oriented and effective.

SC judgment wiped out any imaginary deal with Musharraf

ISLAMABAD: A landmark Supreme Court ruling that declared General (R) Pervez Musharraf as violator of the Constitution had wiped out the unimplemented parts, if any, of the “deal” which the Pakistan Peoples’ Party (PPP) government had worked out for his safe exit prior to his resignation as president in 2008.

All the judges of the apex court, sitting in one panel, handed down a historic judgment on July 31, 2009, which found the state of emergency imposed by Musharraf on November 3, 2007 as violative of the Constitution. It prescribed the former dictator’s trial for high treason under article 6 for suspending the Constitution in his capacity as the Chief of the Army Staff.

Under the deal that former Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani has talked about, Musharraf was given graceful exit out of the presidential office with an unusual guard of honour amid vociferous taunts and boos by different opposition parties.

This happened in August 2008 a few months after Gilani had assumed office of the prime minister and Asif Zardari was yet to be elected as the president. By virtue of his office, Gilani was mainly involved in talks with the establishment on Musharraf’s fate.

However, senior PPP leader Jehangir Badr has quickly contradicted him saying that the PPP had not signed any deal with Musharraf.

“Zardari had given two choices to General Ashfaque Parvaz Kayani that either Musharraf should resign or be prepared for impeachment,” he said.

What weight and worth Gilani’s assertions may carry when they have been denied by a senior party stalwart, who enjoys the confidence of the top PPP leaders including Zardari and Bilawal.

However, at the time there was an unwritten understanding between the PPP and the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) that they would mutually decide about their joint presidential candidate after Musharraf’s ouster. But the PML-N was stunned when Zardari put himself up as the contestant without consulting it. This created bad blood at the very outset. Not only the previous government gave Musharraf safe exit as per the deal but it also kept dragging its feet on enforcing the Supreme Court decision to try him for high treason for nearly four years till March 2013 when its term exhausted. He traveled out of Pakistan without any hindrance by the government.

He comfortably lived in and out of Pakistan, but he decided to return to Pakistan last year to contest the general elections. After that, his woes intensified and he is in deep trouble since then.

Whatever the deal, it was swept away by the PPP’s massive electoral defeat and PML-N’s convincing triumph.

In the meantime, while holding hearing on the case of implementation of its July 2009 judgment, the Supreme Court finally asked Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to arraign Musharraf on high treason charges or face contempt proceedings in the last quarter of the previous year. As a result, he was left with no choice but to order the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) to probe the matter. Then, the case was filed with the special court, which will decide Musharraf’s fate.

“The responsibility of decision about the treason case is on the court; the judiciary is free,” Information Minister Senator Parvaiz Rashid says. “The complainant in Musharraf’s case is the State and not the government. It is up to the judiciary to decide if the steps taken on November 3 by Musharraf constitute a violation of article 6 or not.

If everyone is equal, then every citizen is answerable before the court of law.”

The Nawaz Sharif government denies that the PML-N was part of any deal that the PPP signed with the establishment on Musharraf in 2008.

If there is such an agreement, Musharraf should present it in court, Parvaiz Rashid stresses.

Gilani was right when he said that Musharraf stepped down after striking a deal that he would be given a safe exit. On his resignation, Musharraf was allowed such exit from Pakistan. However, Gilani slipped when he stated that after signing a deal with the establishment, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif should not have violated it. Where is that accord?

“The establishment had also taken Nawaz Sharif into confidence at the time of striking the deal for Musharraf’s safe exit. At the time of the Bhurban Accord, when the issue of impeachment of Musharraf came up, the establishment contacted me as well as Nawaz Sharif and it was agreed that Musharraf would be provided a safe exit from Pakistan if he stepped down from the Presidency,” Gilani said.

Captain among three soldiers killed in cross-border attack

KHAR: Three security personnel, including an army captain, were killed in an attack by Afghanistan-based Pakistani Taliban militants in Mamond tehsil in Bajaur Agency, official and tribal sources said on Saturday.

Sources said heavily armed militants operating from the Kunar province of Afghanistan stormed the checkpost of the security forces in Ghakhi Pass near the Pak-Afghan border.

Three soldiers were killed while two persons, including a civilian, suffered injuries in the attack.

The injured were taken to the Agency Headquarters Hospital in Khar, the administrative headquarters of Bajaur Agency, from where they were referred to a military hospital in Peshawar due to their critical condition.

The political administration and the security forces arrested 60 suspects during a search operation in the area after the attack. Such arrests are mostly made under the collective responsibility clause of the Frontier Crimes Regulations (FCR) against the tribesmen living in the area where the attack has taken place.

The security forces also defused two remote controlled bombs during the search.

The militants affiliated with the outlawed Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) operating from Kunar often attack border areas in Bajaur. However, it was the first major attack after the Pakistani forces launched a major operation against the militants in North Waziristan on June 15.

The TTP Bajaur Agency chapter claimed responsibility for the night-time attack. It spokesperson, who uses the same name, Shahidullah Shahid, as the central spokesman of the TTP, made a phone call to reporters in Khar and Peshawar using the SIM of Afghanistan’s mobile phone service, to claim responsibility for the attack. He said their men operating in the border area blew up the vehicle of the security forces supplying troops in Gakhi Pass and killed all seven soldiers on board. He claimed the Taliban fighters also seized weapons and other equipment and brought these to their bases.

Meanwhile, Yousaf Raza Mujahid, claiming to be the head of the obscure Taliban al-Qaeda group in Bajaur and Mohmand agencies, appealed to the Pakistani government and the “mujahideen” to announce a ceasefire keeping in view the prevailing security situation in the country.

In a phone call from an undisclosed location to reporters, he said the enemies of the country were benefiting from the rift between the Taliban and the government.

He urged the leaders of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) to play their role in steering the country out of the prevailing crises and strengthening democracy.

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Governor Sardar Mehtab Ahmad Khan strongly condemned the terrorist attack. The governor expressed deep shock and sorrow over the loss of precious lives of security personnel.

The governor said that the immortal sacrifices of the officers and jawans of the security forces, FC and Pakistan Army for the security of the country will never go in vain and will always be remembered with great pride.

NNI adds from Islamabad: Pakistan lodged a formal protest with Afghanistan over the cross-border attack.

