COPYRIGHT The DAWN Group of Newspapers, 1997 & The JANG Group of Newspapers, 1997 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 01 July 1997 Tuesday 25 Safar 1418 MQM demands arrest KARACHI: The MQM Coordination Committee has demanded the arrest of :Haqiqi terrorist' for alleged involvement in Landhi bomb incident. The Rabita Committee in a statement on Monday demanded prime minister Nawaz Sharif to recover the weapons and bombs from the 'Haqiqi terrorists' and investigate as who were providing foreign made bombs and weapons to them. The committee said that an eyewitness and the press note of district magistrate East stated that the alleged wanted terrorist Shadab was present on the occasion and due to his mistake the bomb went off and six persons were killed. ---------------------- Pakistan nuclear units put on export ban list WASHINGTON, June 30: Three key Pakistani nuclear establishments were put on an exports ban list by the US Commerce Department on Monday, it was officially announced. Kahuta Labs of Dr A Q Khan, PINSTECH and National Development Centre were put on the Enhanced Proliferation Control Initiative (EPCI) list along with three similar organisations from India. The inclusion of these organisations on the banned list means exporters have been put on notice that any product sold to these end users may present a problem and will require a license from the Bureau of Export Administration (BEA). Officials said for some time these organisations were under a close watch and were not being sold any items by the US manufacturers and exporters. The US Commerce Department put the three organisations on its exports ban list following allegations that they were involved in non-proliferation activities. The 'Federal Register' of the US Commerce Department, publishes the names of foreign end-users who are allegedly determined to be involved in proliferation activities. Exports to these entities of concern "will now require more careful scrutiny" before shipments will be permitted, it says. Certain institutions of China, Russia and Israel are also included in the EPCI List apart from Pakistani and Indian organisations. The Indian institutions include Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, Trombay; Indira Gandhi Centre for Atomic Research, Khalpakham; and Indian Rare Earths Ltd. Fifteen Chinese companies will face the ban while Israel's Nuclear Research Centre at Negev has also been added to the list in addition to the Ben Gurion University of Israel which was accused of smuggling nuclear technology items from the United States. The Commerce Department maintained that these end-users have been determined to be involved in developing weapons of mass destruction or the missiles used to deliver those weapons. The department officials said this list is not comprehensive and does not relieve exporters of the responsibility to determine the nature and activities of their potential customers. Inter-agency groups involved in the export control process reviewed the activities of the new list and determined that exports to these entities would create "an unacceptable risk" of use or diversion to prohibited proliferation-related activities. The list allows the government to identify for US businesses some of the organisations and companies that may be involved in proliferation activities. ----------------- 'Congressional waiver for F-16s' release possible' WASHINGTON: "A one-time congressional waiver on the release of F-16 aircraft purchased and paid for by Pakistan but withheld under the Pressler Amendment is possible," said a top Democratic Party congressman. Richard Gephardt, who is leader of the Democratic Party in the US House of Representatives and a presidential hopeful for the 2,000 race, stated this in an interview with a local TV on Sunday. The Congress approved a similar waiver for delivery of $368 million worth of embargoed military equipment to Pakistan early last year under a legislation known as 'Brown Amendment.' Gephardt said: "The issue of the F-16 planes may be resolved down the line, but I would hope that we could resolve the conflict between India and Pakistan so that there would not be a need for expenditures for very expensive weapon systems that would be better spent on economic progress and growth in Pakistan." The US has unsuccessfully tried to sell some of the embargoed planes to Indonesia. Other potential buyers have shown little interest in paying more than a fraction of the price paid by Pakistan. Gephardt criticised the deployment of Prithvi missiles by India on Pakistan's borders, describing it a provocative act on part of India. To a question that the relationship between Pakistan and the US had been one-sided and Washington never responded favourably to Pakistan in time of need, the congressman acknowledged the role Pakistan had played in providing support to the US during the Afghan war. "Pakistan has done a very great amount of service for the US and the whole world over a period of years. I think what America now needs to do is to step in the role of a peace-maker and try to be a pro-active force to bring about a successful conclusion to the peace process between India and Pakistan. The American government should come forward as a force in preventing the conflict from occurring," he stated. Gephardt did not endorse the new position taken by the US administration where they are not willing to play any active role in mediating talks between India and Pakistan. "We did in the Middle-East and Bosnia. We should be directly involved in bringing both parties at the negotiations table and play an active role," he said. In response to a question if the US must ask India to scrap its missile programme, the congressman said: "I think we should first get the missiles moved back, and, obviously, as result of the peace talks, we may be able to move to mutual disarmament. This is some thing that we have done in other parts of the world, and I think it will work in this region as well." To another query, Gephardt said he himself would take a lead in bringing the US participation as a mediator between India and Pakistan. "This December I am going to both India and Pakistan along with some other members of the Congress and the Senate, and I hope my trip will be helpful for both sides to bring peace talks to a successful completion." Gephardt, who ran an unsuccessful bid for president in 1988, is waiting in line to become the speaker of the House in 1998, if the democrats regain a majority. He is also being projected as a possible presidential candidate in the year 2000, from the democratic platform. ----------------- Shia lawyer shot dead MULTAN: A lawyer, member of Tehreek Jafria Pakistan (TJP), was shot dead Monday, becoming the seventh lawyer killed this month in sectarian violence in Punjab, police said. Shamim Haider Zaidi was shot by motorcyclists in a drive-by shooting. Hundreds of workers of Sipah-i-Sahaba Pakistan demonstrated on Monday to protest against a mosque shooting which left four people dead in Lahore, on Sunday. The demonstrators demanded the arrest of killers involved in the attack on the mosque. ----------------- Jhangvi's Lashkar chief arrested TOBA TEK SINGH, June 30: The man arrested for motorcycle-lifting on Saturday by the city police has been identified as Muhammad Naeem, head of the Sipah-i-Sahaba's militant group, Lashkar-i-Jhangvi. The accused had snatched a bike in February last near the Police Lines, Toba Tek Singh, from a local electrician, Mr Munawwar. Police had registered a case against an unknown dacoit but could not recover the bike. On Saturday, Munawwar was purchasing vegetable from Sadar Bazaar here when he saw the accused in possession of the looted vehicle and shopping in the same market. When the accused realised that he had been identified, he drove away the bike. Accompanying him were his three sons. Munawwar followed and caught him after a two-hour chase from Chak 387-JB and handed him over to police. During investigation, Naeem told police that he was living here in a rented house. Police raided his house and recovered unlicensed arms, currency notes worth more than Rs 100,000 and other looted valuables. It is reported the accused had confessed to committing a number of murders and dacoities. Wanted by Jhang police in several cases, the accused had recently shifted to Toba. WATER CRISIS: Farmers have criticised local members of assemblies of ruling party for not taking interest in ending the canal water shortage in Toba Tek Singh district. Addressing a protest meeting of farmers at Chutiana, representatives of farmers said that water shortage was not an issue of a single party. The public meeting was presided over by Pakistan Kissan Committee president Ch.Fateh Muhammad and was addressed by former MPA Mian Muhammad Rafiq, former Zila Council member Ch Mukhtar Ahmad advocate, Ch Abdul Latif, Ch Farzand Ali and Ch Muhammad Zubair. The speakers urged the farmers of the area to participate in a protest procession of farmers against water shortage, levy of agriculture tax on small farmers, on July 7, at Toba Tek Singh. ----------------- Dacoits' gang led by IB official LAHORE, June 30: The City Division police claim to have busted a gang of dacoits led by an Intelligence Bureau official and recovered booty worth over Rs 200,000 and a car. In a Press release issued here on Monday the City SP said the gang had been operating in the city for the past many months and had committed 37 dacoities. They were arrested while preparing to rob a house on Queens Road in the Mozang area. The ring leader, Shakeel Bukhari, was employed as SI in the IB. The other gang member were identified as Muhammad Sarwar, Muhammad Siddiq, Rasheed, Shabbir and Muhammad Feroze. ARRESTED: Two activists of the Sipah-i-Muhammad Pakistan were arrested in a raid in Imamia Colony in the Shahdara area on Monday. Police said two brothers, Akmal Shah and Akbar Shah, were involved in terrorist activities in the city. They were taken into custody from a hideout in the Shahdara area. Police said a huge quantity of weapons was recoverd from their custody. A senior police official said Arshad, the youngest brother of the accused, was involved in the murder of Ameer Jafar at the SMP office on Sunday. ------------------ 15 gunned down in Sindh SUKKUR: At least 15 persons were killed in two separate incidents in Shikarpur and Tando Adam on Tuesday. Eight persons were killed in a clash between Jagirani and Jatoi tribes in Shikarpur while eleven persons were wounded. Both the sides used sophisticated weapons, including rockets and machine-guns. Twenty (20) persons have also been arrested. Three Jagirani clansmen, Mohammad Yaqub, Tahir Khan and Mohammad Pannah Jagirani, and five Jatoi tribesmen, Mohammad Bachal, Gulab Khan, Rehmat Arshad, Khair Bukhsh and Hussain Ahmad, were rushed to the hospital.In the meantime, seven members of a family were killed by dacoits in a village near Tando Adam. The dacoits, who entered Raja Murree village, restored to heavy aerial firing to harass the residents of the village. Later, the dacoits stopped seven members of a family, who were returning home after offering Isha prayers, and asked them to stand against a wall. The dacoits opened fire on the seven persons. The victims belonged to the Mehkani community. Infamous dacoit Shero Rind was stated to be involved in the carnage. ----------------- Blast in bus kills eight near Sialkot SIALKOT: Eight people were killed and 13 injured when a powerful bomb ripped through a passenger bus on Monday at village Bheladpur, 30 kilometres from Sialkot. The bomb exploded as the bus approached Sialkot on a regular run from Lakhnal, Sabzpir, on the border with India. A couple and their three-year-old son and a three-month baby were killed on-the-spot while a teenage boy, two children and an old man died in hospital. The bomb had been planted in the rear section of the bus. Four of the dead have been identified as Karamat, Nasir s/o Khadim Hussain, Nadia d/o Mohammad Boota and Bashir s/o Shah Din. The injured include Rafiq, Fareeda, Talat, Perveen, Yassar, Rehmat, Shahid, Nawaz, Afzal and Sajid. All the injured were rushed to the Allama Iqbal Hospital, Sialkot. Deputy Commissioner, Siakot, Safdar Mehmood, SSP Sialkot Khan Baig and other senior civil officials visited the spot and the hospital and supervised the rescue operation. According to an AFP report, police bomb disposal experts said the bomb was a timed device containing about three kg of explosive. The bus was completely destroyed, witnesses said. No one claimed responsibility for the bombing and police said an investigation was underway. But some police officials who declined to be identified alleged that Indian intelligence was involved in the bus blast, saying five men arrested since December in the Punjab had confessed to being Indian agents. One of the five, Mohammad Ishaq, was convicted of carrying out two bomb blasts in Lahore last year at Shaukat Khanum Memorial Cancer Hospital and Lahore Airport, killing 10 people. A bomb blast in January blamed on sectarian militants left nearly 30 people dead in Lahore. Another explosion in Gujranwala killed two people and no casualties were reported in the third blast in Lahore. Punjab has been hit by more than 100 killings over the past six months in attacks linked to sectarianism. Meanwhile, Ch Qasim, an activist of Imamia Students Organisation (ISO) and 4th year student of Government Postgraduate College Chakwal, was killed and his two accomplices seriously injured when an explosive device exploded in his hand at village Dheedwal, some 15 kms from here Sunday night. Police said Ch Qasim, Tanvir Abbas and Touqir Shah were carrying the device when they went for a walk in woods. The bomb exploded in Qasim's hands, killing him on-the-spot and injuring Tanvir and Touqir. The injured were rushed to DHQ Hospital Chakwal and then shifted to a Rawalpindi hospital. Victims' family sources said that the bomb was found by the victims in the woods. ----------------- Two die in road accidents KARACHI: Two persons died in two different road accidents, in the jurisdiction of Gulzar-e-Hijri police on Monday. Qardar Gul, died when he was hit by an unidentified vehicle on Super Highway, in Gulzar-e-Hijri.Ghulam Hussain was killed in the same jurisdiction. Soursec said that the deceased was getting out of the bus when he was hit by an unidentified vehicle resulting in his instant death. ------------------ Woman commits suicide KARACHI: A woman allegedly committed suicide by jumping from the second floor, in the jurisdiction of Shahrah-e-Faisal police on Monday. The police, however, termed the incident as a mishap. Shazia Aalam, 23, a house maid, allegedly committed suicide by jumping from a flat of Roofi Lake Drive, in Gulsitan-e-Jouhar. When The News contacted, the SHO, Shahrah-e-Faisal police, he said that the incident was a mishap ------------------ Cop killed in firing, body found KARACHI: A cop was killed in a firing incident while a bullet riddled corpse was found on Monday. Azmat Husain, a cop of Police Lines South was gunned down in Mehmoodabad police limits. Police said the cop had gone to a milk shop in Gali No:10, Chandni Chowk area. A dispute had developed between the Azmat and four accused Ibrahi, Ahmad, Tahir and one unidentified man on buying milk. The accused opened fire killing the cop on the spot. Reaching the spot police arrested three while their unidentified accomplice managed his flee. Police shifted the corpse to JPMC. A bullet riddled corpse of one Nafees Ahmad was found near Murghi Khana in Korangi police limits. Police say the deceased was a resident of Korangi No:2-1/2 in Zaman Town. Police shifted the corpse to JPMC and were looking into the matter. ----------------- Two die in mishaps KARACHI: A man died in road accident while another was electrocuted in city on Monday. An unidentified man was killed in a hit-and-run incident in SITE while crossing the road. Passersby rushed him to Abbasi Shaheed but he was pronounced dead. Area police were, however, ignorant about the incident. Muhammad Jan was electrocuted in Mominabad police limits. ---------------------- Teacher, family die in accident KARACHI: Dr Muhammad Zafrullah of the Department of Islamic Learning, University of Karachi, and four of his families died in a traffic accident near Rahim Yar Khan on Monday. A noted scholar of the city was on a tour. Other victims of the accident, as per information received at Karachi, included two sons, one niece and sister.He was also an honorary teacher at Jamia Abi Bakar Islamia. Meanwhile, the Karachi University Teachers' Society condoled the death of the teacher and his family members. ------------------ Rs 0.5mn looted, 10 vehicles snatched KARACHI: Armed men looted Rs0.5million, gold ornaments, electrical appliances and snatched 10 vehicles from various parts of the city on Monday. Two armed men, riding a motorcycle intercepted Raza Quddoos' car (AAQ-520) in Gulshan-e-Iqbal. On gun point they ordered Raza to come out of his vehicle and took away his car along with Rs200,000 which were placed in the car. In other incidents armed men looted Rs180,000 from Mecca Cement Shop in Defence; Rs55,000, jewellery and other valuables from Ijaz Siddqi's house in Buffer Zones; Rs50,000, gold ornaments and electrical appliances from a house in Gulshan-e-Iqbal; Rs50,000, jewellery and valuables from Mrs Qaisar Begum's house in Korangi; Rs44,000 in Birgade and cash, gold ornaments and electrical appliances from a house in Buffer Zone. ------------------ Two Haqiqi men arrested KARACHI: The Brigade police, on Monday after exchange of fire, arrested two activists of MQM (H) allegedly involved in criminal acts and threatening the area people. The sources said that the police arrested, Arif Ali and Muhammad Shahid from the Karachi Hotel, in Khudadad Colony. They said that the owner of the hotel, complined that some armed men daily take meals , without payment,under threat. On this complaint a police team reached the hotel and warned the accused who in response opened fire on police who,however, after exchange of fire over powered both the accused. During the interrogations, the sources alleged, the accused disclosed that they beloning to the MQM (H). The police also claimed to have recovered two TT pistols from them. ----------------- Girls top in SSC (General Group) results KARACHI: The first two positions in the SSC (General Group) annual examination-1997 have been clinched by girl students of two private schools. The Board of Secondary Education, Karachi, announced the results of regular candidates on Monday, with a pass percentage of 66.69, which is about three per cent higher than that of the last year. In all 185 candidates were awarded grade A-1, while last year the number of A-1 graders was 107. Safia Bint-e-Mahboob (Roll No 254981) of Habib Girls School clinched first position in the overall merit list by securing 763 out of 850 marks, while second position was bagged by Shabana Bano (Roll No 258688) of Hameed Muhammad Secondary School, Mithadar, who secured 743 marks. Salman Raza (Roll No 232849) of BVS Parsi High School obtained third position by securing 742 marks. According to BSE statistics, in all 35,546 candidates, including 25,297 girls, appeared in the examinations, out of which 23,704 candidates, including 17,950 girls, have been declared successful. None of the candidates from government or nationalised schools could get any position in the merit list. Results of 39 candidates have been withheld either on account of unfair means or for want of information. Besides, results of candidates of four private schools -- Happy Modern School, Mehmoodabad; Toronto Secondary School, PECHS; S A High School, North Karachi; and Little Star English School, Nazimabad -- were withheld for not completing the board's formalities regarding recognition or renewal of recognition. Following is the grade-wise breakdown of the result: Boys: 37 obtained Grade A-1, 345 Grade A, 819 Grade B, 1611 Grade C, 2429 Grade D and 513 Grade E. Girls: 148 secured Grade A-1, 1395 Grade A, 4284 Grade B, 7348 Grade C, 4511 Grade D and 264 Grade E. The pass percentage of girl candidates is 70.96, while of boys is 56.14. Following is the gender-wise list of merit position holders: Boys: First- Salman Raza (232849) of BVS Parsi School, Second - Nabeel Rasheed (232846) of BVS Parsi School, Third -- Imran Ali (230657) of Ghulaman-e-Abbas School, Mauripur; and Fazlur Rehman Abdul Rehman (231480) of Aga Khan Boys Secondary School, Kharadar. Girls: First - Safia Bint-e-Mahboob (254981) of Habib Girls School, Second - Shabana Bano (258688) of Hameed Muhammad Secondary School, Mithadar, and Third - Afsheen Fatima (255522) of Fatimiyah Girls School, Britto Road. -------------------- Theft causes Rs3.2bn loss to KESC June 30: KESC is losing Rs3.2 billion every year on account of electric power pilferage and the main culprits belong to the higher-income bracket people, those living in the Defence Society and Clifton-and the industrialists. "KESC's line losses are 31 per cent, of which 15 per cent are due to technical reasons and the cause of the remaining 16 per cent losses is plain theft being committed by the rich people," the KESC managing director, Malik Shahid Hamid told newsmen on Monday. --------------- Power failures to cease by end of July: KESC chief KARACHI, June 30: The Managing Director of the Karachi Electric Supply Corporation, Malik Shahid Hamid, promised on Monday to bring an end to the agonising loadshedding and power breakdowns in the city by the end of July when a total power generation in the city would be 1,590mw as against the peak demand of 1,540mw. The KESC boss and his team of six senior officials were however found wanting in answer when asked what steps they planned to deal with wire snapping and other allied problems in the power distribution system as monsoon had set in and experience showed that even a light shower put off the entire system for hours and even days. At a Press conference, the KESC boss and two general managers and four chief engineers explained that present power break down in the city is mainly because of 150 MW gap in power generation and peak demand. He said the total generation of electric power at present is 1,390mw as against demand of 1,540mw. He announced 80 per cent of the electric power breakdown problems would be solved in the city by the end of next month (July) as the 6th Bin Qasim project resumes generation in the second week of July which would enhance availability of electric power to 1,575mw as against the peak demand of 1,540mw. In the third week of July, the power generation from Bin Qasim number-6 will further increase but the unit number 2 would be closed for maintenance which would reduce the overall generation to 1,530 megawatt, indicating a gap of 10mw. He promised improvement of the situation at end of July when the total power availability in the city would be 1,590mw and would show a surplus of 50mw. Malik Shahid held out an assurance that the maintenance of the power units would continue throughout the year, there would be no shortage of power and after July 1997, "We do not expect any loadshedding due to power shortage". The KESC MD and his team of officials attributed the frequent power breakdowns to the obsolete and outdated transmission and distribution system and told the newsmen of the short- , medium- and long-term steps being taken to tackle the situation. Outlining some of these remedial measures taken so far, he mentioned (1) the diversion of load on the mobile grid station (20 mva) installed at Garden, (2) addition of 40 mva, 132/11kv transformer at the Jacob Lines grid station, (3) converting of the Malir 66kv 40 mva capacity grid station into 132kv new grid station, which by end of July will shift 40mva load from 66kv network, (4) energising the Lyari grid station at 132kv by the end of September, (5) energization of a 40mva transformer at the SITE grid station to cater for the load of 66kv network, (6) procurement of another 40mva transformer from WAPDA for the installation at Queens Road, (7) overcoming the overloading of the 132 kv grid station network with the ongoing works. So far 320mva capacity has been commissioned and another 280mva will be added in 132kv\11kv grid stations by the end of 1997 and (8) on 220kv side a 250mva 220\132kv transformer is being installed at the Baldia grid station to stabilise the 220kv network which will be completed by early July. He said he was confident that by the end of the year the power breakdown problems would be solved to a great extent and the 1998 summer might not be as troublesome as the current. The KESC MD spelt out the long-term plans being taken to further strengthen the transmission system and the steps being taken to further improve the distribution network which he claimed had resulted in the fall of complaints. Nonetheless the KESC officials expressed their helplessness at the damage being caused to the distribution system by unknown persons who damage transformers and the PMTs by firing. Responding to questions, he said the Task Force constituted by the government had recommended the privatisation of the KESC by the end of 1997. One of the recommendations suggest the privatisation of billing and distribution while the generation and transmission be retained by the corporation but managed either through private- public sector or under a contract by private parties. He admitted that the billing problem had not been solved and officials appeared to be expressing their helplessness in combating this problem. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 02 July 1997 Wednesday 26 Safar 1418 Rangers in Karachi not to be boosted: Shujaat ISLAMABAD, July 1: Minister for Interior Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain said here on Tuesday that the problem in Karachi would be resolved without further deploying rangers or the police force. "The problem in Karachi is purely a political one which is being resolved through more political efforts instead of resorting to administrative methods," he maintained. Talking to Dawn here on Tuesday in the lobby of the parliament building, he said that the issue of Karachi has been taken up on the instruction of the prime minister to resolve through peaceful and political means. "I have issued administrative directives to Sindh government to get hold of the anti-social elements but chiefly I believe that it is a political matter which would have to be tackled politically", the minister for interior added. Responding to a question he said that he has discussed with chief minister Sindh Liaquat Jatoi the role of the recently constituted two committees at federal and provincial levels. These committee would soon start meeting all the political parties and groups in Karachi to discuss various problems and find out their solution. "I have been told by the chief minister Sindh that the decision of appointing committees went well and would greatly help in improving law and order situation in Karachi as well as other parts of the province", Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain said. Answering a question he said that MQM was an important ally of the ruling party whose grievances would be addressed to its satisfaction. "We have told our MQM friends that the federal government would go to any extent to restore normalcy in the city of Quaid and that we are not hesitating to remove the genuine complaints of the Karachi based organisation", he added. He said that a judicial commission has already been set up to probe extra judicial killing in Karachi. "This was one of the major demands of our MQM ally which has been readily accepted by Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif", the interior minister said adding that other demands of the organisation were also seriously being looked into. To another question, Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain said that the problem of Karachi would be resolved by taking all the political parties and groups into confidence. "All the active players would be consulted to bring an end to the ongoing violence and subversion in Karachi", he assured. He said he would be visiting Karachi frequently as has been directed by the prime minister to look for early resolution of the Karachi problem. The interior minister pointed out that Karachi was the main industrial city where peace and normalcy was a must to invited local and foreign investment. The minister for interior said that if the law and order problem continued to persist, it would certainly harm the economic and industrial interest of the country. However, the interior minister expressed the hope that the situation would greatly improve as a result of the setting up of two committees and their plan to meet all the important parties and groups. ------------------ TJP leader, other gunned down in Khanewal KHANEWAL, July 1: District president of the Tehrik-i-Jafaria Pakistan (TJP) and a friend were killed while a shopkeeper was injured by two gunmen here on Tuesday morning. The local Shia leader, Syed Badr Abbas Abidi, had been to a medical store owned by a friend, Mohammad Naeem, when two motorcyclists arrived there, shot them and fled. Allah Ditta, the owner of an adjacent shop, was also injured by stray bullets. All three were rushed to the DHQ Hospital, Khanewal, where the Shia leader and his friend died. After the incident, all the local markets and trade centres were closed by the traders in protest against the increasing terrorism in Khanewal. Later, city police arrested seven suspects and workers of the Sipah-i-Sahaba Pakistan. Sources revealed that the SSP activists, including their city chief, Maulana Mohammad Abbas Akhtar, and Maulana Abdul Karim, had been arrested from various mosques situated in the Locoshed, Jaswantnagar, and Grain Market. ------------------ Nabbed Lashkar-e-Jhangvi terrorist claims to be police mole JHANG: A terrorist hailing from Jhang has been arrested by Toba Tek Singh police on Monday. Naeem alias Neema (son of Mohammad Siddiq and resident of old Jhang city), who was wanted by the police in several cases of murder and terrorism, had shifted to T T Singh and was living at a rented house. Riding rashly through a busy bazaar on Monday night, he almost ran over a child with his motorcycle. As the people crowded around him and the injured child, a Mauser fell from him. The people caught him and handed him over to the police. In police custody he was recognized as commando Mohammad Naeem belonging to Lashkar-Jhangvi. During investigation he confessed to the killing of Mahmud Shah and ex-councillor Ayub Qaudri. He also claimed that the police were conducting raids against terrorists from Jhang and other districts on information provided by him. ------------------- 100 more arrested in Lahore LAHORE, July 1: Police arrested around 100 more people, majority of them from the Cantonment division, on Tuesday. Earlier, the police released majority of people held on Monday after preliminary interrogations. However, about 100 people were still in police custody. On Tuesday, the police conducted raids on the houses of people having links with religious organisations. Several people were arrested from Hadyara, Ali Raza Abad, Ichhra, Ghaziabad, Mughalpura and other areas. Ali Abbas, a TJP activist, was taken into custody by plainclothesmen. However, when his family contacted the police concerned, it was told that Mr Abbas was not in their custody. His whereabouts could not be known till the filing of this report. The Muslim Town police released 12 of the 14 people taken into custody from the Imamia Students Organisation office on the Wahdat Road on Monday. However, two ISO activists - Sajjad and Raza - were still in police custody. The Lahore DIG says the crackdown was aimed at arresting people involved in sectarianism. He said the action would continue for over the next few days. Talking to Dawn, TJP Lahore senior vice-president Shabbir Naqvi has strongly criticised police action. He said the Lahore police were forcing Shias to take law into their own hands. He said the TJP would launch a campaign against the city police. ------------------- 11 freed as minister raids police station SUKKUR, July 1: The Sindh Minister for Food, Maqbool Sheikh, conducted a raid on the Lakhi Ghulam Shah police station in Shikarpur on Monday and freed eleven people, allegedly kept in illegal confinement in the adjacent mosque. The prisoners were clamped in bar-fetters when they were escorted out of the mosque by the minister, who was accompanied by a team of newsmen and another team of Shikarpur police. Reports from the town said that the minister had visited the police station a day earlier and asked the SHO to let him see the detainees. However, the SHO did not oblige the minister. The two persons had been engaged in an exchange of hot words before the minister was reportedly told that the detainees had been kept in the lockup of the police station on the written orders of the SP of Shikarpur. After the verbal quarrel with the SHO Mr Sheikh returned but he turned up again on Monday and managed to locate the prisoners in the adjacent mosque. He ordered an immediate release of the 11 persons after the police conceded that no entry of their detention had been entered in the Roznamcha placed at the police station. The SHO was missing till the minister left the locality. Meanwhile, the SP of Shikarpur, when contacted by Dawn on Monday night denied any knowledge of the whole affair. WATER SHORTAGE: Officials of the Sukkur municipality have blamed WAPDA for the acute shortage of water in this city which is continuing for the past many weeks. They said that the main cause of short supply to the consumers was power breakdown and loadshedding by the WAPDA authorities. The areas worst hit by the shortage are New Pind, Old Sukkur, Takkar Mohalla, Military Quarters, Shahi Bazaar, Bunder Road and Queens Road. No alternate arrangements for the supply of water have so far been made by the municipality. People of the city have to travels miles to fetch even a little quantity of water for drinking purpose. Meanwhile, there has been no respite from the frequent power breakdowns and loadshedding which have been aggravating the situation during the ongoing heat wave. Several of the WAPDA transformers have gone out of order due to the increase in load. Long queues of complainants have been observed at the offices of WAPDA and the SMC. ----------------- Haqiqi worker, fruit vendor shot dead KARACHI: A MQM (Haqiqi) worker was gunned down, while two passers-by received bullet wounds in Korangi, besides a fruit vendor was shot dead in Liaquatabad on Tuesday. Saleemuddin, 30, time keeper of minibus C, was killed when three armed men pulled up in a Suzuki car and opened fire at him while he was sitting at the minibus stand in Korangi No. 6. Two passers-by -- Ashfaq and Akhter -- also received injuries in the firing. Though the armed men fled after the incident, police suspected that Saleemuddin, who was a worker of MQM Haqiqi, was killed by Kala Munna, Anjum and Naeem in old enmity. Meanwhile, 28-year-old Ijaz Butt was shot dead by some unknown people, while he was selling fruits near Liaquatabad Dakkhana. Ijaz had quarrelled with some people few days back, police said and linked the murder with that incident. ------------------ Woman among 6 held after encounters KARACHI: The Baloch Colony police arrested five people, including a woman who are allegedly involved in robbery cases, after a brief encounter on Tuesday and claimed recovery of a stolen car, three TT pistols, gold ornaments, cash and electrical appliances. ASI Tariq said they received information that some people had barged into the house of a KESC employee at E-Market in Baloch Colony. A mobile reached the spot when the bandits were escaping in their Toyota Corolla (D-4945). After an exchange of fire, police arrested all of them and recovered the looted items. During interrogation they gave their names as Muhammad Arshad, Muhammad Yaseen, Abdul Lateef, Fareed and Farzana Naseem and also admitted that they had committed several robberies in districts South and East. Meanwhile, Gulbahar police also arrested a man, allegedly involved in robbery cases, after a brief encounter and recovered a TT pistol from him. After a tip-off that three armed men were roaming suspiciously near the Imam Bargah in Gulbahar, a police van reached the spot. The bandits opened fire and in the ensuing gun battle one of them was wounded while his accomplices escaped. During interrogation he gave his name as Irshad while the identification of the escaped persons could not told by the police. ----------------- Two killed in accidents, one drowns KARACHI: Two people were killed and two others were injured in different road accidents on Tuesday. A motorcyclist Khalil Ahmed, 19, was knocked down to death when a speeding truck ran over him in Buffer Zone area. An unidentified 70-year-old man who had sustained injuries on Sunday when a hit-and-run vehicle ran over him in Mithadar while he was crossing the road and was admitted to Civil Hospital in critical condition, expired on Tuesday. Abdul Mateen and Syed Ahmed Ali were injured when their car collided with a speeding minibus in Gulzar-e-Hijri area. Syed Zulfiqar Husain Kazmi, 27, drowned off Native Jatti while swimming. His body was recovered by his friends and shifted to Civil Hospital. ------------------ Medicines looted, 16 vehicles snatched KARACHI: Armed men looted thousands of rupees, jewellery, electrical appliances and snatched 16 vehicles on Tuesday. Four armed men barged into the house of Nayar Mahmood in Darakhshan, locked all the inmates in a room and looted Rs 100,000, $5,000, jewellery and other valuables. Bandits looted Rs 30,000 in Defence; Rs 3,000 and electrical appliances from a shop in Jauharabad; Rs 7,500, gold ornaments and electrical appliances from a house in Model Colony; Rs 20,000, jewellery, two TT pistols and valuables from a house in Buffer Zone; Rs 18,000 and Suzuki pick-up (KF-5324) loaded with medicines worth Rs 400,000 in Kalakot and Rs 56,560, gold ornaments and electrical appliances from the house of Saleem Sajid in SITE. Four armed men snatched a Suzuki Hi-roof (CA-6363) in KACHS in Baloch Colony police limits. Carjackers also snatched six cars and eight motorcycles in different police precincts besides taking away a Mazda pick-up (KG-1689) from outside Shoaib's house in Taimuria. ----------------- Compensatory cheques presented KARACHI: After more than seven weeks, compensatory cheques were distributed among those affected by the jettisoning of fuel tanks by a PAF aircraft over Gharibabad in early May. The cheques were released by the Sindh government following protest statements by the MQM leaders against delay in the payment of compensation by the city administration. About ten people were killed and several injured besides destruction of some houses when a PAF aircraft jettisoned its two additional fuel tanks during a flight over the area. The compensation was announced by the prime minister on May 9 during his visit to the affected families. The cheques of Rs 2.6 million were distributed in a simple ceremony which was also attended by senior officials of the administration. In compensation, Rs 2 million were paid to the families of ten deceased with Rs 2 lakh per head whereas injured were paid Rs 1 lakh. Rupees 50,000 each were paid for the dowry of four girls whose family heads died in the incident. ------------------- Cut in merit seats in colleges proposed KARACHI: The committee assigned the task of framing admission policy for first year classes in city colleges has reached a consensus to further reduce seats on 'all Karachi merit basis'. It was confided to The News that in order to increase the chances of students for admission in their nearest prestigious colleges it had been decided that this year only 20 per cent of the total seats would be reserved for candidates applying under 'all Karachi merit basis'. "We would go for more and more admission on zonal merit and that is why it has been agreed that the percentage of zonal seats be increased from 63 to 68," said one college principal. A meeting of the principals of all government colleges would be held on July 4 at Khatoon-e-Pakistan College to finalise the policy for the coming admissions in colleges. It may be recalled that the education minister had recently given the outlines of admission policy emphasising on eliminating the possibilities of any special quota and pressure tactics. At the same time he had also mentioned that special provision would be made for admission of candidates, having passed with lower grade, in prestigious city colleges in order to save them from any frustration. The minister held that all such students who for reasons like sickness, domestic problems, etc could not secure higher grades in the HSC exam be not punished or debarred from further education. However, some principals maintain that the policy should be framed in a way that merit alone be its criteria. "We would not agree to allow non-meritorious candidates for admission in prestigious colleges, otherwise, it would dampen not only the spirit of the eligible but would also open the doors for incompetent and politically motivated persons," said another college teacher. Meanwhile, leaders of Sindh Professors and Lecturers' Association have said that admission problems in colleges would persist till the time a centralised admission policy was evolved. ----------------- 250 departments to be abolished ISLAMABAD: In all, 233 departments under the administrative control of federal government would be either revamped through downsizing, merged with other units or abolished, the Prime Minister's Secretariat sources said. Sources said the Planning Commission is currently working out modalities for the merger or winding up of these departments, corporations, autonomous bodies and divisions. The Planning Commission is contemplating to wind up at least 26 departments, besides considering the privatization and liquidation of some other departments. Sources said that the government is planning to lay-off the employees from over 250 departments, who would either be given a golden shake-hand or placed in the surplus pool. Whereas, 40 other departments are likely to be downsized once the proposals are approved by the federal cabinet. Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif in his earlier directive had asked that zero budgeting should come into force from July 1, 1997, in most of the departments which are being considered for merger or abolishment.--NNI -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 03 July 1997 Thursday 27 Safar 1418 Report sought on MQM's complaints to UNHRC KARACHI: The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Interior Division on Wednesday asked the Sindh government to submit a detailed report on the Human Rights violation complaints filed by the Mohajir Quami Movement (MQM) at the UNHRC office in Geneva. Sources told The News that the MQM had filed complaints at the UNHRC office for the '49th session of the Sub-Commission on Prevention of Discrimination and Protection of Minorities' for the redressal of their grievances over 'extra-judicial' killings of MQM workers in Karachi, which were termed as 'Human Rights violations'. The MQM has filed complaints of incidents that occurred between October 10, 1993, and November 4, 1996, besides the recent accident of ejection of fuel tanks by a PAF aircraft in Liaquatabad, which, the MQM alleges, was aimed at attacking the MQM headquarters '90'. The session will be held in Geneva from August 4 to 29. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has asked the Sindh government to submit a detailed report on more than 1,300 references sent by the Interior Division, Islamabad, to the Sindh Home Department, through the Sindh chief minister. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs in a communication to the Interior Ministry, which was again communicated to the Sindh government, said: "The cases under reference would be taken up for examination in the 49th session of the Sub-Commission. The responses, therefore, should be urgently sent to our mission in Geneva for onward transmission to the Centre of Human Rights. The Sub-Commission on Prevention of Discrimination and Protection of Minorities has a broad mandate which, inter alia, enables it to consider and evaluate a wide spectrum of Human Rights issues, including specific references." The ministry stressed that the replies should show that the government had undertaken serious notice and specific complaints were being investigated. It pointed out its apprehension that the working group (Concerns of UN) could drop the communication, keep them in abeyance or forward them to the Sub-Commission on Human Rights. "In the latter case, there is every likelihood that the case may be submitted to the Commission on Human Rights, where the concerned country is subjected to a 'confidential' resolution, usually a precursor to a public resolution. It is, therefore, crucial to ensure that the working group does not forward any communication about Pakistan to the forthcoming meeting of the 49th Sub-Commission." Expressing its concern, the ministry stated: "In case, we fail to respond to these communications, appropriately before June 30, the working group on communication shall forward the cases to the 49th session of the Sub-Commission, which will ultimately transmit the cases to the Commission on Human Rights, subjecting Pakistan to the 1503 confidential procedures which can have far-reaching implications leading to the adoption of damaging resolutions against us (Pakistan)." The references, submitted by the MQM, which were in turn referred by the additional secretary UN Pakistan Geneva, included the PAF incident; the killings of MQM workers in the 'no-go areas'; and the killings and torture of MQM workers during 1993-96. According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the MQM had also filed references against the extra-judicial killings of MQM workers, 25 Christian families being persecuted in Tehsil Arifwala, Pakpattan district, and different other cases. The Interior Ministry said that the Judicial Commission had been constituted, for which it would be a pre-mature stage to comment on the veracity of incidents and alleged consequent thereof. Confirming to The News Senaor Aftab Shaikh said the MQM team comprising of retired PAF officers have concluded that "the dropping of the fuel tank was a deliberate act undertaken to send certain message to the MQM leadership." ------------------------- 2 die, 30 trapped in North Karachi housing complex collapse KARACHI, July 2: Two construction workers were killed and more than 35 others trapped when a completed five-storey building, Faiza Heights, collapsed in North Karachi on Wednesday at about 1:00pm. The construction of the complex was almost complete and intimation letters had been sent to the allottees to get possession of their apartments after a month. Eight of the wounded, recovered from the debris were rushed to Abbasi Shaheed Hospital. The rangers, fire-brigade and other people, mostly the youth of the area, were striving to rescue the workers caught in the caved-in structure till the filing of this report. Khaista Mohammad son of Piho Khan, 23, from Teh Samozai, Kohat, succumbed to his injuries at Abbasi Shaheed Hospital. His brother Sardar Mohammad, 26, has sustained multiple injuries. Another worker, Fazal Ahmed, 25, also died at the hospital. Abdul Ghafoor son of Jumma, 31, a resident of Nusrat Bhutto Colony, Mohammad Salim son of Ahmed Bakhsh, 25, Mukhtar Hussain son of Ghulam Hussain, 25, and Mohammad Rasheed Sangi son of Pir Bakhsh, 48, Mohammad Ejaz son of Elahi Bakhsh, 22, all hailing from Alipur, and Gul Mohammad son of Noor Mohammad, 26, from Kohat, were injured when the structure collapsed. In a grief-stricken voice, a worker, Mohammad Salim, told Dawn that ten persons were still buried under the rubble. Those buried included Manzoor Ahmed Bohr, Ghulam Haider Bhor, Hafiz Ahmed Bakhsh Bohr, Punal Bohr, Ahmed Bakhsh Bohr, Fazal Hussain Jam and Qasim Bohr. All belonged to a remote area of Muzaffargarh. Efforts were under way to rescue them. An injured worker, Mukhtar Hussain, told Dawn that he had just begun his lunch when he heard a crash and saw the roof cave-in on him. "There were ten of us on the ground floor, having our lunch." Another injured worker, Sardar Mohammad, said, "I don't know how many people were taking meal at that time. More than 16 Saraiki people have their own kitchen next to ours right on the ground floor." Final touches were being given to the central block of Faiza Heights, FL-13, 14, Sector 5-I North Karachi, a private project of Nasir Associates, facing Madressa Al-Madina in North Karachi. The construction workers were taking their lunch when the building caved in with a massive explosion, a resident of Ayesha Apartments, located nearby, told Dawn. The entire block, constructed illegally on the site earmarked for the park, as shown in the replica of the building, had turned into a heap of twisted steel bars and concrete rubble, he pointed out. The KDA officials had condoned the substandard construction and allowed the builders to continue with the project in total defiance of the specifications approved by building control authorities. "It was this criminal negligence that caused the disaster," he commented. Cries of the trapped workers could be heard outside. "We are trying our best to rescue every one of them," said a rangers official who was supervising the operation. An Edhi volunteer told Dawn that he got to the site at 1:30pm. The rangers arrived there by 1:40pm, followed by a fire brigade vehicle at 2:15pm. Besides the Commissioner and DIG of Karachi, the Building Control Authority officials-those who approve building plans and are supposed to keep a check on the construction-also visited the site. The DC Central Syed Rashid Ali said as soon as he got the tragic news, he instructed the rescue and relief agencies to get on the site and rushed there to supervise the rescue operation. The trapped workers, said a chowkidar, had been living in the premises of the Faiza Heights for the past several years. A fire brigade driver pointed out, "In the past, the fire department vehicles had a wireless system, but two years back the government put a ban on its use. Now we do have the system, but we cannot operate it." Sindh Minister for Town Planning and Urban Affairs Waseem Akhtar ordered immediate cancellation of the licenses of the builders, engineers and architects involved. New Karachi police denied that they had registered any case against anyone. No arrests have so far been made in this connection. Zahoor Ahmed, the proprietor of the builders, Nasir Associates, was not available when this reporter contacted him on his residence phone number. Abdul Karim Tai, the chief of Association of Builders and Developers (ABAD), was also not available on his home and mobile phone numbers to provide information about the builders and their previous reputation. It may be recalled that it was the fourth incident of this kind in the megacity since 1978. ---------------------- Pakistan's new Consul General at NY NEW YORK, July 2: Mr Abbas Haider Zaidi was appointed as the new Consul General for New York by the government of Pakistan. He will take over charge from August 8. The current Consul General, Tariq Farooq Mirza, has been appointed as Pakistan's Ambassador to Ukraine. While confirming that he will be leaving New York on August 8, Mr Mirza said that he will be the first Pakistani envoy designated to Ukraine following the break-up of Soviet Union. Mirza served a little over three years at his present assignment. --------------------- Imam of mosque shot dead in Lahore LAHORE, July 2: Imam of a mosque, said to be an activist of the Sipah-i-Sahaba Pakistan, was reportedly shot dead in the Nishat Colony in the North Cantt area on Wednesday. Qari Umar Hayat, 35, was on his way when he was attacked by two motorcyclists near Sain Wala graveyard. A number of bullets hit him in the head as a result he died on the spot. Police said Qari Umar had shifted to Lahore about two months ago and was residing with his brother-in-law, Qari Muhammad Siddiq, who is the Imam of Al-Karim mosque in Nishat Colony. A few days back Qari Siddiq left for Jhang and Qari Umar started leading the prayers. He also taught Quran to children in an open place adjacent to the mosque. The investigating officer said the attack was carried out in the early hours of the day when very few people were present on the road. He said the mode of killing was identical to sectarian incidents in the past. Qari Umar Hayat was a resident of Kabirwala. He left behind a wife and a one-month-old daughter. Police have yet to register a case. The body has been removed to the city mortuary for autopsy. ---------------------- 50 SMP, SSP leaders held in Pindi RAWALPINDI, July 2: In view of the prevailing wave of sectarianism and to maintain peace in the city, Rawalpindi police, on Wednesday launched a crackdown and arrested 50 leaders of the Sipah-i-Sahaba Pakistan and Sipah-i-Muhammad Pakistan under MPO Sections 3 and 16. The crackdown began on Wednesday night. In early raids police arrested two leaders of both the groups. Nayyar Ali Jafari of the SMP was arrested from Satellite Town while Mohammed Sarfaraz of the SSP was booked from Ganjmandi. The police also confirmed the arrest of Ziaul Haq Haqqani, Maulana Abdul Kahar and central secretary TJP, Maulana Jalil Naqi from Rawalpindi city, Syed Farhat Abbas Naqvi of the SMP from Pindigheb, while 18 leaders were arrested from Attock, 7 from Chakwal and 10 from Jhelum. When contacted the Senior Superintendent of Police, Rawalpindi Rao Iqbal Ahmed, said the operation was initiated across the province on the directive of the provincial government. Responding to a question as to how many religious leaders would be arrested during the crackdown, he said "this is not to be disclosed now. "Sources said that the operation will continue till Thursday morning. ---------------------- 264 more held in crackdown on sectarian activists GUJRANWALA, July 2: Police arrested over 200 more people, majority of them belonging to SSP and TJP groups, in and around the city on Tuesday night. The police raided the houses of the activists of Sipah-i-Sahaba Pakistan and Tehrik Jafria Pakistan at midnight, and took them into custody. Eight people were apprehended from Ghakkhar, 12 from Wazirabad, eight from Alipur Chattha, six from Rasulnagar, 12 from Qila Dedar Singh, 16 from Kamoke, eight from Sodara, six from Eminabad and more than 100 from Gujranwala city. Some bearded people who were taken into custody on the suspicion of being the activists of militant religious groups, were released later following interrogation. However, heavyweights of both the SSP and TJP could not be rounded up as they went underground following the launching of police action. HOUSE PILLAGED: Dacoits pillaged two houses and decamped with cash, jewellery, dowry of a teenaged girl and other valuables worth Rs 300,000 here on Tuesday night. Four outlaws forced their entry into the house of Saeed Mughal in Vinjowali village after scaling the boundary wall and held the inmates up at gunpoint. They tied up male members of the house and locked them in a room. Later, the outlaws collected cash, jewellery and dowry of the daughter of Mr Mughal besides snatching ornaments from the women inmates and escaped. Sodara police have registered a case and are investigating. In another incident, three dacoits sneaked into the house of Zulfikar in Nizamabad after scaling the boundary wall, locked the inmates in a room and collected cash and valuables, and fled. OKARA: More than 50 activists of different religious groups were arrested here on Tuesday night. City police raided the houses of Sipah-i-Muhammad Pakistan, SSP and TJP activists and took them in custody. TOBA TEK SINGH: As many as 10 leaders of SSP and TJP were arrested here on Wednesday. The arrested SSP men are Rana Zaheer Ahmad of Chak 295-GB, Qari Nasrullah of Chak 291-GB Gumtala, Sardar Shahid Ramazan of Chak 395-GB, Abdul Hannan of Chak 301-GB and Muhammad Ajmal of Mustafabad locality, Toba Tek Singh. The arrested TJP leaders are Mushtaq Ali, Ghulam Rasool, Abdul Khaliq, Shahid Ali, and Muhammad Fazal Kamiana, all residents of Chak Athwal, a nearby village. DASKA: Two workers of the SSP and as many of the TJP were rounded up here on Wednesday. ---------------------- PKMAP threatens to form Pushtoonistan QUETTA, July 1 (NNI)- The members from Treasury Benches and Pushtoonkhwa Milli Awami Party have blown their war bugle in Balochistan Assembly on the issue of City police raid at the PKMAP Central Office to arrest a suspect amidst angry demands to expel the mad man and establish free "Pushtoonistan" as a separate province. The PKMAP parliamentary leader Abdur Rahim Mundokhail, a fiery speaker raised the issue of police raid on his party secretariat yesterday night in the House. The members of both treasury benches and PKMAP, an opposition party plunged into a severe was of words when the JUI's Maulana Abdul Wasey in a very light vein said that on the one and PMAP criticised the government on law and order situation in the province while on the other hand provided shelter to the law-breakers in its party office. These remarks poured fuel on the fire, instigating the PMAP MPA, who retaliated with acid remarks, saying "we are not weak and will struggle to create a separate province Pushtoonistan for the Pushtoons living in Balochistan, and it will be difficult for Balochistan to remain intact. However, on the intervention of Education Minister Nawazbzada Saleem Akbar Bugti (JWP) the guns from both sides were silenced. the Education Minister said while addressing PMAP member Sardar Mustafa Tareen "we both Balochs and Pushtoons will have to live together in the province and both are weak." He said as far as the police raid was concerned, it would be probed into. The PMAP parliamentary leader said that the police raid was condemnable and alleged that the workers and leaders were badly manhandled by the police party despite their full cooperation of handing over the suspect. He said that police started beating the accused on the road unlawfully, which provoked the people. He said that senior leaders of the party and workers asked the police not to manhandle him but police party arrested workers. He said that provincial government should not turn the province into a police state. Senior Minister Maulana Amir Zaman said that due to the interference of workers of Pashtoon know a Milli Awami Party the accused fled with two Kalashnikovs. He said that PKMAP had assured the police that accused would be handed over but so far he had not been produced. The house degenerated into a shouting match, when Mualana Wasey rose on a point of order and said that on the one hand PKMAP is criticising provincial government for not arresting the accused while on the other hand PKMAP itself is protecting the accused. These remarks ignited the member of PKMAP, Sardar Mustafa Khan Mandokhel and alleged that Maulana Fazlur Rehman had harboured criminals at his residence in Dera Ghazi Khan. The matter turned serious when, prince Musa Jan Jumped into the fray. Sardar Mustafa Khan Tarin of PKMAP lost his temper and said "we will farm fire Pashtoonistan from Chitral to Bolan." He said that no one would be able to enter Quetta without the permission of Pashtoon Khawa Milli Awami Party. The draft bill of Balochistan Irrigation and Drainage authority (BIDA) and final report of Islamic Ideological Council were tabled in the House.