ISLAMABAD: Minhajul Quran International (MQI) leader Tahirul Qadri outlined four demands during his address in Islamabad on Wednesday and set a one-day deadline for them to be fulfilled.

The demands were to announce electoral reforms before elections, to dissolve the election commission and form a new one, to not allow muk muka of two parties in caretaker setup and to dissolve the provincial and national assemblies.

Govt delegation offers help to MQI

A three-member government delegation decided to meet MQI to provide food, shelter and blankets for the women and children participating in the long march, reported Express News.

The MQI administration, however, refused to accept the government’s offer and said that their march was well-organised.

No conspiracies

Qadri, in his early morning address, denounced all allegations of a conspiracy in yesterday’s unexpected turn of events and criticised those who were suspecting the Supreme Court’s intentions.

He was referring to allegations that propped up after the Supreme Court ordered Prime Minister Raja Pervaiz Ashraf’s arrest moments after Qadri’s address.

In contrast to yesterday’s fiery address, the leader was much calmer today.

With reference to the incident, Qadri said: “They say I knew [about the SC’s decision]. Honestly, I did not even know that the [rental power plants case] hearing was taking place.”

He criticised all those who were saying the incident was too much of a coincidence and was actually a well-planned conspiracy and told them to have shame before suspecting the judiciary’s intent.

On democracy and elections

“I do not want to derail democracy,” said Qadri. “I just want to bring it on the right track.”

“Who says we want to delay elections? I want them to take place within 90 days, but with corrections according to the constitution,” he said.

Qadri claimed the required reforms would take a mere 30 days.

“You need political will, sincerity of cause, ability, courage, vision, commitment to the constitution and law of the land and loyalty to the true principles of democracy to enable the reforms,” he added.

Protesters rally on

Protesters rallied for a third day  in the largest political demonstration seen for years in the capital, calling on the government to quit after the Supreme Court ordered the arrest of the prime minister.

Tens of thousands of followers of Pakistani-Canadian Tahir-ul Qadri massed near parliament house, where they were dug in for the long haul with stocks of food and bedding.

A general election is due to be held by mid-May, but Qadri wants parliament dissolved immediately and a caretaker government set up in consultation with the military and the judiciary, to implement key reforms before the polls are held.

[WITH ADDITIONAL INPUT FROM AFP AND WEB DESK]

KARACHI: There was pandemonium in the Sindh Assembly session on Thursday after protests from the opposition against the Sindh Peoples Local Government Ordinance 2012 turned into personal attacks being pitched back and forth between the assembly members.

As the opposition protested, senior Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) leader Pir Mazharul Haq told Nusrat Sehar Abbasi of the opposition to “shut up”, a move which resulted in uproar and attacks of “you shut up” and slogans of “shame, shame” for addressing a woman as such.

One female member of the assembly was heard saying that this was an assembly and not “someone’s aunt’s house”.

Opposition shouted slogans of “division of Sindh is unacceptable” and the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) members shouting “Jeay Bhutto, Jeay Sindh”.

After long drawn out bashing from both sides, the assembly chaos subsided enough for the Speaker to resume the session.

Both sides continued to threaten each other, now one at a time.

Jam Madad Ali – leader of the opposition in the Sindh Assembly – said that they retained the right to protest against, what he referred to as, a “blind law” and “treason”.

The ruling party and those supporting the SPLGO were called traitors by someone, after which Agha Siraj Durrani said that no one had the right to call them that.

Durrani, referring to when someone had picked up his copy of the SPLGO and torn it, said: “We did not tear anyone’s things; if we do, they will remember it forever.”

He criticised the opposition for its strikes and agitated behavior, adding that if strikes and agitation affected the outcome of anything, Kashmir would have been freed a long time ago.

The assembly session was in chaos from the start, with members belonging to Pakistan Muslim League – Functional (PML-F), Awami National Party and National Peoples Party staging protests and a walk out for not being given opposition seats.

After they protested with black bands on their arms, the Speaker allotted them opposition seats.

