HRCP urges govt to ensure Siddique Eido’s release

The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) has called upon the Balochistan government to ensure safe recovery of HRCP activist Siddique Eido, who was abducted in Gwadar by men wearing official uniforms on December 21 last.

In a letter to the Balochistan chief minister, HRCP expressed concern that despite the lapse of 50 days no progress had been made in securing the release of Mr Eido. The Commission said: “At the very least, statements of the four policemen of Pasni Police Station accompanying Mr Eido at the time of his abduction must be recorded and they should be asked to provide as much information as they can about the identity of his abductors.”

HRCP expressed serious concern that Mr Eido may be tortured in custody and that his life was in grave danger. It called upon the government to ensure the safe and immediate recovery of Mr Eido and order that any personnel who had any role in abducting or illegally detaining Mr. Eido be brought to justice.

Guilty National heroes should be treated with an iron hand

Salman Butt

By MOHAMMAD KHAN SIAL
Karachi

Our three cricket national heroes, Salmaan Butt, Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Aamir have been proved guilty of corruption with heavy punishments resulting in debarring them from cricket for the next 10 years, seven years and five years respectively. Nonetheless, they have immensely defamed the country internationally for their own vested interests. Such an act is no less than treachery. 

Mohammad Asif

Mohammad Amir

I believe that such cases should be treated with an iron hand without any leniency. It was an act of treachery and should be referred to the courts of law. Nevertheless, some influential people will always, for one reason or the other, protect these people who are determined to defame the country worldwide, which is why such cases always resurface.

US Calls for Pakistan to Adhere to Legal Obligations: Illegally Detained Diplomat Has Full Diplomatic Immunity

Islamabad - The United States Government once again calls upon the Government of Pakistan to abide by its obligations under international and Pakistani law and immediately release the American diplomat illegally detained in Lahore. The U.S. Embassy reiterated to the Government of Pakistan today that his continued detention is a gross violation of international law.

The U.S. Government has repeatedly communicated to the Government of Pakistan that the illegally detained diplomat enjoys diplomatic immunities under the Vienna Convention of Diplomatic Relations (1961).

The U.S. Government notified the Government of Pakistan on January 20, 2010 that the American diplomat was assigned to the U.S. Embassy in Islamabad as a member of the administrative and technical staff. Under the Vienna Convention and Pakistani domestic law, he is entitled to full criminal immunity and cannot be lawfully arrested or detained.

This morning, the American diplomat was remanded in court without notice to the U.S. government, without his lawyer present, and without translation assistance. He was denied due process and a fair hearing.

We deeply regret that the January 27 events in Lahore resulted in the loss of life following an attack on the diplomat by armed assailants. However, the Government of Pakistan must comply with its obligations under international and Pakistani law and ensure that he has immunity from criminal jurisdiction.

We look forward to working with the Government of Pakistan toward the expeditious resolution of this incident. Responsibility for the safety and well-being of the illegally detained diplomat rests with the Government of Pakistan and Punjab provincial authorities.(PR)

Earthquake in Pakistan: Tremors felt in Karachi, Lahore, Quetta, Multan, Hyderabad and other Cities

7.4 Magnitude Tremors felt in all major cities of Pakistan on wednesday. Epicentre of earthquake is afghanistan border. Quake also felt in New Delhi and Dubai.

We are fast running towards our end: Feryal Ali Gauhar

I feel sorry for governor and  his family. may his soul rest in peace.I feel sorry to call myself a Pakistani A country where every voice which is against mullah brigade is eliminated A country where no one knows the meaning of tolerance. a country where there is no concept as free speech.i guess time is not far when this God forsaken country would b in a blood bath we are fast running towards our end.

R.I.P Mr. Taseer

HRCP concerned over case against military farm tenants

Lahore, November 15: The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) has expressed concern over reports of registration of a criminal case against 175 tenants of military farms in Okara, for allegedly resisting a contractor from taking possession of 100 acres of land leased to him.

A statement issued by the commission on Sunday said: “It is a matter of concern that tensions have once again risen in the villages of military farms in Okara. The tenants’ claim that a number of tough men had accompanied the contractor to take possession of land that had previously been under the tenants’ cultivation is a matter of concern. Media reports suggest that the tenants had overpowered and handed over to the police at least one proclaimed offender. In the circumstances, registration of a case against the tenants necessitates a transparent inquiry.

HRCP must emphasise that no one must be allowed to take the law into his own hands. The movement of Okara tenants for their rights has been characterised by non-violence. HRCP hopes that the legal process will not be used to victimise anyone.

The Commission also has apprehensions about the living conditions of tenants in six villages of the Okara military farms—villages 11/4L, 15/4L, 16/4L, 24/4L, 25/4L, and 26/4L—in the Okara cantonment limits. Credible reports suggest that no development work has taken place in these villages for a decade. Basic facilities such as roads and sewerage in the six villages have fallen apart due to lack of allocation of funds.

Furthermore, HRCP has received with alarm reports that although National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA) had issued National Identity Cards (NICs) to residents of the six villages, and that these cards bear the address of these villages, now the NADRA authorities in Okara say that no such villages exist and that they have no record of the six villages. This despite the fact that in the last general elections voters from the villages had exercised their right to vote on the basis of NICs issued by NADRA.

The tenants also say that four years earlier the authorities had stopped the construction of a primary school building for boys in village 26/4L, and village children were facing difficulties as the incomplete building only needed a roof. Meanwhile, measures to prevent tenants’ children from attending school in the cantonment area, if true, can only be strongly denounced.

To state the obvious, the tenants are as entitled to development in their area as residents of any other part of the country and a systematic denial of development funds gives credence to the apprehension of the tenants that they are being punished for demanding their legitimate rights and that such tactics are a device to force them out of their villages.

