JIT reluctant to record Malik’s statement

ISLAMABAD, Dec 30: A joint investigation team (JIT) of the FIA probing the assassination of Benazir Bhutto is reluctant to record the statement of Interior Minister Rehman Malik, although it is required under the UN commission’s terms of inquiry, sources in his ministry told Dawn on Thursday.
The JIT, headed by additional director general of FIA Khalid Qureshi, has sent a questionnaire to almost all those government officials and leaders of the Pakistan People’s Party who have been directly or indirectly accused of not providing adequate security to Benazir. But it is reluctant to send the questionnaire to the interior minister.
“I have not thought about sending the questionnaire to Mr Malik,” said FIA Director General Waseem Ahmed, who recently got an extension in his service on the recommendations of the interior minister.
Mr Malik had said in a statement that the questionnaire had been sent to all accused, including former Punjab chief minister Pervez Elahi and Intelligence Bureau chief Ijaz Shah. The two have been accused of not providing foolproof security to the PPP chairperson.
Senator Safdar Abbasi and wife Naheed Khan, Makhdoom Amin Fahim and some others, who had accompanied Ms Bhutto on the day of her assassination on Dec 27, 2007, have returned the questionnaire to investigators after filling it.
“My wife and I have replied to the questionnaire. We had earlier recorded our statements before the Scotland Yard and UN investigators and the JIT,” Senator Abbasi told Dawn.
The sources claimed that the FIA had also prepared a questionnaire for the interior minister, but could not dare send it to him.
But the FIA chief rejected the claim. “The FIA has never prepared any such questionnaire for the interior minister nor is it thinking about it.” Mr Malik, who was in charge of Benazir’s security, has been accused of leaving the place a few minutes before the gun-and-bomb attack. He was in a PPP substitute vehicle, along with the present presidential spokesman Farhatullah Babar and Law Minister Babar Awan. According to the party arrangement, he was supposed to be behind Ms Bhutto’s vehicle.
Former Rawalpindi police chief Saud Aziz, who is under detention, claimed in a statement that Mr Malik was responsible for poor security arrangements which led to Benazir’s assassination. He said the minister was in close contact with police and it was his responsibility to stop her from standing up and looking out from her jeep.
Members of the UN inquiry commission had met the minister a number of times and also visited his residence to record his statement. He had reportedly said that he was ready for questioning.
In the light of the UN commission’s report, the JIT recorded the statements of a number of people, but not of the interior minister.
The JIT also sent a questionnaire to former president Gen (retd) Pervez Musharraf, who is in London. He has been accused of not providing adequate security to Benazir Bhutto during her last public meeting in Liaquat Bagh.

US brings students from small towns in Pakistan

WASHINGTON, Dec 30: As part of its efforts to improve bilateral understanding, the US has launched one of its largest ever students exchange programmes with Pakistan, a senior US official said on Thursday.
“To give a chance to Pakistani students to learn more about the US and Americans to learn more about Pakistan and Pakistanis,” said Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Alina Romanowski while explaining the motive behind the arrangement.
“The purpose is to build human bridges between our two countries and to encourage face to face communication.” As many as 100 undergraduate students from Pakistan will spend a semester in US educational institutions this year under the Global Undergraduate Exchange Programme in Pakistan. Although they all have to return home after the semester, they will be encouraged to apply for further studies in the United States.
The US Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, in coordination with a partner organisation, IREX, will host an arrival orientation for 50 of these students in Washington from Jan 3-6, 2011.
Launched in fall 2010, Global UGRAD-Pakistan provides a substantive exchange experience at a US college or university to a diverse group of 100 emerging student leaders from underrepresented sectors in Pakistan.
Responding to a question from an Indian journalist, Ms Romanowski said the students were not screened to ensure if there were `wahabis’ among them or if they had `a terrorist mentality’, as the journalist had suggested.
“We are not screening students for their religious orientation or affiliation.” She also dismissed another Indian journalist’s concern that some of these students may not return. She said that the bureau had exchange programmes with Pakistan before and all those who came had returned home.
The students were selected from small towns in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Northern Areas, Fata, Balochistan and Sindh, besides large cities. None of them ever travelled outside Pakistan. Almost half of them are women.

Increasing cold stalks flood survivors

DADU, Dec 30: Though it’s been more than four months when floods ravaged the province but its effects continue to haunt the survivors who are now losing their near and dear ones to cold and harsh weather.The government is yet to provide them with the necessary articles.
An unlucky mother lost both, her infant daughter and mental balance.
Rozina Khoso, 32, wife of peasant Aziz Khoso of Ghari Jagir village lost her mental balance soon after the death of her two-month-old daughter, Waheedan. Her condition is not improving though her husband parted with the family’s last possession of a goat. The animal fetched him Rs4,000 which was not enough to normalize his wife’s mental condition. Her two other daughters - three-year-old Maryam and four-year-old Hajra - look towards their mother for comfort who herself is in dire need of material relief and medical intervention.
Memories of dead infant haunts Rozina who gets hysterical and runs outdoor wailing and shouting, said Aziz Khoso.
Aziz Khoso told Dawn that the increasing cold is affecting the children most but officials of federal, provincial and local governments are unaware of their sufferings. It’s been more than a week but his wife was yet to recover from her mental state while their other two surviving daughters are suffering from gastroenteritis and running fever but he has no money to get them treated. Whatever he got after selling the goat was spent on Rozina’s treatment which remained insufficient.
Another peasant, Mohammad Ali Khoso, has a similar tale to share. He too, lost his 12-month-old daughter Mariam to cold as the family, like rest of their fellow being, has no warm clothes and blankets to protect them from the freezing weather. His four surviving children are down with measles and he has no means to provide them medical relief. The mother of sick children, Islam Khatoon, said that her children have become too, week because of continuous starvation. Like others, this family too, also lost everything to floods, including buffaloes and cattle.
The flow of water in MNV drain is adding to chill she said adding that they are in need of tents, blankets and warm clothes.
A widow, Bibi, wailed that the family doesn’t have money to buy warm clothes or even an ordinary dress for her four children in increasing frostiness. Another widow, Bhagaul, said perhaps the world has forgotten the residents of this village as warm clothes and winter beddings were not distributed among them.
Some 100 families, including that of Rozina did not move to nearby towns when floods hit their village in August last, but preferred to live on higher ground on the embankment of Main Nara Valley drain.
Families returned to the village but the situation is worsening for poor peasants and their families as the freezing weather has put the lives of more than 70 children below six years of age, at risk. Their mud houses were washed away and they are now living in thatched homes without warm clothes and blankets.
One of the villages in Mehar taluka, located 18km away from the town near MNV drain is not visited by any official, aid agency or an NGO for the assessment of loss or for providing flood-hit population with relief goods.
Some 350 residents of village Rasool Bux have returned from Kotri and Karachi and brought with them tents but they too have no money to rebuild houses.
Salih Chandio said that they were waiting for the government aid to rebuild their houses and help them in cultivating land by honoring its commitments of providing free seeds and fertilizers.
Dawn contacted Mukhtiarkar of Mehar taluka Kazi Mushtaq who said that seed and fertilizer had yet not been provided to farmers of Rasool Bux Chandio, Ghari Jagir and other villages for want of a computerized list.
Over 3,000 people of Misri Khoso, Noor Mohammad Chhutto and Panah Gaincho villages in Khan Jo Goth union council in taluka Mehar are facing problems of warm cloths and blankets.
Ahmed Chhutto said that no survey was conducted by the civil society organizations and the government for providing them with warm clothes and blankets.
A closed Basic Health Unit (BHU) near Qaim Jatoi village proved the absence of staff to treat patients.
A villager Misri Khan said that the children of area were facing numerous diseases and waiting for doctors.
EDO Health Dadu, Dr Moula Bux Jamali expressed his unawareness about the deaths by cold in Ghari Jagir village. He said that he will conduct an inquiry into the deaths and outbreak of diseases in Ghari Jagir and other villages.

