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Cornered Fazlullah will be nabbed dead or alive soon: NWFP Minister

September 15, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Peshawar, Sep.15 (ANI): North West Frontier Province (NWFP) Information Minister Iftikhar Hussain has said that Swat Taliban chief Mullah Fazlullah would be nabbed dead or alive soon as the security forces have tightened the noose around him.

Hussain claimed that troops have surrounded the region where Fazlullah is believed to be hiding.

“Fazlullah has not yet surrendered and even if he does so, he will not be given amnesty and will be brought to justice,” Hussain told media persons here.

He said the extremists who are apprehended would be dealt according to the law and authorities would appeal to the court to award them the ‘harshest punishment possible’.

“The arrested Taliban will have to go through the judicial process and face the courts. They will not be given blanket amnesty,” the Daily Times quoted Fazlullah, as saying.

Responding to a question regarding reports of massive killings of innocent people by the security officials during the Swat military offensive, Hussain said: “That’s not true. That’s a lie”.

Hussain said normalcy was returning to the Valley and claimed that almost 95 percent area of Malakand division has been sanitized. (ANI)

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Pak Govt asked to review blasphemy law

September 2, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Islamabad, Sep. 2 (ANI): The Pakistan Government has been asked by the National Assembly Standing Committee on Human Rights to re-examine the blasphemy law so that incidents like Gojra’s anti-Christian riot can be prevented.

Human Rights Ministry Secretary Farid Khan told Committee chairman PML-Q member Riaz Fatiyana that the Gojra incident reflected “a complete failure of our system.”

The Daily Times quoted Punjab Human Rights Minister Kamran Michael as saying that the government should review the blasphemy law.

He said the law should also be used against those who levelled baseless allegations against others.

PML-N leader Javed Hashmi seconded Michael’s views, and said he regretted that people were languishing in jails for the last eight to ten years under the blasphemy law.

Fatiyana said the killings were a failure on the part of administration and intelligence agencies. He urged the government to take measures to prevent such incidents in the future.

He added that the committee will meet Chief Justice of Pakistan Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, and request him to fix a time period for trial of people arrested under blasphemy law.

Pakistan’s blasphemy law forbids-damaging a place of worship or a sacred object, outraging religious feelings, defiling the Quran and defaming Prophet Mohammed.

The Criminal Code provides penalties for blasphemy up to death and a fine.

Critics have pointed out that the blasphemy law is being used to victimise minorities. (ANI)

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Qadir criticizes selection committee for dropping Razzaq, Butt

August 27, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Lahore, Aug.27 (ANI): Former chief selector of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), Abdul Qadir, has criticized the selection committee for omitting experienced all-rounder Abdul Razzaq from the ICC Champions Trophy squad.

Qadir also condemned the committee’s decision to ignore opening batsman Salman Butt for the eight nation tournament.

“I don’t know in what direction this present cricket board is taking Pakistan cricket into. There is no consistency in selection at all. Salman is your most experienced opener with an average of close to 40 in Tests and one-day internationals.Yet the selectors have ignored him for such a big tournament and instead opted for only one specialist opener in Imran Nazir,” Qadir said.

He expressed amazement at the exclusion of Razzaq, saying even though the all-rounder had performed well during the ICC World Twenty20 Championship, and did satisfactory job during the Sri Lanka tour, he was axed.

“If the board and selectors didn’t want to pick Razzaq for a major tournament like the Champions Trophy then why send him to Sri Lanka or England for the T20 World Cup in the first place,” The Daily Times quoted Qadir, as saying.

He also raised questions over the selection of tainted fast bowler Mohammad Asif in the 15-man squad.

