31 may 2012 osint pakistan tracker

7/31/2019 31 may 2012 osint pakistan tracker

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TheCENTCOM This OSINT publication contains foreign mediaderived entirely from open sources in andaround the CENTCOM AOR.

OSINT Phone #: 813.827.1441 - Email: [email protected]

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31 May 201

NEWS

Dr. Shakeel Afridi Jailed for Helping LI, not CIA: Daily TimesDr. Shakeel Afridi, who helped the United States find Osama bin Laden, was imprisoned because of his close tiesto the banned terrorist group Lashkar-e-Islam and not for his links to the CIA, as Pakistani officials had said,according to a court document. (Source: Lahore, Pakistan; Independent; Critical of Radical Elements)

Quetta Police Seize 2,000kg of Explosives: Daily TimesPolice claimed to have arrested seven suspects, including three Afghans, and seized a huge cache of explosivesfrom Kuchlak on Wednesday. Police said they had seized 2,000kg of explosives, 110 landmines, 2,980 detonators,6,800 remote-control systems, 11 double-battery devices, 11 walky-talky sets and batteries, 3,000 meters of wireand 3,200 kg of potassium. (Source: Lahore, Pakistan; Independent; Critical of Radical Elements)

Pak-Russia Agree to Work Closely for Afghan Peace: Daily TimesRussian Special Envoy to Afghanistan and Pakistan Zamir Kaulov and US Ambassador Cameron Munter onWednesday held separate meetings with Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar. (Source: Lahore, Pakistan;Independent; Critical of Radical Elements)

Pakistan Navys Annual Safety Review Held: Daily TimesPakistan Navy Annual Safety Review for the year 2011 was held at Bahria Auditorium here on Wednesday. Chief ofthe Naval Staff, Admiral Mohammad Asif Sandila, was the chief guest on the occasion. (Source: Lahore,Pakistan; Independent; Critical of Radical Elements)

Subsidies for Most Sectors Likely to be Reduced: Dawn NewsThe economic mangers have decided to cut down subsidies in the next budget on a majority of sectors in a bid toreduce budgetary constraints. However, subsidy to the power sector has been proposed to be raised. (Source:Karachi, Pakistan; Anti-Military Rule)

ISPR Rejects Reports of US Military Trainers Returning: Dawn NewsThe Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) on Thursday rejected reports stating that United States military trainerswere returning to Pakistan, Dawn News reported. (Source: Karachi, Pakistan; Anti-Military Rule)

Pakistan Conducts Fourth Missile Test in a Month: Dawn NewsPakistan on Thursday tested a fourth nuclear-capable cruise missile since India launched a new long-rangeweapon capable of hitting China last month. The Hatf VIII air cruise missile has a range of 350 kilometers (220miles) and can carry conventional warheads, the military said. (Source: Karachi, Pakistan; Anti-Military Rule)

Top Pentagon Official Returning to Lead Talks with Pakistan: Dawn NewsUS Assistant Defense Secretary Peter Levoy is returning to Islamabad next week to lead the American team whichis negotiating a resolution to the NATO routes dispute with Pakistan, diplomatic sources told Dawn. (Source:

Karachi, Pakistan; Anti-Military Rule)

MQMs Politics of Hatred must be Thwarted: Magsi: The NationSindhi nationalist leader and chief of Sindh Taraqi Passand Party, Dr. Qadir Magsi has appealed to Urdu-speakingpeople to come forward against the MQMs politics of hatred and reject the slogans of division of Sindh. (Source:Islamabad, Conservative, Part of the Nawa-i-Waqt publishing group)

Panel to Grill Sleuths Becomes a Reality: The Nation


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President Asif Ali Zardari Wednesday signed into law the National Commission for Human Rights Bill 2012,handing ample powers to a to-be-formed civilian entity to grill military and intelligence organizations over allegedrights abuses. (Source: Islamabad, Conservative, Part of the Nawa-i-Waqt publishing group)

China Throws Weight behind Pakistan: The NationReiterating promotion of bilateral cooperation with Pakistan in defense and other sectors, China has said thatPakistan Army has given enormous sacrifices in the war against terrorism which should be acknowledged by theworld. (Source: Islamabad, Conservative, Part of the Nawa-i-Waqt publishing group)

Munter, Khar Discuss Afghan Troops Pullout: The NationUS Ambassador to Pakistan Cameron Munter called on Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar on Wednesday.Foreign Office spokesman told the media that they discussed issued related to bilateral relations, resumption ofNATO supplies and regional situation, especially in Afghanistan. (Source: Islamabad, Conservative, Part of theNawa-i-Waqt publishing group)

Govt should Cut Defense Expenditures: Farooq: Pak TribuneFederal Minister for Overseas Pakistanis Dr. Farooq Sattar has said that the government would have to cut defenseexpenditures in the budget for the welfare of the people. (Source: Pakistan, Independent, neutral)

Govt Opens Wallet to Arrest Power Crisis: Pak TribunePrime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani on Wednesday directed the Finance Ministry to urgently release Rs 1.5 billion toWAPDA to settle the remaining claims of the independent power producers (IPPs). (Source: Pakistan,Independent, neutral)

Afghan Taliban say Haqqani not Dead: Pak TribuneAfghan Taliban on Wednesday said Jalaluddin Haqqani, commander of the Haqqani Network, was not dead. In amessage, Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid said, "We strongly reject the report that senior member of our

leadership council and veteran jihadi figure Jalaluddin Haqqani was dead." (Source: Pakistan, Independent,neutral)

SC Gives Malik Last Chance to Prove he is not British: Pak TribuneThe Supreme Court on Wednesday rejected Interior Minister Rehman Malik's testimonials regarding his dualcitizenship and gave him time until June 4 to prove renunciation of his UK citizenship. (Source: Pakistan,Independent, neutral)

EDITORIALS

EDITORIAL: Political Solution to Balochistan Conundrum: Daily TimesThe high level meeting chaired by Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani on Tuesday saw COAS General AshfaqParvez Kayani holding out a solemn assurance that the personnel of the armed forces and Frontier Corps (FC)

would carry out their tasks within the ambit of the law. (Source: Lahore, Pakistan; Independent; Critical ofRadical Elements)

SECOND EDITORIAL: Why a Sudden Change of Tack?: Daily TimesDr. Afridi was sentenced to 33 years imprisonment and fined Rs 320,000 by a tribal area court in Khyber Agency afortnight back. (Source: Lahore, Pakistan; Independent; Critical of Radical Elements)

COMMENT: Dual Citizenship and Dual Standards: Daily TimesThe bench thus assumed erroneously that by taking the US oath of allegiance, a Pakistani citizen automaticallyabjures his/her Pakistani nationality. Dual citizenship has been normalized as an incident of globalization.


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Nonetheless, some states will continue to obstruct individuals from holding the status. (Source: Lahore, Pakistan;Independent; Critical of Radical Elements)

VIEW: The Rookie Chairman: Daily TimesBilawal may be young and inexperienced, but so far, he speaks of the values and ideals that his slain mother hadonce embodied. (Source: Lahore, Pakistan; Independent; Critical of Radical Elements)

VIEW: Communication Gap between Allah and Muslims: Daily TimesInstead of repelling people by forcing Islam down their throats, a better idea would be to let it grow on othersthrough its manifestation as prescribed in the Quran. (Source: Lahore, Pakistan; Independent; Critical ofRadical Elements)

VIEW: The Son: Daily TimesOn December 30, 2007, as in a repeat performance of almost two decades ago, another party chairperson ischosen. The resemblance is too eerie, too uncanny to elicit even one coherent comment. (Source: Lahore,Pakistan; Independent; Critical of Radical Elements)

ANALYSIS: Whats in a Name?: Daily TimesNegative advertising is about turning an opponents strengths into political weaknesses and disadvantages.Language is quite a remarkable reflection of society and its attitudes. (Source: Lahore, Pakistan; Independent;Critical of Radical Elements)

Supporting Documentation:

NEWS (Top)

31 May 2012Daily TimesDr Shakeel Afridi Jailed for Helping LI, Not CIAPESHAWAR: Dr. Shakeel Afridi, who helped the United States find Osama bin Laden, was imprisoned because ofhis close ties to the banned terrorist group Lashkar-e-Islam and not for his links to the CIA, as Pakistani officialshad said, according to a court document.