“Pakistan strongly condemns the terrorist attack on a Bajaur Scouts vehicle at Gakhi Pass in Bajaur Agency launched from across the border in Afghanistan. An officer and two soldiers embraced Shahadat in the attack, while two soldiers were critically injured,” the Foreign Office said.

It said a strong protest had been lodged with the Afghan side in Islamabad and Kabul. “It has been reiterated that Afghanistan should eliminate terrorist sanctuaries and not allow its territory to be used against Pakistan,” said the FO statement.

It said at a time when a “monumental effort” was underway through a major offensive to eliminate all terrorists and their hideouts in North Waziristan tribal region, Afghanistan’s cooperation remained essential for the success of Pakistan’s counter-terrorism endeavours.

INP adds: Prime Minister Muhammad Nawaz Sharif condemned the cross-border terrorist attack on a Pakistani checkpost in Bajaur Agency in which three soldiers, including a captain, embraced martyrdom.

In a statement, the prime minister said the security forces were fighting the war against terrorism to protect the future of the country and laying down their lives for the purpose.

The prime minister said the nation will always remember the sacrifices of the armed forces for the country. He said such attacks could not deter the resolve of the government to eliminate terrorism.

Information Minister Pervaiz Rashid, Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan and Defence Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif also condemned the attack on security forces in Bajaur.

They prayed that Almighty Allah rest the departed souls in eternal peace and grant courage to the bereaved families to bear the loss with equanimity.

PML-N blocked PPP move to let Musharraf go: minister

 

LAHORE: Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Senator Pervaiz Rashid on Saturday said that the Pakistan People’s Party wanted to give indemnity to former president Pervez Musharraf but the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) blocked the move.
Talking to the media here, the minister said the PML N leadership never conceded to the PPP’s demand of indemnity to a former dictator and it had never been a part of any deal. “We have not greeted Musharraf in his medicine of violence like handcuffs and exile as he forced Prime Minister Muhammad Nawaz Sharif and Chief Minister Muhammad Shahbaz Sharif to exile twice,” the minister said.

Pervaiz Rashid said lawlessness had been the rule in the dictatorial regimes while the law takes its due course in a democracy, adding the courts would decide the fate of Pervez Musharraf.

The information minister said that this year’s Independence Day will be marked by a central ceremony at the D Chowk to tell the world that the nation is united under one flag.

Only the national flag will flutter high on August 14 and all other flags would be at half mast as the entire political leadership will be invited to the national ceremony to mark solidarity unity and oneness, he said.

He said the whole nation would sing the national anthem together on August 14, adding that all would be free afterwards to follow their heart’s desire.

Regarding Imran Khan’s call for the August 14 D-Chowk rally, Pervaiz Rashid said Imran Khan should not send a message on Independence Day that the political leadership was divided at a time when the armed forces were busy in an operation in North Waziristan for the security of the country, and a message of unity must be sent to all.

Imran Khan should not weaken Pakistan’s bunkers within Pakistan as the politics of the street may lead to instability and be beneficial to the terrorists, Pervaiz Rashid stressed.

To a query, he said Arsalan Iftikhar was at daggers drawn with Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan after the PTI chairman’s provocative speech against his father (former chief justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry) at Bahawalpur, adding that there is always an Arsalan Iftikhar for every Imran Khan in the world.

To a question, the information minister said Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) was awarded one percent more funds under the NFC Award to the provinces for the war against terror, adding that it would get Rs22 billion extra under the NFC and this amount should be used by the KP government for food and shelter of the IDPs. He said the KP government should also account for Rs80 billion paid by the federal government under the NFC for the same purpose during the past four years.

About the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (Pemra), the federal minister Pemra has written to all cable operators regarding the issue of placement of channels and it has to wait for 15 days for the implementation of its instructions as per the law.

To a query regarding consultation with politicians, the minister said the passage of Tahaffuz-e-Pakistan Bill was made possible through consultation with the all political parties and the government has no inhibition to contact any political party in the larger interest of the country, adding that the doors are always open for all political forces. To a question, he said the Pakistan Army had been playing its due rule for peace, adding that the armed forces and democratic institutions have been helping the affected people of North Waziristan.

He said the mischief makers against the armed forces will lick the dust, adding that the powers to the forces are in line with the Constitution of the country and all-out resources and legal umbrella will be provided to them.

Regarding the Pakistan Awami Tehreek (PAT) chief Tahirul Qadri, the minister said Dr Qadri was known for his political somersaults, adding that the PAT chief made a similar attempt against democracy last year as well. He said Tahirul Qadri had deserted his followers in the lap of pneumonia last year and flown to foreign lands on a cosy business class seat.

To a question, the minister said the duration of loadshedding will be cut to the minimum every year, adding that the power transmission lines could not bear the extra power load and the government has decided to set up a separate company to strengthen power transmission lines in the country. — Agencies

Our correspondent adds: Meanwhile, speaking at a discussion, held at the South Asian Free Media Association (Safma), PPP leader Qamar Zaman Kaira has disclosed that the issue of getting rid of Pervez Musharraf was raised by Mian Nawaz Sharif when Asif Ali Zardari had gone to his place to offer condolences over the death of his father.

Kaira said Zardari told Nawaz Sharif that getting rid of Musharraf was not possible as he enjoyed powers under 58-2b as well as the support of the military and various global powers. Zardari proposed amendments to 58-2b before proceeding with any such plan, said Kaira.

He said the PPP government had contacted all parties, the PML-N and Awami National Party (ANP), to discuss the issue. Every party was on the same page and they all gave their consent for letting Pervez Musharraf go so that the country could move forward on the democratic path. He said a political crisis and a tussle among the state institutions started when the PML-N government backtracked on its understanding over the issue.

About the Pakistan Protection Ordinance, Kaira expressed his reservations and said the law had all the ingredients that could be exploited for political victimisation. Such actions would drag the country back three decades and the progress made regarding the politics of negotiation and consensus would be lost.

He said the Pakistan Awami Tehreek leader Tahirul Qadri talks about bringing a revolution in the country and it is his right like any other Pakistani. However, he asked how he is going to bring about a revolution given he represents only one faction of the nation. He said it is difficult to assume that a majority of the people in the country identify themselves with his ideological premise.

India plans to export gas to Pakistan

NEW DELHI: India’s plans of exporting gas to Pakistan via a pipeline from Jalandhar in Punjab to the Wagah-Attari border will soon become a reality.
In his maiden budget presented in the Lok Sabha, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley exempted Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) imports from customs duty if it is meant for onward sale to the neighbouring nation. “Exemption from basic customs duty (of 5pc) is being granted on re-gassified LNG for supply to Pakistan,” the budget said.

