07-31-2007, 11:18 AM
Paki stan today
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->Mohmand Lal Masjid militants offer talks
GHALANAI, July 30: Militants who had occupied a mosque and a shrine in the Lakaro area of the Mohmand Agency on Saturday night said on Monday that they were ready for talks with the government and elders of the area.
The self-proclaimed chief of the group, who introduced himself as Umar Khalid, told journalists that they would not impose sharia by force and would appeal to people to give up un-Islamic practices.
They warned of tit-for-tat response if the government took any action to dislodge them from the mosque.
âWe will continue Ghazi Abdur Rashidâs mission even if it means sacrificing our lives,â said Umar Khalid.
Brandishing an AK-47 rifle, he said that owning a gun was a matter of honour, adding that it had been snatched from German troops in Afghanistan.
<b>The militants wearing masks moved around waving rocket-launchers and long-range machine guns.Umar Khalid denied having links with Al Qaeda and Taliban, but said his people could not distance themselves from them. âIf they (Taliban) come to us, we will welcome them,â he said. He claimed his group had more than 3,000 trained people who were ready to sacrifice their lives.</b>
A grand tribal jirga in Mohammad Agency will assemble on Tuesday to discuss the situation after the occupation of Turangzai Babaji mosque by militants.
According to Mohmmand Agency political agent Said Ahmad, the jirga would be held in Ghalani.
Six pakistan soldiers die as freedom fighters renew attacks
MIRAMSHAH, July 30: Freedom fighters renewed their attacks on security forces in the North Waziristan Agency on Monday, killing six soldiers and wounding five others, while a Cobra helicopter fired rockets on a suspected car in Bakakhel area of the adjacent Frontier Region, officials and residents said.
Witnesses said that the helicopter attacked the car which was following an army convoy in the Bakakhel area. The convoy comprising several vehicles was going from Mirali to the Bannu district.
The driver of the car had been warned to keep away from the convoy, but he ignored the warning. The helicopter fired rockets destroying the car. The witnesses said that four people had jumped out of the car before it was hit by the rockets. They said that troops also had fired several shots to warn the driver against coming close to the convoy.
A truck coming behind the convoy was also hit and its driver Samar Gul was injured. He was taken to a hospital in Bannu.
<b>Cobra helicopters have been providing air cover to army convoys in the troubled region following recent suicide attacks on security forces. About 40 army and paramilitary soldiers have been killed and 52 wounded in suicide and rocket attacks in North Waziristan in July.</b>
Freedom fighters scrapped a peace deal with the government early this month, intensifying tension in the agency bordering Afghanistan. They have linked revival of the deal with the removal of troops from check-posts, but the government has rejected this demand.
An improvised device went off close to the Mashes camp near Miramshah killing three paramilitary soldiers. The soldiers were bringing water from a nearby watercourse when the bomb exploded.
On Sunday night, the paramilitary headquarters in Miramshah had come under rocket attack. Sources said that one rocket hit the nearby airstrip and another a tube-well near the base. Four paramilitary soldiers were wounded.
Three paramilitary soldiers were killed and another was injured when a convoy hit a roadside bomb near Thall picket on Monday. The convoy was going from Dosali area to Bannu.
Paramilitary forces responded with artillery fire and pounded suspected locations in the area. Miramshah bazaar remained closed and security forces blocked the Bannu-Miramshah road at Eisha check-post.
Our Bajaur correspondent adds: A post of the paramilitary Bajaur Scouts in Badan Kot area of the Bajaur Agency came under rocket attack on Sunday night.
Residents said that five rockets hit residential compounds. Security forces returned fire. No casualty has been reported.
Changes sought in pakistanâs organ transplant law draft
ISLAMABAD, July 30: Three of the countryâs most prestigious medical organisations on Monday suggested amendments to the proposed Transplantation of Human Organs and Tissues ordinance.
A joint memorandum sent by the Transplantation Society of Pakistan, the Pakistan Society of Nephrology and the Pakistan Association of Urological Surgeons to the government said that the amendments were the minimum for the proposed ordinance to achieve its objective of ending organs trade.
The government has introduced several changes in the draft ordinance on the recommendation of Law Minister Wasi Zafar and Adviser to Prime Minister Sharifuddin Pirzada, who were asked by the federal cabinet in February to improve the text.
<b>The revised draft, including the questionable clauses that are being seen as an attempt to legalise organ trade,</b> will be presented to the cabinet on Wednesday on the instructions of the Supreme Court, which has given a one-month deadline to the government to enact the law.
