|
Chronology of Pakistan
May 2004
ANP threatens to cut Punjab power supply: NWFP wheat shortage termed acute
May 1: Awami National Party chief Asfandyar Wali Khan, addressing a big 'May day' workers meeting in Karachi, said that wheat crisis in the NWFP had become so acute that flour had disappeared from markets, with people left searching for it everywhere. He warned: "If our children died of hunger for want of bread, we would be constrained to cut off power supply to Punjab, plunging it into darkness."
Seven Pakistanis were killed to please US: Macedonia
May 1: Macedonian police acknowledged that the killing of seven alleged Pakistani terrorists two years ago was staged to win US support and that the victims were innocent illegal immigrants. Police spokeswoman Mirjana Konteska told reporters in Skopje that six people, including three former police commanders, two special police officers and a businessman, have been charged by police with murder. If convicted, they could be sentenced from 10 years to life in prison.
Skopje revelation shocking: FO
May 1: Foreign Office spokesman Masood Khan termed the news about the murder of seven innocent Pakistani illegal immigrants by the Macedonian police in March 2002 shocking revelations. "This crime is even more shocking and heinous because these murders were premeditated and were committed with impunity to spruce up Macedonia's image as an ally in the war against terrorism," Mr Khan said.
Plan to offer golden handshake to army NCOs
ISLAMABAD, May 1: The formation commanders decision for a phased reduction in troops' strength by 50,000 would be implemented in the army with a bottom-up approach, according to Dawn. The Pakistan army has some 600,000 active duty troops and half a million reserve manpower in addition to paramilitary troops numbering close to 250,000, including the National Guard, Rangers, Frontier Corps, Janbaz Training Force, Maritime Security Agency, Coast Guard and the anti-terrorist elite force. The restructuring plan of the Pakistan army, among other things, envisages a golden handshake for non-commissioned officers (NCOs) and other ranks (Sepoys/ORs) on completion of a certain number of years.
CJ wonders how an official can amass millions
May 1: Chief Justice of Pakistan Justice Nazim Hussain Siddiqui wondered as to how a public servant could accumulate properties worth millions when public functionaries right up to the Supreme Court judges barely made both ends meet on government salaries. The chief justice made these observations while hearing an appeal of former secretary of Local Council Board, Peshawar, Laiq Khan, facing a corruption case in an accountability court for amassing wealth beyond his known sources of income.
Subsidy on gas for fertilizer sector to go
May 1: The Sui Southern Gas Company has urged the government to retain the subsidy for gas consumers despite the fact that international financial institutions insist that the subsidy be abolished. Well-placed sources told Dawn that the dismantling of the subsidy would not only adversely affect the so-called lifeline consumers, whose energy consumption is not more than the lowest slab of the SSGC tariff, but might actually lead to pilferage.
78 more South Waziristan detainees freed
May 1: Another 78 men arrested during the military operation in South Waziristan during March were released. Their release brought to 141 the number of Pakistani tribesmen and Afghan refugees freed since the end of hostilities in South Waziristan following the landmark reconciliation between the Pakistan Army and militants on April 24. The military is still holding 22 men out of the 163 who were taken prisoner during March.
Javed Jabbar opposes Millat Party-PML merger
May 1: The co-founder and senior vice president of the Millat Party, Javed Jabbar has strongly opposed the merger of the party with the Pakistan Muslim League and declared that he will not join the PML.
Pakistan to observe World Asthma Day with 10m patients
May 1: Wold Asthma Day will be observed on May 4 with the burden of approximately 200 million patients globally and more than 10 million patients in Pakistan with an increase of 5% patients yearly. Medical experts, while talking to PPI, said that prevalence of Asthma is high in adults and children but it may happen at any stage of life and its prevalence is increasing day by day due to adopting western living style, pollution, urbanisation, modernisation, use of carpets, curtains, genetic predisposition, exposure to allergy in intrauterine life.