This will set the stage for the state-run Gail India Ltd, which plans to build a 500-crore pipeline to export five million units per day of re-gassified-LNG to Pakistan, to start work on the ground. “It’s an important project that will help improve bilateral diplomatic and economic ties between the two neighbours,” Dharmendra Pradhan, Minister of state for Petroleum, told Hindustan Times.

“Broad parameters have been agreed to and a contract will also be signed shortly between the two sides after which it will take one year to build it,” Gail CMD BC Tripathi told the newspaper.

Interestingly, citing security concerns, New Delhi has put on hold a plan to be part of a 10,000-crore pipeline originating in Iran, passing through Pakistan and terminating in India to carry gas from Iran’s South Pars Gas Fields. Security experts felt that being dependent on gas coming via Pakistan could compromise India’s energy security.

But the Gail pipeline will be built entirely on Indian territory and terminate at the border, thus, making it relatively safer.

Gail will import LNG in ships at ports on the Indian west coast and then pipe the gas to Jalandhar. The proposed 110-km pipeline will then carry the fuel to the Wagah-Attari border, from where Pakistan will supply it to Lahore.

The source added that Gail, which imports LNG at $13-14 per unit, would sell the gas to Pakistan at around $21. The cut in customs duty will bring down the cost.

Bahria Town starts relief operation for IDPs

ISLAMABAD: Bahria Town on Saturday started relief operation for people, internally displaced due to ongoing Zarb-e-Azb operation against militants in North Waziristan.

Three mobile health units and two trucks carrying wheat, ghee, sugar and other groceries have been sent to North Waziristan by Bahria Town.

Head of relief operation Brigadier (R) Tahir Butt said that Bahria Town will establish camps in Bannu for carrying relief operation.

“Initially five trucks full with aid supplies and three mobile hospitals will be sent for internally displaced persons (IDPs). Iftari will be provided to IDPs while two times meal will be given after Ramazan”, said Tahir Butt. He vowed that Bahria Town will continue relief operation till the return of IDPs to their home.

Tahir Butt said that relief activities were being started after taking no objection certificate (NoC) from Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA).

Another 13 militants killed in NWA airstrikes

 

MIRANSHAH: Military authorities on Saturday claimed another 13 militants have been killed and seven of their hideouts destroyed in airstrikes in the Mir Ali subdivision of North Waziristan Agency.
The Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) in a statement said fighter jets pounded the hideouts of militants after they fired rockets on the posts of the security forces in Mir Ali on Saturday morning.

It said the jets pounded seven hideouts of the militants and killed 13 terrorists. The statement said most of those killed were foreigners.

According to ISPR, a huge cache of arms and ammunition was also destroyed in the airstrikes. It also said consolidation of the cleared area in Miranshah, the headquarters of North Waziristan, and on the Miranshah-Dattakhel road is in progress.

According to the military officials, six motorcycle-borne improvised explosive devices (IEDs) and two vehicle-borne IEDs, both ready to be used in terrorist attacks, two 12.7 mm guns, one 14.5 mm gun, three vehicles, 11 suicide jackets and a huge cache of arms and ammunition were recovered during the last 24 hours in Khar Warsak and Zartangi.

They said three terrorists, including an Uzbek national, have been apprehended from the Boya area. They added that two explosives-laden vehicles were destroyed through aviation strike at Degan village. They claimed two suicide bombers were identified and chased and eventually they exploded and took their lives when encircled close to Boya.

ISPR said relief operations for the IDPs were continuing at full pace in Bannu, Dera Ismail Khan, Tank and Peshawar.

“So far 96,533 ration packs each weighing 110 kilograms have been distributed among the IDPs,” it added.

According to the ISPR statement, 1,012 tonnes of ration has been collected so far at 59 relief collection points established by the Pakistan Army throughout the country. It said most of the ration has been transported to Bannu.

“The army doctors, specially moved to reinforce the local medical effort at Bannu, are busy in providing relief to the patients. So far 12,587 patients have been treated at the Field Medical Hospital established at Khalifa Gul Nawaz Hospital in Bannu by army doctors,” it added.

45 more killed in Gaza as toll reaches 151

GAZA CITY: At least 15 Palestinians were killed in new Israeli strikes on Gaza City late on Saturday, medics in the coastal enclave said.
“At least 15 Palestinians were killed in an Israeli strike on the Tuffah neighbourhood in Gaza City that hit a house and a mosque,” emergency services spokesman Ashraf al-Qudra said. An earlier toll said 10 were killed.Another 35 were wounded in the same strike, and one more person was killed in southern Gaza´s Rafah that also injured five people, Qudra said.

The new deaths brought the toll in the fifth day of the conflict to 151, with more than 1,000 people wounded.

Earlier, Israeli air strikes on the Gaza Strip killed 30 people on Saturday, including two severely handicapped women in a care facility, medics said.

The Jewish state kept options open for a possible ground offensive into densely populated Gaza despite international pressure to negotiate a ceasefire in the conflict.

In strikes, eight people were killed in raids on Gaza City, central El-Bureij and northern Jabaliya. They included a woman aged 25, and a 16-year-old, Qudra said.

Earlier, six men were killed in the Sheikh Radwan district of western Gaza City, Qudra said. Aged from 21 to 58, they were sitting outside homes in the area when the strike hit, witnesses said. Neighbours told AFP two nephews of former Hamas prime minister Ismail Haniya were among them and named them as Nidal and Alaa al-Malash.

Their deaths followed an early morning strike that killed two women at a charitable association housing the disabled in Beit Lahiya in northern Gaza. The women, Suha Abu Saada and Ola Washahi, both had severe mental and physical handicaps, association director Jamila Alaywa said. Four others were wounded in the attack —three residents and a helper, she said.

Another three people were killed in eastern Gaza City and three in an attack on the western side of town.

Earlier, Qudra announced the deaths of eight other Palestinians in raids that hit targets including a bank, two mosques and the houses of Hamas officials. Israel’s military said at least one of the mosques was being used to store weapons.

Israel began Operation Protective Edge on Tuesday in an attempt to halt cross-border rocket fire by militant groups. Gaza militants have fired approximately 525 mortar rounds and rockets that struck Israel, while another 138 rockets were intercepted by the Iron Dome missile defence system, the army said on Saturday.