HRCP demands that the military farm tenants must be allowed to exercise all the rights that the law of the land provides and that they must not be targeted through abuse of the legal process. They must also not be denied their identity documents nor the right to peacefully live, work and prosper on land that they and their forefathers have brought under cultivation through their sweat and toil.”

172 journalists got plots in Islamabad

The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) is in possession of a list of 172 journalists who were given plots in the federal capital in line with their two per cent quota in G-13 and G-14 sectors. The names of journalists who were given plots against payments were:

Sarwar Munir Rao

Sohail Iqbal

Ayesha Haroon

Syed Fahd Hussain

Shakeel Ahmed Turabi

M Najeeb

Sarmad Salik

Sheikh Zamir Ahmed Qadri

Rana Qaiser

Absar Alam (he later returned the plot)

Hanif Sabir

Muhammad Malick

Nazir Naji

Shoaib Bhutta

Mustansar Javed

Kh Sharif Ahmed

Sami H Zubari

Aslam Javed

M. Ziauddin

Zafar Rashid

Muhammad Ilyas Bhatti

Noor Faizi

Khan Zaman Malik

Shaukat Ali

Syed M Qasim

Tahir Khan

Ikram Hoti

Syed Qamar Abbas

Shamim Sherrei Sardar

Shakil Sheikh

Abdul Aziz Muhammad

Abrar Ali Saeed

Syed Farhan Bokhari

Muhammad Ashraf

Muhammad Ishaq

Ch. Muhammad Ilyas

Rashida Begum Butt

Iftikhar Nazar

Muhammad Sarwar Awan

Muhammad Afzal Nadeem

Aqeel Ahmed

Ejaz Malik

Muhammad Fayyaz

Altaf Hussain Bhatti

Muhammad Ehsan Elahi

Ali Raza

Shahid Mahmood Malik

Zafar Malik

Wajih Siddiqi

Farman Ali

Muhammad Bilal

Arif Rana

Syed Itrat Hussain

Rana Ghulam Qadir

Saleem Khilji

Abdul Saleem

Safdar Hussain

Imran Nallam Ahmed

Abdur Rauf

Masood Majid Syed

Zahid Khawaja

Muhammad Akram

Syed Zargoon Shah

Kunwar Rashid Habib

Anis Ahmed

Waseem Akthar

Rao Khalid

Abdul Manan Haid

Jehangir Raja

Shaukat Rehman Malik

Muhammad Javed Akhtar

Akthar Munir

Muhammad Javed

Muhammad Nawal

Nasir Chishti

Malik Safdar

Abrar Mustafa

Muhammad Latif

Suleman Hidyat

Murad Shaz Khattack

Attaur Rehman Tahir

Maqsood Mehdi

Muhammad Jamil Khan

Kh Javed Bhatti

Kaleem Ahsan Shah

Khadim Husain

Muhammad Javed Iqbal Khakwani

Mazhar Ali Khan

Syed Qasir Sherazi

Karim Madad

Ghulam Hussain

Zia Shahid

Azam Ahmed Khan

Khalid Awan

Khalid Mahmood

Tanveer Shahzad

Seema Mir

Najumul Islam Usmani

Khalid Mustafa

Saleem Usmani

Syed Ali Nasir Jaffiri

Shahid Butt

Zulfikar Ghuman

Abdul Razak

Ali Imran

Syed Raza Shah

Muhammad Aslam

Shabir Khamid Bukhtawari

Shagufta Jabeen

Bashir Ahmed Shad

Syed Aswad Ulfat

Agha Mahrooz Haider

Nasir Iqbal

Masood Abdul Raheem

Raja Mahmood Bashir Usmani

Muhammad Ilyas Khan

Muhammad Mushtaq Ghuman

Mashkoor Hussain Shah

M Taimur

Masroor Mohsin Gilani

M Ibrahim Khan

M Shahbaz Khan

Amir Sajjad

Mumtaz Alvi

Azhar Jamal

Shakil Awan

Tanveer Alam

Habibur Rehman

Naveed Akram

Syed Azhar Hussain

Mubashir Raza

Arif Hussain

Jabbar Zakriya

Muhammad Farooq Khan

Rahat Naseem

Saeed Murad

Ali Imran Javed

Ejaz Khan

Munir Aziz

Muhammad Riyaz Akhtar

Rahat Munir

Jahanzeb

Muhamamd Afzal Malik

Afzal Nadeem

Muhammad Jameel Mirza

Abdul Mateen Khan

Hamidur Rehman

Saadat Bashir

Akhtar Ali Khan

Abdul Jabbar Khan

Khalid Mahmood

Muhammad Rizwan Khan

Rafiq Hussain Khan

Malik Muhammad Ilyas

Sohail Nashir

Uzair Khan

Zahid Hussain Hashwani

Four journalists Rauf Klasra, Amir Mateen, Khaleeq Kiani and Javed Ch were given plots in light of the Lahore High Court decision of 2006 in their favour after their names were deleted from the final list on the orders of the then prime minister Shaukat Aziz.

The list also contains the names of PTV employees who were given plots. They include Nazir Tabsum, Qamar Mohiuddin, Nisar Baloch, Syed Javed Ali, Khalid Iqbal Warriach, Syed Zulfiqar Ali Shah, Ayub Minhas, Asmatullah Khan Niazi, Muzamil Ahmed Khan, Majeed Afzal Khan (Sajan Khan), Awaid Butt, Rashid Baig, Ramzan Khalid, Muhammad Arshad Saleem, Muhammad Zakariya, Musadiq Kaleem, Arif Mahmood.(ET)