Chronology of Pakistan
January 2003 (Page III)
US wants sanctity of LoC observed
Jan 19: The United States was pushing President Pervez Musharraf to halt the flow of guerillas into Indian-held Kashmir, US ambassador to India Robert Blackwill said. "The United States will continue to urge President Musharraf to do everything in his power to end permanently terrorist infiltration into Jammu and Kashmir," Blackwill told a gathering of Indians in San Jose, the heart of the US hi-tech industry.
Ordinance to protect breast feeding promulgated
Jan 20: The president has promulgated Protection of Breastfeeding and Child Nutrition Ordinance, 2002, according to which "no person shall promote infant formula or other products , including bottle-fed complementary foods, as a replacement of breast milk."
India conducts another missile test
Jan 20: India carried out its third missile test in 11 days. India fired its surface-to-air Akash missile from a mobile launcher in the eastern state of Orissa said a senior official from the Defense Research and Development Organization (DRDO). Akash carries a 55-kilogram warhead and can target five warplanes simultaneously up to a distance of 30 kilometres and flies at a top speed of 600 metres per second. It can also track up to 100 targets.
AMTs liable to prosecution for interfering in civil matters: LHC
Jan 20: Lahore High Court Chief Justice Iftikhar Hussain Chaudhry observed that the Army monitoring teams were liable to prosecution for interfering in civil matters. "Those who have filed petitions against these teams never sought action against them. All they want from courts is to restrain the monitoring teams from interfering in their affairs," the LHC chief justice observed. "It is unfortunate that no one paid attention to the problem but the court needed to do something about the citizens, whose rights were usurped," the chief justice observed.
10 politicians allowed to run for Senate
Jan 21: The Supreme Court allowed ten more politicians who were defeated in the October elections to contest the Senate polls. Those permitted to run for the Senate are: Asfandyar Wali Khan, Syed Muhammad Fazal Agha, Chaudhry Abdul Ghafoor, Rana Tanvir Hussain, Malik Umar Aslam, Iqbal Zafar Jhagra, Mir Shah Khetran, Mian Abdul Waheed, Mushtari Begum, and Habib Jalib Baloch.
Supply to industries stopped: Rocket attack on gas pipelines
Jan 21: The Sui Northern Gas Pipeline Limited (SNGPL) stopped supply to all CNG stations and industrial areas in Punjab and the NWFP after two of its four main supply lines on the Punjab-Balochistan border were damaged as a result of sabotage. This is second attack on the pipeline in almost 45 days. According to details, a rocket was fired at the pipelines that hit the Sui-Kashmore gasoline about 18 miles from the Sui field in Doli, Rajanpur district. The pipelines supplying gas to the Sui Southern Gas Pipeline Limited (SSGPL) in the area were attacked on Dec 10 also. Not much damage was done.
Pakistan's N-program again under attack
Jan 21: Pakistan has once again been accused of sharing nuclear technology with North Korea. In a scathing article published in its latest issue, an influential American magazine, "The New Yorker" refers to a CIA report the agency submitted to the US government last June. The CIA report, the magazine says, alleges that Pakistan had been sharing sophisticated technology, warhead-design information, and weapons-testing data with North Korea.
Rs 16 billion NHA budget consumed 'irregularly': AGP
Jan 21: The Auditor General of Pakistan has informed the government that the entire annual budget of Rs 16 billion of National Highway Authority for 1999-2000 was consumed "irregularly" as the Ministry of Finance had released the massive amount to the Authority without preparation and approval of budget by the council.
India expels four Pakistan officials
Jan 22: India ordered the expulsion of four officials of the Pakistan High Commission as tense relations between the two countries plummeted further over a raging diplomatic row. Indian foreign ministry spokesman Navtej Sarna told reporters the four officials, including two diplomats, had been declared persona non grata and that they were ordered to be removed from the country within 48 hours, over charges of alleged spying. Pakistan's acting high commissioner Jalil Abbas Jilani described the move as a deliberate attempt by New Delhi to vitiate the atmosphere.
India-Pakistan row stalls Bush visit
Jan 22: US President George W. Bush is keen to visit South Asia but tensions between India and Pakistan have stalled the plan, US Ambassador in New Delhi Robert Blackwill said in Washington, according to Indian news reports.
Another gas pipeline attacked
Jan 22: The Sui Southern Gas Pipelines Limited (SSGPL) supply line was blasted at near the airport established by the Pakistan Petroleum Limited in Sui. The damaged portion of the pipe was repaired after several hours.
