Wednesday, November 14, 2012

4Pakistani.com

4Pakistani.com

Trouble brews in Gilgit-Baltistan: Baba Jan Hunzai’s tale

Posted: 14 Nov 2012 12:21 PM PST

Baba Jan Hunzai a political activist and a former political prisoner from Gilgit-Baltistan was released from prison after a year of detention during which he claims to have faced torture while in police custody.

Jan also claims to have been illegally detained by the authorities on allegations of creating unrest inside the prison.

Jan's detention story was associated with the little known separatist movement of Gilgit-Baltistan.

Formerly a member of the Labor Party of Pakistan and also a supporter of the separatist movement, Jan has now been made the Vice President of the Awami Workers Party – a new Leftist party born out of a merger of three political progressive parties.

Speaking to The Express Tribune about the current sectarian and human rights crisis in G-B, Jan appears to have toned down his stance on separatism as compared to a year ago. However, his emphasis on further autonomy for the G-B province remains the same.

He also said that the separatist movement, which flared incidents like ill treatment of affectees of Bhasha Dam construction, is small. However, according to Jan, the general public of Gilgit-Baltistan want an "independently elected legislative" assembly in the province, which would ensure that the natural resources like water and minerals of the province remain under the independent members of the assembly, and the revenue generated from them benefitting the locals.

The recent sectarian and human rights crisis in the area is seen by Jan as state-tolerated. He insists that despite heavy deployment of law enforcement personnel, when people are killed in the area, the suspects are never arrested.

Jan adds that Gilgit Baltistan has a secular history, and the sectarian violence in the region has historically only benefited the political elite, who "want to distract people's attention from their economic and political rights".

Jan and other activists of the region were arrested in 2011, along with journalists for criticizing the political appointments of senior judges.

That criticism still remains, and Jan insists that the higher judiciary has no structure and does not protect the constitutional rights of the people of G-B.

Jan cites the appointment of Mian Manzoor Ahmed Wattoo, an elected parliamentarian as Federal Minister Kashmir Affairs and Gilgit-Baltistan as a reflection how the will of the people of G-B is not a priority for the government.

What Obama needs to do in his second term

Posted: 14 Nov 2012 11:20 AM PST



There is only one way to explain Barack Obama's first tenure as president: a Black man's burden! Exceptional of mind, with his heart in the right place, he knew exactly what to do immediately after his inauguration — plug the leaks through which poured trillions that raised the mountain of debt; the biggest of them, the two wars in Iraq and Afghanistan that had together swallowed five trillion dollars. He had promised to close down in Iraq, and he did. But he could not bring himself to close the other war, in Afghanistan; that was his burden. He could not be seen as a wimp, especially since he had just broken a glass ceiling as a man of colour. Hyped as a civilisational war against Islamic terror under Bush's neo-con years, he had to play along to prove his credentials as a genuine American. That in the last four years alone has cost him and America another five trillion dollars in additional debt.

Yet, with an economy in tatters and a depression barely averted, he is back for another term. Perhaps, Mitt Romney will forever rue the greatest opportunity to win back the crown from a man who was unsure of his standing after having been literally boxed in by the baggage of his predecessor, accentuated further by the dynamics of antecedence and the burden of race. His inability to take just another step to break himself free from another bedeviling war to pursue his own agenda of socio-economic development thus lay largely unattended. A fractious political system with a Republican-controlled House of Representatives meant that legislation in pursuit of his social agenda was callously denied. Obama's flagship healthcare plan could only survive with a Supreme Court injunction. Virtual paralysis in government meant Obama failed to change much despite change being his rallying call.

In his second term as president, all this will need to change to make possible for him to pursue his development agenda for the middle class that he so dearly espouses. To that end, he will still need to work with a Republican-dominated Congress and create money to wash the fiscal deficit, find resources to fund his socio-economic programmes, and somehow rejuvenate the economy after the slowest recovery in recent US history. He will have to regress from his rather Left philosophical base to a more centrist political base in order to appear amenable to a similarly polarised Right of the Republican Party. If Obama wishes for a legacy, this will need to be it — his move back to the Centre so that he could work with a divided Congress.

