W O R L D

End of Guv rule in Punjab top priority: Gilani
Prime Minister, Yusuf Raza Gilani has said that Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry was restored in accordance with the wishes of the people and added that the end of Governor’s rule in Punjab was topmost priority. Talking to newsmen on the sidelines of an official function here on Tuesday, Gilani said he played his role for the restoration of CJ.

• I was never against Iftikhar’s reinstatement: Zardar

‘Pakistanis deserve credit...’
Relieved that feuding Pakistani leaders had averted a political crisis, the Obama administration on Monday expressed satisfaction with the outcome of what a State Department spokesman described as a "very difficult weekend." 

Pakistani lawyers celebrate the restoration of Supreme Court Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry in Lahore on Tuesday. —AFP

London gurdwara gutted in ‘racist’ attack
London, March 17
One of London’s most important gurdwara, housing priceless religious books, has been gutted in a suspected racist attack in Britain, a news report said today.

BDR Mutiny
Bangladesh hints at militants’ involvement
Dhaka, March 17
Ordering stepped up security at key installations across Bangladesh, the Sheikh Hasina government has said that some of a dozen militant outfits active in the country may have a hand in the recent bloody mutiny in the paramilitary force, BDR.

40 Tigers killed
Colombo, March 17
Pushing further into the shrinking LTTE territory, troops killed about 40 Tamil guerrillas in fierce battles in the last rebel-held area of Puthukudiyiruppu in the northern war zone, where a Tiger suicide bomber blew himself up near an army camp but failed to cause casualties.

‘India played major role in battling terror’
Colombo, March 17
Brushing aside Opposition criticism that Sri Lanka has compromised its sovereignty to India on the ethnic Tamils issue, Colombo today said New Delhi has played a major role in bringing terrorism under control in the island.

End of Guv rule in Punjab top priority: Gilani
Afzal Khan writes from Islamabad

Prime Minister, Yusuf Raza Gilani has said that Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry was restored in accordance with the wishes of the people and added that the end of Governor’s rule in Punjab was topmost priority.

I was never against Iftikhar’s reinstatement: Zardari President Asif Zardari says he was only waiting for the retirement of Justice Abdul Hameed Dogar before restoring Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry as the chief justice. In his first brief chat with Geo TV anchor, Hamid Mir, the President told him: “I never said I am against Justice Iftikhar. I was only waiting for the retirement of Justice Abdul Hameed Dogar, who took oath as the chief justice during the Pervez Musharraf’s regime. Dogar will retire on March 21 and Chaudhry will be the chief justice again.” Zardari who has received a serious body blow for bowing down to people’s power and restore Justice Iftikhar, spent a quiet day on Monday.

Talking to newsmen on the sidelines of an official function here on Tuesday, Gilani said he played his role for the restoration of CJ. He did not rule out reconciliation between the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) and the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) at some stage saying any thing can happen in politics.

He further said that a review appeal against disqualification of PML-N chief Nawaz Sharif and his brother and former chief minister Punjab, Shahbaz Sharif, by the Supreme Court would be filed by the government in a day or so when the court releases detailed judgment.

A three-member SC bench headed by Justice Musa Leghari ruled in a brief order on February 25 last that the Sharif brothers were not eligible to hold any public office. Both brothers did not contest the case while maintaining that the court was not legally constituted.

According to Chaudhry Aitzaz Ahsan, eminent jurist and top leader of lawyers’ movement, the same bench will hear the Sharif’s review petition being filed by the federal government. It has to be based on certain legal points that were not agitated earlier. Legal experts said the court decided the case on merit despite the fact that merit of Sharif’s qualification or otherwise were never argued during the hearing. The counsels appearing indirectly for Sharifs raised objection to the composition of the court and sought a larger bench to hear it.

It is likely that the court will stay the execution of its earlier ban order while the hearing on the review petition may drag for long. Shahbaz will be restored as chief minister in the light of the stay. This is the primary reason for omission of any reference in Prime Minister’s speech to the lifting of Governor’s rule. 

‘Pakistanis deserve credit...’
Ashish Kumar Sen writes from Washington

Relieved that feuding Pakistani leaders had averted a political crisis, the Obama administration on Monday expressed satisfaction with the outcome of what a State Department spokesman described as a "very difficult weekend." In Islamabad, president Zardari's decision to reinstate Supreme Court Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chowdhury appeared to bring the curtain down on a crisis that threatened to erupt into a serious confrontation between opposition leader Nawaz Sharif's supporters and the government.

State Department spokesman Robert Wood admitted the situation “certainly would have been a lot worse were it not for the leadership of the Pakistani government and the willingness of its people to... take the steps necessary to back down from this crisis.”

A relieved Obama administration gave credit to the Pakistanis for resolving the situation. “Frankly, what brought Pakistan back from the brink was, basically, decisions made by the Pakistani leadership,” Wood said, adding, “So this was basically decisions made by Pakistanis for Pakistanis. And they deserve all the credit.” 

London gurdwara gutted in ‘racist’ attack

London, March 17
One of London’s most important gurdwara, housing priceless religious books, has been gutted in a suspected racist attack in Britain, a news report said today. 

Eye-witnesses today said a man, who entered the Gurdwara Sikh Sangat in East London, managed to escape just before flames were first seen. A group of women, who had spotted the intruder, tried to put out the raging flames in one of the holiest parts of the gurdwara. — PTI

BDR Mutiny
Bangladesh hints at militants’ involvement

40 Tigers killed

Colombo, March 17
Pushing further into the shrinking LTTE territory, troops killed about 40 Tamil guerrillas in fierce battles in the last rebel-held area of Puthukudiyiruppu in the northern war zone, where a Tiger suicide bomber blew himself up near an army camp but failed to cause casualties.

Special Force troops serving in west of Puthukudiyiruppu in Mullaittivu had a narrow escape yesterday when the LTTE cadre, clad in an army sergeant’s uniform, triggered the blast while trying to infiltrate into military-held areas, the army said today.

“Army troops on full alert in the area were busy making preparations for receipt of more and more displaced civilians, but the sudden appearance of the ‘sergeant’ in army camouflage entertained doubts about his identity and the bona-fides,” it said.

The army said the troops ordered the suspect to raise hands and identify himself before any further movement when he detonated his suicide belt and died on the spot. None of the troops sustained injuries, it said. — PTI

‘India played major role in battling terror’

Colombo, March 17
Brushing aside Opposition criticism that Sri Lanka has compromised its sovereignty to India on the ethnic Tamils issue, Colombo today said New Delhi has played a major role in bringing terrorism under control in the island.

“India has played a major role with its help and support to bring terrorism in Sri Lanka under control,” Sri Lankan Health Care and Nutrition Minister Nimal Siripala De Silva told Parliament. — PTI