Feudal lords encroach on Manchhar

DADU, Dec 30: Large portions of Manchhar Lake with concentration of fish have been occupied by armed men of feudal lords and local politicians in collusion with officials of the fisheries department who stop local fishermen from catching fish in the encroached area.
The fishermen complained that if they caught fish in the occupied area the armed men snatched all the catch and forced them to pay fine as a punishment.
An estimated 4,500 fishermen who had gone to Punjab, Balochistan and other parts of the country after the lake’s water became highly contaminated have returned in the wake of flood which has emptied the lake of contaminated water and filled it with freshwater.
But to their dismay, they found that freshwater had been occupied from zero point of MNVD (Main Nara Valley Drain) to Shah Hassan and armed men had been deployed there to watch their movements.
Mohammad Alam Mallah, a fisherman of the oldest and historical village Shah Hassan, said that this stretch of the lake had been occupied by feudal lords. Fishermen were not allowed to catch fish there. If a fishermen was caught fishing in this area without seeking permission from the feudal lord he was fined, he said.
Mustafa Mallah of Manchhar bund village said that the occupied area was spread over 60 squire kilometres. Officials of fisheries department were not taking action against the occupiers, he said.
Hoot Khan Mallah of Girkano village said that water from breaches in Tori bund brought fish seed to the lake besides turning its water sweet.
Khalid Hussain Mallah of Danistar canal said that armed men of the feudal lord subjected fishermen to torture and snatched away their catch if they caught fish in the encroached area.
He said that a fish hatchery near Bubak was damaged in recent flood and the fisheries department had not yet repaired it.
Pakistan Fisherfolk Forum vice-chairman Mustafa Mirani said that occupation of the lake by feudal lords and politicians had affected business of catching fish and its supply to other parts of the country.
He demanded an end to release of floodwater of upper Sindh into the lake, which he said would again turn the lake water salty. Action should be taken to stop water release from the lake into the river to stop natural seed from flowing into the river.
Moula Bux Mallah of Manchhar bund said that fishermen were sitting in the open along the embankment of the lake but the government had not yet started rehabilitation work. Lives of fishermen were as at great risk in this cold season, he said.
Environmentalist Aftab Ahmad Mahessar said that the lake water had turned sweet and drinkable after a long period of 15 years but once again feudal lords and local politicians in connivance with officials of fisheries department were polluting its waters by using chemicals to maximise their catch.
He called for stopping release of water from MNVD and RBOD into the lake.
The fisheries department director Ghulam Mujtaba Wadhar said that it was illegal to stop fishermen from catching fish in the lake. The department had abolished the contract system and introduced licences for fishing in lakes, he said.
He said that licence was issued only to fishermen and they had right to catch fish. He had not received any complaints about occupation of freshwater in the lake, if he received complaints against any feudal lord from fishermen he would take action and seek police help, he said.
About fish hatchery, the director said that the building and ponds needed to be rehabilitated.

Minister, 12 others appear before NAB

LAHORE, Dec 30: Federal Minister for Privatisation Waqar Ahmad Khan and former additional IGP Azhar Hassan Nadeem, along with 11 others, on Thursday recorded their statements before the National Accountability Bureau (Punjab) for allegedly transferring in their name a commercial land in Lahore in violation of a Supreme Court verdict.
The others who joined the investigation are former minister Tikka Muhammad Iqbal, Sheikh Muhammad Ayub, Mukhtar Tikka, Hammad Tikka, Adil Saleem, Haseeb Azhar, Rana M. Azam Khan, Shaukatullah Bangish, Saifullah Bangish, Aammar Ahmad Khan and Aftab Majeed.
Former attorney general Malik Muhammad Qayyum, Brig Tahir Saeed (retired) and Teefy Butt did not appear.
According to the NAB, the Supreme Court in 2006 had declared the land of a marriage hall (Qasr-i-Zouq) in Gulberg “non-salable/nonpurchasable” after its owners Sheikh Ayub and Sheikh Mohsin allegedly committed a fraud of Rs1,385 million through its forex company.
The NAB has to submit its findings on Jan 10, 2011 to the Supreme Court.
Meanwhile, the NAB filed a reference against Ghulam Nabi, a former Customs constable, on the charges of acquiring assets beyond known sources of his income.

Rain, snowfall add to chill

LAHORE, Dec 30: The persisting westerly wave on Thursday generated scattered rain in Punjab, Khyber Pakhtoonkhwa, and Kashmir and season’s first snowfall in Gilgit-Baltistan and Galliyat including Murree.
The cloud cover improved the minimum temperature last night to some degrees in major cities in the country. But, rain and snowfall during the day dropped the maximum temperatures, making it the coldest day of the season.
Around 6-inch snowfall was recorded in Murree and Galliyat, including Nathiagali. The Met department expected more snowfall there during Thursday night.
Snowfall was also reported from Malamjabba, Kalam, Miandam, and Lipa and Neelam Valleys in Azad Kashmir.
Islamabad and Sialkot received heavy rain which was 50mm and 42mm at their airports, respectively.
According to the Met department, the spell of rain and snowfall started weaken ing on Thursday evening. But, there were chances of some more rain and snowfall at a few places of Gilgit-Baltistan, Kashmir and adjoining areas, and in Northeast Punjab, including Lahore, in the next 24 hours. Foggy conditions are expected over the plains of Punjab.
The Met office said a cold wave following the westerly system would enter Pakistan by Friday evening. It was likely to grip most parts of the country, especially Sindh (Karachi) and Balochistan (Quetta) in the next three days, increasing the intensity of the winter.
Meanwhile, the overnight intermittent rain continued in Lahore and several other cities on Thursday. The Lahore Met office recorded 15mm of rain at its Jail Road Office observatory and 13mm at the airport.
In Lahore, the minimum temperature last night arose from Wednesday night’s 2.6 degrees Celsius to 4 degrees Celsius. But, the maximum temperature during the day dropped from Wednesday’s 21 degrees to 13 degrees Celsius.
The little difference between the maximum and minimum temperatures and the intermittent light rain made Thursday the coldest day of the season. And the Met office reported similar weather conditions elsewhere in the province.
The local Met office reported that Kotli and Rawalakot received 27mm of rain, Sialkot city 22mm, Kakul and Garhi Dupatta 21mm (each), Islamabad (Zeropoint) 20mm, Murree 18mm, Muzaffarabad 17mm, Risalpur 16mm, Jhelum 15mm, Mangla 14mm, Balakot 12mm, Peshawar (airport 10mm and city 9mm), Kohat 8mm, Bahawalnagar 5mm, Parachinar 4mm, Saidu Sharif 2mm, Drosh, Gilgit, Malamjaba, Faisalabad, Okara, Bannu, Sahiwal and Shorkot 1mm (each), Bahawalpur city, Khanpur, Mainwali, Multan, Sargodha, Toba Tek Singh, Chitral, Chilas, Mandi Bahauddin, Hunza and Skardu traces of rain.

Industries dept’s pilot project ‘Model bazaars’ to replace Sunday marts in five cities

LAHORE, Dec 30: Realising that Sunday bazaars setup across the province mostly failed to deliver in terms of quantity, quality and prices, the Punjab industries department has started work on a pilot project envisaging ‘model bazaars’ in five cities of the province on the pattern of a successful initiative taken in Islamabad.
To begin with, the department has taken up five permanent Itwaar bazaars being run in Lahore, Rawalpindi, Multan, Bahawalpur and Gujranwala as pilot project.
Under the project, not only the space of these Itwar bazaars would be enhanced up to two acres but provision of good quality stuff would also be ensured at wholesale rates within three to four months, an industries department official told Dawn on Thursday.
He said approximately Rs10 million would be spent on the infrastructure building and acquiring necessary land for each bazaar. In this connection, the district coordination officers (DCOs) concerned had been directed to prepare feasibility of each bazaar along with the cost estimates, he added.
The official said more model bazaars would be set up in the province if the pilot project went well.
Sources privy to the development told Dawn that chief minister Shahbaz Sharif, after receiving complaints of lowquality stuff and rate-list violations at Itwaar bazaars, had directed the department to set up ‘model bazaars’ in the five cities on the pattern of the 15-acre such establishment being successfully run in Islamabad.
The sources said following the chief minister’s orders, a provincial steering committee led by MNA Afzal Khokhar and comprising three MNAs, an MPA, three divisional commissioners and the provincial secretary of industries department had been constituted for executing the pilot project.
They said according to the plan the provincial government would bear the initial expenses of the project while it was envisaged that these establishments would become self-sufficient and generate enough income to support their running costs.
They claimed the managements of these model bazaars, comprising officials of different departments concerned, would not only monitor quality and quantity of vegetables, fruits and other grocery items to be put on sale but also ensure wholesale prices. The vendors would also be getting proper margin, they added.
The Punjab prices and supplies board of industries department has been regulating 144 Itwaar bazaars, including 16 in Lahore, for the last several years.
Though prices are generally 10 to 15 per cent lower in Itwar Bazaars as compared to the open market, people complain of low-quality stuff and non-availability of some items.
Amina Batool of Green Town, a regular visitor to Itwar bazaars, says vegetables are usually better in quality than fruits. She, however, complains that necessary items like onion and tomato are sometimes not available in the bazaar because of low prices set by the management.
She said the government must ensure the availability of good stuff at subsidized rates at these bazaars.
Tallat Mehmood of DBlock, Wapda Town, said: “I failed to find onion and tomato at Wapda Town Itwar Bazaar by afternoon as tomato disappeared from stalls early and onion was not put on sale because of low official price. If the government could not ensure availability of basic items at affordable rates at Itwar bazaars how would it ensure this in model bazaars.”

Four armymen killed in accident

ATTOCK, Dec 30: Four army personnel were killed and five others seriously injured in a road accident on KohatPindi road near Pindsultani village on Thursday.
Police said an army ambulance was on way to Rawalpindi from Kohat when it skidded off the slippery road during rain at Sukah bridge and fell into a ravine.
As a result, the occupants of the vehicle sustained serious injuries and were taken to the tehsil headquarters hospital in Jand.
SHO Basal police station Mohammad Khan told this correspondent that three of the injured - Abdul Waheed, Qamar Abbas and Shah Mir - died soon after they were brought to the hospital while the fourth identified as Ehsan succumbed to injuries while being shifted to Rawalpindi.
He said the others namely Abdullah Bilal, Mohammad Fayaz, Zahid, Naveed Anjum and Aleem were shifted to CMH Kohat.

