 |
|
|
Pak Prez may be a titular head soon
Pak SC to govt: Send fresh letter to Swiss officials
Conqueror to finally rest on Mt Everest
|
|
|
|
|
Pak Prez may be a titular head soon
A landmark constitutional reforms package, which includes proposals to strip the President of his sweeping powers, was on Thursday submitted to the speaker of Pakistan’s parliament by a key committee that finalised it, ahead of its possible introduction in the house on Friday.
All political parties have signed the historic consensus draft for the 18th Amendment to the constitution to restore it close to the original 1973 document that was mutilated by two military dictators during past 37 years. The new amendment, the biggest ever-package of 95 alterations, would restore the parliamentary form of government in the country. It would do so by stripping the president of extraordinary powers acquired by military rulers Gen. Ziaul Haq and Gen. Pervez Musharraf and returning them to the prime minister, thus, making the president a titular head. It also cedes autonomy to provinces reducing legislative and executive hegemony of the federal government and recasts the procedure of appointment of judges to ensure independence of judiciary but simultaneously providing for parliamentary oversight. Consensus was also reached on another dicey issue to rename the volatile North West Frontier Province (NWFP) as Khyber-Pakhtunkhawa. The name reflects the ethnic identity of Pathans and the historic Khyber Pass that acted as entry point for centuries to foreign invaders ranging from Arians, Greeks, Mongols and others. The rugged province that was once a stomping ground for the British before Independence in 1947 became recipient of nearly three million Afghan refugees in the 1980s and more recently gained a reputation as a Taliban and Al-Qaida haven. The 26-member multi-party parliamentary committee for constitutional reforms (PCCR) completed its marathon task of over nine months on Wednesday night after removing the last obstacles of composition of the judicial commission for appointment of judges and renaming of the NWFP. Members of the committee, headed by senator Raza Rabbani, signed the draft document at a simple ceremony on Wednesday. The draft amendment was fine-tuned on Thursday and is expected to be tabled before Parliament for debate and approval next week. President Asif Ali Zardari who received considerable credit for agreeing to cede his own powers will address a joint session of Parliament after the amendment is introduced. Although various members have filed 15 reservations on some issues ostensibly for the record, all political parties are committed to vote for the amendment.
|
|
Pak SC to govt: Send fresh letter to Swiss officials
Islamabad, April 1 A seven-member bench headed by Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry, which is hearing a suo moto case on the reopening of thousands of anti-corruption cases following the striking down of a graft amnesty, raised objections to the letter sent yesterday by the National Accountability Bureau to Swiss authorities to reopen cases against Zardari. The Chief Justice said the letter had “no legal value” as it was written by the NAB and not the government and that it was insufficient to reopen the cases in Switzerland. The bench said the law ministry should write a letter to Swiss authorities with the approval of the Prime Minister and send the document by special messenger. The Apex court set 1 pm as the deadline for this new letter to be sent to the Swiss authorities. Attorney General Anwar Mansoor Khan told the bench that a copy of NAB’s letter was with the law ministry and could be sent through proper channels to Geneva. The Apex court’s objections came a day after Geneva Prosecutor Daniel Zappelli said he could not reopen cases in Switzerland against Zardari as he enjoys “absolute immunity” as a head of state. “We could go further only if the competent authorities in Pakistan decide to lift the immunity of the head of state, which I do not know whether it is possible according to their constitution,” Zappelli said yesterday. He said there was “absolutely” no chance of the cases being revived if the immunity was not waived. Zardari and his slain wife, former premier Benazir Bhutto, were found guilty in absentia by a Geneva court in 2003 of laundering millions dollars. — PTI
|
|
Conqueror to finally rest on Mt Everest
Kathmandu, April 1 A historic Everest expedition, led by another mountaineering legend Apa Sherpa, the man who has conquered the peak 19 times and is now eyeing his 20th ascent, will flag off from Kathmandu next week to place Hillary's ashes on the 8,848-metre summit. "After I die, let my ashes be scattered in the two places I love the most - the harbour in Auckland and Khumbu (the Everest region); that was Sir Edmund Hillary's last big wish," said Sharad Singh Bhandari, Nepal's tourism minister."The Eco Everest 2010 expedition will place his ashes on Mt Everest and Nepal will pray that his soul rests in peace." Hillary, a bee-keeper by profession, became the first man to stand on Mt Everest, the highest point on earth, on May 23, 1953 with Tenzing Norgay Sherpa.Two years after his death in Auckland at the age of 89, his memory remains evergreen in the minds of the Sherpas of Himalayan Nepal for his love for them that he showed by building roads, schools and hospitals in the remote, once nearly inaccessible mountainous region. "We hope to discharge the debt," said Ang Rita Sherpa of the Himalayan Trust Nepal, founded by Sir Edmund to continue the development work he had started. Hillary was cremated after his death on Jan 11, 2008 in accordance with Buddhist rites. While part of his ashes were sprinkled in the Auckland harbour, the rest was handed over by Sherpa in a ceremony in Kathmandu Thursday to Apa. "In a Buddhist monastery Khunde, the village in Khumbu that was Hillary's favourite, monks have been praying for two years in mourning," Sherpa told IANS. "They will also hand over to Apa a statuette of the Buddha, a vial of holy water, rocks from the Everest and other relics to be placed on the summit with Sir Edmund's ashes.” The minister said the expedition would also proclaim to the world from the summit that Nepal was ready to celebrate 2011 as its tourism year when one million visitors are expected. — IANS
|
Car crashes into aircraft Lenin’s statue to be restored
|
| HOME PAGE | |
Punjab | Haryana | Jammu & Kashmir |
Himachal Pradesh | Regional Briefs |
Nation | Opinions | | Business | Sports | World | Letters | Chandigarh | Ludhiana | Delhi | | Calendar | Weather | Archive | Subscribe | Suggestion | E-mail | |
Mt Everest, the world's highest peak whose name came to be inextricably associated with its first conqueror, Sir Edmund Hillary, will be the last resting place of the New Zealander in a grateful tribute by Nepal, the tiny country he made famous worldwide.