Will he be only a president seeking to leave behind a legacy on a domestic agenda alone? Or, will he also like to leave his mark on the international platform? Perhaps, both will play in his last tenure. Remember, the Obama who gave his victory speech on November 6 was a different Obama from the one who had gone about listlessly as the president in the second half of his first tenure. He spoke with verve and commitment, and carried the same spark in his eyes that people saw in him in 2004 when he gave a keynote speech at the Democratic Convention. He suddenly appeared more confident, more reassured, and more purposeful. He seems to have rediscovered himself.

What then about his external agenda? To keep harmony with the political Right in pursuit of his domestic agenda, whether economy, jobs or his healthcare plan, he is unlikely to pursue policies abroad that will ruffle feathers at home. And this will mean, finding some workable accommodation with Israel. Do not expect then any serious initiative by the second Obama Administration on the Israel-Palestine issue. At the same time, expect an increased pressure on Iran through economic and diplomatic strangulation to keep it from crossing the threshold on nuclear enrichment. This will be a tough balancing act if Benjamin Netanyahu re-emerges with a fresh mandate for another term and considers armed intervention a must to stop Iran's nuclear ambition. Part legacy of Obama on the international plane might include keeping a war out of Iran, including keeping out the US from one. His loudest claim in his victory speech was the end of the decade of war!

What about Pakistan? Pakistan just might find itself re-emerging from the hyphenated Af-Pak as an entity by itself worthy of undiluted American attention. A diminishing centrality of Afghanistan in America's foreign policy focus will mean dealing with Pakistan on its own merit, good or bad. There are signs that a more matured administration led by a seasoned Obama in his second term will, after all, realise the futility of pushing Pakistan to 'do more' and develop a more stable relationship away from the prism of Afghanistan. With the US military involvement in Afghanistan now certain to come to an end, it is likely that use of drones, too, will peter out in Pakistan's tribal regions; it will also depend on how quickly all sides can engage the Taliban in a reconciliation process, thus implicitly bringing hostilities to cease. This too will gradually obviate the more sticking aspects of the US-Pakistan relationship creating space for a more productive relationship.

In an America that is likely to have restricted space abroad because of domestic political compulsions, President Obama will have to work hard to find something of significance to create his own Dayton moment like Clinton. Unless, of course, the US can manage another 'Spring', this time in Israel, by replacing Netanyahu with a less aggressive option. Then, Palestine statehood just might become that moment for President Obama. The other option for him would be to perhaps find progress on some of the long-delayed disarmament issues such as the ratification of the CTBT and a conclusion of the FMCT. With his dependence on the Republican Right to work at home, he just might find these too elusive.

Keeping the world out of another war in the next four years might then be the more probable Obama legacy. Along with jobs at home, of course. Remember, he already has a Nobel for peace that he will do well to justify. Not bad, for a man of colour.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 15th, 2012.

Woman claims daughter was ‘fated’ to die in acid attack

Posted: 14 Nov 2012 10:19 AM PST



ISLAMABAD: 

A woman, who helped her husband kill their teenage daughter by dousing her with acid after seeing her talking to a boy, has told the BBC it was the girl's destiny to die in this way.

Police in Azad Jammu and Kashmir arrested Muhammad Zafar and his wife Zaheen for the October 29 attack on their daughter Anusha, 15, who died in hospital two days later after suffering horrific acid burns.

The incident took place in Khoi Ratta district, 140 kilometres north of the state capital, Muzaffarabad.

Local police officer Tahir Ayub had told AFP that Zafar had suspicions about his daughter and became enraged when he saw her with a boy outside their home.

Speaking from their police cells, the father told the BBC they had warned Anusha before about looking at boys, while the mother described how her daughter had begged for forgiveness. "She said, 'I didn't do it on purpose, I won't do it again'," Zaheen, whose own arm bore an injury from the acid, said. "By then I had thrown the acid. It was her destiny to die this way."

The parents waited two days to take Anusha to hospital. Doctor Mohammad Jahangir of the Kotli hospital has confirmed the death, telling AFP the teenager arrived in a "very critical condition" with almost 70% burns.

Anusha's married elder sister had alerted police and demanded an investigation. Subsequently, Ayub had said that the police registered a murder case against them after confessing the crime for suspecting her of having "illicit relations" with the boy. 

