Presidency behind attack on Afgan: Aitzaz–>The Post

United4Justice:Thank you Aitzaz Ahsan for listening to the civil society and lawyers who has fought a long battle for the cause of justice in Pakistan and taking your resignation back.

We need you as our leader in this cause.

Incidents like Sher Afgan a minor ones but the cause is much bigger than the Afgan type politicians who are part of the team which committed crimes like 12 May,killings of innocent people in wana and balauchistan,violating the constitution,betraying the country,illegan abductions,torture on the civil society,lawyers and media and the list is too big to mention SO WE NEED YOU TO BE THERE FOR US AND THIS COUNTRY.

Presidency behind attack on Afgan: Aitzaz

Asad Muhammad Khan

ISLAMABAD: SCBA President Chaudhry Aitzaz Ahsan while announcing to withdraw his resignation has said the Aiwan-e-Sadr is hatching conspiracy to divide and malign lawyers’ movement and manhandling of Dr Sher Afgan is a part of this plot.

He was addressing a press conference at his residence here Wednesday. He said the legal fraternity will not apologise over Afgan’s incident as the lawyers tried to secure and guard Dr Sher Afgan Niazi. It is the interim government of Punjab that should apologise. SCBA President Aitzaz Ahsan said that the non-violent movement of lawyers and civil society will continue. Aitzaz said that the nation could not recover from the trauma of May 12 and the violence has again hit Karachi. He said I ask where are the leaders of Muttahida Qaumi Movement? “They should come out and control the violence”, Aitzaz said. Aitzaz said that it is strange that no lawyer was involved in Arbab Ghulam Rahim’s case then why the lawyers were targeted at Karachi.

Replying to a question, Aitzaz Ahsan said that he will contest by-elections from constituency NA-55, if Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) issued him the ticket. He said that PPP and Asif Ali Zardari have taken bold steps but there is a hidden power that is intriguing against the democracy.

Online adds: Aitzaz said, “I think minus-one formula should be applied now and Pervez Musharraf is minus one in this formula. Country’s problems will remain unresolved unless President Musharraf quits. The force is working in the country which is out to sabotage the whole democratic process”, he underscored.

He said the character assassination campaign was started against the legal fraternity some time ago. It was being said that lawyers wanted clash, he added. “We accepted Bhurban accord despite the lawyers stance that 30 days were not needed to reinstate judges, Asif Zardari and Mian Nawaz Sharif, leaders of two major political parties signed this agreement and made the people its custodian. Soon after the signing of this accord, conspiracies started from Aiwan-e-Sadr. Proposal was given to constitute committee on it and they started talking about; package and two-thirds majority of parliament. But we made it clear two thirds majority was needed for President Musharraf rather than in judges’ case.

The conspiracies have not come to an end, he said adding release of deposed judges dealt a severe blow to Aiwan-e-Sadr. People rejected Musharraf on February 18 and slogans were raised in parliament against the president. Ministers took oath while wearing black bands, he maintained. Despite all this the presidency has not stopped from hatching conspiracies, he added.

Aitzaz Ahsan questioned if lawyers had attacked Dr Sher Afgan but who was behind manhandling of Dr Arbab Ghulam Rahim. About Sher Afgan incident he told “I came to know about Sher Afgan incident on Tuesday evening through media. I rushed there even at the risk of my life. But no government functionary turned up. Police did not stop the demonstrators despite my request. I tried to talk through megaphone from balcony. Only 40 per cent lawyers were found present there and the remaining were some other people. I appealed to lawyers to disperse and they did so. But the other people remained there.

He further said “I asked the police officers present over there to call in more contingent of police but it was not done so. I asked police officers to call police van and bring it close to door so that Sher Afgan could be pulled out from there. But police did not do so. I asked the police officers to remove a plain clothed man but they told he was a policeman. I knew he was not policeman and was some terrorist. When I brought out Sher Afgan then police disappeared. When I took Afgan inside van, we came to know driver of the van was not there. People in plain clothes were found involved in the acts of sabotage. My friends and I tried to rescue Dr Sher Afgan even at the risk of our lives. But all happened under a planned conspiracy. People in plain clothes subjected Dr Afgan to violence”.