The judgment document was made available to the media on Wednesday. It is unclear why Pakistani officials firstsaid Afridi was jailed over his links to the CIA. The government may have wanted to show a largely anti-Americanpublic that Pakistan will not tolerate any cooperation with the US spy agency, especially at a time of troubledrelations with Washington. While the document said there was evidence that Afridi has been shown acting withother foreign intelligence agencies, it noted the court in Khyber had no jurisdiction to act on that. But the courtrecommended that the evidence may be produced before an appropriate court for further proceedings.

One of the doctors lawyers, Samiullah Afridi, was baffled after reading the verdict, which he also received onWednesday. These charges against him are very different from the ones we were told earlier, he told Reuters.

Meanwhile, authorities on Wednesday said they feared that Afridi could be killed and demanded he be transferredto a more secure prison.

The doctor is being held in the central jail in Peshawar, where Taliban and other terrorists are being held on terrorcharges. We have requested the federal government to move Doctor Shakeel Afridi from Peshawar to another jail.We fear he could be attacked, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Information Minister Mian Iftikhar Hussain told AFP. There


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are more than 3,000 prisoners here and 250 of them are incarcerated on terror charges. These diehard terroristscould attack Afridi, he said.

31 May 2012Daily TimesQuetta Police Seize 2,000kg of ExplosivesQUETTA: Police claimed to have arrested seven suspects, including three Afghans, and seized a huge cache ofexplosives from Kuchlak on Wednesday. Police said they had seized 2,000kg of explosives, 110 landmines, 2,980detonators, 6,800 remote-control systems, 11 double-battery devices, 11 walky-talky sets and batteries, 3,000meters of wire and 3,200 kg of potassium.

Capital City Police Officer (CCPO) Mir Zubair Mehmood told reporters two vehicles packed with explosives were enroute to Quetta from Zhob when the New Kuchlak police intercepted them near Bostan Phatak. Those arrestedinclude three Afghan nationals Muhammad Khan, Rafiullah and Abdul Hakeem. The other four accused wereidentified as Mehmood Khan and Hazebullah, residents of Bostan; and Rehmatullah and Mira Jan, residents ofKharotabad. The CCPO said the suspects wanted to smuggle the explosives to Quetta.

Police have registered cases and started investigation. It is a big achievement, the CCPO said, adding that theaccused were being interrogated and important disclosures were expected during the probe. He said that it had notbeen known to which terror outfit the suspects belonged. Investigation is underway and police will inform the mediaabout any development, he also said. Mehmood said the terrorists could have made over 2,000 bombs from theseexplosive materials if they had smuggled these to Quetta.

31 May 2012Daily Times

Pak-Russia Agree to Work Closely for Afghan PeaceISLAMABAD: Russian Special Envoy to Afghanistan and Pakistan Zamir Kaulov and US Ambassador CameronMunter on Wednesday held separate meetings with Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar.

They held in-depth discussions on a range of bilateral issues as well as the situation in Afghanistan. The foreignminister noted that the process that the leadership of the two countries had initiated in recent years had turned anew page in bilateral relations, a Foreign Office (FO) spokesman said.

FM Khar underlined the importance of sustaining this upward trajectory. She also underscored the importancePakistan attached to cooperating closely with Russia on the issue of stability, peace and security in the region andto enhance bilateral consultations and cooperation between the two countries in this regard.

Sources in the FO said that the Russian envoy and the Pakistani side held consultative meetings with specific

reference to the Afghan issue and regional situation.

Sources also said that understanding between Russia and Pakistan on the regional issues has been developing forthe last few years and the consultation aimed at further enhancing convergence on Afghanistan and peace in theregion.

Earlier, the special representative had a detailed meeting with Foreign Secretary Jalil Abbas Jilani.

The two had extensive and constructive discussions on a range of bilateral issues and exchanged views onimportant regional and international issues of mutual interest. They noted that there was a consensus among the


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leadership on improving bilateral ties and boosting cooperation for regional peace and stability. They also notedthat there was a strategic convergence of views on major issues and underlined the importance of intensifying thepolitical and security dialogue between the two countries.

Analysts maintain that the visits of Chinese foreign minister and the Russian envoy are meaningful and consultationamong the regional countries is essential for peace and stability in the region.

These days Central Asian countries are being used for NATO supplies as supply via Pakistan was suspended afterNovembers NATO attack on Salala killing 24 Pakistani soldiers.

Being the neighboring countries of Afghanistan and Central Asia, the two regional countries are aware of theirimportance of their role in the region, the sources said, adding, The two sides consider consultation as importantfor peace.

Separately, Ambassador Kabulov also called on the prime minister and briefed him on Pak-Russia bilateralrelations as well as the Russian position on Afghanistan.

Meanwhile, Cameron Munter, who returned to Pakistan due to tough talks on reopening NATO supplies and Pak-US ties, also called on Khar in the Foreign Office.

Both sides exchanged views on current status of bilateral relations and follow-up of the Chicago summit, includingsituation in Afghanistan, the FO stated.

The foreign minister underscored the need to work together on issues of mutual interest based on the spirit ofpartnership and mutual respect.

Both sides agreed that Pakistan-US relationship is strategically important for two countries and therefore agreed to

work together to achieve shared goals and objectives.

According to officials, the two sides discussed in details the relations between the two countries while focusing onall aspects of the NATO supplys talks going on at technical level.

31 May 2012Daily TimesPakistan Navys Annual Safety Review HeldKARACHI: Pakistan Navy Annual Safety Review for the year 2011 was held at Bahria Auditorium here onWednesday.

Chief of the Naval Staff, Admiral Mohammad Asif Sandila, was the chief guest on the occasion. The safety review

is held every year with an aim to monitor the safety standards at various Pakistan Navy units and to create safetyawareness. Through detailed analysis of past incidents, pertinent lessons are drawn based on which activemeasures are initiated to avoid recurrence.

Addressing the ceremony, Sandila expressed his satisfaction over the positive change of enhanced safety culturewithin Pakistan Navy. The naval chief was assertive of the fact that safety and operational preparedness wereclosely linked to each other. Intrinsically, safety being a state of mind should be an integral part of all organizationsand institutions.


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The naval chief added that though it was practically impossible to eliminate the human factor from daily life, it couldbe minimized through consistent efforts at all levels. He reiterated that we must work upon bringing up a culturewhere one should accept his mistake and let others know not to repeat the same mistake. We must giveconfidence to our men to operate independently with their utmost conviction towards safety adherence and safeworking practices.

Earlier, Commander Pakistan Fleet, Vice Admiral Muhammad Zakaullah, received the chief guest on his arrival atBahria Auditorium. In the end, the chief guest gave away the safety trophies and congratulated all the safetywinners. PNS Badar received trophy in destroyer squadron, while Submarine Hamza was declared winner inSubmarine squadron. The 333 squadron grabbed the trophy in aviation category.

31 May 2012Dawn NewsSubsidies for Most Sectors Likely to be ReducedISLAMABAD: The economic mangers have decided to cut down subsidies in the next budget on a majority ofsectors in a bid to reduce budgetary constraints. However, subsidy to the power sector has been proposed to beraised.

An official of the finance ministry said it had been initially decided that the subsidy on electricity would be increasedto Rs150 billion from around Rs147 billion of the current fiscal year.

He said there were pressures in view of the situation that the power subsidy was being raised. But the governmentwants to keep this figure low and measures are being taken to gradually raise tariff and reduce the subsidy to theminimum.

Most of the subsidies to the power sector are the differential between tariff and the cost of producing electricity

the same segment accounts for subsidy to the KESC, a private entity.

The other main head in terms of subsidy is interest payments on term finance certificates (TFCs) the governmenthas floated to reduce the circular debt. During the current fiscal year, Rs55.70 billion was earmarked for interestpayment on TFCs in the power sector and the amount is expected to be raised to around Rs. 57 billion, whilesubsidy for the differential between the cost of producing electricity and its tariff is expected to be increased by Rs1billion next year.

However, it has been proposed that the government support for non-payment of electricity bills in Fata is likely to bereduced to around Rs6 billion from Rs7 billion in the current fiscal year.

The new budget may keep the subsidy for the food sector unchanged.

The food subsidy mainly given in terms of the Ramazan package will be Rs2 billion, whereas the subsidy for sugarwill remain at Rs4 billion.

However, the country is less likely to face a sugar crisis like the one in 2011, but an official said the sugar subsidycould be used to offset the inflationary impact to be caused by the Ramazan package.

It has been proposed that Rs74 billion should be allocated for wheat operations by Passco. A subsidy of Rs4 billionwill be allocated for Passco to maintain strategic wheat reserve stocks and around Rs 1 billion subsidy has beenproposed to provide wheat and other edible items to Fata and Gilgit-Baltistan at affordable prices.


