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Altaf hints at reshuffle in parliamentary ranks
Protesters attack Press Club, beat up staffer
Rawalpindi Imambargah attack puts LEAs on red alert in City
Man strangulated; woman commits suicide
6 held for damaging Army vehicles
Missile damages Wapda station
LANDI KOTAL: 18 held for firing on army camp
Defence outpaces development spending: report
Musharraf orders probe into Wana firing incident, Tribesmen warned
'US troops to join Osama’s hunt in tribal areas’
Osama enters Fata, claims US media
Altaf hints at reshuffle in parliamentary ranks
KARACHI: Muttahida Qaumi Movement Chief Altaf Hussain has
dropped broad hints that he may have to change some of his ministers and
induct fresh blood in party’s parliamentary ranks very soon.
He sought the workers’ approval informing them that
those ministers and assembly members failing to come up to people’s
expectations would have to be removed even at the risk of contesting
bye-elections. The party activists gave him the mandate to which Altaf said
that the issue would be decided in consultation with the Co-ordination
Committee.
The Muttahida chief reminded his audience at the 17th
annual convention organised by the party’s labour division on Saturday
night that rapid changes were taking place in the world, especially after the
9/11 attack on New York’s World Trade Centre. No one until a year ago could
predict that a towering personality like Dr Qadeer Khan could become a
villain from a national hero, but he posed a simple question as to "how
on earth" he could travel to Iran, Libya or North Korea in a C-130
aircraft on his own.
He cautioned the people that despite the present low
profile from the US and the International community, the issue of nuclear
proliferation would be reopened after some time for which the nation should
be ready to face the consequences. Party workers and the countrymen should
keep a watch on the developing trends for reaching correct conclusions, Altaf
said, and remarked that efforts should be made right away to promote national
integration, harmony, and cohesion.
He further said that the tendency to label a particular
segment of society or linguistic, ethno-cultural group traitor or
anti-Pakistan must now end. Patriotism and nationhood needed to be
encouraged. That was the need of the hour, but it required a cool and correct
approach, he said, suggesting that interference of the influential agencies
and the ISI in politics must be stopped. They should change their direction,
and revert to their original mandate of keeping a watch on the enemy, and
guarding the nation’s frontiers, the Muttahida chief remarked.
He said there was really no point in issuing sermons day
in day out in speeches or during radio or TV programmes of us being one
nation. The concept of nationhood will have to be promoted through sincere
efforts and by admitting the linguistic, and ethno-political rights of the
people, inhabiting different parts of the country.
Mere statements would just not work, Altaf said without
mincing words, citing the example of India where freedom, liberty and
independence of judiciary had instilled a sense of pride in their nationhood
among citizens.
Unlike over 300 different cultural, religious or ethnic
identities in India, there were less than 10 in Pakistan, and yet we had
failed to develop the sense of nationhood among our people, which was really
regrettable, Altaf said.
He demanded that ad hocism, being pursued since the
independence 56 years ago, must now come to an end, and judiciary be allowed
to work independently and free from all kinds of pressures. He also demanded
due punishment to the army Generals, Ministers, Presidents or Prime Ministers
for the crimes they commit violating the laws of the land.
Altaf urged political parties to direct their
parliamentarians to pass a bill in the Senate, and national and provincial
assemblies against the evil of Karo-Kari. He appealed to the Prime Minister
to ensure that a proper and thorough enquiry takes place in the barbaric gang
rape and murder of two young girls in Gadap town near Karachi.
These innocent souls belong to a family, which had hoisted
the flag of Muttahida in elections, and since then police were after their
family members.
He said the episode ended finally in a grim and shameful
tragedy and demanded exemplary punishment to those responsible, including
police officers.
Protesters attack Press Club, beat up staffer
KARACHI, Feb 29: Protesters demonstrating against a private TV channel attacked the Karachi Press Club on Sunday night, wounding seriously a watchman and damaging the KPC's property.
According to eye-witnesses, hundreds of protesters converged outside the KPC chanting slogans against a programme aired by the TV channel, which reportedly hurt religious sentiments of the Shia community.
About 15 to 20 protesters scaled the KPC walls and attacked the main reception of the club, breaking its window panes. The protesters got hold of the watchman, Rafiq, who was trying to block their entry, and beat him up.
Journalists present inside the club at the time of the attack took cover in a room on the first floor. After ransacking the club premises, the protesters walked away. Police reached the place of the incident but did not make any arrests.
