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242 Muttahida-backed candidates win in Sindh LB by-elections
Muttahida’s victory has dented feudal system: Altaf
List of successful Muttahida candidates in Sindh LB by elections
2 kidnappers nabbed, hostage girl recovered
House of retired PAF officer looted
Pedestrian killed as two gangs trade fire
JSQM announces protest plans
930 women subjected to sexual abuse in 2003
Maulana Azam Tariq murder case: Ex-MNA given in judicial remand
Steps under way to nab extremists: Musharraf
Al-Qaeda spy chief killed: ISPR
2 captive tehsildars believed killed
242 Muttahida-backed candidates win in Sindh LB by-elections
KARACHI: Some 242 Muttahida Qaumi Movement-backed
candidates have won the Sunday’s local bodies by-election across the
province, according to unofficial results released by the party.
Out of total 115 vacant seats in Karachi, some 91
Muttahida-backed councillors, who contested election from Haq Parast Group,
were elected from different constituencies including nine Nazims and seven
Naib Nazims out of total 11 and seven seats of Nazim and Naib Nazim
respectively.
Some 67 candidates of the Muttahida had already returned
unopposed from different parts of the province. The Muttahida-backed
candidates won the by-election with a clear majority in the metropolis and
the province.
Muttahida had fielded its candidates on vacant seats of
general councillors, reserved seats for women, peasants/workers and on
minority seats. The Muttahida had boycotted the local government election in
2001. Even though the results of these elections would not affect the present
local government set-up in Karachi, Hyderabad and other areas, analysts
termed Muttahida’s participation in the by-election a test case for the
next year local bodies polls.
They also termed the Muttahida’s decision to go for
by-election on three National Assembly seats, which fell vacant after three
Muttahida MNAs resigned on the directives of the party, preparatory measure
to contest the next year’s LB polls.
Muttahida’s victory has dented feudal system: Altaf
KARACHI: Terming the victory of the party historic in the
non-party-based local bodies by-election in Karachi, Hyderabad, and the
interior of Sindh, the Muttahida Qaumi Movement chief, Altaf Hussain, has
said that his party achieved its target and had put a dent in the feudal
system through this election.
He was addressing a victory gathering at Nine-Zero,
Azizabad, Monday evening attended by party workers, supporters, leaders, and
elected councillors and celebrated the victory by raising slogans like ‘Jeay
Altaf’ and ‘Jeay Muttahida’.
Congratulating the party workers, elected councillors, and
people, he said that the
Muttahida bagged 70% to 75% seats all over the province. He said that
it was the result
of the efforts of the party workers and supporters and proved that the poor
people of the
interior of Sindh had reposed confidence in the party and its leadership.
Altaf predicted that the poor would destroy the fortress
of the feudal system in the next
election.
He said that his party made a clean sweep in Karachi and
Hyderabad with the support of the Haq Parasts while the people of the
interior of Sindh also proved that they too strong supporters of the
Muttahida Qaumi Movement.
He said his party was against the feudal system, not the
feudals or their families, and declared that being an ideology-based
movement, the Muttahida Qaumi Movement would continue its struggle against
this system.
He warned the feudals to stop their armed hirelings from
harassing the Muttahida workers and supporters, otherwise the people would
destroy their fortresses. He further said that Pakistan was not the private
property of the feudals and advised them to follow democratic norms.
Altaf also asked the feudal and establishment not to
confuse the Muttahida with the PPP and the PML parties and said that his
party was an ideological movement struggling for the establishment of the
power of the 98 per cent people of the country who were poor.
He also asked the party workers to get ready for
sacrifices, as the establishment and feudals were hatching conspiracies
against the Muttahida.
Criticising the electronic media and the major newspapers
for ignoring the Muttahida and its victory in the by-election, Altaf said
that it was injustice and discrimination to his party.
He pointed out that the leaders of certain parties were
given special treatment in electronic and print media but the legislators of
his party were not even paid due respect.
The Muttahida chief said that the attitude of the media
was anti-Sindh, discriminatory, and against the journalistic norms and
practices.
Altaf warned the owners and editors of the newspapers not
to black out the news of the Muttahida or "distort facts" and to
give due space and time to his party on merit otherwise the people would be
free to take action against this attitude.
He advised the Co-ordination Committee to monitor the
print and electronic media for the next 15 days and warned that the party
would adopt its future line of action if the attitude of the electronic and
print media did not change.
He said the Muttahida did not want any confrontation and
wanted to lodge a peaceful protest only but, sounding a note of warning,
said, "Hum Admi Hain Tumhare Jaise. Jo Tum Karoge Who Hi Hum
Karinge" ("We are humans just like you and shall act the way you
do").
