Chronology of Pakistan
March 2004 (Continued II)
Rule change bans N-material export
March 8: The commerce ministry has introduced amendments in the Export Policy and Procedures Order 2000 to restrict the export of certain products. According to the SRO111, the amendments were introduced in the schedule-III of the export order. The notification reads: As for S.No7, 8 in column (1) the entries relating to them should be substituted - namely "nuclear substances, radioactive materials and any other substance or item covered by Pakistan Nuclear Regulatory Authority Ordinance, 2001 (III of 2001)" and "equipment used for production, use or application of nuclear energy or activity including generation of electricity and spares related to these", respectively. The export of these would be as per procedure notified by the Pakistan Nuclear Regulatory Authority, added the notification.
Extradition treaty with UAE inked
arch 8: Federal Minister for Interior and Narcotics Control, Makhdoom Syed Faisal Saleh Hayat and the UAE Minister for Justice Islamic affairs and Auqaf, Mohammad bin Nakhera al Zahri signed an extradition treaty in Islamabad. The treaty was signed after 14 years of negotiations.
Road blasted in Gilgit
March 8: Unknown persons in Thack-Niyat valley of Diamer district destroyed 15 kilometres of a jeepable road using dynamite in some sections and pushing boulders on to the road. Police sources said that the road, 130kms south of Gilgit, linked the Karakoram Highway (KKH) and the tourist hill resort of Babusar valley. Other sources said that this was the result of a decades-old tribal feud between different tribes of the valley.
Four killed in Karachi as protests turn violent
March 8: Four men were killed and nine others, three of them women, wounded during protests in different parts of the city in protest against the killing of MPA Abdullah Murad who was shot dead yesterday by unidentified gunmen.
Scientists' families stage protests
March 8: Family members of the detained nuclear scientists staged a protest demonstration in front of the Parliament house in Islamabad and demanded their immediate release. The protest was organized by Dr A.Q. Khan Rehai Committee and Mohib-i-Watan Forum. Speaking on the occasion, PML-N MNA Tehmina Daultana said this was the worst a nation could do to its heroes.
HRCP for probe into PTCL man's death
March 8: The death of Agha Mohammad Sajjad in NAB custody adds to many existing anxieties about methods of interrogation used by the controversial bureau. The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan said in a press statement. The HRCP said the frequent misuse of power by the bureau officials was a major source of concern for all.
Pakistan gave China 'access to US jet'
March 8: Pakistan may have given China access to a key US fighter jet at the height of the Vietnam War in a quid pro quo transaction that may have endangered the lives of American pilots , according to US government documents made public in Washington. The revelation, contained in a secret December 1968 memorandum written by George Denney, deputy director of intelligence and research at the State Department, comes as the administration of President George W. Bush seeks to broaden security ties to Islamabad as part of the war on terror. The Denney memo and other documents obtained by the National Security Archive, a freedom of information group, and released over the weekend paint a picture of deep dissatisfaction with Pakistan within the US foreign policy community, which felt deceived by the country's leaders.
Pakistan tests its longest-range missile
March 9: Pakistan test-fired its longest-range nuclear-capable ballistic missile in a move to try out a key strategic weapon and to practically declare that its vow to maintain a credible deterrence has remained unshaken by a recent nuclear proliferation scandal. The maiden test-firing of the two-stage Hatf VI, or Shaheen II, missile, could hit targets up to 2,000km, was successfully carried out, said a military statement said.
Powell denies deal over Khan issue
March 9: US Secretary of State Colin Powell described Dr A.Q. Khan as "the biggest nuclear proliferator ever" but rejected allegation that the United States let him off the hook to please Pakistan. In two separate television and radio interviews, Mr Powell defended President Pervez Musharraf's decision to pardon Dr Khan as a move that allowed the US to learn as much as it could about his network.
