PAKISTAN

Pakistani cannons muzzle Indian guns in Nakial sector

ISLAMABAD: Pakistani troops early Tuesday morning responded to the unprovoked firing by Indian forces across the Line of Control (LoC) and reduced them to silence, Geo News reported.

According to military sources, Indian occupational forces resorted to unprovoked firing in Kotli’s Nakial Sector along LoC in a blatant as well as repeated violation of ceasefire agreement between both the countries .

The sources further said that Pakistan's tit-for-tat retaliation forced the enemy to retreat to its bunkers.

 

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India, US trying to hamper Balochistan quake relief: Hafiz Saeed

Hafiz Mohammad Saeed looks at relief supplies for earthquake survivors in Islamabad on October 14, 2013. PHOTO: AFP

ISLAMABAD: Jamaatud Dawa chief Hafiz Mohammad Saeed Monday accused the US and India of trying to hamper efforts to help victims of Balochistan’s earthquake.

Saeed, who has a $10 million US government bounty on his head, said joint US-Indian efforts to block funds for organisation were aimed at stopping its relief work.

JuD is seen as a front for Laskhar-e-Taiba (LeT), which Saeed founded and which investigators blame for the three-day carnage in Mumbai that killed 166 people.

The United States and India agreed on Sunday to step up cooperation to prevent the financing of extremist movements linked to Pakistan, including JuD and LeT.

But JuD denies terror accusations, and in Pakistan is known for its relief work after natural disasters, particularly the 2005 Kashmir earthquake and 2010 floods.

“Their aim is to hamper the relief work of our charity Falah-e-Insaniyat foundation in the earthquake hit Balochistan, that’s why they are trying to stop our funding,” Saeed told reporters.

Both LeT and JuD are listed as terror organisations by the United Nations, but JuD operates freely in Pakistan and, despite the bounty on his head, Saeed lives openly.

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I am no Western puppet: Malala

LONDON: Malala Yousafzai hit back at claims that she has become a figure of the West, insisting she was proud to be a Pakistani.

The 16-year-old, who was shot by the Taliban for championing girls’ right to an education, claimed she retained the support of people in her homeland, and reiterated her desire to enter Pakistani politics. The activist was shot in the head on her school bus on October 9 last year for speaking out against the Taliban.

She was flown for specialist care in Britain, where she has continued her education, while she has been feted and honoured in the West. On Thursday, she won the European Union’s prestigious Sakharov human rights prize, while US President Barack Obama welcomed her to the White House on Friday.

Asked in a BBC television interview broadcast Sunday about some people in Pakistan thinking she was a “figure of the West” and “a Westerner now”, she said:

“My father says that education is neither Eastern or Western. Education is education: it’s the right of everyone.”

“The thing is that the people of Pakistan have supported me. They don’t think of me as Western. I am a daughter of Pakistan and I am proud that I am a Pakistani.”

“On the day when I was shot, and on the next day, people raised the banners of ‘I am Malala’. They did not say ‘I am Taliban’.”

“They support me and they are encouraging me to move forward and to continue my campaign for girls’ education.”

She highlighted the problem of education in the midst of the Syrian conflict.

“We want to help every child in every country that we can,” she said.

“We will start from Pakistan and Afghanistan and Syria now, especially because they are suffering the most and they are on the top that need our help.

“Later on in my life I want to do politics and I want to become a leader and to bring the change in Pakistan.”

“I want to be a politician in Pakistan because I don’t want to be a politician in a country which is already developed.”

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Consensus on Chaudhry Qamar Zaman for NAB chairman

File photo of Chaudhry Qamar Zaman.

SUKKUR: Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly Khursheed Shah confirmed on Tuesday that the government and the opposition have agreed to name Chaudhry Qamar Zaman as the new chairman of the anti-graft body — the National Accountability Bureau (NAB). Zaman had previously served as the Interior Secretary.

Speaking to the media, Shah said that all parties were taken on board before the decision was taken, however, Pakistan Tehreeek-i-Insaf (PTI) did not respond to them over the issue.

According to Express News, the decision was taken after Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif spoke to the opposition leader over the phone earlier during the day.

The position of NAB Chairman was last occupied by Admiral (Retd) Fasih Bokhari, who was forced to vacate the position in May after the Supreme Court declared his appointment illegal.

The government had been under pressure from the Supreme Court over the appointment of a NAB head. The apex court had also threatened the government with ‘consequences’ if it delayed the appointment

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Chief of Army Staff General Kayani. PHOTO:

Chief of Army Staff General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani decided to retire from his post. Kayani will step down on November 29 as army chief after serving twice the normal three-year term for the position. 

The Inter Services Public Relations issued a press release announcing his decision to retire. Kayani in the press release said that he has no intention of extending his tenure as COAS.

Aiming to dispel rumors of his move to occupy a new, powerful position, the army chief said, “For quite sometime, my current responsibilities and likely future plans have been debated in the media with all sorts of rumours and speculations doing the rounds. The subject of being entrusted with new duties has also come up in several reports. I am grateful to the political leadership and the nation for reposing their trust in me and Pakistan Army at this important juncture of our national history. However, I share the general opinion that institutions and traditions are stronger than individuals and must take precedence.”

