Category — Pak judiciary

LARKANA, Oct 31: On the intervention of the Supreme Court, a murder case has been registered four years after the killing.
The FIR of the murder case of Asif Ali Gopang, who was killed in July 2005 in Larkana, was registered on Saturday against eight people.
Talking to journalists, complainant Mukhtiar Ali Gopang, father of deceased, alleged that Malik Mohammed Ayaz Awan, an official at Hyderabad post office, bore grudge against him after he had sent proofs of his corruption to the high ups.
Mukhtiar alleged that Malik Ayaz in connivance with some people killed his son on July 16, 2005, and threw the body in the Rice Canal.
When approached, Mukhtiar said, the then SHO of Taluka, inspector Syed Asif Shah, refused to register an FIR.
“Since then I approached several officials to secure justice but to no avail. Finally I sent an application to the chief justice of the Supreme Court who asked the Sindh IG to send a report about the murder case,” Mukhtiar said.
The IG asked Larkana DIG Sanaullah Abbasi to send a report about the case, he said, adding that the IG immediately took action.
The former SHO was arrested and his name was incorporated in the FIR on the charge of negligence, Mukhtiar said.
Those nominated in the FIR registered under sections 302, 201, 217, 218, 342, 34 and 120-B of the PPC with Taluka police station include Ayaz Awan, Gul Mohammad Shaikh, Taj Mohammad Shaikh, Shafi Mohamnmad Shaikh, Imtiaz Ali Gopang, Irfan Ali Gopang and Sarfraz Gopang.
The complainant said that the Shaikhs and the Gopangs were involved in a land dispute with him. http://www.dawn.com/wps/wcm/connect/dawn-content-library/dawn/the-newspaper/national/it-takes-four-years-to-lodge-an-fir-119

LONDON: The attack on the General Headquarters (GHQ) in Rawalpindi has highlighted not only the threat from the Taliban in the Tribal Areas bordering Afghanistan, but also from those based in Punjab.

Security officials said some of the militants involved in the attack on the GHQ appeared to have links to Punjab. “South Punjab has become the hub of jihadism,” analyst Ayesha Siddiqa wrote in a magazine article last month. “Yet, somehow, there are still many people in Pakistan who refuse to acknowledge this threat,” she wrote.

Security officials said a militant arrested after the attack and hostage-taking at the GHQ was believed be a member of the Lashkar-e-Jhangvi. Some hostage takers’ phone calls were intercepted and they were speaking Punjabi, another security official said. However, Interior Minister Rehman Malik has said it is too early to say whether Punjab-based groups were involved.

Separate danger: NWFP Information Minister Iftikhar Hussain called on Saturday for the elimination of militant bases in Punjab as well as South Waziristan. But targeting all of the country’s militants at once could create an even more dangerous coalition by driving disparate groups closer together, analysts say. The army also draws many of its recruits from Punjab, making any efforts to root out militants there all the harder.

“Deploying the military is not an option. In the Punjab this will create a division within the powerful army because of regional loyalty,” wrote Siddiqa. But the police force in the province is inadequate and unlikely to be able to take on the thousands of armed men belonging to different militant groups. Complicating the picture further are pressures from both the US and India, which want Pakistan to target the groups directly in conflict with them.

Pakistan has focused largely on acting against groups representing a direct domestic threat, leading some analysts to suggest it may want to retain groups like the Afghan Taliban and Lashkar-e-Tayyaba to be used as “strategic assets” against India. But defence analyst Brian Cloughley said the attack on the army’s headquarters showed how little support militants had in the military and the Inter-Services Intelligence. http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2009\10\12\story_12-10-2009_pg7_8

The News, Oct 11
ISLAMABAD: Geo News and some other TV channels were once again blocked by the PPP government on Saturday afternoon, an action replay of the Musharraf-era.

The action was taken allegedly for “objectionable” coverage of the GHQ terrorist attack, but the Pakistan Army officially announced that it had no objection to the coverage and asked the government to reopen the channels.

Geo TV, however, remained shut in the afternoon while three other channels, which were also closed, were reopened shortly.

The government often shuts other channels also as a tactic to show that its action is not discriminatory and specific to one. This tactic was also used during the Musharraf onslaught against the Geo.