Beijing to help build Chashma-II N-plant
March 9: China and Pakistan are finalizing an agreement to build a second nuclear power plant for producing electricity, a spokesman of China's Foreign Office, Mr Liu Jianchao, announced. China will help Pakistan to develop the Phase II of the Chashma Nuclear Power Plant for producing electricity, he told reporters in Bejing at the weekly news briefing. He said safeguards for the Chashma-II reactor would ensure it is used only for generating electricity. The second 300 megawatt nuclear power plant will be built next to the first power plant which became operational in 1999.
Riyadh gifts special cars to Islamabad
March 9: Saudi Arabia has gifted Pakistan three exceptionally expensive, made-to-order Mercedes Benz cars fitted with high-tech gadgets and electronics equipment which fully secure them even against high intensity explosives. Such vehicles are said to be in use by world leaders who face a constant threat to their lives from terrorists. Sources said these vehicles would most likely to be inducted into the fleet of cars reserved for President Pervez Musharraf.
Consensus on Kalabagh dam unlikely in near future
March 9: Consensus on Kalabagh Dam seems unlikely in the near future since only Punjab is interested in getting immediate approval of the project while other provinces are pursuing other priorities with regard to the future irrigation water needs of the country. "The issue of building large dams is the most contentious since provinces have different suggestions on building large dam," Senator Nisar Memon, the Chairman of the Parliamentary Committee on Water Resources, told newsmen in Islamabad.
Wheat purchase refusal angers Australia
March 9: Pakistan's High Commissioner to Australia was summoned by the Australian government and handed down a strongly-worded criticism over Pakistan's decision to reject an Australian wheat consignment worth $30 million on the grounds of being contaminated with fungus, information released by the Australian High Commission in Islamabad said. In a statement described by Pakistani authorities as serious aspersion on the country's scientific community and laboratory facilities, the Australian government said: "Now we have a concern that maybe the testing facility and capability of Pakistan is not quite up to the standard that is needed to be able to identify Karnal Bunt from other organizations.”
3 PPP lawmakers quit party
March 10: Three members of the Punjab Assembly belonging to the People's Party Parliamentarians resigned from the party, citing serious differences with the top leadership of the party. Bahawalpur District Nazim Tariq Bashir Cheema and half a dozen tehsil Nazims of the party also resigned. Accompanied by Mr Zafar Iqbal Warraich, who had resigned as member of the National Assembly yesterday on identical grounds, MPAs and the Nazims announced at a press conference in Lahore that neither any reward nor any pressure from any quarters was behind their decision.
Ganguly calls it a goodwill tour
March 10: India's cricket team arrived in Lahore for their first full series against Pakistan in about 15 years and captain Saurav Ganguly described it as a 'goodwill tour.' "This tour is not a mere cricketing event as it has another significance," he told newsmen at a Press conference. Last time the Indians visited Pakistan for a full tour was in 1989 and for a short one-day series in 1997.
US wants missile plan scaled back
March 10: The United States urged Pakistan to scale back its missile program after it test-fired a ballistic missile capable of carrying nuclear warheads. "We continue to urge Pakistan and other countries in the region to exercise restraint in their nuclear weapons and missile programs, as part of an ongoing effort to relieve tensions and build confidence in the region," State Department spokesman Richard Boucher said.
Military's role under fire in NA
March 11: The opposition launched a severe criticism of military's role in politics as the National Assembly began debating President Pervez Musharraf's January speech to parliament and staged another protest walkout over the absence of a prominent colleague, Javed Hashmi, being tried for sedition. Leaders of both the main opposition groupings - ARD and MMA - asked the government to give up its plans to bring a bill to parliament for the revival of the controversial National Security Council (NSC) designed to give the military a permanent legal role in the country's governance.
Lashkar launches suspects' search
March 11: Hundreds of armed tribal volunteers began their search for Al Qaeda fugitives in South Waziristan Agency, but authorities warned they had only days to deliver on their promise. A lashkar (tribal force) of 600 armed Zalikhel tribesmen at Azam Warsak finally received a nod from their elders to launch the search.