List of successful Muttahida candidates in Sindh LB by elections
Following is the list of thesuccessful Haq Parast candidates
in the local bodies elections in Sindh:
Syed Murtaza Mehmood, UC-8-Nazimabad, Karachi; Nishat
Warsi for Naib Nazim, UC-5-Azizabad, Karachi; Arifa Khalida for labour
Councillor, UC-13 Jamsheed Town, Karachi; Umeedo for minerity seat, Ghotki;
Mohammad Rafiq for labour councillor, UC-Moro-Naushero Feroz; Mohammad Aslam
for general councillor, UC-Moro-Naushero Feroz; Abdul Jabbar for Nazim, UC-9,
Old Sukkur; Aslam Perveez for minority seat, UC-1-Nawabshah; Zahida Khan for
women seat, UC-5 Karachi; Gulzar Ahmed for Nazim, UC-1, Sadder, Karachi;
Abida for women seat, UC-8-Sadder, Karachi; Yasmin for women seat,
UC-11-Orangi Town, Karachi, (Unopposed); Erum Mughal for labour seat,
UC-11-Orangi Town, Karachi, (Unopposed); Yasmeen Kanwal for labour seat,
UC-6-Gaddap, Karachi, (Unopposed); Fahmida for women seat, UC-4-Railway
Colony, Karachi, (Unopposed); Siraj Uddin for general councillor, UC-10-N
Nazimabad, Karachi, (Unopposed); Nayyer Sultana for women seat, UC-10-N
Nazimabad, Karachi, (Unopposed); Nazima, UC-4 City, Hyderabad; Qamar Bano for
labour councillor, UC-4 City, Hyderabad; Abdul Jabbar Khan for general
councillor, UC-7 City, Hyderabad; Muhammad Ashraf Khan for labour councillor,
UC-6 City, Hyderabad; Muhammad Rabbani for labour councillor, UC-15
Latifabad, Hyderbaad; Romana Arshad for general councillor, UC-16 Latifabad,
Hyderabad; Jamal Uddin Ansari for labour councillor, UC-3 Latifabad,
Hyderabad; Shaista Noor, UC-3, Hyderabad, (Unopposed); Shaista Moeen, UC-6,
Hyderabad, (Unopposed); Shakira Perveen, UC-5, Hyderabad, (Unopposed);
Farzana, UC-5, Hyderabad, (Unopposed); Wali Uddin, UC-6 Hyderabad,
(Unopposed); Afrooz Begum, UC-6, Hyderabad, (Unopposed); Shabnam, UC-6,
Hyderabad, (Unopposed); Qamar Un Nisa, UC-7, Hyderabad, (Unopposed); Naghma
Naz, UC-7, Hyderabad, (Unopposed); Khair Un Nisa, UC-8, Hyderabad,
(Unopposed); Gulab Ray, UC-8, Hyderabad, (Unopposed); Bahauddin, UC-8,
Hyderabad, (Unopposed); Naseem Akhtar, UC-10, Hyderabad, (Unopposed); Kishwar
Jehan, UC-10, Hyderabad, (Unopposed); Rukhsana Perveen, UC-10, Hyderabad,
(Unopposed); Ghazala Ghayyas, UC-11, Hyderabad, (Unopposed); Bano Begum,
UC-11, Hyderabad, (Unopposed); Rizwana Begum, UC-11, Hyderabad, (Unopposed);
Rukhsana Jabeen, UC-12, Hyderabad, (Unopposed); Hafeeza, UC-12, Hyderabad,
(Unopposed); Shaheena Salma, UC-9 Hyderabad, (Unopposed); Abdul Haque, UC-9-
Hyderabad, (Unopposed); Shankar Lal, UC-14, Hyderabad, (Unopposed); Rukhsana
Begum, UC-12, Hyderabad, (Unopposed); Nafees Fatima, UC-14, Hyderabad,
(Unopposed); Aneela, UC-14, Hyderabad, (Unopposed); Muhammad Ismail, UC-13,
Hyderabad, (Unopposed); Shamim Akhtar, UC-12, Hyderabad, (Unopposed); Farhana
Khan, UC-12, Hyderabad, (Unopposed); Shankar Lal, UC-12 Hyderabad,
(Unopposed); Shazia, UC-2, (Unopposed); Rani, UC-2, (Unopposed); Khair Un
Nisa, UC-3, (Unopposed); Fareeda Khatoon, UC-5, (Unopposed); Tasawar, UC-5,
(Unopposed); Bashira Bibi, UC-6, (Unopposed); Iqbal Khatoon, UC-6,
(Unopposed); Kulsoom Akhtar, UC-7, (Unopposed); Zaibo, Kala Kot, (Unopposed);
Munnawar Masih, Gujjo-Thatta, (Unopposed); Tariq Hussain, Qadir Pur,
Jacobabad, (Unopposed); Asghari, Ghotki, (Unopposed); Allah Warai, Kundro,
Sukkur, (Unopposed); Mehar Bano, Rohri, Sukkur, (Unopposed); Shahr Bano,
Rohri, Sukkur, (Unopposed); Syed Ali Shah, Qambar Ali Khan, Larkana,
(Unopposed); Fatima, Larkana, (Unopposed); Ameer Zadi, Larkana, (Unopposed);
Muhammad Ishaque Panhwar, Badin, (Unopposed); Dehnsai, Badin, (Unopposed);
Amnat, Badin, (Unopposed); Jameela, Badin, (Unopposed); Pasar Bheel, Badin,
(Unopposed); Fatima for labour councillor, UC-4, Hyderabad; Muhammad Asif
Siddiqui for Nazim, UC-6, Sadder, Karachi; Muhammad Iqbal for Naib Nazim,
UC-6, Saddar, Karachi; Riaz Ahmed for general councillor, UC-6-Sadder,
Karachi; Daleel Ur Rehman for general councillor, UC-3, New Karachi, Karachi;