A team of journalists from a private TV channel had also walked out earlier due to mistreatment from police.

MALIKWAL: President Asif Ali Zardari, speaking at a rally in Malikwal, reassured the people and political powers on Wednesday that elections would be held on time and transparently.

He said that Pakistan would be taken into the 21^st century, adding that we were fighting for our future generations.

On planning ahead, he said that although decisions needed to be taken today, there was a need to think ahead and plan for the future because “countries cannot run on a five-year philosophy”.

He said that even today, the government wants all parties to sit with them and think about Pakistan.

The president said that the incumbent government has tried to strengthen the regional relationships with China, Turkey and other countries in order to make Pakistan better for the future generations.

Zardari said that conspiracies against the government and the country were in action but added, “If anyone thinks they can weaken us, then they are mistaken.”

The rally, attended by many PPP supporters, was held to celebrate an Eid rally which had been postponed earlier.

ISLAMABAD: Irked by inaction on the Supreme Court’s order in the NRO implementation case, Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) Chief Imran Khan said Wednesday that it was merely the powerless men who have to endure jail terms while the powerful get NROs.

Speaking at a PTI press conference in Islamabad and criticising politicians, Khan said, “These people have made politics into a business and they don’t let any inquiries be conducted.”

He called this the biggest problem of Pakistan.

“A powerful man steals in the country and gets the NRO,” he said, referring to Younus Habib, the owner of Mehran Bank implicated in the Mehrangate case for allegedly having a hand in the creation of the IJI.

“This was also the NRO, they did not let an inquiry be conducted and did not let him be sentenced,” said Khan.

“Only the powerless man goes to jail and this is the tragedy today,” he added.

Khan said that Pakistan was in quicksand.

“Who collects tax and who will end corruption?” he said was the question that needed to be answered.

“The one who cannot do this cannot pull Pakistan out of this quicksand,” he added.

Referring to certain politicians, he said that those who themselves “have allegations against them of taking  Rs3.5 million and those who have Rs5 billion in Switzerland yet say they will not tell” cannot pull the country out of this quicksand.

“They will save each other and not take any action except for this noorakushti and giving statements,” said the PTI chief.

He asked why the Supreme Court’s order had not yet been implemented. “When the time for the real job comes, i.e. to investigate, where is the FIA inquiry?” Khan said.

LAHORE: Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry said Saturday that religious fragmentation, without understanding the true spirit and philosophy of religions, has given rise to terrorism and extremism and is affecting global peace. 

He was speaking at the “Peace through Law” International Conference in Lahore.

The chief justice said that Islam was undoubtedly a peaceful religion as were all other religions. It was the lack of understanding of the true spirit of the religions that was creating these differences.

“Islamic teachings are oriented towards achievement of peace, brotherhood and human welfare,” he said.

“I believe that like Islam, all major religions of the world carry the message of peace-making and peace-keeping,” he added.

“It is unfortunate that human kind has got fragmented into religious and ethnic sects and groups without understanding the true spirit and philosophy,” said Justice Chaudhry.

“These deep-rooted rifts have given rise to terrorism, bloodshed, extra-judicial killings, human rights violations and other evils that are perpetuating extremism and radicalism and affecting global peace,” he added.

He said that the best way to address these issues was “through bridging the gap amongst individuals and states by common understanding and sharing of knowledge about law, peace and religion and exploring the factors that can help in achieving the objective of global peace”.

“Restoration or maintenance of peace and harmony through adherence to rule of law is the increasingly acceptable mean for resolving conflicts and terrorism, be it at the international or domestic level,” he added.

‘Islam a religion of peace’

“It is a matter of importance undoubtedly that as far as our religion Islam is concerned, being a great religion, conveys the message of peace,” said the chief justice.

“There is no basis for violence of Islam.”

Quoting from the Quran, the chief justice said that the opening verse read ‘in the name of Allah, the most Merciful and the most beneficial’ which was repeated 114 times throughout the Holy Book.

He said this verse shows mercy and compassion to be dominant traits of Islam.

