Fasih Bokhari takes over as NAB chief

ISLAMABAD: Former chief of Pakistan Navy, Admiral (retd) Fasih Bokhari, was formally notified as chairman of National Accountability Bureau (NAB) on Sunday despite objections raised by the opposition PML-N that the legal process required by the Constitution had not been followed in his nomination for the post.

The new chairman assumed charge of his office late in the night, sources told this correspondent.

With the appointment of Admiral Bokhari to the post which had been lying vacant since the removal of Justice (retd) Deedar Hussain Shah in March this year, the premier accountability organisation of the country became functional again after three months of inaction.

A notification of the law ministry signed by the president said: “The president of Islamic Republic of Pakistan has been pleased to appoint Admiral (retd) Fasih Bokhari as Chairman National Accountability Bureau in terms of section 6(b) of National Accountability Ordinance 1999, with immediate effect.”

But the PML-N rejected the decision and indicated that it might challenge the appointment in the Supreme Court.

“We believe that the government has taken the decision in haste as President Zardari did not give a satisfactory reply to a letter written by the Leader of Opposition, Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan, after thorough consultations with opposition party’s legal team,” said PML-N spokesman Mushahidullah.

The notification was issued after former law minister Babar Awan had met President Asif Zardari, the sources said.

Mr Bokhari is the fifth NAB chairman belonging to the armed forces. Earlier, NAB chiefs from the military were Lt-Gen Amjad Hussain, Lt-Gen Khalid Maqbool, Lt-Gen Munir Hafiez and Lt-Gen (retd) Shahid Aziz.

The two civilian heads of the bureau are Navaid Ahsan and Justice (retd) Deedar Hussain Shah.

Under the NAB Ordinance, the government is required to hold consultation with the Leader of Opposition in the National Assembly for the appointment.

President Zardari had sent a letter to Chaudhry Nisar on Oct 9 seeking his consent for the appointment. Chaudhry Nisar replied on Friday, raising objections to the appointment on technical grounds.

He asked the government to prepare a list of possible candidates for the office of NAB chairman and hold ‘meaningful’ consultations with the opposition.

“Mr President, if the objective of the entire exercise is to select a nominee with impeccable reputation, integrity and credibility and unquestionable impartiality, there is no reason whatsoever for hesitation on the part of the government to engage with the opposition in a thorough, concrete and meaningful consultation.”

When contacted, President’s spokesman Farhatullah Babar said the president had appointed Admiral (retd) Bokhari as NAB chairman on the advice of Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani.

Responding to a question about the opposition’s response, he said: “President Zardari, in his reply to the Leader of Opposition, had addressed all objections raised by Chaudhry Nisar and now the issuance of notification was a mere formality.”

President Zardari in his reply to the Leader of Opposition on Saturday said: “The sense of various judgments of superior courts is that the consultation shall be meaningful and for this purpose there is no necessity of sending a panel of nominees.

“Therefore, meaningful consultation can be done even on a single person and for that purpose you are taken on board quite candidly. Sending of a panel for consultation does not have any legal cover as well, there being no legal requirement as such. I have consulted the Leader of the House in the National Assembly on the subject who has concurred to the proposal.”

Admiral Bokhari is a retired four-star naval officer who served as Chief of Naval Staff from 1997 to 1999.

Admiral Bokhari is a graduate from the French Naval War College and served on several high posts during his tenure at the Pakistan Navy.

Source: http://www.dawn.com/2011/10/17/fasih-bokhari-takes-over-as-nab-chief.html

After the SC verdict BY I.A Rehman

AS expected the Supreme Court decision on the killings and disorder in Karachi has had a mixed reception. While most commentators have welcomed the court`s directives, some have expressed disappointment that all those found responsible for heinous acts of commission and omission have not been strung up the electricity poles.

The former group includes many professional hailers of authoritative proclamations and quite a few who are happy that their political rivals have been nailed. Undeniable is the fact that what many thought was the problem in Karachi has been confirmed by the highest judicial authority. The debate will now be conducted with reference to judicially verified facts and not on the basis of the various interested parties` perceptions. This is no doubt a major gain.

Those who expected more concrete rulings perhaps do not realise that the Supreme Court must function within the parameters fixed by the law and procedure. It was not hearing a petition/appeal relating to a specific occurrence the parties to which had been duly arraigned. In the instant case, the court was acting more or less as a commission of inquiry, and its findings, in the nature of directives, should not be fruitless.

That these findings are already having a sobering effect not only on the federal and provincial governments, that are easy prey, but also on other gladiators cannot be ignored. However, the court`s major recommendations demand not only longer-term initiatives but also a firm effort to look beyond the symptoms and attack the disease at the root. hartal

Take the advice to political parties to purge themselves of criminal elements. It is easy for political parties to release lists of members deprived of offices or expelled and say that criminals have been thrown out, though their fall from grace may have been due to less noble causes. The problem arises when party cadres carry out criminal acts under orders from their bosses, such as creating disorder, burning vehicles to enforce , thrashing rivals, or collecting protection money.

Such matters demand a two-track strategy. The administration needs to rediscover its capacity to deal with crime according to the law, regardless of the identity or sociopolitical clout of the offender. At the same time, the political parties have to be persuaded to follow the elementary code of ethics.

More important than the weeding out of criminal elements is the need to get the political parties` militant wings disbanded. Democratic opinion is unlikely to support the idea of political parties being banned subject to the Supreme Court`s approval because this procedure has been abused in the past. But there can be no objection to obliging political parties to dissolve their wings/cells that are used for intimidating citizens or subjecting them to violence.

