Tariq Khan Murder Case

PPP made the appointment of shoaib suddle saying that he has a degree in criminology something etc, and he is Number 1, now lets see his performance. I will keep a track of the following murder in karachi and lets see how soon he completes investigation


Sindh PML-N leader Tariq Khan shot dead

KARACHI, May 23: A leader of the Pakistan Muslim League-N was shot ddead at Shaheed-i-Millat Road on Friday night.

Tariq Khan, vice-president of Sindh PML-N, was driving alone when the assailants on motorcycles intercepted him near the Medicare Hospital and shot him several times in his chest and neck, killing him instantly, as he was coming from the Sharfabad area.

“I was checking vehicles in Bahadurabad when shots were fired … We took him to the Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre in our patrol vehicle,” said Inspector Zubair Mehmood, SHO of the New Town police station.

Tariq Khan was in his early 40s.

“We suspect that Mr Khan was being followed,” SP of Jamshad Town Javed Baloch said.

His view was endorsed by a local PML-N leader at the JPMC.

A large number of his party workers gathered at the hospital and forcibly brought his body back from the hospital’s morgue to the emergency ward.

Rowdy party workers made his postmortem, a legal formaility, impossible. They later put his body into an ambulance. They even bickered over the size of the ambulance and demanded a bigger vehicle.

The moment his body emerged, enraged party workers started firing in the air, creating panic.

PML-N Sindh’s president Saleem Zia condemned the murder and termed it a cowardly act.

“Tariq Khan’s killing is a part of an unending pattern of terrorism in the city. It is a message for democratic and political forces in Karachi.”

He announced a three-day mourning across the province and called for an independent and result-oriented inquiry and quick arrest of the killers.

Sindh police chief Dr Shoaib Suddle formed three investigation teams headed by DIG East A.D. Khwaja, DIG Investigation Ghulam Qadir Thebo and DIG CID Saud Ahmed Mirza, respectively.

A spokesman for the Sindh police chief said that Dr Suddle had assured the PML-N leadership of ‘full police cooperation’ and a prompt investigation to apprehend the killers.

A million-rupee reward was announced by the Sindh police for providing any information leading to the arrest of Tariq Khan’s killers.

All missing people to be traced, says Naek

By Our Reporter

ISLAMABAD, April 16: Law Minister Farooq H. Naek has said the government will ensure release of all missing persons and details in this respect were being collected.

Talking to relatives of four missing persons who had called on him on Wednesday, the minister asked them to submit necessary details, including copies of FIRs and other relevant documents, so that the authorities concerned could be directed to pursue the matter.

Mr Naek assured them that after the details were provided, efforts would be made to trace their relatives.

Later talking to a delegation of the Islamabad Bar Association, he said the coalition government was committed to the reinstatement of deposed judges in accordance with the Murree Declaration. “By ordering the release of deposed judges after taking the oath, Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani has started the process of their reinstatement.”

Mr Naek said his ministry was working on amendments to the National Accountability Bureau Ordinance and these would soon be introduced soon.

He said the government was working on a number of proposals to improve the functioning of courts, including introduction of evening shift to clear the backlog of cases.

He said the government was planning to set up an autonomous ‘public defender office’ to provide justice to poor people. “We are also planning to do away with the surety law because it is difficult for the poor people to meet the surety requirements.”

Similarly, he said, the government was working to introduce a provision under which if a murder case was not decided within two years the accused would be able to get bail, and if other cases were not settled within a year the accused would be eligible to get bail.

Blogged with the Flock Browser

India hopes Sarabjit will get clemency

By Our Staff Reporter
ISLAMABAD, March 20: India on Thursday said it hoped that Sarabjit Singh, a condemned Indian prisoner, would be granted clemency by the Pakistan government on humanitarian grounds.

A statement issued by the Indian High Commission said it was pleased to learn that Sarabjit Singh’s execution had been stayed.

The execution of Sarabjit convicted in terrorism cases relating to four blasts in Lahore and Multan was deferred by President Musharraf till April 30 after the Indian government and the convict’s sister filed fresh clemency appeals.

He was to be hanged on

April 1.

Blogged with the Flock Browser

Religious minorities in India feel unsafe: Asma

By Jawed Naqvi
NEW DELHI, March 20: Unacceptable delays in delivering justice to victims of communal violence across India, the state’s occasional culpability in fomenting intolerance and exploitation of religious fault lines for politics were some of the issues listed on Thursday by UN Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion or Belief Asma Jehangir that she said required immediate attention.