Lawyers wanted to strengthen parliament, he held. An individual and his cronies were doing harm to the country, he alleged. Why Dr Afgan was taken to Model Town police station and later to the Governor’s House. These are the questions and plots, which need to be exposed. Nation will see Bhurban declaration is implemented in letter and spirit, he said, adding count down has been started. Lawyers’ movement is meant for peaceful objectives and it will continue unless these objectives are achieved, he declared.

Justice movement must go on–>Aitzaz Ahsan,don’t resign from post!

The recent incident of Sher Afgan Niazi has given an opportunity to the opportunists such as MQM(Altaf-Sattar and company),PML-Qatil(Shujaat and company),PPPP’s elements who have sold the votes they took in the name of democracy and Bhutto legacy to the dictator(Asif zardari-Farooq naik and company), JUI(Maulana Diesel group) and some other anti-justice movement politicians to spilt the venom they have against the movement of justice and the sacred cause to save Pakistan.

MUST REMEMBER THE PRIME BENEFICIARY FROM THE INCIDENT IS PRESIDENT DICTATOR MUSHARRAF ACCORDING TO WHO THIS NATION DOESN’T DESERVE  A SYSTEM OF JUSTICE AND DEMOCRACY.

HE IS STILL BUSY IN CONSPIRING AGAINST THE LAWYER’S  MOVEMENT AND THE CIVIL SOCIETY MOVEMENT AGAINST THE DICTATORSHIP .

MUSHARRAF’S DICTATORSHIP IS FULL OF INCIDENTS LIKE 12 MAY,KILLINGS OF INNOCENT CIVILIANS IN WANA,LAL MASJID,BALUCHISTAN AND ALL OVER PAKISTAN AND HE WAS AND STILL BEING WELL SUPPORTED BY MQM,PML-Q AND NOW IT SEEMS ZARDARI IS TAKING THE PPP TO HIS CAMP AS WELL BUT WE HOPE THE WORKERS WHO GAVE SACRIFICES FOR THE CAUSE OF JUSTICE AND DEMOCRACY WILL COME IN HIS WAY.

Also, we demand Aitzaz Ahsan not to resign from his position and continue as a leader of the movement and the president of the SCBA.

Sher Afgan’s Beating and Implications: The Story not told by Media—>Some points to look into.

Dear All

Television Channels are going berserk with unsubstantiated information. There is no evidence to conclude for sure that the people who beat Dr. Afgan up are lawyers. Yet many TV channels, in particular GEO, has gone a step ahead in irresponsible reporting and have already started blaming the lawyers movement for this act. We strongly believe that the ones involved were not members of the lawyers movement and all those issuing unsubstantiated libelous statements will have appropriate legal action against them. Please forward this email to all TV channels, especially GEO.

As required of all responsible journalists, we ask you to help us in an inquiry so that specifics may be found out.Please share with you any information that they have about today’s incident. We are trying to compile as much evidence as possible in order to determine who exactly was behind this and for what motive. First hand information is always the best. However you are welcome to submit second hand information that you may have obtained through hearing other people or credible reliable reports.

In particular if you have any information that could help answer the following questions:

1) Motive of Sher Afgan:

What was sher afghan doing there? Who was he meeting and why?

2) Responsibility of identification:

How did people find out about him? Who started informing people of his presence?

3) The attack:

When did the gathering start? Did anyone call people to assemble? What did they do?

4) People involved:
How many of them were recognized as lawyers? How many of them were other people?

5) Intervention:
Who all was trying to prevent them and did they get injured in the process as well?

6) Action by Law enforcement agencies:
When was the police contacted? When did they arrive? How many people were there? How long did the ambulance take?

The questions are not exhaustive: they merely suggest a list of items we need in order to submit a final, researched report.

Please forward this to as many people as possible so that we can get to the truth in this matter. Emergency Times Team has already condemned the incident in the strongest possible words.

