|
Chronology of Pakistan
May 2003
IMF sets four conditions for releasing $109m
May 1: The IMF has linked disbursement of the eighth and last tranche of $109 million out of the $1.3 billion Poverty Reduction Growth Facility with the meeting of four key conditions by June 30. Privatization of HBL, submission of fiscal responsibility law in parliament, elimination of exemptions from the withholding tax on interest income, and establishment of formulaic link between rates of return on GP fund and PIB yield are the four requirements that the Pakistan government must meet, sources told Dawn.
Musharraf says Osama appears to be alive
May 1: President Gen Pervez Musharraf said there were indications that Osama bin Laden was alive, and he might be hiding in the tribal territory along the Afghan border.
Gen Musharraf told a TV channel that Osama could be with a small group of bodyguards, hiding on the Pakistani or Afghan side of the remote area. "Some indications are there that he is not dead but where is he? Nothing can be said about that," he said.
Indian minister praises Musharraf
May 1: President General Pervez Musharraf, painted as an ogre by India's ruling Bharatiya Janata Party in recent state polls, won rare praise from an important minister of Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee's cabinet who said he liked and trusted him. Junior Foreign Minister Digvijay Singh acknowledged in a TV discussion on relations with Pakistan that General Musharraf had his limitations in checking terrorism. Mr Singh, a member of Defence Minister George Fernandes' Samata Party, was the minister-in-waiting for General Musharraf's visit to New Delhi and Agra in July 2001. Asked whether Gen Musharraf could be taken as a reliable leader with whom India could now do business, Mr Singh said: "As head of the country, he has the ability to stop cross-border terrorism" though not all terrorist outfits would be under his control.
Hizb regrets US move to place it on watch list
May 1: Kashmir's largest and mainly indigenous fighter group, Hizbul Mujahideen, feels dismayed over its placing by the US State Department on a terrorist watch list , and has called upon the Bush administration to review its approach towards the freedom movement in held Kashmir and withdraw the "prejudiced decision." "The decision by the United States has dismayed us. It is unrealistic, partisan and contradictory to the ground realities," Hizb supreme commander Syed Salahuddin told Dawn.
Bush praises Pakistan for nabbing al-Qaeda suspects
May 1: US President George W Bush heaped praise on Pakistan for arresting six suspected members of al-Qaeda network, calling it a major coup in the global war on terrorism. The Britain also lauded the arrest of the suspects. Pakistani officials said that the six detainees were plotting a major terrorist attack and were captured in a raid in Karachi. Bush specifically hailed the detention of Waleed Mohammad bin Attash, alias Khalid, a Yemeni believed to be linked to the October 2000 suicide bombing of the USS Cole, as "a major, significant find".
Poverty is worsening in Pakistan
May 2: Poverty is worsening in Pakistan and the government should spend more on education, health and women to effectively deal with the issue, says ADB Country Director Marshuk Ali Shah. Mr Naved Hamid, Senior ADB Economic Adviser, said that there was 36 per cent poverty in Pakistan which was very high. "This poverty has increased in 2001 and 2002 but we hope that it will decrease in 2003," he said, adding that the government had finalized a household survey on poverty which was expected to be released shortly.
Three Arab suspects handed over to US
May 2: Pakistani authorities handed over three Arabs, including prime suspect of USS Cole bombing, Waleed Muhammad Bin Attash alias Khalid Al-Attash, to the US officials on Friday for their onward journey from Pakistan, The News reported. reliably.
Pakistan demands proof to back US terror watch list
May 2: Pakistan on Friday demanded proof from the United States to support the placement of several Pakistan-based groups on a terrorist watch list. "If they have any evidence against the listed organisations, they must tell us and we will take action," Interior Minister Faisal Saleh Hayat told AFP. The US State Department on April 30th issued a list of 38 "other terrorist" groups to be watched closely, presenting it as a second-tier to its list of 36 "Designated Foreign Terrorist Organisations." The watch list includes Hizbul Mujahideen, Jamiatul Mujahedin and Al-Badhr Mujahedin, all pro-Pakistan militant groups fighting Indian rule in occupied Kashmir. It also includes Sipah-e-Sahaba, outlawed in Pakistan since January 2002, and extremists loyal to renegade Afghan commander Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, Hizb-i-Islami Gulbuddin.
