Press "Enter" to skip to content

Posts published in February 2013

Unnecessary show of force: edit in the Nation, Feb 25

Indian war games in the Rajasthan areas coming on the heels of a massive arms deals with more than one country makes very obvious its militaristic leanings and the constant show of force with which it has been trying to frighten its neighbours. The significance of choosing Rajasthan area is another cause that shows its particular tendency to size up the Pakistan army along the border. At the LoC it has recently been violating and…

Young girl kidnapped from Gilgit raped

RAWALPINDI: An accused, Abdulah, kidnapped a young girl from Gilgit, brought her to Rawalpindi, raped her for six days in a room of a hotel and ran away, police said. One Samya Bibi, resident of Muslim Colony, village Kino Daas, Gizir, Gilgit, lodged a complaint with the Waris Khan police saying that her beloved, Abdulah brought her to Rawalpindi with the promise that they will enter into marriage there. She said that they stayed in…

PML-N for simultaneous dissolution of G-B Assembly

ISLAMABAD: A key leader of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) in Gilgit-Baltistan (G-B) on Friday pushed for the simultaneous dissolution of G-B’s Legislative Assembly along with the National Assembly and provincial assemblies so that elections could be held in the region under a caretaker set-up. The appeal — directed at the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP)-led federal government — was made by chief organiser Hafiz Hafeezur Rehman at a news conference. Siddiqul Farooq, the party’s chief coordinator…

Chinese Plan to Kill Drug Lord With Drone Highlights Military Advances

By JANE PERLEZ in The NY Times,Feb 21 BEIJING — China considered using a drone strike in a mountainous region of Southeast Asia to kill a Myanmar drug lord wanted in the murders of 13 Chinese sailors, but decided instead to capture him alive, according to an influential state-run newspaper. The plan to use a drone, described to the Global Times newspaper by a senior public security official, highlights China’s increasing advances in unmanned aerial…

Neelum project may need to be redesigned: By: Terence J Sigamony in the Nation, Feb 20

ISLAMABAD – With the award announced in the Kishanganga dispute by The Hague-based Court of Arbitration to divert only a minimum flow of water from the Neelum/Kishanganga River for power generation, the 969MW Neelum-Jhelum Hydropower Project would be badly affected and would have to be redesigned. Background interviews and discussion with energy experts show that with the verdict of International Court of Arbitration, Pakistan would have to face around 150 billion annual loss as the…

Declare Khaleda a ‘war criminal’, Demands Kamal Lohani

Report in Daily Star, Jan 20 Dhaka;  Eminent journalist and cultural activist Kamal Lohani yesterday demanded that BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia be declared a “war criminal” and sought her trial for her role “against” the ongoing war crimes trial. “It is normal for a lady who was with the Pakistani army (in 1971) for nine months to speak against the war crimes trial,” said the adviser of Ekatturer Ghatak Dalal Nirmul Committee. “Why should we…

BNP: Out of tune with the masses

Op-ed by Mozammel H. Khan in Daily Star, Dhaka, Feb 18 (The writer is the Convenor of the Canadian Committee for Human Rights and Democracy in Bangladesh). Politicians in every democratic society claim to represent the wishes of the people. It is the wishes of the people that become the prime movers of the successful political parties and the leaders who lead them. “You can fool some of the people all of the time, and…

HR chief backs demand for blocking war criminals’ clemency

Dhaka;  The NHRC chairman on Monday termed the demand for the amendment of the constitution to disqualify war criminals for presidential clemency as logical. “It is a logical demand from the young generation and Ekattorer Ghatak Dalal Nirmul Committee,” said Mizanur Rahman, the chairman of the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC). Nirmul Committee, works for elimination of the killers and collaborators of 1971, has been demanding amendment to the constitution blocking the president clemency for…

War Tribunals Free To Try Jamaat, JS Amends Law

By Shakhawat Liton in Daily Star, Feb 18 Dhaka: In a major development, parliament has passed an amendment empowering the war crimes tribunals to hold trial of any organisation for committing crimes against humanity during the Liberation War. The amendment, a key demand of campaigners for the war crimes trials and the Shahbagh protesters, was made during passage of the International Crimes (Tribunals) Act, 1973, amendment bill yesterday. The bill also empowered the government, informants…

Bangla Prez Signs Amended ICT Law

Dhaka- President Zillur Rahman signed the amended International Crimes Tribunal law on Monday, a day after the parliament passed some major changes in the act. Officials from the Parliament Secretariat went to Bangabhaban for the president’s approval to the law that empowered the tribunals to try various organisations alongside individuals for crimes against humanity committed during the 1971 Liberation War. The amendment, a key demand of campaigners for the war crimes trials and the Shahbagh…

Gilgit-Baltistan is integral part of Pakistan: analysts

By Waqar Ahmed in The News, Feb 17 ISLAMABAD: Gilgit-Baltistan (GB) is an integral part of Pakistan and its native population is totally loyal and patriotic to the country, authoritative sources in the federal capital have stated while reacting to a propaganda campaign launched to prove otherwise. The propaganda launched in foreign countries not only distorts the historical truth about the GB and Pakistan but also instigates separatist notions for the target audience. The elements…