Published in The Express Tribune, November 6th, 2012.

Karachi unrest: PML-N, MQM, ANP among others walkout of Senate session

Posted: 14 Nov 2012 09:18 AM PST



ISLAMABAD: A day after the ruling party's major ally Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) walked out from the Senate to protest against the apparent apathy of the incumbent government in controlling a worsening law and order situation in Karachi, a plethora of government allies and opposition parties walked out on Wednesday.

Save for the ruling Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) and its major ally the Pakistan Muslim Leaque-Quaid (PML-Q), all other parties including the MQM, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), the Awami National Party (ANP), the Jamiat-Ulema-Islam-Fazal (JUI-F) and the National Party walked out of the Senate session on Wednesday.

The walkout was prompted by the conspicuous absence of the federal ministers for interior and law. The absence of law minister Farooq H Naek was a particular sticking point given he had promised on  Tuesday to convey the grievances of members over Karachi's law and order situation to the prime minister in Wednesday's cabinet meeting.

New accountability bill to be introduced next week

The Senate's standing committee on law and justice said completed its review of a draft proposal for a new accountability bill on Wednesday.

The new bill which proposes to increase punishment for violators to seven years of rigorous imprisonment, would now be tabled in the assembly next week for debate.

PML-N to oppose accountability bill

Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan on Wednesday said that his party would vociferously oppose the proposed new accountability bill.

For this, the PML-N leader urged all MNAs of his party to attend the next assembly session scheduled for Monday and oppose the bill as it is tabled.

Mr know it all: A ‘tube light’ and a newly single man

Posted: 14 Nov 2012 08:16 AM PST



Q. Dear Mr Know It All,

A few months ago, my girlfriend of six years (who I thought was my soulmate) broke up with me and started seeing another guy. I thought I'd never get over her but thankfully I think I'm getting there. Anyway, my problem right now is my friends have recently started forcing me to start dating again, and I have no idea how to go about it! I've never been into the whole dating game. I'm completely lost, and have no idea how to woo girls without making a fool of myself. I know I sound like a teenager, but can you please tell me what the current rules for impressing girls without seeming too desperate are?

Derailed

A. One usually needs to walk before running … and you, my friend, are not even crawling yet! Seriously, go easy on yourself. Take time to become comfortable as a single man before jumping onto the relationship train again. Otherwise, it'll take you straight to Hurt Avenue which we all know is a dark, cold place crawling with desperados on the prowl for vulnerable specimen like yourself. Yup, you definitely don't want to fall into the wrong hands again this soon!

But if your friends have already hooked you up with someone nice and you're sure she's not just the poor rebound girl destined for misery, remember that pleasing women is really not as hard as they make it sound. Just remember my ABC theory: Always Agree with everything they say; Bathe regularly; and try to be as Charming as possible!

On a serious note, though, I've often noticed a man's attempt to impress women often sells out his dignity, his confidence and his self-esteem. He stops being himself; stops speaking his mind, giving his opinion, making decisions and being in-charge overall like a real man should. If you're able to avoid all that, while still being kind and funny and charming, chances are you'll have her turning to putty pretty soon!

Q. Dear Mr Know It All

All my friends call me a 'tube light' just because I get things slower than them. Their jokes are just hard to crack because they rely on common knowledge which perhaps isn't as common as they think. It's getting to me now as I really want to be on the same page as them and keep up with their pace. What should I do?

Faster than a snail

A. Sweetie, the only person who gets all the jokes all the time is the liar who doesn't. Really, you can't expect to tiptoe through life by being so naïve. You've got to fake your acumen, do cartwheels in public for whatever amounts of brainpower you possess, you know… make a show of your intelligence.  I personally think there's no point in trying to keep up with anyone's pace unless you have a girlie crush on them. In which case you can simply invest in a new wardrobe and hair extensions and be done with it. That's more than half the work done and you won't even have to start reading the newspaper! But seriously, don't let a few smart-asses dictate your opinion of  yourself, and memorise the perfect comeback to being called slow: Tube lights may take their time to turn on, but when they do, they're the brightest, so watch out!

