Pakistan Views

Anti-Terrorism Court Rawalpindi adjourned hearing of bail plea of Benazir Bhutto murder case accused till May 31. Five accused of the case were appeared before the court for hearing on Saturday.The counsel of accused Aitzaz Shah pleaded to the court during the hearing that the accused has been a minor and requested for transfer of his case to normal court from the ATC.The court’s presiding judge Chaudhry Habib-ur-Rehman ordered medical test of accused Aitzaz Shah to determine his age. The court later adjourned the hearing of bail plea till May 31. Sardar Ishaq advocate appeared before the court on behalf of the state.

Seasoned diplomats and experts of international affairs say the United Nations probe into Benazir’s murder will have serious ramifications for Pakistan’s sovereignty, security and integrity. In an interview, former Foreign Minister Khurshid Mahmood Kasuri strongly opposed such move and said though Benazir’s assassination is a national tragedy, yet he believes that petitioning the UN to investigate the murder would have far-reaching implications for our national interest.He argued if Pakistan makes a petition to the World Body, the UN Secretary General would send the request to the Security Council which would adopt a resolution and set up a body to hold an inquiry. He pointed out that the investigation team could ask for access to areas, matters and individuals, which could be highly damaging to Pakistan’s interest.Kasuri recalled that India had called for UN Security Council intervention for resolution of Kashmir dispute, which is still binding on India and is a hurdle in its attempt to become a member of the Security Council. Some analysts say Zardari demanded the UN investigation at a time when PPP was in opposition. Now it has come into power and has full access to all the evidence and all government agencies are at its disposal, therefore, instead of approaching the UN, it should itself reinvestigate the murder and punish the criminals. “In doing so the PPP government can ask for external expertise without infringing upon the country’s sovereignty, integrity and security,” they emphasised. It has also been reported that the foreign secretary and Pakistan mission at the United Nations has also opposed such a move as it was likely to fail and put friendly countries in an awkward situation. However a former foreign minister of Bhutto era and a sitting PPP MNA, Sardar Asif Ahmad Ali has argued that the government could make a request to UN with a limited and specified terms of reference (TOR) of the inquiry commission. He opined that the credible UN inquiry report would satisfy the masses. Some analysts say that such a move by the government would open a Pandora’s box. The Balochistan Assembly has already adopted a resolution that the United Nation should inquire into the assassination of Nawab Akbar Bugti and other Baloch nationalist leaders. Not to be left behind and be counted, the Muttahida Qaumi Movement Quaid Altaf Hussain, sitting in London, has also demanded that UN International Court of Justice be requested to investigate the 1992 tragic incidents and military action in Karachi and Hyderabad by the PPP government.

PPP leader Makhdoom Amin Fahim did not write ‘brother of Benazir’ at the register during the meeting of PPP’s parliamentary party as he was directed to do. According to sources, all the male PPP members were advised to write ‘brother of Benazir’ and female members to write ‘sister of Benazir’ at the register. All the party MNAs complied with the directives; however, Makhdoom Amin Fahim did not write ‘brother of Benazir’.

The coffins of the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) workers, who had perished in the tragic October 18 bomb blast here, have now been sent to Larkana for burial. Sources said that the designated Sindh chief minister, Qaim Ali Shah took charge of the coffins from the Edhi mortuary and carried them to Larkana leading a caravan of 20 coffins, which comprise of 4 unidentifiable persons’ corpses and 16 persons’ body parts. These coffins would be buried in Larakana after funeral prayers. Prior to the departure for Larkana, Qaim Ali Shah told newsmen that the PPP has already paid compensations to all the heirs of the martyrs. As for the delayed burial, he said that Shaheed Benazir Bhutto had directed for their earliest burial and had given land at Larkana in the compound of the mausoleum of Zulfiquar Ali Bhutto for this purpose. But the police insisted conducting DNA test of these corpses, which delayed the burial. He said that the unclaimed corpses were now being taken to Larkana, where they would be buried with honour.

