MPs want harder challenge to terror

By Raja Asghar

Amid an international concern and national mourning over the assassination of Minorities Affairs Minister Shahbaz Bhatti, members of the National Assembly across party lines called on Thursday for a harder fight against terror and better protection to minorities.

Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani interrupted a house debate over Wednesday’s killing of the second state functionary falling victim to assassins’ bullets in Islamabad in less than two months over a controversial blasphemy law to make a belated announcement of three days of national mourning when, he said, the national flag would fly at half mast at government buildings.

Before that, in a rare move, all parliamentary groups on both the government and opposition benches joined a token walkout initiated by members of minority communities to mourn and condemn the killing of the cabinet’s only Christian member on an Islamabad street after an opposition Christian lawmaker set a defiant tone for the debate, complaining of a perceived atmosphere of discrimination against minorities in and outside the house and an apparent acquiescence of authorities to religious extremists.

The prime minister’s announcement of a three-day official mourning also came after all three Christian members who spoke before he arrived in the house had asked why the official mourning for Mr Bhatti was confined to a two-minute silence in the National Assembly on Wednesday while a national mourning was observed for then-Punjab province governor Salman Taseer after he was killed on Jan 4 by his own police guard outside a café in Islamabad.

International condemnations of the murder of a campaigner for inter-faith harmony included those from US President Barack Obama, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, the Vatican, the British and Canadian prime ministers and the Indian government.

The debate in which more two dozen members spoke on Thursday, most of them calling for sterner action against extremist violence, was called on a suggestion from the prime minister on Wednesday to help his government formulate a new strategy to fight religious extremism.

He said then that he also planned to meet leader of parliamentary parties and convene a meeting of the Defence Committee of Cabinet, which also includes chiefs of armed forces.As the day’s main speaker from the treasury benches, Inter-Provincial Coordination Minister Raza Rabbani cited several constitutional guarantees of protection and equality for minorities and assured them the present PPP-led coalition government would “not only protect … but also implement each word of the constitution”.

But this assertion of the respected minister, who also urged all political parties to move towards a national agenda by putting aside their partisan agendas and promote a culture of tolerance to realise what he called the “dream of (Quaid-i-Azam Mohammad Ali) Jinnah” in order to make Pakistan a true federation, was challenged by a razor-tongued opposition back-bencher.

The government “neither protected nor implemented (these constitutional provisions) because you have compromised with terrorists,” retorted PML-Q member Ms Marvi Memon, who also asked what action had been taken against the group that claimed responsibility for Mr Bhatti’s murder?

Mr Rabbani accused unspecified elements opposed to Pakistan playing its rightful role in the region of trying to break the culture of political tolerance evolved by political parties while opposing the Musharraf regime and said: “It is time for the Pakistani nation to do some inner reflection, because Pakistan is bleeding, Pakistan is haemorrhaging ….”

Initiating the debate, Ms Asiya Nasir, a Christian from Quetta, whose three colleagues from JUI-F had refused to stand up for two minutes silence in the house for Mr Bhatti on Wednesday, made the most poignant speech of the day, in which she chose to address the Quaid-i-Azam’s large portrait behind the Speaker’s chair asking if this was the kind of Pakistan he had visualised where she said the minorities were discriminated against and “treated like untouchables”.

She said her daughter told her on Wednesday after Mr Bhatti’s murder that “mom let us leave this country”, and she added she feared she could be next target. “It is time for us to be or not to be,” she remarked before leading the walkout by members of minority communities from all parties, to be joined later by all opposition parties as well as the PPP and its ally MQM.

Akram Masih Gill of the PML-Q said he was feeling “an atmosphere of prejudice” against minorities even inside parliament, regretting that despite the overwhelming majority of Muslims in Pakistan, it had been provided in the Constitution that only a Muslim could be elected president or prime minister of Pakistan.

PML-N’s Nelson Azeem told the house his son also begged him on Wednesday to leave Pakistan now but he said he would not do it “because of the graves of our elders here” and voiced fears that “a country attained in the name of Pakistan will be destroyed in the name of Islam”.

Senior PML-N figure Makhdoom Javed Hashmi made a passionate defence of equal rights of minorities, calling the killing of a moderate person like Mr Bhatti “a shot at the chest of Pakistan itself”, and said perpetrators of such acts were actually seeking to “deface Pakistan” and to lead it to “collective suicide”.

PML-Q chief whip Riaz Hussain Pirzada and some other speakers called for the constitution of a judicial commission to probe funds coming to extremist outfits.

Raymond Davis does not enjoy blanket immunity: Qureshi

Regarding the issue of Raymond Davis, former foreign minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi on Wednesday said while he was the foreign minister the US national did not enjoy full diplomatic immunity.

Addressing a press conference in Islamabad, Qureshi said the foreign office had briefed him on January 31 that Davis did not enjoy the blanket immunity that the US was claiming for him.
Qureshi said that after studying the Vienna Conventions of 1961 and 1963 and Pakistan’s Diplomatic Law of 1972, one could conclude that “the blanket immunity as being demanded by the US embassy was not valid”.

He said that after seeing relevant documents, it was his “considered opinion” that Davis did not enjoy diplomatic immunity. He had informed the Core Committee of the Pakistan People’s Party of his view on the subject.

He said an inter-ministerial meeting had also endorsed this point of view.

Qureshi said that his stance on the Davis issue was principled and that he would stand by his position.

He said that for him Pakistan’s sovereignty and dignity were most important and that if need be he would apprise the people of Pakistan of more facts.

Qureshi, who stepped down earlier this month during a Cabinet reshuffle but retains influence, reiterated this stance after a meeting with Chairman US Foreign Relations Committee John Kerry – an indication that the American politician may have a rocky time convincing Pakistan to free 36-year-old Raymond Davis, a US consulate employee who shot and killed two Pakistani men in Lahore last month in what he said was a robbery attempt.

He said he kept quiet on the Davis case earlier upon instructions from the leadership of the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP), but implied that his stance on the matter had cost him his job. A new foreign minister has not yet been appointed.

Whether I have a ministry or not, I will always remain with the PPP, Qureshi told reporters. To a question, he said it was the prerogative of the party leadership to choose the person to head any ministry and acknowledged that he was offered the Ministry of Water and Power.

Qureshi said the party leadership’s decision on the Davis subject was that as the issue was sub judice, it would be decided by the courts. The same stance was taken by Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani in his statement made at the floor of the National Assembly on February 3.

Regarding his meeting with US Senator John Kerry earlier in the day, Qureshi said he had informed Kerry about his stance.

