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                        <title>The Express Tribune</title>
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			<title>PM arrest orders: NAB terms its own report 'inaccurate'</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/495289/rpps-case-%e2%80%98report-on-which-sc-gave-pm-arrest-orders-is-faulty%e2%80%99</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/495289/rpps-case-%e2%80%98report-on-which-sc-gave-pm-arrest-orders-is-faulty%e2%80%99#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Thu, 17 Jan 13 05:51:32 +0500</pubDate>
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				<![CDATA[afp]]>
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			<category><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></category>
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				<![CDATA[Fasih Bokhari says the reports were compiled in a hurry, they do not have complete record of the case.]]>
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				<![CDATA[National Accountability Bureau (NAB) chairman Fasih Bokhari declared the investigation report earlier submitted to the Supreme Court in the Rental Power Projects (RPP) case as inaccurate, reported Express News on Thursday.

The court had ordered the arrest of Prime Minister Raja Pervaiz Ashraf after reviewing the two investigation reports submitted by NAB. But, during today’s hearing, NAB chairman claimed that the reports did not have the complete record of the case.

Bokhari also said that the investigation officers had worked in a hurry and did not provide proofs in their reports.

Bokhari told Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry that the investigations into the 2010 power projects were not ready, saying it takes time to find evidence to prosecute those allegedly involved.

The chief justice dismissed NAB’s report as unsatisfactory and ordered Bokhari to report back 15 minutes later with the case files so that the court could itself point out evidence that could form the basis of a prosecution.

In March 2012, the court ordered legal proceedings against PM Ashraf, who at the time was a close aide of President Asif Ali Zardari and was water and power minister at the time the power projects were set up.

But on Thursday, a defiant NAB told the Supreme Court it was a constitutional court and therefore was not able to investigate the case.

"Our mandate is to ensure the judgment is implemented. We have based the entire judgment on documentary evidence," hit back Chaudhry.

"There may be some persons who consider themselves to be above the law. I want to tell you no-one is above law. Why your machinery is not moving against the persons concerned, what is the hurdle?" he added.

NAB refuses to arrest PM

NAB chairman Bokhari on Thursday rejected a Supreme Court order to arrest the prime minister, television channels reported, providing some relief to a government gripped by political turmoil.

On Tuesday, the court ordered the arrest of Prime Minister Raja Pervaiz Ashraf in connection with alleged kickbacks in transactions involving rental power plants when he served as power minister.

The hearing was adjourned till January 23.]]>
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			<title>Rental power projects case: Will hear case even if sky falls down, says CJ</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/495170/rental-power-projects-case-will-hear-case-even-if-sky-falls-down-says-cj</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/495170/rental-power-projects-case-will-hear-case-even-if-sky-falls-down-says-cj#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Thu, 17 Jan 13 05:15:08 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[azam.khan]]>
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			<category><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></category>
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			<description>
				<![CDATA[NAB to present progress report in arresting PM Ashraf today.]]>
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				<![CDATA[The Supreme Court on Thursday (today) will hear from the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) the progress made for the arrest of Prime Minister Raja Pervaiz Ashraf over corruption allegations in the rental power projects (RPP) case.


Addressing the former president of the Supreme Court Bar Association, Yasin Azad – who appeared before the court in a human rights case – Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry on Wednesday said that “dhols” were beating outside the court to force it into not hearing the RPPs case. But, the chief justice said, that he will hear the case “even if the sky falls down.”

The apex court issued a written order on Tuesday for the arrest of Premier Ashraf, along with 15 other accused over the allegations. The deadline to arrest them expired on Wednesday and NAB is supposed to submit a final report in this regard to the apex court today.

The case also took a new turn when Chief Justice Chaudhry, heading a three-judge bench, took notice of some remarks by federal ministers over the apex court’s written order for PM Ashraf’s arrest.

He also criticised the ministers for giving their opinions on the case without knowing the details.

Advocate Salman Akram Raja argued that the Supreme Court had conducted lengthy hearings into the RPPs case and NAB had limited options to not prosecute the accused, including Premier Ashraf. He claimed that NAB had no right to sideline the final and conclusive judgment of the apex court. “If someone is innocent in the case, he must prove it before the courts,” Raja added.

NAB Prosecutor General KK Agha told The Express Tribune a few days back that it was not necessary to arrest the accused in the case because the National Accountability Ordinance gave plea bargain powers to the country’s top anti-corruption body. However, Raja ruled out
the possibility of a plea bargain option in this case, arguing that Premier Ashraf never became a part of this process.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 17th, 2013. ]]>
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			<title>Resignation buzz: NAB chief rumour spins out of control</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/494638/resignation-buzz-nab-chief-rumour-spins-out-of-control</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/494638/resignation-buzz-nab-chief-rumour-spins-out-of-control#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Wed, 16 Jan 13 06:59:57 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[our.correspondent]]>
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			<category><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></category>
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			<description>
				<![CDATA[Authorities to take action against ‘a fake Bokhari’.]]>
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				<![CDATA[Moments after orders for the premier’s arrest were announced, BBC Urdu reported that National Accountability Bureau (NAB) Chairman Fasih Bokhari had resigned in light of the events that had transpired.


When BBC Urdu attempted to contact the NAB chief, an imposter allegedly confirmed that he was Bokhari and confirmed reports of his resignation. As the news appeared on the BBC Urdu news website, the NAB spokesperson as well as the personal assistant to the chairman clarified the situation, saying action had been initiated against the individual impersonating Bokhari.

The chairman’s personal assistant, Zaheer, told BBC that legal action would be taken against the individual, while NAB spokesperson Zafar Iqbal also refuted the news earlier in the day.



“By some error, BBC reported that Chairman NAB has resigned; which is untrue. Chairman NAB has repeatedly stated that he will not resign; that he has a mission to work for the poor people of Pakistan, which he will complete and will not resign. This erroneous news has been picked up by numerous local channels; but it is, nonetheless, untrue,” said a statement issued by the spokesperson.

Former media adviser to the NAB chief, Dr Ayesha Siddiqa, claimed the timing of the court’s decision in the rental power projects case sparked suspicions that Bokhari had resigned.

Siddiqa said that since the investigation has not concluded, responsibility should not be fixed on any accused yet, including the prime minister. She added that NAB lacks the technical facilities to collect forensic evidence, causing a delay in tracking the imposter.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 16th, 2013. ]]>
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			<title>Supreme Court order: Reeling from blow, PPP mulls next move</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/494634/supreme-court-order-reeling-from-blow-ppp-mulls-next-move</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/494634/supreme-court-order-reeling-from-blow-ppp-mulls-next-move#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Wed, 16 Jan 13 06:58:09 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[irfan.ghauri]]>
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			<category><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></category>
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			<description>
				<![CDATA[Options include contesting arrest orders and opting for pre-arrest bail.]]>
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				<![CDATA[The Supreme Court’s order to arrest Prime Minister Raja Pervaiz Ashraf came as a surprise for political forces in general – but was a particularly bitter blow for the ruling Pakistan People’s Party (PPP).


As soon as the decision was announced, PPP leaders converged at the Prime Minister House to brainstorm, a discussion that continued late into the night on Tuesday.

Among the options discussed by the government’s legal team were going for pre-arrest bail in the Supreme Court, contesting the orders on grounds of interpretation and employing delaying tactics by using the National Accountability Bureau (NAB), as well as filing a review with an application to suspend orders till there is a decision on the review.

Thus far, the PPP leadership, along with its legal experts, remains tight-lipped about which option it will choose.

Law Minister Farooq H Naek claimed that the apex court’s order made no mention of Premier Ashraf’s arrest. He added that investigation did not lie in the domain of the court, and was the exclusive domain of the NAB chief.

Naek said that the NAB chairman is authorised to submit charge sheets and hold investigations under the National Accountability Ordinance.

In its order, the court stated that NAB Chairman Fasih Bokhari will be responsible if any accused in the Rental Power Projects (RPPs) case, including Premier Ashraf, leave the country. The court also asked NAB to submit a report after arresting all the accused.

A member of the cabinet said that Naek will be “playing a major role” in whatever legal remedy they opt for.  He added that the government will most likely go for Naek’s interpretation, and if need be, choose the bail option.

According to prominent legal expert SM Zafar, however, if the prime minister moves the court for bail, he’ll have to surrender himself for arrest first.

Privately, some members of the PPP pointed fingers at their own leaders, accusing them of gross mismanagement by ‘letting the situation get out of hand’.



Others directed their criticism at the Supreme Court order, calling it part of a ‘bigger conspiracy’ while vowing that the party will not bow down.

“I don’t see elections in the coming days. The schedule will be announced but no elections will take place in the near future,” a senior PPP leader said.

Most party members did not openly criticise the court decision – but an official statement issued by the PPP human rights cell, headed by Dr Nafisa Shah, spoke out against the decision and linked it to Dr Tahirul Qadri’s march.

PPP apprehensions

Several PPP leaders also anticipated more damning decisions from the courts in the coming days – particularly in the president’s dual office case, currently being heard by the Lahore High Court (LHC).

One of them said that it is likely that the president may opt to relinquish the office of co-chairman in the coming days and hand over party affairs to his son, Bilawal Bhutto Zardari.

President Zardari has called a meeting of his allies in Karachi, while PML-N chief Mian Nawaz Sharif will be holding a meeting with the leadership of the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl, Jamaat-e-Islami, and other parties, including Baloch nationalists in Lahore.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 16th, 2013. ]]>
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			<title>Opposition talks: Nawaz invites party leaders to discuss SC order</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/494652/opposition-talks-nawaz-invites-party-leaders-to-discuss-sc-order</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/494652/opposition-talks-nawaz-invites-party-leaders-to-discuss-sc-order#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Wed, 16 Jan 13 06:50:31 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[abdul.manan]]>
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			<category><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></category>
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			<description>
				<![CDATA[Heads of several parties to gather at Raiwind; sources say no one from PML-N will demand PM Ashraf’s arrest.]]>
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				<![CDATA[Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) chief Nawaz Sharif called a high-level meeting of opposition leaders at his Raiwind residence on Tuesday to discuss the rapidly evolving political situation in light of the Supreme Court’s order to arrest Prime Minister Raja Pervaiz Ashraf.


The PML-N chief extended the invitation to JUI-F chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman, Hasil Bazinjo, PkMAP’s Mehmood Khan Achakzai, Talal Bugti, JI chief Syed Munawar Hassan, PML-Likeminded leader Salim Saifullah Khan, Hamid Nasir Chatha and Aftab Sherpao, according to Nawaz’s political secretary, Dr Asif Kirmani.

Sources said the party had also called its senior leadership to attend the meeting, where they will later issue a joint declaration on the opposition parties’ behalf. Besides this, Nawaz also presided over the PML-N’s consultative meeting on Tuesday to debate several issues.

SC orders to arrest PM Ashraf

According to sources, the party has been mysteriously quiet on the Supreme Court’s order in the rental power case.

A source told The Express Tribune the party’s position is between the devil and the deep blue sea for many reasons. “It wants a caretaker government set up with the mutual consultation of the Pakistan Peoples Party and its allies and it would have to be extra careful while issuing any statements against PM Ashraf,” said the source, adding that no one belonging to the PML-N would demand his arrest.

Sources added that PML-N members thought Premier Ashraf’s presence in office was inevitable for the political setup and the party could not afford to rub PPP the wrong way.

Punjab Law Minister Rana Sanaullah, who also attended the meeting, said that although the ruling was in accordance with the law, it had to question the timing of the judgment. He said the party had convened a meeting of its core committee today to discuss the repercussions and future strategy of the party. He believed Premier Ashraf was here to stay as there were a lot of legal procedures involved.



Caretaker govt set up

According to another source, an election or caretaker set up before schedule was not suitable for the PML-N as substantial party work was pending, including the inauguration of more development works in Punjab. The party also has to announce its recommendations for the caretaker set up.

They claimed that the PPP and the PML-N had agreed to form the set-up at the centre and in all the provinces after the expiration of the National Assembly and provincial assemblies’ tenures.

Dr Qadri’s sit-in

Sources said the PML-N was monitoring Dr Qadri’s sit-in, while the Punjab government had demanded the federal government to rid Islamabad of his supporters. They said the sit-in would be further discussed with all political parties.  However, Senator Pervaiz Rashid said the religious scholar had blatantly violated the Constitution by demanding the dissolution of assemblies and the disbandment of the Election Commission of Pakistan. He reiterated that the government should ensure the restoration of the government’s writ in the capital.

Fazlur Rehman, Nawaz to meet

Meanwhile, JUI-F chief Fazlur Rehman and Nawaz have scheduled a meeting in the next 24 to 48 hours to discuss the political scenario. A senior JUI leader told The Express Tribute that Fazl contacted Nawaz on Tuesday and they agreed to hold talks. The political scenario will be discussed, including the imposition of Governor’s Rule in Balochistan and the overall law and order situation in Pakistan.

It was learnt that the leaders expressed their apprehension over Dr Qadri’s long march.

“Both leaders agreed to support the continuation of the democratic process and hold the general elections well in time without disruption,” the JUI leader claimed. (with additional reporting by Peer Muhammad)

Published in The Express Tribune, January 16th, 2013. ]]>
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			<title>Background: What is the RPPs case?</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/494657/background-what-is-the-rpps-case</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/494657/background-what-is-the-rpps-case#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Wed, 16 Jan 13 05:31:21 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[our.correspondent]]>
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			<category><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></category>
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				<![CDATA[At the eye of the storm was the Karkey Rental Power Plant.]]>
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				<![CDATA[It was on March 30, 2012, that the Supreme Court pulled the plug on the rental power projects (RPPs), ordering action against current Prime Minister Raja Pervaiz Ashraf and others. And it was during the culmination of Dr Tahirul Qadri’s long march that the Supreme Court ordered the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) to arrest Ashraf and the 15 others implicated in the RPPs case.


The RPPs case first came to the SC’s attention when PML-Q leader Faisal Saleh Hayat issued a press statement on September 8, 2009, calling upon the apex court to take notice of what he alleged were financial irregularities and corruption on a massive scale.

Hayat was then directed to furnish evidence to support his accusations, which he did on the 26th of the same month. While the petition was pending, the PML-N’s Khawaja Muhammad Asif also joined the proceedings.

At the eye of the storm was the Karkey Rental Power Plant. During the hearing of the petition, officials of the Central Power Purchasing Agency (CPPA) disclosed that the govt was paying as much as $9 million a month to Karkey, despite the fact that only 30mw out of the agreed 230mw was actually being supplied. After rescinding the RPP contracts in 2012, the SC had ordered the NAB chairman to proceed with corruption references against the accused.

In September 2012, the SC issued show cause notices to NAB officials, asking them why they had not taken action against Raja Pervaiz Ashraf despite clear directions from the apex court.

On Tuesday, the apex court ordered NAB to arrest PM, who served as water and power minister from March 2008 to February 2011, along with the other accused. Other accused are former federal ministers Liaqat Ali Khan Jatoi, Tariq Hamid, former Federal Minister for Finance, Shoukat Tareen, former Secretaries Water and Power, Shahid Rafi, Muhammad Ismail Qureshi, Ishfaq Mehmood, former Secretary Finance, Salman Siddique, former Chairmen NEPRA, Khalid Saeed, Lieutenant General Saeeduz Zafar (Retd), CEO GENCO, Yousaf Ali, former MDs, PPIB, Khalid Irfan Rahman, Fayyaz Elahi, Yousaf Memon, former MDs Pepco, Tahir Basharat Cheema, Munawar Baseer Ahmad, CEOs Pepco, Muhammad Arif Saleem, Fazal Ahmad Khan and Chaudhary Muhammd Anwar.

Liaquat Jatoi held the post of minister for water and power in 2006, while Shaukat Tareen was finance minister in 2008. PM Ashraf himself held the post of water and power minister from March 2008 to February 2011.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 16th, 2013.]]>
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			<title>SC verdict on RPP: Marchers celebrate to the  beat of drums</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/494544/sc-verdict-on-rpp-marchers-celebrate-to-the-beat-of-drums</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/494544/sc-verdict-on-rpp-marchers-celebrate-to-the-beat-of-drums#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Wed, 16 Jan 13 01:01:06 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[our.correspondents]]>
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			<category><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></category>
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				<![CDATA[Feel their efforts have borne fruit, optimistic about success of sit-in.]]>
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				<![CDATA[Following the apex court’s directive to arrest the prime minister for his role in the failed rental power projects on Tuesday, the marchers’ jubilation was spontaneous and served to revitalise the expectations of the thousands of people at Minhajul Quran International chief Tahirul Qadri’s sit-in on Jinnah Avenue.


Prayers, impromptu dances to the beats of drums and tears were the ultimate reaction after Qadri made the announcement in the concluding remarks of his speech.

Qadri was reiterating his demands when the sudden announcement of the news charged the audience who were engrossed in the emotional speech.

A jubilant crowd of more than 60,000 expressed their happiness and excitement by dancing and chanting slogans in favour of Tahirul Qadri and the Supreme Court (SC) and distributed sweets.



“Congratulations! God be thanked!” and other congratulatory exclamations resounded in the venue.

Participants in significant numbers prostrated themselves and raised their hands towards the sky in gratitude. An overenthusiastic youth, standing  on top of a truck near the stage, fell off and was knocked unconscious. For some time, it became difficult for the security detail to control the excited crowd.

“This will be a milestone in Qadri’s movement which is aimed at rooting out the corrupt and he was one of them,” said Khatebur Rehman Abbasi, a die-hard admirer of Qadri.

Another old man with an unkempt beard passed through the crowd muttering, “Thank God. Thank God.”


A jubilant crowd of more than 60,000 expressed their happiness and excitement by dancing and chanting slogans. PHOTO: AFP, ONLINE
Muhammad Yaqub from Gojra exclaimed in triumph that one by one all corrupt politicians would be kicked out like this now.

“We don’t have the words to express our happiness, this is the first step towards making this country free of corrupt leaders,” said Hafsa Anum and Iqra Khalid, students of Minhaj-ul-Quran.

Mussarat from Islamabad said, “The SC decision has renewed our resolve and given us hope. Now we are very close to our destination and will succeed in our objectives, Insha Allah.”



Crooked politicians have deprived people of their basic rights to education, health and employment, she added.

Ansa Amjad from Narowal was of the view that, “The SC decision clearly reflects that justice will prevail in this country and there is someone who feels the pain of 180 million people.”

Shabana from Gojra also expressed her happiness over the decision.

“After the firing and shelling incident in the morning some of the participants were feeling a bit depressed,” she stated.

But this news made our day and helped us forget all the pain and trouble we faced in coming here.”

barge through, cross over the barricades or attack police personnel,” Pirzada said. “Hopefully they will honour their word.”

Published in The Express Tribune, January 16th, 2013. ]]>
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			<title>Rental power projects case: PM Ashraf in the crosshairs</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/494662/rental-power-projects-case-pm-ashraf-in-the-crosshairs</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/494662/rental-power-projects-case-pm-ashraf-in-the-crosshairs#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Tue, 15 Jan 13 23:10:23 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[azam.khan]]>
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			<category><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></category>
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				<![CDATA[Supreme Court orders NAB to arrest prime minister, 15 others within 24 hours.]]>
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				<![CDATA[It was a day of high drama in the streets of Islamabad – but inside the chambers of the Supreme Court, announcements were no less earth-shattering.


A series of unfortunate events for the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP)-led government finally culminated on Tuesday with the apex court issuing a written order for the arrest of Prime Minister Raja Pervaiz Ashraf, along with 15 other accused, over corruption allegations in the rental power projects case.