The action which was primarily meant to target the Geo TV, came after a senior official categorically warned the channel on Friday evening, one day before this incident, saying: “You can face damage if you do not change your policy” (Agar Aap Apni policy Tabdil Nahin Karte To Aapko Nuqsaan Pohnch Sakta Hay).

The closure of Geo TV started in the afternoon under the pretext that the TV channel was showing clips of the GHQ attack repeatedly.

Geo TV strongly denied the charge saying it is the norm throughout the world to repeat transmission as all the viewers do not watch TVs at one time. The state-run television, PTV, is also following this practice. Geo TV further said that its coverage was according to the rules and regulations of the Pemra and if there was any objection, proper legal action should be taken instead of arbitrary closure of the TV channels.

The closure of Geo TV, and for some time other channels, began with the same tactics used by the Musharraf regime by forcing the cable operators who were quietly but sternly told to downgrade Geo TV on the cable list throwing the channel to numbers 80 to 90. Some cable operators were told to deliberately disturb the audio-video signals of Geo TV so that legally it could be claimed that the channel had not been closed but the signals were weak.

The Pakistan Army and the security agencies took a firm stand against the government closure of the channels and DG ISPR Major General Athar Abbas told Geo TV and BBC that the Pakistan Army had no objection to the coverage shown by the TV channel and the channels should be immediately reopened.

General Abbas told Geo TV that he had told Information Minister Qamar Zaman Kaira that Pakistan Army and ISI had no complaints against the Geo and the closure orders of the government should be withdrawn.

General Abbas also told The News that he had told the information minister that the closure of Geo was earning a bad name to the army as it was being perceived that the army was behind this action by the government.

It may be recalled that the PPP government had been expressing serious anger and concern over the independent and objective coverage of news and events by the Jang Group of Publications for sometime and several high-level meetings had been held to “apply brakes” to the Geo TV and Jang Group.

These meetings chalked out strategies to control the Jang Group but action was delayed because of various reasons.

Recently when the Kerry-Lugar Bill issue was raised and exploded in the face of the PPP government, action to control the Jang Group was again considered seriously.

When Information Minister Qamar Zaman Kaira forced Pemra and Ministry of Information officials to take action against the Geo TV, there was a lot of resistance by some officials because there existed no legal or other justification to shut down the channel but then the orders and pressure was so intense that Pemra used its authority to take the channels off the air.

It was also learnt that the cable operators were told several tricks to shut down or downgrade the Geo TV so that if tomorrow the issue is taken to courts, they could defend their action by saying that it was not a closure but some technical fault.

Senior officials of Geo told Pemra and Ministry of Information officials that the Geo TV was showing what was legally permitted under the Pemra laws and other laws of the land. They were told that Geo transmissions earned business and they should not inflict financial loss on the channel.

They were told that if the Geo TV was found to be violating any Pemra rules, it should be taken to court and action taken under the due process of law instead of arbitrary closure, which resembled the tactics used by the dictators.

Under a democratic government such actions were not compatible, the Pemra and Ministry officials were told. The Geo officials also told the Pemra and the Ministry officials that they were extended a threat by the government a day before and now they have found an opportunity to take action against the channel. They said they intend to move the court immediately against the closure of the channel.

The Ministry officials were also told that when you people are in the opposition you always stand behind the press and strongly condemn such arbitrary measures by the government of the day against the media. “Please have mercy on Pakistan, follow rules set by Quaid-i-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah and give the people their right to information,” the Geo senior officials told Pemra and Ministry of Information officials. The Geo transmissions were restored after a few hours. http://www.thenews.com.pk/print3.asp?id=24954

The Balochistan High Court’s order to book former president General (r) Pervez Musharraf, his PM Shaukat Aziz and others for killing Baloch leader Nawab Akbar Khan Bugti is the first substantial move to open up contentious issues which the present PPP government has hitherto avoided. The court’s order may force Musharraf, now in self-exile, to consider hard whether to return to Pakistan, but it also has the potential to pitch the newly assertive judiciary against the civil and military establishment. Parts of the political spectrum, including the opposition parties, will welcome the order, yet it may seem easy for a judge to order Musharraf’s trial for murder, but it would be harder for the government to comply.

