Pak-China friendship: A deep review

When I was a kid in the 1970s, I remember Pakistan’s state-owned TV channel, PTV, used to keep playing a catchy song about Pak-China friendship.

It went something like this: ‘Pak-Cheen dosti wang woye, wang woye, wang woye, wang woye, Pak-Cheen dosti zindabad, zindabad, zindabad, zindaabaaad.’

The words ‘wang woye’ were in Chinese and were the Chinese equivalent of the Urdu word ‘zindabad’ (long live).

What amazing days they were. And what’s more, a bowl of chicken corn soup at Chinese restaurants was not only cheaper but tastier as well.

Some say that was because the Chinese restaurants used pieces from alsi/desi Pakistani murghis (chickens) and not from the ones cloned in those inhuman (and inchicken) poultry farms that sprang up across Pakistan in the late 1970s.

Meat from desi chickens being used by expert Chinese cooks was one of the true reflections of Pak-Cheen dosti(Pak-China friendship). It is the unique chicken corn soup that you can still get from Chinese restaurants in Pakistan that has made the Pak-China friendship so great, legendary, and, well, unique.

Recognizing this, the United States tried its utmost to stick a spammer in the relationship between Pakistan and China. It tried to do this by introducing the evil science of chicken cloning in Pakistan. Chicken cloning really became popular among the country’s naïve poultry farmers because it was cheaper to maintain, compared to raising healthy desi chicks.

The US Secretary of State, Henry Kissinger (also known as Ace Fernley), first visited Pakistan in 1972 right after the country lost a war against Bengali terrorists in former East Pakistan – a war, one must remember, in which the US did not help Pakistan during and which India claimed it won.

Only China came to our rescue. As the US imposed an arms embargo on Pakistan and while the Bengali terrorists were being armed by India that was being armed by the Soviet Union that was being armed by the communist wing of the elusive Elders of Zion; China sent in an army of 77,000 chefs to Pakistan who preparedzabardast, delicious giant bowls of chicken corn soup for our troops.

Most Pakistanis had tears in their eyes. Cynics said it was just the chilly sauce in the soup that made so many people become teary eyed, but the truth was, it was this beautiful gesture by the Chinese during the bloody war that made us so emotional. After all, it was a war in which so many Sunni Muslim Pakistanis of West Pakistan were brutally slaughtered by East Pakistani terrorists.

Impressed with the way West Pakistan so successfully got rid of the troublesome and useless East Pakistan, Henry Kissinger arrived for a secret meeting with Pakistan’s new premier, Zulfikar Ali Babutto. After congratulating Premier Babutto on the conduct of the Pakistan army and its people in their war against Bengali terrorists, Kissinger unravelled the real purpose of his visit: China.

Conscious of the growing relationship between Pakistan and China – and jealous of the fact that Chinese food at US Chinese restaurants pretty much sucked – Kissinger asked Babutto to help US start a dialogue with the communist Chinese regime to neutralize the global communist threat being faced by the world from the Soviet Union.

Babutto agreed and his government helped kick-start talks between Chinese premier, Zhou Ajinomoto, the Chinese Communist Party Chairman, Mao Something-Tung, and Henry Kissinger. The secret talks took place in a comfy little corner of the Great Wall of China and both parties (the third party, Pakistan, was sent on a sight-seeing tour), agreed to tackle the Soviet menace together.

It was also decided that the Chinese will share its Pakistani recipe of chicken corn soup with the Americans in exchange for 15,000 Levis bellbottoms for the members of the Chinese Communist Party.

Kissinger thanked Premier Bubutto for arranging the historic first contact between US and China, saying this has also strengthened relations between Pakistan and the US. Premier Ajinomoto of China too, thanked Bubutto saying, ‘the soup can now only get tastier.’

But relations between the US and Pakistan began to strain when in 1974 India managed to construct a nuclear device. It was a nuclear powered toothbrush. It was proudly exhibited on the Indian media by the Indian premier, Prem Chopra.

Prime Minister Bubutto promised the Pakistani armed forces that he will do anything in (and out) of his power to make sure Pakistan too has a nuclear powered toothbrush. For this he assembled a team of top Pakistani dentists, one of which was a young man called Dr. No.

