 |
|
|
Pak CJ withdraws from sensitive case
Aussie police denies making notes in Haneef’s dairy
|
|
|
Pak attorney-gen resigns
Any deal with General will be unpopular: Bhutto
We don’t need foreign military aid, says Aziz
MMA chief resigns from Pak National Assembly
Bin Laden in Pak: US intelligence chief
Ex-Afghan king Zahir Shah dead
Canada PM opens Hindu temple
Indonesian ex-minister jailed for graft
Massive win for Turkey’s ruling party
Sacred bull to be slaughtered
|
|
Pak CJ withdraws from sensitive case
Resuming his routine judicial functions after Friday’s historic verdict that honourably reinstated him, Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry on Monday excused himself from a case in which President Musharraf’s lead counsel against his petition is representing a party.
Justice Iftikhar’s gesture was described by legal experts as significant as the Supreme Court is likely to be flooded by petitions against President Musharraf in coming days including his eligibility to contest elections in uniform. The three-judge Bench of the Supreme Court presided over by the CJ took up 13 petitions dismissing six as inadmissible, adjourning five others to later dates and sending two to another of the six Benches formed by the CJ on Saturday. Justice Chaudhry said since Syed Sharifuddin Pirzada who represented the President in his case is also counsel for the Canton Board on two cases at hand with his own Bench, it would be appropriate if he excused himself from hearing it to be spared the charge of any bias. The CJ drove to the Supreme Court from his residence in his official 1700 CC car with due protocol and security with the usual company of enthusiastic lawyers that had become the hallmark of four-month-long campaign he led for independence of judiciary after being sacked by President Musharraf on March 9. Earlier on Friday, he returned the Mercedez 2700 to the Prime Minister who had given it to him last year. The car was cited in the presidential reference as breach of code of conduct because the CJ is not entitled to a big car. The SC staff received the CJ at the gates. Later brother judges of the court called on him and greeted him on his reinstatement before he resumed his official duties. In another important activity, a full Bench of the Supreme Court, headed by Mr Justice Javed Iqbal, while hearing the Lal Masjid case directed the Adiala Jail Superintendent to submit records of all students of the Lal Masjid still kept in his jail. It took serious notice of a complaint that these students are being kept in shackles and fetters. Interior ministry spokesman Javed Iqbal Cheema told the court that the record of the total strength of the Jamia Hafsa students had been retrieved on the lead provided by the madrassa principal, Umme-e-Hassan. He further said that 58 charred corpses were found from the Lal Masjid, which were unidentifiable and their DNA test was under process, whose reports would be received by Wednesday. At this moment, Justice Javed Iqbal directed Javed Iqbal Cheema to also submit the report on how many female students were recovered till now and how many were missing.
|
|
Aussie police denies making notes in Haneef’s dairy
Melbourne, July 23 ‘The Australian’ newspaper reported that police had written the names of overseas terror suspects in Haneef’s personal diary before asking the Indian doctor during an interview if he had written the potentially incriminating notes himself. AFP commissioner Mick Keelty said the report, based on an interview conducted shortly after Haneef’s arrest on July 2, was incorrect. “Police at no time made any notations or additions to Haneef’s diary,” he was quoted as saying. “As this matter is currently before the court, it is not appropriate for the AFP to elaborate in greater detail,” Keelty said. “When misinterpreted or taken out of context - and in the absence of other material that will be placed before the court - this has the potential to undermine the court process,” he said. Meanwhile, the Australian authorities today cleared the way for a relative to visit Indian doctor Mohamed Haneef, who is in detention facing terror charges. State and federal authorities both cleared the way for Imran Siddiqui, who arrived in Brisbane on a flight from India on Saturday, to visit Haneef tomorrow, ABC reported today. Haneef is being held at the Wolston Correctional Centre near Brisbane while the Federal Court considers the matter of his visa, which the Immigration Minister revoked after the doctor was granted bail by a court hearing into charges he supported a terrorist
organisation.
— PTI
|
|
|
Pak attorney-gen resigns
Attorney-general Makhdoom Ali Khan has reportedly resigned from his office amid growing demands from within the government and the opposition that heads must roll in the aftermath of the stunning Supreme Court verdict that handed over total victory to Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry.
The opposition in unison, barring the PPP chairperson, is for President Musharraf's blood. It demanded that Musharraf, along with Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz, must step down for their misadventure to shackle the judiciary. Former premier Benazir Bhutto, in her initial response, declined to join the opposition demand for Musharraf's resignation. However, in her latest interview with Sunday Times, she asked Musharraf to accept moral responsibility. Within the government, strong voices were raised at an informal meeting under the Prime Minister on Saturday and attended by federal ministers and ruling party leaders that people responsible for conjuring up the entire plan of sending reference against the Chief Justice and subsequent mishandling of the whole case should be made accountable. Ministers said law minister Wasi Zafar, secretary Mansoor Ahmed and others who advised the President to file the reference and later spoiled the government case be fired.
|
|
Any deal with General will be unpopular: Bhutto
Islamabad, July 23 “Any deal now with the General would be unpopular and damaging to Pakistan People’s Party (PPP),” she said. In an interview with The Sunday Times, she said the only circumstances in which she might consider an arrangement would be if she felt it necessary to guarantee fair parliamentary elections on time. “He has lost his moral authority. We would lose votes by being associated with him,” she said. She indicated she would make an early return to challenge plans by the General, the military ruler, to secure a new term as president without waiting for election. Bhutto said the SC had reasserted the independence of the judiciary and the newly strengthened courts could topple Musharraf through rulings on whether he could be appointed twice by the same assembly and whether he could continue to serve as both president and army chief of staff. Bhutto said she would wait to see if Musharraf went through with his plan to be reappointed by the present assembly before deciding whether to abandon discussions with him.
|
|
We don’t need foreign military aid, says Aziz
Pakistan Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz said on Monday forces of any other country would not be allowed to carry out operations within the Pakistani territory. He also said the presidential poll would be held between September 15 and October 15.
