Imran Khan prioritizes national fame over international fame

Imran Khan resigns as University of Bradford chancellor

Imran Khan was appointed chancellor of the University of Bradford in 2005

Former cricketer Imran Khan has resigned as chancellor of the University of Bradford, citing his "increasing political commitments".

He will step down on 30 November after nine years in the role.

The university's vice-chancellor Brian Cantor said Mr Khan had been "a wonderful role model for our students".

Mr Khan, who is a leader of the opposition in Pakistan, was criticised by some students earlier this year for not attending graduation ceremonies.

Prof Cantor said: "Imran has played a critical and important role for us as chancellor of the university.

"He has awarded degrees to many students here at Bradford, and has also set up one of the fastest growing colleges in Pakistan, Namal College, where students also receive University of Bradford degrees."

Mr Khan's party Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leads the government in Pakistan's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.
'Instrumental figurehead'
"It has been my honour to serve as chancellor of the University of Bradford. This has been a rewarding and informative experience and one that I will cherish," Mr Khan said.

"My increasing political commitments as well as my fundraising work with SKMCT and Namal College has made it increasingly challenging for me to give the kind of time commitments required as Chancellor of the University of Bradford."

In February, student newspaper The Bradford Student said it was "time for senior management... and Imran Khan himself to seriously consider whether he is capable of continuing the role... with the commitment that such a prestigious role, like chancellor, entails".

At the time, the university urged students to be more "sympathetic" to his responsibilities in Pakistan.

Student union officer Sam Butterworth said: "We regret to hear Imran Khan has stepped down.

"He has been an instrumental figurehead for the university and the city, and his work in politics and humanitarian work is a big inspiration."

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Nargis Sethi, back in limelight.

Nargis Sethi takes ‘power’

 

Nargis Sethi. — File photo

ISLAMABAD: Nargis Sethi, once dubbed Pakistan’s most powerful woman, is back in the limelight. She will now be a key part of the government team that is responsible for reining in loadshedding, as the new secretary of the Ministry of Water and Power.
Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif decided to make the appointment over the weekend, inducting her into a top-level team that includes Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif, Federal Minister Khawaja Asif, Minister of State Abid Sher Ali, a parliamentary secretary and a special adviser.
Before her latest assignment, Ms Sethi had been working as the secretary for the Economic Affairs Division, which now will be run by her husband Saleem Sethi, a grade 22 officer with the Secretariat Group. Mr Sethi previously represented Pakistan at the International Monetary Fund’s head offices in Washington.
Saifullah Chattha, the additional secretary in charge of the Ministry of Water and Power before Ms Sethi’s appointment, has been transferred to the Ministry of Human Resource Development.
Ms Sethi, who is a DMG officer, had closely worked with the government of the Pakistan People’s Party. She rose to fame when she was famously called the ‘Condoleezza Rice of Pakistan’ by former prime minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani.
Ms Sethi served Mr Gilani as principal secretary for nearly three years before going on to manage the all-important Cabinet Division. Under Raja Pervaiz Ashraf, she held the additional charge of the Ministry of Water and Power for a few months, where she is said to have done a good job.
Soon after the PML-N took power, Ms Sethi’s name was suggested to the Sharifs to fill an important post, but her longstanding association with the PPP is said to have worked to her disadvantage, a source privy to the development told Dawn.
But her satisfactory performance as the boss of the Pakistan Power Park Management Company earned Ms Sethi her new assignment, the official said.
The power company is used as a one-window facilitator to promote private sector participation in the power sector, which the government is counting on to generate over 6,000 megawatts through power plants at Gadani in Balochistan.
Many are asking why the government took so long to appoint Ms Sethi to this key post, especially since she is due to retire by the end of the current year.
However, an aide of the prime minister told Dawn that her superannuation was not an issue and that her services could be retained if she performed well, “The prime minister is personally involved in managing the power sector and he must take every aspect into account before selecting someone for this important assignment”.

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Parliament's New year started.

