Osama killing: Lawyers decry violation of sovereignty
Lawyers on Monday offered funeral prayer in absentia for Osama bin Laden at the Kachari Chowk near Army House and military’s general headquarters.
Scores of lawyers gathered at the busy intersection and offered the funeral for the deceased leader of al-Qaeda led by Advocate Hafiz Shahid at about 1pm. They chanted slogans against the government and heads of armed forces for failing to save the country’s sovereignty.
They blocked traffic for one hour, creating congestion and difficulty for commuters. During the protest, the law enforcement agencies tried to convince the lawyers to end their demonstration as Rawalpindi Corp Commander was to pass through the intersection. But the lawyers refused to leave the road and chanted slogans against what they termed as the “inability of forces to defend their country”.
Earlier, the lawyers at a general body meeting of district bar association condemned the killing of Bin Laden and inaction of the government.
Bar President Malik Jawad Khalid said they would file a petition with the Supreme Court challenging the extensions given to the heads of different departments in armed forces.
The president criticised the government for not following an independent foreign policy and pursuing the dictates of America.
The lawyers said if Osama was present in Abbottabad for the last six years, why were the intelligence agencies were ignorant and if they knew about his presence, why did they not take action themselves.
Published in The Express Tribune, May 10th, 2011.
ter-spa�:.��=��>ansi-language:EN-GB'>Local farmers expressed serious concerns saying that the population of the city is rapidly increasing and the administration is busy helping private housing societies and filling their own pockets.
Ameer Muhammad, a local farmer said that if the administration provided him with an incentive, cultivating land could turn profitable for the farmers. He said that it is unfortunate that the area specified only for agricultural purposes was being used for everything but that.
Supreme Court also took a serious note of the illegal use of agriculture farms in the recent past and sought a complete record from the Capital Development Authority (CDA) on the issue.
Director Agriculture, Agha Muhammad Ali Qazalbash (ICT) told The Express Tribune that administration is serious in order to promote agriculture by giving different incentives to the farmers.
He claimed that 45 new small-sized dams were established in 12 union councils and the basic aim of this was to irrigate the arable land. However, he admitted that the lack of funds was also one of the reasons for turning a blind eye towards the capitals agrarian infra-structure.
He said that around 200 farmers were trained in this regard, “ICT would make the dams free of cost, and if any farmer has at least 20 canals of land he shall be supported.” He added that a special committee had been established in this regard and ICT was receiving good feedback from farmers for its work.
Published in The Express Tribune, May 10th, 2011.
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