JSQM threatens protests on 30th

Jeay Sindh Qaumi Mahaz (JSQM) Chairman Bashir Qureshi on Friday announced that province-wide protest rallies and demonstrations would be organised on May 30 to press the authorities to release “missing” nationalist activists, including Dr Safdar Sarki. Addressing a news conference here, the JSQM chief regretted that despite the “long march” from Sukkur to Karachi, the government paid no heed to the issue. He said if the government did not take notice of even the May 30 protests, then the JSQM would block the National Highway at Hatri for 24 hours, halting traffic to and from the Punjab.

‘Paigham-e-Sindh’ JSQM rally reaches city in 26 days

The participants of Paigham-e-Sindh march - organized by Jeay Sindh Qaumi Mahaz (JSQM), Sindh National Party and some other local nationalist parties - reached at Karachi Press Club (KPC) on Thursday and held a demonstration that was addressed by JSQM leader Bashir Khan Qureshi and others.The Paigham-e-Sindh march that started from Sukkur on March 18 reached Karachi in 26 days after staying in many cities where the participants held demos and the leaders addressed public gatherings to highlight issues confronting Sindh and urging the people to follow the ideology of late nationalist leader G M Syed.
JSQM and other nationalist parties’ workers were carrying the flags of their respective parties as well as portraits of G M Syed and Bashir Khan Qureshi while raising party slogans.Addressing the march participants at KPC, JSQM leader Bashir Khan Qureshi said that the several hundred kilometers-long march was aimed at highlighting Sindh’s issues and creating awareness among masses as well as apprising the establishment of the consequences of ignoring the plight of Sindhi people.

He said late G M Syed had propounded a theory of religious tolerance, world peace and economic prosperity for all the oppressed nations. “Our caravan was started with a pledge to secure rights of Sindh province that had been usurped over the years by Punjab, which claims to be the big brother of smaller provinces,” he added.Qureshi felt that other nationalist parties’ leaders should also have participated in the caravan. He, however, said that Sindh’s nationalism revolves around the philosophy of late G M Syed because the aim of nationalist politics revolves around Sindh’s liberation.He maintained that the caravan was also a manifestation of the fact that the people were struggling against the disappearance of political activists in Balochistan and Sindh and they did not believe in what the government had been telling them about the detained or missing people.On the occasion, he bitterly criticized the City District Government Karachi (CDGK), saying that Karachi was an integral part of Sindh and the people speaking languages other than Sindhi could not deprive the old citizens of the metropolis from their rights.“CDGK should immediately stop conspiracies to expel Sindhis from Karachi by demolishing their villages and Katchi Abadis,” he warned and urged Sindhis to forge unity for attaining their democratic and basic human rights.Bashir Khaskheli, Illahi Bux Bulq and others also addressed the demo participants.
Courtesy: TN

Sindh women to clash WAPDA for gold in table tennis event of National Games

Displaying superb game Sindh women stormed into the final of the team by beating Railways 3-0, but their men’s team made their exit after going down 0-3 against holder WAPDA in the pre-final of table tennis event of National Games at Majeed Memorial Gymnasium at Islamia Club on Tuesday.
Sindh women will clash WAPDA for the team gold.
WAPDA will also up against Punjab for men team event gold.
Sadia gave Sindh fine start when she dropped penultimate game to beat Rizwana Saleem 3-1. But Ghalia Khursheed demolished Kanwal Iqbal 3-0 and Ayesha Khan completed the route with 3-0 win against Bushra Ahzaz.
WAPDA enjoying the services of the best men’s talent who included the trio of Bilal Yaseen, Adnan Mushtaq and Saleem Abbas crushed Higher Education Commission Sindh 3-0.
In the other men’s semifinal Punjab’s Yasir Bhatti, Asim Qureshi and Rafique beat HEC 3-0.
Courtesy: APP

