Chronology of Pakistan
July 2003 (Continued III)
Pakistani seeks $10m from US for detention
July 20: Mohammad Sagheer, a Pakistani who has sent a legal notice to the US government seeking $10.4 million in compensation for his 10-month detention in Guantanamo Bay , expressed the hope that he will win the legal battle against the US. The 52-year-old man from Patan, Kohistan near Karakorum Highway, was released by the US forces in November. His legal notice, served by a senior Supreme Court lawyer Mohammed Ikram Chaudhry on July 9, has sought the US government's reply within a month.
Bajaur border sealed
July 20: The Bajaur political administration and the Bajaur Scouts sealed the Pakistan-Afghanistan border barring all movement across it after the occurrence of recent clashes between Pakistani and Afghan troops along the border in the tribal agency.
Vajpayee to visit Pakistan in January: Fazl
July 20: MMA leader and chief of his own faction of Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam Maulana Fazlur Rehman said in New Delhi that Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee would visit Pakistan to attend South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (Saarc) Summit in January. "Vajpayee confirmed to us that he would be visiting Pakistan for the Saarc Summit in January next year," Fazl told reporters after a 90-minute meeting with the prime minister.
HIV spreading in Pakistan
July 20: A study published in the July issue of the journal 'Drug and Alcohol Dependence' warned that HIV could be spreading more rapidly in Pakistan following the US-led war in Afghanistan in 2001 as a result of increased needle-sharing among drug users. At present, the spread of HIV in Pakistan remain low. The country's National AIDS Control Programme estimates that between 70,000 and 80,000 Pakistanis, or 0.1 per cent of adults, are HIV-positive.
Pakistanis among 114 immigrants held in Sri Lanka
July 20: Sri Lankan police said that they had arrested 114 would-be illegal immigrants from Bangladesh, India and Pakistan, who had arrived on the island to travel illegally to Italy. Police said nine Bangladeshis, 83 Indians and 22 Pakistanis had been arrested without valid travel documents. The latest arrests come two days after police took into custody 112 Indians and six Pakistanis who had arrived on the island to travel illegally to Italy.
FBI probes Pakistanis' murder as hate crime
July 21: The US Federal Bureau of Investigation has decided to probe the murder of two Pakistanis near Washington last week as a hate crime, officials said. The FBI Maryland office called a Washington-based Muslim advocacy group, the Council on American-Islamic Relations, to inform that it has taken over the case. Last week, the council had urged the FBI to take over the investigation from the Maryland police who were investigating the murders as street robbery. Sair Saeed Butt, 26, and Hammad Chaudhry, 23, both from Lahore, were shot outside Mr Butt's apartment in Prince George's Country, Maryland, last week.
Pakistan regrets US bill on aid
July 21: Pakistan expressed surprise and disappointment over the latest US decision, wherein fresh legislation, through an amendment, would make it mandatory for the US president to certify every year that Pakistan was abiding by three 'conditions', before the promised financial package of about $3 billion could be released to it. Blaming India for this move, a Foreign Office spokesman told a weekly briefing: "This is not a very helpful development. The amendment has not been signed as the law as yet, and we hope the US Senate, the Congress and the government would look into the issue. We would like to work with all of them."
Fazl for resolving all issues through talks
July 21: The visiting chief of the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam Maulana Fazlur Rehman said efforts should be made to resolve all issues concerning Pakistan and India through talks. Fazl, who met Indian Samajwadi Party leader Mulayam Singh Yadav in New Delhi, said the government and political parties in Pakistan favored a negotiated settlement of all issues with India. He said he was visiting India to explore peace and was happy to note the response and warmth of the people.
Sindh Nazims face 600 corruption inquiries
July 21: Sindh Local Government Minister Mohammed Hussain said in Hyderabad that more than 600 inquiries regarding corruption are being conducted against Nazims and officers in the province.
