| DAWN/The News International, KARACHI | 21 April 2000, Friday, 15 Muharram 1420 |
LAHORE: A five-member full bench of the Lahore High Court on Thursday directed the deputy attorney general to ensure the provision of medical and other facilities to Dr Farooq Sattar of Muttahida Qaumi Movement in accordance with the Accountability Court directions and district magistrate Attock's approval and adjourned further proceeding for April 27.
The court also directed DAG Khawaja Saeed uz Zafar to seek instructions from NAB and inform the court on the next date of hearing.
Earlier, petitioner's counsel Dr Basit informed the court that he has filed three identical petitions against the detention of Dr Farooq Sattar, against the jurisdiction of deputy chairman of National Accountability Bureau (NAB) and seeking A-Class facilities in jail including medical treatment.
He requested the court to pass directions for Farooq's admission to Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) or in any hospital of Karachi. Basit pleaded that the deputy chairman of NAB had ordered to transfer reference against Farooq Sattar whereas he has no jurisdiction to pass such orders.
In another plea he submitted that NAB courts were also present in Karachi while the reference had been unlawfully sent to the AC set up in Attock Fort. He further pleaded that his client is suffering from bleeding piles but the authorities concerned are not providing medical facilities despite AC's orders. He said the district magistrate of Attock has also approved the facilities. He prayed the court to release his client.
Robbers kill one, driver dies in accidentKARACHI: Unknown assailants shot dead a man near Cantt Railway Station lying on Thursday. Lal Muhammad, a labourer in his early-30s, became victim of snipers in an unidentified car. Police said the victim hailed from Balochistan, worked in Saudi Arabia and had returned after five months. He intended to go to his hometown and was staying at a hotel near railway station along with his father and uncle who had come to receive him. As he came out of the hotel an unknown car reached and two people came out and tried to snatch his briefcase. They opened fire when Lal resisted and fled after injuring him seriously. Passersby rushed the victim to JPMC and also informed police. He, however, breathed his last during treatment. Police termed the incident as an act of old enmity.
SWC accuses Punjab of stealing Sindh's waterHYDERABAD: Second Additional District and Sessions Judge Hyderabad Amir Ali M Thari has issued non-bailable arrest warrant (NBW) for Bashir Khan Qureshi, leader of Jeay Sindh Qaumi Mahaz (JSQM). The judge issued the warrants for his absence from the hearing in a case, relating to an attack on a police party in Matiari. This was for the second time that warrants for the JSQM leader had been issued for his absence from the court.
HYDERABAD: Five farmers implicated in false case: HRCP
HYDERABAD, April 20: The special task force of the Human Rights Commission for Pakistan (HRCP), Sindh, has said that after it sent a written request to the administrations of Mirpurkhas division
and Umerkot district for the release of some farmers from the private jail of a landlord of Umerkot district, the Chhor police arrested five farmers in a false theft case.
In a statement issued here on Thursday, the coordinator of the special task force (STF), Nasreen Shakil Pathan, said some farmers had given a written application to the STF on Jan 17 that the landlord, Kishan Singh Thakar, had been committing inhuman excesses against the farmers and their families and subjecting them to forced labour on the pretext of fake loans for the last 20 years.
The statement said that after verifying the allegations through its own sources, the STF had sent an application to the deputy commissioner of Umerkot district on Feb 29 requesting him to secure the release of the farmers according to the law.
The copies of the communication had also been sent to the commissioner and the DIG of Mirpurkhas division, it said, adding that during that period, the field coordinator of the STF, Aftab Ahmed, had contacted the deputy commissioner and the SDM of Umerkot for the release of the farmers, but in vain.
According to the statement, on April 18, the landlord, in connivance with the Umerkot and Chhor police, got five farmers, namely Dongar Bheel, Lalu Bheel, Kanji Bheel, Punnho Bheel and Chandu Bheel, arrested in a false theft case. The arrested farmers were being reportedly tortured by the police.
The statement said that when a HRCP activist had contacted the police, he had been told that if the farmers took back the application, they would be released.
The STF, through a fax message, informed the DIG, the commissioner and the deputy commissioner the same day about the arrest of the farmers, and the field coordinator since then has been trying to contact the Umerkot SSP, but he has reportedly gone on leave.
It said the deputy commissioner had informed the HRCP activist on phone that he was unable to do anything in this regard.
Bomb explodes at JI headquarters
LAHORE: A powerful bomb planted near the boundary wall of Jamaat-e-Islami headquarters at Multan Road exploded on Thursday morning. However, no casualty was reported. The deafening bang created panic among the people as it smashed windowpanes of the nearby buildings. The explosion not only created a two feet deep crater, but also crumbled the boundary wall of the building. The security staff of Mansoora was put on red alert, which screened the whole area. Lahore DIG Tariq Salim Dogar and SSP Zubair Mehmood rushed to the spot and witnessed the scene. The officials of Bomb Disposal Squad and Civil Defence also reached the spot and collected remains of the bomb to ascertain whether it was made in the country or in a foreign country. The officials of Bomb Disposal Squad were of the view that the device was highly explosive, weighing one kilogramme. The residents of Education Town and Karamat Colony said they rushed out of their houses after hearing the explosion.