Guantanamo prisoners: largest group from Karachi
May 2: Among the Pakistanis imprisoned in Guantanamo Bay, the largest group is from Karachi, and students of the city's Binori madressah outnumber others, diplomatic and US sources told Dawn. It is still not clear how many Pakistanis were brought to the US prison facility in Cuba, the estimates vary from 64 to 82 but so far 24 have been released.
Gas supply affected after rocket attack
May 2: A rocket attack reported to have been carried out by a 'group of 15 miscreants' damaged a 20-inch diameter gas pipeline near the village of Hajano, 80 kms from Jacobabad. The damage to the pipeline affected the supply of gas to several cities in Punjab and Sindh.
Nine slain by police were not outlaws, say villagers
May 2: At the intervention of the Deputy Speaker of Punjab Assembly, Mr Shoukat Mazari, the Rajanpur police handed over to relatives the bodies of nine Mazari tribesmen who had been killed in an exchange of fire between police and villagers in Bela Shah katcha area under the Bangla Achha police station near Sadiqabad. Police had buried all the bodies saying nobody had come to claim them. However, people of the Mazari tribe said they had requested police to hand over the bodies.
Bugti suggests new demarcation of provinces
May 2: There is a need to re-demarcate provinces on the basis of linguistic, ethnic and cultural divisions besides holding referendum on ascertaining the people's will on disputed territories among the provinces , suggests chief of Jamhoori Watan Party Nawab Mohammad Akbar Bugti. He was talking to newsmen in Dera Bugti. Nawab Bugti said that he opposed the existing administrative outlines of provinces, adding they had been created by the British colonial rulers to protect their own interests.
142 cases of torture reported after enforcement of Police Order, 2002
May 2: The province of Punjab is the worst affected when it comes to crime and police torture, followed a close second by Sindh as regards police torture in detention. Surprisingly there were no cases of police torture in Balochistan while the NWFP witnessed only five cases. According to details, as many as 142 police torture cases were reported in the first quarter of 2004 all over the country. Though 2002 ushered in the long-awaited police reforms, 2004 witnessed most police brutality against those in detention. Of those suffering physical abuse, 32 have been killed in police custody, five women have been raped or sexually assaulted, and seven children have been tortured.
Bengali-speaking Pakistanis not aliens, Nara told
May 2: The Bengali-speaking Pakistanis are being harassed and humiliated by the National Alien Registration Authority (Nara), leaders of Pak Muslim Alliance told The News. They said more than a million Bengali-speaking Pakistanis have been settled in the country, particularly in Karachi and Sindh cities, since the early 1960s and 1970s.
Tribesmen seek compensation for Wana operation losses
May 2: Elders of Ahmadzai sub-tribe have demanded compensation for goods and property looted and damaged during Wana operation. Thy elders communicated the demand during a Jirga at Wana, regional headquarters, to the newly posted political agent of South Waziristan, Asmatullah Gandapur.
Three Chinese killed in car bomb attack in Gwadar
May 3: Three Chinese were killed when a car laden with explosives hit their van at Fish Harbour Road in Gwadar, some 832 kilometres from Quetta. The attack took place at around 8:20 am, when the van carrying at least 14 people, including 12 Chinese, was on its way to the under construction Gwadar deep-sea port. Nine Chinese and two Pakistanis also sustained injuries in the car blast.
13 held on charge of killing 3 Chinese: Gwadar bomb attack
May 4: Police have arrested 13 suspects in connection with a car bomb attack that killed three Chinese engineers and wounded 11 other people in the coastal town of Gwadar, Baluchistan Home Secretary Abdul Rauf Khan said. Two of the suspects are Bengalis and one from Gilgit; the others are from Turbat and Tando Adam.