Little to celebrate as parliament begins its new year

 

File photo

ISLAMABAD: There will be more to regret than celebrate as parliament begins its new year on Monday, awaiting some new mantra to do better.
President Mamnoon Hussain’s address to a joint sitting of the National Assembly and Senate to open the new parliamentary year also comes three days before Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s government is to complete its first year in office and seems embroiled in dire issues both inside and outside parliament.
But the performance of parliament in its primary task as the country’s top legislature has been most dismal in the past one year, without a single bill making through both houses to become an act.
Some element of hubris or lack of tact on the part of the managers of the ruling PML-N could be blamed for this state of affairs where none of a total of 10 bills — besides the Finance Bill — that the government pushed through the 342-seat National Assembly, where it has absolute majority, could yet get through the 104-seat opposition-controlled Senate.
That is in sharp contrast to the record of the previous PPP-led coalition government, which credited a policy of so-called “reconciliation” with political opponents engineered by then president Asif Ali Zardari for the adoption of most of more than 100 bills passed during its five-year term with consensus, including landmark amendments to the Constitution.
Prime Minister Sharif seemed to be taking a leaf out of Mr Zardari’s book when he recently agreed to accommodate more opposition amendments after a key, but controversial, government legislation against terrorism was bulldozed through the National Assembly but was blocked by the opposition in the Senate.
Both sides have since pondered over a series of opposition amendments aimed at mitigating some of the harsh provisions like authorising law-enforcement agencies to shoot terrorism suspects at sight, detain them for up to 90 days without trial and holding secret trials.
But an amended consensus draft of the Protection of Pakistan Bill — based on two presidential ordinances — is yet to come before the Senate.
The president’s constitutionally mandated address, due at 11am, will be watched for any change of course advised by the prime minister for law making.
Contrary to the parliamentary low, the president is likely to speak high about the government’s claims of beginning an economic turnaround, explain the present state of the government’s stalled peace talks with Taliban rebels and reiterate the country’s traditional foreign policy goals.
The main opposition PPP has said it will not raise any protest during the presidential address, but the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf, which is agitating against alleged rigging in the May 11, 2013 general elections, is yet to take a decision.

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Justice served to the country

Apprehension can’t justify travel bar for Musharraf: counsel

 

Former president General (retd) Pervez Musharraf. - File Photo

KARACHI: The counsel for retired Gen Pervez Musharraf has contended that the government’s contention that the former president would flee the country due to entailment of death penalty in the ‘high treason’ case was mere apprehension that could not be a ground for depriving him of exercising his fundamental right to travel freely.
This was one of the arguments in synopsis filed by Barrister Farogh Naseem on Saturday in the Sindh High Court that had reserved on Thursday the judgment on the former ruler’s plea to have his name removed from the exit control list (ECL).
A bench headed by Justice Muhammad Ali Mazhar reserved the verdict after hearing lengthy arguments of Attorney General Salman Aslam Butt and Barrister Naseem.
According to the AGP, the government could not take the risk of allowing the petitioner to leave the country because there was a great incentive for him to flee in view of the treason case that involved the death penalty.
Barrister Naseem referred to a case law (PLD 2011 Karachi 546) that held that mere apprehension that the petitioner could flee from the country was not a ground for depriving him of his right to travel.
He said the right to travel abroad could not be taken away unless the government could show that the applicant was going to meet enemies of the country, which could endanger the security of the state.
Barrister Naseem said the prosecutor in the Article 6 case had said that the petitioner was not being charged with disloyalty to the state but with violation of the Constitution.
Barrister Naseem contended that in none of Mr Musharraf’s cases had the trial court restrained him from going abroad. “In fact in the Article 6 case, the learned trial court vide order dated 31.3.14 has clearly held that the present petitioner is not being taken into custody, and there is no restriction on his movement.”