He further said that the United States should realise the sacrifices that Pakistan has made in the war against terror. He said both Pakistan and the United States needed each other’s cooperation.

Pakistan bothered by US’ ‘keep-in-dark’ policy

ISLAMABAD: Disillusionment is growing in Pakistan over the Unites States’ deliberate attempt to keep its front-line ally in the war against terrorism in the dark on its strategy in Afghanistan, and taking Islamabad for granted despite a huge contribution.

“The United States is deliberately keeping us in the dark in its peace efforts and it appears from Washington’s policy that Pakistan is being made a scapegoat for the failure of the coalition in Afghanistan,” a high-ranking security official said, adding that the United States needed to understand that the spillover effect of the on-going war had damaged the social and cultural fabric of Pakistani society.

“The policy of harping ‘do more’ doesn’t help … we want to be a part of the solution and not the problem … we will also not like to be found standing in a corner at the end of the day,” he added.

The official said that Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani had personally conveyed these concerns to US President Barack Obama, who had walked in to attend the recent Strategic Dialogue meeting in Washington.

“The US president was informed about the perception in Pakistan on being taken for granted and disregarding our role, which indicated that we were being made a scapegoat for the coalition’s failure as the once most trusted ally was now being bullied at … the US president was also apprised that Pakistan continued to suffer because of Afghanistan,” he said, adding that the military establishment’s disappointment over the US’ failure to address Pakistan’s concerns was candidly put across.

The official said the US president had also been told that unless Pakistan was on board, peace in Afghanistan would not be possible as “time is short and resources are limited”.

Acknowledging that the radical forces were an equal threat for the United States, Pakistan and Afghanistan, he said stability in Afghanistan was key to resolving all issues.

He said the concept of (Pakistan’s) strategic depth was absolutely misunderstood.

“It has also been made clear to the United States that Pakistan has no intention to over-run Afghanistan and control it but we cannot forego our long-term interests for short-term solutions … a stable Afghanistan will help address our security issues and stability in Afghanistan is possible only with the support of all ethnic groups and if needed, the Afghan constitution may be changed to make a strong federation … idealism has to be reconciled with ground realities,” the official said.

He said al Qaeda must be pursued ruthlessly and crushed as a common enemy and it was imperative to identify those Taliban who were willing to negotiate for reconciliation.

“Peace in Afghanistan should be judged in relative terms … what is doable must be the basis of the strategy … military strategy has to be the basis for the political strategy as military strategy cannot be an end in itself.” He said it was wrong to say that the Inter Services Intelligence (ISI) was supporting the Haqqani network.

The official said that the COAS also brushed aside the impression that Pakistan was not willing to launch an operation in North Waziristan. “The US president was informed that in principal it was not a question of ‘if, when and how’ … the army chief told him that the Pakistan Army was already over-stretched and a major operation was only possible by sending logistics to North Waziristan from South Waziristan … it was also conveyed to the US president that Pakistan was facing budgetary constraints and it was difficult to maintain our defence capabilities,” he said.

He said that the more important consideration for Pakistan was that the operation would have a blow-back effect as terrorist attacks were expected to increase and there would be another exodus of internally displaced persons (IDPs) in the country.

“The armed forces are already handling the post-flood situation in the country … militants have already started resurging in Bajaur and Mohmand agencies … and we are also stuck in the rebuilding phase in Swat and Malakand where, in a way, we are fixed and the possibility is that positivity will turn into negativity if the army stays there for a longer period … the war against terrorism is a matter of life and death for Pakistan … al Qaeda poses a serious threat to us but the US media has turned biased against us and our contribution is being disregarded,” he said, explaining Pakistan’s predicament.

The official said that under the Coalition Support Fund (CSF), Pakistan had claimed $11.59 billion of which $9.47 billion were asked for the army. “A total of $7.93 billion have been reimbursed and the army has been given only $2.5 billion while rest of the money has gone for the budgetary support,” he said.

He rejected the myth that the army was a white elephant. “The armed forces get only 16 percent of the total budget and that too is decreasing in real terms,” he said, admitting that the Pakistan Army was India-centric as “this is our job … we are trained for this and we are not apologetic for professionally preparing ourselves in this direction”.

On Balochistan, the official said that there was “no army” except in Sui to protect the gas field and there too the army would soon be replaced with the Frontier Corps. “The army had been pulled back a year ago,” he said, adding that a military college and a technical institute would be established in Sui cantonment.

The official said the mindset in the United States was that Pakistan was not willing to change its “India-centric security paradigm”. “The US president was briefed on this and told that contrary to this, the Indian militarisation is Pakistan-specific and India is the biggest buyer of armaments with its arsenals ostensibly being Pakistan-specific … the US president was also told that if Pakistan’s security concerns were addressed, it was ready to reduce its army,” the official said, admitting that the Pakistan Army had a limited capability and could not afford a confrontation.

He said the Pakistan’s concern over the growing US-India relations was also conveyed to Obama who was also told that “we are ready to go an extra mile for peace but not at the cost of our self-respect”. However, he said it concerned Pakistan a lot that the United States was not ready to play a role in resolving the issues between Pakistan and India. To a question about the options available with Pakistan, the official said, “We have drawn a red line beyond which we will not compromise and have our options open to protect our sovereignty and dignity”.

Intelligence agencies deny holding 11 missing prisoners

ISLAMABAD: Intelligence agencies have submitted a report to the Supreme Court denying that they are holding the 11 missing prisoners .

Relatives of the prisoners say the men are being illegally held by intelligence agencies.

The court was hearing the case of the 11 prisoners who went missing from the Adiala jail after being acquitted of the charges of four terrorism cases in June.

After this controversy, the Chief Justice (CJ) called for a Daily Situation Report which is prepared by a special branch of police. The police had reported that these prisoners were wanted in four cases: the General Head Quarters attack, the attack on former president Musharraf, the recovery of an explosive laden jacket and the attack on Hamza camp. The prisoners were acquitted by a trial court. The report also corroborates the Punjab government’s statement that the prisoners were released and handed over to intelligence agencies. A review board of the Lahore High Court had found the extension of that detention to be illegal.

According to Express 24/7 correspondent Faisal Shakeel, relatives of these missing prisoners say that they were taken from inside the premises of the jail and are with intelligence agencies but the intelligence agencies have been denying this.

The intelligence agencies blamed by the relatives to be illegally holding the prisoners are the Intelligence Bureau (IB), the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) and the military intelligence. The Attorney General who has been in communication with these agencies said that the prisoners are not with the intelligence agencies but the Punjab government has been insisting that the prisoners were released and handed over to the intelligence agencies, reported Shakeel.