There is perhaps need to reinterpret Article 256 of the constitution, even to broaden its scope. The article says: “Private armies forbidden. No private organisation capable of functioning as a military organisation shall be formed, and any such organisation shall be illegal.”

The military organisations operating in the tribal areas, including those that are not fighting the army or are friendly to it, are obviously covered. But there is need to strengthen the laws to bring under the prohibitory provision formations that do not wear uniforms, do not carry arms all the time and do not have military-like hierarchies, but which can be used as armed bands for the furtherance of political aims through use of violence or threats of its use. bhatta

Much has been said about land grabbers and extortionists. No leniency should be shown to lawbreakers in either of these categories. But it is necessary to address the factors that cause the rise of land grabbers and collectors. It is absolutely essential to create smooth, efficient and inexpensive mechanisms for meeting the legitimate demands of the people, especially the poorer sections, such as a piece of land for living, access to utilities, reasonable guarantees of security, et al.

A large number of people need protectors and patrons because they cannot otherwise buy an airline ticket or cannot bypass the queue outside banks for paying bills, or cannot get a fine for a traffic violation waived. Something has to be done to eradicate the culture of dependence on intermediaries where none should be needed.

Nobody can possibly take exception to the direction that the police in Karachi (indeed throughout Pakistan) should be depoliticised. This does not mean only that recruitment to the police force and posting/transfer/promotion should not be done on political considerations. Difficult though this task is, it can be achieved by non-partisan superiors in service and elective offices both.

However, the fact is that even politically neutral police officers lose their way in a social milieu dominated by people who wield huge influence either because of their social status (landlords, industrial barons) or their political clout (ministers, MNAs, MPAs). These people cannot be defied by most state employees. Eventually, the police and executive officers will be truly depoliticised only when the long-delayed social reform takes place.

Likewise, the people wholeheartedly support the call for deweaponisation. All political parties also concur but there is considerable evidence of hypocrisy in their statements because most parties want only their rivals to be disarmed. Besides, deweaponisation is often understood as surrendering and confiscation of illegal weapons only.

There is a direct nexus between an increase in licensed arms and a proliferation of illicit weapons. Whenever an influential person gets a licence for a prohibited bore weapon, the outlaws in the area try to buy rockets. No deweaponisation campaign will succeed unless restrictions are placed on the grant of arms licences.

Then the question will arise of how to satisfy people who acquire arms to defend themselves because the police cannot protect them. Thus deweaponisation efforts will succeed in proportion to a visible improvement in the law-enforcement agencies` capacity to protect the people`s life and liberty. It will also be necessary to revive the old rule under which law-enforcement personnel can use only weapons and ammunition officially issued to them and they cannot use personal weapons (many of which these days could be illegal).

Finally, the Supreme Court hearings on Karachi have once again vindicated the system of suo motu proceedings, though no such vindication was necessary. One shudders to imagine what life might have been if the judiciary did not use its suo motu powers to rein in the wild ones in authority or to chastise the wayward.

At the same time, the case has underlined the axiom that such powers are most effective and beneficial if sparingly used. Perhaps in this case the people felt the outcome fell short of their expectations that had been pitched high in a climate of media hype that always does more harm than good. The honourable judges cannot be unaware of the adverse effects people`s perceptions can have on the standing of essential institutions. In this regard, too, the case may have produced a welcome result.

Source: http://www.dawn.com/2011/10/13/after-the-sc-verdict.html

Zaka appointed PCB chairman

ISLAMABAD, Oct 11: The government appointed on Tuesday Zaka Ashraf as chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board.

The presidency was expected to issue a notification about the appointment, but no such document was released till late in the night.

Mr Ashraf is reputed to be a close friend of President Asif Ali Zardari.

The contract of former PCB chief Ijaz Butt, which was extended by one year last year, expired on Oct 8. Initially, he was appointed for two years.

According to media reports, Zaka Ashraf met President Zardari, who is patron-in-chief of the PCB, but it was not confirmed by the presidency’s spokesman Farhatullah Babar.

Private TV channels ran the news regarding Mr Ashraf’s appointment as PCB chief throughout the day and that the contract of Ijaz Butt has not been extended.

Although there was no official word about Mr Ashraf’s appointment, he himself came to the media and claimed that he would run the PCB in a better way.

A private TV channel quoted Mr Ashraf as saying that his target was to restore international cricket in Pakistan by ensuring foolproof security arrangements, adding that all the decisions of the PCB would be taken by him.

He claimed that he would cleanse cricket of corruption, scandals and lobbying. He was quoted as saying: “The question is not of the players but to win. Only those who perform will play.”

Mr Ashraf, a former chairman of the Pakistan Sugar Mills Association, is serving as chairman of the Zarai Taraqiati Bank Ltd. Hailing from Nawabshah, he is a brother of PML-N leader Begum Ishrat Ashraf.

Local cricketers gave mixed reaction over the appointment of Mr Ashraf as PCB chairman.

However, ICC spokesman Samiul Hassan said if Mr Ashraf had been appointed for a period beyond 2013 his appointment was against a recent decision of the International Cricket Council. Under ICC rules, cricket board chiefs could only be appointed through elections and not through direct nomination, he added.

Talking to Dawn, he quoted the ICC decision as saying: “The ICC Annual Conference unanimously supported a proposal to amend the ICC Articles of Association to provide for the important principle of free elections and the independence of member boards.

“It was agreed that all member boards must implement the provisions before annual conference in June 2012 and a further 12 months (to June 2013) would be allowed before any sanctions would be considered. It was noted that it was a well-established principle of modern sporting governance that national federations should be autonomous and free from interference from government in the administration of their affairs.”

