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Pakistan Chief Justice resumes duties
Sharif may move SC against exile
Post-Glasgow, Indian medicos face prejudice
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Nepal King fails to pay Rs 40-m power bills
Fayed’s daughter to attend Di function
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Pakistan Chief Justice resumes duties
Islamabad, July 21 The reinstatement of Iftikhar Mohammed Chaudhry on Friday has clouded the political future of a key US ally in the war on terrorism just as the country faces growing violence by Islamic militants. In a landmark ruling, Supreme Court judges voted unanimously to restore Chaudhry and 10-3 to quash charges of misconduct that Musharraf had sent to a separate judicial tribunal. The surprise verdict on an appeal from Chaudhry — many expected the court to reinstate him while letting the tribunal’s investigation continue — was widely hailed as a democratic breakthrough in a country dominated by the military for most of its 60-year history. It also triggered fresh calls for Musharraf, who seized power in a 1999 military coup and has been reluctant to restore civilian rule, to step down. Cheers from black-suited lawyers, who have led mass protests against Musharraf since he suspended Chaudhry on March 9, reverberated through the high-roofed courtroom after presiding Judge Khalil-ur-Rehman Ramday announced that the judge’s suspension was “illegal” and set aside the charges against him. Chaudhry himself has made no comment, and Musharraf has accepted the verdict, although he didn’t give any indication of his next move. “The president respects the decision of the Supreme Court,” his spokesman, Rashid Qureshi, was quoted as saying by the state-run Associated Press of Pakistan. “The president has stated earlier that any judgment the Supreme Court arrives at will be honoured, respected and adhered to.” Washington’s response struck a similar tone. State Department deputy spokesman Tom Casey said the reinstatement “respects the rule of law” and praised the fact the court was “capable of making independent decisions.” Musharraf’s defeat prompted jubilation among gatherings of hundreds of lawyers in major cities including Karachi, Multan, Faisalabad, Quetta, Peshawar and Rawalpindi. On Saturday, hundreds of lawyers again rallied in Islamabad and Lahore, chanting slogans in favour of Chaudhry, and urging Musharraf to resign. Pressure has mounted on Musharraf to quit since Friday, with opposition asking him to step down. Exiled former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto called the Chaudhry ruling one of the most remarkable judgments in the country’s history and said it has weakened Musharraf politically. The movement — joined by opposition parties — in support of Chaudhry had turned into a “struggle against dictatorship, (for the) restoration of the Constitution and for supremacy of the Parliament,” she said in a statement. Musharraf suspended Chaudhry for allegedly pulling rank to secure a police job for his son and enjoying unwarranted privileges such as the use of government aircraft. The government insists the case had no political motive. However, critics suspected Musharraf of plotting to remove an independent-minded judge to forestall legal challenges to his plan to ask lawmakers for another five-year term. Recently, Pakistan’s deteriorating security situation has overshadowed the judicial crisis. Suicide attacks, bombings and fighting between security forces and Islamic militants have killed about 290 people since clashes between the army and radicals in Islamabad’s Red Mosque broke out July 3. On Tuesday, a suicide bombing killed 18 people at a planned rally for Chaudhry in the capital. — AP
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Sharif may move SC against exile
Islamabad, July 21 “Senior leaders of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz have advised Sharif to move a petition in the Supreme Court to have the banishment of his family declared illegal.” “But, the exiled former PM is yet to take a decision in this regard. He is currently examining the pros and cons of the advice of his party leaders,” the unnamed sources said. The Sharif family was banished to Saudi Arabia in December 2000 reportedly under an agreement according to which, they will have to stay out of the country for at least ten years. The Sharifs have denied that they signed any such agreement while other opposition party leaders have argued that “the Constitution does not allow the government to banish anybody on any pretext”.
— PTI
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Post-Glasgow, Indian medicos face prejudice
London, July 21 According to the medical journal Lancet, there is danger of such incidents being used as an excuse to discriminate against overseas doctors who are a part of the United Kingdom's National Health Service (NHS). The suspects are doctors or medical students, among them people who qualified in Jordan, India and Iraq. Overseas doctors have started voicing concerns over the new stringent checks for migrants wishing to work in the NHS. Dr Pasad Rao, chairman of the British International Doctors' Association (BIDA), said, "We have some concerns that what has happened in the past weeks will have some negative effect.” Experts fear recent media coverage of the events could compound prejudices against doctors from abroad that they say already exist. Although, they admit that criminal checks may be a necessary counter-terrorism measure, discriminating against doctors on the basis of race, religion, or country of birth should not be encouraged or permitted. Last year, because of a shortage of posts, the government told NHS trusts not to employ overseas junior doctors if there were suitable British or European applicants for positions.
— ANI
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Nepal King fails to pay Rs 40-m power bills
Kathmandu, July 21 It is not just the king and his immediate family who have not paid their electricity dues. Records at Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) show that though it sent bills regularly to the palace and other royal relatives, they have been ignored since 2005 when King Gyanendra seized absolute power and became the all-powerful head of government from a constitutional monarch. From February 2005 to mid-June this year, the Narayanhity royal palace, the official residence of the king and his consort Queen Komal, has run up a power bill of Rs 26.37 million, the Kathmandu Post daily reported on Saturday. Nirmal Niwas, the residence of Crown Prince Paras that was the second centre of power during the king's 15-month absolute rule, owes Rs 2.73 million. Three royal nieces – daughters of the king's younger brother Dhirendra who died in the infamous royal palace massacre in 2001 – also owe the NEA over Rs 1.8 million. Even their mother Prekshya, sister of Queen Komal and the victim of a chopper crash after the palace massacre, owes the state over Rs 700,000 for four accounts still being run in her name, almost five years after her death.
— IANS
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Fayed’s daughter to attend Di function
London, July 21 According to Fayed’s spokesman, 21-year-old Camilla has agreed to attend the event as a “representative” of the Fayed family. Her older sister Jasmine is unlikely to attend. Camilla will attend along side about 500 others at the memorial service in the Guards Chapel at Wellington Barracks, near Buckingham Palace, at noon on August 31, 10 years to the day after the princess died. It is thought Camilla will be formally introduced to Princes William and Harry at the event. According to a report a royal source and Fayed’s spokesman confirmed that Camilla and Jasmine, had been invited by the Princes to the memorial service.
— PTI
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