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The government support for fertilizers, including urea and DAP, has been proposed to be reduced by Rs6 billion toRs20 billion.The conditions in the farm sector appear to be fair this year and the main issue will be the strategic stock to bebuilt to protect urban consumers from hoarders, the official said.

Sources said that various subsidies being given to the oil sector would be reduced to around Rs5 billion from aboutRs8 billion of the current year.

Petroleum Minister Dr. Asim Hussain told Dawn that he was against any subsidy for the petroleum sector by thefederal government, adding that after the NFC award the provinces and federation had 70 and 30 per cent share inGST.

The provinces should come forward to give more relief to the masses in the form of their share of subsidies, hesaid.

31 May 2012Dawn NewsISPR Rejects Reports of US Military Trainers ReturningPESHAWAR: The Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) on Thursday rejected reports stating that United Statesmilitary trainers were returning to Pakistan, Dawn News reported.

The ISPR said news reports saying US military trainers returning to a training site near Peshawar was baseless.ISPR sources said, neither has US military trainers returned to Pakistan nor are they about to.

Several news reports published on Thursday quoted an unnamed American official as saying that fewer than 10 USspecial operations soldiers had been sent to a training site near Peshawar, where they would instruct trainers from

Pakistans Frontier Corps in counter-insurgency warfare.

The number of American military instructors in Pakistan dropped to zero after US aircraft killed 24 Pakistani soldiersin November 2011.

In the past, there had been some 200 to 300 US military personnel stationed in Pakistan, many of them trainingPakistan Special Forces to confront militants.

31 May 2012Dawn NewsPakistan Conducts Fourth Missile Test in a MonthISLAMABAD: Pakistan on Thursday tested a fourth nuclear-capable cruise missile since India launched a new

long-range weapon capable of hitting China last month.

The Hatf VIII air cruise missile has a range of 350 kilometers (220 miles) and can carry conventional warheads, themilitary said.

It described the low altitude, terrain hugging missile with high maneuverability as state of the art with pinpointaccuracy.

On April 20, India successfully test fired the Agni V capable of delivering a one-ton nuclear warhead anywhere inrival China, marking a major advance in its military capabilities.


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India and Pakistan have fought three wars since independence from Britain in 1947. Each has carried out routinemissile tests since both demonstrated nuclear weapons capability in 1998.

Defense analysts say Indias strategic priorities are focusing more on China, while Pakistan is still concerned aboutits eastern neighbor.

31 May 2012Dawn NewsTop Pentagon Official Returning to Lead Talks with PakistanWASHINGTON: US Assistant Defense Secretary Peter Levoy is returning to Islamabad next week to lead theAmerican team which is negotiating a resolution to the NATO routes dispute with Pakistan, diplomatic sources toldDawn.

Mr. Levoy, who looks after Asia and Pacific security affairs at the Pentagon, led the US contingent at an April 26meeting with Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar in Islamabad as well. The US media reported later that Mr. Levoyand his team left the meeting abruptly because of certain remarks made by the foreign minister.

The remarks, according to the media reports, were linked to Pakistans demand for an apology from the UnitedStates over the Nov 26 air raid that killed 24 Pakistani soldiers and prodded Islamabad to close NATO supplyroutes to Afghanistan.

Since then Pakistan has stopped insisting on an apology as a precondition for reopening the routes. Theconcession enabled President Asif Ali Zardari to attend the May 20-21 Nato summit in Chicago but his inability toresolve the route dispute further complicated already tense relations between the two countries.

The two sides resumed their contacts after Mr. Zardari returned home and because of the bitterness created by the

April 26 incident at the Pakistan Foreign Office, this time Islamabad allowed its embassy in Washington to play alead role in the talks.

The two sides are now working on a compromise formula to resolve the supply routes dispute which will require theUnited States to rebuild the highways damaged by NATO convoys.

In return, Pakistan will drastically reduce its demand for an increase in charges for overland deliveries of US militarysupplies to Afghanistan.

31 May 2012The NationMQMs Politics of Hatred Must be Thwarted: Magsi

KARACHI - Sindhi nationalist leader and chief of Sindh Taraqi Passand Party, Dr. Qadir Magsi has appealed toUrdu-speaking people to come forward against the MQMs politics of hatred and reject the slogans of division ofSindh.

Addressing a press conference at Karachi Press Club on Wednesday, he blamed MQM for conspiring to divideSindh through wall-chalking, pasting posters and putting billboards all across the city. He rejected the claim ofMQM, which contradicted allegations of its involvement behind the campaign of Mohajir province. He questionedthat if MQM was not behind the move of Mohajir province than why not its leaders have directed their workers toremove the graffiti from their areas in Karachi. He reminded the hospitality and respect of the indigenous people ofSindh for those who arrived here in 1947 in miserable condition with empty hands.


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Nationalist leader declared that the Urdu-speaking people are not Mohajirs, so they have to call themselves asSindhi. He said that Urdu-speaking enjoying more facilities, perks and development then indigenous peoples of theprovince. Sindh is an indivisible constituent of the country as it is above the administrative unit. Sindh is ourmotherland and its geographical status is sacred for every Sindhi, he declared. He appealed to the Urdu-speakingpeople to come forward and raise their voices against the MQMs politics of divide.

He also appealed to the common Urdu-speaking people to come out on the streets against the few people whoare calling themselves as Mohajir and demanding division of Sindh. Magsi, who is known as a symbol of resistantleader in Sindhs nationalist politics, said that his party believes in nationalism of patriotism for Sindh, and it doesnot believe in ethnicity, race and religion. He further said through his press conference he wants to extend themessage of love and tolerance for the Urdu-speaking people, who believe the Sindh as their motherland. He calledupon the civil society, writers and common Urdu speaking peoples to show strength by voicing against the slogansof divide, being chanted by few people with the support of MQM.

The campaign of Mohajir province is not only against the unity of Sindh but it is a conspiracy against Urdu-speakingpeople, who will suffer more through this nefarious plots of few people, he argued. We will not accept division ofSindh either it is on administrative, ethnicity or development basis, he declared. He warned those people to avoidmaking graffiti and putting billboards for so-called Mohajir province otherwise the peoples of the Sindh will not keepsilent and will wage a war against their nefarious designs. He said that the fight and bloodshed will result in produceinsecure and uncertain future of those, who desiring to divide the Sindh province through campaign of Mohajirprovince.

Nationalist leader came down hard against MQM and PPP, saying that both the parties are conspiring to makebefool their voters through slogans of creation of new provinces. The creation of new provinces will createconstitutional crisis as determination of the ratio of provinces in the upper house, Senate could be resolved throughnew constituent assembly. If new provinces were created and new federation come on surface, the Sindh will notbecome part of it as Sindh was joined Pakistan under an agreement, nationalist leader concluded. Magsi said that

workers of the PPP, MQM and ANP were being recruited in the police, which needs to be depoliticized immediately.

31 May 2012The NationPanel to Grill Sleuths Becomes a Reality

Unclassified


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ISLAMABAD/KARACHI President Asif Ali Zardari Wednesday signed into law the National Commission forHuman Rights Bill 2012, handing ample powers to a to-be-formed civilian entity to grill military and intelligenceorganizations over alleged rights abuses.

The bill was signed at a special ceremony at Bilawal House, Karachi that was attended by Sindh Chief MinisterSyed Qaim Ali Shah, Federal Ministers Rehman Malik and Moula Bakhsh Chandio, Adviser to Prime Minister onHuman Rights Mustafa Nawaz Khokhar, provincial ministers and senior federal and provincial government officials.This development has evoked a mixed reaction from security and legal circles as some analysts believed the lawcould invite gratuitous civilian interference into the work of security and intelligence agencies, scuttling theircapability to effectively discharge their national duty and leading them to demoralization.

Some legal circles also expressed their reservations over the role of foreign nations in providing financialassistance to the commission, which, they believed, would increase indirect foreign interference in bid to bashingPakistans military as well as its national intelligence agencies.

However, there are others who support the PPP-led ruling alliance over the commission and are dubbing it as alandmark development.

Today Pakistan has fulfilled a core requirement of the two-decade-old Paris Declaration calling upon the states toset up independent human rights commissions that was reiterated by the United Nations in 2008 soon after thepresent government took office, Presidential Spokesperson Farhatullah Babar told the media in Karachi.

An international commitment outstanding for the past nearly quarter of a century has been fulfilled today. It is nomean achievement considering the fact that Pakistan is fighting war against militancy and complaints of humanrights violations have been surfacing.

