“We have information that electoral results have been changed in different districts. There are reports the administration misused its authority and interfered with the electoral process. We are collecting evidence,” the injured PTI leader said in a video message from his hospital bed a day after his party received an unexpected drubbing at the hands of the PML-N in Punjab.

Allegations have already been made by others, including Balochistan National Party-Mengal leader Sardar Akhtar Mengal, who said the announcement of results in his area was being blocked and delayed. In Karachi, many political parties, among them Jamaat-i-lslami, boycotted the voting on Saturday and on Sunday PPP’s Faisal Karim Kundi tweeted: “Well planned game by the hidden hands. Time will tell how winning seats were converted to defeat.”

Imran Khan in his message vowed to play a better opposition (than Nawaz Sharif) inside and outside the parliament. But he regretted
rigging had taken place in a landmark election that saw an unprecedented number of voters to turn out to “create a new Pakistan”.

“The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has admitted to this and re-polling in a Karachi constituency (NA-250) was proof (of the electoral irregularities),” he said.

He alleged his candidates had started losing (in Punjab) soon after Nawaz Sharif had made his (victory) speech late on Saturday. “The polling staff stopped counting ballots as soon as Nawaz Sharif started his speech and (then) our candidates started losing,” he contended.

Allegations from a visibly weak Imran Khan came in the wake of delayed results, especially in Lahore where the PTI was being billed as a threat to PML-N domination. Early trends showed PTI’s candidates leading in various constituencies, which was not out of sync with the size of the camps set up by the party outside the polling stations.

The build-up was promising and expectations were raised. Imran Khan’s supporters eagerly pointed out the ‘pro-PTI’ tone of the media houses. If they were talking about ‘tabdeeli’ (change), and if the senior EC officials concurred with them in supportive remarks that blatantly rejected the old incumbents, it could only mean that Mr Khan was on his way to mount a serious challenge to the incumbents, Punjab being crucial to his campaign for a change.

The PTI has emerged as the single largest party in Khyber Pakhtunkhawa both at the national and provincial levels, but trails far behind the PML-N in Punjab where it was expecting to do much better.

PTI supporters claimed that the solitary seat the party had won in Lahore was secured by Shafqat Mehmood only after he raised an alarm in the media.

In another constituency, which took awfully long to yield results and where some disturbances at polling stations had been reported on the polling day, PML-N’s Saad Rafiq was declared victorious. The tally showed the PML-N candidate beating Hamid Khan by about 40,000 votes even though the latter had a very respectable total of more than 80,000 votes.

This was the same area that had thrown up a ‘mysterious’ result in the 2002 elections. Then, early results favoured Akram Zaki of the PML-N in a close race with PPP’s Naveed Chaudhry and PML-Q’s Humayun Akhtar Khan. Later into the night, Humayun Akhtar was declared winner, to the chagrin of PML-N supporters who back then said that their protest had been subdued by the absence of the party leadership (the Sharifs) which was in exile at the time.

The PTI supporters held a demonstration in the constituency on Sunday, chanting the election had been stolen from them.

There were sporadic protests elsewhere, such as the one lodged by singer-politician Abrarul Haq, a PTI candidate who took on Ahsan Iqbal of the PML-N in Narowal. Mr Abrar said the poll in his area had been decided at gunpoint.

Imran Khan did question the credibility of the election, but he gave no hint if his party planned to launch street protests against vote-rigging as he had warned at a press conference last month.

Some PTI supporters Dawn talked to said the protest could have been much stronger if Mr Khan had been up and about. They said there were a few seats and a few issues that needed to be addressed urgently. Like the Lodhran seat the PTI stalwart Jahangir Tareen ‘was winning’ until he lost it to an invisible late-night scramble to an independent candidate.

Mr Tareen’s rival for the seat from the PPP, Mirza Nasir Beg, tells Dawn it was far from a transparent and fair election. Whereas he admits fighting on a PPP ticket in times such as these was tantamount to fighting a jihad, he is also frank in pointing out the large-scale rigging that was allowed in his constituency – NA-154.

“We were promised the army but we didn’t even get sufficient police protection,” Mr Beg said by telephone. “There were people stamping ballot papers at will.”

