President Asif Ali Zardari on Nizam-e-Adl has warned that the controversial Nizam-e-Adl (justice system) Regulation (NAR) would be reviewed if militants failed to restore peace in the Swat.

“We have not enforced any Shariah but a justice system that conform the local traditions,” the president told a gathering of Pakistani expatriates in Tokyo. The president is in Japan to attend the Friends of Democratic Pakistan (FODP) ministerial meeting and a donors’ conference being held on Friday in the Japanese capital.

President Zardari promulgated the regulation this week after the National Assembly adopted a resolution urging him to sign it. The regulation gives effect to the peace accord earlier signed by the Awami National Party (ANP) government in the NWFP with militants of the Swat who had virtually ended the writ of the state in the troubled region through violence despite military operation launched by military ruler Gen. Pervez Musharraf in 2007-08.

The Regulation has created mixed response within the country but virtually universal denunciation abroad, including in India and the West.

Zardari urged the international community to extend emergency assistance to Pakistan to steer it out of the present economic crisis, saying failure to do so would strengthen terrorists. He said the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) government was engaging the global community to help them realise the gravity of the problems facing Pakistan.

The president said the FODP initiative, launched by him in New York last year, was part of the engagement process. “As today’s world has turned into a globe, no country can avoid the impact of any happening in any part,” he added.

He said there was a growing sense of realisation in the world of the problems faced by the Muslim world, adding that Muslim countries were trying their best to present the true image of Islam before the world to counter the image being portrayed by extremist elements. He said Islam is a religion of peace, tolerance, brotherhood and harmony, and the people who are portraying it through aggression will face defeat.

Islamabad, April 16
Holding that a “precedent” was being set, former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif said today his Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) would not join the government but would support it from the opposition benches.

“We are setting the first-ever precedent from the Opposition side to support the government,” APP news agency quoted him as telling reporters after a meeting of the party’s central working committee (CWC) here.

“No party can handle the (current tumultuous) situation single-handedly and our cooperation will remain with the government to get Pakistan out of the present crisis,” Sharif maintained. He also wanted the government to complete its tenure.

Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani has on two occasions during the past one month invited the PML-N to return to the cabinet, which it walked out of last year. Observers here viewed the PML-N’s decision to do so as Sharif’s method of giving himself greater room for political manoeuvring.

For instance, he came up with a new demand today: that all judicial appointments be made by Parliament and not by the executive.

Hitherto, Sharif had been demanding the repeal of the controversial 17th constitutional amendment that transferred executive key powers — including that of appointing the Supreme Court Chief Justice — from the Prime minister's office to the presidency.

Now that this has been agreed to and a parliamentary committee is being formed to work out the modalities of the repeal, Sharif went one step further. “After public scrutiny, the proposed names should be discussed in parliament for the final appointment,” he said at his press conference.

“We do not want to adopt the previous example of appointments of ill-reputed judges in the courts,” Sharif added for good measure.

The repeal of the amendment was one of the two key issues on which the PML-N had walked out of the coalition headed by the Pakistan Peoples Party after President Asif Ali Zardari, the PPP co-chair, reneged on the Charter of Democracy governance agenda the two parties had agreed on in October 2007. — IANS

Islamabad, April 16
Verdicts handed down under the newly imposed Sharia laws in parts of Pakistan’s restive northwest cannot be challenged in the Supreme Court but only before special appeal courts, says a Taliban-linked radical cleric.

“The judicial system here (Malakand division of the North West Frontier Province) will be different from the rest of the country. Here, all cases will be settled in the Qazi courts in accordance with Sharia,” the News Thursday quoted Sufi Muhammad as saying.

A Darul Qaza or appeal court would be set up at the divisional level so that people do not have to move the high court or the Supreme Court against Sharia court verdicts.

Sufi Mohammad’s Tanzeem Nifaz Shariat-e-Muhammadi (TNSM) and the NWFP government on February 16 inked a controversial peace deal under which Sharia laws would be imposed in Swat and six other districts of Malakand in return for the Taliban laying down their arms.

“With the signing of the Nizam-e-Adl (Sharia regulation), all judges in the old judicial system have been made non-functional and now, only those judges having command on Sharia will be appointed,” he said.

President Asif Ali Zardari, on his part, has now taken the easy way out, saying the Nizam-e-Adl could be withdrawn if peace did not return to Malakand in return for the imposition of Sharia laws. — IANS

Shahid Jameel Riaz, a man arrested by the Pakistani authorities for his suspected link to the Mumbai terrorist attacks, has refused to record his statement before a judicial magistrate under Section 164 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC).

Shahid is the fifth suspect held by Pakistan allegedly for link with the Mumbai terror attacks. Pakistan has made it clear that it would not hand him over to the Indian authorities but would prosecute him in Pakistan.

Shahid, a resident of Bahawalpur, was produced by the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) in the court of judicial magistrate Ahmed Masood Janjua to get recorded his confessional statement for his alleged role in the Mumbai attacks carried out last November.

The suspect’s counsel, Shahbaz Ahmed Rajpoot advocate told reporters that Shahid was blindfolded and handcuffed when he was produced in the court for his statement. He said Shahid would not say anything.

The court staff, however, did not say anything and only confirmed the accused was produced by the FIA in the court.