“I don’t understand what was the hurry of picking Asif when he has not played for over a year. The pace department is already strong with Umar Gul, Mohammad Aamir, Rao Iftikhar and Rana Naved bowling well. So what was the point in rushing Asif into the main fray,” he said. (ANI)

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Pak selectors axe Razzaq, bring in Asif, Imran Nazir for Champions Trophy

August 21, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Lahore, Aug.21 (ANI): The seven member selection committee of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) on Friday controversially recalled paceman Mohammad Asif and opener Imran Nazir, but omitted all-rounder Abdul Razzaq from their 15-man squad for next month’s Champions Trophy in South Africa.

Pakistan is placed in Group A of the eight-nation Champions Trophy to be held from September 20 to October 5.

The selection committee met at the PCB offices in Lahore. Sources told the Dawn that the chief selector Iqbal Qasim had consultations with head coach Intikhab Alam and PCB chairman Ijaz Butt before finalising the squad.

“There’s no doubt in my mind that this is the best available team selected for the mega event,” Qasim was quoted by a foreign news agency, as saying.

Squad: Younus Khan (capt), Imran Nazir, Misbah-ul-Haq, Umer Akmal, Shoaib Malik, Shahid Afridi, Rana Naved-ul Hasan, Fawad Alam, Moahmmad Yousuf, Kamran Akmal, Umar Gul, Mohammad Aamir, Mohammad Asif, Rao Iftikhar and Saeed Ajmal (ANI)

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Swat IDPs to return home from Monday

July 12, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Peshawar, July 11 (ANI): The North Western Frontier Government has charted out a three-phased rehabilitation plan for the internally displaced persons (IDPs) of the Swat Valley.

Under the first phase beginning Monday, the IDPs from 11 camps will return to the valley, the Dawn quoted NWFP Information Minister Mian Iftikhar Hussain, as saying.

This would be followed by return of off-camp IDPs, which would continue for 10 days. arlier, the Emergency Response Unit had prepared a plan for the return of IDPs from Buner, but most of them have already gone to their areas.

“We have assessed that around 70 per cent of the IDPs from Buner have already returned and, if required, we will provide transport to the remaining people from there,” an ERU official said.

Under the revised plan, around 5,760 displaced families from Landakai, Kota, Guratai and Barikot areas of Swat will leave for their areas on July 13 and 14 in the first phase.

In the second phase, another 5,760 families from Ghalagai, Maniar, Udigram and Ballogram would return on July 15 and 16.

In the final phase, around 11,520 families from Mingora City, Central City, Hajiabad and Malukabad would leave for their areas from July 17 to 20.

In a bid to thwart off any untoward incident, fool-proof security measures would be adopted and the route leading to Swat would be manned by the army, Frontier Constabulary and police, Hussain informed.

“Curfew will remain intact in the Malakand region and the vehicles used for transportation of the IDPs will carry special stickers,” he said.

Hussain added that army helicopters would also fly along the convoys. Each convoy will have about 40 vehicles, including buses and trucks.

A schedule for return of the IDPs from other areas of Swat, Dir and Buner would be announced after the completion of the three-phase plan. (ANI)

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‘Release of Saeed, Sufi casts shadow over Pak’s seriousness to crack down on terror’

July 8, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Washington, July 8 (ANI): The subsequent release of Lashkar-e-Toiba’s (LeT) chief Hafeez Muhammad Saeed, the hardcore Lal Masjid cleric Maulana Abdullah Aziz, and now the Tehrik-e-Nifaz-e-Shariat-e-Mohammed (TNSM) chief Sufi Mohammad has cast serious doubts over Pakistan’s claims that it is seriously acting against the Taliban and other home grown terror outfits, a senior US intelligence official said.

The United States is worried and at the same time skeptical over Pakistan’s claims about cracking down on certain banned terror outfits.

Washington is concerned that Pakistan has failed to keep extremist leaders such as Sufi Mohammad and Hafeez Saeed behind bars.

“While Pakistan claims it is cracking down on extremists, note how Sufi Mohammed, Hafiz Saeed and his aide, and Maulana Abdullah Aziz have been cut loose,” The Long War Journal quoted a senior US intelligence official, as saying.