———————————————————————————————————————————————————-

Sher Afgan’s Beating and Implications: The Story not told by Media

By Sameer Shaharyar

Just when the lawyers movement had become sacred and had broke all the
records of nobility and had earned the respect and esteem of the
nation, things turned ugly in Lahore. Dr. Sher Afghun Niazi, a close
aide of President Musharraf and an inactive leader of PML-Q went to
the chamber of his lawyer Malik Noor Mohammad Awan, when a lawyer who
was present opposite to the Malik Noor’s chamber called to the Lahore
high court and few hundred lawyers gathered outside the hotel, where
Sher Afgun was present.

Now things start turning interestingly mysterious from here. Dr. Sher
Afghun telephoned D.I.G operations Lahore in the afternoon, but he
never materialized. Then Dr. Sher Afgun  telephoned some highups in
the caretaker ministry of Punjab, but no one answered. When thousands
of people gathered (and most of them were not lawyers) then D.I.G
Operations Lahore came and showed his haplessness.

President of Supreme Court Association Aitzaz Ahsan reached to the
scene and tried to rescue the former minister. He pleaded with Police
to make a passage from the hotel door to the Edhi ambulance, but there
was huge and alarming security lapse. And due to that laps people
managed to reach the Dr. Sher Afgun and slapped him and treated him
with shoes.

This incident has put a question mark on the lawyer movement. The more
you look into it, the more it feels that this is yet another effort to
derail the lawyers movement. The way Dr. Sher Afgun has been treated
is extremely sad and condemnable. But the leaders of this movement
needs to identify the black sheep in their rows. Some lawyers were
surely there beating Sher Afgun, but many people who were on the front
were in plain clothes and were not recognizable.

But all in all, this incident and the incident with Dr. Arbab Ghulam
Rahim are condemnable and against all the civilized and democratic
values. Lawyers are the guardians of the law and constitution and they
need to excuse from the whole nation for the conduct of some of their
laws, but they also need to recognize those invisible hands which are
hard at work against them and the deposed judiciary.

This incident will give another breather to the forces of status quo
to stick to the rule more by defaming the lawyers movement and the
democratic forces.

From Pakistan Spectator: http://www.pakspectator.com/sher-afgans-beating-and-implications/

A great display of solidarity and the commitment to the cause was shown by the citizens of Karachi.

A great display of solidarity and the commitment to the cause was shown by the citizens of Karachi.

In the protest march the protestors(starting from just few they turned out to be in tens of thousands in just few hours) also passed resolutions for the restoration of judiciary, against the unjustice being done all over the world, high inflation, protection of our cultural heritage, release of our true national hero DR Abdul Qadeer Khan and conveyed the message to National Assembly,UNO and OIC to stop the efforts to invoke the clash of civilization by the anti-peace forces all over the world such as the cartoonists who draw the blasphemous pictures,news paper which publish them and the people who are behid the anti-Quran documentary in Holand.

 

40pc outsiders join Shan-e-Mustafa march(The Daily Times)

Staff Report

KARACHI: The Shan-e-Mustafa march, organised by the Jamaat-e-Islami (JI), had over 40 percent outsiders and non-party participants.

The march started on schedule from the Mazaar-e-Quaid around 4:00 p.m. with only 100 to 150 participants. By the time the march reached Sea Breeze Plaza reciting ‘Durood-o-Salam’ around 5:15 p.m., the number of participants had multiplied.

Despite terrorism threats, and despite heavy contingents of law enforcers present, people were being allowed in the march without any checking. All the routes leading to the march were blocked by police mobiles and empty passenger buses as the JI traffic control committee along with law enforcers maintained the flow of traffic.

A lot of religious and political parties also joined the march, as well as large numbers of women and children.

Participants carried placards, posters and banners, saying, “Aey Mohammad (PBUH), dekh terey Ummat kis taraf ja rahe hai,” “Politicians, don’t forget that we are all answerable,” “Aey Ummat-e-Muslima key jawanon, ab waqt agaya hai key sub mutahid ho jao”. A majority of participants wore yellow bandanas which said, “Our parents are sacrificed on you, Muhammad (PBUH)” in Arabic.