The Supreme Court said that if there are cases against the missing prisoners, it should be informed about them and the matter should be settled by due process of law.

The prisoners went missing when they were released from the Adiala jail. The CJ had directed the AG to sit with all officials and make a concrete statement as to the whereabouts of the 11 missing prisoners. The CJ had earlier refused to transfer this case to a bench and said that he would himself handle the case.

The AG had been directed to present 11 prisoners held on terrorism charges after the prosecution failed to prove charges against them.

Ripping off: An expensive ride to the Diplomatic Enclave

Azam Khan

ISLAMABAD: People visiting Diplomatic Enclave for visa purposes have been put in a difficult position by the Diplomatic Shuttle Service (DSS). Visitors are being charged at will after the Capital Development Authority (CDA) gave a free hand to the DSS contractor.

CDA gives a ‘free hand’ to the shuttle service to overcharge visitors

Muhammad Hussain, owner of DSS, has increased the fare by 150 per cent.

Apart from the designated waiting area, DSS administration has also introduced a ‘VIP’ waiting lounge. It has been made mandatory for US Embassy visitors to purchase a ticket worth Rs500 for the lounge. For the common waiting room, visitors are being charged Rs200 per head.

Similarly, the administration is charging another Rs20 for car parking, due to which many visitors prefer to park their vehicles on the 3rd Avenue.

Tariq Mehmood, who wanted to visit the Embassy of Canada for visa purposes, said, “After security clearance, visitors should be allowed to approach the embassies. Apart from the extremely high charges, a lot of time is consumed because of the shuttle service.”

An employee of DSS, on condition of anonymity, said, “Rs500 ticket is mandatory for visitors of US Embassy, while people who appear to be from well-to-do backgrounds are forced to buy tickets for the VIP Lounge.”

In reply to these claims, Manager Operation DSS, Raheem said that the option of purchasing Rs200 or Rs500 tickets was visitor’s prerogative. “Nobody is pressurised by our staff to purchase any specific ticket,” he said.

“The prices of sugar and other daily commodities were also beyond the reach of common people, then why is DSS being criticised for overcharging,” he added.

Raheem added that people who bought the more expensive ticket were provided extra facilities. “They are given emergency transportation apart from other services,” he said.

“Sometimes we do not charge money from people who are unable to pay,” Raheem added.

Similarly, Deputy Director Planning CDA Ghulam Sarwar Sindhu said, “People do not have a problem with higher charges because they are also being provided with better facilities.”

Explaining the terms of contract between the CDA and Hussain, he said that after an open bidding, the CDA Board approved the contract back in 2007 for seven years. “After that, the well equipped offices of DSS would become CDA’s property,” he said.

Earlier, the contract of Muhammad Hussain, the operator of the service, had expired in 2007 but CDA extended it by violating the defined rules and regulations. CDA had awarded the DSS contract to Hussain under Built Operate Transfer (BOT) programme in 2007. Officials said that other bidders were sidelined and only Hussain got a chance to present his case in front of the CDA Board for this purpose.

Hussain was then provided with a piece of land on 3rd Avenue (Quaid-i-Azam University Road) on a seven-year contract where he built his own building

DSS was first launched in April 2002 from Convention Centre, with an aim of establishing a safe and speedy shuttle service for diplomatic dignitaries as well as domestic visa seekers. Later, it also became a way of ensuring better security for diplomatic enclave, serving as a first-line check for the intending visitors. This also helped in reducing the number of private vehicles inside the enclave.

Nowadays, visa seekers can only access Diplomatic Enclave through the DSS and that too after getting an appointment from the concerned embassy.

Govt all set to increase power tariff by 2-3pc per month

By Aftab Maken

ISLAMABAD: The PPP government, in line with the conditionality of the IMF and the World Bank, is all set to increase 2-3 per cent power tariff monthly with minimum power increase of 19.4 per cent and maximum of 30.4 per cent at the end of June 2011, says an official document of the Ministry of Water & Power available with The News.

All the monthly fuel adjustments, not notified as yet, will be notified immediately possibly on Nov 05 after determining the power tariff before Oct 30, 2010, it added. The document further suggests that the two possible scenarios for increasing power tariff of 2-3 per cent respectively per month with minimum increase of 19.4 per cent and maximum of 30.4 per cent respectively would help the government to eliminate the power subsidies.

Current power tariff is Rs7.09 per k Wh and with this proposed increase the power tariff will be Rs8.49 per k Wh and Rs9.24 per k Wh respectively in the remaining nine months of the current fiscal year, said the document.

The PPP government has so far increased 63.6 per cent power tariff during the last 30 months and with this proposed increase the power tariff in next 39 months will register an increase of 94 per cent at the end of this fiscal year.

However, if the proposed power reforms were not implemented, the document further pinpointed that the government needs at least Rs226 billion per month to gap the power subsidies. The government has only budgeted subsidy of Rs30 billion for 2010-11.

To overcome the power subsidies, the document also recommends that the final gap of Rs226 billion can be plugged through a number of measures that include Pepco measures, ministry of Water & Power notification and slab restructuring.

Monthly increase of two percent starting from Oct 1 will generate Rs42 billion while three percent increase will also generate revenue of Rs64 billion to gap the actual cost of the power generation, said the document.

An amount of Rs531.4 billion would be collected if the power tariff of July 2010 is persuaded whereas with the proposed increase the power tariff would be Rs573.3 billion and Rs596.1 billion respectively against the actual power cost of Rs694 billion, it added.

The initial power gap of Rs120 billion can reduce the revenue deficit by the introduction of reforms in Pepco, notification and slab restructuring and the final gap in the first scenario would be with a deficit of Rs8 billion while in the second scenario, it would be surplus of Rs15.4 billion, the document concludes.

FoDP angry at US, IMF for going soft on Pakistan

By Khalid Mustafa

ISLAMABAD: The nomenclature describes them as Friends of Democratic Pakistan (FODP) but ironically the same ‘friends’, in their latest Brussels huddle, lambasted United States and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for being ‘unnecessarily soft’ on Pakistan and categorically wanted the two to strictly monitor the performance of the war-ravaged and flood-devastated country against given targets under the $11.3 billion Standby Arrangement programme and the loan being given to Pakistan under Tokyo pledges.

The FoDP countries asked US not to persuade IMF into giving waivers to Pakistan against missing out on any performance criteria targets arguing that repeated waivers would only make authorities in Pakistan complacent.

