BAHAWALPUR, Pakistan News: Pakistan Muslim League-N chief Mian Nawaz Sharif Thursday said the President Asif Ali Zardari has violated the promises on Charter of Democracy.

“The country can’t be run by violating the Constitution and courts verdicts. Zardari has not fulfilled his promises of implementing Charter of Democracy,” the PML-N chief said while addressing a party workers’ convention here.

“Nobody will be allowed to break the law and violate Constitution; we have no desire to come into power as the passing through crucial phase,” he said.

Sharif said former army chief Gen Pervez Musharraf was involved in the extra judicial killing of veteran Baloch leader Nawab Akbar Bugti which triggered separatism in the province, “however the rulers gave him a guard of honour and failed to impeach the dictator on his deeds.”

President Asif Ali Zardari said some elements don’t like to see him in the Presidency. He said he is not afraid of death, instead he runs after death. He promised to provide cheap electricity, gas and petrol to all.

Addressing a procession in Faisalabad, the President said wearing a turban in Punjab reminded him of the prisons in the province. President said Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto and Benazir Bhutto sacrificed their lives to serve the nation as the present war was also being fought for the prosperity of the next generation.

President Zardari said Faisalabad provides employment to the poor so the city would receive electricity first and then other cites would receive it. He said the forces have reached near the success in war against terrorism. President said that he can overcome the most difficult challenges. He further said that he would leave no stone unturned to end the shortage of water, electricity or unemployment.

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan News: Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani has apologised for neglecting the Balochistan in the past.
The Prime Minister was addressing inaugural of the joint session of the parliament, summoned by President Asif Ali Zardari under article 54(1) of the constitution. The joint session of the parliament has been summoned for approval of Balochistan package.

Gilani said that Balochistan will be provided economic and constitutional rights, adding that efforts are underway to win hearts of Balochistan people.

He also said that govt is ready to hold talks with Balochistan nationalist parties.

Meanwhile, Senator Raza Rabbani while presenting the draft of Balochistan package said that FC will replace army in Sui on the demand of Baloch leaders, no more cantonments will be set up in the province, all political prisoners including their leaders will be released but dialogues will not be held with those involved in terrorist activities.

Raza Rabbani further said that all the stakeholders will be taken on board.

All operations will be halted except war against terror.

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan News: The government will unfold a promised package on Balochistan in parliament today (Tuesday) in a major political move to appease the long-standing dissent in the troubled province.

The National Assembly and Senate will meet in a joint sitting called by President Asif Ali Zardari at 3pm to hear from Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani a likely set of both political and administrative ways to peacefully address what is usually called the ‘Balochistan problem’.

The prime minister had last-minute discussions on Monday with the president and a parliamentary committee that formulated the proposals for the package, which a presidential spokesman said in a statement ‘contains a series of constitutional reforms, economic measures and administrative steps to assuage the hurt feelings of the people of Balochistan’.

The joint sitting will likely be prorogued after the presentation of the package, which a parliamentary source of the ruling party said could be debated in another joint sitting for approval after Eidul Azha, which falls on Nov 28.

Though the government has refrained from revealing any details, its spokesmen have said the document will be based on the report of the parliamentary committee headed by Senator Raza Rabbani of the Pakistan People’s Party and also draw on the recommendations of a committee of the previous parliament, which Gen Musharraf had ignored.

But there has been widespread speculation about the possibility of announcing confidence-building measures like giving up plans to construct new military cantonments in the province opposed by Baloch nationalists, a general amnesty for dissidents fighting security forces in the mountains and blamed for acts of sabotage like bomb blasts to blow up gas pipelines and electricity pylons, and assurances of provincial control over the newly-built Gwadar port and main mineral projects.

What has now developed into a low-intensity insurgency revolves around the Baloch demand for the control of natural resources of the country’s largest but least populated province and more provincial autonomy as well as grouse about lack of economic and social development compared to other provinces.

The package is likely to come up mainly with short-term administrative and political measures while the issue of autonomy could wait for constitutional amendments, which are being considered by another Rabbani-headed joint parliamentary committee and which could apply to all the four provinces.

Its very official name of ‘Aghaz-e-Haqooq-e-Balochistan’ (the beginning of the rights of Balochistan) indicates the package is not intended to solve all problems that have afflicted the province since the early days of Pakistan, marked by armed revolts and exiles of nationalist leaders and activists, some of whom even espoused secessionist plans.

While successive military regimes preferred military means over political dialogue, the first major initiative of a civilian leader in Balochistan was taken in the 1970s by then PPP prime minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto whose forward policy was a mix of politics, abolition of the Sardari system and use of contradictions between the Sardars, and military force that he could not accomplish before being toppled by a 1977 military coup.

Efforts of several months have gone into the formulation of the package, including direct and indirect contacts of the president and the prime minister with the Baloch leaders, dissidents, opposition politicians, including Pakistan Muslim League-N leader Nawaz Sharif, and allies in the ruling coalition.