Concerned about the concern of its friend Pakistan, the Chinese government sent 60,000 Chinese dentists to Pakistan. Though none of them really helped Pakistan build a nuclear powered toothbrush, they did end up putting a lot of Pakistani dentists out of work. This made Dr. No very angry and he began calling Bubutto an atheist and someone who preferred fried frogs over fried chicken. Dr. No decided to leave Pakistan and travel to Holland (after performing Hajj in Saudi Arabia).

Meanwhile, the US, through its moles and squirrels in Prime Minister Bubutto’s garden, got to find out about Bubutto’s plan of constructing the nuclear powered toothbrush. Kissinger asked China to caution Bubutto. The Chinese government did caution Bubutto – but only in Chinese.

So, obviously, Bubutto had no idea what the Chinese were talking about, and replied, ‘Yes, yes, thank you. We love you too.’ Not understanding what Bubutto was talking about, the Chinese once more sent him a caution – again in Chinese.

Kissinger was livid. He sent a message to the Chinese: ‘Why are you cautioning them in Chinese??’ Not understanding the message, the Chinese replied (this time in English): ‘Yes, yes, thank you. We love you too.’

Frustrated, Kissinger is said to have directly called Prime Minister Bubutto, warning him that the US would make a horrible example of him if he didn’t stop his programme to build a nuclear-powered toothbrush.

‘Why?’ Asked Bubutto. ‘We have teeth too.’
‘I will break those teeth if you don’t stop,’ said Kissinger.
‘Good,’ replied Bubutto. ‘Then we’ll make nuclear teeth as well.’

Only months after the conversation, a movement against Bubutto led by Pakistan’s religious parties erupted. Bubutto accused the Americans for funding the movement. The religious parties denied this and said they’d had enough of a leader who preferred frogs over chicken. They also accused Bubutto of putting thousands of Pakistani dentists out of work.

‘Look!’ said a leader of a religious party at a press conference while showing his cavity-stricken teeth. ‘Look! I can’t find a decent Muslim Pakistani dentist anymore. How can a pious Muslim like me go to a Chinese dentist? They don’t believe in God. And eat frog!’

As the movement against him gained momentum, Bubutto turned towards the Chinese for help, only to find that they were still speaking to him in Chinese. Alas, in July 1977, Bubutto’s government was toppled by General Nasim Hijazi.

But this didn’t impact Pak-Cheen dosti. In fact, not only did the Pak-China friendship remain intact, a new chapter of co-operation and friendship began between Pakistan and the US.

This was the time when the US introduced chicken cloning technology in Pakistan. General Hijazi and his partners in the religious parties at once endorsed the technology, calling it ‘perfectly in accordance with the moral and dietary dictates of Islam.’ Bubutto was hanged in 1979, but the Chinese got to know about his demise in 1988 when his daughter Benazir was elected prime minister of Pakistan.

‘Really? He’s dead? Like, gone? Wasn’t he in Libya?’ The Chinese delegation had asked Benazir.
‘He died ten years ago, gentlemen,’ Benazir had replied. ‘Where have you been?’

The Chinese delegates were surprised by the question: ‘Madam, we were helping out friend Pakistan defeat the Soviets in Afghanistan. You can still see the giant bowls of chicken corn soup that we sent on the battle fields.’

That they did. They also kept a stable relationship with the US, especially with US President, Ronald Claude Van Damme, who was also a huge chicken corn soup fan.

President Van Damme’s remarkable passion for defeating the Godless Soviets through Pakistan and Afghan mujahideen made him purposefully ignore Pakistan’s ongoing plans to build a nuclear powered toothbrush. He knew that his comrade in arms, General Hijazi, had continued the programme and also the fact that Gen. Hijazi and his supporters in religious parties were now calling it the ‘Islamic Brush.’

Dr. No too had returned to the fold, smuggling sensitive blueprints from various dental clinics in Holland and leading the group of Pakistani dentists to build a nuclear powered toothbrush.

China knew about the programme and as a friend asked all right-handed Chinese dentists in Pakistan to become left-handed and left-handed dentists to become right-handed so that the Pakistani dentists would start looking better than their Chinese counterparts. It was a great sacrifice. The Chinese also offered to introduce gold fish soup in Pakistani restaurants but the offer was politely refused by Hijazi’s government.

China again came to the rescue when after the Godless Soviets were defeated in Afghanistan, the US suddenly abandoned Pakistan and became concerned again by Pakistan’s plans to build a nuclear powered toothbrush.

