Law enforcers nabbed 173 suspect miscreants: Interior Minister

KARACHI, July  8 (APP): Interior Minister A. Rehman Malik said here Friday that law enforcing agencies (LEAs) have arrested 173 suspected persons and killed two alleged assailants in an encounter during an  operation against killers in the city.He was talking to media after attending a high level meeting at the Chief Minister House. Sindh Chief Minister, Syed Qaim Ali Shah was also present on the occasion.He said that under a new strategy, some areas will be handed over to the rangers while others to the police. In addition, 250 personnel of Frontier Constabulary (FC) have also been called to assist police and rangers, he added.

Malik said that rangers is an elite force and has produced results in the past.They have been given a “free hand” to conduct operations against the  killer and miscreants who have killed innocent people in the city during the last  three days.
“They have been asked to go for encounters against the miscreants when  necessary to stop killing of innocent people in the city”, he remarked.
He pointed out that the presence of intelligence has also been enhanced three times to get authentic information against the miscreants.   
He said that  President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Syed Yusuf Raza Gilani have asked him to show zero tolerance to the violence in Karachi and ordered for stringent action against the killers.
“We will bring back  life and normalcy to Karachi and take the killers to the task”, he vowed.
The Minister said that Sindh Chief Minister has been busy for the last  24 hours taking actions against the killers.
Responding to a question,  the Interior Minister said that he was in contact with MQM chief, Altaf Hussain and ANP chief Asfandyar Wali and other parties to request them to control their workers.
“I also appealed to them to ask their leaders and workers to support and cooperate with the government in its efforts to arrest the killers,” he added.
“I was in contact with Altaf Bhai last night and today (Friday) to seek his support and I thank him for withdrawing the strike call and also postponing the march which was planned for Friday.”
Malik said that all the workers of MQM or ANP were as close to him as PPP workers.
He pointed out that law enforcing agencies have been directed to take  tough action  against the miscreants, irrespective of party affiliation or influence.
He said that LEAs have  also been given the identity of those groups which were demanding “bhatta” from businessmen in the city.
Referring to some pockets where criminal groups are resorting firing on transport and people, Rehman Malik said that LEAs have been directed to conduct operation in Katti Pahari area, Qasba Morr and Sherpao Colony.
He also urged the media not to sensationalise the incidents and not to count the deceased like  cricket score. They are human beings and their respect should be maintained, he added.
Malik said media will not be allowed for their own safety in those areas where LEAs are conducting operations against the criminals.
They will be allowed, once an area is cleared from the miscreants, the  Minister added.         
Earlier, Chief Minister Syed Qaim Ali Shah said that law and order situation has improved and firing incidents have reduced after LEAs action against miscreants since last (Thursday) night.
He said Sindh government will support the rangers as they are an effective force. “We will own their actions as they are needed to control law and order and take action against the criminals,” he added.
Shah expressed deep sorrow over the loss of innocent lives and said this killing will be stopped and this problem will be solved.
He said that an effective plan has been devised to deal with the criminals and killers in the city.

 

Violent clashes leave 90 dead in Karachi

Police have been given orders to shoot gunmen on sight in Karachi, Pakistan’s commercial capital, as authorities struggled to contain a four-day spate of violence in which more than 90 people have been killed.
The city of some 18m people is in the grip of one of its worst outbreaks of bloodshed in years, fuelled by a power struggle between rival political parties divided along ethnic lines.