Elaborating the points in the Bill, he said the Commission, headquartered in Islamabad, would consist of ten

members including Chairperson and a member each from the four provinces, Fata and Islamabad Capital Territory,minority communities and the Chairperson of the National Commission on the Status of Women and at least twoshall be the women members in this Commission.

A person shall be eligible for appointment as Chairperson, who has been, or is qualified to be, a judge of theSupreme Court or a person having demonstrable knowledge of, or practical knowledge of, or practical experiencein, matters relating to human rights. Similarly a member shall not be less than forty years of age and shall haveknowledge and experience relating to human rights. The Chairperson and members shall hold the office for a termof four years that may be extended once.

According to the law, the Federal Government shall invite suggestions for suitable persons for appointment asChairperson and members of the Commission and, after proper scrutiny, shall submit a list of these persons to thePrime Minister and the Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly.

It says the Prime Minister shall, in consultation with the Leader of Opposition in the National Assembly, forwardthree names for each post to a Parliamentary Committee for hearing and confirmation of any one person for eachpost. In case there is no consensus between the Prime Minister and the Leader of the Opposition, each shallforward separate lists to the bi-partisan and bicameral Parliamentary Committee who in turn shall approve thenominations and forward them to the President for appointment.

The Law says the Chairperson and the member may be removed from office on the grounds and in the mannerprovided for in Article 209 of the Constitution.


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The Commission would perform its functions either taking suo moto or on a petition presented to it by a victim orany person on his behalf for violation of human right or abetment thereof and the negligence in the prevention ofsuch violation, by a public servant. It can intervene in any proceeding involving any allegation of violation of humanrights pending before a court by making application for becoming a party to the proceeding before the court.

The Commission or any person authorized by it may visit any jail, place of detention or any other institution or placeunder the control of the Government or its agencies, where convicts, under trial prisoners, detainees or otherperson are lodged or detained for purposes of ascertaining the legality of their detention as well as to find outwhether the provisions of the applicable laws or other provision relating to the inmates living conditions and theirother rights are being complied with.

It would review the safeguards provided by or under the Constitution or any other law for the time being in force forthe protection of human rights and recommend adoption of new legislation, the amendment of existing law andadoption or amendment of administrative measures for their effective implementation. It would also review thefactors, including acts of terrorism that inhibit the enjoyment of human rights and recommend appropriate remedialmeasures. The Commission would undertake and promote research in the field of human rights, maintain databaseon the complaints and development of human rights norms.

The Commission would also spread human rights literacy among various section of society and promoteawareness of the safeguards available for the protection of these rights through publications, print and electronicmedia, seminars and other available means in all major languages of the country.

The Commission would submit independent reports to the Government on the state of human rights in Pakistan forincorporation in reports to United Nations bodies or committees. It would also develop a national plan of action forthe promotion and protection of human rights.

The law says that the when the inquiry of Commission discloses the violation of human rights, it would recommend

the action and interim relief to the victim to the Government or authority concerned.

The Commission would have all the powers of a Civil Court trying a suit under the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908(Act V of 1908). It may call for information or report in cases of human rights form Government or its organization.

While dealing with the human rights violation cases involving the members of the armed forces, the Commissionmay either on its own motion or on receipt of a petition seeks a report from the Federal Government. In case acomplaint against intelligence agencies is made, the Commission would refer the complaint to the competentauthority concerned.

The Law states that the Commission would have complete financial and administrative independence.

The Federal Government would specify a Court of Session to be a Human Rights Court for Islamabad Capital

Territory and appoint an advocate on the recommendation of the Commission for the purpose of speedy trial ofcases relating to human rights in that Court.

There shall be established a National Commission for Human Rights Fund under the Commission whose sourceswould include contribution from the Federal Government, grants, endowment and income there from etc. TheCommission may from time to time accept unconditional grants or contributions from donors and non-governmentalorganization in a transparent manner with approval from the Federal Government. The Fund would be audited bythe Auditor General of Pakistan, the law says.


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The Commission would prepare its Annual and Special Reports and present them to the Federal Governmentwhich would be laid before the Majlis-e-Shoora (Parliament), by the Government along with a Memorandumindicating the action taken or proposed to be taken on the recommendation of the Commission and reasons fornon-implementation of the recommendations, if any.

The Spokesperson said that law signed today was first introduced as bill in the National Assembly in 2008 andpassed by the Parliament this year.

The Adviser on Human Rights who was present at the signing ceremony will now formally write to the SpeakerNational Assembly urging her to form the Parliamentary Committee for hearings and confirmation in each of theposts in the Commission the names for which will be forwarded to it by the Prime Minister in consultation with theLeader of the Opposition in the National Assembly in accordance with the new law.

He said that out of the nine core international human rights treaties Pakistan has already signed seven coretreaties. Discussions and consultations are going on in respect of the remaining two core treaties relating toenforced disappearances and a labor related treaty. Discussion on a resolution urging the government to sign theconvention on preventing enforced disappearances has already commenced in the last session of the Senate andwill be taken up at the next Private Members Day in the upper House under the Rules, he said.

31 May 2012The NationChina Throws Weight behind PakistanISLAMABAD Reiterating promotion of bilateral cooperation with Pakistan in defense and other sectors, China hassaid that Pakistan Army has given enormous sacrifices in the war against terrorism which should be acknowledgedby the world.

This affirmation came from Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi, who led a delegation to meet Chief of Army StaffGeneral Ashfaq Parvez Kayani at General Headquarters in Rawalpindi on Wednesday.

The visiting dignitaries remained with the army chief for some time and discussed matters of mutual interest, a briefstatement issued by the ISPR said.

Agencies add: Sources told Online that they talked about regional situation, war against terror, Pak-China defensecooperation, projects being carried out in Pakistan with Chinese cooperation and the security of Chinese engineersworking on these projects.

Sources said that the Chinese minister said on the occasion that Pakistan and its army have given enormoussacrifices to stamp out terrorism and these sacrifices should be acknowledged by the world. COAS Kayani saidPakistan would continue to work for regional peace and it wanted to see neighboring Afghanistan as a prosperous

and stable state.

31 May 2012The NationMunter, Khar Discuss Afghan Troops PulloutISLAMABAD - US Ambassador to Pakistan Cameron Munter called on Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar onWednesday. Foreign Office spokesman told the media that they discussed issued related to bilateral relations,resumption of NATO supplies and regional situation, especially in Afghanistan.


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The spokesman said that the foreign minister and the US envoy also discussed the situation in the face of troopsdrawdown from Afghanistan.

Relations between Washington and Islamabad further strained as a Pakistani tribal court handed down 33-year jailterm to CIA agent Dr. Shakil Afridi, who helped US trace Osama bin Laden in Abbottabad.

Chinese foreign minister on Tuesday came to Pakistan and called upon the world powers to recognize Pakistanssacrifices during war against terrorism.

31 May 2012Pak TribuneGovt should Cut Defense Expenditures: FarooqLAHORE: Federal Minister for Overseas Pakistanis Dr Farooq Sattar has said that the government would have tocut defense expenditures in the budget for the welfare of the people.

He was speaking at the Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry on Wednesday. Farooq Sattar said that thecountry at the moment was facing serious crises of which economic problem was on top. Therefore, thegovernment would have to present a welfare budget otherwise the survival of the country was at stake. He said thatthe economic recovery was direly needed and the government should also take measures to sustain it. "We wouldhave to bring down the cost of doing business for making Pakistani goods competitive in the world market wherethey have lost their due place," he added.

He said that the provision of relief to the common man was the need of the hour and it was only possible if thecommon man was made part of the budget-making process. He suggested an increase of Rs 400 billion in directtaxes to deal with the challenge of fiscal deficit. Dr Farooq Sattar said that they have proposed a reduction of 10percent in the defense budget and a sizeable cut in civil expenditure to overcome prevailing economic challenges.

The additional collection of Rs 400 billion included Rs 100 billion through agriculture income tax, Rs 50 billionthrough Afghan transit trade, dealing with under-invoicing and smuggling and raising another Rs 50 billion by tax onagricultural trading. Improvement in monitoring, broadening the tax base and elimination of tax evasion due tocorruption would help generate another Rs 200 billion.

"Direct taxes are proposed to be increased from existing 32 percent to 45 percent and indirect taxes are proposedto bring down from 68 percent to 55 percent in the next fiscal year," Dr Farooq maintained.