US placed economic and aid sanctions on Pakistan and also stopped the sale of halal toothpaste in the United States, leaving many Pakistani Muslims living in the US using halal goat blubber to brush their teeth with. It was a great injustice. This made the Pakistan armed forces and intelligence agencies very angry and they pressurized the government to quicken the process of building the nuclear powered toothbrush. Dr. No said that the brush should now be used against Western, Zionist and US dentists as well as, of course, against the cow worshippers of India.

During the economic and political crises that Pakistan went through in 1990s – mainly due to US sanctions and, of course, due to the corrupt, unpatriotic and useless civilian leadership – China jumped in to help. In its hour of need, China sent about 10 million gold fish bowls to Pakistan. Feeling upbeat by the arrival of the gold fish bowls, Pakistan finally announced that it had made the nuclear-powered toothbrush.

The toothbrush made Pakistan a proud nation of strong, shining white teeth. Dr. No is now hailed as the father of the brush and in a noble exhibition of his love for faith, he even tried to spread Islam in North Korea by sending them certain parts with which the North Korans too could build a nuclear powered toothbrush; and brush the US and Europe off the face of the earth, yea baby!

Also, though Pakistan’s religious political parties, military, Dr. No and your neighbor still don’t like the fact that the Chinese eat frogs, they see it being Pakistan’s only true and greatest friend. Only recently this friendship was once again displayed during the terrible floods that Pakistan faced in 2010.

European countries and US might have been the first ones to send aid to Pakistan during the floods, but it was our dear friend China who actually put a smile on our faces during the ordeal by sending 10 million stuffed pandas with strings which when pulled made the pandas sing, ‘Pak-Cheen dosti wang woye, wang woye, wang woye, wang woye …’

Pashtuns: Chowkidars or noble savages?

Writer Akbar S Ahmad writes in Foreign Policy Magazine (Code of the Hill May 6 2011), about the death of Osama Bin Laden and talks about his time posted in the tribal agency of Waziristan, a part of the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (Fata). He writes somewhat glowingly about the people of the region preferred honour over a life of paying taxes. He cites the Pashto proverb “Honor (nang) ate up the mountains; taxes (qalang) ate up the plains.”

He describes the society of which he is a product off as one where “people pay rents and taxes and live within the state system in hierarchal societies that are dominated by powerful feudal, political, or military authority”. Unlike in the mountain areas, leaders in qalang societies have their status bestowed on them by birth or through economic or political means. He then expands on this arbitrary distinction between societies of honour and societies of taxes by arguing that the Military establishment is a product of the “qalang” society. He then emphasises how societies of honour are freedom loving and the importance of honouring tribal identity when developing the region.

I write with respect for Akbar S Ahmad’s knowledge, personal ties to the region, long service in the tribal areas and Pashtun belt. However, I believe his article misrepresented Pashtuns of Waziristan and the tribal belt.

He tries to justify the present situation by citing the Pashtun honour code of Pashtunwali, of “doing Pashto” as the cause for the regions backwardness. This centuries old code advocates living an honourable life which honours oneself, being hospitable to strangers, punishes ones enemies and does not dishonour others. While the code does exist today in many variations, to assume that it turns Pashtuns into people to whom the normal rules of human life do not apply is misleading. This is a classic stereotype of the “noble savage” that has been promoted for long about Pashtuns. During the time of the British Raj, the closer the British got to the Frontier the more savage the local Pashtuns got; conversely the further away the nobler Pashtuns were perceived.

In fact, within Pakistan this stereotype often co-exists with the cultural one of the “ignorant chowkidar”. The ignorant chowkidar is mocked for his poor grasp of Urdu, his lack of intelligence and lack of interest in the trappings of modern society. Neither of these simplistic generalisations are true, it is just an easy way out of understanding complex societal structures.

Traditionally, Fata was a part of the country where the Frontier Crimes Regulation applied. Under Article 1 of the Constitution, Fata is a part of Pakistan; that was governed by political agents as the government representative working through government backed Maliks and jirgas.

It exists in an anomalous situation, where locals are subject to collective punishment, arbitrary arrests and in its time, the FCR gave the political agents unbridled power. In fact as per Article 247 (7) of the constitution, the courts have no jurisdiction over the region. Under these laws, children as young as two years old have been convicted under the FCR. Jurists like the late Chief Justice A.R Cornelius in 1954 described the FCR as “obnoxious to all recognised modern principles governing the dispensation of justice”.