No Deal with Pakistan Govt; Benazir assures Nawaz

Two ex-Prime Ministers of Pakistan Mian Nawaz Sharif and Ms Benazir Bhutto have had a surprise meeting in Dubai on Saturday to mull over the political situation in Pakistan.A media report said on Saturday that Ms Bhutto assured Mr Sharif that no deal between her Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) and the government was in the offing. She told Nawaz Sharif that only routine talks were being conducted with government emissaries. Tariq Aziz, secretary of the Pakistan's National Security Council met with Ms Bhutto prior to her meeting with Sharif. Their talks were inconclusive, but they appear to have prompted Ms Bhutto to call on Nawaz Sharif, adds the report. Both Ms Bhutto and Mr Sharif have been in Dubai for quite some days now, and rumours had been flying around that Mr Sharif was extremely perturbed by reports of an “imminent deal” between the government and the PPP.Ms Bhutto personally took the initiative to visit Mr Sharif on Saturday to dispel these concerns. She assured him that details of any talks or deal with the government would be shared with him, since the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz was a partner of the PPP in the Alliance for the Restoration of Democracy. On his part, Mr Sharif made it clear that ARD parties were worried and suspicious of the situation, and the PPP should make its stand clear since one of the conditions in the ‘Charter of Democracy’ signed by the two former premiers was that neither party would do a deal with the present government in Pakistan. Nawaz may Quit ARD Yet, another report, carried by the newspaper said Sunday that the Chief of PML (N), Mian Nawaz Sharif has threatened to quit ARD in case of any deal between PPPP and government. Mian Nawaz Sharif made his intentions clear to Ms Benazir Bhutto during his talks with PPPP leader at the Dubai residence of Ishaq Dar, and has warned her of PML (N) parting ways with PPPP since “principles” laid down by “Charter of Democracy”, would be severely compromised in case some deal was made. Responsible sources of PML (N) informed news agency Online that Mian Sahib had informed Ms Benazir Bhutto about the doubts and reservations of other political component parties of ARD, who take the issue as a conspiracy to weaken the ARD. Sources have informed that Benazir Bhutto has outrightly denied any instance of deal with the government, but her candid confession about “mere talks and routine connections” have confirmed various leaks, which were being vehemently denied by PPPP, and were the main cause of Mian Sahib’s consternation. Mian Sahib has reportedly protested about the secrecy of these “mere talks”, and has warned that these endeavours could seriously jeopardize the ARD alliance, since it would only strengthen the notion about Benazir’s agreement with the regime.An earlier story said that former premiers Mian Nawaz Sharif and Benazir Bhutto met in Dubai on Saturday and mulled over important socio-political affairs of the country.Both the leaders were in Dubai for quite some days but there had been no meeting between them, causing all kinds of rumours to surface, out of which Mian Nawaz Sharif’s purported unhappiness over the “possibility of an imminent deal” of Benazir Bhutto with current government.Ms Benazir Bhutto personally took the imitative to visit Mian Nawaz Sharif on Saturday and made it clear to him that any talk or deal with the government would be shared with him, since PPPP is a partner of ARD. She also assured Mian Nawaz Sharif that no deal was in the offing, just routine contacts were being made. On his part, Mian Nawaz Sharif made it clear that ARD parties were quite worried and suspicious of the situation, and PPPP should make its stand clear since the condition of absolutely no deal with a tyrant has clearly been implied by “Charter of Democracy”. Prior to the meeting Malik Ghulam Mustafa Khar also met Ms Benazir Bhutto and had suggested to her to meet Mian Nawaz Sharif to allay his doubts. Pakistan Observer contacted media coordinators of both PPP and PML-N to confirm the reports about the meeting and get more information in this regard. Media coordinator of PML-N, Ahsan Iqbal confirmed the meeting saying it was a private meeting without any political agenda.Ahsan Iqbal said Benazir Bhutto rang up Mian Nawaz Sharif and expressed her desire to come to his house to congratulate him on the birth of his grandson.“Mian Sahib cordially reciprocated her good sentiments and wishes and welcomed her at his residence”, Ahsan Iqbal remarked adding that the meeting was just private in nature as no political issue was discussed in it.He said that though the political circles were terming the meeting of vital significance but it had nothing of political nature.On the other hand PPP spokesperson Farhatullah Babar at first denied reports of the meeting saying he was unaware about the latest happenings in Dubai. Responding to query about the political significant of the meeting, Babar said that if the meeting had taken place then it might be of private nature. “Perhaps she had gone to congratulate Mian Nawaz Sharif on the birth of his grandson”, he remarked. According to another report, Ms Benazir Bhutto held inconclusive talks with the government’s emissary Tariq Aziz in Dubai on Saturday. However, the PPP leaders, including Makhdoom Amin Fahim, who are presently in Dubai along with Ghulam Mustafa Khar, had out-rightly rejected any planned talks between the two sides. On Saturday, the government emissary, Tariq Aziz called on the former Prime Minister and deliberations were held between the two sides for quite some time.However, informed sources said that the talks remained inconclusive as both sides could not evolve consensus on major points of any expected deal. Of PPP, MQM Alliance Meanwhile, a report from Lahore says that the opposition Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) and government coalition partner the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) could be allies in the next general elections, as they were in 1988, PPP General Secretary Jahangir Badr said here Saturday. “Political parties should always keep all options open. The MQM was a PPP ally in 1988 so there is no harm in making an alliance with it again,” said Badr while talking to Peoples Labour Bureau Head Abdul Qadir Shaheen and PPP Punjab deputy secretary information Iqbal Sialvi. He said if personalities like Abida Hussain and Fakhar Imam, former Muslim League stalwarts, could join the PPP, there was no reason why the PPP could not make alliance with the MQM. MQM sources said that the party’s top leadership was seriously considering an alliance with the PPP. Another reason the MQM is moving towards the PPP is the difficulty the party is facing establishing a foothold in Punjab, largely due to Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain, president of the ruling Pakistan Muslim League, “who whenever he gets an opportunity creates hurdles in the working of MQM in Punjab,” the sources said. “The MQM is going to break its alliance with the govt soon over the Women’s Protection Bill or whatever issue it can exploit against the ruling PML,” said a senior MQM official.
Courtesy: PT