The Anti-Terrorism Court of Pakistan on Monday adjourned the case of five suspected militants accused of involvement in the martyrdom of Benazir Bhutto till March 18, court officials said. The five men were all arrested in the weeks following BB martyrdom at a political rally in Rawalpindi on December 27 and last appeared at the court here adjoining Islamabad a week ago. Judge Habibur Rehman ordered copies of the official charges to be provided to suspects Aitzaz Shah, Hasnain Gul, Abdul Rashid, Sher Zaman and Rafaqat — who goes by one name, a court official told AFP. The judge said that the men would be formally charged at the next hearing on March 18, he said, adding that some relatives were allowed to briefly meet the suspects.The suspects were brought to court by police commandos in a motorcade escorted by armoured personnel carriers with their faces covered and in handcuffs, an AFP photographer said. Police had cordoned off the court premises and surroundings and the suspects were taken to the city’s main Adiala jail after the hearing, he added. Police arrested Shah and Zaman from Dera Ismail Khan in January and the other three from Rawalpindi in February. Gul and Rafaqat confessed in February to helping and providing shelter to the suicide attacker, identified as Bilal.

Five suspected militants accused of involvement in the martyrdom of Benazir Bhutto were remanded in custody by a Pakistan Anti-Terrorist Court (ATC) on Thursday, court officials said. Security was tight around the court in Rawalpindi, where former premier Bhutto was martyred in a suicide attack on December 27, as dozens of police rushed the accused men inside, an AFP correspondent said. After proceedings lasting only a few minutes the judge sent Aitzaz Shah, Hasnain Gul, Abdul Rashid, Sher Zaman and Rafaqat — who goes by one name — to the city’s Adiala Jail on judicial remand, a court official said.
“They are facing charges of involvement in BB’s martyrdom and several other suicide attacks and bomb blasts in Rawalpindi,” the official said on condition of anonymity.
They will next appear before the judge on March 10, he said, adding that the provincial government will decide whether the proceedings will be held in the district court or inside the heavily secured jail premises. Police arrested Shah and Zaman from the northwestern city of Dera Ismail Khan in January and the other three from Rawalpindi in February.
Gul and Rafaqat confessed in February to helping and providing shelter to the suicide attacker, identified as Bilal, to avenge the army’s storming of a Lal mosque in Islamabad in July that killed more than 100 people. Police last week formally charged top Taliban and al Qaeda commander Baitullah Mehsud, who is holed up in the country’s tribal belt bordering Afghanistan, with masterminding her killing. He remains at large and has denied any involvement.

Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) president, Chaudhry Aitzaz Ahsan said that his not being able to pay respect to Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto by appearing at her last abode was like a mountain of shock in his heart, which he felt greatly relieved of by offering ‘Fateha’ at the tomb, following his arrival here today after his release from the confinement.
Accompanied by lawyers and members of the civil society, Aitzaz Ahsan offered ‘Fateha’ at the tomb with tears rolling from his eyes, as he appeared completely overwhelmed by the sentiments.Talking to the media, Aitaz Ahsan said that although he has unloaded the burden of the mountain like shocks for not appearing at the tomb of Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto, but he was carrying a crucifix on his shoulders, which was a symbol of responsibility—a responsibility to serve the poor people and providing justice to the hapless. He said that there could be no democracy without justice and the country could not prosper. He also thanked the media, the people and the lawyers on this occasion and prayed for their solidarity forever.

Co-chairman PPP, Asif Ali Zardari on Monday maintained that the Parliament consisting of newly elected members would adopt a resolution calling for a probe into the martyrdom of Benazir under the supervision of United Nations.
Addressing a press conference at Bilawal House here, he said that PPP has set this as one of the two conditions before the like-minded parties.
The second condition is that the new Parliament should apologize and accept that the execution of Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto was a judicial murder he added.
Asif Zardari was of the view that most of the friends have agreed to these two conditions
He said the people will surely notice the difference between the performance of new government and the previous ones.

A top Taliban commander has been formally charged with plotting the murder of former premier Benazir Bhutto and declared an absconder Saturday, police said. Baitullah Mehsud, an al Qaeda-linked militant commander, based in the tribal area of South Waziristan, is accused by the government and the United States CIA of masterminding the assassination.
“We have submitted preliminary charges against Baitullah Mehsud in connection with Benazir Bhutto’s murder in an anti-terrorism court Rawalpindi,” a senior police official told AFP. “The court has declared Mehsud and four other suspects absconders in the case and issued non-bailable warrants for their arrest,” the official said but declined to give further details. Five other people have already been arrested in connection with the gun and suicide attack in Rawalpindi on December 27.
Bhutto was the target of militants because she had backed the government’s action against terrorists and was seen as pro-Western, according to investigators. Her Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) has demanded a UN probe rejecting the findings by British police that a lone assassin shot her but missed and then detonated explosives, which made her fatally smash her skull against her car.

