Chronology of Pakistan
August 2003 (Continued IV)
Afghan websites' provocative claim Aug 25: Two Afghan-based websites have posted maps showing a large number of Pakistani cities, including Peshawar and Quetta, as part of Afghanistan, claiming that the Durand Line no longer exists between the two countries and Pashtun-populated areas of Pakistan are actually Afghan territory. A website (afghanistans.com) has posted a map showing Pashtunistan as a territory separating Pakistan and Afghanistan. According to the map, Pashtunistan comprises the whole of Balochistan province and a part of the NWFP and Federally- Administered Tribal Areas (Fata). Similarly, another website (afghanland.com) shows a map of 'greater Afghanistan' with several Pakistani cities in it. The map has mentioned Gwadar port as Baloch city and a part of Afghanistan.
Bodies on Kalabagh Dam, Thal Canal formed
Aug 25: President General Pervez Musharraf ordered setting up of a parliamentary committee and a technical committee to evolve consensus among all the provinces on water-related issues of the country and the controversial issue of Kalabagh Dam and greater Thal Canal. The parliamentary committee will bring the matter in parliament after reviewing the issue. The President appointed a renowned irrigation expert, AGN Abbasi as the head of the committee, which would supplement the parliamentary committee. The members of the technical committee will be selected from all the provinces later.
Allama Mashriqi’s birth anniversary observed
Aug 25: To mark the 105birth anniversary of Allama Inayatullah Khan Al-Mashriqi, founder of Khaksar Tehrik, a day-long ‘Allama Mashriqi’ conference was at Nizaman Labour Hall, held in Larkana. The conference was presided over by Dr Sabiha Arshad Mughal, daughter-in-law of Allama Mashriqi, which was largely attended by the people of all walks of life besides leaders and workers of the sister organisation of Khaksar Tehrik Pakistan from all over the Sindh province. Later, Dr Sabiha and Tariq Mughal led a protest march against the construction of the Thal Canal from Nizaman Hall to the Larkana Press Club in the Jinnah Bagh. Participants raised slogan against Thal Canal and Kalabagh Dam.
If LFO goes, so does parliament, says Musharraf
Aug 26: President Gen Pervez Musharraf reiterated his view that the Legal Framework Order was a part and parcel of the Constitution, and without it, the October elections could stand invalidated. Speaking at a news conference at the Hyderabad district Nazim's secretariat during his visit to the city, the president pointed out that if the LFO was repealed, joint electorates, women's representation in assemblies and 10 million additional voters also could have to go. He said the Supreme Court had given him the authority to amend the Constitution without bringing about any structural changes and that was exactly what he had done to the best of his abilities.
Speaker's move fails to pacify opposition
Aug 26: A belated move by the speaker to delete objectionable remarks made in two previous sittings of the National Assembly failed to pacify opposition parties, which walked out after a noisy protest. More than an hour's desk-thumping and slogan-chanting against President Pervez Musharraf and the LFO by opposition members drowned out most of the proceedings carried on by the ruling coalition on the third sitting and the first private members' day of the current session of the lower house.
9,000 Pakistanis in jails of 52 countries: NA told
Aug 26: There are over 9,000 Pakistanis in the jails of 52 countries, with largest number in Saudi Arabia for committing fraud or for being involved in drug smuggling, the National Assembly was told. In response to a question of Qari Fayyaz-ur-Rehman, Foreign Affairs Minister Mian Khurshid Mehmood Kasuri informed the house that out of 5,158 prisoners in Saudi Arabia, 3,814 were arrested on fraud and 1,344 on drug smuggling charges. Followed by Saudi Arabia, India has 810 Pakistani prisoners (all arrested for alleged fraud); Afghanistan, 788 (787 on the charges of fraud and one on drug smuggling charge); the United Kingdom, 406 (all on fraud charges); Kuwait, 287 (97 on fraud and 190 on drug smuggling charges); and the United States, 287 (on fraud charges).
Probe against Abbasi begins
Aug 26: The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) has started investigation against Shahid Khakan Abbasi, the former federal minister and chairman of Pakistan International Airlines Corporation (PIAC) , to investigate alleged payment of commission by SABRE, an international company, to Mr Abbasi for introducing high-tech ticketing system in the corporation.
Shariat Bill deferred
Aug 26: Speaker of the National Assembly Chaudhry Amir Hussain deferred the Shariat Bill 2003 after Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Raza Hayat Hiraj told the House that the Shariat Act 1991 already existed in the country. Independent member in the National Assembly, Maulana Azam Tariq, moved the Shariat Bill 2003. Engineer Amir Muqam also separately moved the Shariat Bill 2003 in the House.