Blaming the TNSM for the failure of the Swat peace accord between the Pakistan government and the banned pro-Taliban TNSM, he said Islamabad must stop relying on these militant leaders to cart a way out of the problem it is facing currently.

“Pakistan can kill all of the foot soldiers it wants to in the northwest, but until the leaders like Sufi and Saeed are taken out of the game, the gains will be temporary,” the official said.

Even as Mohammad’s release from the so called ‘protective custody’ is yet to be confirmed, it is being believed that his release may signal new negotiations being chalked out ahead of the Pakistan’s Army surge in the South Waziristan against the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) chief Baitullah Mehsud .

“The timing of his release is curious, and may signal that a new round of negotiations is in the works,” the journal said.

If the Pakistan government is again trusting Sufi Mohammad for negotiations with Mehsud, it could be once again a blunder in the making for Islamabad, as he had openly supported the Taliban earlier, the report said.

“The Taliban are doing nothing wrong. The government is responsible for violations,” Sufi had said after the Swat peace deal was severed.

Meanwhile, the NWFP Information Minister, Iftikhar Hussain said the government has no information regarding the arrest or release of Sufi Muhammad.

“The provincial government has no information about the whereabouts of Maulana Sufi Muhammad,” Hussain said. (ANI)

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Swat Taliban deputy commander’s death ‘unconfirmed’: NWFP minister

June 27, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Peshawar, June26 (ANI): The North West Frontier Province (NWFP) Information Minister Iftikhar Hussain has said that reports about the death of Taliban Swat chapter deputy leader, Shah Durran, had not been confirmed yet.

“We’ve heard reports of Shah Durran’s death, and his consequent funeral and burial, but we cannot officially confirm it unless we have concrete evidence,” Hussain said.

Hussain also said that there were unconfirmed reports that the Taliban chief Maulana Fazlullah and the banned outfit’s spokesman, Muslim Khan, were killed in the military offensive.

He, however, said that the government was still trying to ascertain the truth behind the reports.

Hussain claimed that over 80 percent of Buner has been re-captured by the security forces, but added that the extremists were still offering stiff resistance to the military in certain areas of Chagarzai, Gagara, and Daggar.

Earlier, Hussain had said that Durran had been killed in the military offensive in Swat, and two senior Taliban commanders had sustained injuries.

Hussain also claimed that the security officials were searching for the body of Durran, who has reportedly been buried by his associates. (ANI)

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Swat Taliban chief Mullah Fazlullah killed, claims NWFP minister

May 28, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Lahore, May 28 (ANI): Pakistan has claimed that Swat Taliban chief Mullah Fazlullah has been killed in a military operation being carried out in the SwatValley.

Announcing a whopping four million rupees bounty on Fazlullah, the North West Frontier Province (NWFP) Information Minister Iftikhar Hussain said the Army has confirmed the deaths of several top militant commanders.

The NWFP government has also announced cash reward for the arrest of 21 other Taliban commanders, The News reports.

It has also announced an additional bounty of four million rupees over arrest of Haji Muslim Khan, and five million rupees over arrest of the Taliban’s Naib Ameer Shah Doran. (ANI)

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Pak favorites to win Twenty20 World Cup: Akram

May 22, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Lahore, May 22 (ANI): Former captain Wasim Akram has said that Pakistan are favorites to win the next Twenty20 World Cup beginning in England from June 5.

Akram said Pakistan has the best track record in the Twenty20 format of the game as compared to other teams in the world, which makes it the favourites to win the coveted title.

“Pakistan has the best winning ratio of all the teams in the Twenty20 cricket. If they keep that consistency then they can lift the coveted title in England,” The Daily Times quoted Akram, as saying.

Pointing towards the team’s stupendous performance against Australia in the Twenty20 match in Dubai last month, Akram said Pakistan posses a strong bowling line-up that could create trouble for even the world’s best team.

