Saturday, February 5, 2011

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)

Wednesday, January 19, 2011

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.

Friday, January 7, 2011

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

Monday, November 15, 2010

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.”


Wednesday, November 10, 2010

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)

Tuesday, September 14, 2010

Average Value of MNAs’ Assets increases three folds since 2002; the current National Assembly twice as rich compared to the previous one

A comparative analysis of the assets declared by MNAs belonging to the 12th and the 13th National Assembly of Pakistan reveals that the average value of an MNA’s assets has increased three folds in six years from 2002-2003 to 2008-2009. The average value of an MNA’s Assets in the 12th National Assembly was just below Rs. 27 million in 2002-2003 which has increased to almost Rs. 81 million in 2008-2009, a 3-fold increase in six years, according to a PILDAT Analysis of the Declarations of Assets submitted by MNAs. The analysis also indicates that an average MNA of the current (13th) National Assembly is twice as rich compared to his/her counterpart in the previous (12th) National Assembly.



The PILDAT report series titled How Rich are Pakistani MNAs? has analysed assets declared by MNAs for the years 2002-2003 to 2005-2006; 2006-2007 and 2007-2008 and 2008-2009 through 3 separate reports. The latest of this series of PILDAT reports, comparing assets declared by MNAs belonging to the 13th (current) National Assembly of Pakistan, has used data contained in the Gazettes published by the Election Commission of Pakistan on October 15 2008 and October 27 2009.



The report depicts that the current average value of assets held by an MNA stands at Rs. 80.89 million, based on the 2008-2009 declarations. This figure demonstrates a modest increase of 9.5% from the 2007-2008 figure of Rs. 73.92 million. The average value of assets owned by non-Muslim MNAs, Rs. 20.35 million, is 75% lower than the overall average of almost Rs. 81 million, based on 2008-2009 figures.



In terms of individual wealth, the 2008-2009 declarations reveal the wealthiest MNA to be Mr. Mehboob Ullah Jan (NA-23, Kohistan, KP, PPPP) with total assets of Rs. 3.288 billion. He is followed by Mr. Shahid Khaqan Abbasi (NA-50, Rawalpindi-I, Punjab, PML-N), with total assets of Rs. 1.627 billion, Mr. Jahangir Khan Tareen (NA-195, R.Y.Khan-IV, Punjab, PML-F) with total assets of Rs. 1.095 billion, Mr. Saeed Ahmed Zafar (NA-162, Nankana Sahib-II Old Sheikhupura-VII, Punjab, IND) with total assets of Rs. 1.030 billion, and Ms. Nuzhat Sadiq (NA-277, Punjab-V, PML-N) with total assets of Rs. 912.81 million.



In 2007-2008 declarations reveal the wealthiest MNA to be Mr. Mehboob Ullah Jan (NA-23, Kohistan, KP, PPPP) with total assets of Rs. 3.252 billion. He is followed by Ms. Nuzhat Sadiq (NA-277, Punjab-V, PML-N), with total assets of Rs. 1.514 billion, Chaudhry Zahid Iqbal (NA-162, Sahiwal-III, Punjab, PPPP), with assets amounting to Rs. 1.248 billion, Chaudhry Nazir Ahmed Jatt (NA-167, Vehari-I, Punjab, PML) (who later resigned while facing charges of processing a fake degree; Chaudhary Asghar Ali Jatt is re-elected on this seat in by-election 2010), with assets worth Rs. 843 million and Mr. Jahangir Khan Tareen (NA-195, R.Y.Khan-IV, Punjab, PML –F), with assets amounting to Rs. 716 million.



At the other end of the assets spectrum, the least wealthy MNAs in 2008-2009 is Mr. Saeed Iqbal Chaudhary (NA-81, Faisalabad-VII, Punjab, PPPP) with approximately Rs. 29 million net liabilities, followed by Mr. Roshan Din Junejo (NA-236, Sanghar-III, Sindh, PPPP), Sheikh Rohale Asghar (NA-124 Lahore-VII, Punjab, PML-N), Mr. Ghulam Farid Kathia, (NA-161 Sahiwal-II, Punjab, PPPP), Minister of State for Education, and Mr. Ayaz Amir (NA-60 Chakwal-I, Punjab, PML-N).