A three-judge bench, headed by Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, directed the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) to arrest the accused “without any hesitation” within 24 hours.

NAB Chairman Fasih Bokhari, who denied rumours later in the day that he was quitting his post, also came under the court’s scrutiny. “It is made clear here to the NAB chairman that if any one accused involved in these cases succeed in making good their escape out of the country, he will be responsible personally for the same,” the court order read.

The chief justice, meanwhile, was in no mood for leniency. Saying the anti-graft body wanted to shift the burden onto the court, he told NAB officials that it was their job “to proceed against the accused in accordance with the procedure.”

It was clear that there were no longer two ways about it for NAB. Justice Sheikh Azmat Saeed warned the bureau officials against sharing “documents” as if they were “shuffling cards” after they tried to convince the court over delays in submitting references in the case. “What kind of hindrances are there for NAB to file a reference against the accused in the courts?” he asked.

The NAB chairman is in trouble with the Supreme Court for more than just ‘inaction’ in arresting the besieged premier and company. He has been summoned at the next hearing, scheduled for 17 January, to explain why he removed two investigation officers (IOs) from the high-profile RPPs case, citing the Supreme Court’s dissatisfaction with their performance.

The counsel for the two investigation officers, Raja Amir Abbas, pointed out that on January 7, 2013, NAB principal secretary, Brig (retd) Farooq Naser Awan, has issued a letter, with handwritten notes from Bokhari, which asked for the “IOs under contempt to be removed from these cases since the Supreme Court of Pakistan also does not appear happy with their performance.” He added that this was why the officers were led to believe the SC wanted their removal.

Abbas claimed that his clients, Asghar Ali and Kamran Faisal, were actually sidelined, because they had prepared references as directed by the apex court, and had included Prime Minister Ashraf’s name.

NAB (Rawalpindi) Director General Col (retd) Subeh Sadiq had the same complaint, saying he was removed on the pretext of the Supreme Court’s dissatisfaction. He has now been restored along with Ali and Faisal.

The court’s order made further serious accusations against Bokhari. The text stated: “It is concluded that none except the NAB chairman himself used the name of the Supreme Court to achieve his own motives and objects, as it is evident from the record referred to hereinabove.”  It pointed out that Bokhari was already under contempt notice for non-compliance in the RPPs case judgment, and that he should therefore “have been careful”.

Separately, the decision to arrest the prime minister was greeted with celebrations at Dr Tahirul Qadri’s sit-in, where participants chanted, “Long live the Supreme Court”.

NAB chairman speaks out

Speaking to media at Karachi’s Jinnah International Airport, Bokhari assured that the court’s decision would be implemented. The NAB chairman added that the 16 names of the accused had been placed on the Exit Control List. He avoided commenting further on the issue, saying that questions could be directed to the interior ministry.

To another question, the NAB chairman said he would try his best to comply with the apex court’s orders, acknowledging the difficulty of doing so. Bokhari was heading from the airport to Bilawal House to meet President Asif Ali Zardari.

(WITH ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY HAFEEZ TUNIO IN KARACHI)

&nbsp;

Published in The Express Tribune, January 16th, 2013.]]>
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			<title>United at last?: PML-F, nationalists, JI, MQM-H hail decision</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/494454/united-at-last-pml-f-nationalists-ji-mqm-h-hail-decision</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/494454/united-at-last-pml-f-nationalists-ji-mqm-h-hail-decision#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Tue, 15 Jan 13 23:09:41 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[our.correspondent]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Sindh]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=494454</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[Call for prime minister to step down on moral grounds.]]>
			</description>
			<content:encoded>
				<![CDATA[After the Supreme Court’s (SC) arrest orders against Prime Minister Raja Pervaiz Ashraf, the government has lost its constitutional right to rule the country, declared Pakistan Muslim League-Functional (PML-F) Sindh general secretary Imtiaz Shaikh on Tuesday.

The apex court has exposed the incompetency and corruption of government officials, who should immediately resign on moral grounds, he said, while speaking to the media.

Nationalists welcome order

The Save Sindh Movement, an alliance of Sindhi nationalist parties, has welcomed Supreme Court’s decision to arrest the prime minister in the rental power plants case.

“We had already expressed our concern against Ashraf [while] raising our voice to avoid appointing a corrupt prime minister but no one heard our pleas,” said Jalal Mehmood Shah, the movement’s convenor, in a statement issued on Tuesday.

He claimed the Pakistan Peoples Party had appointed Ashraf deliberately. “No one should be above the law. This decision has proved that the current government is the most corrupt in the country, which has destroyed all institutions.”

Awami Tehreek’s Ayaz Latif Palijo was of the view that the prime minister should tender apology and step down. “The government should implement the court orders without any delay,” he added.

Afaq Ahmed’s reaction

Mohajir Qaumi Movement-Haqiqi’s Afaq Ahmed expressed reservations over the “political turmoil” that has gripped the country, and said that the National Assembly and provincial assemblies need to be dissolved and fresh elections called. A caretaker set up needs to be put in place soon, demanded Ahmed.

“The only reason that various circles are working to change the government is that it has been busy trying to stay in power, instead of working for the welfare of the state and the people.”

‘Army to stay within bounds’ 

The Jamaat-e-Islami Karachi chief, Muhammad Hussain Mehenti, welcomed the apex court’s decision to arrest Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf, and also advised the military to stay within constitutional bounds.

Keeping in mind the situation in the country, and especially Karachi, a caretaker government needs to be put in place immediately and a schedule for fresh elections released, said Mehenti, at a press conference at Idara Noor-e-Haq on Tuesday.

The apex court’s decision represents the will of the people, he said. “[Authorities] should investigate every person who is involved in corruption.”

Published in The Express Tribune, January 16th, 2013.]]>
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			<title>Rental power case aftermath: Karachi and other cities light up with burnt tyres</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/494453/rental-power-case-aftermath-karachi-and-other-cities-light-up-with-burnt-tyres</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/494453/rental-power-case-aftermath-karachi-and-other-cities-light-up-with-burnt-tyres#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Tue, 15 Jan 13 22:53:43 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[our.correspondents]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Sindh]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=494453</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[When SC’s orders for the arrest of the PM came in, protesters blocked the city’s streets.]]>
			</description>
			<content:encoded>
				<![CDATA[It took a couple of hours for the shockwaves generated by the gavel at the end of the rental power case hearing in Islamabad to reach Sindh. But when they did, bullets flew skywards and shutters slid hastily in the opposite direction.


Enraged by the apex court’s orders on Tuesday for the arrest of Prime Minister Raja Pervaiz Ashraf, armed men came out onto Karachi’s roads and littered them with burnt tyres.

Amidst the protests and gunfire, the rumour mill began to spin - there were talks about dissolution of assemblies and possible emergence of men in khaki from the barracks. Preempting the worst, some of the city’s residents made a beeline for utility stores to stock up on ration. As they did, the arteries of the city were clogged with an assortment of buses, cars, motorcycles, ambulances and police mobiles.

“It usually takes me 20 minutes to get home, but today it took me two hours,” said Wakeel Sheikh, a jeweler in Saddar. “You never know when things might get ugly, when something horrible might go down. I think now is the time to stock up on food.”

Most of the action was confined to some spots of the city, including MA Jinnah Road near Jama Cloth Market, Drigh Road, Gulshan-e-Hadeed, Sharae Faisal, Pehlwan Goth, Sacchal Goth, Mauripur, Landhi, Malir and Quaidabad. It was in these areas that rings of fire were seen on the street and the unpleasant odour of burnt rubber permeated the air. The protesters also blocked the Super Highway, National Highway and Northern Bypass.



The protests also paralysed businesses in parts of the city - shopkeepers and petrol pump managers closed shop at the first signs of trouble. All Pakistan Tajir Ittehad’s chairperson, Atiq Mir, was red-faced too, though for reasons much different than the protesters.  “Nobody is bursting with joy to close shop,” he told The Express Tribune. “Instead of falling one by one, I wish the government would just go in one swoop and be replaced by new, good leaders.”

Sindh police’s spokesperson, Imran Shaukat, told The Express Tribune that law enforcers across the province have been put on red alert to prevent the situation from spiraling out of control. “If someone wants to protest, they can go to the press club and we won’t stop them. But they won’t be allowed to carry on protesting as they are now.”

Pakistan Peoples Party leader Sohail Abidi said that the protests were being held to express solidarity with its leaders. He hastened to add that the party itself had not given any call for protests. “These people are protesting of their own free will. We didn’t tell anyone to come out onto the roads and do what they are doing.”

Hot and cold 

In other parts of the province, the reaction to the apex court’s order was mixed, with some cities coming to a complete standstill and others bustling with daily activity.

In Larkana, a mob thundered along Bandar Road, shouting slogans against the decision. At other places in the district, there were reports that armed men brandished weapons in front of the police in broad daylight and coerced shopkeepers into calling it a day. Law enforcers stood inconspicuously on the sidelines.

More of the same happened in Shaheed Benazirabad, Moro, Dadu and Jacobabad, where armed men roaming the streets sporadically punctuated the silence by firing shots into the air. In Khairpur, the hometown of the chief minister, men carrying guns and wooden sticks went around telling shopkeepers to pack up or face the consequences. But as soon as the mobs passed through the area, the shutters flew up again.

The reaction in Hyderabad was quite mixed, with some parts of the city, including Saddar, Bohri Bazaar and Qasimabad, paralysed while at other places, it was business as usual.

Rohri, Ghotki, Mirpur Mathelo, Daharki, Ubauro, Thull and Shikarpur were, however, relatively free from commotion.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 16th, 2013.]]>
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			<title>Military, Supreme Court working together against govt: PPP leader</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/494276/military-supreme-court-working-together-against-govt-ppp-leader</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/494276/military-supreme-court-working-together-against-govt-ppp-leader#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Tue, 15 Jan 13 12:01:25 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[reuters]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=494276</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[Stakeholders respond to court orders calling for arrest of PM Ashraf.]]>
			</description>
			<content:encoded>
				<![CDATA[Fawad Chaudhry - aide to Prime Minister Raja Pervaiz Ashraf -  said on Tuesday there was "no doubt" the country's powerful military and Supreme Court were working together to topple the government.

Chaudhry was speaking to Reuters after the Supreme Court ordered the arrest of Ashraf in the Rental Power Plants case.

PM Ashraf – popularly known as Raja Rental - was accused of receiving kickbacks in the rental power projects and of buying property in London from the money earned through corruption in various scams.

The Express Tribune approached stakeholders for their comments on this recent development.

Awami National Party

“It’s an order from the highest court and will be obeyed but our [government’s] legal advisors are trying to find if Ashraf enjoys immunity in this case,” ANP Senator Haji Muhammad Adeel told The Express Tribune.  

Expressing doubts over the timing of the court order and Tahirul Qadri’s long march, Adeel said he fails to understand why SC decided to issue the verdict now when the country is experiencing political turbulence.

Pakistan Peoples Party

While speaking to Express News, PPP leader Aitzaz Ahsan said Ashraf will remain the prime minster even if he is imprisoned.

“Ashraf will be the premier until a no-trust motion is moved against him,” he said.

Muttahida Qaumi Movement

MQM leader Wasay Jalil said it is premature to comment on the issue as they don’t have details apart from what has been broadcast.

Jalil also said they have not received any formal invite for the allies meeting scheduled to be held in Karachi today.

Human Rights Commission of Pakistan

Threats to democratic process have escalated after the Supreme Court’s order, said the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP).

“It is difficult to measure the misfortune of the people of Pakistan; on the one hand, we are still burying the Quetta blast victims and pondering over its consequences, while on the other hand Qadri has been haranguing an audience with double talk and lies,” HRCP said in a statement.

Refusing to comment on the merits of the rental power plant case, HRCP said it believes the attempts to regulate politics through judicial hustling have never been fruitful anywhere in the world.

“If nothing else, the judiciary has to weigh the consequences of its decisions on the state whose interest it is supposed to safeguard,” the statement said.

US favours democracy

Reacting to news of the arrest order, US State Department spokeswoman, Victoria Nuland, described the situation as "an internal issue for Pakistanis to resolve, as long as it is resolved in a just and transparent manner that protects the constitution, protects the rule of law".

She added that the US stood "strongly in favour" of a democratically elected civilian government in Pakistan

The US embassy in Islamabad will remain shut on Wednesday for the third day due to security concerns, she said.]]>
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			<title>Twitter alert: Qadri's deadline and PM Ashraf's arrest</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/494272/twitter-alert-qadris-deadline-and-pm-ashrafs-arrest</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/494272/twitter-alert-qadris-deadline-and-pm-ashrafs-arrest#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Tue, 15 Jan 13 10:52:40 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[web.desk]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=494272</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[As #longmarch, #KSE, PM Ashraf and #tuQ began trending on twitter, local twitterati began to put the pieces together.]]>
			</description>
			<content:encoded>
				<![CDATA[While Tahirul Qadri called for a revolution in Islamabad, in an interesting turn of events,  the Supreme Court of Pakistan ordered Prime Minister Raja Pervaiz Ashraf’s arrest in the rental power case. 

A mere coincidence?

The local twitterati begged to differ as they began buzzing about a well-thought out conspiracy.

As #longmarch, #KSE, PM Ashraf and #tuQ began trending on twitter, the local twitterati began to put the pieces together.

Top tweets:

Ali Dayan Hasan

Is the Supreme Court of #Pakistan mounting a judicial coup in league with Tahirul Qadri?

Dr Tahir-ul-Qadri

Congrats to Pak nation! Half speech delivered &amp; half goal achieved. Tomorrow, I'll deliver second half &amp; you'll achieve remaining goals.

omar r quraishi

Coincidence much? Tahirul Qadri had been asking for SC to have say in formation of caretaker govt - also called PM 'former PM' earlier today
Rezaul Hasan Laskar
Asma Jahangir: Only a naïve person will think that there's no connection between order for PM's arrest and #TuQ's protest.
Osman Khalid Butt
Chief Justice ki timing pe maa sadkay! #TuQ

Nadeem F. Paracha‏

As Qadri huffs and CJP puffs, the Karachi Stock Exchange crashes ... http://kse.com.pk 

Zain..Abdullah Zain

I wish Christopher Nolan would've directed this movement. Qadri to PM: Do you feel in charge? #tuQ #longMArch

Mehreen Zahra-Malik‏

Qadri did tell us last night that the PM was 'ex' now. Guess he knew something we didn't. Probably had a vision about what CJ would announce

Aijaz Soomro

#LongMarch triggers #SC to order arrest of the kleptocratic rental democracy! HAHAHA AHHAHA HAHAH ROFL... LMAO... :D

Amber Rahim Shamsi

If #TUQ's purpose was to destabilise Pakistan, then the #LongMarch has succeeded

Anjum Kiani 

#LongMarch attendees fall in Sajda &amp; offer Nafal of thanks after decsion of the order to Arrest PM Ashraf in 24 hrs comes in. #TUQ]]>
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			<title>Rental power case: SC orders arrest of PM Ashraf</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/494267/rental-power-case-sc-orders-arrest-of-pm-ashraf</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/494267/rental-power-case-sc-orders-arrest-of-pm-ashraf#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Tue, 15 Jan 13 09:30:57 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[afp]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=494267</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[The Karachi Stock Exchange fell sharply as reports of the order flashed across news channels.]]>
			</description>
			<content:encoded>
				<![CDATA[The Supreme Court ordered the arrest of Prime Minister Raja Pervaiz Ashraf in the Rental Power Plants case on Tuesday, reported Express News.

The court also ordered all other respondents in the case to be arrested, and gave 24 hours deadline to the authorities to implement the orders.

The court maintained that National Accountability Bureau (NAB) will be responsible if any of the respondents manage to escape.

"The chief justice ordered that all concerned, regardless of their rank, who have been booked in the case be arrested and if someone leaves the country, then chairman of NAB will be held responsible along with his investigating team," lawyer Aamir Abbas told AFP.

"The sixteen include Raja Ashraf," said Abbas, adding that Ashraf had not been referred to by name by Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry.

Abbas, who represents NAB, said the defendants had been ordered to appear before the Supreme Court on Thursday.

In Pakistan's financial capital, the Karachi Stock Exchange fell sharply as reports of the order flashed across local television news channels.

The KSE 100 index lost 453.46 points, or 2.74 per cent, in little over half an hour, to stand at 16,633.18 just before 3:00pm– 559.74 points down on opening.

The Supreme Court's order came at a time when Minhajul Quran International (MQI) chief Tahirul Qadri was leading a long march in Islamabad to demand electoral reforms.

Participants of the march were seen celebrating while chanting "Long Live Supreme Court" when Qadri mentioned the court's decision during his speech.

PM Ashraf was given the title of Raja Rental after he was accused of receiving kickbacks in the rental power projects. He was also accused of buying property in London from money earned through corruption in various scams.

He has been defending himself in the Supreme Court.

On March 30, the apex court had directed the National Accountability Bureau to proceed against those who were in the post of minister for water and power from 2006 till the next general elections. As a result, on April 20, NAB issued arrest warrants for 33 persons, including Ashraf.

Case background

Earlier last year, the court directed NAB  to proceed against all government functionaries involved, including the ministers for water and power during whose tenure the RPPs were approved or set up, and the minister and finance secretary holding charge when down payment for RPPs was increased from 7% to 14%.

Liaquat Jatoi and Raja Pervaiz Ashraf were water and power ministers in 2006 and 2008, respectively, while Shaukat Tareen was the finance minister in 2008, when down payment was increased.

Of the 19 RPP deals signed initially, only nine were allowed to function after a damning Asian Development Bank evaluation report. Subsequently, six of those nine RPPs were discontinued.]]>
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			<title>Sindh tour: ‘Polls soon; no clash with institutions’</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/420101/sindh-tour-%e2%80%98polls-soon-no-clash-with-institutions%e2%80%99</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/420101/sindh-tour-%e2%80%98polls-soon-no-clash-with-institutions%e2%80%99#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Thu, 09 Aug 12 23:13:53 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[Hafeez Tunio]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=420101</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[Premier visits Thar coal project; Rs900m secured for gasification project.]]>
			</description>
			<content:encoded>
				<![CDATA[To the murmurs of his imminent ouster, and early elections as a result, Prime Minister Raja Pervaiz Ashraf had one thing to say: the countdown to the current government’s dismissal had begun the day it assumed charge.


Yet, he said, the government had now presented five budgets, and was still alive and kicking. “No one can teach the PPP about politics and democracy. Who understands these things better than us?” he questioned, while speaking at a public gathering after visiting the site of the Thar coal gasification project on Thursday.

Having been summoned to the Supreme Court to explain his stand on implementing orders pertaining to writing a letter to the Swiss authorities to reopen graft cases against President Asif Ali Zardari, the premier avoided talking about the matter directly. However, he said that the time for the general elections is near and the government does not want a ‘fight’ with any institution.

Thar coal

The under coal gasification (UCG) project of Dr Samar Mubarakmand has, meanwhile, secured Rs900 million funds for work on Block 5 – announced by the prime minister at the public gathering.

Finances had stalled after the shutting down of the gasification project after four months of its operation. While detractors interpreted the move as a failure, Dr Mubarakmand stressed that it was closed to avoid wastage of coal as it was being run on an experimental basis. Praising the work of Dr Mubarakmand and his team involved in the UCG project, the PM announced a month’s salary bonus.

