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Anti-India time over: Mirwaiz tells HT

By Arun Joshi in The Hindustan Times, Sept 18 Srinagar, Sept 17: Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, 36, chairman of the moderate faction of Kashmir’s All Parties Hurriyat Conference, told HT on Thursday: “The time to be anti-India is over.” It was a startling shift in position of a man who has been one of the leading symbols of the Kashmir Valley movement for separation from India. “Hurriyat is keen on starting a dialogue with both India…

Mangla Dam extension: Affected people warn of protest

By Tariq Naqash in The Dawn, Sept 17 MUZAFFARABAD, Sept 16: People affected by Mangla Dam raising project have asked the federal government to fulfil its commitment by constructing a bridge in their area, threatening that if the pledge was not met, they would launch an agitation and hinder the storage of additional water in the reservoir. The warning came amid apprehensions that the Federal Planning Commission was disinclined to provide funds for the cable-stayed…

Q’ rejects package on Gilgit-Baltistan:The Daily Times, Sept 17

By Irfan Ghauri ISLAMABAD: Rejecting the federal government’s Gilgit-Baltistan Empowerment and Self-governance Order 2009, the Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q) on Wednesday criticised Qamar Zaman Kaira’s appointment as governor, claiming it would lead to pre-poll rigging. Addressing a press conference at PML House, PML-Q Gilgit-Baltistan in-charge Marvi Memon said the package should have been implemented through an act of parliament after consultation with all political parties. Massive rigging: She said people of the area felt the…

Environment body refuses NOC to AJK power project:

By Tariq Naqash, The Dawn, Sept 15 MUZAFFARABAD, Sept 14: The AJK Environmental Protection Agency (AJK-EPA) has declined to grant the mandatory no-objection certificate to Water and Power Development Authority (Wapda) for a second hydropower project envisaging diversion of River Jhelum on the outskirts of Muzaffarabad for certain technical reasons. Sources told Dawn here on Monday that Wapda had submitted the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) report of Kohala Hydropower Project (KHP) to the AJK-EPA in…

Gilgit-Baltistan autonomy: Good & Bad

By M. Ismail Khan THE ‘autonomy package’ introduced by the government for the people of Gilgit-Baltistan is a mix of good and bad news. The good news is that the area will now have an autonomous status with a chief minister and a governor. The bad news is that it has been given only a province-like status and has no institutional link with the four provinces or the Pakistani constitution. It is not yet clear…

The Gilgit-Baltistan bungle

By Asif Ezdi The Gilgit-Baltistan (Empowerment and Self-Governance) Order, 2009, approved by the cabinet on Aug 29 seeks to grant self-rule to the people of the area on the pattern of the autonomy enjoyed by Azad Jammu and Kashmir. As the government itself admits, the promulgation of this Order, which has now been signed by Zardari, implies a rejection of the demand that Gilgit-Baltistan be made a province of Pakistan and that its people be…

A.Q. Khan still poses risk: US

WASHINGTON, Sept 1: Discredited Pakistani nuclear scientist Abdul Qadeer Khan “remains a serious proliferation risk,” a US official said on Tuesday after the scientist gained freedom of movement. In Islamabad, Mr Khan said the Pakistani authorities had lifted restrictions on his movements. “We believe he remains a serious proliferation risk,” a State Department official told AFP on condition of anonymity when asked to comment on the news. “We have made clear to the Pakistani government…

Gunmen injure AJK policemen: The Dawn, Sept 2

MUZAFFARABAD, Sept 1: Three policemen were injured on Tuesday when shots were fired by three suspicious persons who later disappeared in the nearby forests bordering Bagh and Poonch districts, police and residents said. The accused, sporting beards and wielding automatic weapons, hidden under shawls, were spotted by the residents of Kothiyan village in dubious condition and they immediately informed the Chitra Topi police post about their presence. When a police party, comprising head constable Idrees…

Nawaz for parliamentary session on NAs package

LAHORE: Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) chief Nawaz Sharif said on Monday he would demand the government call a National Assembly (NA) session to discuss the New Governance Order for the Northern Areas. The former premier was talking to Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF) Chairman Yasin Malik, who called on him at his Raiwind residence. Although Malik and a delegation of AJK Legislative Assembly members visited Nawaz separately, but they had the same agenda, sources privy…

Political wings still exist in ISI says Maj Amir: The News, Sept 1

RAWALPINDI: Political wings existed in the past and still exist in the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), said Major (retd) Amir, claiming that they worked for the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) in the Operation Midnight Jackal. He was talking to Dr Shahid Masood in ‘Meray Mutabiq’ programme of Geo TV in which former PPP minister Mukhtar Awan and former Army chief General (retd) Aslam Beg also spoke. When asked about the authenticity of the tape with regard…

Kashmiris oppose package for Northern Areas: The Daily Times, Sept 1

ISLAMABAD: Kashmiri politicians on Monday opposed increased autonomy for Pakistan’s strategic Northern Areas, arguing it will undermine their case for independence from India. Amanullah Khan, leader of the Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front, rejected the package, saying it appeared to be aimed at merging the Northern Areas into Pakistan. “We strongly condemn this package. It will harm the interests of Pakistan as well as Kashmiris,” he told Reuters. “It looks like they are integrating these…