The losing PPP candidate says he has some papers signed by the returning officers at two polling stations to support his claim. He holds the same arm-twisting and cheating which took place in his area could well have been repeated elsewhere to deny the people a free vote and some candidates their due place in the assemblies.

In spite of his reservations on the fairness of polling results, Imran Khan termed the high voter turnout as a step forward for democracy in the country. He congratulated the people for taking part in the electoral process in such a big number.

“Even those who had never voted in their entire lives had come out to vote. Defeat and victory are part of the game but the passion of our youth has taken away the pain of my loss. I also thank women who came out in such a large number for the first time to participate in the democratic process to bring a change. We may have lost but we have laid foundation for the change and no one can reverse it,” Imran Khan said as he promised to make “Khyber Pakhtunkhawa an ideal Pakistan” if his party succeeded in forming its government in Peshawar.

In a telephonic address from London to MQM’s workers and supporters gathered at the party’s headquarters to celebrate victory of its candidates in Saturday’s elections, Mr Hussain said “the establishment is playing with fire”.

He rejected allegations that his party was involved in rigging of elections, saying that people of different ethnic backgrounds who believed in his philosophy could not be involved in criminal activities.

The MQM chief was unhappy over the media coverage being given to a protest sit-in at Teen Talwar in Clifton by workers and supporters of Imran Khan’s Tehreek-i-Insaf against alleged rigging in Saturday’s elections in Karachi.

He said some biased elements in television channels were trying to highlight what he called “a protest of a few people”. He accused the media of ignoring demonstrations organised by the MQM in Dolly Khata and other parts of Karachi which were attended by thousands of people.

Mr Hussain said PTI’s people were accusing the MQM of carrying out rigging in Karachi, but they were not telling what had happened with their party in Punjab. Instead of levelling allegations, the PTI should produce evidences if there was rigging, he added.

He urged the rulers and the establishment to cede Karachi from Pakistan if they did not like the city and the mandate of its people. He asked the people to get ready because the MQM leadership was going to give a call for a protest in a day or two.

Secretary Election Commission, Ishtiaque Ahmed Khan talking to media. — Online Photo

ISLAMABAD: Rejecting the possibility that results of the elections could have been changed at any stage, the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) said on Sunday it would take the responsibility for each and every ballot paper.

“There is no reason for any doubt or fear because of the delay in publication of official results because a foolproof procedure under the law is being followed,” ECP Secretary Ishtiak Ahmad Khan said at a press conference.

He said that under section 38 of the Representation of the People Act, 1976, a presiding officer was required to count votes immediately after the end of polling in the presence of candidates, election agents and polling agents and provide them information consistent with the orderly conduct of count and discharge of his responsibility in connection with the process.

Under the procedure, he said, valid ballot papers cast in favour of a candidate were put in separate packets and each packet was sealed with a certificate of count both in letters and figures, specifying the name and symbol of the candidates.

The ballot papers excluded from the count are put in separate packets which are kept in the main packet.

The presiding officer also prepares on the prescribed form a ballot paper account showing separately the number of ballot papers entrusted to him, the number of unused ballot papers, the number of ballot papers taken out of the ballot box or boxes and counted and the number of tendered, challenged and spoilt ballot papers.

The presiding officer is required to give a certified copy of the statement of count and ballot paper account to the candidates, their election agents or polling agents.

He seals in separate packets the un-issued, spoilt, tendered and challenged ballot papers, the marked copies of electoral rolls and counterfoils of used ballot papers.

The presiding officer obtains signatures of the candidates or their agents on each statement and packet prepared and records the fact if somebody refuses to sign it. A person required to sign a packet or a statement may, if he so desires, also affix his seal to it.

The presiding officer then sends the packets, statements of count and ballot paper count to the returning officer concerned who gives the candidates or their election agents a notice in writing of the day, time and place fixed for consolidation of the results and counts votes in their presence, including postal ballots.

After consolidation of the results, the returning officer provides a copy of the same to the candidates or their agents and reseals the packets and statements opened by him.

The returning officer then intimates the ECP the results of the count which is to be published in the commission’s official gazette.

Ishtiak Ahmed said the result of a winning candidate would not be published in the gazette if he failed to submit the return of election expenses within 10 days.

The ECP secretary said the election in NA-38 (Lower Dir) suspended because of law and order would be held within 10 days.