WB holds $70m for Aids programme

ISLAMABAD, Dec 30: The World Bank is holding back on its commitment to release $70 million to the Ministry of Health for launching a fiveyear project of National Aids Control Programme (NACP) affecting anti-Aids drive, and allocated the funds to projects for the flood- affected people, Dawn has learnt from a senior federal government official.
The official said the Ministry of Health had recently written to the World Bank to release the funds committed in 2009.
The NACP, he said, was given an approval of the project by the Central Development Working Party and the Executive Committee of National Economic Council (Ecnec). “The PC-I was approved by CDWP and Ecnec but the Aids control officials failed to get a single penny from the bank,” he added.
The project may not be launched without the support of the external donors. It has been learnt that the Department for International Development, UK, had also a share in the $70 million funding which could have channeled through the WB.
But an ill-informed federal health minister defended the position of the World Bank and the DFID over a question asked by Senator S. M. Zafar regarding the blocked funding of HIV/Aids initiative of the federal government.
The minister, Makhdoom Shahbuddin, told the house: “The Global Fund and the World Bank are still committed to providing the financial support for prevention of HIV/Aids in Pakistan.” The minister said both the World Bank and DFID had so for extended Rs2.43 billion for HIV/Aids prevention programme spanning over six years.
The health ministry, he said, was in constant touch with the bank officials and looking for an early release of the fund.
He added that even the assistance of federal government of $20 million was reaching the NACP in phases which had also affected the programme.
The federal official said the bank’s grant was aimed at multiple concerns - treating high-risk group interventions, core support, advocacy and communication, research and surveillance and treatment of Aids patients.
He warned that: “World Bank’s grant was aimed at containing the spread of Aids among injection drug users but its blockade will deteriorate the situation.” The ongoing study of NACP, he said, presented horrifying percentage which had alerted the federal health officials as the number of positive cases was showing an upward trend.
A clinical immunologist based at a public hospital said: “The blockade of funds by the World Bank will adversely affect the identification, treatment and prevention of HIV/Aids patients in Pakistan.” He said the federal government should allocate substantial amount of grant to fight the HIV/Aids.
According to NACP data made available to Dawn, almost 97,000 Aids patients were HIV positive and they were not registered with the NACP, while there were 4,000 registered HIV positive patients.
He said 1,800 HIV positive patients were receiving treatment from the funds provided by the federal government and international donors Global Fund, UNAIDS and World Health Organisation (WHO).Meanwhile, a World Bank official, when approached for comments, directed this reporter to contact another individual for response over the matter.

Erra not being wound up

ISLAMABAD, Dec 30: The Earthquake Reconstruction and Rehabilitation Authority (Erra) is going to stay beyond 2011 despite rumours that it may be wound up after completing the ongoing projects, its Chairman Hamid Yar Hiraj said here on Thursday.
Presiding over the Erra board meeting, Mr Hiraj asked the officials to complete the ongoing projects by 2012.
The board approved the projects of BrarkotMuzaffarabad road, Mera Tanolian road Muzaffarabad, shopping centre Muzaffarabad, improvement and repairing of roads from Lilowani to Bilkani and Kirat to Dumbaila, district Kohistan and reconstruction and rehabilitation of Maria Rehmat Khan road, Abbottabad.
It also approved revised projects of various health and educational facilities including District Headquarters Hospital Neelum as well as Hajira and Hattianbala hospitals.
Deputy Chairman Erra LtGen Mohammad Haroon Aslam informed the meeting that work on Balakot had been suspended.
However, as a result of meetings with the chief minister of KPK and other stakeholders, Erra had adopted a modular approach where work on D-Block in New Balakot and a mosque funded by Qaddafi Foundation had been started.
He also briefed the meeting about new initiatives, including establishment of a human resource management department, transparency cell and getting thirdparty evaluation to enhance Erra’s strength as an organi-

Probe into 11 missing men case Report disputes agencies’ claim

RAWALPINDI, Dec 30: A report of an investigation team looking into missing of 11 men from Adiala Jail after acquittal in terrorism cases has disputed the claim of intelligence agencies that they were arrested from areas where the army is fighting against militants.
In a report submitted with the trial court, the investigators have accused the staff – then superintendent and deputy superintendent – of Adiala Jail for handing over the men to the personnel of intelligence agencies in the jail courtyard as the men resisted the move, Dawn has learnt.
Senior Civil Judge Rawalpindi Arif Khan has been conducting the trial of Saeedullah Gondal, former superintendent of Adiala Jail, and his deputy Khalid Bashir after they were booked on the orders of Lahore High Court (LHC) for allegedly abducting the acquitted men. The court will take up the case on January 8.
“The jail record of May 28 and 29 was taken into custody by the investigation officer, Sub Inspector Chaudhry Mohammad Altaf and it revealed that former superintendent was present in his office on May 28 when the high court orders reached at the jail for the release of Dr Niaz Ahmed, Mazharul Haq, Shafiqur Rehman, Mohammad Aamir, Abdul Majid, Abdul Basit, Abdul Saboor, Shafique Ahmed, Said Arab, Gul Roze and Tehseenullah,” said the report, prepared under section 179 of criminal procedure code.
“The men were however not released on the same day and Saeedullah Gondal went on leave. In his absence the deputy superintendent was acting as the jail chief and handed over the men to the personnel of intelligence agencies on May 29 at about 11 am,” the report said.
“Khalid, the deputy superintendent, with the help of jail staff handcuffed the men and blindfolded them as they resisted the move of being handing over to the intelligence agencies.The vehicles that carried away the acquitted men also had fake registration numbers,” according to the report, signed by SHO Saddar Barooni police.
The report stated that Saddar Barooni police started probe in June as Rawalpindi’s city police officer formed a joint investigation team that included officers from Inter Services Intelligence (ISI), Military Intelligence (MI), Intelligence Bureau (IB), Crime Investigation Department (CID) and Special Branch for tracing the missing men’s whereabouts.
The JIT met twice in August and then in October but failed to obtain any information about the missing men.
According to the report, only after the arrest of the two top jail officials on October 26, Saddar Barooni police started making progress in the case. The report said a daily secret report of Special Branch was handed over to the investigation team, confirming handing over of the men to the intelligence agencies, along with a video recording made by relatives of the detained men, showing vehicles taking them away from the jail courtyard.
On December 9, the ISI and MI through their lawyer told the Supreme Court that the missing men were terrorists, involved in suicide attacks on military installations and offices, and had been arrested from “operational areas”.
The lawyer of the agencies had informed the three-member SC bench headed by Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chuadhry that the men would be tried under the Army Act by Field General Court Martial. The petition against the alleged abduction of the men is still pending in the SC.
The former superintendent and deputy superintendent of Adiala Jail had obtained postarrest bail as the police said they would have to arrest other men who helped the two jail officials in handing over the men to intelligence agencies.
The abduction case was registered against the jail officials on the LHC orders on June 24 this year after the relatives of the missing men filed a contempt of court petition.
The 11 men arrested in 2008 had been tried and acquitted in the cases of suicide attacks on the official bus of ISI, on the main gate of General Headquarters, firing anti-aircraft shots on the plane of former President Pervez Musharraf and firing rockets on Aeronautical Complex Kamra, Attock.

PPP asked to begin poll preparations

KARACHI, Dec 30: President Asif Ali Zardari has asked PPP leaders and legislators to prepare for general elections to be held after two years and said that legislators should spend more time in their constituencies and ensure implementation of development schemes.
At a meeting held here late Wednesday night, the president said the government was about to complete three years in office and now everyone needed to concentrate on solving people’s problems within the given resources.
Referring to grievances of coalition partners, particularly the Muttahida Qaumi Movement, Mr Zardari said the government would take them along and their grievances would be addressed.
He said that the problems being faced by the country could be solved only with the policy of reconciliation.

Nawaz refuses to play into the hands of ‘invisible’ puppeteers

LAHORE, Dec 30: PML-N leader Nawaz Sharif has said he will not support any move against the government at the behest of ‘invisible hands’ and will not become part of any ‘puppet show’.
Addressing the 104th foundation day of the Muslim League on Thursday, he called for setting up a committee of senior leaders to resolve the Balochistan issue.
“We won’t become part of any puppet show as we’ve buried the dirty politics forever,” he said.
Criticising what he called managing of national affairs by the establishment, he said he felt sorry for prime ministers who were booted out either by martial law adminis trators or by presidents.
He said the game of removing elected governments had been going on for a long time and army dictators had ruled the country for three decades in its life of over 60 years.
Referring to a perception that the PML-N was indirectly supporting the PPP government, he said he wanted democracy to survive but that did not mean he would stand by a corrupt set-up.
“The people who have been part of the government for the past three years despite all its corrupt practices and embezzlement are in fact supporting it… those who raise revolutionary slogans without leaving the corridors of power.” The PML-N chief regretted that Balochistan was burning but the problem did not appear to be on the priority list of the government which, he alleged, had handed over the restive province to forces which had made the situation worse.
He called for a committee of national figures and senior parliamen tarians to resolve all issues facing Balochistan.
Mr Sharif, who had been ousted from power by the army in October 1999, warned that the country would plunge into a deeper crisis if those who violated the Constitution and imposed martial laws were not held accountable.
Referring to former army ruler Pervez Musharraf, he said: “He who had held the Constitution in abeyance, attacked the Red Mosque and imprisoned the judges was given a guard of honour instead of being tried for his crimes.” The PML-N chief, who had signed the Charter of Democracy with the late PPP chairperson Benazir Bhutto, said that her spouse, President Asif Zardari, had backed out of three written agreements with his party, compelling it to part ways with the coalition government.
He said there was corruption everywhere in the government and corrupt people were being appointed at important posts and verdicts of the judiciary were being ignored.
The former prime minister said those who were talking of revolu tion had stamped the 17th Amendment (indemnifying all actions of Gen Musharraf) and later undid it through the 18th Amendment.
Amidst shouts of ‘shame’ by the audience, he said slogans should also be raised against those who had voted for the 17th Amendment.
Referring to former Punjab chief minister Pervaiz Elahi’s past assertions to get Gen (retd) Musharraf elected as the head of the state 10 times, he said such people could not be Leaguers, rather they were a blot on the Muslim League.
The PML-N chief said Mr Elahi, Gen (retd) Musharraf and others were criticising him, but he would not respond because stones were thrown on trees which bore fruit.

