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Chronology of Pakistan
June 2003
District Nazims in NWFP resign
June 1: Nazims of all the 24 districts of the NWFP resigned in protest against the Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal government's what they termed mala fide restrictions on the district governments. Speaking at a hurriedly called press conference in Peshawar, Nazim Kohat district Malik Assad Khan said that they had sent in their resignations to President Gen Pervez Musharraf. Tension between district nazims and the NWFP government intensified in the wake of the latter's intention to "remove" Nazims of Bannu and Kohistan district through a resolution in the provincial assembly.
Rs64bn used to cover budget deficit
June 1: The total disbursement of external financing for the first three quarters (up to March 2003) amounted to Rs108.84 billion, which included Rs44.67 billion for repayment of loans while Rs64.17 billion was used to finance budget deficit. This has been disclosed in documents for the July 2002-March 2003 period released by the ministry of finance under the IMF conditionality that required it to make fiscal data and economic performance available to the public on a quarterly basis. The record showed that the domestic financing during the first nine months of the current fiscal amounted to only Rs13.68 billion. At the domestic front, the government made total repayments of Rs52.51 to the banking sector and borrowed Rs66.2 billion from the non-banking sector.
Pakistanis' plight voiced in US Congress
June 1: Pakistanis living in the United States have urged Congress to help fight the wave of backlash and discrimination they have faced since the 9-11 terrorist attacks.
The appeal, voiced at a special hearing on civil liberties, comes amid reports of increasing hatred against Pakistani and other Muslim communities living in the United States. Earlier this week, the Washington Post published a full-page report on this issue, stating that many Pakistanis had to leave the country because of the discrimination they faced.
25 Karachi picnickers drown in Keenjhar
June 1: At least twenty-five picnickers, majority of them women and children, all residents of Federal-B Area and Jafar-i-Tayyar Society, Malir, Karachi , drowned as their overloaded motorboat capsized in the Keenjhar Lake near Thatta. Witnesses said 38 picnickers, soon after arriving at Keenjhar in a coaster, hired two boats. A group of women and children, 22 in number, boarded a boat which had a capacity of 12 persons.
NWFP bans smoking at public places
June 1: NWFP Senior Minister Sirajul Haq, announcing a ban on smoking at public places in the province, said that the federal government would be asked to curb tobacco advertisements.
All NWFP district Nazims resign
June 1: The local government system in the NWFP was threatened with collapse after all the Nazims throughout the province tendered collective resignations in protest against the alleged interference of the MMA government. District Nazims of all the 24 districts of the province took the decision after two hours meeting held at the residence of Nazim Lakki Marwat, Humayun Saifullah in Peshawar, in which the Nazims tendered the resignations in protest against the negative attitude of the provincial government. "From day one, the MMA government has resorted to targeting the district government system. The provincial government took every step to sabotage the local government system and rendered the Nazims powerless," Malik Asad, district Nazim Kohat on behalf of the rest told a press conference at Peshawar Press Club.
NWFP govt makes offering of Namaz compulsory
June 1: The NWFP government has made the offering of prayers compulsory with warnings of action against violators. The Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal (MMA) government that swept last year's elections with the promise of enforcing the Shariah (Islamic law) in the province issued a notification asking all Muslims to leave their shops, offices, schools and work and offer prayers after the Azan (call). A notification circulated in government offices by the Establishment and Administration Department directed the officials to say prayers or face strict disciplinary action.
NWFP Assembly adopts Shariat Bill
June 2: The NWFP Assembly unanimously adopted the North-West Frontier Province Shariat Bill, 2003. The Nifaz-i-Shariat Council, comprising Ulema of all schools of thought, has penned the religious law, which shall come into force at once all over the province, including its frontier regions. The 15-point Shariat Bill was tabled in the House on May 27 by the Mutahidda Majlis-i-Amal government. The parliamentary leaders of all political parties, the MMA and two minorities lawmakers endorsed the bill that promises imposition of Allah's rule on the earth through His pious men. The bill, based on the objective resolution and recommendations of the Islamic Ideology Council, promised protection of personal laws and religious freedom of all minorities in the province.