Absar Ul Hasan for Nazim, UC-6, New Karachi, Karachi; Abdul Aziz Bukhari for
labour councillor, UC-6, Gaddap, Karachi; David Iqbao for minority, UC-6,
Karachi; Nazim Shaheen for women seat, UC-12, New Karachi, Karachi; Shaheen
Sehar for women seat, UC-12, News Karachi, Karachi; Shabbir Ahmed Ghauri for
general councillor, UC-13, News Karachi, Karachi; Peter Qadir for minority,
UC-3, Karachi, (Unopposed); Emoneval for minority, UC-3, Karachi,
(Unopposed); Wethal for minority, UC-9, Karachi, (Unopposed); Javed Khokhar
for minority, UC-3, Karachi, (Unopposed); John Younis Manzoor for minority,
UC-9, Karachi, (Unopposed); Haroon David for minority, UC-1, Karachi,
(Unopposed); Akhtar Perveez for minority, UC-4, Karachi, (Unopposed); James
Khokhar for minority, UC-5, Karachi, (Unopposed); Yousuf Saleem for minority,
UC-6, Karachi, (Unopposed); Prince Tom for minority, UC-9, Karachi,
(Unopposed); David Allah Rakha for minority, UC-10, Karachi, (Unopposed);
Shahbaz for minority, UC-13, Karachi, (Unopposed); Prem Lal for minority,
UC-3, Karachi, (Unopposed); Dr Javeed for minority, UC-8, Karachi,
(Unopposed); Haji Jawed Uz Zaman for general councillor, UC-1, Pak Colony,
Karachi; Mohammad Ishaque for labour councillor, UC-1, Pak Colony, Karachi;
Mohammad Shafique Ansari for labour councillor, UC-1, Pak Colony, Karachi;
Mohammad Shafi Ullah, UC-1, Pak Colony, Karachi; Saba Perveen for general
councillor, UC-4, Karachi; Aalia Khanum for women seat, UC-4, Karachi; Fauzia
Perveen, UC-8, Karachi; Saliha Khatoon, UC-8, Karachi; Sughra Begum for women
seat, UC-8, Karachi; Hameed Hamid, UC-9, Karachi; Nadra Mumtaz for labour
councillor, UC-9, Karachi; Yaqoob for general councillor, UC-11, Lyari,
Karachi; Yousuf for general councillor, UC-2, Saddar, Karachi; Gulzar Khan
for general councillor, UC-9, Karachi; Shabana Arif for women seat, UC-2,
Karachi; Farooq Hashmi for general councillor, UC-2-Gulshan-e-Iqbal, Karachi;
M Waqas Salman for general councillor, UC-6, Karachi; Humeer Yar Khan for
general councillor, UC-10-Gulshan Iqbal, Karachi; Syed Ahmed Ali for general
councillor, UC-4-Shah Faisal, Karachi; Tehseen Rizvi for women seat,
UC-5-Shah Faisal, Karachi; Samina Tariq for women seat UC-9-Landhi, Karachi;
Syeda Sajida Begum for labour councillor, UC-4, Karachi; Asghar Ali for
Nazim, UC-12 Jamshed Town Karachi; Abdul Kareem Sheikh for labour councillor,
UC-5, Hyderabad; Faheem Baig for Naib Nazim, UC-9, Hyderabad; Mohammad
Hussain for labour councillor, UC-9, Hyderabad; Jameela Begum for labour
councillor, UC-9, Hyderabad; Naseem Begum for labour councillor, UC-15,
Hyderabad; Khadeeja Bano for general councillor, UC-20, Hyderabad; Gulzar
Begum for labour councillor, UC-19, Hyderabad; Hanifa Begum for labour
councillor, UC-17, Hyderabad; Farzana Ansari for labour councillor, UC—2,
Hyderabad; Rukhsana Chishti, UC-2, Hyderabad; Saima Naz of labour councillor,
UC-7, Hyderabad; Khursheed Alam for general councillor, UC-10, Hyderabad;
Mohd, Rafique for General, UC-11-Tando Jam; Sabir Ali for labour councillor,
UC-11-Tando Jam; Rukhsana for general councillor, UC-11-Tando Jam; Hajani for
Hari Councillor, UC-11-Tando Jam; Inayat Ali Dang for general councillor,
UC-2-Qasimabad; Sidra Khatoon for general councillor, UC-6-Mirpurkhas;
Muhammad Ali Mughal for general councillor, UC-1-Dadu; Tahmina for Lbour
Councillor, UC-Sehwan; Mohammad Hussain for labour councillor, UC-Jhanal
Malik; Surrya Begum for labour councillor, UC-7-Sukkur; Akhtari for general
councillor, UC-1-Sukkur; Mumtaz Sufi for labour councillor, UC-7-Sukkur; Mohd
Naeem Ansari for general councillor, UC-8-Sukkur; Jameela for labour
councillor, UC-4-Nawabshah; Salma for labour councillor, UC-8-Nawabshah; Gul
Mohammad for general councillor, UC-9-Nawabshah; Zawar Hussain Bhargari for
general councillor, UC-Nando-Badin; Yasmeen for general councillor,
UC-Matli-Badin; Salma Meer Bahar for Women Set, UC-Ghulam Allah-Thatta; Fahim
for Naib Nazim, UC-7-Korangi Town; Mohammad Aslam for Naib Nazim, UC-7-Malir
