NEWS 05
Wednesday, 12 February, 2014
MISSING PERSONS CASE
NO COMPROMISE OVER BASIC RIGHTS, OBSERVES SC ISLAMABAD: Supreme Court Justice Jawwad S Khawaja on Tuesday remarked that the fundamental rights of the people will not be compromised upon. He made the comment while heading a threemember bench of Supreme Court (SC) hearing the review petition filed by the Defence Ministry against the apex court’s decision of December 2013 in Mohabbat Shah Case with reference to 35 missing persons from Malakand. Additional Attorney General (AAG) Shah Khawar appeared before the court on behalf of federal and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government and told the bench that the federal government had filed review petition against December, 10, 2013 verdict of SC. He further said that a Civil Misc. Application (CMA) has also been filed but number has not been marked over it. The bench ruled the office to mark the number over the CMA. Mohabbat Shah also appeared in the court during the course of hearing. The court separated the review case from original case while issuing notice to Attorney General Salman Aslam Butt. The court hearing was adjourned until Thursday. ONLINE
31 BRIGADIERS PROMOTED AS MAJOR GENERALS RAWALPINDI: The Corps Commanders’ Conference chaired by Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Raheel Sharif gave approval of promotion of 31 brigadiers to the rank of major general on Tuesday. Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said the two-day-long conference, which started on Monday, was part of routine monthly meetings and the forum dwelt at length on various professional matters. The second day of the conference was devoted to the promotion board from the rank of brigadier to the rank of major general. The 31 brigadiers who got promotion include Brig Hasnat, Brig Azhar Saleh, Brig Abdullah Dogar, Brig Abid Mumtaz, Brig Qaiser, Brig Shahid Kiyani, Brig Asif Artillary, Brig Aziz, Brig Mehmood, Brig Jamil, Brig Moazzam, Brig Farhan, Brig Shahzad Naeem, Brig Majid, Brig Amir Abbasi, Brig Zafarul Haq, Brig Azhar Naveed, Brig Zafarullah, Brig Asim Muneer, Brig Fida, Brig Ahsan, Brig Khalil Dar, Brig Tariq Qudus, Brig Shahzad, Brig Shahzad, Brig Khalid Najam, Brig Iftikhar Pervez, Brig Saleem Jehangir, Brig Najam-us-Saqib and Brig Tariq Pervez. INP
QUETTA: A vendor displays solar energy panels at his shop. INP
Key militant commander arrested in swat PESHAWAR STAFF REPORT
Security forces arrested key local militant commander Umarzada alias Dildar from the Galiga area of Swat’s Matta tehsil. In a statement, the office of Khyber Paktunkhawa Inspector General of Police said security forces also recovered 13 detonators and 15 cartridges from Dildar’s possession. The militant commander’s father Bacha Gul was already in police custody. In a separate incident in Peshawar’s Sarband area, security forces arrested 27 suspects and recovered arms and ammunition from their possession along with a vehicle with bogus paperwork. Both areas are situated in northwest Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, which has seen countless terrorist attacks over the past several years — many of them targeting security officials. The Pakistani Taliban, who have been waging a bloody insurgency against the state, routinely target police and security forces and it is not clear whether with the ongoing developments in negotiations with the government, the militants would stop their attacks.
