Supreme Court takes suo motu notice of Balochistan Vani incident

 
The Supreme Court Tuesday took suo motu notice of an incident where 13 minor girls were bartered to settle a blood fued between tribes in the Dera Bugti district of Balochistan, Express News reported.
Initiating the hearing, a three-member bench called for a report from the chief secretary Balochistan and the deputy commissioner of Dera Bugti and issued an order for the arrest of suspects involved.
During the hearing, DC Dera Bugti informed the court that the Vani incident was a month old and the jirga was held in Barkhan instead of Dera Bugti.
He also said that the number of girls bartered was seven.
Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry inquired what action had been taken if the matter was a month old.
The advocate general replied saying the girls had not been handed over as yet.
Mir Tariq Masoori Bugti, a lawmaker in the Balochistan Assembly, is said to have conducted the jirga, which was attended by tribal elders and notable locals, in the Baikar area of Phelawagh.
The court issued summons to Masoori, the girls’ parents and all members of the jirga.
Earlier, it had been reported that 13 young girls had been bartered to settle a blood feud between two tribes in Dera Bugti.
The girls — aged between four and 16 — were given in Vani by a tribal jirga which arbitrated a five-month-old blood feud between the Baloch tribes of Masoori and Shahwani Masoori. Both are sub-clans of the Bugti tribe.

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Waziristan march: ‘Terror war can be won if tribal people part of peace process’

 
Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) chief Imran Khan said that the war against terrorism can only be won if the tribal people, including those in Waziristan, are made a part of the peace process. He was addressing a press conference in Islamabad on Saturday.
“I reiterate my point. The tribal people are so powerful that if you rely on them and get out of America’s war, this war can be won. You should not give the impression that you are fighting the war after taking money from the US,” Khan stated.
Explaining the reason why he is opposing a joint military operation in Waziristan, Khan said that the operation is like bombs being hurled in Waziristan to avenge the terrorism going on in Karachi. “Every day 5-10 people are being killed in Karachi. Can you think of attacking a home there [in Waziristan] with a drone in return? Do you think this is the way to win a war?”
Maintaining that all people of the country are against the war, Khan said that the main question is to think how to win it. “Since eight years, I have been saying this. Make the tribal people a part of the process and we will win the war… If the military operations were a solution, then we would have won the war eight years back.”
Commenting on the alleged threats he has received from the Taliban on holding the Waziristan march, the party chief said that he wants to send a message of peace across. “We want to send a message telling them that we are not going there to cause any loss. No one has ever done this before, but we want to go there and show them that we care.”
A list of people accompanying the PTI peace caravan will be provided to the media after the route is finalised, said Khan. “Women from America are also coming to join us, who have lost their sons in this war.”

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Prepaid connections not being blocked: Rehman Malik

 
Interior Minister Rehman Malik, after creating hype among the  prepaid mobile connection users in Pakistan, clarified on Saturday that the connections will not be blocked entirely, reported Express News.
“We did not say that the prepaid connections will be blocked, only the SIMs registered on fake identities will be blocked,” said Malik while speaking to the media at the inauguration of the Border Management System at Allama Iqbal Airport Lahore.
The interior minister also announced that the validity of passports will be increased from five to 10 years after September 15, while task forces will be deployed at airports to prevent bribery.
He also vowed to expose a list of those involved in terror activities and the details of money being received by them.
Malik added that an order has been given to shoot terrorists on sight who open fire at buses on the Karakoram Highway.

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Amin Fahim’s petition: SHC allows FIA last chance to file comments

A Sindh High Court (SHC) division bench on Thursday granted the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) a week’s time to file comments in response to a petition by Commerce Minister Makhdoom Amin Fahim.
At the same time, the bench, comprising Justice Sajjad Ali Shah and Justice Shafi Siddiqui extended an earlier interim order, which barred the agency from harassing or arresting the federal minister or his family members without due process of law, till the next hearing of the petition on September 9.
However, the bench made it clear in its order that if the agency failed to file its comments, the petition would be decided based on the material available on record in the next hearing. It also directed the FIA director to attend the next hearing in that case as well.
Earlier, standing counsel Asif Hussain Mangi appeared on behalf of the federal government alongside Additional Director Law Syed Israr Ali, and sought more time to file comments in response to Amin Fahim’s petition.
Fahim, in his petition, sought protection against harassment and possible arrest by the FIA in connection to the National Insurance Corporation (NICL) corruption case. He maintained that he and his family members had been falsely implicated in the case. The federal minister further claimed that FIA was continuing its investigations with the sole purpose of humiliating him and his family.