Sources privy to the Brussels meeting said the FoDP countries asked Pakistan not be complacent and to enhance its resource mobilisation through the introduction of tax reforms. “They also asked the Pakistani authorities to introduce reforms in the power sector, which is bleeding to the tune of Rs 226 billion per annum”, the source added. Pakistan, reportedly told the ‘Friends’ that power tariff is to be increased by 2 per cent every month till June 2011 and that about Rs50 billion would be generated through efficacy and reducing line losses in the current fiscal.

However, an obviously persistent FODP insisted: “Pakistan should seriously undertake resource mobilisation for the sake of its people,” sources said quoting proceedings of the Brussels meeting.

The official said that FoDP countries want Pakistan to perform and meet every target, regardless of the tough ground realities, so that it could pull itself out of the debt trap and strengthen its economic indicators by experiencing the economic discipline. “Every time IMF, under influence from US, gives relaxation to Pakistan a huge debt trap is laid down for the country,” was the FODP assessment, according to a source.

Some officials at the ministry of finance also confirmed these stances by saying that there was a strong realisation that the US wants to continue to provide oxygen to Pakistan through IMF, but at the same time also wants that Pakistan be further burdened by more debt so that Washington could easily twist its arm for strategic purposes.

Mentioning the financial releases from US to Pakistan, a close aide of Finance Minister Dr. Hafeez A Shaikh confirmed that Washington wants to provide financial help (oxygen) just to keep Pakistan afloat.

The money under the Kerry-Lugar Act, $1.5 billion a year, is now being shown by US in the accounts of FoDP and as flood relief. “So the propaganda that the US is giving a lot of money to Pakistan has no grounds,” argued the official, adding, “We are convinced the US does not want to help out Pakistan 100%, its frontline ally in the war on terror, but only to keep its head above water” he said.

So much so the World Bank, also influenced by US, in 2009-10 extended to Pakistan under $300 million development loans despite the fact that at the same time it has enormously increased its development loans to other countries after the global financial crisis. Pakistan which is facing financial stress because of the war against terrorism and also because of the recent devastating floods got less than $300 million in 2009-10 from World Bank. “We have also come to know that US representative in ADB exerted pressure not to extend huge credit line to Pakistan”, fumed a senior member of Pakistan’s financial team. “ADB is the only bank that helped Pakistan when Islamabad faced sanctions after it went nuclear in 1998,” the official said.

NAB chief’s posting another violation: CJ

By Sohail Khan

ISLAMABAD: Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry on Wednesday termed the recent appointment of Chairman National Accountability Bureau (NAB) Justice (retd) Deedar Hussain Shah as another violation of the court’s verdict.

“I am using the word carefully. This is another departure,” the chief justice remarked while heading a 17-member larger bench of the apex court hearing non-implementation of the court’s verdict against the National Reconciliation Ordinance (NRO) and the Federation’s review plea.

The chief justice said prima facie, another violation had been made as NAB Chairman Deedar Hussain Shah was not appointed in the light of Asfandyar Wali’s case, wherein it was held by the apex court that consultation with the chief justice was vital for the appointment of the NAB chairman.

The chief justice directed Attorney General Maulvi Anwarul Haq to explain to the court the appointment of NAB chairman on the next date of hearing. The court also questioned the appointment of Adnan Khwaja, an NRO beneficiary, as MD OGDCL. It asked Secretary Establishment Ismael Qureshi as to who was responsible for Khwaja’s appointment. The secretary Establishment replied that his appointment was made on the verbal orders of the Prime Minister’s House.

What was the qualification of Adnan Khwaja, Justice Ramday posed a question to the AG. Intermediate, replied the AG. How could a person not highly qualified be appointed as MD OGDCL?

The court further asked as to whether or not bio-data of Adnan Khwaja was collected at the time of his appointment. “His bio-data was not available,” the secretary Establishment replied, adding they thought that consultation might have been held between the prime minister and the Ministry of Petroleum over the appointment.

The court observed that the government had destroyed the whole service structure just for the sake of favouritism and nepotism. “The whole service structure and the rule of law has been destroyed,” Justice Raja Fayyaz Ahmed remarked adding as to why the Federation was bent upon embarrassing itself.

“There was a problem of unemployment in the country but merit had to be maintained while giving such a lucrative post,” Justice Javed Iqbal observed.

“You have to give reason and pinpoint us the responsible person so that we issue a notice to him,” the CJP told the AG. The court, while taking up the matter of another NAB beneficiary Ahmed Riaz Sheikh, issued contempt of court notice to Additional Secretary Interior Raja Ahsan.

The court held that after the verdict of the court, declaring the NRO as void ab-initio why Ahmed Riaz Sheikh was promoted from deputy director to additional director general (Economic Crimes Wing), FIA.

Prima facie additional secretary interior was responsible and a contempt of court notice was issued to him, the CJ said. Ahmed Riaz Sheikh was sentenced under the NAB law to 14 years’ rigorous imprisonment and dismissed from service in 2002. Later, he was reinstated after he claimed benefit of the NRO promulgated in 2008.

Afterwards, he was promoted as additional director general of FIA’s Economic Crimes Wing along with back benefits even after the NRO was declared illegal. The bench expressed dissatisfaction over the NAB’s report on the implementation of the court’s verdict against the NRO.

The chief justice said that secretary Establishment was responsible for not implementing the court’s order in letter and spirit. “We are here to save the system for which sacrifices had been made,” the CJ said.

Justice Javed Iqbal remarked that they were here to save the system but one could not say anything when the system itself was bent upon committing suicide. The court allowed Sardar Latif Khosa to represent the Federation in its review petition against the NRO after Khosa, on the court’s direction, filed an application under Rule 6 of Order XXVI of the Supreme Court Rules, 1980 for substitution of Kamal Azfar to plead the case in the court.

The court directed Latif Khosa to inform the Pakistan Bar Council about relinquishing the job of adviser to prime minister on Information Technology and his appointment as counsel in the Federation review petition against the National Reconciliation Ordinance (NRO).

The court expressed dissatisfaction over the NAB report submitted the other day over the implementation of its judgment of December 16, 2009 against the NRO. It directed the chairman NAB to submit a fresh report on the implementation of its verdict on the NRO with documentary evidences, besides providing a list of the prisoners released by the accountability courts.

The court adjourned the hearing till the first week of November, announcing that hearing would be fixed on the availability of the bench.

Earlier, at the start of hearing of the case, the Federation’s counsel, Sardar Latif Khosa, appearing before the larger bench, was told that he could not represent the Federation in the review petition against the NRO and ruled that an application will have to be moved in the apex court as required under Rule 6 of Order XXVI of the Supreme Court Rules, 1980.