Ahmad Ali Khan returns as Dawn's Editor-in-Chief
Jan. 22: Mr Ahmad Ali Khan, who retired as Chief Editor in March 2000, has taken over as Editor-in-Chief of Dawn with effect from Jan 22, 2003, announced the Pakistan Herald Publications (Pvt) Ltd., owners of the Dawn group of newspapers. Mr Saleem Asmi, the outgoing Editor, was appointed editor for the UK and European region of the newspaper.
253 candidates file papers for Senate polls
Jan 22: A record number of 253 candidates have filed nomination papers for 100 Senate seats including 66 general seats and 17 seats each for women and Ulema and technocrats.
Pakistan furious at Indian defense deals with Russia
Jan 22: Pakistan lashed out on at India's new deal with Russia to purchase nuclear-capable submarines and bombers, accusing it of "recklessly" amassing weapons and intimidating its neighbors. "Fired by its ambition to attain great power status, India has chosen the reckless path of militarization," foreign ministry spokesman Aziz Ahmed Khan said in a statement. "It is amassing weapons and military hardware beyond its legitimate defense requirements to intimidate its neighbors."
Four expelled in tit-for-tat move
Jan 23: A foreign ministry statement declared persona non grata four diplomats and staffers of the Indian High Commission in Islamabad for "involvement in activities incompatible with their status as members of the diplomatic mission" and ordered them to leave the country within 48 hours. The decision came within about 24 hours of India's expulsion of four Pakistani officials on Jan 19.
Pakistan urged to fulfil promises on infiltration, says US Amb.
Jan 23: Addressing an American Business Council lunch, US ambassador Nancy J. Powell said Pakistan must "ensure that its pledges are implemented to prevent infiltration across the Line of Control and end the use of Pakistan as a platform for terrorism".
US envoy's statement meant to please India: Rashid
Jan 23: Federal Minister of Information and Media Development Sheikh Rashid Ahmed rejected the Indian allegation of cross-border terrorism by Pakistan , and said the people of Indian-held Kashmir were fighting an indigenous war of freedom. The information minister said: "The statement of the US ambassador Nancy Powell was not based on reality, but an attempt to please India."
Supply not restored as pipeline catches fire
Jan 23: Gas supply to Punjab and upcountry could not be restored as the damaged pipeline caught fire after being repaired because the gas pumped into it with pressure burst the repaired part open. The gas supply had been suspended to Punjab and upcountry on Jan 18 after a rocket attack on main pipelines by tribesmen near Rajanpur. A total of 280-foot long part of both the supply lines was damaged in the attack which rendered most of Punjab and the NWFP without gas.
FBI to keep track of 3m Pakistanis
Jan 23: The FBI is going to collect complete information about three million Pakistanis including politicians, industrialists, businessmen and criminals. Sources in the interior ministry told Dawn that the US authorities want to collect all information about every Tom, Dick and Harry who is supposed to be able to pose threat to US interests. In view of the possibility of a popular backlash, the FBI will use domestic investigation agencies to collect the data. For the purpose, the US bureau is currently conducting a week-long course in Islamabad to train local officials.
India sees no Kashmir settlement by 2020
Jan 23: A government vision paper on what India could look like in 2020 said China may pose a serious challenge to its security, while the Kashmir dispute with Pakistan may still be unresolved. On India-Pakistan relations and the Kashmir dispute, the paper, entitled "India Vision: 2020," said the relations are likely to remain strained. "The fundamental ideological conflict between Pakistan and India is unlikely to be resolved without a major social-political change in Pakistan," it said.
19 brigadiers promoted
Jan 24: Nineteen brigadiers, including three from armoured, four from artillery and five from infantry, were promoted as major general. Chief of Army Staff General Pervez Musharraf presided over the Army Selection Board for Promotion of Brigadiers.
Washington defends Nancy's views
Jan 25: The State Department said that it was not worried about calls for the expulsion of US ambassador Nancy Powell from Islamabad and that her views on terrorism were not different from those of President Pervez Musharraf. The department's remarks, made at an official briefing in Washington, came a day after Ambassador Powell was quoted in the Pakistani press as criticizing Islamabad for allowing infiltration into Kashmir.
Bugti men booked for sabotage
Jan 25: The government registered a case against unidentified Bugti tribesmen for the sabotage of gas pipelines as supply to domestic consumers was restored on Jan 22. The Balochistan government registered the case against the tribesmen for allegedly blasting the pipeline at Rajanpur on the Punjab-Balochistan border five days ago, the spokesman for the interior ministry said.
6m Pakistanis have eyesight problem
Jan 25: The eyesight of some six million Pakistanis is impaired according to the federal minister for health, M. Naseer Khan. And some three million Pakistanis suffer from cataract, which ailment can be reversed if proper and timely intervention is undertaken.