Fatima Jinnah was assassinated: Pirzada
July 21: Syed Sharifuddin Pirzada, Senior Adviser to the Prime Minister, has said that Mohtarma Fatima Jinnah was assassinated and did not die a natural death. Pirzada was talking to journalists after the inaugural session of two-day "National Conference on Madar-i-Millat Mohtarma Fatima Jinnah" organised by National Institute of Historical and Cultural Research, Quaid-i-Azam University, in Islamabad.
New twist to Miss Jinnah controversy
July 22: Syed Sharifuddin Pirzada, senior adviser to the prime minister said Akbar Pirbhai, nephew of the Quaid-i-Azam, had told President Ayub Khan that Miss Fatima Jinnah was assassinated , and had demanded a judicial inquiry into the matter, which was turned down. Mr Pirzada, who was quoted by a section of the press as saying yesterday that he himself had seen blood stains on the bed sheet and cuts on the neck of Miss Jinnah, said that he was grossly misquoted by the press. Mr Pirzada said that Mr Akbar Pirbhai, a leading Indian lawyer, had come to Pakistan and after a couple of days of inquiries on his own had asked him (Sharifuddin) to arrange a meeting with President Ayub Khan. This was done, and Mr Pirbhai had told the president that according to his assessment, Miss Jinnah was murdered. Mr Pirzada was present in the meeting.
Fatima Jinnah died of natural causes: Qutbuddin
July 22: Madar-e-Millat Fatima Jinnah died of natural causes and there is no reason to suggest otherwise, says Qutbuddin Aziz, a former diplomat and close family friend of Fatima Jinnah. He said that doctors and women, including his mother, who performed last rites, confirmed that no marks were found on the body of Fatima Jinnah, pointing to her unnatural death. Qutbuddin Aziz was on Tuesday responding to a statement made by Sharifuddin Pirzada suggesting that the sister of Quaid-e-Azam was murdered.
Politicians demand halt to Thal project
July 22: Eight political parties belonging to the anti-greater Thal canal platform termed the project a conspiracy against the foundations of the federation and demanded an immediate halt to work on the project. This was the consensus view of the leaders of the platform, who addressed a news conference in Karachi after completing first stage of their peaceful protest against the project throughout the province. The eight-party platform include national liberal parties, religious parties and groups and nationalists of different shades.
Sindh tops list of Guantanamo deportees
July 22: Sindh tops the list of the recent returnees from the US naval base at the Cuban island of Guantanamo Bay followed by Punjab, the NWFP and Balochistan. The list of 11 Pakistanis released by the United States from its detention camp last week includes four Pakistanis from Sindh, three from Punjab and two each from the NWFP and Balochistan.
US base planned at Jewani, claims Bugti
July 22: Jamhoori Watan Party chief Nawab Akbar Khan Bugti has claimed that the government plans to construct a naval and air base at Jewani for American Central Command to keep Iran under pressure and control oil , shipping and other trade in the region. "The proposed naval and air base would be the biggest in Central Asia and the United States would bear all expenses of the project," Nawab Bugti told newsmen at his residence in Dera Bugti.
Rs248.9m fraud detected in Survey of Pakistan
July 22: An embezzlement of Rs. 248.913 million has been unearthed in the accounts of Survey of Pakistan. The Auditor General of Pakistan in its report has highlighted the irregularities involving fraud , theft, fictitious entries in record, misappropriation, misclassification and non-adherence to government rules and regulations, Dawn reported.
Gwadar, Jiwani not to be separated from Balochistan
July 22: The Gwadar Port and the Jiwani belt would not be cut apart from Balochistan and would remain the integral part of the province, spokesman for the Foreign Office Masud Khan told The News. Dispelling the apprehensions aired by some circles as unwarranted, he said Pakistan is developing the port in cooperation with the Chinese government under a program to culminate in 2005.
India tightens visa rules for Pakistanis
July 22: India unveiled a tightening of visa rules to ensure that Pakistani nationals, particularly those traveling on the recently restarted bus service, do not "disappear" in the country. Junior Home Minister Swami Chinmayanand said in a written reply to a question in parliament that visas were now being issued only for specific places with the number of locations a Pakistani could visit on a trip brought down to three from 12.