The FCR, was brutally effective in ensuring state control of the region, if not its development. Things have since changed radically, the constant conflict in the region and deployment of the military has shifted power away from the political agents to either the military or militant leaders. Most major decision making is now in the hands of the military the old system has collapsed.

The factors contributing to this collapse are not hard to see, a generation has been depoliticised and radicalised, large numbers of locals are working in the Middle East, the old Maliks have been killed or forced to flee. Finally we have an international brigade of people from all over the world who have created an occupied emirate in Islam’s name using the locals as cannon fodder.

Akbar Ahmad argues “They should consult the elders and utilize the jirga in order to introduce schools and health schemes within their traditional systems so that the people of the nang areas have a sense of hope for the future.”

This would be possible has the old systems existed now, they do not anymore with militant commanders ruling parts of the region. The socio-economic figures on the region are even more shocking, the literacy rate in Fata is about 17 per cent and only three per cent of the total women population. The most recent 2009-10 census reported a school dropout rate of 63 per cent among boys and 77 per cent among girls, while 54 per cent children quit schools before completing secondary education. This is easily the highest dropout ratio in the country. So how does one invest in structures that barely exist anymore?

What is really needed is radical reforms in the region, allowing political party’s to operate in the region, opening up existing roads in the region to the locals, investing in the IDPs and investing in development like the, seemingly forgotten reconstruction opportunity zones. There are precedents that are worth studying closely, the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa provincial government has successfully merged the former provincial tribal agency of Kala Dhaka into the new district of Tor Ghar (literally black mountain). They did this by working through the remnants of the old jirga system and in exchange offering large scale investments as an incentive.

While we should not forget the past; we should not allow the memories of the past that Akbar Ahmed so deftly writes about, confuse traditionalism with a generation of radicalisation. Instead of Nang versus Qalang we should recall the poetry of the late Ajmal Khattak

Leave me alone if you will
The modern (hypocritical) Aurangzebs haunt me still
I am the Pashtun of my age

The truth is there is nothing noble about being radicalised or living a life of enforced deprivation and there is definitely nothing noble in being considered a savage.

Monetary expansion up by 14pc......

KARACHI: The massive government borrowing has contributed around 90 per cent in the monetary expansion which grew by 14.24 per cent in the 2010-11 ended June 30, 2011, the State Bank reported on Tuesday.
Monetary expansion through the private sector is a requirement for economic growth, but massive government borrowing from banking system only inflates the economy as was reflected in above 13 per cent inflation rate in the last fiscal year.
The central bank in its third quarterly report for FY11, which was issued on Monday, noted the government borrowing for budgetary support, fiscal slippages and inadequate external funding had recorded over 30 per cent increase during July 1-May 28, 2010-11.
“This accounts for 89.7 per cent of the expansion in broad money,” said the SBP. The latest report up to June 25 showed that the monetary expansion was up by Rs824 billion reflecting absolute domination of the government borrowing. The government had borrowed Rs716 billion.
The Net Foreign Asset (NFA) of the banking system showed an expansion of Rs170.8 billion mirroring the comfort in the external account during this period.
However, Net Domestic Asset (NDA) increased sharply by Rs507.1 billion, said the SBP. Up to June 25, the borrowing for budgetary support reached Rs716 billion, much higher than Rs452 billion of the preceding year.
The third quarterly report, which covered the period of July-May, said while private sector business continued to utilise bank credit, there was hardly any credit demand for new investment activities in the economy.
Specifically, the growth of credit to private sector was slightly lower at 3.4 per cent during July to May 28, 2011 compared to 3.6 per cent over the same period in FY10.
The report said the working capital loans during July-April 2011 jumped to Rs144.7 billion against Rs47.4 billion in the corresponding period of FY10.
The exorbitant price increase of raw materials played a key role in the higher demand for the working capital.
“This three-fold increase in demand for working capital loans is due to the rise in raw material prices, especially of cotton, sugarcane and edible oil,” the report said.
The surge in exports increased the demand for trade loans. These loans increased by Rs68 billion during July-April 2011 compared to Rs21 billion in the previous year. The sector-wise distribution of trade loans reflects the dominance of the textile sector, which accounts for 71.6 per cent of the rise. The textile sector which boosted its export by 22 per cent during the last fiscal got highest amount as working capital.
“Both textile and sugar sectors accounted for 68.5 per cent of the rise in working capital loans over the period of analysis,

