Benazir Bhutto determined to return to Pakistan

Former Pakistan Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto has said that she is determined to return to Islamabad between September and December, in spite of the probability of her being arrested by the Musharraf regime."I must return home, even if they arrest me. I am ready for detention," she said in an interview with the BBC.

Expressing disappointment over President Musharraf's recent statement in which he had ruled out any possibility of her return and former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, she said, "I am very much disappointed by his statement because I believe that the extremists are in a bid to establish a parallel government in Pakistan stretching from Tank to Islamabad.

Musharraf should welcome me and Nawaz Sharif in the country in the present situation." Though determined to face the risk of arrest, Benazir said that the military regime could levy any charge against her.She accepted that she is in contact with Musharraf, but refuted reports of any deal being worked out between her party Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) and the government. "There have been contacts, but deal is something else. There hasn't been any agreement under which we could accept him, "she said.She said that her party wants to see the army returning back to barracks.

PPP-government deal embarrassment to deniers: Sindh CM

Sindh Chief Minister Arbab Ghulam Rahim on Tuesday claimed that Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Chairwoman and former prime minister Benazir Bhutto had accepted Gen Pervez Musharraf as president in uniform, which was a serious blow to those who had been denying the party would do a deal with the government, Geo television reported.
Talking to reporters, Mr Rahim said the Pakistan Muslim League was growing stronger day by day as other political parties were joining it. He said Ms Bhutto should come to Pakistan and vote for Gen Musharraf before talking about inking a deal.

Those accepting Gen Musharraf as their leader were welcome to the ruling camp, he said. To a question about corruption cases against Ms Bhutto, he said this matter was for the courts to decide.

Courtesy: DT

Former Sindh CM & PPP leader Abdullah Shah dead

Former Sindh chief minister Syed Abdullah Shah died here on Saturday at a local private hospital at the age of 76, after suffering from cancer. Shah had recently returned to Pakistan after 10 years in exile and had secured bail in several NAB references. His son, MPA Murad Ali Shah, said that his father loved his motherland and thus wanted to buried here. Shah’s funeral prayers will be offered at his ancestral village of Bajara Sehwan, Dadu at 6:00 a.m. Sunday. He leaves behind a wife, two sons and five daughters.Syed Abdullah Shah served as the chief minister of Sindh, speaker and deputy speaker of the Sindh Assembly, provincial food and agriculture minister and as a senator. He born in 1931 in Bajara Sehwan in Dadu where he received his early education. After reading law at SM Law College he started practicing. He joined the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) in 1970 and become a minister in the cabinet of Mumtaz Bhutto and Ghulam Mustafa Jatoi in the party’s first government. He also played an active role in the Movement for the Restoration of Democracy (MRD) against the dictatorship of Gen Ziaul Haq. He was put behind bars.Shah was an arch political rival of the late GM Syed and Koral Shah in Sehwan from where he contested the elections from the PPP platform. He was a close relative of the Gaddi Nasheen of Lal Shahbaz Qalander. When PPP chairperson Benazir Bhutto became prime minister in 1988, Shah became the speaker of the Sindh Assembly and later, in 1993, he held the post of CM. It was during his tenure as CM that his own brother, Syed Ehsan Ali Shah, was murdered in Karachi, and Benazir’s brother Murtaza Bhutto was also killed in his tenure. After this incident, Shah tendered his resignation but Bhutto did not accept it. While he was CM, Shah openly demanded that the areas of Jesalmir and Junagardh (now in India), which were originally a part of Sindh, should be returned to the province. After the killing of Mir Murtaza Bhutto and the dissolution of the PPP government, Shah went into exile in Canada and the United States.
Courtesy: DT