A source revealed that the government, while receiving the proposed amendments, accepted that certain provisions of the draft law were against the premise of the law, which was to end commercialism in affairs of transplantation of human organs.
The associations suggested deletion of the provision regarding compensation to donors, saying the concept was incompatible with the concept of voluntary donation. They recommended that all living donors should be provided health insurance, recognised for their act of altruism and given preference for employment by the government.
They suggested that it should be made mandatory for the evaluation committee to ensure certain requirements prior to approval of non-blood relative donor to avoid commercialism, which included proof that the donor had altruistic relationship with the recipient for over a period of 10 years and that there was financial or social compatibility between the recipient and the donor.
Failure of govtâs policy: Pulsesâ price continues to mount despite ban on export
KARACHI: The governmentâs ban on export of pulses, aimed to stabilise its prices, has failed to provide relief to the customers as prices of the commodity continue to surge in the domestic market.
Talking to Daily Times on Monday, Fareed Qureshi, General Secretary Karachi Retailers and Grocer Group said the government had banned pulses export to control upward price escalation prior to commencement of Holy month of Ramadan which is due to start from the second week of September.
Presenting an analysis of increase in pulses price, he said that Dal Chana, one of the popular commodity of the Holy month of Ramadan, which was earlier sold at retail level at Rs 39 to Rs 40 per kg is now available at Rs 42 thus an increase of Rs 2 was observed in its price.
Price of white peas, also ranked as one of the most demanding item of Ramadan, has also surged at retail level and compared to previous price of Rs 56 to Rs 58 per kg is now sold at Rs 60 per kg thus an increase of Rs 2 per kg was observed in its price at the city retail outlets.
Retail price of black peas (Kala Chana) has also gone up from previous price of Rs 37 to Rs 38 per kg to new rates of Rs 40 per kg thus an increase of Rs 2 was noticed in its price in the local markets.
Similarly Dal Masurâs retail price has also surged with the same ratio observed in prices of other pulses, as currently it is available at Rs 50 per kg in local markets.
Replying to a question related to prospects of decline in prices of above mentioned items before or during Ramadan, he ruled out such an eventuality, saying keeping in mind previous yearâs trend, consumers will start purchasing the commodities much before the beginning of Ramadan.
Since the pulses price mechanism are directly related to supply and demand there stands remote chances of any decline in their prices.
He said consumers in general would start purchasing and stocking pulses and other related commodities from the first week of August due to fear of inflated prices during Ramadan. Consequently, demand of all the commodities would surge sending their prices further up.
Pakistan security forces murdered Mehsud while he was sleeping
KARACHI: Abdullah Mehsud did not die in a suicide blast but was murdered in cold blood by pakistani security forces while he was sleeping. Pakistan should now refuse the support of the US in FATA, South Waziristan, North Waziristan, Khyber, otherwise bomb blasts will occur all over the country and especially in Karachi.
This was stated by a man claiming to be Abdullah Mehsudâs cousin, Major (retd) Muhammad Zaman Mehsud, also chief of the Mehsud tribe in Karachi. He held a press conference on Monday at the Karachi Press Club.
Zaman said that Abdullah was sleeping in the house of Sheikh Alam Mandukhel when some informer tipped off the security forces of his whereabouts. They raided the house and shot him in cold blood. Zaman said that after this, the ISPRâs Major General Waheed Arshad appeared on television and said that the Taliban leader Abdullah Mehsud had blown himself up during an operation.
Zaman said that Mehsud took part in the Afghan jihad and that he also lost his leg while fighting. He added that Abdullah was satisfied with the peace agreement between the government of Pakistan and the tribals.
Zaman asked how Abdullahâs body could have survived if he had indeed blown himself up. Why did the government not have a postmortem conducted and bury him âin silenceâ. Zaman claimed that Abdullah did not belong to Al Qaeda but was a Taliban leader. His family had been freedom fighters and one of his brothers is in the Pakistan Army, Zaman claimed.
Zaman, who is a member of the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), was questioned on the fact that party chairperson Benazir Bhutto had no objection to the operation in the tribal areas. He replied that Bhutto was not in the country and hence did not know what exactly was going on.
Balochistan girls launch hunger strike for missing persons cause
QUETTA: In an unprecedented move, girls in Quetta started a hunger strike on Monday in front of the press club here in support of a cause and people they are not directly related to. Hailing from middle class families, these girls say they intend to bring the increasing forced disappearances in Balochistan to the attention of the media and the international community.
Although none of the protestersâ friends or family has gone missing, the girls say they want to set a precedent of solidarity with the families of missing persons. âAs the affected families are already deeply traumatised, it is not merely their obligation to protest the mysterious disappearance,â Hani Baloch, the camp leader, told Daily Times.