An official statement quoted Gilani as calling the package in his meeting with the parliamentary committee as a ‘historical step forward which he hoped would ‘go a long way in redressing the grievances and removing the sense of deprivation among the people of Balochistan and will strengthen the federation of Pakistan’.

It said the meeting reviewed and deliberated the final draft prepared by the committee ‘in consultation with all the stake-holders and political leadership of the country’.

Lahore, Pakistan: After the two suicide bomb attacks at Islamic University Islamabad, all educational institutions of NWFP, Baluchistan, Sindh and Azad Kashmir have been closed till Sunday; where as in Punjab these institutions have been closed down for an indefinite period of time.

While talking to Dunya News, Chief Secretary Sindh Fazal ur Rehman told that after the reports received from Federal Government and sensitive institutions, government and private educational institutions of 23 districts will remain closed till Sunday. All government and private universities of the province will also be closed and the ongoing examinations have been postponed; however Malakand University will remain open. Similarly all educational institutions in NWFP will also be closed till Sunday.

According to the Provincial Law Minister Rana Sana Ullah all government and private educational institutions of the province have been closed, which will re-open once the security situation is improved. In Baluchistan and Azad Kashmir all universities, government and private schools and colleges will remain close till Sunday.

SANAA: The Yemeni army killed seven Shia rebels and wounded an eighth as its offensive against their strongholds in the northern mountains entered a second month, a commander said on Sunday.

Troops killed the rebel fighters on Saturday as they attempted to reopen key routes in Saada province on the Saudi border, the official Saba news agency quoted the commander as saying without giving his name.

The rebels have set up roadblocks and planted mines on a number of roads in the province.

In neighbouring Jawf province, troops captured three rebels, a security official said.

On Thursday, the army said it had made major advances in Amran province which lies between Saada and the capital Sanaa. On Friday, it said it was intensifying its operation to reopen the key link that passes through the province.

The Sanaa government launched operation “Scorched Earth” on August 11 in a bid to crush the Shia rebellion which first erupted in 2004.

The government accuses the rebels of seeking to restore the Zaidi Shia imamate which was overthrown in a 1962 coup that sparked eight years of civil war.

Relief groups have warned of worsening humanitarian conditions among the tens of thousands of civilians forced from their homes by the fighting.

The United Nations says that 35,000 people have been displaced over the past few weeks and that food is running low in Saada town, which has been encircled by the rebels and cut off from the rest of the country.

The UN High Commissioner for Refugees estimates that in all 150,000 have been displaced over the past five years.

ISLAMABAD: Second session of the opening meeting of the National Finance Commission (NFC) Award with Minister of Finance Shaukat Tarin in chair being held today in Islamabad.

In the first session on Thursday the centre and provinces finalized the agenda of the NFC Award with unanimity.

The commission had included all contentious issues in the agenda for an NFC meeting today (Friday), in line with a demand by the provinces. The level of poverty and backwardness, the impacts of the war against terrorism, sales tax on the services sector and hydal net profit were included in the agenda of the commission.

Sindh Chief Minister Qaim Ali Shah told reporters after attending the first meeting of the reconstituted NFC that the commission had included all contentious in the agenda. He said the federating units were of the view that an agenda prepared by elected representatives from all provinces should be followed, and “thanks to the chairman, our demand was accepted”.
He said the federal government would be strengthened further if the federating units were economically empowered. He said Friday’s presentation on resource availability would help provinces form a consensus over what should be demanded from the federal government in the new NFC.

He hoped that despite a huge agenda including new issues, the NFC Award would be finalised by the end of September. He said that the new award would be finalised according to the aspirations of the provinces, as the last two awards were finalised by non-elected persons.

NWFP Finance Minister Humayun Khan was of the view that his province needed additional help, along with an increased share in the NFC Award, as the war on terror had affected the provincial economy. He said the province had been unable to develop its infrastructure because of the non-payment of net hydel profits.

Punjab Finance Minister Tanvir Ashraf Kaira told reporters that Punjab was participating in NFC negotiations with “an open mind … any revenue-sharing formula agreed by other provinces will be acceptable to us if Punjab’s demands are met”.

Balochistan Finance Minister Mir Asim Kurd said a “sense of deprivation” had prevailed in the province for the last 63 years. He said the Balochistan government wanted to bring the province at par with other federating units, and “for this purpose we need an increase in the NFC share”.

Federal Minister for Finance Shaukat Tareen told reporters that Thursday’s NFC deliberations had, to a large extent, removed the apprehensions among stakeholders, and paved way for smooth negotiations.

He said despite the inclusion of new issues in the NFC agenda, it would not be difficult to finalise the new award. He said several committees were to be formed to resolve each and every issue raised by the provinces in the minimum possible time.