Pakistan enters space age: Musharraf launches Paksat-1
Jan 25: Pakistan entered the space age with the launching of the country's first ever communication satellite, Paksat-1. President General Pervez Musharraf inaugurated the satellite by switching on its button in Islamabad while launching the Distance Education Program through it. The satellite hired by Pakistan, for $450 million, was relocated at 38 degree east by the country's own space scientists and it has a lifetime of five to eight years. It will be utilized for transmission of educational program to spread knowledge within the frontiers of Pakistan and beyond.
Sui-Guddu line blown up again: Supply suspended to Punjab, NWFP
Jan 26: The Sui-Guddu transmission line was again blown up in Mazari Goth causing another suspension of gas supply to the industry and CNG stations in Punjab and the NWFP only hours after being restored. Officials in Lahore said the saboteurs had exposed the pipeline after removing the earth and placed explosives on the 24" and 30" dia pipelines about 7km from Dauli, the site of the Jan 21 blast.
Govt asked not to use force against tribesmen
Jan 26: The government has been asked not to use force against Bugti and Mazari tribes in Balochistan and resolve the issue of attack on Sui gas pipeline on "political" grounds. The request came from the official of three provinces - Sindh, Balochistan and Punjab - which attended the inter-provincial meeting in Islamabad. The meeting discussed attack on the Sui gas pipeline and recommended deployment of police and civil armed forces to protect the gas installations.
'22 women, children forcibly taken away from Edhi Home'
Jan 26: Noted philanthropist and founder of the Edhi Foundation, Maulana Abdus Sattar Edhi, has appealed to President Musharraf, the Governor Balochistan, and the local administration to take action against the officials of a Human Rights organization who barged into Edhi Home Quetta and made hostage the staff and took away some 22 oppressed women and children from there. Addressing a press conference at the Karachi Press Club on Sunday, Edhi said that some women of a Quetta-based Human Rights organisation led by Naila Qadri, under protection of the local police, forcibly entered the offices of the Edhi Home, Quetta, and took away women and children. According to Edhi, the so-called Human Rights activists alleged that these oppressed women and children were present in the Edhi Home in a very miserable condition and were subjected to cruelties. They recorded the statements of the women and children and then left Edhi Home along with 17 women and five children.
Lawyers say LFO not part of Constitution
Jan 27: President of Supreme Court Bar Association Hamid Khan and Mohammad Kazim Khan, the chairman of Executive Committee of PBC, said lawyers community would not accept the Legal Framework Order as part of the Constitution till the time it was validated by Parliament.
Pakistan, US differ on infiltration: FO
Jan 27: About US ambassador Nancy Powell's remarks made last week at a function in Karachi about alleged Pakistani support to infiltration into occupied Kashmir, office spokesman Aziz Ahmad Khan said that there existed "a difference of perceptions" on this issue between Pakistan and the United States. However, he reiterated Islamabad's claim that there was no cross-border infiltration from Pakistan side.
More troops deployed at gas pipelines
Jan 27: Pakistan deployed additional security troops to protect a natural gas pipeline that has been attacked three times in the past week by feuding tribesmen, the interior ministry said.
510 baseless cases against tax-payers being withdrawn
Jan 27: The Central Board of Revenue authorities have revealed to the IMF that the Income Tax Department framed 510 cases against taxpayers on frivolous grounds in the high courts and Supreme Court. Now these cases are being withdrawn.
Pakistan to be erased from world map in N-war: Fernandes
Jan 17: Indian Defense Minister George Fernandes warned Pakistan it would be 'erased from the world map' if Islamabad used nuclear weapons against India.Pakistan responded by calling the comments 'nothing but Indian harping.' Fernandes' comments were reported just hours after US Secretary of State Colin Powell called on the two sides to 'take risks for peace.'
PPPP-Patriots seek separate seats in NA
Jan 27: The defector group of Pakistan People's Party Parliamentarians, PPPP-Patriots, has decided to seek separate seats in the National Assembly as a separate entity from the PPPP.
Sindh MPAs reject NFC award
Jan 28: The Sindh Assembly members rejected the existing NFC award and demanded constitution of a new National Finance Commission to give a fresh award, based on revenue generation and not on the basis of population. Despite deep-rooted political differences, both the opposition and the treasury benches were unanimous in calling the current NFC award unjust and responsible for creating a sense of alienation among the people of Sindh.
Indian drone shot down over AJK
Jan 28: Pakistan shot down an intruding Indian unmanned spy plane that crossed over the Line of Control (LoC) and entered the Pakistan airspace.