Islamabad, April 16
Members of Pakistan's minority Sikh community living in the restive Aurakzai tribal region have paid Rs 20 million as "tax" to the Taliban after militants forcibly occupied some of their homes and kidnapped a Sikh leader.

The Taliban had demanded Rs 50 million as 'jizia' - a tax levied on non-Muslims living under Islamic rule, but the militants finally settled for Rs 20 million.

After the amount was paid yesterday, the militants vacated the homes they had taken over and released Sikh leader Saiwang Singh, officials in the tribal region near the northwestern city of Peshawar were quoted as saying by the Daily Times newspaper.

The officials said the Taliban had announced that the Sikhs were now free to live anywhere in Aurzakzai. The militants also announced they would protect the community, saying that no one would harm them after they had paid jizia. Sikhs who had left the area would now return to their homes and resume their business, the officials said.

The militants had occupied at least 10 homes of Sikhs in Qasimkhel village on Tuesday. About 35 Sikh families have been living in Qasimkhel for many years. The Taliban’s demand for jizia was resolved at a jirga or council held yesterday through the efforts of local tribal elders. The militants had said the Sikhs should pay jizia in accordance with Shariah or Islamic law. — PTI 

Kathmandu, April 16
Nepalese Premier Prachanda has assured opposition NC and ruling partner CPN-UML that their demands, including for action against Maoist cadres involved in violence, will be looked into, leading to resumption of the Parliament session boycotted by the two parties for 18 days.

In a bid to resolve the ongoing political crisis, Prachanda also vowed to implement all agreements the Maoists had signed with various parties in the past on issues like returning the properties seized by the former rebels during the conflict in the Himalayan nation.

After the Prime Minister made the assurances, Parliament’s regular business, which was disrupted for 18 days in the wake of the boycott by major parties, including the Nepali Congress and CPN-UML, resumed yesterday.

He urged all parties to help the government in its efforts “for establishing peace and maintaining law and order in the country”. The Prime Minister reached an understanding with the Nepali Congress for the resumption of the proceedings of the Constituent Assembly after expressing his commitment to fully implement the nine-point agreement reached with the opposition party earlier. “The nine-point agreement which includes returning the properties seized by the Maoists during the conflict is being implemented very soon,” Prachanda said while addressing the Assembly.

The CPN-UML had late last month organised a nationwide stir against the Maoists demanding action against their cadres for their alleged involvement in the murder of UML activists Ram Hari Shrestha and Prachanda Thaiba and journalist Uma Singh.

The Prime Minister said the government was working to accomplish the Army integration process - which involves merger of the former rebel combatants with the Nepal Army — by mid-July.

He clarified that all decisions regarding the integration and rehabilitation of the Maoist combatants will be taken on the basis of consensus. — PTI 

New York/Colombo, April 16
More than 100,000 people are in mortal danger in Sri Lanka if security forces continue their offensive against dug-in rebels, the UN has warned.

John Holmes, the UN emergency relief coordinator, on Wednesday appealed to the Sri Lankan military to extend its holiday pause of operations against the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam.

"The situation is simply catastrophic," said Holmes, who warned of a bloodbath if the army mounts what is expected to be one last tightening of the shrinking perimeter around the rebels.

Earlier on Wednesday, the security forces resumed military operations in the northeastern part of the country, ending a 48-hour suspension of military operations to mark traditional New Year celebrations.

A spokesman for the Sri Lankan military said it would continue with operations aimed at rescuing what the government estimates are 50,000 civilians who remain trapped in Mullativu district, 395 km northeast of the capital.

It was not clear why the UN puts the number at twice that figure.

According to local estimates, the Tamil rebels retain control of an area less than 20 sq km where the civilians are held. But Holmes estimated the area at only 14 sq km.

Holmes charged that the rebels were using civilians as their protective shields. He said the 48-hour pause was not long enough to bring enough civilians out of danger, or to deliver humanitarian aid.

During the 48-hour period in which the military suspended offensive operations, at least one soldier was killed by sniper fire by the rebels and three others were injured.

Tamil rebels called for a permanent truce on Tuesday, but the Sri Lankan government has not accepted the offer. — DPA

BRIEFLY

Jet’s second Dubai-Mumbai flight soon
DUBAI: As part of expansion of its service for international travellers, the Jet Airways has announced the launch of its second flight on the Dubai-Mumbai route from August 23. The additional flight will complement the existing daily service that departs from Dubai in the evening and arrives Mumbai the next morning. The new flight will leave from Dubai International Airport at 12:35 in the afternoon and reach Mumbai at 17:10, while the returning 9W flight will take off from Mumbai at 09.30 am and will land here at 11.05 pm. Travellers from Dubai can connect to 18 destinations across three continents and 42 destinations within India. — PTI

Obamas earned $2.73 m in ’08
NEW YORK: President Barack Obama and his wife Michelle Obama earned $2.73 million in income in 2008, according to their tax statements. President Obama and the First Lady invested $47,000 on their daughters’ education last year. They also poured thousands more into trusts for their kids, according to the First Couple’s tax returns released on Wednesday by the White House. The Obamas could afford to be generous to their children, thanks to raking in 2.73 million, mostly from sales of Obama’s books, “Dreams from My Father” and “The Audacity of Hope”, down from the 4.2 million dollars they made in 2007. The President and First Lady also contributed $172,050 dollars to 37 charities, giving away about 6.5 percent of their taxable income. — ANI