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NRO List and Government Stance–>The question here is of morality and social justice.
Finally the ever awaited list of National Reconciliation Ordinance (NRO) is out which has names of 8,041 beneficiaries out of which only 34 are politicians and rest are from bureaucracy , criminals, businessmen and other accused.
There is a huge demand from various corners of the society to take resignations voluntarily or in voluntarily from the people who benefited from this law and are still serving in the government.
The point of view of government as presented by federal minister for information and governor of Gilgit-Bultistan Qamar Zaman Kaira is that demanding resignations from NRO beneficiaries uncalled for. The reason he gives is one will have to differentiate between charges and crimes and that nothing has so far been proved against the NRO beneficiaries which on principle seems to be OK! But can the information minister inform us about the pending cases and trials of common people in courts who have to justify their innocence before law to get acquitted and if the NRO angels where innocent then why they took refuge in a dictator’s shelter of NRO.
The question here is of morality and social justice that why an elite group of people found it necessary to get a clearance certificate through a draconian law instead of facing the courts whereas a common man has to face years of trial to get justice.
Still no full list of beneficiaries and cases is provided to the people and media.
We also demand the list of people who got benefits from loan forgiveness or unfair settlements through corrupt political and banking practices.
(Images source: http://pkpolitics.com/2009/11/22/nro-list-shows-34-politicians-out-of-8000/)
Wajih asks SC to act against NRO beneficiaries–>The Nation
LAHORE – National Reconciliation Ordinance (NRO) is against the fundamental rights and letter and spirit of the constitution. The Supreme Court should start proceedings against the corrupt bureaucrats and politician who benefited from the ordinance.
Judiciary till now is partially independent but it is hoped that it will assert its authority without bowing before any pressure.
Justice (r) Wajihuddin Ahmed said this while addressing a news conference at Lahore Press Club on Saturday.
He said it was expected that the judiciary would start proceedings at the earliest against those who looted the national wealth and got a clean chit from a military dictator under the NRO.
He opined that Feb 2008 general elections were not fully representative as lawyers, civil society and a number of political parties had boycotted the process and the nation was now expecting midterm elections.
“It is the responsibility of the Supreme Court to take up the petitions against the NRO beneficiaries on its expiry after Nov 28 deadline,” Wajih remarked, adding that it would be really difficult for the courts to open all the cases in absence of any proper prosecuting agency.
He maintained that the time had come for the emergence of alternate political leadership at the national level from amongst the leaders of lawyers’ movement and civil society.
About the immunity enjoyed by President Asif Ali Zardari, he opined that the constitution was like living organism while Article 248 being a its cancer body which give undue protection to the president and the governors. He demanded the apex court to abolish Article 248 from the Constitution as it was against the all the principles of justice and basic human rights.
Claiming that the lawyers’ movement is still alive, he said its next target was to ensure rule of law and supremacy of the Constitution while helping the judiciary in playing its role for providing of justice to the masses. He hoped that an alternate leadership would come forward from amongst the lawyers to fill the gap of political leadership at national level.
“Corruption is prevalent in lower judiciary as known means of income do not make with their (judicial officials) standard of living,” he said, adding that salary packages at the lower level should be increased.
Wajih was of the view that because of absence of any check clerical staff of sessions and civil courts received bribes openly.
He demanded amending the judicial policy and asked the higher judiciary to keep an eye on the state of affairs at the lower level.
He also suggested making the budget of judiciary independent just like the army in view of sensitive nature of its work and claimed that it improve judges’ stature in the eyes of the public.
Eid holidays
Punjab University will remain closed from Friday Nov 27 to Monday November 30, 2009 on account of Eid-ul-Azha.
IDPs of Waziristan operation in miserable condition–>The Nation
The rehabilitation and care should be a real priority for our government as this useless war is imposed on them by the government and military to get dollars.
It’s really sad first they have made them to migrate and now they are being treated like enemies and animals.
IDPs of Waziristan operation in miserable condition
The Nation
After fleeing from latest war zone, grandfather Haji Abdullah had hoped for a warmer welcome when he reached safety. “When they realise you’re a Mehsud, they treat you like a suicide bomber who’s wearing an explosive jacket,” said Abdullah, one of 120,000 people to have fled an anti-Taliban army offensive in the South Waziristan tribal belt.
“It’s simply humiliating,” added the 67-year-old, who travelled from his home in Makin, a Taliban redoubt, with five sons and seven grandchildren. Like many of those fearing for their lives, Abdullah made his way to the city of Dera Ismail Khan where he soon encountered hostility as a member of the same tribe as Taliban chief Hakimullah Mehsud. Such is the wariness of locals in a town which has endured a history of militant attacks, Abdullah’s family says he was only able to find somewhere to stay three days after one of his relatives put up guarantees. “No landlord was willing to rent out his house to me,” he added. But locals say they have every reason to suspect the uninvited new-arrivals from Waziristan, which lies outside direct government control, and believe many are active Taliban followers who are masquerading as innocent victims. “These people are a security risk as most of them belong to the Mehsud tribe and have strong Taliban sympathies,” said Adeel Shahzad, a shoe shop salesman. “The situation has become very tense in our city because of the arrival of these people,” Shahzad said, accusing them of triggering an increase in crime.
A local police commander said his men had received strict orders from the provincial government to keep a close eye out for trouble. “We have clear orders from the government to keep an eye on the displaced persons as the situation may further deteriorate with their arrival,” district police chief Gul Afzal Afridi told AFP. “We have intelligence reports that many of these displaced persons were strong supporters of Taliban,” he said, adding that dozens of new police checkposts have been set up across the city. Police and army personnel can be seen patrolling the streets round the clock in the city, which has a history of Sunni-Shiite sectarian violence as well as Taliban attacks. Hospitals and hotels have shut their gates and only people with valid identity documents can enter these places.
“We have shut our gates and nobody without proper identification papers can enter,” said Haji Munawar Khan, who works as a manager in a local hotel. The International Crisis Group says the needs of internally displaced persons (IDPs) from Waziristan are being neglected in a climate of animosity between Pashtuns from the tribal belt and those from the settled areas. “Few efforts, local or international, have been made to identify their needs or to help them rebuild their homes, schools, shops and places of work once they return,” it said in a policy report published last week. “Most FATA (tribal belt) IDPs have not received adequate assistance or any compensation for the destruction of their properties and livelihoods.” The think-tank accused the military of not allowing camps for Waziristan IDPs on the “unjustifiable grounds that they would offer jihadi groups pools of easy recruits,” forcing Mehsuds to seek accommodation in private homes. “Host families have frequently faced harassment by the security agencies, including the military, paramilitary and police,” said the report. Cleaning the barrel of his gun with a handkerchief, Ghazanfar Ali, a private security guard, blamed lawlessness in his city on Afghans and the Taliban.
“The Afghan refugees who migrated to Pakistan in 1980s started the law and order problems in our city and now it’s the Taliban,” Ali said, accusing the Taliban for all the attacks to have rocked the flashpoint city in recent years. Such attitudes infuriate Merajuddin Mehsud, who insists there is no reason for him to be tarred by association with the Islamist hardliners. “I found a house after roaming around for days but still the landlord wanted my national identity card and educational certificates of my son as a guarantee,” said the 45-year-old, who has four children.”We were fed up with the attitude of Taliban in South Waziristan and here it is police and the local population who are creating problems for us.”
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.