The scientist has so far spent around Rs1 billion from the government-approved outlay of Rs9 billion. He will set up a power plant from the newly-released funds to use the gas for electricity production. The fresh releases come over two weeks after Dr Mubarakmand took the National Assembly’s Standing Committee on Science and Technology into confidence at a briefing in Islamabad.

While briefing the premier, he said an eight-megawatt power plant will be installed but stopped short of announcing the date when it will begin to produce electricity. In the second phase of the project, a 100 MW plant will be installed, however, the funds for that are yet to come. He said that UCG experiment has succeeded elsewhere in the world. The scientist claimed that Block 5 also has reserves of 2 billion barrels of oil.

Sindh Chief Minister Qaim Ali Shah, while speaking at the public meeting, requested the premier to provide financial support for the project. Shamsuddin Shaikh, the CEO of Sindh Engro Coal Mining Company, informed the premier that the company will begin open-pit mining after three months. He said the company requires a sovereign guarantee from the federal government to obtain financing for the project.

Thar development

Senator Gul Muhammad Lot, who belongs to Thar, briefed the PM about the need for water supply, electrification, education, health and infrastructure facilities. On his request, the PM announced Rs200 million for electrification of 200 villages in Thar. Federal minister Syed Navid Qamar, Syed Khursheed Shah, Qamar Zaman Kaira and Dr Asim Hussain, MNA Rabia Qaimkhani and Khatumal Jeewani were also present.

Wooing allies

Prime Minister Ashraf tried to woo enraged leaders of two coalition partners, Pakistan Muslim League-Functional (PML-F) and Awami National Party (ANP), during his stay in Karachi on Thursday.

Soon after his visit to Thar and attending an iftar dinner hosted by the Sindh Chief Minister, the prime minister visited the residence of Pir Pagara, Syed Sibghatullah Rashdi, following grievances over the attitude of the government as well as PPP leaders. Sources said that the meeting of prime minster was arranged in the wake of threats issued by some senior PML-F leaders to walk out of the government on the alleged shifting the polling stations to PPP dominated areas. The local government issue was also taken up, with PML-F saying that, despite being a coalition partner, PPP was not taking them into confidence.

Though PML-F leaders told the media that the prime minster had come to condole with Pir Pagara on the death of his sister, sources in the party said that the premier sought the support of Pir Pagara and assured that he would resolve all grievances of his party. In this connection, a PML-F delegation, led by Senator Syed Muzaffar Hussain Shah and  Khuda Bux Rajar, would meet Prime Minister Ashraf today (Friday) in Karachi.

On the other hand, the prime minister also visited Mardan House, the ANP headquarters in Karachi, and met Senator Shahi Syed. The ANP leader had complained that the last time the prime minister was in Karachi, which was his first here since being made premier, he only visited Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) headquartes Nine-Zero.

CM House

At the Chief Minister House iftar dinner, the premier said that the PPP has never desired confrontation with any institution – and added that the prime responsibility of the coalition government is to hold transparent, free, and fair elections. Leaders of different political parties, including MQM, ANP, PML-Q and PML-F, were at the event.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 10th, 2012.]]>
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			<title>Let democracy work</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/401636/let-democracy-work</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/401636/let-democracy-work#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Sat, 30 Jun 12 18:25:26 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[saroop.ijaz]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=401636</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[Raja Pervez maybe a bad example of a very important principle but the principle trumps the personality quite easily.]]>
			</description>
			<content:encoded>
				<![CDATA[Raja Pervaiz Ashraf is not the best choice for the premiership, actually he might be quite close to being the worst choice. His performance as minister for water and power was less than stellar and both his competence and credibility are suspect. I personally would have been thrilled if I never saw him in politics again. One expected some outrage and criticism of his election (we would do well to remember it is not merely an appointment), however, somewhere along the line it became obvious that our media has gone a tad too far. This is precisely what prompts me to undertake this Luciferian task of putting up a slight defence.

While we all know Raja Pervaiz Ashraf has gained notoriety, and rightly so for giving false deadlines, however, one is entitled to mild stupefaction when a senior journalist says that the day of his election is the most depressing day of his life. Surely, he does not consider the new PM’s election a bigger catastrophe then Ziaul Haq coming to power. Another firebrand media pundit expressed his desire to leave the country because of this abysmal choice for PM. I am certain he would have been this outraged when General (retd) Pervez Musharraf took over or when Moeen Qureshi or Shaukat Aziz were ‘appointed’, or maybe he wasn’t. Also be careful not to exhaust all your outrage, save some for the less important matters such as suicide bombings and the Shia killings etc. Raja Pervaiz Ashraf has been elected by a quite overwhelming majority, with no ‘Changa Manga’ or ‘Midnight Jackal’, which is a breakthrough.

The new prime minister has allegations of corruption and perhaps, more significantly and tangibly of incompetence. Yet, watching a recent television programme it occurred to me that they may not be the only reasons for resentment. In that television programme, a top anchor person showed a clip of Raja Pervaiz Ashraf, wherein he pronounced the ‘Q’ in PML-Q in the  typical Urdu/Punjabi pronunciation of the alphabet, which vaguely speaking has a tiny howl at the end and then went on to mock him repeating the same pronunciation. The point of this exhibition was to demonstrate how uncouth the new PM was: we do not like him because he is an upstart, a common man, perhaps, not the best representative example of a common man, yet unquestionably common. To be painfully honest, the anchor person would probably belong to the same class originally and his proficiency of the English language and phonetics would also make for easy criticism. I dare the said anchor to mock the Urdu of Mohammad Ali Jinnah, which also left much to be desired. The problem with Pakistan’s middle class like most middle classes is that they hate themselves.

I do not like Malik Riaz one bit either but the jokes about his pronunciation of the word ‘screw’ have outlived their amusement value. Remaining on television anchors, sometime back I saw another gallant chat show host refer to Malik Riaz as “Riaz Thekaydar” repeatedly and perhaps, too strenuously. I can understand him saying it once to declare his independence but to protract the use of “Thekaydar” as a pejorative word is just cheap. Again, it is not elitism in the personal sense since the said anchor probably would be self made, it is self-hatred. Malik Riaz and Raja Pervaiz can and should be justifiably and scathingly criticised for a lot of things. However, the fact that they give the impression of guys who imbibe top shelf single malt with Pepsi in large gulps, while admittedly being personally irksome is not one of them.

We do not like corruption or deceit, but we really, really do not like it when the common man does it. Fake degrees make us a bit angry, however, if it is Jamshed Dasti’s fake degree, that is earth shattering, “what have we come to” apocalyptic stuff. It is also cathartic at some level, I am sure many of our media gurus and opinion-makers are secretly thrilled and all of their birthdays have come together. A target as unchallenging as Raja Pervaiz Ashraf would make it easier to look smug and the airs of superiority will not seem as phony. I can imagine Raja Pervaiz Ashraf saying some purged version of Tony Montana’s in Scarface, “You need people like me so you can point your finger and say, that’s the bad guy”.

There has been some talk of a recent Pew survey and I see a lot of urban middle-class folks getting fairly excited about it. I restrain myself from commenting on the finding. However, if surveys catch your fancy, there is a bigger survey held periodically that all of you are invited to, it is called the ‘general election’. Make sure you do not miss it. The moralising of the urban middle class is particularly irritating when one realises that most of them do not vote; worse still consider all politics dirty business. I am told that winds of change are blowing and we will see it in the next election, I certainly wish that is so and look forward to it.

No one is really happy about the new PM, except perhaps, his immediate family and no one has to like him. The seminal question is this: is bearing Raja Pervaiz Ashraf being allowed to complete his term of a few months too high a price for the democratic system to continue? I go for high stakes and say the categorical answer is “no”. He maybe a bad example of a very important principle but the principle trumps the personality quite easily. Do not underestimate yourself, we have survived 11 years of Zia, this should be a walk in the park.

Loadshedding is an inescapable subject while talking about the PM. The analogy summoned to mind is that while protesters have genuine grievances, yet to burn the Wapda grid station or destroy electricity poles is not the smartest of moves, since it deprives you of the meagre electricity that you are, in fact, getting and the cycle becomes more vicious. The same goes for democracy, don’t do it, it is self-sabotage and suicidal.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 1st, 2012.]]>
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			<title>PM in Lahore: Warm gestures thaw Punjab-Centre frost</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/401420/pm-in-lahore-warm-gestures-thaw-punjab-centre-frost</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/401420/pm-in-lahore-warm-gestures-thaw-punjab-centre-frost#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Fri, 29 Jun 12 23:33:25 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[abdul.manan]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=401420</guid>
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				<![CDATA[Premier receives official protocol, invites PML-N for consultation over CEC.]]>
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				<![CDATA[The gesture was reconciliatory, and rare.


A province up in arms over the power crisis accorded a warm reception to the man who is largely believed to be responsible for the crisis – former water and power minister, and the incumbent Prime Minister, Raja Pervaiz Ashraf.

Along with office bearers of the ruling Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), cabinet members of the Punjab government, belonging to the opposition Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), received Prime Minister Ashraf on his first visit to Lahore since becoming the premier.

That also made him the only PPP leader to receive an official reception and protocol in recent times – both President Asif Ali Zardari and former prime minister Yousaf Raza Gilani were denied official protocol in Punjab for quite some time.

Prime Minister Ashraf appreciated the gesture, and returned the favour: Extending an invitation to the opposition parties to join him in consultation in the selection of a chief election commissioner (CEC).

Earlier, the PPP and PML-N had arrived at a dead end over the appointment of a CEC, with ousted premier Gilani and Leader of Opposition in the National Assembly Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan sending individual candidates lists to the parliamentary committee on the appointment of a CEC. The committee, however, has not yet agreed upon a single name for the post of CEC.

Warmth returned

Earlier, when premier Ashraf had visited the city as water and power minister, he was not extended an official reception purportedly for his statements against the construction of Kalabagh Dam. This time, however, the prime minister remained silent on the issue.

Provincial minister for planning and development, Chaudhry Abdul Ghafoor, and senior adviser to the chief minister Senator Zulfiqar Khosa, along with Punjab Governor Sardar Latif Khan Khosa received the premier on his arrival.

The premier presided over a party meeting at the Governor House. According to an official handout, Prime Minister Ashraf stressed that the PPP government is committed to impartial elections. “The opposition should come forward for the selection of the CEC, which is vital for a smooth and reliable electoral process ahead,” he said.

Prime Minister Ashraf also rejected politics of confrontation amongst institutions and political parties, saying it is detrimental to the cause of democracy. “I hold the governments of Punjab, Sindh, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan in high esteem and respect their mandates,” he said.

He also welcomed the Punjab government’s gesture of officially receiving him on his arrival in the city.

Prime Minister Ashraf said that overcoming the energy crisis is the top-most priority of his government, adding that the power shortfall has been reduced considerably due to recent initiatives by the government.

Election year

Later, talking to the media at a wedding reception, Prime Minister Ashraf said that the current year is an election year.

Time to scuffle with each other has gone, the premier said, adding that he, along with all opposition parties, will have to make a commitment of maintaining the rule of law, respect the judiciary, parliament and the National Assembly since this is the only way of survival of democratic forces.

Inside the PML-N

The granting of official reception and protocol to Prime Minister Ashraf was not an arbitrary move.

Sources in the PML-N told The Express Tribune that party president Nawaz Sharif held meetings at Raiwind two days ago which lasted six hours.

Among the decisions arrived at during the meeting, one was to accept and give official protocol to Prime Minister Ashraf in Punjab.

Earlier, the PML-N had decided to abandon giving official protocol to Gilani and President Zardari since the party believed they are involved in corruption and obeying the rulings of the apex court, Chaudhry Ghafoor told The Express Tribune.

The party has now decided to move forward, he added.

Meanwhile, sources said the PML-N has prepared a list of issues to be negotiated with the PPP, including the CEC, appointment of a caretaker set up including a prime minister and chief ministers, and the announcement of a date for the upcoming general elections.

“Ashraf’s invitation of negotiations with the opposition has been taken by PML-N’s leadership as a positive step” Ghafoor said.

Later at night, Prime Minister Asharf laid a floral wreath at the Data Darbar. He will meet journalists, lawyers and other party officials at the Governor House on Saturday before returning to Islamabad.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 30th, 2012.]]>
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			<title>The other type of contempt</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/401146/the-other-type-of-contempt</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/401146/the-other-type-of-contempt#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Fri, 29 Jun 12 18:58:31 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[amina.jilani]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Opinion]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=401146</guid>
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				<![CDATA[Raja Pervaiz Ashraf, his contempt for the nation is as great as that of his master.]]>
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				<![CDATA[It just takes the combination of two names in the top slots to comprehend the depths into which this Islamic Republic has sunk itself. It is a unique pairing in a comity of known parliamentary systems. To see President Asif Ali Zardari coupled with Prime Minister Raja Pervaiz Ashraf, in print — or otherwise — has the effect of making many a heart sink low into the ground, beneath one’s feet.

Just what do these names conjure up? Both have a past which precedes them; one with a far longer litany than the other. Both are synonymous — by perception and reputation — with corruption and malpractice. There is little need to elaborate as it would be but repetition. Both face contempt charges.

One in the Lahore High Court, the alleged contempt being the fact that he holds two conflicting positions — that of head of state conjointly with the co-chairmanship of his supposedly inherited political party and of politically operating from the hallowed premises of the presidential mansion, which has been converted into the headquarters of the ruling party. He has been given ample time by the Court to ponder, but since the situation has existed happily for the past four years it is unlikely that anything will come of the matter. The other, the new boy in the hot seat, is in a far more dicey position. The Supreme Court is fixated upon a letter it insists must be written.

In the case of the head of state, the contempt with which he is charged pales into insignificance when it comes to the contempt he has exhibited for the nation by dealing it one blow after another with nary a care other than his own self-preservation, which circles around the immunity granted to him by the Constitution. His skills are well known — and have been for over two decades — but many had the feeling that over the past four years, he might just trip himself up by outsmarting himself. But no, he has shown consummate acumen by outfoxing his opponents and buying the complete and utter loyalty from his herd of supporters, who rely upon him to keep them where they are.

But his latest act of contempt for the nation has outshone all others. After the expected departure of his chosen prime minister, he had to make choices. Now, he may not have known that Makhdoom Shahabuddin was to be presented with an arrest warrant but he certainly knew that there were pending charges against him for gross malpractice, financial and moral turpitude. So why pick him?

As for his second choice, Raja Pervaiz Ashraf, has made his country a laughing stock internationally. His contempt for the nation is as great as that of his master, for if he had an iota of self-respect or respect for his country, he would not have accepted the job. He cannot be taken to task for this contempt (and the same goes for master) but the Supreme Court, which is in full and confident flow may have the last laugh yet again.

And as for the herd of parliamentarians who voted him in with a bang, they have also shown their equally potent contempt for ‘Pakistan khappay’. They voted not with thought or conscience, incapable and bereft as they are, but merely because their greed, coupled with loyalty to the man — who can make or break — outshone all other considerations.

An unhappy situation, to put it mildly, and it seems that the present dispensation is intent upon dragging out its term to the bitter end. Rather than call for elections right away and begin the ending of the agony, Zardari has no intention of doing what many feel would be right and proper.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 30th, 2012.]]>
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			<title>Prioritising: Playing down Swiss letter, PM says power is top priority</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/400912/prioritising-playing-down-swiss-letter-pm-says-power-is-top-priority</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/400912/prioritising-playing-down-swiss-letter-pm-says-power-is-top-priority#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Fri, 29 Jun 12 01:51:36 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[sumera.khan]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=400912</guid>
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				<![CDATA[Says load-shedding has already been reduced, being done ‘proportionately’.]]>
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				<![CDATA[The prime minister was questioned incessantly about his reply to the Supreme Court on writing a letter to Swiss authorities, due on July 12, but the premier downplayed the queries and chose to focus on what he stressed was his ‘top priority’: the energy crisis.


Speaking to the media outside the National Power Control Centre after a high-level meeting with ministers, Prime Minister Raja Pervaiz Ashraf on Thursday said that his government would remain focused on the power sector as it is a major challenge faced by the nation.

Immediate mitigation of this crisis, he stressed, was his government’s top priority for the time being. Playing down the importance of the order to write a letter to Swiss authorities seeking the reopening of graft cases against President Asif Ali Zardari, he said: “The prevailing energy crisis is my prime focus instead of ‘anything else’… it’s high time to address the biggest problem we are facing.”

The effort to remain silent on the query of the Supreme Court, which he has two weeks to reply to, was clearly considered.

Power play

The ministers who attended the meeting included the ministers for water and power, petroleum, information, Kashmir affairs and defence.

Citing his past experience as the minister for water and power, the prime minister said he understood the challenges in the energy sector. While he insisted that there had already been an improvement in load-shedding, he was quick to add that he did not want to make any tall claims. He also didn’t bite on a query on a timeframe for the resolution of the power crisis – pointing out himself that he had already been criticised for making claims in the past, and didn’t want to repeat that mistake.

Regarding Punjab’s share in power distribution, the premier said he had seen some advertisements in the national press regarding complaints against unequal power distribution. “There should be no discrimination on power outages of which Punjab complains. We are striving to cope with the crisis and want to provide relief to the masses,” the premier assured. The prime minister said that he had directed the water and power ministry to ensure uniform load-shedding throughout the country. However, he clarified that load-shedding was being done on the basis of “allocated quota” and “proportionately.”

Would-be PM

After the prime minister’s departure from the venue, Minister for Water and Power Chaudhry Ahmad Mukhtar, once in the running for premiership, was ignited by the media queries regarding his non-selection. He said that, if Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid chief Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain had played any role against his selection as prime minister, it was a move against the people of Gujrat – because if he had become the premier, he would have done a lot for his people.

Some respite for Lahore

Meanwhile, PM Ashraf’s words may have some truth to them after all as Lahore Electric Supply Company (LESCO) chief, Sharafat Ali Sial announced eight hours of load-shedding for the provincial capital two days ago. Sial also announced on Tuesday that Lahore will now face an hour of load-shedding after every two hours. His claim remained a claim, however, as one hour power shutdowns after every hour are still being observed, except during the nights.

(WITH ADDITIONAL INPUT FROM OUR CORRESPONDENT)

Published in The Express Tribune, June 29th, 2012.]]>
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			<title>Energy crisis: PM refrains from giving deadline</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/400633/energy-crisis-pm-refrains-from-giving-deadline</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/400633/energy-crisis-pm-refrains-from-giving-deadline#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Thu, 28 Jun 12 16:37:44 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[yousuf..saifuddin]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=400633</guid>
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				<![CDATA[Pervaiz Ashraf says loadshedding being done proportionately, on basis of 'allocated quota'.]]>
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				<![CDATA[Prime Minister Raja Pervaiz Ashraf said on Thursday that dealing with the energy crisis was the government’s number one priority since it is a major challenge faced by the nation, but refrained from giving a deadline. 

“We are making all efforts to improve the condition of the power sector and are on our way towards betterment.”

Speaking to the media outside the National Power Control Center (NPCC) in Islamabad after a high-level meeting with ministers, the prime minister said that he understood the challenges in the power sector, citing his past experience as the power minister.

He insisted that there has been an improvement in the loadshedding problem, adding that he did not want to make any tall claims and wanted the public to feel the difference for themselves.

The ministers who attended the meeting included Minister of Water and Power, Minister of Petroleum, Minister of Information and Broadcasting, Minister Kashmir Affairs and Minister of Defence.

When inquired regarding a timeline to when the energy crisis would be resolved, Ashraf avoided answering and said that he had been widely criticised for his [tall] claims in the past for never meeting his deadlines and did not want to repeat that mistake.