Despite international concern, truce efforts have been unsuccessful, according to Egypt, which has been key in mediating previous ceasefires between Hamas and Israel. “Egypt has communicated with all sides to halt violence against civilians and called on them to continue with the truce agreement signed in November 2012,” the foreign ministry said.

“Former British premier Tony Blair, the envoy for the so-called Quartet of Middle East diplomatic players, flew into Cairo on Saturday for talks on ending the violence.

Ismail Haniya, Gaza’s former premier and the most senior Hamas official in the coastal enclave, ruled out any halt to hostilities. “(Israel) is the one that started this aggression and it must stop, because we are (simply) defending ourselves,” he said.

Israel says preparations are underway for a possible ground incursion, with tanks and artillery massed along the border and some 33,000 reservists mobilised out of 40,000 approved by the cabinet. More armour was seen heading south on Saturday morning.

Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman said he expected a political decision on a possible ground operation by Sunday. “At the moment we are dealing with the first phase air attacks,” he told Channel One television on Friday. “I imagine we shall decide tomorrow (Saturday) or the day after on the next stage.

Kuwait requested an emergency Arab foreign ministers meeting to discuss “the deteriorating situation”, which a diplomat at the Arab League said will be held on Monday.

Israeli strikes on residential buildings in Gaza brought a rebuke from the UN human rights office over civilian casualty toll. “Even when a home is identified as being used for military purposes, any attack must be proportionate and precautions must be taken to protect civilians,” said spokeswoman Ravina Shamdasani.

Amnesty International called for the United Nations “to immediately impose a comprehensive arms embargo on Israel, Hamas and Palestinian armed groups” and launch an enquiry into “violations committed on all sides”.

Reuters add: Israel rushed an eighth missile interceptor battery into service on Saturday to counter stronger-than-expected rocket fire from Gaza as the military pounded positions in the Palestinian enclave for a fifth day.

A mosque in the central Gaza Strip was bombed to rubble. The Israeli military said the mosque had housed a weapons cache.

“Eight other mosques have been damaged from bombing and 537 Gaza houses have either been destroyed or damaged, according to the Gaza-based Al-Mezan Association for Human Rights.

Zardari had assured US, UK, Kayani of Musharraf’s immunity

 

ISLAMABAD: Former army chief General Ashfaq Pervez Kayani had played the most important role in brokering an immunity deal for former president General Pervez Musharraf in 2008, according to which Asif Zardari gave a firm commitment to the US, UK and Gen Kayani that indemnity for Musharraf would be forthcoming if he stepped down.
According to at least two leaked American diplomatic cables which had made their way to the international media on December 7, 2010, a series of political and strategic blunders by Musharraf had given cause and justification to both Asif Zardari and the then army chief General Kayani to work separately for his honourable exit.

In two separate cables written by then US ambassador to Islamabad Anne W. Patterson, details were given about how General Kayani (who had just been elevated as the army chief after Musharraf took off his uniform to retain the presidency), and Asif Ali Zardari, the leader of the majority party in the new National Assembly (after the 2008 polls), had systematically started to distance themselves from Musharraf.

In a ‘brief’ and ‘talking points’ prepared for Admiral Mike Mullen during his early 2008 visit to Pakistan, Ambassador Patterson states:

“As expected, Gen Ashfaq Kayani is taking slow but deliberate steps to distance the army from now civilian President Pervez Musharraf.” In a separate cable about a meeting of US Representatives Adam Schiff and Allyson Schwartz with Asif Zardari in May 2008, the American ambassador had given details of how the PPP co-chairman (who later became president following Musharraf’s exit) advocated an ‘honourable exit’ for Musharraf.

According to the cable, “Zardari blamed Musharraf for not taking enough responsibility for the war on terrorism in Pakistan”, which resulted in a marked increase in anti-US sentiments in the country.

“Anti-US feeling will go away when the old faces go away,” the leaked cable noted, adding that the American government should no longer rely on just Musharraf in fighting terrorism. In her own assessment of Musharraf’s public standing, Ambassador Patterson wrote in the cable that a year ago, his popularity was high. But “beginning with his decision to fire the Chief Justice (Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry) in March 2007, Musharraf has made repeated blunders culminating in a state of emergency and temporary suspension of the Constitution”. A detailed reading of some of these cables suggest that by this time all three major players, Asif Zardari, General Kayani and the American ambassador, had made up their minds that time was up for the former military ruler who had already been accused of involvement in the tragic assassination of Ms Benazir Bhutto.

According to one of the leaked cables, the US ambassador wrote on August 23, 2008, during her meetings with Asif Zardari, Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani and General Kayani, immunity for General Pervez Musharraf was discussed besides some other issues. The US Ambassador met with Pakistan People’s Party leader Asif Zardari on August 23, 2008 with then prime minister Gilani on August 21 and with then army chief General Kayani on August 20, 2008.

“In separate meetings with Asif Zardari, PM Gilani and chief of army staff Kayani, the ambassador pressed for quick action on immunity for former Musharraf. Zardari and Gilani said flatly they were committed to providing immunity, but not until after the presidential election (now scheduled for September 6, 2008). Pushing immunity now, they believed, could jeopardize Asif Zardari’s candidacy. General Kayani expressed concern that if immunity becomes tied up with the ongoing debate over the judges’ future, it may never happen. Zardari plans to continue to slow roll action on the judges’ restoration but remains confident that Nawaz Sharif will not walk out of the coalition.

“Nawaz’s deadlines for action on the judges continue to pass unfulfilled; the next one is scheduled for August 27, 2008. The August 20 decision by Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) to back Zardari for president has strengthened Zardari’s hand against Nawaz Sharif. Nawaz is left with the option of walking out of the coalition, but having little prospect of forcing a new general election in the short term.

“Asif Zardari is walking tall these days, hopefully not too tall to forget his promise to General Kayani and to us on an immunity deal.”

According to the leaked diplomatic cables, “Asif Zardari told the US Ambassador that he was committed to indemnity for Pervez Musharraf.

The ambassador stressed that only the promise of indemnity had persuaded Musharraf to step down as president. We believed, as we had often said, that Musharraf should have a dignified retirement and not be hounded out of the country. Zardari (subsequently) cited a British anecdote about the Spanish empire and said: “Tell the most powerful man in the world that there is no way that I would go back on what I have said.” Zardari noted that he already had firmly committed to the US, the UK and chief of army staff Kayani that indemnity for Musharraf would be forthcoming.