Zardari asks Nawaz to end confrontation with Altaf

ISLAMABAD, Dec 30: President Asif Ali Zardari called PML-N chief Nawaz Sharif on Thursday and advised him against prolonging his confrontation with the Muttahida Qaumi Movement, according to PPP sources.
“President Zardari called Nawaz Sharif and discussed the current political situation in the country,” presidential spokesman Farhatullah Babar said.
Mr Zardari had called MQM chief Altaf Hussain on Wednesday night and assured him that the PPP would soon address his party’s grievances. The president was also reported to have told Mr Hussain that the political rift between the MQM and PMLN should be resolved soon.
According to the sources, during his telephonic conversation with Mr Sharif, the president said that political confrontation could harm the democratic system.
They said Mr Zardari had urged the two parties’ chiefs to stop their leaders from issuing derogatory and uncivilised statements against each other.
The ongoing war of words between the two parties took a new and ugly turn on Wednesday when Chuadhry Nisar Ali Khan, of the PML-N, and Haider Abbas Rizvi and Waseem Ahmed, of the Muttahida, hit each other below the belt and used unparliamentary language outside the Parliament House.
Mr Babar said the president had met PPP leaders in Sindh on Thursday night and discussed PPP-MQM relations. The president barred PPP leaders from issuing provocative statements against the MQM, assuring that its concerns would be addressed.
In reply to a question, the spokesman ruled out the possibility of removal of Sindh Home Minister Zulfiqar Mirza on the demand of the MQM. He said that Mr Mirza had also been directed to avoid giving statements against the Muttahida.
Mr Mirza had in a recent statement alleged that the MQM was involved in targeted killings in Karachi.

Senate adopts amendment with all ayes

ISLAMABAD, Dec 30: In a big show of sanity amid a wave of political insanity outside parliament, the Senate unanimously passed the 19th Amendment to the Constitution on Thursday, completing the parliamentary approval of the bill designed to meet most of Supreme Court’s concerns over a new mode of appointing the superior judiciary.
In a special daylong session, the house took more than three hours to debate and vote on the Constitution (19th Amendment) Bill that, after having been passed by the National Assembly eight days ago, now requires only the formality of assent by President Asif Ali Zardari to be operative as an important addition to the 18th Amendment approved in April and still in the process of implementation.
Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani called the 80-0 vote on the bill in the 100seat house a “New Year gift”, which came as Islamabad and its environs enjoyed — despite biting winter cold — the end of months of a dry spell.
The consensus of all sena tors present in the house was slightly better than the Dec 22 vote in the National Assembly, which was denied unanimity by a single negative vote, and was in sharp contrast to a prevailing divisive hullabaloo marked by shocks given to the ruling Pakistan People’s Party by two allied parties — the Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam and the Muttahida Qaumi Movement — by withdrawing from the cabinet and a vicious war of words between the MQM and the opposition Pakistan Muslim League-N.
The prime minister referred to this situation only obliquely as he reaffirmed PPP’s policy of political reconciliation and called for an end to a “politics of speculation”, which critics have usually directed against his nearly three-year-old coalition government.
But Mr Gilani made a fun of such speculations, comparing presumed deadlines about the life of his government to usual brick-throwing gestures of a conman in rural Punjab, and jokingly advised his detractors to form their own committee to give “a single deadline”. But he added: “Governments do not go with these speculations.” He said his government would remain and seek cooperation of others so long it enjoyed majority in parliament, but if some other party got the majority “then we will support them”.
The prime minister did not mention resignations by two JUI ministers along with their party’s decision to leave the coalition to protest against his sacking of a party minister for alleged indiscipline nor to resignations by two MQM ministers without leaving the coalition.
But the JUI decision had a little echo in the house when its parliamentary leader Maulana Abdul Ghafoor Haideri requested Chairman Farooq H. Naek for an early decision on the party’s request for the allotment of opposition seats to its four senators, one of whom, Rehmatullah Khan Kakar, who has resigned as housing minister, still occupied his front-row ministerial seat.
As the chair promised an early decision, opposition leader Wasim Sajjad of the PML-Q suggested, in a lighter vein, that defectors from the coalition be allotted back benches on the coalition side, as the opposition side did not have enough space for them.
But Maulana Haideri, in apparent reference to the government’s recent political contacts with the PML-Q, asked Mr Sajjad: “You better occupy the seats that we will vacate.” After Prime Minister’s Adviser Raza Rabbani explained the background and salient features of the bill drafted by an 26-member all-party Parliamentary Committee on Constitutional Reforms headed by him in light of an Oct 21 Supreme Court order on challenges to some clauses of the 18th Amendment, 30 senators, including leaders of all parliamentary parties, voiced their support for the proposed amendments and lauded the work of the committee.
The prime minister announced that the highest civil award of Nishan-i-Pakistan would be awarded to members of Senator Rabbani’s committee in recognition of their services in forging consensus on both amendments.
Some of the speakers called for more changes in the Constitution through a 20th amendment, such as facilitating the creation of new provinces and solving problems that may arise from the implementation of the 18th Amendment like those relating to education, health and agricultural tax.
But Afrasiab Khattak of the government-allied Awami National Party warned against reopening settled issues such as the educational curricula that, he said, could hit provincial autonomy and shatter the consensus forged on the 18th Amendment.
The petitions heard by the Supreme Court had mainly challenged parliament’s role in appointing judges of the superior courts who, under the 18th Amendment, must be finally approved by an eight-member bipartisan parliamentary committee comprising equal representations of the two houses after being nominated by a judicial commission headed by the chief justice.
One of the new amendments provides for increasing the strength of the judicial commission to nine members from seven and of the senior-most Supreme Court judges on it to four from two, besides a former judge of the court to be named by the chief justice, the federal law minister, the attorney-general and a senior lawyer of at least 15 years’ experience to be nominated by the Pakistan Bar Council.
Under some other amendments, the parliamentary committee must hold its meetings in camera but record its proceedings and send its approval or rejection of a nominee of the judicial commission to the prime minister rather than directly to the president, who will make the final notification, and the chief justice must consult other members of the commission in the appointment of ad hoc judges.
An amendment moved by two senators from the Federally Administered Tribal Areas — Haji Rashid and Mohammad Idris Khan — seeking the merger of 25 adjacent villages of the settled areas with the tribal Mohmand Agency was ruled out by the chair as outside the scope of the bill.
PML-Q’s Haroon Khan did not press an amendment seeking to take agricultural income tax from the exclusive jurisdiction of provinces.
But the prime minister said the question of agricultural tax could be further discussed with the opposition along with other issues like a proposed new accountability bill and price hike.
Mr Rabbani also assured the house earlier that his committee would keep the agricultural tax issue alive so long as he headed the body, although, he said: “I will now like to hang up my gloves.”

Govt takes exception to US case against ISI

ISLAMABAD, Dec 30: The government said on Thursday it would ‘strongly contest’ the lawsuit filed against the ISI and its present and former chiefs in a New York court accusing the country’s premier spy agency of complicity in the 2008 Mumbai attacks.
“The Government of Pakistan has taken a firm decision to strongly contest the suit filed against the ISI, its present and past Directors General,” said a statement issued by the Foreign Office.
The case will be contested by the government through its embassy in Washington. It is expected that the government will seek dismissal of the suit.
In an apparent effort to reassure unstated quarters of the government’s sincerity in contesting the suit, the brief statement from the Foreign Office said the court case would be defended ‘fully and properly’.
The statement then went on to note Prime Minister Gilani’s statement in the National Assembly: “We do not believe the ISI, as an agency of the Government of Pakistan, or its present and former of ficials could be subjected to civil litigation in the courts of the United States and we intend to take appropriate steps to obtain dismissal of this action.” The lawsuit was filed on Nov 19 by relatives of a rabbi who was killed along with his wife, during the 26/11 coordinated attacks on several sites in Mumbai, including a Jewish centre. ISI Chief Gen Shuja Pasha, his predecessor Gen Nadeem Taj and Lashkar-i-Taiba chief Hafiz Saeed have been named in the suit as defendants.
The Israel-based father of rabbi Gavriel Noah Holtzberg had alleged in the suit, filed with the federal court in Brooklyn (New York), that: “Defendant ISI provided critical planning, material support, control and coordination of the attacks.” The court later summoned ISI officials.
The summons had whipped up an intense political controversy in the country in which opposition parties tried to stir nationalist sentiments. Prime Minister Gilani had then reassured the National Assembly that his government wouldn’t follow foreign dictates, ruling out compelling ISI officials to comply with the summons.
The lawsuit, though symbolic, caused fresh strains in the already complicated Pak-US relationship. Soon after the summons, a Waziristan resident filed a case against the CIA station chief in Islamabad, Jonathan Banks, with Islamabad police over drone attacks in tribal areas, compelling Washington to recall its top spy in Pakistan.
FO BRIEFING: The Foreign Office spokesman told a briefing on Thursday that Pakistan had pursued a foreign policy based on national interests and under the guidance of the country’s leadership with diligence, honour and dignity to promote ties with all countries during 2010.
Abdul Basit said: “The year 2010 has been a very busy year for Foreign Office. We have been able to inject more vigour and substance into our efforts towards pursuing our broad foreign policy objectives of peace and development.” He said the year was ending on a high note as the visit to Pakistan by the Chinese Premier this month reaffirmed the all-weather friendship between the two countries.
“The visit amply demonstrated that relations between the two countries have evolved from bilateral to regional and global planes,” he added. The spokesman said: “We are proud of this unique relationship and confident that our ties with China will continue to achieve ever new heights in the times to come.” “We have also been able to sustain the momentum in expanding our ties with the US on the basis of mutual respect, trust and interest. The third round of the PakistanUS Strategic Dialogue held in Washington in October helped push the process forward,” he added.
The European Union, he recalled, approved trade concessions to provide greater market access to 74 tariff lines and the matter now rested with the World Trade Organisation.

