Imran will address the House after taking oath; party leaders familiar with the content of his speech say that internal security, drone strikes and the energy sector will be its focus.

The leader could not attend the oath-taking ceremony on June 1 as he was recovering from head and back injuries at the Shaukat Khanum Memorial Hospital and at home after he fell off a forklift during an election rally in Lahore on May 7.

Through his official twitter account, Imran confirmed that he will be attending the NA Session on June 19. “I will be taking oath in NA on June 19 and will speak about the budget the same day.” On Monday he tweeted: “My address to the Parliament will lay out PTI’s policy on crucial national issues.”

Party officials reveal that the PTI chief will urge Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to declare an emergency in the energy sector to resolve the power crisis.  The five reforms he will propose to make Pakistan an energy secure state are: resolving the circular debt through lower cost production, diverting resources to maximise energy production, bringing load-shedding to a manageable level on an urgent basis and reducing cost of generation and line losses.

Moreover, the party chief will push for a debate on defence spending in the Lower House, anti-corruption policies and good governance, expenditure reform, revenue collection reform and human capital development, they added

Security, terrorism and drones

Imran’s speech will announce PTI’s assistance for reaching out to Baloch exiles and addressing the political grievances of the Baloch and tribal people, party officials said.

The chairman will push the government to convince militants to drop arms and proceed to the dialogue table.

Regarding a counter-terrorism policy, Imran will push the government to chalk up a comprehensive approach to end militancy and extremism.

Apart from that, PTI chief, in his speech, will urge the government to detach Pakistan from the US-led war on terror and take up the issue of drone strikes with Washington directly.

The address will propose that de-weaponisation across the country, along with dissolution of militant wings of political parties, should be administered to immediately.

It will also be advised that the National Counter Terrorism Authority should be made an effective single body with high-level representation from the armed and paramilitary forces, coupled with civilian experts and intelligence personnel.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 18^th, 2013.

ISLAMABAD: History was made in the Punjab Assembly last week when Sardar Ramesh Singh Arora became the first Sikh in close to 67 years who entered into Pakistan’s biggest provincial assembly and took oath as a parliamentarian.

Wearing a traditional orange-coloured turban, Sardar Arora walked into the packed assembly hall. Heads bearing warm smiles and broad grins turned in his direction and greeted the new member.

A renowned social worker and leader of the Sikh community in Pakistan, Arora comes with a mission to use the shared religious linkages across borders to further peace and trade between Pakistan and India.

Arora points out that the Gurdwaras in Nankana Sahib and Amritsar, sacred places for the Sikh community, are located only three to four kilometers away from the international border, but both Indian and Pakistani authorities do not let pilgrims from the other country visit the historical and sacred places.

“I will play a key role to promote Pakistan-India diplomacy. We should negotiate with India by passing a resolution that Kartarpur corridors should be constructed to facilitate the visitors,” the Sikh parliamentarian said, adding that business between the two neighbours should be increased.

“Kartarpur doors should be open for Indian pilgrims to easily come to Pakistan.”

Arora, who grew up in in a modest Sikh family from Nankana Sahib in Punjab, before his family moved to the Kartarpur district, Narowal to serve at the Gurdwara Kartrarpur as a Granthi. His services to his community made him aware of the numerous Gurdwaras that are in immediate need of repairs.

“My first job is to get a resolution passed for protection of Sikh’s Gurdwaras in Pakistan in Punjab.”

Arora believes that some of the shrines may even need help from the federal government.

“It’s a responsibility of the federal government to reopen some of the Sikh shrines by doing its homework,” he told The Express Tribune.

As a Sikh, Arora is also troubled by the migration of Sikh community from the militant infested Tirah Valley in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa. He complained that the National Database Registration Authority (NADRA) was not registering their children and were subsequently finding it difficult to find admissions in educational institutions.

“We are creating a barrier for Sikh children not to go to school. Once they [children] do not get education—it means they are being deprived of their basic rights.”

Several Sikh families migrated to Nankana Sahib, Hasanabad and other cities with Sikh population after some members their community were kidnapped last year by militants in the tribal areas.