He also quoted ICC Chief Executive Haroon Lorgat as saying “This is a significant step towards achieving best practice and, together with the independent governance review, I am excited by the commitment of the ICC to introduce best possible corporate governance.”

An associate member of the PCB governing board told Dawn that if Mr Ashraf had been appointed for an indefinite period (beyond 2013), the decision was against the ICC ruling.

“The ICC has barred countries from appointing politicians in national cricket boards, mainly to free the sport from undue government influence and pressures,” he said.

According to the ruling, the ICC can suspend membership of a board if there is government interference in running its affairs.

The ICC issued the same warning to Sri Lanka and Bangladesh recently.

Source: http://www.dawn.com/2011/10/12/zaka-appointed-pcb-chairman.html

PPP leaders discuss SC verdict

ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan People’s Party leadership discussed on Monday the Supreme Court’s verdict on the law and order situation and target killings in Karachi and decided to ask all political parties, particularly those in the ruling coalition, to expel militant elements from their ranks.

A meeting of PPP leaders, jointly presided over by President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani at the Presidency, discussed the political and economic situation, energy crisis, law and order and relations with coalition partners.

“It was decided that all coalition partners will be taken on board in the light of the Supreme Court’s verdict,” PPP leader and Leader of the House in Senate, Nayyar Bokhari, told Dawn after attending the meeting.

The Oct 6 SC judgment cited a report of the Special Branch of police which said the Pakistan People’s Party, Muttahida Qaumi Movement, Awami National Party and some religious organisations and banned outfits had “militant wings” which were involved in criminal activities and collection of ‘bhatta’ (extortion money) in Karachi.

“All coalition partners are independent to take their own decision, but we have asked them to implement the Supreme Court’s orders relating to militant wings,” Mr Bokhari said. However, he said that some of the court’s orders were actionable and some were not. Some of them are being implemented by the government.

Former law minister Babar Awan said he had briefed the president on “specifically actionable” parts of the judgment.

“Restoration of peace in Karachi is a common cause of all stakeholders and the government is fully determined to do it in furtherance of the Oct 6 SC verdict,” he said.

President Zardari expressed satisfaction that all government agencies concerned were cognisant of the need to implement the SC verdict and that some steps in this respect were being taken.

Prime Minister Gilani briefed the meeting on the economic situation and relations with coalition partners.

According to presidential spokesman Farhatullah Babar, the president informed the participants about his meeting on Saturday with Sindh Governor Dr Ishratul Ibad and Chief Minister Qaim Ali Shah, who had briefed him on the steps being taken by the provincial government to implement the Supreme Court verdict.

Water and Power Minister Syed Naveed Qamar updated the meeting on the supply and demand position of electricity and the steps being taken to meet the energy challenge.

He said remedial measures had eased off the power crisis and an increase in generation by 4,500MW had reduced outages. He said that as a long-term measure, the foundation stone of the 4,500MW Diamer-Bhasha project would be laid early next week.

“The president emphasised the need to solve the energy problem on a permanent basis and said the power situation in the country must be improved and should not be allowed to become an issue of power politics,” Mr Babar said. Commerce Minister Makhdoom Amin Fahim briefed the meeting on his recent visit to India and its decision to withdraw objections to the EU-proposed trade concessions for Pakistan.

The law and order situation in Balochistan was also discussed. The meeting was also attended by Defence Minister Chaudhry Ahmed Mukhtar, Religious Affairs Minister Khursheed Ahmed Shah, Textile Industry Minister Makhdoom Shahabuddin, Senator Mian Raza Rabbani, Senator Jahangir Badar, Senator Faisal Raza Abidi, Nazar Muhammad Gondal, Raja Pervaiz Ashraf, Qamar Zaman Kaira, Faryal Talpur, Rukhsana Bangash, Fouzia Wahab, Fouzia Habib and Mehreen Anwar Raja.

Meanwhile, Awami National Party President Asfandyar Wali Khan called on President Zardari at the Presidency on Monday and discussed with him the political situation and matters relating the coalition set-up.

Source: http://www.dawn.com/2011/10/11/ppp-leaders-discuss-sc-verdict.html

Lyari peace committee to be revived, says Mirza

KARACHI: Former Sindh home minister Dr Zulfikar Mirza announced on Sunday that the Lyari peace committee, popularly known as People’s Amn Committee, would be revived and said it would now play a more active role for people’s welfare.

Addressing a press conference in Lyari, he challenged Interior Minister Rehman Malik to visit Lyari and ban the committee. He said the committee had voluntarily closed its offices on his instructions and “no-one can ban the Amn committee”.

Dr Mirza said Bilawal Bhutto Zardari would contest the next elections from Lyari.

Answering a question, he said he had submitted his resignation from the Sindh Assembly to President Asif Ali Zardari and Sindh Information Minister Sharjeel Memon was a witness. He advised the government to accept the resignation, otherwise he would climb the table of the assembly speaker and get it accepted.

He said he was disappointed with the verdict of the Supreme Court in the suo motu case on Karachi killings. He said the government would not send a reference against any party to the apex court on the basis of his disclosures.

However, if the government at all decided to send a reference, he said, it would be presented through the fake doctorate degree-holder, Babar Awan. “Let the chief justice summon me as I want to submit more facts before him and my disclosures should be taken seriously.”

The former minister said the Amn Committee has come into being only three years ago and he was prepared to own all crimes allegedly committed by it during this period.