Australia’s Asia-Pacific plan ‘hastily rolled out’:

SYDNEY: Ex-Australian leader Kevin Rudd’s ambitious plans for an Asia-Pacific grouping on the lines of the European Union were “hastily rolled out” with little consultation, leaked cables showed on Friday.
The US embassy messages, released by the WikiLeaks website and published in Fairfax newspapers, indicate Rudd appointed veteran diplomat Richard Woolcott to promote the initiative just three hours before it was announced.
When Rudd unveiled his idea in a speech in Sydney on June 5, 2008, the US embassy cabled Washington that the plan was “hastily rolled out, with minimal consultations”, the report said.
“Most working-level contacts within the (Australian government) seem to have been caught off-guard by the PM’s announcement, with many embassies advising that they had received notification immediately before the speech and had not been consulted on the concept,” the embassy cable said.“Even Richard Woolcott only learnt of his role as the special envoy to carry the initiative forward some three hours before PM Rudd’s address.
“He told us June 5 the PM’s senior advisor had telephoned him at about 4:00 pm the previous day to ask if he would consent to spearhead the initiative, and when he remonstrated that he wanted an opportunity to discuss it further, was advised his name was already in the PM’s preprinted speech.” Rudd’s 18nation Asia-Pacific community was suggested as a broader alternative to APEC (AsiaPacific Economic Cooperation) and the 10-nation Association of Southeast Asian Nations.
The idea was initially welcomed as a sign of greater Australian engagement but gained little traction in the region, and went unmentioned by the Mandarinspeaking former diplomat towards the end of his rule.
Future prospects for the plan are unclear, although Prime Minister Julia Gillard appeared to cast doubt on the proposal not long after deposing Rudd in June.

West African leaders hold emergency talks on Ivory Coast

ABUJA: West African leaders held emergency talks on Friday on the Ivory Coast crisis with the United States searching for more UN troops and France offering Laurent Gbagbo a final chance to step aside.
The summit came after a UN body demanded a halt to “atrocities” in Ivory Coast and the Central Bank of West African States blocked Gbagbo’s access to finances following the World Bank’s earlier move to freeze loans.
Much of the world, including the United Nations, has recognised Gbagbo’s rival Alassane Ouattara as the winner of last month’s elections, but the strongman has re fused to budge in the face of mounting calls for him to leave.
The financial measures may make it difficult for Gbagbo to pay salaries for soldiers and others, and Nigeria’s foreign minister sought to keep the pressure on him as leaders arrived for the ECOWAS summit.
“The question of compromise is not on the table,” Odein Ajumogobia said ahead of the special summit of the 15-member Economic Community of West African States.
“Something like a unity government or the sort of thing we have in Kenya and Zimbabwe are not on the table. We are resolute that Gbagbo has to step down.” Leaders from Nigeria, Ghana, Burkina Faso, Togo, Niger, Senegal, Benin, Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea-Bissau had arrived for the talks.
The meeting was the second special summit on Ivory Coast this month after ECOWAS suspended the country from the group at the first gathering and called on Gbagbo to cede power.
Some analysts have said the bloc could impose individual sanctions such as travel restrictions, but officials were tight-lipped over what was on the table at the summit in the Nigerian capital Abuja.
The United States has also said it is talking with regional countries from ECOWAS about boosting the 9,000-strong UN mission in Ivory Coast.
French Foreign Minister Michele Alliot-Marie said on Friday that Gbagbo could still step down honourably, but warned that time was growing short.
“Mr Gbagbo still has the possibility of leaving this situation with dignity by recognising what the results are and by handing over power,” she told French radio.
“He has the right to a completely honourable exit... but the more time passes and the more things get out of control and there’s violence, the more this possibility distances itself.” Both US President Barack Obama and French President Nicolas Sarkozy have spoken by phone on the crisis to their Nigerian counterpart Goodluck Jonathan, the current ECOWAS chairman who has offered to help Gbagbo and his family resettle.
A Dutch navy supply ship, the Amsterdam, was also on its way to the Ivory Coast to provide mainly food and fuel to French vessels located off the coast.
The ship can also be used for security operations and evacuations, officials said.
On Thursday, the UN Human Rights Council passed by consensus a resolution strongly condemning abductions and killings in Ivory Coast’s post-election violence and expressing concern about “atrocities”.
The move at a special session on the Ivorian crisis called by Nigeria on behalf of African states and the United States marked a rare display of unity by the world body’s Geneva-based rights assembly.
The vote came after a senior UN rights official told the council that her staff had gathered credible reports of at least 173 killed over the past week in Ivory Coast as well as allegations of mass graves.
A senior UN official was stopped at gunpoint as he sought to verify the allegations in the west African country, UN Deputy High Commissioner for Human Rights Kyung-wha Kang said.
One analyst said targeted sanc tions may be the likely path for ECOWAS for now.
“A travel ban is a strong possibility except for travel related to mediation,” said Alex Vines, head of the Africa programme for London-based think tank Chatham House and a former UN sanctions inspector.
“I think ECOWAS might also signal they might support UNOCI further if requested by the UN and things get worse,” he added, referring to the UN mission in the country. Gbagbo and Ouattara have been locked in a standoff since the Nov 28 presidential election, which both claim to have won. UN chief Ban Ki-moon has voiced fears of a return to civil war.

Russian Duma tentatively approves arms pact

MOSCOW: Russia’s lower house of parliament on Friday gave preliminary approval to a US-Russian arms treaty, but decided to delay the final vote until next month.
The Kremlin-controlled State Duma voted 350-58 to approve the New START treaty in the first of three required readings. The legislators said they would proceed further after returning from the New Year’s vacation that lasts until Jan 11.
Konstantin Kosachev, the head of the State Duma’s foreign affairs committee, said the full ratification could only happen next month “at the earliest.” The New START treaty, which was ratified on Wednesday by the US Senate, would limit each country’s strategic nuclear warheads to 1,550, down from the current ceiling of 2,200. It also would re-establish a system for monitoring and verification, which ended last year with the expiration of a previous arms control deal.
The pact is a centrepiece of President Barack Obama’s efforts to “reset” ties with Russia. In a phone conversation on Thursday, President Dmitry Medvedev congratulated Obama’s on the Senate’s approval of the treaty, which the two leaders hailed as a historic event for both countries and for US-Russia relations, according to a statement from the White House.
Speaking in a live interview with top Russian TV stations on Friday, Medvedev praised the treaty as a “cornerstone of stability both on the European continent and the entire world for the next decades,” adding he was happy to see the Russian parliament moving ahead to ratify it. He credited Obama for securing the pact’s ratification.
“He did a great job, succeeding in his push for the ratification of this very important document, the New START in quite difficult conditions,” Medvedev said. “I told him: Barack, you have a rest now.” Obama called the treaty a national security imperative and pressed strongly for its approval before the new Congress, with a Republican majority, assumes power in January. In recent days, he had telephoned a handful of wavering Republicans, eventually locking in their votes.
The Obama administration has argued that the US must show credibility in its improved relations with its former Cold War foe. It is also counting on Russia to help pressure Iran over its nuclear ambitions.
When Obama and Medvedev signed the arms pact in Prague in April, they agreed to conduct ratification simultaneously. But Kosachev and other top Russian lawmakers said they need to study Senate legislation accompanying the treaty before making a decision.Republicans had tried to kill the treaty by forcing changes in its language that would have sent it back for negotiations with Moscow. Democrats sought to appease some Republican senators by letting them raise these issues in legislation accompanying the treaty that would not directly affect the pact.
On Wednesday, two such amendments, one on missile defence and one on funding for the US nuclear arsenal, passed with support from both parties.
Kosachev and other lawmakers said that the Duma will likely counter the Senate legislation with legislation of its own.
“We don’t have the right to leave their interpretations unanswered,” Kosachev told reporters on Friday. “Otherwise it may give additional advantages to our American partners — or, possibly, opponents. We need to balance those advantages”.
The treaty also needs to be ratified by the upper house, the Federation Council, which like the Duma is controlled by the Kremlin.
Addressing legislators in both houses of parliament, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Friday that the legislation accompanying the treaty doesn’t change it and made it extremely clear that the Kremlin wants the pact ratified.
“This treaty takes our relations with the United States to a qualitatively new level of equality, parity and balance of interests,” Lavrov said, warning the legislators that the failure to pass it would badly tarnish Russia’s reputation.
At the same time, Lavrov signalled to lawmakers that they could add statements countering the Senate’s legislation accompanying the treaty.
“The ratification is a priority task for the state,” Lavrov said. “But we must do it in such a way that no one has any doubts about our determination to firmly demand the fulfilment of the treaty’s conditionsA