The protesters were also reported to have tried to move towards a publishing house, but a heavy police deployment foiled their attempt. A section of the I.I. Chundrigar Road, from the Khairabad Restaurant to the publishing house's building, was sealed by heavy contingents of the police.
The wounded KPC watchman was taken to the Civil Hospital for treatment, an office-bearer of the club said. The president of the club, Sabihuddin Ghausi, strongly condemned what he called a cowardly act.
"The KPC is a symbol of democracy, freedom of expression, religious tolerance and sectarian harmony. This is recognized by all the freedom-loving democratic and enlightened people of Pakistan," he said in a statement.
He said: "I urge all the democratic and enlightened people, irrespective of their religious, sectarian, ethnic and political affiliations, to condemn this cowardly attack on this institution."
Condemning the incident, the president of the Karachi Union of Journalists (KUJ), Mazhar Abbas, termed the incident a shameful act. "We believe the Karachi Press Club has always remained an impartial institution, which provides equal opportunity to all segments of society to express their views freely," he said.
"The attack on such an institution is an attack on the freedom of expression. We urge all the groups to respect the sanctity of the Karachi Press Club," Mr Abbas added.
Rawalpindi Imambargah attack puts LEAs on red alert in City
KARACHI: Following the suicide attack on an Imambargah in
Rawalpindi, security agencies fear similar attacks in the provincial
metropolis and warned the law-enforcers to be more vigilant, especially on
the eve of 9th and 10th Muharram-ul-Haram.
Well-placed sources told The News that red alert has been
declared at all the airports of the country after an intelligence agency
issued a country-wide warning regarding occurrence of suicide attacks,
possible hijacking of planes and target killing of some VIPs.
The sources said the threat of any terrorist activity in
the country, particularly in Karachi, has magnified than before after the
killing of 13 people in Wana, as the militants of some banned outfits, who
had been united under the flag of "313", could strike anywhere in
order to destabilise the government and undermine its anti-terror operation
on the western borders.
Interior Ministry officials said the police took special
security arrangements at all the major and sensitive Imambargahs across the
country to avert any untoward incident. Besides, Bomb Disposal Squads also
checked the routes of all the processions twice while no person was allowed
to enter Majalis-e-Aza without thorough body search, they added.
"Police and paramilitary personnel have been
mobilised and are on red alert. We are hopeful that Ashura will pass
peacefully," said a senior official of the Sindh Home department.
The official told this scribe that troops of the Pakistan
Army are likely to be called out on the 9th and 10th Muharram for maintaining
peace.
Man strangulated, another shot; woman commits suicide
KARACHI: A labourer was strangulated and a women committed
suicide in separate incidents, while a teenaged girl was killed and 13
passengers were injured in a traffic accident on Sunday, police said.
Wilayat Ali (40) a labourer, was strangulated by
unidentified men using a piece of cloth, while he was asleep at a rice
warehouse in Gauharabad locality, Sohrab Goth. Wilayat hailed from Azad
Kashmir and was a labourer at New Sabzi Mandi. Police registered a case FIR
No 31/2004, on the complaint of Wazeer Ali, the deceased’s brother. The
police opined the murder to be the result of old
enmity.
Aslam Gujjar (55) a security guard and resident
of Korangi 2 1/2 was gunned down when armed motorcyclists fired at him near
his house within Zaman Town police limits late on Sunday night, police said.
His body was shifted to JPMC. The motive behind his murder could not be
ascertained. Manzoor (30) hailing from Sanghar, Interior Sindh died when he
fell down from a dumper truck in Mangopir police limits on Sunday. His body
was shifted to the Civil Hospital and place in Edhi morgue.
Khalida (32), wife of Asghar, resident of house No B-83,
Sector II Metroville, SITE hanged herself to death at her house. The deceased
had got married 11 years ago but she had no child that made her disheartened.
Her relatives used to taunt her for infertility due to which she committed
suicide. Her body was brought to the Abbasi Shaheed Hospital and handed over
to her family after legal formalities.
In a separate incident, a 12-year-old girl, Harmain
Husnain died and at least 13 passengers were injured when a speeding coach
turned turtle near Nagori Society on Super Highway within Gaddap police
limits. The coach was coming from Rawalpindi for Karachi. The injured were
rushed to Baqai and Ziauddin Hospitals.
BODY FOUND: A drowned body of a four-year-old boy was
found from an underground water tank of an under-construction house in Sector
4-L, Surjani Town police limits. The body of the deceased was shifted to
Abbasi Shaheed Hospital, where it was identified to be that of Aziz son of
Faheem. Relatives of the deceased boy took the body without completing legal
formalities. The deceased boy might have fallen into the water tank while
playing, police opined.
