Friday, November 18, 2011

Police say no leads on kidnapped American

LAHORE: Three months after a group of gunmen kidnapped a sick and elderly American development expert in Pakistan, police said Friday they believe he is still alive but have no leads in the case.
Police in the eastern city of Lahore said they have released the only witnesses, have no crime scene evidence and cannot fathom a motive for the abduction on August 13 of Warren Weinstein.
The 70-year-old country director for US-based consultancy J.E. Austin Associates was snatched after gunmen used his driver to trick their way into his room at his Lahore home just days before he was due to return to the United States.
Three security guards and Weinstein’s driver had been held in custody over suspicions that somebody close to him leaked details of his movements.
“We kept the driver and guards for three months and interviewed them at length. We couldn’t find anything from those people,” special investigations officer Abdul Razzaque Cheema told AFP.
“We couldn’t get proper fingerprints from there (the house). We checked the (CCTV) camera but due to darkness there was nothing. So from the scene of the crime we couldn’t find anything and we have no information coming.” Weinstein suffers from asthma, heart problems and high-blood pressure, and fears have been growing for his health if still being held captive in Pakistan, which is deeply troubled by Taliban and al Qaeda-linked violence.
But “there is no confirmation that he’s dead,” said Cheema. “Nobody has hinted to us he’s dead. No, not at all. We consider him alive,” he added.
Diplomatic relations between Pakistan and the United States have been severely compromised this year by the American raid killing Osama bin Laden on May 2 and Pakistan’s earlier detention of a CIA contractor over double murder charges.
But although anti-Americanism runs high in Pakistan and kidnappings of Pakistanis are commonplace, abductions of Westerners are rare and practically unheard of in Lahore.
Criminal kidnappings usually yield a demand for ransom within three weeks, said Cheema, and most hostages are released within three months. “So I don’t know who these people are,” he said.
“Nobody has claimed responsibility. Normal criminals they go for kidnapping for ransom, but not foreigners,” he said.

Titanic of PML-N to be sinked: Imran Khan

LAHORE: Chairman Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf Imran Khan said that the Tsunami of popularity of PTI will sink the political Titanic of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N).
He was addressing the party organizers of Lahore, Kasur, Sheikhupura and Nankana Sahib at a local hotel on Friday.
Welcoming the new comers to the party, the PTI Chairman said that party workers would never be ignored as they were very important for the party.
He congratulated the party organizers for holding a successful meeting at Minar-i-Pakistan. On this occasion PTI Lahore region president Mian Mahmood-ur-Rashid also addressed the party workers.

Haqqani has right to clarify position: PPP

ISLAMABAD: The Core Committee of ruling Pakistan People’s Party met in the presidency on Friday and decided that Pakistan’s Ambassador to Washington Husain Haqqani should be given a chance to give his version on the issue of a memorandum given to then US military chief Mike Mullen on behalf of Pakistani government.
“The meeting noted that Ambassador Husain Haqqani has been called in Islamabad to give his viewpoint to the country’s leadership on the controversial memo.
“It is observed that natural justice demands that the ambassador is given a fair opportunity to give his version on the controversy,” said President’s spokesman Farhatullah Babar while describing details of the PPP meeting that was jointly chaired by President Asif Zardari and Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani.
It is expected that Mr Haqqani will arrive in Islamabad ‘in the next 24 hours’ and will meet President Zardari to clear his position as he has been claiming that he had nothing to do with the memo.
However, a businessman Mansoor Ejaz, who is said to be used to deliver the memo to the US military chief, told a private TV channel that he had evidence that the memo was written on the instruction of Mr Haqqani and he could provide these evidences before any inquiry commission if he was called to appear before such a commission.
“I have no issue to appear before any forum or the parliament because the facts are there,” he said.
Mr Haqqani told media that he would soon arrive in the country and explain his point of view to the president.
There are rumours that Mr Haqqani may lose his office over the fiasco. However, there was a general perception at the end of the PPP Core Committee meeting that this was unlikely.
A participant of the meeting told Dawn that President Zardari was of the view that Mr Haqqani could not have involved himself in such an anti-state affair.
According to the memo, assistance of the US government was sought to avert a possible military coup in Pakistan after the May 2 US operation in Abbottabad.
However, there was a consensus that a high-level inquiry will be conducted to ascertain who had written the memo and on whose instructions.
The meeting was informed that two to three days after the May 2 US operation, President Zardari had written an article in Washington Post in which he had not only praised the country’s military establishment but defended it against the backdrop of the Abbottabad operation.
The meeting was also attended by Senator Nayyar Hussain Bokhari, Makhdoom Amin Fahim, Chaudhry Ahmed Mukhtar, Rehman Malik, Mir Hazar Khan Bijarani, Syed Khursheed Ahmed Shah, Makhdoom Shahabuddin, Syed Naveed Qamar, Babar Awan, Senator Jahangir Badr, Senator Faisal Raza Abidi, Senator Sardar Ali Khan, Nazar Mohammad Gondal, Qamar Zaman Kaira, Raja Parvez Ashraf, Rukhsana Bangash, Fouzia Wahab, Fouzia Habib and Farhatullah Babar.
The participant said the issue of Zulfikar Mirza and the London visit of Sindh Information Minister Sharjeel Memon were also discussed and the meeting was informed that Mr Memon had been called to the presidency to explain why he had accompanied Dr Mirza to London against party line.
“President Zardari was quite annoyed on the behavior of Zulfikar Mirza and his outburst against coalition partner Muttahida Qaumi Movement,” he said.
The president, he said, asked the participants to suggest what action should be taken on the issue of Dr Mirza.
Spokesperson Farhatullah Babar said the overall political situation with particular reference to recent developments was also discussed.
The meeting noted that cases related to the National Reconciliation Ordinance (NRO) would come up for hearing before the
Supreme Court on Nov 21.
The meeting vowed to vigorously defend the sanctity of the graves of the ‘mother of democracy’ Begum Nusrat Bhutto and the icon of democracy Shaheed Benazir Bhutto.
It expressed the hope that the cry for justice rising from the grave of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto in Garhi Khuda Baksh would also attract the attention of the independent judiciary.The situation in Sindh also came under discussion and the meeting reiterated that the policy of reconciliation would continue.
The meeting reposed full confidence in the leadership of President Zardari and Prime Minister Gilani.