Asif Sehgal released
July 22: An Accountability Court in Lahore issued the release order of industrialist Asif Sehgal who was facing three willful default references. The LHC had ordered the release of Asif Sehgal after accepting his appeals against the convictions by the Accountability Court Lahore in three different references. Asif Sehgal is undergoing sentence on the charges of willful default in three references. He was awarded 14 years, 10 years and seven years rigorous imprisonment.
PML-Q fails to evolve strategy for LFO talks
July 24: A special meeting of the PML-Q's central working committee in Islamabad failed to evolve the strategy to be adopted the government-opposition crucial talks on the LFO.
76 deportees arrive in Islamabad
July 24: Seventy-six Pakistani deportees arrived at Islamabad from the United States aboard a chartered flight. Most of them had been arrested under the US Justice Department's Absconder Initiative that had been launched in Feb 2002 against foreign nationals, who had ignored previous deportation orders by US courts, Dawn reported. This was the fifth charter flight arranged in this regard by the US Department of Homeland Security, Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, in collaboration with the Pakistan embassy in Washington.
MMA govt fails to meet provisions: Shariat Bill
July 24: After describing the passage of Shariat Act as a historic step that would bring a revolution in the lives of the NWFP people, the Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal government has itself violated the law by failing to meet its provisions, Dawn reports. The North-West Frontier Province Shari Bill, 2003, passed by the NWFP Assembly on June 2 became a law when the NWFP governor assented to it on June 12. Subsequently, the provincial assembly secretariat issued a notification by making it part of the NWFP gazette on June 19. The government, however, failed to establish any of commissions "within one month" of its passage as envisaged in the law.
Joint Kashmir parliament proposed
July 24: Azad Kashmir and occupied Kashmir should elect a joint assembly on the pattern of the European Parliament while maintaining their own separate status, says Dr Subramniam Swamy, an Indian delegate to a two-day international conference on Kashmir in Washington. Mr Swamy's proposal was one of several discussed at the conference, which brought together scholars, politicians and journalists from Pakistan, India and the United States to suggest how to resolve the Kashmir dispute. Mr Swamy also suggested removing all travel restriction between the two zones of Kashmir over a period of two years. Instead of passports, Kashmiris should be allowed to use their voter registration cards for moving across the Line of Control. Once this is achieved, the two countries should work out common market and free trade arrangements through the SAARC. Cross-registration of university students should be permitted. Joint ventures should be encouraged in information technology and pharmaceuticals, Mr Swamy said. Finally, at the end of ten years, India and Pakistan should work to have a joint South Asian parliament with a charter on division of subjects for legislation. Other South Asian nations, along with Afghanistan and Myanmar, could be persuaded to join this parliament as well, he added. Mr Swamy, however, does not stop there. He proposes that after resolving the Kashmir issue, India and Pakistan should determine whether they want to proceed further to even greater unity in the Sub-continent. Mushahid Hussain, who spoke after him, pointed out that such ambitious plans could not be implemented in a void. First, there has to be a period of cooling that allows both the countries to normalize their relations before they could discuss such visionary proposals, he said.
Congressman says Kashmir tension must end
WASHINGTON: The tension over Kashmir needs to be resolved sooner rather than later, said Congressman Jospeh R Pitts, while inaugurating a two-day conference on Kashmir in Washington. The conference is jointly sponsored by him and his colleague from the Senate, Tom Harkins. The conference's topic is "Beyond the Blame Game: Finding Common Grounds for Peace and Justice in Kashmir". Welcoming the delegates from Pakistan, India and Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK), Congressman Pitts said the goals is "to explore the varying perspectives on the Kashmir issue as well as to discuss avenues of dialogue and other means for a peaceful resolution...I and other members of Congress look forward to the recommendations and conclusions (of the conference)".