“By and large, the Indians respect the diversity of religions and beliefs. At the same time, organised groups based on religious ideologies have unleashed the fear of mob violence in many parts of the country,” Ms Jehangir told a news conference at the end of a rare 18-day visit as the UN rapporteur. “All individuals I met recognised that a comprehensive legal framework to protect their rights exists, yet many of them -– especially from religious minorities -– remained dissatisfied with its implementation.”

Ms Jehangir’s mission follows a similar one undertaken by her predecessor in 1996. “My forthcoming report will also be a follow-up on developments during the past twelve years, in order to analyse what has changed and why.”

She said she was concerned at the extended timeframe of investigations in cases of communal riots, violence and massacres such as those which targeted the Sikhs in 1984, or the ones that followed the demolition of the Babri mosque and the most recent one in Gujarat in 2002.

“Any inquiry should not be done in indecent haste but it should be accorded the highest priority both from the investigation, the judiciary and any commission appointed to study the situation.

Unreasonable protraction of the inquiry only keeps tensions simmering and devalues justice.

“I was astonished to learn that just before I arrived in India, the Liberhan Commission -– probing the circumstances leading to the 1992 demolition of the Babri Masjid in Ayodhya – got the 44th extension to conclude its inquiry,” she said.

The level of action of the government to protect its citizens in terms of freedom of religion or belief varies according to the states concerned. It was thus that the potential for greater harm to Kashmiri Pundits when they were forced to flee their homes was contained by the state’s prompt intervention, while the same could not be said about the protection of religious minorities in Gujarat, who continue to live in ghettoes and in fear.

“The de-escalation of violence in Jammu and Kashmir has had a positive impact on freedom of religion there,” Ms Jehangir said. “Places of worship are now more accessible and the tensions are reducing. There have been public statements inviting the Hindu Pundits to return to Kashmir. However, many interlocutors have confirmed a continuing bias amongst security forces against Muslims who also face problems with regard to exit controls lists and discrimination when renting hotel rooms outside Jammu and Kashmir,” she noted.

She urged the state of Orissa, where the Hindutva drive is intensive and widespread, to reconsider its anti-conversion legislation.

Less than three months ago, there was widespread violence in the Kandhamal district of Orissa, targeting primarily Christians in Dalit and tribal communities. The attacks could have been prevented since the Christian community alerted the authorities before the incident.

“The tensions are still prevalent and the state should rethink its anti-conversion legislation which has been used to vilify Christians in general,” she said.

In UP, communal violence continues to occur while perpetrators are dealt with sympathy by the law enforcement agents. “Some of the cases are still under investigation and I hope that justice will prevail.” In Gujarat, the wounds of the 2002 massacre, where by all accounts more than a thousand people -– mostly Muslims -– were killed, have not healed, she said. “In my discussions with victims I could see their continuing fear which is exacerbated by the reported complicity of the state government and the distress that justice continues to evade most victims and survivors.

“It is also critical for the state government to recognise that development without a policy of inclusiveness of all religious communities will only add to aggravate resentments. The same is true for the increasing ghettoisation of Muslims in certain areas.”

Ms Jehangir said her predecessor, Mr Abdelfattah Amor, “unfortunately was prophetic when he expressed his fears that something in the nature of the 1992 Ayodhya incident will recur in the event of political exploitation of a situation.

In my opinion, there is today a real risk that similar communal violence might happen again unless incitement to religious hatred and political exploitation of communal tensions are effectively prevented.

She urged the government and for non-state actors to diffuse tensions and address the root causes beforehand. The sincerity of the central government to implement the Sachar Committee report will be very much seen on the ground because state governments have been given direction to follow-up on the recommendations of the report.

Blogged with the Flock Browser

UK officials clueless about Asif’s degree

By Arshad Sharif
LONDON, March 20: British officials responsible for maintaining record of all educational institutions in the country have failed to find any trace of the institution in London from where Pakistan People’s Party co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari is claimed to have received his graduation or equivalent qualification.

In a written response to questions by this correspondent, PPP spokesman Farhatullah Babar said: “All that I can share with you on the basis of my information is that Mr Zardari passed his examination and qualified from Cadet College Petaro, Dadu. It was not a degree as the Petaro college is not a degree college.”