“I thought Australia would thrash them in the one-off Twenty20 match in Dubai but it was the other way round, with Umar Gul, Shoail Tanvir and Rao Iftikhar Anjum, Pakistan have the best bowling attack backed by quality spin of Shahid Afridi,” he said.

Akram added that batting was the worrying factor for the team, as the senior players were struggling with their rhythm.

“Batting can let Pakistan down, as it has always done in the past, so there will be more responsibility on Younis Khan, Shoaib Malik, Misbahul Haq and Shahid Afridi,” he said.

ommenting on the defending champion India’s chances of winning the trophy once again, Akram said Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s dream of winning the championship for the second time could suffer, as the Indian players would be going into the event after a hectic season.

“I think Pakistan has played less cricket and will be fresh, while Indian players could be fatigued after playing in the Indian Premier League (IPL),” Akram added. (ANI)

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CJP Chaudhry to set-up commission to probe loot sale

May 15, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Islamabad, May 15 (ANI): Chief Justice of Pakistan Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry is considering to set up a commission to investigate a “loot sale” of public property worth millions at throwaway prices.

“In my 20-year career, I have seen a loot sale of land belonging to the ETPB, railways and the CDA and we are considering constituting a commission to probe why public property worth millions is being sold at throwaway prices just like that,” The Dawn quoted CJP Chaudhry, as saying.

CJP Chaudhry is heading a bench, which had taken suo motu notice of the sale of land at a low price by the Evacuee Trust Property Board (ETPB) in Karachi.

The bench had been constituted on a note sent by Justice Jilani stating that public property worth billions was likely to be sold at a very low price. The current price of property in the area was estimated at 50 million rupees per acre.

The court also ordered ETPB Chairman Syed Asif Hashmi not to sell even an inch of the land that constituted national heritage.

Zafar Hussain Faridi, who claims to be the owner of 314 acres of land, alleged that 240 acres of his land had been taken over by the Karachi Development Authority (KDA) and now encroached upon.

Sources told Dawn that the dispute dates back to 1964 when the ETPB had taken over the Pinjaroport Trust land in 1964.

The KDA acquired a portion of the land to develop deh Okay Wari, Gulshan-i-Iqbal and Surjani Town. Since the KDA allegedly failed to pay the cost of the land to the ETPB, its pieces were allotted to different people by the trust.

In the early 1980s, Faridi secured power of attorney of 49 acres from 12 people who are now dead. He later approached a tribunal with a claim on 314 acres.

The Sindh High Court, it ordered the department concerned to grant the challan of survey No.55 and 56 to Faridi at the rate of 300,000 rupees per acre of encroached land and 500,000 rupees for unoccupied land.

ETPB’s counsel Iftikhar Javed Qazi said Faridi failed to pay the total amount. He only paid 5.1 million rupees out of the total amount of 115 million rupees. (ANI)

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Terrorism, not Islam is Taliban’s prime agenda: NWFP minister

May 6, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Peshawar, May 6 (ANI): Criticizing the Taliban for not abiding by the terms and conditions of the Swat peace deal, the North West Frontier Province (NWFP) Information Minister Iftikhar Hussain has said the Taliban’s only agenda is to spread terror and they have nothing to do with Islam or Sharia.

Addressing delegates in a ceremony at the Peshawar Law College, Hussain rejected reports about military offensive being carried out in the Swat Valley to flush out extremists saying the security forces are only reacting against the militants.

He also condemnedtheTehreek-e-Nifaz-e-Shariat-e-Muhammadi (TNSM) chief Sufi Muhammad for taking pushing the aspirations of the extremists during peace talks resulting in the Swat accord.

“Sufi Mohammad wanted the government to yield to the agenda of militants and not willing to acknowledge people’s aspirations,” The News quoted Hussain, as saying.

