Zardari says democracy flourishing in Pakistan

Amid worst uproar, President Asif Ali Zardari Saturday said that the government has successfully met enormous challenges‚ established rule of law and assured supremacy of the Parliament.
Opposition members marred president’s record fifth address to joint session of the Parliament, raising slogans “Loot Maar band karo” (Stop looting) and ”“Aazadi, Aazadi” (Freedom from corruption) during his speech.
“Pleas sit down, please sit down, please maintain sanctity of the house”, Speaker Fehmida Mirza screamed in an unsuccessful bid to quite down the PML-N led opposition lawmakers.
However with clipping voice, the President continued his speech.
Asif Ali Zardari said that the democracy is flourishing in Pakistan, pledging that ‘free’ and ‘fair’ elections will be held in the country.
In a wide-ranging address to the Parliament‚ a landmark fifth‚ and the first in country's history for a civilian elected President Zardari said the government has moved with speed and determination to strengthen the Federation by redressing imbalance between powers of the Centre and the provinces.
He said we have pursued the politics of reconciliation and harmony. He said we have worked hard to generate consensus. The President said the coalition government was formed to deepen democracy and all worked together to restore the 1973 Constitution.
He said as President‚ I surrendered my powers. And today‚ the Prime Minister‚ the Chief Executive‚ enjoys full authority as required by law."
He described it as "a shining moment for our parliament" and added history will remember this achievement‚ just as the nation remembers Shaheed Zulfikar Ali Bhutto and the architects of the 1973 Constitution.
Mentioning the measures taken to balance the powers of the Centre and the provinces‚ President Zardari said the government abolished the Concurrent List and transferred 18 ministries to the provinces and enhanced provincial autonomy.
He said the Council of Common Interests was made fully functional and added this great transformation was achieved with complete agreement of all the stakeholders.
This shows complete unity of our nation in adopting legislation to make our country strong and democracy more inclusive."
The President acknowledged that while a lot more needs to be done‚ a strong beginning has been made. "We Pakistanis can be proud of our young democracy‚" he said and pointed the world can today see that the march of democracy goes on and "together we are creating history." President Asif Ali Zardari also vowed general election to be held in a free and fair manner during the new parliamentary year.
The President mentioned the 20th Amendment which he said ensures the independence of Election Commission and the selection of an impartial care-taker government through a process of consultation in the Parliament.

‘Now stable Pakistan can reset ties with US,’ says Gen Dempsey

WASHINGTON/NEW YORK: The top US military officer has voiced confidence that the United States and Pakistan can reset their bilateral relationship in a mutually beneficial way, and observed that the country is now stable, after facing multiple challenges over last many years.
“I think the best thing we’ve done over the past several months — you know, the incident occurred on November 26 and here we sit on March the 16th.
I think the best thing we’ve done is we’ve not conducted our engagement with them with a microphone,” General Martin Dempsey, Chairman Joint Chiefs Staff said.
Dempsey’s comments in an appearance on popular Charlie Rose Show came as Parliament in Islamabad prepared to debate the best way forward in the country’s relations with the United States, which were severely strained following the November 26 Nato airstrikes on tribal border posts which killed at 24 Pakistani soldiers.
“We’ve communicated with them directly. We’ve communicated with them privately.
We’re back in close contact with them along the border. We have been in conversations about our military to military relationship, about our foreign military sales, about some of the common challenges of terrorism, and they have asked to be given time in their parliamentary process to have some internal discussions about what the new relationship might be, but I’m personally optimistic that we can reset the relationship in a way that meets both of our needs,” he said.
Asked if he believed that Pakistan is now stable, in the wake of years of grappling with the militancy challenges, the chairman Joint Chief Staff responded: “I do believe Pakistan is stable today.”
At the same time, he felt that “there are some trend lines that would be concerning for both them and us in terms of migration of various terrorist groups.”
Dempsey added the economic conditions in Pakistan also concern him in view of requirements for the large population of the country.
Discussing the Pakistani counterterrorism efforts along the Afghan border, the general said the Pakistanis will do the best they can to curb terrorist groups.
The Pakistanis may have the will to do something, but not the means. “I believe they will do the best they can, but it may not be enough for us,” he said, explaining difficulty of the challenge in enforcing security along the 2600-km long border.
All this makes it extraordinarily difficult for Pakistan to deliver. Dempsey said he is not a Pakistan apologist and added Pakistani army chief General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani and he were classmates in a US military in Leavenworth and have had candid and frank discussions on countering terrorist challenges their two countries face.
General Dempsey said he believes Gen Kayani, will do everything he can against these terror groups, operating along the border.