Town; M. Babar for general councillor, UC-7-Chishti Nagar Orangi; Rabia
Khatoon for labour councillor, UC-7-Chishti Nagar, Orangi; Shabana Begum for
women seat, UC-4 City Railway Colony Saddar Townl Rukhsana Nadeem for women
seat, UC-4 City Railway Colony Saddar Town; Salma Umar for labour councillor,
UC-City Railway Colony Saddar Town; Shugufta Saleem for labour councillor,
UC-4 City Railway Colony; Shahbaz Aziz for general councillor,
UC-2-Gulshan-e-Iqbal Town; Suderuddin Hurmain for general councillor,
UC-3-PIB Colony Gulshan Iqbal Town; Yaseen Khan for general councillor,
UC-2-Nasir Colony Korangi Town; Shah Hussain for general councillor, UC-3
Chikra Goth Korangi Town; Farid Hussain Farid for general councillor, UC-3
Chikra Goth Korangi Town; Farid Ahmed for general councillor, UC-4 Mustafa
Colony Korangi Town; Zaki Hussain for Nazim, UC-6 New Karachi Town; Mairaj ul
Islam for Nazim, UC-10 Narth Nazim Abad; Irfan Ahmed for Naib Nazim, UC-8 New
Karachi; Samad Quraishi for Naib Nazim, UC-7 Liaquat Abad; Mohammad Idress
for general councillor, UC-11 Landi; Sabir Shah for labour councillor, UC-5
New Karachi; M. Iqbal for labour councillor, UC-5 New Karachi; Batool Fatima
for women seat UC-5 New Karachi; Nusrat Jahan for women seat UC-8 New
Karachi; Miss Rehana for labour councillor, UC-8 New Karachi; Fakharuddin for
general councillor, UC-7 New Karachi; Nasreen Zehra for labour councillor,
UC-7 New Karachi; Ilyas uddin for general councillor, UC-8 New Karachi; Najam
Ibrar for general councillor UC-8 New Karachi; Haji Niamat Ullah for labour
councillor UC-8 New Karachi; Kosar Ilyas for women seat, UC-8 New Karachi;
Samreen Gul for women seat, UC-8 New Karachi; Mohammad Mushtaq for labour
councillor, UC-3 Liaquatabad; Jamil Ahmed for Labour UC-3 Liaquatabad; Abdul
Rauf for general councillor, UC-7 Liaquatabad; Husna Khatoon for labour
councillor, UC-Rato Dero, Larkana; Inayat Khatoon for labour councillor,
UC-Rato Dero, Larkana; Fatima Khatoon for labour councillor, UC-Miro Khan,
Larkana; Ramzano Bibi for general councillor, UC-Dherki, Ghotki; Zubaida for
labour councillor, UC-Pateidan, Noshehro Feroz; Najma for labour councillor,
UC-Bhuria Road, Noshehro Feroz; Ishaq Pahwar for general councillor,
UC-Abdullah Shah, Badin; Miss Wanyani for labour councillor, UC-Abdullah
Shah, Badin; M. Siraj Ansari for general councillor, UC-Dhabeji, Thatta; Mst
Halima for women seat, UC-Ghulamallah; Amina Khaskheli for general
councillor, UC-Chobandi; Miss Zebo Algham for, Thatta; Munawar Masih, Thatta;
Jannat Jokhio for general councillor, UC-Chobandi; Shakira Parveen for labour
councillor, UC, Hyderabad City 5; Farzan for labour councillor, UC, Hyderabad
City 5; Waliuddin for labour councillor, UC, Hyderabad City 5; Shaista Moeen
for general councillor, UC, Hyderabad City 6; Afroz Begum,
UC, Hyderabad City 6; Shubnam
Baji for labour councillor, UC,
Hyderabad City 6; Qamerunnisa
for labour councillor, UC, Hyderabad City 7; Naghma Naz for
labour councillor, UC, Hyderabad City 7; Khairunnisa for labour councillor,
UC, Hyderabad City 8; Gulab Rai for Minority, UC, Hyderabad
City 8; Bhauddin for general councillor, UC, Hyderabad City 6;
Naseem Akhtar for general councillor, UC, Hyderabad City 10; Kishwar Jahan
for general councillor, UC,
Hyderabad City 10; Rukhsana Parveen for labour councillor,
UC, Hyderabad City 10; Ghazala Ghayas for general councillor,
UC, Hyderabad City 11; Bano Begum for labour councillor, UC, Hyderabad City
11; Rizwana Begum
for labour councillor, UC, Hyderabad City 11; Rukhsana Jabeen
for labour councillor, UC, Hyderabad City 12; Hafiza for labour councillor,
UC, Hyderabad City 12; Shaina Salma for general councillor, UC, Hyderabad
City 9; Abdul Haq
for labour councillor, UC, Hyderabad City 9; Shankar Lal for Minority, UC,
Hyderabad City 14; Rukhsana Begum for labour councillor, UC-Latifabad 12;
Nafees Fatima for general councillor, UC-Latifabad 14; Miss Anila for Labour
general councillor, UC-Latifabad 14; Mohammad Ismail for general councillor,