Islamabad reschedules $10m loan to Bishkek
Aug 27: Pakistan rescheduled a $10 million loan to Kyrgyzstan for 20 years with a grace period of five years and the two sides decided to set up air link between Bishkek and Islamabad. These decisions were taken at a meeting between Kyrgyz Commerce Minister Miltalip Mamytove and Finance Minister Shaukat Aziz in Islamabad. At a joint news conference with Shaukat Aziz, Mamytove said the next Joint Economic Commission would be held in 2004 in Bishkek and a number of protocols would be signed.
US yet to release 600 Pakistanis
Aug 27: The United States has not yet decided whether to release more than 600 Pakistanis in jails across Afghanistan, a State Department official told Dawn. Pakistan has officially asked the US to allow Afghanistan to send home the prisoners who were arrested for fighting alongside the Taliban.
Sindh High Court rules it has jurisdiction over Army Act
Aug 27: The High Court of Sindh has ruled that it has jurisdiction to hear writ petitions against Pakistan Army Act and that when a civilian is charged under Official Secret Act, he should be proceeded with before a special magistrate and not before a military court.
300 foreign teachers to be employed annually
Aug 28: The government has decided to start a Rs3.2 billion "Foreign Faculty Hiring Programme" under which 300 foreign professors, associate professors and assistant professors will be employed annually in disciplines relevant to economic and social development of the country. Official sources told Dawn in Islamabad that the foreign faculty will be offered handsome emoluments in Pakistan's context. PhD degree holders, specifically those having extensive academic experience, will be recruited.
Pak-India air link talks end in impasse
Aug 28: Pakistan and India maintained divergent views on resuming air links, which led to putting off talks for a future date to be decided later. "It was decided to continue the talks. New dates would be announced after mutual consultation," said an official announcement after the conclusion of the two-day talks in Islamabad on restoring air links between the senior officials of Pakistan and India.
AI asks president to pardon juvenile offender
Aug 29: The Amnesty International (AI) has urged upon President General Musharraf to accept the mercy petition of a juvenile offender on death row, Muhammad Ameen, hailing from Peshawar. The world human rights body said that Muhammad Ameen was sentenced to death on Jan 31, 2000, after being found guilty of murder in Rawalpindi in 1998, when he was below the age of 18.
NAB arrests ex-secretary for corruption
Aug 29: The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) arrested Safdar Hussain Kazmi, former Federal Secretary for local bodies, labour and manpower, on allegations of embezzlement in the development funds allocated for members of National Assembly during Benazir Bhutto’s regime, NAB sources told The News.
ANP forms anti-KBD front to resist govt plan
Aug 29: Awami National Party has constituted anti Kalabagh Dam Front, to remobilize people against the construction of controversial dam as first phase of their commitment to practically resist the government plan. "We are not going to compromise on the destruction of Pakhtun’s generation. This is neither a political issue nor we want to get political gains but is a matter of life and death of our nation," Begum Nasim Wali Khan told a crowded press conference in Peshawar.
Pakistan to be second most populous country in 33 years
Aug 29: Pakistan will become the second most populous country in the world in 33 years, if the present birth rate continues, said speakers at a UNICEF training workshop in Larkana.
23 check-posts set up at Pak-Afghan border, says Gen Orakzai
Aug 29: The access of Pakistan Army to the semi-autonomous tribal regions of the country has not only made the illegal crossing on Durand Line difficult but also paved the way for the development of infrastructure in inaccessible areas, according to Corps Commander Peshawar, Lt General Ali Mohammad Khan Orakzai. In an interview with the Voice of the Germany he said the Army has established setting up 23 new check-posts manned in about 60 kilometres long border area.
‘US pressurised Pakistan to accept WTO document at Doha moot’
ISLAMABAD: The US government had used pressure tactics and arm twisting in the last conference on WTO in Doha and after 9/11 made Pakistan and other vulnerable countries to accept the final document even against the interests of the country.At Doha conference, Washington inflated the figures of aid to Pakistan as a compensation of war in Afghanistan to impress Pakistani people. This has been revealed in a fresh book on WTO ahead of 5th ministerial meeting to be held in Mexico next month. The book entitled "Behind the Scenes at WTO" co-authored by Fatoumat Jawara and Aileen KWA and a detailed chapter on "Arm Twisting" has been given that how the USA pressurised and used tactics to silence Pakistan and other countries. The book published in August, 2003 has revealed that Munir Akram, Pakistani permanent representative in Geneva was even transferred after he showed some resistance against the wishes of the USA on final documents.