The non-JI participants were content with their participation in the march. Ahmed Ali, a computer engineer, said, “Of course, this march was held by JI but it was not exclusive. I came here because I am a Muslim.”

Another participant, Mumtaz Khan, 55, said that there were two motives behind this march. First, to boycott Danish and Dutch products, and the second, to show a strength of Muslims.

An official from the Karachi Port Trust, Jawad Shah, said that he joins all marches which have anything to do with Islam. Although he is a Shia, it is his responsibility to attend this march, he added.

Civil society activists seek restoration of judges–>The News

Civil society activists seek restoration of judges

Monday, April 07, 2008 LAHORE: The Concerned Citizens of Pakistan (CCP) held a protest for the restoration of judiciary in front of the Lahore Press Club here on Sunday. The participants holding banners chanted slogans for the rule of law, the supremacy of the Constitution and the restoration of judiciary. A CCP representative, Zaman Khan, said that circumstances had altogether changed in the country but there were issues that needed commitment and dedication of the new parliamentarians. The CCP wanted to tell the Western powers, especially the US, that democracy stood revived in the country after a long period and the US administration should not stop functioning of parliament in Pakistan, adding, the US should not support a dictator in the country when political forces had won the elections. He said the Western powers had realised that President Musharraf was “throwing dust into their eyes” and telling them that the war on terror would be affected if democracy was revived in the country. He said the Canadian prime minister had also expressed deep concern over Musharraf’s diplomacy in Bucharest when he claimed that Musharraf was against democracy in the country. He said the people of Pakistan had firm belief that the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) and the Pakistan Muslim League (PML-N) would abide by the ‘Murree Declaration’. He said political forces should first restore the deposed judges of the Supreme Court of Pakistan, including chief justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry, and then discuss a package for judicial reforms in parliament. He said the new coalition government should put forward any such constitutional package before the people so that they should also be aware of the public opinion over any future legislation that could affect the future of the country. He said that they were optimistic about the restoration of judiciary because people had given a heavy mandate to political parties for this cause and political forces should not ignore valour and determination shown by the chief justice on March 9 for the rule of law and supremacy of the Constitution when he refused to bow down to military generals at the GHQ. He said many innocent people had been killed in the tribal areas in the name of war on terror, adding, Waziristan was not a haven of terrorists and it was possible that some foreign elements were carrying out terrorist activities there. He said the government should also engage militants in negotiations in order to resolve the issue amicably rather than using innocent people as fodder for war on terror. He said General (retd) Musharraf, who claimed to be a die-hard patriot, should not use machinations to derail the process of democracy in the country. He said Musharraf should not compel political forces to implement any constitutional package that was allegedly prepared in collaboration with Malik Abdul Qayyum. He also urged the PML-N to respect the mandate given to the party for its support for the restoration of judiciary in the country. He said that the CCP representatives would gather outside the Punjab Assembly to express solidarity with the PML-N over the issue of judiciary. Lahore High Court Bar Association (LHCBA) Media Coordinator Muhammad Azhar said that the people of Pakistan would not rest unless all the judges of the Supreme Court were not restored. He warned the new coalition government to ward off the nefarious designs of the establishment in order to keep democracy on track. CCP member Faryal said that people, including women, had come to streets to uphold the sovereignty of the country. She said the people had resolved to save the county from all internal and external conspiracies. She said that Pakistani would never succumb to the US and UK pressures and they were determined to protect and promote democratic values in the country at any rate.

Protest for Dr. Riaz incident–>Dharna at KU on 8 April 2008

(from CMKP)

Friends,

In a meeting of the People’s Resistance today (6th April) at Aurat Foundation it was decided that the members of the civil society seriously condemn the recent incident where the Pakistan Rangers posted at the Karachi University brutality beat up a University Professor on 31st March, leaving him battered and bruised

To show their support and concern the Peoples Resistance along with other NGO’s, Civil Society groups and CMKP would join the Teachers and Students of Karachi University in a Dharna outside the Silver Jubilee gate of Karachi University on Tuesday 8th April 2008 at 12:30 PM to condemn mistreatment of Prof. Dr. Riaz Ahmed by the Pakistan Rangers a few days earlier.  The Dharna would also demand an immediate withdrawal of all military & para-military personnel from the Karachi University campus. 