If the judiciary persists with the pressure and forces the executive to act, an unfortunate situation of confrontation may develop. But to correct the massive distortions in our political and judicial systems, such bitter pills have to be swallowed. Somewhere, someday, somebody will have to start the process. Though it may appear impractical now, the FIR against Musharraf and others must be registered and action must be initiated, to the extent possible. If the PPP government drags its feet, governments to come later can pick up the thread. But the process must begin. Musharraf must be booked and tried. http://www.thenews.com.pk/daily_detail.asp?id=202108

By Amanullah Kasi in The Dawn, Oct 8
QUETTA, Oct 7: The Balochistan High Court has ordered the SHO of Dera Bugti police station to register an FIR against former president Pervez Musharraf and others in the murder case of Baloch leader Nawab Akbar Bugti.
On a petition by Nawab Bugti’s son Nawabzada Jamil Akbar Bugti, a bench headed by Chief Justice Qazi Faez Isa ordered on Wednesday registration of a case against the respondents, except NWFP Governor Owais Ghani.
The petitioner had nominated Gen (retd) Musharraf, former prime minister Shaukat Aziz, former governor of Balochistan Owais Ghani, former chief minister Jam Mohammad Yousuf, former interior minister Aftab Ahmed Sherpao and former home minister Shoaib Nausherwani.
The court accepted the submission of the petitioner, but excluded the name of Mr Ghani who being governor of the NWFP holds a constitutional position.
Mr Sherpao’s counsel Barrister Masoor Shah pleaded that he had no role in the killing. He said that forces which had killed the Baloch leader during a military operation were not under his command and he had not been consulted or informed about the action.
Mir Nausherwani said that three lawyers contacted by him had not yet responded to his request to represent him.
He denied having played any role in the killing of Nawab Bugti and said he had not been consulted on military actions in Dera Bugti.
He said the killing of the Baloch leader was a sad incident and morally he felt guilty for having failed to resign after the incident.
Deputy Attorney General Afzal Jami said the issue was a provincial matter and the federation had nothing to do with it.
Balochistan Prosecutor General Malik Zahoor Ahmed Shahwani said he had no objection to registration of the FIR.
The petitioner had challenged on Sept 8 the rejection by the Sibi sessions court of his application for registration of the report.
The chief justice had issued notices on Sept 11 to the respondents, except Mr Ghani, but neither the ex-president, the former prime minister and chief minister nor their counsel appeared before the court.
Nawab Bugti was killed on Aug 26, 2006.
APP adds: Interior Minister Rehman Malik told journalists in Islamabad that the federal government respected all judicial orders, including that of the BHC regarding Gen (retd) Musharraf. He expressed full support for the court order.
He said the former president did not have immunity from Interpol’s red warrants.
“We will extend maximum cooperation to the provincial government whenever required,” he added. http://www.dawn.com/wps/wcm/connect/dawn-content-library/dawn/the-newspaper/front-page/registration-of-bugti-case-against-musharraf-ordered-809

ISLAMABAD: The Balochistan High Court (BHC) lost all of its five judges, including its chief justice, after the Supreme Court decision.

All the BHC judges, including Chief Justice Amanullah Yasinzai, Ahmed Khan Lashari, Akhtar Khan Malghani, Nadir Khan Durrani and Kailash Nath Kohli, were among those sent packing. As the Islamabad High Court (IHC) lost its very existence, four of its judges were deprived of their judicial status, while the remaining four judges will go back to their respective high courts from where they were inducted into the IHC.

The four justices who would stay on the bench are confirmed judges. They included justices M Bilal, Munir Paracha, Raja Saeed and Qilbe Hassan. Those who stood sacked were Intikhab Shah, Arshad Tabraiz, Amjad Iqbal Qureshi and Ramzan Chaudhry.

Senior lawyers said the appointment of a large number of judges to fill the vacancies falling vacant in the high courts would have to be geared up. Among these nominations, appointments for the BHC would have to be accorded top priority.

They said never in the history of the country such a large-scale purge had taken place in the superior judiciary. The number of judges who had to go home because of the 1996 judgment of the Supreme Court in the Al-Jihad Trust case, commonly known as the judges’ case, was much less as compared to the present tally.