Despite this, and media reports, Arora believes Pakistan has a conducive environment for non-Muslims to live.

“There is a very conducive environment for non-Muslims to live here in Pakistan. It’s totally a negative agenda. Pakistan is very much safe for minorities and provides equally opportunity to its minorities.”

Arora strived for protection of minority rights and represented Pakistan’s image about minorities’ rights protection at international forums. The government of Pakistan appointed Arora as a member of the Pakistan Sikh Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee. He promoted the commitment of the government to instill peace, equality, justice and tolerance within the Pakistani society.

Arora follows the vision of the founder of Pakistan, Muhammad Ali Jinnah. “The imperative need of the moment is to eliminate all forces of violence, intolerance, extremism and discrimination and to create a peaceful, tolerant society.”

QUETTA / ISLAMABAD: The federal government on Sunday pledged to rebuild Quaid-e-Azam’s residency in Ziarat a day after militants destroyed a major part of it in a fire.

The decision was taken at a high-level meeting chaired by Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan. Nisar, who toured the damaged site on Sunday along with Information Minister Pervaiz Rashid, pledged it would be rebuilt within a period of three to four months.

Talking to the media, Nisar said that the residency was a national asset and expressed grief over its destruction. The National Heritage Division was tasked with revamping the structure within three to four months, officials said. After its reconstruction, they said, the residency will continue to catch the attention of tourists.

Pervaiz Rashid directed the Jinnah’s residency officials to assess damage and reconstruction costs, Principal Information Officer Imran Gardezi said. 

Lax security

Senator Mir Hasil Bizenjo, who visited the site along with Senator Pervaiz Rashid and Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan on Sunday, said that it was unfortunate that only one policeman was posted at the residency during the daytime. Bizenjo announced that both the federal and provincial governments will provide security to the national heritage sites in Balochistan.

“Militants are destroying the national heritage in Balochistan. This is a cowardly act,” he said.

Meanwhile, interior ministry officials told The Express Tribune that the security squad comprising Frontier Corps personnel at Quaid-e-Azam’s Ziarat residency has been changed and that the security plan had been revamped.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 17^th, 2013.

ISLAMABAD: The government announced on Sunday that Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah’s residency in Ziarat will be rebuilt within three months.

Militants blew up Jinnah’s residency in Ziarat on Saturday, the building where Quaid spent the last days of his life with his sister Fatima Jinnah in 1948, a year after Pakistan came into being.

Senator Mir Hasil Bizanjo, Minister for Information and Broadcasting and National Heritage Pervez Rashid and Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan announced reconstruction of the historic monument during a visit to the site.

Bizanjo said Quaid’s belongings including his bed, chair, pillow and stick have been completely destroyed.

He said it was unfortunate that only one police man was deployed at the site during daytime.

“Militants are now destroying heritage sites of national importance in Balochistan. It’s a cowardly act,” Bizanjo observed.

Both the federal and provincial government will provide security to national heritage sites in Balochistan, Bizanjo told The Express Tribune.

The National Heritage Division will reconstruct the residency within three to four months, officials said. The decision was taken to restore the historical site to its original glory.

The residency will be rebuilt keeping tourism in mind. The surrounding of the building will also be developed.

Rashid directed Awan-e-Quaid-i-Azam officials to assess the damage caused and the cost of reconstruction, Principal Information Officer Imran Gardezi said.

ISLAMABAD: As Pakistan continues to grapple with a complex security landscape and unprecedented challenges to peace and stability, the federal government announced plans to devise a comprehensive national security policy – the first of its kind in the country.

Talking to The Express Tribune on Friday, officials privy to the development said the new policy will address all security challenges the country has been facing since 9/11. Despite the heavy toll exacted by terrorism and the vulnerable state of law and order in the country, no comprehensive security plan has been put in place.

Officials said the policy will also consider the recommendations made by the Parliamentary Committee on National Security headed by Senator Raza Rabbani last year. Parliament has also endorsed these recommendations.