He said that everyone, including the opposition, political forces and stakeholders in the power sector, needed to work together to combat this problem, adding that stakeholders in the power sector were already working with ‘collective wisdom’ and making well coordinated efforts in this regard.

When asked why his claim of uniform loadshedding throughout the country was not being implemented, Pervaiz replied that he had directed the Water and Power Ministry to ensure uniform loadshedding throughout the country, however, he clarified that loadshedding was being done on the basis of ‘allocated quota’ and ‘proportionately’.

The prime minister also requested for harmony in the country and an end to blame games.]]>
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			<title>NRO implementation case: SC expects Ashraf to write Swiss letter</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/400361/nro-implementation-case-sc-expects-ashraf-to-write-swiss-letter</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/400361/nro-implementation-case-sc-expects-ashraf-to-write-swiss-letter#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Wed, 27 Jun 12 22:50:01 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[azam.khan]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=400361</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[Prime minister asked to submit his stance on the case by July 12.]]>
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				<![CDATA[It’s back to square one for the government. Having spent less than a week in the prime minister’s office, Raja Pervaiz Ashraf has been presented a conundrum that led to the ousting of his predecessor: How does one not write a letter to Swiss authorities to reopen graft cases against President Asif Ali Zardari without committing contempt of court?


While hearing the National Reconciliation Ordinance (NRO) implementation case on Wednesday, the apex court ordered Prime Minister Ashraf to submit a written response by July 12 to the court on whether or not he will write a letter. A three-member bench headed by Justice Nasirul Mulk ordered Attorney General Irfan Qadir to get in touch with Ashraf and inform the court about the premier’s stance.

In its written order, the Supreme Court’s message to the incumbent chief executive rang out loud and clear: “As far as non-implementation of para 178 of the judgment is concerned, the former prime minister (Syed Yousaf Raza Gilani) was tried, convicted and sentenced, and as a consequence he lost membership of Parliament.

The new prime minister was elected last week and we trust him to implement the directives (of the court). In the meanwhile, the attorney general is directed to seek instructions from prime minister (and submit the same in the court by July 12).”

The attorney general, known for his less than amiable relationship with the court, reiterated his stance and told The Express Tribune that the court should not press the government for the letter. He said that he agreed with Law Secretary Yasmin Abbasi’s view that former attorney general Malik Qayyum’s correspondence with Swiss authorities to close cases against President Zardari was valid – therefore, he argued, there was no need for the government to take any action against Qayyum or overturn his communication.

Wasim Sajjad, the counsel for Qayyum, told the court that his client was currently admitted in a hospital in London. He urged the court to review its order regarding Qayyum and asked the government to take action against him accordance with the law. He also asked for more time to present his arguments.

In a related case regarding the illegal appointment of Adnan A Khawaja as the Oil and Gas Development Company Limited (OGDCL) chairperson by former premier Gilani, Justice Mulk asked the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) how they could state Gilani had been unaware that Khawaja was a convicted person – considering Gilani and Khwaja had in fact spent time in jail together.

The Supreme Court had earlier directed NAB to hold an inquiry to fix responsibility for appointing a convicted person (an NRO beneficiary) as the OGDCL chairperson.

Advocate Hamid Khan told The Express Tribune that the court has given a chance to the new prime minister and the government should take benefit of it – before the court exercises other options to revive cases against President Zardari. He added that the court was unlikely to go into the nitty gritty of the case this time and would decide this issue soon after receiving a reply from premier Ashraf.

On Tuesday, an application was filed in the Supreme Court praying that contempt proceedings be initiated against Prime Minister Raja Pervaiz Ashraf for giving a statement that he will not write a letter to Swiss authorities.

Published In The Express Tribune, June 28th, 2012. ]]>
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			<title>The prime minister and electricity</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/400045/the-prime-minister-and-electricity</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/400045/the-prime-minister-and-electricity#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Wed, 27 Jun 12 18:29:17 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[editorial]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=400045</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[Solving the power crisis is beyond the power of one man. At least, this time he isn’t promising us a miracle.]]>
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				<![CDATA[As the minister for water and power, Prime Minister Raja Pervaiz Ashraf was widely mocked for his ridiculous predictions that an end to loadshedding was imminent and roundly blasted for his reliance on rental power projects as the answer to our power woes. The only way to remove the taint of his failed stint is by conjuring a solution, seemingly out of thin air. That Ashraf dedicated much of his first cabinet meeting to the power crisis is a welcome first step. And his humbling as a minister seems to have left him a more sober judge of exactly what can be done to reduce the loadshedding burden.

By far, the most important decision to come out of the cabinet meeting was Ashraf’s decision that all government departments must pay their electricity dues. Different government branches and offices have accumulated unpaid bills that run into the tens of millions and have been major contributors to the circular debt that has wrecked the power sector. However, as always, the prime minister’s words alone aren’t enough. It is only once these bills have been paid and the circular debt reduced that we will find out if the head of government has the political will to follow through on this promise. The decision to release 28,000 tonnes of oil to fuel power plants should also provide some short-term relief.

But not all the news from Ashraf’s meeting on the power crisis was positive. The secretary for water and power confidently asserted that another 2,100 MW of electricity would be added to the national grid by the end of the month. These projections should be taken with a large heaping of salt since they are dependent on the vagaries of weather. Should the monsoon season be late or not as pronounced as predicted that additional electricity will never be seen. Ashraf’s declaration that there would be no loadshedding during sehri and iftar in the month of Ramazan is also hardly cause for celebration since it only guarantees electricity for a couple of hours a day. As well-intentioned as Ashraf may be, solving the power crisis is beyond the power of one man. At least, this time he isn’t promising us a miracle.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 28th, 2012.]]>
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			<title>Maiden cabinet session: Action, not words, to tackle power crisis, says PM</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/399769/maiden-cabinet-session-action-not-words-to-tackle-power-crisis-says-pm</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/399769/maiden-cabinet-session-action-not-words-to-tackle-power-crisis-says-pm#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Tue, 26 Jun 12 23:46:27 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[sumera.khan]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=399769</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[Vows to reduce power outages in Ramazan; ministers brief premier on strategy to increase power generation.]]>
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				<![CDATA[Prime Minister Raja Pervaiz Ashraf’s journey from minister for water and power to prime minister has, it seems, seen him realise at least one thing: keep promises realistic.


And so it was when the premier chaired his first cabinet meeting on Tuesday – with the top item on the agenda being the prevailing power crisis. The prime minister promised that there would be no load-shedding at the time the public would be keeping and opening their fasts in the upcoming month of Ramazan. That’s a sea change from his time as minister for water and power in the Gilani cabinet, when he had famously announced, on more than one occasion, that all load-shedding would be ended completely by 2009.

Vowing to address the energy shortage, the premier said, “Energy is a national issue and the government will not leave any stone unturned to address this issue.” Most poignantly, he added: “I promise that I’ll speak through actions and not words.”

After receiving a detailed briefing from the water and power as well as petroleum secretaries, the prime minister directed the cabinet’s energy committee, headed by the finance minister, to strategise how to cut down line losses and theft of electricity – both of which cause huge losses to the power sector.

Premier Ashraf also instructed the ministry of water and power to recover the arrears of the Water and Power Development Authority (Wapda) from private sector entities as well as federal and provincial governments to avoid circular debt in the future. He further directed the finance ministry to deduct the arrears from government departments if they have been identified as defaulters.

Briefing

Earlier, the water and power secretary, while briefing the cabinet, said that 12,410 Megawatts (MW) of electricity is being generated at the moment, while there is a shortage of 5,733 MW.

Over the last three days, 460 MW has been added to the national grid, and, by Tuesday evening, another 300 MW will be added to the national grid, the secretary said. In total, including this addition, 2,100 MW will be added by June 28, and, in July, due to an increase in power generation, substantial relief will be provided to the people, the secretary further claimed.  Much of this increase in power generation has to do with hopes that the upcoming monsoon season and melting glaciers will increase the flow in rivers.

Meanwhile, the petroleum minister informed Prime Minister Ashraf that his ministry has issued instructions to immediately release 28,000 tonnes of oil for power plants.

The premier then directed the railways ministry to make special arrangements for transporting the oil as soon as possible to expedite power generation. The railways minister informed the cabinet that three special trains have been arranged in this regard.

In response to media reports that 600MW of electricity would be cut from the Karachi Electricity Supply Corporation’s (KESC’s) supply, Information Minister Qamar Zaman Kaira clarified that this was a misunderstanding. He said that “An equal amount of electricity will be available to KESC by making its gas-fired plants operational, which is the company’s preferred option. So the question of cutting the electricity supply to KESC is simply misplaced and a mere conjecture.”

Later, the finance division secretary gave a presentation on the Consumer Price Index (CPI). He informed the cabinet that the CPI had reduced from 13.7% last year to 11% this year.

Later a presentation was given to the cabinet by secretary, finance division, on the Consumer Price Index in the country, which indicates the trend of prices of essential commodities. The Cabinet was told that the CPI has come down from 13.7% last year to 11% this year. Food inflation has also shown signs of retreating, it was claimed. The Sensitive Price Indicator (SPI) decreased from 16.9% last year to 6.8% this year. The wholesale price index came down from 21% last year to 16.8 % this year, the presentation claimed.

The cabinet later accorded its approval to sign agreements over the Border Ports and Management System and Boundary Management System between the governments of China and Pakistan.


Published in The Express Tribune, June 27th, 2012.]]>
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			<title>First cabinet meeting: Ashraf invites Baloch leaders for talks</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/399378/first-cabinet-meeting-ashraf-invites-baloch-leaders-for-talks</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/399378/first-cabinet-meeting-ashraf-invites-baloch-leaders-for-talks#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Tue, 26 Jun 12 09:40:13 +0500</pubDate>
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			<category><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></category>
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			<description>
				<![CDATA[Government committed to resolving energy crisis as top priority, says prime minister.]]>
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				<![CDATA[Chairing his first cabinet meeting, Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf said on Tuesday that Balochistan was the government’s priority and invited Baloch leaders to come and sit across the table in finding an amicable solution to the province's issues. 

Speaking at the Prime Minister’s Secretariat, Ashraf said that the coalition government was committed to resolving the energy crisis as their top priority.

“Our government would like to see the agriculture sector growing and will not let electricity constrains hit this sector.”

Addressing the federal cabinet, Ashraf paid tribute to former prime minister Yousaf Raza Gilani for his stand to protect the Constitution.

The prime minister also invited all political parties to join hands in the service of country.

Ashraf urged the management of Pakistan International Airlines (PIA), Water and Power Development Authority (Wapda), Pakistan Railways (PR), Pakistan Steel Mills (PSM) and other state-run enterprises to focus on their operational efficiency.

He said, “Pakistan values its relations with the Islamic states, United States, China, European Union, Japan and all its neighbours including India and Afghanistan.”]]>
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			<title>Ashraf's private home may get helipad on government expense: Officials</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/399372/ashrafs-private-home-may-get-helipad-on-government-expense-officials</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/399372/ashrafs-private-home-may-get-helipad-on-government-expense-officials#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Tue, 26 Jun 12 08:39:58 +0500</pubDate>
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			<category><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=399372</guid>
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				<![CDATA[Helipad will save police from &quot;hassle&quot; of finding personnel to man 300 security points from Islamabad to Gujjar Khan.]]>
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				<![CDATA[The private home of Pakistan's new prime minister may be furnished with a helipad at government expense to save police securing the 14-mile road trip from the capital, officials said Tuesday.

Police told AFP that helipads are customary additions to private residences as part of "VVIP" security arrangements in a country where Taliban insurgents attack repeatedly and Osama bin Laden lived undetected for a decade, according to one of his wives.

But critics lashed out at the arrangements as "disappointing" after Raja Pervaiz Ashraf said his first priority would be to resolve crippling power cuts that leave millions without electricity for up to 18 hours a day.

Ashraf, who took office on Friday, has moved into the premier's official residence but like previous incumbents is expected to spend weekends at his private home, a mansion in Gujjar Khan, 23 kilometres south of the capital.

"Senior officials visited the site on Monday to review security arrangements. A site has already been selected for the helipad and its construction will commence very soon," one police official told AFP.

He declined to speculate on the expense, but said the helipad would save police from "the hassle" of finding personnel to man a staggering 300 security points that would otherwise be needed between Islamabad and Gujjar Khan.

President Asif Ali Zardari, is famously so nervous about security that he travels by helicopter even on the short distance to the airport.

But other officials said a helipad was just one of a number of proposals being considered for the premier's security and that there was no final decision.

Critics said it would send the wrong message when millions live in poverty, financial crisis could force Pakistan back to the IMF and relations with Washington are on the brink.

"He is enjoying all the perks of his position while ignoring the country's economic problems," said a spokesman for the main opposition PML-N party, Siddiqul Farooq.

"It's a waste of money. It's not surprising that a helipad is being made - that is how Pakistani prime ministers behave," said political commentator Hasan Askari.

Opinions of Pakistan's rulers "will not change until they perform," he added.

Ashraf is a controversial choice for prime minister.

The Supreme Court last week dismissed his predecessor, Yousaf Raza Gilani, for contempt for refusing to reopen corruption cases against the president. Ashraf only took office after a judge issued an arrest warrant for the first suggested replacement.

He faces corruption allegations from his tenure as water and power minister, and many believe he will be forced out soon - either by early elections or the judiciary.]]>
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			<title>Not in my name</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/399008/not-in-my-name</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/399008/not-in-my-name#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Mon, 25 Jun 12 17:12:44 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[feisal.h.naqvi]]>
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			<category><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=399008</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[Democracy is a process. If you do not let that process operate, it will never be able to fix itself.]]>
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				<![CDATA[I wrote last week that the people of Pakistan were getting exceedingly impatient in their wait for the fruits of democracy. I do not think that the appointment of Raja Pervaiz Ashraf as PM has helped things. If anything, it reminds me of that famous scene from The Naked Gun in which John Houseman, playing a driving instructor, instructs his student on how to properly respond to a rude trucker. “All right, Stephanie, gently extend your arm. Extend your middle finger. Very good. Well done.”

Pakistan, these days, is in the grip of an acute energy crisis. Many small businesses are being forced to shut down because of massive power outages. Protests against loadshedding are now not just routine, but routinely violent. Even the Government of Punjab, Pakistan’s largest province, supports these protests, though it claims to deprecate the accompanying violence. Lack of electricity is thus certainly one of the most important public policy problems in Pakistan.

Before becoming the prime minister, Raja Pervaiz Ashraf’s most prominent position was as the federal minister for water and power, a position which he occupied from February 2008, all the way up till February 2011. Raja Sahib not only failed singularly in alleviating loadshedding, but acquired an unenviable reputation as the “Baghdad Bob” of Islamabad, forever making ludicrous pronouncements about how the end of loadshedding was around the corner.

Our new prime minister was also regarded as the main mover behind the decision to try and solve the power crisis through rental power projects. This policy was a byword for corruption from day one, with Pakistanis being treated to the incongruous sight of one federal minister (Faisal Saleh Hayat) repeatedly and publicly accusing a fellow member of the cabinet (Raja Pervaiz Ashraf) of being a crook. Subsequently, the Supreme Court got into the act and shot down the policy in a scathing decision, which called — amongst other things — for the criminal prosecution of Raja Pervaiz Ashraf and his placement on the Exit Control List.

Leaving aside issues of criminality, Raja Sahib’s embrace of the rental power policy raised fundamental issues of competence. Pakistan already has sufficient installed capacity to meet its demands. What Pakistan does not have is the ability to pay for the electricity being generated because, on average, we sell electricity for less than the average cost of producing and distributing it. In these circumstances, signing short-term contracts to buy even more expensive electricity was hardly a smart move.

Given these facts, one thing is clear. I’m not sure what political considerations President Asif Ali Zardari took into account before he finalised the name of Raja Pervaiz Ashraf. But clearly, giving a damn about what non-jiyalas might think was not one of them.

At the same time, let me make one thing absolutely clear. I do not like the PPP. I really, really, really wish that Pakistan was not held hostage by their stupidities. But I do not want anybody other than the people of Pakistan to throw them out.

It has become fashionable for us to bemoan our lack of leaders. If anything, we have the opposite problem; i.e., a surfeit of would-be messiahs. In Pakistan, every person who clambers to the top of a particular heap immediately assumes that he is the institution, not just the incumbent. What I would like to see instead, just once, is some degree of humility; so that criticism of the PPP does not become an attack on democracy; and so that queries regarding Arsalan Iftikhar are not treated as the equivalent of an armed assault on the Supreme Court. All of us, our leaders included, are subordinate to the Constitution and the values enshrined in it. It would be good if our leaders could remember that.

In his book, The Decisive Moment, Jonah Lehrer talks about how the ability to learn from our mistakes is, quite literally, the basis of our human intelligence. He illustrates this point by referring to two different computers. In 1997, IBM built a computer called “Deep Blue”, which became the first machine to ever defeat the reigning chess champion of the world. Deep Blue operated through brute force, analysing more than 200 million possible moves per second. And while it won against Garry Kasparov, the battle between man and machine was close.

The software wizards who came up with TD Gammon, a backgammon programme, adopted a completely different approach. Unlike Deep Blue, their programme started off with essentially zero knowledge. At the same time, unlike Deep Blue, TD Gammon also has the ability to learn from its mistakes. The programme was set up to play against itself and after a few hundred thousand games, it had learnt so much that it was able to consistently beat the best humans in the world.

In terms of Pakistan’s political options, the Deep Blue approach is analogous to the benefits of a technocratic government: take the best people with the most knowledge and throw them at a particular problem. The TD Gammon approach, by contrast, represents the promise of democracy. It starts off incompetent and unskilled. But because it has the ability to learn from its mistakes, it eventually reaches a standard of excellence unattainable by pure technocrats.

My point here is simple: democracy is a process. If you do not let that process operate, it will never be able to fix itself. Instead, all that we will be left with is the endless iteration of the cycle in which we have already wasted 65 years.

Let me be clearer still. I have the highest respect for the superior judiciary but I did not vote for them. I did vote for this execrable government and while I may now regret that vote, the fact remains that Raja Pervaiz Ashraf was voted in by my elected representatives. I do not want him thrown out by somebody I didn’t vote for.

I doubt if any of the people plotting in the shadows give a damn about what I think. Nonetheless, since I am on record as noting that the people of Pakistan are running out of patience, let me make my position clear. Don’t do it, your Lordships. Not in my name.

Published In The Express Tribune, June 26th, 2012.]]>
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			<title>Ashraf was misguided as power minister: Altaf Hussain</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/398935/ashraf-was-misguided-as-power-minister-altaf-hussain</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/398935/ashraf-was-misguided-as-power-minister-altaf-hussain#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Mon, 25 Jun 12 12:42:48 +0500</pubDate>
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				<![CDATA[Ema Anis]]>
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			<category><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=398935</guid>
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				<![CDATA[MQM chief challenges opposition parties to debate on NRO, says will quit politics if he loses.]]>
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				<![CDATA[Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) chief Altaf Hussain, defending Prime Minister Raja Pervaiz Ashraf’s tenure as the power minister, said that he was misguided and misled by others and all the blame was placed on him.

But, he hoped that Ashraf had learnt from past mistakes and in his six months in power, he will put all his capabilities to good use.

“He will take such courageous decisions that people won’t have any reservations, but they will rather appreciate him later,” Hussain remarked during Ashraf’s visit to MQM’s Karachi headquarters Nine Zero.