Khwajas released from jail
June 2: The Kot Lakhpat Jail authorities released Dr Ahmad Javed Khwaja and Ahmad Naveed Khwaja following the lapse of over 48 hours when the federal review board refused to extend their preventive detention and ordered their release. Khwajas' counsel Pervez Inayat Malik told Dawn that both the detainees were finally handed over to him by the SHO Manawaan Police Station outside the jail premises after being detained for five and a half month. They were taken into custody on Dec 30, 2002 from their residence at Manawaan area on suspicion of harboring Al Qaeda activists.
Musharraf rules out talks on uniform issue
June 2: President General Pervez Musharraf told his political aides and the Jamali government that the controversial issue of quitting his army post should not be discussed with the opposition as it was not part of the Legal Framework Order. An insider said the president told the participants of a high-level meeting, called to discuss important political issues, that the government must only talk with the opposition on the issues listed in the LFO.
UN declares Pakistan poppy-free country
June 2: The United Nations (UN) has declared Pakistan a poppy-free country. Due to strict enforcement of law and award of 47 death sentences and 337 life imprisonment by the competent courts in narcotic-related offences since 1995, the image of Pakistan has built up, globally, Anti-Narcotics Force (ANF) Director General Major General Zafar Abbas told APP.
Kuwait lifts ban on work visa for Pakistanis
June 2: Kuwait has lifted ban on work visa from Pakistani workforce after seven years. Minister for Labour, Manpower and Overseas Pakistanis Abdul Sattar Lalika told a press conference in Islamabad that "Kuwait government officially informed the Pakistan government about its decision to remove all kind of visa restriction on Pakistani workforce".
4 judges appointed to Federal Shariat Court
June 2: The President appointed four more judges - Zafar Pasha, Saeedur Rehman Farrukh, S.A Manan and S.A Rabbani - to the Federal Shariat Court, bringing its strength to seven. The Federal Shariat Court has been facing a number of problems for the last many months. The court had been without Chief Justice for a long time and after the appointment of Justice Ijaz Yousuf as the Chief Justice, it was left with only three judges.
FBI happy with Pak efforts to curb terrorism
June 3: US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Director Robert Mueller held talks in Islamabad with Interior Minister Faisal Saleh Hayat. The interior minister said the talks had focused on efforts to counter terrorism. "The FBI director complemented and appreciated the efforts made by Pakistan to curb terrorism." Mueller expressed gratitude to government of Pakistan for its cooperation in the 18-month war against terrorism, he added. The Inter Services Intelligence (ISI) agency, often with US assistance, has arrested almost 450 foreign al-Qaeda suspects in the country since late 2001, and handed 346 of them over to the United States. Another 36 were handed to other countries.
Khawaja says al-Qaeda claims were fabricated
June 3: Dr. Ahmed Javed Khawaja, released after six months in jail on terrorism charges, said Lahore his alleged links to al-Qaeda had been fabricated under pressure from the FBI. "I have no links to al-Qaeda, police recovered nothing from my house," Ahmed Javed Khawaja told AFP by telephone.
SC moved against Shariat Bill
June 4: The Supreme Court was approached with a request that NWFP assembly should be restrained from passing any law in the name of Islam , as it is not competent to enact any law which was in derogation of the Constitution. The petitioner Dr Aslam Khaki, in his constitutional petition filed under Article 184 (3) of the Constitution, contended that the Islamization of the laws were the matters which were within the legislative competence of parliament and related to the federation. The Islamization or enforcement of Shariat were matters covered by Federal Legislative List, he contended.
Shariat bill unwarranted, says Shujaat
June 4: The president and parliamentary leader of the PML-QA Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain said that the provinces have no need to present the Shariat bill in their respective assemblies, as the federal government has already formulated laws in this regard. He said the Shariat bill passed by the NWFP Assembly consists of old clauses and old bills and if it has any new clause, which is not already listed by the Shariat Court, only than it can be included in the new bill.
Assembly adopts eight resolutions: Cut in drug prices provision of gas, power
June 5: The NWFP Assembly adopted a record eight resolutions. Lawmakers sought a reduction in drug prices, provision of gas and electricity to villages , implementation of the Juvenile Justice System Ordinance, 2000, establishment of a circuit bench of the Federal Service Tribunal in Peshawar and an early construction of the Munda dam.
7 rockets fired at Kohlu
June 5: Kohlu was rocked when seven rockets fired from the nearby mountains exploded on the outskirts of the township, Baluchistan police sources said. They said unknown people had fired these rockets from Jandran Mountains. The rockets landed and exploded near a crasher plant, which remained safe.