-NNI ----------------------- NED to set up centre for 'continuing education' KARACHI, July 2: The NED University of Engineering and Technology, Karachi, will set up 'Center of continuing education' for graduate engineers with a view to enhancing their professional efficiency and acquainting themselves with the latest research and technology, stated Dr Jamil Ahmad Khan, Pro Vice- Chancellor of NED University on Wednesday. He said a committee had been constituted for devising syllabus and for considering necessary factors for the establishment of the center, which would submit its conclusive report soon. Dr Jamil said 60,000 professional engineers had been enrolled by Pakistan Engineering Council (PEC) so far and most of them who got their degrees in deep past were not fully aware with latest technology and research. Due to establishment of the center, he said, the engineers would not merely acquaint themselves with latest research and technology but University would also obtain financial benefits in order to develop its research and other educational programmes. He said "priority is being attached to research work as it is not satisfactory in all engineering universities in the country on account of lack of interest and allocation of meagre grant for this purpose on the part of government." "Government or University Grants Commission does not provide even a single penny for research on post-graduate level to NED University. All research work has been run by varsity's own resources, while, on the other hand general universities are being provided with ample grant than engineering universities even then their under graduate education programme is financed by the Provinces." If government wants to improve the standard of higher education and research work in professional educational institutions, it would have to earmark sufficient grant , he added. Terming the given grant on the part of University Grants Commission (UGC) to the NED University not commensurate with the actual need , he said the Varsity had to spent major portion of the grant to pay the salaries and allowances to the teaching and non-teaching staff and the remaining amount was not enough for research work and other academic activities. "NED University is being provided with lowest grant than other engineering universities in the country" he deplored and pointed out "Mehran Engineering University Jamshoro has received Rs190 million for research work as against only Rs20 million to the NED University for same purpose." This discretionary attitude must be given up, he urged.- PPI ---------------------- Two cops among six gunned down in Karachi By our correspondent KARACHI: After a few days of relative tranquility, violence escalated in Karachi as six persons were gunned down, while two others sustained bullet injuries in various localities of the city on Wednesday. The dead include two policemen and an employee of the Pakistan Navy. Constables Muhammad Ashraf, 27, and Muhammad Farhat, 28, posted at Taimuria police station, were patrolling when some armed men kidnapped them. Later, their bodies were recovered near Khadija Market in Block-I, North Nazimabad. The corpse of Muhammad Fayyaz, 26, an employee of Pakistan Navy, was found near Frontier Mor. According to the MLO, the body bore torture marks besides several stab wounds. According to the police, Fayyaz had earlier been kidnapped by unidentified persons from near his residence in Al-Wajid Colony, Orangi Town. The bullet-riddled body of Syed Bakht, 28, was found near the Government Girls School in FC Area. It was later shifted to Abbasi Shaheed. The MLO said that the victim had received at least three bullets. Police sources said that the deceased was a worker of MQM (A) and had also been kidnapped by some unidentified persons last night. In another incident, Muhammad Khalid, 25, was shot dead by unidentified persons in Sikandarabad while he was standing outside his residence. All the bodies were later taken to Abbasi Shaheed Hospital for autopsy. Police quoted the family members of the deceased as saying that the cause of the murder was an old enmity. Ameer Hussain, 27, received bullet wounds after some unidentified persons opened fire on him in Ibrahim Hyderi, while he was sitting outside his residence. Neighbours rushed him to the JPMC in a critical condition, however, he succumbed to his injuries on way to the hospital. Muhammad Aziz was injured after unidentified persons opened fire at him in Liaquatabad, while Ijaz-ul-Haq was wounded in sniper firing in Landhi. ---------------------- 10 vehicles snatched KARACHI: Armed men looted Rs 0.7 millions in cash, gold ornaments, electrical appliances and snatched 10 vehicles from different parts of the city on Wednesday. Two armed men riding a motorcycle intercepted the car of Shams-ul-Haq, cashier of Fazal Textile Mills, near General Post Office in Arambagh and looted Rs 445,000 from him. Two armed men looted Rs 210,000 from Abdul Qayyum in Pirabad; Rs 24,200 from Muhammad Asif in Kalakot; Rs 22,000, jewellery and other valuables from the residence of Muhammad Shabbir in New Karachi; Rs 9,000, gold ornaments, one pistol and electrical appliances from the residence of Riaz Gul in Mominabad; Rs 45,000, jewellery and other valuables from the residence of Asghar Husain in Gulshan-e-Iqbal; cash, prize bonds, gold ornaments and electrical appliance from the house of Muhammad Sharif in Nazimabad. ---------------------- Old couple murdered KARACHI: The bodies of an old couple were recovered from their house in Jamshed Quarters area on Wednesday. Bodies of Ali Muhammad Memon (80) and his wife Hanifa (70) were recovered from their flat (101/B) in Imran Arcade near Fatima Jinnah Colony. Ali Muhammad's body was shifted to JPMC, whereas Hanifa's corpse was taken to the Civil Hospital. According to the MLOs the deceased were strangulated and their bodies also bore stab wounds. According to police, unknown culprits, after killing the old couple, locked the door and fled. Police apprehend old enmity as the motive behind the murder. ---------------------- SHOs transferred KARACHI: The Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIG) Karachi on Wednesday transferred four Station House Officers (SHO) with immediate effect. Inspector Shafqat Hussain Chandio transferred from District East and posted as SHO Suchchal, vice Malik Rab Nawaz transferred; Sub Inspector Iftekhar Ahmed transferred and posted as SHO Docks, vice Nayyar-ul-Haq transferred. --------------------- Warning to govt school teachers KARACHI: The Sindh Education Department has decided to take stern action against those government school teachers who are also serving at private schools. According to a press release of the local school directorate, a high-level meeting, aiming to improve the quality of education in government schools, was held in the education department recently. The district education officers and inspecting staff of the school directorate were asked to prepare a list of such government school teachers who were also performing assignments in privately managed schools so that disciplinary action could be initiated against them. It was further decided in the meeting that the teachers found absent without any intimation would be warned through a show cause and if he or she commits the same thing second time the teacher would be terminated. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Pakistan Link, California July 4th, 1997 US visa, $ 0.1 million for killing Afaq Ahmad: announces Afaq KARACHI, July 3 (NNI)- Self-exiled founder leader of the Mohajir Qaumi Movement (MQM) Altaf Hussain on Thursday announced $ 0.1 million and a US visa as head-money of chief of the Mohajir Qaumi Movement, Haqiqi (MQM-H) Afaq Ahmad, reports an Urdu local daily. The daily said that on the instructions of Altaf Hussain an MPA Afzal Anwar announced this prize in a secret meeting of some notorious terrorists. Announced amount in Pakistani currency is Rs 4.2 million. It is to be mentioned that soon after the announcement of prize, MQM-H's Landhi office was raided.-NNI ------------------------- 65 SHOs' appointments on Altaf Group's recommendations KARACHI, July 3 (NNI)- From March to July, about 65 Senior House Officers (SHOs) were have been appointed on the recommendations of Mohajir Qaumi Movement (MQM), Altaf Group. Different criminals including Salim Shahzad accused in theft case of police wireless set and operating it in Bandhani Colony for two years has been restored along with his brother Zakaullah on the recommendations of provincial minister Shoib Bukhari. Meanwhile, another activist of MQM-H has been appointed at Liaquatabad police station. Sources said that most of criminals have been appointed in different police stations on the recommendations of political and official figures.-NNI ------------------------- Pakistan confirms test flight of Hataf-III missile under SUPARCO ISLAMABAD, July 3 (NNI)- Pakistan confirmed the test flight of indigenously developed Hataf-III missile but did not confirm its target range of 800 kilometre. According to reports, published here, Hataf-III was successfully tested by SUPARCO near Karachi the other day with enhancement of its target range from 300 to 800 km. In a weekly press briefing on Thursday, a spokesman of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, confirming the missile test flight, said, "Pakistan Space and Upper Atmospheric Research Commission (SUPARCO) is a civilian organization under the Cabinet Division and is involved in space and upper atmospheric research. The test flight of Hataf-III is very much in accordance with the international laws and for the peaceful purposes" , he said. Tariq Fatmi, who replaced a regular spokesman of the ministry Kahlid Saleem, replying to a reporter's query rejected the alleged transfer of Chinese nuclear and ballistic missile technology to Pakistan. He said, "Pakistan-China co-ordination is strictly meant to get benefit of Chinese expertise in science and technology for the peaceful purposes and the reports appearing in the section of press by CIA are incorrect" . Asked about the response of the United Nations Security Council's permanent members to the letters by Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on the deployment of Prithvi ballistic missiles by India near the Pakistan border, the spokesman informed that some of the permanent Security Council members responded in a positive manner and "endorsed Pakistan's concern regarding the national security" . The SUPARCO, according to an expert, dealt only with the rocket and guided system of the Hataf-III missile and had nothing to do with the warheads, carried by the missile. However, it was confirmed by the official sources, other than the Foreign Office, that the test flight of 800 km was successfully completed by the missile.-NNI ---------------------- Museum record removed to conceal theft LAHORE, July 3 (NNI)- The management of Lahore Museum has removed all the precious and more than hundred years old historical record of its major galleries to conceal the alleged theft of a large number of antiques worth billion of dollars in international market. According to sources, Old Gandhara Gallery register which included a complete list of 2,000 Gandhara art articles and was compiled in 1890 had been vanished. The articles were kept in store but surprisingly no physical verification was done for the last 25 years to ensure the condition and presence of all the articles in the museum. A sub-register of Gandhara Art Gallery is present which has a detail of only 800 articles which were also displayed in the gallery. Moreover, main accession register, which belonged to period from 1866-1903 and contained most earliest record of the Lahore Museum, has also been vanished. This register contained the details of all the antiques which were handed over to the Lahore Museum during the said period. Sources revealed the museum collected almost the whole of Gandhara art articles during the said period. It may be noted here that many inquiries were initiated in the past on the missing of antiques from Lahore Museum but for no avail.-NNI -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 05 July 1997 Saturday 29 Safar 1418 Four more gunned down in sectarian strife LAHORE: A 44-year-old professor of commerce at S-Block, Gulberg, and a TJP leader Syed Ejaz Hussain Shah along with his servant in Sargodha (Daryakhan) were shot dead on Friday by unidentified motorcyclists in two separate incidents, while a custodian of a shrine was shot dead at Ferozwala late on Thursday night. Professor Ashfaq arrived at his commerce academy at 10:00 am in his white Suzuki Khyber. As he parked the vehicle in front of the academy gate, two unidentified gunmen, waiting there on a red Honda-125 motorcycle, sprayed bullets on him. The bullets hit the back screen of the car, injuring the professor. As Ashfaq came out of the car and rushed into the academy, one assailant followed him and shot him dead. As Ashfaq died on-the-spot, the assailants fled. According to family sources, they had no personal enmity with anyone. They termed the attack as an act of terrorism. Prof Ashfaq belonged to Ahle Hadith sect. Ashfaq, a charted accountant, was father of three. His elder brother is a senior PAF officer. Police officials said that they wereconfused over the cause of the murder. One senior official told The News that the two recent killings in Lahore showed that terrorists were now targeting religious people. Late on Thursday night, Ghulam Zakria, custodian of a shrine, was shot dead at Ferozwala. He belonged to the Sunni sect. The police throughout the province have rounded up around 400 people during the last three days. Our Sargodha correspondent adds: Two unidentified armed motorcyclists gunned down local TJP leader Syed Ejaz Ali Shah and his servant, and seriously injured two others at his Daryakhan residence on Friday. The assailants resorted to indiscriminate firing at the TJP leader when he was sitting at his Dera along with others. After the incident, the injured were rushed to the hospital, where the TJP leader and his servant succumbed to their wounds. Due to the incident, panic gripped the entire area. The TJP activists blocked the main road by burning tyres. The unruly mob also set on fire four shops. Reports of firing between the activists of two rival religious organisations were also received. However, the administration rushed to the spot and brought the situation under control. ------------------------------ Pirzada meets Altaf KARACHI: Former attorney general of Pakistan and prominent jurist Sharifuddin Pirzada on Friday met MQM chief Altaf Hussain at the MQM International Secretariat in London. During the two-hour meeting, they discussed in detail the enforcement of law, the amendments in the Constitution, the political, socio-economic situation in the country, and the fast changing scenario around the border. According to them, the pace of the present process of accountability is not satisfactory. They maintained that accountability of corrupt elements was the need of the hour. Without accountability of corrupt elements, the process of streamlining the democratic process and implementing reforms in the country was meaningless, they added. -------------------------- Building collapse: death toll rises to 11 KARACHI: The rescue operation at the site of the collapsed Faiza Heights concluded on Friday with the recovery of eleventh corpse from the debris. The under-construction five-storied Faiza Heights, a residential project of Al Fareed Builders, owned by Zahoor-ul-Qamar, located in Sector 5-I of North Karachi, had caved in on Wednesday, burying more than two dozen labourers. The rescue teams had recovered two dead and 10 on Wednesday, while eight corpses and an injured were recovered the next day. The injured miraculously remained alive without sustaining a single major injury. On Friday the body of Ghulam Hyder was recovered from the debris, taking the death toll to 11. Those who were killed in the incident were identified as Fazal, Khasta Muhammad, Qasim (35), Punwal Gulzar (28), Manzoor, Ghulam Muhammad, Abdul Waheed (40), Ameer Bukhsh (40), Ahmad Bakhsh (45) and Muhammad Khalil, 34. The rescue operation ended on Friday, however, only the site supervisor Khalid has so far been arrested, whereas some 12 people have been nominated in the FIR. The police, however, claimed to have conducted raids for the arrest of the rest of the accused. ------------------------ PPP activist killed, four bodies found KARACHI: A PPP activist was shot dead while four bodies, including one of a woman, were found from different parts of the city on Friday. Iqbal Husain, 35, PPP's Deputy General Secretary, PS 94, living in Sector 34-2, Korangi 3 was fired outside his residence in Korangi police limits by two unidentified men who managed to flee on their motorbike. Iqbal succumbed to his injuries while being shifted to JPMC. Body of a five-year-old girl, Mehwish, strangulated to death, was found in the same police area. Sources said she was missing from Sector 34-2 from Thursday. Police shifted the corpse to JPMC from where it was later moved to Civil Hospital. Bullet-riddled corpse of an unidentified youth was found near Muhabbat Nagar bus stop in Malir City police limits. Two-day-old bullet riddled corpse of an unidentified eunuch was found in Sharea Faisal police limits. Sources said police recovered the corpse from a nullah near VIP Gate of PAF Museum. Body of a woman was found in Darakhshan police precinct. On information, police shifted it to Civil Hospital. Police said the woman was brutally tortured before she was slaughtered by unidentified killers. It was suspected that she was killed somewhere else and the corpse was thrown at the spot. BODY RECOVERED: The Docks police on Friday recovered the corpse of an unidentified 35 years old man. The police said that the deceased died when he drowned into the sea near berth No:4. Police shifted to the Civil Hospital. The deceased was a Bengali labourer, police maintained. The sources, however, said that the deceased was killed when his throat was slit by a sharp weapon and torture marks were also visible on the body. Doctor Tariq Shahani, RMO of Civil Hospital was found dead in mysterious circumstances at his residence in Garden Apartment, in the jurisdiction of Defence police. The police said that the relatives of the doctor came to them and said that they were out of the city but upon their return they found the door of the flat locked. On this, the police reached the doctor's residence and broke open the door and found the doctor dead. Police shifted the corpse to the JPMC where MLO said that the visra of the deceased had been sent for the chemical examination and till that the cause of death was reserved. ONE KILLED: One passenger Ziauddin was killed and six others of a mini-bus were injured when their coach turned turtle in the jurisdiction of SITE police on Friday. Police shifted the corpse and the injured to the Abbasi Shaheed Hospital. Further details were not available till the filling of this report. --------------------------------- Demo by TJP against desecration HYDERABAD: Dozens of activists of Tehreek-e- Jafferia Pakistan (TJP) and Asgharia Students Organisation staged a protest demonstration in front of the Press Club, Hyderabad against the desecration of a mosque and Alam, which was removed by the University authorities. The office-bearers of TJP and Asgharia Students in their speeches slated the Vice Chancellor for the removal of the Alam and demanded of him to re-construct the Alam immediately otherwise they will launch a province-wide campaign against him. ------------------------- Burn victims expires KARACHI: A teenage girl and a man who were admitted to Abbasi Shaheed Hospital and Burns Ward of Civil Hospital respectively, died on Friday. Taj Lala, 16, had received burn wounds when the stove burst and her clothes caught fire at her residence in Manghopir on Thursday. Her relatives took her to Abbasi Shaheed Hospital where after 24 hours she succumbed to her wounds. Saeed Ahmed, 35, had received burns wounds when his clothes caught fire at his residence in PIB Colony on June 1, while he was cooking. His relatives took him to Civil Hospital where after one month he died. ------------------- Viral infection hits Karachi KARACHI, July 4: Hundreds of cases of viral infection are being reported to casualty and OPDs of public and private sector hospitals as well as the clinics of general practitioners in the city daily. According to doctors, most of the patients complain of sore throat, body pain and fever. They are prescribed symptomatic treatment and in some cases antibiotics to check the spread of infection. Doctors attribute this incidence to an increase in the temperature and pollution levels in the city and to continued supply of unhygienic water to citizens. Dr Sabir Hussain Shah, medical superintendent of Lyari General Hospital, said it was a seasonal infection afflicting all age groups. However, he said, there were no notable changes in the number of these cases at his hospital. But other hospitals and clinics find a significant change in the number of these cases. Dr Kamran, the CMO of JPMC, said he had been noticing around 50 such cases at the casualty daily and the number must be much higher at the OPDs and medical wards of the hospital. Dr Najm Zameer of Medical V unit of Civil Hospital said there were always chances of spread of such nosocomial infections. He said these cases were not life-threatening and simple precautionary measures by patients could check the spread of this infection. Dr Zameer said the OPD of the medicine had been receiving 50 to 100 such cases daily. But he believed a much larger number of the victims could be consulting general practitioners at their clinics. Prof Zeenat Isani, director of the National Institute of Child Health, said cases of high fever, which were most likely of viral nature, were on the increase among children. She said due to the present season, there were other infections on the rise, too, including typhoid. -------------------------- Water scarcity in many city areas KARACHI, July 4: Complaints of water scarcity are again on the rise in spite of KWSB's claim of full quota of bulk water supply to the city, viz. 388 MGD-263 MGD from Indus; 100 MGD from Hub; 20 MGD from Haleji and five MGD from Dumlottee sources. Notwithstanding power breakdowns and loadshedding at KWSB pump houses in different parts of the city which have badly hampered normal water supplies to consumers, inquiries show that there were other factors too. Mismanagement in the distribution system, improper valve operation and interference of unauthorised people at supply points, including hydrants, appears to be the major causes of water scarcity in the city. Inquiries show that the areas affected badly include major parts of district East, starting from Landhi-Korangi, Malir- Saudabad, Shah Faisal Colony and Gulshan-i-Iqbal. Other disturbed areas from where complaints of water shortage have are on the rise include different blocks of North Nazimabad, Banaras-Qasba, parts of Orangi, Keamari, Shershah, Baldia, parts of Lyari and Old Town areas, etc. The main reason for water scarcity in district East areas was due to loadshedding at pump-houses in Landhi-Quaidabad (Future Colony), Shah Faisal Colony, Gulshan-i-Iqbal (Block-6 and NIPA), etc. The power breakdowns have added to the miseries of the consumers who run for water, though in vain, mainly due to non- co-operative and inept attitude of the KWSB engineers. These harried people reported on phone their plight, stating that they don't even get relief through tankers, commanded by KWSB for deficit areas because of control of non-officials at hydrants, forcing them to buy water from private tankers at exorbitant rates. They asked: How and from where the private tankers get water? It was stated by the residents of North Nazimabad that the power supply at Shipowners College Pumping Station is off for the last 36 hours and yet, there was no sign of its restoration. "It has badly affected water supplies to various blocks of this locality," they said, adding that "the KWSB has no arrangement to feed us with its tanker services either". A similar situation was reported from Banaras-Qasba where power breakdowns were a routine for two to four hours daily. This situation has deteriorated water supply position in Pathan/Frontier colonies, Qasba, etc. Some observers said there are more instances of water thefts and increased supplies to industrial units in SITE and Korangi, particularly by pan farms. In fact, they said more than a dozen illegal water connections which had been disconnected in PPP- rule, have been re-opened. These farms have been drawing enormous potable water. Of them, one pan field is owned by a PML leader, they added. In industrial zones, they said water supply is of two kinds - metered and unmetered (it goes unaccounted for). It requires a thorough probe into such affairs to ensure proper distribution of water to the city consumers. These observers said there is great need for revamping the water distribution system and appointment of experienced engineers to come to the aid of the people at large. Complaints of water shortage were also received from Indus Mehran, Pak Kausar Town, Khokhrapar Nos 1, 2, 3, 4, Chaman Colony, Saudia Colony Sectors 8-A and B in Malir and Al-Erum Foundation Sector 15.A/5, Buffer Zone, North Karachi. --------------------------------- Admission situation in colleges may worsen KARACHI, July 4: A meeting of the city college principals on Friday discussed the matters pertaining to forthcoming admissions to first-year classes and decided to formulate a policy based on suggestions made at the meeting. The Sindh education minister, who