INDIA
1. Indian secret and defence agencies have warned that after China’s insurgency in Laddakh, taking advantage of the situation, Pakistan could do the same in Kargil. Hence the Army and the government should remain alert. (Urdupoint)
2. Patients from across the world have started visiting India’s private hospitals which are giving cheap treatments for cancer, heart ailments, sugar and kidney problems. (Nawa-i-Waqt)
3.Former Indian Defence Minister and Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav has termed China a bigger threat to India than Pakistan. He added that the Indian Army was ready to push back Chinese troops from Ladakh. Singh said that India had no threat from Pakistan. (Bang-e-Sahar, Baad-e-Shimal)
4. Indian Pakistani judicial committee delegation visited the Kot Lakhpat jail. They visited Sarabjeet Singh’s block, met the 2 prisoners who had attacked Singh and also met 36 other Indian jail inmates. This delegation also visited Adiala jail in Rawalpindi. (Roznama Duniya)
5.Sri Lankan Secretary Defence, also the brother of President Mahinda Rajapaksa, blamed India for terrorism in Sri Lanka. He said India had deliberately provoked terrorism in Sri Lanka and that it has been involved in defaming President Rajapaksa’s government directly or indirectly. (Baad-e-Shimal)
DEFENCE/SECURITY
1. Retired Generals met with Musharraf at his farm house and told him admit to crimes, rather than defending them. Musharraf agreed with their suggestions and was ready for a conditional exile from Pakistan under which he would be permitted to come to Pakistan whenever he wants. (Khabrain)
2. Roznama Duniya editorial on Corps Commanders’ Conference which decided to deploy Army in Balochistan says that not only Balochistan which is facing a critical situation, even Sindh and KP are under terrorists attacks. The daily suggests that after consulting all political powers, the Army should be deployed wherever it is required and fool-proof security arrangement made. (Roznama Duniya Edit)
3. Interior Ministry has issued a notification about a threat of Musharraf being kidnapped. (Khabrain, Daily Dharti)
4.Nawa-i-Waqt and Daily Pak say that it was good that the Army was ready with a security plan for peaceful elections but unfortunately, the interim government had not shown any interest in calling in the Army to maintain law and order, which was an unreasonable decision. As radicals were already carrying out terrorist acts, the government should immediately call the Army to take control of the situation. (Nawa-i-Waqt Edit, Daily Pak Edit)
TERRORISM & EXTREMISM
1. Writing about ‘Muhaddisin in the battlefield of Jihad’ Muhammad Omer Farooqui says the patron of JeM Mufti Rashid Ahmed Ludhiyanvi had taken part in Afghan jihad and supported mujahideen. He had also established a trust called ‘Rashid Trust’. Another patron of JeM, Mufti Nizamuddin Shamzi, who was in-charge of teaching Hadis at Jamiat-e-Uloom-ul-Islamia-Binoria Town, was known for his relations with mujahideen and jihad. Mufti Nizamuddin had given a fatwa of jihad against the US in a seminar in 1999 and since then, he continued fighting till he obtained martyrdom. The sources of martyrdom of JeM patrons was taken from a book called ‘Aanar ke Darakht Taley’. A patron of JeM, Maulana Yousuf Ludhiyanvi toured Afghanistan at the invitation of Mullah Omar on 9th May 2000 and assessed JeM fronts; he wanted to fight at the forefront and hence, took part in firing training. Farooqui writes that Maulana Abdul Ghani played a role in the promotion of jihad and fighting against USSR in Afghanistan. Ghani was among the first rank of Ulema who led the Taliban spiritually and ideologically. Maulana Mufti Rafi Osmani, Maulana Sheikh Salim, Maulana Sahban Mahmood, Maulana Saad Thanvi, Maulana Azizur Rahman and Maulana Mufti Nizamuddin Shamzi were among the other Ulema of Pakistan who took part in Afghan jihad and all of them were Muhaddisin, he concludes. (Al Murabitun, May 13)
2. JuD organized a day long training workshop today for school teachers in Karachi. (Jasarat)
3.Compared to 3000 election offices set up by political parties’, religious parties have opened election offices in 6000 mosques where election message is delivered people 5 times a day. (Roznama Duniya)
4. Ausaf editorially commented on Taliban decision to target secular parties like PPP, MQM and ANP and spare parties like PML-N, JUI-F, PTI and JI. The daily rejects secular parties’ allegations regarding JI and PTI being internally associated with Taliban. Edit writes that religious parties had the same dress, beard and values, but parties like PTI and PML-N were more secular. The Taliban spokesperson attributes their decision to the fact that they were targeted during PPP, MQM and ANP coalition government. But the actual reason is that they acted on foreign agenda and killed Taliban. The edit argues that since the Taliban, unlike the US is going to stay here, talks should be opened with them sooner or than later. (Ausaf Edit, 30 April)
5. An independent candidate Abdul Fatah Magsi from PB 32 was abducted with five other persons, and was killed on Tuesday morning. Polling in the constituency has been countermanded as a result. According to reliable sources, his killing was the result of a long standing feud between two tribal groups. (Daily Intekhab)