She contends that although the number of such disappearances is increasing in Balochistan, the state and the human rights organisations in the country are turning a blind eye. They decided on starting a hunger strike, she said, in the hope that drastic measures would mobilise more people to support the cause. Hani says the phenomenon of people being picked up and thrown into torture cells is a grave issue which has plunged the lives of several Baloch families into misery.
Although families of missing persons have observed hunger strikes in front of press clubs and High Courts in Quetta and Karachi, and in front of the Supreme Court in Islamabad, this new variant of the hunger strike is targeted particularly at sensitising the unaffected segments of society.
âIf the family next door to you has been victimised, you could be next. Therefore, we want everyone to join us and move the spymasters of the country against their extra-constitutional activities,â said Hani.
In the next phase of their strike, the camp leader says one member of their group will continue the hunger strike unto death.
Taking such a defiant initiative has not been free from trouble for Hani and her peers. She complains that spies called her up anonymously and said they would kidnap her if she did not give up the strike.
Meher Baloch, another participant of the camp, appealed to international human rights organisations, including United Nations bodies, for help in procuring the immediate recovery of several hundred people who have allegedly been kidnapped by state intelligence agencies.
According to Meher, 22, the missing persons do not belong to any specific area, age group or profession. âIn an operation in the Mand area in March this year, security forces even detained a psychologically disturbed old man, and later four young boys who were out on a picnic.â
She asks, âHow can a disturbed old man launch a rocket? Can an eight-year-old boy drop a bomb on government installations? Are the 12 women arrested from the Splenji area all terrorists?â
Meher says the government is victimising Baloch citizens for no apparent reason and is itself fuelling resentment against the state. âThe government is gaining nothing by conducting these operations but is earning the hatred of the Baloch people.â
As their hunger strike camp makes explicit, Baloch people from across the province, and beyond, have gone missing. One prominent name in the list is Ghulam Mohammad, chairman of a democratic party called the Balochistan National Movement (BNM). Others include Wahid Qamber (from Tump), Sher Mohammad Baloch (Karachi), Saleem Baloch (Karachi), Zakir Majeed (Khzdar), Fazal Baloch (Turbat), Faiz Mohammad (Dazeen Thump), Qadir Marri alias Shadi Khan and Khan Mohammad Marri (Marri tribal area).
Working on a non-political platform they have titled the Baloch Women Panel, the protesting girls say they have not been prompted by anyone but believe it to be their responsibility to come out of their homes to express solidarity with the families of missing persons.
Zahoor Shawani, president of the Balochistan chapter of the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP), told Daily Times that even the judiciary had proved totally helpless in front of the intelligence agencies. Something needs to be done urgently to empower the judiciary and curtail the âlimitless powersâ of the agencies that have allegedly taken people into custody, he added.
âSeveral petitions have been filed with the Balochistan High Court regarding the disappearances. Despite issuance of court orders, no representative from the intelligence agencies bothers to appear before the court. HRCP is very concerned about the immunity enjoyed by these agencies.â
Ali Ahmed Kurd, vice chairman of the Pakistan Bar Council, told Daily Times that after the recent âhistoric verdictâ by the Supreme Court, the biggest challenge ahead of the judiciary now was to recover all the missing people.
âIt is not important to count how many people are missing. The intelligence agencies are not entitled to âkidnapâ a single person. This practice is reminiscent of the SAVAK of Mohammad Raza Shah, the last king of Iran,â he says. âHowever, people have reposed a new trust in the judiciary. All eyes are focused on it. It is time the judiciary rose to the occasion and granted justice to the families of these missing persons.â
21-year-old girl tortured, raped and killed in pakistan
LAHORE: A 21-year-old girl was brutally tortured, raped and strangulated to death by unidentified people in Harbanspura police precincts on Monday.
According to Edhi sources, the killers had dumped the girlâs body in the graveyard of Fayyaz Park a few yards away from Lal Pul. Sources said residents of Fayyaz Park told Edhi Ambulance Services about the body. They said Edhi officials took the body to the city morgue for autopsy and told the police about it.
According to Edhi sources, the girl was severely tortured, because they had found her with a broken arm and leg. They added that though the girl was dressed in a Shalwar Kameez, her condition pointed towards the possibility of rape.
They said the killers had killed her by strangulation. Police collected all circumstantial evidence from the spot where the body was found and lodged a case against the unknown killers.
Retired, father of 10 killed over toilet in pakistan
LAHORE: âHe could have given up everything on his fatherâs word, but they killed him merely over a bathroom,â said Nadeem, the eldest son of Muhammad Akram, who was killed on Sunday night over a property dispute over the construction of a toilet.