But he asked if Altaf Hussain would also accept the responsibility for all the heinous crimes, including kidnappings, target killings, etc., allegedly committed by the MQM since its inception 24 years ago.

He said Benazir Bhutto was impressed by Imran Khan when he took up a case against the MQM in a British court.

Dr Mirza challenged Altaf Hussain to return to Karachi and said he would talk to him face to face at Nine Zero. “I am not a coward to flee from Karachi. I am a son of the soil, my family lives here and will continue to do so as this city is ours.”

He said: “Karachi has become a hub of automatic and sophisticated weapons, but who is buying these weapons being smuggled into the city.”

He gave a clean chit to the Jamaat-i-Islami and said it was not involved in extortion because during his tenure as home minister no such case had come to light against the party.

Levelling serious allegations of corruption against his former PPP colleagues in the government who had become millionaires since holding offices, he said he was under tremendous pressure for hiding cases of their corruption.

Dr Mirza extended an apology to the nation for spending three-and-a-half-years with those `thieves` and vowed to provide evidence of corruption of the government to the judiciary and the army.

“I will continue to collect evidences of corruption and appear before the media once a week or a fortnight to expose corrupt elements,” he added.

The former minister also said that the existing PPP was not the one founded by Zulfikar Ali Bhutto or led by Benazir Bhutto.

He pledged to work to revive the People’s Party of Shaheed Bhuttos.

He criticised Sindh Home Minister Manzoor Wasan and accused him of being involved in corruption and said he (Wasan) wanted the posting of SHOs of his own choice in Karachi which sparked an argument with Additional Inspector General of Police Saud Mirza.

He recalled that during his tenure as home minister of Sindh he had gone to London with evidences against Altaf Hussain, but Pakistan’s High Commissioner to the UK didn’t allow him to present them before a court.

“Now I will take three suitcases full of evidences of wrongdoings of the MQM and its chief Altaf Hussain to London to file a case against him,” Dr Mirza said.

Waving what he called ‘documentary proofs’, he also spoke about alleged corruption of MQM and PPP ministers and the Sindh governor. Without naming anyone, he said he was receiving indirect threats but he feared no-one except God.

Dr Mirza said he would not indulge in any conspiracy to break Pakistan.

He criticised the policy of reconciliation of President Asif Ali Zardari and said the PPP’s agreement with the MQM to bring it back to the government was an unholy alliance which would not be acceptable to the people of Pakistan.

He also shared with newsmen what he termed documentary proof of alleged corruption of a provincial minister belonging to the MQM.

He appealed to the army and judges to take notice of corruption of the present regime.

Dr Mirza said if he became the home minister again he would issue another at least 0.5 million arms licences.

Source: http://www.dawn.com/2011/10/10/mqm-leadership-some-ppp-ministers-criticised-lyari-peace-committee-to-be-revived-says-mirza.html

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The researcher recommended recreational activities for children inside IDP camps so that they could remain busy making fun away from the terrorism related news.

Meanwhile, Dr. Irum Irshaad, provincial president of Pakistan Association of Clinical Psychologists and associate professor at Psychology Department of University of Peshawar, said over the last 10 years, posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) was on the rise among the people, especially women and children, in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa areas adjacent to conflict-hit tribal areas.

She told Dawn on Monday that data of patients with PTSD in the province had yet not been collected but research at Jalozai Camp for internally displaced persons and her patients showed that the disorder was on the rise.

Dr Irum said terrorism and insecurity had a negative bearing on the minds of the people, especially women and children.

“Women face gender discrimination when it comes to treatment for psychological problems,” she said, adding that more men had enrolled for treatment at her private clinic in Hayatabad than women.

She said women were generally considered to be `just acting ill` in the gender-biased society ignoring treatment for serious mental illnesses, adding that economic pressure and displacement due to conflict was coming out in the form of behavioural changes.

“Economic burden and breaking up of joint family system are common causes of psychological problems,” Dr Irum said, adding that increase in intolerance in society was an outcome of such problems.

According to her, local families, which have accommodated displaced relatives from Waziristan, Bajaur, Swat and other restive areas, have shown behavioural changes.

“Hospitality, which is considered a value in Pakhtun society, is stretched with the people feeling stressed due to economic burden and insecurity,” she said.

Dr Irum said provincial government should invest in improving mental health facilities and rehabilitation centres in the province since such facilities were almost equal to none.

“One mental Hospital that is adjacent to Peshawar Prison is in such a condition that one remains depressed for days after visiting it,” she said, adding that observance of human rights and tolerance can help attend to psychological problems.

Source: http://www.dawn.com/2011/10/11/tribal-women-blamed-for-inducing-fear-among-children.html

Who is this mysterious lady? By Javed Nusrat

For more than ten days a lady with elitist connections is reportedly being harassed by the Lahore Police. Alleged to have kidnapped a foreigner for ransom, her case is now before an anti-terrorism court. Instead of focusing on her defence through legal means, the said lady continues to insist, almost hysterically, that she was being ‘punished’ by the Sharifs for attempting to enter their family via ‘duly executed marriage’.

She failed to find any takers of her story from amongst the Punjab-based media. But the MQM Quaid has owned her ‘cause’. And at the outset of Monday sitting, legislators belonging to his party also ganged up to stir up the scandal on floor of the House.

An otherwise quiet and lie low type Sardar Mehtab Abbassi could not resist the provocation. He stood up to aggressively forewarn that if MQM were allowed to vent the scandalous stuff, his comrades would pay them in their own coin by throwing dirt at the Muttahida leadership.

