Lahore—Pakistan People’s Party Co-Chairman Asif
Ali Zardari has ruled out any possibility of
accepting President Pervez Musharraf’s November
3 actions. Talking to newsmen here at Governor’s
House, Asif Zardari said the PPP always
challenged Musharraf’s legitimacy as the
president from the day one. However, he avoided
to give direct reply to a question about
Musharraf’s impeachment. ‘’If Musharraf quits
his office, the PPP would bring a consensus
president after having consultation with other
coalitions partners including the PML-N, ANP and
MQM’’, he said. The PPP co-chairperson got
emotionally charged while responding to a
question about NRO. He said he had spent five
years in prison during Musharraf’s rule, Shaheed
BB went into exile and his father Hakim Zardari
was also arrested. He said Musharraf tried to
prove allegation against him and spent billions
of rupees for the purpose but failed to convict
him in a single case therefore NRO is
meaningless for him.
Islamabad—In the country’s sixty years history
on Tuesday the details of the proposals for
defense allocations for 2008-09 were taken up
for discussion in senate. Leader of the House,
Mian Raza Rabbani laid before the Upper House
the papers containing break-up of defense
services budget for debate, setting precedence
in parliament’s history.
The storm-in-a-tea cup raised by President Hamid
Karzai’s threat of attack on Taliban targets in
Pakistan and Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani’s
rejoinder warning him to desist from such
intervention has passed with equal speed. Of
course no realistic observer projected an
Armageddon. Afghanistan lacks the power and
Pakistan the motivation. They have not only
common intersts and friends to restrain them but
also common threats and enemies. The Taliban,
Afghan as well as Pakistani, menace peace and
progress in both countries, and contemptuously
reject the principle of non-interference in
internal affairs that the governments of the two
countries invoke against each other. Neither of
the two is strong enough to prevent Taliban
militants from terrorist attacks on armed
forces, schools for girls and innocent citizens.
Islamabad—Dr Abdul Qadeer Khan on Tuesday denied
selling blueprints for an advanced nuclear
weapon to Iran or North Korea, telling AFP that
Western countries were to blame. Khan’s comments
came a day after a former arms inspector said in
a report that the United States and the UN
atomic watchdog must be allowed to question Khan
to learn if he sold the plans.
“This is all a lie, there is no truth in this,”
Khan told AFP by telephone from his Islamabad
villa, where he has been kept under house arrest
since confessing to proliferation activities in
2004.
Islamabad—Pakistan is fully committed to the
cause of nuclear non-proliferation and would
continue to support global efforts in this
regard. A statement issued by the office of the
National Security Advisor to the Prime Minister,
here on Wednesday said this in the backdrop of a
number of speculative views and comments made by
some scholars in the United States at a US
Senate Committee hearing on Pak-US strategic
relationship, on 12th of June. Asserting
Pakistan’s firm commitment to the cause of
non-proliferation, the statement said that
Pakistan “will continue to support global
efforts in this area with full commitment”.
Islamabad—Adviser to Prime Minister on Interior
Rehman Malik on Tuesday informed the Lower House
of the Parliament that nine suicide bombers were
arrested during long march. He rejected reported
US attack in South Wazirsitan Agency on June 14
terming it as media’s mis-reporting. Speaking in
the National Assembly Malik said that 45
kilograms of explosive material was recovered
from near Lahore and some people also arrested
in that connection. “Media will be provided with
details in a day or two”
Islamabad— The government has directed Zarai
Traqiati Bank and House Building Finance
Corporation to immediately stop auctioning of
land and houses of the poor loanees. Finance
Minister Syed Naveed Qamar said this while
winding up debate on the new budget in the
Senate on Tuesday. He said the government is
also examining some other measures in this
regard without hurting stability of these
institutions. The Minister also announced that
in deference to the demand of the Senate the
government has decided to withdraw five Bills
from the Finance Bill to give opportunity to the
Senate to play its due role in legislation. He
said some other Bills might also be withdrawn
before passage of the budget.
Lahore—Shaikh Mohammad Sadiq, Executive Director
of Bashir Siddique Logistics Group and a leading
light in the transport sector, has highlighted
the serious shortage of diesel throughout the
country which could have adverse impact on the
national economy. The current shortage is the
result of an ill-advised official policy to levy
a hefty Petroleum Differential Levy (PDL) on
high speed diesel on the oil companies. Starting
initially with approximately Rs. 6/ 00 this levy
has galloped to an astronomical level of Rs. 27
/ 50 per litre. What is more it is reportedly
causing the oil companies a loss of Rs. 3.45 per
litre which is bleeding them heavily.
Arghandab—Thousands of residents fled villages
near Kandahar as Taliban militants blew up
bridges on Tuesday ahead of a looming offensive
by Afghan and NATO troops, officials and locals
said. A Taliban commander said hundreds of
fighters had hunkered down in troubled Arghandab
district since late Monday, with many of them
having escaped from the southern city’s main
jail at the weekend in a brazen insurgent
attack. The wave of unrest in the strategic
region has piled pressure on President Hamid
Karzai, who threatened at the weekend that
Afghan forces could attack militants on the soil
of neighbouring Pakistan.