He said the government is committed to implement the Nizam-e-Adl Regulation in Malakand division, and would initiate every necessary step to ensure that the regulation is implemented as soon as possible. (ANI)

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Pak’s two-tracked approach to deal with Taliban

May 4, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Lahore, May. 3 (ANI): As the Pakistani military’s offensive against Taliban continued for the fourth day in Buner, the North West Frontier Government has resumed talks with the Pak-Taliban in a bid to keep the peace deal intact.

The two-tracked approach, however, is facing flak from people supporting just-signed peace deal, and also the United States, the Daily Times opines.

The move also raises questions about Pakistan’s willingness to heed US pressure for an all-out offensive against the Taliban, it adds.

Earlier, officials who met TNSM chief Sufi Muhammad on Friday described the 30-minute meeting as “positive” despite the government’s refusal to halt the fighting in Buner and Lower Dir.

“The operation will be halted when the armed people lay down their weapons because the government has to establish its writ at any cost,” the provincial information minister, Mian Iftikhar Hussain, said.

The contradictory situation is likely to be discussed in next week’s meetings between US President Barack Obama and his Pakistani and Afghan counterparts in Washington, the report says.

Pakistan President Asif Zardari and General Ashfaq Kayani, who see India as enemy No. 1 and the Taliban as a mere distraction, will have to endorse American point of view to please the US.

In February, deal’s main plank was- allowing sharia law in the region – was meant to appease locals drawn to the Taliban by the their promise to do away with courts seen as inefficient and corrupt, the paper notes.

The Taliban said the pact allowed them to control these territories to ensure that sharia was enforced, a claim the government disputes.

When they set about taking control the military moved. Pakistani officials say once the on-going military operations push the Taliban back into Swat, the deal can go back into force. (ANI)

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NWFP Govt. announces establishment of Darul Qaza in province

May 4, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Peshawar,May 3 (ANI) : The North West Frontier Province government has announced the establishment of Darul Qaza (Islamic courts) in the Malakand region of the province.

“The government announces the establishment of Darul Qaza in Malakand Division,” provincial Information Minister Iftikhar Hussain said.

Hussain, while announcing the establishment of the regulation, urges the TNSM chief Sufi Muhammad to fulfill his part of the peace deal by asking the Taliban to lay down arms to establish peace in the region.

“Now that the government has fulfilled the part of its promise by practically implementing Nizm-e-Adl, Sufi Muhammad should also abide by his pledge of asking the militants to lay down arms and announce those as traitors who refuse to disarm and indulge in violence,” The Nation quoted Hussain, as saying.

He said now that the government has fulfilled its promise, the Taliban should also abide by the peace accord, and clarified that the government would not hesitate in taking stern actions against those who challenge its writ.

“Any one who continued to challenge the writ of the state would be liable to action and the government would use all means to ensure its writ and security of the lives and property of the law-abiding citizens,” Hussain added.

The decisions given by the courts on tehsil level could be challenged in the Darul Qaza, which is the final authority in decision-making, he informed. (ANI)

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Talks between TNSM-NWFP govt over Darul Qaza fail to yield results

May 3, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Islamabad, May 2 (ANI): The talk between the North West Frontier Province (NWFP) government and the Tehreek-e-Nifaz-e-Shariat-e-Muhammadi (TNSM) over setting up of Darul Qaza appellate courts have failed to reach any conclusion.

The closed-door negotiations held in Timergarah failed to reach any understanding, but both the sides have agreed to discuss the issue in a meeting later, the Daily Times reports

However, after the meeting, NWFP Information Minister Mian Iftikhar Hussain, Awami National Party spokesman Zahid Khan and TNSM chief Sufi Muhammad told media persons that the meeting was organised to discuss about the ways to end militancy and restore peace in Malakand.