“It’s much worse than I’ve seen in the last five years,” said one resident. “There are reports of rocket launchers being used. The streets are almost completely empty.”
The killings have posed a fresh challenge to the coalition government of Asif Ali Zardari, the president, and the city’s overstretched and outgunned police. The government said it was deploying 1,000 paramilitaries to provide back-up.
Gunmen have raked buses with gunfire, rampaged through slum neighbourhoods, and set fire to buildings, with police manning checkpoints largely powerless to intervene. A police source said more than 90 people had been killed since Tuesday.
Business ground to a halt in much of the city on Friday as transport workers went on strike and many shops remained shuttered as the crackle of gunfire rang out from side-streets.
“It’s very bad for all of us, it’s very traumatising,” said Seemin Jamali, who runs the casualty ward at the Jinnah Post Graduate Medical Centre in Karachi. “It’s very depressing for us to see so many of our citizens dying like this.”
Ms Jamali said her emergency room had received nine victims of gunshot wounds on Friday, two of whom had died.
Police say privately that the killing is broadly carried out by armed gangs linked to two rival political parties – the Muttahida Qaumi Movement, the dominant party in the city, and the rival Awami National party, which has gained an important foothold in Karachi in recent years. Activists from the ruling Pakistan People’s party are also believed to be involved.
The MQM draws much of its support from middle-class members of the Urdu-speaking Mohajir community, which arrived from India at Pakistan’s creation in 1947. The ANP largely represents a more recent influx of poorer Pashtun migrants from north-western areas near the border with Afghanistan.
Members of both communities have been targeted in the latest wave of tit-for-tat killings to rock the city, which has become increasingly polarised along ethnic lines.
The latest violence appears to be linked to last month’s decision by the MQM to quit the PPP-led ruling coalition. The MQM left in protest at the government’s decision to postpone elections in two seats in a regional assembly which it believed it would win.
“Every time something happens on the political level, immediately the city starts burning,” said Amber Alibhai, general secretary of Shehri, a group which campaigns for better urban planning. “The first fear when MQM left the coalition was that Karachi is going to disintegrate into violence.”
Some residents believe the MQM activists are fomenting violence against Pashtuns to underscore their dominant position in the city in spite of their party’s decision to withdraw from the ruling coalition.
Members of the MQM deny such allegations, and have in turn accused the PPP of seeking to punish them by giving a free hand to gunmen to attack Mohajirs.
“There have been numerous cases where these militants have opened fire in parts of Karachi and the police have casually watched,” said Nasreen Jalil, a senior member of the MQM. “There has been criminal neglect.”

SC orders to stop inquiry against Qureshi, transfer of officials

ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court (SC) has issued orders for FIA to stop the transfer of four officials and the departmental inquiry against investigating officer, Zafar Qureshi, Geo News reported.

During proceedings in the NICL scam case, Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry expressed anger over reports and reasons behind Qureshi's suspension published in numerous newspapers.

In his remarks the CJ said that the courts orders were not being followed and asked what Zafar Qureshi's fault was. The Chief Justice added that six newspapers had stated that the decision to suspend Qureshi was made in a meeting between Prime Minister Gilani, Rehman Malilk and Pervez Elahi. He said that a retired judge would investigate the matter and make the f

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acts clear.

Political matters were interfering in the work of the court, the Chief Justice remarked. He told the Attorney General that the investigation in the NICL scam case would be conducted and the money would be brought back. The court also directed the DG FIA to stop the transfer of four officials who were investigating the case alongside Qureshi.

Security forces kill 30 militants in Kurram Agency

Security forces killed 30 militants after helicopter gunships targeted their hideouts during a military operation in Kurram Agency on Wednesday.
Sources said security forces are heading towards Ali Sherzai and Zemashq areas after gaining control of the Dambaki area.
Manato, which is a stronghold of terrorists, has also been cordoned off.
A number of families in Kurram Agency have been shifted to safer places.
So far, 550 families have registered themselves as IDPs.
The Director General of the Inter-Services Public Relations Major General  Athar Abbas praised the military for reclaiming territory previously under the control of terrorists.
Earlier this week, the Pakistan army announced that it had launched an air and ground offensive in Kurram region on the Afghan border.
Army spokesman Major General Athar Abbas gave few details of the operation in Kurram — a tribal region that had become increasingly used as a refuge for militants.
But he said the offensive aimed to reopen the road to Parachinar, a Shia majority town on the Afghan border that had been virtually cut off from the rest of Pakistan for years and was facing increasing attacks from Sunni militants.
“The operation has been launched with the aim of clearing the region of militants who have indulged in kidnapping and suicide attacks on security installations and forces there,” Abbas said.