As the ambassador urged him to do it quickly, Zardari said flatly that to do it before he was elected president would lose him votes, but he would pass both the legislation and a presidential pardon as soon as he was elected. Zardari then revealed that Musharraf had approached chief justice (Abdul Hameed) Dogar about issuing a restraining order against the impeachment motion, but Justice Dogar had refused. Zardari also alleged that Musharraf had planned to replace General Kayani as COAS if Dogar had blocked the impeachment. Zardari said he was trying to keep Nawaz in the coalition and was candid that he planned to tie up the judges’ issue for a long time. He added that parliament would debate the restoration of the judges; chief justice Dogar would then submit some rulings on the restoration of the judges; all this could take months. In the meantime, he was trying to persuade former Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry to become Governor of Balochistan.

Going by the same leaked cable which was written by the US ambassador, Zardari said he did not think Nawaz would leave the coalition, but he admitted the Pakistan Muslim League had become increasingly testy. He said that he had already agreed with Nawaz Sharif to curtail the powers of the president and then allow Nawaz to be eligible for a third term as prime minister; both measures would require constitutional amendments. Zardari said he also had leverage over Shahbaz Sharif, who through paperwork snafus, had been technically elected illegally for a third term as the chief minister.

This, too, would have to be resolved in parliament, Zardari said. “So I can give them something they want,” noted Asif Zardari, “that’s what politics is all about.”

According to the leaked cable, after an August 20 (2008) meeting with the visiting S/CT Coordinator Dell Dailey, General Kayani asked the ambassador to stay behind and discuss his concerns that Asif Zardari was delaying General Musharraf’s immunity bill. Kayani had heard the large meeting of coalition partners (chaired on August 19, 2008 by the newly returned Bilawal Bhutto) had discussed the judges primarily. Then they decided to take a 72-hour break to consult the party members.

General Kayani said he took Asif Zardari’s commitments to now ex-president Pervez Musharraf as the most important argument in persuading him to resign. Asif Zardari made very specific commitments to Kayani. Now, for Asif Zardari to delay makes him (Kayani) look bad within his own institution “and I have to take the Army along with me.” Kayani also noted that the delay does nothing for Zardari’s reputation for trustworthiness. If this issue gets conflated with the judges and with Zardari’s own desires to be president, it will become too complicated to pass, Kayani said.

The US ambassador met with Prime Minister Gilani and Interior Minister Rehman Malik for 30 minutes on August 21, 2008. Gilani said the PPP was going to provide immunity to Musharraf, but the timing was important.

They were afraid that putting forward immunity legislation would lose them votes for Asif Zardari‘s presidential campaign. The ambassador pressed on this issue, saying that Musharraf would never have agreed to resign without the promise of immunity. He assured the ambassador that he and the party did not want vengeance. Regarding immunity, Gilani said “many will say that we have done a deal with America, but I still understand that we have to do it.”

Six years later, Gilani revealed on Friday that an understanding had been reached with the establishment that Musharraf would be given an honourable exit if he resigned, instead of going through impeachment proceedings.

Khursheed seeks end to jurist condition for CEC

ISLAMABAD: PPP stalwart and Opposition Leader in the National Assembly Syed Khursheed Shah on Tuesday proposed an amendment to the Constitution, paving way for senior bureaucrats and lawyers to head the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP).

“It is a mandatory requirement that the chief election commissioner (CEC) should be a retired judge, but I propose an amendment to the Constitution so that not only a retired judge but also senior bureaucrats and lawyers, could make it to the post,” said Khursheed while talking to media persons at the Parliament House.

He said limiting the post in question to a retired judge blocked other options and the clause concerned should be amended to do the needful.The PPP leader suggested a number of proposals for reforms in the electoral process.He also proposed a constitutional amendment for reducing the government’s constitutional term from five to four years. “Reducing the tenure to four years will resolve all issues,” he argued.

He further said once democracy took roots, the government’s term could be reverted to five years. Khursheed said he had proposed the constitutional amendments after much brainstorming and added that the amendments would accrue positive results.

Cable operators offer lame excuse of security threat

 

ISLAMABAD: In response to the cable operators’ bogus excuses that they cannot show Geo because of security threats, a Jang Group spokesman has come up with a rejoinder.
The spokesman said it is a bogus excuse and a total lie. The incident in Sadiqabad was also totally stage-managed to create this excuse. No one threatens these cable operators when they show round-the-clock illegal Indian dances. No one threatens these cable operators when they show channels that have shown blasphemous content 60 times more than Geo.

The spokesman said as many as five channels also faced many court cases and police action in this regard but surprisingly, the cable operators do not receive threats for showing these channels. Even before Geo has shown it, two leading channels have already aired it many times.

The spokesman said a security threat was also raised as an excuse during the last government when cable operators suspended transmission of Geo News. The excuse of a security threat then was exposed as completely bogus when the Supreme Court of Pakistan told chairman Pemra that he could not leave the courtroom till the Geo News transmission was restored by cable operators all over the country. The result was that within three hours, Geo News’ transmission was restored all over the country.

The spokesman said cable operators, just like broadcasters, are operating on the basis of a licence that they have applied for and that Pemra has granted them. The basic term of the license is that no cable operator can itself suspend or disrupt transmission of a licensed channel unless Pemra directs it to do so. If a cable operator violates this term of licence, its licence is liable to be revoked. Even if security threat is accepted as genuine, this cannot be used as an excuse for a cable operator to violate the term of their licence by illegally suspending Geo’s transmission.

“What if a duly licensed mobile phone company suspends its mobile phone network for a week and uses security threat as an excuse when PTA wants to suspend its licence? What if a duly licensed commercial bank shuts down all its operations all over the country and uses security threat as an excuse when State Bank of Pakistan wants to suspend its licence? And what about our police that face life threat on a daily basis? Can police officers remain at home drawing the salaries on the pretext that they are facing security threats? And what about courts and honourable judges, especially those of lower courts, who are expected to try and convict dangerous criminals and terrorists?” the spokesman said.