LOCATION : Silver Jubilee Gate, Karachi University
DATE : 8th April 2008 (Tuesday)
TIME : 12:30 PM

A call is being issued to all concerned citizens of Karachi to join us in this protest and show their support for a respectable teacher & professor of the University while at the same time say NO to the presence of military forces in these educational institutes.

People’s Resistance

Contact
Awab Alvi 0302-8273493

Is Mr. 10% showing his true colors now? –> Emergency mailing list

Is Mr. 10% showing his true colors now? There was a reason, perhaps, that during Mohtarma’s time this man was never part of the CEC?  He goes to Sector Nine Zero of MQM and starts chanting “Altaf Zardari Bhai Bhai”.

Perhaps they are, brothers, after all. We should have known all along?

MOST IMPORTANTLY Be prepared for the siege on the Army House on the 25th. We need to start preparing for that and I’ll be updating you shortly on that.

- Ryzwan

http://www.thenews.com.pk/top_story_detail.asp?Id=13936

Zardari issues ‘charge-sheet’

Snubs Aitzaz; says he is not interested in restoration of personalities By Ansar Abbasi ISLAMABAD: Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari has issued a long charge-sheet against the deposed superior court judges, saying they never came to his rescue and were responsible for his eight years in jail. In the clearest indication that the PPP may not stand by the Murree Declaration to restore the judges, the PPP leader told his central executive committee in Naudero that he was not interested in the restoration of personalities but wanted a judicial reforms package. Analysts said things were getting complicated for Zardari, both within the PPP and outside, as he was moving closer to allies of President Musharraf and drifting away from his coalition partner Nawaz Sharif. As Zardari issued his charge-sheet against the judges, Makhdoom Amin Fahim demanded the disbandment of the Pakistan People’s Party Parliamentarians which he heads. Others in the PPP blasted the party leadership’s decision to join hands with the MQM. On the other hand, the PML-N is determined not to compromise on the issue of restoration of the deposed judges through a resolution in the National Assembly. The party says it seeks strict adherence to the Murree Declaration and would not accept any formula or constitutional amendment that restores all the deposed judges minus chief justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry. “After gaining so much because of the political initiative that Zardari has taken in the recent weeks, the PPP co-chairperson is on the verge of losing all,” a senior PPP leader told this correspondent from Naudero, revealing the situation in the interior Sindh was extremely tense after Zardari’s visit to the MQM headquarters popularly known as Nine Zero. In a post-dinner gathering of the PPP’s central executive committee, the source said, many PPP leaders minced no words in criticising Zardari’s decision to woo the MQM. PPP MNA Shugufta Jamani and Sethi Ishaq were among those who expressed strong resentment and wondered how the PPP could join hands with the MQM, which was responsible for the killing of PPP workers. “The Sindhi people have not given a mandate to Zardari to thrust upon them his personal agenda of humiliation in the name of reconciliation,” a PPP leader told The News, adding, “We strongly oppose and condemn the PPP-MQM coalition in Sindh.” The leader asked: “Who caused the May 12th incident? Who was behind the Oct 18 blast? Who killed Murad Baloch and Munawar Suhrawardy? But you still went to the Nine Zero to express solidarity with the MQM against the wishes of the nation. Now it’s time for us to rethink our support for you, Mr Zardari,” said the source, who sounded quite disturbed. “There is a wave of anger,” a PPP leader said. The likes of Raja Pervez Ashraf, Shah Mehmud Qureshi, Jahangir Badr, however, showered Zardari with praises and called him a great leader. Badr even crossed all limits by saying that the PPP had become more popular under Zardari. Zardari, however, defended his party’s rapprochement with the MQM and termed it a sensible political move having far-reaching impact. He said he wanted to open all political avenues for his son, Bilawal, and never liked to see the doors of Nine Zero closed for him. He said the MQM would be forming a government with the PPP. Aitzaz Ahsan, who sought the restoration of the deposed judges, told the meeting that it would be in the interest of the party to get the judges restored. Zardari, according to sources, came hard on the issue of the judges’ restoration. According to one source, Zardari snubbed the widely-respected lawyer leader and said he knew the worth of the judges whose restoration was being sought by the lawyers’ community. Zardari said these were the same judges who had earlier taken oath under the PCO and validated the military rule. Referring to his jail life, a source quoted him as saying that he was let down by these judges, who had even refused to release him on parole to attend the funeral of his nephew. He said he was allowed only a two-hour parole despite Farooq H Naek’s pleading before the same judges. He said the then Justice Wajihuddin Ahmed had also refused him a parole. He termed the same judiciary biased, which he said was responsible for his eight years in jail. Party sources reported that Asif Ali Zardari was quite emotional while speaking on the judges’ issue. One source said he talked of the restoration of the judges but linked it to a constitutional package. He said the party was interested in the independence of the judiciary and not in personalities. A party leader said he was disappointed to hear what he termed the charge-sheet issued by the PPP co-chairperson against the deposed judges. According to him, almost 60 per cent of the co-chairman’s speech was on Aitzaz Ahsan and the judges. While the PPP is clearly seen connecting the judges restoration issue with a constitutional package, the PML-N is determined not to budge from what had been agreed between the two parties in Murree on March 9, 2008. “We don’t accept the ‘Minus-One Formula’ or any such solution that excludes Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry,” PML-N minister Ahsan Iqbal told this correspondent, adding the “Minus-One Formula” would mean accepting March 9, 2007 Gen Musharraf’s action of suspending chief justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry as legitimate. Ahsan said as per the Murree Declaration, the deposed judges would be restored through a resolution. Ahsan categorically said that the question of any constitutional amendment for the judges’ restoration did not arise. Ahsan said the coalition was committed to the Murree Declaration and clarified that the PML-N was not averse to a mutually-agreed constitutional package having no link with the restoration of the judges.