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37 Prisoners released by India over Peace Talks

India releases 37 Pakistani prisoners

Released Pakistani fishermen prisoners wait to cross the border to Pakistan at the India-Pakistan Wagah border post on May 30, 2014. — Photo by AFP

ISLAMABAD: India on Friday released 37 Pakistani prisoners — five of them civil and the remaining 32 fishermen — and handed them over to Pakistani authorities at the Wagah border, Foreign Office spokeswoman Tasneem Aslam told Dawn.

However, 484 Pakistani prisoners (348 civil and 136 fishermen) still remain lodged in Indian jails. Out of these, 25 civil prisoners have completed their sentences and await repatriation.

Aslam said that on May 26, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif had directed that 151 Indian prisoners (one civil and 150 fishermen) be released as a good will gesture towards the neighbouring country ahead of his historic visit to New Delhi to attend Narendra Modi's swearing-in as premier.

"Pakistan has always held that the issue of prisoners in our respective countries is a humanitarian one and should be taken in that spirit,” the spokeswoman remarked.

"It is our hope that the Indian government would release all Pakistani prisoners who have completed their sentences,” she remarked.

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Routine consultations with India.

As follow up to Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's visit to India, Pakistan's High Commissioner to the neighbouring country, Abdul Basit, has been called to Islamabad for consultations. On the agenda is finalising the date and a range of issues for the foreign secretary-level talks between the two countries.

Foreign Office spokeswoman Tasneem Aslam confirmed Basit’s summon to Islamabad for "routine consultations".

The decision for talks between foreign secretaries of the two states was taken in the first formal meeting between Prime Minister Sharif and India’s newly-elected premier Narendra Modi in New Delhi.

The last round of talks held in New Delhi between Pakistan’s former foreign minister Hina Rabbani Khar and her Indian counterpart S. M. Krishna took place in 2011, after which talks between the two sides seem to have stalled.

To get properly briefed on issues that may come up during the secretary-level talks, Basit met Foreign Secretary Aizaz Ahmed Chaudhry, Prime Minister's Adviser on Foreign Affairs and National Security Sartaj Aziz and Prime Minister's Special Assistant on Foreign Affairs Tariq Fatemi

Upon returning to India, Basit will meet Indian Foreign Secretary Sujatha Singh to share a possible date decided by Islamabad for the talks as well as the issues to be taken up in the secretary-level dialogue.

It was also learnt that both foreign secretaries may possibly meet in September before the UN General Assembly session where both prime ministers are expected to meet again.

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'No more drone strikes in Pakistan'

By AP

WASHINGTON: The CIA's targeted killing program in Pakistan, once the mainstay of President Barack Obama's counterterrorism effort, is winding down.

Because of stricter rules, diplomatic sensitivities and the changing nature of the al Qaeda threat, there hasn't been a US drone strike in Pakistan's tribal areas since Christmas. And American officials say opportunities for drone attacks will dwindle further as the CIA and the military draw down in neighboring Afghanistan, reducing their intelligence-gathering footprint.

“The program (in Pakistan) appears to have ended,” said Peter Bergen, who has closely studied drone strikes for the New America Foundation, a Washington think tank.

US officials won't go that far, but Obama announced this week a plan to pull nearly all American troops out of Afghanistan by the end of 2016.

The targeted killing program in Pakistan relies on drones flown from, and intelligence gathered in, US bases in Afghanistan that would then be closed.

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Also read: Obama stresses need for transparency in strikes

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In a major foreign policy speech at the US Military Academy Wednesday, Obama said the US would continue to carry out occasional drone strikes against terrorist targets, but he cited Yemen and Somalia, not Pakistan, where Hellfire missiles once rained down at a rate of two per week.

Armed US drones are still flying over Pakistan's tribal areas, and CIA targeting officers are still nominating militants to the kill list, according to US officials who spoke on condition of anonymity because they weren't authorised to discuss the covert program publicly. But over the last five months, no missiles have been fired.

Several factors are driving the change, US officials say. Many of the senior al Qaeda figures in Pakistan have been killed. Those who remain are much harder to target because they are avoiding mobile phones and traveling with children, benefiting from stricter targeting rules designed to prevent civilian casualties.