Akram, whose funeral was held on Monday, had asked his father Muhammad Shafi and elder brother Muhammad Aslam on Sunday to remove a toilet that was inconveniencing him on which a scuffle broke out and Akram was shot and critically injured. He died on the way to hospital. Akram was buried in a graveyard in Misri Shah.
Nadeem said his family lived in his grandfatherâs four-marla house in Tezab Ahata, Misri Shah along with his grandfather Shafi and uncle. He said that in 1994, his grandfather had disowned Aslamâs children Shahid Aslam, Amir, Razia, Khalida, Rashida, Fehmida and Hameeda for being disobedient to him. He said that later, Aslam had gone to Oman and upon return several years later, told them that he had been arrested in Oman. Nadeem said his father had reconstructed the entire house about seven years ago and retired from the Pakistan Railways five years ago.
Nadeem said that his father and uncle could never get along well and frequently argued over various domestic matters. He said their scuffles had also been taken to a punchayat (council of local elders) on December 15, 2005, in which it was decided that Akram would reconstruct the house and Aslam would pay him Rs 100,000 to him till March 15, 2007, after which Akram would give Aslam possession of a 225 square feet portion of the house. Nadeem said Aslam tried to gain possession forcibly without paying the settled amount. He said this had resulted in frequent scuffles between the two families in which neighbours had to interrupt.
Nadeem said that on Sunday, his grandfather talked with Akram to discuss the house issue during which Shafi abused Akram for not obeying his orders. He said Aslam and his two sons entered the room and started beating Akram. Nadeem said he called up his friends, but Aslam and his sons pelted bricks on all of them, injuring his brothers, Naeem and Wasim, and one of them shot his father in the leg and hit him on the head with a brick. He said neighbours intervened to settle the matter.
Nadeem said after about an hour later, his cousins, Amir and Shahid, returned with a police team from Misri Shah Police Station. He said the policemen abused him and his three brothers and tried to arrest them, but they fled to Naulakha Police Station where the duty officer advised him to go to the Misri Shah Police Station. He said that when he and his brothers returned, they found their father badly injured and in critical condition. They rushed him to Kot Khawaja Saeed Hospital but he died on the way.
Union Council-18 nazim: UC-18 nazim Amir alias Guddu said both the families were extremely poor and did not have money to arrange a funeral which was arranged by members of the UC. He said Akram had been calm during the punchayat whereas Aslam had been aggressive. He said the assailants had called police for their help. He said representatives of the UC had prevented the police from arresting Akram and had tried to take him to a hospital but he died on the way.
Police: Misri Shah Investigation duty officer said police was trying to arrest Amir and Shahid and hoped that they would be arrested in the next couple of days. Shafi and Aslam refused to comment.
PTV MD, federal law secretary responsible for Lal Masjid killings
LAHORE: A petition was filed in the Lahore High Court (LHC) on Monday seeking the Federal Law secretary, the Federal Information secretary and the Pakistan Television (PTV) managing director (MD) be held responsible for the Lal Masjid killings.
The petitioner stated that they had provoked the Lal Masjid inmates by producing the mosqueâs chief cleric, Abdul Aziz, before the media in burqa. Petitioner Amjad Abbas of Gujranwala submitted that during the operation on the Lal Masjid after the arrest of Abdul Aziz, Abdul Rasheed Ghazi was ready to surrender and agreed to settle the issue through dialogue, but the government deliberately resorted to create bloodshed.
Petitionerâs counsel MD Tahir submitted the security personnel who arrested Abdul Aziz had disgraced and humiliated him in the worst manner. He stated further that after arresting Aziz they had him (Aziz) to wear burqa and unveil his face before the media before telecasting his interview.
He submitted that this act of the respondents had earned a bad name to Muslims across the world. He maintained that this attitude of the respondents provoked the Jamia Fareedia students. He said the madrassa students preferred to be âmartyredâ than to surrender before the authorities and to face humiliation. Tahir submitted that it was a conspiracy against the Muslims around the world and a bid to give opportunity to non-Muslims to raise fingers against Islam.
He said the respondents made all efforts to hurt the feelings of the Muslim of Pakistan. He blamed the respondents for the killing of hundreds of innocent female students. He termed the crime punishable under the Pakistan Penal Code.
He prayed that the officials who monitored the operation, instead of settling the matter in a peaceful way preferred to kill the âinnocentâ students along with alleged militants. He prayed that interview of burqa-clad Abdul Aziz should be declared as illegal, inhuman and a violation of fundamental rights and against interest of the nation.