POLITICAL DEVELOPMENTS
1. JI Chief Sayyed Munawar Hassan said that the caretaker government knew who was behind terrorist incidents and despite this, it wasn’t arresting these terrorists; he alleged that his had put was a question mark over the government’s and security institutions’ performance. Hassan claimed that MQM wanted to postpone elections and demanded that the government and the EC should take notice of MQM’s statements. He said that if the same bunch of thieves reaches the assemblies, people will lose faith in elections and will come out on the streets; then, no one will be able to stop the road to revolution. Hassan claimed that JI will form the government in KP and that the federal government will not be formed without JI’s support. Hassan said that the people should be ready to counter the US and alleges that the US America was murdering Muslims in Iraq and Afghanistan and patronizing Israel and India who had killed lakhs of Muslims in Palestine and Kashmir. (Jasarat)
2. JUI-F chief Maulana Fazlur Rahman said that government could not be formed without JUI-F, and if it is formed, it will not be able to function without JUI-F. (Urdupoint)
3. Tehrik-e-Tahafuz-e-Pakistan (TTP) Chief Dr. AQ Khan has fielded 176 candidates for the next general elections. (Bang-e-Sahar)
4. A PPP office in Hala in Sindh was attacked by unidentified people before its inauguration killing one person from Makhdoom House, which belongs to senior PPP leader Amin Fahim. (Ibrat)
5. Chief Election Commissioner Fakhruddin Ibrahim expressed his concern over the law and order situation in the country. He said that all security and law enforcement agencies should work together to make a security plan. Ibrahim said that the institutions responsible for establishing law and order should admit their failure and announced that they should not blame the ECP. (Jasarat)
6. Columnist Shakeel Naek writes that Pakistan was previously under the rule of ‘Allah, America and Army’ but now this will be replaced by ‘Allah, Taliban and Establishment’. This time the Taliban seem to have taken up the task of bringing Nawaz Sharif, Imran Khan, JI and JUI-F into power. While the right wing comes into power, the liberal parties will likely to sit in the opposition after the elections. Naek states that the Taliban is likely to target candidates in the constituencies where the establishment believes that it could see a result of its choice. He states that it is strange that Nawaz Sharif has been able to hold meetings in areas of Sindh where MQM and PPP have been unable to. He claims that one reliable source has indicated that PML-N has already started laying the groundwork to form the government and will make announcements about major projects as soon as it takes over; these will include combating power cuts, circular railways, metro bus services and motorways. (Awami Awaz)
7. Sarmad claims that Zia’s followers are still around and Zia’s school of thought will come to power through the election of a right wing party, perhaps through the joining of PML-N and PTI.
8. Jinnah editorially said the death sentence on 120 convicts including India’s Sarabjit Singh should be converted to life imprisonment. (Jinnah Edit)
9. Columnist Nazir Naji says that today, like in 1970, Pakistani provinces appeared to be politically divided. He points out that all 3 provinces where the election campaign has been targeted have a history of agitation against Islamabad. KP’s political parties have been fighting for self-autonomy, demanding for independent Pakhtunistan, but ANP has played a crucial role in reversing the demand. Today, ANP itself is not free to run its election campaign in its province. Balochistan also has a long history of dispute and discord against Islamabad and protests continue till date; leaders who are contesting elections have been threatened. In the history of Balochistan, fair elections have never taken place. Naji writes that the political history of Sindh was no different. He writes the history of Sindh politics, and praises Mohammad Khan Junejo, Benazir Bhutto and Asif Zardari. (to be continued) (Roznama Duniya)
10. Columnist Munir Ahmed Baloch writes that as compared to 2008 elections, today PPP’s popularity graph had gone very low. Baloch writes that even in 2008, the credit for PPP’s victory went to Benazir’s assassination. Today, PPP was altogether missing at many places. In Punjab, the real competition was between PTI and PML-N. Baloch writes that when he talked to PPP’s senior journalists and members, they said that there was Bhutto against Imran Khan and Nawaz Sharif; they said that those pro-Bhutto had no complaints against Imran Khan as he did not hang Bhutto, nor did he celebrate Bhutto’s death. They said that Imran Khan had always praised Bhutto, so if such voters observe that PPP candidate is not likely to win, their vote will go to Imran Khan. (Roznama Duniya)