He said those elected as independents would have three days to join a political party after publication of the results in the official gazette.
The candidates elected from more than one seat would have to retain one and by-elections on vacant seats would be held by the end of July, he added.

Mr Ishtiak said the quota of seats reserved for women and minorities would be worked out on the basis of numerical strength of political parties in the assemblies. He said that under the law, the National Assembly was to meet within 21 days after the elections.

The migrants were killed on Friday as at least 200 people attempted to enter Iran from Lash Wa Juwayn district in the far western province of Farah, according to Afghan officials.

The Afghan government summoned the ambassador “to strongly protest against the killing and injuring of some unarmed Afghans who had entered Iranian soil for work”, a statement from the foreign ministry in Kabul said.

“Firing at Afghan civilians who wanted to go to Iran for work is against religious, cultural and good neighbourly relations,” it added. —Agencies

Pakistani supporters of Islamic party Jammat-e-Islami (JI) stage a protest in front of a provincial election commission office in Karachi on May 11, 2013. A major Islamist party on May 11 announced it would boycott Pakistan’s elections in the country’s financial hub Karachi and another city, accusing a rival party of rigging and violence. — Photo by AFP

KARACHI: Four religious parties, the Jamaat-i-Islami, Sunni Tehreek, Jamiat Ulema-i-Pakistan and the Sunni Ittehad Council, and Mohajir Qaumi Movement (Haqiqi) pulled out their candidates from the electoral race in Karachi, while the Muttahida Qaumi Movement also partially boycotted polling in a few constituencies citing allegations of poll irregularities and rigging on Saturday.

Even parties like the PPP, PTI, PML-N and the Majlis-i-Wahdat-i-Muslimeen joined the chorus against the Election Commission of Pakistan and law-enforcement agencies and criticised them for their failure to conduct free, fair and transparent elections in certain constituencies.

Most of the parties which completely boycotted the polling in the middle of the day also accused the MQM of rigging.

JI chief Syed Munawar Hasan alleged that armed men of the MQM had terrorised voters in Karachi and Hyderabad making it difficult for them to freely exercise their right of vote.

Addressing a press conference, he endorsed the decision of the Karachi and Hyderabad chapters of his party to boycott the poll in the two cities.

Karachi JI chief Mohammad Hussain Mehanti accused the MQM of kidnapping election staff and taking away election material from polling stations in several constituencies.

He gave a call for protests on Monday against incidents of alleged rigging.

MQM-H

The MQM-Haqiqi led by Afaq Ahmed also boycotted the polls and accused the ECP and law-enforcement agencies of not following directives of superior judiciary about holding free and fair elections.

Speaking at a press conference, MQM-H leader Shamshad Ghori demanded that the ECP should hold fresh election for all Karachi seats in the presence of the army.

He also accused the MQM of forcibly occupying polling stations and denying access to the polling agents of his party. “We are supporting the strike call given by the JI against poll rigging in Karachi,” he added.

JUP

The JUP announced a boycott of elections in Karachi and Hyderabad.

JUP president Sahibzada Abul Khair Mohammad Zubair, who was contesting for NA-220 (Hyderabad) seat, said at a press conference that a particular party had hijacked polling stations in the district.

ST

Sunni Tehreek chief Sarwat Ejaz Qadri said his party decided to boycott the polls after its polling agents were beaten up and polling stations were occupied by ‘Thappa mafia’.

He demanded re-election in Karachi under the supervision of the army so that real representatives of people could reach parliament.

Sunni Ittehad Council leader Tariq Mehboob said it had boycotted the elections because of widespread rigging, adding that his party would not accept the results.

He demanded fresh elections under the supervision of the army.

The MQM boycotted polls in one NA and two PA constituencies of Lyari.

Its leader Nabil Gabol told reporters that ‘terrorists of Lyari gang war’ carried out massive rigging in over 65 polling stations in NA-248 and PS-108 and 109. “The ECP was approached several times, but no action was taken, giving credibility to a perception that the commission is also a part of a conspiracy against the MQM.”

He demanded fresh polling in the three constituencies.

A two-sentence letter was delivered by police officers to the home of the bureau chief, Declan Walsh, at 12.30am on Thursday, it said.