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Addressing issues: Govt unlikely to block unregistered SIMs

Interior Minister Rehman Malik has clarified that the government has no intention of blocking all unregistered SIMs immediately as it would inconvenience users and negatively impact revenue.
He made the announcement in an interview with Radio Pakistan on Thursday.
Malik said that a meeting of all stakeholders would be convened to finalise a strategy on how to deal with the issue of SIMs issued against fake identity cards.
The minister proposed that SIMs should be verified with a thumb impression of applicants through National Database and Registration Authority’s (NADRA) database. He said the issue of SIMs would be resolved keeping in view foreign investment and the interests of cellular operators. However, he vowed that a mechanism would be devised to ensure that mobile phones are not used as tool for terrorist activities.
On Tuesday, Malik had said that the government was planning to block pre-paid SIMs issued on fake national identity cards in order to prevent possible use in terrorist activities.
Malik also addressed the government’s decision to suspend cellular services in multiple cities around the country on Eidul Fitr. He claimed there would have been many acts of terrorism if cellular service had not been suspended.
The interior minister added that the government had concrete information on a conspiracy to destabilise the country, adding that the plan was foiled through effective coordination between intelligence and law enforcement agencies.
Speaking on the Naran tragedy in which 19 people were killed on August 16, he called it a terrorist act and not a sectarian incident as those killed included both Shias and Sunnis. Malik said he spoke to the chief minister Gilgit-Baltistan regarding the tense situation in the area. The chief minister conveyed three demands of the people which were granted. They include: provision of police escort to passenger traffic for Gilgit-Baltistan, compensation to the heirs of all those who lost their lives and an increase in the number of PIA flights to the region.
Addressing the deteriorating situation in Balochistan, the interior minister commented that it had improved following his detailed briefing to the Senate. He also used the opportunity to once again extend an offer to estranged Baloch leaders to return to the country on their own terms. He added that they should return to Balochistan if they are genuinely interested in serving their people.
Asked to comment on the reported statement of a Taliban spokesman that they would retaliate if an operation was launched in North Waziristan, the minister said they do so at the insistence of someone else. He added that it is known that Maulana Fazlullah and Maulvi Faqir are operating from Kunar province in Afghanistan.
“It would not have been possible for them to carry out attacks on this side of the border, martyr our people and take back their own injured without active foreign support,” said Malik.

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PML-N wants to elect own member as PAC chairman

LAHORE:  The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) has decided to elect one of its own members as the chairman of one of the public accounts committees (PAC II).

The Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) says it will resist any such attempt because the two parties had agreed, in the Charter of Democracy (CoD), that public account committees in both provincial and national assemblies would be headed by opposition members.
There are two PACs in the Punjab Assembly. Both have been headed by opposition members. PAC-I is chaired by PML-Q’s parliamentary leader Chaudhry Zaheeruddin. PPP’s Syed Abdul Qadir Gilani was the chairman of the PAC-II until his recent election to the National Assembly.
In 2008, the Punjab government had voted for Gilani – who was then a member of the government coalition – the chairman of one of the committees. When the two parties parted ways in the Punjab, Gilani retained the portfolio.
The PAC-II has 13 members – six from the PML-N, four from the PPP and three from the PML-Q. According to the rules of business, only one of the committee members can be elected as chairman.
PML-N members, privy to the development, said that the party was thinking of electing Nawabzada Syed Shams Haider, an MPA from Jhelum. Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif, they said, will discuss the matter with the party leadership before the Punjab Assembly meets on August 27.
Haider is not a currently member of the committee. The PML-N members told The Tribune that the party might ask one of the party members to resign from the committee and then notify Haider’s appointment to the committee.
The public relations officer for the Punjab Assembly told The Tribune that no names have been submitted so far for the vacant position. He said that the matter would be taken up in the upcoming session.
Tanvir Ashraf Kaira, a senior PPP leader in the Punjab Assembly, told that the PML-N had informed them that they planned to elect one of their MPAs as chairman of the PAC-II. He described this as “an injustice” and a violation of the CoD. It is the opposition’s right to elect a new chairman, he said.
Asked about PPP’s Nadeem Afzal Chan heading the National Assembly PAC, Kaira said the PPP had not asked Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan to quit. Khan resigned of his free will, Kaira said, adding that Chan was doing a good job as chairman. Zaheeruddin shared Kaira’s view, describing the election of a new chairman as “PPP’s right”.
The PML-Q leader said the PPP would elect a member to replace Gilani on the committee. Seven votes are required to elect a new chairman, he said, which the PPP and the PML-Q have between them. The PML-N will need one of the opposition’s votes to elect Haider, Zaheeruddin said. “We might have to elect a new chairman in a meeting outside the house,” he said.
Deputy Opposition Leader in the Punjab Assembly Shaukat Mehmood Basra said the PPP will resist any attempts by the PML-N to have one of its members elected as chairman.
Haider and Minister for Law and Parliamentary Affairs Rana Sanaullah Khan could not be reached for comment.

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Local jirga opposes military action in North Waziristan

DERA ISMAIL KHAN:  A North Waziristan jirga on Thursday expressed intentions to oppose any military operation in the region.

Speaking at the jirga, held in the Razmak sub-division, Malik Kamran Khan, a National Assembly member (MNA) from North Waziristan, said the military operation was not in Pakistan’s interest and that both the army and local tribes would suffer human and material losses as a result of it.
Addressing tribal elders, he vowed to raise his voice against the operation in parliament and other forums, adding that he would take local tribes along in any protest. Khan claimed US and Nato had failed in bringing peace to Afghanistan and were now pinning their failure on Pakistan by pressurising it to start an offensive in North Waziristan.
He added that if there was a problem in the region, its solution would be found through dialogue rather than conflict.
He urged the government to instead spread development in North Waziristan and address the deprivation local tribes have felt since Pakistan’s inception.

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