31 May 2012Pak TribuneGovt Opens Wallet to Arrest Power CrisisISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani on Wednesday directed the Finance Ministry to urgently release

Rs 1.5 billion to WAPDA to settle the remaining claims of the independent power producers (IPPs).

The prime minister also hinted at ending power outages upon the completion of various power projects in thecountry.

He was presiding over a meeting of the Private Power Infrastructure Board (PPIB) to review progress on the privatepower projects and their future portfolio with a view to increase power generation.

Gilani said that the government was committed to resolving the prevalent energy crisis and achieving energysecurity for the country.


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He said that in 1993, the Energy Task Force was formed by then premier Benazir Bhutto, which led to formulationof 1994 Power Policy and then constitution of the Private Power and Infrastructure Board (PPIB), with the purposeto serve as a 'one window' facilitator.

The prime minister said that when the government took over in 2008 the country was facing a demand-and-supplygap of more than 5,000MW during peak hours.

He said that sensing the magnitude of the challenge, the government made efforts to improve the situation, despitevarious challenges.

The prime minister said that the IPPs had always played a pivotal role in developing power sector.

"It is evident from the fact that presently there are 28 IPPs providing reliable power in the country," Gilani added.

He said further the country's power sector was presently facing a wide demand- and-supply gap, which hadnecessitated enhancement of generation capacity as well as related infrastructure. He also said that , hugeinvestments are required in order to meet future power requirements in the country.

He directed officials concerned to form a committee consisting of the Planning Commission deputy chairman andthe finance, economic affairs and water and power secretaries should be set up to facilitate the simplification ofprocedures aimed at attracting private sector investment in the energy sector.

The WAPDA chairman told the meeting that the Mangla Dam would be full up to its capacity for the first time aftercompletion of Mangla Wall-Raising Project. He said that the project would not only make 2.9MAF more wateravailable making a contribution of Rs 18 billion per annum to the country's economy.

The PM lauded various initiatives by the PPIB such as guidelines for fast track implementation of hydropower

projects; proposed 'policy regimes' to convert IPPs/GENCOs on cheaper fuels; proposed mechanism to improveavailability as well as efficiency of public sector generation companies.

While giving presentation, the PPIB managing director said that 28 projects with a capacity of 8000MW have beeninstalled in the country. The prime minister ordered the Petroleum and Natural Resources Ministry to makearrangements for release of provision of gas to power plants, which are currently in operation.

Gilani also underscored the urgency of creating fund for projects in the private sector on an analogy of a similarfund created in 1994 during the tenure of then premier and slain PPP chairwoman Benazir Bhutto.

Water and Power Minister Naveed Qamar, Information and Broadcasting Minister Qamar Zaman Kaira, PlanningCommission Deputy Chairman Dr. Nadeemul Haq and other senior officials of relevant ministries also attended themeeting.

31 May 2012Pak TribuneAfghan Taliban say Haqqani not DeadISLAMABAD: Afghan Taliban on Wednesday said Jalaluddin Haqqani, commander of the Haqqani Network, wasnot dead.

In a message, Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid said, "We strongly reject the report that senior member of ourleadership council and veteran jihadi figure Jalaluddin Haqqani was dead."


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Afghan media reported that Taliban released a list of their perished leaders which included Jalaluddin Haqqani,father of Sirajuddin Haqqani, the incumbent head of the network.

Tolo, Afghanistan's first 24-hour rolling news television channel, said Jalaluddin had died from kidney ailment,claiming on its Twitter feed that the Taliban had confirmed it. Mujahid called upon media to confirm such reportsbefore making it public.

31 May 2012Pak TribuneSC Gives Malik Last Chance to Prove he is not BritishISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court on Wednesday rejected Interior Minister Rehman Malik's testimonials regardinghis dual citizenship and gave him time until June 4 to prove renunciation of his UK citizenship.

Malik had submitted his rejoinder along with pay order copies and other documents to the court on Tuesday,claiming that he had abandoned his British citizenship in April 2008. While resuming second hearing of the case onWednesday, the apex court refused his documents and testimonials.

Opposing the hearing on the petition against the holding of dual nationalities by parliamentarians, Attorney Generalof Pakistan (AGP) Irfan Qadir urged the Supreme Court to refer the case to parliament, saying it was the competentforum to consider the matter. He argued that as judges' cases were referred only to the Supreme Judicial Council,this case that pertains to parliamentarians should be dealt by parliament itself. He said there was need to givearguments on whether the Supreme Court had jurisdiction to hear the case or not.

On the other hand, the three-member bench of the apex court, headed by Chief Justice Iftikhar MuhammadChaudhry, while rejecting the AGP's suggestion, said it was not a case of misconduct; therefore there is no need tosend this issue to any other forum. The chief justice also said that it was a matter of public importance and the court

would not allow the violation of Article 25 of the constitution.

The court referred to the cases of fake degree holders as a case in point. On this, the AGP said remittances sent byoverseas Pakistanis to the country were also a matter of public importance, but the chief justice rejected hisargument, saying he should not to link the issue with parliamentarians holding dual nationalities.

Statements and name of Interior Minister Rehman Malik created a controversy during the hearing. A documentsubmitted by Malik's counsel, Chaudhry Azhar, referred to him as AR Malik, whereas the court was earlier informedthat the minister was listed as Rehman A Malik in the Senate. The court directed the attorney general to furnishSenate's notification in this regard to help settle the issue.

"You are showing us an unattested form that has no significance for us and show us the duly signed stampeddeclaration renouncing his (British) citizenship," the CJP told the AGP. The court also observed that date

mentioned on the form submitted by Malik before the bench was not the same as mentioned on the affidavit hesubmitted in the last hearing. It also directed the AGP to directly communicate with the national and provincialassemblies to get information regarding MNAs and MPAs holding dual nationalities. The court adjourned thehearing until June 4.

EDITORIALS(Top)


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31 May 2012Daily TimesEDITORIAL: Political Solution to Balochistan ConundrumThe high level meeting chaired by Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani on Tuesday saw COAS General AshfaqParvez Kayani holding out a solemn assurance that the personnel of the armed forces and Frontier Corps (FC)would carry out their tasks within the ambit of the law. The COAS asserted that not a single soldier of the army isinvolved in any military operation in the province. Perhaps the COAS needs reminding that the FC, universallyaccused of responsibility for the missing persons, is commanded by military officers.

The FC, the meeting decided, would be placed under the control of the chief minister (provided, of course, he cantear himself away from Islamabad and attend to his duties in his home province). In an exact reversal of the FCsrole, it has been relieved of anti-smuggling duties (its real mandate) and confined to law and order management,including the safety of travelers on the highways of the province. The meeting failed to take into account thedemand across the board in Balochistan that the hated FC should be withdrawn to the borders to concentrate on itsreal task, and law and order be dealt with in more normal fashion. The FC also stands accused of abductingpeople on the highways of the province. How will it now provide safe travel on those very highways?

A six-member committee (another!) has been formed comprising three members each from the federal andprovincial governments to monitor the missing persons issue and report to the prime minister every week. Thequestion is, if the civilian authorities are helpless before the military, its intelligence agencies and the FC, not tomention the frustration of even the Supreme Court in bringing the missing persons home and the perpetrators ofthe abductions, torture and killings to justice, how will this toothless committee make any difference?

The meeting announced the approach of Dialogue, Rule of Law and Autonomy (DRA) to guide its efforts to resolvethe problems of the province. The Dialogue will be conducted in three phases, first with the political forces inBalochistan that boycotted the 2008 elections; second, nationalist forces that still subscribe to the federation, andthird, the others (implying the estranged forces involved in the insurgency).

The writ of the government, according to Federal Information Minister Qamar Zaman Kaira, would be re-established, starting with the urban areas, of which Quetta would be turned into a model city. Foolproof securitywould be provided to local and foreign companies prospecting for minerals in the province. The provinces jobsquota in the federal services would be filled, its quota in the military would be fulfilled, and 300 youth inducted intothe Levies. General Kayani asked for scholarships for the students studying in the cadet colleges set up by thearmy in Kohlu and Sui.

The federal government would pick up the tab for five years salaries instead of three of the 5,000 jobs for youth ofthe province under the Aaghaaz-e-Haqooq-e-Balochistan package. While the military seems to have expressed itswillingness to allow the provincial government to take charge of security in the province, an ominous note wasstruck by some military sources that some separatist elements would still be held accountable. In that case, howwould the dialogue with the estranged leaders proceed?