Praising the new PM

Welcoming the new prime minister to MQM headquarters in Karachi, Hussain said that he was happy that Ashraf was not born with a “silver spoon”.

“He was also a worker. He used to put up posters. This has happened for the first time in Pakistan that a worker has become a prime minister.”

Hussain asked the prime minister to work for the country and not his party.

He further advised Ashraf to initiate talks in Balochistan to end the plight of the people in the province. “I also want to advise those sitting in the mountains of Balochistan to prepare for talks as this will be beneficial for you as well as the country”.

Off-topic

After seeking permission from the prime minister to go off-topic, Hussain said that through this phone call, he would like to ask an astrologist, famous by the name of “mamu”, to explain this “strange coincidence” of how the people bearing the same name have been coming into power.

First it was former president Pervez Musharraf, then the current Chief of Army Staff Ashfaq Pervez Kayani and now the newly elected Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf, noted Hussain.

Lauding the PPP

The MQM chief, lauded the workings of ruling Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), and congratulated President Asif Ali Zardari for running the government for 4.5 years even in the “toughest of times”.

“With patience, he accepted all Supreme Court orders. His prime minister, Gilani was disqualified, and with a heavy heart he removed former ambassador to US Husain Haqqani. The Supreme Court also suspended his wife’s membership. Rehman Malik was also suspended from his Senate seat. But the president maintained patience.”

He added that those holding dual nationalities help in strengthening the country’s economy.

Targeting the opposition

On the issue of National Reconciliation Ordinance (NRO), Hussain invited all opposition parties to gather in one place and have a debate with him alone on the topic. “If they beat me at it, I’ll leave politics forever,” Hussain challenged.

He added that democracy should not be derailed in the country. “Opposition should stop protesting in the country. If they want to protest, they should do it as per law.”

The country is going through tough times, during which all parties should stop fighting with each other and should be united, added Hussain.

Clash of institutions

Hussain termed the clashes between different institutions of the country as not only harmful for the institutions but also for the country’s democracy, security, economy and its future. “I request the institutions to work within their jurisdiction.”]]>
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			<title>'Big goals in little tenure': Asked Pir Pagara to pray, says Ashraf</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/398925/big-goals-in-little-tenure-asked-pir-pagara-to-pray-says-ashraf</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/398925/big-goals-in-little-tenure-asked-pir-pagara-to-pray-says-ashraf#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Mon, 25 Jun 12 10:23:16 +0500</pubDate>
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				<![CDATA[sidrah.moiz]]>
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			<category><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></category><category><![CDATA[Sindh]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=398925</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[I hope to do something that solves the problems of the people of Pakistan, says Ashraf.]]>
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				<![CDATA[Newly elected Prime Minister Raja Pervaiz Ashraf has said that he asked Pakistan Muslim League-Functional (PML-F) chief and spiritual leader of Hurr community, Pir Pagara Sibghatullah Rashdi, to pray on his behalf that he achieves big goals in his “little tenure”, Express News reported.

Speaking outside Kingri House after meeting with Pir Pagara, Ashraf said, “I hope to do something that solves the problems of the people of Pakistan.”

Ashraf also thanked Pir Pagara for the “delicious food” he offered him during the meeting.

“PML-F, as our coalition partner, played a very positive and strong role in my election as the prime minister, for which I have come to thank Pir Pagara on behalf of my party’s co-chairman President Asif Ali Zardari.”

The prime minister said that Pir Pagara prayed for them and was very hospitable towards him and his party.

“Our motive is – love for all hatred for none,” said Ashraf. “With the help of our coalition partners and with the vision of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, Benazir Bhutto and President Zardari, we would like to take Pakistan towards progression.”

He said that the two big challenges faced by his government were energy crisis and security situation, particularly in Karachi. “We are striving to bring peace to Karachi which is the economic hub of Pakistan.”

Responding to a question regarding the Opposition’s resistance in his election, he said, “I am here till the party has confidence in me and till God wills so. Nobody elects themselves as a prime minister. This is all God-willing. He can provide to anyone, anytime.”

Prime minister visits Nine Zero

Ashraf, accompanied by the chief minister and governor of Sindh, later arrived at Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) headquarter, Nine Zero. He is the second PPP prime minister to do so.

Speaking at the headquarter, Ashraf assured that the government will do its best to address the issue of peace in Karachi and power crisis as specifically pointed out by Altaf Hussain.

Ashraf said that he follows the vision of his leader Benazir Bhutto, which dictates solving problems with love and unity.

“Love is the only way out and my message to “Altaf bhai” is of love,” he said.

Stating that issues raised by the MQM chief are 100% valid, Ashraf said his advice and input are very important and the government will solve problems keeping his suggestions in mind.

Describing his journey from an average PPP worker to the prime minister of Pakistan, Ashraf said that he is aware of the issues faced by the people belonging to the middle and lower classes of the society.

“I have been through similar problems as I was not born with a silver spoon in my mouth,” he said.

While being thankful to what he has achieved so far, he said he will not let the people down who have trusted him and will solve problems to the best of his abilities.

“I want people to love and respect me because of my work,” he said.]]>
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			<title>Fewer announcements, more change on the power front: Ashraf</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/398639/power-management-is-our-top-priority-ashraf</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/398639/power-management-is-our-top-priority-ashraf#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Sun, 24 Jun 12 15:39:26 +0500</pubDate>
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				<![CDATA[web.desk]]>
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			<category><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></category>
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			<description>
				<![CDATA[Raja Pervaiz Ashraf says he hopes people &quot;feel the difference&quot; on the power crisis front over the coming days.]]>
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				<![CDATA[Calling power management his number one priority, newly elected Prime Minister Raja Pervaiz Ashraf said on Sunday that he would rather have people "feel the difference" themselves on this front, rather than the government making announcements in this regard.  

“We have already held a meeting on this issue,” he stated. “Law and order will be tackled in a similar manner,” he added.

Ashraf, who is on a two-day trip to Sindh, visited Bhutto mausoleum in Garhi Khuda Bux and Mazar-e-Quaid in Karachi.

Responding to a question regarding writing a letter to the Swiss authorities to reopen graft cases against President Asif Ali Zardari, Ashraf said that his party does not want conflict between institutions and would work according to the constitution of the country.

Flanked by ministers and party members, Ashraf told media that no power can derail democracy in Pakistan.

“We respect all the institutions and we will always do so,” he said.

He further said that some people thought that Pakistan’s democratic process would be disrupted after Yousaf Raza Gilani’s disqualification, however, Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) has come out of this turmoil by following its policy of reconciliation.

“Everyone needs to come together for the sake of Pakistan,” he said.

He further said that anarchy would lead Pakistan to ruins and only democracy can save the country. Ashraf also promised to ensure free and fair elections in Pakistan.]]>
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			<title>Choosing the new PM</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/398165/choosing-the-new-pm</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/398165/choosing-the-new-pm#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Sat, 23 Jun 12 17:16:18 +0500</pubDate>
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				<![CDATA[editorial]]>
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			<category><![CDATA[Editorial]]></category>
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			<description>
				<![CDATA[Ashraf did try to sound all the right notes in his inaugural PM speech despite not being the ideal candidate.]]>
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				<![CDATA[Pakistan’s 25th prime minister, Raja Pervez Ashraf, may not be the ideal candidate for that office. As the minister overseeing the rental power projects (RPP), he was, at best, guilty of handing out massive contracts that never came to fruition and, at worst, of indulging in massive corruption. After the Supreme Court cancelled the RPPs, he was shifted to the ministry of information technology where he promptly banned the microblogging site, Twitter, for refusing to remove blasphemous material. This was a decision so authoritarian and unjustified that then prime minister, Yousaf Raza Gilani, overturned it just hours later. Tempting though it may be, to fault the PPP for elevating Mr Ashraf to the office of the prime minister, there is plenty of blame to go around for this state of affairs.

In its quest to find the ideal candidate for the prime ministerial slot, the PPP faced several problems. Its first alternative, Makhdum Shahabuddin, had to be withdrawn from consideration after a warrant for his arrest was issued hours after his candidature was mooted. The PPP faced additional political restraints as it is seen by many as a purely Sindhi phenomenon with its co-chairmen and the Speaker of the National Assembly all hailing from Sindh. The PPP had to replace Mr Gilani with someone else from the same province and the man from Gujjar Khan fit the bill. However, some would say that Information Minister Qamar Zaman Kaira — who enjoys a clean reputation and who is seen by many as being an intelligent and non-controversial person — would have been a better choice as PM.

Now that Mr Ashraf’s appointment is official, after he garnered 211 votes as opposed to the 89 bagged by the PML-N’s Sardar Mehtab Abbasi in the National Assembly, it is time to put aside worries about his suitability and hope that he is allowed to serve the rest of the government’s term. Ashraf did try to sound all the right notes in his inaugural speech as PM and promised to tackle the price hike, energy and economic crises facing the country. A welcome move was to rank the crisis in Balochistan as highest on his priority list, as well as assuring all of holding transparent elections, working with the opposition and avoiding a clash of institutions, something that this country desperately needs right now.

Published In The Express Tribune, June 24th, 2012.]]>
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			<title>A new PM — and what next?</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/398187/a-new-pm-%e2%80%94-and-what-next</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/398187/a-new-pm-%e2%80%94-and-what-next#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Sat, 23 Jun 12 17:14:17 +0500</pubDate>
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				<![CDATA[raza.rumi]]>
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			<category><![CDATA[Opinion]]></category>
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			<description>
				<![CDATA[Let the people judge the performance of the PPP and its allies and boot them out of power if they haven’t delivered.]]>
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				<![CDATA[After much speculation and rumour-mongering, the National Assembly has chosen a new prime minister. The choice came as a surprise. Raja Pervez Ashraf was not known as the best of ministers; his record as a minister for water and power was not enviable. This is why a cross section of people have criticised the choice made by the PPP. Why would the party further ruin its image in the election year? Perhaps, Raja is easy to sacrifice. Having said that, the media histrionics of calling the new prime minister ‘Raja Rental’ is unfortunate. It undermines the rule of law as the NAB inquiry against the new prime minister is still underway.

The nomination of Makhdum Shahabuddin, the top choice for the prime ministerial slot, was scuttled by the issuance of a timely arrest warrant by the ANF. It seems that the judiciary has a clear stance on the PPP government and the security establishment is also not on the latter’s side.

How serious is this putsch? This is not the first time that such a situation has risen. At least four such moves were made in the recent past. At the time of the judges’ restoration in 2009, the country reached a tipping point and the last minute retreat by all those concerned allowed for the continuation of the system. Second, when the Kerry-Lugar legislation was passed in the US, the civilian government was curiously declared as the initiator and author of the bill and a massive propaganda campaign was launched against it. Gradually, the parties concerned retreated. In the aftermath of the court verdict on the National Reconciliation Ordinance, the continuation of the civilian government was in question but did not take place. Finally, the last major attempt was to implicate the president in the alleged unsigned memo appealing to the US for helping gain civilian control of governance. Pakistan’s ambassador to the US was sacrificed in reaching a settlement and the plan was abandoned.

Three fundamental realities have somehow helped the PPP sail through the past four years. Firstly, the opposition leader Nawaz Sharif has been unwilling to rock the system. He has understood that his own political fortunes rest on the continuation of the electoral process. Second, the effective check of the media and the courts against extraconstitutional options has reinforced the general lack of appetite for a military regime after a decade under Musharraf. Finally, the international and regional opinion is also clear: most of Pakistan’s friends, allies and neighbours have been keen on seeing civilian control of institutions and have supported its nascent democracy.

The disqualification of an elected PM, however, is the first serious blow to the PPP government. Its earlier complacency to complete its tenure and hold the elections under its control now stands challenged. Whether the current standoff with the unelected arms of the state will result in a truncation of the democratic process, as is feared by some, remains to be seen. The new prime minister is most likely to uphold the party’s position and not comply with the SC’s directives. This will lead to another ouster and perhaps will push the country towards a situation where elections and caretaker arrangements will be required.

Mian Nawaz Sharif would like an early election and is not likely to accept any other alternative. Hence, the creation of a caretakers’ government beyond three months is an unfeasible option. As for the outside world, it views Pakistan’s infighting as worrisome. Washington is getting increasingly jingoistic and even reasonable people there are asking for punitive action.

Pakistan’s civil-military power players need to appreciate the gravity of the situation. They must renegotiate the terms on which the new elections will be held. They should also not be tempted by a repeat of the 1990s when democracy was turned into a sham by repeated palace intrigues and dubious electoral arrangements. The country needs to move on.

The civilian government, at best, has six months before it’s time for election. Let the people judge the performance of the PPP and its allies and boot them out of power if they haven’t delivered. Neither the military, nor the judiciary can do this under the Constitution.

Published In The Express Tribune, June 24th, 2012.]]>
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			<title>Pakistan’s sad record</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/398194/pakistan%e2%80%99s-sad-record</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/398194/pakistan%e2%80%99s-sad-record#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Sat, 23 Jun 12 16:46:28 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[aakar.patel]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Opinion]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=398194</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[The tradition of democratically elected leaders being ejected through undemocratic methods seems set to continue.]]>
			</description>
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				<![CDATA[Pakistan's record, now 65 years old, of forcing its prime ministers out remains undisturbed.

Yousaf Raza Gilani was the 23rd consecutive Pakistani leader to be ejected before his time. This is a remarkable tribute to both Pakistan's desire to be a democracy and its incompetence at managing it.

If Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry continues to insist that the government send the Swiss letter and if the PPP insists it will not "prosecute the grave of Benazir Bhutto", Pakistan might lose its best chance to have an elected national assembly finish its full term.

Along with Nepal, which has been a republic for just four years, Pakistan is the only state in South Asia to never have a prime minister finish his term.

The man who served longest was Liaquat Ali Khan, Pakistan's first prime minister, who was killed in 1951. This brought a chain of unelected leaders who fought among themselves while failing to produce a constitution.

Malik Ghulam Muhammad is mentioned in the records of Mahindra &amp; Mahindra, where he was a partner, with great reverence, but Ayub Khan describes him in his autobiography as a wicked old man who cackled incomprehensibly (I was taken aback to learn that Ghulam Muhammad was only 61 when he died). He booted out Pakistan's first Bengali prime minister, Khawaja Nazimuddin. Iskandar Mirza got rid of the second and third Bengali prime ministers, Mohammad Ali Bogra (who might have kept Pakistan united) and HS Suhrawardy, who was disliked in India because of the carnage in Calcutta on Direct Action Day, but was probably a better leader than Liaquat.

The first Punjabi prime minister, Chaudhry Muhammad Ali lasted only a year and Pakistan's first and only Gujarati prime minister, II Chundrigar, lasted two months. Feroz Khan Noon was the last prime minister before the long intervention of Ayub Khan. Samuel Huntington was infamous for his clash of civilisations theory, but he was also an early enthusiast of Pakistani strongmen. He compared Ayub to the Athenian lawgiver Solon, because of his constitution, Pakistan's second, which brought "grassroots democracy", a claim that Musharraf would repeat.

Under General Yahya Khan, Pakistan's fourth and last Bengali prime minister Nurul Amin came and went as the country was partitioned in 1971.

The Baloch Bhutto was a very charismatic man and, therefore, loved or hated. He led the best cabinet in Pakistan's history. Even today, 40 years later, the best books about the working of Pakistan's politics are those written by Bhutto's men, Rafi Raza, Mubashir Hasan and later Khalid Hasan and Iqbal Akhund. Another very fine book is Sherbaz Mazari's memoir, in which he describes how Khair Buksh Marri, being the bigger wadero, humiliated Bhutto by repeatedly turning his face away from him when offered the job of governor.

History has been unkind to Bhutto even though he was hanged, but he did produce a very good constitution, Pakistan's third, later wrecked by amendments, including the infamous second one against Ahmadis.

The long night under Zia had one prime minister, the Sindhi Junejo. The dawn of Benazir (how young and fresh she looks in her photographs in those early years) was stained very soon. Would Pakistan be different today if she were alive? Saroop Ijaz spoke for many Pakistanis, when he wrote that “we live in the wreckage of her death”.

Nawaz Sharif wrote an embarrassingly fawning tribute to Zia in a book compiled after the general died, and he should be shown his words every so often. He is a difficult man to understand, sometimes pragmatic, other times stubborn. After the Osama incident and the attack on Karachi's naval base, he set about demanding accountability from General Kayani, but soon backed out as he understood the national consensus in favour of the army.

It is thought that Sharif has matured enough to be a good leader if he gets another chance.

In the years when he and Benazir rotated around the prime minister's chair also came the four caretaker prime ministers — Ghulam Mustafa Jatoi, Moeen Qureshi, Malik Meraj Khalid and Balkh Sher Mazari. One of them — I cannot remember which one — had a cabinet of professionals that included men of the stature of Najam Sethi.

Gen Musharraf called himself Chief Executive (he said that one of his lt-generals had suggested the title and he had liked it) to take the edge off his coup. His prime ministers were Zafarullah Jamali, who displayed very little energy, Chaudhry Shujaat as caretaker and then Shaukat Aziz. Someone — I think my friend Khalid Hasan — nicknamed him 'Shortcut'. Both he and Musharraf are gone, never to return despite the promises.

Muhammad Mian Soomro then became caretaker prime minister, by my count Pakistan's seventh, before the PPP took power. Yusuf Raza Gilani almost made it across the line before being tripped up by the Supreme Court and Raja Pervez Ashraf now must wait to see how long he will be in office.

Pakistan's prime ministers have always, and without exception, been removed through external intervention. What used to be a system where power was shared uneasily between army and civil society now has a third force. An energised judiciary is backed by a free media that insists on accountability only from the elected.

Pakistan's tradition of democratically elected leaders being ejected through undemocratic methods seems set to continue.  

Published In The Express Tribune, June 24th, 2012. ]]>
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			<title>New prime minister: Singh congratulates Ashraf</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/398112/new-prime-minister-singh-congratulates-ashraf</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/398112/new-prime-minister-singh-congratulates-ashraf#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Sat, 23 Jun 12 08:00:05 +0500</pubDate>
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				<![CDATA[afp]]>
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			<category><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></category><category><![CDATA[World]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=398112</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[Our two countries will continue to make progress in their bilateral dialogue, says Indian prime minister.]]>
			</description>
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				<![CDATA[India's prime minister has welcomed the appointment of new counterpart in Pakistan and said that he was "confident" of strengthening ties between the two neighbours.

The Pakistani parliament elected Raja Pervaiz Ashraf as the country's new prime minister Friday, seeking to end a political upheaval.

India chose to refrain from commenting on Pakistan's internal crisis, sparked by judges ousting ex-Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani over contempt charges and demanding the arrest of the first candidate to be nominated as his successor.

On Friday, Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh congratulated his Pakistani counterpart.

"Our two countries will continue to make progress in their bilateral dialogue...(and) build good neighbourly relations by strengthening their cooperation in all areas for the benefit of the peoples of both countries," he said.]]>
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			<title>Ensure 28000 tonnes per day fuel to power plants: Ashraf</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/398102/first-task-prime-minister-ashraf-calls-conference-on-energy-crisis</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/398102/first-task-prime-minister-ashraf-calls-conference-on-energy-crisis#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Sat, 23 Jun 12 07:02:55 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[web.desk]]>
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			<category><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=398102</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[Industry, CNG sector may suffer one additional day of gas loadshedding to help resolve power crisis.]]>
			</description>
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				<![CDATA[The newly elected Prime Minsiter Raja Pervez Ashraf stuck true to his promise, and to directives President Asif Ali Zardari, that of tackling the energy crisis at top priority, holding an emergency meeting to resolve the energy crisis within 24 hours of being voted into office, ordering Ministry of Petroleum to ensure supply of 28,000 tonnes of fuel to power plants to immediately add 1200 mega watts to the national grid.