Published in The Express Tribune, Sunday Magazine, December 25th,  2011.

Youth Exchange Programme: Girl from G-B to represent Pakistan

Posted: 14 Nov 2012 07:15 AM PST



GILGIT: 

A youth volunteer of Pakistan Red Crescent Society (PRSC) in Gilgit-Baltistan (G-B) will represent the country in the International Youth Exchange Programme to be held in Japan this month.

Shahida Gul, a ninth grader at Sir Syed Public School Gilgit, belongs to Yasin Hundur valley of Ghizer District. The PRCS management gave her a farewell at the Gilgit office on Thursday.

Organised by Japan Red Cross Society in collaboration with Japan's Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports and Science and Technology, the exchange programme will be held from November 14 to November 28 in Tokyo.

"Around 70 youth form over 23 countries will participate in the Youth Exchange Programme and we are proud to see a girl selected for it," Safdar Khan, an official of PRCS Gilgit office said.

PRCS G-B Chairman Asif Hussain, Vice Chairman Imdad Ali and Provincial Head Ghulam Abbas were also present on the occasion.

Gul will fly from Islamabad to Tokyo on November 12. Besides her, another student, Asadur Rehman, an eighth grader from Karachi, will also be representing Pakistan in the exchange programme.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 9th, 2012.

FBR isolates 10,000 cases for suspected tax evasion

Posted: 14 Nov 2012 06:14 AM PST



ISLAMABAD: 

Amid deep-rooted suspicions of massive tax evasion by even those who regularly file income tax returns, the government has selected roughly ten thousand cases for a tax audit. Almost 13% of the entities and persons in the government's crosshairs are big firms.

The Federal Board of Revenue isolated these cases on Tuesday through parametric computer balloting, making sure that those who are fully discharging their tax liabilities are not unnecessarily pursued, claimed tax officials.

They explained that only those firms that failed to clear the two dozen risk parameters set for the ballot had been selected for the audit, while individuals and associations of persons who did not clear the 20 risk parameters set for the non-corporate sector had been isolated for audit purposes.

A total of 9,740 cases have been selected for scrutiny, out of which 1,217 are medium and big firms, according to the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR). The rest of the 8,523 cases isolated belong to the non-corporate sector. The salaried class has been excluded from the exercise.

For big firms, one criterion defined for the selection was that the companies' opening balance sheets in a new year did not match the closing balance sheet of the previous year. Another criterion was firms which claimed more than Rs10 million in refunds, which tax officials have deemed 'suspicious' activity.

The FBR has held the computerised ballot after a gap of three years. In 2009, it had picked over 900 firms and individuals for the audit, but many of them obtained stay orders from courts against the decision. The petitioners had claimed that under the self assessment scheme of the FBR, taxpayers were the ultimate authority on determining the taxable amount, and the FBR therefore did not have any role.

After that experience, the FBR has amended its laws and inserted Clause 214-C in the Income Tax Ordinance, which empowers the FBR to conduct an audit of taxpayers. In addition, officials said that the risk parameters defined for the selection were also finalised after consultation with tax bar associations.

The audit will be performed only for tax year 2011. In that year, the FBR had received a total of 1.45 million returns, including those from the salaried class. Out of that figure, returns filed by the corporate sector totalled 22,204, returns filed by the non-corporate sector totalled 519,974. For the audit exercise, the FBR ran the data for 448,866 taxpayers through its parametrised ballot, out of which 9,743 cases were selected.

The taxes paid that year with filed returns were dismally low as compared to previous years, compelling the authorities to go for the audit, said officials. The exercise should otherwise be a regular feature to deter taxpayers from evading taxes, they added.

The FBR is also working on an amnesty scheme to encourage over three million identified persons to file income tax returns and pay due taxes.

FBR Taxpayers Audit Member Mustafa Ashraf said that the FBR had reposed confidence in taxpayers through the self assessment scheme, but certain people did injustice to that responsibility by either not paying taxes, or paying less than their due share.

The selection of approximately 15% of returns filed by large taxpayers units, 5% of returns filed by corporate entities, and 2% of returns filed by non-corporate taxpayers in Regional Tax Offices is only to promote voluntary compliance, he added.