Revolutionary or merely symbolic, too little too late or better late than never, take your pick of the considerableskepticism that still lingers despite the soothing noises emanating from the meeting. The real test of course in thedays ahead will be to see if the military and the FC abandon their kill and dump policy, a campaign to decapitatethe dissident intelligentsia of the province.

A significant omission from the final conclusions of the meeting was the issue of bringing Nawab Akbar Bugtiskillers to justice, a question Kaira avoided in his press conference. While it would be churlish not to recognize thegood intentions and even positives of the meetings decisions, healthy skepticism is justified by the trajectory of theapproach over long years to the Balochistan problem. General Kayani may have expressed the belated wisdom


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that seems to be sinking in that the Balochistan problem is a political one that does not lend itself to the use ofmilitary force for any lasting solution, but the proof of the pudding will be in the eating, i.e. on the ground inBalochistan over the coming days.

31 May 2012Daily TimesSECOND EDITORIAL: Why a Sudden Change of Tack?Dr. Afridi was sentenced to 33 years imprisonment and fined Rs 320,000 by a tribal area court in Khyber Agency afortnight back. The charge against the doctor was his involvement in helping the CIA hunt down Osama bin Ladenin Abbottabad. The initial conviction had closed all doors to an appeal for Dr. Afridi. The argument ran that aidingforeign spy agencies amounts to treason.

Uproar erupted in the US, among human rights organizations, and in the lawyers community. No sooner than theUS began pointing to the double standards by Pakistan, the latter developed a new charge sheet against thedoctor. This time it is his alleged relationship with the banned terrorist organization Lashkar-e-Islami headed byMangal Bagh. He is accused of masterminding terrorist attacks on Pakistani forces in the tribal areas.

The charge sheet grows grimmer as one reads on. The doctor is said to be a womanizer, hard drinker, and asexual harasser. All of a sudden, some nurses have complained about his overtures towards them. Senior doctorshave accused him of being dishonest and stealing hospital goods for his private clinic. In a matter of a few weeks,Dr Shakeel has grown as many character flaws and sullied personality traits as could be thought of. The questionis, why this sudden change of tack?

In a press conference, Dr Afridis brother Dr. Jameel Afridi has accused the government of making his brother ascapegoat. From the US perspective, Afridi has played a positive role in helping the CIA reach Osama hiding in agarrison city of Pakistan. Now that the US is applying the expected stoppage of aid in the wake of Pakistans

refusal to come out clean on the matter of combating terrorism, Afridis case has been muddied further.

Twisting facts to suit a preconceived plan would endanger Pakistan in multiple ways. Given that Pakistan issupposed to be allied with the US in the war on terror, the fuming of Pakistan against Dr. Afridi and his characterseems a post facto invention. If the US unilaterally mounted the bin Laden raid, it was because it had lost trust inPakistan. Now is the time to make at least a clean breast of the facts of the case and let Afridi be heard on his dayin court under the normal judicial process in the interests of fair play.

31 May 2012Daily TimesCOMMENT: Dual Citizenship and Dual StandardsDr. Mohammad Taqi

The bench thus assumed erroneously that by taking the US oath of allegiance, a Pakistani citizen automaticallyabjures his/her Pakistani nationality.

Dual citizenship has been normalized as an incident of globalization. Nonetheless, some states will continue toobstruct individuals from holding the status.

When Professor Peter Spiro made the above observation in his 2010 article Dual citizenship as a human right, hewas not alluding to Pakistan but the recent proclamations by the Honorable Chief Justice of Pakistan IftikharMuhammad Chaudhry certainly raise the concern if this is where Pakistan is heading. The Chief Justice and the


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Honorable Justice Jawwad Khawaja made some stern observations bordering on allegations while hearing apetition filed by Syed Mehmood Akhtar Naqvi seeking disqualification of three Pakistan Peoples Party legislatorsholding dual nationality. The prime target of these judicial jabs was Ms Farahnaz Ispahani, MNA, who according tomedia reports is a citizen of Pakistan by birth and also a naturalized citizen of the United States.

There are some serious issues with the august benchs observations. One must recall that not too long ago theSupreme Court had appointed a judicial commission to probe allegations against Ms Ispahanis husband, theformer Ambassador Hussain Haqqani in the so-called Memo gate. When Mr. Haqqani did not appear before thesaid commission on account of health and security reasons, the presiding judge, Honorable Justice Faez Issa had,in the April 6, 2012 hearing, threatened to summon Mr. Haqqanis wife and children to court if he failed to appearbefore the commission in person.

While no one doubts the honest intentions of the current bench hearing the dual nationality case, it still is ratherdisconcerting to see Mr. Haqqanis wife dragged to the court in just over a month after Justice Issas threat. Toavoid any concerns about victimizing Mr. Haqqanis family, it would have been prudent for the bench to include inthe proceedings the 35 odd other parliamentarians, including ones from the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz, whoallegedly hold dual citizenship. After all, justice must also be seen to be done, especially by a court given to long-winded speeches on morality.

Besides the impression, hopefully misplaced, of dual standards being applied in the present case, there areconcerns about how the court tried to interpret the US law with, prima facie, very little research. The judgesimpugned the following portion of the naturalization oath of allegiance to the USA, I hereby declare, on oath, that Iabsolutely and entirely renounce and abjure all allegiance and fidelity to any foreign prince, potentate, state orsovereignty, of whom or which I have heretofore been a subject or citizen; that I will support and defend theConstitution and laws of the United States of America against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear truefaith and allegiance to the same; that I will bear arms on behalf of the United States when required by the law.

The US Department of State clearly recognizes the dual national status under the law and specifically states, Dualnationals owe allegiance to both the United States and the foreign country. They are required to obey the laws ofboth countries. The State Department also clarifies that, In order to lose US citizenship, the law requires that theperson must apply for the foreign citizenship voluntarily, by free choice, and with the intention to give up UScitizenship. The bench thus assumed erroneously that by taking the US oath of allegiance, a Pakistani citizenautomatically abjures his/her Pakistani nationality. The US law deals separately, and on a case-by-case basis, withexpatriation of citizens holding public office in other countries.

Furthermore, like the US law, Pakistani law mandates that to renounce Pakistani citizenship, one has to do itformally by completing the form titled Declaration of Renunciation of Citizenship under Section 14-A of the PakistanCitizenship Act 1951.

Justice Khawaja had also remarked on the US citizenship pledge that if a gun is required to defend the US than it

would be picked up. It is an interesting observation given the fact that most dual nationality arrangements arebetween friendly countries and one reason that plural citizenship in now a world norm rather than an exception isthe decline of xenophobic jingoism. However, if such a hypothetical situation does arise, it would portend a dilemmafor thousands of Pakistani-Americans and not just the mild-mannered Farahnaz Ispahani, who probably has nevereven squished a mosquito. In such situations, as was the case during World War II, several German and Japanese-Americans renounced their US citizenship. At present, the US armed forces are volunteer forces and no draft is ineffect, rendering the honorable judges observation a non sequitur.

The current proceedings are focused on Article 63(1) (c) of the Constitution. Applied for the first time ever in theMarch 2012 Senate election, it says, A person shall be disqualified from being elected or chosen as, and from


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Bilawal may be young and inexperienced, but so far, he speaks of the values and ideals that his slain mother hadonce embodied. His recent visit to the US and various interviews to TV channels give us a glimpse of what he reallystands for. People may criticize all of that as a clever media ploy in the US, implying that as always, he is trying toimpress the real masters. On the contrary, whatever he has said on multiple channels here is in fact the popularPakistani narrative. He has maintained the official stand on many US-Pakistan related issues veryunderstandable in the context of a broader national interest, and yet seen and analyzed with immense skepticismby many within Pakistan.

Speaking of Bilawals rather synchronized lines that he cleverly uttered, I do respectfully take exception. On therecent conviction of Dr Afridi, he repeatedly brought the precedent of Jonathan Pollard into his interviews, which israther misplaced. Pollard allegedly transferred state secrets to Israel. One may find Dr Afridis conductobjectionable but to equate that with Pollards action is erroneous. Of course, it makes perfect sense if Osama binLaden was in fact considered a state secret. I have argued earlier on this issue at this forum therefore I wouldrefrain from repeating the same lines (Speaking of Spies, Daily Times, March 29, 2012).

Furthermore, Dr Afridis conviction based on treason and waging war against the state would not hold in anyreasonable court of law. Had the Navy Seals who took out bin Laden attacked any military installation in their raid atthe Abbottabad house, only then the charge would hold. Again, if we consider the lair where the Late Mujahidlived as a military fortress then I rest.