Afghanistan sends bodies of 21 'Pak Taliban'
June 5: The Afghan authorities sent bodies of 21 people, said to be Taliban killed while fighting government troops near Kandahar during the last two days, to the Killi Faizo Afghan refugee camp some 125 kilometres north-west of Quetta. The News reported that the Pakistani authorities at Chaman handed back 14 bodies to the Afghan officials while seven bodies were received by the relatives of the deceased in Killi Faizo for burial.
Punjab reduces limit for industries in border areas
June 6: Going against the past practice, the Punjab government unilaterally reduced the limit for the establishment of new industries from 25 to 16 km of the international borders without consulting the concerned federal civil and military agencies, The News reported. Earlier, the issue of restricted area near international borders involved various federal agencies like Ministry of Defence, GHQ, Joint Staff of Head Quarters (JSHQ), Ministry of Industries, and Board of Investment (BOI). The Punjab government apprehended that in case all the suggestions of the Ministry of Defense, JSHQ were accepted, many of the districts of the Punjab would fall under the negative areas depriving the residents of industrial development and employment.
NWFP observes 'thanksgiving day'
June 6: The NWFP government celebrated the passage of Sharia Bill by the provincial assembly and observed Friday as "thanksgiving day" throughout the province. In Friday's congregations, Ulemas appreciated the MMA government for fulfilling its election promise with the people regarding the enforcement of Sharia law in the province.
Two Pakistani brothers get asylum in Canada
June 6: Two young Pakistani citizens have been awarded asylum against the United States by the Canadian Immigrant Refuge Board (IRB) judge, the first historic asylum case against the superpower. Both were legal residents of the United States but discriminatory US behavior leading to persecution fear led the young ones to proceed for refuge. Usman Ghani 24 and his younger brother Umer Ghani got the approval after a long three and a half-hour case hearing in Montreal. The court determined the biased and provoking attitude of the American government
and decided the case in their favor.
Rs 2.7bn for law, order
June 7: The government allocates Rs2.728 billion for the completion of various projects of the interior division in the federal budget for 2003-04. The amount would be utilized on 73 different projects to be executed under the interior division. Of the total amount of Rs2.728 billion, Rs220 million will come in the shape of foreign aid. A forensic science laboratory will be set up in Islamabad with an estimated cost of Rs1.356 billion, while for the current fiscal year a sum of Rs270 million has been allocated for the project.
Pakistanis' deportation from US doubles: 13,000 Muslims likely to leave
June 7: Over 13,000 Arab and Muslim men who came forward to register during the recent immigration registration programme (NSEERS) are likely to be deported, said the New York Times. In all, deportations of illegal immigrants from Asian and African countries have surged by nearly 27 per cent in the last two years. The number of Pakistanis, Jordanians, Lebanese and Moroccans deported during that time has doubled, while the number of Egyptians deported has nearly tripled, the paper said. Pakistan embassy officials say since September 11 roundups more than 15,000 illegal Pakistanis have left the US for Canada, Europe and back home.
Defense budget almost static
June 7: The government on announced its defense budget at estimated Rs 160.250 billion for the fiscal 2003-04, thus keeping its defense spendings almost at the level of the previous fiscal with substantive decrease of defense expenditure in real terms. In this year's defense budget, there is a negligible increase of just Rs 0.11 billion as compared to outgoing fiscal's Rs 160.139 billion.
Pakistan does not need Taliban's Islam: Musharraf
June 8: President Pervez Musharraf committed to quitting his uniform as well as presidency the instant he felt his uniform was against the interest of the country and its people. Addressing a luncheon reception hosted by the Lahore Bar Association, he said he was not president by choice but by compulsion. He said he knew the slots of president and the Army chief should not be with one person. "Let an appropriate time come, I will leave the COAS office in the best interest of the country," he said.
12 trainee cops shot dead in Quetta
June 8: Twelve trainee policemen, belonging to the local Hazara community, were killed and eight were wounded in an ambush at Sariab Road in Quetta. About 20 trainee policemen were on their way to Police Training School (PTS) in a rented vehicle, when two men ambushed them near Villagate at Sariab Road and opened indiscriminate firing with automatic weapons.
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