Another Kargil will break Pakistan: VajpayeeNEW DELHI: Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee has said Pakistan will be fragmented if it "tries to create a Kargil-like situation" in future. He said Pakistan should not forget the creation of Bangladesh, reports AIR.
Military leadership to open dialogue with politiciansISLAMABAD: After enjoying absolute power for six months, there is a realisation within the military regime to initiate a dialogue with politicians.
It was nearly three months ago that convener of the Pakistan Muslim League's Coordinating Committee, Raja Zafarul Haq, met with top generals. He is not alone in the League, who has liaison with the military leadership. Others who have met with the military junta include Colonel (retired) Sarwar Cheema, Abdus Sattar Lalika and Syed Fakhar Imam.
Raja Zafarul Haq denies that he has had follow up meetings with the government. "I met with them only once and it was a lengthy meeting. But I made it very clear to them (the military) that this cannot be a one-way street. Other senior Leaguer's nominated by the committee will also have to sit with them and exchange views. It is now the right time," he told The News on Thursday.
Zafarul Haq said it is for this reason that the Muslim League will meet on April 30 to work out a strategy for future talks with the government. "We do not believe in doing things covertly. That is why I have insisted that when the time is right a group of Leaguers will meet the government leadership as we too have to play our role. This more than anything else will help both sides to understand each others view point. We believe that the party shall be ready for talks with everyone," he explained
Raja Zafarul Haq said before the PML(N) meets, the formation commanders meeting is also expected to be held next week. "This will provide an opportunity to the military leadership to update themselves on what is happening inside and outside the country. So if a meeting between the government and the Muslim League does take place it will be after both sides separately deliberate over the present situation". Mr Zafarul Haq, once considered as opening batsman by the then military dictator late Ziaul Haq, is enjoying support from Sindh as well.
Speaker of the suspended National Assembly Illahi Bakhsh Soomro told The News: "I am a very worried man these days and fear for Pakistan. The country has always faced disasters whenever the military has taken over. If the assemblies are restored, I am ready to give my speakership to anyone for the sake of a compromise. We have great regards for Raja Zafarul Haq, and will support him in the interest of the Muslim League."
For the time being it appears that calling for fresh elections would be to open up a pandora's box and as Mr Soomro explains: "At least in Sindh and Balochistan there will be a call for fresh elections as these provinces feel that the suspended assemblies have failed to deliver." "It is certainly not feasible to go for fresh elections," he argued. Meanwhile, the PML(N) is all set to meet the Grand Democratic Alliance for what it calls efforts for return to democracy. The party has named Mian Khurshid Kasuri for talks with the leadership of the Grand Democratic Alliance. He is all set to meet Nawabzada Nasrullah Khan in Lahore.
1.5m heroin addicts in Pakistan: NYT
NEW YORK, April 20: As an unfortunate result of geopolitics, corruption and poverty, Pakistan has become country with largest heroin addicts in the world, says the New York Times in its Wednesday edition.
The United Nations estimates that in a population of 140 million about 1.5 million people have become heroin addicts.
"I think we can be quite definite that Pakistan has the largest heroin population," said Bernard Frahi, who heads the UN drug programme office for South and West Asia. "And whatever the total is, it seems to be getting quite a bit worse."
"Hashish and opium claim another two million addicts in Pakistan, the government says, and for many users heroin is but the next step. From there the rungs to come seem to be one of methodology, from sniffing to panni to the needle, the Times said.
However, it may be pointed out that before the advent of the proxy war Pakistan waged on behalf of its ally, the United States, in 1979, heroin addiction was virtually absent in the country. Seeking the support of the Mujahideen, the Americans supplied covert aid to the groups taking up arms against the Soviets and they turned a blind eye towards the growth of poppy cultivation in the region.
In several reports documented during and after the fall of Soviet Union several US officials, including CIA agents, were implicated in smuggling heroin.
The Times says "Throughout the 1980s and much of the 1990s Pakistan was a world leader in the production of opium, from which heroin is derived. That distinction has since passed to Afghanistan, which last year grew 75% of the global production. To reach the world market, the drugs are smuggled out along well-trod roads and donkey trails into neighbouring Pakistan and Iran.
"The opium trade across Pakistan's porous border is impossible to stop", an army officer General Abbas told the Times. Besides, he lamented, "the main problem is a shortage of drug rehabilitation centre."
On the reasons for the increase in drug addiction in Pakistan the Times says "Indeed, a ban on alcohol is commonly cited as a reason for heroin problem. In 1979, as part of his so-called Islamization programme, the military dictator Ziaul Haq declared drinking to be a "heinous crime," punishable by public flogging. For many, drugs became the substitute for drinks.
The NYT notes, "That same year, geopolitics turned this part of the world upside down. A strict Shiite Muslim government took power in Iran, and many of that country's drug kingpins found Pakistan a welcome refuge. Then, in Dec, the Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan, and the region became a hot spot for the Cold War. The Americans and Saudis financed the Afghan groups through Pakistani intermediaries who sometimes found synergy between the heroin and weapons trades."