Hindus not safe in Sindh, says PPP MNA

A Hindu leader and PPP MNA Ramesh Lal has said that the Sindh government had failed to provide adequate security to the Hindu community in the province, and that kidnapping of the Hindus had become a routine matter here.
Talking to journalists at the residence of district president of PPP's minority wing Dileep Kumar, he accused the Sindh government of supporting feudal lords. He said that it had not taken any action so far against criminals.
Hindus in Sindh were being victimised under a "planned conspiracy", and the community was receiving threats of dire consequences from criminals, feudal lords and waderas but the government was silent on the issue, the Dawn quoted Lal as saying in Dadu district in Sindh province.
Courtesy: DI

PPP to work with MMA to restore democracy

The opposition leader in the senate, Senator Raza Rabbani said on Monday that despite having ideological differences with the religious parties, the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) was ready to launch a movement against the government along with the MMA for the restoration of democracy.
“The PPP has differences of ideology with the component parties of the MMA since long but has no difference on restoration of real democracy, the constitution, and the Parliament’s supremacy,” he said, while speaking at a press conference at the opposition leaders’ chambers in the Sindh Assembly. Rabbani said that the time was right to launch a movement against the rulers. While admitting the ‘contacts’ with the rulers, he reiterated his party’s stand that it would never strike a deal with the rulers. According to him, there was no serious dialogue going on with the rulers and refused to comment on why the talks were restricted to his party only. Raza Rabbani alleged that appointment of the new chairman of the PIA was aimed at expediting the process of privatisation of the national airline, and alleged that the extra 800 acres that were allotted for the new airport in Islamabad violated the Land Acquisition Act.
Nisar Khuhro said that the non-functional Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP), Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry was removed to prevent him from taking suo moto notices and to allow rigging in the next general elections. staff report.
Courtey: DT

PPP-government contact for providing honorable way back to military

Opposition leader in Senate and Deputy Secretary General Pakistan People’s Party (PPP), Mian Raza Rabbani, has said that PPP-government contacts were aimed at to provide honorable way back the military to barracks, but the government wanted to divide opposition by spreading deal ‘rumors’.
Addressing a press conference here at the chamber of opposition leader in Sindh Assembly, he said that PPP-government contacts were nothing new and these contact were aimed at to provide a safe passage for army to barracks from politics.
“But, the government, by propagating about the so-called deal wanted to create rift among opposition ranks,” he alleged.
He said that Benazir needed neither to strike deal nor any one’s permission for returning to the country.
“There may be ideological differences between PPP and MMA, but at present all the opposition parties were moving towards a common goal of independence of judiciary, getting rid of incumbent military dictatorship, supremacy of parliament and for holding a free and fair election under a caretaker setup”, he asserted.
Rabbani asked the president either own up the responsibility of Steel Mill’s privatization and other ‘scandals’ including current judicial crisis or accept that Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz had bypassed him in all these matters.
He termed the incumbent setup as a government of ‘looters’ and ‘plunderers’.
“If there would have been any minister of ‘good’ character then he must resign over the PSM issue”, he remarked.
He claimed that the reference against the CJP was an attempt to avenge from him for his decision in PSM privatization.
He asked Prime Minister to tell the nation as who is responsible for the ‘corruption’ and ‘irregularities’ committed in PMS and KESC privatisation, procurement of railway carriages, stock market crash and other ‘scandals’.
He alleged that by appointing Zafar A. Kahn as managing director PIA the regime has started preparations to privatise the national airline.
Raza Rabbani announced that PPP would restore trade unions and abolish all anti-labourers’ laws including the IRO after coming into power.
He said that the incumbent rulers are feudal and capitalists and representing the international imperialists.
“The rulers have rendered more than seven lakh workers jobless just to appease the imperialist forces”, he charged.
Opposition leader in Sindh Assembly Nisar Ahmed Khuhro, PPP leaders, Taj Haider, Rafique Engineer, Rashid Rabbani, and others were also present on the occasion.
Courtesy: OLN

