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Karachi edition
Saturday, 10 March, 2012 Rabi-ul-Sani 15, 1433
MANIPULATION IN 1990 ELECTIONS
Durrani admits doling out money F on Baig’s order g
Former ISI chief says then army chief told him to distribute funds among certain politicians according to formula prepared by President’s Office
ISLAMABAD MASood RehMAN
ORMER Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) chief Lt General (r) Asad Durrani has admitted under oath that he distributed funds to selected politicians ahead of 1990 polls under instructions from then army chief General (r) Mirza Aslam Baig. Durrani told the Supreme Court on Friday that he was told by Baig that a business community in Karachi had raised some funds to support the election campaign of Islami Jamhoori Ittehad (IJI) – an alliance of nine political parties formed against the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) during 1990 elections. He said Baig had asked him if he could distribute those funds among certain politicians according to a formula which would be
conveyed to him through the Election Cell at the president’s office. A three-member bench, comprising Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, Justice Khilji Arif Hussain and Justice Tariq Parvez, was hearing a petition filed by Air Marshal (r) Asghar Khan some 16 years ago. The petition alleged that millions of rupees had been distributed by the ISI among the PPP’s rivals to manipulate the 1990 election. SC OFFENDED: At the onset of the hearing, the chief justice took strong exception of the language used by former army chief in his counter-affidavit filed in response to the affidavit of defunct Mehran Bank’s former chief Younas Habib, alleging that he was forced by Baig and former president Ghulam Ishaq Khan to arrange Rs 340 million in “national interest”. Continued on page 04
Pakistan asks world to discourage Baloch separatists ISLAMABAD ShAIQ huSSAIN
SRINAGAR: Kashmiri Muslims pray as a cleric displays a relic at the shrine of Sheikh Abdul Qadir Geelani in downtown Srinagar on Friday. aFP
LHC suspends CNG load shedding notification LAHORE StAFF RepoRt
The Lahore High Court (LHC) on Friday suspended the federal government’s notification of CNG load shedding, terming gas closure a violation of the fundamental rights of the people and gas pump owners. The federal government started CNG load shedding under the gas load management plan for 550 gas stations in Punjab. While issuing the verdict, Justice Mansoor Ali Shah expressed disappointment over the actions of the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRA), and its three-day
weekly load shedding of CNG in Punjab. The court also issued a notice to the federal government, OGRA, and the Sui Northern Gas Pipelines limited (SNGPL), and sought reply on the matter. The court passed the order on 22 identical petitions filed by the owners of CNG stations who challenged the three-day gas outage. The petitioners stated that the common public as well as the families of the individuals associated with the CNG business were facing financial difficulties due to closed business for three consecutive days. The petitioners’ counsel Mansoor Usman Awan said SNGPL officials had stopped gas
supply to the CNG stations of the petitioners under load management policy from March 3. He submitted that the action was taken on the basis of a notification issued by the SNGPL on March 2 which ordered disconnection of gas to the CNG stations which had a nine-month contract (as and when available basis) from March 3 until further orders. The counsel contended that the notification was against the constitution and the law. The court, after hearing his arguments, suspended the notification to the extent of petitioners, and sought reply from the respondents.
Pakistan on Friday asked the countries that have given refuge to Baloch separatists to discourage the anti-Islamabad secessionist activities on their soil. In response to a query at his weekly press briefing, Foreign Office spokesman Abdul Basit said, “The government of Pakistan has been trying to handle the situation politically. This is our internal matter. We will deal with this issue in our own constitutional political way.” “I can assure you that the Foreign Office and our missions abroad are engaged to ensure that this issue is not exploited to damage Pakistan. Regarding your reference to activities in Geneva, our Mission in Geneva is active and will ensure that the issue is not portrayed in a manner that some detractors of Pakistan are trying to do,” he said. He said, “We have made demarches to the relevant governments on these issues and we have been assured that their respective territories would not be used for anti-Pakistan activities. Last week, we made a demarche with the Embassy of Switzerland in this regard.” He was asked about the resolutions in the US Congress on condemnation of the situation in Balochistan and also that the Baloch separatists staging protest rallies in Geneva, what is the Foreign Office doing to handle this situation inside the country? The questioner also drew the spokesperson’s attention to the soil of Switzerland, the UK and US being used for anti-Pakistan activities. KASHMIR NOT ON BACKBURNER: When asked about reports in the Indian media that Pakistan had decided to go ahead with a new approach towards India which would include freezing the core issue of Jammu and Kashmir, he said, “You would agree with me that the Jammu and Kashmir dispute is about the people of Kashmir; it is about their inalienable right to self-determination. There is, therefore, no question of freezing this issue or putting this core dispute on the back burner. Realistically speaking, nor it can be done.” “On the 5th of this month, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Situation of Human Rights Defenders, Margaret Sekaggya, in her address to the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva, urged the Government of India to repeal, among others, the Armed Forces Special Powers Act and the Jammu and Kashmir Public Safety Act,” Basit said. Continued on page 04
Lt Gen Zaheer Islam is the new spymaster ISLAMABAD MIAN AbRAR
Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani on Friday appointed Lt General Zaheerul Islam the director general of the Inter-Services Intelligence (DG-ISI), quashing rumours of another extension being offered to incumbent ISI DG Lt Gen Ahmed Shuja Pasha. The new DG, now serving as the commander of one of the most important corps (V corps) in Karachi, would take over charge on March 18, the day Gen Pasha retires. Lt General Zaheerul Islam was appointed the Karachi corps commander in October 2010. He is in his late 50s and is due to reach the age of superannuation in the year 2014. Following his posting, Rangers Sindh DG Ijaz Chauhdry was appointed the new corps commander for Karachi, while Major General Rizwan Akhtar was likely to be named the Rangers Sindh DG. Like General Pasha, General Zaheerul Islam is considered very close to Chief of Army Staff General Ashfaq Kayani. The corps commander’s post is generally assumed by someone having the confidence of the army chief and the post of Karachi is among the most important ones. Prior to being appointed as top military commander in Karachi, Gen Zaheer served in the ISI as deputy DG (internal intelligence) for two-and-a-half years and he was a major general at that time. In ISI, he looked after domestic intelligence and security related matters being the senior most official at the internal wing of the country’s major spy agency. He is from the Punjab Regiment of Pakistani Army, same as that of Gen Kayani. He also headed a division command in Murree before serving in the ISI. President Zardari conferred the military award of Hilal-e-Imtiaz on him in recognition of his meritorious professional services in March 2009. Islam carries a reputation of professionalism and discipline. Pasha’s departure is said to bring some relief and respite for the American intelligence officials who had been given a tough time during the last one year or so by him. The ISI-CIA relationship turned more complicated after the US special forces killed al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden in Abbottabad on May 2 last year. Gen Pasha reached the age of superannuation in March 2010 but was given a one-year extension twice. With his tenure ending, Gen Pasha had approached Gen Kayani in December last, asking to relieve him of his duties as he was not interested in a third extension. With United States having its eyes fixed at the endgame in Afghanistan, the American authorities were keenly monitoring the evolving situation as for the appointment of new ISI chief owing to Pakistani intelligence agency’s key role in anti-terrorism global campaign. “Now that the ISI chief has been appointed, US officials would be looking forward to engage with him as soon as possible to sort out the contentious matters like the restoring the blocked NATO supplies, re-deployment of CIA and US military trainers here and drone attacks etc,” said a diplomatic source, requesting anonymity. He said being someone close to Gen Kayani, the western states assumed that the new ISI chief too would be antiTaliban and a person with moderate views, something of relief and solace for them.