The meeting decided that the Ministry of Petroleum will ensure the supply of 28000 tones fuel oil supply daily to power to add 1200 MW in the national grid system. Earlier 2000 tones of fuel oil were being supplied to the power plants for energy production.

However, some of the quick redress measures also has its trade offs with the industrial and CNG sectors to suffer with directives to divert gas supply to power plants in Punjab and Sindh.

It was decided to provide 15mmcfd to GTPS, Faisalabad which would add an additional 65 mw to the national grid, aimed at giving some relief to the industries facing severe power outages.

Ashraf also requested a viability report detailing ways to provide an additional 100 Millions of Cubic Feet Per Day (mmcfd) of gas to the Karachi Electricity Supply Corporation, allowing the company to reduce its off take of 300 MW from the national grid.

It was decided that the gas would be made available to the power sector on priority basis by suspending supply for an additional day to the industrial and the captive power sectors in Punjab. The move would aim to make available 66 mmcfd of gas for power plants.

Petroleum minister Dr Asim Husain suggested cutting supply to the industries and CNG sector in Sindh to save 150mmcfd gas. This gas could then be used by KESC for power generation. The proposal was approved by the prime minister for further discussion at the cabinet meeting to be held next week.

Ashraf also chose not to bring any changes into the strategy formulated by his predecessor Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gillani saying he was going in the right direction to bring the power crises in the country under control. Albeit Gilani’s strategy dealt more with a long term solution, formulated after a detailed consultation with the experts in the field.

Premier added that “I do not feel, there should be any change in the policies given by Gillani but the special committee on the energy constituted by the federal cabinet would keep monitoring the situation and their ideas and suggestions would be implemented thoroughly.”

Two committees to talk to Sindh, Punjab

Prime minister at the end of the meeting approved the forming two special committees.

The first committee consists Minister for Water and Power Chaudhry Ahmed Mukhtar, Minister for Information Qamar Zaman Kaira, Minister for Petroleum Dr Asim Hussain and Minister for Kashmir Affairs Mian Manzoor Ahmed Wattoo to hold negotiations with the representative of the Punjab industry and take the CNG sector onboard the proposals, convince them to agree on reduction in the gas supply for one additional day to meet the acute requirement of gas.

The other committee comprising of Minister for Finance Dr Abdul Hafeez Sheikh, Minister for Religious Affairs, Khurshid Shah and Dr Asim Hussain would hold talks with Governor of Sindh, Dr.Ishratul Ibad and with the Chief Minister Sindh to hold talks with the stakeholders for reduction of gas supply in Sindh.

_______________________________________________

[poll id="794"]]]>
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			<title>Analysis: Ashraf’s selection defies logic</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/398013/analysis-ashrafs-selection-defies-logic</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/398013/analysis-ashrafs-selection-defies-logic#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Sat, 23 Jun 12 00:40:47 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[gibran.peshimam]]>
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			<category><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=398013</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[Rightly or wrongly, Ashraf is the face of misgoverning in the power sector.]]>
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				<![CDATA[Stranger things have happened in Pakistan’s politics – yet, Raja Pervaiz Ashraf’s sudden rise to the highest office in the land has to rank right up there.


It is difficult to come up with reasons why the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) selected Ashraf in particular. Let us ditch the ambiguity: Not only does it make little political sense, it is the making of a miscalculation of potentially disastrous proportions.

Consider that the next general elections are, at most, less than a year away. One, if not the main, issue that will dominate the election campaign is the power crisis. Rightly or wrongly, Ashraf is the face of misgoverning in the power sector. For a public that remembers one-liners, his “load shedding will end by 2009” will reverberate not only during his tenure as premier, but past his potential disqualification, past even the caretaker set-up and well into the polls.

On the off-chance the public forgets, a rapacious media will ensure that they do remember.

Also, consider Ashraf’s constituency: Gujjar Khan, NA-51. Located along the GT Road, considered the stronghold of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), the region is a hotbed of discontent. If the PPP wants to make inroads into the area come the next polls, it just had to sit back while the provincial government of the PML-N took the blame for massive and prolonged power outages from a highly emotional and miserable public. For a sample, you have to go back just three days to the rioting in Rawalpindi, the district of which Gujjar Khan is a part, and other areas along this belt where public representatives’ houses are being attacked.

At worst, and despite the Punjab chief minister’s tactic of joining the protests, the blame would have been shared 50-50 – which still works in favour of the PPP electorally. Throw in the vote-cutting capacity of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf and the PML-Q, and the PPP could have been even looking at the possibility of forming the next government in Punjab thanks to their gains in the south.

Now, the PPP has entered the limelight in a region that is politically corrosive at the moment, where any sort of publicity will only evoke ire. In fact, this works in the PML-N’s favour, no matter how short a time he lasts.

Third: when and if you see him ousted once he refuses to write the Swiss letter, or if you see the charges against him in the rental power scandal rise again, the PPP will not garner any political sympathy. Will anyone feel sorry about the SC showing the door to a man many see as the sole cause of their primary woe: power outages? In fact, if anything, the SC and the ouster and/or haranguing will be celebrated.

In Yousaf Raza Gilani’s disqualification and Makhdoom Shahabuddin’s arrest warrants, the PPP had enough conspiratorial material to whip up a sympathy storm strong enough to see them select another prime minister in the aftermath of the next polls and keep President Asif Ali Zardari in office for another five years.

Ashraf’s entry has the potential of overshadowing this – at least in Punjab.

Then there is governance. I will not go to deep into this, because the chances are that Ashraf will not last very long.

Then there is the US. We are in the midst of crucial negotiations with Washington. We need a charismatic and credible front man, or one that is good at politicking. How seriously will he be taken if he is perceived to be a stop-gap arrangement, that too one that has no experience in this regard? Or if he is at constant risk of being on the Exit Control List (it happened before when he was meant to travel to China).

How about coalition building? Ashraf is not particularly liked by any of the PPP’s political allies.  The MQM and the PML-Q are said to have initially taken exception to his candidature. He doesn’t get along with key ally in the opposition, JUI-F. In fact, going by the number of absent PPP MNAs, he isn’t particularly liked within his own party either.

Yes, stranger things have happened. But not always out of choice.


Published In The Express Tribune, June 23rd, 2012.]]>
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			<title>‘Write-a-letter’ case resumes on June 27</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/398015/%e2%80%98write-a-letter%e2%80%99-case-resumes-on-june-27</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/398015/%e2%80%98write-a-letter%e2%80%99-case-resumes-on-june-27#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Sat, 23 Jun 12 00:36:02 +0500</pubDate>
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				<![CDATA[qaiser.zulfiqar]]>
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			<category><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=398015</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[A judicial notice is expected to be served on the new premier next week.]]>
			</description>
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				<![CDATA[Minutes before his election as the new prime minster, Raja Pervaiz Ashraf received a strong message from the country’s highest court.


According to the Supreme Court’s cause list issued on Friday for next week, a three judge bench, led by Justice Nasirul Mulk, will resume hearing the National Reconciliation Ordinance (NRO) implementation case on Wednesday, June 27 – the same case that led to the disqualification of Yousaf Raza Gilani as the premier.

During the last two hearings of the NRO case on May 3 and April 16, the bench abstained from passing any order in the case of appointments of several NRO beneficiaries to public offices.

A judicial notice is expected to be served upon the new premier on June 27 to implement the directives contained in paragraphs 177 and 178 of the NRO judgment, regarding writing a letter to Swiss authorities.

Gilani was charged with contempt by the Supreme Court for not writing a letter to Swiss authorities asking them to reopen graft cases against President Asif Ali Zardari. A seven judge bench of the apex court, which was also headed by Justice Mulk, awarded Gilani a 37-second punishment on April 26. The court had made it clear to Gilani that the NRO verdict penned down by the full court on Dec 16, 2009, had given categorical directions in paragraphs 177 and 178 regarding writing a letter to Swiss authorities.

During the previous hearing of the NRO implementation case, the NAB chairman’s counsel, Shaiq Usmani, submitted three inquiry reports of NRO beneficiaries allegedly appointed by Gilani. The first report was on Adnan Khawaja, who was appointed the Navtec chairman and then OGDCL chairman allegedly on Gilani’s orders.

The second inquiry report was on Ahmed Riaz Sheikh, who was appointed the Federal Investigation Agency’s additional director-general, while the third report was on former attorney general Malik Qayyum. The court, however, rejected the reports and ordered a complete record along with the summaries and dates of appointments.

Published In The Express Tribune, June 23rd, 2012.]]>
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			<title>New PM strikes a conciliatory note</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/398010/new-pm-strikes-a-conciliatory-note</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/398010/new-pm-strikes-a-conciliatory-note#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Sat, 23 Jun 12 00:30:04 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[our.correspondent]]>
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			<category><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=398010</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[Seeks opposition’s help to tackle a myriad of problems; Zardari heaps praise on Gilani.]]>
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				<![CDATA[In his first speech to Parliament shortly after his election as the country’s prime minister, Raja Pervaiz Ashraf struck a conciliatory note – inviting opposition parties to help his government steer the country out of a myriad of problems.


Ashraf’s election signals that the ruling Pakistan Peoples Party is in no mood of bowing out and instead it’s determined to see its five-year constitutional tenure out – for the first time in the parliamentary history of Pakistan.

“It is time to write a new history – a history which will manifest the aspirations of (Pakistani) people and this should be our destination,” Ashraf told lawmakers on Friday.

In a veiled reference to the ongoing executive-judiciary row, he reiterated the need for harmony among state institutions. “We do not desire politics of confrontation. Our country cannot afford it. We invite the opposition for dialogue to resolve the problems,” he added.

The premier heaped praise on the PPP-led coalition for its ‘achievements’, but admitted that the country still faced an array of challenges, including rampant poverty and unemployment, a grueling energy crisis and an economy caught up in a time warp.

“We can only tackle these challenges with the cooperation of parliament and collective wisdom,” he added.

Ashraf started his speech by praising both his predecessor Yousaf Raza Gilani and President Asif Ali Zardari. “I stand by Gilani who strengthened the democratic institutions,” he said.  “The office I have been elected to is sacred and respectable for me and I will endeavour to come up to the expectations of my people, my party and the house.”

Ashraf had faced criticism for an earlier pledge as minister for water and power in Gilani’s cabinet that “load shedding will end in 2009”. On Friday, however, he cautiously chose his words while pledging his resolve to end the ongoing energy crisis. “Efforts will be made to reduce the crisis,” he said.

He also assured parliamentarians of free, fair and transparent elections.

Balochistan issue

Touching on the festering issue of Balochistan, Ashraf said a solution to the province’s problems would be his government’s first priority. “My party wants to kick off talks with the Baloch leadership to bring prosperity and development in the province.”

He pledged to create employment opportunities for the youth in Balochistan, as well as other provinces.

Ashraf also called on Taliban militants to surrender their arms and renounce militancy. “The irresponsible behaviour of religious extremists has ruined Islam and Pakistan. I, as the prime minister of Pakistan, appeal them to lay down arms and join the mainstream of life,” he said.

International relations

On the international front, the new premier said his government would continue dialogue for peace with India and all other neighbouring countries, including Iran and Afghanistan.

He also promised to develop ‘cordial relations’ with the US, which have come under severe strain over the past year following a US raid that killed al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden and a Nato air strike in Salala that left 24 Pakistani soldiers dead.

“We will develop cordial relations with the US and international community on the basis of equal rights and dignity,” he said.

President Zardari praises Gilani 

At the oath-taking ceremony, President Zardari heaped praise on Yousaf Raza Gilani for all that he did for the people ‘despite so many difficulties and challenges’.

“In doing so he paid a very high personal price. But he stood firmly to protect the democratic principles, the supremacy of parliament and of the Constitution,” Zardari said.

“Yousaf Raza Gillani has held high the torch lit by our leaders Shaheed Zulfikar Ali Bhutto and Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto. I wish to compliment him.”

Gilani was disqualified by the apex court over contempt charges for his refusal to write a letter to the Swiss authorities seeking reopening of a dormant graft case against President Zardari.

But the president said, “The ultimate court is the court of the people. The ultimate verdict is pronounced by history. The people and history will give their verdict sooner than later.”

Without naming anyone, the president said the detractors of democracy have long been hounding Gilani.

“They thought that the coalition will not be able to agree on a new leader of the house. They hoped that it will give them a chance to send the house packing and create political uncertainty,” he added. “They have been proved wrong.”

WITH ADDITIONAL INPUT FROM AGENCIES

Published In The Express Tribune, June 23rd, 2012.]]>
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			<title>Stepping into Gilani’s shoes: Prime time for Pervaiz</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/398008/stepping-into-gilani%e2%80%99s-shoes-prime-time-for-pervaiz</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/398008/stepping-into-gilani%e2%80%99s-shoes-prime-time-for-pervaiz#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Sat, 23 Jun 12 00:16:11 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[qamar.zaman]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=398008</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[Raja Pervaiz Ashraf elected prime minister after polling 211 votes against Abbasi’s 89.]]>
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				<![CDATA[It was a scene few would have thought of even a few weeks ago: Prime Minister Raja Pervaiz Ashraf.


Pakistan Peoples Party’s Raja Pervaiz Ashraf was elected the country’s 25th prime minister by parliament on Friday, taking over from Yousaf Raza Gilani who was disqualified by the Supreme Court.

In what ended up being a one-on-one contest, Ashraf secured 211 votes in the 342-member National Assembly, whereas Sardar Mehtab Abbasi from the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) bagged 89 votes.  “Raja Pervaiz Ashraf is declared to be elected as prime minister of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan,” Speaker Fehmida Mirza announced after the vote count.

President Asif Ali Zardari later administered the oath to the new premier. At the ceremony, President Zardari said: “I congratulate and thank the PPP and all coalition partners for endorsing Raja Pervaiz Ashraf as the candidate of the coalition parties for the office of Leader of the House and the Prime Minister.”

JUI-F pulls out 

Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman withdrew from the running at the last minute. While withdrawing from the race, the JUI-F chief revealed his party was not going to participate in the election process.

“We made an effort to develop consensus over a candidate for the premiership in order to steer the country out of crisis but it did not work … therefore, we do not want to become party at this juncture,” Fazl said.

Then there were two

Makhdoom Shahabuddin and Qamar Zaman Kaira, both from PPP, also withdrew their nomination papers in favour of Ashraf.

The Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM), the Awami National Party (ANP) and the Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q) voted for Ashraf; whereas lone member of his party PPP-S, Aftab Ahmed Khan Sherpao voted for Abbasi.

The election appeared to be an ideological challenge for some members of the ruling coalition, particularly the PML-Q, whose senior leader had actually moved the Supreme Court against Ashraf.

It was on the petition of Syed Faisal Saleh Hayat from the PML-Q that the Supreme Court declared the Rental Power Projects – the brainchild of Ashraf – null and void.

Hayat was reluctant to cast a vote for his old rival, but PML-Q leader Chaudhry Parvez Elahi convinced him  to do so.

Meanwhile, ANP chief Asfandyar Wali was notably missing, whereas members from a breakaway faction of the PML-Q, the Likeminded group, also abstained from the casting their votes.

While it was the start for Prime Minister Ashraf, it was ousted premier Yousaf Raza Gilani who loomed large over the day. Gilani was disqualified for refusing to reopen corruption cases against the president, However, on Friday, President Zardari expressed his gratitude Gilani “for upholding the supremacy of parliament and the Constitution”.

“The ultimate court is the court of the people. The ultimate verdict is pronounced by history. The people and history will give their verdict sooner than later,” the president said in his speech on Friday.

Ashraf, the former water and power minister, is likely to come under similar pressure from Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry.

The voting process, which took around 40 minutes and was interrupted, not surprisingly, by PML-N members chanting, “Raja Rental, Raja Rental”.

Although the session started an hour late, Ashraf reached well ahead of the time. Members from the PPP started posing for photos with him even before the announcement.

In fact, a confident Ashraf went straight to the seat allocated for the prime minister and began received greetings from various lawmakers.

After the announcement of the results, MNA Syed Khursheed Shah recited prayers for Wahab and announced that the next session of the lower house would be adjourned as per tradition.

(Read: Change in prime minister)

(Additional input from agencies)

Published In The Express Tribune, June 23rd, 2012.]]>
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			<title>US looking forward to working with Raja Pervez Ashraf</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/398011/us-looking-forward-to-working-with-raja-pervez-ashraf</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/398011/us-looking-forward-to-working-with-raja-pervez-ashraf#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Fri, 22 Jun 12 21:47:29 +0500</pubDate>
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				<![CDATA[afp]]>
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			<category><![CDATA[World]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=398011</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[Nuland told reporters that the US hopes that with leadership issue settled, both countries can get back on track.]]>
			</description>
			<content:encoded>
				<![CDATA[The United States Friday welcomed the election of a new prime minister in Pakistan eyeing an end to the political upheaval in its key, but wary regional Asian ally.

MPs elected Raja Pervez Ashraf as Pakistan's new prime minister Friday, seeking to end a crisis sparked by judges ousting the premier and demanding the arrest of his would-be successor.

"We are pleased that the leadership issue appears to have been settled," State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland told reporters.

"We obviously look forward to working with the new prime minister and hope that this will open space to continue to roll up our sleeves and get back on track with all of the things that we want to do with Pakistan."

Ties between Washington and Islamabad have hit an all-time low following a series of events in 2011, including the killing of al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden in a US commando raid on his Pakistani compound.

A botched NATO attack in November in which 24 Pakistani soldiers were killed led Islamabad to shut down its border crossings into Afghanistan to US supply trucks, hampering the US and NATO effort against the Taliban.

Talks to reopen the crossings -- vital as the US draws down its forces in neighboring Afghanistan -- have so far made little progress.

In his first speech to parliament shortly after his election, Ashraf promised to develop "cordial relations" with the United States.

"We will develop cordial relations with United States and international community on the basis of equal rights and dignity," he said, without mentioning reopening the supply routes.]]>
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			<title>Coalition politics: Cabinet takes oath as ally negotiates posts</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/397998/coalition-politics-cabinet-takes-oath-as-ally-negotiates-posts</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/397998/coalition-politics-cabinet-takes-oath-as-ally-negotiates-posts#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Fri, 22 Jun 12 21:23:55 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[irfan.ghauri]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=397998</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[PML-Q says govt promised to issue notification for deputy prime minister within 24 hours.]]>
			</description>
			<content:encoded>
				<![CDATA[The new premier not only faces several challenges on the judicial front, but also a shaky alliance with the Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q).

Only one member from the allied PML-Q – Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi – took oath as a Cabinet member when Raja Pervaiz Ashraf and his 38-member cabinet were administered oath of their offices.

The PML-Q, which had been promised the office of deputy prime minister and more than two dozen ministries when it joined the PPP-led ruling coalition in 2011, was not happy with the ministries allocated to its members in former prime minister Yousaf Raza Gilani’s Cabinet.

The former premier reportedly did not agree on the creation of the office of a deputy prime minister, saying there was no such post in the constitution, and that any senior minister can act as the prime minister in the latter’s absence.

In return for supporting the new prime minister this time, the PML-Q had some tough bargaining with the PPP, besides the office of the deputy premier.

Sources said the PML-Q wanted some lucrative ministries and extra development funds for its members in the recent bargain.