Next, Bilawals insistence on the US apologizing for the Salala incident has to be viewed more objectively from bothsides. At the expense of being called an apologist of the US, a CIA agent, and a traitor by my critics, I wouldurge Mr. Chairman to give it a second thought. (By the way, people who truly want a gist of that incident when itoccurred can Google me and Bonn Conference before awarding me with some additional prestigious titles.) Asunfortunate as the incident may be, one has to review the track record. If it was deliberate, as many hyper-patriotswant us to believe, then why did it just occur at Salala? Much like drones, why did NATO not continue its flagrantviolation to teach Pakistanis some more lessons?

Deductive reasoning, which we often lack in our blind passion, would lead us to believe that it was perhaps amisunderstanding on both sides. To move the relationship forward, we have to continue engaging the US in such adiplomatic manner that the apology comes from both sides and we have closure.

On Musharraf, whom Mr. Chairman considers responsible for his mothers assassination in part for not providingher adequate security, it may be added that Mr. Chairman has resided in the UK and may very well know that bothcountries do not have an extradition treaty. In light of that grim reality, how can he bring former President Musharrafto Pakistan to answer those charges? If I remember correctly, Pakistan and the UAE signed a Prisoner ExtraditionTreaty very recently. I think Mr. Musharraf enjoys a respectable life there; he would definitely be not imprisonedthere. Based on these facts, one may sincerely hope that Mr. Musharraf voluntarily comes back home to clear hisname of such allegations. The chances though are very slim.

The Chairman demonstrated a praiseworthy quality of confidence in front of many cameras here. He presented thevision of a progressive, democratic and positive Pakistan. On CNNs Wolf Blitzer, there were some nostalgicmoments, where Blitzer shared his late mothers interaction with him. From his demeanor and rationale, Bilawalhandled it fairly well. Yes, many would call him a prince, but to all of them again, neither a prince nor a pauperdeserves to lose their mother in the manner that he did. If he has picked up the mission of his slain mother, then hesure deserves a fair chance. The people have the ultimate say. Rookie he may be, rudderless he is not.

The writer is a Pakistani-American mortgage banker. He blogs at http://dasghar.blogspot.com and can be reachedat [email protected] He tweets at http://twitter.com/dasghar


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31 May 2012Daily TimesVIEW: Communication Gap between Allah and MuslimsDurdana Najam

Instead of repelling people by forcing Islam down their throats, a better idea would be to let it grow on othersthrough its manifestation as prescribed in the Quran.

It is not the first time that I have come out feeling odd from a seminary. It has been so ever since I started visitingdifferent madrassas to understand Islam. The atmosphere always reeked tangibly, besides a stink of hypocrisy offilth and disorder. The devotion with which I find seminaries imparting book knowledge to their disciplesnevertheless misses making the latter observant Muslims. Committing the Quran to memory and thumping thebreast for show is more pronounced in contemporary Islamic culture then the ability to follow the guidance laid outin the Book.

There is a communication gap between Allah and Muslims. The manifestation of this gap is in the ritualization ofIslam, which has laid Muslims bare to attack from the west, aiming to dominate the power structures of the world.Does it matter if a person is not a Muslim but a good human being? Does it matter if a person is a Muslim and not agood human being? Both these situations have different implications, consequences, and fallouts. A non-Muslimwith good behavior is the follower of a religion that has various shades and complexities to it.

No religion except Islam can claim to have its Scripture undiluted and unmodified. In fact, most of religions havemore than one perception of God. The variety in Gods divides people not only along religious lines but also alongtheir belief systems. Though Islam is divided into 72 sects, each with a different interpretation, the codification oflaw pertaining to the Quran has enjoined Muslims to remain within a certain frame of reference, thus uniting themone way or the other with the oneness of God and the authority of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) as the last prophet.

The beauty of Islam unlike any other religion is that a Muslim cannot talk loosely against any prophet or the HolyScripture, in spite of modifications in the latter. A good Muslim would not badmouth any religion. This element ofunmodified scripture lays a heavy onus on a Muslim. Thus, the thesis that a Muslim should necessarily be a goodhuman being becomes obvious. He has little margin to go wrong and to hide behind an unsolicited holy text.

There is a growing concern among people regarding Muslims becoming overzealous in their following of Islam. Theindication is clearly about Islamic fundamentalism that has consumed a million in wars that raged mainly in Iraq andAfghanistan, with its fallout for Pakistan and Yemen as well. Islamic fundamentalism points to a desire of Muslimsreverting to the lost glory that once had them rule the world undisputedly.

The question is why Muslims chose to become fanatical to regain that glory when an easier way was available,given the development of Islamic states. Conflict of interest explains the reason for this mindless journey to aninvisible destination. Islamic states or to be more precise, Islamic head of states have had little interest in revisiting

history to locate the wrongs and straighten things up. They have been complacent in ravines of petrodollar that untiltoday have not stopped flowing. As technology boomed and petroleum products became a sine qua non forprogress, the focus of the west shifted towards the Middle East.

Armed with capitalism, the west had no appetite to colonize the Middle East. To manifest liberal democratic norms,at home and abroad, the west under the USs hegemony adopted the detour of a charm offensive. The carving outof Israel in the middle of the Middle East, and the splitting of Palestine into smithereens in the post-WW II erahammered the first nail in the coffin of Muslims. The deserts grew green and souls withered.


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The technological progress of the industrialized west changed the skylines of the simmering Arab peninsula. Thecamel rovers now had Jaguars, Mercedes, BMWs and private planes at their disposal; why wait for heaven, when itis already there, a few dollars and perhaps, a few misgivings away). Some Muslim leaders of the 1970s felt thepinch and wanted to return some sanity to Islamic thinking, but the hawks sitting in the CIA and Pentagon got theground cleansed, in a matter of years, of any leader thinking straight about an Islamic world. Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto andKing Faisal of Saudi Arabia paid with their lives for the joint venture of conducting the Islamic Summit Conference inLahore. The rest were an easy sell. Thereafter, it was smooth sailing. Colonel Gaddafi though kept the US sourmuch longer, but the winds of the Arab Spring blew more in favor of the west than Muslims.

Every nation has a right to defend itself. Be it Christian, Muslim, or Jew. If a Muslim state is unable to guard itshonor, the blame cannot be shifted onto the west. International politics do not depend on emotional decisions. Theplague of intolerance ravaging Muslims is making matters worse for tolerant and liberal Muslims.

Radical Islam is now applying its grip on Indonesia as well, a country known for its tolerant brand of Islam andbeing an example of how Islam and democracy are not incompatible. Indonesia is seeing religious freedomsuccumbing to the will of intolerant Muslims. In Aceh alone, 17 churches have been closed down. Localgovernments all over Indonesia are forced to follow the policy of zero church. The Ahmediyya community is thehardest hit; violent attacks and death chases have become a regular feature for them. Earlier this month, radicalsattacked a lecture by the Liberal Canadian Muslim, Irshad Manji.

This charged atmosphere little serves the interests of Muslims. The hunt for lost glory should not emulate arampaging disorder. Instead of repelling people by forcing Islam down their throats, a better idea would be to let itgrow on others through its manifestation as prescribed in the Quran, a tough deal indeed.

The writer is a member of staff and can be reached at [email protected]

31 May 2012Daily TimesVIEW: The SonMehr Tarar

On December 30, 2007, as in a repeat performance of almost two decades ago, another party chairperson ischosen. The resemblance is too eerie, too uncanny to elicit even one coherent comment.

Whenever he talks about his mother, a feeling of suppressed grief, a restrained anger seems to burden his everycarefully enunciated word. Whatever he says is heard, analyzed, dissected, lauded and ripped apart, depending onwhom the listener swears allegiance to. Nothing he says ever goes unnoticed. Most of what he pronounces revealshis undisguised love and admiration for his deceased mother, his legendary grandfather, and his party. Whatevermay be surmised from his infrequent statements, one thing stands out with a steadfast singularity and clarity he

is the son of his mother.

Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari. He is the son of Benazir Bhutto and Asif Ali Zardari. The twice elected/dismissed Ms Bhuttois in a class apart from all. Her death does not count when it comes to a measurement of her stature as a femalepolitician sans parallel. The merits and criticism become insignificant when it comes to her. She was an institution inherself, setting up an impossible standard to copy, if not more. Not because she was a great politician. It wasunarguably her unique position in Pakistans troubled democratic history, fitting her into a slot that became vacantafter her death; the present scenario seems devoid of anyone even one-tenth of her caliber to occupy it. The onlyperson who, ironically, is to be the next Bhutto legacy heir, incidentally, is none other than her first-born, and thechairperson of the party she could not hand over the reins to him herself because of her untimely demise.