Repeal of Hudood law recommended
Aug 30: The National Commission on the Status of Women (NCSW) has recommended to the government that the Hudood Ordinance should be repealed , and asked the authorities to draft a new law, if needed, in its place but only after an open discussion in parliament. Talking to Dawn, NCSW Chairperson Justice Majida Rizvi said after five in depth meetings, the 18-member special committee on Hudood Ordinance was of the view that the law should be repealed instead of introducing certain amendments to it.
Kalabagh dam issue Opposition walks out of PA session
Aug 30: The opposition groups, staged a walkout against what they called the stubbornness of Gen Pervez Musharraf on the dead issue of the Kalabagh dam at a time when the democratic forces were struggling against the Legal Framework Order (LFO) in and outside parliament. The treasury benches also opposed the construction of the dam and termed it an untimely move to divide the political forces on a controversial issue. It also aimed at diverting their attention from the LFO and other undemocratic measures being taken by the government, the members added.
Army takes control of pass: Salarzai tribe gives up resistance
Aug 30: The Pakistan army has taken control of a mountain pass along the Durand Line in Bajaur Agency after the Salarzai tribe gave up its two-week-long resistance to the presence of army in the area. Sources in the Bajaur Agency headquarters, Khaar, said the armymen hoisted the national flag on a mountain peak at an altitude of about 8,000 feet near the Pakistan-Afghanistan border in the Salarzai tribe's area. Later, the army set up checkpoints at seven places and started formal deployment of troops.
20 army officers face probe: Links with Al Qaeda
Aug 31: Over 20 armymen, including six to seven officers up to the rank of lieutenant colonel, are facing investigation in two different cases for their alleged links with Al Qaeda and an enemy country, Dawn reported. Well-placed army sources disclosed that two groups of armymen were taken into custody at different times and for different reasons. One of the groups is under investigation for links with Al Qaeda, while the other, which is larger in size, was taken into custody for its connection with a neighboring enemy country.
MMA disowns ties with militants
Aug 31: The Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal (MMA), Balochistan, has dissociated itself from all militant groups in the country and decided to hold a big public gathering soon in Quetta to strengthen solidarity in the province to thwart the designs of anti-Islamic forces. A statement in this regard was made at a meeting of the provincial MMA executive committee at the MPA hostel Quetta. The meeting presided over by MNA Maulana Muhammad Khan Sherani was held to discuss the tragic incident of Quetta, which claimed 52 lives, and law and order situation here.
Chicago Muslim convention condemns New Delhi over Kashmir
Aug 31: Speakers in Chicago at a four-day Islamic conference condemned India for exploiting the current resentment against terrorism to suppress the Kashmiri struggle for the right to self-determination. The conflict in Kashmir is over broken promises and the denial of basic rights. It is not a religious issue, said Edward Hasbrouk of a San Francisco-based rights advocacy group, the Non-Violent Resistance. The discussion on Kashmir, held at the Islamic Society of North America's (ISNA) annual convention, focused mainly on human rights violations in the valley and the atrocities committed by the Indian security forces. But the speakers also warned that the Kashmir dispute could lead the South Asian region to a nuclear holocaust if it remained unresolved.
US offers $9bn arms sale to Pakistan
Aug 31: The United States has offered sale of modern arms worth $9 billion to Pakistan for its armed forces, The News reported. Sources said Pakistan has compiled its arms and spares shopping list after the US made this biggest-ever offer to Pakistan.
Army officers being probed for extremist links: ISPR
Aug 31: Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) spokesman Major-General Shaukat Sultan said "three to four" Pakistani Army officers were under investigation for their alleged links with an extremist organization. "There are about three to four officers below the rank of lieutenant-colonel. They are under investigation for alleged possible links with some extremist organization," he told Reuters. "There is no senior officer among them and they are totally being dealt with by the Pakistan Army," he said.
Govt plans strict action against anti-Kalabagh Dam lobby
Aug 31: The federal government has vowed to take stern action against those politicising Kalabagh Dam as a new anti-dam lobby was emerging on the scene. Sources in Lahore told The News that the government has clearly conveyed the message to all the provincial governments and all concerned that it should only debate and entertain technical reasons and faults of the project.