Non-state actors behind Karachi blast: President

The president also said some forces wanted the ISI to be under civilian control but the government put a stop to the move. — File Photo

ISLAMABAD: President Asif Ali Zardari has said that the non-state actors mentioned by him in his speech on the second death anniversary of Benazir Bhutto were behind the attack on Monday’s Ashura procession in Karachi.

In an interview with a TV channel, the president said some forces wanted the ISI to be under civilian control but the government put a stop to the move. He said the late Benazir Bhutto had criticised the operation in Balochistan.

Replying to a question, the president said ‘establishment’ was the name of a state of mind which worked in different ways, -- sometimes in the shape of (former president Farooq) Leghari and sometimes as Roedad Khan. However, the factor of military establishment had been given prominence.

President Zardari said there was complete harmony between the military and the civilian government on the ongoing army operation.

Replying to a question, he reiterated that ‘political actors’ were hatching conspiracies against the democratic government. He said the conspiracies were not against the government, but against Pakistan. He said he had political weapons which would be used at an appropriate time to foil the conspiracies.

President Zardari said one could not ignore the fact that several heads of state had been assassinated. “I am getting security and protocol as the head of state.”

He said the Pakistan People’s Party considered slain Taliban leader Baitullah Mehsud was the mastermind of the plot to assassinate Ms Bhutto.

The president said the government would hold local bodies’ elections within 90 days.—Agencies

Nazims’ reign ends in three provinces

President Zardari, on the advice of Prime Minister Gilani, deleted laws concerning local governments from the sixth schedule of the Constitution.—Photo by AP

ISLAMABAD: The local government system became a provincial subject after midnight on Thursday.

Provinces have decided to retain the system after making some amendments required in their jurisdictions.

Except in Sindh, all district Nazims will stop functioning from Jan 1 and administrators from the bureaucracy will be appointed to serve in their place till fresh LB elections are held.

President Asif Ali Zardari, on the advice of Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani, deleted laws concerning local governments from the sixth schedule of the Constitution.

Deletion of Balochistan Local Government Ordinance, 2001 (XVIII of 2001), North West Frontier Province Local Government Ordinance, 2001 (XIV of 2001), Punjab Local Government Ordinance, 2001 (XIII of 2001) and Sindh Local Government Ordinance, 2001 (XXVI of 2001) allowed the provinces to make changes in the local government laws.

The president’s spokesman, Farhatullah Babar, said Mr Zardari described it as a new year gift to the nation which would promote provincial harmony.

“As the clock strikes midnight heralding the advent of 2010, the provinces are free to make their own laws relating to the local bodies either through legislation or ordinances. They are free to hold fresh elections or appoint administrators.”

A press release issued by the Prime Minister’s House said Mr Gilani observed that the provinces, according to their need and circumstances, may make laws and hold local bodies’ elections.

He further observed that omission of laws from the sixth schedule was a valuable dividend of democracy.

It is believed that there would be no uniformity in the LG system in the provinces because some will retain it while some will scrap it.

It has been learnt that except for Sindh, administrators would be appointed soon in provinces till the holding of fresh elections.

President Zardari has expressed the desire that the provinces should hold fresh LG polls within 90 days.

However, Punjab and NWFP governments have decided to hold elections in three and six months respectively.

“Our party has prepared a bill concerning amendments in the LG system and it is likely to be passed soon,” PML-N Information Secretary Ahsan Iqbal told Dawn.

He advocated non-uniformity in the LG system, saying the provinces should have autonomy to take a decision according to their conditions and requirements.

“Actually the uniformity in the system was desired by former president Pervez Musharraf who wanted to control the provinces through the LG ordinance,” Mr Ahsan alleged.

ANP’s senior leader Haji Adeel said his party had also prepared a draft bill containing proposed amendments in the LG system. Fresh election would be held within six months, he added.

Former chairman of the National Reconstruction Bureau Daniyal Aziz, who along with his predecessor Gen (retd) Tanvir Hussain Naqvi, gave a new concept of LG system, told Dawn that the system should not be wrapped up and if required amendments should be made.

He said he had been urging the provincial governments not to scrap the system because it was made for the betterment of people and to delegate powers to the grassroots level.

Mr Aziz recalled Article 140-A of the Constitution, which says: “Each province shall, by law, establish a local government system and devolve political, administrative and financial responsibility and authority to the ‘elected representatives’ of the local governments.”

The Muttahida Qaumi Movement has rejected the proposal to appoint administrators and said the Sindh government should hold LG elections in three months.

When the term of LGs lapsed in October, the Punjab government had sent a resolution, or draft amendment, to the president with three main points: appointment of administrators, revival of magistracy and postponing of LG polls.

Not only Punjab but the NWFP and Balochistan have also demanded that the local governments’ mandate should be restricted to municipal functions. Uplift projects and tax functions should be reviewed and assigned accordingly, the suggested.

