"We cannot afford to be selective" in improving relations with our immediate neighbours as betterment of ties with India, China, Afghanistan and Iran is needed for stability in the region, she said.
"Pakistan's policy toward all regional neighbours, to its immediate neighbours, has been consistent. This government's policy has been consistent, that we need to find peace and stability within," Khar said in an interview with CNN.
Khar said the way to achieve stability is to "find a friendship" and improve ties based on trust with each one of Pakistan's neighbours and not by being selective.
"We cannot afford to be selective about it, so be it India, be it China, be it Iran, be it Afghanistan, we do not have a choice," Khar said. She was responding to a question on how Pakistan's "obsession" with India is drawing all its security resources away from the fight against militants.
Khar said India and Pakistan are back on the dialogue table, "trying to solve our problems on the negotiating table."
On slain al-Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden, Khar said that her government had "no complicity" in the hiding of Osama bin Laden. She claimed that an extensive investigation has so far found that nobody in the government knew of bin Laden's hideaway in Abbottabad.
"We are together. We are on the same page. We want to root out terrorism, because Pakistan suffers more from terrorism than any other country in this world," she said.
Khar also said there were "tough lessons" to be learnt from bin Laden's "unexpected" presence in Pakistan and how the country can strengthen its intelligence network to "ensure this type of thing doesn't happen in Pakistan anymore." "This is not the legacy that this government wants to leave behind it at all," she said.
GILGIT: A deadly upsurge in sectarian violence has led to the suspension of cellular phone services in Gilgit-Baltistan, cutting off thousands of residents from each other and the world outside.
The service was first introduced in the region in 2006. Its suspension has not only hampered business activities, but has also kept thousands of subscribers out of the communication loop.The government blocked all cellular services in the area on April 4 in an attempt to contain the recent violence which has claimed the lives of more than 20 people. Officials said the ban was imposed as it helped curb violence in Parachinar also.
However, by the time the ban was imposed, Chilas town had already witnessed the killing of 10 Shia bus passengers in a reprisal for a bomb attack on a Sunni rally in Gilgit.
Officials had said it was the mobile phone calls and instant text messages that had triggered the violence in Chilas following the attack on the rally in Gilgit. They also claimed that it was the instant dissemination of the Chilas violence that led to the kidnapping of 34 Sunnis.
“The information of the violence in Gilgit was sent to other areas via mobile phones,” G-B Chief Minister Mehdi Shah was quoted as saying.
According to the officials, it is yet to be decided whether the service is to be restored or kept suspended for some time. Speaker G-B legislative assembly Wazir Baig said a decision to this effect would be taken soon.
With the current curfew and suspension of cellular services, landline phones are the only available option for communication in Gilgit, Chilas and Hunza-Nagar. Residents said landlines had become outdated following the introduction of mobile phones in the area.
An official in the Special Communication Organisation (SCO) said the demand for satellite phones has also increased along with the increased popularity of landlines.
Shah Raees, who works for a cellular network in Gilgit, said they were worried about the future of their business and had no idea when the service would be restored.
Cellular services commenced in Gilgit in 2006 after the government issued a no-objection certificate (NOC) to private operators to start their services in the region, where unlike the rest of the country, the communication is regularised by the Special Communication Organisation.
According to police, an unidentified assailant opened fire on two motorcyclists of the Hazara community while they were passing through the Brewery Road area of provincial metropolis.
One person was killed on the spot while the other passed away at Bolan Medical Complex (BMC). Members of the Hazara community later held a protest against the murder. They demanded the authorities play their role to stop the targeted killings of Hazara Shias. The police registered a case into the incident and started search for the murderer. Later, the Frontier Corps Balochistan apprehended two suspects for their alleged involvement in targeted killing of the two Hazaras. FC sources said the suspects had been identified as Gohram Khan Bugti and Mian Khan Mengal. The FC also recovered a gun from their possession.
Two men were shot dead by unidentified assailants at Lasi Goth in New Karachi. The deceased were identified as Nisar Ali and Abu-Qasim.
According to police, both were sitting at a roadside tee shop, when unidentified motorcycle riders opened fire on them.
Duty officer Hussain Bux said Nisar Bux, a supervisor at Ghazi Security, was the apparent target of the attackers and the deceased came incidentally under fire.