The chief justice asked Khosa that he will have to move an application for replacing Kamal Azfar. Latif Khosa replied that he was quite aware of the procedure but as he was asked late in the night to represent the Federation in the case, therefore, he could not file the application at the earliest and would do so as required by the law.

Khosa, while defending the government, submitted that the government’s move was not aimed at delaying tactics and such an impression being created bears no fact.

“You should implement the court order in letter and spirit and tell us where the Swiss money went, it is not enough to express ignorance,” Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry asked Khosa.

“You should also look into as to who were responsible for not implementing the court order,” Justice Raja Fayyaz told Khosa. Justice Javed Iqbal asked the Federation’s counsel to read out the whole judgment of the court on the NRO and take it into consideration.

Latif Khosa replied that the government was sincere in implementing the court’s order and said the prime minister had called the list of people whose cases were withdrawn. “You are not entitled to represent the Federation in the case, provided the court allows you to do so,” Justice Jawad S Khwaja told Khosa.

Justice Khalilur Rehman Ramday observed that a person who does not know about the Punjab had been appointed as Adviser to Prime Minister on National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) “while you Mr Khosa, who belongs to the Punjab but was not appointed as adviser to PM on NDMA and instead hired to plead the case here.”

“I was vying for returning to the legal profession and my condition remained like a fish which became critical while out of the water,” Latif Khosa replied adding that he wanted to be among his legal friends.

“Then the whole game was played to link you with us,” Justice Ramday asked Khosa adding had he taken assurance from the government that he would be reappointed as adviser to the prime minister if the court may reject his application for representing the Federation?

Deputy Prosecutor General NAB Muhammad Akbar Tarar appeared before the court and read out the NAB report in the court, stating that they had no clue to the Swiss money. “We had asked for implementation of the court judgment but nothing has been done so far,” Justice Javed Iqbal observed.

“Every lawyer appeared in the court, pledged to implement the court order but later they appeared helpless,” Justice Muhammad Sair Ali observed. The Chief Justice told Attorney General Maulvi Anwarul Haq that the NAB report was not satisfactory.

NAB’s Additional Prosecutor General informed the court that nothing was available in the NAB headquarters except letters written by former AG Malik Qayyum to Swiss authorities to abandon the cases there.

He said there was no record of the cases which were removed on the basis of the NRO and Malik Qayyum had just written to the Swiss authorities to abandon the cases there. “You should come with full preparation as your reply is not satisfactory and you must come with full evidence,” the chief justice told the NAB’s additional prosecutor general.

Justice Khalilur Rehman Ramday asked the NAB additional prosecutor general to download the court’s judgment on the NRO from the Internet and come fully prepared. Other members of the bench included Justice Javed Iqbal, Justice Shakirullah Jan, Justice Tasadduq Hussain Jilani, Justice Nasirul Mulk, Justice Raja Fayyaz Ahmed, Justice Muhammad Sair Ali, Justice MA Shahid Siddiqui, Justice Jawwad S Khawja, Justice Anwar Zaheer Jamali, Justice Khilji Arif Hussain, Justice Rahmat Hussain Jaffery, Justice Tariq Pervaiz, Justice Saqib Nisar, Justice Asif Saeed Khosa, Justice Ghulam Rabbani and Justice Khalilur Rehman Ramday.

What the agencies say about lawyers’ tussle

ISLAMABAD: The lawyers’ issue in Lahore was politicised when a candidate for the office of the president of the Supreme Court Bar Association supported the lawyers against the judiciary, an intelligence agency report says. The report also mentions that the root cause of the tussle was the appointments in the clerical staff in the district courts as the Lahore Bar Association office-bearers were demanding their share.

The report with slight amendments is reproduced below:

“1) The issue between Lahore Bar Association (LBA) and Distrcit and Sessions Judge, Lahore, Zawar Hussain, which started two and a half months ago, culminated into an attack on the chief justice Lahore High Court on September 30, 2010.

2) The reason for the row between the LBA and the sessions judge was that the latter refused to accommodate the LBA office bearers in the recruitment of Naib Qasids, Junior Clerks, etc. The sessions judge is reputed to be an honest and stern person. His strictness irks

the lawyers. Therefore, the row has lingered with both the parties sticking to their guns. The lawyers of the LBA have continuously protested and observed partial boycott of the courts for the transfer of the sessions judge.

3) The LBA office bearers were hoping that the high court would succumb to their pressure. However, different quarters and groups of lawyers had been briefing the high court on different lines i.e. not to transfer an honest judge. Traditionally, bar associations’ demand to transfer a judge is not turned down. In the case, it was a deviation and defiance from the previous practice, which enraged the lawyers.

4) The attack on the chief justice LHC courtroom on 30th September was not linked and endorsed by majority of lawyers. However, the police action against the lawyers in the Aiwan-e-Adal on 1st October was considered harsh.

5) The issue became politicised when a candidate for the office of the president of Supreme Court Bar Association openly backed the LBA. Similarly, the Khosa group within the Punjab Bar Council has also jumped in to take advantage of the situation. Khurram Khosa, son of Latif Khosa, was seen playing an active role in incidents at the Aiwan-e-Adal, by openly siding with the lawyers.

6) In the wake of the upcoming election of the LBA and the LHC Bar Association, various lawyers groups are trying to take side with the lawyers. The Latif Khosa Group and independent lawyers group are already in the open while Hamid Khan’s professional group is so far pro-chief Justice LHC. However, every group wants to be seen as a great sympathiser of the lawyers’ issue.

7) The lawyers have announced to observe a black day on 4th October to protest against the police action. They may try to file a writ petition and to get a case registered against the high officials of the Lahore Police.

8) In the meanwhile, Lahore Bar Association has passed a resolution, banning the entry of prominent lawyers who have criticised lawyers’ action into the Lahore Bar, Lahore High Court Bar and Punjab Bar. These lawyers include Chaudhry Aitzaz Ahsan, Raja Anwar advocate, Justice (retd) Nasira Javed, Qazi Anwar, Awais Ahmed, Advocate, Ather Minallah, Justice (retd) Tariq Chaudhry, Hamid Khan, Rana Sanaullah advocate, Chief Justice Lahore High Court Khawaja Muhammad Sharif, his son Khawaja Muhammad Bilal and his son-in-law. It is evident that the agitating lawyers are now targeting Lahore High Court Chief Justice Khawaja Muhammd Sharif, his son and son-in-law as part of their main agenda.