Agriculture Income Tax upto 12.5 acres
Jan 28: The Punjab Cabinet has approved the exemption of Agriculture Income Tax (AIT) on 12.5 acres from five acres. This change will benefit more than 97 percent small farmers.
350 rangers deployed to protect gas pipeline
Jan 29: Officials of the Sui Northern Gas Pipeline Limited told Dawn that 350 members of the Punjab Rangers had been deployed to protect 21-kilometre Sui-Guddugas pipeline falling within the Punjab territory.
Tribal romance claims five lives in North Waziristan
Jan 29: Rival - Wazir and Mahsood - tribes in North Waziristan have been battling each other on mountain peaks with rockets, missiles and heavy machine guns for two days in a dispute sparked by a forbidden romance. Fighting, that claimed five lives, started when a woman of one tribe eloped with her boyfriend from the other tribe. In response the woman's tribe kidnapped two women from the other tribe.
Pakistan rejects US infiltration allegation
Jan 30: Pakistan rejected a claim by a US State Department official that "militant incursions" into Indian-held Kashmir across the disputed border in the divided state were still continuing. "We have already made it clear that no such infiltration is taking place and the claim by an official who is not ready to disclose his identity cannot be accurate," foreign office spokesman Aziz Ahmed Khan told AFP.
Rangers flee as Bugtis attack
Jan 30: Bugti tribesmen resumed heavy artillery shelling onto Mazari Goth in Punjab.
The shelling caught the rangers off guard and they ran for shelter. The government had deployed some 350 personnel of the para-military force at Mazari Goth, some 340km from Multan, to guard the 21-kilometre gas pipeline.
Bush drops in on Kasuri
Jan 30: President George W. Bush engineered an informal encounter with Pakistan's Foreign Minister Khurshid Mahmud Kasuri, and renewed US praise for Islamabad's support in the US anti-terror campaign. Bush dropped by on a meeting between Kasuri and his national security advisor Condoleezza Rice at the White House, rounding off a visit to Washington in which the minister met every senior US official. "Drop-by" meetings are used by US presidents to hold informal encounters with visiting dignitaries.
FBI arrests 13 Pakistanis for credit card fraud
Jan 30: US federal agents have arrested 13 Pakistanis from the greater Washington area for allegedly running a $5 million credit card scheme.
INS detains, releases Pakistani journalist
Jan 30: Ejaz Haider, the news editor and a columnist of The Friday Times, was arrested by US officials for failing to register with the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) in Washington. He spent 12 hours in a lock-up and was released only after Foreign Minister Khurshid Mehmood Kasuri spoke with senior officials. Mr Haider is a visiting research scholar at the Brookings Institution, one of the Washington's most prominent think-tanks.
USA denies special access to Pak exporters
Jan 30: The United State government has refused to accord special enhanced access to Pakistani exporters to the US markets, saying they will have to wait till 2005 when the World Trade Organisation (WTO) regime takes effect. "Pakistan has been raising this issue at every available forum, but I believe that this may not happen before 2005 except annual increase in Pakistani quota, "said the US Economic Commercial Counselor, Douglas Climan during a closed-door meeting at the Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI).
Jamaat demands expulsion of US envoy
Jan 30: The Jamaat-e-Islami has demanded expulsion of US Ambassador Nancy Powell from the country. JI Central Secretary-General Syed Munawwar Hasan, while criticizing her recent statement about so-called infiltration into held Kashmir, demanded of the government to expel the US ambassador from Pakistan by declaring her as persona non grata.
New Balochistan governor appointed
Jan 31: President Pervez Musharraf appointed Lt-Gen Abdul Qadir (retired) new Governor of Balochistan in place of Justice Amirul Mulk Mengal (retired). Gen Qadir, who sought early retirement from the army, had been the Corps Commander of Balochistan.
28 Pakistanis held in Italy for 'terror links'
Jan 31: Italian authorities arrested 28 Pakistanis in Naples earlier this week after finding maps and explosives in their apartment, and have charged them with terrorist offences, a judicial source said in Rome. The men, most of whom are believed to be illegal immigrants, were arrested during a routine sweep.
28 Pakistanis arrested in Italy for al-Qaeda links
Jan 31: Italian police have arrested 28 Pakistani men suspected of links to al-Qaeda in one of the biggest anti-terrorism operations Italy has seen since the September 11 attacks on the United States. Military police burst into an apartment in central Naples as part of a routine sweep against illegal immigration and ended up discovering enough explosives to blow up a three-storey building, officials said.