The drawdown of US troops from Afghanistan has eliminated the need for “force protection” strikes against large gatherings of militants in Pakistan suspected of plotting attacks against American troops.

Also, the tribal areas of Pakistan are no longer the hotbed of al Qaeda activity they once were. Hard core militants from Pakistan have gone to Syria and Yemen, home to al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, which US officials consider the most dangerous al Qaeda affiliate.

And Obama administration officials are pushing to have the US military, not the CIA, carry out drone strikes. Since the military generally requires permission from a country to operate on its territory, most analysts don't believe it could carry out regular drone attacks in Pakistan.

The CIA and the White House declined to comment.

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Related: Interview: ‘US drones are better than PAF jets’

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The current drone ceasefire in Pakistan is by far the longest pause since President George W. Bush ordered a stepped-up campaign of targeted strikes in that country's tribal area in the summer of 2008.

The pace intensified under Obama. All told, there have been 354 strikes in Pakistan since 2004, according to Long War Journal, a website that tracks the strikes through media reports.

But the rate of strikes began falling in 2011 and decreased each year since. Last year, Obama announced stricter targeting criteria, including a provision that no strike would occur unless there was “a near certainty” that civilians would not be harmed.

Even before that, American officials appear to have made the calculation that it was no longer worth attacking lower level militants in Pakistan, given the bitter opposition to the strikes in that country.

Two studies, one by the New America Foundation and one by researchers at NYU and Stanford, estimate that as few as 2 per cent of those killed in Pakistan drone strikes since 2004 have been senior militants.

Most killed were lower level fighters, and some fraction — how large is disputed — have been civilians.

Obama seemed to allude to the backlash Wednesday when he said, “Our actions should meet a simple test: we must not create more enemies than we take off the battlefield.”

In December, the Obama administration reached an informal deal with Pakistan that the CIA would suspend drone strikes – except against the most senior al Qaeda leaders – while the government of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif pursues peace talks with the Taliban.

The talks have sputtered, and last week, Pakistani fighter jets killed more than 60 people in North Waziristan, a militant stronghold, according to local media reports.

But Pakistani officials say the cessation in drone strikes has strengthened support for counterterrorism operations among a public that deeply resented an American bombing campaign on its soil.

The hiatus has made the government feel that the US is hearing Pakistan's concerns, said one senior official, speaking only on condition of anonymity because he was not authorised to comment by name

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Taliban condemned

Taliban condemn US exit strategy from Afghanistan

By AFP

Updated about 16 hours ago

File photo

KABUL: Taliban insurgents Wednesday denounced US plans to keep troops in Afghanistan until the end of 2016, threatening to wage war against the “occupation” until the very last foreign soldier pulls out.

Outlining the US strategy to end America's longest war, 15 years after the September 11 attacks, President Barack Obama confirmed Tuesday that the 32,000-strong US deployment in Afghanistan would be scaled back to around 9,800 by the start of 2015.

Those forces would be halved by the end of 2015 before eventually being reduced to a normal embassy presence with a security assistance component by the end of 2016.

But underscoring the instability still roiling Afghanistan, two Americans were slightly wounded in an attack on a US consulate vehicle in Afghanistan's western city of Herat on Wednesday.

An unidentified gunman on a motorcycle fired a rocket-propelled grenade at the US vehicle in Herat, five days after insurgents attacked an Indian diplomatic mission in the same city near the border with Iran.

Taliban insurgents responded to Obama's announcement by ruling out an end to fighting until a complete withdrawal of US forces had taken place — a grim indicator that Afghanistan's long, bloody war is far from over.

“Now that Obama has announced that he will keep around 10,000 troops until the end of 2016 and continue their occupation, Afghanistan Islamic Emirate condemns it and considers it a violation of sovereignty, religion and human rights,” said a Taliban statement.

The statement, which used the insurgents' name for the country, appeared to inflate the number of troops scheduled to remain under Obama's plan.