9) Similarly, District Bar Association, Multan, has issued a press release, announcing that it will not allow Chief Justice Khawaja Muhammad Sharif to visit the Multan Bar on 04-10-2010. Sheikhupura and Kasur Bar Associations have also expressed the same views. On the other hand, judges of lower judiciary in Multan Division have announced resignations to show solidarity with the chief justice.”

Zardari admits he was trapped, vows to fight on

By Rauf Klasra

ISLAMABAD: President Asif Ali Zardari reportedly dropped a bombshell in the PPP parliamentary party meeting the other night when he made the shocking confession that he was betrayed and trapped by top players of the game in the NRO case.

He told the shocked members that he was given certain assurances in exchange for not defending it before the Supreme Court. A top source said the betrayed president had believed in what he was offered.

Without identifying anyone, Zardari said the “players of the game” did not execute their promise and the cases against him were reopened despite earlier secret assurances. In his concluding remarks after some fiery speeches by his party men, Zardari was said to have told them in his firm style though he was betrayed and trapped but he was not down and would not take any “dictation” from any one and would face the current hostile situation, as he had been doing in the past.

Some top insiders claimed that Mr Zardari opened his heart before his party men first time and shared the top secrets pertaining to his government policy not to defend NRO in the SC last year, which had greatly surprised the media, society and even the lawyers. But finally, a besieged Mr Zardari shared his secret as to why he had asked the law ministry not to take any position in the court during the hearing of NRO case, which had led to unanimous verdict of 17 judges on this controversial law.

The parliamentary party meeting was held in the Presidency with Mr Zardari in the chair. Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani also attended the meeting. Sources said Senator Dr Safdar Abbasi tempted Mr Zardari when he started a heated discussion on the NRO case and clearly told the president that now the PPP government should respect the judiciary as it had missed the bus when it did not defend the NRO in the SC last year.

Dr Safdar Abbasi was the only parliamentarian in the PPP who since challenging of the NRO in the court by Dr Mubashir Hassan had been saying on record that the PPP government should have defended the NRO in the SC. He argued that PPP should give its side of the story and explain those circumstances, which had actually led to promulgation of NRO and how this law had helped even the judges when a democratic government had released them followed by their restoration. But his voice was never given any importance in the PPP circles.

Dr Abbasi once again repeated his old stance in the parliamentary party meeting and lamented that now it was too late to submit a review petition in the SC and challenge the unanimous verdict of the court, as the judges had already collected a lot of documentary and other relevant stuff from NAB against Mr Zardari and others. He argued that the SC had now gathered sufficient proofs to proceed further.

He said had PPP government taken a firm stand in the court, things might have much better for the president and the party today. Dr Abbasi also spoke at length about the poor economy and issue of terrorism, as he believed the government was not doing enough for the poor who formed the backbone of the party.

Sources said after hearing the arguments of Dr Safdar Abbasi, President Zardari surprisingly admitted his mistake, saying the PPP government should have taken a position and defended the NRO in SC.

Mr Zardari further revealed that actually he was “deceived and trapped” by some powerful players of the game, indicating that initially a decision was taken to strongly defend the NRO in the SC. But, he claimed, suddenly some “top guns” gave him some authentic assurances on the basis of which he decided not to defend the NRO in the SC.

He did not reveal who had given him such assurances. But, Mr Zardari told his surprised party colleagues that they need not worry as of now he would not take any dictation from any side and would face all those forces, which were out against him. “I will deal with them as I have been dealing in the past”, one source quoted him as saying.

Meanwhile one inside source said at the time of hearing of NRO case in the SC, a Karachi-based former judge who enjoyed good reputation and was considered to be a credible person had visited the Presidency and secretly met Asif Ali Zardari. In this meeting, the former judge had told Mr Zardari that he should not worry about the Swiss cases, as they were closed transaction.

The former judge advised Mr Zardari to believe in him and should not defend NRO in the court and he assured him that the judges would not open the cases against him.

Mr Zardari later discussed this judge’s advice with his top legal aides and Babar Awan was the only minister who had strongly opposed the idea. Babar Awan had told Mr Zardari that his government should strongly defend NRO in the court with all its power and arguments, instead of leaving the field open for the judges to give any kind of judgment against him.

But Awan’s advice was ignored as Zardari tended to believe in the so-called assurance given by the former judge, who had also taken some drafts with him to convince Zardari how it was in his own benefit not to defend the controversial law promulgated by a military dictator.

When the NRO verdict came Zardari had the shock of his life when he came to know that SC had ordered reopening of cases against him including the Swiss cases, which were closed a year ago. Zardari was said to have commented after reading the explosive contents of NRO judgment that a former judge had clearly used his credibility to trap him.

Meanwhile, sources said, PM Gilani also told the party men that the PPP government had a lot of respect for the judiciary but his government would continue to give its own point of view on all those issues which were being heard in the court.

Later Babar Awan briefed the parliamentary party members about the current issues concerning the NRO cases against the President. Prime Minister Gilani also told the parliamentary party members that the former minister of state for defence production Abdul Qayyum Jatoi himself had realised his mistake and had offered to resign, which he had accepted. PM Gilani said Jatoi said wrong things about the army and Chief Justice of Pakistan Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhary.

Qayyum Jatoi also spoke on the occasion and said he had said what he believed in because his party leadership was being constantly targeted and he could not tolerate all this nonsense. He said when others attacked his party and its leaders he would defend them. Earlier about ten PPP MNAs showered their unstoppable praise on the person of Mr Asif Ali Zardari and paid rich tributes to his leadership qualities.

India Desperate For A Photo Op, Pakistan Shouldn’t Give It

New Delhi wants to use the meeting to demoralize Kashmiris. A desperate India is cooking up a ruse, again.

By AHMED QURAISHI
Sunday, 26 September 2010.
WWW.PAKNATIONALISTS.COM

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan - A joint photograph of Pakistan’s foreign minister with his Indian counterpart in New York could do wonders on the pro-freedom demonstrators in Indian-occupied Kashmir, Indian officials have concluded.

India is desperate in Kashmir and is hoping that a joint photograph of Indian and Pakistani foreign ministers in New York would prove a damper for the Kashmiri demonstrators, showing them Pakistan is ‘onboard’ with India’s handling of the killings in the disputed region.

This is why the Indian government is using every India-sympathizer in Washington and inside the Obama administration to convince Pakistan to send its foreign minister to shake hands with India’s S. M. Krishna for the cameras.

Would Pakistan do it?

The race is certainly on and it seems there are some key figures in Islamabad who wouldn’t mind obliging the Indians and the Americans.