On paper, the PML-Q has 51 members in the National Assembly and is the second largest party after the PPP in the ruling coalition. However, it bargained on behalf of 45 members which, its leadership claims, are fully with them.

The party’s internal rifts came to the fore when five members belonging to its break-away faction, the PML-Likeminded, abstained from voting for the new premier. Another rift was witnessed when PML-Q’s Faisal Saleh Hayat refused to cast his vote for Ashraf. Hayat had moved the Supreme Court against Ashraf in the rental power plant case before his party joined the PPP-led government, and he was made the minister for housing in Gilani’s Cabinet.

Leaders of coalition parties, however, convinced him to vote for Ashraf.

The PPP leadership, under a new agreement with the PML-Q, is supposed to issue a notification to declare Elahi deputy prime minister by amending rules within 24 hours after the election of the new prime minister, said PML-Q’s information secretary Senator Kamil Ali Aga while speaking with The Express Tribune.

When asked why no other PML-Q member took oath, Aga said they would be taking oath in the next phase. This time, the PML-Q quota of ministries has to be increased to 16 in the new Cabinet, from 14 in Gilani’s Cabinet, he said.

He added that negotiations were under way over allocation of portfolios to potential ministers from his party.

Besides Elahi as senior minister, Ashraf’s new Cabinet has 27 federal and 11 state ministers from the PPP and its allied parties.

Those who took oath as federal ministers included Makhdoom Ameen Faheem, Dr Abdul Hafeez Shaikh, Nazar Muhammad Gondal, Haji Khuda Buksh Rajar, Dr Farooq Sattar, Senator Maula Buksh Chandio, Mian Mohammad Manzoor Wattoo, Mir Changez Khan Jamali, Syed Khursheed Ahmed Shah, Mir Hazar Khan Bijarani, Senator Babar Khan Ghauri, Haji Ghulam Ahmed Bilour, Mir Israrullah Zehri, Senator Farooq H Naek, Dr Arbab Alamgir Khan, Qamar Zaman Kaira, Chaudhry Pervaiz Ellahi, Makhdoom Shahabuddin, Syed Naveed Qamar, Farzana Raja, Eng Shaukatullah, Chaudhry Ahmed Mukhtar, Rana Mohammad Farooq Saeed Khan, Mrs Sameena Khalid Gurki, Dr Firdous Ashiq Awan and Sardar Alhaj Muhammad Omar Gorgeig.

Those who took oath as ministers of state included Sardar Saleem Haider Khan, Moazzam Ali Jatoi, Malik Azmat Khan, Syed Sumsam Ali Bukhari, Tasneem Ahmed Qureshi, Dr Nadeem Ahsan, Nawabzada Malik Amaad Khan, Abbas Khan Afridi, Chaudhry Imtiaz Safdar Warraich, Dost Mohammad Mazari and Ms Raheela Baloch.]]>
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			<title>Change in prime minister</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/397721/change-in-prime-minister</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/397721/change-in-prime-minister#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Fri, 22 Jun 12 20:09:34 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[editorial]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Editorial]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=397721</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[Gilani may claim that he almost completed his tenure, but he left behind the same uncertainty that was there in 1990s.]]>
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				<![CDATA[Former prime minister Yousaf Raza Gilani, after being unseated from parliament by the Supreme Court, leaves behind a murky record, even as his party elects his replacement. His term in office was tainted with bad governance and serious allegations of corruption, including against some of his close family members. The media took care of him before the Supreme Court did what was expected.

His cabinet fared no better. The first nominee of the party to succeed him was issued warrants for arrest in a case of graft in which Mr Gilani’s own son was involved. It was the shocking so-called ‘ephedrine case’ involving colossal sums. If the favourite nominee cannot stand, the next nominee, who handles the energy portfolio, is equally tarnished by allegations of taking money from the power producers. There are other ministers named in corruption cases who will probably get their comeuppance under a new government. One minister who looked after religion (sic!) is cooling his scared heels for having allegedly cheated pilgrims during Hajj.

Mr Gilani’s government was hounded by an ‘activist’ Supreme Court. It fell foul of the all-powerful military and was run precariously with the help of allies who were skittish at the best of times. Three big partners — the PPP, the ANP and the MQM — banded together because they feared an unforgiving, revengeful opposition. The MQM frequently parted ways — temporarily, of course — and repeatedly called upon the military to step in and establish order. The JUI-F’s Maulana Fazlur Rehman frequently wavered and was hardly a reliable ally for the PPP as the party could never really know which way he was leaning. It is for these reasons of internal uncertainty that the JUI-F and the PML-N have fielded their own candidate for prime ministership. And they are working on the weak spots in the majority that is still holding up, thanks mainly to the masterstroke of President Asif Ali Zardari in taking the PML-Q on board. The MQM can no longer put pressure for more concessions because of the big chunk of the PML-Q seats in parliament. The numbers were with the PPP but there was an outside chance that a new short-term PPP coalition may not come about.

The PPP got a rough deal from the military establishment, which would not give it the elbow room it needed to use foreign policy to resolve some of the problems that the Musharraf government had left behind. It also feared this kind of treatment from a ‘dismissed’ Supreme Court because it had gone activist with 6,000 suo motu cases.

Gilani restored the Supreme Court but took his time, meanwhile leaning on the alternative  ‘Dogar Court’ by inducting more judges in it. It was a miscalculation that the PPP paid dearly for in the months that followed. It had reposed trust in the new  ‘reconciliation’ with the PML-N, little realising that inside that party, old familiar passions of winning through ‘enmity’ rather than opposition were quivering with new life. One lakh lawyers of Pakistan, most of them from Punjab, merged with the PML-N’s ‘long march’, forcing Nawaz Sharif to realise that ‘friendly opposition’ didn’t suit Pakistan after all.

The establishment traditionally did not like the PPP. It had special rancour for President Zardari whose nimble pro-change politics went against the entrenched ideas it had imposed on all governments. And who can decide the circular argument of whether the Supreme Court was encroaching because it wanted to dictate or it was forced to intervene because the government was simply dysfunctional and had to be nudged out because of corruption? Given the fact that most governments in Pakistan end up being corrupt, one has to accept that some of what happened to the Gilani government was unfair.

In Pakistan, corruption is rampant like in most developing countries, but takes a special edge because of uncertainty. Mr Gilani may proudly claim that he almost completed his tenure, but the fact is that he has left behind the same kind of uncertainty that was there in the 1990s, when corruption took root under the ‘toppling’ Article 58. One can only hope that his replacement will fare better.

Published In The Express Tribune, June 23rd, 2012.]]>
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			<title>Detractors of democracy have failed: Zardari</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/397888/detractors-of-democracy-have-failed-zardari</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/397888/detractors-of-democracy-have-failed-zardari#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Fri, 22 Jun 12 18:44:48 +0500</pubDate>
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				<![CDATA[web.desk]]>
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			<category><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></category>
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			<description>
				<![CDATA[Emphasis that Ashraf must solve the energy, unemployment, inflation, law and order issues on priority basis.]]>
			</description>
			<content:encoded>
				<![CDATA[After administrating the oath to newly elected Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf at the presidency on Friday, President Asif Ali Zardari said that those wanting to detract democracy had been defeated thanks to the collected wisdom of the members of national assembly.

“The detractors of democracy have long been hounding the former prime minister Yousaf Raza Gilani. They thought the coalition will not be able to agree to a new leader of the house, they thought the house would be sent packing and create political uncertainty. They have been proven wrong,” the President proudly declared.

“The collected wisdom of the elected national assembly has proven them wrong - I salute their wisdom,” Zardari beamed.

Solve energy crisis

With the clamour for solving the energy crisis growing day by day, Zardari, who has seen the Opposition parties feed off the public anger to knock on his party’s popularity just months before the general election, called on Pervez Ashraf to solve the crisis on priority basis.

“The problems of power shortage to be addressed on a priority basis.”

However, this was not the only area of concern, and Zardari went on to high light that “there are other issues of great concern to  the common people. There are issues of inflation, unemployment and law and order.”

“I hope the new government headed by Raja Pervez Ashraf will address all these issues with zeal and determination.”

Federal, State ministers take oath

Twenty-seven Ministers and eleven Ministers of State also took oath.

The Federal Ministers who took oath included: Rana Farooq Saeed‚ Sardar Al-Haj Muhammad Umar Gorgage‚ Firdous Ashiq Awan‚ Hina Rabbani Khar‚ Samina Khalid Ghurki‚ Makhdoom Shahabuddin‚ Syed Naveed Qamar‚ Farzana Raja‚ Engineer Shaukatullah‚ Syed Khursheed Shah‚ Mir Hazar Khan Bijarani‚ Babar Khan Ghauri‚ Israrullah Zehri‚ Arbab Alamgir‚ Ghulam Ahmad Bilour‚ Qamar Zaman Kaira‚ Farooq H Naek‚ Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi‚ Makhdoom Amin Faheem‚ Abdul Hafeez Shaikh‚ Chaudhry Ahmad Mukhtar‚ Mian Manzoor Watto‚ Nazar Muhammad Gondal‚ Dr Farooq Sattar‚ Haji Khuda Bakhsh Rajar‚ Maula Bakhsh Chandio and Changez Jamali.

The Ministers of State who took oath are Tasneem Ahmad Qureshi‚ Chaudhary Imtiaz Safdar Warraich‚ Abbas Khan Afridi‚ Dost Muhammad Mazari‚ Saleem Haider Khan‚ Nawabzada Malik Ammad Khan‚ Moazzam Ali Jatoi‚ Malik Azmat Khan‚ Syed Samsam Ali Bukhari‚ Dr Nadeem Ahsan and Raheela Baloch.

The ceremony was attended by Speaker National Assembly Dr Fehmida Mirza‚ Chairman Senate Syed Nayyar Hussain Bukhari‚ Parliamentarians and high ranking officials including former Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani.

&nbsp;]]>
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			<title>Resolving power, economic, Balochistan crisis top priority: Ashraf</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/397757/resolving-power-economic-balochistan-crisis-top-priority-ashraf</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/397757/resolving-power-economic-balochistan-crisis-top-priority-ashraf#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Fri, 22 Jun 12 15:58:57 +0500</pubDate>
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				<![CDATA[Ema Anis]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=397757</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[Takes oath as prime minister. Vows to present his blueprint to fix issues. Seeks opposition help to solve crisis.]]>
			</description>
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				<![CDATA[In his first speech after being elected as Prime Minister, Raja Pervez Ashraf said that resolving critical issues faced by the country including price hikes, loadshedding, economy and the crisis in Balochistan were at the top of his list of things to do.

Ashraf laid out his outline for his time as Prime Minister. He said that his government did not want a clash of institutions, rather would try to strengthen them.

He promised that he would present before the people their blueprint for addressing all challenges faced by the country.

Prime among these challenges, Ashraf said that they will be tackling the price-hike, energy and economic crisis facing the country in all sincerity. However, he called for the support of the opposition to help them do so.

Among the problems which he ranked highest on his priority list was solving the crisis in Balochistan and that he would do his utmost to amend the wrongs. The prime minister-elect  said that they would be working to provide employment to the youth in Balochistan.

He recounted that he Pakistan Peoples Party government over the past four years through the Assembly had managed to solve a number of critical problems including that of providing provincial autonomy, settle the NFC award and the 18th, 19th , 20th amendments and the recognition given to the Gilgit Baltistan Province.

Relations with foreign countries

Of relations of Pakistan with other countries, Ashraf said that Pakistan wanted peaceful coexistence in the world and was willing to resolve all issues, including that of Kashmir via talks.

He said that they would be furthering on the efforts of the previous cabinet to improve relations with all neighbouring countries especially the peace process with India.

Terming Kabul as the most important capital for Pakistan, Ashraf recounted former prime minister Yousaf Raza Gilani’s line that there can be no peace in Pakistan till there is peace in Afghanistan.

On US, Ashraf said that Pakistan wanted a relation that is based on equality.

He also commended on better relations with the European Union.

Action plan to tackle challenges

Newly elected Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf, addressing the National Assembly session on Friday, after being elected as the premier, stated that he would present his action plan of managing the country after he assumes charge.
Ashraf began by thanking all the leaders and members of coalition parties as well as the ruling Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) for reposing their faith in him and electing him for the post. He then paid tribute to his predecessor, Yousaf Raza Gilani, saying that he (Gilani) had upheld the Constitution even in the toughest of times. “He strengthened democracy and the democratic institutions.”
Ashraf added that every parliamentarian is bound by the Constitution, and vowed to ensure the supremacy of the parliament, law and the Constitution. “We won’t let anyone else use this power given to us by the people.”

Free, fair, transparent elections

For the survival and strength of democracy in Pakistan, it is necessary that free, fair and transparent elections are held in the country, stated Ashraf. “I assure the people of Pakistan and the parliamentarians that free, fair, transparent and independent elections will be ensured in the country.
“This chair from which I am speaking right now – this chair is democracy’s chair, this is the chair of the people.”
“I want the opposition to cooperate with us on this matter,” said Ashraf, and added that he does not want a ‘politics of clash’ as the country, in its current state, cannot afford any such clash.

Inviting opposition, extremists for talks

Ashraf, inviting the opposition to hold talks with the government to deal with “serious challenges” of the country, said that in politics, all issues can be dealt with table talks.

“I hope the opposition will accept our appeal. We can move forward together. This is the only way to progress.”

Ashraf further lamented that religious extremism has badly affected the country and has caused considerable loss to Islam and Pakistan. “I appeal to them [extremists] to lay down their weapons and join the national institutes.”

Ehtesab bill

Ashraf said that when he was still a parliamentarian, he had intorduduced the Ehtesab (accountability) bill. This was still pending in the assembly.

Now prime minister-elect, he called on the Opposition for their help in to help pass the Ehtesab bill.

‘Carrying forward vision of the founders’

The Prime Minister-elect said that he had been elected to the post due to the faith reposed in him  by the party.

He said that he would take the country ahead under the vision of the Quaid-e-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah, the Quaid-e-Awam Zukfikar Ali Bhutto and Benazir Bhutto.

He added that he was a weak person, a human being, who could make mistakes, but today, with the house as his witness, he would work for the betterment of the people and for that sector which needs good governance.

Oath taking

Ashraf was administered the oath of Prime Minister by President Asif Ali Zardari at the Aiwan-e-Sadr.

Along with him, federal and state ministers were also sworn in at the time.

These included:

Ahmad Mukhtar, Khuda Bakhsh Rajar, Sardar Mohmmad Gorganj, Babar Khan Ghauri. Firdous Ashiq Awan, Hina Rabbani Khar, Farzana Raja, Raheela Baloch, Tasneem Qureshi, Muazzam Jatoi, Ameen Faheem, Naveed Qamar, Maulana Baksh Chandio, Manzoor Roto, Farooq H Naek, Dr Nadeem Ahsan, Sardar Saleem Haider, Dost Mohammad Mazari, Hafeez Shaikh, and Khursheed Shah.]]>
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			<title>Raja Pervez Ashraf: Brief profile</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/397729/raja-pervez-ashraf-brief-profile</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/397729/raja-pervez-ashraf-brief-profile#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Fri, 22 Jun 12 14:58:07 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[zahid.gishkori]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=397729</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[PPP stalwart Raja Pervez Ashraf was elected as new prime minister of Pakistan by National Assembly members on Friday.]]>
			</description>
			<content:encoded>
				<![CDATA[PPP stalwart Raja Pervez Ashraf was elected as the new prime minister of Pakistan by National Assembly members on Friday.

Here is a brief profile of Ashraf:

Declared assets: Rs62million

Political career: Elected twice from NA-51, Gujjar Khan. Appointed federal minister for water and power after the 2008 elections. Was again appointed a minister in the recently-dissolved cabinet.

Controversy: Faces corruption allegation for receiving kickbacks in rental power projects and buying properties in London. The Supreme Court also directed NAB to take action against Ashraf for his alleged involvement in rental power case.]]>
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			<title>Raja Pervez Ashraf – fluke or Zardari’s masterstroke?</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/397727/raja-pervez-ashraf-as-premier-%e2%80%93-fluke-or-zardari%e2%80%99s-masterstroke</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/397727/raja-pervez-ashraf-as-premier-%e2%80%93-fluke-or-zardari%e2%80%99s-masterstroke#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Fri, 22 Jun 12 14:47:03 +0500</pubDate>
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			<category><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></category>
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				<![CDATA[Was it his good fortune, or is this a masterstroke by President Zardari? The jury is still out on that one.]]>
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				<![CDATA[President Asif Ali Zardari is known to hurl bouncers at unsuspecting observers of Pakistani politics, especially in times of crises – Hina Rabbani Khar as foreign minister, Sherry Rehman as ambassador to US – but Raja Pervez Ashraf is still inexplicable.

Ashraf emerged as the winner in a messy race to the top spot after Yousaf Raza Gilani was disqualified by the Supreme Court in a contempt case.

How did he beat the contenders?

The race to the chief executive spot was not supposed to be easy, and it had its casualties.

Chaudhry Ahmed Mukhtar had a head start but went on to declare, and basically shoot himself in the foot, that he might be the prime minister. Mukhtar perhaps forgot that in President Zardari’s style of politicking, if it is too obvious, it will not be.

Makhdoom Shahabuddin followed, with Ashraf as a covering candidate. There was consensus, and all was swell, until the arrest warrants were issued by the Anti Narcotics Force. As Shahabuddin went down, Qamar Zaman Kaira appeared out of the blue and submitted his papers. Eventually, Ashraf made it past all to the finishing line.

Was it his good fortune (and others’ misfortune), or is this a masterstroke by President Zardari? The jury is still out on that one.

Strengths and weaknesses

On the face of it, his proximity to the corridors of power goes in Ashraf’s favour. A senior Pakistan Peoples Party leader, originally from Sindh, and rakes in an important constituency sound good enough credentials on paper. Ashraf has been elected to the National Assembly twice from NA-51 (Rawalpindi II) – in 2002, and then in 2008. He has also previously served as the secretary general of the PPP.

His public performance, however, has been far from stellar.

As water and power minister between 2008 and 2011, Ashraf failed so spectacularly that he had to be removed. His notorious ‘December’ deadlines for an end to load-shedding even invited the rebuke of former premier Gilani, who asked him publicly to stop giving December deadlines.

After his portfolio was taken away, Ashraf made headlines again for his involvement in the rental power plant fiasco. In its verdict that declared all rental power plant agreements illegal, the apex court also called for initiating legal proceedings against Ashraf since the entire scheme was envisaged and executed under his minister-ship. Those legal proceedings are yet to start.

Why him then?

It will take some time for this to sink in – that Ashraf is our elected prime minister. The last time the entire country was this baffled was when Zardari himself became the president.

But observers say Raja could be here for one of the two reasons. Either, by choosing a candidate who has had friction with the judiciary, the party is announcing its confrontation with the judiciary. Or, he is electorally dispensible, and will be sacrificed at the altar of Swiss letter, just the way Gilani was.

He clearly is not a serious contender for premiership, and his tenure will not bring any electoral dividends to the PPP. Zardari, we can safely assume, is aware of that.]]>
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			<title>Electing Raja Pervez as PM is a tragedy: Nawaz Sharif</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/397719/electing-raja-pervaiz-as-pm-is-a-tragedy-for-the-country-nawaz-sharif</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/397719/electing-raja-pervaiz-as-pm-is-a-tragedy-for-the-country-nawaz-sharif#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Fri, 22 Jun 12 14:40:26 +0500</pubDate>
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			<description>
				<![CDATA[Nawaz said it was surprising the government had presented a nominee facing corruption charges.]]>
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				<![CDATA[The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) chief Mian Nawaz Sharif has described the election of Raja Pervez Ashraf as Prime Minister 'not less than a tragedy for the country.'