“The American leaders should do now what they plan to do two years later. Even if one American soldier is in Afghanistan, it is not acceptable to our nation and jihad (holy war) will continue against them.”

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'Afghanistan is not ready'

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The threats reaffirmed the fears raised by some observers in Afghanistan that a complete withdrawal of US-led international troops would send the nation spiralling into chaos.

Fawzia Koofi, a female member of Afghanistan's parliament, posted on Twitter: “We are proud of the moral/self-esteem of our security forces, however, I had expected more than ten thousand troops to continue post 2014.”

Others warned that the lingering militant threat could lead Afghanistan down the path of Iraq, where violence is at its highest level since 2008.

“Afghanistan is not ready,” said security analyst Mia Gul Wasiq. “If they withdraw irresponsibly, Afghanistan will become like Iraq.

“We have not been able to establish a strong government... the US has not done its job, that was to root out terrorism from Afghanistan. The war and terrorism is still there, their job is not done. So their plan and timetable on paper is not practical.”

There was no immediate comment on Obama's announcement from outgoing Afghan President Hamid Karzai.

The US drawdown relies on Afghanistan signing a long-delayed Bilateral Security Agreement laying out the terms and conditions of the US military presence in the country after this year.

Karzai has refused to sign the agreement, but both candidates vying to be his successor in next month's presidential election run-off — Ashraf Ghani and Abdullah Abdullah — have said they will sign the deal.

“I'm hopeful we can get this done,” Obama said, as he outlined the end of US involvement in a conflict which began when American-led forces invaded Afghanistan to oust the Taliban and hunt Al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden after the 2001 attacks on New York and Washington.

“We're finishing the job we started,” he said.

US combat operations would draw to a close at the end of 2014, meaning US troops would no longer patrol Afghan cities, towns or valleys from next year, Obama said, underlining that future security would hinge on the Afghans themselves.

US troops remaining in Afghanistan after 2014 would be available to train Afghan forces while supporting counter-terrorism operations against Al Qaeda remnants, Obama said, saying the withdrawal would herald a “new chapter in American foreign policy”.

Obama made an unannounced visit to US forces in Afghanistan on Sunday, spending four hours at Bagram, one of the secure bases that will house support troops after their combat mission ends

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PMLN completes first year with proved distinction.

File photo

ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) government completed its first year in power with a unique distinction – it did not enact a single law.

Although 11 bills were passed by the National Assembly in this period, apart from the finance bill for 2013-2014 (which does not require approval of the upper house), the current government could not get a single bill passed through the Senate and signed by the president. However, 12 ordinances were tabled in the first parliamentary year ending on May 31.

The PML-N enjoys a near-absolute majority in the National Assembly but cannot even claim a simple majority in the Senate, where the main opposition PPP holds a majority. The second parliamentary year is set to begin on June 2 and a joint sitting of both houses has already been convened.

According to data obtained from the National Assembly Secretariat, the lower house passed the finance bill in June last year, five bills in February this year, followed by three in March and two in April. These are currently awaiting debate in the Senate.

As many as 43 private members’ bills and 13 government bills were introduced in the National Assembly during the first parliamentary year. However, all 56 are pending discussion in standing committees. 

On the other hand, the government tabled 12 ordinances, including four controversial anti-terror laws, before the parliament amid protests by opposition members.

A comparative analysis of this data reveals that the current parliament’s legislative performance in its first year has been quite poor as compared to the first year performance of parliaments elected since 1985.

In its first year of the government of Mohammad Khan Junejo, parliament approved 23 laws from March 20, 1985 to March 20, 1986. Benazir Bhutto’s first government approved 13 laws in its first year.

The first Nawaz Sharif government got 24 laws approved from parliament in its first year. During Ms Bhutto’s second tenure, parliament passed 33 laws in its first year in office.

Mr Sharif’s second government set a record when parliament approved 47 laws during its first year and a total of 74 bills were passed into law until Oct 12, 1999.

The previous PPP government managed to pass only four bills in its first parliamentary year

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Peace talks continue.