SC clarifies report on allegedly stolen immunity papers

ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court on Saturday issued a clarification concerning a news item reported earlier in the week about missing documents on presidential immunity from the residence of one of its judicial officers.
A press statement issued by the Registrar office said that a news story gave the impression that the registrar had confirmed that some precious documents had been stolen from the house of the officer.
Yousuf Jan Marwat, the judicial officer from whose residence the said documents were allegedly stolen, was “not required to write any such thesis nor assigned any research work,” the statement said.
The statement added: “Yousaf Jan is a judicial assistant working in the records section in the Supreme Court of Pakistan in Islamabad. He has nothing to do with the research work in the Court. He has not been entrusted with any such work.”

Parliament’s joint session over US ties called on March 20

ISLAMABAD: A joint session of the Parliament for approving new rules of engagement with the US and on resumption of Nato supplies has been called on March 20, DawnNews reported on Saturday.
The government, on military leadership’s demand, has also formed a committee to bring the opposition on the same page over recommendations of the Parliamentary Committee on National Security (PCNS).
The eagerly awaited session of the parliament particularly by the coalition forces of Pakistan in the “war against terror” will linger over three days.
The PCNS’s recommendations, on reviewing ties with the US and the Nato in the aftermath of Nov 26 attack on Pakistani check posts in Salala, will be tabled in the session.
Earlier on Wednesday, a high level meeting of military and political leadership decided that the PCNS would be fully authorised to take a decision about restoration or otherwise of the supplies for Isaf forces in Afghanistan.
The committee would recommend to the government to secure ‘better’ terms for reopening the supply routes. It is expected that the government will restore the supplies, but after levying transportation charges on vehicles and goods.
The parliamentary committee is reported to have prepared a series of recommendations on Pakistan-US relations and related issues, including Nato supplies, memo scandal and the issue of Balochistan.

Iran parliament speaker says Israel won’t attack

TEHRAN: Iran’s parliament speaker on Saturday compared Israel to a barking dog that won’t dare attack the Islamic republic over its controversial nuclear program.
”They make a lot of fuss about it but don’t dare to attack Iran,” Ali Larijani said of Israel. His comments were posted on the parliament’s website. ”They are like dogs that keep barking but are not for attacks.”
”Israel won’t make the mistake of attacking Iran because it’s not prepared to play with its own destiny,” said Larijani.
Larijani is Iran’s former top nuclear negotiator and intensely loyal to the country’s cleric-led regime. His barbed comments are sure to ratchet up tension over Iran’s nuclear program.
Israel and the US have threatened that all options remain open, including military action, if Iran continues with uranium enrichment, a program that can be used to produce nuclear fuel or fissile material for an atomic bomb.
Israeli officials have increased their verbal threats against Iran in recent months, saying a window of opportunity is closing to militarily halt or delay Iran’s nuclear program because Tehran is moving more of its nuclear installations underground.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said earlier this month that a strike on Iran ”is not a matter of days or weeks, but it’s also not a matter of years.”
Israel considers Iran an existential threat because of its nuclear and missile programs and repeated references by Iranian leaders to Israel’s destruction.
President Barack Obama warned Iran this week that the window for dealing with its nuclear program through diplomatic channels is ”shrinking.”
Recent polls in Israel have suggested that a majority of Israelis oppose an Israeli strike on Iran if carried out without US cooperation.
Iran has scattered its nuclear facilities across the vast country and moved key portions underground to protect them from possible attacks.
Tehran has already warned that it would respond to an attack against it by barraging Israel with missiles and taking control of the Strait of Hormuz in the Persian Gulf, a key passageway where a sixth of the world oil passes through.
A new version of Iran’s Shahab-3 missile has a range of 2,000 kilometers (1,250 miles) and is armed with a 1-ton conventional warhead. That would put Israel, Turkey, the Arabian Peninsula, Afghanistan and Pakistan within striking distance.
Iran has warned that oil prices will dramatically increase should it be attacked and believes that its threat of choking off the Hormuz strait will be one of the factors deterring Israel and the US from taking military action

Action against extortionists in Karachi from Sunday: Malik

ISLAMABAD: Minister for Interior Rehman Malik on Saturday said the government has decided to start strict action against the criminal elements from Sunday to control the menace of extortion in Karachi.
Talking to media representatives, the minister said a proper strategy will be chalked out in a high level meeting to be held in Karachi to arrest all the criminals involved in extortion and other street crimes.
He said such steps are being taken on the direction of President Asif Ali Zardari who has taken serious notice of the complaints on the matter.
Malik said, “I will proceed to Karachi and coordinate with the provincial government in redressing the grievances of the public and traders, in particular against extortion.”
He said the biggest challenge for the government was targeted killings in Karachi which has been controlled to a great extent and now the government was committed to control extortionists as well.
He said Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) will also be involved in tracing the owners of mobile phone numbers which are being used in criminal activities in Karachi.
The minister said that 31 extortionists have already been arrested while others would be arrested soon. He added that the government will seek support of all political parties while the concept of community policing, which was launched in Karachi, will also be reviewed.
He said Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) chief Altaf Hussain had brought to the attention of the president the complaints of extortion in Karachi.
He termed this demand genuine saying MQM had raised this issue on receiving several complaints from citizens, on which the president had assured Mr Hussain to address the issue.
Malik said Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) respects its coalition partners and will redress the concerns of the MQM particularly extortion in Karachi.

Zardari vows free, fair elections

ISLAMABAD: President Asif Zardari addressed a joint sitting of the National Assembly and Senate on Saturday amid shouts of protest from opposition members of the house.The president, who chose to speak in English rather than in Urdu, said Pakistan had achieved a new milestone in democracy. He was referring to his fifth address to a joint sitting of the National Assembly and Senate.“The world can see that the march of democracy goes on,” said Zardari.Amid shouts of slogans by the opposition benches, the president praised the government’s achievements. Opposition lawmakers shouted insults through much of the first half of the address, accusing the government of “looting and plundering”.“Please maintain the sanctity of the House,” pleaded speaker Fehmida Mirza, as her cries fell on deaf ears.Opposition members shortly walked out of the House as President Zardari detailed the milestones his administration had achieved.Complete text of the speechGeneral ElectionsZardari vowed that general elections would be held in a free and fair manner during the new parliamentary year.“We are starting a new parliamentary year. During this period, we will see free and fair election,” he said, adding that legislation had been made to “make the democracy more transparent and ensure that the elections are fair and free”.MilitancyThe president also boasted of gains in the country’s war on militants, saying efforts to counter militancy and extremism in the country had begun to pay off and the situation had improved.“Where necessary, we have used force to ensure that the writ of the state is not challenged. We will continue to show resolve on this issue,” he added.He further said the country faced the threat of militancy and extremism and its forces, police and civilians had been attacked and martyred, but the country’s offensives against militants were “bearing fruit.”BalochistanThe president said the government in the last four years took special measures to develop the province and ensured the rights of the people living there.He said: “The government has taken special measures to develop Balochistan, end its sense of deprivation and bring it at par with other provinces.”“This year the share of Balochistan in the new NFC has been more than doubled from Rs 43 billion to Rs 93 billion,” he added.Economy“Over the last four years the elected government took difficult decisions to get out of a threatening situation, maintain economic stability,” he said.Speaking about the economic conditions in which his administration had taken charge of the government, the president delved into a detail of economic numbers and figures.“We have maintained stability. And we are beginning to show stronger growth of the economy.”Talking of the power crises, he said the government was fully aware of the hardship being faced by people, and that the government had started work on power projects like Bhasha Dam Project to address these issues.“In spite of all the difficulties, the economy will grow by four per cent in 2012,” he added.Record fifth presidential addressPresident Zardari became the first Pakistani head of state to deliver a record fifth address to the Parliament after successfully persuading the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) to step back from its threat to disrupt the session.The one-day joint sitting met a constitutional obligation for a presidential address at the start of the new parliamentary year while another joint sitting is expected to be convened next week to review strategic relationship with the United States in light of recommendations of a parliamentary committee on national security.Before the commencement of the parliamentary session and the president’s address, the government held a joint meeting with the coalition parties, presided by Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani. The meeting was attended by members of the MQM, Awami National Party (ANP), Pakistan Muslim League – Quaid (PML-Q), and parliamentary members from the Federally Admnistered Tribal Areas (FATA).The prime minister announced after the meeting that the government would address and resolve the reservations raised by the MQM.However, a request to maintain decorum and keep the joint session peaceful was turned down by the opposition leaders.