Press "Enter" to skip to content

Posts published in March 2012

Fai jailed in US over Kashmir lobbying charge.

WASHINGTON, March 30: A US-based Pakistani who allegedly concealed his true role while lobbying American politicians for decades over Kashmir was sentenced on Friday to two years in jail, justice officials said. Syed Ghulam Nabi Fai was arrested in July and charged with conspiracy for using at least $3.5 million from the Islamabad-based government to lobby US lawmakers to support Pakistan’s goal of self-determination for Kashmiris. He pleaded guilty in December to conspiracy and tax…

Protest: Low-paid employees demand their rights

MIRPUR: Low-paid employees of Mirpur Electricity Department continued their strike for the second consecutive day on Friday and warned they would go on indefinite pen-down strike if their demands were not fulfilled by the April 4 deadline. The protesters wore black armbands in support of their demands and  boycotted their duties. They threatened to besiege the offices of the chief engineer and superintendant engineer in case their demands were not accepted. The protesters included non-gazetted…

Gilgit traders observe strike against SSP leader’s arrest

GILGIT, March 29: Complete shutter down strike was observed in main areas of Gilgit city on the call of Ahle Sunnat Wal Jamaat to protest against the arrest of banned Sipah-i-Sahaba Pakistan (SSP) Gilgit chief Maulana Attaullah Saqib. The protesters demanded release of the SSP leader, who was taken into custody on Tuesday. The main markets, including Raja bazar, Saddar bazaar, NLI market and shops on Airport Road, remained closed. However, business activities continued as…

Yasin Malik is liar, says Dr Shabir Chaudhry : by Murtaza Ali Shah in the News, Mar 28

LONDON: A London based nationalist Kashmiri activist has branded the Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front leader Yasin Malik a “liar and dishonest” person after his name was mentioned before the judicial commission investigating the memo scandal on Monday. Yasin Malik alleged that alongside Mansoor Ijaz, the central figure in the memo investigation, it was Dr Shabir Choudhry who tried to persuade him to meet Chander Sahay, then deputy director of RAW who went on to head…

Assailants free accomplice from police custody in GB

GILGIT, March 27: Masked gunmen on Tuesday attacked a policy party injuring two policemen and taking with them a prisoner who was being taken to hospital. The prisoner was handed life imprisonment in a murder case of secretariat employee Anwar Jan by the anti-terrorist court. “There were five to six attackers, who were wearing masks. Police retaliated but the assailants escaped along with the accused after our two colleagues were injured in the fire,” said…

‘Extended power cuts in G-B a human rights violation’

GILGIT: The extended power outages in Gilgit-Baltistan (G-B) are a violation of basic human rights, said the local chapter of International Human Rights Observer (IHRO) on Sunday. The organisation called for widespread protests to depose “the corrupt and inept officials responsible for the power mess”. In a press release, the IHRO urged all citizens to demand that the government hand over the affairs of the water and power departments to a foreign company capable of…

Dangerous driving, ruined roads raise questions in AJK

By AH Nizami in The Express Tribune, Mar 26 MIRPUR: Buses snaking around mountainside roads, skidding off, tumbling down and crashing, followed by fatalities reported in the news. Such a sequence has been alarmingly frequent in Azad Jammu and Kashmir of late. It seems this is no coincidence. Poor driving, sharp turns and dilapidated vehicles and roads are all partially to blame. But another major stumbling block to safe travel has been the transport mafia,…

After three days without help, landslide-hit people appeal for relief

PESHAWAR: Heavy rains that triggered landslides in Gilgit-Baltistan (G-B) and Chitral, killing at least nine people, have severed key routes to the valleys, forcing affected villagers to appeal for more assistance. “We are in great distress,” Rehana Bibi, a resident of Upper Chitral, was quoted as saying in a report by IRIN, the UN information unit. “Life has come to a standstill. Terraced land where we grow crops has been destroyed and we have received…

G-B professors to strike if demands not accepted

GILGIT:  Following a deadlock in negotiations with the government, lecturers and professors in Gilgit will launch a protest movement in Gilgit-Baltistan (G-B) from Sunday for acceptance of their longstanding demands. “In the first phase starting from Sunday, all lecturers and professors will wear black armbands.” Ishtiaq Ahmed, a representative of Gilgit-Baltistan Professors and Lecturers Association (G-BPLA) told reporters in Gilgit on Saturday. Protesting faculty members have also called for the establishment of an independent examination…

Kohistan massacre: In Gigit-Baltistan, chaos continues as critical issues put on the shelf

By Shabbir Mir in The Express Tribune, March 18 GILGIT:   Heightened sectarian tension in the aftermath of the Kohistan bus massacre has appropriated the Gilgit-Baltistan (G-B) government’s attention, which has sidelined several issues of public importance. While political leaders and officials are focused on controlling the fallout, people are uncertain if their day-to-day problems are being given any priority. Wheat crisis:  Just days before the tragedy, a mass movement against the rise in wheat prices…

Jamaat Shah returns, offers help in probe

LAHORE: As per his commitment, Syed Jamaat Ali Shah, former commissioner of Pakistan Commission of Indus Water have returned home from Canada and presented himself for any probe regarding his input chief of trans-boundary commission. Talking to The News here on Friday, Shah said he never left Pakistan for good. He added that he had to stay in Canada for treatment of his mother. “Now I am back and in touch with the department concerned…