National Assembly Speaker Dr Fehmida Mirza announced a break for Maghrib prayer and took a long time in resuming her seat. Obviously backdoor channels were activated to ensure peace in the house. The PPP legislators went an extra mile in the said context. At a meeting of this party’s core committee at the presidency, Asif Ali Zardari had firmly declared that no one from his party should dare drag Sharifs in a scandal. It was at the same meeting that he conveyed to the Speaker of Sindh Assembly that the much deferred decision on Dr Zulfiqar Mirza should immediately be announced. “I am losing a very old friend (Mirza) in order to save our understanding with the MQM,” he announced.

Many in Islamabad’s conspiracy-churning drawing rooms have been claiming that the fine print of the Supreme Court’s decision on the chaos of Karachi was in effect another ‘doctrine of necessity’ invoked to strengthen the hand of extra-parliamentary forces. However, President Zardari seems to believe that the said decision empowered the federal and provincial governments to take firm decisions for restoring order in Karachi. He also hinted at preparing for ‘Seraiki province,’ while asking his people to form two and not one committee for reorganizing the PPP in Punjab. The second committee should absolutely focus on “South Punjab.” Raza Rabbani felt un­happy with the decision, but the President snubbed him politely.

Another kind of embarrassing snub, however, was suffered by Asfandyar Wali as not more than four members attended a meeting of the National Assembly committee on foreign affairs called by him. Even Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar’s presence at the meeting failed to reduce the effect of the rebuff. .

Meanwhile, for the past three days, intense lobbying is on in Islamabad to grab the about-to- be- vacated post of Chairman Pakistan Cricket Board. The names being mentioned in this regard include Ali Raza of NBP fame, former Test cricketers Zaheer Abbas and Majid Khan and Zaraee Tarqiati Bank man Zaka Ashraf. Each one has his own promoter. Ali Raza is being promoted by president’s bossom friend, Anwar Majid and ZAB’s socialite friend Tufail Shaikh. Zaheer Abbas by fellow Sialkotia Rehman Malik, Majid by Dr Soomro. The President earlier had shown his preference for Zaka. The one man who is said to have refused the offer, Aitzaz Ahsan refused to confirm or deny the report. Perhaps the president wants him out of the way before he starts dishing out tickets for the next Senate elections.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 11^th, 2011.

Source: http://tribune.com.pk/story/271519/who-is-this-mysterious-lady/

Ex-naval chief Bokhari named to head NAB

ISLAMABAD: President Asif Ali Zardari named on Sunday Admiral (retd) Agha Fasih Bokhari, former chief of Pakistan Navy, as chairman of the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) to fill the office lying vacant for several months and make the country’s premier accountability organisation functional.

The nomination of Admiral Bokhari surprised many observers in the capital because some other persons were reportedly being considered for the post. The NAB became dysfunctional on July 20 on the orders of the Supreme Court which said that the organisation could not function in the absence of a chairman.

“President Zardari has nominated Admiral Bokhari and sent a summary to Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani for his appointment as NAB chairman,” President’s Spokesman Farhatullah Babar said.

“The president also sent a letter to Leader of Opposition in the National Assembly Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan for consultation as required in the NAB ordinance,” he said. Sources said the law ministry had sent a summary nominating Admiral Bokhari for the post to Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani a few days ago.

The prime minister accepted the summary and forwarded it to the president for approval. Under the NAB ordinance and directives of the apex court, the government has to consult the leader of opposition over the appointment of NAB’s chairman.

The leader of opposition has not taken any decision on the issue, but his party’s spokesman Mushahidullah said the opposition party would not accept the decision because NAB’s chairman should be a non-political person.

He also levelled allegations of corruption against the retired admiral. However, he later withdrew the allegations and said he had confused his name with that of another former Navel Chief.

The PML-N spokesman said his party’s leadership would hold a meeting to discuss the nomination.

He did not confirm that Chaudhry Nisar had received a letter from the president in this regard and said that his party would respond in accordance with the constitution.

It may be mentioned that the leader of opposition had rejected the name of Justice (retd) Syed Deedar Shah for the post but despite that the government appointed him as NAB chairman in October 2010. But three months later Justice (retd) Shah was removed by the Supreme Court which said he had been appointed without ‘meaningful’ consultations with the opposition.

Earlier, the government was considering the names of recently retired judges of the Supreme Court, Justice Javed Iqbal, Justice Sardar Raza Khan and former chief justice (retd) Abdul Hameed Dogar and Punjab Governor Latif Khosa for the office.

But all these names were dropped in favour of Admiral (retd) Fasih Bokhari who retired as four star naval officer after serving as Chief of Naval Staff from 1997 to 1999.

He is a graduate of the French Naval War College and held several high posts in the navy.

The post of NAB chairman has been lying vacant since the removal of Deedar Hussain Shah in March this year.

NAB suspended its operations on July 20 after the expiry of the 30-day deadline given to the government by the Supreme Court to either appoint a chairman or wind up the organisation. The government ignored the deadline and pleaded in the apex court that it could not appoint NAB chairman till the apex court decided its petition seeking a review of the removal of Justice Shah.

The Supreme Court rejected the government’s plea and ordered that its June 21 judgment would prevail (under which 30-day deadline was given).

On June 22, a three-member bench comprising Justice Javed Iqbal, Justice Khilji Arif Hussain and Justice Asif Saeed Khan Khosa, disposed of a constitutional petition filed by Al-Jehad Trust challenging the appointment of Javed Kazi as deputy chairman of NAB and told the government that if it failed to fill the vacant posts of the bureau’s chairman and prosecutor general in one month, the deputy chairman would be barred from exercising the delegated powers of NAB chairman and the bureau would become non-functional.