A young man was shot dead by unidentified armed men at Mominabad in Orangi Town, while, another was shot dead in Manghopir area.
Moreover, a man was killed and three others were injured in different firing incidents in Malir, Landhi, Babar Market and Jut Line.
Meanwhile, Sindh home ministry has imposed a ban on letting houses to the foreigners by issuing a notification for registering property dealers.
According to the notification, land-lords must verify from National Database Registration Authority (NADRA) before letting out their properties.
SHO of the concerned police station would consequently be responsible if houses are lent without verification, it added.
According to Levies Force sources, passers-by spotted a dead body in Tehsil Kararru area of Khuzdar and informed the Levies about it.
The Levies personnel took the body into custody and moved it to the state-run hospital for autopsy where the victim was identified as Abdul Latif Jattak, resident of Mulla area of Khuzdar.
Multiple bullet wounds was cited as the cause of death. However, it could not be confirmed since when the victim was missing.
Meanwhile another body was found by Quetta police in the Western Bypass area. A police party on patrol spotted the dead body and moved it to the Bolan Medical Complex Hospital for autopsy. The victim’s identity could not be ascertained till this report was filed.
According to the doctors, the bullet riddled body was kept in the morgue for identification.
Balochistan has been plagued by sectarian killings and mysterious disappearances of people, with the Hazara Shia community, particularly, targeted in the province.
Earlier a member of the Hazara community was shot dead on Abdul Sattar Road after Friday prayers.
The deceased, who was identified as Mohammad Ali Hazara, was a watchman and was sitting outside a shop when armed men opened fire on him.
More than 150 heavily-armed militants stormed the central prison outside the restive northwestern town of Bannu bordering the lawless tribal regions where Taliban and Al-Qaeda linked militants are known to operate.
Ehsanullah Ehsan, spokesman for the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) militant group claimed responsibility for the attack.
"We attacked the Bannu prison and got our special members freed," Ehsan told AFP.
"In a couple of days when all of them have reached their designated places we will issue details about them. At the moment I cannot give you exact numbers."
The attack started at around 1:00 am and continued for two hours, with militants in cars and pick-up trucks shooting and lobbing grenades to force their way into the prison, a security official told AFP.
"Some 384 prisoners, including some hardcore militants, have escaped during the attack," the official said, asking not to be named.
"Preliminary information suggests that there were some 944 prisoners in the jail according to the tally late Saturday."
Information minister for Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, Mian Iftikhar Hussain, told AFP there were "at least 20 dangerous prisoners and some militants", among the escapees.
"We will investigate why militants were able to carry out such an attack successfully and what the security was doing," he said.
Hussain said the militants blocked all roads leading to the prison to delay the arrival of any reinforcements and targeted six barracks where "dangerous insurgents" were being kept.
Security forces cordoned off the area and arrested some of the escapees, while others returned voluntarily saying they had fled to avoid the gunfire, Hussain said.
A large number of militants had recently been moved to the jail from neighbouring Kohat and Lakki Marwat prisons, which are being converted into centres to rehabilitate former insurgents, the security official said.
A former member of the airforce sentenced to death for an attack on former president Pervez Musharraf was among the escaped militants, he said.
Adnan Rasheed was convicted after a bomb planted under a bridge in Rawalpindi near Islamabad in December 2003 exploded moments after the passing of Musharraf's motorcade. His appeal is pending before the Supreme Court.
Authorities have shut down the mobile phone network in the area and army troops along with paramilitary forces and police have launched a search operation in the area, he said.
Police confirmed the attack but did not give any figures for the escapees, saying they were still investigating.
Senior Bannu police official Iftikhar Khan told AFP that at least three police officials were wounded in the attack.
The attackers outnumbered the security forces at the prison and militants fled before reinforcements reached the jail, he said.
"Some five escapees have handed themselves over to authorities, while six others were arrested during the search," Khan said.
At least nine persons including seven belonging to Hazara community were killed and another injured in separate firing incidents in different localities of Quetta on Saturday. Ten platoons of FC were called in to maintain law and order in the area.
According to police, unknown gunmen opened fire at a car at Brewery Road, near Wahdat Colony in Quetta. As a result of firing, seven persons were killed on the spot while another sustained injuries.