All security plans prepared by previous interior minister Rehman Malik are likely to be scrapped however, they revealed.

“A meeting has been called for June 20… it will focus on four issues, particularly on the new security policy,” interior ministry spokesperson Omar Hadeed Khan confirmed. The spokesperson added that the meeting, chaired by Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan, would also discuss cooperation with provincial governments while maintaining law and order, ensuring good governance in the interior ministry as a result of feedback and new policies and priorities of the government pertaining to law and order.

The National Counter Terrorism Authority (Nacta), whose main objective is to foil terrorist acts, will play an important role in this regard, the officials added. A decision on how Nacta and the National Crisis Management Cell (NCMC) liaise with civil and military intelligence agencies will also be taken up at the meeting.

The chiefs of Nacta, NCMC, Intelligence Bureau and the Federal Investigation Agency will present their recommendations on the national security policy during the meeting, according to a senior interior ministry official. Senior officials from the Frontier Corps and the Frontier Constabulary will attend the meeting as well, he added.

Nisar will involve several security experts to finalise the new policy in line with Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz’s manifesto – which pledges a ‘comprehensive review’ of national security and foreign policy – said the officials. The policy may go beyond the military-centric paradigm of defending physical borders and embrace a more comprehensive approach, they added.

It will attempt to deal effectively with elements challenging the state’s writ in the tribal areas, Balochistan and Karachi, the officials explained.  The policy may also call for disbanding the militant wings of political parties’.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 15^th, 2013.

Earlier on Thursday morning, Khan went to Shaukat Khanum Hospital for a medical examination where doctors conducted an X-ray examination of his spine and cleared him to fly, a senior PTI official said.

Khan’s physiotherapist, sister and PTI leader Jahangir Tareen accompanied him to Islamabad. The PTI chief will stay in Islamabad for seven days to participate in the post-budget debate in the NA and deliver his speech in the house, the party official maintained.

The official said Khan will deliver a “historical and concrete speech in the NA during his first appearance after taking oath.”

Meanwhile, PTI’s deputy Parliamentary leader in the NA, Shah Mehmood Qureshi – who met Leader of the Opposition in the NA, Syed Khursheed  Shah of Pakistan Peoples Party Parliamentarians – will soon brief Khan on budget-related matters at his residence, party leaders said. PTI’s top leadership has already chalked out a strategy about cut motions in the budget debate, they added.

“We will do cut motions in the budget debate focusing on eight ministries,” said PTI MNA Dr Shireen Mazari. Interestingly, MNAs Arif Alvi, Qureshi and Dr Mazari also discussed budget related matters with leaders of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement.

“We focused on the budget and are devising a coordinated strategy for the opposition parties,” said Alvi.

The top two managers of PTI’s economic team, Tareen and Asad Umer, are preparing recommendations for the new budget, said Ishaq Khan Khakwani.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 14^th, 2013.

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf Chairman Imran Khan is expected to be sworn in as a member of the National Assembly next week session.

Imran had missed the inaugural and special budget sessions of the National Assembly after he was advised bed rest after suffering a 14 foot fall in Lahore on May 7, that inflicted back injuries. The PTI chairman’s doctors suggested that Imran take at least two weeks of complete bed rest at home after he had been released from the hospital on May 22. The advice meant Imran missed party activities immediately before and after the elections.

On Thursday, doctors at the Shaukat Khanum Memorial Hospital cleared the MNA-elect for travelling.

PTI leader Jahangir Khan Tareen said that the party chief will soon visit the NA.

“After one week, he [Imran] should attend the [NA] session.”

PTI to bring cut motions on the budget debate

PTI’s Deputy Parliamentary leader in National Assembly Shah Mahmood Qureshi, who met Leader of the Opposition in the House  Khursheed Shah, would brief Imran on budgetary related matters at his residence, party leaders said.

PTI’s top leadership has already chalked out the strategy about cut motions in the budget debate, they added.

“We will bring cut motions in the budget debate focusing on eight ministries,” said Dr Shireen Mazari. Interestingly, MNAs Arif Alivi, Shah Mehmood Qureshi and Dr Mazari also discussed budget related matters with leaders of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement.

