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Israel Gaza strikes to go on ‘as long as necessary’: PM
AIOU announces postgraduate results PAGE | 7
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Veteran actress Tahira Wasti passes away PAGE |15
Rs15.00 Vol ii no 254 22 pages islamabad — peshawar edition
Monday, 12 March, 2012 Rabi-ul-Sani 18, 1433
15 deaths at a funeral Only parliament can decide Zardari’s fate PM digS iN
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suicide bomber blows himself up at funeral in Peshawar, misses KP Assembly deputy speaker just by minutes
Gilani says would have referred the matter to parliament had he been the CJP
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LAHORE
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StAff REPoRt
EfENDING President Asif Ali Zardari once again, Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani has said the issue of the president’s immunity could only be decided by parliament and should be referred to it. Talking to representatives of the print media at State Guest House on Sunday, Gilani said the parliament restored the judges and the president enjoyed trans-national immunity. “If I had been the chief justice of Pakistan, I would have asked the parliament to decide the issue, as
it is the privilege of the parliament alone to rewrite the constitution,” he said. While pushing for the supremacy of parliament, the prime minister repeated the words of ‘alone’ thrice. “The parliament is the real authority over the issue and I will do everything per the constitution,” said Gilani in response to a question regarding presidential immunity and the SC verdict to write to Swiss authorities for reopening cases against the president. “The same parliament of 442 members unanimously passed the 18th, 19th and 20th Amendments but none of the members raised objection to the issue of presidential immunity,” he said. “The issue should be referred to parliament if I can’t waive off the immunity,” he said, adding that per international law, the president, prime minister and foreign minister enjoyed immunity. He said the Mehran Bank scandal should have been taken up much earlier as its movers had grown very old now. To a question on the memo scandal, the PM said, “I have said several times that the memo is a non-issue and has no importance.” He said the PPP government had cordial relations with the armed forces, adding that the decision of the ISI DG’s appointment had been made on merit. Continued on page 04
PESHAWAR: A man is comforted by his relative at the Lady Reading hospital as he mourns the death of a family member in a suspected suicide bombing on Sunday. ReuteRs PESHAWAR SHAmim SHAHid
At least 15 people were killed and 37 others injured in a suicide bombing in a funeral procession in the Badhaber area of Peshawar on Sunday. Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly Deputy Speaker Khushdil Khan escaped the attack as he had left the venue just minutes earlier. Per details, a suicide bomber detonated the explosives attached to his body at a graveyard where the burial was to take place. After the attack, locals shifted the injured to hospitals and rescue teams rushed to the site and helped shift the injured and bodies to hospitals across Peshawar. Doctors at Lady Reading Hospital con-
firmed receiving 37 injured. Police have confirmed that the bombing was a suicide attack wherein six to eight kilogrammes of explosives were used. They said that Khushdil Khan appeared to be the target of the attack. Provincial Information Minister Iftikhar Hussain said the Taliban wanted to build up pressure for getting an Afghan Taliban-like status, therefore, they had intensified terrorist acts in the province. He added that TTP militants from Darra Adam Khel and Lashkar-e-Islam had recently entered into a reconciliatory pact and had enhanced violent activities. Iftikhar said that US contacts with the Afghan Taliban was having a positive impact in
Pakistan, as a major militant group was ready for talks with the government. “But the militants loyal to Hakeemullah Mehsud are unhappy and they are trying to sabotage such developments,” he added. Earlier, Peshawar administration chief Mohammad Siraj said the death toll from the incident had gone up to 15. “The latest toll is 15 dead and 37 wounded,” he told reporters. Doctor Rahim Jan, head of Lady Reading Hospital, confirmed the casualties. “We received nine bodies from the blast site and six died later in the hospital,” Jan said, adding that many of the wounded were in a serious condition. Nobody has claimed responsibility for the attack so far.
Pakistan may seek UNSC’s waiver Pakistan has put taliban on the back foot: Mattis to escape gas pipeline sanctions WASHINGTON AgEnciES
ISLAMABAD SHAiq HuSSAin
Pakistan may seek a waiver from the United Nations to proceed with the multibillion dollar gas pipeline with Iran and avert possible sanctions by the UN Security Council, which if imposed, would make it impossible for Islamabad to continue with the vital project. The sanctions against Iran by the UN Security Council were imposed in June 2010, when the world body passed Resolution 1929. However, to many this resolution is a bit vague and its interpretation as prohibiting the countries from financial transactions with Tehran needs clarity despite the assertion that it is binding on world nations.
In Pakistan too it is believed that Islamabad does not come in the line of UNSC sanctions, and only unilateral sanctions by the US could impact it in case the project is materialised. The US has a law specific to Iran, which prohibits any commercial and financial transaction with Tehran. Pakistan can escape the threat of UN sanctions by moving the Security Council with a request for a waiver. “Islamabad could seek waiver by UNSC under Article 50 of the UN charter,” said a diplomatic source on Sunday while requesting anonymity. He said that under Article 50 of the UN charter, Pakistan could try to impress upon the UNSC that as the article says itself that in case of any special economic problems being caused to a certain country because
of sanctions, it could come to the UN Security Council for a solution and that’s why Islamabad had opted for that path. He said that Pakistani authorities could tell the world body that it was facing severe energy crisis of its history, which had even resulted in riots across the country and if not controlled, the crisis could lead to a catastrophic economic situation in the country. If Pakistan goes to the UNSC, one thing going in its favour is that the agreement on gas pipeline with Iran was signed before the passing of Resolution 1929. A Pakistani official declined to comment on the proposal to seek waiver from the UNSC for proceeding with the gas pipeline with Iran. Continued on page 04
US Central Command (CENTCOM) chief General James Mattis has said that Pakistan Army has thrown the Taliban back into the mountains as it continues to fight them, and safe havens in some of the areas could exist because the Pakistani forces were stretched. “Pakistan Army has thrown the Taliban back up into the mountains. They continue to fight. They fought this week. They continue to take casualties in this fight. And the havens that are there in some of those areas exist because the Pakistan Army is stretched,” he stressed while speaking at the hearing of the House Armed Continued on page 04