Cut in GST, FED: Consumers still paying high prices pakistan

KARACHI: Consumers await relief in prices of various packed household items after one per cent cut in general sales tax followed by removal of other taxes and duties at different stages.
All the measures announced in the budget have come into effect from July 1, 2011 but so far there has been no change in prices of general items such as soaps, toothpaste, detergents and food products. Even beverages (soft drinks) are still selling at higher rates despite reduction in Federal Excise Duty to six per cent from 12 per cent in the budget.
A beverage maker in Karachi claimed that the price of beverages in Punjab has risen by Rs5 on 1.5 liter bottle from Rs70 after the budget.
In Karachi, he said the producers of soft drinks were planning to raise the price by Rs2 to 3 on regular bottle and Rs5 on 1.5 liter bottle due to rising cost of production on account of high gas and power rates, sugar, and higher transportation charges.
He said decline in FED to 6 per cent from 12 per cent is definitely a relief due to which the beverage makers had decided not to raise the prices now.
The government has cut the FED by Rs200 per ton followed by cut in GST from 17 to 16 per cent on cement and according to market analysts it should result in price fall of Rs21 for 50 kg cement bag.
However, only few cement producers had reduced the rate by Rs6 to 10 per 50 kg bag instead of Rs21 as per taxation benefits announced by the government.
Meanwhile, commodity retailers said that so far they have got old stocks of packed items with old price tags and there is no indication from the companies for any price reduction.
The government has yet to check the delaying tactics of the manufacturers of various goods in passing the impact of tax relief to the consumers.
As Ramazan is only 25 days away, consumers had started swallowing bitter pill of rising price trend in flour, sugar, and pulses, etc.
A random price survey showed hike in flour No 2.5 rate to Rs32-34 per kg from Rs28 per kg as compared to last month, while the price of 10kg bag flour has also risen to Rs340 from Rs300.
Consumers, previously paying Rs32 and Rs35 per kg for fine atta and chakki flour, are now paying Rs36 and Rs37 per kg depending on the area.
Flour millers had been making frequent increase in the prices due to rising prices of wheat in the open market.
Retail price of sugar has also risen to Rs70-72 per kg from Rs66 per kg last month due to increase in rates by the millers.
Masur pulse No 1 quality also became costlier to Rs90 from Rs88 per kg last month, while mung (washed) rate also rose to Rs148 from Rs145 per kg. Gram pulse rate had increased to Rs73 from Rs68 while white gram rate rose to Rs120 from Rs112 per kg.

Renewed Karachi violence claims 10 lives

KARACHI: At least 10 people were killed and 29 others injured in renewed incidents of violence in the city on Tuesday. The incidents took place mostly in Orangi Town, but the tension spilled over to other parts of the city.
The day-long violence led to a ban on pillion riding till further orders.
Police said the violence was apparently triggered by an attack on Rahim Khan Swati, district information secretary of the ANP, in Qasba area of Orangi Town. He was injured in the attack and taken to a private hospital.
Pitched gunbattles continued throughout the day in different parts of Orangi. A bus came under attack in Qasba. Two passengers were killed and three others wounded.
Earlier in the day, heavy firing near Hasan Square created panic in the congested locality.
Police failed to restore calm, despite getting reinforcement from the Special Protection Group. Armoured personal carriers were also sent to the violence-hit area.
However, Rangers which recently got special police powers, were missing from the scene.
Meanwhile, MQM chief Altaf Hussain urged the government and the ANP leadership to end the violence and warned that if attacks on its supporters continued his party would be forced to launch peaceful protests.
The ANP appealed to the government to convene a meeting of coalition partners to help prevent violence.