The injured was rushed to hospital for treatment where according to hospital sources his condition was also serious.
The deceased belonged to Hazara community and they hailed from the same family.
Heavy contingents of police and security forces cordoned off the Brewery Road and launched search for the attackers but the murderers managed to escape.
Hazara community has expressed grave concern over targeted killing of members of the community and demanded immediate arrest of the culprits.
Meanwhile, two persons including a policeman were killed in a separate firing incident at Sabzal Road and Shalakot area.
Violence gripped different areas of Quetta including Brewary Road, Garani Road, Hazara Town and Alamdar Road areas after the target killing incidents.
Violent protest demonstrations were held in different areas. The protestors ransacked in Bolan Medical Complex (BMC) and set a vehicle on fire. Brewary Road was blocked by burning tyres and putting hurdles and heavy firing was also witnessed in various areas.
The police and security forces continued search operation and raids in different areas of Quetta after the targeted killing of nine people and arrested more than 100 suspects. The detainees were being interrogated.
The citizens expressing concerns over the role of security forces to maintain law and order in the city have demanded the provincial and federal governments to take solid steps to stop the target killing incidents.
The provincial administration called in 10 platoons of FC to maintain law and order in different areas of Quetta and to deal with any untoward occurrence.
Former Balochistan MPA Sardar Saadat Hazara has said that government has failed completely to bring a halt in target killed and demanded the imposition of governor rule in the province.
He said that unbridled violence against the Hazara community could not be tolerated further.
Awami National Party (ANP) Chief Asfandyar Wali, MQM chief Altaf Hussain and leaders of the other political parties have expressed deep grief over loss of precious lives. They vowed to bring the culprits to book and awarding them with exemplary punishment.
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Human rights activists have criticised the National Database and Registration Authority’s (NADRA) apparent policy to refuse to change ‘Islam’ as a person’s religion in their records.
MPA Rana Asif Mahmood was recently summoned by the courts to answer a petition seeking his disqualification from his Punjab Assembly seat reserved for minorities on the grounds that NADRA identified him as a Muslim in its records.
Mahmood told The Express 24/7 that he was a Christian and NADRA had mistakenly identified him as a Muslim because of his name. He said NADRA had refused to rectify the error.
Speaking on the condition of anonymity, a NADRA official said that while a person could get their religion changed in the records from a religion other than Islam to another faith, the same could not be done if the person wanted to change their religion from Islam to another faith.
“If a person says he is from a certain faith, NADRA should take his word for it,” said Peter Jacob, executive director of the National Commission for Justice and Peace.
He said that he had come across other examples of NADRA misidentifying a person’s religion because of their name. He said that NADRA should rectify such mistakes if an applicant showed proof of their religion. “It’s as simple as showing a certificate from the church, which carries a record of people of the Christian faith,” he said.
NADRA Public Relations Officer Farrukh Mushtaq said though he was not completely sure, it was “very likely” that a request by a person identified as a Muslim to change their religion would not be accommodated.
“My understanding of the matter is that if stated by the person himself that he/she is a Muslim, the religion cannot be changed,” he said. However, he added that it the ID card recipient provided evidence of their religion and established that there had been a clerical error, the request would be entertained.
Mushtaq said that a clerical error was highly unlikely. “Data is cross checked several times in cases of identity card entries,” he said.
He said that once a person applied for an ID card and his particulars were recorded, they were sent a form for attestation. At this stage, the applicant could attest that the information was correct, or report that it was not.
Mahmood, however, said that he had noticed the error in the entry for religion in his attestation form and reported it to NADRA. He said that he received his ID card and it did not mention religion, so he assumed that NADRA had changed its records. However, when his son applied for an ID card last September, he was told that he could not put down Christianity as his religion because the records showed his father to be a Muslim.
Upon approaching NADRA officials for corrections, Mahmood said he was told that there was no provision for changing the religion entry. “I have since realised that many people whose names do not reflect their religion have suffered this problem,” he said.
Human rights activist Khalid Shah said that NADRA should review its policy. “With a stroke of a pen, a man is being forced to call himself a Muslim despite not being one,” he said.