Political allies of embattled President Pervez Musharraf are poised on edge of a crushing electoral defeat in crucial parliamentary elections, an exit poll and initial count showed after relatively peaceful balloting on Monday.
PML-Q ROUTED, PRO-MUSHARRAF CANDIDATES COME TUMBLING DOWN, ANP THUNDERS IN NWFP WHERE MMA SUFFERS HUMILIATION MQM IS GOING TO RETAIN STRANGLEHOLD OVER KARACHI: Bitter opponents of the isolated leader are seemingly heading towards a two-thirds majority in the vote for the National Assembly-which implies they can humiliate him with an impeachment.
But none of the main anti-Musharraf outfits-Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N)-could secure a clear victory to form the government single handedly.
Opposition parties are, however, in a position now to undo steps Musharraf had taken after suspending the constitution and purging top judiciary last November.
Heads of both PPP and PML-N-Asif Ali Zardari and Nawaz Sharif-have reportedly agreed in recent meetings not to give constitutional clearance to such actions of the President.
Musharraf is being aggressively blamed at home for killing own people in the US-led war on terror, and harshly criticised by rights groups abroad for the suppression of independent voices against his rule.
Parliamentary vote, for the first time in six years, was primarily being seen as referendum against the ex military chief who seized power in a bloodless coup eight years ago.
The defeat of some top leaders of Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q), a political party that associated with him to rule for past five years, including its president Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain, indicates that he must start thinking to leave now.
In an interview to a German Magazine soon after he declared emergency on November 3 last year, Musharraf himself said he would prefer resigning if opposition parties come to power after elections, exactly what has happened now.
Experts said the humiliation for these high ranking PML-Q politicians was primarily due to their association with the beleaguered leader.
There were conflicting accounts on what was the turn out of voters with official estimates putting it as high as 35 to 40 percent, but independent observers placing it under 25%. Close to half of registered voters in rural areas turned up to cast ballots. In urban localities, however, the proportion was less than 15% in some cases.
More than 80 million Pakistanis aged 18 or above were registered for Monday’s vote, that was also considered as the revival of democracy in the country after eight years of authoritarian rule by Musharraf. The polling day was dreaded but peaceful by and large after weeks of a bloody campaign that witnessed several attacks on election rallies including suicide bombings.
There were mounting fears a day earlier that al Qaeda-linked terrorists allegedly based in Pakistani lawlessness tribal regions bordering Afghanistan in west could strike to disrupt what they considered an un-Islamic exercise. But the day passed without any major hit. Less than a dozen people across the country were, however, killed in poll related violence, majority of them in Punjab province.
PML-N of former premier Nawaz Sharif and PPP of slain opposition leader Benazir Bhutto are appearing as the largest parties as per popular estimates of late. Both would have to seek power sharing between each other or with some other small regional groups to form governments in the center and in provinces. The power equation in two conservative provinces is also joined by religious and nationalists players.
In NWFP, Awami National Party (ANP) is ahead of all but PPP in Pushtoon majority southern district and PML-N in the extreme north was also in the race. A now-divided Islamic alliance called Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal (MMA) that won majority in the conservative provinces on the back of anti-US sentiments after Afghan invasion by America a year earlier has almost been eliminated from power tussle.
HEAVYWEIGHTS FALL: Most horrible for Musharraf’s associates was the defeat of heavyweights of formerly ruling PML-Q including its president Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain from both constituencies he was contesting in.
His cousin and former Punjab Chief Minister Chaudhry Pervaiz Ellahi was also reportedly not winning from all the constituencies he was fighting from. Minister sin former regime-Sheikh Rashid Ahmed, Humayun Akhtar and Ijazul Haq-were also among those who had lost their parliamentary seats. Sheikh is a politician who has never lost since 1988 from his stronghold Rawalpindi city near Islamabad.
Maulana Fazlur Rehman, a top leader MMA, had lost his home constituency in Dera Ismail Khan district of NWFP. Over all in the province, Islamists who swept 2002 elections had been defeated completely by ANP and PPP. In non-Pushtoon northern belt (Hazara), however, PML-N emerged as largest party.
In Punjab, Nawaz Sharif and PPP won in northern and southern districts respectably. PPP also did well in its fiefdom of rural Sindh and shared gains with Muttahida Quomi Movement (MQM) in the urban centers including Karachi in the province. No party seems to have secured a clear victory in Balochistan.