The TNSM chief Sufi Mohammad also called for an end to military operations in the province, but according to reports authorities immediately turned down his request. (ANI)

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Qazi judgments would be final and unchallengeable: Sufi Muhammad

April 16, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Mingora (Pakistan), Apr.16 (ANI): The Tehreek Nifaz-e-Shariat-e-Muhammadi (TNSM) chief Sufi Muhammad has said that the judgments given by the Qazis appointed in the Swat Valley under the Nizam-e-Adl Regulation cannot be challenged in any other superior courts in the country.

Talking to reporters in Imam Darra area of Malakand region, Muhammad said the Taliban would be urged to lay down arms and live peacefully in the valley.

He said that the ‘peace camps’ would be re-established in Swat.

Muhammad also met the Provincial Information Minister Mian Iftikhar Hussain and both the leaders vowed to work together to establish peace and implement Islamic law in the region following the federal governement’s approval of the Nizam-e-Adl Regulations.

“The government would work with Sufi Muhammad to ensure the success of their peace deal. The Nizam-e-Adl Regulation was a long-standing demand of people of Malakand that has now been fulfilled,” The Daily Times quoted Hussain, as saying. (ANI)

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Swat deal to be presented in parliament Monday

April 12, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Islamabad, April 11 (IANS) A peace deal inked with the Taliban in the Swat Valley in Pakistan’s restive northwest is to be presented in parliament Monday even as a question mark hangs over whether President Asif Ali Zardari will ratify the pact.

Speaking to reporters in Multan Saturday, Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani said the Feb 16 deal to impose Sharia laws in Swat and six other districts of the North West Frontier Province (NWFP) in return for the Taliban laying down their arms would be presented Monday in the National Assembly, the lower house of parliament.

‘The aim is to evolve a consensual national strategy,’ Gilani said.

The peace deal between the NWFP government and Taliban-aligned Maulana Sufi Mohammad of the Tehrik-e-Nifaz e Shariah-e-Mohammadi (TNSM) seemed to be coming apart Thursday with the cleric shutting down his peace camp to protest against Zardari’s delay in acceding to the pact.

The president’s consent is necessary because the provincial government cannot amend its laws without his consent. Zardari says he will ratify the deal only if peace returns to Swat.

The Taliban says it’s the other way around: that peace can return only if Sharia laws are first in place.

On Friday, however, the TNSM said the peace deal was intact but this was predicated on Zardari’s nod, even as Sufi Muhammad refused to hold talks with a NWFP delegation that had rushed to meet him.

‘We met him (Sufi) during the Friday prayers but he did not participate in the talks,’ NWFP Information Minister Iftikhar Hussain told The News.

‘The swift move by the NWFP government was aimed at salvaging the shaky peace accord,’ the newspaper noted.

In an editorial, however, The News wondered about the rationale behind the peace accord.

‘These are men who have no scruples about breaking deals, just as they have no qualms about killing people or torturing helpless women. The only way to vanquish them is through force. This is the reality of our times. Our government and armed forces must work together for this end,’ it maintained.

On his part, Zardari has been under immense pressure to turn down the deal, particularly after the emergence last week of a video depicting a 17-year-old girl publicly receiving 38 lashes over an alleged illicit relationship. Though the incident was denied, it sparked universal outrage.

The deal with the Taliban had attracted international condemnation as it was seen to be bowing to the militants.

Protracted fighting between the Pakistani security forces and the Taliban has forced tens of thousands of civilians to flee Swat. Estimates vary, but human rights monitors believe that up to 800,000 of the valley’s 1.8 million people may have left.

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Pakistan’s parliament moves to implement governance agenda

April 11, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Islamabad, April 10 (IANS) Pakistan’s political equations are set for a sea-change with the lower house of parliament Friday moving to implement the governance agenda, which envisages power being centred in the prime minister’s office, that the ruling party and its now estranged partner had agreed on before elections last year.

The National Assembly Friday unanimously approved a resolution to form a committee for implementing the Charter of Democracy (CoD), with Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani saying the nation and political forces should unite to resolve issues.

