LHR pages 18-11-11_Layout 1 11/18/2011 2:33 AM Page 1
United States here to stay, Obama tells Asia
1996 World Cup semi final was fixed, claims Kambli
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pakistantoday.com.pk
vol ii no 143 32 Pages lahore edition
‘Memo’ gave US boots on ground option in Pakistan ISLAMABAD SHAIQ HUSSAIN
The ‘memo’ allegedly sent by President Asif Ali Zardari through Pakistani-American businessman Mansoor Ijaz to the United States administration seeking its help to prevent a military coup against his government assured Washington that Pakistan’s nuclear security system would be made “transparent” and, in case of need, the American military boots would be allowed on Pakistani soil. The memo controversy started when Ijaz alleged in a Financial Times column last month that “a senior Pakistani diplomat” had asked him for assistance in getting a memo from President Asif Ali Zardari to the top US military official at the time, Admiral Mike Mullen. Though the presidency and the foreign office denied that any such memo had been sent, the episode strained the civil-military relations with subsequent disclosures by Ijaz. Ijaz had written that Zardari feared a military takeover following the US raid in Abbottabad on May 2 in which Osama bin Laden was killed, and wanted Washington to prevent an army coup. “The new national security team will eliminate Section ‘S’ of the ISI (Inter-Services Intelligence) charged with maintaining relations to the Taliban, Haqqani network, etc. This will dramatically improve relations with Afghanistan,” the memo said. Ijaz said the memo was delivered to Admiral Mullen at 2pm on May 10. An official who wished to remain unnamed said the memo also contained some other alarming lines that had created ripples in the military circles. “The memo assured the Obama administration that a viable and transparent nuclear security system will be put in place by Pakistan,” he said, adding that this suggested that Pakistan did not have a credible system in place. He said the military leaders now wondered whether some elements in the ruling circles in Islamabad believed that the present security system of Pakistan’s nuclear programme was not transparent. “The military leaders are deeply concerned about this,” he said. He said there was also an assurance in the memo that the US military boots would be allowed on the ground in Pakistani in case it was demanded by Washington. continued on Page 04
more on memo controversy | Pages 04 & 24
Friday, 18 november, 2011 Zul-Haj 21, 1432
Zardari succeeds in calming MQM chagrin President assures MQM delegation PPP’s cooperation with the party will continue
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ISLAMABAD
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STAFF RePORT
S former Sindh home minister Dr Zulfiqar Mirza once again ignited a situation that brought the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP)’s relations with the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) to the brink, President Asif Ali Zardari, who is also co-chairman of the PPP, assured his coalition partners on Thursday that their cooperation would continue for the welfare of the people of Sindh, the country and the democratic process. Zardari sought to placate the MQM in a meeting with a delegation of the party comprising Overseas Pakistanis Minister Dr Farooq Sattar, Ports and Shipping Minister Babar Khan Ghauri and Haider Abbas Rizvi, who called on him to express their concern over Dr Mirza’s latest tirade
against the MQM,. What disturbed the MQM was that Dr Mirza had been given official protocol when he left for London on Wednesday to make potentially explosive disclosures about MQM chief Altaf Hussain. Mirza also visited the British House of Lords to brief them on his allegations against Hussain. Though Sindh Information Minister Sharjeel Memon also travelled on the same flight as Mirza, he dissociated himself from the former home minister’s visit and returned to Pakistan within 24 hours. His sojourn had created unrest among the PPP top brass and it was learnt that the president had summoned him to Islamabad for an explanation. Briefing reporters on the meeting, Presidential Spokesman Farhatullah Babar said that speaking on behalf of the delegation, Dr Sattar conveyed to the president the concerns of the MQM
ISLAMABAD: President Asif Ali Zardari meets an MQM delegation at Aiwan-e-Sadr on Thursday. Online about the statements and actions against their party by some elements associated with the PPP. The president assured the MQM delegation that the PPP valued its partnership with the MQM for the welfare of the people of Sindh, the country and for the cause of democracy and that the two allies’ partnership would continue in the future as well. The president said Sindh Chief Minister Qaim Ali Shah had also addressed a press conference this morning spelling out the party’s policy and, as president of PPP Sindh, had also taken disciplinary action in this regard against some party members. Meanwhile, Interior Minister Rehman Malik also stood up in support of MQM chief Altaf Hussain saying the PPP was with him and any uncivilised remarks against him would not be tolerated.