Information minister of Sindh resigns

KARACHI: Sindh Information Minister Sharjeel Memon resigned from the provincial cabinet on Friday after meeting President Asif Ali Zardari.
A day earlier, the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) had objected to Mr Memon’s journey to London along with former home minister Dr Zulfikar Mirza.
Although the outgoing minister termed his move voluntary, sources close to the Sindh government saw it as the result of a recent meeting held by MQM’s leaders with President Zardari after Dr Mirza took off for London to meet Scotland Yard officials investigating the murder of Dr Imran Farooq.
“My ministry belongs to the party,” Mr Memon told Dawn in a brief response. “I have voluntarily offered to resign and forwarded my resignation to President Zardari because I believe that I should no more hold the office if I have been a source of embarrassment to the party. Ministries have never been a charm for a true political worker.”
Mr Memon denied that he had been asked to resign, adding he had been summoned to meet President Zardari only to explain the ‘situation that emerged’ during the past few days.
Only on Monday, a provincial minister said to be close to Dr Mirza lost his portfolio when the chief minister allocated the jail department to Law Minister Ayaz Soomro.
A senior PPP leader said the recent moves were in line with Mr Zardari’s ‘reconciliation policy’, refusing to rule out Mr Memon having resigned to fulfill MQM’s demand.
“A message has been conveyed well to every member of the cabinet and parliament from the party. If someone deviates from the policy of reconciliation or becomes a source of tension between the two parties, he may face the same fate,” he added.

NRO case: Babar to represent govt

ISLAMABAD: Former law minister Babar Awan will be representing the federal government in the politically explosive review petition against the NRO judgment which a full-court of the Supreme Court – comprising all the 17 judges – will be hearing on Monday next.
Advocate Muhammad Ramzan Chaudhry told reporters on Friday that Dr Awan had been officially nominated to plead the government’s point of view before the apex court in the pending plea moved by the government to seek review of the court’s judgment holding illegal the controversial National Reconciliation Ordinance (NRO).
Dr Awan, who is already representing the government in the presidential reference on reopening of Z.A. Bhutto’s trial, is likely to file an application before the apex court on Saturday seeking permission to represent the government in the NRO case as well

Reshma Power Plant pays back Rs4.57bn on SC orders


ISLAMABAD: The Reshma Rental Generation Ltd on Friday paid back Rs4.57 billion to the national treasury on the orders of the Supreme Court, DawnNews reported.
Sources said that the administration of the Reshma project had informed the Supreme Court bench hearing the rental power projects (RPPs) scam case in writing regarding the payment.
The bench that has been hearing the case comprises of Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry and Justice Khilji Arif Hussain
Earlier on Thursday, the apex court had ordered the Reshma Rental Generation Ltd to pay back by Friday rest of the 14 per cent mobilisation fund advanced to it for setting up the rental power plant.
The amount ordered to be paid back stood at Rs4.57 billion. The company was told it would have to ‘face consequences’ if it failed to abide by the order.