All the Makhdoom secrets, in his own words
May 2: Benazir Bhutto's most trusted lieutenant in Pakistan, Makhdoom Amin Fahim, was just inches away from bagging the premiership but he claims the agencies ditched him at the last moment in front of Asif Ali Zardari during final round of negotiations on power deal, The News. Confirming for the first time in first ever his political profile, he also disclosed that how he was made to appear before an interview board headed by top bosses of agencies and others for the post of prime minister on June 3, 2002, almost four months before the general election.
4 more Al Qaeda men held
May 3: Four more foreigners were picked up in a pre-dawn raid for alleged links with the Al Qaeda network. Two were nabbed from Karachi and two from Balochistan.
Yemen seeks extradition of Attash
May 3: Yemen has asked Pakistan to extradite a suspected al-Qaeda leader wanted over the September 11 attacks and the bombing of a US warship, a Yemeni foreign ministry official said in Sanaa.
NAPP-ANP merger to unite Pukhtuns: Wali
May 3: The National Awami Party Pakistan (NAPP) led by Ajmal Khattak has merged itself with the Awami National Party in the larger interest of the Pukhtuns. A caravan of ANP leaders led by Asfandyar Wali Khan and Begum Nasim Wali Khan arrived at the residence of Ajmal Khattak in Akora Khattak. Hundreds of ANP workers were also present on the occasion. Upon their arrival ANP leaders Asfandyar Wali, Begum Wali, Haji Ghulam Ahmed Bilour, Bashir Ahmed Bilour, Mian Iftikhar Huassin, Hidayatullah Chamkani and Fareed Tofan, NAPP chief announced that he had decided to merge his party with the ANP as it was the call of the time to bring Pukhtuns under one banner.
Merger of NAPP into ANP denied
May 4: Central Secretary-General of National Awami Party Pakistan (NAPP) Abdul Latif Afridi has rejected the reports about the merger of his party into Awami National Party (ANP). Addressing a press conference at Peshawar Press Club, Latif said joining of the ANP by Ajmal Khattak doesn't mean that his party has also been merged into the ANP.
CIA map shows Kashmir undisputed
May 4: The CIA's new map of Kashmir describes the region east of the Line of Control as "Indian State of Jammu and Kashmir" while it designates the territories to its west as "Pakistan-controlled areas of Kashmir," press reports in India said. In the past, the United States has treated the whole Kashmir state as disputed. The current US government map no longer indicates the Siachen region as part of Azad Kashmir, and in fact marks it as "Indian Occupied since 1984".
MMA sees pro-India US tilt on Kashmir
May 4: Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal Sindh President Asadullah Bhutto said in Karachi that Pakistan-India talks are resuming at a time when Jehadi organizations have been banned which shows that the US has a pro-Indian plan for Kashmir.
WB okays loan for Sindh
May 4: The World Bank has approved an interest free loan of $78 million under "On-Farm Water Management Project" for improving irrigation system in Sindh. The project, which will be completed in four years, will help to conserve water as an estimated 20 to 25 per cent of irrigation water is wasted during field application in Sindh.
Nationalists' alliance in making, says SNF chief
May 4: Efforts are under way to unite nationalist forces and form a new party at national level. This was stated by Sardar Mumtaz Ali Bhutto, Chairman of the Sindh National Front (SNF) while talking to newsmen at his residence after presiding over a meeting of the Sindh Solidarity Council (SSC) in Karachi.