Sources and aides close to Kayani had earlier said that Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif wanted to make him head of a revamped and more powerful Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee (JCSC).

One senior intelligence official said Sharif planned to overhaul the JCSC, a largely ceremonial office, into a “central defense body” by restoring its command over the entire military establishment and giving it additional powers.

“The new JCSC chief will be in charge of the nuclear arsenal. He’ll decide on action against terrorists,” said the source, adding that new powers included the right to promote, post and transfer key military officers.

“Basically, the JCSC office will be what it was always supposed to be. The overall boss.”

According to a Wall Street Journal report citing military and civilian officials, Kayani is prepared to “accept a revamped Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee job, currently a largely ceremonial post that would be given more authority, or to become defence adviser to the government.”

The WSJ report further cited officials saying that he could also be made ambassador to the US.

FULL TEXT OF ISPR PRESS RELEASE

No PR161/2013-ISPR       Dated: October 6, 2013

Rawalpindi – October 6, 2013:  Responding to the media reports about his future, Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani said:-

“For quite sometime, my current responsibilities and likely future plans have been debated in the media with all sorts of rumours and speculations doing the rounds. The subject of being entrusted with new duties has also come up in several reports. I am grateful to the political leadership and the nation for reposing their trust in me and Pakistan Army at this important juncture of our national history. However, I share the general opinion that institutions and traditions are stronger than individuals and must take precedence.

As I complete my tenure the will of the people has taken root and a constitutional order is in place. The armed forces of Pakistan fully support and want to strengthen this democratic order. Pakistan Army has made its contribution towards this desired END with complete clarity of mind and a comprehensive understanding of the trajectory Pakistan needs to take. They have also proven, on countless occasions, through their priceless sacrifices that the defence and prosperity of Pakistan is their highest priority.

I have served this great nation and had the privilege of commanding the finest Army of the world for six years to the best of my abilities and with the sincerest of my intentions. It is time for others to carry forward the mission of making Pakistan a truly democratic, prosperous and peaceful country that embodies the finest dreams our founding fathers had envisaged for us.

My tenure ends on 29th November 2013. On that day I will retire. May the Almighty Allah help and guide us all.”.

As the death toll from Tuesday’s massive earthquake soared past 500, the military on Friday struggled to provide relief to the affected in the face of attacks from both insurgent groups and desperate survivors.

Balochistan Chief Secretary Babar Yaqoob said that the death toll had reached 515 – a figure that was corroborated by locals but not by the National Disaster Management Authority. For its part, the NDMA did not report any major rise in the toll saying that it was still around 359 with another 765 people being counted as injured.

Despite claims by the government and the military, most of the affected areas have still not been provided relief goods largely due to the lack of coordination between departments.

Speaking to The Express Tribune, Additional Deputy Commissioner of Awaran Mumtaz Ahmed said that Awaran was not as badly affected by the earthquake as the remote areas. He said that the relief goods being collected in Awaran were supposed to be dispatched to other areas but he had no details of where and how the relief goods were to be sent.

The delay has forced some quake victims to take matters into their own hands. These victims have now resorted to looting trucks and buses carrying relief.

“We are left with no option. We’ve been sitting under the scorching sun since three days and till now have received nothing from the government,” said Master Maqbool Ahmed, a resident who was forced to steal a tent from the military.

Only two miles away from the Awaran Military Headquarters, where hours earlier, Sindh Chief Minister Qaim Ali Shah had offered Balochistan relief aid, things did not seem different.

Labach, a small settlement some two miles from Awaran, echoed with tales of unfulfilled assistance.

Bakhtawar, an 18-year-old who was recently married two months ago, said that around 52 people in the settlement were injured while most of the infrastructure lay in shambles. “We used to live in a place we called home, it’s all in ruins now,” she said.

“We are part of this country, we are humans too,” Bakhtawar added in Urdu, urging the government to help them.

Sitting on a log with his friend, Muhammad Gul called the earthquake ‘God’s wrath’. “It takes seconds for God’s wrath to come down on humans and that exactly is how long it took for everything to change in our lives,” said the 70-year-old.

A local journalist who visited the Mashkai district reported that no control room has so far been established in the entire district which can guide people to undertake the rescue and relief operation.

The arid area is also a stronghold of Baloch insurgents, who have twice shot at helicopters carrying military officials in charge of responding to the disaster.

On Thursday, two rockets narrowly missed the helicopter carrying the general in charge of the National Disaster Management Agency and on Friday shots were fired at two helicopters carrying aid, the military said.

“There is a law and order situation here and other hurdles but despite everything, we will get to every last person,” said Lt. Gen. Nasir Janjua, the highest ranking military official in the province.

Assistant Commissioner, Mashkai Mir Naseer Ahmed Mosiani, told The Express Tribunethat the widespread destruction has destroyed most of the water sources—natural springs—in the region. He added that more than 10,000 tents were needed to fulfil the requirement of the affected people in the region.

Meanwhile, some NGOs stated that the Frontier Corps had intercepted trucks laden with relief goods in Lasbela and allowed them to move on only after some negotiations.