They pleaded that law and order should be purely a provincial subject and executive magistracy should be introduced.

Meanwhile, a senior official of the ministry of local government said the provinces did not want wrapping up of the whole LG system, but demanded some amendments to put it under provincial set-up.

Hyderabad Dawn reporter brutally assaulted

M.H Khan received several head injuries and one of his fingers was fractured when he was attacked with iron rods by two workers of SNF. — Dawn

HYDERABAD: M.H. Khan, the staff correspondent of ‘Dawn’ in Hyderabad, was brutally assaulted by workers of the Sindh National Front (SNF) on the Radio Pakistan road here on Thursday afternoon while he was on his way to the press club.

He received several head injuries and one of his fingers was fractured. He was rushed to the Liaquat University Hospital, where he received three stitches on his head.

He was later admitted to the Naseem Medical Centre and was stated to be in stable condition.

The cantonment police have registered a case against two unidentified persons on the complaint of Mr Khan.

According to the correspondent, he was attacked with iron rods by two workers of SNF who had been waiting for him on the Radio Pakistan road. “They hurled abuses and started beating me.”

Mr Khan said that one of the assailants specifically rebuked him for putting tough questions to SNF chief Sardar Mumtaz Ali Bhutto last week while the veteran leader was making a statement on the 1997 NFC award. “One of the attackers said to me: ‘How dare you grill Sardar Mumtaz Bhutto’.”

Journalists here were of the view that Mr Khan was assaulted simply because the SNF did not like Mr Khan’s handling of the statement Mr Bhutto had made at the residence of former provincial minister Dr Irfan Gul Magsi.

Mr Bhutto had claimed that he had not signed the sixth NFC award. The report on the statement was published in ‘Dawn’ on Dec 24.According to Mr Khan, the general secretary of SNF, Ayoub Shar, later asked him over telephone to get a clarification published. Mr Shar was told that the clarification should come from the SNF in writing and on the party’s letterhead.

Once such a statement was issued, the clarification would be published, he was told. The SNF leader refused to issue any clarification, adding that Mr Khan must write one on his own. However, a clarification on behalf of Mr Bhutto was published on Dec 26.
According to this clarification, Mr Bhutto’s “caretaker regime had wound up (the process of preparation of) the sixth NFC award. It was announced in 1997 when Liaquat Jatoi was the Sindh chief minister”.

Journalists here said the SNF leadership might be unaware that the clarification had already been published in ‘Dawn’.

SNF activists torched Dawn’s offices in Hyderabad and other towns of Sindh last year after they took ‘offence’ to a story about Mumtaz Bhutto.

CONDEMNATION: The attack on Mr Khan was condemned by the national as well as provincial bodies representing journalists.

The Dawn unit of the Karachi Union of Journalists (KUJ) and the CBA for employees of the Dawn Group of Newspapers expressed concern and anger over the assault.

In a statement, the Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists said the attack showed society was becoming intolerant. It urged the government to “take action against the culprits who should be proceeded against in accordance with law”.

The KUJ said that an inquiry should be launched to ascertain the facts of the case. It said exemplary punishment should be given to perpetrators of the assault. The KUJ’s unit in Dawn urged the authorities to take note of the maltreatment of journalists.

The Pakistan Herald Workers Union, the labour union of the Dawn group, said that attacks like the one on Mr Khan would not stop journalists from stating the facts.

A general body meeting of the Hyderabad Press Club, presided over by Aziz Malik, resolved that all SNF statements and events would be boycotted by journalists until an apology was tendered by the party’s leadership and the two workers involved in the attack were handed over to police.

Mr Malik said journalists “would never bow to the Kalashnikov”. If a party had differences of opinion with a journalist, it should use civilised ways of putting across its point of view, he added.

Mahesh Kumar, the president of the club, Hameedur Rehman, Ali Hassan, Lala Rehman Samoon, Mohammad Shahid Shaikh, Hamid Shaikh, Abdul Hafeez Abid and Ayoub Leghari also condemned the attack. Later the journalists held a demonstration outside the club.

The attack was widely condemned by bodies representing journalists across Sindh. Rallies and demonstrations were held in all major cities and towns of the province.

Chief Minister Syed Qaim Ali Shah, in a statement, said he had directed the administration to take action against those involved in the assault.

Provincial Fisheries Minister Zahid Ali Bhurgari, District Nazim of Hyderabad Kanwar Naveed Jamil, JSQM chairman Basheer Khan Qureshi and Mohammad Sharif of the MQM were prominent among the leaders and legislators who visited Mr Khan in hospital.