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Who is Bilawal today? He may be the envy of any ambitious, pampered, next-in-line and secure offspring of one ofthe mighty names of our fickle politics, but it cannot be all bright and Oxford-white for the most noted political heir ofPakistans most noted political dynasty. Merely the legacy would be too weighty for words to lighten and pastlaurels to perpetuate. Imagine being the grandson of the countrys most famous politician (barring Mr. Jinnah who isabove all lists), Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto, and inheriting his mothers agony as to what happened to her beloved father, theleader of millions. When he talks about his grandfathers judicial murder, he echoes what his mother reiterated toher dying day, and what any democracy-loving Pakistani would want: justice.

Mr. Bhuttos larger-than-any-dictator and elected leaders persona, his undignified ouster, and his still unexplainedgovernment-controlled assassination are all too much for any Pakistani worth his political and humanistic salt tofathom. All of them died looking for answers...Mir Shah Nawaz Bhutto, Mir Murtaza Bhutto, Begum Nusrat Bhuttoand Benazir Bhutto the sons, the wife, one of the daughters. Now it is Bilawals turn to demand an answer. Hehas all the time in the world to wait for one, and he seems determined about getting one. When he speaks at hisgrandfathers mausoleum on his 33rd death anniversary, the simmering anger, mixed with layered grief, speaksvolumes about the expectation of an answer. What Mr. Bhuttos sons, wife and daughter did not find, Bilawal stillseeks today. Will he get it? It may bring him and his deceased familys souls some long-cherished relief. Maybe.

Benazir Bhutto was the youngest prime minister of Pakistan and the first female one of any Muslim country. After acontinuous struggle post- Mr. Bhuttos assassination on April 4, 1979, in her two brothers absence, Ms Bhuttobecame the chairperson of the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) in 1982. Still standing after a long, torturous struggleagainst General Zia-ul-Haqs decade-long dictatorship, she won her first free election after the generals mysteriousplane crash in 1988. That year was fateful in more ways than one. Campaigning as a female, as a Bhutto, as Mrs.Zardari, as an expectant mother, turning the stereotypical on its head, she smiled her way to the house on the hill.

As Ms Benazir took the oath on December 2, 1988 as the 11th prime minister of Pakistan, her three-month-old sonBilawal took his own unique place in history. As she mothered two more children, her daughters, Bakhtawar andAsifa, her life went through its usual rollercoaster motion of political and personal drama. The dismissal of her first

government; a barrage of accusations leveled on her, her spouse and her party; the indecorous tussle with MianNawaz Sharif; her next electoral victory; her second stint as the PM, the tragic assassination of her brother, MirMurtaza Bhutto (during her incumbency), and her second dismissal all read like chapters from a Greek drama unhinged, awry.

The young Bilawal saw it all. What he understood signified nothing compared to what he felt. Living with a self-exiled mother, separated from an imprisoned father (Mr. Zardari jailed in Pakistan from 1996-2004 on charges ofcorruption), and nourished on the saga of the Bhutto familys tragedy (not unsubstantiated), Bilawal grew up to facea world where his family was lauded and cursed simultaneously. Today, when he makes statements aboutdefending the honor of his family, his legacy and his party, most of us, who witnessed it all, good and ugly, nod inunderstanding, sympathetic.

December 27, 2007 altered the political map of Pakistan, yet again. Benazir Bhutto was assassinated. The country

wept in disbelief and sorrow, united in its anger against the brutal murder of a woman they loved, admired andconsidered irreplaceable. Even the ones who did not like her uttered a prayer for her, shocked. As the scantilyguarded, heavily threatened, hailed as the next political messiah, twice democratically elected prime minister bledto her death, amid chaos and noise, all hell broke loose for her three children living abroad. As you await yourremarkable mother to take her rightful place in the political hemisphere as a mature, wizened leader, repentant ofher past professional follies, responsive to her opposition, and ready to take another dictator head on, you receive aphone call announcing she is dead. Your entire being shifts. Your teenage mind, unable to grasp the enormity ofthe tragedy, goes into a stunned muteness. As you watch your beautiful much loved mother go into her untimelygrave, you force your heartbreaking pain into a glazed, inscrutable, stony silence. You stand next to the grave, withyour head lowered, quiet, and the world watches you, full of pain.


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On December 30, 2007, as in a repeat performance of almost two decades ago, another party chairperson ischosen. The resemblance is too eerie, too uncanny to elicit even one coherent comment. Bilawal Zardari renamedBilawal Bhutto-Zardari, aged 19, who became the youngest chairperson ever, probably, of a political party of thePPPs stature. There is too much history. History owes him an explanation. He wants justice. He demands justice.His mothers assassination cannot be a nothing. A relative closure comes with justice, and Bilawal demands it,rightfully so.

When Bilawal wishes his grandfather, Mr. Bhuttos case be reopened, he is justified. When he takes an apparentlysimplistic and overly emotional stance vis--vis the sanctity of his mothers grave, he is justified. Who truly thinks heis not? When he wants his mothers murderers to be punished and he openly points a finger, he is justified. Whenhe defends his father, Mr. Zardari, the incumbent president, no matter how flimsy it may sound to his detractors, heis justified. After what his family and party have been through, what is expected of him? Whether his fatherdeserves to be defended is another matter altogether, but as Mr. Bhuttos grandson, as Ms Bhuttos son, as thechairperson of the PPP, Bilawal will not mince any words to ensure no more unjust prosecution takes place. He willnot allow it. He has been through too much already.

History will be a judge of the 23-year-old Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari. How sagacious, broadminded, politically shrewd,fair and just he turns out to be, time will tell. How from an emotionally charged, passionate, PPP-encircled Bilawalhe becomes a national leader of the two legendary Bhuttos stature, only time will tell. As of now, notwithstandingthe limelight, the famous pronouncements, the position...he is just a grieving son.

The writer is an assistant editor at Daily Times and can be reached at [email protected]

31 May 2012Daily TimesANALYSIS: Whats in a Name?

Harlan Ullman

Negative advertising is about turning an opponents strengths into political weaknesses and disadvantages.

Language is quite a remarkable reflection of society and its attitudes. After the Vietnam War and a succession ofoperational and procurement failures, the Pentagon became a term of derision and a public symbol ofincompetence. Today, the opposite is true. The Pentagon is seen as representing the most highly regarded sectorof society, the military though, perhaps, the perception has swung too far in that direction in lavishing praise,especially when the Department must contend with huge and painful budget cuts, likely to damage its image.

Gay is no longer an adjective. In earlier generations, a gay old time was part of the popular lexicon, meaninghappy or fun. The gay 90s of more than a century ago certainly would not qualify for the gay 1990s. It is unclearwhy or how this change transpired. Yet, it is reflective of the changing attitudes towards sexuality in the US.

But more diabolical is the effect of negative political ads on the public and its lexicon. Negative advertising is aboutturning an opponents strengths into political weaknesses and disadvantages. During the Vietnam War, the USNavy operated Swift boats in and around the rivers and coasts. In the many dangerous interiors of South Vietnam,heroism and courage were the rule and not exceptions. Moreover, for those of us who served in those 50-footaluminum hulled boats, being a Swiftie was a term of pride and honorable service.

In 2004, Senator John Kerrys run for the presidency was blackened by a vile series of false attack ads impugninghis courage and integrity. Despite non-combat service in the Air National Guard, George W Bush and his team


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successfully attacked what should have been one of Kerrys strengths his war record and multiple Purple Heartsfor combat wounds. This obscenity was called Swift-boating.

In 1960, even the hint of Swift-boating was off limits. Senator John Kennedy campaigned in part on his heroicskippering PT-109 during World War II even though his boat was cut in half by a Japanese destroyer in the middleof night, either an accident or a commentary on the vigilance of his crew. Four years later, Lyndon Johnson rantouting his Silver Star, the nations third highest award for valor in combat. Everyone in town knew that the citationgrossly exaggerated the facts. Yet, neither Richard Nixon, himself a Navy veteran of the war, or Barry Goldwater, aretired Air Force brigadier general in the reserve, would have thought of attacking Kennedy or Johnson on thosegrounds even if there was truth and merit to them.

The name Wall Street has become a fallen casualty and toxic due both to spectacular failure and politicalopportunism. For decades and despite the Great Depression, Wall Street was once a term of awe, the engine forpowering much of the USs businesses and more often than not with

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