He reminded that when Chief Justice of Balochistan High Court Qazi Faiz Isa summoned journalists and editors of all the newspapers of Balochistan and questioned them as to why they were publishing versions of terrorists, who claimed responsibility of killing policemen. When publishers of those newspapers produced before him evidence of serious threat that they are facing in Balochistan, Chief Justice Qazi Faiz Isa gave them a long summon. He said that don’t publish any newspaper if you cannot face any threat. He said if security threat is accepted as a valid excuse to break the law then there will be anarchy all over the country. The chief justice also said that if security threat is valid then he and his fellow judges in Balochistan should stop hearing cases and dispensing justice just because their lives were threatened.

The spokesman said the cable operators have decided to do their business in Pakistan within the prevailing environment. They cannot pretend that they are working in some European country. Lawyers, judges, police etc. everyone is facing security threat in Pakistan these days. This does not exempt people to just violate their legal obligation and use security threat as an excuse.

He said Geo itself received a most direct and serious threat in writing from terrorists who wanted their version and their ideology to be properly broadcasted. “Just because it received the threat, can Geo broadcast TTP’s version when it is murdering and beheading our soldiers? Will its licence not be liable to be revoked? Can any channel in Pakistan start showing TTP’s version round the clock just because it is facing security threats?”

The spokesman further said even if the threat being faced by cable operators is genuine, then it has nothing to do between cable operation (the licensee) and Pemra (the licensor) for correct and legal position is if any cable operator violates terms of its licence, e.g. by keeping transmission of Geo suspended when Pemra has directed them to show it, its licence is liable to be revoked. If a cable operator is receiving life threat because of some business dispute or professional rivalry or from some extortionist or criminals or even because of showing any channel of Geo, it is a matter between cable operator and police. If they are facing any threat then they should seek help from police and pursue remedies through law enforcing agencies. Instead of the path provided under the law they cannot just suspend valid transmission of Geo and thus violate a direction of Pemra.

The spokesman said suspension of Geo News by Pemra ended two weeks ago and Pemra has never suspended Geo Kahani and Geo Tez. Despite this, Geo News is either not being shown in 80 per cent areas of Pakistan or it has been pushed to last channels where it is difficult/impossible for viewers to find. Geo Kahani and Geo Tez are also not being shown.

He said the cable operators are deliberately refusing to show channels of Geo because they are being threatened for showing channels of Geo.The federal government and Pemra have only two options. Either what cable operators are claiming is a lie in which case they must take action against them to restore transmission of all Geo channels. Or if the federal government and Pemra believe that the excuse of cable operators regarding security threat is genuine they must make a candid public admission of it:

“a. All cable operators are liable to show Geo channels;

b. 80 percent cable operators are not showing it because some hidden force is threatening all of them from doing so;

c. There is nothing that the federal government can do about it because it simply has no writ to do anything about the people who are threatening cable operators.”

After that, at least Geo can claim compensation for the government’s failure to fulfil its obligations.

On the cable operators excuse that they are showing Geo at last numbers because it is their discretion on which number to show it and also that number of TV channels that have been licensed by Pemra is far in excess of the capacity of TV sets owned by ordinary people, the spokesman reminded that in 2010, when hearing a petition of Geo, honourable Supreme Court set up a one-member media commission to look, among other things, into the issue of shuffling and placement of channels. According to the commission report, cable operators are constitutionally required to show TV channels having nationwide viewership at starting numbers. This was a constitutional requirement and the right of the viewers. The commission also found that shuffling of channels, disrupting their signals, throwing them at last numbers etc. was illegal. The honourable Supreme Court adopted that report and made it part of its judgment.

In the latest petition of Geo News, honourable Supreme Court has once again reproduced from 2010 judgment and from the Media Commission Report and disposed off Geo News’ petition only when Pemra undertook to restore the channel to its original position. So it is not up to discretion of cable operators to decide to show Geo News at No. 3 position today and No. 93 tomorrow. According to the Supreme Court judgment each cable operator has a constitutional obligation to show Geo News and all Geo channels at their original starting numbers.

The spokesman said Pemra’s direction to cable operators also requires each licensee cable operator to restore Geo news transmission at its original position. This also shows that the discussion of their own discretion and capacity of TV set is bogus and mala fide.

The spokesman said all cable operators were showing Geo channels at certain numbers on 19th April. “Why is it that after Pemra received a complaint about Geo following attack on Hamid Mir on 19th April, cable operators are either blocking its transmission or are making every kind of excuse not to show it at its original position? Why is it all of a sudden cable operators are using excuses such as it being a matter of their own discretion and that TV sets do not have capacity to show all the licensed channels when there was no such talk before 19th April 2014?”

The spokesman said the original scheme put in place through Pemra Ordinance for regulation of electronic industry anticipated and sought to prevent this very problem by barring any broadcasters from owning or controlling a cable business and vice versa. The implementers of the scheme were aware that even if one TV broadcaster were given control over cable operation, it would use that power to damage competitors in the same way that the Geo’s competitors are doing today.

The spokesman said the real problem is that one media group that owns one news channel has purchased or, directly or indirectly, concluded a business deal with cable operators in the country while apparently cable operators are still continuing with their previous names and owners, in reality they are in the hands of one media group, the owner of which is openly boasting that Geo is finished, “I will keep Geo channels off air and because of lack of viewership they will not get any advertisements and they will go bankrupt anytime now.” The spokesman said all cable operators led by Khalid Arain are now employees of that group and they only do and say what the owner of that group instructs them to do.

Both Khalid Arain and owner of the media group use the name of hidden hands to get the Geo closed. They claim that they are acting on behalf of hidden hands. They also arrange meetings of cable operators with hidden hands.

The spokesman said if the apex court forms a commission, many secrets will come to the fore. He said the Pemra and the federal government are fully aware about the above dangerous development and are yet avoiding doing anything about it.

When will the poor not sleep hungry, SC asks govt

 

ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court (SC) has summoned the final report from the Centre and the provinces on July 17 on the practical steps taken for the provision of flour to poor persons at subsidised rates.
Heading the bench, Justice Jawwad S Khawaja remarked during the flour subsidy case the government should tell when the day will come when no poor will sleep hungry.He remarked “It seems as if we are measuring water. The court does not need empty consolations but it should be told about the practical steps. Officers should shun officialdom and adopt the norms of serving the common man. Extreme obsession is also needed along with sanity for addressing the problems facing the poor segments of the society.”

He remarked. “Running the government is the job of elected representatives of people. But getting articles 9, 14 and 38 implemented is our obligation. Nine months have passed but no workable solution is becoming visible in this respect. We will not allow the poor to die of hunger despite an abundant supply of wheat grains.”