“It is informed that your visa is hereby canceled in view of your undesirable activities,” the Times quoted the letter as saying. “You are therefore advised to leave the country within 72 hours.”

The newspaper protested the action and urged the government to reconsider the move, said Danielle Rhoades Ha, a company spokeswoman.

“We respectfully request that you overturn this decision and allow Mr Walsh to remain in Pakistan,” wrote Times Executive Editor Jill Abramson in a letter to the interior minister, Ha said.

Ms Abramson’s letter described Mr Walsh as a “reporter of integrity who has at all times offered balanced, nuanced and factual reporting on Pakistan”.

Mr Walsh has lived and worked in Pakistan for nine years, most of the time for The Guardian newspaper of Britain. He was hired by the Times in January 2012.

The journalist has written about the country’s political strife, insurgency and sometimes tense relations with the United States.—Agencies

The bombings in the town of Reyhanli, just a few kilometres from the main border crossing into Syria, come amid increasingly bellicose criticism by Ankara of the regime in Damascus.

Interior Minister Muammer Guler said the explosions were caused by car bombs that blew up near the town hall and the post office in Reyhanli, according to the Anatolia news agency.

Guler told NTV television that the death toll had climbed to 40 and that 100 people were injured, updating an earlier toll given by Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Twenty-nine survivors were in a serious condition, Guler said.

Rescuers were hunting for possible survivors buried underneath the rubble of buildings destroyed by the blasts.

Over a dozen ambulances and several air ambulances rushed to the scene to tend to the victims, Turkish NTV television said, adding that the town hall had suffered major damage.

A number of cars were also completely wrecked in the attacks whose force caused a power cut in the area around Reyhanli, local media reported.

Guler said the regional governor had been sent to Reyhanli “to put the necessary security measures in place” following the attack.

The attack sowed panic among residents in Reyhanli, a town of about 60,000 people, leading to tensions between local youths and Syrian refugees living locally and forcing police to fire into the air to disperse the crowd.

Thousands of refugees who fled the Syrian crisis are living in Reyhanli and a refugee camp adjacent to the town.

Reyhanli lies in southern Turkey near the Cilvegozu crossing opposite Syria’s rebel-controlled Bab al-Hawa border post, the busiest crossing between the two countries.

The border area has witnessed a number of deadly attacks as the conflict in Syria spills over into Turkey, whose government was once an ally of President Bashar Al-Assad but has become one of its harshest critics.

In February, a car bomb attack at Cilvegozu which Turkey blamed on Syrian intelligence agents killed 17 people and injured another 30.

Earlier this month, one police officer was killed and six other people injured when Syrians trying to cross into Turkey opened fire in a border buffer zone.

In a statement Syria’s opposition condemned Saturday’s attacks, saying they were destined to pit Turks and Syrians against each other.

“The coalition sees these heinous terrorist acts an attempt to take revenge on the Turkish people and punish them for their honourable support of the Syrian people (…)”The bombings were “a desperate and failed attempt to sow discord”, the statement added.—AFP

An official of the provincial election commission told Dawn that the date for repolling in the 43 polling stations of NA-250 and its provincial assembly constituencies would be announced later.

Muttahida Qaumi Movement’s Khushbakht Shujaat and Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf’s Dr Arif Alvi are among the main contestants in the constituency that comprises posh neighbourhoods of Defence and Clifton as well as Burnes Road and PNT Colony.

JI’s Naimatullah Khan pulled out of the contest after his party boycotted the election.

A PPP candidate for Punjab Assembly seat, PP-200, the junior Gilani was kidnapped by armed men on Thursday after a corner meeting in Farrukh Town. His secretary and guard were killed in the strike.

Talking to newsmen after his meeting with Tehreek-i-Insaf leader Javed Hashmi who visited his resident to express solidarity with him, Mr Gilani said he was in contact with Army Chief Ashfaq Parvez Kayani, caretaker prime minister Mir Hazar Khan Khoso and heads of various secret agencies.

He said that all were aware of the motive behind such incidents in the last days of election.

“Some elements don’t want democracy in Pakistan and they are interested in derailing the system,” the PPP leader said.

He suggested that all political parties should unite over the prevailing law and order situation in the country.