Israel’s Barak blocks return of militants’ remains

JERUSALEM: Israeli Defence Minister Ehud Barak has blocked plans to hand over to the Palestinians the remains of 84 militants killed since 1967, a statement from his office said early on Tuesday.
Barak’s intervention came just hours after the military confirmed the transfer had been recently approved by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
“Defence Minister Ehud Barak ordered a halt to dialogue with the Palestinians about the possibility of transferring the bodies,” it said, indicating it was inappropriate in light of the continued captivity of Gilad Shalit, an Israeli soldier who was snatched by Gaza militants in 2006 and is still being held.
“This is to check and ensure that it is not a case of transferring bodies that it would not be right to hand over in light of the negotiations for the release of Gilad Shalit or for other considerations,” it said.
Netanyahu spokesman Mark Regev refused to comment on Barak’s intervention, and would not say whether there had been a change in the premier’s stance, although he did refer back to the military’s statement which spoke of a decision taken “a number of months ago.”
Details of the transfer were first revealed on Monday by Palestinian civil affairs Minister Hussein al-Sheikh who told AFP Israel had given the green light to return the bodies of 84 militants who were killed in armed clashes or in suicide bombings since the 1967 Six Day War.
The announcement was later confirmed by the military which released a statement saying: “A number of months ago, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu approved the transfer of 84 bodies from the Jordan Valley cemetery of enemy combatants to the Palestinian Authority.”
It said the two sides had been holding talks to determine the “execution of the transfer and its exact timing” although it did not refer to the identities of the dead.
Israeli public radio suggested many of them were suicide bombers, including one who carried out a 2003 restaurant bombing in Haifa, which killed 21 people.
The bodies are currently interred in numbered, rather than named, graves in Israel and will have to be identified before they can be returned to their families.
The Palestinian minister said a first batch of 84 would be handed over “in the next few days, after DNA checks.”
Salem Khala, a Palestinian campaigner for the return of the militants’ remains, said a total of 334 Palestinian combatants were currently buried in Israeli graveyards.

Elements other than Moonis behind my suspension: Qureshi

LAHORE: Zafar Qureshi, the suspended Additional Director General of Federal Investigation Agency, believes that elements other than those involved in the Moonis Elahi case are equally responsible for his latest predicament.
“Federal Commerce Minister Amin Fahim, Interior Minister Rehman Malik and a son of an influential person are other people responsible for the suspension,” a source in FIA quoted Mr Qureshi as saying.
“Mr Fahim and others fear that I may unearth their ‘share’ in the National Insurance Company Limited (NICL) scam while Mr Malik pressurised me to follow his instructions in future investigations,” the former ADG was quoted as saying by the source.Mr Qureshi was reinstated in the FIA after the Supreme Court suspended on July 1 the notification of his transfer to the National Police Foundation.
After assuming the office on Saturday, Mr Qureshi wrote a letter to FIA Director General Tahseen Anwar Shah, asking him to restore deputy director Javed Shah, assistant directors Mohammad Ahmed and Khalid Anees and inspector Mohammad Sarwar (transferred to DI Khan, Turbat, Peshawar and Gwadar, respectively) – to their previous place of posting (Lahore) as they had assisted him in the NICL probe.
The letter said: “The transfer of the officials in question is tantamount to violation of the Supreme Court orders. It shows mala fide intention and aims at creating hurdles in the investigation of the scam.”A copy of the letter was also dispatched to the Supreme Court registrar.
The establishment division on Sunday issued a letter to Mr Qureshi asking him to explain his position for “releasing the letter’s content to media and talking to it over the issue”. Following Mr Qureshi’s ‘unsatisfactory’ reply, the interior ministry suspended him on Monday under Rule 9 of the Government Servants (Efficiency and Discipline) Rules, 1973.An FIA official told Dawn that names other than that of Moonis Elahi had also surfaced during the investigation of the scam. “No investigator other than Mr Qureshi could lay hand on them after gathering concrete evidence,” he said.
There are reports that Mr Fahim had conveyed his ‘anger’ to President Asif Zardari over the reinstatement of Mr Qureshi and demanded his immediate removal. After that, Rehman Malik summoned Mr Qureshi to Islamabad and warned him not to create any further trouble for the government. Mr Qureshi, however, reportedly refused to ‘oblige’ his boss. “The government then had no other option but to suspend him,” the FIA official said.
The PML-Q circles are of the view that since Mr Qureshi had done all the ‘damage’ that he could in the Moonis case, he was no longer a threat to him (Moonis).
“Qureshi had interrogated Moonis for 14 days in the FIA custody and submitted a challan of his will in the banking court. Now all the witnesses have testified and an acquittal application has been filed in court. What can he do now? Will Qureshi dictate the court to give a verdict against Moonis?” a senior PML-Q leader said while talking to Dawn.
“People in the PPP have sent Qureshi packing to pre-empt his future ‘moves’,” he said.
According to the FIRs registered with Lahore office, Mohsin Habib Warraich’s company, Messrs Privilege, purchased 803 kanals from the NICL at Mauza Toor, Lahore, for Rs1.68 billion in February last year. The company allegedly sold the land without getting the property mutated in its favour.
In another case, the NICL sold the land measuring 20 kanal at Lahore Airport Road to Mohsin Warraich for Rs1.7 billion. It sold the land at the rate of Rs53 million per kanal although its market value was much higher, causing a loss of Rs915 million to the exchequer.
The FIA has arrested 13 people, including former NICL chairman Ayaz Khan Niazi. Three other accused Mohsin Habib Warraich, Amin Qasim Dada and Javed Syed are at large. An amount of Rs420 million is yet to be recovered from the accused and ‘suspects’.