ISLAMABAD The Supreme Court told the Reshma rental power company on Thursday to return by Friday (today), with markup, the Rs 2 billion that it took as mobilisation advance around two-and-a-half years ago for the Reshma Rental Power Project (RPP) because it failed to work according to the agreement. A two-member Supreme Court bench comprising Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry and Justice Khilji Arif Hussain was hearing a suo motu case along with two identical petitions filed by Federal Housing Minister Faisal Saleh Hayat and Pakistan Muslim LeagueNawaz (PML-N) MNA Khawaja Muham-
related story | Page 03
Mirza gives proof to Scotland Yard against Altaf LonDon ONLINe
LONDON: Former Sindh home minister Dr Zulfiqar Mirza reacts during a press conference at the House of Lords on Thursday. Lord Nazir Ahmad is also seen in the picture. ONLINE
Reshma RPP to return Rs 2b today MASOOD ReHMAN
Talking to reporters outside Parliament House, he said Hussain was a democracy-loving person, adding that any negative remarks against him would not be tolerated. “There is no room for uncivilised norms in politics and the politicians should respect one another,” he said. Commenting on the recent suicide blast in Karachi, Malik said two suicide attackers had been identified and one belonged to Punjab while the other was from southern Sindh. He said the brother of one of the attackers, who was a police sub-inspector, had been arrested. He stopped short of naming the organisation behind the attack, however, saying he would disclose it at the appropriate time. He also announced Sitara-eShujaat for the two policemen killed in the Karachi suicide blast.
mad Asif against alleged corruption in the award of RPP contracts. The court told the National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (NEPRA) to produce details of reference tariff and generation tariff of the RPPs by Friday (today). The court said since the amount was paid in US dollars, it should be paid back in the same currency, with markup. The court said legal action would be taken against the company’s executives if it failed to pay back the money within the stipulated time. The court noted that the government had paid this sum to the company over two years ago by getting a loan from a bank on 16 percent markup. Abdul Hafeez Pirzada, counsel for Reshma, told the court that his client had returned Rs 2.5 billion. Justice Hussain
then pointed out that Rs 4.5 billion were paid in advance, thus markup was also due on the sum. He said it was astonishing that the company was paid such a huge amount about 30 months ago, however no one bothered to ask the company why it was not producing the electricity it was paid to produce. The chief justice noted that NEPRA, which was a national institution, had also pointed out that rules and regulations were violated in the deal of RPPs. He said the authorities concerned were asked by NEPRA to review the deal of the RPPs, however no heed was paid towards the matter. The chief justice observed that billions of rupees were paid in advance to the rental power companies, however less than 100 megawatts of electricity was
being produced by them. He said the court would take action against the people who caused huge losses to the national exchequer through the deal. HAYAT: The chief justice said the credit of recovering over Rs 7 billion from the rental power companies would go to Faisal Saleh Hayat. In his arguments, Hayat criticised the role of NEPRA, stating that though the counsel for NEPRA had admitted now that the contracts of RPPs were not transparent, his department had never objected to the project during that time. He suggested that independent power producers (IPPs) should be encouraged to overcome the power shortage instead of relying on RPPs, but unfortunately the government was not paying the dues of the IPPs.
Former Sindh home minister Dr Zulfiqar Mirza has handed over ‘evidence’ against Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) chief Altaf Hussain to Scotland Yard, media reports said on Thursday. Mirza, along with Lord Nazir Ahmed, met officials of the anti-terrorism branch of Scotland Yard in a police station in Western London. Mirza provided documented evidence to the Scotland Yard officials against the MQM leadership in the Imran Farooq murder case as well as other cases. Later on, he told reporters he had offered assistance in the Farooq murder case, which had been accepted by Scotland Yard. He said his meeting with Scotland Yard officials had been very productive. “I have provided them new information which they didn’t have earlier,” said Mirza. Mirza said he would not return to Pakistan until Altaf Hussain was arrested by British police.