Moreover, he said, the Holy Book sets peace as the destination of Islam and quoted another verse from the Quran.

“Most verses of the Quran are directly or indirectly aim at propagating peace and abhorring oppression and violence,” he added.

Justice Chaudhry said that the conquest of Makkah under the leadership of the Holy Prophet (pbuh) is a great example of peace when Muslims, despite being in a dominant position, conquered the whole city without bloodshed or violence.

“Peaceful methods of settlement of dispute are preferred options of contemporary religion,” added the chief justice.

“In my view genuine peace between those who are in a state of conflict can only be brought about through peaceful settlement… such a settlement can be made acceptable to conflicting parties only when they are assured that the settlement is fair and will be enforced through the force of law,” he said.

The chief justice said that without the guarantee of law behind it, no settlement can last very long and without such settlements, peace cannot be established, and added that the reverse of this was also true: If the disputes can be settled legally, people have no need to start a conflict.

Correction: An earlier version of the article incorrectly stated that the opening verse repeats 140 times in the Holy Quran instead of 114. The error is regretted.

RAWALPINDI: The medical tests done on Malala Yousafzai after a bullet was successfully removed from the gunshot victim have revealed that her brain had not sustained any damage, reported Express News on Friday.

After Malala, a 14-year-old child rights activist, was shot in the head by the Taliban, the doctors who performed surgery on her had expressed fear of a possibility of slight brain damage. However, all of her medical reports came out clear.

Earlier, neuro-surgical and intensive care specialists said that although Malala’s state is satisfactory, the next 36 to 48 hours are critical for her, DG ISPR Major General Asim Saleem Bajwa announced Friday.

Briefing the media on the state of Malala, he said that the transfer from Peshwar to Rawalpindi, although difficult, had transpired successfully.

Bajwa said that the decision to transfer Malala from Peshawar to Rawalpindi was taken in accordance with directives from the doctors’ panel.

The reason, he said, was that “the intensive care facilities here were found to be extremely suitable”, adding that all tests and investigations would be conducted again in here.

The DG ISPR commended the performance of the doctors in Peshawar.

He also told the media that while Malala was being moved, her team of doctors travelled with her.

“The panel consists of both military and civilian doctors but there are two foreign doctors as well who were and are consulted for expert opinion,” he said.

Bajwa said that Malala was still on the ventilator and no decision had been taken on transferring her abroad as yet.

He urged people to continue praying for her.

Earlier, doctors had said that Malala had a 70 per cent chance of survival and despite improvement, was seriously ill.

ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court of Pakistan approved the Swiss letter draft submitted by the law minister which states that proceedings in Swiss courts will be conditional to the immunity granted to the president, Express News reported on Wednesday.

The draft also stated that Malik Qayyum’s letter written to the attorney general of Geneva be retracted and considered “never written”.

Restoration of legal assistance was also a point made in the draft.

As per the court’s directives, Law Minister Farooq H Naek submitted a new Swiss letter draft in the Supreme Court in today’s hearing.

Naek also requested the court to retract the contempt of court notice issued to Prime Minister Raja Pervaiz Ashraf to which Justice Khosa told him to let this matter be resolved first.

When Khosa inquired how long it would take for the letter to be sent, the law minister said that it needed to be translated into French first and would be sent through the Foreign Office.

Naek requested for four weeks’ time which was granted by the court.

The hearing was adjourned till November 15.

Speaking to the media after the hearing, Naek said that the court had given a November 10 deadline to the federation for sending the letter to authorities.

“Today, para 178 of the  case of Dr Mubashir Hasan has been implemented,” said Naek, adding that four weeks had been granted for sending the letter.

“The letter states that Malik Qayyum’s letter be withdrawn and our reservations are without prejudice to the rights, the legal rights, to the defenses of the president of Pakistan, to the heads of state, under the law, under the constitution and under the international law,” Naek told the media.

He also said that no trial was being held, because there was no case in “that country’s court”.

