LHR 07-02-2012_Layout 1 2/8/2012 2:23 AM Page 1
Pakistan committed to Grim search for Iran gas pipeline survivors continues project, says Zardari PAGE 03
Shahid Afridi, Shoaib Malik in, Razzaq out of one-day, T20s
LAHORE | PAGE 7
pakistantoday.com.pk
rs15.00 Vol ii no 222 22 pages lahore edition
PAGE 18
Wednesday, 8 February, 2012 rabi-ul-awal 15, 1433
Act before it’s too lAte
Continued load shedding mocks Qamar’s claim
Balochistan burns, lawmakers lament mps from all parties call for committee to oversee situation in restive province g
ISLAMABAD
E
MIaN aBrar
xPRESSINg grave concerns over the deteriorating law and order in Balochistan, lawmakers from all major political parties blasted the government on Tuesday for ignoring the situation in the violence-hit province and called for steps to control it. Though the members looked upset and perturbed over the unrest in Balochistan, most of them did not attend the session and even National Assembly Opposition Leader Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan did not deem it fit to attend. The session, which started an hour and 10 minutes late, witnessed low attendance as only 54 members were present at the start and the number was reduced to 48 when the sitting was adjourned. A total of 42 points of order were raised, consuming 103 minutes of the sitting. However, none of the points of order attracted the chair’s formal ruling. The speakers who took part in the informal debate on the Balochistan situation called for formation of a special committee to oversee law and order in the restive province. They also sought immediate arrest of the killers of the granddaughter of Nawab Akbar Bugti and her daughter, who had been murdered last week in Karachi. They also asked the government to share its policy on Balochistan with the House. There was consensus among the speakers that throwing mutilated bodies on the roads were a slap in the face of the government’s performance and this practice should
be stopped immediately. They said the promises made to the people of Balochistan should be fulfilled to remove their sense of deprivation. They said the Parliamentary Committee on Balochistan should also speed up its work and submit a report to the House carrying suggestions for improvement in law and order across the province. Asiya Nasir, Dr Zille Huma, Syed Asif Hasnain, Dr Lal Chand, Nawab Yusuf Talpur, Akhunzada Chattan and Abdul ghani Talpur spoke on the issue. Federal Minister Hamayun Aziz Kurd held spy agencies responsible for the unrest in the province and said the matter of Balochistan should be dealt with seriously as the situation in the province was far from normal. Former Balochistan governor and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) MNA Abdul Qadir Baloch said a commission formed to probe killings in Balochistan had to submit its report in the House but four months on, no such report had been submitted. Terming the formation of committee after committee to probe the killings a mere joke, Baloch said such announcements were made to cool down tempers of the locals. He called for a through debate on the Balochistan situation. Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) legislator Asiya Nasir said there was a need for a political solution to the Balochistan issue and the government should share its policy with the House. Continued on page 04
Congressional hearing on BaloChistan annoys pakistan | page 22
Lahore: relatives mourn on Tuesday during the funeral of a victim of a building collapse the day before. rescuers plucked survivors from the rubble of a collapsed factory where another 10 people are still buried under the debris and the death toll rose to 22. afp | story on page 07
Load shedding continued across the country despite Water and Power Minister Naveed Qamar’s announcement in the National Assembly the day before that that it would stop from Tuesday. On Monday, Qamar had announced on the floor of the House that there would be no more load shedding from February 7, 2012, adding that power generation across the country had improved. However a shortfall of 3,400 megawatts still remains and several cities of Punjab, including Lahore, are still experiencing load shedding. In Lahore and Karachi, residents in several areas were without power for up to four hours a day, while in Quetta and other parts of Balochistan, the duration was at least four hours. In Khyber Pakhtunkhwa the duration of load shedding is six hours. monitoring desk
ppp-‘n’ talks on 20th amendment still a stalemate ISLAMABAD IrFaN BUKharI
The deadlock continues. The differences between the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) and the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) over the 20th Constitutional Amendment remained unresolved with the latter not agreeing to support the amendment without a constitutional guarantee on the ap-
pointment of a neutral caretaker setup acceptable to all political parties for the next general elections. However, both sides expressed the hope that they would try for a breakthrough on Wednesday (today). But the insiders said the PML-N insisted that the PPP should also come up with its proposal on the caretaker setup so that both sides could find middle ground. It was learnt that the PPP was reluctant to float
any such proposal. The meeting between both sides was held at the chambers of National Assembly Opposition Leader Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan. Talking to reporters after the inconclusive round of talks, Religious Affairs Minister Khursheed Shah said the PML-N leaders could not consult party President Nawaz Sharif as he was on a visit to Multan. Continued on page 04