“We focused on the budget and devise a coordinated strategy for the opposition parties for the upcoming budget debate,” said MNA Dr Alvi. Opposition parties agreed over the cut motions focusing on some ministries, he added.

Two top managers of PTI Economic team Jahangir Tareen and Asad Umer were preparing papers recommendations for the new budget said Ishaq Khan Khakwani. “PTI’s economic team will brief the party top leadership on the budgetary related matters,” he added.

While a few described it as an ‘opportunity missed’ to reduce poverty others termed it a ‘traditional budget’.

Majority of them were of the opinion that the budget offers no relief for the masses and does not provide a lasting solution to the economic woes of the country. “This budget is not people-friendly” is how the opposition leaders put it.

“The poor have nothing to do with this budget…it will only push them [poor] into a blind alley of poverty,” said Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf President Javed Hashmi on Wednesday.

The Pakistan Peoples Party, which is the largest opposition party, criticised the government over a number of its decisions.

“PML-N has not fulfilled its promise of raising minimum wages to Rs15, 000,” recalled Syed Khurshid Shah, Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly. He added that the increase in general sales tax would also directly affect the masses and hike the inflation in the country.

PML-N’s decision to change the name of  ‘Benazir Bhutto Income Support Programme’ also evoked negative statements from the party. Condemning the government’s decision spokesman for Bilawal House Eijaz Durrani termed it ‘violation’ of Charter of Democracy signed between PPP leader Benazir Bhutto and Nawaz Sharif.

Muttahida Qaumi Movement’s Farooq Sattar said that after the 18th Amendment, most of the subjects have been devolved to the provinces. Thus, the federal budget should have been reduced.

JUI-F criticised PML-N for not focusing on the energy crisis. “Maximum budget allocation should be spared to overcome the energy crisis,” Asia Nasir  of the JUI-F recommended.

Senator Zahid Khan of Awami National Party said that the government had presented a shadow budget.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 13^th, 2013.

President Asif Ali Zardari made the appointment on the advice of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif.

Mohammad Achakzai replaces Nawab Zulfikar Ali Magsi whose resignation was accepted by the president on June 9.

Mohammad Achakzai
has served as a professor at the University of Balochistan, besides serving in various federal departments and retired as the chief economist in the Planning Commission of Pakistan.

Nawaz tells CM to take steps for dialogue

In his first official meeting with Balochistan Chief Minister Dr Abdul Malik Baloch, Premier Nawaz directed him to create a suitable environment in order to begin negotiations with Baloch separatists.

“The prime minister directed the chief minister to initiate a process of reconciliation with estranged Baloch elements and convey to them on his behalf his desire to see their participation in the
national mainstream,” said an official statement issued by the Prime Minister’s Office.

“Your [Dr Malik’s] first task is to bring disgruntled Baloch leaders on the negotiating table,” a senior official of the PM Office quoted Nawaz as saying.

The official added that the Nawaz administration was also keen to find a solution to the continuing security operation in many areas of Balochistan under the ‘guise of the law and order situation’.

Nawaz told Dr Baloch his government would extend all possible assistance to the provincial government. “The government wants to usher in a new era in Balochistan and work to remove the
bitterness of the past and start a new page of everlasting love and affection,” he added.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 12^th, 2013.

ISLAMABAD: Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates on Tuesday offered support to the new government of Pakistan in the health sector, aiming to extend financial and technical assistance.

Special Representative of Bill Gates and Melinda Foundation for Afghanistan and Pakistan Dr Waqar Ajmal called on Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif today and delivered a letter from Gates, congratulating Nawaz on his election as prime minister.

Gates expressed confidence that the new government in Pakistan would focus on the immunisation and eradication of fatal diseases including polio.

Prime Minister Nawaz welcomed the offer and reiterated the government’s resolve to eradicate diseases.

Earlier, Gates had contacted Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chairman Imran Khan, seeking his assistance in eradicating polio from Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa.