The Express Tribune Newsletter: June 20, 2012

Today's Headlines

Gone: 'The office of the prime minister stands vacant'

Azam Khan

A swift, short order sent the longest-serving prime minister packing home on Tuesday.

Accepting verdict, PPP begins hunt for new PM

Zia Khan

Surprisingly, confrontation does not seem to be the option the embattled government has opted for. It has opted, instead, for pragmatic planning after two emergency meetings – first of the ruling Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP)'s Central Executive Committee and then of the leaders of coalition partners.  

Decisions taken by Gilani, cabinet come into question

Irfan Ghauri

The Supreme Court has made it clear in its short order that Yousaf Raza Gilani stood disqualified as the prime minister since April 26, the day the court convicted him on contempt charges.

Sir Creek easiest of problems, want movement on terrorism: India

Aditi Phadnis

"Sir Creek is the easiest of the India-Pakistan problems to resolve. But we must see some movement on terrorism" said an Indian official, who was part of the Sir Creek talks.

 

Business

Force field: PAC slams audit dept for protecting the corrupt

Shahbaz Rana

Once praised for its untiring work, the audit department came under criticism, for the first time, here on Tuesday when the Public Accounts Committee found that the department was working hand in glove with corrupt elements.

Restaurant chain: Fatburger decides to taste the local market

Farooq Baloch

After I decided that I wanted to start a new business, a bookshop, the best person I could think of for guidance was Rahim bhai.  He had years of experience in distributing and selling books and magazines all over the country.

_______________________________________________

Sports

Cricket: BCB avoids discussion on Pakistan tour

Fawad Hussain

Pakistan were dealt a massive blow when their captain Misbahul Haq was ruled out of the first Test against Sri Lanka that starts on June 22 in Galle after he was suspended for a 'serious over-rate offence' during the final One-Day International (ODI).

Asif eyes revenge in snooker event

Our Correspondents

Pakistan number one Mohammad Asif will be looking to settle a score with Asjad Iqbal when the pair faces off in the semi-final of the Jubilee Insurance 3rd Ranking Snooker Championship at the Karachi Gymkhana today.

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Life & Style

Ghazala Javed: A nightingale plunged into silence

Hidayat Khan / Rafay Mahmood

When Pashto singer Ghazala Javed walked onto any stage in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, it was always to the whistling of adolescent boys. The girls were also admirers, as they dreamed to dress and sing like her. The K-P belt swooned when she hummed songs of love and passion. Sadly, this feeling of romantic indulgence came to a screeching halt when the news of her death spread. Javed, a combination of beauty and brilliance, was shot dead on Monday by unidentified gunmen outside a beauty parlour in Peshawar.

People and cities: An artist's muse

Taneeya Hasan

Oscar Wilde's famed saying, "Art is the most intense mode of individualism", seems to be the gist of photographer/artist Hamra Abbas' work. At a small gathering at the ArtNow office in DHA Phase 5 on Friday, the young artist spoke to a captivated audience about her inspiration — the culture and people of the various cities across the world where she has lived.

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Opinion

Mind your language!

Tariq Rahman

Kashmir and the Indian state

Kuldip Nayar

Justice and moderation

Khaled Ahmed

Indo-US ties and Pakistan

Tariq Fatemi

Pakistan and the SCO

Imtiaz Gul
 

Blogs

Put a red dress on

Arfa Ezazi

The horror of 'the other side of the bridge'

Sana Ashraf

'Punish' the eunuchs, because they are 'vulgar'

Muhammad Rafay Zafar

Drones are our friends

Pirzada Hasaan Hashmi

Poll

In your opinion, which era was better?

Musharraf era (81%, 593 Votes)

PPP current era (19%, 135 Votes)

Total Voters: 728

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60 held for Kamonki rampage

Posted:

<p>&nbsp;</p><p>The irate people who were protesting against unscheduled and prolonged electricity loadshedding set on fire Baoo Train and WAPDA office.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>Police have registered a case against about 1200 unidentified persons.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>Police launched a search operation and arrested at least 60 persons from different areas of the city. <br />&nbsp;</p>


PS-83 by-polls: PPP candidate wins

Posted:

<p>&nbsp;</p><p>According to the unofficial results, Thaheem secured 49,526 votes. His competitors, Awami Tehreek&rsquo;s Muhammad Rafique Jakhro got only 773 votes.<br />&nbsp;</p>


England beat West Indies

Posted:

<p>&nbsp;</p><p>England beat the West Indies by eight wickets to win the second one-day international at The Oval here on Tuesday and take an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-match series.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>Alastair Cook, the England captain, made 112 and shared a first-wicket stand of 122 with Ian Bell (53).</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>Jonathan Trott was 43 not out and Ravi Bopara 19 not out.<br />&nbsp;</p>


IMF team to Greece to review rescue program

Posted:

<p>&nbsp;</p><p>The International Monetary Fund will send a team to Greece to review the country&nbsp;s stumbling rescue program as soon as a new government is formed, IMF managing director Christine Lagarde said Tuesday.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>&quot;We will wait until a government is announced,&quot; Lagarde said at the G20 summit in Mexico&nbsp;s Los Cabos seaside resort, and two days after Greeks voted in their second national election in six weeks.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>&quot;As soon as a government is announced, I will send a team of our experts to Greece. I&nbsp;m sure that the two other members of the troika will do that as well,&quot; she said, referring to the European Commission and the European Central Bank.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>&quot;I think it&nbsp;s in everybody&nbsp;s interest to move fast, because we have been delayed by the electoral process.<br />&quot;And we will see on the ground, in the fields, with the administration..., what progress has been made, whether there are shortfalls, what needs to be addressed as a matter of priority.&quot;</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>The New Democracy party was close Tuesday to forming a coalition with socialist Pasok and a smaller party, both having said they want to renegotiate the unpopular the 130 billion euro ($165 billion) joint IMF-EU bailout program.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>Many Greeks are deeply angry by the harsh austerity terms that have been pressed on them by the bailout, which aims at closing a massive fiscal gap and reducing the country&nbsp;s debt load.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>Lagarde made no mention of renegotiating terms. She said that the IMF team first needs to report back to the IMF management and board.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>&quot;We will continue to operate on that basis with the real facts. That&nbsp;s what we need to do first.&quot;<br />&nbsp;</p>


Pakistan will resolve crisis in accordance with law: US

Posted:

<p>&nbsp;</p><p>The United States expressed hope on Tuesday that Pakistan&rsquo;s latest political crisis would be resolved in accordance with the country&rsquo;s constitution amid a showdown between the judiciary and government.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>The US State Department did not expect the turmoil from a top court ruling to derail Washington&rsquo;s diplomatic dialogue with Islamabad, spokeswoman Victoria Nuland told reporters.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>&ldquo;We&rsquo;ve said all along that we expect that Pakistan will resolve any of these internal issues in a just and transparent manner in accordance with Pakistan&rsquo;s own laws and constitution,&rdquo; Nuland said.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>&ldquo;Our understanding is that the Pakistani government itself is meeting now to decide how it goes forward from here,&rdquo; she said.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>Pakistan&rsquo;s Supreme Court disqualified prime minister Yousaf Raza Gilani from office on Tuesday in a ruling that dissolved the cabinet and threatened to trigger elections later this year. Despite the uncertainty, Nuland said the US&rsquo; working relationship with Pakistan would go ahead.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>&ldquo;Throughout this process, we have continued to work with the Pakistani government and try to get through some of these issues that have been difficult,&rdquo; said Nuland.<br />&nbsp;</p>


WikiLeaks founder seeks Ecuador asylum

Posted:

<p>&nbsp;</p><p>WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange walked into Ecuador&nbsp;s embassy in London and applied for political asylum in a sensational bid to avoid extradition to Sweden over alleged sex crimes.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>The former computer hacker, who last week exhausted all his legal options in Britain to fight extradition, was holed up at the embassy in central London while Quito examined the request, officials said.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>Britain&nbsp;s Foreign Office said Assange was &quot;beyond the reach of the police&quot; because he was on diplomatic territory, but stressed it would seek to work with the Ecuadorian authorities &quot;to resolve this situation as soon as possible.&quot;</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>Assange will remain at the embassy under the protection of the Ecuadorian government while his application is considered. &quot;The decision to consider Mr Assange&nbsp;s application for protective asylum should in no way be interpreted as the Government of Ecuador interfering in the judicial processes of either the United Kingdom or Sweden,&quot; the embassy said in a statement.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>Prime Minister Julia Gillard said Tuesday that Australia will continue to offer consular assistance to Assange.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>&quot;Australia will continue to support Mr. Assange just as we do support any Australian overseas who faces legal difficulties or dilemmas,&quot; Gillard told reporters after a Group of 20 summit in Mexico.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>Assange confirmed in a statement he was seeking &quot;diplomatic sanctuary and political asylum&quot; and expressed his gratitude to the Ecuadorian ambassador and government for considering the request.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>In Quito, Foreign Minister Ricardo Patino said: &quot;Julian Assange has requested political asylum at the diplomatic mission of Ecuador in London. </p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>&quot;The government is examining the request.&quot;</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>The embassy later confirmed it would be seeking the views of Britain, Sweden and the United States in order to make sure it complied with international law.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>Assange has always maintained that the moves to extradite him to Sweden for questioning over allegations of rape and sexual assault are politically motivated and that the real aim is for him to handed over to US authorities.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>The silver-haired 40-year-old Australian&nbsp;s website enraged Washington by releasing a flood of classified US information about the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>It also published more than 250,000 classified US diplomatic cables, revealing often candid assessments of a huge range of issues as well as the views of other governments.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>Ecuador offered Assange residency in 2010, with the government saying at the time it wanted to invite Assange to speak in Ecuador after expressing concern about some of the alleged US activities revealed by Wikileaks.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>Assange interviewed Ecuador&nbsp;s President Rafael Correa for his talk show aired on the Russian international television station RT in April. The embassy is in the upmarket west London district of Knightsbridge, near to Harrods department store and in the same mansion block as the Colombian embassy.<br />&nbsp;</p>


Zardari cancels Russias visit

Posted:

<p>&nbsp;</p><p>President&rsquo;s spokesman Farhatullah Babar said, the president was due to attend the Petersburg International Economic Forum but would now hold talks with coalition partners to consider the situation in the country and formulate a course of action, the spokesman added.<br />&nbsp;</p>


Gilanis dismissal: Citizens, lawyers hails verdict

Posted:

<p>&nbsp;</p><p>People in various cities distributed sweets, while elsewhere many also lodged strong protests against the verdict.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>PTI and JI activists and supporters expressed great joyousness at the news, while sweets were distributed with rapturous dancing and even intermittent aerial firing. </p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>On the other hand, many PPP activists also lodged strong protests against the Supreme Court&rsquo;s verdict, raising slogans against Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry. </p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>Even lawyers&rsquo; fraternity was visibly divided over the verdict as many bar associations expressed their joy, while others declared the issue as biased and revengeful.<br />&nbsp;</p>


PMs disqualification: Political parties accept verdict

Posted:

<p>&nbsp;</p><p>PML-N president Mian Nawaz Sharif has termed the Supreme Court&rsquo; verdict regarding Yousaf Raza Gilani&rsquo;s disqualification as a real accountability.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>He expressed the new approach as quite conducive compared to former notorious practice of proclaiming martial law under the pretext of &lsquo;straightening things out&rsquo;.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>Chairman PTI Imran Khan also welcomed the decision of Supreme Court&rsquo;s verdict regarding Yousaf Raza Gilani&rsquo;s disqualification.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>JUI-F chief Maulana Fazl-ur-Rehman has announced his decision to accept the verdict of Supreme Court.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>Talking to media, he said that while nobody was indispensable, however the democracy should not suffer the brunt. He opined the PM should have resigned much earlier, which should have restrained the Supreme Court to pass such a verdict. </p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>Muttahida Qaumi Movement also announced to accept the Supreme Court ruling which disqualifies Prime Minister Syed Yousaf Raza Gilani from holding the office. &ldquo;The PPP should accept the court decision in the greater interest of country and the democracy,&rdquo; the MQM said.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>Awami Muslim League Sheikh Rashid demanded dissolution of assemblies in the wake of Supreme Court of Pakistan&rsquo;s verdict.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>&ldquo;If President Asif Ali Zardari doesn&rsquo;t dissolve the assembly, Chief Justice should do it,&rdquo; Sheikh said.<br />&nbsp;</p>


UN observers committed to staying in Syria

Posted:

<p>&nbsp;</p><p>Maj. Gen. Robert Mood said Tuesday that U.N. forces have come under fire recently but are committed to staying in the strife-torn country.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>Mood said that questions about canceling the mission were premature and noted, &quot;We are not going anywhere.&quot;<br />The U.N. said Saturday its 300 observers based in Syria were suspending all missions because of concerns for their safety after fighting intensified over the previous 10 days.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>&quot;Shelling, small arms fire and other incidents are coming much closer, and we have been targets several times over the last few weeks,&quot; he said. It was not only dangerous to his observers, but made it difficult to carry out their mission.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>Mood spoke after briefing the U.N. Security Council during a closed meeting on the situation in Syria, where shelling and clashes between rebel fighters and government troops in Homs have continued.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>&quot;The suffering of the Syrian people, the suffering of men, women and children, some of them trapped by fighting, is getting worse,&quot; Mood said.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>Mood did not attribute the suspension of the mission to any single incident, but said that among the issues was the inability of the observers to get through an angry crowd that mobbed their motorcade in one city.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>Reviving the mission would require a commitment from both the Syrian government and the opposition to &quot;freedom of movement&quot; for the U.N. observers, Mood said.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>While the Syrian government had given him such assurances in the last few days, he said we &quot;have not seen that yet from the opposition.&quot;</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>Opposition groups say more than 14,000 people have been killed since the Syrian uprising began in March 2011.<br />&nbsp;</p>


Egypt: Officials deny reports that Mubarak is dead

Posted:

<p>&nbsp;</p><p>Egyptian officials denied reports Tuesday night that deposed President Hosni Mubarak was clinically dead after he suffered a stroke and slipped out of consciousness at a prison hospital in Cairo, according to state and independent news media.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>Conflicting reports about the former leader&rsquo;s health emerged after a report by the official state news agency MENA that Mubarak was declared &ldquo;clinically dead&rdquo; after he was transferred from a prison hospital to a nearby military hospital. The report could not be independently verified.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>Ahram Online said the 84-year-old Mubarak, who was sentenced to life in prison this month for complicity in the deaths of hundreds of protesters in last year&rsquo;s uprising, was on life support. Al Jazeera quoted Mubarak&rsquo;s lawyer Farid Deeb as denying his client was dead.</p><br />


Coalition partners nominate Shahbuddin as PM

Posted:

<p>&nbsp;</p><p>A meeting of the PPP and coalition partners was held under the chair of President Asif Ali Zardari to discuss the situation emerged after the Supreme Court&rsquo;s verdict. The meeting reviewed the names of Ahmad Mukhtar and Makhdum Shahab as next prime minister.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>According to sources, the meeting agreed to nominate Makhdoom Shahbuddin as next PM.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>Chaudhry Shujaat, Mushahid Hussain, Babar Ghauri, Haider Abbas Rizvi, Haji Adeel, Afrasiab Khattak and others were also present in the meeting.<br />&nbsp;</p>


Kurdish rebels kill 8 Turkish soldiers

Posted:

<p>&nbsp;</p><p>Up to 100 fighters from the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) launched simultaneous dawn attacks on three military observation points in Hakkari province near Turkey&nbsp;s mountainous border with Iraq, killing eight soldiers and wounding 19, the sources said.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>In subsequent clashes, Turkish troops killed 18 PKK fighters, the prime minister&nbsp;s office said.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>The attacks come at a time when Turkey is making new efforts to address the grievances of the Kurdish minority to end a conflict that has scarred the region for three decades.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>&quot;We have never regarded terrorism as a matter of negotiation with anybody, and we will never do so. The only thing to do is for terrorists to lay down their arms,&quot; Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan told reporters in Mexico, where he is attending a G20<br />Summit.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>&quot;We will continue our struggle until the end, and sooner or later, we will succeed in our fight against terror,&quot; he added. <br />President Abdullah Gul condemned the violence. &quot;I curse this treacherous attack,&quot; he said in a statement. &quot;The terrorist group wants to sabotage the atmosphere of trust and stability and is continuing its inhumane bloody attacks.&quot;</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>The head of Turkey&nbsp;s pro-Kurdish Peace and Democracy Party (BDP), whose members are frequently accused of ties to the rebels, made a striking call for the PKK to halt hostilities.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>PKK rebels have launched sporadic attacks in recent months near the Syrian border in Hatay province, where thousands of Syrians are housed in refugee camps.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>One Turkish soldier was killed on Monday night in Hatay in a clash with PKK militants, the governor&nbsp;s office there said.<br />&nbsp;</p>


Zardari chairs coalition partners meeting

Posted:

<p>&nbsp;</p><p>A meeting of the coalition partners is in progress in Islamabad with President Asif Ali Zardari in the chair.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>The situation emerging out of the Supreme Court verdict is being discussed in the meeting.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>The coalition partners are reviewing the names of next PM after disqualification of Yusaf Raza Raza Gilani by the Supreme Court.<br />&nbsp;</p>


4 kids die as wall collapses in Karachi

Posted:

<p>&nbsp;</p><p>According to details, the children were playing inside a house in Gilgit Colony in Korangi area when a wall suddenly collapsed and fell on them.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>As a result, four children died as they were buried under the debris of the wall. The children included 7-year-old Adeel, 4-year-old Saood and 2-year-old Shahab and 5-year-old Sheraz.<br />&nbsp;</p>


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