Snow, ice trap keep passengers trapped at Europe’s airports

PARIS: Travellers spent Christmas Eve camped in airports in Paris and Brussels instead of at feast-laden family tables, after new snowfall and shortages of deicing fluid trapped passengers and snarled travel across Europe.
A scare about the security of a snow-laden terminal roof at Paris’ Charles de Gaulle airport made matters worse, with crowds asked to clear out of a section of Terminal 2E.
While travel in Britain was improving after days of headaches, snowfall stranded travelers in Ireland and Denmark and shut Duesseldorf airport in Germany for hours.
The exceptionally wintry weather in recent weeks has caused exceptionally sweeping shutdowns, delays and other problems. Cities such as London and Paris, not as accustomed to flying planes in below-freezing temperatures as say Moscow or Stockholm, buckled under the snow. Exasperated passengers assailed transport authorities for not being prepared.
To try to ease the pain of a Christmas under the glaring lights of an airport terminal, Paris’ airport authority plans to hand out gifts to children forced to sleep at Charles de Gaulle overnight.
The airport also got an early Christmas gift flown in from the United States on Friday — two shipments of precious deicing fluid to get planes off the snowy ground. Authorities had halved the numbers of takeoffs from Charles de Gaulle throughout the morning.
Cancellations and delays continued in the afternoon, with flights reduced by 35 percent. The airport authority said it hoped things would return to normal Saturday.
Security officers brought in 700 cots as well as blankets and floor mats, and extra rooms were reserved in nearby hotels. The airport turned up the heat and installed all-night police and ambulance patrols for the strange holiday vigil, said airport authority chief Pierre Graff.
In Brussels, the Red Cross was bringing in hundreds of cots for passengers spending the night at the airport. Airport spokesman Jan Van der Cruysse said they expected that several hundred passengers would remain stranded overnight.
Adding to the holiday drama, passengers at the Paris airport were asked to leave a section of a major terminal for security reasons because of large amounts of snow on the roof, Bernard Cathelain, deputy director of the Paris airport authority ADP, said.
He and passengers present during the incident denied French media reports that the terminal was ever evacuated. Passengers were asked to move to another part of the terminal.
A roof at terminal 2E collapsed in 2004, killing four travellers and sending tons of glass, steel and concrete showering down.
France’s famed strikes played a role in Friday’s travel troubles, too. A walk out at a French factory involved in the production of deicing fluid exacerbated shortages, forcing France to import the fluid, France’s transport minister said.
Laurianne Bertrand, a 33-year-old French citizen living in Cairo, was trying Friday to reach family in Marseille but got stuck at Paris’ Charles de Gaulle.
“It really does matter for the grandparents. They are waiting for us in Marseille,” she said. “We want to be with them, but there are worse things in life. I want to stay optimistic. Frankly in that kind of situation you have to be, otherwise you can’t handle it.” Ramona Sansotta, a 23-year-old trying to get home to Genoa, spent Thursday night in Paris’ Charles de Gaulle airport — only to see her flight cancelled again on Friday.
“They brought us some blankets, but no one here could speak our language and we don’t speak French. So after we spent the whole night here they cancelled our flight again. And now we hope to get back home before Christmas,” she said.
Shortages of the fluid hit airports in Ireland and Belgium as well, leading to a domino effect of delays around the continent.
Surprise snow threw Ireland’s main Dublin airport into chaos with some 40,000 travellers stranded or delayed. With people giving up on air travel a day before Christmas, Irish Ferries added extra crossings between Britain and Ireland.
“We have no spare capacity. We’ve run out of aircraft, deicing fluid or crews at various locations,” said Ryanair chief executive Michael O’Leary.
Siobhan Moore, spokeswoman for Dublin Airport, said thousands of stranded passengers are “tired and stressed and emotional, all entirely understandable at this time of year.” The unexpected Irish cold snap is also killing cows, sheep and pigs _ and particularly young salmon at Ireland’s fish farms that are used to stock lakes in springtime for anglers.
In Britain, major airports said services were operating largely as normal as the country thawed out from days of frosty weather. However, Christmas travelers were contending with reduced rail services and icy roads. About a quarter of services were cancelled on some rail routes.
In Germany, Duesseldorf airport closed for several hours on Friday morning because of new snowfall, with some 65 flights cancelled.
In Denmark, Police in the Baltic Sea island of Bornholm urged people to stay indoors, meaning many weren’t able to reach families for the traditional Christmas Eve celebrations.
Some 400 passengers on two ferries to the island spent Thursday night on the ferries. On Friday, the passengers were able to reach the port city of Roenne, where they were lodged in military barracks and a sports facility.

Student nurses decry medic’s conduct


MULTAN, Dec 24: Scores of Nishtar Hospital student nurses vandalised the office of a house officer and marched on city roads on Friday after a medical student allegedly slapped a student nurse during duty hours.
Dr Imran Khan Niazi, a post-graduate student of Nishtar Medical College, slapped Maria, a second year student of NMC’s Institute of Nursing, over some duty matter in Ward 12 on Friday morning.
After boycotting the classes, the student nurses protested against the doctor outside the office of Medical Superintendent Dr Zaffar Niazi.
A subsequent dialogue among hospital and nursing institute administration, representatives of Pakistan Medical Association and the protesters failed.
When the protesting nurses encircled the Ward 12, Dr Imran Niazi succeeded in escaping. The enraged nurses vandalised the office of house officer and then gathered outside the offices of hospital MS and NMC principal.
Later, they left the hospital premises and marched up to the residence of the prime minister in Multan.
Seeking disciplinary action against Dr Imran, the nurses wanted complainant Maria to slap the accused to settle the score.
They announced boycott of classes as well as their duties in various hospital wards which were already short of nurses.
Multan chapter PMA general secretary Dr Kshif Chishti said that accused doctor had only pushed the nurse away and did not slap her. He claimed the issue had been resolved after the doctor extended an apology.
A student nurse on the condition of anonymity said that doctors’ attitude towards the nursing staff was humiliating.
NMC Principal Dr Laiq Siddiqi said the protesters had announced to end their protest after the accused doctor’s apology but later pressed for disciplinary action.
He said an inquiry committee comprising senior doctors would be constituted on Monday with the consultation of student nurses.
He said that the student nurses had withdrawn their strike call and were performing their duties after their negotiations with him.

From science fiction to reality

SCIENCE fiction fans will be familiar with the works of Isaac Asimov, one of the most prolific writers ever to have lived. Author of over 500 books, he is perhaps best remembered for his Zeroth Law of Robotics: “A robot may not injure humanity, or, by inaction, allow humanity to come to harm.” Unfortunately, the robots being designed to fight tomorrow’s wars will not be programmed with this law. Quietly, out of public view, a debate is being conducted about the morality of using completely autonomous machines to fight the battles of the near future.
Already, unmanned aircraft such as the Predators and Reapers flying over Pakistani skies to hunt down terrorists are making it possible for their controllers to distance themselves, physically and morally, from the death and destruction they cause from thousands of miles away. For these men and women, warfare has become a video game.
But it is still a human hand that is guiding the aircraft and releasing their munitions. In the new generation of weapons systems now on the drawing boards, machines will be programmed to move across difficult terrain, carrying a mix of weapons to engage the enemy in a designated area, and take life-and-death decisions in micro-seconds.
Where human soldiers might hesitate, these robotic warriors will not pause to distinguish between friend and foe: anybody not carrying electronic markers declaring his or her identity will automatically be a target.
The advantages of using robots is evident: they will be tireless, able to carry heavy equipment, unsentimental and deadly accurate. Above all, casualties in their ranks will not make headlines back home, and lead to calls to recall them. These are the arguments of the supporters of autonomous battle-bots.
On the other side, there are those who question the ethics of using fully autonomous machines that make no distinction between soldiers and civilians. While a soldier might try and determine who the target is before firing, robots will simply shoot at anybody in the killing zone.
There will thus be no accountability if civilians are targeted. Currently, soldiers can (and occasionally are) held responsible for causing civilian deaths. But who will court-martial a machine? Nevertheless, it is tempting for military planners to prepare for this future.
Of course, we are a long way from creating the malevolent intelligence evident in the Terminator movie series where virtually indestructible human-looking androids from the future wreak havoc in our world. Artificial Intelligence is still in its early days, although the growing power and miniaturisation of computers has now placed the Holy Grail of autonomous machines in the realm of possibility.
This evolution towards automated warriors has implications other than purely moral considerations. Research and development costs render such futuristic weapons systems prohibitively expensive. The technology required also restricts the number of countries that can acquire these battle-bots to a handful.
Already, the cutting-edge weaponry in the American arsenal has left the rest of the world far behind. Only its closest allies have access to aircraft such as the F-35. As we saw by the ease with which Saddam Hussein’s forces were routed by the Americans, the technological difference between the US and other forces is now virtually insuperable. The American annual military budget is almost twice that of the rest of the world combined. And despite the recession, Washington is still pouring vast sums into its armed forces.
Autonomous robots are not as distant as we once thought. Already, commercial machines perform simple domestic tasks. For years, they have been the mainstay in assembly plants where they are programmed to do repetitive tasks. But as they enter homes to assist old people, they have acquired greater sophistication and complexity.
Currently, static defence is the area that promises rapid advance. Soldiers on sentry duty, being human, succumb to boredom and sleep. Robots armed with sensors and weapons are being tested now. Perimeter defence using automated vehicles to carry out fixed or random patrols are being designed.
Interceptor aircraft would have the big advantage of not having to carry expensive and heavy life-support systems needed by human pilots. In addition, they could be made more manoeuvrable as they would be immune to the high gravitational forces (G-force) that would render humans unconscious.
All this is not in the realm of science fiction: already, a group called the International Committee for Robot Arms Control has been formed to frame rules and limits to govern the development of robots designed for the battlefield. The ICRAC includes Artificial Intelligence specialists, military officers, lawyers and human rights experts. Whatever the outcome of the deliberations of this body, it seems that the world is likely to wit ness wars fought between armies of largely autonomous machines, with diminishing human intervention and responsibility. Driven by technological advances as much as by political considerations, these developments will make it possible for advanced countries to wage wars without moral qualms about casualties.
However, asymmetric wars will still have a place in human conflict. As we saw from the deployment of the Stuxnet worm that attacked computers controlling Iranian uranium-enrichment facilities, increasingly networked equipment is vulnerable to cyber-attacks. Here, the playing field is more level, and countries without the money or the technology to develop the next generation of weapons systems can still hack into sophisticated command and control software, and inflict huge damage.
Underwater, dolphins are being trained to detect enemy submarines. In space, nations are prepared to destroy communication satellites As technology drives the development of ever more lethal weapons, human ethics have not kept pace. The Geneva Convention that regulates the rules of warfare was last updated in 1949, and is largely silent on the kind of armed conflict we have seen these last 60 years.
As more and more non-state players wage war against states, and conflicts multiply, it is unlikely that we will be able to control the spread of sophisticated weapons. However, no matter how much weapons change, Sun Tzu’s words, written 2,600 years ago in The Art of War, remain relevant: 