<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->Mohmand Lal Masjid militants offer talks
GHALANAI, July 30: Militants who had occupied a mosque and a shrine in the Lakaro area of the Mohmand Agency on Saturday night said on Monday that they were ready for talks with the government and elders of the area.
The self-proclaimed chief of the group, who introduced himself as Umar Khalid, told journalists that they would not impose sharia by force and would appeal to people to give up un-Islamic practices.
They warned of tit-for-tat response if the government took any action to dislodge them from the mosque.
âWe will continue Ghazi Abdur Rashidâs mission even if it means sacrificing our lives,â said Umar Khalid.
Brandishing an AK-47 rifle, he said that owning a gun was a matter of honour, adding that it had been snatched from German troops in Afghanistan.
<b>The militants wearing masks moved around waving rocket-launchers and long-range machine guns.Umar Khalid denied having links with Al Qaeda and Taliban, but said his people could not distance themselves from them. âIf they (Taliban) come to us, we will welcome them,â he said. He claimed his group had more than 3,000 trained people who were ready to sacrifice their lives.</b>
A grand tribal jirga in Mohammad Agency will assemble on Tuesday to discuss the situation after the occupation of Turangzai Babaji mosque by militants.
According to Mohmmand Agency political agent Said Ahmad, the jirga would be held in Ghalani.
Six pakistan soldiers die as freedom fighters renew attacks
MIRAMSHAH, July 30: Freedom fighters renewed their attacks on security forces in the North Waziristan Agency on Monday, killing six soldiers and wounding five others, while a Cobra helicopter fired rockets on a suspected car in Bakakhel area of the adjacent Frontier Region, officials and residents said.
Witnesses said that the helicopter attacked the car which was following an army convoy in the Bakakhel area. The convoy comprising several vehicles was going from Mirali to the Bannu district.
The driver of the car had been warned to keep away from the convoy, but he ignored the warning. The helicopter fired rockets destroying the car. The witnesses said that four people had jumped out of the car before it was hit by the rockets. They said that troops also had fired several shots to warn the driver against coming close to the convoy.
A truck coming behind the convoy was also hit and its driver Samar Gul was injured. He was taken to a hospital in Bannu.
<b>Cobra helicopters have been providing air cover to army convoys in the troubled region following recent suicide attacks on security forces. About 40 army and paramilitary soldiers have been killed and 52 wounded in suicide and rocket attacks in North Waziristan in July.</b>
Freedom fighters scrapped a peace deal with the government early this month, intensifying tension in the agency bordering Afghanistan. They have linked revival of the deal with the removal of troops from check-posts, but the government has rejected this demand.
An improvised device went off close to the Mashes camp near Miramshah killing three paramilitary soldiers. The soldiers were bringing water from a nearby watercourse when the bomb exploded.
On Sunday night, the paramilitary headquarters in Miramshah had come under rocket attack. Sources said that one rocket hit the nearby airstrip and another a tube-well near the base. Four paramilitary soldiers were wounded.
Three paramilitary soldiers were killed and another was injured when a convoy hit a roadside bomb near Thall picket on Monday. The convoy was going from Dosali area to Bannu.
Paramilitary forces responded with artillery fire and pounded suspected locations in the area. Miramshah bazaar remained closed and security forces blocked the Bannu-Miramshah road at Eisha check-post.
Our Bajaur correspondent adds: A post of the paramilitary Bajaur Scouts in Badan Kot area of the Bajaur Agency came under rocket attack on Sunday night.
Residents said that five rockets hit residential compounds. Security forces returned fire. No casualty has been reported.
Changes sought in pakistanâs organ transplant law draft
ISLAMABAD, July 30: Three of the countryâs most prestigious medical organisations on Monday suggested amendments to the proposed Transplantation of Human Organs and Tissues ordinance.
A joint memorandum sent by the Transplantation Society of Pakistan, the Pakistan Society of Nephrology and the Pakistan Association of Urological Surgeons to the government said that the amendments were the minimum for the proposed ordinance to achieve its objective of ending organs trade.
The government has introduced several changes in the draft ordinance on the recommendation of Law Minister Wasi Zafar and Adviser to Prime Minister Sharifuddin Pirzada, who were asked by the federal cabinet in February to improve the text.
<b>The revised draft, including the questionable clauses that are being seen as an attempt to legalise organ trade,</b> will be presented to the cabinet on Wednesday on the instructions of the Supreme Court, which has given a one-month deadline to the government to enact the law.
A source revealed that the government, while receiving the proposed amendments, accepted that certain provisions of the draft law were against the premise of the law, which was to end commercialism in affairs of transplantation of human organs.