UC-Latifabad 13; Miss Shaista Noor for women seat, UC-Latifabad 3; Shamim
Akhtar for labour councillor, UC-Latifabad 12; Farhana Khan for general
councillor, UC-Latifabad 12; Miss Gohar for, UC-4 Mustafa Taj Colony; Miss
Shamim Akhtar for general councillor, UC-6 (100 Quarters) Korangi; Miss
Shabana for general councillor; UC-6 Gulzar Colony; Miss Yasmeem Akbar for
labour councillor, UC-6 Gulzar Colony; Shahina Iftikhar for labour
councillor, UC-8 Zaman Town; Syed Aalam Hussain Zaidi for general councillor,
UC-9 Hasrat Mohani Colony; Talat Sultan for labour councillor, UC-9 Hasrat
Mohani Colony; Sarwar Jahan for labour councillor, UC-9 Hasrat Mohani Colony.
2 kidnappers nabbed, hostage girl recovered
KARACHI: The SITE police on Monday claimed that they have
arrested two kidnappers and got a hostage girl freed, while their one
accomplice managed to flee.
Police said 15-year-old Faiza, a schoolgirl, was kidnapped
from the main gate of her school when she came out of school premises.
The school administration immediately rang up Madadgar-15,
which quickly responded to the call and sent a mobile van, which spotted a
car (ADF-408), in which the kidnappers were fleeing along with the kidnapped
girl.
TPO SITE, Imran Shaukat said that while the police were
chasing the car, one of the kidnappers alighted from it and opened fire on
the police.
After a brief exchange of fire, the police apprehended two
kidnappers, while their third accomplice managed to escape, he said, adding
police got the girl freed.
The arrested kidnappers were taken to the PS SITE, where
they were identified as M Naeem and M Sadique, while their accomplice was
identified as Abdul Waheed.
Faiza’s father had recently sold out a house for Rs1.4m,
police said and speculated the kidnappers might have got knowledge of the
money and thought his daughter would bring them a handsome ransom.
House of retired PAF officer looted
KARACHI: The house of a retired PAF officer was looted
while in separate incidents cash and valuables were looted from different
parts of the city on Monday, police said.
According to details, dacoits barged into the house of
Fasih, a retired Pakistan Air Force (PAF) officer, in Gulshan-e-Iqbal and
after making his family hostage at gunpoint looted Rs650,000, prize bond,
jewellery and other valuables.
In other incidents of robberies, three bandits broke into
the Nayab poultry farm in Gaddap police jurisdiction and after tying the
staff present there looted cash and decamped with 1,500 chicks.
Separatedly, at least 15 individuals were deprived of
their cash, mobile phones and other valuables by two armed robbers who
snatched their belongings at different places near Memon Masjid, within the
vicinity of Boulton Market.
Police have registered just one case of Arif Memon who
lodged a complaint of being deprived of Rs15,000 and mobile phone.
Two outlaws intercepted Wasi in Orangi Town and snatched
Rs9,000 and a mobile phone from him; three robbers intercepted Nasir in
Tamoria and snatched Rs17,825 and a mobile phone.
Irfan was deprived of his cash Rs16,300 and mobile phone
in Gulshan-e-Iqbal while Jahangir was deprived of Rs15,000, jewellery and
other valuables in Ferozabad police jurisdiction.
Pedestrian killed as two gangs trade fire
KARACHI: A pedestrian was killed when two gangs exchanged
fire in the precinct of Baghdadi police and a man was mysteriously shot dead
in the same police area, while elsewhere in the city four persons, including
a young girl, died in separate road accidents, police said on Monday.
Tension gripped the Darya Abad vicinity of Liyari area
when two criminal gangs opened indiscriminate, police sources told The News.
Aziz Khan, 21, a passer-by, fell prey to this random firing while he was
passing through the vicinity, the sources said, adding that the injured was
rushed to the Civil Hospital, but he could not survive. His body was handed
over to his next-of-kin after legal formalities.