He said that the courts should direct NADRA to rectify errors such as apparently occurred in Mahmood’s case. “Typographical errors costing a person his religion and then not being rectified – that’s very disturbing,” said Shah.
IA Rehman, the secretary general of the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan, said that there should be an investigation into why Mahmood had been put down as a Muslim in the first place, and why NADRA had refused to change it when Mahmood pointed it out to them. “If he can present evidence that he belongs to the Christian faith, he should not be troubled,” he said.
About NADRA’s policy to not change the religion entry if it were down as Islam, Rehman said it was “unfortunate and a violation of human rights”. He said that the policy appeared to be a reflection of customs prohibiting a Muslim from changing their religion, but it was still a violation of a person’s basic human rights.
At least 10 labourers working on the Dera Bugti-Sui road were abducted by a group of armed men near Sui during the early hours of Thursday.
The District Police Officer Dera Bugti confirmed the kidnapping, adding that police and security forces have mounted a manhunt in the area for the safe recovery of the labourers.
The labourers were sitting in tents pitched beside the road under construction near Sui when a group of armed men abducted ten of them at gun point.
“A few labourers were left behind as they were sitting inside another tent,” official sources said.
There were eight Sindhi-speaking labourers belonging to Sadiqabad, one from Quetta and one local Bugti tribesman.
The security forces and police initiated a search operation in the area on Thursday morning but were clueless about the whereabouts of the kidnapped people.
Local sources, however, put the figure to 13. No group has so far claimed responsibility for the kidnapping.
A Foreign Office spokesperson told on Tuesday that the removal of Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar from her current post in an impending cabinet shuffle was "nothing but speculation and groundless to the core."
Hina Rabbani Khar met Prime Minister Syed Yusuf Raza Gilani on Tuesday in connection with the visit of Saudi Prince Abdul Aziz, amidst mounting speculation of an impending cabinet shuffle and a new portfolio for the country’s glamorous foreign minister, The News learnt. Sources in the PM House informed The News that when an earlier report of Khar's alleged removal from the ministry had arisen, Prime Minister Gilani had swiftly clarified that what he meant by a ‘fresh team’ for talks with India was Pakistan's new High Commissioner to India, former foreign secretary Salman Bashir and his entourage that will accompany him to New Delhi.
The rumour mills had gone into frenzy earlier in the week, with speculation continuing to swirl and tumble on Tuesday as the government engaged in a frantic exercise of damage control in a bid to temper Prime Minister Syed Yusuf Raza Gilani's earlier announcement in Lahore that a "fresh team" will deal with future bilateral ties with India. The News had hinted in an earlier report that speculation was rife that Hina Rabbani Khar was to be given a new portfolio in the upcoming cabinet reshuffle if such a ‘team’ emerged.
When asked why the foreign minister was not included in President Asif Ali Zardari's entourage during the latter’s visit to India over the weekend, a Foreign Office official said that it was a purely ‘private’ visit, and that the inclusion of the foreign minister would have made it too formal. "But it is not correct [to assume] that Ms Khar opposed Zardari's visit to India, in fact she was very supportive as the foreign minister, and insisted that he should meet with the Indian prime minister over lunch,” an official said. He went on to clarify, “She [even] put her foot down when there was opposition to the visit by some in the Foreign Office.”
On Tuesday in reaction to The News report, diplomatic sources went a few steps further and confided that Khar had annoyed the president by speaking out of turn during a meeting with the visiting US Deputy Secretary of State Thomas Nides in Lahore. A participant of the meeting told The News that they were shocked and almost breathless as Foreign Minister Khar, normally a model of composure, took on the president on the issue of Pakistan attending the Nato conference in Chicago this summer.
“This was one meeting where the issue of the US bounty on Hafiz Saeed did not surface but instead Nides raised the issue of Pakistan participating in the forthcoming Nato summit in Chicago. At this Zardari asked Nides that Nato should forward an invitation to Pakistan and then the government would study it and come to a decision,” a participant told The News.
At this point, after the president had spoken and given Pakistan's point of view, Hina Rabbani Khar forcefully argued that Pakistan was still awaiting recommendations from the joint house of parliament for guidelines which will decide the future of the US-Pak relationship. The foreign minister reiterated that only parliament could make decisions on important matters, including matters regarding US-Pakistan ties and Nato supply line resumption.