Source: http://www.dawn.com/2011/10/10/ex-naval-chief-bokhari-named-to-head-nab.html

Pemra protects the sacred cows by Irfan Hussain

Irfan Husain

ACCORDING to a news report in the Guardian covering the recently concluded annual Conservative Party conference in Manchester, Prime Minister David Cameron bumped into the newspaper’s political cartoonist, Steve Bell. At this chance encounter, the British PM asked: “Steve, when are you taking the condom off my head?”

This seemingly bizarre query was in reference to Bell’s re-invention of the Tory leader as an inflated condom in his hilariously rude cartoon strip. Taken aback, Bell is reported to have spluttered: “It’s too late!” Day in and day out, Guardian readers are regaled by the sight of the shiny, pink prime minister with a nipple above his head, and often in the company of the Chancellor, George Osborne (depicted as a pig), discussing the issues of the day.

Despite the grossly offensive nature of the cartoons, Ofcom, the British media regulator, has never issued a notice to the Guardian, demanding that its cartoonist should be reined in. This tolerance of political satire is a sign of the maturity of the democratic tradition here.

In contrast, Pemra, Pakistan’s electronic media regulator, has recently “taken serious notice of satirical programmes”.

According to Pemra, they indulged in “character assassination, humiliation and defamation of dignitaries”. A Pemra spokesman announced that ads would soon be issued “to direct the channels to stop airing funny portrayals of dignitaries”.

Actually, most of our so-called dignitaries need to be deflated at regular intervals. In a recent BBC programme hosted by David Frost, the veteran broadcaster spoke about “pricking the pomposity of politicians”. This is a much-needed exercise that demands the talent and constant attention of our satirists. Our prominent figures, ranging from politicians to generals to bureaucrats, take themselves much too seriously, and deserve a regular toasting under bright studio lights.

The Pemra spokesman warned that if action is mot taken by TV channels, such satirical shows may “invite public wrath against the regulator”. Actually, what should invite public wrath is Pemra’s total failure in preventing the rubbish our TV chat show hosts regularly inflict on viewers. They and their guests toss around the most libellous accusations against politicians without let or hindrance. I have heard guests mention figures of bribes allegedly taken by one leader or another as though they were witnesses to the transactions. Facts are twisted, threats are hurled, poison is spewed, but Pemra is unmoved. In the regulator’s view, laughter is not allowed, but lies and distortions are.

In one of the most flagrant displays of dereliction of regulatory duty, a prominent anchor with a permanent smirk encouraged a guest to declare that Ahmadis were ‘wajib-ul qatal’, or deserving of death. Within days, two Ahmadis were murdered. Pemra was silent on the matter, as was the management of the large TV network.

Political satire has a long and honourable tradition in literature. From Jonathan Swift to Manto, writers have aimed wickedly effective attacks on authority and hypocritical social norms. With the advent of radio and TV (and more recently, the Internet), satirists have taken their sharp wit to larger audiences. So when the Pakistan government tried to introduce legislation aimed at protecting the political leadership from jokes posted on the Internet or sent by SMS, there were gales of laughter around the world.

The point Pemra should remember is that laughter is a healthy reaction to the stupidity of the ruling classes. Censorship has never been able to prevent us from circulating jokes about the pompous figures who strut about on the national stage. Even in Zia’s dark days, when censorship was absolute and the electronic media was tightly controlled, savage satire about the dictator did the rounds by word of mouth, or between the lines in the press. Indeed, dictatorships across the world are targeted, and often, humorous stories skip across borders, with only the names of the despots being changed.

Who can forget Tina Fey’s depiction of Sarah Palin on a TV show in which she caught the vacuous charm of the Alaskan candidate for vice-presidency? In a few short minutes of well-aimed satire, Fay has probably made Palin unelectable. In fact, after that TV programme, Palin no longer gives interviews for fear of being exposed in all her glorious ignorance.

Often, satire is intended as deadly serious comment and criticism, but sugar-coated in humour to make it palatable. The best satirists tend to portray their subjects accurately enough to recognise, while exaggerating some key feature. Thus, Steve Bell caricatures the Labour leader, Ed Milliband, as a panda-eyed, slightly demented man. Although George Bush was always depicted as a chimpanzee by Bell, the US president was instantly recognisable.

In Britain, nobody from the Queen downwards is immune from lampooning. In the US, stand-up comics regularly skewer the holy cows of the day. Private Eye, Britian’s iconic satirical magazine, has been sued numerous times for slander. It combines witty writing with investigative reporting that has embarrassed politicians and governments. France’s Le Canard Enchaine (The Chained Duck) has uncovered many scams and scandals in high places, and is required reading for the political class.

And while western politicians, like everybody else, don’t like being laughed at, they know they must put up with the barbs tossed their way by the media. In our part of the world, however, macho leaders can’t tolerate much criticism, especially when it comes wrapped in waspish humour.

I can understand Pemra’s predicament: every time some stuffed shirt in government is pilloried on TV, he gets humiliated and picks up the phone. The more senior the person in the spotlight, the greater the heat Pemra gets. In the good old days when PTV was the only show in town, keeping producers and writers in check was not a problem: anybody stepping out of line would soon be out of work.

But as TV channels have proliferated and competition for viewers and advertising has become fiercer, more controversial programming has become the norm. Sadly, much of this consists of hysterical chat shows. But every once in a while, satirical programmes like the one built around the marvellous Begum Nawazish light up our TV screens. These should be relished as long as they last.