Separately, critically injured Jamil, 35, S/O Bashir, a
resident of Shah Baig Lane, Street No 10, was brought by his relatives to the
Civil Hospital, where they told the hospital staff that Jamil had attempted
suicide by shooting himself in the head, hospital sources said. The injured
was pronounced dead on arrival, they added.
Medico legal expert of the hospital said that the bullet,
which had pierced the deceased’s temple, had been fired from a distance,
which showed that it was not a suicide case. It is yet to be ascertained
whether Jamil has committed suicide or he has been shot dead.
Also on Monday, a handicap person was crushed under a
water taker when it turned turtle after colliding with a minibus at Khalid
Bin Waleed Road in Ferozabad police area.
Police said that a recklessly driven water tanker
(JP-5208) turned turtle after colliding with a minibus (JE-1068) of route No
G-7 and crushed a handicap man sitting along the roadside. Twelve passengers
of the minibus also sustained bruises, police added.
The deceased and the injured were shifted to the JPMC,
where the deceased was identified as Abdul Ghafoor, 40.
In another road accident, 20-year-old Fauzia, D/O Murtuza,
was killed when a minibus (PE-3844) of route No W-22 knocked her down, while
she was crossing the road near Quaddafi Chowk, Orangi Town police said.
Separately, Bashir, 30, was crushed to death by a
hit-and-run vehicle at National Highway while he was crossing the road in
Shah Lateef Town police area.
Hamza, 7, was killed when a speeding minibus bumped the
bicycle he was riding near KDA park, Landhi No 4 on Monday night, Landhi
police said.
ARREST: Police on Monday said they have apprehended 25
accused from various localities of the city and recovered four pistols, drugs
and stolen goods from their
possessions.
JSQM announces protest plans
NAWABSHAH: JSQM leader Abdul Wahid Aresar on Monday said
the party would block the roads leading to Punjab and may also appeal for
blocking the train service, against the Thal Canal.Talking to mediamen here,
Aresar hoped that they would succeed in getting the Thal Canal project
cancelled. He said the party is not giving importance to Kalabagh Dam as it
has lost its importance. He added that the World Bank had given signals
regarding non-provision of funds for the dam. He said that when the
government was not able to pay salaries to its teachers how could it build
big dams. He said that some nationalists in Sindh were working on the
government agenda. He said that some leaders talking of suicidal attacks to
get the rights for Sindh were giving wrong advice. Aresar admitted that
confidence between JSQM and the Muttahida had brought Urdu and Sindhi
speaking people closer. He said that their protest would continue despite the
arrests of their workers.
930 women subjected to sexual abuse in 2003
KARACHI: Almost everyday the press carries reports of
violence against women and one can easily judge gravity of the situation from
the fact that during a period of 12 months from January to December 2003 as
many as 930 women had been reportedly raped throughout the country - a number
great enough to stir the conscience of the society.
According to the data collected by a non-governmental
organisation (NGO), Madadgar, a project of Lawyers for Human Rights and Legal
Aid (LHRLA), innumerable women had been put to death after being sexually
abused and raped in different parts of the country. The statistics from
January 1 to December 31 2003 is particularly shocking, as it reveals that
4,862 women had fallen prey to different acts of violence, including rape,
sexually abuse, and strip beating.
Rashid Ansari, a mediamperson and data administrator at
Madadgar, told this scribe that crimes against women are on the rise and the
situation has swollen to alarming proportions. "Most of the cases are
not reported due to fear of society," he added.
Last year 4,485 cases of violence against women were
reported, while in 2001 there were 3,662 cases and 1,388 cases were reported
in 2000. The data shows a steady increase every year.
The monthly break-up of data shows that 92 cases of rape
were reported in January 2003, while 21 were sexually assaulted and 13 were
murdered after being raped. Similarly, 78 cases were reported in February, 82
in March, 88 in April, 105 in May, 131 in June, while in July there were only
90 cases. But the number again increased in August when 109 rape cases were
reported. However, the following three months, September, October and
November, witnessed a noticeable decline, as respectively 74, 68 and 13 cases
of violence against women were reported.
The Madagar research shows that as many as 1,430 women
were murdered after being sexually abused last year. The horrific figure has
stirred the conscience of the society and the gravity of the situation
demands that the government must take immediate steps to check the
ever-increasing cases of violence against women.
The President LHRLA, Zia Ahmed Awan advocate, said that
discriminatory attitude of the society and various categories of people were
involved in cases of violence, which is one of the most agonising and
unfortunate injustices done to women in Pakistan.
"It is painful and offensive when it affects that
segment of the society, which cannot defend itself, especially the
women," he added.
It is pertinent to mention here that Pakistan is signatory
to many international Human Rights conventions, including the United Nations
Convention on Rights of Women and Child.
Maulana Azam Tariq murder case: Ex-MNA given in judicial remand
RAWALPINDI, March 29: Special anti-terrorism court No 1 here on Monday ordered judicial remand of former MNA Nawab Amanullah Khan Sial in Maulana Azam Tariq murder case.
The accused would, however, remain admitted to the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (Pims) amid tight security, the judge, Manzoor Ahmed Mirza, observed.