The associations suggested deletion of the provision regarding compensation to donors, saying the concept was incompatible with the concept of voluntary donation. They recommended that all living donors should be provided health insurance, recognised for their act of altruism and given preference for employment by the government.
They suggested that it should be made mandatory for the evaluation committee to ensure certain requirements prior to approval of non-blood relative donor to avoid commercialism, which included proof that the donor had altruistic relationship with the recipient for over a period of 10 years and that there was financial or social compatibility between the recipient and the donor.
Failure of govtâs policy: Pulsesâ price continues to mount despite ban on export
KARACHI: The governmentâs ban on export of pulses, aimed to stabilise its prices, has failed to provide relief to the customers as prices of the commodity continue to surge in the domestic market.
Talking to Daily Times on Monday, Fareed Qureshi, General Secretary Karachi Retailers and Grocer Group said the government had banned pulses export to control upward price escalation prior to commencement of Holy month of Ramadan which is due to start from the second week of September.
Presenting an analysis of increase in pulses price, he said that Dal Chana, one of the popular commodity of the Holy month of Ramadan, which was earlier sold at retail level at Rs 39 to Rs 40 per kg is now available at Rs 42 thus an increase of Rs 2 was observed in its price.
Price of white peas, also ranked as one of the most demanding item of Ramadan, has also surged at retail level and compared to previous price of Rs 56 to Rs 58 per kg is now sold at Rs 60 per kg thus an increase of Rs 2 per kg was observed in its price at the city retail outlets.
Retail price of black peas (Kala Chana) has also gone up from previous price of Rs 37 to Rs 38 per kg to new rates of Rs 40 per kg thus an increase of Rs 2 was noticed in its price in the local markets.
Similarly Dal Masurâs retail price has also surged with the same ratio observed in prices of other pulses, as currently it is available at Rs 50 per kg in local markets.
Replying to a question related to prospects of decline in prices of above mentioned items before or during Ramadan, he ruled out such an eventuality, saying keeping in mind previous yearâs trend, consumers will start purchasing the commodities much before the beginning of Ramadan.
Since the pulses price mechanism are directly related to supply and demand there stands remote chances of any decline in their prices.
He said consumers in general would start purchasing and stocking pulses and other related commodities from the first week of August due to fear of inflated prices during Ramadan. Consequently, demand of all the commodities would surge sending their prices further up.
Pakistan security forces murdered Mehsud while he was sleeping
KARACHI: Abdullah Mehsud did not die in a suicide blast but was murdered in cold blood by pakistani security forces while he was sleeping. Pakistan should now refuse the support of the US in FATA, South Waziristan, North Waziristan, Khyber, otherwise bomb blasts will occur all over the country and especially in Karachi.
This was stated by a man claiming to be Abdullah Mehsudâs cousin, Major (retd) Muhammad Zaman Mehsud, also chief of the Mehsud tribe in Karachi. He held a press conference on Monday at the Karachi Press Club.
Zaman said that Abdullah was sleeping in the house of Sheikh Alam Mandukhel when some informer tipped off the security forces of his whereabouts. They raided the house and shot him in cold blood. Zaman said that after this, the ISPRâs Major General Waheed Arshad appeared on television and said that the Taliban leader Abdullah Mehsud had blown himself up during an operation.
Zaman said that Mehsud took part in the Afghan jihad and that he also lost his leg while fighting. He added that Abdullah was satisfied with the peace agreement between the government of Pakistan and the tribals.
Zaman asked how Abdullahâs body could have survived if he had indeed blown himself up. Why did the government not have a postmortem conducted and bury him âin silenceâ. Zaman claimed that Abdullah did not belong to Al Qaeda but was a Taliban leader. His family had been freedom fighters and one of his brothers is in the Pakistan Army, Zaman claimed.
Zaman, who is a member of the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), was questioned on the fact that party chairperson Benazir Bhutto had no objection to the operation in the tribal areas. He replied that Bhutto was not in the country and hence did not know what exactly was going on.
Balochistan girls launch hunger strike for missing persons cause
QUETTA: In an unprecedented move, girls in Quetta started a hunger strike on Monday in front of the press club here in support of a cause and people they are not directly related to. Hailing from middle class families, these girls say they intend to bring the increasing forced disappearances in Balochistan to the attention of the media and the international community.
Although none of the protestersâ friends or family has gone missing, the girls say they want to set a precedent of solidarity with the families of missing persons. âAs the affected families are already deeply traumatised, it is not merely their obligation to protest the mysterious disappearance,â Hani Baloch, the camp leader, told Daily Times.