China calls for probe into blast
May 4: China has urged Pakistan to investigate a car bomb attack which killed three Chinese engineers helping to develop a seaport in Gwadar and will send a team of officials to handle the issue, state media said. Chinese diplomats in Islamabad and Beijing met Pakistani officials in the two capitals, the Xinhua news agency said. "During their meetings, the Chinese officials lodged representations on the explosion to the Pakistani side and urged them to try their utmost to rescue the injured and handle the related affairs," foreign ministry spokesman Kong Quan was quoted as saying.
18 rockets fired at FC checkpoint
May 4: Eighteen rockets were fired at a Frontier Corps checkpoint in Sui area of Dera Bugti district. The police said that the rockets were fired from a nearby mountain and landed in the open area. No casualty or damage was reported.
Pakistanis' murder: ex-minister of Macedonia goes missing
May 4: A former Macedonian interior minister accused of ordering the murder of seven migrants in a stunt to win Western approval for fighting "Islamic terrorism" went missing, police and his lawyers said in Skopje.
Govt accused of victimizing political opponents
May 4: Opposition parties voiced loud protests against what they called 'state victimization' at the start of a Senate session called at their request to discuss matters including national security. Their complaints ranged from an alleged used of state machinery to punish opposition parliamentarians to a temporary ban on the movement of wheat from Punjab to other provinces.
Balochistan Assembly condemns blast
May 4: Balochistan Assembly observed a two-minute silence to pay tribute to people who lost their lives in May 3 bomb blast in Gwadar. The assembly passed a resolution condemning the subversive act and expressed sympathies with the bereaved families who lost their loved ones, as well as the Chinese government.
Pak-China deal for Chashma-2 signed
May 4: Pakistan and China signed a deal for the construction of 300-megawatt Chashma Nuclear Power Plant (Chashma-2). The agreement for the second unit of the Chashma Nuclear Power Plant Complex (Chasnupp), which currently houses a 300MW unit, was signed between Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission (PAEC) and China National Nuclear Corporation (CNNC) in Islamabad.
US troops hunting militants stray into Pakistan
ISLAMABAD: US troops hunting al-Qaeda and Taliban militants crossed over from Afghanistan into Pakistan to search a Pashtun tribal village in a rare violation of the border, Pakistan’s military spokesman said. The US troops searched shops and a petrol pump in the village of Alwara Mandi, in North Waziristan during a night-time operation, according to Major-General Shaukat Sultan. Eyewitnesses said 60 US troops were involved in the operation. The village lies just 200 metres inside Pakistan, and the soldiers returned to Afghan soil immediately they were told that they were on the wrong side of the border. "The moment they were informed they went back. They stayed for no longer than 25 minutes," Sultan told Reuters.
14 Peshawar UC Nazims resign in protest
May 4: Fourteen union council nazims of Town-III, district Peshawar tender their resignations in protest against inability of the town and city district government to met their demands and ignoring them in the union councils’ affairs.
3 die, 50 hurt as Tezrau derails
May 5: Three persons were killed and more than 50 others were injured when the Rawalpindi-bound 5-up Tezrau derailed near the Khudabad railway crossing, about half a kilometre from Tando Adam railway station. Some eyewitnesses said the train was at a high speed at the sharp turn near the crossing, but the driver Muhammad Asghar, said that he applied brakes when after having negotiated the turn he saw that parts of the track ahead were twisted. But it was too late.
Incursion was not deliberate: Pentagon
May 5: US troops crossed into Pakistani territory from Afghanistan in recent days despite Pakistan expressly prohibiting such actions but the Pentagon said the incursion was inadvertent. In Islamabad, a Pakistani Foreign Ministry official said his government had protested to the United States a May 2 incursion by US troops into Pakistani territory to hunt suspected Al Qaeda or Taliban militants. "I can confirm the incident did occur recently," said a US defense official in Washington. "The bottom line is that it was inadvertent... and we respect the territorial integrity of Pakistan."