Mr Sial has been suffering from heart ailment for the last a few days. He was admitted to the intensive care unit when his condition deteriorated on Sunday. As the police could not produced the accused before the court due to his ailment, they did not ask for his further physical remand.
The court had granted four-day physical remand of the accused on Thursday when the Golra police produced him before the court after completion of a five-day remand in police custody.
Steps under way to nab extremists: Musharraf
LAHORE: President Pervez Musharraf has said that measures
are under way to apprehend extremists and those harbouring and providing them
sanctuary.
Addressing garrison armed forces officers at the Corps
Headquarters here on Monday, he said the handful of extremists would not be
allowed to play with the fate of the country.
He said that Pakistan possessed all the potential to rise
as a developed nation of the world and realise its rightful place in the
comity of nations. He said that in order to achieve this goal, there was a
need for putting our acts together to convert it into a modern, progressive
and dynamic Islamic welfare state.
He said that there was an urgent need to move forward on
the path of progress and avoid falling into the pitfalls around us. He said
that Islam was wrongly being projected as a religion of extremism,
fundamentalism and intolerance and Pakistan had an important role to play in
dispelling such global misconceptions about our great religion Islam and the
country.
The president also spoke about the steps taken for
economic revival, good governance and poverty alleviation within a short span
of only four years. He said that a comprehensive strategy had been evolved to
restructure the armed forces on modern lines taking into account the
requirements of all three services.
Earlier, on arrival at the Corps Headquarters, the
president was received by Corps Commander Lt-Gen Shahid Aziz, who introduced
the officers of the corps to the president. Later, the president met the
corps commander in his office and discussed professional matters.
Meanwhile, the president has approved the construction of
Babe Pakistan at Walton, being built as a national monument to commemorate
the sacrifices rendered by Muslims in India during Pakistan Movement.
The approval was given during a briefing at the Governor’s
House to the president in which the president also approved a demand made by
the chairman of implementation committee for the project that the balance
shortfall in the cost of the project be picked up by the federal government.
The president while appreciating the design of the monument asserted that the
beauty of the monument should not be compromised. He also expressed the
desire that such monuments would be constructed in other parts of the
country.
Al-Qaeda spy chief killed: ISPR
ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan military announced on Monday that
the al-Qaeda intelligence chief, Abdullah, was killed in the recent military
operation in Wana. However, no further details about the terror network spy
were available.
This announcement was made by DG ISPR Maj-Gen Shaukat
Sultan at a press conference at the Foreign Office. However, Western
diplomatic sources told The News that they had never heard of Abdullah and
could not say who he was. Several senior government officials also expressed
ignorance about Abdullah.
Refusing to divulge more details, the DG ISPR said that
investigations were continuing to verify Abdullah’s nationality. "The
focus of our operation is on foreign elements. As regards the locals, it is
our belief that most of the problems can be resolved through a political
process. We can no longer ignore this problem and allow it to become a
monster, destroying the fabric of our moderate society. We have to tackle it
with firmness and resolve," he maintained.
Shaukat Sultan said the efforts would continue throughout
the country, including the tribal belt, till the government was satisfied
that these areas were cleaned up of all miscreants. For the time being, he
said, the military operation in Wana is over as they feel that the objectives
have been achieved that included destruction of a major terrorist stronghold,
defence works like tunnels, trenches, towers and communication system.
Secondly, he said most of the miscreants were killed,
captured or dispersed in small groups and local facilitators of the
terrorists have been uncovered. A sizeable quantity of arms and ammunition
has also been captured, he said. "It is a continuing effort by Pakistan
against criminals, outlaws and terrorists, who have found sanctuary any where
in the country. The government’s commitment to the Pakistani society and
the international community to fight terrorism makes it incumbent upon us to
take on this menace frontally," he added.
The DG ISPR said these extremist elements, though small in
number, have a negative impact on the society and create insecurity among the
masses. The general confirmed that an Uzbek national Tahir Yuldeshev was
injured and on the run. He is known to be number 10 in the al-Qaeda
hierarchy.
"Altogether 63 miscreants have been killed, maybe
there are more but this number is confirmed. One hundred sixty-three have
been arrested; 50 people have been released after interrogation. This
operation went on for two weeks and we have managed to seal the area and
ensure that no one slips away," he declared.
Shaukat Sultan said that out of the 163 arrested, 73 are
foreigners, while 94 were locals. Responding to a query as to how the Army
was calculating the number of dead, when it had not seen all the bodies, the
general said that this information was available to them through their
intelligence gathering and through interceptions of radio conversations. He
said on March 16 they could confirm the burial of 26 people.
When asked as to what was the loss on the government’s
side, he said that 46 military and paramilitary forces have been killed and
the same numbers have been injured. He refused to give any break-up of the
dead, when asked how many of these belonged to the Pakistan Army. However, he
paid tributes to those who had lost their lives in this operation.