‘We will ensure the supremacy of parliament, will restore constitution of 1973 in its original form and eliminate amendments made during dictatorship,’ Gilani maintained.

Once this happens, key powers will be transferred back to the prime minister’s office from the presidency, which will then play only a ceremonial role.

These include the powers to appoint the service chiefs and the Supreme Court chief justice and also to dismiss the federal and provincial governments and dissolve the National Assembly and the provincial legislatures.

More importantly, the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), which had quit the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP)-led federal coalition over the non-implementation of the CoD, could well return to the government.

The National Assembly resolution came a day after President Asif Zardari Thursday urged Gilani to ‘take appropriate steps to fulfill the promise made in my address to parliament by urgently initiating the process for implementing the Charter of Democracy (CoD) and repeal of the 17th Amendment’.

‘How best to implement the CoD is, of course, the prerogative of parliament to decide,’ Zardari said in a letter to Gilani, his first since assuming office.

Describing the charter as ‘our compass in the rough sea and a guide to the future’, Zardari said it was ‘the goal of our political endeavour and a beacon of light towards which we should seek to move’.

Former prime ministers Benzair Bhutto of the PPP and Nawaz Sharif of the PML-N had agreed on the CoD in October 2007 ahead of the general elections originally scheduled for January 2008.

Bhutto’s assassination Dec 27, 2007 pushed the polls back by a month and saw the PPP and the PML-N posting a one-two finish.

The two parties, along with smaller regional groupings formed a coalition but walked out when Zardari reneged on the promises made in the governance agenda.

One of these related to restoring Supreme Court chief justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry and the other apex and high court judges then president Pervez Musharraf had sacked after imposing an emergency Nov 3, 2007.

The other related to the repeal of 17th constitutional amendment that Musharraf had pushed through in 2003 stripping the prime minister’s office of its key powers.

The judges were restored last month after Nawaz Sharif led a high-voltage lawyers’ ‘long march’ to Islamabad.

The protest also saw Gilani emerging with the aura of a statesman at the cost of Zardari, who gave in on the issue only after the prime minister and army chief Gen. Ashfaq Parvez Kiyani read him the riot act.

On March 22, the day Chaudhry and the other sacked judges were reinstated, Gilani and Sharif met for lunch at the latter’s country villa on the outskirts of Lahore.

Thereafter, Gilani formally invited the PML-N to rejoin the government, but Sharif has said this would not happen ‘for the moment’.

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Pakistan girl denies flogging, but rallies condemn Taliban

April 7, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Islamabad, April 6 (IANS) The girl who was reportedly whipped by the Taliban in Pakistan’s Swat Valley has denied the incident even as a rally was taken out in Karachi to condemn the public lashing. The Supreme Court Monday ordered a probe into the matter.

The girl was reportedly flogged by a Taliban cleric for ‘coming out of her house with another man who was not her husband’.

The girl’s statement before a magistrate was presented in the Supreme Court through Attorney General Latif Khosa. ‘The girl has denied the alleged flogging incident,’ Geo TV reported. The lashing footage was telacast on many TV news channels worldwide.

The victim was not present during the hearing.

Senior officials, including the interior secretary and the North West Frontier Province (NWFP) inspector general of police, appeared before the eight-member bench of the Supreme Court headed by Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry, which is hearing the Swat lashing case.

Chaudhry said that ‘investigations be conducted’ into the incident.

A two-minute video showed the 17-year-old, burqa-clad girl screaming while being whipped by Taliban fighters.

The grainy video, shot on a mobile phone, showed the girl face down on the ground. Two men held her arms and feet while a third, a black-turbaned fighter with a flowing beard, whipped her repeatedly, London’s Guardian newspaper reported.

The newspaper said it received the video through Samar Minallah, a Pashtoon documentary maker.

After 34 lashes the punishment stopped and the wailing girl was led into a stone building.

The MQM Sunday condemned the flogging of the girl and its women wing staged a rally near Quaid-e-Azam’s mausoleum in Karachi, the Nation newspaper reported.

