(The writer is the author of “Curfewed Night,” an account of the conflict in Kashmir) .SRINAGAR, Kashmir — On the morning of Aug. 21, during the foremost Muslim festival of Eid al-Fitr, I drove through Srinagar, the summer capital of the disputed Indian-controlled region of Kashmir. A testing month of fasting had just ended, and freshly washed faces smiled on their way to ceremonial prayers. Children in bright clothes bought for the occasion hovered merrily…
Posts published in September 2012
The Obama administration on Friday declared the insurgent Haqqani network a terrorist body, a move that could undermine Afghan peace efforts and test fragile U.S.-Pakistani relations. A subsidiary of the Taliban, the group is based in northern Pakistan but has crossed the border to launch attacks, including a rocket-propelled grenade assault on the U.S. Embassy and NATO compound in Kabul in September, and an attack on a popular resort outside Afghanistan’s capital in June. The…
By Shabbir Mir in The Express Tribune, September 7th, 2012. GILGIT: An independent legislator has asked the federal government to declare Gilgit-Baltistan (G-B) a tax-free zone and allow duty-free import of essential commodities from China. The proposal was floated by Syed Raziuddin in a resolution that he tabled during the Gilgit-Baltistan Legislative Assembly (GBLA) session on Thursday. Tax issues dominated the third-day of the 24th session of the house. “The region should be declared tax-free…
By Zafar Bhutta in The Express Tribune, Sept 7 ISLAMABAD: The Planning Commission (PC) has unearthed inconsistencies in the award of contract for the 969 megawatt (MW) Neelum Jhelum hydropower project to a Chinese firm during the Musharraf regime. The irregularity surfaced after the Ministry of Water and Power submitted a revised draft of the project’s PC-1, in order to approve a raise in the project’s cost from Rs84.5 billion to Rs321.3 billion. However, refusing…
The writer is an author. PAKISTAN is fortunate that Dr Shashi Tharoor, the newest Icarus in the Indian National Congress, never fulfilled his ambition to become the next UN secretary general. He would have used the UN to resolve the problem of Jammu & Kashmir in less time than it took to create it. Dr Tharoor has been endowed with all the boons his divinities could have bestowed on any Indian mortal: debonair good looks,…
GILGIT, Sept 5: Gilgit-Baltistan Legislative Assembly members on Wednesday complained of irregularities in the internal security, development and flood protection expenditure and demanded inquiry into them. During an assembly session chaired by Speaker Wazir Baig, they also expressed concern about deteriorating law and order situation in the region and blamed the federal government for it. Law minister Wazir Shakil complained that the centre didn’t help Gilgit-Baltistan manage its financial and administrative affairs and that capable…
MUZAFFARABAD, Sep 3: The AJK Service Tribunal here on Monday suspended an allegedly controversial official notification whereby the charge of the post of director general (DG) Local Government and Rural Development (LG&RD) department was given to an officer from the engineering unit, triggering a strike by administration unit officials. On August 10, the government transferred LG&RD department’s in-charge DG Ghulam Murtaza as an officer on special duty (OSD) and assigned the additional charge of the…
By Shahbaz Rana in The Express Tribune, Sept 4 ISLAMABAD: The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has told Pakistan that it will not finance Diamer Bhasha Dam if Islamabad compromises on safeguard measures and competitive bidding process while seeking financing from China for the $11.2 billion project. The message was delivered by the ADB’s country office to Water and Power Development Authority (Wapda) Chairman Shakil Durrani, according to officials privy to the development. The news comes…
LONDON: The UK Tehreek-e-Kashmir (TeK) Secretary General Abdul Majeed Nadeem on Saturday demanded that the Azad Kashmir’s Interim Constitution Act 1974 be amended for a strong role of the AJK government in Kashmir. While addressing the Tehreek-e-Kashmir general meeting on the recently held AJK All-Parties Conference to evolve consensus on constitutional reforms, Nadeem said now was the right time to establish a responsible government with constitutional powers to restore the original role of government in…
By Zafar Bhutta in The Express Tribune, Sept 2 ISLAMABAD: With power shortage increasing continuously in the face of rising consumer demand, the government has decided to seek financing from China for the mega $13 billion Diamer Bhasha Dam with power production capacity of 4,500 megawatts and also take loans from domestic commercial banks by offering guarantees. According to sources, Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf will place a request before his Chinese counterpart during the…
ISLAMABAD – The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has not walked away from the construction of 4500MW Diamer-Bhasha Dam project, Country Director of the bank Werner E Liepach said here on Friday. “We have not walked away and ADB has always been there to help Pakistan in rain and shine,” Werner E Liepach told media persons. He was accompanied by Director General Private Sector Operations Department (PSOD), Philip C. Erquiaga, who is visiting the country to…