was also present at the meeting, asked the college directorate officials that it was each and every individual student's right to get admission in college and steps should be taken to provide each and every student to get admission. He said the principals would be given due authority and say in the admission process so that they could utilise their experience and administrative expertise and that all the student should be provided with the opportunity to acquire knowledge. He said once the policy with regard to 1997 admission was finalised principals of the colleges were expected to go by the rules and would not succumb to any pressure for making unlawful admissions in colleges. He said that he would take every possible step to ensure that funds allocated for various ongoing education schemes, including those for colleges, were utilised and schemes were completed as per schedule. The meeting was attended, among others, by the director of colleges, Prof Tahir Husain, and over 55 city college principals. However, a review of the last year's admission policy reveals that the policy could not be implemented in letter and in spirit owing to a variety of reasons. It is apprehended that this year the situation would worsen because of the fact that the city has an acute shortage of colleges as the existing number of 80-odd institutions with a capacity to accommodate some 30,000 students had already been squeezed to their optimum. This must be mentioned that a large majority of students qualifying their SSC examinations in 1994-95 could be adjusted only after the Sindh education department made a policy decision under which candidates securing A, B an C grades were extended admissions in morning shifts while those attaining D and E grades sought admission in evening shift. Even if ever international standard are maintained at local educational institutions and no more than 42 students are accommodated in each class the city colleges would require 1,900 classrooms for first-year students only against the existing number of 435 classes as each of the 86 colleges in Karachi has not more than seven halls. The fact is that a number of city colleges such as St Joseph's, Adamjee, PECHS, Sir Syed and Delhi have been accommodating around 100 to 180 students in each class. Prof Haroon Rashid, general secretary of College Principals Association, said that the colleges were already faced with a deficit of 380 teachers when there was a teacher-student ratio of 1:60. He said after the first-year admission for 1997 the teacher- student ratio would become 1:75. Prof Rashid said he had told the Friday meeting of the college principals that the shortage of teachers could be overcome by hiring MSc and MA degree holders who could be paid Rs4,000 as honorarium because it took not less than six months for the Public Service Commission to make appointments. Last year when those colleges which admitted students in excess of their capacity were assured by the provincial education department that they would be provided more teachers in view of the increase in the number of students. This promise, however, was no fulfilled, he added. According to statistics, the PECHS Girls College gave admission to 900 students against its capacity for 400 students, DJ Science College to 1,170 against 850, said Prof Riazul Hasan, president of Sindh Professors and Lecturers Association. Citing the example of Government PECH Girls College, Prof Ahsan said that the number of students in first-year class reached around 200, making it extremely difficult for a teacher to have her voice heard to the last bench student. For this, he said, the college had to make arrangements for mike for the teachers. But, he added, that system could not be continued because the voice emanating through speakers proved a source of disturbance for other classes. Likewise at St. Joseph's College, one of the colleges where admissions were made in excess in hundreds, students had to sit on windows and even on floors to attend their classes. The existing strength of laboratories, he said, also had to face a similar problem on account of the heavy load of students, which simply could not cope with this load. He said the science colleges gave admission to around 24,000 students against their capacity of hardly 20,000 last year. He said the present government's decision that all D and E graders should be given admissions in morning shift would result in added pressure on colleges. He said there was no denying the fact that the policy restricting D and E graders to only evening shifts had brought an alarming decline in the enrolment rate of students in colleges situated in areas such as Lyari, Liaquatabad, Landhi, Malir, but allowing D and E graders to approach all colleges would open up new avenues of pressures on college administration. Prof Haroon said that he had suggested to the education minister that a policy should be framed with regard to admission of D and E graders by selecting colleges where the enrolment rate was already poor. He said these colleges could be Abdullah Haroon College, Sirajuddaula College, Allama Iqbal College, Jamia Millia, etc. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 06 July 1997 Sunday 30 Safar 1418 KESC chief, gunman & driver killed in ambush KARACHI, July 5: Managing Director of the Karachi Electric Supply Corporation, Malik Shahid Hamid, his gunman and driver, were shot dead by unidentified assailants in Defence area on Saturday. According to the SHO Defence, Mohammad Mobeen, occupants of a white Corolla and a green Mehran Suzuki car opened fire on both sides of Malik Shahid's vehicle, killing his driver and gunman on the spot and injuring the KESC MD, who died on way to hospital. The assailants fired scores of bullets which also hit the outer walls of house B-71 and A-71 abutting South Street No.13, off Seaview Avenue. Police have collected 155 empties from the spot. The frontal portion of the second storey of a bungalow was riddled with bullets. The gate and windowpane of the bungalow were also damaged. Police said the KESC chief left his residence B-75, South Seaview Avenue, at 8.30am in his official car (Z-2638), along with his gunman Akbar and driver Mohammad Ashraf. When his car turned onto South Street No. 13, he was waylaid and fired upon by the killers from opposite sides, the police added. Malik Shahid was immediately taken to the JPMC, but he died on way to hospital. After hearing about the incident, Malik Shahid's wife rushed to the JPMC where she reportedly disclosed the names of people she suspected to be her husband's killers. Sindh Chief Minister Liaquat Jatoi and high ranking civil and military officials attended the Namaz-i-Janaza of the KESC chief who was also the home secretary of Sindh. He was laid to rest in DHA graveyards on Saturday afternoon. His Soyem will be held on Monday (July 7) after Asr prayers at his residence B-75, Street. No 13, Phase-II, Defence Housing Society. Sindh chief minister on Saturday constituted a special team, comprising AIG Crimes Ali Gohar Mithiani, SP Special Branch Dost Ali Baloch and DSP Saddar Azeem Ghoto to investigate into the cold-blooded murder of Malik Shahid, his driver and gunman. According to a press note Malik Shahid left his residence in his official car at 8.30am. About 100 yards from his house when his car turned towards the main road, he was waylaid and fired upon by unknown assailants. The chief minister has also taken a serious view of this heinous crime and has ordered beefing up of security measures in the city, the press note said. Mr Hamid started his career in 1974 as assistant commissioner. He also served as the home secretary of Sindh from March 1995 to Feb. 1996. Various organisations have expressed their grief over the killing of Malik Shahid Hamid and demanded of the government to arrest the culprits involved in the tragic incident. In a statement faxed from London to Dawn offices here, MQM chief Altaf Hussain condemned the murder of Malik Shahid, his driver and gunman. He said the tragic incident was aimed at destabilising Sindh coalition government. The KW&SB Engineers and Officers Association also condemned the killing of KESC chief. ------------------------------------ Asif Zardari, 21 others indicted KARACHI, July 5: The District and Sessions Judge, South, on Saturday framed charges against Asif Ali Zardari and 21 others for conspiring and killing Mir Murtaza Bhutto and seven of his partymen on Sept 20 last outside 70 Clifton. Reading out from the chargesheet in the presence of 19 suspects, Judge Shahnawaz Awan said Wajid Durrani, Shoaib Suddle, Masood Sharif, Asif Ali Zardari, ASPs Shahid Hayat and Rai Mohammad Tahir, SHOs Agha Jamil and Shabbir Qaimkhani, and ASI Abdul Basit, in connivance with Shukaib Qureshi, Syed Abdullah Shah, had hatched a conspiracy to kill Murtaza Bhutto and his partymen, which was punishable under Section 120-A and B of PPC. The chargesheet further read that the accused No 1 to 9 had ordered the accused No 11 to 19 who fired straight shots and killed Mir Murtaza, Ashiq Ali Jatoi, Sajjad Haider, Wajahat Jokhio, Mohammad Baloch, Mohammad Rahim, Abdul Sattar and Mohammad Bachal. This was punishable under Section 302 and 324 Qisas and Diyat Ordinance. Another charge was that the accused had deliberately destroyed the evidence. Names of Wajid Ali Durrani, a former SSP (South); Dr Shoaib Suddle, a former DIG of Karachi; Masood Sharif Khattak, a former IB chief; Asif Ali Zardari; ASPs Shahid Hayat and Rai Mohammad Tahir; SHOs Agha Mohammad Jamil and Shabbir Qaimkhani, ASI Abdul Basit and eleven others were read out. All of them were present in the court. Three of the suspects-former Sindh chief minister Abdullah Shah, former SP investigation South Shukaib Qureshi and former SHO Khokhrapar Zeeshan Kazmi-are still absconding. The judge asked the suspects whether they accepted or denied the charges. All 19 suspects present in the court declined to accept the charges. Azizullah Sheikh, counsel for Asif Ali Zardari, drawing the attention of the court towards the contents of the chargesheet, said it was a concocted case. He said the prosecution had not mentioned the place, date and time of the conspiracy and thus failed to prove that it was a conspiracy. The counsel also submitted that the witness to conspiracy be brought in the court on the next hearing. Asif Zardari was escorted from Malir Jail to the Karachi Central Prison amidst extraordinary security arrangements to attend the proceedings of the trial-in-jail. The jail authorities had also brought Dr Shoaib Suddle, former DIG of Karachi, to attend the framing of charges by the sessions court. A PPP MNA, Manzoor Ahmed Wassan, attended the court proceedings. The court asked that the complainant, Noor Mohammad, should be present in the court on July 19. ---------------------------------- 28 perish as bus plunges into ravine GILGIT, July 5: Twenty-eight people, most of them Pakistan Army soldiers, were killed and two seriously injured when a bus carrying them rolled hundreds of feet down into a ravine while negotiating a sharp turn on Karakorum Highway in the Northern Areas. The tragedy occurred at Lotor, 230km from here, as most of the soldiers rejoiced the journey home on vacations. The driver and conductor of the bus were also killed. The residents of the nearby areas and those travelling on the highway rushed to the spot and started evacuating the bodies of the soldiers. Later, army teams also joined the rescue operation. Police said the ill-fated bus (GLTA-1569) left from here at 0300 hours on Friday and exactly after 12 hours of arduous journey on the Karakorum Highway it fell into the nullah, killing the soldiers, driver Akbar Khan and conductor Sabir Hussain of Gilgit. The army rescue teams which flew in two helicopters transported the bodies to the respective native places of the soldiers. The helicopters took off from Gilgit at 4pm on Saturday. The dead belonging to 41 Battalion included; Subedar Sher Bahadar, Havaldar Khalid, Naik Tufail, Sepoy Akhtar, Sepoy Abdur Rashid, Sepoy Mehmood, Sepoy Rab Nawaz, Sepoy Mushtaq, Sepoy Ghulam Rasul, Sepoy Ghulam Shabbir, Sepoy Zumarad Khan and Sepoy Lal Khan. The deceased belonging to 432 Workshop are; Havaldar Arif, Lance Naik Sartaj and Sepoy Massih Yousaf. Those belonging to 476 Missile Unit include; Lance Naik Hassan Akhtar and Sepoy Mohammad Farid. The other dead are Sepoy Waris Ali of 14 Abbasia Unit, Fida Hussain of Lama House, Sepoy Mohammad Ali of 16 Mortar Battery, Mohammad Zamir of 38 Supply and Sepoy Ali Akbar of 632 Workshop. Two unidentified bodies of apparently local civilian passengers are still stranded in the bus. Efforts were on for their evacuation. The residents told NNI that one cause of the accident appeared to be the sleepy local drivers who constantly drive for 18 hours in such a dangerous terrain which also results in accidents. Locals have complained that the Northern Areas administration never ensured safe journey of the people.-NNI Meanwhile, Northern Areas Transport Corporation manager in Gilgit told APP on telephone the exact cause of the accident could not be known but brake failure is suspected to be the cause of the tragedy. ---------------------------------- Cop dies in shootout with dacoits KARACHI, July 5: A police constable was killed and his two colleagues were injured on early Saturday morning when they exchanged fire with dacoits fleeing after looting the house of a former banker in the limits of the Darakhshan police. The dead was identified as Mumtaz Ali, hailing from Talagang. The injured police constables were Muhammad Saleem and Mir Zaman. The dead and injured cops were shifted to the Jinnah Post- Graduate Medical Centre. The doctors said Mumtaz Ali sustained two bullets in his upper torso. Mehmood Ashraf, the owner of the house living with his wife, two sons and a daughter-in-law, told Dawn that three dacoits barged into his house, No. 93, 25th Street, Khiyaban-i-Muhafiz, Phase-V, DHA, at around 2:45am by cutting the grill of a window. "The dacoits, armed with a kalashnikov, TT pistols and a dagger, held all of us hostage and looted Rs25,000, jewellery, a VCR, a video camera and other valuables," he added. He said later the dacoit ordered his younger son, Arshad Ashraf, to drop them at a nearby place in his car (R-2247). "My daughter-in-law also accompanied my son who took them in the car at about 3:45am," he said. Mr Ashraf said the dacoits asked his son to stop at a desolate place in the Phase-VIII of the DHA. When they unloaded the booty from the car, they said, they had forgotten a bag in the house and "asked my son to take them back to home". He said one of the dacoit stayed back with the booty, while the remaining two came back to his house within 15 minutes. As one of the dacoit entered the house holding Arshad at gunpoint and "leaving my daughter-in-law in the car with his accomplice, there appeared a police mobile van, and the dacoit started firing with the kalashnikov on the police who could not have a chance to return the fire." A Darakhshan police official said a police party headed by ASI Jamshed Hameed was on routine petrol when they spotted a car parked outside the house in a suspicious manner. As they came close and started getting down, they were fired upon by the dacoits. Three police constables sustained bullet wounds and were rushed to the Jinnah Post-Graduate Medical Centre, but Mumtaz Ali died on his way to the hospital, he added. Mr Ashraf, whose both sons are also bank employees, had shifted to his new house in the Defence from Gulshan-i-Iqbal only one-and-a-half-months ago. Meanwhile, the Seaview Residents Society has expressed concern over the crime wave sweeping the area. It said the Seaview and adjoining areas had been in the grip of a crime wave for the last two weeks. ------------------------------- Farooq fears murder to pave way for another operation KARACHI, July 5: The MQM's senior minister in the Sindh Government, Farooq Sattar, on Saturday telephoned Sindh chief minister from London and asked him to take all possible measures to arrest the killers of the managing director of the KESC, Malik Shahid Hamid. According to an MQM Press release faxed to Dawn from London, Mr Sattar also expressed his "extreme grief" at the death of the KESC MD. The statement quoted the Sindh minister as saying that the murder of Mr Hamid was an attempt to destabilise the Sindh Government and "make the situation so bad that another operation against the MQM could be justified". Meanwhile, two MQM leaders, Senator Ajmal Dehlavi and MNA Sheikh Liaquat Hussain left for London on Saturday to meet their party chief Altaf Hussain. Apart from Mr Sattar, several other key MQM leaders including MNA Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui, Anees Ahmed Qaimkhani and Anees Ahmed Advocate are also in London to confer with their party chief as is Sindh housing and town planning minister Waseem Akhtar. ------------------------------- Judges not to attend political functions: PBC ISLAMABAD, July 5: Pakistan Bar Council (PBC) has demanded of the judges of superior courts not to attend political functions, oath-taking ceremonies and dinners arranged by the government and private parties to remove doubts about the independence of judiciary. Pakistan Bar Council, apex body of the legal practitioners, released its six resolutions to the Press on Saturday which it had adopted at its meeting held on June 21. The PBC also demanded of the government to fix the number of judges in the Supreme Court by an Act of Parliament. It was decided to send a draft bill to the federal government for legislation. Stating aims and objectives of the proposed legislation, the PBC stated that in case of fixation of number of judges by an act of the Parliament, no chief justice or a judge of the high court could be appointed as judge of the Supreme Court by increasing the number of judges by the President at will for one reason or the other. At present the number of judges in the Supreme Court is fixed through a presidential order. The Pakistan Bar Council meeting which was presided over by the Attorney General Chaudhry Mohammad Farooq proposed that Supreme Court should consist of Chief Justice to be known as Chief Justice of Pakistan and 14 other judges. The PBC cited Indian examples where president enjoyed no such power to increase or decrease the number of judges of the Supreme Court of India. In India, the number of judges in the Supreme Court is increased by the parliament through an amendment in the relevant article. The PBC asked the government not to make judicial appointment without consulting the representatives of the Bar. The resolution passed by the PBC argued that representative bodies of the legal profession were in better position to judge the antecedents, integrity, competence and suitability of the candidates for judgeship. Arif Hussain Khilji, member PBC did not express his opinion. The meeting appreciated the decision of Chief Justice of Balochistan High Court who refused to become the Acting Governor of Balochistan in order to advance the cause of separation of judiciary from executive. The PBC requested the Chief Justices of High Courts to kindly follow the example set by the Chief Justice of Balochistan. The meeting also considered the matter of resumption of practice by the affected judges of high court whose appointment has not been regularised in the light of Supreme Court judgment in Judges case. The PBC meeting resolved that an advocate who joins the constitutional office of a Judge of a high court loses his right to practice law. "He ceases to be an advocate of and goes out of discipline of the Bar Councils," the PBC held. It stated that all the ex-judges who wanted to start the practice as advocates must get licences from the respective bar councils. "Start of practice without licences afresh will render such persons liable to disciplinary action." The PBC meeting expressed its deep appreciation of the accountability process started by the government against the bureaucracy with an expectation that the process would be taken to the logical conclusion without victimisation and discrimination. The meeting demanded the accountability of the past and present public representatives with same seriousness and earnestness as the government has shown against the bureaucracy. The meeting called upon the federal and provincial governments to ensure that the legislation may be made in the country through parliament and provincial assemblies and not through ordinances. The PBC appreciated the efforts made by Prime Minister Mian Nawaz Sharif and all the political parties represented in the Senate and National Assembly for unanimously making the 13th Amendment in the Constitution of 1973, to put the parliamentary system in the country on even keel. ------------------------------------ Two die in attack on marriage lawn KARACHI: Two persons, including a boy, were gunned down in an attack at a marriage hall in Gulberg on Saturday. Sources said that two unidentified gunmen came in a car at Najmul Marriage Lawn, located near Gulberg roundabout in Block 17, Federal B Area, and opened fire, injuring six people, including Mazhar Iqbal, 30, Sonia, 18, Rizwan, 10, Kamran, 16, Sajawal, 8, and groom Azher Iqbal. The gunmen later fled. Four of the injured were rushed to the Abbasi Shaheed Hospital, while Sajawal and Azher Iqbal were taken to Aga Khan Hospital. The condition of the groom is stated to be critical. His brother, Mazhar, succumbed to his wounds while on way to the hospital. Sajawal also died before medical treatment could be given to him. Sonia, Kamran and Rizwan belong to the same family. On receiving the information, SSP Central Syed Abbas Raza and other police officials rushed to the spot. Large police contingents cordoned off the entire area. Sources said that it was the Valima ceremony. Most of the people, attending the ceremony, were residents of Korangi. According to the sources, the assailants were armed with a TT pistol and a Kalashnikov rifle. The person armed with the pistol first entered the marriage lawn and fired the first shot. Later, the other assailant opened fire with automatic rifle. The sources said that the police recovered a Kalashnikov magazine with 21 live rounds. They also found nine empties from the spot. ------------------------------- PM postpones visit to city KARACHI: Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has postponed his visit to Karachi scheduled from July 7. The Prime Minister's Secretariat announced the postponement of the prime minister's visit after the murder of MD KESC Malik Shahid Hamid who was killed by terrorists on Saturday. Meanwhile, Chief Minister Liaquat Jatoi also cancelled the dinner he was to host in honour of city journalists at CM House on Saturday. The officials said the main reason of cancellation was Malik's murder. -------------------------------- Robbers injure shopkeeper KARACHI: Armed men looted thousands of rupees, gold ornaments, electrical appliances and snatched 10 vehicles on Saturday, besides injuring a man on his resistance. Two armed men barged into a general store in Taimuria and looted Rs 45,000 and valuables. When the owner Pervaiz Alam resisted, one of them shot and wounded him before fleeing with the booty. Bandits looted Rs 75,000, prize bonds worth Rs 150,000, jewellery and valuables from a house in Gulshan-e-Iqbal; Rs 50,000, gold ornaments and electrical appliances in Bahadurabad, and Rs 70,000, jewellery and valuables from a house in Ferozabad. ------------------------------- Woman commits suicide KARACHI: A woman committed suicide by setting herself on fire in Brigade police precinct on Saturday. Salma, wife of Muhammad Aslam and a resident of kachchi abadi of Jutland Lines, allegedly self-immolated herself. She was rushed to Civil Hospital but succumbed to her burns on the way. Duty Officer Yaqub at the police station said the incident seemed to be a suicide as Salma's elder daughter, Saira (16), said that no one had entered their home when she saw her mother burnt. ----------------------------- Black day observed KARACHI: The PPP-SB Karachi Division observed a "black day" on Saturday, by bringing out a rally from Regal Chowk which terminated at Karachi Press Club. Speaking at the rally, city President PPP-SB Abdullah Baloch, General Secretary Hameed Baloch and Ilyas Memon said that the matrial law imposed on July 5, 1977, by Gen Ziaul Haq had damaged the country a lot. They also demanded that the killers of Mir Murtaza Bhutto be hanged and Syed Abdullah Shah, Zeeshan Kazmi and Shakaib Qureshi be arrested. Hameed Baloch also called for the release of Ali Muhammad Sonara, a provincial leader of PPP-SB. ------------------------------- Referendum at PPO demanded KARACHI: The All Pakistan Postal Employees Union has demanded for holding referendum at the Pakistan Post Office. In a statement, Syed Hameed Ahmad said that no referendum was held at the Pakistan Post Office for the last 12 years, "which is a major reason of corruption at the institution". He also demanded for constituting investigation teams in all the provinces to probe into the corruption at the PPO. ------------------------ MQM's demand KARACHI: The MQM Coordination Committee has demanded of the govt to award stern punishment to the killers of Justice Nizam and his son. The confessional statement given by Bilal Shaikh was enough to prove that the Peoples Party was involved in the killing and the acts of terrorism, said the MQM Coordination Committee in a statement on Saturday. --------------------- Burn victim succumbs KARACHI: A burns victim woman, stated to have attempted to commit suicide, died in hospital in the wee hours of Saturday. A mother of five children, Zebunnisa, had received burn wounds a month earlier at her residence in Khwaja Ajmernagri police precinct. She succumbed to her injuries at Abbasi Shaheed Hospital. Sources said that she had allegedly tried to commit suicide by setting herself to fire. Zebunnisa had alleged in her first statement that her mother and sisters-in-law had tried to burn her, source added. The police, when contacted by The News, expressed their ignorance about the facts. ------------------------ Kamal Afsar to look after KESC affairs KARACHI: The federal ministry of Water and Power has asked Deputy Managing Director (Finance) Kamal Afsar to look after the affairs of KESC as acting MD till further orders. The post has fallen vacant after assassination of Malik Shahid Hamid on Saturday. It is worth mentioning that Kamal Afsar has acted on the post in the recent past and the officers' association of the corporation had reacted to his posting as acting MD on the ground he was a non-technical person and could not comprehend technical problems. ------------------------- Police transfers KARACHI: The Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIG) Karachi on Saturday transferred three Station House Officers (SHOs) and three Station Officers (SO) with immediate effect. Inspector Muhammad Mukhtar Awan transferred from District Malir and posted as SHO AL-Falah vice Inspector Muhammad Aslam Khan transferred; Inspector Hussain Ahmed Nasir Lodhi transferred from District West and posted as SHO Tipu Sultan; Sub Inspector Fahrat Kamal transferred from District Malir and posted as SHO Bin Qasim vice Sub Inspector Abdul Wahab transferred and posted at Traffic (District Malir); Sub Inspector Nasir Ahmed Jadoon transferred and posted as SO Gulshan-e-Iqbal, vice Inspector Farooq Sher Zaman called on general duty at Traffic (District East). ------------------------- BIE announcement KARACHI: The Board of Intermediate Education, Karachi, has announced that centralised assessment of HSC annual exam-'97 for Chemistry paper-I would start from July 7 at Govt College for Men, Nazimabad. Appointment letters to concerned examiners in the said subject were posted to their given addresses. Those who failed to receive the letters should report to the head examiner at the assessment centre directly for obtaining assignment, said a BIE notification. ------------------------ Teachers' recruitment to be finalised in Aug: Qazi KARACHI: Recruitment of 4,861 primary school teachers (PSTs) in the province would be finalised by the end of next month, said Minister of Education, Qazi Khalid Ali. Addressing a meeting of school directors of the province on Saturday he asked them to expedite the scrutiny of applications received and form interview committee for the purpose. The minister pointed out that the process of appointment should be made