Hina Rabbani Khar's intervention, if she really did intervene, was nothing new and this policy of the government has been repeatedly stressed to all visiting foreign dignitaries as well as to the local media. In fact a day before at the Foreign Office, Khar had taken this line with Secretary Nides in an official meeting.
"Absolutely cr**p. Someone with an axe to grind is feeding the media wrong information about the foreign minister," said someone close to the minister. He said that in that particular meeting Zardari had turned towards Khar and asked for her views on a certain issue and that is when she spoke with her remarks directed at Nides.
"It is too early to even think about the Nato summit at this stage so there is no question of opposing Pakistan's participation", another official close to the foreign minister said.
The News report was also reflected in a PTI story, which ran, "Days after Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar contradicted President Asif Ali Zardari during a meeting with a visiting US diplomat, speculation is rife that her portfolio may be changed. The US delegation led by deputy secretary of state Thomas Nides was taken by surprise when Khar publicly contradicted the president during a meeting held at the Governor's House in Lahore on April 4, diplomatic sources told PTI.”
Amid growing speculations about Hina Rabbani Khar being removed as Foreign Minister, the Prime Minister’s House clarified late on Tuesday night that no such change was in the offing. Speculation about Ms. Khar’s removal from the key post began gaining currency since Sunday when Prime Minister Syed Yusuf Raza Gilani remarked that a new team would carry forward bilateral talks with India.
Speaking to reporters in Lahore on Sunday – soon after Mr. Zardari concluded his India visit – Mr. Gilani said a fresh team would carry forward bilateral talks to resolve all outstanding issues including Kashmir. He did not elaborate further on what he meant by a fresh team but this was enough grist to the rumour mills.
Explaining that statement in view of the various interpretations it spawned, the spokesman for the Prime Minister’s House said: "By 'new team', the Prime Minister meant the new Foreign Secretary and Designate High Commissioner to New Delhi Mr. Salman Bashir."
Earlier, The News had reported that there was speculation within the Foreign Office that Ms. Khar may be on her way out and given a new portfolio in the upcoming cabinet reshuffle that could take place either this week or the next. Her non-inclusion in the President’s delegation to India added to this speculation.
Since Ms. Khar is a recent entrant to the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), her rapid elevation to one of the most high profile offices in Pakistan has caused considerable disgruntlement within the party; especially among the old-timers. Many of her colleagues in the PPP from south Punjab have apparently ganged up against her.
Ms. Khar was elevated to Foreign Minister just ahead of her India visit last year as it was generally felt that the crucial ministerial engagement in New Delhi should be between equals.
The speculations notwithstanding, Ms. Khar went about doing her job on Tuesday; including keeping her scheduled appointment with Saudi Arabia’s Deputy Foreign Minister Abdul Aziz Bin Abdullah.
The Hazara Democratic Party (HDP) announced that the Hazara community will hold protest demonstrations outside the embassies of European, Asian countries, America, Australia and United Nations offices against targeted killings.
Chairman HDP Abdul Khaliq Hazara announced during a news conference on Tuesday that the protests will also be registered with International Human Rights Organisation to highlight the rampanttargeted killings of the Hazara community in Quetta.
“This decade was really painful for the Hazara community during which hundreds of Hazara tribesmen were killed in incidents of targeted killings and suicide attacks,” he told reporters. Khaliq was accompanied by his party leaders among other activists.
Ironically there has been no progress in investigation nor any culprit brought to justice, Khaliq said adding that inaction on the part of government and its law enforcment agencies affirm the notion that they were patronising the culprits.
“Six labourers were brutally killed on the busy Prince Road on Monday night which shows the lawlessness and utter apathy of the government. I believe no religion allows such inhumane act.
“The Members of Provincial Assembly do not even have time to condemn these killings. The chief minister is running affairs of Balochistan from Islamabad which reflects his sincerity with the suffering people of his province have to bear,” he added.
The HDP announced that they will register their protest with the international community since the provincial and federal governments have failed to curb the unending targeted killings of the Hazara community and had given a free hand to criminals.
The HDP will stage protest demonstrations in front of embassies of Asian, European Countries, America, Australia and United Nations from April 20 to 30. The Hazara community residing abroad will also register their protest with International Human Rights Organisations.