ISI in the news

IT was an odd sight. The PPP and PML-N, political rivals par excellence, are rarely ever on the same page. Yet on Thursday Prime Minister Gilani and opposition leader Chaudhry Nisar appeared to have been reading from the same script — and stranger yet, in defence of an organisation for which neither could have much love lost. The ISI, the prime minister and the opposition leader told parliament, is a great national institution and will be protected at all costs. From their sterling defence of the seemingly omnipotent spy agency, it appeared as if the political leaders were declaring the ISI to be a national treasure. But no ordinary national treasure is the ISI, and who better to know that than the prime minister and Chaudhry Nisar whose parties have suffered at the hands of the security establishment more than most in recent times. Politics really is a dark and mysterious art sometimes.
On a more serious note, however, the recent headlines concerning the ISI chief raise two important points. First, why does the agency keep appearing in the headlines time and again, almost always in a negative way? Conspiracy theorists and ‘patriots’ and ‘nationalists’ will of course claim it is all a grand conspiracy to undermine Pakistan, its security interests and possibly even the country’s physical existence. But is this necessarily so? Could reasonable and rational people not have some reasonable and rational grounds for disagreeing with the policies the security establishment is pursuing? The world over there are fierce disagreements within states over issues of foreign policy and national security strategies; why must such disagreements here be reduced to patriotic vs unpatriotic?
Second, dragging a serving, or even retired, ISI official into a court case in New York has the unwelcome potential to further exacerbate tensions between the US and Pakistan, and this at a time when tensions over Afghanistan are already on the rise. The civil suit in question may be a private one brought by American relatives of victims of the Mumbai attacks, but surely the US government can take some diplomatic or legal steps to reassure Pakistan. After all, if the court had summoned the spy chief of another country, say Britain or even Israel, would Washington not have pursued a diplomatic course to defuse the situation? This is the kind of intervention that is needed at the moment.

Christians leaving Iraq

THEIR cathedrals stand silent and their neighbourhoods are rapidly emptying. Now Iraq’s Christians face two further unthinkable realities: that Christmas this year is all but cancelled, and that few among them will stay around to celebrate future holy days. It has been the worst of years for the country’s Christians, with thousands fleeing in the past month and more leaving the country during 2010 than at any time since the invasion nearly eight years ago. Christian leaders say there have been few more defining years in their 2,000-year history in central Arabia.
The latest exodus follows a massacre led by Al Qaeda at a Chaldean Catholic church in central Baghdad on Oct 31, which left about 60 people dead, almost 100 maimed and an already apprehensive community terrified. Since then, the terror group has targeted Christians in their homes, including family members of those who survived the attack.
In Baghdad, as well as the northern cities of Mosul and Kirkuk, Christmas services have been cancelled for fear of further violence. Church leaders said they would not put up Christmas decorations or celebrate midnight mass. They told families not to deco rate their homes, for fear of attack after Al Qaeda reiterated its threat to target Christians earlier this week.
“Now more than 80 per cent of Christians are not going to the churches,” said the head of Iraq’s Christian Endowment group, Abdullah al-Noufali. “There is no more Sunday school, no school for teaching Christianity. ... We had a discussion about what we would do for Christmas. We took a decision just to do one mass. In years before we had many masses.” Noufali’s church was closed and barricaded in 2005 when violence was consuming Baghdad. Many others had stayed open since then. In the wake of the attack on the Our Lady of Salvation church, at least 10 churches are believed to have been closed. At others, congregations are down to a handful.
Iraq’s Christian population has halved since the ousting of Saddam Hussein. But in the past two months, the rate of departure has soared. The United Nations High Commission for Refugees is reporting high numbers of registrations by Christians in Syria, Jordan and Lebanon. And in Iraq’s Kurdish north, the number of refugees is overwhelming. ¦ — The Guardian, London.

WikiLeaks and the law

THERE is not one country of significance which WikiLeaks ignored. None, however, launched a campaign to persecute its founder Julian Assange as the US has — doggedly with total disregard for the law and decency.
It perceived, accurately, that it is the main, if not the sole, target of the disclosures. As he said he has “revealed some harsh truths about the Iraq and Afghan wars and broken stories about corporate corruptions”.
Damaging revelations on Guantanamo Bay, spying on representatives of members of the UN’s Security Council and its secretary-general and the like, the US can live with. Imminent exposure of its corporate giants causes sheer panic. The documents will give “unprecedented insight into the US government’s foreign activities”, WikiLeaks threatens.
The American press revels in publicising ‘scandals’ in other countries; not seldom at the behest of the leaders. Bob Woodward’s books contain, in direct quotes, aspersions on foreign statesmen cast by highest American officials and secret proceedings of the National Security Council on most sensitive matters of war planning and intelligence collection.
The law was broken by an administration official to identify Valerie Plame as a CIA agent in order to discredit her husband’s report which belied official claims. But the country goes into high dudgeon when its misdeeds are laid bare in other countries.
The US Customs tried hard to prevent the entry of documents published by Iranian students after they seized the US embassy in Tehran on Nov 4, 1979. They were confiscated as “stolen property”. Entitled Isnaad Lana Jasoosi (documents from the US espionage den), they contained reports from American embassies in Tehran, Islamabad, New Delhi and Kabul since copies were exchanged as a matter of course.
Volume 9 recorded the CIA’s attempt to bribe President Bani Sadr. He was offered a magnificent $1,000 a month for services as an informant. Its agent had met Bani Sadr when he was in exile in Paris. He was Guy Rutherford of a firm of consultants, Carver Associates, which provided the cover. In Tehran he became William Foster. Iranians cannot be blamed for their deep distrust of the US.
No gossip about the sister of the Shah of Iran was too salacious for embassy officials to relay to the State Department. The volumes reveal that the US had good reason to anticipate the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. Its charge d’affaires Bruce Amstutz was in regular contact with the Soviet ambassador Vasily Safronchuk.
On May 29, 1979 Amstutz asked his bosses “Can we expect to see Soviet combat troops enter the Afghan conflict?” Demarches of the kind delivered to Moscow on Poland might have averted the Soviet invasion as it did in Poland.
There are two volumes on Pakistan. Iqbal Akhund and Agha Shahi emerge most creditably from the papers as staunch patriots. Ziaul Haq’s set-up was penetrated by the CIA. Scholarship in South Asia and the West has neglected these 60-odd volumes. One hopes the WikiLeaks dump will not share their fate.
The Lahore High Court deserves praise for rejecting on Dec 4, a petition to restrain publication of the WikiLeaks papers. The next day a French court acted likewise. Significantly, no such effort was made in the US. It prefers extra legal moves because two rulings of its Supreme Court would expose any such effort to ridicule.
The first was on the 43 volumes of a classified study, entitled History of the US Decision-Making Process on Vietnam Policy, the Pentagon Papers, published by the New York Times first on June 13, 1971.
They were leaked by Daniel Ellsberg, author of parts of the study, who had worked in the office of the secretary of defence and served as analyst in Vietnam and RAND where the documents were copied.
On June 30, 1971, the Supreme Court rejected (six to three) the Nixon administration’s plea for an injunction to restrain further publication. The Espionage Act was considered and regarded as irrelevant.
Chief Justice Warren Berger testily remarked in his dissent that the duty to report to the police discovery of stolen documents “rests on taxi drivers, justices, and the New York Times”. But the majority rested its ruling firmly on the people’s right to know.
Berger’s logic received short shrift on May 21, 2001 in Bartnicki v Vopper which is directly relevant. It involved “the repeated international disclosure of an illegally intercepted cellular telephone conversation about a public issue”. The court ruled (six to three) that it was permissible.
A teacher’s union was negotiating with the school board. Gloria Bartnicki of the union spoke on her cellphone to its president Anthony Kane who threatened “to blow off their (school board members’) front porches”.
An unidentified person re corded the call. Frederick Vopper, a radio commentator, acquired the tape from Jack Vocum who had found it in his mail box. Both, the interception and the disclosure by Vocum were clearly unlawful. But Vopper had no hand in that. He had obtained the tape ‘lawfully’ and was entitled to publicise it as if “a third party had inadvertently overheard the talk”.
A balance had to be struck between the “privacy of communication” and “publication of truthful information of public concern”. In this case, privacy concerns “give way when balanced against the interest in publishing matters of public importance”.
The ruling applies with greater force to WikiLeaks. The source of every sensational disclosure is indignation at public deception, be it the Iranian students, Daniel Ellsberg or Julian Assange. Deception prompts courts to tilt the balance in favour of disclosure. As a devout Christian, President Barack Obama should heed the words in the Bible from John 8: 32: “And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” ¦ The writer is an author and a lawyer.