transparent and no pressure should be accepted from any corner. He also told the directors to take necessary action in their respective jurisdiction to eliminate corrupt teaching and non-teaching employees. Meanwhile, a delegation of teachers led by Gul Muhammad Hajiano also called on the minister, appealing him to order for determination of seniority of nationalised and government cadre school employees. The minister assured the delegation that a committee would be set up on the issue which would furnish recommendations for framing rules and regulation to determine the seniority of teachers. -------------------------- Killers of Bhakar TJP leader arrested BHAKAR: The murderers of a local Shia leader, Ejaz Hussain Shah, were arrested just three hours after committing the crime, administration officials said on Saturday. The killers of the Shia leader were arrested at Dajal Check Post near the border of the NWFP, they said. After the arrest of the murderers, the deputy commissioner of Bhakar and the superintendent of police (SP) addressed a press conference. They said that the killers belonged to an extremist religious organisation. One of the terrorists, they said, belonged to Bhakar while the other two hailed from other district. The officials said that the terrorists had unmasked themselves to prevent their arrest and had mingled with the people but were recognised by a plainclothesman. However, sources said that the accused had been in Darya Khan for about a week apparently to carry out their plan to murder three personalities belonging to the rival sect. It was also learnt that the terrorists had been staying at the house of Tanveer Ahmad, an activist of the Sipah-e-Sahaba Pakistan (SSP). --------------------------- SSP leader shot dead in Faisalabad FAISALABAD: Leader of Sipah-e-Sahaba Pakistan (SSP) Muhammad Iqbal Siddiqui was shot dead by some unidentified motorcyclists at Lakkar Mandi Chowk here on Saturday. He was 38. According to the police, Siddiqui, a trader by profession, was sprayed with bullets by two unidentified motorcyclists when he got down from a passenger wagon at Lakkar Mandi Chowk in the evening. An unknown woman, who was passing by, also sustained bullet injuries. "We have not got any clue of the killers so far, but the police will soon trace out the persons responsible for the sectarian killing," Senior Superintendent Police, Faisalabad, Malik Ahmad Reza, told newsmen. ------------------------------ Shujaat rules out Babar's policy LAHORE: Interior Minister Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain on Saturday said that the government would not pursue the 'Karachi policy' of Gen (retd) Naseerullah Babar as it had failed miserably. In an interview with the VOA, the minister said that the government believed in political dialogue and had given some advices to the Sindh chief minister in this regard, which would bring positive results. "Although, it is the responsibility of the province to maintain law and order, the centre gives guidelines to the provinces in this regard," he added. ----------------------- Azan will remain foremost responsibility: Zeba QUETTA: Zeba Bakhtiar on Saturday said that her son would always remain her first and foremost responsibility. The prominent film actress was commenting on press reports which suggested that she had agreed to work in films in Pakistan and abroad. She said that these press reports were aimed at showing that "I would not be looking after, and caring for, my beloved child, Azaan ... This is to cause prejudice against me in the matter of receiving Azaan's custody and with regard to proceedings pending in the high court and courts of sessions in Islamabad." ----------------------- Slain PPP worker laid to rest KARACHI: Iqbal Butt, PPP worker and former KMC councillor, was buried on Saturday. He was killed by unknown terrorists on Friday outside his Korangi residence. A large number of party leaders and activists attended the funeral. Later, the PPP activists held a protest meeting at Peoples Secretariat and strongly condemned the murder. The leaders also slated the Sindh government and alleged that the coalition government had totally failed to maintain law and order which was restored by the PPP government. The PPP Sindh President Nisar Khuhro alleged that the coalition government was responsible for terrorist activities and was patronising the terrorists. The PPP leaders Rashid Rabbani, Waqar Mehdi, Lal Bux Bhutto, Khalil Qureshi, Mirza Maqbool and others have also condemned Butt's murder. Bilal Shaikh disowned: Meanwhile, a PPP spokesman denied that accused Bilal Shaikh belonged to the PSF and condemned the statement of DIG Karachi Malik Iqbal in which he claimed that Shaikh was involved in the murder of Justice Nizam Ahmed and his son. He said the PPP being a national party never patronised terrorism and always struggled against the terrorists. He alleged that the government was trying to use the criminals against the PPP like Jam Sadiq. The spokesman said party leader Benazir Bhutto had personally visited the residence of Justice Nizam Ahmed for condolence. He alleged that the whole drama was staged on the instructions of Chief Minister Liaquat Jatoi who was following in the footsteps of Jam Sadiq and Irfan Marwat. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 07 July 1997 Monday 01 Rabi-ul-Awwal 1418 New US rules impose curbs on sponsorship WASHINGTON, July 6: Unless they earn at least 25 percent more than the federal poverty level, US citizens or green card-holders will be barred from sponsoring any of their relatives, according to the new sponsorship rules of the amended US immigration law, taking effect next month. Experts say this would mean that a sponsor should earn at least 20,000 dollars a year and pay taxes to the federal and state governments. In addition, the law requires that sponsors sign a legally binding commitment to support anyone they bring in until the immigrant has either worked for 10 years or become US citizen. If an immigrant is discovered using public benefits to which he is not entitled, the sponsor can be fined and prosecuted for repayment. Experts said this marked a distinct shift from past practice. Although sponsors have always had to pledge to support their arriving relatives at first, those promises have never been legally enforceable. The new sponsorship rules result from revisions to welfare and immigration laws passed by Congress last year. They are aimed at reducing the numbers of immigrants who enter the country legally but without money or skills, and who are thus more likely to apply for welfare, food stamps and other public benefits after they arrive. According to the Federation for American Immigration Reform, a group that advocates stricter controls on immigration, nearly 21 per cent of all immigrants use some form of welfare-most often free school meals, Medicaid and supplemental Social Security-compared with 14 per cent of American-born residents. "The purpose of these provisions is to protect the American taxpayer from freeloading relatives of immigrants," said Dan Stein, the group's executive director. "We do not need more newcomers joining the ranks of the impoverished." But some immigrant advocate groups said the use of welfare by newcomers is much lower, and that the new law unfairly discriminates against low-income families who seek to be reunited. They cite several studies, including one conducted by government immigration analysts, showing that nearly half of US families from Mexico and El Salvador, one-third from Korea and 25 per cent from China could not meet the new income test for sponsors. "We believe this income requirement amounts to a back-door way to limit all immigration. The test is rigid and artificial," said Jeanne Butterfield, an official of the American Immigration Lawyers Association. Butterfield and other advocates met on Thursday with immigration officials to discuss proposed new rules that will implement the law. They are pushing for more flexibility, including a provision that would allow total household income, not just that of a single sponsor, to be considered in the calculations. But it is not yet clear whether the new regulations will allow multiple sponsorships or count total household incomes. ----------------------- Hidden hands active to topple govt: Altaf KARACHI: The MQM chief Altaf Hussain has said hidden hands are active to topple the elected and democratic government and to prove that it has failed miserably. He said this while addressing at an emergency meeting held at Nine-Zero on Sunday evening. Altaf claimed that hidden hands wanted to prove that there should be governor rule in Sindh or Karachi be handed over to the federal government. He said under the cover of the murder of a government official the MQM workers were being arrested and warned the MQM leaders and workers to be cautious. As the MQM was in government so it should have been taken into confidence before taking any such action, he added. Altaf maintained that under a conspiracy plans were underway to destabilise the government of which MQM was a partner. ------------------------ MQM deplores 'attempt to involve' it in Shahid's death KARACHI, July 6: The MQM on Sunday said that attempts to involve the MQM in the murder of the former KESC MD, Malik Shahid Hamid, were "extremely regrettable". In a Press statement, the coordination committee of the MQM said that "attempts by certain newspapers" to present the view that the MQM might be somehow involved in the murder of Mr Hamid deserved the highest condemnation. The MQM said that exploitative forces had bought certain journalists and columnists and they had always been writing against the party. The MQM said that these people see the MQM behind "everything bad" that happened in Karachi. The MQM, the statement said, believed in the independence of the Press but labelling a political party representing "millions of people" with such "baseless" accusations did no credit to the print media. MQM said that these attempts to involve the party in the death of Mr Hamid would serve two purposes. One, it would pave the way for another operation against the MQM, and two, it would provide cover for the "real killers" of the former KESC chief ---------------------- SC to take suo motu action on Karachi NEW YORK, July 6: The Chief Justice of Supreme Court, Justice Sajjad Ali Shah, said here on Saturday that he would initiate suo motu proceedings to look into the deteriorating law and order situation in Karachi. Talking to reporters at a local hotel where he had come to participate in a Pakistani-American physicians convention, he said he was shocked to hear about the murder of Karachi Electric Supply Corporation managing director, Shahid Hamid. He was reminded that the situation in Karachi was worse than the sectarian violence in Punjab, where the Supreme Court began suo motu proceedings asking the federal interior minister and the secretary to apprise the court of the actions being taken by the government to check the situation. When asked whether he would consider initiating suo motu proceedings if the situation in Karachi warrants it, Chief Justice said, "Certainly!" adding: "I will have to go back home and look at the situation. "And if the situation is really bad we will initiate the proceedings," Shah added. He said he could ask both the federal and the provincial governments to explain their positions. Earlier speaking to the gathering of Association of Pakistani Physicians of North America, Justice Sajjad Ali Shah stressed the need to end the scourge of corruption afflicting the country. Calling corruption a "gangrene" he said it threatened the very fabric of the country. "It is absolutely necessary that the rule of law become paramount in the country," said Justice Shah, adding: "that's the only way the country can survive". The Chief Justice left New York on Saturday morning for London and he will reach Pakistan on July 11. CONDOLENCES: In separate messages, President Farooq Leghari and Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif have condoled the death of Shahid Hamid, APP adds from Islamabad. President Farooq Leghari said in the death of Malik Shahid Hamid, the nation had lost an energetic civil servant with great promise. He laid down his life in the line of duty, the president said in his condolence message. The president directed Sindh government to spare no efforts to arrest the culprits involved in this heinous crime and to award them exemplary punishment. Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, in his message, prayed to Almighty Allah to rest the departed soul in eternal peace and to grant courage and fortitude to the bereaved family to bear this irreparable loss with equanimity. BENAZIR: Leader of the opposition Benazir Bhutto has demanded resignation of Sindh Chief Minister Liaqat Jatoi "under whose nose," Shahid Hamid, Managing Director of Karachi Electric Supply Corporation was killed, Our Islamabad Bureau adds. "The manner in which Shahid Hamid, his driver and guard have been shot dead in one of the safest area of Karachi shows the reach of terrorists and helplessness of the government," Ms Bhutto said in a message sent to PPP Islamabad office from London. She added: "The Chief Minister Liaqat Jatoi would be surely grieved. He should register his grief by resigning from office that is the minimum price. He must pay for the blood of Shahid Hamid and for hundreds others who met similar end in Mr. Jatoi's four month in office." Ms Bhutto charged that after the installation of the present government in Sindh, the heinous crimes and terrorist activities in Karachi had gone on the rise. She also sent a condolence message to the widow of Shahid Hamid and said he was an honest man and his is the murder of an institution. ------------------------ 220 held in police raids KARACHI, July 6: The Karachi police arrested 220 persons in different parts of city in night-long raids as part of its campaign against anti-social elements and seized eight vehicles, two motorbikes, two Klashnikovs, nine pistols, a revolver, a stengun, three mousers and 45 kilograms of copper wire from them. Muhammad Ilyas, absconder and involved in nine heinous cases, including firing at police, dacoity and others was also arrested by the District East police in Korangi. Besides, 61 more persons were nabbed by the District East police. It also seized two klashnikovs and a TT pistol. The District Central police apprehended 29 accused, including 16 proclaimed offenders and two absconders. It recovered three TT pistols, a mouser, a dagger, two motorcycles and 45 kilograms of copper wire. The District Malir police netted 35 suspects, including a proclaimed offender, and an absconder and seized a pistol from him. The District West police detained 75 suspects and recovered two pistols a stengun, a revolver, and a dagger. The District South police rounded up 19 persons and seized two TT pistols and one mouser from them. The Karachi police also seized six snatched vehicles parked in different areas of the city. - PPI. ---------------------------- Alternative version of national anthem banned on PTV KARACHI, July 6: The Board of Censors have banned an alternative version of the national anthem composed by a nationally popular music band from being played on PTV. The alternate version of the national anthem that has been banned is based on music that comes from a single lead guitar. The music group Junoon composed this version and released it as part of its successful album Inquilab. Band member Salman Ahmed told Dawn that the national anthem version was to be played on a music programme called VCD (or short for Video Countdown) which was aired on Friday night on PTV. Mr Ahmed said that the producer of the show Najamuzzaman was told by the censors that Junoon's version could not be aired since it would be "disrespectful" to the national anthem. Mr Ahmed said that the this decision is quite surprising since the song had already been aired on NTM earlier this year on March 23 and since it had already been shown it made no sense to ban it now. The question also is, he said, whether their is a monopoly by the government and the state on the national anthem and whether there has to be only one 'official' version and no alternatives or interpretations are to be allowed. ------------------------- Funeral prayers for army men offered RAWALPINDI: Namaz-e-Janaza for 10 of those army persons who died in a tragic road accident in district Kohistan on Saturday, was offered at the Race Course Ground here on Sunday morning, says an ISPR press release. Among those attending the funeral were General Jahangir Karamat, Chief of Army Staff, Corps Commander Lt General Salim Haider, Principal Staff Officers of the GHQ, and other high-ranking Army officers, JCOs and jawans of different units located in Rawalpindi. After the funeral prayers, their bodies were despatched to their ancestral towns and villages for burial. ------------------------ MYC says killings not sectarian LAHORE, July 6: The Milli Yakjehti Council (MYC), a grouping of religious parties representing various schools of thought, at a meeting here on Sunday, rejected the assertion that the killings going on in various parts of the country were sectarian in nature. The participants said it was possible that some foreign powers, including India and Israel, used the activists of various religious parties for their nefarious designs. However, they said, the government should inform the religious parties about the activists playing in the hands of foreign powers so that the parties could verify the facts. In case any party was found involved in the killings, the MYC would single it out, they said. They alleged that the government was not providing details of the activists arrested for their involvement in violence. "It seems that the government does not want peace in the country", they said. The Sipah-i-Sahaba Pakistan (SSP) and the Sipah-i-Muhammad Pakistan (SMP), the two rival parties allegedly killing each other's leaders and activists did not attend the meeting. The meeting was held at the Lytton Road office of the Jamaat- i-Islami and prominent among the participants were: Liaquat Baloch (Jamaat-i-Islami), Pir Ijaz Hashmi, Mohammad Khan Leghari (JUP-Noorani), Sahibzada Arif Salman Roopri (Jamaat Ahle Hadith), Reza Bhatti (TJP), Syed Abid Husain Gardezi (Mashaikh Ahle Sunnat Pakistan) and Professor Abdur Rehman Ludhianvi (Markazi Jamiat Ahle Hadith). Mr Liaquat Baloch told reporters after the meeting that the participants expressed serious concern over the unrest, terrorism and sectarian killings. The religious parties, doctors, lawyers and professors were being targeted. The mosques were also being made a target of violence to create unrest among the masses. According to him, the stock exchanges had already directed their members to offer their prayers at their residences instead of going to mosques. Mr Baloch said the participants also expressed concern over the indiscriminate arrests being made by the police. He said the religious parties had no soft corner for those involved in various cases but the arrest of various people without any cogent reason was intolerable for the religious parties. ---------------------- 18 TJP activists arrested after clash with police ABBOTTABAD: Eighteen Tehrik-e-Jafferia activists were booked in Abbottabad following a clash between the local police and mourners on Friday evening. Tension prevailed in the area as 13 of them still remained in the police custody. Abbottabad police conducted raids to nab the Shia activists, sources said. Sources also said that the police apprehended more than 50 activists during the entire night who were later released on early Saturday. The TJP activists, booked u/s 324/353/147, 148 and 149 vide FIR # 438/4-7-1997 include, Jamaluddin Mousavi, Ghulam Hussain Bangash, Ghulam Sarwar Khokhar, Mansoor Hussain, Sikhawat Hussain, Shabab Hussain, Abul Hussain, Hashim Ali, Wajid Hussain, Shah, Syed Iqrar Hussain Shah, Aourange Zeb Khan, Shabbir Hussain Shah, Sarwar Khan, Syed Mumtaz Hussain Shah Gilani, Ghulam Qamber Jafri, Mohsin Abbas, Niaz Hussain, Kazim Abbas and Naveed-ul-Hussain. Of them 13 were arrested while six got bail before arrest. He dispelled the impression given by administration that the Safar 28 procession was a new phenomena, saying that it was a traditional procession and was being observed regularly for the past many years. Deploring the deteriorating law and order situation in the country, particularly in the Punjab, he said that the government had failed to control the sectarian violence. He said that if the government failed to protect Shia community, the TJP would withdraw its support to the government. Earlier, president of the Anjuman Imamia Asghria Zulfiqar Hussain Shah and other local leaders also condemned the attitude of the deputy commissioner, Abbottabad. He also said that the police had conducted raids on the residences of their colleagues without having any search warrants. He also accused the DC Abbottabad of damaging the religious harmony and peace in the city. ---------------------- Ehtesab Cell yet to receive cases shown on PTV ISLAMABAD: None of the cases shown on PTV by the Ehtesab Cell have so far been sent to the Ehtesab Commission (EC) for onward submission to the high court. "These cases are still being examined by legal experts for final vetting," Saifur Rehman, Chairman Ehtesab Cell, told The News on Saturday. The team of legal experts includes Justice (retd) Afzal Lone, Justice (retd) Qurban Sadiq and Justice K. M. A. Samdani among others. There is a feeling that these references are not being sent to the Ehtesab Commission after the government saw the fate of those whose cases were currently before Ehtesab benches of the high court. Most of them have been granted bail, a fact which did not go well in the top government circles. Indications are that the alleged corruption cases being telecast on PTV will be submitted to the Ehtesab Commission after the government introduces another constitutional amendment to speed up the accountability process and to plug any holes providing escape to those facing corruption charges. Senior government leaders are convinced that the telecast of corruption stories on PTV is creating a tremendous impact on the minds of the public, but some circles think otherwise. The Ehtesab Cell is currently engaged in preparing documentary films of a dozen more cases to be telecast on PTV in the next few weeks. "We are answerable to the nation for the accountability process," Saifur Rehman said. "We will not allow corrupt and dishonest people to become heroes." ---------------------- Three held on charges of arms smuggling KARACHI: The Mochko police on Sunday arrested three people, allegedly involved in arms smuggling cases and claimed to have recovered one SMG, a carbine and a dagger from them. Receiving an information that some arms traffickers were attempting to smuggle large quantity of arms an ammunition from the up-country, the Mochko police had blocked the RCD Highway near Lasbela and started checking vehicles. During the checks police spotted a passenger bus coming from Quetta and signalled it to stop. Mounting a check of passengers' luggage police arrested three afte recovery of arms and ammunition from their luggage. During interrogation the accused disclosed their names as Muhammad Umar, Gul Muhammad and Jahangir. Police also claimed that one of accused, Muhammad Umar, was already nominated in FIR 180/92 in Kalakot police station. ------------------- House looted, three relieved of cars KARACHI: Although police claim to have beefed-up security, specially after the incident of killing of the KESC chief Malik Hamid Shahid, armed bandits are ruling the city without the fear of police and looting the people in all the five districts. In incidents of robbery on Sunday, armed robbers looted cash, jewellery and other valuables, besides they also snatched three vehicles. In North Nazimabad police precinct, three armed men barged into house No B-79, owned by Fazal Siddiqi in Hussain D'Silva Town. They locked the inmates in a room and during their two-hour stay looted cash, jewellery, electrical appliances and other valuables. When the watchman Abdul Aziz resisted, the bandits attacked him with a pistol butt and fled in the house owner's car (U-1870). In two other incidents, carjackers snatched a cab (JL-2807) from Saddar and a car (BC-4102) from North Nazimabad. ------------------ Boy killed in accident, PAF man electrocuted KARACHI: A boy was killed in road accident while an official of Pakistan Air Force was electrocuted on Sunday. Muhammad Zameer, 13, was killed by and unidentified truck while crossing road in Moosa Goth, Razzaquabad of Malir City police limits. He died on the spot while the driver managed to drive away from the scene. On information police reached to the spot and shifted the corpse to the JPMC. Abdul Latif, 41, an official of Pakistan Air Force, was electrocuted in the jurisdiction of Saddar police. Police said the deceased was going somewhere when near Ayesha Bawani School a live wire fell on him killing him instantly. Police shifted the corpse to the JPMC. ------------------ Khuhro's statement condemned KARACHI: The Political Secretary to Sindh Chief Minister has strongly condemned the statement of the opposition leader Nisar Khuhro in which he stated that murder of MD KESC was the outcome of PML(N) and MQM accord. In a statement on Sunday he said the government was making all out efforts for restoration of peace in the province and was taking stern steps to curb terrorism. -------------------- Afaq demands arrest of terrorists KARACHI: Chairman of MQM (H) Afaq Ahmed has strongly condemned the attack on the Haqiqi workers at a marriage hall, in which two people were killed on Saturday, and demanded from the government to check terrorism in the city. In a statement issued on Sunday, he demanded that the killers of the Haqiqi workers and MD KESC be arrested and awarded stern punishment. He said the wife of Malik Shahid Hamid has clearly stated that the MQM was involved in the murder but Chief Minister Liaquat Jatoi was providing shelter to the MQM (A) to save his post. Afaq demanded that the culprits nominated in the FIR should be arrested immediately. ------------------ Firing at Valima: Groom is MQM (H) activist KARACHI: The man who was shot dead on Saturday night along with his son in firing incident at a valima dinner in the jurisdiction of Gulberg police was an activist of the Pakistan Peoples Party. His real brother, the groom, was a Unit Incharge of MQM (Haqiqi), sources told The News on Sunday. It may be mentioned here that a father and a son were killed and four others were injured when two unidentified accused opened fire at a Valima reception at Najmul Lawn, at Gulberg roundabout. -------------------- QM workers accused of kidnapping HYDERABAD: The villagers of Deh Dhani Mian have accused the leaders and workers of Mohajir Qaumi Movement of kidnapping and torturing three villagers on Sunday. Staging a protest demonstration in front of the Press Club, Hyderabad, the villagers said a dispute over the possession of agricultural lands was going on between the villagers and Haji Gu ---------------------- Transfer, posting KARACHI: The Head, Department Civil Engineering, BPS-18, Government Jamia Millia Polytechnic Institute, Malir, Mir Anjum Husain has been transferred and posted with immediate effect as Project Manager (BPS-19), Project Implementation Unit of Asian Development Bank (Technical Education Project) in his own pay and scale on deputation basis vice Sri Chand Hasiji. Hasiji has been transferred and posted as Vice Principal (BPS-19), Government College of Technology, SITE against and existing post till further orders, said an official handout. -------------- Pakistani expatriate doctors to sue Moeen Akhtar NEW YORK: An affluent association of expatriate doctors, the Association of Pakistani Physicians in North America, is contemplating to sue Moeen Akhtar and his sponsor in Canada for financial and other damages. The organisers of the annual summer convention arranged by Pakistan Physicians in North America failed to understand why a group of Pakistani artistes, led by prominent comedian and actor Moeen Akhtar, failed to turn up despite the fact that the artistes had been paid advances in accordance with the signed agreement. It may also be mentioned here that the doctors' organisation had also approached the US State Department for issuance of the artistes' visas. "We have already informed the advisor to the Prime Minister on Information and Culture, Mushahid Hussain, and we will also lodge a complaint with the US State Department. We (also) plan (to take) ... legal action for financial and other damages against Moeen Akhtar for not showing up (along) with his promised troupe here in New York, as per his contractual obligations," Dr Arif Muslim, the chairman of the convention's host committee and one of the founding member of the Association told The News." "Only four days ago, we (had) called Moeen Akhtar and he (had) confirmed that he will show up in New York as (per) schedule, but today we find that he has not even departed from Pakistan," added Dr Muslim. Asked if there was a dispute on financial aspects of the contract, Dr Muslim said: "We signed the contact ... as per Moeen's wishes and returned as per Moeen Akhtar's directions. We also paid the required advance money. We (even) approached the US State Department in Washington to help him acquire the US visa and (had) informed Moeen about all we had done, but despite (all) his promises, he failed to appear (in the function)." Moeen Akhtar had been approached to organise and lead a group of Pakistani artistes for performing in the association's annual convention, which is a regular affair. During his last visit to New York, Moeen had pledged to do so. Soon after finalisation of the programme, the doctors association's representatives had informed Moeen Akhtar about the dates and in return they were asked to sign the contract on June 16. The APPNA had signed the contract in consultation with Moeen Akhtar, returning the contract to Moeen Akhtar's acquaintances, Fariduddin and Javed Akhtar, in Canada. The advance payment was also made to the sponsoring company, which is owned by one of these two persons. "We (informed) Moeen AKhtar about all ... arrangements and only a few days ago he (had) assured us that he, along with his group, will arrive in New York on time..." "Knowing (about) so many incidents of artistes not showing up at the commercially sponsored programs ... I had told (Moeen Akhtar) that if he (had) any problem or failed to organise the group for any reason, he can come alone ... rather than embarrassing me by not showing up at all. Moeen had (promised) that he will keep his word." Dr Arif Muslim added: "We kept all our commitments ... seven rooms are booked for the group at the New York Hilton Hotel ... the Grand Hall is booked for the evening, doctors and their families from all over the US are here. It is not a commercial show..." He also disclosed that it was one of the artistes in Moeen's group who (had) informed us that Moeen was still in Pakistan and that he would not be leaving any time soon. According to the APPNA, the group of artistes includes Zahoor Ahmad, Mohammad Ali Shehki and others. The fee for the performance was settled at $12,000. The association is currently searching for alternate performers desperately. Finance Minister Sartaj Aziz, General (retd) Majid Malik and Iqbal Ehsan have already arrived here from Islamabad, specifically to attend the convention and are scheduled to leave for Pakistan on Sunday. It may also be mentioned that the APPNA has done a lot of lobbying for Pakistan on the Capitol Hill besides extending support to some candidates for the US Senate and the House of Representatives. It has also been learnt that Pakistan's Ambassador Riaz Khokar was likely to inform Islamabad in this regard. "The rent for the Hall is $85,000 and according to the contract, Moeen Akhtar and his sponsors are liable to pay 50 per cent of the hall rent if they fail to appear at the show," said Dr Irfanul Haq of the host committee. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 08 July 1997 Tuesday 02 Rabi-ul-Awwal 1418 Killings a conspiracy for operation against MQM: Aftab KARACHI: The MQM Senator Aftab Ahmad Shaikh has said that recent killings in Karachi, including the killing of MD KESC Shahid Hamid, were part of a conspiracy to pave way for another operation against MQM. While talking to The News he said negative forces behind these killings launched a campaign to destabilize the present PML-MQM coalition government. Aftab said: "Let me make it clear that MQM will foil all such conspiracies aimed at destabilizing the government. Rest assured the MQM will never take an initiative to break the PML(N) and MQM accord." The MQM leader reiterated: "The accord will remain intact at all cost." He said the MQM felt that killings in the city were aimed at destabilizing the democratic institutions but MQM would see that such nefarious designs never succeeded. "The negative forces will never succeed and will finally be eliminated," Aftab claimed. ISHTIAQ AZHAR: Meanwhile, in a statement on Monday Convener, MQM Coordination Committee, Ishtiaq Azhar said the slain MD KESC, Malik Shahid Hamid was an important witness in the extra-judicial killings. The MQM leader said an important witness was eliminated after the commission was constituted. Secret hands not only wanted to crush MQM but were also busy in hatching conspiracies against the present Sindh government, he added. Ishtiaq pointed out that Malik, who was former home secretary of the province and being fully aware of extra-judicial killings in Karachi, was murdered at a stage when he could give the details of the killings before the commission. Ishtiaq referred to Altaf Husain's repeated warnings that conspiracy was being hatched against the MQM-PML government and to provoke the people. He pointed out that 30 MQM workers were killed and various MQM offices were attacked during the last three months. Ishtiaq demanded that Malik Shahid Hamid's killers be booked and awarded stern punishment. ---------------------------------- MQM team meets Jatoi KARACHI: A 3-member delegation of MQM on Monday called on Chief Minister Liaquat Jatoi at the Chief Minister House and discussed various issues. According to sources close to MQM, the delegation expressed its serious concern and reservations over recent wave of arrests of MQM workers. The delegation comprised Housing Minister Waseem Akhtar, Senator Aftab Shaikh and Labour Minister Shoaib Bukhari. ----------------------------------- APMSO raps arrest of MQM workers KARACHI: The central ad hoc committee of All Pakistan Mohajir Students' Organisation (APMSO) has said the police and Rangers have initiated extreme action for the arrest of MQM workers on the pretext of their alleged involvement in the murder of MD KESC Malik Shahid Hamid. Criticising the action, the committee mentioned that raids on houses and harassment of the family members of MQM workers by law enforcing agencies was deplorable. Forces of exploitation were trying to implicate the MQM workers in Malik's killing and preparing ground for a new operation against Mohajirs, while action was being taken without taking into confidence the MQM which was the coalition partner of the government, it added in a press statement. ------------------------------ Govt not scared of Karachi situation: PM LAHORE: Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on Monday said that some countries were funding the organisations involved in terrorism in Pakistan, and warned them to withdraw their support. Talking to newsmen at the Lahore Airport, the premier also urged the terrorist organisations to desist from activities aimed at sabotaging the law and order situation besides distancing themselves from saboteurs. Punjab Governor Shahid Hamid and Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif were also present on the occasion. Referring to the deteriorating law and order situation in Karachi and the fresh spate of sectarian killings in the Punjab, Nawaz said that the government was neither scared nor would it give up its efforts to uproot terrorists, adding that such phases were common in the history of nations. Dispelling the impression that the government had failed to restore peace, he said that terrorists were, in fact, damaging the future prospects of the country. He said that apart from taking short-term steps, the government was taking long-term measures to restore peace. Asked whether terrorism was a conspiracy against the government aimed at sabotaging the economic uplift efforts, Nawaz said: "Pakistan's enemies are creating unrest and disturbing law and order situation since they do not want Pakistan to become prosperous and economically stable." The prime minister said that the government was concentrating on development schemes to provide relief to the common man. The Punjab chief minister declined to comment on the statement issued by the self-exiled MQM chief, Altaf Hussain, in which he had called for imposition of governor's rule in Punjab due to deteriorating law and order. ----------------------------- Over 500 arrested in city crackdown KARACHI, July 7: The crackdown on the political activists continued for the second consecutive day on Monday, as over 500 more people were arrested during night-long raids all over the city. The police stepped up heat on political and criminal activists - following the killing on Saturday of the KESC chief and two others - arresting over 800 political activists of different parties during night-long raid-and-arrest operations across the city in the last two days. Those arrested included workers of the PPP, MQM(A), MQM(H) and PPP(SB). According to a Press release of the police, the city police arrested on Monday 313 persons allegedly involved in different crimes in parts of the city and recovered from them 20 vehicles, one Kalashnikov, 24 pistols, seven revolvers and three daggers. A senior police official told Dawn that the operation against political activist would continue for the third day. "We are trying our best to track down the culprits and the present drive against the criminals is also part of our efforts," he added. The official said since the assailants had not left any clue behind them, the police were solely depending on information they might gain from the arrested persons, so that it might lead to a clue to the killers. The political parties, whose workers were arrested, on Monday again separately protested over the police action and demanded of the government to immediately stop the action against the political workers. Nisar Ahmed Khuhro, provincial chief of the PPP, on Monday wrote a letter to the interior minister bitterly condemning the arrest of party workers. Similarly, Senator Ishtiaq Azhar, convenor of MQM's co- ordination committee, in a Press statement vehemently criticised the arrest of his party workers. He appealed to the government to unveil the murderers of the KESC chief. MQM Haqiqi chairman, Afaq Ahmed, in his Press statement lashed out at the provincial government "for the arrest of MQM Haqiqi workers". The statement claimed that the city police were arresting only his workers, while no action was being taken against the activists of the coalition partner. The police Press release, however, said the arrest of criminals was part of the police campaign for the recovery of illegal arms and ammunition under the supervision of the DIG, Karachi, Malik Muhammad Iqbal. According to the press release, the DIG ordered the arrest of all anti-social and criminal elements during the campaign so that they would be taken to their logical end. He also directed the police to take action without any discrimination. Meanwhile, other police sources said the recent crackdown on political and criminal activists might not lead to a clue to the assassins of Shahid Hamid, but it would definitely help control the growing number of crimes in the city. "If an indiscriminate and impartial crackdown continues for a few days, the situation would speak for itself," they added. The sources said that during the crackdown, the police had apprehended some very hardened criminals involved in various heinous crimes. --------------------- One killed, six injured in Karachi blast KARACHI July 7: A 22-year-old man was torn to pieces and six others wounded in an explosion in a slum dwelling in Liaquatabad on Monday. Police identified the dead man as Majeed, son of Naseer, a resident of House No A-2, Azam Nagar. He was living on the first floor of a three-storey house owned by Mr Fareed, in a slum-like locality of Liaquatabad. Mr Fareed, the landlord, was residing on the ground floor of the building. Another tenant was residing on the second floor of the house. A resident said the explosion jolted the entire locality. An activist of a religious organisation, who was passing from the area, said he had seen something twirling in the air. When it landed in the street, people identified it as a severed hand, he added. The explosion had ripped off an arm and a leg from the body of the deceased. The body had burn marks. Saifuddin alias Tony, who was white-washing the interior of the Masjid-i-Mustafa, also received injuries. Ghulam Qasim, who is moazan of the masjid and living on the third floor, remained unhurt. Saifuddin, 32, Usman Anwar, 12, Naheed Anwar, 42, Zeeshan, 12, Kulsoom, 35, and Gulshan, 5, were wounded. SSP-Central Abbas Raza told Dawn that Naseer, a street-vendor and father of Majeed, had lived for a month with the family in the house. His family had left for their native town, Okara, in Multan a few days back, he added. He said the police immediately reached the spot and removed the injured and dead person to Abbasi Shaheed hospital. Three of the wounded, who had received minor injuries, were taken to the Government Hospital, Liaquatabad, he said. The Bomb Disposal Squad chief Moeenuddin, who had inspected the site and explosive material, said: "It is called Aemulite, a highly explosive material that is used for earth-digging and ground-blasting". -------------------- 3 dacoits killed in 'encounter', one held KARACHI, July 7: Three alleged dacoits were gunned down on Monday, and one of their accomplices was arrested with a Kalashnikov in an "encounter" with the police. Area people said four dacoits had barged into the house (N- 11/12-13, Korangi No 3 1/2) of Muhammad Afzal, at 4.15pm. A little girl, who was kneading the dough in the kitchen when the dacoits entered the house, somehow slipped out and told a resident about the intruders, they said. The police said someone reported the presence of dacoits at the police control as well as the crime control centre at the Chief Minister's House. The message was aired and a police party headed by SHO Korangi, Rustum Khattak, rushed to the spot, they said. The police party surrounded the house and called for reinforcements, the police said, and another police mobile and an armoured personnel carrier (APC) also arrived. The police asked the dacoits to surrender, but they opened fire. The police returned fire killing three dacoits and arrested the fourth man, the police said. The dead were identified as Saeed Ahmed, son of Tameez Ahmed, Shabbir Ahmed, son of Bashir Ahmed, and Aamir, son of Mukhtar, while the arrested man was identified as Arshad, son of Sartaj, all residents of the Korangi vicinity. The police found two pistols on the bodies of Saeed and Shabbir, while an AK-47 assault rifle was recovered from Arshad. The five-year-old daughter of the house owner, identified as Urooj, was also injured in the firing. She was taken to the Jinnah Post-Graduate Medical Centre where the doctors said a bullet pierced through the right wrist of the girl. A Korangi police official said the political affiliation of the dacoits could not be ascertained as no political party had so far claimed for them. The MQM Haqiqi, in a Press release, claimed the dacoits were the workers of the "MQM Altaf Group" who also included a unit in charge. When contacted a member of the MQM information cell at "90" categorically denied that the dacoits killed were party workers. --------------------- Shia scholar shot dead in Lahore LAHORE: Two unidentified gunmen riding a motorcycle on Monday killed a Shia scholar in the city, further raising sectarian tension in the Punjab. Talib Hussain Karpalvi, 45, author and chairman of a Lahore-based international religious forum, was attacked at 8.00 am near his residence, 202-Ali Colony Raiwind Road. The assailants fled after firing towards Thokar Niaz Beg, an eyewitness told The News. The locals rushed him to the hospital but he died on the way. The doctors said, "One of the bullets piercing through the head caused the death." The family of the deceased revealed that they had no enmity with anyone. They further said Talib belonged to Faisalabad and was residing in Lahore for the last several years. Soon after the incident, hundreds of activists of Sipah-e-Mohammed (SMP) gathered at the spot. They blocked the Multan Road in front of Hunjerwal Police Station. The protesters burnt tyres and tried to enter the police station. The police arrested several protesters but released them after initial interrogation. A policeman of Satukatla Police Station said a pistol was used by the killers as several empty shells were found by the police from the scene. He said the shells had been sent for ballastic test and the body for autopsy. Talib Hussain was the writer of more than 70 books, including three volumes on "Seeratun Nabi." --------------------- 9 DMC students hurt in clash KARACHI: At least nine students of Dow Medical College (DMC) sustained injuries in a clash between Sindhi Medico Association (SMO) and Islami Jamiat-e-Talaba (IJT) on Monday. According to the police, a function of the SMO was going on at the college premises when some armed students of IJT entered the hall and started manhandling the rival SMO supporters, ensuing a clash in which seven SMO students and three IJT members were wounded. The injured -- identified as Zahid Khan, Dr Farrukh, Naved, Nazam Shaikh, Kashif Ali and Qadeer of SMO, and Raja Jawed, Kamran and Sar Kulit (Lebonese) of IJT -- were admitted to the Civil Hospital. ----------------------- Three youngsters drown, two bodies found KARACHI: Three college students who had gone to Cape Mounze, Hawkes Bay, for a picnic drowned in the sea on Sunday and Edhi divers were trying to recover the bodies till Monday night. A group of college students went to Cape Mounze where Moonis Khan, Hasan Wahidi and his brother Salman Wahidi told their friends that they were going for a walk. After sometime the friends first tried to search for them but after failing to trace them out they lodged a complaint with Mauripur Police Station. Meanwhile, two drowned bodies were found at different places on Monday. The decomposed body of Rajab Ali (16) was recovered from the sea in Mochko and shifted to Civil Hospital for autopsy. According to the police, he drowned ten days back at Paradise Point in Mauripur. The drowned body of Bahadur Khan (21) was recovered from the sea at Clifton beach in Darakhshan. Police said the deceased had gone to the Clifton beach and drowned while swimming. ------------------------ Boy dies in accident KARACHI: A child died and and another was injured in a traffic accident in the jurisdiction of New Karachi police on Monday. The police said that Imran, 10, son of Maqsood, and Shehzad, 8, son of Afsar Ali, were injured seriously when they were knocked down by a bus (JA-5624) of route no 4-H, in Sector 5-D. The injured were rushed to the Abbasi Shaheed Hospital for medical aid but Imran succumbed to his wounds on his way to the hospital. On information, the police, reached the spot. ----------------------- 'Feudal lords, others looting country' KARACHI: Cruel feudal lords, corrupt bureaucrats and industrialists, including Prime Minister Muhammad Nawaz Sharif, are busy in looting the exchequer. This allegation was levelled by the Karachi Ameer of Jama'at-e-Islami (JI), Naimatullah Khan while speaking at different meetings held in various areas of the city in connection with the party's ongoing membership making campaign. According to a press release of the JI issued on Monday, Naimatullah stated that the number of Nawaz Sharif's industries had increased from one to 40 after he become the chief minister of the Punjab. Expressing concern over encroachment of the privileged class on national resources he pointed out 400 industries had been closed on the motivation of the IMF which deprived a number of workers from their jobs. Referring to the ongoing member-making campaign of the Jama'at he said the main purpose of the drive was to bring a just system in the country and alleged that the PPP and the PML were both elected on racial basis. Meanwhile, a PPP member, Munshi Noor Muhammad along with his companions joined Jama'at-e-Islami on the occasion, said a press release. ---------------------- Transfers, postings of college professors KARACHI: The Sindh government has ordered posting of a Physics professor as principal of Govt College of Education, F B Area, with immediate effect. About 10 other senior teachers have also been reshuffled in the province. According to a government hand-out issued on Monday, Saliha Jan, Professor of Zoology, Govt College for Women, Nazimabad, has been transferred and posted as Principal in the same college, against an existing vacancy. Saeed Siddiqui, Prof of Physics, Adamjee Science College, has been transferred and posted as Principal, Govt college of Education, F B Area, while Amir Ahmed Khan, principal of the college has been transferred and asked to to report to Directorate of College Education, Karachi Region. Prof Feroza Nisar, Principal, Govt Girls College, F B Area has been transferred and posted as Professor of Botany, Khatoon-e-Pakistan College for Women, against an existing vacancy. It may be mentioned that some teachers had resorted to protest against Prof Firoza's posting as principal at the F B Area College and instead of attending to their respective college were reporting to the Directorate of College Education. Fakhurnissa Ashfaq, Prof of Botany, Govt Abdullah Girls College, has been transferred and posted as Principal, Government Girls College, F B Area. Farzana Yasmin Butt, Professor of English, Rana Liaquat Ali Khan College, has been transferred and posted as Principal, Govt Islamia College for Women, against an existing vacancy. Nasim Rahu, Principal, Govt Girls College, Hala, has been transferred and posted as Prof of Political Science, Govt Girls College, Hyderabad, against an existing vacancy. Parveen Channa, Assistant Professor of Home Economics, Govt Dr I H Zubari Girls College of Home Economics, Hyderabad, has been transferred and posted as Principal, Govt Girls College, Hala, in her own pay and scale vice Nasim Rahu transferred. Imdad Hussain Ghanghro, awaiting posting has been posted as Principal, Govt Boys Higher Secondary School, Hingorja, against an existing vacancy. Mahmood Alam Jat, awaiting posting, has been posted as Principal, Govt Higher Secondary School, Khoskhi, against an existing vacancy, concluded the hand-out. ------------------------ Woman shot dead, three injured by robbers KARACHI: Robbers shot dead a woman and injured her husband, whereas two house inmates and a gunman sustained injuries. Besides, five robberies were committed on Monday. Armed men also snatched 21 vehicles. Four armed men barged into the residence of Ishrat Khan in Delux Garden in Gulzar-e-Hijri and collected cash, jewellery and other valuables. However, Ishrat and his wife Shakeela Begum resisted upon which the culprits opened fire and fled away with the booty. The area people took them to Abbasi Shaheed Hospital in a critical condition, however, Shakeela succumbed to her wounds on the way to the hospital. Meanwhile, three armed men broke into the house (G/658) of Basheer Ahmed in Sector 11-1/2 of Orangi Extension and gathered cash, jewellery and other valuables. In the meantime Basheer and one Mehmood challenged the armed man upon which the robbers opened fire, injuring both of them as well as one of their accomplices, Sharif. Sharif was arrested, however, his accomplices fled. Besides, unidentified armed men looted Rs 100,000 from Sagheer Hussain in Jauharabad; Rs 70,000, jewellery and other valuables from a residence in Gulshan-e-Iqbal; Rs 200,000, gold ornaments and electrical appliances from a house in Clifton; Rs 30,000, jewellery and other valuables from a residence in Garden and Rs 160,000, gold ornaments and electrical appliances from a house in Gulshan-e-Iqbal. ------------------ Maulvis arrested to maintain law, order SIALKOT: Sialkot police on Monday arrested 10 maulvis belong to various schools of thoughts with a view to maintain law and order situation in the district. They are Maulana Feroze Khan, Misri Khan, Iqbal Raza, Saleem Munir, Malik Amjad Hussain, Mohammad Munir, Supurd-i-Ali, Kausar Ali Shah, Mardan Ali Shah and Ali Aman Zaidi. Meanwhile, Narowal police have arrested six persons including TJP district President Syed Kausar Abbas Naqvi. The other arrested persons are Sheikh Rifaqat Ali Pasha, Mohammad Mehmood, Mudassir Jamil, Maulana Mohammad Siddique and Rana Mohammad Sarwar. ------------------ 'Zia's plane crashed due to technical fault' WASHINGTON: The Research Cell of US Air Force, in its report, has concluded that catastrophic crash of C-130 in 1988, killing president General Zia-ul-Haq, US ambassador Arnold Raphel and about 30 other senior army officers, was the result of some technical fault and no evidence of any sabotage has been found. All the engines of the ill-fated aircraft stopped running suddenly and the black box failed to record the reason, the report said. The report further said that 58 C-130 aircraft had crashed during the last 11 years due to engine failure. -------------------- Leakage in jetty gates: inauguration of Ormara Naval base cancelled KARACHI: A last moment detection of a serious leakage in two gates of the Jetty of newly constructed Urmara Naval base has forced cancellation of its inauguration by President Sardar Farooq Ahmed Khan Leghari. Sources said that the seepage discovered meant a loss of Rs 500 million which obviously was caused by the use of sub-standard material in Jetty gates. It has also been stated that the project was headed by Rear Admiral Abid Mujtaba who was to supervise the project of the civil engineering whereas he himself was a mechanical engineer. An investigation has begun into this embarrassing development. ----------------------- Ejaz Shafi blames MQM for disturbances KARACHI: The current situation in Karachi "is not good," PML-N leader Ejaz Shafi said here on Monday. "So far as disturbances in Karachi are concerned, everything points towards our coalition partners in the provincial government." Referring to the three-day-long strike staged in Karachi last month, he said: "There are no two opinions about it ... not only businessmen but everyone is talking about it ... not just in Karachi but all over Pakistan." He said this in response to a question regarding a general conception in business community about MQM's involvement in the three-day strike. In an interview, Ejaz Shafi said: "We seem to be reverting to the kind of chaos we saw in the early 1990s. But I am optimistic that the current situation will be brought under control as soon as our coalition partners get serious and forget about petty matters." He said that in June, Karachi was again held hostage. Businesses were forced to close for three days. This situation is really disturbing. He said that in reality, "the MQM outweighs us in all fields." "In fact, we are being bogged down. We are not treated as equal partners. We are not even allowed to make suggestions concerning the ministries that they hold. At least, 70 per cent of the administration has been appointed by our coalition partners, not by request but by demand." "At the moment, we are talking less about development and paying more attention towards creating difficulties for each other. People talk about law and order (all the time). People's attention is not yet ... on development," the PML-N leader said. Referring to the stability of the Sindh coalition government, he said: "If we do not correct ourselves, I do not think it will last at all ... as a citizen of this province, this country and as an elected representative, we have no business being in the government if we fail to deliver the goods." -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 09 July 1997 Wednesday 03 Rabi-ul-Awwal 1418 MQM team meets PM KARACHI: A four-member MQM delegation met Prime Minister Mohammad Nawaz Sharif at the Governor House on Tuesday. The delegation comprised Senator Aftab Shaikh, Senator Nasreen Jalil, Senior Sindh Minister Dr Farooq Sattar and Shoaib