LHC strikes down SBP notification
March 11: The Lahore High Court has struck down as illegal, a notification of the State Bank of Pakistan under which all commercial banks were directed to ensure that classified personal details of all depositors whose annual profit on their deposits exceeds Rs10,000, be furnished on a biannual basis for the benefit of the Central Board of Revenue (CBR). Accepting a writ petition by advocate M.D.Tahir, the court, in its judgment said that the people of Pakistan had every right not to have their private financial matters placed before the "preying eye" of tax collecting agencies, even in good faith, without an allegation of wrongdoing.
Govt apologizes over remarks in NA over removing Quranic verses from curriculum
March 12: An opposition protest walkout from the National Assembly forced a government apology in what seems to be brewing controversy over how much jihad should be taught in the country's schools and colleges. All opposition parties, despite their own known differences over Islamization, joined the MMA-led walkout to protest against a parliamentary secretary's remarks during the question hour. While members of the ARD and its allies returned after a few minutes, those of the MMA stayed away until Information Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed persuaded them back into the house to hear his apology for the remarks by education parliamentary secretary Dewan Syed Jafar Hussain justifying the omission of some Quranic verses from biology textbooks. "The inclusion of Quranic verses is not a requirement of curriculum," said a written reply from Education Minister Zubaida Jalal in reply to a question from Laiq Khan (MMA, Sindh) about whether and why Quranic verses had been omitted from biology books for the intermediate first year. "However, in this case, the Sindh Textbook Board has shifted Quranic verses from the book of biology for classes XI-XII to the book of biology for classes IX-X," the minister said. While answering supplementary questions from MMA members, parliamentary secretary Jafar Hussain denied their charge that the government was omitting verses about jihad and Christians and Jews to meet what they called US conditions for helping the country's education sector.
Priyanka says peace vital for progress
March 12: Priyanka Gandhi, the daughter of Indian Congress leader Sonia Gandhi, expressed the hope that India and Pakistan would eventually succeed in establishing peace in the region. "War is not a solution of our problems. We have to create love and affection. We hope that people-to-people contact will lead to that," she said while taking to newsmen during a visit to the Edhi Children's Home in Clifton, karachi, shortly after her arrival from Mumbai to witness the opening One Day International between India and Pakistan.
Pakistan, India seek N-power status
March 12: The foreign ministers of India and Pakistan each appealed for their countries to be fully accepted as nuclear powers, six years after the neighbors conducted nuclear tests. Indian Foreign Minister Yashwant Sinha told a seminar in New Delh that New Delhi became a "reluctant nuclear power" because of the world's "imperfect non-proliferation order". Pakistani Foreign Minister Khurshid Kasuri told a separate seminar in Islamabad that the world should recognize Pakistan, India - and Israel - as nuclear powers.
44,000 people to be displaced by Mangla Dam raising
March 12: Raising of the Mangla Dam will displace 44,000 persons and damage 8,000 houses, the National Assembly was told. During the question-hour session, the water and power minister, in a written reply , said an unprecedented compensation package had been prepared by the governments of Pakistan and AJK for the rehabilitation of affected persons.
HRCP holds agencies responsible for Quetta massacre
March 12: The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan, Balochistan chapter, Vice-Chairperson, Malik Zahoor Ahmed Shahwani advocate, has said that information his organization has collected from citizens reveals that most of the people killed in the March 2 Aashura mourning procession massacre were shot dead by members of law-enforcement agencies.
India ready for give and take on Kashmir: Advani
March 12: Indian Deputy Prime Minister Lal Krishna Advani said India was ready to "give and take" in an effort to make peace with Pakistan over Kashmir. "No one can take the positions they may have taken for a long time," Advani told Reuters in an interview aboard his election campaign bus.
Govt servants’ asset will not be made public
March 12: The annual asset-income declarations of movable and immovable properties of government servants, both federal and provincial, would now be scrutinised under the anti-corruption strategy evolved by the National Accountability Bureau, The News said. Unlike the present system where these declarations remained sealed unless needed to be opened only in case of disciplinary proceedings against an officer, the NAB strategy proposes their routine scrutiny. Previously it was being considered to make the government servant’s declaration public. However, the final decision taken by the committee on anti-corruption strategy determined to keep these declarations confidential.