He said that the conduct of free and transparent elections was the responsibility of Election Commission of Pakistan and election should not be postponed in any constituency.

He said that institutions responsible for maintaining law and order situation had assured him for early recovery of his son.

In a related development, police took into custody about a dozen suspects having links with banned organisations from Khanewal and Multan districts while police experts have been called to investigate the case from other cities, including Lahore.

“We have taken some suspects into custody. However we still did not get any clue to trace culprits involved in this crime,” Regional Police Officer Ali Amir Malik told Dawn.

He said the army was helping police in tracing the culprits, adding that a team of police officers had also been formed to look into the matter.

Meanwhile, police registered a case on Friday under sections 365, 302, 324 and 7 of the Anti-Terrorism Act with Seetal Mari police on the complaint of Nazar Muhyuddin, a resident of Al-Jilani Road and the elder brother of Mustafa Muhyuddin, the
Secretary of Ali Haider Gilani who was killed by kidnappers.

In his written statement, the complainant told the police that at least eight to 10 unidentified gunmen kidnapped Mr Gilani and killed two people, including his brother Mustafa Muhyuddin and Muhammad Ramzan, while Qaisar Abbas was injured in the incident.

Hours after officials had announced that the death toll had surged past the 1,000 mark, recovery teams who had long given up any hope of finding more survivors were stunned to hear the voice of a woman calling out for help.

They then managed to pull her from the ruins in an operation broadcast live on television and watched over by growing crowds at the scene who were asked by clerics to pray for her.

After she was brought to the surface she was whisked away to a waiting ambulance, but managed a weak smile to the people gathered at the ruined Rana Plaza complex on the outskirts of the capital Dhaka.

Rescuers said she appeared to have lost a lot of weight but there were no other apparent signs of injury.

Army Captain Ibrahimul Islam said the woman was called Reshma.

“She has been taken to the Savar Combined Military Hospital and admitted in the intensive care unit. She is fine,” he said.

Bangladesh’s fire service chief Ahmed Ali said Reshma was found in a gap between a beam and column in the wreckage of the nine-storey complex, which caved in on April 24, and appeared to have had access to water.

The army officer who brought Reshma out of the rubble said that she had been found standing amid the ruins.

“We first saw a pipe moving. We removed some gravel and concrete. We found her standing,” Major Moazzem said.

“We gave her food and assured her that she would be rescued. We conducted the rescue work for 45 minutes. We brought her out by using light hammers, hand saw and drilling machines.”

Jamil Ahmed, a fire service officer who was part of the rescue team, said that bulldozers and cranes which had been churning through the rubble had been ordered to stop work as soon as it emerged that Reshma was alive.

“We dug a hole and there she was, standing up. She told us: ‘My name is Reshma, please save me, please save me, brother’.

“We used light hammers, a hand saw and drilling machines to open up the gap.

“There was an air pocket inside and she had enough space to crawl about comfortably.

“Major Moazzem slipped into the hole and took her into his arms and then we pulled her out.” Another rescuer said Reshma had had access to food supplies for the first fortnight of her ordeal but that had run out two days ago.—AFP

“More than 1,000 families have left their houses due to disturbance in Parachamkani,” said a source at the office of the assistant political agent of central Kurram.

The official said 500 families comprising 20,000 individuals had been informally registered with the administration and a large number of displaced people had gone to live with their relatives.

According to official sources, militants launched an attack on security forces in Mohammad Top area early in the morning, killing three soldiers and injuring four.

The assault was followed by a heavy exchange of fire between the two sides in which nine militants were killed and eight wounded, the sources said.

Locals said militants had also kidnapped four people.

The sources said that trouble started in Parachamkani on Sunday after a bomb blast at an election rally of Muneer Khan Orakzai, the candidate of Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-Fazl for NA 38 seat, in Sewak area. Twenty-six people were killed and dozens wounded in the incident.

Militants also attacked a village in Momenda Tabai area.

Militants fleeing Khyber and Orakzai agencies and central tehsil of central Kurram have moved to Parachamkani.

The sources said the administration had asked people living near Parachamkani a few weeks ago to secure hilltops to prevent militants’ entry to the upper areas of Kurram inhabited by Turi tribe.