The Army admits that they were unprepared for the strong
resistance they faced in Wana and hence loss of life on both sides. He said
the military force was the last resort and there had been loss of civilian
lives as well. It was the nature of this operation that at times it became
difficult to distinguish the militants from the locals, said the general. He
said the people living in the tribal areas generally welcomed the operation
but it was only a handful of miscreants, delinquents and foreign elements,
whose presence was creating problems for them.
Masood Khan, spokesman at the Foreign Office in a press
conference said Pakistan is of the view that instead of yearly certification
by the US president, the democracy related law, which imposes sanctions,
should be abrogated altogether.
Responding to a query about implications for Pakistan in
which President Bush had signed a yearly certification, waiving democracy
related sanctions on Islamabad, the FO spokesman said that since democracy
had already returned to Pakistan, this law could no longer be applied to it.
About US Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld’s comments
regarding involvement of Pak officials in nuclear proliferation, the
spokesman said that investigations were continuing. He said so far it had
been revealed that no high-level military official had been involved in the
proliferation.
He denied that there had been any request, official or
otherwise, from the IAEA to inspect Pakistan’s nuclear installations. Since
Pakistan was not a member of the NPT club, it was under no obligation to do
so. But the spokesman stressed that Pakistan was cooperating with the IAEA
because of being member of the international nuclear watchdog and the member
of the board of governors.
The spokesman said Pakistan agreed with Indian Prime
Minister Vajpayee that peace could not be one-sided. He said the foreign
secretaries of India and Pakistan would be meeting soon to give boost to the
peace process.
2 captive tehsildars believed killed
PESHAWAR, March 29: Two political tehsildars who were being held hostage by militants in the rugged South Waziristan tribal region are believed to have been killed, a senior government official told Dawn on Monday.
The information about the deaths of the tehsildars jolted the authorities here who are still reeling from the shock of the execution of eight soldiers of the Pakistan Army by militants last week.
The tehsildar of Birmal, Mateeullah Burki, and of Wana, Amir Nawaz Marwat, both junior civil officers in the administration that governs the South Waziristan region, had been missing since the military launched its biggest operation against foreign militants and their tribal supporters on March 16.
A jirga of tribal elders that had negotiated the release of 11 paramilitary soldiers on Sunday - also held hostage since the launch of Kaloosha-II operation - had been told by militants that the two tehsildars would be freed on Monday.
"We all were waiting for them to return and reunite with their families," said a grief-stricken official on phone. "Nobody had expected them to be killed in cold blood. They were civilians and had no direct link with the military operation. Even otherwise, nobody kills hostages. This has added a new dimension to the issue," the official said.
Head of the security in Fata, Brig Mehmood Shah said he believed the two officers had been killed but added that he would know with certainty only when authorities in the regional headquarters in Wana got their bodies.
"I cannot confirm until we see the bodies", Brig Shah said. He said that authorities had been tipped off by locals in Ziara Leetha, a village about 10km to the west of Wana, that they had found two bodies lying in a ditch close to a tubewell, and they thought the bodies could be of the two tehsildars.
"The locals who had informed the authorities in Wana said the bodies were lying in a ditch inside a tunnel. It was stinking in there and it was too dark when we came to know about it. So unless we know whose bodies are those, we cannot say whether they are dead or alive," the official said.
Authorities immediately dispatched a moharrar along with an ambulance and some local elders to the place to retrieve the bodies. These had not reached Wana till late night.
But government and security officials in Peshawar and Wana said they were almost certain the bodies were of the tehsildars. "We will now ask the jirga why did the militants not keep their words and why did they have to kill hostages in cold blood.
The jirga has to do a lot of explanations," a senior official said. He said that the militants had told the jirga of Zalikhel - the tribe to which the five most wanted men accused of sheltering and supporting foreign militants belonged - that the two officers were being held at another location and it would take them a day to get there and get them out.
Analysts had earlier said the release of 11 paramilitary soldiers by militants would help cool tempers that were raging following the military operation in Kaloosha and the adjoining Shin Warsak.
While authorities waited for the bodies to arrive, senior government and military officials were in meetings late on Monday to assess the situation and formulate a possible response.
Officials reckoned that the killings of the two offices might have been caused by the news of the death in the military operation of what the DG ISPR had described an Al Qaeda intelligence chief.
Maj-Gen Shaukat Sultan had told a news briefing in Islamabad that Abdullah, the intelligence chief, had been killed during operation Kaloosha-II. "We have no idea who this guy is", said one official. "We are still checking who this man is. At the moment, we have no clue about him", said another.
One official with knowledge of the Kaloosha-II operation said security officials had picked up intercepts of militants holed up in the area talking about Abdullah who, he added, sounded more like a courier.
A local official said Abdullah was an Egyptian and was known to have been living with other foreign militants in the area. While officials said they did not know when the two tehsildars had been killed, if at all reports of their death were true.
"We don't know when and how they were killed until we get their bodies and have them examined by coroners," Brig Shah said. An official, however, insisted that according to their information the two tehsildars were alive at least until 6pm on Monday.
"We don't know yet whether these reports (about their execution time) are true but it looks like those holding them shot them after having learnt of the death of their comrade, Mr Abdullah", said this official.