Banking court judge refuses to hear NICL scam case

LAHORE: The judge of a special court for banking offences refused on Tuesday to further proceed with a case relating to financial corruption in the National Insurance Company Limited when the counsel for accused Moonis Elahi, an MPA and son of PML-Q leader Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi, challenged the court’s jurisdiction to record the statement of co-accused Muhammad Maalick under Section 342 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC).
Judge Malik Abdul Rasheed wanted to hear the investigating officer in the case before deciding on an application for acquittal of Moonis Elahi, but his counsel Muhammad Amjad Pervez and Rai Bashir insisted that the application should be decided the same day.
Arguments by the counsel and the judge’s replies turned into a heated debate.
The hearing was proceeding smoothly with arguments by Advocate Amjad Pervez in support of the acquittal application of his client. But when the judge wanted to record the statement of Muhammad Maalick, the manager of a company owned by Moonis Elahi, under section 342 of CrPC, Advocate Rai Bashir raised an objection and argued that the court had no jurisdiction to record the statement at this stage of the case. He also read out the section 342.
But the judge insisted that under the section the court could record the statement of any accused at any stage of the case.
Earlier, Muhammad Maalick said he was ready to answer any question asked by the judge, but refused to record his statement after the counsel had raised the objection.
The counsel requested the judge to announce his decision on the acquittal plea of Moonis on the basis of record available with the court and arguments advanced by them. The judge observed that the court could not take a decision without hearing FIA investigating officer Sarwar.
When the counsel stuck to their point the judge refused to further proceed with the case and referred it to the Lahore High Court chief justice for fixing the matter before another court.
The judge observed: “The counsel are trying to influence the court and, therefore, I cannot hear the case.”
Moonis Elahi was taken back to a sub-jail in an armoured personnel carrier.
PML-Q workers and supporters, including women, who had gathered outside the court chanted slogans against judiciary. They demanded release of Moonis.
Earlier, Advocate Amjad Pervez informed the court that FIA Deputy Director Basharat Shahzad, investigating officer of the first FIR in the case, had written a letter to then FIA director of Punjab Zafar Qureshi in which he said there was no evidence against Moonis Elahi.
The counsel presented the letter in the court and said that Mr Shahzad had stated that Mohsin Habib Warraich, the main accused in the NICL scam, was still at large and till his arrest there could be no progress in the case.
The FIA was satisfied with written replies submitted by Moonis Elahi in response to a questionnaire sent by the agency, the counsel quoted the letter as saying.
Advocate Amjad said that on the basis of supplementary statements of the arrested accused the agency later attributed a role to his client (Moonis) that bank accounts used for transferring the embezzled amount of the NICL had been opened and were being operated on the direction of Moonis.
The counsel argued that the investigating officer himself became a complainant against his client when there was no private complainant, adding that this showed a mala fide intention on the part of the FIA.
The judge said the court had to first decide whether the bank accounts were genuine or bogus.
The counsel said that even if the bank accounts were proved to be bogus, no case could be made out against his client.
He said all private prosecution witnesses alleged that the FIA had fabricated their statements. “Under such circumstances, the court is left with no option but to acquit Moonis Elahi of the charges,” he argued.