In an interview to a British news channel, Aziz said the execution of military operations was the responsibility of Pakistan government, adding: “We do not need any foreign assistance in this task.” Turning down the option of foreign troops operating in Pakistan, the PM stated that his government was responsible to fulfil requirements of the military and to protect sovereignty of the country. He said Pakistan was exchanging intelligence with several other countries and that it was doing a lot to curb extremism.
|
|
MMA chief resigns from Pak National Assembly
Islamabad, July 23 Hussain, leader of the Jamat-e-Islami, which is a component of the MMA, also threatened that he would force his entry into Lal Masjid to offer prayers next Friday if the government do not complete renovation work. Hussain, who is the leader of the Jamat-e-Islami, (JI) one of the components of MMA, sent his resignation to the National Assembly secretariat. His offensive against the government came as he joined the All Party Democratic Movement (APDM).
— PTI
|
|
Bin Laden in Pak: US intelligence chief
London, July 23 The National Intelligence director also blamed President Pervez Musharraf’s government of allowing Al-Qaeda to regroup in Pakistan by striking a controversial peace deal with local tribal leaders last year, The Daily Telegraph said today. “My view is that he’s alive,” said McConnell on NBC television when asked about Bin Laden. “I believe he is in the tribal region of Pakistan.” Last week a US intelligence report said Al-Qaeda had regrouped in its “safe haven” inside Pakistan. Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Khurshid Kasuri reacted angrily to the charges that Bin Laden was in the country and dared America to provide evidence. “Pakistan’s commitment cannot be doubted by anybody,” he said.
— PTI
|
|
Ex-Afghan king Zahir Shah dead
Kabul, July 23 “The father of the nation passed away early today,” said the minister who asked not to be named, using the title given in the constitution to the former king who ruled Afghanistan for four decades. Zahir Shah ended Afghanistan’s centuries-old monarchy by abdicating while on holiday in Italy in 1973 after hearing the news that his former Prime Minister Mohammad Daud - who was also his cousin - had staged a coup. He returned home several months after the 2001 collapse of the ultra-Islamist Taliban
regime.— AFP
|
|
Toronto, July 23 The Bochasanwasi Shri Akshar Purushottam Swaminarayan Sanstha's (BAPS) Swaminarayan Mandir opened on Sunday after 18 months of construction. "Canada's accommodation of diversity is not without precedent," Harper said, addressing a large crowd. "There have been forerunners -- and of these perhaps none is as noteworthy as India." The temple built with Turkish limestone and Italian marble is the first Hindu temple in Canada to come up according to ancient Indian Vedic principles, BAPS said. — IANS
|
|
Indonesian ex-minister jailed for graft
Jakarta July 23 Judges at Indonesia’s special anti-corruption court found former fisheries and maritime affairs minister Rokhmin Dahuri guilty of receiving about 15 billion rupiah ($1.65 million) in cash from sources inside and outside the ministry, his lawyer Mohammad Assegaf said. Dahuri was also ordered to pay 200 million rupiah or serve an additional six months in prison. Assegaf said Dahuri was innocent and would appeal. He also argued that his client had not received the money for personal gains, and that using non-budgetary funds to finance official activities was common in Indonesian ministries. “But Rokhmin is an honest man and he was transparent. Unlike others, he kept a record of all the money his office received and that proved to be his undoing,” he said. — Reuters
|
|
Massive win for Turkey’s ruling party
Ankara, July 23 The election outcome was a strong vote of confidence for Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s government, which secularists, including the powerful army, suspect of seeking to undermine the separation of religion and state. Erdogan (53) hailed the election as a victory for democracy and pledged commitment to Turkey’s cherished secular system and continued economic and democratic reform, to boost Ankara’s bid to join the European Union. “Our democracy has successfully passed a test ... our unity, democracy and the republic have emerged stronger from the ballot box,” he said outside the AKP party’s headquarters. “We will never make concessions from the basic principles of the republic,” he said. “We will pursue economic and democratic reforms with determination.” The governing party won 46.3 per cent of the votes, according to unofficial results after 99.9 per cent of the ballots were counted. This translate into 339 seats in the 550-members parliment.
— AFP
|
|
London, July 23 It was not immediately clear whether the case would now go to the House of Lords, the highest court in Britain, for a final hearing. — PTI
|
||
|
| HOME PAGE | |
Punjab | Haryana | Jammu & Kashmir |
Himachal Pradesh | Regional Briefs |
Nation | Opinions | | Business | Sports | World | Mailbag | Chandigarh | Ludhiana | Delhi | | Calendar | Weather | Archive | Subscribe | Suggestion | E-mail | |