“There was no case there in the past, there is no case now and nor will there be any case there in the future; hence a trial is out of the question,” he said, adding that there had only been investigations and no case had proceeded in any court there.

Answering queries of national wealth being looted, Naek said that nothing of the sort had happened.

When asked what had happened behind closed doors, he said that everything had been done with transparency and no under-handedness had taken place.

“They summoned me as a law minister and expressed their reservations and I expressed mine and the federation’s,” said Naek.

During the hearing, the five-member bench had retreated to the judges’ chambers to deliberate over the draft submitted.

Justice Asif Saeed Khosa, who is heading the bench, read the draft aloud in court after returning from the chambers and deemed the letter ready to be sent to Swiss authorities.

In the previous hearing, the bench was convinced of the changes in the first two paragraphs of the revised letter; however, it expressed concern at the last paragraph, saying that it contradicted the first two paragraphs.

The government had also challenged the apex court on the process of drafting and sending the communiqué.

The move came after weeks of extensive consultations on several drafts of the letter, some behind closed doors – and a day before the fourth deadline set by the court for writing to Swiss authorities to seek the revival of graft cases against President Asif Ali Zardari.

Last month, after years of sparring, the executive and the judiciary deadlock saw a breakthrough when Prime Minister Raja Pervaiz Ashraf agreed to write the letter, and assigned the task to Law Minister Farooq H Naek.

Full text of the letter:

Attorney General                                                          Islamabad October 2012

Geneva,

Switzerland

Re: PP/11105/1997 and CP 289/97.

Dear Sir,

This is with reference to the letter dates 22^nd May 2008 addressed by Malik Mohammad Qayyum. The then Attorney General of Pakistan to Mr Daniel Zappelli, Attorney General, Geneva, Switzerland.

In view of the directions given by the Supreme Court of Pakistan in Paragraph 198 (copy attached as Annex-I) of its judgment dated 16^th December 2009 in the case of Dr Mobashir Hasan, reported as PLD 2010 SC 265, the aforementioned letter is hereby withdrawn and may be treated as never written and therefore revival of requests, status and claims, is sought.

This is without prejudice to the legal rights and defences of the Presidents/ Heads of State which may be available under the law, constitution and international law.

The full text of the Supreme Court’s order in the Swiss letter case can be viewed here.

ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court of Pakistan granted a four-day reprieve to Prime Minister Raja Pervaiz Ashraf for revising the draft of a letter to be written to the Swiss authorities as per the court’s instructions, Express News reported on Friday.

The revised draft, submitted by Law Minister Farooq H Naek in today’s hearing of the National Reconciliation Ordinance (NRO) implementation case, was reviewed by the five-member bench in the judges’ chambers.

According to Justice Asif Saeed Khosa, the first two paragraphs of the draft were as per the court’s directives but the judges had some reservations over the last paragraph.

Law Minister Naek, agreeing with the court, requested 15 minutes to discuss with the judges their reservations, which was approved by the bench.

When the case resumed, Naek requested the court to give till October 10 for revising the draft, which was approved by the court.

Earlier, the court had set today as the deadline for the Swiss letter but agreed to give more time to since there had been progress in the writing of the letter.

Naek, speaking to the media after the hearing, said that the case was related to democracy and the incumbent government had made sacrifices to bring the same into action.

“Our President Asif Ali Zardari stayed away from his children, his wife,” said Naek adding that he was not convicted in even one case.

“Who will bring back those 12 years when he couldn’t meet his children?” asked the law minister.

Naek has already presented two drafts, both of which were rejected by the judges because they did not comply with court orders.

Last month, a breakthrough on the long-standing issue was seemingly achieved when the government agreed to write the letter to Swiss authorities regarding graft cases against President Asif Ali Zardari.

The Supreme Court has twice rejected the drafts as unsatisfactory, and had given Naek till October 5 (today) to get the draft right – or risk the restarting of proceedings against the prime minister.

ISLAMABAD: Former chief minister Balochistan Akhtar Mengal on Friday openly blamed the agencies and military for the plight of his people and recommended peaceful separation of the province if the Baloch people were not going to be considered citizens of Pakistan.