Gas tariff increased by 18 per cent

Gas rates for commercial consumers have gone up from Rs393.48 to Rs463.76 per unit.—File photo by APP

ISLAMABAD: An across-the-board increase of 18 per cent in prices of natural gas for all categories of consumers — domestic, industrial, commercial and CNG stations — with immediate effect from Friday was notified by the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority on Thursday night.

According to the notification, the increase will yield an additional revenue of about Rs21 billion to the Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited (SNGPL) and Rs11 billion to the Sui Southern Gas Company Limited (SSGCL) during the current fiscal year.

The notification was earlier approved by Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani.

An increase of about Rs64.02 per million British Thermal Unit (mmbtu) has been allowed in the average sale rate of SNGPL to Rs296 per unit, up by about 18 per cent.

The average sale rate for SSGCL has been allowed to go up by Rs38.06 per mmbtu -- about nine per cent.

The average sale rate for all consumers of natural gas, bought either from SSGC or SNGPL, has been increased by 18 per cent to ensure uniform gas tariff across the country.

SNGPL and SSGCL had a couple of weeks ago sought an average increase in gas prices by about Rs80 per unit and Rs57 per mmbtu, respectively, through separate petitions to Ogra to meet their estimated revenue shortfalls during the current financial year. They said the increase was necessitated by a much

higher cost of gas because of rise in international oil prices and depreciation in the value of rupee against the US dollar.

The cost of domestic gas production is linked to international oil prices that have registered a substantial increase over the past six months.

Added to this is the impact of depreciation of the rupee against dollar because international gas producers are paid in foreign currency for whatever gas they produce from domestic gas fields.

Besides, the government is required under covenants with international lending agencies to ensure a minimum of 17 to 17.5 per cent guaranteed rate of return to SNGPL and SSGCL.

DOMESTIC CONSUMERS

According to the notification, gas rates for the lowest slab (50 cubic metres per month) of domestic consumers have gone up from Rs80.65 to Rs95.01 per mmbtu and that of the second slab (50-100 cubic metres) from Rs84.45 to Rs99.48.

Likewise, rates for the third slab (100-200 cubic metres) have been increased from Rs153.73 to Rs181.10 per unit and that of the fourth slab (200-300 cubic metres) from Rs325.48 to Rs383.42.

Gas rates for fifth slab (300-400 cubic metres) have been increased from Rs423.42 to Rs498.80 per unit, followed by the sixth slab (400-500 per cubic metres) from Rs550.44 to Rs648.43 per unit and the last slab (over 500 cubic metres) from Rs730.17 to Rs860.15.

Rates for non-profit consumers like places of worship, educational institutions and armed forces’ mess, along with tandoors have been increased equal to the first four slabs of domestic consumers.

Gas rates for commercial consumers and ice factories have gone up from Rs393.48 to Rs463.76 per unit.

Rates for industrial consumers and fuel for fertiliser factories have been increased from Rs324.30 to Rs382.37 per unit. Rates for CNG stations have been increased from Rs427.15 to Rs503.64 per unit.

POWER STATIONS

Rates for Wapda’s power stations have gone up from Rs333.98 to Rs394 per unit and that of Liberty Power Project from Rs1060.4 to Rs860.

Gas tariff for independent power producers (IPPs) has gone up from Rs282.88 to Rs332.36 and that of captive power plants (CPPs) from Rs324.30 to Rs382.37.

According to the notification, CNG rates for the Potohar region have been increased from Rs49.73 per kg to Rs55.30 per kg and those for Sindh and Punjab from Rs48.54 per kg to Rs53.63 per kg.

Petroleum prices cut by 1.34 per cent

The price of petrol has been reduced by 89 paisa per litre and that of light diesel oil by Rs2.12 per litre.—Photo by APP

ISLAMABAD: The Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (Ogra) reduced on Thursday petroleum prices by 1.34 per cent to 3.5 per cent with immediate effect in line with a decline in international market.

According to a notification, the price of petrol has been reduced by 89 paisa to Rs65.11 per litre, down by 1.34 per cent and that of High Octane Blending Component (HOBC) has come down to Rs79.43 per litre, down by Rs1.09 or 1.35 per cent.

Likewise, the ex-depot sale price of kerosene has been reduced by Rs1.88 per litre to Rs60.75, down by about 3 per cent and that of light diesel oil by Rs2.12 per litre to Rs58.10, down by 3.5 per cent.

The prices of jet fuels have also been reduced by 1.3 per cent to 3 per cent, and those of JP-1, JP-4 and JP-8 by 3 per cent, 1.3 per cent and 2.9 per cent, respectively.

Benazir Bhutto probe to be extended to March: UN

The three-member panel is headed by Chilean ambassador to the UN Heraldo Munoz and includes Indonesian ex-attorney general Marzuki Darusman and Peter Fitzgerald, an Irish former police official. —Reuters/File Photo


UNITED NATIONS: UN chief Ban Ki-moon plans to give the panel probing the 2007 assassination of Pakistan’s ex-prime minister Benazir Bhutto until late March to complete its work, his spokesman said in a statement on Thursday.