Pak, Afghan tribesmen clash
March 12: Pakistan and Afghan tribesmen were targeting each other’s position with heavy weapons, as tension between Madakhel Wazir and the Afghan Tanai tribe took a serious turn over the demarcation of the controversial Durand Line in North Waziristan Agency. Pakistani tribesmen living close to Lwara area of the agency claimed that Afghan tribesmen supported by the pro-Afghan government militia and commanders were helping the Tanai tribe to establish its claim over the Soonzai area the Madakhel tribesmen claim was Pakistan’s territory.
Peace rests on resolution of Kashmir issue: Musharraf
March 13: President Gen Pervez Musharraf insisted that Kashmir lay at the "heart" of India-Pakistan "confrontation" and warned that if there was no movement towards its resolution , everything would slide back to "square one". "Let us be pragmatic. Let us learn to accept harsh facts. Kashmir is at the centre of India-Pakistan ties and has to be settled in an equitable and honorable way acceptable to India, Pakistan and Kashmiris," Gen Musharraf told a closed-door symposium in New Delhi. He was addressing the India Today Conclave 2004 via satellite from Islamabad.
Pakistan cooperating with US: officials - Nuclear black market
March 13: Information obtained from accused Pakistani nuclear scientist Dr Abdul Qadeer Khan suggests North Korea began to pursue a highly enriched uranium program for nuclear weapons several years earlier than originally thought, US officials said in Washington. The officials, interviewed by Reuters, cited this disclosure as evidence that Pakistan has been cooperative in sharing with Washington the secrets of Dr Khan's global network that sold nuclear technology to Iran, North Korea and Libya.
Muttahida unseats 3 MNAs: Ministers removed
March 14: In a major organizational shake-up the Muttahida Qaumi Movement unseated its three MNAs from Karachi and replaced some of its ministers at the federal and provincial levels. The shake-up involved sacking of one federal and one provincial minister and one adviser and induction of another minister. The MQM leadership also decided that henceforth all party decisions would be announced by the Pakistan-based coordination committee to eliminate any possibility of manipulations by 'some self-seekers'. After an address by the party chief, Mr Altaf Hussain, to the general workers gathering here, chief of the coordination committee Anwar Alam announced that MNAs, Azizullah Brohi (NA-246), Sultan Ahmad Khan advocate (NA-243), and Sarkaruddin advocate (NA-240) had tendered resignations which would be sent to the Election Commission for organizing by-elections. At the federal level, Communications Minister Ahmad Ali has been replaced by Babar Ghori whereas in Sindh, Adviser on Health Noman Sehgal has been axed and the portfolio has been given to Naeem Ishtiaq MPA, who will be a minister. Rauf Siddiqui has been replaced as Excise and Taxation Minister by Syed Shakir Ali, MPA from PS-48 from Hyderabad. Qamar Mansoor has been inducted as provincial minister for sports and culture. The decision was taken amid mounting criticism of some of the ministers and legislators within the party, and expression of displeasure by Mr Hussain during the past few months. In the last workers' convention, the criticism was voiced and Mr Hussain was given carte blanche to remove any minister or legislator. According to MQM tradition, its deputies hand in undated resignations to the party chief when they are given the party ticket.
Musharraf's comments on terrorism rile India
March 14: India responded angrily to President Gen Pervez Musharraf's address to a symposium in New Delhi, accusing him of double standards in defining terrorism and taking exception to what it described as avoidable public rhetoric on Kashmir.
Pressure stepped up on tribesmen
March 14: Authorities in the South Waziristan tribal region have slapped a string of punitive actions on tribesmen to force them into handing over people suspected of sheltering and supporting Al Qaeda militants.