Bukhari. Dr Sattar told APP that the delegation conveyed its concern about the prevailing city condition to the prime minister, particularly about the arrest of their workers. He said they suggested that any strategy to be devised to contain the situation should be settled through mutual consultations between the coalition partners. Sattar said the PM endorsed their views and hoped in future their viewpoint would be included in all ste ps to be tak en. ----------------------- 'Secret hand' behind city disturbances: Dr Sattar KARACHI: Sindh Senior Minister Dr Farooq Sattar has said a 'secret hand', which is not secret any more, is at work to bring instability in Sindh. The assassination of MD KESC Shahid Hamid was also part of a deep-rooted conspiracy and a three-pronged strategy aimed at eliminating the MQM, Dr Sattar said in an interview. He said the objective of this strategy was to make these things a ground for an operation against the MQM and cut its size physically -- extra-judicially, extra-constitutionally and through mercenaries. The purpose was systematic cleansing of the MQM and to harass the workers to such an extent that they were driven away from the party, he claimed. Dr Sattar said the blame for every problem relating to law and order was put on the MQM whether it was in government or in opposition. He was of the view that under such conspiracies any government which was formed in coalition with the MQM was bound to face a similar situation of law and order, strife and turmoil. "The target is not only the MQM but ultimately the PML (N). Such forces actually wish democracy to pack up." Dr Sattar feared that such a situation would set off a chain of events detrimental to the interest of national security. Another purpose of such disturbances was to bring all development activities in Karachi to a halt and block the municipal machinery, he added. Dr Sattar said the future of coalition in Sindh would depend on the wisdom, farsightedness and political acumen of the coalition partners who need to realise that they could also become targets of this conspiracy. ----------------------- PM urges MQM, PML to increase cooperation KARACHI, July 8: Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on Tuesday directed the coalition partners in the Sindh government to increase their cooperation and coordination so that the law and order situation in Karachi could be improved. Mr Sharif said that peace in Karachi was also vital to the economic revival of the country. A four-member MQM delegation on Tuesday met Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and several of his closest ministerial advisers including Interior Minister Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain, Power Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan and Finance Minister Sartaj Aziz. Sindh Chief Minister Liaquat Jatoi and Sindh Governor Mooenuddin Haider were also present during the meeting which took place at the Governor House. The MQM delegation was made up of Senators Aftab Ahmed Sheikh and Nasreen Jalil and Sindh ministers Farooq Sattar and Shoaib Bukhari. Sources said the prime minister was concerned at the law and order situation in Karachi and observed that peace here was vital to the economic revival of the country and was a pre-requisite for inviting foreign investment. He directed both the MQM and the PML - coalition partners in the Sindh government - to tackle the situation jointly so that the law and order situation could improve. The MQM agreed to step up their cooperation in an effort to improve the law and order situation in Karachi and also told the prime minister that it should be taken into confidence if any future lists were drawn up to arrest suspected criminals in the city, sources said. Sen Jalil told Dawn that maintaining peace in Karachi was the joint responsibility of both the MQM and the PML since both parties were in government. Responding to a question relating to the recent arrests of activists of different political parties, including the MQM, the senator said that the MQM did not support any criminal elements. She said that attempts to involve the MQM in the murder of Mr Hamid was propaganda. ------------------------- LAHORE: At least 85 held at Niaz Beg LAHORE, July 8: The city police carried out an operation in the Sipah-i-Muhammad Pakistan stronghold - Thokar Niaz Beg - in the small hours of Tuesday and took at least 85 people into custody. However, police made no attempt to raid the SMP headquarters. This was the first operation in the area since the expulsion of the Ghulam Raza Naqvi group a few months ago. A few months ago when the police were allowed access to the SMP stronghold, they termed it "the conquest of Thokar Niaz Beg". However, on Monday, armed SMP activists traded fire with the police while protesting against the murder of Allama Talab Husain on the Multan Road. The police when followed the protesters into Niaz Beg village, they had to face a tough resistance. Residents of the area, armed with sophisticated weapons, took up their positions on the rooftops and warned the police against a bloody reaction if they tried to raid the village. The police called for reinforcements at around 1am. Within a couple of hours, heavy police contingent picketed all approaches to Niaz Beg. All vehicles entering or leaving the area were thoroughly checked and people were subjected to a physical search. At around 4pm, the police entered the area and took at least 85 suspects into custody. The operation continued for over two hours. No untoward incident was reported. The police did not disclose the names of the arrested people. A senior police officer said the detained people would be released if they were found innocent. Meanwhile, a spokesman for the SMP said the police had actually raided the houses situated outside Niaz Beg village. He said the people taken into custody were innocent and had no link with the SMP. However, he said the SMP would pressurize the administration for their early release. Sources said no raids were carried out on houses in Thokar Niaz Beg village. The police were some distance from the village. They also made no attempt to raid the SMP main office. It was learnt that some senior police officers wanted to carry out a massive operation in the area to nab terrorists. Two years back, the police had carried out a clean-up operation in the area. The operation could not bear the desired results. It rather exposed the police inability to deal with a crisis situation.Six weeks back in a similar clean-up operation, the police had their six vehicles destroyed by SMP activists. Meanwhile, a standoff between the police and SMP activists was continued. Heavily armed police contingent and three APCs were present on roads leading to Thokar Niaz Beg while armed SMP activists were taking up their positions on the rooftops till the filing of this report. ------------------------ Shehri founder shot at, critically injured KARACHI, July 8: The founder chairman of Shehri-CBE (Citizens for Better Environment), Navaid Hussain, was shot at and critically injured by two men on Tuesday morning in his office. According to the FIR lodged by Mr Hussain's employee, Waris, with the Ferozabad police under Section 307 (attempt to murder), two unidentified persons barged into his office in Navaid Arcade at 9.45am, chatted with the victim and asked for a glass of water. As he turned round to get them water, they fired two bullets at him, wounding him in the abdomen and jaw. Mr Hussain was taken to the Aga Khan hospital where he was operated upon and the bullets were removed. He was shifted to the intensive care unit around 8.30pm, where doctors put him under observation. Sindh minister for housing and town planning, Waseem Akhtar, visited Mr Hussain in the evening after he had undergone the surgery. Expressing grave concern at the murderous attack, Mr Akhtar directed the IG to pay immediate attention to the case and catch the "professional criminals". Later on Tuesday evening, a meeting of an alliance of non- governmental organizations (Alliance Against Discriminatory Laws), to formulate strategy for a July 14 seminar on women and minority rights, strongly condemned the terrorist attack on Mr Hussain and Shehri, calling it "an attack against the entire NGO community." A spokesperson for the AADL told Dawn that the assailants who shot Mr Hussain in his PECHS offices could have been sent by what the alliance described as the "builders mafia" against whom Shehri had launched a campaign. South Asia Partnership's (SAP) executive director Mohammed Tahseen alleged that Mr Hussain had been receiving threats from estate groups after urging the government to demolish dangerous buildings built with substandard material. In particular, Mr Tahseen said Navaid Hussain had been following the case of Faiza Heights which collapsed last week due to substandard construction material. Expressing shock at the incident, SAP demanded that the government provide security of life to activists who were working in the larger interests of the nation. It declared that these recent happenings showed that "the government had failed to improve the law and order situation in Karachi and protect the life and property of innocent citizens." The managing committee and members of Shehri, too, called on the government, the judiciary and the political parties to "begin to tackle the mushrooming growth of illegal buildings with some determination after taking cognizance that the NGOs and people of goodwill were being targeted and intimidated by various criminal Mafia's". Another meeting of the AADL is scheduled on Wednesday to take stock of the murderous attack on Mr Hussain at the Shehri offices. It will plan for the July 14 meeting at the Trade and Finance Centre seeking the restoration of women's seats in the assembly, repeal of Hudood Ordinances as well as the repeal of Blasphemy laws. ---------------------- Defence, Clifton residents stand up against rising crime KARACHI, July 8: After a sharp and somewhat sudden increase in crime and robberies in some of the city's more affluent areas - Defence and Clifton (repeatedly, and ad nauseum, called 'posh') - a group of residents finally decided enough is enough. They said they have an important message for the chief minister of Sindh: stop the growing crime in the city soon so that citizens can feel secure. On Tuesday afternoon - on a day when a vocal NGO activist and critic of illegal construction in Karachi was severely injured by gunmen in his PECHS office - around 30 members of a newly formed citizen's group calling itself the Defence/Clifton Residents Association met at the Friendship Store at the intersection of 26th Street and Khayaban-i-Bahria. From their point of assembly they drove to the official residence of the Sindh chief minister on Dr Ziauddin Ahmed Road and stood there for almost an hour holding placards demanding that the government provide its citizens adequate protection. For a while they were standing close to the right periphery of the Chief Minister House as three police mobiles and several policemen close by looked on. Later they were allowed to move closer to the main gate of the Chief Minister House where they stood holding up signs which said in English: 'Save us from dacoits' and 'Save us from the system'. One of the main demands of these residents is that the Darakshan Police Station, which is presently adjacent to the Clifton Police Station on Hatim Alvi Road, should be moved closer to the areas of its jurisdiction. They said that the police station should be closer to the areas of the Seaview Township and Defence's phases 5,6 and 7 which are already quite far from Hatim Alvi Road in Clifton. "We want the Darakhshan Police Station to be closer to the Defence Housing Society which it is supposed to cover. Right now it's right next to the Clifton Police Station, why have two police stations serving different jurisdictions right next to each other. If an incident in Phase 7 happens - which is anyway quite vulnerable because not too many houses are built there yet - then it takes some time before any police help from the Darakhshan station arrives," one of the protesters said. Dawn spoke to several other of the assembled people, the majority were women and housewives, and a common thread seemed to have united them to speak out the rising crime in their area. Almost all of them had been directly affected by serious crimes in the recent past and none had seen any of their wealth (either in the form of stolen cars, or household goods or cash) recovered. Two of the people who had assembled had been the victim's of what could be called 'high-profile' crimes in that the incidents were widely reported including this newspaper. One woman, who said she was the daughter of the former Nawab of Junagadh, said that her 41-year-old son had been stabbed 19 times and killed by an assailant. A suspect has been detained by Darakhshan police and is being interrogated in the case. Athar Mahmood's house on Khayaban-i-Muhafiz in Phase V was robbed at 4 am recently and the dacoits even asked him that he should drop them off at a remote place in Phase VIII which he did. And once they reached there they forgot that they had left a bag back at the burgled house and went back to fetch it. Later in a police shootout a cop was killed in front of Mr Mahmood's house. Mr Mehmood told Dawn that the robbers think that everyone who lives in Defence or Clifton is a rich businessman, industrialist or bureaucrat. "I am a salaried person and work in a bank. We built a house here recently with our hard-earned money only to be robbed of everything. Not every one who lives in Defence or Clifton is necessarily a rich person, there are many middle-class people here but the dacoits don't seem to know that," he said. Taj Isphahani, a female protester told Dawn in English: "First they used to tell us that we shouldn't go out of the house and should sit at home. But now we aren't even safe at home. Look at the sharp increase in the crimes and robberies in areas which used to be considered safe." Ms Isphahani said her house in Phase 6 was robbed recently at 2.30 am. She said the problem was with the system which actually rewarded law-breakers. She said influential people were behind the people who committed the robberies and it was hence not that surprising that these felons were hardly ever caught and punished. Another women, Mrs Javed Khan, said her two cars were stolen; Mrs Khan lives in Defence Phase 6. Both of them are yet to be recovered and she has in any case lost hope, she said. Yet another women in the protest, Mrs Ansari, said her home on 24th Street and Khayaban-i-Sehr had been burgled on the night of June 11 and the police had yet to recover anything. Another protester said that the crime situation in Defence and Clifton was actually much worse than it looked since many incidents of theft were often not reported by residents to the police. POSTSCRIPT: During the past two weeks the litany of reported crimes in Defence and Clifton makes for some very sorry reading. * The murders of Malik Shahid Hamid, his driver and guard in Phase 2. * The murder of a woman whose dead body with cigarette burns was found in a remote area in Phase 8. It is suspected she had been sexually assaulted. * The murder of a member of the family of the former Nawab of Junagadh. * The death of a policeman in a shootout with dacoits in Phase V. ---------------------- 400 more held as crackdown continues KARACHI, July 8: The city police rounded up more than 400 people across the city on Tuesday as the crackdown on political activists entered a third day. However, police said 238 persons involved in various crimes were nabbed during the on-going campaign against anti-social and criminal elements.According to the police, the arrested included 10 proclaimed offenders and 15 absconders, while 93 others were held for causing breach of peace. Sources said the night-long raid and arrest operations continued in all five districts of the city and over 300 more political workers of different parties were arrested. Major arrests were effected in the West and South districts, they added. The police said 22 persons were arrested in District East, 33 in the Central, 11 in the Malir, 89 in the West and 83 in the South. The recovery from them included 22 vehicles, including cars and motorcycles, a Kalashnikov, a sten-gun, 18 pistols, two mousers, seven revolvers, a carbine, two daggers and Rs54,116. The sources said the ongoing crackdown on the political activists having criminal background would continue for further few days. Lists of over 2,000 such workers have been provided to the police in all the five districts, they added. They said besides the night-long operations, the police were also raiding the houses of political activists in the day as the authorities had instructed the police to gear up efforts to apprehend maximum number of political and criminal activists. Over 1,000 people have so far been picked up in different parts of the city since the crackdown on the political parties was launched after the assassination of the KESC chief with his driver and security guard. ----------------------- Three gunned down, two injured KARACHI: Three people were gunned down and two received bullet wounds in different firing incidents on Tuesday. The owner of Mughal Estate Agency, Mirza Azhar Baig, 27, received critical bullet wounds when he was fired at by two armed men riding a car while he was standing outside his residence in Haroon Bungalows in Sharafi Goth in Sachal. Area people were taking him to JPMC but he died before he could be wheeled in the hospital. Police held the murder was due to some old enmity. Mehmoob, 45, owner of a store in Future Colony, Sharafi Goth, was shot dead in his shop. One of the two armed men riding a motorcycle came in the shop pretending to buy some items while the other opened fire. Later they fled. Bullet riddled body of an 35-year-old unidentified man, blindfolded and with limbs tied, was found in a gunny bag near DMC Office at Sector 11-1/2 in Orangi Town. Police shifted the corpse to Abbasi Shaheed where the medico-legal officer said the body had torture marks besides several bullet wounds. Naveed Husain of Shehri - a non-governmental organisation - received bullet wounds when two armed men barged into his office in PECHS Block 2 in Ferozabad. Entering the office the armed men, after identifying Naveed, opened fire at him and fled. His colleagues took him to Aga Khan Hospital in critical condition. Khalid Dad, 25, was fired at by some unknown people in Azizabad while he was returning home from his factory. ---------------------- Three killed in accidents KARACHI: Three people were killed and another was injured in different road accidents on Tuesday. Haji Abdul Khaliq, 40, who had received injuries on Saturday in a road accident at Sharea Faisal and was admitted to JPMC, succumbed to his injuries on Tuesday. Zulfiqar, 22, was injured when his speeding truck collided with a trailer at Super Highway in Gadap police area. The area police took him to Abbasi Shaheed Hospital in critical condition, however, he succumbed to his injuries on way to the hospital. Muneer Maseeh, 22, a factory worker was knocked down to death when a speeding vehicle hit him in Manghopir while he was crossing the road. Nazeer was injured when his Suzuki pick-up (KF-6317) collided with a speeding truck (DRB-5158) in Quaidabad area. ---------------- Poetess' house looted, manager robbed KARACHI: Armed men looted the manager of a local firm on Tuesday. Besides, bandits looted thousands of rupees, gold ornaments, electrical appliances and snatched 15 vehicles from various parts of the city. Three armed men riding a car intercepted the vehicle of Muhammad Arif, manager of a local firm near Nursery in Ferozabad and snatched Rs 500,000 from him, while he was returning to his office after drawing cash from the bank. Three armed men barged into the residence of Gulnaz Afreen, a well-known poetess in Block 13-D, Gulshan-e-Iqbal. They locked Gulnaz and her husband Nasir Hussain in a room and collected Rs 25,000, jewellery worth Rs 160,000 and other valuables. After looting the house of Gulnaz, the gang entered the house of her tenant Shaikh Waheed Raza and looted cash, gold ornaments and electrical appliances. Bandits looted Rs 70,000, jewellery and other valuables from a house in Al-Falah; Rs 160,000, gold ornaments and electrical appliances from a house in Bahadurabad and Rs 260,000, jewellery and valuables from a residence in North Nazimabad. 801 arrested: The Karachi police, after the killing of MD KESC Malik Shahid Hamid along with his guard and driver in Defence area on Saturday, are trying to show their efficiency and have arrested 801 people during the last three days. Police claimed that they had also recovered one Kalashnikov, 18 pistols, seven revolvers, two mausers, one stengun, a carbine and two daggers from them. It is, however, strange that police and DIG Karachi Malik Iqbal realised only after the killing of Malik Shahid Hamid that criminals were active in the city. After the killing of the KESC MD, his driver and guard in a posh city locality, the police launched a campaign against criminals without any discrimination. On Tuesday, police arrested 238 persons from all the five districts of the city. They included 15 absconders, 10 proclaimed offenders, 40 wanted in Section 109 and 93 in Section 144, while others were nominated in different cases. The leaders of MQM, MQM (H), PPP and PPP-SB maintained that the IGP Sindh, DIG Karachi and other police officers were trying to save their jobs and arrested their innocent party workers just to show their efficiency. The recent action has been taken only because the prime minister was visiting Karachi, they said and asked why no action was taken when innocent people were being killed on the streets of Karachi. ---------------- Five SHOs transferred KARACHI: The Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIG) Karachi on Tuesday ordered the transfer of five Station House Officers (SHO) with immediate effects. Inspector Qamar Zaman transferred from District Malir and posted as SHO Baghdadi vice Gharo Khan transferred. Inspector Mumrez Khan transferred from District East and posted as SHO Al-Falah vice Malik Mumtaz Awan SHO Al-Falah transferred and posted as SHO Bahadurabad vice Naveed Nasir transferred. ---------------- Iran, Saudi Arabia set to relaunch air, sea ties RIYADH: Iran and Saudi Arabia, who have had strained relations since the 1979 Islamic revolution, are expected to set up air and martime links soon, Tehran's ambassador said here on Tuesday. "Saudi-Iranian relations are improving ... and the establishment of regular air links between Tehran and (the western port of) Jeddah is near," said Hojatoleslam Mohamed Reza Nouri said. "The establishment of a maritime link between Iran and the Saudi port of Dhahran is probable," Nouri told reporters. He also said representatives of several private Saudi firms were in Iran recently to sign several economic cooperation accords with the Iranian companies. "One of the accords provides for a Saudi-Iranian joint venture to build hotels in Makkah for Iranian pilgrims." Iranian press reports on Tuesday said the Foundation for Veterans and the Disabled and the privately-held Saudi company Faezine signed accords in the area of transport, industry, agriculture and joint foreign investment. They agreed to start factories to produce fruit juice and food items, along with packaging and the companies will also study a joint project for the maritime and air transport of commercial goods to central Asia. ----------------------- No let up in water and power crisis in city KARACHI: In juxtaposition to the fear of terrorism, political uncertainty and the upshot of mercury, the water and power crisis continues in the city on Tuesday. Different social and business organisations have announced to observe strike on Friday in order to record their sever reaction on the failure of the government in providing basic services to the citizens. Major parts of the city remained without water and faced frequent power shut downs for long duration. While citizen continued to 'groan' in futility, KESC attributed less generation to poor supply of water and Sui gas to its thermal power stations. KWSB, however, gave non-supply of power to its pumping stations as one of the major causes of water crisis. Sui Southern Gas Co Ltd, in a press release, also strongly refuted the allegation of poor supply of gas to KESC and clarified that KESC was getting more than the quota of gas fixed by the federal government. On these pretexts, KESC's complaint centers and the KWSB's computerised complaint cell failed to entertain complaints from Nazimasbad, PECHS, Landhi-Korangi, North Karachi, Nazimabad and North Nazimabad, Old City area, Liaquatabad, Gulshan and many other areas and showed their inability to redress the grievances of the consumers. The Karachi Pasban chief Usman Mu'azzam has announced a city-wide strike against failure of KESC and KWSB authorities to provide water and power to the citizen. In a press release, he appealed to the people to keep their shops and businesses closed on Friday to record their reaction. According to a press release, the presidents of All Pakistan Computer Dealers and Retailers Association, Tariq Road Treaders Welfare Association, Hyderi Market North Nazimabad, Computer Market Gulshan-e-Iqbal, Karim Center, Saddar, Karachi Electronics Market, Abdullah Haroon Road, Alfalaah Market, Khajoor Market, Lee Mrket and Meena Bazar have announced to observe strike on the appeal of Pasban. Meanwhile, Tanzeem-e-Sada-e-Watan, Karachi has appealed to the PM and the Sindh CM to save KWSB from further decline and dismiss the officials responsible for water crisis. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 10 July 1997 Thursday 04 Rabi-ul-Awwal 1418 MQM team meet US ambassador KARACHI: The MQM delegation met US Ambassador at the US Embassy Islamabad on Wednesday afternoon. Sindh Provincial Minister Dr Mohammed Farooq Sattar told The News on telephone that delegation members included Senators Nasreen Jaleel and Aftab Ahmed Shaikh. When asked that whether IG Sindh and DIG Karachi police have been asked to report to the Governor ,Farooq said " I am not aware of it better ask Sindh Chief Minister." Answering another question whether some drastic changes were expected in Karachi administration and police, Farooq Sattar said this should also be asked to Chief Minister Liaquat Ali Jatoi. ------------------------- MQM protests with PM over arrests ISLAMABAD: The MQM has conveyed its protest to Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and Sindh Chief Minister Liaquat Jatoi over the 'unjustified' arrests in Karachi. The MQM has demanded of the government to prepare a fresh list of criminals before launching any operation against them in the metropolis. "The raids are being conducted in light of the old lists, which included the names of peace-loving citizens," the MQM observed. Senator Aftab Shaikh denied MQM's hand behind KESC chief Shahid Hamid's murder and termed it as a conspiracy as he was an important witness in the probe for extra-judicial killings. -------------------------- KESC's Shahid's murder a plot to destroy proof, claims MQM ISLAMABAD, July 9: MQM (A) Senator Aftab Sheikh on Wednesday denied involvement of his party in the murder of the managing director of KESC, Shahid Hamid, and termed it a "conspiracy" to eliminate a key witness to extrajudicial killings allegedly carried out in the city by the previous government. "The timings of the murder are very significant as the judicial commission constituted by the government to probe the incidents of extrajudicial killings is about to begin its proceedings in the next few weeks," he told Dawn. The commission under a sitting judge of the Supreme Court was constituted on June 23 and Mr Shahid Hamid was killed on July 5. Sen Aftab Sheikh alleged that "certain quarters" were against the constitution of the judicial commission. He said the MQM had signed an agreement with the Muslim League government in February and the commission was set up in June. These quarters, he said, did their best to prevent the government from setting up the commission but failed. He claimed that the late Mr Shahid, who was known as an honest, upright and disciplined officer, had been the home secretary of Sindh from March 1995 to February last year. During that period key workers of the MQM had been "eliminated" in extrajudicial killings. Mr Hamid, he said, was the most important witness in these cases. Sen Sheikh asserted that the KESC chief had been approached by certain quarters asking him not to produce facts before the commission while he (Shahid) was adamant to speak nothing but the truth. He admitted that the MQM was at loggerheads with the KESC chief over administrative issues and had also demanded his removal at a cabinet meeting. He said this could have created a situation that suited those who killed him. TEAM MEETS US ENVOY: A three-member MQM delegation led by Dr Farooq Sattar met US ambassador Thomas Simmons here on Wednesday. In the hour-long meeting held at the US embassy, the delegation discussed at length the current violence in Karachi with reference to investment being made by American companies in and around Karachi, a source said. The US ambassador expressed concern over the deteriorating law and order situation posing serious threat to the foreign investment in the country, the source said. The murder of KESC chief Shahid Hamid also came under discussion, he added. The MQM team was expected to meet the prime minister, as well, but the meeting was cancelled as the prime minister had to rush to Lahore on account of the death of his brother-in-law. ---------------------------- Gesture of love for Shahid Hamid KARACHI: The KESC Shareholders Association has proposed to the corporation's board of directors that the bungalow (75-B) at South Sea Avenue, where Shahid Hamid lived till his assassination, be allotted to his family in acknowledgment of his service to the nation. In a press release, the association's General Secretary, Choudhary Mazhar Ali, said that the association had written to the board of directors that the corporation's employees and shareholders wanted to present the said bungalow, which is the property of KESC, to the family of the deceased in a gesture of love, honour and respect for the deceased. He said that the KESC should also request the DHA to re-name the road, where the assassination took place, as 'Shahid Hamid Shaheed Road'. ----------------------------- 'Minister' from Guinea was a drug trafficker KARACHI, July 9: A so-called official visit by the "information minister" of Equatorial Guinea might have fooled the Pakistan government which accorded him full diplomatic status and arranged meetings with the president and finance minister for him. Santos Pascual, a former minister of information of the West African nation, was arrested on July 6 in Spain on the charge of heroin smuggling after ending a so-called official visit to Pakistan during which he met senior government officials, including President Farooq Leghari and Finance Minister Sartaj Aziz. According to a report by the Reuter news agency on Wednesday, the Spanish police were quoted as saying that Mr Pascual had left his ministerial post on June 26 (several days before he undertook his 'official' visit to Pakistan) but retained his diplomatic passport and used it to pass himself off as a diplomat. The report said Mr Pascual had been arrested at Madrid Barajas airport on July 6 with a suitcase which contained 15kg of heroin on arrival from a visit to Pakistan. The news agency quoted the Spanish police as saying that Mr Pascual had been arrested as part of an anti-drug operation against two international drug organisations which were involved in trafficking heroin out of Pakistan. The Spanish police said Mr Pascual who is a son-in-low of Equatorial Guinea's president was a minister till June 26 but still retained his diplomatic passport and used it for travel and to pass himself off as a diplomat. The police said they had also seized Equatorial Guinea government papers and the official seal of the security office of the country. Mr Pascual who undertook his visit to Pakistan passing himself off as the minister of information of his country also met senior business and industry representatives. His meeting with the president was shown on the national news bulletin. Mr Pascual even convinced this newspaper into granting him an interview (published on June 6) in which he said his country was interested in opening an embassy in Islamabad to step up trade ties. According to the Reuter report, the Spanish police said Mr Pascual made contact with "known Iranian drug traffickers" during his visit to Pakistan. -------------------------------------- Live photos of Karachi now on Internet KARACHI, July 9: Internet buffs now can see live photo shots of Karachi on the World Wide Web thanks to a special camera fitted on top of a building over looking the city's main artery, Sharea Faisal. According to a Press release from Instec Digital Systems, a Karachi-based company behind the project, the Web-based camera updates its images of this part of Karachi every 15 minutes. Internet users interested in finding more about Karachi can access these pictures at the web site address: http://www.instecdigital.com and then click on the 'Karachi CAM' button. ------------------------ 172 more people arrested, arms recovered in city KARACHI: The Karachi police, on the fifth day of its on-going drive against criminals, arrested 172 people on Wednesday for their alleged involvement in various cases and recovered arms and stolen or snatched vehicles from them. The police arrested at least 801 people till Tuesday, however, some were released on Wednesday following their clearing from the concerned deputy commissioners and the senior superintendents of police. On Wednesday, the police arrested 172 people from the the city and claimed recovery of a sten gun, five, pistols, five revolvers, ornaments and drugs. The leaders of various political groups and parties alleged that the police arrested innocent people during the last five days and implicated them in fake cases. When contacted the DIG Karachi, Malik Muhammad Iqbal, told The News that those found innocent were released after scrutiny and maintained that the drive was totally against criminals involved in cases or absconders or proclaimed offenders and not aimed at targeting any political parties or groups. -------------------------- Two bullet-riddled bodies found, women injured KARACHI: Two bullet-riddled corpses were found in city and a woman was injured in firing on Wednesday. Gulbahar police found bullet-riddled corpse of an unidentified man. Residents from Hoor Market in Nazimabad No: 2 had informed police about the corpse and reaching the spot police found the body of an unidentified youth of about 25 with its limbs tied. It was shifted to Abbasi Shaheed. Another corpse of an unidentified man was found lying in bushes Korangi police limits. Police said limbs of the deceased were tied while a slip saying 'Mukhbiri Ka Anjaam' was also found. Shifting it to JPMC police were looking into the matter. Meanwhile, an unidentified woman received bullet wounds in Ferozabad police limits. Further details were not available as police had no information about the incident. -------------------------- Journalist robbed, 15 vehicles snatched KARACHI: Armed men looted Rs0.5 million, gold ornaments, electrical appliances and snatched 15 vehicles from various parts of the city on Wednesday. The bandits injured a man on his resistance. Two armed men, riding a motorcycle, intercepted vehicle of Altaf, cashier of a mill in Korangi Industrial Area. They snatched Rs450,000 from him which he was bringing to the mill from bank along with driver Nisar. Two armed men, one of them in police uniform, riding a Suzuki intercepted the car of four Irani engineers near Bilawal House in Clifton and looted Rs13,000 from them and fled. Two armed men, riding a car, intercepted a motorcycle in Jauharabad. They ordered the owner Rashid Mehmood to hand over his motorcycle and on his resistance they shot and injured him. Later they fled taking his motorcycle. Bandits looted Rs20,000, jewellery and other valuables from the residence of Muhammad Hafeez in Gulshan-e-Iqbal; cash, gold ornaments and electrical appliances from the residence Muhammad Riyaz. Four armed men barged into the residence of Ahmar Masti Khan, a well known journalist, at Sea View Township in Darakhshan police jurisdiction. They locked all the inmates in a room. The collected cash, prize bonds, jewellery and other valuables worth Rs400,000 and fled. According to area people armed men committed 15 robberies in Sea View Township during the last three weeks. -------------------------- Three bodies fished out KARACHI: Three bodies of the drowned picnickers were fished out by the Edhi divers on Wednesday. According to details, a group of college students had gone to the Cape Mount, Hawkesbay, for picnic on Sunday. Three of the youngsters -- Moonis Khan, Hassan Maqsood Wahidi and his brother Salman Wahidi -- left their group and went for swimming when a violent wave swept them away. The Edhi divers, however, could fish out the bodies of Hassan Maqsood Wahidi and his brother Salman Wahidi on Wednesday, while the body of Moonis Khan could not be located. Meanwhile, Edhi divers fished out the body of Barkat Ali, 17, who had drowned in the sea at Paradise Point on Tuesday. ---------------------------- One shot dead, another hurt KARACHI: A man was shot dead while another was injured in different firing incidents on Wednesday.Ameer Khan son of Waris Khan was shot dead by unidentified miscreants near Ibrahim Ali Bhai Auditorium at Nishter Road in the jurisdiction of Soldier Bazar police station. The corpse was shifted to the Civil Hospital for autopsy, however, further details were not available till the filing of this report. Imran, 22, was fired upon by some unknown men in the jurisdiction of New Karachi police station. Further details were not available till the filing of this report. --------------------- Man crushed to death KARACHI: A man was crushed to death under the wheels of a moving locomotive while a woman burnt to death on Wednesday. Fareed, son of Hazara, was crushed to death under the wheels of a moving train near the Landhi Railway Chowki. On information, the police reached to the spot and shifted the corpse to the JPMC for autopsy. Rukhsana, 29, was burnt to death in the jurisdiction of Saeedabad police. The police said that she received burn wounds while cooking at her home, at Block, C, Sector 9. Her husband, Jamshed Ali, rushed her to the Abbasi Shaheed Hospital for medical aid but she succumbed to her injuries at the hospital. ------------------- Court issues black warrants of two for July 19 KARACHI: The Additional District and Sessions Judge, East, Naseem Mansoor, on Wednesday issued black warrants for July 19, 1997 against two persons convicted in a murder in 1991. The warrants were issued on the formal request of the Superintendent of Central Prison, Karachi through a letter, pointing out that the accused, Javed Maseeh and Shamoon Maseeh, had been convicted years back and all of their appeals were rejected by the authorities concerned. The prosecution had established that the two had barged into an office of the Habib Group of Companies and subjected an staffer Muhammad Iqbal to torture, snatched three expensive watches, saving certificates and Khas Deposit Certificates from the office and finally electrocuted him. They were arrested later and indicted before the Sessions Court which had awarded death penalty to them. The defence went into appeals in the Sindh High Court and then to the Federal Shariat Court which maintained the trial court's verdict, making them approach the President of Pakistan with a mercy appeal. The President also upheld the decision. The Supdt Prison then moved the trial court and took the plea that as the convicts had exercised their constitutional rights and the punishment awarded to them had been maintained, their black warrants might be issued. The trial court, in turn, authorised the prison authorities to execute the convicts on July 19, 1997. ------------------ Judicial transfers, postings KARACHI: The Chief Justice of Sindh High Court has ordered transfers and posting of the Judicial magistrates with immediate effect. Accordingly S. Naseem Hasan Shah has been transferred from Karachi central to Kotri vice M Muhammad Iqbal Awan transferred from Kotri to Thatta vice Ijlal Hyder Memon who has been posted in Sanghar vice Muhammad Azim transferred and posted at Karachi central vice S. Naseem Hasan shah. Meanwhile in pursuance of notification issued by the Law Department, government of sindh the chief Justice has directed the following district and Sessions judge to join their new assignments: Syed Aley Maqbool Rizvi, Additional District and Sessions Judge Sukkur as Deputy Secretary (Regulation) Law Department, government of sindh and M Ahmed Nawaz Shaikh, Additional District and Sessions Judge Larkana as Deputy Secretary (Opinion), Law Department, government of Sindh. --------------------- Foreign agencies accused KARACHI: Central Information Secretary of National People's Party (NPP), Syed Zia Abbas, while holding RAW and other foreign secret agencies responsible for lawlessness in Karachi and Punjab, has urged the government to effectively check their involvement for the sake of the country's survival. He also urged Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to work on a one-point agenda i.e. to save the country, and all the political parties should shun their differences in this regard. Talking to newsmen on Wednesday, he maintained that ethnic clashes in Karachi and sectarian killings in Punjab were being master-minded by foreign secret agencies in a bid to weaken Pakistan. Criticising what he called baseless and unfounded propaganda launched against the Pakistani agencies by vested interests, Zia Abbas said that the national intelligence agencies were under the control of the government which should take immediate notice of this uncalled for propaganda. --------------------- PM's brother-in-law dies LAHORE: Dr Asif Butt, 32, brother-in-law of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif, died in Islamabad of renal failure. Butt was suffering from kidney ailment for the last seven months, which proved to be fatal. He is survived by a widow. Dr Asif Butt was laid to rest in the afternoon at Bibi Pak Daman graveyard. His Namaz-e-Janaza was attended by Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, Punjab Governor Shahid Hamid, Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif, federal ministers Muhammad Azam Hoti and Ishaq Dar, former Punjab governor, MNAs MPAs, political leaders, businessmen, besides relatives and friends of the deceased. The funeral prayer was offered at the Tariq Block ground in Garden Town. -------------------- US visa services moving to Islamabad ISLAMABAD: All US visa functions in Pakistan will be shifted to newly-constructed facilities at the US Embassy at Islamabad later this month. The consolidation of visa services in Islamabad is a budget-driven decision, intended to help the embassy cut costs by eliminating duplication of services. After the move is completed, all US visa applicants in Pakistan will apply through the consular section of the American Embassy in Islamabad, says a USIS news release. All visa services currently offered by the Consulate General at Lahore will end on July 17. Special services for American citizens residing in Southern and central Punjab (Lahore, Bahawalpur, Multan, Rahimyar Khan, and Dera Ghazi Khan divisions) will remain an important part of the Lahore Consulate's activities. Such services include renewal of passports, issuance of birth certificates for American citizen children and assistance in emergencies. American Citizens residing at Sargodha and Gujranwala divisions should in future contact the US Embassy at Islamabad. Karachi Visa services at the US Consulate General in Karachi were suspended in 1995 amid security concerns following an attack on American diplomats there, but are to be restored as soon as is practical. The US keeps the question of returning Sindh / Balochistan visa services to Karachi under continuous review and discusses the security arrangements that will be required with the appropriate Pakistani officials. The US Embassy's Consular section will close for a week beginning July 21 to complete the move from their current offices in the former USAID building into new facilities at the US Embassy compound with a special consular entrance located just off University Road. After July 28 all Pakistani applicants for US visas, both immigrant and visitor visas, should apply to the US Embassy at Islamabad. Visa applicants from throughout Pakistan should call (051) 821-663 to arrange an appointment for a visa interview. Persons throughout Pakistan wishing to renew their expiring, multi-entry US visas may be eligible for drop-box services and should contact any TCS courier service officer for information on how to send visa applications to the Embassy at Islamabad. -------------------------- Privatisation of Railways opposed SUKKUR: The Privatisation of Railways would render thousands of employees jobless and was also against the national defence, the Pakistan Railway Employees Union CBA said on Wednesday. It said it would oppose the sale to a Jewish multi-national company. CBA Central President Hafiz Suleman Butt said this while addressing a big rally of workers of Loco Shed Rohri. He accused the bureaucrats, 'Jagirdars', industrialists 'Chaudhris' and 'Waderas' of making the country bankrupt. He said their properties be confiscated and their capital in foreign countries be seized to retire the debt, and the national organisations should not be sold out at throw-away prices. The central president said we have evolved a strategy which, if adopted, would make the Railways self-sufficient within a year. He said there are solid proofs of corruption and looting of the national exchequer by the senior railways officials. Lashing out on the DS Railway Sukkur Division he advised him to refrain from anti-labour practices. The others who addressed the rally included Central Secretary Khair Muhammad Tunio and Central Vice President M Ishaq Rana. --------------------------- Police nab three involved in sectarian killings BHAKKAR: The Bhakkar police on Wednesday claimed to have resolved the mystery shrouding the killing of nine persons at Khairpur Tamewali and the murder of DC Khanewal Capt Raza Ali, by smashing a gang involved in sectarian terrorism. S P Bhakkar Tariq Masud Yaseen told a press conference that one of the three persons arrested in connection with the murder of Tehrik-e-Jaferia district chief Syed Ejaz Hussain Shah, at Darya Khan a couple of days back, had confessed to his involvement in the Khairpur Tamewali killings and the murder of DC Khanewal Capt Raza Ali. According to the SP, the main accused in the Darya Khan incident, Hafiz Shafiqur Rahman, also had a major role in the firing incident at the Iranian Cultural centre in Multan in which several persons, including director of the centre were killed. The SP also claimed that accused Shafiqur Rahman, during interrogation, had provided a clue about the real assassins of SSP Gujranwala, Chaudhry Muhammad Ashraf Marth whose identity was however being kept secret. The SP told newsmen that the second accused, Asif Mahmud hailed from Okara and was allegedly involved in the killing of Dr Ijaz Imam. The third accused Tanveer Ahmed belonged to Darya Khan, and had allegedly been harbouring the terrorists besides dealing in illegal arms trade. To a question, the SP said all the accused had made voluntary statements during investigations conducted on scientific lines, and the accused had not been tortured at all. He said the Honda motorcycle used in the Darya Khan incident had been recovered from the accused. He said the accused had been sent to jail on judicial remand. He told newsmen that the IG Police, Punjab had promoted to the next ranks all the police officials concerned for showing bravery and excellent performance in this case. ------------------------- Hundreds of Iranian militants held in Afghanistan: JUI-F QUETTA: The Taleban government in Afghanistan has captured several hundred Iranian militants who were backing anti-Taleban forces during the ongoing fighting between Taleban government and rebel forces in northern Afghanistan, claimed Maulana Noor Muhammad, former provincial minister and Naib Ameer of JUI-F Balochistan. Speaking at a news conference on Wednesday, the Naib Ameer of JUI-F alleged that several foreign countries, including Iran, India, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan, were continuously interfering in the affairs of Afghanistan in order to turn the situation there from bad to worse. However, Maulana Noor Muhammad refuted the allegations levelled by certain quarters that Pakistan was supporting the Taleban government against rebel forces in northern Afghanistan. He clarified that it was a baseless propaganda. He alleged that the continuation of bloodshed in Afghanistan was the result of foreign support to anti-Kabul forces. He asserted that the Taleban government was stable and strong and Taleban had occupied over two-thirds area of the country. This, he said, had proved that the anti-Taleban forces were facing defeat despite the support of Iran and Russia. He said the Iranian interference and support to rebel forces was meant to establish trade relations with Central Asian States so as to isolate Pakistan and Afghanistan in the matter of political and economic ties with the Central Asian States. The JUI-F leader called upon the Islamic countries to extend their cooperation to the Taleban government as Afghans were facing numerous hardships, adding that it was their Islamic responsibility to support the Islamic government of Taleban so that all the nefarious designs hatched by vested elements could be foiled. Replying to a question, about the rights given by Taleban to women in Afghanistan, Maulana Noor Muhammad said Islam is the only religion on earth which guaranteed the rights of women asserting that Taleban had already announced to accept the rights of women according to the teachings of Islam. ------------------------- NTM to telecast 'Kalash' from July 13 KARACHI: The NTM has come up with a drama serial "Kalash", portraying a love story in the country's most beautiful region, Kafiristan, which will be telecast from July 13 (Sunday). Briefing newsmen at the preview ceremony on Wednesday, Managing Director NTM Faisal Sher Jan said that it was for the first time that a full-fledged drama serial has been based on the Kalash people, living in the country's most beautiful region, Kafiristan. The story of Kalash revolves around a Kalash girl 'Gulnar' (Sidra Khan) and an educated and modern young man 'Shan' (Ali Afzal) who met each other in the valley and fell in love, emanating touching emotions and intense feelings. Speaking on the occasion, the playwright, Mustansar Hussain Tarar said: "I do not discourage those who shoot their dramas abroad, but I love to portray the culture and tradition of these regions of Pakistan." Talking about Kalash community he said: It is too difficult to determine the basic faith of this community. They love nature and they believe in nature. They are called Kafirs by the people because they are not Muslims. Their language is also different and have peculiar accent which is different from 'Khawad', the language spoken in Chitral. Kalash people are very broad-minded and they never mind if a husband or a wife fall in love with someone else and want separation to get remarried. A Kalash never tells a lie and he never steals even precious things." According to him the costumes and traditions of this community are rapidly changing due to fast commercialisation in the area, which is also snatching away their innocence. Faisal Sher Jan said that the story is a blend of Kalash values and urban life style. The artists -- Qazi Wajid, Subhani Bayounas, Jamshad Ansari, Ali Afzal and Ayaz Khan -- while sharing their experiences during the shooting of Kalash said that travelling between Karachi and Kafiristan through the mountainous region of Hindukush was itself a great adventure. The drama cast also includes: Qavi Khan, Yasmeen Ismail, Zaheen Tahira, Shaiyanne Malik, Ali Afzal, Sidra Khan, Jamshed Ansari, Ayaz Khan and others. Kalash, which comprises 13 episodes of 50-minute duration, will be telecast on every Sunday evening from July 13. ----------------------- IMF to await tax collection figures before concluding ESAF ISLAMABAD: The Extended Structural Adjustment Facility (ESAF) may not be finalised before October, as the International Monetary Fund (IMF) is likely to wait for the revenue collection figures for the first quarter of the current fiscal year ending September 30, sources said on Wednesday. The Fund's technical mission arrived in the Capital, to start a preliminary round of discussion with their Pakistani counterparts on revenue collection figures for the outgoing fiscal year. They are also expected to discuss the revenue targets set for the new fiscal year. "The most formidable task for the government is the collection of 20 per cent more taxes, with a projected economic growth rate of six per cent, during the new fiscal year," said a senior official in the Central Board of Revenue (CBR). It has been learnt that a vital meeting of senior CBR officials was convened by the Ministry of Finance on July 6. The meeting is believed to have discussed strategies to improve tax collection through better administrative measures. "Many of the regional heads of tax collection machinery, who participated in the meeting, voiced their concern about such a high tax collection target ... though they did not flatly say no to the government's standpoint," said a senior CBR official. According to him, while the CBR had almost achieved the revenue collection target for the outgoing fiscal year, problems were likely to emerge during July-September, as all economic activity would remain under strict vigilance of various IMF missions. These missions are scheduled to visit Islamabad during this period before concluding discussion on the ESAF. The new tax collection target largely depended on immediate revival of large-scale manufacturing sector, said the CBR official, as the government was expecting more revenue without imposing any new taxes while reducing the maximum rate of import tariff from 65 to 45 per cent. "A substantial loss of revenue from import duties can only be covered if smuggling is curbed and imports are enhanced," the official said. He said that revenue targets would not be achieved unless new economic reforms trigger industrial output. He told The News that the CBR had already taken the decision to impose GST at retail level in Karachi, Lahore and Islamabad, but the final decision was being awaited from Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif. The government, the official said, would have to take some tough decisions in the near future, like extending GST at the retail level, to qualify for the ESAF. "(The) ESAF is extremely important for the government ... as it will determine the future economic prospects of the country, particularly with reference to external finance," a senior Finance Ministry official said, requesting anonymity. "(The) ESAF is crucial ... in the sense that two international credit rating agencies, the Moody's and the Standards & Poor, will be reviewing Pakistan's credit-worthiness in November this year. Last November, the Moody's downgraded Pakistan's credit rating, which seriously affected Pakistan's borrowing from external resources, making it more expensive," said the Finance Ministry official. It has also been learnt that WAPDA's financial health would also be one of the main points of discussion with the visiting IMF mission. The country's largest public sector power company is currently running into losses amounting to billions of rupees. "WAPDA's financial losses will be enormously high during this fiscal year due to contractual payments to the Independent Power Projects (IPPs)," said an official, adding that the initial estimates put these losses around Rs 35-40 billion. "WAPDA's default on payment to foreign private power companies during fiscal year 1997-98 will in turn be a default by the government, as it is a public sector entity by all definitions," the official said. Sources in the government said that the real problems would start after the release of ESAF's first tranche, as IMF conditions would become more difficult to meet with the passage of every quarter of the fiscal year. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------