She contends that although the number of such disappearances is increasing in Balochistan, the state and the human rights organisations in the country are turning a blind eye. They decided on starting a hunger strike, she said, in the hope that drastic measures would mobilise more people to support the cause. Hani says the phenomenon of people being picked up and thrown into torture cells is a grave issue which has plunged the lives of several Baloch families into misery.
Although families of missing persons have observed hunger strikes in front of press clubs and High Courts in Quetta and Karachi, and in front of the Supreme Court in Islamabad, this new variant of the hunger strike is targeted particularly at sensitising the unaffected segments of society.
âIf the family next door to you has been victimised, you could be next. Therefore, we want everyone to join us and move the spymasters of the country against their extra-constitutional activities,â said Hani.
In the next phase of their strike, the camp leader says one member of their group will continue the hunger strike unto death.
Taking such a defiant initiative has not been free from trouble for Hani and her peers. She complains that spies called her up anonymously and said they would kidnap her if she did not give up the strike.
Meher Baloch, another participant of the camp, appealed to international human rights organisations, including United Nations bodies, for help in procuring the immediate recovery of several hundred people who have allegedly been kidnapped by state intelligence agencies.
According to Meher, 22, the missing persons do not belong to any specific area, age group or profession. âIn an operation in the Mand area in March this year, security forces even detained a psychologically disturbed old man, and later four young boys who were out on a picnic.â
She asks, âHow can a disturbed old man launch a rocket? Can an eight-year-old boy drop a bomb on government installations? Are the 12 women arrested from the Splenji area all terrorists?â
Meher says the government is victimising Baloch citizens for no apparent reason and is itself fuelling resentment against the state. âThe government is gaining nothing by conducting these operations but is earning the hatred of the Baloch people.â
As their hunger strike camp makes explicit, Baloch people from across the province, and beyond, have gone missing. One prominent name in the list is Ghulam Mohammad, chairman of a democratic party called the Balochistan National Movement (BNM). Others include Wahid Qamber (from Tump), Sher Mohammad Baloch (Karachi), Saleem Baloch (Karachi), Zakir Majeed (Khzdar), Fazal Baloch (Turbat), Faiz Mohammad (Dazeen Thump), Qadir Marri alias Shadi Khan and Khan Mohammad Marri (Marri tribal area).
Working on a non-political platform they have titled the Baloch Women Panel, the protesting girls say they have not been prompted by anyone but believe it to be their responsibility to come out of their homes to express solidarity with the families of missing persons.
Zahoor Shawani, president of the Balochistan chapter of the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP), told Daily Times that even the judiciary had proved totally helpless in front of the intelligence agencies. Something needs to be done urgently to empower the judiciary and curtail the âlimitless powersâ of the agencies that have allegedly taken people into custody, he added.
âSeveral petitions have been filed with the Balochistan High Court regarding the disappearances. Despite issuance of court orders, no representative from the intelligence agencies bothers to appear before the court. HRCP is very concerned about the immunity enjoyed by these agencies.â
Ali Ahmed Kurd, vice chairman of the Pakistan Bar Council, told Daily Times that after the recent âhistoric verdictâ by the Supreme Court, the biggest challenge ahead of the judiciary now was to recover all the missing people.
âIt is not important to count how many people are missing. The intelligence agencies are not entitled to âkidnapâ a single person. This practice is reminiscent of the SAVAK of Mohammad Raza Shah, the last king of Iran,â he says. âHowever, people have reposed a new trust in the judiciary. All eyes are focused on it. It is time the judiciary rose to the occasion and granted justice to the families of these missing persons.â
21-year-old girl tortured, raped and killed in pakistan
LAHORE: A 21-year-old girl was brutally tortured, raped and strangulated to death by unidentified people in Harbanspura police precincts on Monday.
According to Edhi sources, the killers had dumped the girlâs body in the graveyard of Fayyaz Park a few yards away from Lal Pul. Sources said residents of Fayyaz Park told Edhi Ambulance Services about the body. They said Edhi officials took the body to the city morgue for autopsy and told the police about it.
According to Edhi sources, the girl was severely tortured, because they had found her with a broken arm and leg. They added that though the girl was dressed in a Shalwar Kameez, her condition pointed towards the possibility of rape.
They said the killers had killed her by strangulation. Police collected all circumstantial evidence from the spot where the body was found and lodged a case against the unknown killers.
Retired, father of 10 killed over toilet in pakistan
LAHORE: âHe could have given up everything on his fatherâs word, but they killed him merely over a bathroom,â said Nadeem, the eldest son of Muhammad Akram, who was killed on Sunday night over a property dispute over the construction of a toilet.