Additional Attorney General (AAG) Attiq Shah and law officers of the provinces appeared in the court. Justice Khawaja remarked, “For how long this job will be done in the provinces? We want low priced atta is distributed among the poor and its monitoring is done. We have come tosuch stage where we don’t want empty consolations. We want work, not the committees.”

AAG Attique Shah said the government is working out how atta will reach the poor. This is issue of over 67 percent population of the country, he added. Justice Khawaja remarked, “We have vast experience of judicial review as we have been doing it for the last 40 years. We will conduct judicial review when the things come before us. You all please sit together and resolve this matter. It was told by Punjab that chief minister is on the visit to China and he has however directed the concerned authorities to gear up all efforts. Tell us outline of the solution at least.”

The authorities concerned said it is being considered to use Watan card for this purpose. Justice Khawaja remarked, “There should be online system. Don’t tell more about subsidy. Tell us about proposals. Running the government is your job.”

He said the whole exercise will be of no use if deserving people don’t benefit from it. He said in his remarks that the case hearing has been ongoing since October 2013 but no steps are being taken.

He ordered all four provinces to come up with a joint solution.He said that he is aware there are difficulties, adding that the solutions to those difficulties are also available.

Govt to meet all requirements of IDPs, says Ishaq Dar

ISLAMABAD: In order to avoid donors’ fatigue, Pakistan will not make any formal request to multilateral or bilateral donors for seeking financial assistance to help over half a million Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in the wake of ongoing military operation in North Waziristan Agency (NWA).

Instead of seeking donors’ assistance, the government has decided to meet all requirements of IDPs through its own domestic resources.“Without seeking formal request to the donors, assistance of the multilateral and bilateral creditors and friends will be welcomed,” added the sources.

Pakistan’s military has launched operation against Taliban and their supporters to flush them out from NWA region that caused displacement of over half a million IDPs in Bannu area.“The government has taken the decision in principle that it will meet all requirements of IDPs from its own resources and formal request to donors’ assistance will not be sought. We have so far provided over Rs 2 billion and will also meet upcoming requirements.

The government has deducted one day salary of all public sector employees getting salary from federal budget that generated more than Rs 350 million,” official sources confirmed to The News here on Monday.

When contacted to Federal Minister for Finance and Revenues, Ishaq Dar confirmed to The News on Monday that the government was meeting all requirements would continue it for all IDPs in future as well.

However, high-ups in Finance Ministry told this scribe that the government so far released over Rs 2 billion for IDPs and more resources would be earmarked to meet their requirements.“We have also met financial requirements of Armed Forces to conduct this operation and will also meet the financial requirements for IDPs,” said the official.

So far 572,529 people, belonging to 44,633 families have been registered as Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) as a result of Operation Zarb-e-Azb, which started on June 15th. The UAE Government has released an assistance of $ 20.5 million for the IDPs on humanitarian grounds, while US has extended an assistance of $ 31 million. Finance Ministry has released Rs. 2 billion so far for providing relief to the IDPs. Economic Coordination Committee of the Cabinet has approved 60,000 tons of wheat costing Rs. 2.8 billion for distribution among the IDPs.

When inquired why the government was not making formal request through flash appeal of UN for IDPs assistance, the sources said that the government knew about donors’ fatigue keeping in view experience obtained by Islamabad as result of floods in 2010 and 2011.“This decision has been taken at the top level to avoid seeking official help from the donors but if someone comes forward they will be welcomed,” concluded the sources.

India says UN has no role to play in Kashmir

ISLAMABAD: The Narendra Modi government thinks the United Nations Military Observer Group (UNMOGIP) has no longer any role to play between Pakistan and India and has ordered it to vacate the government premises where they have been located free of charge for 40 years.

The free lunch is over, the UN has been told. Indian media reports say that the UN has been clearly told that “the UNMOGIP’s role has been overtaken by the Simla Agreement and the consequent establishment of the Line of Control. New Delhi is of the view that the UNMOGIP has no relevance or role to play whatsoever.”

The Foreign Office did not want to comment on media reports but the spokesperson told The News: “Even if true, such moves do not change the reality.”Meanwhile, an Indian official was quoted as saying: “They should stay in Srinagar and do what they want. In case they want to be stationed in Delhi, they should hire premises in a private property and not occupy the government property.”

It is only Pakistan that has time and again proposed to India to involve the UNMOGIP over disputes at the LoC as they are neutral observers and the ongoing blame game that follows skirmishes could come to an end.

But a strange philosophy governs New Delhi, where officially the UNMOGIP has offices in New Delhi and Srinagar with their mandate well known, but India refuses to involve them in any manner in disputes with Pakistan saying they do not want the third party involvement.

In keeping with the hawkish line that Modi has taken on Kashmir, it will not be long before the UNMOGIP office in Srinagar is also wrapped up.INP adds: According to Indian Express, the South Block has asked the UNMOGIP to vacate the bungalow — 1AB, Purana Qila Road — which has been serving as its office for the last four decades. The government accommodation — a Type VII bungalow, about 7,000 square feet — was allotted to the UN mission “free of charge”.

The UNMOGIP, established under a UN Security Council Resolution, was meant to supervise the ceasefire line established under the Karachi Agreement of July 1949.

When contacted, UNMOGIP’s Military Information Officer Major Tomas Malm, who is based in Srinagar, confirmed that the government has asked them to vacate the premises. “UNMOGIP’s response is to relocate to another location in Delhi,” he said. Asked if they have been told the reason for this directive, he said, “The Indian authorities’ reason is unknown to UNMOGIP.”Asked if the move reflected New Delhi’s stand towards the UNMOGIP, he said, “You have to ask the Indian government regarding their attitude towards us.”

Geo restored in some cities, others still waiting

 

LAHORE: In various cities of the country, cable operators have restored the Geo TV transmission though people have complained about shifting of different Geo channels to later numbers. Complaints about illegal suspension of Geo News transmission are also pouring in from various parts of the country.
In Khanqah Dogran, where people launched a severe protest against the suspension of Geo News transmission from time to time, the cable operators have restored it. However, people complained that Geo News has been put at 33 number on cable instead of its real position on 14.