Can the Afghan war be won?

THIS year has been the bloodiest year for foreign troops in the nine-year-long war in Afghanistan, with the US taking the brunt of the casualties with some 700 Nato troops — at least 475 of them American — who were killed in fierce battles with the Taliban aimed at clearing and holding areas under insurgent control.
The nine-year-long war in Afghanistan has raised many questions. Since the questions have varied a lot, as the US media raised the question, ‘Where things stand’ when it was started in 2001, then it got changed to ‘Why are we even there?’ and lately it was renamed, ‘Can we win?’ The variation in questions is attention-grabbing and tells us where the US actually stands after nine years of war in Afghanistan.
The Americans themselves do not sound contented with Washington’s strategies and have lost their interest in the war.
According to a recent survey by the Pew Research Centre, “only a quarter of Americans follow news about Afghanistan” and Tony Maddox, who oversees international coverage for CNN, has lately said: “Inside the United States, you’ve got audiences that are beginning to suffer from war fatigue.” Last year President Obama announced that he was sending an additional 30,000 troops to Afghanistan with the goal of creating conditions that will allow the transfer of security responsibilities to the Afghans and let US combat troops start coming home in the summer of 2011, and the US plans to end combat operations in 2014 and transfer responsibility for the country’s affairs to Afghans.
However, it is said in a recent Nato Lisbon summit that “even after we draw down our combat forces, the US will continue to support Afghanistan’s development and security as a strategic partner, just as the NatoAfghanistan partnership affirms the broader and enduring international community support to Afghanistan.” So the governance seems to be a challenge in Afghanistan even in future. While the US analyst said that due to bloodiest casualties and ridiculous situation in Afghanistan most European allies would begin withdrawing their troops within two years.
As a result, he says: “the US administration is going to face a problem — the Taliban are stronger, the Europeans are leaving, so just to contain the Taliban, the US military is going to have to ask for more troops in 2011 and 2012.” So, after all these ground realities, it is understood that now the question is not about winning the war, even it’s not about something that could be construed as a withdrawal with conditions, but it seems much more about escalation of the war. MAIMUNA ASHRAF Islamabad

No specific details about deals with China

A NUMBER of news items, articles and opinions expressed in these esteemed pages show that Pakistan and China have indeed entered a new era of cooperation, which is eminent from the $36 billion deals made.
I read the Sunday issue (Dec 19) and ironically failed to find any specific details about the ‘deals’ which have been reached between the two nations.
Thinking aloud, as in exactly who got all the business generated by this business summit? Which companies will be given the contracts for all the sectors mentioned? How will this actually happen: in the form of projects or industries or what?
Have any time lines been developed as to when these projects (or whatever) will be completed? How many jobs will be created and, more importantly, where? How this huge amount of money (much greater than US cooperation in recent history) will trickle down to the masses?
How will I and my colleagues, who are qualified and without a job, benefit from all this which is happening in our own economy?
Still wondering, and thinking aloud, why could not our media raise such questions as to how this macro-economic injection will affect the economy? How will the created jobs change the lives of our people?
What sort of skilled workforce will be required, and what measures are to be taken so that the domestic work force is optimally utilised and no jobs are lost to expatriates? KHAWAR ALI SHER Islamabad

Confident Asia, tired Europe

A S I headed back recently to Europe’s unusually cold winter after a short visit to balmy Southeast Asia, it became clear that the world is indeed divided into two. Western nations are old, tired, mired in crisis and nervous about the future and a young, self-confident, optimistic and increasingly assertive Asia wants to keep growing and growing.
True, such assertions are simplistic. Not all of Europe is in decline and the US remains the world’s undisputed dominant power. Similarly, for all the ‘ascendant Asia’ hype, the continent is home to some of the world’s poorest nations as well as economic giants. Asia’s rich live side by side with the poor. Mediaeval and modern share a space as do democrats and autocrats. Rising China has little to do with poverty-stricken Laos or the security challenges facing Pakistan and Afghanistan.
And yet, there is little doubt that the ‘can do’ spirit of many Asian countries is inspiring.
At the Bali Democracy Forum (BDF) in Indonesia, I was happy not only to get away from the chilling cold weather in Brussels but also to get another taste of outward-looking and multicultural Indonesia. A few days later, back in Brussels, I watched EU leaders grapple with ways to tackle the crisis facing the single European currency, conscious that failure to send a strong and united message on the euro would further erode the credibility of the 27-nation bloc.
Of the two encounters, there is little doubt that the BDF made more of an impression. And not just because the opening session attended by Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono was opened by beautiful dancing girls and exquisite music.
The BDF is no simple exercise in Indonesian PR. Launched in 2008 as the first intergovernmental forum in Asia on democracy, BDF aims to spread the message of democracy and moderation in Asia and beyond.
In Bali, President Yudhoyono or SBY as he is called, warned that uneven political development posed a threat to Asian security. Asians had so far focused almost exclusively on economic development but there was an “urgent need to overcome the ‘political development’ gap” as well. “If we don’t handle this carefully, this political development gap could cause trouble for development, create political instability and become a security threat to the region,” he said.
BDF participants agreed that democracy needs to be strengthened in Asia, but this should be ‘homegrown’ and not forced from the outside.
Indonesia is a founding member of the 10-nation Asean. As the bloc’s biggest economy, it has been keen to advance principles of democracy and human rights which it has championed since the fall of military strongman Suharto in 1998. The democracy forum is an initiative of Yudhoyono’s to encourage open discussion of democracy among the region’s disparate states.
This year’s forum was co-chaired by Yudhoyono and South Korean President Lee Myung-Bak who took time off from the crisis on the Korean peninsula to attend the Bali meeting. “Asia has emerged as an axis of world change; that’s why we have to cooperate across a number of responsibilities so that democracy and our economies can grow together,” Lee said. Representatives of some 70 countries attended the two-day meeting.
“Democracy is not enough for gaining prosperity because it must also be completed with rule of law, unity and hard work of the nation,” the Indonesian leader said, adding that there was “no single model of democracy” in the world. Meanwhile, back in Brussels, EU policymakers are hoping that 2011 will be a better year than 2010.
Undoubtedly, the euro crisis facing the bloc’s single currency will continue to cast a dark shadow in the new year, despite efforts by EU leaders at their summit in Brussels on Dec 16-17 to try and thrash out a coherent and coordinated response to defend the currency. But there’s more than the euro that ails Europe that has seen the 27-nation bloc falter in its relations with key global powers even as attention in Brussels has centred on the established of a new European foreign service, merging diplomats from the 27 EU states with Brussels-based EU officials.
The focus on the euro is about more than just the economies of Greece, Ireland, Portugal and Spain — the four countries generally believed to be worst hit by the crisis. As German Chancellor Angela Merkel pointed out, Europe needs to demonstrate to the outside world that “we all share the same goal, namely a stable Europe and a stable currency”.
EU leaders have agreed to make minor changes to the EU’s governing treaty to set up a permanent mechanism from mid2013 to solve sovereign debt problems. However, even as they struggle to put up a united front on the euro, few try and disguise the deep fissures that have emerged among EU nations. The German chancellor has been attacked from all sides, with EU policymakers berating Berlin for a seeming lack of solidarity and German opposition leaders at home accusing Merkel of dithering and populism.
Merkel and Germany’s popularity in the rest of the EU is at its lowest ebb in decades. Berlin’s opposition to a number of proposals for dealing with the euro crisis from Eurobonds to an increase in the euro zone’s bailout fund, has left many other member states questioning Germany’s solidarity with its struggling neighbours.
This is not to say that Europe is headed for immediate and automatic irrelevance and decline or that Asia’s economies will continue to be turbo-charged for all time to come. Both Asia and Europe face enormous pitfalls. For the moment, however, I’m betting on Asia and Asians to provide a better, brighter and bigger story in the new year. ¦ The writer is Dawn’s correspondent in Brussels.