Akram, whose funeral was held on Monday, had asked his father Muhammad Shafi and elder brother Muhammad Aslam on Sunday to remove a toilet that was inconveniencing him on which a scuffle broke out and Akram was shot and critically injured. He died on the way to hospital. Akram was buried in a graveyard in Misri Shah.
Nadeem said his family lived in his grandfatherâs four-marla house in Tezab Ahata, Misri Shah along with his grandfather Shafi and uncle. He said that in 1994, his grandfather had disowned Aslamâs children Shahid Aslam, Amir, Razia, Khalida, Rashida, Fehmida and Hameeda for being disobedient to him. He said that later, Aslam had gone to Oman and upon return several years later, told them that he had been arrested in Oman. Nadeem said his father had reconstructed the entire house about seven years ago and retired from the Pakistan Railways five years ago.
Nadeem said that his father and uncle could never get along well and frequently argued over various domestic matters. He said their scuffles had also been taken to a punchayat (council of local elders) on December 15, 2005, in which it was decided that Akram would reconstruct the house and Aslam would pay him Rs 100,000 to him till March 15, 2007, after which Akram would give Aslam possession of a 225 square feet portion of the house. Nadeem said Aslam tried to gain possession forcibly without paying the settled amount. He said this had resulted in frequent scuffles between the two families in which neighbours had to interrupt.
Nadeem said that on Sunday, his grandfather talked with Akram to discuss the house issue during which Shafi abused Akram for not obeying his orders. He said Aslam and his two sons entered the room and started beating Akram. Nadeem said he called up his friends, but Aslam and his sons pelted bricks on all of them, injuring his brothers, Naeem and Wasim, and one of them shot his father in the leg and hit him on the head with a brick. He said neighbours intervened to settle the matter.
Nadeem said after about an hour later, his cousins, Amir and Shahid, returned with a police team from Misri Shah Police Station. He said the policemen abused him and his three brothers and tried to arrest them, but they fled to Naulakha Police Station where the duty officer advised him to go to the Misri Shah Police Station. He said that when he and his brothers returned, they found their father badly injured and in critical condition. They rushed him to Kot Khawaja Saeed Hospital but he died on the way.
Union Council-18 nazim: UC-18 nazim Amir alias Guddu said both the families were extremely poor and did not have money to arrange a funeral which was arranged by members of the UC. He said Akram had been calm during the punchayat whereas Aslam had been aggressive. He said the assailants had called police for their help. He said representatives of the UC had prevented the police from arresting Akram and had tried to take him to a hospital but he died on the way.
Police: Misri Shah Investigation duty officer said police was trying to arrest Amir and Shahid and hoped that they would be arrested in the next couple of days. Shafi and Aslam refused to comment.
PTV MD, federal law secretary responsible for Lal Masjid killings
LAHORE: A petition was filed in the Lahore High Court (LHC) on Monday seeking the Federal Law secretary, the Federal Information secretary and the Pakistan Television (PTV) managing director (MD) be held responsible for the Lal Masjid killings.
The petitioner stated that they had provoked the Lal Masjid inmates by producing the mosqueâs chief cleric, Abdul Aziz, before the media in burqa. Petitioner Amjad Abbas of Gujranwala submitted that during the operation on the Lal Masjid after the arrest of Abdul Aziz, Abdul Rasheed Ghazi was ready to surrender and agreed to settle the issue through dialogue, but the government deliberately resorted to create bloodshed.
Petitionerâs counsel MD Tahir submitted the security personnel who arrested Abdul Aziz had disgraced and humiliated him in the worst manner. He stated further that after arresting Aziz they had him (Aziz) to wear burqa and unveil his face before the media before telecasting his interview.
He submitted that this act of the respondents had earned a bad name to Muslims across the world. He maintained that this attitude of the respondents provoked the Jamia Fareedia students. He said the madrassa students preferred to be âmartyredâ than to surrender before the authorities and to face humiliation. Tahir submitted that it was a conspiracy against the Muslims around the world and a bid to give opportunity to non-Muslims to raise fingers against Islam.
He said the respondents made all efforts to hurt the feelings of the Muslim of Pakistan. He blamed the respondents for the killing of hundreds of innocent female students. He termed the crime punishable under the Pakistan Penal Code.
He prayed that the officials who monitored the operation, instead of settling the matter in a peaceful way preferred to kill the âinnocentâ students along with alleged militants. He prayed that interview of burqa-clad Abdul Aziz should be declared as illegal, inhuman and a violation of fundamental rights and against interest of the nation.
<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->