The lawyers said dozens of new appointments in the superior judiciary would be made by President Zardari on the recommendations of Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry on proposals forwarded by the chief justices of the high courts. http://www.thenews.com.pk/top_story_detail.asp?Id=23613

Baloch rights: edit in The Dawn, July 26
MUCH is said but little has been done to address the problems plaguing Balochistan. The grievances felt by the Baloch are genuine, and they have not only been ignored but exacerbated by the actions of the federation over the course of several decades. The government now at the helm in Islamabad made a promising start when it issued a public apology for the “the atrocities and injustices committed” in Balochistan. That was seen as a statement of positive intent, even by some nationalist forces, but the lack of follow-up relegated the apology to the realm of rhetoric. In the dying days of March 2008, Yousuf Raza Gilani pledged that the Concurrent Legislative List would be abolished within a year. That hasn’t happened. Broken promises are what the people of Balochistan have come to expect from the centre. It is time for deep and intrinsic change.
We are now told by the interior minister that there will be “good news” about Balochistan in a matter of weeks. This is a typically vague statement, short on content and high on hyperbole. Instead of mouthing off, we should be soul-searching. It must be admitted and recognised that, much to the detriment of the ‘smaller’ provinces, a form of neocolonialism has been at work in Pakistan all along. Regional rights over resources have been appropriated by the centre with little dividend accruing to the provinces. Successive governments have colla-borated with tribal chieftains who want to keep their areas backward so that the system remains intact and influence is retained by a chosen few. Education is denied because knowledge is a tool that could be used by the poor to better their lot in life. Industry is discouraged in parts of Sindh and Balochistan because monthly paychecks are likely to shrink the ranks of sharecroppers. The people have been rendered voiceless and the state is a party to this crime.
It is said that foreign agents are fomenting the insurgency in Balochistan, which is most likely true. At the same time, however, it ought to be acknowledged that the state is creating the conditions that can be exploited by outside forces. Given its natural riches, Balochistan should be the most prosperous province in Pakistan. In reality it is the poorest. It was not just the Musharraf era in which Baloch dissidents simply ‘disappeared’. The practice of branding political opponents as ‘anti-state’ must end and the government needs to ask itself whether its actions are forcing insurgents to seek outside help, which is what happened in East Pakistan. There has been enough talk and it is now time to act. http://www.dawn.com/wps/wcm/connect/dawn-content-library/dawn/the-newspaper/editorial/baloch-rights-679

What ‘good news’ from Balochistan: edit in The daily Times, July 26
Just as unknown killers shot to death a professor of Government Degree College Quetta — two days after the killing of the principal of a Government High school –Interior Minister Mr Rehman Malik told the Senate in Islamabad that there could be “good news in two to four weeks about Balochistan” as a result of secret “back-channel” contacts. He did not name India as a mischief-maker and left the reference to “back-channel contacts” hanging in the air; but he did speak about his recent meeting with President Hamid Karzai of Afghanistan and the agreement he had reached with him on the establishment of “three bio-metric checkposts on the border” to stop the movement of militants he said were being trained at training camps in Afghanistan.
The senators had raised other questions, however. For instance, why had Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani not yet convened a promised all-parties conference on Balochistan? They had also voiced their concern about what they called an “East Pakistan-like situation” in Balochistan where non-Baloch settlers, including teachers, were being killed, and the national flag and anthem were not allowed to be observed in educational institutions in some areas. But Mr Malik was firm about having no truck with the separatists among the Baloch. He pledged action — of an unspecified nature — against Hyrbair Marri, the leader in exile of the Balochistan Liberation Army, who had recently told a TV channel that he “did not recognise Pakistan”. But Mr Malik insisted, “With some back-channel talks going on, God-willing, problems will be resolved.” More specifically, he said that because of efforts to “persuade those estranged”, it is possible that he might come up with “a better good” news in two to four weeks.
Anyone in Pakistan will tell you that the crisis of Balochistan will not be resolved by putting up a few checkposts on the Balochistan-Afghanistan border. While it is true that India is fishing in troubled waters in the province, its problems have not been created by it. The mention of Balochistan in the recent Indo-Pak joint statement at Sharm al Sheikh may have sent a shiver of unfamiliar triumph up Islamabad’s spine, but it has not led to any softening of the Indian attitude. In fact quite the opposite has happened.
Pakistan has been “path dependent” — tied to past policy decisions that deter policy change in light of new developments — on its Taliban policy in Afghanistan and is now facing its backlash. Balochistan is no longer a place made tough by the simple question of Baloch rights, it is also a region under Talibanisation. The killing of teachers is not far divorced in thinking from the destroying of girls’ schools in the tribal areas and the NWFP. It is no longer the Baloch sardars who have to be placated; we have to look at the growing strength of the immigrant Pashtun who threaten the local polity with their linkages with the Taliban and Al Qaeda.
There is a Tehreek-e Taliban Balochistan (TTB) that undercuts the secular Pakhtunkhwa Milli Awami Party (PKAMP), vows lack of connection with Baitullah Mehsud, boasts “no enmity” with the JUI, and now speaks for people other than the Baloch. The grievances of the Baloch have been inquired into in great detail in the past by Senate committees. Much of what Pakistan has to do to save Balochistan has been spelled out there and can be the basis of negotiations. But the province is too disturbed to allow that process to take place.
Mr Rehman Malik is hamstrung also by nationalist backlash against his soft approach towards India. If you want to get ahead in Pakistan these days, be hawkish with India. But expect no respite from New Delhi, either. Balochistan needs to be tackled but before the talks with the Baloch begin the terrorists have to be taken care of. The media is hostile to the PPP government and will accept only mid-term elections as a precondition before it is helpful. The petroleum minister in Islamabad is already thinking of taking the Iranian gas pipeline through the sea.
Good news will take some time coming. Pakistan’s national politics is opposed to the deep self-correction that the state requires in foreign policy as well as the internal policy about the non-state actors which the state used to patronise in the past. http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2009\07\26\story_26-7-2009_pg3_1