NSC termed negation of spirit of Constitution
May 5: Opposition senators lashed out at the ruling coalition members for supporting the formation of the National Security Council (NSC) and accused them of becoming a tool in the hands of President Pervez Musharraf. Taking part in a debate on a motion on the "implications of the National Security Council (NSC) Act" in the upper house, opposition senators termed the 13-seat council a negation of the basic structure of the constitution.
Pakistan elected to UNCHR
May 5: Pakistan was re-elected to the United Nations Commission on Human Rights (UNCHR) for a three-year term beginning 2005 to 2007 against one of the Asian seats.
The elections for the Geneva-based Commission were held in New York during the organizational session of the 54-member Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) of the United Nations. Pakistan received 43 votes out of a total of 54 votes.
‘Rs70m bribe for admissions to SMC’
May 5: Principal and vice-principal of Sindh Medical College (SMC) took Rs 70 million bribe for giving admissions to about 100 students in the college while ignoring their fake documents at the time of admission. Senator Tariq Azeem told the Senate while raising the issue of expulsion of about 73 students from Sindh Medical College on the basis of inquiry conducted by the provincial government in this regard.
140 Buddhist sites discovered in Swabi
May 5: The Archaeology & Museums department has discovered 140 archaeological sites and monuments of Buddhist affiliation and revealed rich cultural wealth in Swabi district of NWFP. Third century BC to 18th Century AD were discovered during a survey conducted in the area by the department, said Muhammad Bahadar Khan, Deputy Director Archaeology & Museums department.
Gathering of Leftist movements
May 5: For the first time in a decade, different sections of the Leftist movement in Pakistan gathered at the PMA House, Karachi, to celebrate the 186th anniversary of Karl Marx, a working class philosopher. Speaking on the occasion were: the Deputy General-Secretary of the Communist Party of Pakistan, Imdad Kazi,a central committee member of the Communist Mazdoor Kissan Party, AR Arif, president of Mazdoor Anjuman Sindh, S Gandapur, and Central leader of National Workers Party, Shaukat Hayyat.
Objectionable remarks to be expunged from textbooks: Punjab CM
May 5: Punjab Chief Minister Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi said the government had directed the Religious Affairs minister and secretary to expunge objectionable remarks from the textbooks fanning sectarianism and extremism. Addressing Seerat Conference held on "Concept of Tolerance in Islam in the light of Prophet’s Teachings" in Lahore, he said the government had taken every possible measure to promote sectarian harmony and brotherhood among different sects.
Chinese resume work in Gwadar
May 6: Hundreds of Chinese and Pakistani workers resumed work on the Gwadar deep-sea port project amid tight security after a deadly bombing that killed three Chinese technicians. Work on the dam project was suspended after the May 3 bombing.
Senate prorogued after ineffectual debate on NSC
May 6: Opposition parties in the Senate kept up their onslaught against the newly-created National Security Council (NSC) for the second day before the house was prorogued after a three-day session called at their request. The treasury benches used the ineffectual debate to defend the NSC Act they had passed last month in both houses of parliament and rejected charges that the 13-seat council will mean permanent military interference in political affairs.
PPP files petition against Musharraf
May 6: Opposition leader in the Punjab Assembly Qasim Zia moved the Lahore High Court against the vote of confidence to President Gen Pervez Musharraf. In the writ petition filed through Dr Babar Awan advocate, Qasim said the Chief Election Commissioner and Gen Musharraf maneuvered the vote of confidence. Not only the vote of confidence, but also the referendum on April 30, 2002, was also engineered for making Musharraf the president, said the petitioner.
500 blank arrest warrants against PML-N men
May 6: The Punjab Home Department has issued over 500 blank orders under 3 MPO to arrest the PML-N leaders and workers across the province prior to the expected arrival of the party president Mian Shahbaz Sharif on May 11.