When asked about the institution from where Mr Zardari received his degree, he said: “Mr Zardari studied business and economics in a school in London now called (the) London School of Economics and Business.”

The PPP claims that Mr Zardari received his graduation or equivalent degree in 1976 from this school.

Mr Babar said that academic qualifications from London School of Economics and Business were said to be equivalent to a degree, but he did not know the ‘exact title’ of Mr Zardari’s degree and address of the institution.

The PPP spokesman is not the only one who could not find the exact address or existence of the institution. Edubase UK, the country’s official body responsible for maintaining records of all private and public educational institutions, is also clueless.

In a written response to questions about London School of Economics and Business, an Edubase official said: “In order to ascertain whether or not an institution exists, I conduct a search on three registers, Edubase, The Register of Education and Training Providers and the UK Register of Learning Providers. I have been unable to find evidence of this institution.”

An official at the UK Register of Learning Providers said: “Unfortunately, I have not been able to locate London School of Economics and Business.”

Mr Zardari was twice elected as MNA from 1990-93 and 1993-96, remained senator from 1997-99 and served as a federal minister in 1993 and again in 1996.

To become a parliamentarian a minimum degree of graduation is required, a condition introduced in 2002.

Analysts say if Mr Zardari is seeking to be a parliamentarian by contesting from NA-207, the seat of assassinated PPP chairperson Benazir Bhutto, he will have to submit his degree to the Election Commission. Otherwise, the PPP and its coalition partners will have to do away with the degree requirement through a constitutional amendment.

Credible records of Mr Zardari attending Cadet College in Petaro exist. He joined the college’s Jinnah House in 1966 as a student of eighth grade.

School records show that Mr Zardari completed his Higher Secondary School Education (FA/FSc) in 1974.

Mr Farhatullah Babar said: “The issue of academic qualifications and their equivalence did not arise until now. However, now that the media is asking about it we are trying to gather full details.”

Blogged with the Flock Browser

Pope behind new crusade: Osama

CAIRO, March 20: Al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden accused Pope Benedict XVI of helping in a ‘’new Crusade’’ against Islam and warned in a new audiotape of a ‘’severe’’ reaction for Europeans’ publication of blasphemous cartoons.

The message raised concerns Al Qaeda was plotting new attacks in Europe. Some experts said Osama, believed to be in hiding in the Afghan-Pakistan border area, might be unable to organise such an attack himself and instead was trying to fan anger over the cartoons to inspire violence by supporters.

The Vatican spokesman, the Rev Federico Lombardi, said Osama’s accusation that Pope Benedict XVI had played a role in a worldwide campaign against Islam was ‘’baseless.’’

Lombardi said the Pope on several occasions had criticised the cartoons, first published in several European newspapers in 2006 then republished in Danish papers in February.

Osama’s audiotape was posted on Wednesday on a militant website that has carried Al Qaeda statements in the past and bore the logo of the extremist group’s media wing Al Sahab.

’’You went overboard in your unbelief and freed yourselves of the etiquettes of dispute and fighting and went to the extent of publishing these insulting drawings,’’ he said. ‘’This is the greater and more serious tragedy, and reckoning for it will be more severe.’’

He said the cartoons ‘’came in the framework of a new Crusade in which the Pope of the Vatican has played a large, lengthy role,’’ according to a transcript released by the SITE Institute, a US group that monitors terror messages.

Danish intelligence service said the reprinting of the cartoon had brought ‘’negative attention’’ to Denmark and may have increased the risk to Danes at home and abroad.

The original 12 cartoons first published in a Danish newspaper, then in several papers across Europe, triggered major protests in Muslim countries in 2006. Muslims see the cartoons as an insult. —AP

Blogged with the Flock Browser

India launches probe into prisoner’s death

NEW DELHI, March 20: Authorities in India have launched an investigation into the mysterious death in prison of a Pakistani man who Islamabad says came here to watch a cricket match, a report said on Thursday.

Khalid Mahmood, 26, had apparently travelled to India three years ago to see a game between the Pakistani and Indian cricket teams. Last week, his relatives alleged he was tortured to death by Indian police who picked him up when he went to the Pakistani embassy to report the loss of his passport.

The Indian government ordered the probe after Pakistans foreign ministry demanded an explanation for his death, Indian television network NDTV reported.—AFP

Blogged with the Flock Browser