11. Ummat editorial commented on the press conference of PPP, MQM and ANP in which they had blamed right wing parties for terrorism. They had accused that the establishment was supporting right wing parties whereas the military wings of right wing parties were responsible for terrorism. Edit disagrees with their views and says right wing parties were linked to the ideology of Pakistan whereas those who claimed to be Leftists were trying to remove Islam from Pakistan’s identity. Pakistan was an ideological state and if Leftists were not willing to stay in an ideological state, they could seek asylum in a non-Muslim country, even India would be happy to welcome them as this will strengthen the one nation theory of extremist Hindus. Edit writes that Pakistan was created on the basis of the two nation theory and neither history nor liberals could deny this fact. (Ummat Edit)
12. Ausaf voiced concern over suicide bomb attacks in Peshawar and elsewhere in Pakistan and says that this is a conspiracy of Pakistan’s rival powers to sabotage elections. Edit wants the intelligence agencies, law enforcement agencies and the public to jointly counter this conspiracy. (Ausaf Edit, 30 April)
ECONOMY-WATER- ENERGY
1. Tajikistan has offered Pakistan gas pipelines from its natural gas reserves and has also offered that it would build a grid station in order to produce 3000 MW. (Roznama Duniya)
2.Farmers in Sindh have held a protest walk to speak out against corruption in the Irrigation Department and alleged that the department sells water. (Awami Awaz)
3. A gas pipeline of 18 inch diameter was blown up in Nasirabad’s Mulgzar area, due to which the gas supply to many areas of Sindh including Karachi has been affected. (Ummat
SINDH
1.At a joint press conference in Karachi, MQM, ANP and PPP leaders said that there was a conspiracy against elections and that the Pakistani and international establishment were involved in it. (Roznama Duniya, Urdupoint)
2. JI (Sindh) chief Dr Mehraj-ul-Huda Siddiqui alleged that EC in Karachi was a representative of Taliban and had become the main hurdle to free and fair elections. He claimed that the EC in Karachi was following an agenda of distancing voters from the election process, instead of providing facilities to voters. Huda such steps of EC will cause a massive political movement. (Jasarat)
3. MQM will try to open its election offices today and has planned a rally at Landi after the court asked Rangers and police to provide security. MQM has planned to start its election campaign with full vigour and has given the task to 18 sectors to stop the election campaign of Mohajir Movement. Sources claim that Shakir Bhure will lead MQM’s target killing team. (Ummat)
4.DG Rangers Sindh has opposed the idea of calling in the Army during elections in Karachi. He said that the Army would do what the Rangers were already doing in Karachi. (Nawa-i-Waqt, Khabrain)
BALOCHISTAN
1. Pakistan Muslim League (N) Balochistan president and chief of Jhalawan Nawab Sanaullah Zehri, former Balochistan CM and a political and tribal heavyweight Mir Mohammad Naseer Mengal and Mir Shafiq-ur-Rehman Mengal addressed a crowded press conference in Anjira, where they announced seat adjustments in Sorab PB 37, Khizdar AN 269, Zehri PB 33 and PB 35. (Daily Intekhab)
POK/ G-B NEWS
1. Former AJK PM Barrister Sultan Mehmood Chaudhary has demanded an international conference in London or New York to mobilize support to the Kashmir issue from parliamentarians. (Roznama Duniya)
2. Member of Gilgit-Baltistan Council Amjad Hussain has criticized Chief Secretary of Gilgit-Baltistan Sajjad Salim Hotiyana for not doing anything practical and only fooling the people by visiting various places including Islamabad and Lahore. Being a Principal Accounting Officer, the Chief Secretary has not discharged his duty sincerely and was misusing the budget at his own discretion. (Baad-e-Shimal)
3. Residents in Gilgit City have been complaining against sub-standard drugs in the market. The Drug Control Authority should take immediate notice of such illegal trade. (Baad-e-Shimal)
4. Measles has spread in Gilgit and its suburbs. People are unhappy at the lack of facilities in hospitals and negligence by the Health Department. (Bang-e-Sahar, Baad-e-Shimal)
5. Bang-e-Sahar criticizes the Gilgit-Baltistan government for not carrying out any developmental work in the past 3 years and says it has misused development funds for vested interests. Edit says that the flood of corruption would wash off CM Mehdi Shah and his cronies. (Bang-e-Sahar Edit)
6. Baad-e-Shimal says that Gerakh, upper area of the newly formed Kharmang district, lacks school and health facilities. Classes are held under open sky. The administration should take notice of the situation since locals are agitating. (Baad-e-Shimal Edit)
7. Baad-e-Shimal says that as Gilgit Police is working with the help of the Peace Board, jails have been over crowded. The sub jail Jutial has 100 prisoners, which is more than its capacity and the district jail has 300 detainees whereas its capacity is only 200 prisoners. Edit says that there are many notorious criminals in these jails and such over-crowding will create security risks. Edit writes that 2 convicts with death penalty, who had escaped from jail, were still at large; hence, over-crowding will create new problems. The daily asks the government to set up fast track courts to reduce overcrowding of jails. (Baad-e-Shimal Edit)