Amir will make a comeback: Bajwa

ISLAMABAD: After earning himself a career-threatening, five-year ban and a prison sentence for match fixing, disgraced Pakistani paceman Mohammad Amir has at least one supporter who believes he can return to international cricket.
The 19-year-old Amir, along with team captain Salman Butt and Mohammad Asif were sentenced to jail in London earlier this month on corruption charges for spot-fixing by bowling predetermined no-balls in a test against England last year.
But despite the massive setback to a once promising cricketing future, Asif’s mentor Asif Bajwa is right behind his student.
Bajwa, a former domestic cricket wicketkeeper, was the man who honed the skills of promising youngsters at his academy from 2003-2007, around the time he brought in the talented Amir from a small village outside Rawalpindi.
“I want to see him playing for Pakistan again and I am confident he will make a comeback,” he said.
The International Cricket Council had already said that it would not reduce the suspension of five years, but the big question is whether a convicted cricketer would ever be considered by the Pakistan Cricket Board? There’s no doubt Amir was rated as the next Wasim Akram _ the legendary Pakistan left-arm fast bowler _ before those two dreaded deliveries he chose to bowl at Lords in London last year.
Amir was reportedly paid just 1,500 British pounds for his efforts, discounting greed as his motive and leading many to speculate the youngster was pressure but Butt to become involved in the scandal.
The then captain’s pressure on Amir could easily be gauged from the fact that when coach Waqar Younis had asked Amir “what the hell” he was doing bowling a huge front foot no-ball, Butt was quick to respond that it was his order.
Amir, who became the youngest player to take 50 wickets in just 14 test matches, he was neither spared by the game’s governing body nor judge Jeremy Cooke was impressed with the acceptance of fast bowler’s guilty plead.
While their families and friends continue to protests the crickets’ innocence, the sentiment of fans on the streets of Lahore, Karachi and Islamabad _ Pakistan’s three largest cities _ was unanimous in the belief that they got a deserved punishment.
“It’s a shame,” says Hamza Sultan, an Islamabad high school student.
“I don’t care whether we lose Amir, Asif or Butt, the bottom line is that our cricket should be cleaned from this menace of fixing.”
Cricket writer Abdul Majid Bhatti, who works in one of Pakistan’s leading media company, also said there should be no opening for the trio.
“On moral grounds these three should not return to international cricket,” Bhatti told The AP.
“In the past we have suffered a lot because we didn’t take any action against any player.
“Now it’s the right time to send a strong message and move on,” he added.
“I have no doubt that we will get lots of Amirs and Asifs in the near future. … You just wait and see in two year’s time we will have at least three more.”
While the international careers of Butt and Asif seem to be over, there appears to be some sympathy for Amir.
Pakistan great Imran Khan says he has not seen such a talented cricketer and it was sad for Pakistan to lose such a promising player.
Whether Bajwa’s protege makes a comeback after five years _ only time will tell.

Abbottabad commission not satisfied with evidences, says report


ISLAMABAD: The inquiry commission on the May 2 US operation in Abbottabad had shown its dissatisfaction over the credibility of evidences gathered during the probe.
A BBC Urdu report quoted a security official familiar with the investigation as saying that the members of the commission had formed a list of ‘important witnesses’ and conducted lengthy interviews.
But the information gathered from these interviews was not sufficient to prove that the al-Qaeda leader and his family were present in a compound which was raided by the US Special Forces, the report said.
Only credible information about the presence of Osama in the compound came from the women who were said to be the wives of al-Qaeda chief, the report added.
Justice (r) Javed Iqbal, the chairman of the commission, had said after the formation of the commission that he would ask the United States government to provide evidences.
But, a spokesman of the US embassy told the BBC Urdu that the commission had not yet contacted them on the issue.

Pakistan orders companies to block obscene texts

ISLAMABAD: Texters in Pakistan better start watching their language.
Pakistan’s telecommunications authority sent a letter ordering cell phone companies to block text messages containing what it perceives to be obscenities, Anjum Nida Rahman, a spokeswoman for Telenor Pakistan, said Friday.
It also sent a list of more than 1,500 English and Urdu words that were to be blocked.
The order was part of the regulator’s attempt to block spam messages, said Rahman. The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority refused to comment on the initiative.
Many of the words to be blocked were sexually explicit terms or swear words, according to a copy of the list obtained by The Associated Press.
It also included relatively mild terms like fart and idiot.
The reasons for blocking some words, including Jesus Christ, headlights and tampon, were less clear, raising questions about religious freedom and practicality. Any word could conceivably be part of a spam message.
The letter, which was also obtained by the AP, was dated Nov. 14 and gave cell phone companies seven days to implement the order.
Rahman, the Telenor spokeswoman, said her company first received the letter Thursday and was discussing how to proceed.
“It’s a big issue, so it is being examined carefully from all points of view,” said Rahman.
The letter said the order was legal under a 1996 law preventing people from sending information through the telecommunications system that is “false, fabricated, indecent or obscene.”
It also stated that free speech can be restricted “in the interest of the glory of Islam.”

PPP concerned over ‘memo gate’ scandal


ISLAMABAD: The core committee of Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) on Friday discussed the controversy surrounding Ambassador to US Husain Haqqani over a secret memo alleged to have been sent by President Asif Ali Zardari to former chairman of US joint chiefs of staff Admiral Mike Mullen.
The committee meeting was held under the chairmanship of President Zardari who is also the party’s co-chairman.
The president took the party’s top leadership into confidence over his meeting with Chief of Army Staff General Ashfaq Pervez Kayani and said that an investigation would be held into the matter.
Party stalwarts termed the situation grim and said that the opposition was taking advantage of the circumstances and attacking the government on this front.
President Zardari directed PPP leaders to effectively counter the opposition’s propaganda.
The president also discussed Zulfiqar Mirza’s London visit and his meeting with Scotland Yard officials with party officials and assured the core committee that he was not directing the former minister.