The maximum number of audit cases – 2,063 – have been picked from the jurisdiction of Lahore's tax offices; followed by Karachi, from where 1,909 firms and individuals have been picked for the probe. From Islamabad, 308 cases have been selected for the audit, according to the FBR. The FBR has also placed the list of the audit cases on its website.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 14th, 2012.

Ashraf urges ulema to speak up against sectarian violence

Posted: 14 Nov 2012 05:13 AM PST



ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Raja Pervaiz Ashraf held a roundtable conference with religious scholars on Wednesday, where he urged ulema of all sects to speak up against sectarian violence "before it is too late".

Highlighting the importance of statements given out by the ulema, the prime minister said that religious leaders have more influence over the masses as compared to politicians.

"You can give a more influential statement when people try to justify crime in the name of religion," he said while referring to incidents of targeted killings across the country which are termed as a conflict between the Shia-Sunni sects. "They [terrorists] kill people as if it's a normal thing. They spill people's blood, slit their throats… and the worst part if that they justify it in the name of religion."

"If you keep giving them space, then I can say that even you're not safe. Our mosques, imambargahs are not safe today either. Our schools are not safe. Offices of law enforcement agencies and hospitals are targeted," he stated.

Every time a target killing takes place, it is said that either Shias are killing Sunnis or Sunnis are killing Shias but, the prime minister emphasised, that two sects have been living together peacefully for a long time and it can happen now as well. He vowed that the government will go to the last limits to fight against the menace.

The premier also urged the people of the country to take action. "Every Pakistani, no matter which religion or sect he belongs to or where he lives, should stand up against them [terrorists] before it is too late."

Pakistan agrees to free several Afghan Taliban prisoners

Posted: 14 Nov 2012 04:12 AM PST



ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has agreed in talks with Afghan peace negotiators to free several Afghan Taliban prisoners, officials from both countries said on Wednesday, the clearest sign that Pakistan will put its weight behind Afghan reconciliation efforts.

"We aren't too certain whether they can play an important role in peace negotiations but it is a positive gesture from Pakistan in helping peace efforts," an Afghan official told Reuters.

A senior Pakistani Army official said it had not yet been decided if the former Afghan Taliban second in command, Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, would be released.

Afghan officials have identified him as a figure who may still have the influence to persuade the Taliban to pursue peace after more than a decade of fighting US-led Nato and Afghan forces.

The decision to release the prisoners was a major step for Afghanistan's High Peace Council, which is on a visit to Islamabad to push for Taliban releases and has been struggling to ease mistrust between the Taliban and the Kabul government.

Army being targeted to weaken Pakistan: Musharraf

Posted: 14 Nov 2012 03:10 AM PST



Former President General (retd) Pervez Musharraf said on Wednesday that the Pakistan Army was "needlessly being targeted" in order to debilitate Pakistan, reported BBC Urdu.

In an interview to the BBC in Dubai, Musharraf said that currently, it appeared as if "army officials were being targeted" and that conspiracies were being hatched to do so.

He said that the army plays a central role in Pakistan and in order to weaken the country, some elements were trying to weaken the army.

'Had directed ISI to disband political cells'

Musharraf said that as the chief of army staff back then, he had directed the Inter-Services Intelligence to disband political cells and to stay away from matters of politics.

He said, "I had directed the then chief of ISI General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani that the institution he was heading – the ISI – should not intervene in politics. However, I did not issue him written directives in this regard."

The former president said that he did not say this as a formal order, but both him and Kayani had thought that the ISI should not intervene in political matters.

"This is the reason why there was no rigging done in 2008 elections and neither any such complaint had surfaced," said Musharraf.

'Reopening old cases is in no one's favour'

Speaking on the Asghar Khan case, Musharraf said that it was only a distraction and was causing a conflict between state institutions. "Any tension between institutions is dangerous for Pakistan."

He said, "We are getting ourselves into trouble by holding on to issues from the past and that the reopening of a 15-year-old case was in no one's favour." Musharraf said that "if you want to go back, then why not question the separation of East Pakistan, assassinations of Ayub Khan and Liaquat Ali Khan?"

Musharraf said that "We should keep our focus on the present and the future."
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