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Posts published in September 2012

Kashmir comes to the fore : edit in The Nation, Sept 30

There is an atmosphere building in which the world community can no longer go on overlooking the injustice being done to the Kashmiri people by the Indian occupation forces, and must act to ensure they get their inherent right of self-determination. This should also act as a warning to thePakistangovernment that the time for anodyne statements whose primary aim is to avoid makingIndiauncomfortable, if ever there, is now past. As President Asif Zardari told All-Parties…

For peace in Gilgit-Baltistan: Editorial in The Express Tribune, Sept 30

Addressing the first joint session of the Gilgit-Baltistan Council and Legislative Assembly on September 28, Prime Minister Raja Pervaiz Ashraf announced Rs2 billion in socio-economic development funds “to grapple with the wave of deadly sectarian violence that has gripped the restive tourism haven”. He was clearly shaken by the recent massacre of Shia passengers travelling in a bus on the Karakoram Highway (KKH). He said that the FC, Gilgit-Baltistan Scouts and police units had been…

PM’s maiden visit to GB: edit in Daily Times, Sept 30

In his first visit to Gilgit-Baltistan (GB), Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf has allocated Rs 2 billion to address the financial and administrative problems afflicting the area. Generous as it is on the part of the government to recognise the financial needs of GB, mired in poverty and underdevelopment, the question remains where would this money come from? The government is already financially strapped and devising different solutions through tax reforms, borrowing, and trying to…

Lawmaker demands deployment of army on two border areas

By Peer Muhammad in The Express Tribune, Sept 29 ISLAMABAD: A lawmaker of the Gilgit-Baltistan Legislative Assembly demanded on Friday that army be deployed at two important border areas of Ghizer district. The demand came after intelligence reports that militants from neighbouring Afghanistan could attack passengers on Shandur Road, which connects Gilgit-Baltistan (G-B) with Chitral. Muhammad Ayub Shah, who was elected from Ghizer, said, “We demand that the federal government deploy army at Darkut Pass…

Govt may act as guarantor for AJK power projects

By Zafar Bhutta  in The Express Tribune, Sept 30 ISLAMABAD: The Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) is likely to approve government guarantees for building hydropower projects in Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK), meeting a key demand of foreign investors who are keen to invest in the state. According to sources, the ECC will take up the issue in its meeting on Tuesday after foreign firms told the Ministry of Water and Power that international lenders were…

Fresh warrants issued in 15-year-old AJK case

by Tariq Naqash in Dawn, Sept 30 MUZAFFARABAD, Sept 29: A court here on Saturday issued fresh non-bailable arrest warrants for 10 of the 14 accused, including a veteran pro-independence leader and a sitting AJK minister, in a case registered against them 15 years ago. Additional Sessions Judge Mian Arif Hussain, who had issued similar warrants against the accused last week, expressed anger over non-compliance by the local police and ordered the senior superintendent of…

Neelum-Jhelum project needs $1 billion by 2016

By Khalid Mustafa in The News, Sept 29 Islamabad: Pakistan’s Neelum-Jhelum hydropower project needs $1 billion to be completed by 2016 and if the amount is not arranged in time, then the project will be delayed and India will get water priority rights of the Neelum River, said Lt General (retired) Zubair, chief executive of the Neelum-Jhelum Hydropower Company here on Friday. He told a meeting of the National Assembly’s standing committee on economic affairs…

Neelum-Jhelum: Abu Dhabi Fund withholds $100 million loan for power project

By Zafar Bhutta in The Express Tribune, Sept 29 ISLAMABAD: The Abu Dhabi Fund (ADF) has withheld a $100 million loan it had pledged for the construction of the 969 megawatt Neelum-Jhelum hydropower project in Azad Jammu and Kashmir, a parliamentary panel was informed on Friday. The ADF provides development aid to developing countries in the form of concessionary loans and grants on behalf of the Abu Dhabi government. “The loan agreement of $100 million…

PM launches two Karakoram Highway projects

by Farooq Ahmed Khan in Dawn, sept 28 GILGIT, Sept 28: On his first official visit to Gilgit-Baltistan, Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf launched on Friday two multi-million-dollar projects involving realignment and upgradation of the Karakoram Highway. The two projects are aimed at restoring the historic road link with China which was cut off after a devastating landslide that blocked the Hunza river at Attabad. The prime minister performed the ground-breaking of the realignment of…

Mirwaiz calls on President Zardari

NEW YORK: Mirwaiz Muhammad Umar Farooq, Chairman of All Parties Hurriyat Conference called on President Asif Ali Zardari here on the sidelines of UNGA session on Friday evening. Foreign Minister Ms. Hina Rabbani Khar, Ambassador Sherry Rehman and Ambassador Masood Khan were also present during the meeting. President Zardari during the meeting reiterated Pakistan’s principled stance to continue extending all political, moral and diplomatic support to the Kashmiri brethren, who have rendered countless sacrifices for…

Bus route to UK planned

MUZAFFARABAD, Sept 27: Authorities in Pakistan are planning to launch a bus route from the Azad Kashmir town of Mirpur to the British city of Birmingham — 8,000 kilometres away. The mammoth journey would take travellers through some of the most dangerous areas of Pakistan on their way to Iran, Turkey and Europe before reaching the Midlands city after around eight days, officials said.  Tahir Khokhar, the transport minister of Azad Kashmir, said the fare…