6 held for damaging Army vehicles
NAWABSHAH: Police have arrested six people on the charges
of damaging army vehicles. They blocked the National Highway in Sakrand and
searched for 17 other people including JSQM chief Bashir Khan Qureshi. Major
Shaikh Ahsan has registered an FIR against 40-50 people for damaging army
vehicles and SHO Sakrand has also registered an FIR against Bashir Qureshi,
Qamar Bhatti, Said Arbani, Khalil Khaskhali, Sulman, Manzoor Memon, Anwar Ali
Shah, Hafiz Abdul Qayoom Channa, Ali Gul Keerio, Srafraz Memon, Gul Moro.
Police raided some places and arrested Rajab Jalbani, Masooq Solangi, Sharif
Vistro, Arbelo Rind, Aijaz Rind and Sharif Lakho.
Missile damages Wapda station
HANGU, Feb 29: Unidentified assailants fired two missiles at the Wapda grid station in the Ghiljo area in Orakzai Agency on Saturday night and damaged the control room and its building, officials said on Sunday.
Musharraf orders probe into Wana firing incident, Tribesmen warned
ISLAMABAD: President Pervez Musharraf on Sunday ordered a
full probe into the killing of 11 people near Wana, officials said.
"President Musharraf has directed the authorities
concerned to conduct an immediate inquiry and ascertain details of the
sequence of events that led to the death of 11 persons and injuries to six
others," an official statement said.
In his message to the bereaved families, Musharraf
expressed his "profound grief and sorrow over the incident" on
Saturday. He also announced compensation of Rs 100,000 rupees for the
families of those killed and Rs 50,000 for the injured, it said. Officials
said this amount would be in addition to similar compensation already
announced by the local administration.
According to Information Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmad,
investigations into the Wana firing incident had been ordered and final
report would be presented within a week. Talking to Geo TV, he said nothing
concrete could be said about the incident at this stage. He added according
to the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), the people were killed in
cross-firing. "Firstly it would be ascertained that how the people were
fired upon and killed," he said, adding that the people of Wana were
cooperative and patriot and the affected people would be compensated.—Agencies
Behroz Khan adds from Peshawar: Political Agent South
Waziristan Agency Muhammad Azam Khan while announcing a compensation for
those killed in the army firing gave a deadline of Monday to the tribesmen to
purge the agency of foreign terrorists.
Addressing a representative Jirga of nine sub-tribes of
Ahmadzai Wazir in Wana Sunday, the PA asked the tribesmen to decide the fate
of suspected foreign terrorists and their local protectors, otherwise
military operations would be launched and house-to-house search conducted to
arrest such elements.
Azam Khan announced a cash compensation of Rs 100,000 for
legal heirs of those killed in the army firing at Ziary Noor check post
Saturday and Rs 50,000 for each of the injured. The 300-member Jirga, locals
said, condemned the Saturday’s incident and asked the government to carry
out search operations and checking in the area through scouts rather than
regular Army. "The tribal people should decide what to do with suspected
foreign terrorists and those giving them protection. Expel these terrorists
to prevent such happenings in future," Azam Khan told the jirga. He said
that the tribal people should learn from the destruction and chaos in
neighbouring Afghanistan and must not allow their territory to be used by
terrorists.
Commandant South Waziristan Scouts Khalid Usman and others
also attended the Jirga. "Tribal people are not involved in the
terrorist attacks against the army. Foreign terrorists are behind such
activities," Chief Malik Dilawar Khan told the Jirga, adding that the
best way to win cooperation of the local tribesmen and achieve the desired
results was to engage the scouts in the search operations. "The army
personnel are not aware of the traditions and customs of the tribesmen and it
should not be involved in such affairs any more," Malik Dilawar Khan
demanded.
The tribal elder said that his people were earning a bad
name due to the alleged presence of "foreign terrorists" in the
Agency and asked the jirga members to take firm decision to purge the area of
such elements. The political agent also imposed a ban on display of arms in
Wana sub-division. He asked the tribesmen not to wear guns otherwise heavy
penalties would be imposed on them and violators would be sent to jail for
three years. "Violators will be jailed for three years and Rs 100,000
fine will also be imposed on them," Azam Khan told the Jirga.