7 executed on jirga's orders in Orakzai
March 14: Seven people were shot dead in the semi-autonomous region of Orakzai after a meeting of elders handed down death sentences against them, officials said. "Those shot dead were members of a notorious gang, which was involved in heinous crimes, including kidnapping," Assistant Political Agent (APA) Abdul Qayyum told dpa.
Classified US report on KRL
March 14: A classified intelligence report presented to the White House last week detailed for the first time the extent to which the Khan Research Laboratories allegedly provided North Korea with all the equipment and technology it needed to produce uranium-based nuclear weapons, the New York Times reported. The newspaper said the assessment by the Central Intelligence Agency confirmed the Bush administration's fears about the accelerated nature of North Korea's secret uranium weapons program, which some intelligence officials believed could produce a weapon as early as next year.
Three MQM MNAs resign
March 15: Three MNAs of Muttahida Qaumi Movement handed over their resignations to the National Assembly secretariat. This was in keeping with the MQM's decision unseating its three legislators from Karachi. Those who tendered their resignations are Azizullah Brohi, Sarkaruddin advocate and Sultan Ahmed Khan, according to the NA secretariat.
Car bomb defused near US consulate
March 15: A vehicle laden with explosives attached with a timer and detonators was left by unidentified men in front of the United States consulate in Karachi. Police seized the vehicle and the explosive device was defused. During investigation it was revealed that the registration number of the vehicle (CA-8501) had been replaced with a government number-plate (GA-0313). The vehicle had been snatched at gunpoint from one Muneeb Tariq in the Baloch Colony area yesterday. Mr Tariq was shot and wounded when he resisted.
Blasts damage rail tracks
March 15: Two bomb blasts in about two and a half hours on the up and down tracks near the Khairpur railway station damaged parts of tracks, affecting rail traffic on the route. No train was at the station or passing through the tracks at the time of the blasts.
Jirga denies Al Qaeda presence in Fata
March 15: Tribal elders and religious leaders from almost all the seven tribal agencies refuted reports about presence of Al Qaeda and Taliban remnants in tribal areas and demanded an immediate halt to the operation in the tribal belt. The demand to this effect came in a grand jirga of tribal elders held in Bara, Khyber Agency, which was organized by a political organization, Khyber Union, and was participated by representatives of Kurram Agency, Mohmand Agency, Dara Adamkhel (FR Kohat), South Waziristan and North Waziristan. Members of the Fata Reforms Committee also attended the jirga.
Three MQM MNAs resign
March 15: Three MNAs of Muttahida Qaumi Movement handed over their resignations to the National Assembly secretariat. This was in keeping with the MQM's decision unseating its three legislators from Karachi. Those who tendered their resignations are Azizullah Brohi, Sarkaruddin advocate and Sultan Ahmed Khan, according to the NA secretariat.
Car bomb defused near US consulate
March 15: A vehicle laden with explosives attached with a timer and detonators was left by unidentified men in front of the United States consulate in Karachi. Police seized the vehicle and the explosive device was defused. During investigation it was revealed that the registration number of the vehicle (CA-8501) had been replaced with a government number-plate (GA-0313). The vehicle had been snatched at gunpoint from one Muneeb Tariq in the Baloch Colony area yesterday. Mr Tariq was shot and wounded when he resisted.
Blasts damage rail tracks
March 15: Two bomb blasts in about two and a half hours on the up and down tracks near the Khairpur railway station damaged parts of tracks, affecting rail traffic on the route. No train was at the station or passing through the tracks at the time of the blasts.
Jirga denies Al Qaeda presence in Fata
March 15: Tribal elders and religious leaders from almost all the seven tribal agencies refuted reports about presence of Al Qaeda and Taliban remnants in tribal areas and demanded an immediate halt to the operation in the tribal belt. The demand to this effect came in a grand jirga of tribal elders held in Bara, Khyber Agency, which was organized by a political organization, Khyber Union, and was participated by representatives of Kurram Agency, Mohmand Agency, Dara Adamkhel (FR Kohat), South Waziristan and North Waziristan. Members of the Fata Reforms Committee also attended the jirga.