ISB 20-12-2011_Layout 1 12/20/2011 2:22 AM Page 1
Zardari to break silence on December 27
ISI DG should have resigned after May 2 operation: Asma
North Korea strongman Kim Jong-Il passes away at 69
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pakistantoday.com.pk
Rs15.00 Vol ii no 173 22 pages Lahore edition
MeMo case
Silence means consent: SC g
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Bench says President Zardari has neither filed a reply to petition nor refuted the allegations Directs petitioners and respondents to submit affidavits by Dec 22 ISLAMABAD
H
Masood RehMan
earing a set of identical petitions filed by Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) President Nawaz Sharif and others seeking probe into the memo controversy, a nine-member larger bench of the Supreme Court headed by Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry on Monday observed that President Asif Ali Zardari, a respondent in the case, neither filed a reply nor refuted the allegations levelled by the petitioners, observing that silence meant acceptance of the charges. The court also observed that each para of the reply filed by the army chief was very “important and noteworthy”. Justice Ejaz Afzal Khan noted that if para one, six and the last para of the memo was read jointly,
it gave an impression that sovereignty of the country was being surrendered. At the onset of hearing, the court took a strong exception to a press conference convened by Babar Awan and other government functionaries at the office of the information secretary immediately after the court’s December 1 order in the memo case, saying the court order was ridiculed and insulted through contemptuous language, besides degrading a judge who was not a even a member of the bench that heard the memo case. When the court inquired whether it was a stand of the government to ridicule the judiciary, Attorney General Maulvi Anwarul Haq said it could not be so. However, the court directed him to take instructions and file a statement in writing during court timings. In the second half of the proceedings, the attorney general pointed out that as the prime minister was not available, he would submit the statement after seeking instructions. The court observed that if the stand of the prime minister was the same as he was expressing on behalf of the federation, the prime minister must inform the court about the action he had taken against the people who used official premises to ridicule, insult and criticise the judiciary, despite the fact that the case was sub judice. The court also noted with concern that the federal law minister, despite being well versed with the law, criticised court proceedings in the memo case by uttering the words that ought not to have been used by him. The court directed the attorney general to place on record the copies of the notification Continued on page 04
tuesday, 20 december, 2011 Muharram-ul-Haram 24, 1433
Balochistan will not remain with Pakistan, says Mengal Baloch leader tells Nawaz Sharif ‘youth forced to live on hills will now decide Balochistan’s future’ g Turns down PML-N chief’s assurance to resolve issues, says he has no power over army g
KARACHI Qazi asif
KARACHI: Nawaz Sharif embraces Attaullah Mengal before a meeting on Monday. INP
Senior Baloch leader and former Balochistan chief minister Attaullah Mengal said the province would refuse to be part of Pakistan until atrocities against the Baloch people were not stopped. He was talking to reporters after a meeting with Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz President Nawaz Sharif on Monday. During the meeting, Nawaz assured the Baloch dissident leader that the PMLN would contest the case of Balochistan across the country. However, Mengal told Nawaz that the PML-N chief had no authority over the army and could not stop the action against the people of Balochistan. Mengal said Nawaz was not in a position to make any decisions and the “youth who were forced to go to hills will now decide the future of Balochistan”. Nawaz told Mengal that he would do something for the people of Balochistan before coming to meet him again. After the meeting, Mengal told reporters that the people of Balochistan had been driven to the point of no return. “I cannot lie or sell hope falsely, nothing is in my hand. All decisions are made by the youth who are living in the hills,” he said. Continued on page 04
Dual nationals can’t contest polls ISLAMABAD Kashif abbasi
In a major development, the Election Commission (EC) on Monday decided to implement a law barring dual nationality-holders from being members of parliament after 55 years. This provision of the constitution would be implemented in all elections including the Senate elections which are likely to be held in March 2012. After the law is implemented, a
large number of dual nationalityholder senators retiring in March 2012, would not be able to contest the elections for the next term. To take part in the national politics, dual nationality-holders would have no other option but to surrender their foreign nationalities. ImplementatIon: A spokesman of the EC on Monday said the provision was being implemented from January 4, 2012, the date of coming by-elections on the Senate seat vacated by Azam Khan
Swati. A ban on dual nationality-holders for taking part in the elections was part of the country’s 1956 constitution but the EC had no mechanism to check the candidates’ dual nationalities. Now the EC has introduced new forms having a column of number of nationalities a candidate holds. In a statement, Election Commission Secretary Ishtiak Ahmed said all returning officers had been directed to obtain a declaration on oath Continued on page 04