Expressing their pleasure at the Geo News restoration, they demanded the cable operators to place their favourite channel at number 14 again. Punjab Parliamentary Secretary for Information and Culture Rana Muhammad Arshad regretted that Geo News transmission was suspended for 17 days and Geo Tez for 40 days in Shahkot. He called upon the cable operators to restore the Geo channels immediately. He said the Geo channels are the most favourite channels of the people and the Geo TV network played an unforgettable role in the restoration of democracy and movement for an independent judiciary in the country.

In Gojra, people have expressed their pleasure at the restoration of Geo News on its real position at cable network. However, in various cities, including Karachi, Lah

Ready to talk to everyone on national issues, says Nawaz

 

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Muhammad Nawaz Sharif on Tuesday said he was ready to talk to all on important national matters. He said this while talking to Finance Minister Ishaq Dar at the Prime Minister’s House here.

Nawaz said the Operation Zarb-e-Azb would continue till the elimination of terrorism in the country. He said the nation stood behind the armed forces.The finance minister informed the premier about the funds released for the Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs). The two also discussed the military operation at length.

Nawaz directed all possible measures to reduce the hardships of IDPs.Later, Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan also called on Prime Minister Muhammad Nawaz Sharif, sources at the PM House disclosed. Sources said the two leaders discussed the internal security matters.

Ex-senator Saranjam Khan also called on the PM and discussed national and political issues with him. Saud Majeed, ex-MNA, was also present in the meeting. Raja Ashfaq Sarwar, Punjab Minister for Labour, also called on the PM.

Jets pound militants in NWA, kill 13

 

MIRANSHAH: After a few days of lull, the Pakistan Air Force fighter jets on Tuesday again pounded seven suspected hideouts of militants in North Waziristan and reportedly killed 13 terrorists.
The Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) issued a brief statement to the media about the latest air strikes in the Degan village, which had been attacked earlier as well.The press release didn’t provide further details about the air strikes and the identity of the slain militants.

Degan is located in the Dattakhel Tehsil, near the Afghan border, and is considered a stronghold of the North Waziristan-based Taliban headed by Hafiz Gul Bahadur.Hafiz Gul Bahadur’s group isn’t part of the mainstream Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), led by the Afghanistan-based Pakistani Taliban commander Mullah Fazlullah.

It was the second time that jet fighters carried out bombing in Dattakhel after the launch of the military operation in North Waziristan on June 15. Hafiz Gul Bahadur has until now remained neutral and has announced a ceasefire due to Ramazan till the 10th day of Eidul Fitr and directed his fighters not to attack the security forces.

Taliban sources said some of Gul Bahadur’s fighters had attacked a security checkpoint called Tipo in the Spinwam Tehsil a few days ago, killing two soldiers and causing injuries to a few others. The military authorities, however, didn’t confirm this report and said the soldiers died in a blast caused by an improvised explosive device (IED).

Also, despite repeated warnings by the military authorities and local political administration, the majority of the residents are said to be still residing in Dattakhel and its adjoining villages.

Miranshah and Mir Ali, which are the two major residential and commercial towns in North Waziristan, were largely in control of the militants from the TTP, Uzbeks, Arabs, Chechens and Punjabi Taliban while Gul Bahadur and his fighters dominated Dattakhel when the military launched the operation on June 15.

The militants and residents have vacated both Miranshah and Mir Ali and the adjoining villages but Dattakhel is still said to be in control of Gul Bahadur and his men. Also, residents haven’t vacated Razmak, Dossali and Garyoom tehsils as well as Shawa and Spinwam under arrangements with the army and the administration in return for guarantees that they won’t allow the militants to hide in their areas.

Vaccines have low risk of serious side effects: study

WASHINGTON: Some childhood vaccines are linked to serious side effects, but they are quite rare and do not include autism, food allergies or cancer, said a review of scientific literature Tuesday.

A host of vaccines commonly given to children under age six were the focus of the systematic review of rigorously conducted studies, published in the peer-reviewed US journal Pediatrics.

The report seeks to address a rising trend of vaccine hesitancy among parents in the United States and Europe, which has led to a resurgence of measles and whooping cough in some parts of the world.

"We found that serious adverse events that are linked to vaccines are really rare, and that when they do occur they are often not necessarily severe," said study co-author Courtney Gidengil, a pediatrician at Boston Children´s Hospital and professor at Harvard Medical School.

"We think this adds to the body of evidence that the benefits really do seem to clearly outweigh the low risk of serious side effects from vaccines," she told.

The study expands on a 2011 report by the Institute of Medicine that also pointed to some side effects linked to vaccines but found "few health problems are caused by or clearly associated with vaccines."

The Pediatrics report includes several vaccines that were not studied by the IOM, including those against hepatitis A, Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib), polio, rotavirus and the pneumococcal conjugate vaccine.

Side effects
Side effects of the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) and pneumococcal vaccines included the potential for fever and seizures.

The MMR and hepatitis A vaccines were also linked to a side effect called purpura, when small blood vessels leak under the skin.

There was some evidence that immune-deficient children given the varicella vaccine against chicken pox could develop infections or have an allergic reaction.

The rotavirus vaccines, RotaTeq and Rotarix, were associated with a risk of intussusception, a condition in which one part of the intestine slides into another part.

However, the risk of this condition was rare, amounting to between 1-5 in 100,000, the researchers said.

"Clinicians who immunize children regularly may have encountered these adverse events in their practices, particularly seizures associated with fever," said an accompanying editorial by Carrie Byington, vice chair for research in the pediatrics department at the University of Utah.

"Fortunately, the adverse events identified by the authors were rare and in most cases would be expected to resolve completely after the acute event."

 

NASA delays launch of satellite to track carbon pollution

WASHINGTON: A water flow problem on Tuesday forced the US space agency to postpone the launch of a satellite to track atmospheric carbon dioxide, a leading greenhouse gas.

The Orbiting Carbon Observatory-2 was due to take off atop a Delta 2 rocket at 2:56 am Pacific time (0956 GMT) from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. But the operation was halted 46 seconds before scheduled liftoff time due to an issue with water flow to the rocket, NASA said.

The launch window on Tuesday was quite short, just 30 seconds.

The timing had to be precise so that the satellite could join the A-Train, a constellation of five other international Earth-observing satellites.

More details on the nature of the problem and a time for the next launch attempt were expected later Tuesday, NASA commentator George Diller said.

NASA´s previous attempts to launch carbon satellites failed in 2009 and 2011. (AFP)