Early morning today a frantic text message reached Dr. Shireen M. Mazari, the editor of Pakistan’s The Nation daily newspaper. The message was simple:

“[President] Zardari & [Pakistan envoy to Washington Husain] Haqqani are desperately arranging for [Pakistani foreign minister] Shah Mehmood Qureshi to meet Indian foreign minister without agenda & without concrete Indian commitment to talks. Shah Mehmood is reluctant but US is pressurizing to give Indians chance to show Kashmiris that Pakistan is on board.”

Strangely, the message didn’t mention the name of Abdullah Haroon, an India-enthusiast appointed by Mr. Zardari as Pakistan’s envoy to the UN.

Dr. Mazari came on television by midday to break the news on a television channel owned by her newspaper.

If the move succeeds, India will walk away with an important psychological achievement at a crucial time, while Pakistan won’t get much, as usual.

The Indian desperation for this photo-op can be judged from the diplomatic moves India has initiated in the last five days to lure Pakistan into a meeting.

To ensure Pakistan falls for the trap, Indian officials have been generously mentioning ‘Kashmir’ and ‘Pakistan’ in the same sentence, creating the right atmospherics for jubilation in some Pakistani circles ['Wow, India is conceding its position on Kashmir …'].

But a careful look at these statements shows a desperate India cooking up a ruse:

1. NIRUPAMA RAO: The India foreign secretary was apparently the first to be tasked with luring Pakistan into a photo-op in New York. She issued a misleading statement in Boston, US, saying India is ready to discuss ‘all outstanding issues’ with Pakistan ‘including Kashmir.’ Unfortunately, much of the Pakistani and world media ignored the remainder of her statement. Buried somewhere else in her media interaction was the line, “It is an internal affair because it (Kashmir) is an integral part of India.” So, is India discussing Kashmir or not? Ms. Rao’s next line explains it all: “The issue of Jammu & Kashmir comes up in our relationship with Pakistan and we’ve said very clearly, very confidently and very transparently that we are prepared to discuss all outstanding issues with Pakistan.” What India’s second most senior diplomat is saying is that ‘Kashmir does come up in our bilateral relationship’ with Pakistan in the form of the so-called cross-border terrorism and Pakistani meddling in Kashmir. The choice of words is careful not to indicate any concession to Pakistan.
2. S. M. KRISHNA: Her boss, the foreign minister, has reiterated over the weekend that Pakistan can’t force India to discuss Kashmir in future talks because his country won’t accept ‘preconditions’, which means another round of endless talks where India will keep delaying Kashmir while insisting on discussing nonissues such as trade and cultural exchanges.
3. S. M. KRISHNA: In a classic sign of Indian desperation, Mr. Krishna couldn’t wait a day to throw coldwater on the feel-good effect of his number two’s statement when he childishly advised Pakistan to ‘stay out of Kashmir’ and vacate ‘its side of Kashmir’ before ‘lecturing’ Indian on what to do in Indian-occupied Kashmir.

These statements underline how desperate India is this time on Kashmir. If Pakistan goes full throttle now and demands international intervention to stop Indian state-sponsored Kashmir genocide, New Delhi can’t cry foul. It can’t say Pakistan is feeding the insurgency, not when thousands of Kashmiris have shown they want Indian occupiers out. Nor can India’s usual supporters in Washington and London cover up the clear signs of Indian genocide in Kashmir.

Pakistan and the Kashmiris have India by the tail this time. Whatever Islamabad does, it shouldn’t grant India a photo-opportunity so it could use it to demoralize Kashmiri demonstrators.

Kerosene and diesel prices increased

ISLAMABAD: The Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (Ogra) increased on Tuesday prices of three petroleum products – kerosene, high speed diesel and light diesel oil – by up to 2.2 per cent and reduced by 0.7 per cent the prices of petrol and high octane blending component (HOBC).

The motor spirit (MS) price has been reduced by 0.7 per cent or 48 paisa per unit to Rs67.26 per litre from Rs67.74. – File Photo

As part of the monthly price adjustment, Ogra said the revision in petroleum prices was necessitated by changes in the Arab Gulf petroleum prices during August.

As a result, the price of kerosene has been increased by 1.1 per cent or 72 paisa per litre to Rs65.57 from Rs64.85

Likewise, the per litre price of light diesel oil has been increased by 2.2 per cent or Rs1.32 per litre to Rs62.67 from Rs61.35 per litre.

Similarly, the price of high speed diesel has been jacked up to Rs74.60 per litre from Rs73.03, an increase of Rs1.57 or about 2.2 per cent.

On the other hand, the motor spirit (MS) price has been reduced by 0.7 per cent or 48 paisa per unit to Rs67.26 per litre from Rs67.74.

The price of HOBC has also been reduced by 0.6 per cent or 49 paisa per unit to Rs79.85 per litre.

PML-N seeks army, govt’s response to MQM remarks

By Amir Wasim

ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Muslim League-N has urged the army to clarify its position on the appeal made by MQM chief Altaf Hussain to ‘patriotic generals’ to take ‘martial law-like action against corrupt politicians’.

It will be in the interest of the army if it stayed away from politics: Chaudhry Nisar.

“Ask ISPR (army’s public relations department) to make a comment on it. I personally believe that the army should present its viewpoint,” Chaudhry Nisar, Leader of Opposition in National Assembly, said in reply to a question at a press conference on Saturday.

Chaudhry Nisar said it would be in the interest of the army if it stayed away from politics. “Please, let the army do its job. It is in the interest of the army, country and all institutions as Pakistan’s future lies in democracy. Today, when they (army) have returned to their original work, don’t distract them.”

The opposition leader said the federal government’s silence, too, was surprising considering that the Muttahida chief was actually talking about the rulers’ corruption.

The PML-N has already submitted a privilege motion to the National Assembly secretariat in condemnation of Mr Hussain’s remarks.

Like the MQM, he added, the PML-N was concerned over corruption, but the party favoured accountability through parliament.

Chaudhry Nisar accused the Muttahida chief of “trying to divide the army and make it controversial” at a time when soldiers were busy in the war against terrorism.

In the past, Chaudhry Nisar recalled, the MQM was always critical of Rangers and the army’s role and raised “anti-army slogans” when Gen Asif Nawaz, Gen Jehangir Karamat and Gen Waheed Kakar were army chiefs. “However, when Gen Musharraf hid their misdeeds, the army became dear to the MQM,” he said.

The opposition leader criticised the MQM for keeping silent when “its favourite army chief (an allusion to Gen Musharraf) made those people minister who had been facing corruption charges and were under the custody of National Accountability Bureau which was under the total control of the army”.