SC releases detailed verdict in Shahbaz’ case
May 7: The Supreme Court issued its detailed judgment on an appeal of PML-N President Shahbaz Sharif, in which he had sought return to Pakistan. The Supreme Court bench comprising Chief Justice Nazim Hussain Siddiqui, Justice Javed Iqbal and Justice Abdul Hameed Dogar in its detailed 12-page judgment ruled that Shahbaz is a citizen of Pakistan and has a constitutional right to enter and remain in the country as it is a settled proposition of law that the right to enter the country cannot be denied, however, a citizen can be restrained from going out of the country.Earlier on April 7, 2004 the court had dismissed both the petitions of Shahbaz with an observation that the petitioner may come back from abroad subject to the law of the country.
Govt has no right to deport me: Shahbaz
May 7: Exiled PML-N President Mian Muhammad Shahbaz Sharif says the detailed judgment issued by the Supreme Court on his petition doesn't give the government a right to deport him on his return to his country, scheduled for May 11. Talking to Dawn by phone from London, he said the apex court's verdict was self-explanatory. The court, he said, had held that he had the constitutional right to return to and stay in Pakistan.
Macedonia 'murder minister' in Croatia
May 7: A former Macedonian interior minister accused of ordering the murder of seven migrants (Six Pakistanis) in a bid to win Western approval for fighting "Islamic terrorism" is in Croatia, police in Croatia said. But they added that under Croatian law they could not arrest and extradite Ljube Boskovski, who went missing on May 4, to Macedonia because he is also a Croatian citizen. Croatian authorities can only arrest and try citizens if they control the case.
Three injured in Quetta bomb explosion
May 7: Three people, including a police constable, were injured in a bicycle bomb explosion at the bicycle stand of the Balochistan High Court in Quetta.
Dara arms production rises with surge in smuggling
May 7: Production of light weapons in the Dara Adamkhel Frontier Region soared in the wake of a surge in arms smuggling to Afghanistan. Arms dealers said that during the days of the Taliban regime, only a small quantity of good quality foreign-made weapons were being transported to Afghanistan. But since the installation of a transitional government in Kabul, arms smuggling had increased manifold, said Khalid Khan, an arms dealer in one of the largest private weapons manufacturing market in Asia.
15 killed in Karachi mosque suicide bombing
May 7: At least 14 worshippers and an apparent suicide bomber were killed and over 200 injured when a powerful bomb exploded in Hyderi Mosque, situated within the premises of the historic Sindh Madrasa-tul-Islam in Mithadar area of Karachi, during Juma prayers, police said. The 1894 Madrasa is the school where Father of the Nation Muhammad Ali Jinnah studied. The bombing triggered unrest in the city, as hundreds of youths burned cars, a petrol pump and a government office. Karachi witnessed massive traffic jams due to the disturbances.
One killed in 2nd day of Karachi violence
May 8: On the second consecutive day of violence in many areas of Karachi, a man was killed, seven others injured and six more vehicles were burnt, when people protested against the killing of 14 people and injuring many others in the Hyderi mosque bomb explosion on Friday. The worst affected areas were Sohrab Goth and Ancholi where people clashed with police and those shopkeepers who resisted the protesters when they forced them to close shops.
Over 1,000 arrests in Punjab: PML-N
May 8: The PML-N claimed that police had arrested its over 1,000 workers and office-bearers so far in different parts of the Punjab province. PML-N Provincial Information Secretary Zaeem Husain Qadri told Dawn that police and law-enforcement agencies had intensified raids against the party leaders and workers to prevent them from welcoming their leader, Shahbaz Sharif, on May 11.
US troops again enter Pak territory
May 8: US troops again violated Pakistan’s territorial jurisdiction in North Waziristan Agency. Dozens of US commandos drove in four military vehicles from Afghanistan into Pakistan at about 7.45 pm. This was the second US violation within a week. Official sources told The News from the border area that dozens of US troops stayed for about 45 minutes in Lawara bazaar and returned to their bases in Afghanistan after Pakistani military officers convinced them about the actual position of the border. Reports said that two apache helicopters, four APCs and two fighter jets provided cover to the intruding soldiers.