Thousands protest in Pakistan over firing of top judge

About 4,000 people rallied in the Pakistani capital of Islamabad on Tuesday to protest against a decision by President General Pervez Musharraf to fire the country's chief justice.
The crowd, which included lawyers and political activists, gathered outside the Supreme Court building during a hearing of the case against chief justice Ifitkhar Mohammed Chaudhry.
Police and government troops kept a close eye on the crowd.
Musharraf removed the judge on March 9 after the government said it received several complaints about his alleged misconduct.
But critics of Musharraf said the firing was an attempt to intimidate the court and make certain it does not cause any trouble for the president in the event he seeks another term.
"Everyone should support the chief justice, it is our moral duty," Makhdoom Amin Fahim, vice-president of the opposition Pakistan Peoples Party, said at the rally.
Courtesy: CBC

World Bank dams provoke hunger strikes in Pakistan

In February affected communities, and local NGOs undertook a hunger strike in protest against the implementation of the Bank funded water project of the Taunsa Barrage Emergency Rehabilitation and Modernisation. The protest focused in particular on the Bank's lack of response to environmental and socio-economic degradation caused by the remodelling project and the refusal to launch an inquiry. The impact of the project has ranged from displacement, loss of livelihoods, intensification of water-logging and salinity, closure of canals and river-erosion. There are concerns that it is also in violation of the Bank's own policies and that the underlying data and design are flawed. Despite 18 months of registered protest from affected communities and repeated requests for an independent inquiry to look into the social and environmental problems of the project, neither the Bank nor the Punjab irrigation department have accepted responsibility for the projects failings, nor show signs to instigate an independent enquiry commission. Pakistani civil society organisations are reluctant to take the case to the Bank's Inspection Panel due to the cumbersome and lengthy processed experienced in the case of the Left Bank Outfall Drainage Project. This lead to many recommendations being largely ignored by the Bank.
In addition, a letter from the Sindh Democratic Forum to President Wolfowitz and representatives of the Asian and Islamic Development Banks expresses great concern regarding proposed IFI funding for mega water projects to the government of Pakistan. In particular the letter focuses on cuts to the Indus River system which has seriously affected Sindh province's water supply and subsequently rural economy, agriculture, drinking water and poverty levels. Sindh province is entirely dependent on the Indus for its water. The letter points out that financial support for large water projects runs contrary to the development and poverty reduction mandate of the IFIs.
Courtesy: BWP

Pakistani lawyers decide to keep intact campaign momentum

Lawyers from all over Punjab have resolved not to ease momentum of their movement against Gen. Pervez Musharraf or allow black sheep in their ranks to divert its path.
At a convention here, the Punjab Bar Council (PbBC) announced a full-day strike every Thursday as part of their protest against the ‘unconstitutional suspension’ of Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry, besides staging protest rallies, holding meetings and setting up hunger strike camps throughout the province.
The participants also enhanced the duration of the daily strike by lawyers from one to three hours during which time they would stage protests at their respective bars. The convention announced a strike and boycott of courts on April 3 when lawyers from all over the province will gather in Islamabad on the occasion of the hearing in the reference against the chief justice.
Bar Associations across the province were authorised to formulate their own protest schedules and programmes. It also said the lawyers' movement will remain unflinching till such time their goal has been achieved and lawyers will gather in Karachi if the venue for their assembly is shifted there.
The convention was attended by all the 113 bar associations, including representatives of the Supreme Court Bar Association and High Court Bar Association who demanded immediate ouster of Gen. Pervez Musharraf and reconstitution of the Supreme Judicial Council and demanded an open court trial of Justice Chaudhry.
The convention has demanded prosecution of Gen. Pervez Musharraf under Article 6, (high treason) for unconstitutionally holding office of president while in uniform of an army general and that a national government should be formed and elections held under an independent election commissioner.
The lawyers called for the removal of chief ministers of Punjab and Sindh for torturing lawyers and keeping Justice Chaudhry in detention allegedly for six hours to force him to resign.Paying glowing tribute to the boldness and courage of Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry, the convention saluted judges and law officers who resigned to protest the reference. The convention also adopted a resolution demanding resignation of Information Minister Mohammad Ali Durrani for ‘lying to the nation’. The resolution flayed Law Minister Wasi Zafar, Dr Khalid Ranjha, Arif Chaudhry and Raja Abdul Rahman for supporting what they said, illegal and unconstitutional acts of President Musharraf.
Courtesy: KT