“Why did you not question Gen Musharraf when he released NAB-affected people from jails and made them your colleagues in the cabinet?” the PML-N leader asked.

Commenting on Mr Hussain’s controversial remarks, the PML-N leader reminded the MQM leadership that it was the army that had ‘exposed its style of politics based on murder and extortion”.

He threatened to present the record of army about the MQM in parliament if it did not stop personal attacks on the PML-N leadership.

Malik’s claim raises then dashed hopes

By Ahmad Noorani

ISLAMABAD: Panicked members of the families of the Airblue aircraft, which crashed at the Margallas, were given some ray of hope when Interior Minister Rahman Malik claimed that five passengers had survived, which triggered a mad rush to identify them.

Almost each and every family whose near and dear one was on board started a storm of telephone calls to all the inquiry numbers of the hospitals, airlines, Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), National Crisis Management Cell and media offices to know the details of these five survivors.

The answer from all the numbers was the same: “We have no information whatsoever regarding any injured survivor”. Some attendants watching live telecast even have told the heirs that so far the remains of the plane were burning and no one could reach the spot even though helicopters were circling on top of the crash site.

The plane crashed at about 9:45 am and the news was broken by the media within 10 minutes. Within an hour, when there still was fire all around and rescue teams had not reached the spot, Rahman Malik came on the media and made a thrilling announcement that five injured persons had been recovered from the spot.

The announcement was a big shock for the Islamabad administration, which was trying to reach the crash spot to start the rescue work. Chairman CDA, Commissioner Islamabad and IGP Islamabad were stunned at what their boss had said.

Deputy Commissioner, Islamabad, Amir Ali Ahmad, who was monitoring the rescue activities on the ground while talking to Geo News after about two hours of Rehman Malik’s statement said that he had no information whatsoever regarding any injured passenger.

Muhammad Ajmal Khan, a resident of a village of Chiniot, was coming back from Karachi after attending a course conducted by the National Bank of Pakistan (NBP). Friends of Ajmal Khan after confirming that he was on board contacted different offices including The News for verifying whether Ajmal was among the injured or not.

Inquiry numbers and hospital media officers told this correspondent that numerous calls had come to check who the survivors were.

It was after about five hours that interior minister realised the implications of his statement and took his words back, announcing that all the passengers on board were dead.

Media observers recalled that the minister had issued such claims several times in the past when major terrorist attacks had occurred. After the deadly Marriott Hotel bombing in Islamabad, Malik said his people had found a very important part of the engine through which they would identify the owner of the vehicle. Later, it turned out that no such engine part was found.

HEC chairman has full faith in God

Says he does not feel threatened

By Ansar Abbasi

ISLAMABAD: The Chairman of the Higher Education Commission (HEC), Prof Javed Leghari, has resolved to perform his duty of degrees verification of parliamentarians without any fear or favour and says he does not feel threatened as he has full faith in God.

The highly qualified professor, who resigned on July 21, 2009 from the Senate under mysterious circumstances, was given the Senate seat by the late Benazir Bhutto in 2006 and was appointed the head of Szabist (Shaheed Zulfikar Ali Bhutto Institute of Science and Technology), the well-reputed educational institution of international standards.

At the time of his resignation from the Senate, PPP leader Dr Safdar Abbasi, while paying tributes to Prof Leghari, had felt something fishy in his resignation. “I do not want to go into speculations behind the resignation of Javed Leghari,” Abbasi had said at that time recalling that PPP Chairperson Benazir Bhutto had herself brought Javed Leghari to the Upper House.

There were strong speculations that President Asif Ali Zardari did not like him and it was proved when he gave the post of Szabist to his sister Faryal Talpur while his Senate seat was given to Shaukat Tareen first and to Hafiz Sheikh recently, both joining the top post in the Finance Ministry.

Prof Javaid Leghari is an academic, an aerospace scientist and an electrical engineer, and has been the Director of Graduate Studies and tenured professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering at the State University of New York in Buffalo. He specialises in Energy and Power, Higher Education, Information Technology, Space Power Technology and Leadership, and has published over 120 research papers in refereed journals and presented over 70 papers at international conferences. He also sponsored research for the Nasa, the USAF and the US Navy.

“I have fear of Almighty Allah alone and none else,” Leghari told The News here on Tuesday within hours after his brother, who despite being a senior government servant, was picked up on Monday from Hyderabad in a cloak and dagger style and remained missing, but was later produced in a court by the anti-corruption authorities.

Leghari said he had talked to the Sindh Anti-corruption Department chairman, who told him that the department had no case against his brother, who was handed over to them on Tuesday morning. Javed Leghari’s younger brother was picked up on Monday apparently to pressurise the HEC chairman to stop the verification of parliamentarians’ degrees.

Leghari, while quoting media reports, said the Sindh chief secretary also expressed his ignorance about the arrest of his brother, arguing that under the law, a gazetted officer could only be arrested on corruption charges only after the approval of a committee headed by the provincial chief secretary.

He said his brother was picked up on Monday when nobody, including the Sindh Anti-Corruption Department, confirmed the arrest of Farooq Leghari. Interestingly, Farooq Leghari has been charged of corruption in the Revenue Department during his stint as the Tando Muhammad Khan District Coordination Officer (DCO), the position he left some two years back.

Javed Leghari told The News on Monday that only a week back, Sindh Chief Minister Qaim Ali Shah had assured him that his brother would be soon appointed as the director general of the Hyderabad Development Authority.

When asked if he feels threatened after the maltreatment of his brother, Leghari said in a categorical and confident tone: “I don’t feel threatened, so I go around freely.” He said because of his complete faith in God, he could not be browbeaten by anyone and was therefore determined to honestly and sincerely perform his functions as the chairman of the HEC.

Javed Leghari said the process of verification of the parliamentarians’ degrees is in full swing and even on Tuesday he remained busy holding meetings with his officials to review the situation. He said the deadline of July 13 was given to all the universities concerned to verify the degrees sent to them, but not all universities had responded as yet. So the process may take some more time.

About the verification of the post-graduation and doctorate degrees of parliamentarians, he said the HEC was not in a position to take such a decision but was bound to verify whatever was sent to the commission by the Election Commission of Pakistan.

The ECP was recently directed by the apex court through a court judgment that all documents/degrees of parliamentarians should be referred to the HEC for verification and the cases of those parliamentarians who were found to have fake degrees should be referred to the district and sessions judges concerned for trial under the offence carrying three-year imprisonment.