The government officials and the tribal chieftains held
"foreign terrorists" responsible for attacks on Army installations
in the Agency, as an Army picket again came under rocket attack. A military
picket in Shah Alam area, some seven kilometres west of Wana, was targeted
but caused no damage, the political agent told reporters. Official sources
said that two rockets were fired by unidentified miscreants towards the
picket, which missed the target and landed close to the post causing no loss
to human lives or damage.
Meanwhile, the NWFP Governor, Syed Iftikhar Hussain Shah
has ordered an inquiry into the circumstances that led to the firing incident
in Wana, South Waziristan Agency on Saturday in which 13 people were killed.
The inquiry report will be presented to the governor within 10 days, says a
handout.
‘US troops to join Osama’s hunt in tribal areas’
NEW YORK: The United States has struck a deal with
Pakistan to allow US troops to hunt for Osama bin Laden this spring in the
tribal areas, where he is believed to be operating, the New Yorker magazine
reported on Sunday.
Thousands of US troops will be deployed in return for
Washington’s support of President Pervez Musharraf’s pardon of Dr Abdul
Qadeer Khan, investigative reporter Seymour Hersh wrote in the issue that
goes on sale on Monday. "It’s a quid pro quo," according to a
former senior intelligence official. "We’re going to get our troops
inside Pakistan in return for not forcing Musharraf to deal with Khan."
Musharraf has also offered other help in the hunt for
Osama, according to the article. "Musharraf told us, ‘We’ve got guys
inside. The people who provide fresh fruits and vegetables and herd the goats
for Osama and his al-Qaeda followers," the intelligence official added.
The spring offensive could slow the tempo of US operations
in Iraq, the magazine said. "It’s going to be a full-court
press," one Pentagon planner was quoted as saying. The article added
that some of the most highly skilled US Special Forces units would be shifted
from Iraq to Pakistan.
Special Forces personnel have been briefed on their new
assignments and in some cases have been given "warning orders" —
the stage before being sent into combat, according to a military adviser.
Musharraf pardoned Khan, who admitted "full
responsibility" for the leaks and denied military involvement in his
proliferation. "One thing we know is that this was not a rogue
operation," a Bush administration official told The New Yorker.
"Suppose (atom bomb inventor) Edward Teller had
suddenly decided to spread nuclear technology and equipment around the world.
Do you really think he could do that without the government knowing? How do
you get missiles from North Korea to Pakistan? Do you think Khan shipped all
the centrifuges by Federal Express?"
Washington said it had not pressured Islamabad for fear of
politically weakening Musharraf, a much-needed ally in President George W.
Bush’s war on terror.
However, the amount of nuclear know-how Khan made
available to hostile nations put the United States in jeopardy, experts told
The New Yorker. "We haven’t been this vulnerable since the British
burned Washington in 1814," former UN weapons inspector Robert Gallucci
told The New Yorker.
Osama enters Fata, claims US media
WASHINGTON, Feb 29: Osama Bin Laden crossed into Pakistan on Feb 27 and is closely guarded by Al Qaeda and Taliban fighters disguised as a Pakistani tribesman, US media reported on Sunday.
The reports said Bin Laden "is currently hiding" in a remote area in South Waziristan near the Afghan border. On Saturday, both US and Pakistani officials denied a Teheran Radio report that the Al Qaeda leader was already in Pakistan's custody and would be brought to the United States close to the presidential elections scheduled in November this year.
But when a Pentagon spokesperson was asked to comment on the reports that Bin Laden was seen in Waziristan and that US and Pakistani authorities had stepped up their efforts to catch him, she said: "Yes, we have seen the reports."
Asked to confirm or deny the report, she repeated: "I told you, we have seen them." The reports said recent US military advances in southern Afghanistan forced Bin Laden and his Taliban supporters to quit their hideouts in Afghanistan. The reports also said more than once US military search teams had come close to these hideouts.
Such close encounters, the reports said, convinced Bin Laden and his protectors to seek refuge in the tribal areas of Pakistan and on Feb 27 they crossed into southern Waziristan.
But the reports suggest that Bin Laden and his followers are not safe in Pakistan either because US and Pakistani forces have already marked the area where they believe he is hiding. They are, however, reluctant to launch a full assault because of hundreds of Pukhtun fighters protecting the Al Qaeda leader.
Pakistan is particularly concerned that any offensive that leads to a large number of Pukhtun deaths could have very negative political consequences for the government in Islamabad, the reports said. Instead of a direct assault, Pakistan has urged the Americans to isolate Bin Laden and his fighters by severing food and water supplies.