Damani dam breach: edit in The dawn, July 26
Another dam in Balochistan has breached after the recent torrential rains, once again causing misery and destruction. Although the incident is not comparable to the 2005 Shakidor dam-burst in coastal Balochistan in which hundreds of people went missing or died, the recent breach in the under-construction Damani dam has reportedly affected 15,000 people, submerged over a dozen villages and inundated over 1,200 hectares of agricultural land. The immediate needs of the affected people include food, shelter and medicine. Once the waters subside they will need monetary and other help to repair their damaged homes and rebuild their agricultural lands.
Post-disaster relief is no doubt an important responsibility of the local and provincial governments as well as of the army and relief agencies. But of equal, if not more, importance are pre-emptive measures to ward off a disaster or mitigate its effects. Dam failures during the monsoon rains have become common in recent years in Balochistan which has some 300 big and small dams. Of particular concern is the fact that the threat comes more from new dams. Shakidor dam was built in 2003 and the Damani dam was under construction. Clearly, greater checks, at regular intervals, on under-construction and built dams are in order.
What is also required is structural enhancement so that dams vulnerable to breaching do not threaten communities. A detailed evacuation plan to minimise harm to the communities when the structure fails should also be drawn up. This would entail installing an effective early-warning system and educating communities on ways and means to evacuate their villages when the threat of flooding becomes imminent. Considering the potentially immense damage and loss of life that can be caused. www.dawn.com/wps/wcm/connect/dawn-content-library/dawn/the-newspaper/editorial/damani-dam-breach-679

SUCH was the fury of the inmates at Machh jail in Balochistan at the absence of basic facilities and ruthlessness of the jail officials that they set on fire a carpet factory. And it was only after Provincial Minister Sultan Tareen’s personal assurance to the prisoners that they would be taken care of that the matter was resolved. The inmates’ grievances against overcrowding, and torture by the jail authorities are genuine and should be addressed without further ado. They have nonetheless warned that they would resume their protest if their demands are not met. Just the other day, there was a report highlighting the lack of health facilities in the jail and that a large number of inmates were suffering from hepatitis. By and large, the state of the Machh jail, which is a violation of fundamental rights of the inmates resembles prisons across the country. Little work has been done to ensure provision of facilities like lavatories, electric fans, clean drinking water and hygienic food. Likewise, overcrowding has come up as a big problem. Usually, prisoners are locked up in a cell as if they were animals. It is a pity that the government despite calls by various sections of society has not built new jails. Worse still, it is not uncommon for the wardens to resort to atrocious practices like torture and harassment of the inmates.
Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry who was on an inspection tour of jails across the country was so shocked by the conditions that he took suo moto notice of the state of prisons. Concurrently, it is obligatory upon the government to see to it that the rights of the prisoners are secured. http://www.nation.com.pk/pakistan-news-newspaper-daily-english-online/Opinions/Editorials/25-Jul-2009/Plight-of-inmates