Source: http://www.dawn.com/2011/10/10/pemra-protects-the-sacred-cows.html

Terrorized Silence

by Baber Sattar

If you are an “aashiq-e-Rasool” (devotee of the Prophet), should you be able to get away with murder? Can we, as a society, justify the cold-blooded murder of Salmaan Taseer by Mumtaz Qadri, merely because this killer believed he was discharging a divine duty? Can a citizen be allowed to execute another summarily in pursuit of a self-defined higher ideal of ‘justice’ not recognised by law, and can such logic be inducted as a valid justification for murder? Isn’t that the story of all psychopaths who pose a threat to society? Must we become apologists for vigilantism and crimes perpetrated in the name of religion, honour and tradition?

Notwithstanding what construct of justice and mode of reasoning one employs, the demand of the mullah brigade (and the anarchist band of lawyers who pelted flowers at a murderer and later ransacked the court that awarded him the death sentence) that Qadri must go scott-free is neither just nor reasonable. The argument against punishing Qadri is that in violating the law, he was actually meting out justice. Or in other words, meting out justice in the name of religion should be treated as justification (like self-defence) for an action that is otherwise a crime (i.e. killing a fellow citizen).

Law, most people agree, doesn’t have the moral authority it claims. But for any legal system to be credible and effective, the pursuit of morality in breach of law must attract penal consequences. What the law does is publicly declare certain rules that everyone is required to abide by. These rules might seem unjust at times, but they are binding. If you break a signal because you’re rushing to the airport to catch a flight, you are doing so with the knowledge that the challan or ticket that you might get as a consequence is an acceptable cost. But you cannot show up in court and justify your defiance of the law because a personal need or calling overrides traffic rules.

Those opposed to the law considered bad or unjust can either try and get it changed, or defy it. But when such defiance is with complete knowledge of the penal consequences that will follow, the punishment that results is not unfair.

Can we placate the frothing mullahs by adding an all-encompassing provision within Pakistan Penal Code holding that anyone whose religious beliefs are incensed by actions of another could legitimately inflict violence on such person? If the mullahs wish to make Qadri their hero for defying the law and killing a fellow human in pursuit of his belief-system, and hang his garlanded photo in their drawing rooms for their kids to emulate, there can be no accounting for such personal choice other than social censure.

But when they come out on the street and use violence to force our legal system and the society to accommodate violent crime and bigotry within the fold of rule of law, such coercive attempt to adulterate the legal system must be resisted forcefully.

There are many in Pakistan who believe that our blasphemy law is unjust, not because they support blasphemy, but because the law in its existing form is liable to abuse and has been abused continually.

The mullah brigade is not interested in a rational debate over the merits of the blasphemy law, as it exists and is applied in Pakistan. But its approach to scuttling debate has been considered and cunning. At step one is the argument that retaining the existing malfunctioning legal provisions related to blasphemy is essential to preempt impassioned ‘aashiq-e-Rasool’ from taking law into their own hands. In other words if law doesn’t allow persecution of those accused, the resulting vigilantism will be justified.

Step two is to condemn all critics of our blasphemy law as blasphemers themselves, who then become legitimate targets for the bigoted brigades. So if Salmaan Taseer is standing up for someone accused of blasphemy, he automatically transforms into a blasphemer and is liable to be killed.

And at step three is the assertion that when the killing of one human being by another is motivated by a higher ideal, such as executing the divinely ordained task of defending the honour of the Prophet, the law should make allowance for such self-assumed duty. As Mumtaz Qadri killed Salmaan Taseer in genuine pursuit of his religious ideals, the criminal justice system ought to treat intent behind such murder as benevolent.

The mullah brigade wishes that crimes of bigotry and hatred in the name of religion be declared as no crimes at all because the underlying intent cannot be deemed guilty. The reasoning being employed here, if accepted, would justify the genocide of non-Muslims and religious minorities in Pakistan. It would legitimise the targeted killing of Hazaras by Lashkar-e-Jhangvi in Balochistan and Shias across Pakistan, and it would condone the slaughter of innocent citizens by the Taliban. The logical outcome of such train of thought is thus ghastly. It would wipe out the possibility of discussion, debate or divergence within the realm of religion.

Such a move for homogeneity in the belief-system of Pakistanis while incapable of succeeding will certainly foster further anarchy and violence. If every Pakistani believes that he/she has a license from God to enforce his/her religious convictions on others, such mindset excludes the possibility of ours being a pluralistic society. If you legitimise violence inflicted on others in the name of religion or declare that the intent to harm others when driven by religious fervour is absolved of guilt, you are merely corrupting your system of justice from within by leaving no objective criteria to determine criminality.

And once you endorse that (i) any individual can assume agency and act as judge, jury and executioner in relation to another citizen if so commanded by his personal religious belief, and (ii) some actions/opinions against established religious dogma, or cultural/tribal values or entrenched concepts of honour are so wrong that any person associated with them doesn’t even deserve the protection of due process of law, you are sounding the death-knell of rule of law and constitutionalism.

But the mullahs are not interested in debating any of this within the sphere of religious thought or on the temporal plain as exhibited by the fact that they killed both Mufti Sarfraz Naeemi and Salmaan Taseer.

The nature of radicalism and intolerance being advocated, practiced and defended by the mullah, if left unchallenged, will gravitate toward more violent extremism. As the mullah’s instrument of persuasion is violence, it works seamlessly when the state chooses to step aside as an indifferent bystander. The ordinary citizen is incapable of confronting the bigotry and coercion of the mullah because no level playing field exists. If you dare to confront the mullah you do so at the peril of being declared an apostate, infidel or heretic, and such a label instantly denudes you of your most fundamental entitlement: the right to life and liberty.