Sudan: immigrant boat fire, 197 people were drowned

Khartoum. . . .. . ... Sudan illegal immigrants from Saudi Arabia to take the boat fire 197 peopledrowned. Sudanese officials, immigrants fromvarious neighboring countries, the boat illegally in Saudi Arabia were being. Red Sea in Sudanwaters within the boat caught fire causing all thepeople drowned. Sudanese officials say the number of boat people on board was 197. do notknow the exact details are none

Sukkur: prisoners are not released yet by police officers hostage to rent

Sukkur. . . . ... . Sukkur Central Prison during the strife of the ten policemen hostage by prisoners is yet to be made not. Unknown persons opened fire outside the prison colony died a prisoner. Sukkur Central Jail in one prison staff and prisoners on Sunday more bitter feud that had angina and died on the stage reached a fighter. The prisoners took hostage eleven officers, including one been released. demolitions of prisoners in the barracks, the prison administration, prison Planning District police station and also participated in the operation. prqabu strife to get police on the prisoners of the shelling. sprytndnt prison ten officers hostage, according to Ms. Qazi is not yet krayajaska the three officials in emergency 6 afradzkmy are also included. The Central Forest resident colony out of jail the night air was heavy firing by unidentified detainee standing on the brake while the prison administration and prisoners died in the talks were a result bgyrktm prphncy. 

Faisalabad: The gas supply industries kuaj closed for three days

Faisalabad. .. . . . . . Ludmynjmnt gas industries ofFaisalabad under Schedule 6 o'clock this morningfor three days gas supply will be stopped.Ludmynjmnt Plan under the Department of the gasindustries of Faisalabad from July 9 to July 6, threedays will stop for gas supply. manufacturers saythe industry should tykstayl crisis that should be taken immediately to remove the normalproduction process to reduce losses locker.

Israel: Jelly Fish off the paurplant kakdsh

Hdyrh. . . . . . . Israel in the Mediterranean off theblubber of the power plant is expected pydahugya.Hdyrh Power Station located in the city is builtalong the Mediterranean. The sea water coolingsystem is used for today. hot weather, tons of totalsea jelly fish by having the power station coolingsystem. shrkuandyry company workers to avoiddrowning in jelly fish caught daily in thousands ofsystems out of mind. administration has expressedfears that If unchecked, this problem was found to lock the power plant.

Karachi, Gulshan Iqbal, 5 bodies recovered from the bus

Karachi. . . . .. . . . Karachi Gulshan area 5 bodiesfound in the bus. SHO Gulshan Gulshan Iqbal Blockas one of the five bodies were found shot has beenfired. Lauras just met one of the bodies identifiedcan not. corpses are being transferred to hospital.

Canada has banned Tehrik Taliban Pakistan kublyk List

Autauh. . .. .               . .. . Canada banned the Talibanmovement in Pakistan added to the list of terroristorganizations. Kynydaky Minister of Public Safetyto list the tuyyzny kublyk Pakistani Taliban, said ina statement the move because of the fight againstterrorism, efforts to protect your community is an essential part. kakhnathakh the militant groupTehrik-e Taliban Pakistan. jupakstan aurnyuyark inthe blasts is involved in planning the failedbombings. tuyyz the New York Times Squaremzydkhakh TTP prdmaky several suicide attacksin Pakistan's complicity and responsibility hzarsyclaimed owed ​​more than half of which have beenafradmary. Blacklist of banned Tehrik-e-TalibanPakistan Canada tyntalysuan terrorist group isbeing added.

Division IA ahlkaraurjasus ayrbys fame mujudhyn aircraft, American officials

Washington. . .      .  . . . U.S. officials have claimed that Pakistan-based airline's board and officials of the CIA spy drone aircraft are limited to monitoring auruhan operation will continue. British news agency said U.S. U.S. high officials of Pakistanandrayrbys use will continue from there. drones for surveillance operation against Taliban insurgents continue attacks gatahm will not be there. ansdaddhst the official U.S. terrorist operations in Pakistan for the entire board ayrbys will turpraprysnl though some Pakistani But officials made clear the demand preferable ayrbys drone from Afghanistan, the ship will continue operation. khnatha U.S. officials also said the CIA and Pakistan on board ayrbys ahlkarmujud U.S. drones continue flights over Pakistan's involvement will continue brqrarrhny shall be deemed to mean that Islamabad will dytarhy with U.S. operations.