Interior Sindh up in protest against the suspension of chief justice

Like other parts of the country the legal fraternity also staged protest demonstrations in interior Sindh against the suspension of chief justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry as the Supreme Judicial Council (SCJ) resumed hearing of the presidential reference against the non-functional chief justice on Tuesday.The lawyers took out protest rallies and boycotted court proceedings in Hyderabad to express solidarity with the non-functional chief justice.They boycotted proceedings of the high court and civil courts in the district and took out a rally to the Hyderabad press club. They were carrying black flags and placards inscribed with slogans in favour of Justice Chaudhry. They demanded withdrawal of the presidential reference against the non-functional chief justice. Qazi Abdul Sattar, Allah Bachayo Soomro, Fazal Qadir Memon, Chaudry Bashir and others led the rally.Meanwhile, the Jamaat-e-Islami also took out a protest rally on Tuesday evening. Led by JI’s senior leader Prof Ghafoor Ahmed the rally participants marched from Hyder Chowk to the Hyderabad press club. They were protesting against the suspension of the chief justice and detention of political leaders.MMA’s Hyderabad chapter president Abdul Waheed Qureshi, Aftab Khanzada of the PPP, Afzal Gujar of the PML-N, Samad Sheikh of the PTI, Taj Muhammad Nahion of the JUI-F and others addressed the protesters.Our Jamshoro correspondent adds: A large number of lawyers from Jamshoro, Kotri and Sehwan participated in a protest rally called by the District Bar Association Jamshoro.The rally, which was taken out from the bar office, culminated at the main Kotri Chowk. The protesting lawyers set ablaze their black coats to register their protest against the presidential reference.A sizeable number of the bar members hailing from Jamshoro, Kotri and Sehwan gathered at the bar office Kotri in the morning. Later, they reached the main Kotri Chowk in the form of a rally.The lawyers expressed complete solidarity with non-functional chief justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chuadhry. They critisised the Sindh chief minister for disguising “Tapedars, Beldars and Chowkidars” of the provincial departments” as lawyers during his address to a so-called lawyers’ convocation in Hyderabad.They said it was for the first time in the history of Pakistan that the lawyer coat was dishounered by the chief executive of a province. The lawyers also boycotted court proceedings.Our Sukkur correspondent adds: Like other districts of the province the lawyers’ community of Sukkur also registered their protest on Tuesday against the suspension of the chief justice of Pakistan.They boycotted court proceedings, took out a rally, staged a protest demonstration and formed a human chain in front of the local press club.The protesting lawyers, led by Qurban Malano and President MMA Sindh Asadullah Bhutto, took out a rally from the district and sessions court. They chanted slogans against the government and marched on the main thoroughfares of the city. They finally gathered in front of the local press club and staged a demonstration.Addressing the lawyers, Asadullah Bhutto, Imdad Awan, Qurban Malano and others asked the government to withdraw the reference against chief justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry and reinstate him honourably.They also called upon the legal fraternity and the opposition parties to launch a decisive anti-government movement to rid the people of the present rulers.Later, the lawyers set ablaze their coats and formed a human chain, while some of them also observed a token hunger strike on the premises of Sindh High Court, Sukkur bench.Meanwhile, scores of PPP workers led by MNA Syed Khursheed Ahmed Shah, MPA Dr Nasrullah Baloch and other politicians also staged a protest demonstration followed by a sit-in outside the press club against the suspension of the chief justice of Pakistan.Some activists of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf also staged a similar protest demonstration.Our Thatta correspondent adds: On the call of the Sindh High Court Bar Association (SHCBA), the lawyers' community on Tuesday protested against the suspension of the chief justice of Pakistan.The lawyers staged a demonstration in front of the district court building and expressed solidarity with the non-functional chief justice and demanded his immediate reinstatement. President Thatta District Bar Association Izhar Ahmed Hashmani led the demonstration. They also boycotted court proceedings across the district.Our Khairpur correspondent adds: Members of the Khairpur District Bar Association on Tuesday took out a rally to protest the presidential reference against the chief justice of Pakistan. The lawyers also staged a token hunger strike and boycotted court proceedings.
Courtesy: TN