China to help build $700m hydropower projects
May 4: China is extending cooperation in undertaking some medium and small hydropower projects in Pakistan costing $700 million. The projects include 96 megawatt Jinnah Hydropower Project worth $128 million, to be built at River Indus near Kalabagh; 106 megawatt Golan Gol Hydropower Project worth $139 million in Chitral and 130 megawatt Keyal Khwar Hydropower Project worth $129 million in the NWFP.
WB assured of gas price increase
May 5: The government assured the World Bank that it would increase the gas tariff for residential consumers but the timing for announcing the increase would be decided by the prime minister. The government, however, refused to empower the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRA) to determine the consumer gas prices as demanded by the bank and denied any official interference in the business of Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG).
Rockets fired on FC checkpoint
May 5: The Kohlu town, in Balochistan, was rocked when unknown people fired three rockets on a Frontier Corps checkpoint. However, no damage of property or life was reported.
JUI-F believes in full provincial autonomy: Fazl
May 5: Secretary-General of the Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal Maulana Fazlur Rehman has said the JUI-F believed in complete provincial autonomy and demanded that provincial rights granted to the provinces under the 1973 Constitution should be increased. Apart from foreign affairs, defense and finance, all other subjects be handed over to the provinces, he said, while addressing a meeting of the members of the Sarhad Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Peshawar.
Pakistan offers 6 trust-building steps to India
May 6: Pakistan made an unconditional offer of dialogue to India and proposed six steps as part of the confidence-building measures , including immediate resumption of air, rail and bus links and exchange of high commissioners between the two countries. "There is no precondition from our side and I sincerely hope that this time both the countries will hold positive talks to resolve all outstanding issues, including that of Kashmir, peacefully," Prime Minister Zafarullah Jamali said in Islamabad.
SBP freezes Kuwaiti NGO's accounts
May 6: The State Bank of Pakistan has frozen the accounts of a Kuwait-based relief agency, Lajnat Al-Dawa Al Islamia (LDI), on the request of the French government, sources told Dawn in Islamabad. An official said the step had been taken after the French government in a communication with Islamabad accused the LDI of promoting fundamentalism under the guise of relief activities in the Afghan refugee camps.
8m hepatitis carriers in Pakistan
May 6: Around eight million people across the country, constituting three to five per cent of the total population, are identified carriers of chronic hepatitis-C and hepatitis- B,according to the chairman of the Department of Medicine, Aga Khan University, Prof S.M. Wasim Jafri.
Journalist's widow gets bail
May 6: The Supreme Court granted bail to Shamim Alim, widow of a former Dawn staffer Alimuddin Pathan. She was arrested by a National Accountability Bureau raiding party in the early hours of April 28. Chief Justice Shaikh Riaz Ahmad had taken cognizance of the matter under his suo motu jurisdiction and directed NAB to submit a report.
Travel, sports ties with India restored
May 6: Prime Minister Mir Zafarullah Khan Jamali announced restoration of air, bus and train links and sporting ties with India. Unveiling a series of confidence-building measures (CMBs) at a press conference, the prime minister said his government had also decided to release detained Indian fishermen. He said Pakistan would take steps towards restoring sporting ties and upgrade the strength of Pakistan's mission in New Delhi by naming an ambassador to India.
US not to act as mediator, says Armitage
May 6: US Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage headed for South Asia to encourage a diplomatic thaw between nuclear rivals India and Pakistan, but stressed that Washington does not see itself as a mediator. "Our job is just to keep a congenial atmosphere for that (thaw) to flourish," Armitage told the BBC before leaving Washington.
Pakistan asks US to write off $1.8bn debt
May 6: Pakistan has formally requested the United States to write off $1.8 billion debt that Islamabad owes to Washington, said a senior official of the Ministry of Finance in Islamabad.
Opposition wants 58-2 (b) abolished
May 6: The combined opposition desired to scrap Article 58-2 (b), which empowers the president to dissolve the assemblies, though the government side wanted to retain this discretionary power, The News reported.