Musharraf’s capacity to bear indignities—->Aziz ud Din Ahmad(The Nation)

To quote General (retarded) Pervez Musharraf’s own words:
(taken from: http://www.presidentofpakistan.gov.pk/FilesPressRoom/Interviews/317200730908AMJawabdeh_President23Oct06.pdf)

Jawabdeh Host: How will you exit?

President: I can exit anytime if I want to. If I feel that nation does not want me
and I have become unpopular, nation does not require me, I’ll be the first person
to exit.

Polls, Surveys and even General Elections in Pakistan won’t make him leave his seat. How shameless can he be?

Check this column for his complete absence of self-respect:

http://www.nation.com.pk/daily/Apr-2008/3/columns4.php

Musharraf’s capacity to bear indignities
Aziz-ud-Din Ahmad

President Musharraf’s capacity to bear indignities, provided he is allowed to retain his office, seems to be unlimited. While he has repeatedly said he is willing to work with the new government, he continues to be conveyed through unambiguous gestures that he is not acceptable to the newcomers.

On Monday he administered oath to federal ministers, nine of whom wore black armbands to indicate they would rather see his back than face. They told the protocol officer they would not stand up on the arrival of the president to slight him. It took the ceremony to be over in seven minutes after which they walked out without shaking hands with him. Earlier on March 24, at the election of the new prime minister, the National Assembly had resounded with slogans of “Go Musharraf, Go” and at Mr Gillani’s oath taking ceremony, attended by military top brass command and foreign diplomatic corps, there were again slogans that made Musharraf squirm.

On Tuesday there was another embarrassment waiting for him. None of the newly appointed cabinet members turned up at 13th Comstech General Assembly, the first international function attended by diplomats from the Islamic countries after take over by the new government to be addressed by Musharraf. As invitations had been duly dispatched to all the ministers this amounted to a calculated boycott. The unmistakable message was, well, we have other important things to do.