The UN panel, which began its investigation last July 1 and was to have submitted its report Thursday, will now be given until March 31 to do so, the statement said.

“Because of the substantial amount of information collected by the commission in Pakistan and further follow-up work that remains, the commissioners requested additional time to complete their report,” spokesman Martin Nesirky said.

He added that Ban notified both the Pakistani government and the UN Security Council about the decision.

The three-member panel is headed by Chilean ambassador to the UN Heraldo Munoz and includes Indonesian ex-attorney general Marzuki Darusman and Peter Fitzgerald, an Irish former police official.

Bhutto, the first woman to become prime minister of a Muslim country, was killed on December 27, 2007 in a gun and suicide attack after addressing an election rally in Rawalpindi, a garrison city near the capital Islamabad.

Her supporters have cast doubt on an initial Pakistani probe into her death, questioning whether she was killed by a gunshot or the blast and criticizing authorities for hosing down the scene of the attack within minutes.

An investigation by British detectives also said that Bhutto was killed by the force of a suicide bomb and not gunfire, backing the Pakistani government’s controversial account of how the opposition leader died. —AFP

Pakistan asks coalition not to leave Afghanistan in haste

Islamabad is also concerned that Obama’s plans to send 30,000 more US troops into Afghanistan might see militants flee into Pakistan’s troubled northwest and southern border regions. —AFP/File Photo

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan warned the US-led coalition on Thursday against a hasty withdrawal from Afghanistan, expressing renewed concern about growing instability on its militant-infested border.

“The decision to leave Afghanistan should be taken when it is able to look after itself effectively,” Pakistan’s foreign ministry spokesman Abdul Basit told a press briefing.

“Coalition forces should not leave Afghanistan in haste,” Basit said.

Islamabad is also concerned that Obama’s plans to send 30,000 more US troops into Afghanistan might see militants flee into Pakistan’s troubled northwest and southern border regions.

Pakistan saw a flood of Taliban and Al-Qaeda militants enter its lawless borderlands after a US-led invasion ousted the Taliban from Afghanistan in 2001 and security has drastically deteriorated in the last eight years. —AFP

Drone strike kills three militants in N Waziristan

The bombing comes the morning after a similar US drone attack killed four militants Machikhel village, about 25 kilometres east of Miranshah. —File Photo

MIRANSHAH: At least three militants were killed on Friday in the second US missile strike in as many days targeting Pakistan's wild tribal region of North Waziristan, officials said.

The morning attack by a drone aircraft struck a suspected militant hideout in Ghundikala village, 15 kilometres east of Miramshah, the main town of North Waziristan and close to the Afghan border.

“A US drone fired two missiles, targeting a vehicle and killing three militants,” a senior security official in the area told AFP.

“The identity of militants is not known yet. It is also not clear whether any high value target was present in the area when the attack took place.”

Another security official confirmed the strike and the casualties. Both officials requested anonymity because of the sensitivity of the US strikes in Pakistan, which have inflamed anti-American sentiment.

The bombing comes the morning after a similar US drone attack killed four militants Machikhel village, about 25 kilometres east of Miranshah.

Nato tankers attacked in Quetta

Police rushed the site and placed a cordon around the area. An investigation was underway. — Photo by Reuters

QUETTA: Unknown assailants damaged two Nato tankers in Quetta by opening fire on one of them and torching the other. However, no casualty has so far been reported.

According to police, the incident took place on the city’s outskirts, in Kuchlak, early Friday. The tankers were on their way to the border town of Chaman carrying fuel from Karachi for Nato forces in Afghanistan.

The assailants opened fire on one of the tankers smashing its windscreen. They torched the other truck causing serious damage to the vehicle’s front. Loaded fuel, however, remained safe.

Police rushed the site and placed a cordon around the area. An investigation was underway. — DawnNews

Afghan forces kill three Pakistanis

Afghan workers setup a barbwire fence over the protective earth barrier around the forward operating base of the US Army's 5th Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division, 8-1 Cavalry Squadron under the Nato-led ISAF on October 4, 2009 in Spinboldak in southern Afghanistan, close to Pakistan border. — AFP

QUETTA: Afghan border security personnel shot dead three Pakistani nationals for illegally crossing into their soil from the Pakistani border town of Zhob, DawnNews reported.

According to official sources, three Pakistani nationals, who were shepherds by profession, had crossed over into Afghan territory on Thursday without any legal documents.

The three had entered Afghanistan from a point in between the Qamar Din Karez and Badini areas of the Pakistani border town of Zhob when they were shot dead by Afghan forces.

Their bodies were later brought to Pakistan by Afghan authorities and were handed over to their families. — DawnNews