India terms Pak announcement inadequate
May6: In its first reaction, India has termed as 'completely inadequate' Pakistan's announcement of reciprocal confidence-building measures. "The response is completely inadequate," official sources said while reacting to Prime Minister Zafarullah Khan Jamali's news conference in Islamabad, according to Press Trust of India.
Bugtis call off strike after 31 days
May6: Governor Balochistan Abdul Qadar Khan Baloch and chief secretary arrived in Dera Bugti and convinced the people of the area to call off their strike. The governor assured that grievances of the people of Dera Bugti would be redressed on top priority basis. He also assured that oil and gas exploring companies, particularly the PPL, SNGPL and SSGPL would be asked to provide jobs to children of deceased or retired employees, said Taj Muhammad Mondrani Bugti, a labor leader.
Islamabad seeks $1bn aid package from US
May 7: Pakistan is seeking a $1 billion aid package from the United States, including $400 million budgetary support, for health, education and poverty alleviation in 2004.
Informed sources told Dawn that the government also expected to get $200 million under the USAID program besides $150 million as cash grant.
PPO bans party officials to hold public offices: Barbar
May 7: Eminent constitutional lawyer Dr Babar Awan making comments on the Supreme Court's issuance of notices to Muttahida Majlis-e-Aamal members of the National Assembly disclosed that under Political Parties Order, 2002, an office-bearer of a registered political party cannot hold a public office. He said for this reason Premier Zafarullah Jamali tendered his resignation as secretary-general of the PML-QA and Ch Shujaat Hussain not accepted any public office. Dr Awan said the Political Parties Order provision has been given protection in the Schedule 6th of the Legal Framework Order (LFO), therefore, until it is overruled by the parliament it holds the field.
Afaq's brother, party worker arrested
May 7: Police picked up the younger brother of Afaq Ahmad, Chairman, Mohajir Qaumi Movement (MQM), and a party worker in a fresh crackdown against the MQM in Karachi.
Two-million-year old elephant tusk discovered
May 7: The Punjab University's palaeontology research team claims to have made a rare discovery of a two million year old elephant tusk from the sands of Tatrot, 40 km south-east of district Jhelum. The team, led by Dr Muhammad Akhtar, was engaged in fieldwork at the site as part of their research thesis when it came across a 10-foot-long tusk of an elephant at the sleepy suburb of Jhelum. This tusk is the longest one discovered from Pleistocene age for the first time.
Pakistani MPs arrive in India on peace mission
India, May 8: Thirteen Pakistani parliamentarians arrived in Amritsar, India on a week-long unofficial peace mission that is expected to include high-level meetings at the parliament in New Delhi. The visit has come at a time when peace overtures between India and Pakistan have started after a stand-off for 17 months.
ARD team briefs EU team on LFO
May 8: A four-member delegation of the Alliance for Restoration of Democracy (ARD) briefed ambassadors of European Union (EU) countries on the controversial Legal Framework Order (LFO) and current political situation in the country in Islamabad.
The delegation told the EU ambassadors that the LFO had put the sovereignty of parliament at stake and it was detrimental to democratic process in the country.
Led by Nawabzada Nasrullah Khan, other members of the delegation were: People's Party Parliamentarians' Makhdoom Amin Fahim, Acting President of Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz) Makhdoom Javed Hashmi and Member of PPP Coordination Committee Munir Ahmed Khan.
SC dismisses plea against Wapda
May 8: The Supreme Court dismissed a petition of the income tax authorities for declaring Wapda an "assessee" with regard to a one-million-rupee tax liability on bank service charges on its electricity bills. The SC upheld the judgment of Lahore High Court and ruled that Wapda did not fulfil the definition of assessee laid down in Section 50(4) of the Income Tax Ordinance 1979 in this case. It further observed that Wapda was not responsible for paying the tax on a Rs2 deduction made by the Habib Bank Limited from every electricity bill as service charges.
Page II
|