Hajj Policy 2011: SC overrules LHC judgement

ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court of Pakistan on Thursday overruled the Lahore High Court’s (LHC) verdict on the suspension of Hajj Policy 2011 and the cancellation of the Hajj quota.
The verdict was announced by a four member bench, headed by Justice Javed Iqbal, hearing the federation’s appeal and 17 other petitions filed by tour operators against the LHC verdict.
The petitioners had requested the apex court to set aside the LHC judgment of June 6 on the grounds that it would cause tremendous loss to tour operators and inconvenience some 90,000 pilgrims.
During the hearing Additional Attorney General KK Agha stated that courts should not interfere in administrative matters. He stated 90,000 pilgrims would be affected if Hajj Policy 2011 was cancelled.
The court directed the government to devise a transparent Hajj policy for next year.
The LHC had revoked the Hajj quota issued by the religious affairs ministry to private tour operators and had directed the ministry to reallocate it.
Through a short order on petitions against allocation of quota under Hajj Policy 2011, a full bench headed by LHC Chief Justice Ijaz Ahmad Chaudhry had ruled that the clause in the new policy – which limits selection of Hajj Group Organisers (HGOs) to organisations which have provided services during last year’s Hajj or the ones preceding it – was illegal.

Pakistan hardly to see any change in gov't soon

ISLAMABAD, July 7 (Xinhua) -- Despite the political mercury shooting up in Pakistan after the country's biggest opposition party, Pakistan Muslim league-Nawaz (PML-N), launched a campaign to unite other opposition parties against the current government, the country will hardly see any big political move or change in the government soon, analysts said.
The political circles got active when PML-N chief and two-time former prime minister Nawaz Sharif announced on June 30 to unite all opposition parties on a "minimum agenda" to overthrow the current government of the Pakistan People's Party (PPP) led by President Asif Ali Zardari.
Sharif took this decision soon after his two-decade rival party Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM), or United National Movement, quit the coalition government over some differences with the President Zardari.
Some key leaders of the PML-N were assigned tasks to make contacts with all opposition parties to oust the Zardari-led regime.
Two PML-N leaders, Ishaq Dar and party president Shahbaz Sharif, met MQM central leader Farooq Sattar in Dubai and London respectively and discussed political situation including the options to form the grand opposition alliance.
As a result of these political connections, MQM and PML-N on Wednesday agreed to work together as a joint opposition in both upper and lower houses, and in provincial assemblies to solve the key national issues.

Army answerable to people, their representatives in Parliament: Gen Kayani

MINGORA (SWAT), July 6 (APP): Chief of the Army Staff Gen. Ashfaq Parvez Kayani on Wednesday said Pakistan Army being a national army, derived its strength from the people of Pakistan and was answerable to the people and their representatives in the Parliament. In his key note address at a seminar on ‘deradicalization’ here, Gen Kayani said,” accordingly, Pakistan Army considers people’s support vital for its operations against terrorists, and believes that only the people of Pakistan can determine the national interest and army’s role in their achievement”. He said that Pakistan’s commitment to war against Al-Qaeda and its affiliates is total and unwavering as it firmly believes in taking stern action against all terrorist groups.

The Pakistan Army is determined to lead the fight on terror in partnership with other law enforcement agencies and in line with the Constitution, he added.

Gen Kayani reiterated that there is no military solution to terrorism since military strategy can only provide an enabling environment. The menace has to be tackled in the domain of national security which warrants a comprehensive response entailing synergy by all elements of national power, he added.
He said following the success of military operations, reconstruction and rehabilitation of infrastructure was immediately launched to restore life.
This rehabilitation effort, in addition to a host of other activities, included an effective de-radicalization programme.
He said that de-radicalization, as a process, is gaining eminence in many parts of the world.
He said,” there is general consensus in societies that the national security interests are better served by de-indoctrinating and re-integrating the radicals back into the society. By radicalism, I refer to a socio-psychological process of incremental commitment to radical trends - may it be political, psychological or religious. Radicalism is, therefore, a risk factor that can transform into violence and push societies into anarchy”.
He said the de-radicalization effort was a result of the demand placed on the Army by the post-operation environment.