The party also announced to stage a sit-in outside the Governor House and Chief Minister’s Secretariat and convene an All Parties Conference on April 15, inviting all political and nationalist parties to evolve a strategy on a future course of action.
“The province is on the brink of civil war; all the parties and responsible people have to show sincerity, otherwise the ongoing unrest will result in an unexpected crisis or a civil war,” the leaders of the Hazara community warned.
Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) president Nawaz Sharif and Chief Minister Punjab have sent legal notices worth Rs10 billion each to Younis Habib under the defamation act, Express News 24/7 reported on Tuesday.
Habib had claimed that he gave hefty amounts to Nawaz and his brother Shahbaz on behalf of intelligence agencies.
The notices, served through famous legal firm Cornelius, Lane and Mufti Advocates and Solicitors, stated that Sharif brothers are respectable citizens of the country.
It further stated that Habib tried to conduct a media trial of Nawaz and Shahbaz by levelling false and slanderous allegations against them, just to defame them in public.
Denying all the accusations made by Habib, Shahbaz Sharif had earlier said that the scandal was a part of the many conspiracies being hatched against PML-N.
“Habib changed his stance four times … Commenting on the character of a person like Habib is equal to wasting time,” he had said.
Shahbaz also called the Mehrangate scandal the “biggest lie of the century”.
After successful negotiations, authorities in Gilgit managed to secure the release of 31 Sunnis held hostage in Nagar Valley for a week, sources said on Tuesday.
The release came after successful negotiations between the clerics and the government, independent sources confirmed to The Express Tribune.
The hostages included Rasheed – a district health officer from Astore, a civil judge and 29 labourers mostly from outside Gilgit-Baltistan.
No government official was available to provide an official statement on the release.
Armed men had abducted the civil judge and health officer while they were travelling in Nagar Valley along with regional Finance Minister Mohammad Ali Akhtar on April 3, the same day sectarian violence broke out after a protest rally by Sunnis in Gilgit was attacked with hand grenades. The attack on protest left six dead and over 50 injured.
In retaliation, few passenger buses in Sunni-dominated Chilas town were attacked and then put on fire. At least 10 Shia people were killed in these retaliatory attacks.
As a result, Sunni labourers from the Nagar Valley were abducted and shifted to unknown location until their negotiated release today.
“The men have been released and will be brought to Gilgit by night,”said a source.
According to another source, the Shia clerics, Agha Rahat and Sheikh Mirza Ali, played a key role in the release of these men as the Nagar community had authorised them to decide the fate of the abducted men.
Earlier, the government had formed a delegation comprising of regional Law Minister Wazir Shakil and Amjad Hussain for the release of the hostages but it failed to do so.
Syed Ali MUsa Gilani,MNA son of Prime Minister Syed Yousaf Raza Gilani left for South Africa on April 7 without informing the apex court of Pakistan .
The Supreme Court of Pakistan issued a notice to Ali Musa Gilani, son of Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani in theEphedrine case on Tuesday, reported Express News.
The Supreme Court of Pakistan issued a notice to Ali Musa Gilani, son of Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani in theEphedrine case on Tuesday, reported Express News.
Former DG Anti-Narcotics Force (ANF) Major General Shakil has also been issued a notice, while later during the day, Musa Gilani left for South Africa.
Earlier today, ANF had also requested the Interior Ministry to add Musa Gilani’s name to the Exit Control List.
According to sources, ANF officials informed Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry that secretary narcotics was trying to protect Musa Gilani. The chief justice was reported to have said that this was a sensitive issue, where they needed to tread carefully.
The case regarding the illegal sale of Ephedrine was registered on October 10 last year, after two pharmaceutical companies — Danas Pharmaceutical Limited and Berlex Lab International – were accused of obtaining export quotas for the drug in collusion with the health ministry officials that exceeded the limits fixed by the International Narcotics Control Board (INCB).
The INCB had fixed an annual quota of 22,000kg of ephedrine for Pakistan for 2010-11, but the ministry of health following its devolution allocated a quota of around 31,000kg of the drug.
Later, ANF’s investigation had allegedly established a direct link between Ali Musa Gilani and the multi-billion drug scandal.