As if to give a lie to Rashid Qureshi’s claim that everyone other than Mian Nawaz Sharif was dying to work with Musharraf, all top leaders of the four party alliance boycotted the two oath taking ceremonies. And if this was not enough, he has reportedly been told by Dr Fehmida Mirza that the speaker’s chamber in the parliament under Musharraf’s use since 2005, would no more be available to him.
For full five years Musharraf refused to address the previous National Assembly despite its having been turned into a rubber stamp. He called it ill-mannered because the opposition which was being constantly steam-rollered occasionally resorted to anti-Musharraf slogans. He felt at home in the meetings of a pliant ruling party that he frequently co-chaired. He wielded the COAS baton like the magician’s wand to remove and install prime ministers at will. This is all a dream now. Used to playing with lapdogs Musharraf will have to live with pit bulls.
Majority of those who were administered oath on Monday have been unjustly targeted by Musharraf in the past. The idea had been to change their loyalties through pressure. The prime minister spent five years in jail on false accusations and was honourably acquitted by the court. Navid Qamar spent over a year behind the bars, Ahmad Mukhtar a year and half. Senior Minister Nisar Ali Khan was kept under detention for a year and a half, Ishaq Dar for a similar period, Khwaja Asif for over a year and Shahid Khaqan Abbasi for seventeen months. How can Musharraf build up rapport with his victims who have returned to power against his wishes on the basis of a historic verdict?

February elections have brought a seismic change in Pakistan’s politics. Prime Minister Gillani says his relations with the president would be strictly in accordance with the constitution. In other words, the new prime minister would not allow him to make intrusions into his turf as he has been doing in the past. Henceforth the prime minister would deal with Bush, Gordon Brown, Manmohan Singh, Hamid Karzai, Wen Jiabao and others. It is he rather than the president who would address the UN sessions, Davos moots and attend summits. Gone are the foreign junkets and visits abroad to play bridge with friends that cost the national exchequer heavily. The voluntary reduction of expenses of the Prime Minister House by 40 percent is a signal that the presidency too is going to be required to follow suit.
The lawyers have vowed to converge on the Army House after the thirty-day countdown to evict him for being an unauthorised occupant, accusing him of using the premises for conspiracies against the elected government. Their leaders have already accused Musharraf of indulging in games to sabotage the Murree Accord. An unquenchable thirst for power has led Musharraf pocket one insult after another. It remains to be seen if his capacity to take indignities has any limits.

Dr. Riaz Ahmed savagely assaulted by Rangers—> What the hell our establishment wants?

United4Justice : I don’t know where the hell our establishment wants this country to go. Reports are that a faculty member of KU(Dr. Riaz Ahmed) was severly beaten by rangers and no actions are taken uptill now by the government.

Below is the e-mail message from the Emergency mailing list:

Friends,

Dr Riaz Ahmed, Associate Professor at Applied Chemistry, Karachi University was savagely assaulted by military personnel (Rangers) posted at Silver Jubilee Gate of KU on Monday March 31 at 5:02pm. Dr Ahmed was beaten with sticks, rifle buts and punches thrown at him by four military men in uniform. The incident occurred after Dr Ahmed was arbitrarily stopped from leaving campus while others were allowed in. Dr Ahmed received severe bruises on head, shoulders and back. Scores of non-teaching staff and students witnessed the assault.

(News Report: http://www.thenews.com.pk/print1.asp?id=104198)

Marks of this inhuman Rangers brutality can be seen here (you may find these pictures disturbing):

http://kuprofessor.googlepages.com/home

Now Rangers have registered an FIR on him and are going to raid his house at soon. We need to do our best to protect a renowned academic.