“Driven by the detention of thousands of miscreants after the operation, our de-radicalization programme was built around four pillars, including de-radicalization of juveniles,  de-radicalization of selected reconcilable detainees, de-radicalization of families of selected detainees and de-radicalization of certain villages in general, from which the bulk of militants had originated,” he added.  
He said this programme was initiated with the help of Government  of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and certain NGOs, in specially created facilities.
“Our effort to transform the members of public who embraced radical trends, has met considerable success. We are getting back to you with validation and a sense that this is doable,” he added.
Gen Kayani said it would be prudent for all elements of national power and the nation to take a holistic view of national security, within the purview of ‘state as well as human security’ in modern times, no single organ of the state, was configured to mount a wholesome response to the challenges confronting national Security.
He said all instruments of state and society have a role to play.
De-Radicalization is an important contributor towards achieving human security.
Such efforts are to be expressed through attempts to change behaviours, primarily by ‘rehabilitating or de-indoctrination’, he added. 

He said the effort, therefore, has a larger context and merits time resources and commitment.  
To sustain these undertakings, the state and the society, have to provide enabling ideological, political and socio-economic safeguards integrated into a well thought-out, encompassing national policy with the ultimate goal of achieving counter-radicalization of the society at large in the long term, he added.
He said that Army is following a well thought out campaign plan, which is succeeding and providing space to other organs of State which must expeditiously build on military success to achieve during peace and stability.
“While we have taken the first step here in Swat by initiating de-radicalization programme, it needs support and initiative of the society, intellectuals and policy makers to take the lead and put into effect a
counter-radicalization construct, not only to sustain the de-radicalization effort, but also to assure a free and progressive future for Pakistan,” he added.

Commenting briefly on the situation in Swat, as it existed in 2009, he said Swat was virtually lost to terrorists, writ of the government had ceased to exist while police and other government functionaries had almost stopped functioning.
Public stood terrorized and powerless against the militants. Images of armed militants moving freely raised concerns regarding the Army’s capabilities and resolve to fight militants, he added.
In order to re-establish writ of the government, eliminate miscreants and restore general public’s confidence, he said, the largest Pakistani counter insurgency operation was launched by the Army, involving approximately three divisions i.e. 30,000 troops supported by artillery, combat aviation and air force.

He said the largest ever helicopter borne operation on altitude of 7000 feet was conducted in Peochar, an inaccessible mountainous area, not far from where “we are sitting today”.
Within three months, Swat stood restored. 2.4 million displaced persons were managed, and helped safely return to their homes, he said and added, 75% of the IDPs were looked after by extended families.
Gen. Kayani opined that it was difficult to find a parallel in history considering the magnitude and scale of operation in a short time of three months.
He said that Pakistan Army suffered 985 casualties (including 228 officers and men killed and 757 wounded) with high officers to troops casualty ratio 1: 8 in known history.
Additionally, there were 595 casualties of other LEAs and 981 civilians lost their lives, he added.
“When we were still in the recovery process, Swat was hit by the worst floods in its history. It further compounded the problem,” he said.            
Gen. Kayani also paid  tribute to the resilience and sacrifices of valiant people of Swat, Pakistan Army Shuhada and their families.
The debt owed to them can only be repaid by achieving and ensuring lasting peace in Swat as well as in Pakistan. De-radicalization is therefore, a step towards that end, he added.

People, state institutions to jointly eliminate terrorism; Gilani

SWAT, Jul 6 (APP): Prime Minister Syed Yusuf Raza Gilani on Wednesday vowed to eliminate terrorism from the country and said the people of Pakistan and the state institutions were united in their resolve to take this campaign to its logical end. “Pakistan’s commitment is total and unwavering. Despite the challenges, the political leadership, Parliament and other state institutions stand united for elimination of terrorism,” Gilani said in his address to the “National Seminar on De-radicalization”.

The conference was also addressed by Chief of the Army Staff General Ashfaq Parvez Kiyani. Governor Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Barrister Masood Kosar and federal and provincial ministers were present at the seminar besides several foreign speakers.
The prime minister expressed the hope that “with collective support and struggle of the masses, political parties and military leadership, we will overcome extremism and terrorism.”
Prime Minister Gilani who flew into the picturesque valley on a day-long visit termed the war against extremism and terrorism as a matter of national survival.

the security situation in islamabad

security van is punctured and waiting for rescue

no problem if you pay a little amount more to CDA people

if you pay a little amount more under the table then no problem and you can hang the banner across the road,other wise it is not allowed and illegal.