Ms. Nuzhat Sadiq (NA-277, Women Punjab-V, PML-N), has remained the richest female MNA in 2008-2009 and 2007-2008, with assets worth Rs. 912.81 million and Rs. 1.514 billion respectively. The second richest female MNA in the current National Assembly is Mrs. Asma Arbab Alamgir (NA-325, Women KP-IV, PPPP) with assets of 515.25 million and 682.05 million in 2007-2008 and 2008-2009 respectively while Ms. Belum Hasnain (NA-292, Women Punjab-XX, PPPP) with assets of 332.50 million in 2007-2008 and 298.40 million in 2008-2009 is the third richest female MNA.



Mr. Mohammad Kamran Khan (NA-40, Tribal Area-V, FATA, IND) proved to be the most effective asset manager whose assets grew 42 times from over the period of a year, followed by Maulana Muhammad Qasim (NA-10, NA-10 Mardan-II, KP, MMA), with a 12 time increase in assets and Mr. Bilal Yaseen (NA-120, Lahore-III, Punjab, PML-N) whose assets increased 9 times during the period.

In 2008-2009, the PML-F is the richest or on top of the list in terms of the average wealth of its MNAs (average assets per MNA: Rs. 239 million), followed by the NPP Rs. 122 million, the independents Rs. 108 million; the PPPP Rs. 102 million; the PML-N Rs. 75 million; the PML Rs. 62 million; the ANP Rs. 61 million; the PPP-S Rs. 37 million; the MQM Rs. 25 million; the BNP Rs. 14 million and the MMA Rs. 6 million. These figures demonstrate a 42 fold difference between the average wealth of the MNAs in the party with the greatest average wealth and that with the least. From 2002-2006, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI) topped the list in terms of average wealth of its MNA as its lone MNA Mr. Imran Khan (NA-71, Mianwali-I, Punjab, PTI, 12th NA) held assets worth Rs. 85 million at that time, followed by the PML-N (average assets per MNA at Rs. 61 million); PML Rs. 56 million and the PPPP Rs. 34 million.

In geographical terms, the differences in average wealth are significant. In 2008-2009, MNAs from Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT) have the highest average value of assets per MNA followed by those from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Punjab, FATA, Sindh and Balochistan respectively. Similarly, in 2007-2008, MNAs from the ICT headed the list. This trend has been maintained earlier from 2002-2006 when on average an MNA from the ICT was the richest followed by an MNA from Punjab, FATA, Balochistan, Sindh and KP.

In terms of the percentage share of the combined value of assets in the year 2008-2009, Punjab tops the list, with a share of 54 % (down from 73% in 2002-2006); followed by Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) 31 % (up from 4% share in 2002-2006); Sindh 10 % (down from 11% in 2002-2006); FATA maintaining its 3 %; ICT 1 % (down from 5% in 2002-2006) and Balochistan at 1 % (down from 4% in 2002-2006).

Saturday, July 10, 2010

HRCP alarmed over labour leader’s murder

The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) has expressed serious concern over the murder of labour leader Mustansar Randhawa and his brother in Faisalabad and called upon the government to track down and try the culprits and to prevent violence against those raising their voice for labour’s rights.

In a statement issued on Friday, HRCP said: “The murder of Mustansar Randhawa, a leader of textile and power loom workers in Faisalabad, and his brother, Naseer, is a stark reminder of the risks labour leaders and human rights defenders face in Pakistan.
The state is under an obligation to protect the lives of all human beings, but individuals that are exposed to specific threats deserve additional protection measures. Mustansar had been receiving death threats reportedly from power looms and textile mill owners for several days, apparently because of his role in orgainzing workers in the area.

The labour movement in Pakistan has long been protesting in a peaceful manner for the rights of workers who find themselves squeezed by the economic downturn, lack of benefits, poor and unsafe working conditions, and wages that bear no relation with the escalating cost of living and inflation. The government is duty-bound to ensure not only that workers get their rights, but also that they are not prevented from raising their voice for such entitlments.

The government must ensure that the killers of Mustansar and his brother do not enjoy impunity. Failure to apprehnd and punish the killers would convey the message that the barrel of the gun is the most effective means to further one’s interests. It is in the interest of the state to do all it can to prevent that message from taking root.”