Tribesmen resist registration
May 9: A top tribal militant in Wana warned that he and his colleagues would again take up arms if the government violated the agreement reached with them at Shakai last month. "We fully stand by the agreement, but if the government violates the Shakai accord we will be forced to take up arms," Nek Mohammed, one of the five tribal militants pardoned by the government under a deal last month, told Dawn.
Govt rejects reports on fresh US incursions
May 9: Pakistan rejected reports of a fresh incursion by US troops into Pakistani territory in the area bordering Afghanistan. "I will not term it as an incursion," ISPR director general Major Gen Shaukat Sultan said when contacted by Dawn. Giving the background of the incident he said: "The US troops had crossed right in front of the FC post to inquire about firing on the American troops which they thought came from our side (of the border)."
ADB threatens with stopping Rs 6bn loan
May 9: The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has threatened not to release $100 million (Rs 6 billion) for judicial and police reforms program after it found the Prime Minister Secretariat and the Finance Ministry were dragging their feet on an agreed roadmap to improve the state of judiciary and the police in Pakistan. The ABD has promised to give $350 million for the judicial, legal and police reforms in three installments. At the time second tranche release, the bank made clear that Rs 6 billion would not be released before June 2004 because of government’s failure to fulfil its promises made with the lending agency.
Rally condemns prisoners abuses in Iraq
May 9: The Shabab-e-Milli has strongly condemned the US military troops for their inhuman and humiliated attitude with Iraqi prisoners. Addressing a protest rally in Islamabad, President of Shabab-e-Milli Huma Ayub Sabir, while condemning the unethical attitude of the US army with Iraqi prisoners, said that they had committed a big crime and there could be no example of such human rights violation in the history.
PML factions sort out differences
May 10: Heads of five factions of Pakistan Muslim League and the Imtiaz Sheikh faction of Sindh Democratic Alliance decided to go ahead with their planned unification into Pakistan Muslim League without suffixes. The issue of prime minister's candidature for the post of secretary-general of the unified PML never figured in the meeting held at the PM House and chaired by PML-Q chief Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain, official sources claimed.
New tribal lashkar formed
May 10: The Ahmadzai Wazir tribe has raised another lashkar to hunt down foreign militants following expiry of an extended deadline for registration of foreigners hiding in the South Waziristan tribal region. Government officials privately acknowledged that by implications the raising of the lashkar "signalled demise" of the April 24 "rapprochement" at Shakai under which five most wanted tribal militants were pardoned.
Shahbaz lands at Lahore; sent to S. Arabia: ARD workers clash with police
May 11: PML-N president Mian Shahbaz Sharif, who landed at the Lahore airport at ending what he called his 'forced exile', was sent to Saudi Arabia by a special PIA plane after only 100 minutes' stay at the airport. Mian Shahbaz came to Lahore on a Gulf Air Flight from Abu Dhabi where he had stopped over for a few hours after traveling from London. His plea that because of the 18-hour London-UAE- Lahore journey he was medically unfit to travel to a new destination, was turned down by the authorities. A team of doctors examined him and concluded that the PML-N leader faced no health problems and was fit to travel. Still, as a precautionary measure a doctor was directed to accompany the former chief minister to Jeddah for in-flight care.
Shahbaz tried to resist deportation
May 11: PML-N president Mian Shahbaz Sharif tried to resist his deportation, but security personnel took hardly 15 minutes to complete the job. According to a government official, who took part in the operation, the plane carrying the former chief minister was cordoned off as soon as it landed at the Allama Iqbal Airport at around 6:10pm. After disembarking from the plane, Mian Shahbaz kissed the soil before he was taken to a vehicle parked nearby and to a special Jeddah-bound PIA plane, the official said. The plane was parked at the old airport.
Continued Page II
|
