Pakistan Views

Ameer Haider Khan Hoti a joint candidate of ANP and PPP elected unopposed Chief Minister NWFP on Monday.As no candidate had filed the nomination papers by 1 pm today, the last time for filing of the papers, therefore, Ameer Haider Khan Hoti was elected unopposed leader of the house. His papers were declared valid for contesting the election for the slot of the Chief Minister.The House has adjourned till 09:30 am tomorrow. Talking to media, Ameer Haider Hoti thanked the all the parties and said that he would give the policy statement after taking the oath.Hoti said that provincial government would hold talks with militants whereas provincial cabinet would take oath on April 2. Muslim League-N also a part of cabinet, he added.

Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani on Sunday said that in order to provide immediate relief to common man every member of the forthcoming Cabinet would be required to closely adhere to the 100-day program of the government. He was talking to members of the prospective federal Cabinet here at the PM House.The Prime Minister said the whole nation is looking forward to the policies that would be made by this Cabinet for bringing about improvement in their life.The unprecedented mandate given to the parties in the ruling coalition also puts immense responsibility on the shoulders of the new government, he added.The members also congratulated the Prime Minister on obtaining a unanimous vote of confidence from the National Assembly.

The new federal cabinet took oath at Aiwan-e-Sadar on Monday. President Pervez Musharraf administrates the oath to cabinet members.The Pakistan Peoples Party-led coalition has finalised the names of cabinet members.PPP sources said, there are eleven ministers from the Pakistan Peoples Party, who include Shah Mehmood Qureshi, Syed Khursheed Ahmad Shah, Sherry Rehman, Raja Pervez Ashraf, Syed Naveed Qamar, Farooq H Naik, Chaudhry Ahmad Mukhtar, Qamar Zaman Kaira, Najamuddin Khan, Nazar Mohammad Gondal and Humayun Aziz. Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N)’s Chaudhary Nisar Ali Khan, Ishaq Dar, Khawaja Muhammad Asif, Ahsan Iqbal, Rana Tanveer Hussain, Sardar Mehtab Abbasi, Shahid Khaqaan Abbassi, Khawaja Saad Rafiq and Tehmina Daultana took oath as the federal ministries.ANP’s, Ghulam Ahmad Bilour and Khawaja Muhammad Khan Hoti, and Talha Mahmood from JUI-F and Hameed Khan Afridi from Fata will be incorporated in the cabinet.

Deposed chief Justice of Pakistan Iftikhar Chaudhry got a hero’s welcome in his hometown of Quetta on Monday at the beginning of a tour of the country to meet lawyers. Deposed CJP Iftikhar and nine colleagues were freed from nearly five months of house arrest last week on the orders of new Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani.”I’m happy coming home after 18 months. Quetta is my home town,” Justice Chaudhry told Reuters as he got off a flight from the capital, Islamabad.Chaudhry was detained at his home in Islamabad until last week. Leaders of the two PPP and PML-N have promised to reinstate Justice Chaudhry and his colleagues through a parliamentary resolution within 30 days of forming a government.But that is likely to trigger a show-down between the new government and the president, who will be worried the judges, if reinstated, would take up legal challenges to him that could see his October re-election ruled unconstitutional.
“GO MUSHARRAF”
About 500 political activists waving party flags and black-suited lawyers thronged Quetta’s small airport shouting “long live the chief justice” and “Go Musharraf, go”.
They showered Chaudhry with rose petals as he came out of the airport terminal.
More supporters were waiting outside the airport.Security was tight with police, including members of an anti-terrorist force, armed with automatic rifles standing by and at least three armoured personnel carriers at the airport.Aitzaz Ahsan said Chaudhry’s supporters would not organise protests to press for Chaudhry’s reinstatement but would wait for the government to keep its promise to reappoint the judges.”If the judges are restored within 30 days then the movement will obviously end. But if not, this movement will continue,” said Ahsan who accompanied Justice Chaudhry with about two dozen other supporters on his trip to Quetta.Justice Chaudhry plans to tour the country to meet lawyers over the next month. Musharraf first suspended former CJP Chaudhry over accusations of misconduct on March 9 last year, infuriating the judiciary and opposition parties and triggering weeks of protests.

Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani on Monday said Pakistan is a peace loving country and believes in peaceful co-existence with credible minimum deterrence.
“Pakistan’s defence doctrine is based on maintaining credible minimum deterrence to safeguard sovereignty and territorial integrity of the country and to ensure peace and stability in the region,” the prime minister said while talking to Chief of the Air Staff Air Chief Marshal Tanveer Mehmood Ahmad at PM House.The prime minister said that Pakistan Air Force (PAF) has always played an important role in the defence of the country, in addition to rendering support to civil administration in relief and rehabilitation efforts during natural calamities. He said to defend the aerial frontiers of the country, the government would continue to focus on improving indigenous capabilities besides entering into more joint ventures with other countries.The Air Chief apprised the prime minister about various initiatives taken by the PAF to optimize its effectiveness and efficiency. He also apprised the prime minister of the ongoing up-gradation and modernization initiatives and updated him on various programmes to enhance indigenous capabilities of the PAF.

Al Qaeda is training fighters that ‘look western’ and could easily cross US borders without attracting attention, CIA Director Michael Hayden said on Sunday.The militant group has turned Pakistan’s remote tribal areas along the border with Afghanistan into a safe haven, and is using it to plot further attacks against the United States, Hayden said.”They are bringing operatives into that region for training - operatives that wouldn’t attract your attention if they were going through the customs line at Dulles (airport outside Washington) with you when you were coming back from overseas,” Hayden said during an interview on NBC’s television show Meet the Press. “(They) look western (and) would be able to come into this country without attracting the kinds of attention that others might,” Hayden said, without offering further details.The United States went to war in Afghanistan after the September 11 attacks on US cities in order to crush al Qaeda and hunt down its chief, Osama bin Laden, who Hayden confirmed was still believed by the United States to be hiding in the rugged Afghan border area. The Washington Post reported on Thursday that the United States had stepped up unilateral attacks on al Qaeda targets in Pakistan because it fears the country’s newly elected leaders will soon curb US actions on their soil. Hayden declined to comment directly on the Post article, but he stressed that the tribal regions were very sensitive. “The situation along that Afghanistan/Pakistan border presents a clear and present danger to Afghanistan, to Pakistan, to the West in general and the United States in particular,” Hayden said.
“It is very clear to us that al Qaeda has been able over the last 18 months or so to establish a safe haven along the Afghan/Pakistan border that they have not enjoyed before.” Asked directly whether he feared Musharraf might not be around as president for much longer to support the United States, Hayden said he did not know, but praised what the country had already delivered. “We have not had a better partner in the war against terrorism than the Pakistani government,” he said.

Secretary Information Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), Sherry Rehman on Monday said that the government against the black laws of Pemra, which would be repealed now. Speaking to a TV programme, she said a mediatory committee of stakeholder was formed comprising media persons and members of parliament and representatives of human rights. “It had forwarded recommendations and we would implement those. We have made some other announcements that not only media but common citizen would have access to the information about the decision making process by the executive”, she added. Sherry Rehman said Parliamentary committees have important role and they would be formed to ensure transparency and accountability, adding media would be completely free and black laws of Pemra imposed in 2007 would be revoked.

‘Democracy is the best revenge, and it is at work in the country,’ said Asif Ali Zardari, co-chairperson of PPPP, while addressing a press conference along with Nawaz Sharif, at the latter’s residence in Raiwind on Sunday. About the killing of Benazir Bhutto, he said it was part of a conspiracy hatched against the country, and this process was still continuing. He said that a paper was being prepared for inquiry into the death of Benazir through United Nations Organisation. About the names of conspirators, he said they would be revealed at the proper time. He showed optimism that they were poised to change the system and it would happen steadily with time.Regarding judiciary, Asif said that the issue was not as big as was being portrayed. Regarding events in which he was kept behind the bars for eight years, he said that they were making efforts that such things would not occur to Bilawal and Hassan in future.About political links with MQM, he said this had been done with “permission” of Nawaz Sharif. About their participation in the cabinet he said that he still did not have “permission” in this regard from Nawaz.Regarding formation of Cabinet, he said that this was the first stage and later on expansion would take place. He asked Ishaque Dar, to be Finance Minister in Gilani’s cabinet, to speak about the real issues affecting the masses, and that of economics, on which Dar said that in 10 days an opening balance sheet of the economy would be presented before the nation.About feared increase in flour price, Dar said that strict check in this regard would be maintained. On position and state of foreign loans he said that this sum had increased from $30 billion to $42 billion during the previous regime tenure.About implementation of Seventh Wage Board of Journalists, Zardari said that formation of committee of parliament and co-operation of journalists would result in its solution. About relations with presidency he said they, along with their coalition partners, were political forces and it was the parliament that would determine the course in this direction.Nazwaz, responding to questions, said that it was Charter of Democracy that was the strength to lead coalition partners forward. Speaking about Shahbaz Sharif, he said that he would be the future Chief Minister of Punjab and about any intermediary period candidate for the slot he said information in this regard would be given later.Meanwhile, Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani, who was in the city for marriage of his son recently, left for Islamabad on a flight on Sunday. During the day he telephoned Justice Khalil-u-Rehman Ramday and expressed his regret over the incident involving his residence in Islamabad. He assured the judge of an immediate inquiry into the incident and promised strict action against people involved in it.

Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani on Sunday appointed Senator Raza Rabbani, leader of the House in the Senate. Earlier, Senator Raza Rabbani of PPP was serving as Leader of the Opposition during the previous government and Senator Waseem Sajjad was the leader of the House.Waseem Sajjad submitted his resignation to caretaker prime minister Mohammadmian Soomro, and the resignation was accepted. He left the office vacant for the new government to appoint its nominee for the slot, saying that it was not constitutional requirement to resign, but it was a parliamentary convention that the new prime minister nominates a person of his choice as Leader of the Upper House. The decision to appoint Senator Raza Rabbani as the Leader of the House was taken with the consultation of its coalition partners according to party sources. Some recent reports suggested that Rabbani’s appointment was made after Rabbani declined the offer of becoming a minister in the new cabinet. Being a minister, he was obliged to take oath from President Pervez Musharraf and he was reluctant to do so, according to some reports.

The renowned human rights activist Ansar Burney Advocate is receiving congratulation messages from all over the world on his unopposed election as member of the United Nations Human Rights Council’s Advisory Committee based in Geneva. Ansar Burney said every day he is receiving emails, SMS messages, telephone calls and fax messages from around the globe of congratulations on his selection in United Nations. He said I would like thank to all of them for their messages and kind support. The Pakistani human rights activist and former Federal Minister for Human Rights, Ansar Burney, has been elected unopposed as a member of the newly established United Nations Human Rights Council Advisory Committee based in Geneva.In accordance with United Nations Human Rights Council resolution 5/1 of 18 June 2007, the Human Rights Council Advisory Committee, elected 18 human rights activists from around the world by secret ballot. A senior Lawyer and member of the International Bar association (UK) and American Bar Association (USA) Ansar Burney has been elected unopposed for a term of three years as one of the members from Asia.The Humanan Rights Council on Sunday elected 18 experts to make up its new Advisory Committee. The Council also approved candidates for its Special Procedures on the right to adequate housing, the right to food, human rights of indigenous people, sale of children, effects of economic reform policies, human rights in Myanmar, human rights in the Palestinian territories, human rights and extreme poverty, contemporary forms of slavery, arbitrary detention, enforced disappearances, people of African descent, human rights in Somalia and human rights defenders.The Advisory Committee replaces the former Sub-Commission on the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights. Functioning as a think-thank, the Committee will provide the Council with expertise and advice and conduct substantive research and studies on thematic issues of interest, at the Council’s request.The number of candidates in three regional groups corresponded to the numbers of seats available in each of these groups; consequently those members were elected by the Council without a ballot.These were, from the African Group: Mona Zulficar (Egypt),. Bernards Andrews Nyamwaya Mudho (Kenya),. Dheerujlall Seetulsingh (Mauritius), Halima Embarek Warzazi (Morocco) and. Baba Kura Kaigama (Nigeria). From the Asian Group: Shiqiu Chen (China),. Shigeki Sakamoto (Japan), Ansar Ahmed Burney (Pakistan), Purificacion V. Quisumbing (Philippines) and Chung Chinsung (Republic of Korea). From the Latin American and Caribbean States:. Miguel Alfonso Mart’nez (Cuba), Jos Antonio Bengoa Cabello (Chile) and. Hctor Felipe Fix Fierro (Mexico).With regard to the candidates from the Eastern European Group and the Group of Western European and Other States, the Council conducted an election in secret ballot.The two candidates elected from the Eastern European Group were: Vladimir Kartashkin (Russian Federation) with 42 votes and Latif Hseynov (Azerbaijan) with 30 votes. The three members elected from the Western European and Others Group were: Jean Ziegler (Switzerland) with 40 votes, Wolfgang Stefan Heinz (Germany) with 24 votes and. Emmanuel Decaux (France) with 24 votes.