LONDON: Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on Tuesday said that stability of Pakistan would be protected and expressed the hope that the dialogue process with the Pakistani Taliban would yield positive results.

Speaking to media representatives after arriving here on a three-day official visit, he said the dialogue process was started with sincerity as it was good for the country's stability.

“If peace is established through talks and the lawlessness and carnage are controlled, then it is a good thing,” said the prime minister.

The whole world, he added, adopted such mechanisms and referred to the UK's history by saying that the host country had also resolved its issues with Ireland.

About Karachi's situation, Prime Minister Sharif said soon after assuming responsibilities of the government, they took measures for the restoration of peace in the port city.

“We did not waste time. We took all the parties onboard. Through operation, the situation in Karachi is being controlled. Peace in Karachi is dear to us as it is an economic hub and commercial center of Pakistan and we are paying special attention to it,” he said.

About his current visit to the United Kingdom, the premier said it would further strengthen the bonds between the two countries.

He said the agenda for his UK visit was already decided and hoped that his meeting with his British counterpart would bring both the countries further closer.

About Hamid Mir's incident, the prime minister said that all should look towards the commission which has been formed and added that the media in Pakistan was free.

To another query, he replied that the government has been undertaking measures for economic development, which created friendly economic environment, prompting the expatriates to invest in the country and share their part in its development.

“The economic indicators are showing upward and positive trends,” he added.

Minister for Finance and Economic Affairs Ishaq Dar, Special Assistant to PM on Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz and Balochistan Chief Minister Dr Abdul Malik Baloch are accompanying the prime minister.

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IESCO revises power over power supply.

ISLAMABAD: In a bid to clear outstanding dues of billions of rupees, the capital’s electricity company disconnected power supply to most major government departments on Tuesday to demonstrate its commitment to cracking down on power thieves and defaulters.

The Islamabad Electric Supply Company (Iesco) cut power to the Prime Minister’s Secretariat, President House, Supreme Court and Pakistan Secretariat, including the offices of the Ministry of Water and Power.

But the blackout was short lived. Power was restored to the Supreme Court within half an hour of the disconnection.

Basit Zaman, an Iesco spokesperson, told Dawn that power was restored upon receipt of payment of outstanding bills from the Pakistan Works Department (PWD).

The country’s leadership remained largely unaffected by the power cuts. Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif was already en route to the United Kingdom when his offices were cut off from the national grid. The president’s residence is equipped with standby generators that are switched on if the power supply is suspended.

The PWD is responsible for maintenance and utilities for the PM Secretariat and the offices of the chief justice and cabinet ministers. The Capital Development Authority has jurisdiction over President’s House, parliament and Pakistan Secretariat, the seat of the bureaucracy.

Zaman said his company kept getting calls from different government departments, promising to clear their dues as soon as possible and asking for power to be restored. “However, we had instructions not to restore power until we received cheques against the outstanding bills,” he said.

Govt commitment

Speaking to journalists ahead of the power cuts, Minister of State for Water and Power Abid Sher Ali said the government would not discriminate against anyone and was committed to action against electricity thieves and defaulters. He said the prime minister had been quite firm with the power sector team on Monday and reprimanded them for being lenient in recovering outstanding dues.

He said the Sindh government had publicly disowned about 5,000 public sector consumers who were either illegally tapping power lines or had not paid their bills.

Sher Ali said the total outstanding dues to power companies stood at Rs475 billion, with another Rs33bn added to the total in the current fiscal year.

According to the minister, Sindh owed power companies Rs56bn, Punjab Rs3.4bn and the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan governments owed Rs2.5bn each. In addition, nearly Rs70bn was yet to be recovered from tubewell-owners in Balochistan.

In parts of KP and Sindh, nearly 90 per cent of power connections were illegal and the government had identified areas with a high density of defaulters for 18-20 hours of loadshedding. Areas with the least outstanding dues should expect only up to 6-8 hours of loadshedding at the height of the power crisis, he said

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