Mengal was briefing the media after his meeting with Pakistan Muslim League – Nawaz (PML-N) chief Nawaz Sharif in Islamabad.

“If the Balochistan situation is to be resolved, then that force which, in the last 65 years has governed this country, acted as masters instead of servants of this country, invisibly and visibly ran the country, considered themselves above the country’s constitution, law, people and the people’s representatives … should be harnessed,” he said.

He said that they had tried but failed and were now hopeless.

Mengal asked for his six recommendations to be implemented and said if this was not done, Balochistan would have to part ways.

Thanking the Supreme Court for taking a suo motu in this case, he said that none of the six points were contradictory to the constitution.

Answering a question posed during today’s hearing on the Balochistan case, he said: “Those people cannot be trusted, the whole world knows their reality,” adding that they even denied having “derailed democracy in the darkness of the night”.

Mengal regrettably said that Balochistan’s people were never considered citizens of Pakistan because if they had been, the atrocities committed against them would not have transpired.

In the same spirit, he posed a question to the civil society of the country.

“We want to know if Baloch people will be accepted as citizens of this country or not and if not, then it is better to part ways peacefully than to continue this bloodshed,” he said.

On boycotting local elections, Mengal simply said: “No country in the world holds elections during war and Balochistan has been in a state of war for 12 years.”

Another East Pakistan?

Nawaz Sharif requested the entire nation to learn from history so that another episode of East Pakistan was not repeated.

“People need to put their heads together and think what has alienated the people of Balochistan; the reasons, atrocities and the situation that made them think of this [separation],” he said.

Sharif said that even then, six points had been presented, the disregard of which had resulted in Bangladesh.

ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court Thursday issued a written warning to Attorney General Ifran Qadir for interfering while arguments were being presented in the secret funds case after which the hearing was adjourned indefinitely, complainants in the case told the media.

Journalists Hamid Mir and Absar Alam, speaking outside the court said that while they presented their arguments in the court on where the money from supplementary grants was going, the AG, misunderstood where the figures were being quoted from and exhibited “a detestable example of insolence”.

“He started jumping up and down saying ‘it is not 4 billion but 400 million’,” said Absar Alam, highlighting one account of the incident.

“The man who tried to prove [President Asif Ali] Zardari was a crook, who stole the people’s money and put it in Swiss banks is now the attorney general and is defending him,” said Hamid Mir.

“I could never imagine a former judge to display such insolence in the Supreme Court of Pakistan,” he said, adding: “He did this deliberately and is trying to not let this case proceed because he has no arguments and had lied to the court.”

The journalists said that PPP should answer everyone how their representative could behave in such a way and said that it “is the party’s and Baloch president’s decision as to what message was given today to his Baloch brothers through their attorney general”.

“Irfan Qadir is not representing the federation, he is representing an advertising agency and Malik Riaz and both of them do not have their defense,” said Mir.

“They do not wish for the case to go forward and that is why such insolence was exhibited today,” he added.

Mir said that it was “a well thought-out attempt at sabotaging the case”.

Escalating the issue to a national level, Hamid Mir said, “Now, the federation should decide whether they wish to upset the Baloch while favoring Malik Riaz and the advertising agency,” adding that the AG’s behavior was “a disrespectful towards Pakistan”.

“From the way the attorney general reacted with Akhtar Mengal in the morning and now with us, it seems like doesn’t want the Balochistan issue to be solved or the media to be regulated and have a code of conduct,” said Mir.

The journalists said that they had no personal enmity with anyone.

Alam said that they were fighting for their rights, so that tax payers’ money was spent correctly.

“We are not affiliated with any political party nor do we want to be party to any political disagreements,” he added.

He said that they wanted to expose the few owners who were making money off the journalists’ names, adding that these people should be exposed and this is what the entire case was about.

The Pakistan Federation Union of Journalists (PFUJ) also submitted an application in court today for becoming party to the case.