THREE ‘TERRORISTS’ KILLED BY OWN BOMB DERA ISMAIL KHAN: Three suspected terrorists were killed in an explosion in the Kolachi area of Dera Ismail Khan on Tuesday. The three suspects were reportedly planting explosive material on a roadside in Bacha Khan, Kolachi when the bomb blew up, killing them on the spot. INP
FIA REVEALS RS470M ASSETS OF CDA EX-CHAIRMAN ISLAMABAD: The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) has dug out assets worth Rs 470 million of Capital Development Authority (CDA) former chairman Farkhad Iqbal during investigation. Farkhand was arrested on charges of corruption in the civic authority’s irregularities in plots during his tenure as the CDA chairman. The assets recently unearthed by the FIA included property worth Rs 55 million in the name of Farkhand’s wife and other valuable properties owned by his son. INP
FAMILY FEARS FOR ‘DISAPPEARED’ ANTI-DRONE ACTIVIST g
Karim Khan’s lawyer says he’s pinning his hopes on public pressure to force govt to release his client RAWALPINDI
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AGENCIES
HE family of an allegedly kidnapped anti-drone campaigner spoke on Tuesday of their fears for his safety, as his lawyer accused the government of wanting to make an example of him. Kareem Khan was picked up by the security forces from his home in Rawalpindi on February 5, according to his legal team, just days before he was due to testify before three European parliaments. The freelance journalist was also fighting a legal case in which he had named both the CIA’s former station chief and the
government of Pakistan for their roles in the US drone programme in the country’s tribal areas. Khan’s brother-in-law Dil Bar Jan, who lodged a police report over the disappearance, said the family was very worried about what would happen to him. “We haven’t done anything that is anti-state, nor do any of us have bad intentions towards
anyone,” he said. “We’re from an educated family, we’re all government employees, I myself am a teacher. We can’t think of doing something wrong.” A court has asked police to produce Khan, who is in his fifties, on Wednesday. His lawyer Shahzad Akbar said he was pinning his hopes on public pressure to force the government to release him. “This is a completely illegal disappearance, which means some kind of pressure is being applied through his disappearance to the other drone victims,” Akbar said. The lawyer said he was becoming increasingly concerned for Khan, whose son and brother were killed in a US drone strike in 2009. “Normally if someone is picked up they are held a few days and they come back, so every passing moment makes it less likely,” he said. Khan’s 18-year-old-son and brother were killed when a drone missile struck a gathering in North Waziristan on December 31 2009.
BANK ALFALAH AND UNITED MOBILE JOIN HANDS TO BENEFIT CUSTOMERS KARACHI: Bank Alfalah, Pakistan’s largest issuer and acquirer of credit cards has recently joined hands with United Mobile on a strategic alliance to benefit its credit card customers across Pakistan. The signing ceremony was held in Karachi and was attended by Mr. Ashraf Machiyara, Director & CEO (United Mobile), Mr Ejaz Hassan, Director Marketing United Mobile, Mr Aly Mustansir, Bank Alfalah’s Chief Marketing Officer and Mr Shahzad Ishaque, Bank Alfalah’s Head of Consumer Finance amongst others. As part of this collaboration, United Mobile will offer its complete range of Voice smart mobile devices and feature phones to Bank Alfalah’s credit card members on six to twelve month installment plans, with zero percent mark up. This is yet another effort by the Bank to provide its customers with unique privileges, enhanced access and bespoke benefits which add value and convenience to their lives. As part of this alliance, Bank Alfalah credit card customers will also be enrolled in a raffle draw every month, making them eligible to win a free mobile phone by United Mobile. PRESS RELEASE
PAKISTANIELITESPENDINGMILLIONSONARMOUREDVEHICLES With an increase in incidents of violence and kidnapping, Pakistan’s elite class is spending millions buying armoured vehicles that can withstand shots fired from assault rifles and bomb attacks. Analysts say armoured vehicles is the natural progression after turning private residences into fortresses with armed security personnel on guard round the clock. “The business has gone up in the last 2-3 years. Armoured cars are used by various politicians,
businessmen and top officials,” a senior executive of the international armoured vehicle maker Streit Group told Indian new agency, Press Trust of India. Streit Group, which is said to be the world’s largest armoured vehicle manufacturer, has set up a facility in Karachi and gets orders of about five vehicles every month. According to industry sources, the cost of upgrading a normal sedan or an SUV can cost between Rs 40 lakhs to Rs 60 lakhs depending on the level of
safety features. This is over and above the initial cost of the car and the favourite here remains the Toyota SUVs. However, seeing the demand, it is feared that many factories have sprung up without any licenses. The Interior Ministry has said that such conversions are “totally illegal”. The ministry spokesperson, in a statement, “warned the general public against the activities of such companies which are not authentic and are operating illegally”. He said that level of safety in such converted
CMYK
vehicles is not guaranteed and rather can put precious lives in danger. He said that Ministry of Interior will take action against the companies involved “in this illegal business extorting huge money from their customers”. Ministry sources told PTI that every person who wants to get an armoured vehicle will first have to get a ‘No Objection Certificate’ from them which is given after a full review of threat perception. Sources say issuance of such NOCs is negligible, especially in the
tenure of current Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan. The elite in Pakistan earlier mostly used imported bullet-proof cars. As per official figures, 155 individuals imported bulletproof cars after paying duties and taxes during the last five years. Almost all embassies and high commissions in Pakistan use a fleet of armoured vehicles. At least 41 bullet-proof vehicles were imported duty free by various embassies in the last five years. NEWS DESK