The violent mullah and his reign of terror are not natural products of evolution. They are byproducts of our state policies and priorities. Religious militias cannot sustain themselves unless condoned by the state and treated as part of the national security paraphernalia. Armed religious groups cannot operate freely across Pakistan intimidating people, perpetrating violence and radicalising the society, unless the state conceives such harm as acceptable loss in pursuit of strategic objectives. And religious extremists cannot continue to brainwash our youth, if the state regulates the curriculum of madrassahs and provides free education to all children as our constitution mandates.

Unless the state changes its policy and our civil, military and thought leaders exhibit the courage to stand up to self-proclaimed agents of God, the coercive consensus on issues related to religion will develop into a conformist consensus, leaving little hope for progressive change.

Email: sattar@post.harvard.edu

Source: http://thenews.com.pk/TodaysPrintDetail.aspx?ID=71401&Cat=9&dt=10%2F7%2F2011

The IK factor By Cyril Almeida

IT looks and sounds almost biblical. Pestilence has descended on Lahore, swaths of the country have plunged into darkness, life as we know it may be coming to an end soon.

Thank God for the politicians and comic relief.

Less ‘après moi, le déluge’ — after me, the deluge — and more ‘nous sommes le déluge’ — we are the deluge — our pols are up in arms again.

They are shaking fists, bumping bellies, raging and pontificating. The PML-N wants the PPP gone, the PPP is mocking the N-League, the political waters are churning again.

And the man who may have triggered it all, Imran Khan, is serenely going about his business, heaping scorn on all sides and surging ahead in popularity.

To understand Pakistani politics, you have to keep two things in mind.

One, little of what any politician has to say publicly has anything to do with what’s really on his mind.

Two, some laws of politics are immutable.

Start with the second proposition. You don’t lose an election to poor performance, you lose an election to another candidate.

Despite the rains in Sindh and dengue in Lahore, those areas are bastions of the PPP and the PML-N respectively and it’s hard to see them being meaningfully challenged there by other parties or candidates.

So you can scratch that as a serious electoral concern.

Now to the first proposition. You’ve heard the PML-N verbally pummel the PPP and you’ve seen the Shujaat faction of the PML-Q momentarily try and put some distance between itself and the PPP.

To hear the PPP’s rivals/ allies tell it, they are simply fed up with the PPP’s misgovernance and just want things to get better.

If you believe any of that, you might also want to peer out the nearest window to see if you can spot a flying pig.

The N-League is the same party that hasn’t been able to control a mosquito in Lahore and the PML-Q, well, the years 2002-08 should be enough to tell you everything about their good governance model.

So why is the N-League in particular so agitated suddenly?

If you google ‘Gujranwala, Sept 25, PTI’, you may get part of the answer.

That pesky fool Imran Khan seems to be attracting voters in Punjab, particularly urban but also rural.

The build-up has been happening away from the headlines of the mainstream Punjab-based media because it is either in the pocket of the Sharifs or loathe to antagonise the powerful N-League which is known to be vindictive and tough in its dealings with the media.

To be sure, IK and his PTI jalopy aren’t quite a juggernaut yet, but they have been quietly picking up steam. And on Sept 25, they roared into Liaquat Bagh in a jalsa that would have set the alarms ringing in the PML-N camp.

The hawks in the N-League have long been chafing against the more pacifist policy of their boss, but earlier weren’t able to convince Nawaz otherwise.

Now, with a new party, the PTI, arriving in the N-League’s backyard and making many of the noises the PML-N hawks think they should be making themselves to hold on to their constituencies, the hawks appear to have finally goaded their boss into action.

So the pummelling of the PPP has begun, to keep the N-League voter onside and away from the wiles of the PTI seductionists.

Why the roundabout route of attacking the PPP to keep the N-League voters from breaking for the PTI?

Because a direct attack on the PTI would both boost the profile of Imran Khan’s bunch of do-gooders and signal that the N-League feels threatened. In politics, the perception of weakness can become reality if exposed too early. And it’s a time-honoured strategy of politics to bash the incumbents to boost one’s own electability.

Frankly, until the arrival of the interloper Imran Khan, the next elections were looking quite dreary.

Electoral gridlock in much of the country — PPP dominating in interior Sindh; MQM in Karachi; KP split between the ANP, PPP and JUI-F; urban and central Punjab dominated by the PML-N — had left the big players eyeing another coalition government in which the fate of south Punjab would likely decide who would lead at the centre.

Punjab and its various regions were supposed to be the stage for an overall three-way contest between the PML-N, the Q-League and the PPP, with Imran Khan and his PTI playing the role of the spoiler in a first-past-the-post system. Votes matter little unless they translate into seats and the big boys were supposed to have had a lock on the seats.

But the plucky outsider with the demagogic populism seems to have tapped into a vein of unhappiness with the status quo that everyone knew was there but doubted whether it could be channelled politically by a new force.

Even now, whether Imran Khan knows how to translate a crowd at a campaign rally into votes at the ballot box remains to be seen. The pundits, though, are slowly becoming believers. Between KP and Punjab, there is talk of him picking up anywhere between a dozen and 30-plus seats.

A victory for democracy and the believers in transition, then? Not if politics means coming up with meaningful solutions to serious problems. IK has about as much of a clue on how to steer Pakistan out of crisis as AZ, NS, the judiciary or the army.Still, it is fun to see the big boys get hot under their collar a bit.

The writer is a member of staff.

cyril.a@gmail.com

Source: http://www.dawn.com/2011/10/07/the-ik-factor.html