MQM activists wore black armbands and hung effigies of Taliban.

The Minhajul Quran Women League (MQWL) Saturday staged a demonstration outside the Lahore Press Club to condemn the flogging and demanded strict action against those involved in the incident, the News International reported.

Addressing the protesters, MQWL chief Fatima Mashadi said those who flogged the girl were not following Islam and they had brought a bad name to the religion and the country.

The NWFP government ceded authority to the Taliban under a peace deal, giving the militants a free hand to impose their puritan Islamic rule on the around 600,000 people of Swat and its neighbouring districts.

The peace accord signed with pro-Taliban cleric Maulana Sufi Mohammad includes measures to establish Islamic courts, a ban on music, expulsion of prostitutes and pimps from the area, closure of businesses during prayer times, and a campaign against what they call obscenity.

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Pakistani teen who was flogged denies incident, probe ordered

April 7, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Islamabad, April 6 (IANS) The girl who was reportedly whipped by the Taliban in Pakistan’s restive Swat Valley has denied the incident as the Supreme Court Monday ordered that a probe be carried out.

The girl’s statement before a magistrate was presented through Attorney General Latif Khosa. ‘The girl has denied the alleged flogging incident,’ Geo TV reported.

The victim was not present during the hearing.

Senior officials, including interior secretary and North West Frontier Province (NWFP) inspector general of police, appeared before the eight-member bench of the Supreme Court headed by the Chief Justice, Iftikhar Chaudhry, which is hearing the Swat lashing case.

Chaudhry said that ‘investigations be conducted’ into the incident.

The dangers of imposing Sharia laws in Pakistan’s restive Swat Valley were brought into sharp focus Friday with the airing of a two-minute video showing the 17-year-old screaming, burqa-clad girl being whipped by Taliban fighters for coming ‘out of her house with another guy who was not her husband’.

The newspaper said it received the video through Samar Minallah, a Pashtun documentary maker.

After 34 lashes the punishment stopped and the wailing girl was led into a stone building.

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Pak CJ sets 15-day deadline for report on Swat teen flogging

April 6, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Islamabad, Apr.6 (ANI): The Chief Justice of Pakistan, Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry, has set a 15-day deadline for government officials to submit a detailed report on the public flogging of a 17-year-old girl in the Swat Valley.

Chief Justice Chaudhry issued the directive as eight judges opened a hearing into the Taliban whipping case.

“Government and regional officials from North West Frontier Province (NWFP) should ‘submit report on a fortnightly basis to the registrar of this court,” Chaudhry said in his order, which was written in English.

“The matter requires a detailed probe to locate the place of incident, the application of law for those involved and if sentence of flogging was awarded lawfully or unlawfully,” he added.

The footage shows two men pinning the girl down while a bearded man in a turban flogged her 34 times with a whip.

Government officials, whom Chaudhry had ordered to bring the girl before court Monday, instead submitted a written statement saying that the girl and her husband had denied being flogged.

The woman, Chand Bibi, expressed her unwillingness to appear before court in the presence of media.

The details of her alleged crime were confused, but residents of KalaKilley village in the Swat valley said the woman was accused of illicit relations with an electrician and forced to marry him.

‘Possibility cannot be ruled out that a fake TV material or a video had been prepared with an ulterior motive to malign the people of Swat,’ said Chaudhry.

‘If there is any unlawful order, or provisions of constitution dealing with dignity of human beings are violated, action is required to be taken,’ he said.

The judges in court Monday strongly criticized government officials for dealing with ‘deteriorating’ law and order.

‘We are not satisfied by your job of sitting in offices and making statements,’ the Dawn quoted the chief justice, as saying.

Local government officials and residents said the video was filmed on January 3, some weeks before the government signed a controversial deal with a pro-Taliban cleric to allow sharia law in the Swat Valley. (ANI)

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