Talking to the media at Nawabshah airport on Friday afternoon, he questioned the government’s nominee, "why the government brings forward ill-reputed persons. I feel ashamed even of taking names of such persons."

"It is surprising that President Zardari has nominated a person who is facing corruption charges," he added.

Nawaz Sharif said the Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q) has always strengthened the dictatorship and that it was once again opting to support the rulers instead of strengthening democracy.

The PML-N chief further stated that Chaudhry Shujat Hussain did not consider the PPP candidate worthy to be voted for, having already said “I would prefer Maulana Fazlur Rehman if I would have my vote.”

Nawaz Sharif had arrived here in a special plane to proceed to Sehwan for addressing the public rally. PML-N leader and former Chief Minister Liaquat Jatoi, Dr Bahadur Dahri, Illahi Bux Soomro and others received the party chief.

Accompanied by PML-N Sindh president Syed Ghaus Ali Shah, Senator Pervez Rasheed, Marvi Memon and others, Mian Nawaz Sharif later left for Sehwan in motorcade.]]>
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			<title>Meet the new prime minister: Raja Pervez Ashraf</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/397691/pakistans-17th-prime-minister-live-updates</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/397691/pakistans-17th-prime-minister-live-updates#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Fri, 22 Jun 12 14:25:47 +0500</pubDate>
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			<description>
				<![CDATA[Raja Pervez Ashraf declared new prime minister with 211 votes, Mehtab Abbasi gets 89 votes.]]>
			</description>
			<content:encoded>
				<![CDATA[PPP stalwart Raja Pervez Ashraf has been declared the new prime minister of Pakistan after the members of the National Assembly convened to vote for the new premier on Friday. Ashraf won the elections by 211 votes.

Ashraf's competing candidate Sardar Mehtab Abbasi, from Pakistan Muslim League - Nawaz (PML-N) lost with 89 votes. Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam's (JUI-F) Fazlur Rehman was the third candidate, but he withdrew his nomination as soon as the National Assembly session began.

According to sources, Ashraf is expected to take oath as the prime minister later tonight, and the new cabinet will consist of the same members as the previous one.

Read an analysis of Ashraf's election as prime minister here, and a timeline of Pakistan's prime ministers here. To read a brief profile of Ashraf, click here.

End of live updates

7:34pm

Members of National Assembly as well as President Asif Ali Zardari congratulate Ashraf on becoming the new prime minister. Ashraf expected to take oath later tonight.

MNAs shower rose petals on Ashraf during the session.

7:30pm

Counting of votes concludes. Raja Pervez Ashraf declared new prime minister with 211 votes.

Mehtab Abbasi got 89 votes.

7:24pm

All votes have now been cast. Faisal Saleh Hayat of the PML-Q was the last MNA to cast a vote. Hayat, who had earlier said that he will not be a minister if Raja Pervez Ashraf becomes the prime minister, voted for Ashraf, Express News reported.

Counting of votes has begun.

7:10pm

PML-Q parliamentary leader Faisal Saleh Hayat refuses to cast his vote, while Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi has requested him to do so, reported Geo News.

Express News, however, reports that all PML-Q members are casting their votes.

7:08pm

Geo News reports that the opposition has begun chanting slogans of "What was the price?" in the National Assembly. The slogans are apparently targeting Maulana Fazlur Rehman over his withdrawal.

Raja Pervez Ashraf is going up to the seated MNAs in order to greet them. He has also met the MNAs of the ruling party and the opposition.

6:53pm

According to sources, members of the previous cabinet will continue to serve as ministers in the new cabinet.

Sources claim that Pervaiz Elahi will be made a senior minister, and he will be the only PML-Q member to take oath as a minister.

6:45pm

Voting has begun in the National Assembly.

Those members voting in favour of Raja Pervez Ashraf have been asked to proceed to Lobby A (right side of the speaker) and those in favour of Mehtab Abbasi to Lobby B (on the left side).

Express News correspondent reports that the Speaker has ordered that all doors of the hall be shut.

6:38pm

Maulana Fazlur Rehman announced that his party will not vote in the prime minister elections due to the current political scenario. "We are withdrawing our nomination."

6:37pm

After the speaker briefed the assembly on the procedure of the elections and how all MNAs will cast their votes, Maulana Fazlur Rehman was given another chance to speak.

6:35pm

Maulana Fazlur Rehman appealed to the Speaker to adjourn the session, but PPP leader Naveed Qamar said that according to tradition, a normal session can be adjourned, but this was not a “normal session”. As soon as Qamar said that today’s session was not a normal one, all other MNAs laughed and sneered at him.

Speaker decided to continue with the session. “It is a very important session. We will go ahead with it.”

6:31pm

PML-Likeminded leader Humayan Akhtar announced that six Likeminded members will not attend the NA session.

6:28pm

The National Assembly session, chaired by Speaker Dr Fehmida Mirza, has begun.

PML-N has support from five PML-Q likeminded members, announced Chaudhry Nisar, and added that the party will try its best to win the elections.

Earlier, PPP MNA Syed Nasir Ali Shah had said that he will boycott the National Assembly session.

6:23pm

Sources tell Geo News that PML-Likeminded will boycott the prime minister elections.

Express News correspondent Khalid Mehmood reports that PML-N has still not decided whether it wants to attend the NA session or not. Some PML-N members want to boycott the session or stage a protest, while others are willing to attend it, Mehmood further reported.

6:15pm

Geo News reports that the family of Raja Pervez Ashraf has also arrived at the National Assembly.

PML-N's parliamentary party session comes to an end.

6:13pm

Ashraf meets National Assembly members who congratulate him on his nomination.

Qamar Zaman Kaira and Makhdoom Shahahuddin have withdrawn their nomination papers.

6:03pm

Express News reports that Maulana Fazlur Rehman has said that he will not be supporting any other party because no one supported him.

6:00pm

PPP sources have said that the new prime minister and the cabinet will take oath tonight.

Five members of the PML-Q Like-Minded group are also attending PML-N's parliamentary party session.

5:57pm

Express News correspondent Muhammad Bilal reported that Ashraf, on arrival in the National Assembly, avoided media questions regarding the ongoing energy crisis and regarding writing a letter to Swiss authorities in NRO verdict implementation case.

A parliamentary session of the PML-N is currently underway under the chairmanship of Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan, who is also the Leader of the Opposition.

5:51pm

All three candidates, Raja Pervez Ashraf, Mehtab Abbasi and Maulana Fazlur Rehman, have arrived in the National Assembly.

5:40pm

Sources say that JUI-F might not cast votes during the prime minister elections in the National Assembly.

5:34pm

A parliamentary party session of PPP and coalition parties is underway.

During the session, the coalition parties decided to vote for PPP's candidate Ashraf.]]>
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			<title>PPP picks Raja Pervez Ashraf as prime minister candidate</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/397626/raja-pervez-ashraf-chosen-as-ppp-candidate-for-prime-minister-post</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/397626/raja-pervez-ashraf-chosen-as-ppp-candidate-for-prime-minister-post#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Fri, 22 Jun 12 07:03:32 +0500</pubDate>
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			<description>
				<![CDATA[Syed Khursheed Shah and coalition partners announce nomination at press conference.]]>
			</description>
			<content:encoded>
				<![CDATA[Syed Khursheed Shah, in a press conference with coalition leaders announced that Raja Pervez Ashraf will be the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) candidate for the prime minister’s post.

“The final decision was taken in collaboration with our coalition partners,” Khursheed Shah said.

Among other coalition representatives, Pakistan Muslim League Quaid (PML-Q) senior member Sardar Bahadur Ahmad Khan Sehar, Mutahidda Qaumi Movement (MQM) leader Haider Abbas Rizvi and Awami National Party (ANP) leader Afrasiab Khattak were present at the press conference.

Earlier, MQM sources had said the party had conveyed reservations to President Zardari over the candidature of Ashraf.

Ashraf has been elected twice from NA-51, Gujjar Khan.

He was appointed federal minister for water and power after the 2008 elections and was again appointed a minister in the recently-dissolved cabinet.

He faces corruption allegation for receiving kickbacks in rental power projects and buying properties in London.

The Supreme Court had also directed NAB to take action against Ashraf for his alleged involvement in rental power case.

The ruling PPP and its allies first submitted nominations for Makhdoom Shahabuddin and  Ashraf, but later Qamar Zaman Kaira also filed his papers when a lower court issued arrest warrants against Shahabuddin for his alleged involvement in the ephedrine scam.

Ashraf's top priority to deal with energy crisis

Ashraf said that his top priority, after assuming the prime minister post, would be to deal with the ongoing energy crisis. He was speaking to the media in Islamabad on Friday.

"I am well aware of the ongoing energy crisis. I had a meeting with party leaders and we decided that we will deal with it as our number one priority," added Ashraf, who has been christened as 'Raja Rental' among the masses because of his involvement in the Rental Power Plants scam.

"I have come here to thank Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain and Pervaiz Elahi. I'm sure this alliance government, under collective wisdom, will deal with all challenges."

Pervaiz Elahi, also present at the press briefing, said that all coalition parties have unanimously decided to vote for Ashraf during the National Assembly session.

Ashraf thanks Altaf Hussain for support

Ashraf spoke to MQM chief Altaf Hussain on Friday to thank him for supporting his candidacy.

According to a statement issued by the MQM, Ashraf told Hussain that like him, he too was from the “grassroots”.  The MQM chief told Ashraf that the country currently faced a great deal of challenges and hopes that he can help the country face these.

Hussain said that he was happy that Ashraf had worked his way up in the PPP, and said that loyalty to the party was a fundamental principle and that this was the way to earn respect and honour. Former interior minister Rehman Malik also spoke to Hussain and thanked him on behalf of President Asif Ali Zardari for his support to the PPP.

PPP MNA to boycott NA session

Pakistan Peoples Party MNA Syed Nasir Ali Shah will boycott today’s elections for the next Prime minister in the National Assembly.

“I will not vote for MNA Raja Pervaiz Ashraf…a candidate of PPP for the prime minister’s slot,” Nasir told The Express Tribune. “I will not attend today’s session electing the new prime minister.”

Responding to a question, he said that the only criterion for top slot in Pakistan is that “you must be a corrupt person”. Unfortunately, he said, his party (PPP) is promoting this trend.

Shah, a PPP senior leader from Balochistan, also boycotted the presidential speech held earlier this year.

“I hope … my ‘silent protest’ will trigger a powerful debate on the Balochistan issue at an international level,” Shah told The Express Tribune. “I must say here today — PPP’s top leadership buried the party’s manifesto the day Benazir Bhutto was assassinated.”]]>
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			<title>Know your prime minister aspirants</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/397531/know-your-prime-minister-aspirants</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/397531/know-your-prime-minister-aspirants#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Fri, 22 Jun 12 04:07:45 +0500</pubDate>
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				<![CDATA[zahid.gishkori]]>
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			<category><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=397531</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[Race for top slot heats up, with five candidates vying for post of prime minister.]]>
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				<![CDATA[Sardar Mehtab Ahmed Khan


Declared assets: Rs16.7 million

Political career: Former chief minister
of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa from 1997 to 1999; federal minister for railways in 2008. Also served as a senator from March 2003, but resigned in 2008 when he won the NA-17 seat in the 2008 general elections.

Controversy: Reportedly involved in a wheat scandal case. He remained in Attock Fort jail for three years.

Makhdoom Shahabuddin

Declared assets: Rs127.5 million

Political career: Contested his first election from NA-148 in 1988 on a PML ticket, losing to his uncle who contested on a PPP ticket. Recently elected chairman of the southern Punjab chapter of the PPP. Part of PPP’s central executive committee.

Controversy: Alleged to have issued unauthorised quota for the import of ephedrine as health minister. Anti-Narcotics Force issued a non-bailable arrest warrant against him, hours after he was nominated by the PPP as the next premier.

Raja Pervez Ashraf

Declared assets: Rs62million

Political career: Elected twice from NA-51, Gujjar Khan. Appointed federal minister for water and power after the 2008 elections. Was again appointed a minister in the recently-dissolved cabinet.

Controversy: Faces corruption allegation for receiving kickbacks in rental power projects and buying properties in London. The Supreme Court also directed NAB to take action against Ashraf for his alleged involvement in rental power case.

Qamar Zaman Kaira 

Declared assets: Rs57 million

Political career: Contested elections from NA-106, served as information minister twice – between 2009 and 2011, and in the recent Cabinet that was disqualified by the Supreme Court. Also served as minister for Kashmir affairs and Northern Areas, and acting Governor of Gilgit-Baltistan.

Controversy: None.

Maulana Fazlur Rahman

Declared assets: Rs5 million

Political career: Chief of Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl, a right-wing politician and cleric, and currently serving as the president of the Assembly of Islamic Clerics. Contested, and won, his first election from NA-18 in 1988. Lost in 1990 and 1997.

Controversy: Allegedly possess military land measuring up to 600 kanals in DI Khan. Allegedly won out-of-turn tenders for diesel supplies in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa in second Benazir government.

Published In The Express Tribune, June 22nd, 2012.]]>
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			<title>Premiership race: On election day, PPP keeps up the intrigue</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/397522/premiership-race-on-election-day-ppp-keeps-up-the-intrigue</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/397522/premiership-race-on-election-day-ppp-keeps-up-the-intrigue#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Fri, 22 Jun 12 00:19:29 +0500</pubDate>
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			<description>
				<![CDATA[Nominee to be announced today in a press conference.]]>
			</description>
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				<![CDATA[Parliament will elect a prime minister today (Friday) – but with the previous frontrunner suffering a setback in the form of a non-bailable arrest warrant, the speculation surrounding who the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP)’s top candidate continued on Thursday.


Late night reports suggested that former minister for water and power Raja Pervez Ashraf is the new frontrunner – but a formal announcement to this effect will be made by the party in a press conference just before the afternoon session to elect the next prime minister.

With Thursday being the day for filing nomination papers, there were some surprises: The PPP brought in another backup in former information minister Qamar Zaman Kaira while the chief of his own Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (JUI-F) Maulana Fazlur Rehman threw his name in the hat.

The entry of Kaira at the eleventh hour as a third candidate from the PPP has only increased the intrigue. Political hobnobbing continued till late night Friday as the leadership of the ruling alliance huddled in the Presidency to discuss the situation. The presidential spokesman said coalition partners announced their support to the PPP nominee. However, the meeting decided that the name of the PPP nominee would only be announced today in a press conference to be held by former religious affairs minister Syed Khursheed Shah.

The ruling PPP and its allies first submitted nominations for Makhdoom Shahabuddin and Raja Pervez Ashraf but later Kaira also filed his papers when a lower court issued arrest warrants against Shahabuddin for his alleged involvement in the ephedrine scam.

The sudden issuance of non-bailable warrants for Shahabuddin apparently weakened his prospects for the top slot. No official announcement was made by the PPP to withdraw his candidature.

On the other hand, the main opposition party, the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) fielded Sardar Mehtab Abbasi as its candidate for prime minister, but the party’s attempts to garner any major political group’s support remained futile till late last night.

Reservations against Ashraf? 

MQM sources said the party had conveyed reservations to President Zardari over the candidature of Ashraf, who is one of the main accused in the Rental Power Projects scam. The source went on to add that Ashraf and former interior minister Rehman Malik later met MQM leaders at Senator Babar Khan Ghauri’s residence to address the MQM’s reservations. An MQM later said that the party had no issues with any candidate.

Similarly, the PML-Q, who had earlier expressed concern over Chaudhry Ahmed Mukhtar’s nomination, was now wary of Kaira. Both Mukhtar and Kaira have been traditional rivals of the Chaudhrys of Gujrat in Punjab’s politics.

With Makhdoom Shahabuddin apparently out of the running and Raja Pervez Ashraf’s unpopularity with some allies, PPP sources have said that Kaira, being a relatively “clean fellow”, has increased his chances. The sources said that the last minute induction of Kaira was a well planned move on part of the PPP leadership, which has always kept its cards close to its chest.

Interestingly, except for a select group of close associates, no one knew whether President Zardari was going to field Kaira.

While allies and many members of the ruling party were busy signing and submitting nomination papers for Shahabuddin and Ashraf, Syed Khurshid Shah, in a surprise move, handed over nomination papers for Kaira to the speaker just a few minutes before the 2 pm deadline.

Furthermore, the PPP could take advantage of Shahabuddin’s ouster from the race on account of court warrants by claiming that it was all set to give the key slot to this impoverished area (southern Punjab), but the judiciary barred it from doing so.

According to PPP sources, once a new prime minister is elected, some important ministers will take oath along with him in the first phase, while others will be inducted later.


Published in The Express Tribune, June 22nd, 2012.]]>
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			<title>New Prime Minister: Coalition partners repose faith in PPP, again</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/397414/prime-minister-candidates-coalition-partners-repose-faith-in-ppp-again</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/397414/prime-minister-candidates-coalition-partners-repose-faith-in-ppp-again#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Thu, 21 Jun 12 18:50:10 +0500</pubDate>
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				<![CDATA[Prime candidate for the prime minister slot will be announced by the PPP at 11am on Friday.]]>
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				<![CDATA[All coalition partners of the ruling Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) have once again reposed their faith in President Asif Ali Zardari and his party to nominate a candidate for the slot of prime minister, Express News reported.

The decision was taken at a meeting of coalition partners at the Presidency on Thursday evening to decide which of the nominees who had filed their nomination papers for the prime minister’s slot would be the prime candidate for the position after the initial candidate on which the coalition had decided upon, Makhdoom Shahbuddin, had warrants issued against him.

An Anti-Narcotics Force magistrate issued non-bailable arrest warrants for Shahabuddin's alleged involvement in the ephedrine case.

Senior PPP leader Khursheed Shah will announce the ruling coalition's nominee for the PM slot at 11am on Friday.

Those who were present in the meeting included Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain, Chaudhry Pervez Ilahi,  Dr Farooq Sattar, Mir Israrullah Zehri, Afrasiab Khattak, Munir Khan Aurakzai, Babar Ghouri, Hameedullah Jan Afridi, Haider Abbas Rizvi, Senator Abbas Khan Afridi, Mohammad Jadim Mangrio and Syed Khursheed Shah. Vice Chairman PPP and former prime minister Yousaf Raza Gilani was  also present.

Raja Parvez Ashraf finalised?

Sources told Express News that the name of Raja Pervez Ashraf for the prime minister's slot had been finalised in the coalition members meeting at the Presidency late on Thursday.

Some parliamentary members belonging to the PPP said that they did not agree with the choice of Ashraf as the premier.

They added that they were not happy with the way affairs had been handled after former prime minister Yousaf Raza Gilani had been disqualified. They told Express News correspondent Waqar Satti that their reservations had been made known to senior party leader Khursheed Shah. They warned that unless their reservations were not paid heed to, they may not vote in favour of Ashraf, or may even choose to remain absent from the Friday evening Assembly session.

Earlier on Thursday, at least five members of the National Assembly filed their nomination papers to contest for the seat of prime minister.

Makhdoom Shahabuddin, Qamar Zaman Kaira and Raja Pervez Ashraf filed their nomination papers for the PPP.

In addition to these candidates, JUI-F chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman and PML-N’s Sardar Mehtab Ahmed Khan Abbasi have also filed their nomination papers.]]>
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