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Posts published in December 2009

Khunjerab border closed

GILGIT, Dec 30: The Khunjerab border, which links Pakistan with neighbouring China, is closed on Thursday. Due to heavy snowfall, the border would remain closed for four months. Officials say that it would reopen in May. “The border is closed due to heavy snowfall from Jan 1 to May 1 every year. However, postal services vehicles would be allowed in between the two countries,” an official said. http://www.dawn.com/wps/wcm/connect/dawn-content-library/dawn/the-newspaper/national/khunjerab-border-closes-today-129

Naheed likely G-B Governor

By Maqbool Malik Submitted in The Nation, Dec 31 ISLAMABAD – Naheed Khan, former MNA and political secretary to the assassinated PPP chairperson Benazir Bhutto, is unlikely to accept party offer for the slot of the first governor of Gilgit-Baltistan. “We don’t need any office. What we expect from the party leadership is to consider our proposals seriously which we have floated for the betterment of the party,” Senator Dr Safdar Abbasi, husband of Naheed…

No Opp Leader In Gilgit Assembly

By Khawar Ghumman in the Dawn, Dec 31 ISLAMABAD, Dec 30: The newly-elected chief minister of Gilgit-Baltistan (GB) has a unique privilege to have a house without an opposition leader. To the dismay of the National Assembly Standing Committee on Kashmir Affairs and Northern Areas, it was informed on Wednesday that under the current rules, there was no provision of opposition leader in the house. When inquired, Gilgit-Baltistan Chief Secretary Babar Yaqoob Fateh Mohammad informed…

11 killed, 80 injured in Muzaffarabad suicide hit

MUZAFFARABAD- At least 11 people were killed and dozens injured in a suicide bombing that ripped through an Imambargah in ‘Azad’ Kashmir’s main city on Sunday. The suicide bomber detonated his explosives in a Muharram procession in Muzaffarabad. “When the volunteers spotted the suicide bomber and challenged him, he blew himself up,” local religious leader Maulvi Kifayat told a private TV channel. Raja Kafil Ahmad, spokesman for the Azad Kashmir government, said 11 people had…

GB by-polls: Teenager killed, rigging alleged

By Tariq Naqash in the Dawn, Dec 27 MUZAFFARABAD, Dec 26: Activists of nationalist Kashmiri groups staged a demonstration here on Saturday to condemn the killing of a teenaged student and alleged rigging in a by-election in Gilgit-Baltistan. They warned the Pakistan People’s Party to desist from installing “puppet regime” in the region. The demonstration, organised by the Kashmir National Party (KNP), National Lawyers Forum (NLF), National Students Federation (NSF) and Balawaristan National Front (BNF),…

PPP government in GB not de jure’

The Daily Times, Nov 26 ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) has established a de facto government in Gilgit-Baltistan and the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) will not accept it as a de jure government, a PML-N fact sheet said on Wednesday. “It was the PPP’s first opportunity, since coming to power, to hold independent and transparent elections according to the constitution and the Charter of Democracy (CoD), but it broke all records of rigging and…

Kashmir issue up to India, Pakistan: China

BEIJING: India and Pakistan should solve the Kashmir dispute between themselves, China said on Tuesday, after the Hurriyat chairman said Beijing had a role to play in the territorial feud. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang said: “Our stance on the issue has been consistent. This is an issue between India and Pakistan left over by history.” http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2009\11\25\story_25-11-2009_pg7_3

Kashmir part of India: EU

Srinagar, Nov. 24: Pakistan today suffered a setback with European Union diplomats saying Jammu and Kashmir is an integral part of India. The EU delegation has been visiting Kashmir for several years but this is the first time it has come so close to the Indian position. Asked if the bloc considers Kashmir an integral part of India, Lars-Olof Lindgren, the Swedish ambassador who led the five-member fact-finding team to Srinagar, said: “That is the…

Expedite Diamer-Bhasha dam: Gilani

The Daily Times, Dec 24 ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani on Wednesday formed a committee to resolve all impediments delaying the construction of the Diamer-Bhasha dam. The committee – consisting of ministers for Water and Power, Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan, Information, Labour and Manpower and Inter-Provincial Coordination and the deputy chairman of the Planning Commission – has been tasked with resolving all outstanding issues with stakeholders and develop a broader consensus on the project. The…

Transporters’ strike ends in G-B

The Dawn, Dec 24 GILGIT, Dec 23: The transporters have called their strike off in Gilgit-Baltistan. After the decision of the union of transporters, public transport has been resumed in the region. The decision was taken when union leaders and government officials reached consensus about fixation of new fares after rise in prices of petroleum products. The strike had paralysed life in some parts of the area for the last some days and with the…

AJK monitoring cell ‘void’: SC

by Usman Manzoor in The News, Dec 23 ISLAMABAD: The senior most judge of the Supreme Court of Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK), in an unprecedented decision, has declared the ‘monitoring cell’ created by the AJK chief justice as unconstitutional. He held this while passing an order after hearing a case of collecting examination and registration fee from the students of the quake-hit areas. Explaining the difference between the monitoring cell ordered by the Supreme…