IMMEDIATE CALL FOR ACTION

1) Contact the Education Ministry to Take Immediate Notice:

Minister for Education:

Ahsan Iqbal
Chief Coordinator & Information Secretary
051-2213017
House No 81 St 59, I-8/3
Islamabad

0300-5012345
051-4860059
051-4860058 (fax)

Dr. Ata ur Rehman:
Chairman Higher Education Commission
Cell: 0333-4267865
Email: chairman@hec.gov.pk

2) Contact the VC of Karachi University urging him to take notice of this incident and protect Dr. Riaz:

Phone Office:
(021) 926-1336, 926-1337, 924-3649, 924 3650
(021) 926-1300 extension 2210 and 2454

Cell: 0333 228 5940

Home: (021) 534-0828

Fax: (021) 926-1340

Email: vc@uok.edu.pk

3) Write to Newspapers :

People’s Resistance would like to issue a call out to all its activists to take the time to write a letter to the editor to various newspapers in Karachi on the issue of Dr. Riaz and his harassment by the rangers. Please do it immediately, if it might not get printed in todays issue (4th April) at least sneak it into Saturday or Sundays pages.

Write your opinions and send it to all the following addresses

* Dailytimes – letters@dailytimes.com.pk
* Dawn – letters@dawn.com
* The News – news.post@thenews.com.pk
* ThePost – letters@thepost.com.pk

Please remember to insert your name, address and contact number at the bottom of the letter as an anonymous letter is never printed. But after giving the details you still have the choice of specifying whether the name should be printed or not.

4) Forward to friends, family members and mailing lists you are on:

Spread the word. As with any campaign numbers matter.

CJP Iftikhar gets rousing welcome in Quetta

Iftikhar gets rousing welcome in Quetta(The Post)

Agencies

QUETTA: Deposed chief justice got a huge welcome as he visited his hometown on Monday, further galvanising opposition to embattled President Pervez Musharraf. Iftikhar Chaudhry travelled to Quetta to address lawyers exactly a week after the country’s new government freed him and nine other judges from house arrest. “Justice Chaudhry received a rousing welcome by a huge crowd,” Athar Minallah, a close associate of Chaudhry told AFP after the judge flew into the city. Thousands of lawyers in black suits and workers from political parties waved flags and portraits of Chaudhry as the judge arrived at the dusty airport near the Afghan border amid tight security. As Chaudhry came out of the terminal building the crowd showered him with rose petals and burst into chants of “Go Musharraf, go”, an AFP reporter said. Pick-up trucks full of armed police guarded Chaudhry as his convoy drove into the city centre. Guards using metal detectors swept the area around the airport for explosive devices. His visit here is the first stop on a nationwide tour during which he will address lawyers, echoing a similar tour last year when tens of thousands of people turned out to hear him. The bullet-proof vehicle of deposed chief justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhary broke down a moment after he arrived here and came out of the airport on Monday. The lawyers had to pull the vehicle later while tying it to another vehicle. Four photo-journalists were injured when they fell on the ground while covering the welcome rally of Justice Iftikhar Chaudhary at the airport here on Monday. The injured photographers included Kelvin (Intikhab), Mohsin Naseer (APP), Naseem James (Express) and Prince Ayub (Bakhabar). While talking to media men outside the house of deposed Chief Justice of Pakistan Justice Iftikhar Chaudhary Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) President Aitzaz Ahsan has said that the legal fraternity does not want a weak parliament, however, conspiracies are being hitched against deposed judges in the presidency. The lawyers have no reservation on Murree accord, he said. We have given time of 30 days to the new government for reinstatement of deposed judges, he said, adding that, the legal fraternity would end their movement if new Government fulfils its promise with regard to reinstatement of deposed judge with in 30 days. All bar associations, he said, would be silent and there would be celebrations around the country after reinstatement of deposed judges. The lawyer community strongly condemned whatever happened with deposed Justice Khalil-ur-Rehman Ramday. It is recalled that the belongings of Justice Ramday and his family were thrown out of the house in the Justice Lodges some days back. No department can evacuate house or shop without judicial action and notice then how the house of deposed justice Khalil-ur-Rehman Ramday can be evacuated, he questioned. Answering to a question, he said, deposed Chief Justice of Pakistan Justice Iftikhar Chaudhary so far has no plan to visit graveyard of late former prime minister Benazir Bhutto, however, maybe he will go in future to offer Fateh there.

  

Justice Ramday Issue:PM of Pakistan , Yusuf Reza Gillani gave an apology to Justice Ramday on Telephone and said ,”You are respectable for us and the people involved in the incident will be taken to task”.