Farmers hold protest demonstration against WTO
July 24: Hundreds of farmers from all over the country staged a protest demonstration in Islamabad to express their apprehensions on the World Trade Organization (WTO)'s agreement on agriculture. Lined up along the road at China Chowk, around 500 farmers with as many as half of them from the NWFP waved banners and placards inscribed with slogans like "WTO - an agenda of the multinationals - and why our livelihood be discussed in Geneva, etc."
JUI-F delegation's visit to India successful, says Fazl
July 24: The JUI-F Amir and MMA Secretary-General, Maulana Fazlur Rehman has said the JUI-F parliamentary delegation's visit to India was a success beyond expectations as it helped soften the stance of the Indians and the hard-liners, who reciprocated the goodwill gestures. Fazl, who led the delegation's 10-day visit, was talking to journalists on his return at Wagah.
Three judges, 5 prisoners killed in Sialkot jail:
Police action to free hostages ends in tragedy
July 25: Three civil judges and five prisoners were killed and two judges critically wounded inside the Sialkot district jail when police raided the prison to free 10 judges taken hostage by the prisoners earlier in the day. Serving jail terms in various cases of kidnapping for ransom and robbery, the prisoners, who were armed, had taken hostage to the judges when they were visiting the jail on their monthly judicial inspection. The prisoners wanted their freedom in return for that of the judges. The hostage drama lasted for nearly seven hours, with police raiding the jail at 5.30pm.
Dr Magsi and 32 others exonerated: Hyderabad carnage case
July 25: Chief of the Sindh Taraqqi Pasand Party Dr Qadir Magsi and 32 other accused in the Hyderabad carnage case were acquitted on Friday in the Hyderabad carnage case of Sept 30, 1988. Handing out the verdict, the sixth additional district and sessions judge Hyderabad said that the court found that there was no probability of their conviction.
Equal status for Seraiki, demanded
July 25: The Pakistan Seraiki Party has demanded a status for the Seraiki language that should be equal to that of Punjabi in the province. PSP chief Taj Muhammad Langah said at a press conference in Multan that the chief minister had recently given his consent to introduce Punjabi language at all the tiers of education, establishment of a Punjabi TV channel and provide employment to 116,000 people who had held the degree of MA in Punjabi. He said the Punjab was the province of two languages, Punjabi and Seraiki, and more than half of its population spoke the latter language as their mother tongue. Therefore, the language deserved the same treatment being accorded to the Punjabi language.
Emirates Bank scam accused extradited
July 25: The NAB got an absconding accused in Emirates Bank scam extradited to Pakistan from the US. Naeemuddin Sahaf, the principal accused in the reference , was declared a proclaimed offender by an accountability court last year owing to his persistent absence from the trial. Later, the NAB authorities spotted him in the US and got him extradited to Pakistan under an extradition agreement between the two countries. He is the third accused in the reference to be extradited after Agha Matloob and Shahid Salim from the UAE. They along with Shahiduddin Sahaf have been accused of having misappropriated Rs280 million of Emirates Bank, Kashmir Road branch, Lahore. As alleged by the prosecution, they forged the signatures of another bank official on a draft and encashed it subsequently.
Plan to start modern education at Madaris shelved in Sindh
July 25: Sindh Education Department's plan to extend financial and technical support besides other facilities to Madaris, enabling them to impart modern-day education in addition to religious knowledge, has been shelved citing paucity of funds, The News said.
Musharraf firm on uniform issue
July 26: President Gen Pervez Musharraf has asked Prime Minister Zafarullah Khan Jamali and PML-Q chief Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain to hold talks with opposition leaders with "open mind and open heart", but reminded them that he would not set any timeframe for giving up his uniform. Informed sources told Dawn that the president was inflexible over the uniform issue and told the two not to accept any "precondition" in this regard.
Cop among three die in encounter
July 26: A police constable and two alleged arms smugglers were killed in an encounter late Saturday near Golra, sources in the police told Dawn. The incident occurred at Islamabad Chowk near Golra Sharif when the police party signalled a Suzuki van to stop but, instead of stopping their vehicle, the inmates of the vehicle opened fire on the police.