Army and paramilitary forces have also moved to the troubled area, an official said. Helicopter gunships targeted suspected positions and security forces fired artillery shells in Parachamkani on May 6.

Heavy shelling and aerial strikes created panic among local people who started moving to safe places.

Mumtaz, a resident of Parachinar, said a large number of displaced people carrying household items and cattle were seen going to lower Kurram via Parachinar.

“Many displaced people, including women and children, were desperately looking for transport in Kiram and Parachinar town,” he said.

Inspector General of Frontier Corps Maj-Gen Ghayur Mahmood went to Parachinar and Sadda on Friday to review the situation in Parachamkani.

One blast occurred at the Khwaja Jan Chowk in Miramshah bazaar near the election offices of candidates for the NA-40 seat.
(According to AFP, the election offices belong to the candidates of PML-N, Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaaf and Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam.)
The candidates were in their offices at the time of the blast, but remained safe.

Sources said the explosive device placed on a motorcycle parked near the offices was detonated by remote control at about 10am.
The other blast took place in Gora Qabristan on the Miramshah-Bannu road.

Talking to this correspondent, Mullah Khan, a student, said that violence would not stop people from going to polling stations.

A shopkeeper, Sharifullah, said conspiracies were being hatched to stop tribal people from taking part in elections.—Correspondent

However, PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari will remain in Dubai and not cast his vote. He is reported to have been advised not to return to the country because of security threats.

“The president cast his vote today and it will be received by the Election Commission on Saturday,” President Zardari’s spokesman Farhatullah Babar said.

The Election Commission (ECP) has already rejected the application of Mr Bilawal to cast his vote through postal ballot.

According to the Representation of People Act 1976, only government officials, prisoners, army personnel and those who are engaged by the ECP for election duty can cast their votes through postal ballot.

“No other person, except those who fall in these four categories, is eligible to cast his/her vote through postal ballot,” ECP spokesman Khursheed Alam told Dawn.

But Mr Babar claimed that the president had the right to cast his vote through postal ballot. “Not only the president but any other citizen can also exercise this right through postal ballot,” he said.

“We direct that the respondent (Chaudhry Saifullah Gill) is restrained from contesting the election from constituency PP-61 Faisalabad,” said an order issued by a three-judge bench headed by Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry.

The bench had taken up an appeal of a PML-Q candidate Khalid Pervaiz Gill against the April 25 order of the Lahore High Court in
which it had refused to interfere in the election process.

Khalid Gill had objected to the candidature of Saifullah Gill before a returning officer saying he had presented a fake matriculation certificate.

The returning officer decided the case against Saifullah Gill.

Saifullah Gill had appealed to the election tribunal which on May 13 allowed him to contest the election.

Khalid Gill had challenged the election tribunal’s decision in the LHC and the court decided not to interfere in the matter.

“We have heard the counsel for the parties and have gone through the documents produced before us, including the judgment recorded by the election tribunal …; Saifullah Gill was found not qualified to contest the election on the basis that the matriculation certificate relied upon by him was disowned by the BISE (Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education),” the Supreme Court said in its order.

PML-N Chief Nawaz Sharif. — File Photo

ISLAMABAD: The PPP submitted a petition to the chief election commissioner on Friday, demanding disqualification of PML-N chief Nawaz Sharif from contesting election for violating the code of conduct by ‘misusing’ a photograph of Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry in an advertisement.

PPP leader Masud Kausar said at a press conference that the party had also requested the chief justice to take suo motu notice of the advertisement which appeared in newspapers on May 9 and ‘conspicuously’ carried a photograph of the chief justice with Mr Sharif.

The petition filed by PPP Secretary General Latif Khosa said the publication of the advertisement was tantamount to politicising the chief justice, he said. The petition said the publication of the photograph was apparently aimed at creating an impression that the chief justice and the judiciary supported the PML-N.

The PML-N had tried to use the photograph and the name of the chief justice and judiciary in its favour which could not be accepted under any theory and was not conducive to fair, free and transparent elections, the petition said.

The judiciary could neither be made controversial nor associated with any political party, particularly on the eve of elections when campaigning had come to an end, leaving no scope for rebuttal, the petition said.

Mr Kausar alleged that the caretaker government had withdrawn security of many prominent PPP leaders, including himself and former prime ministers Yousuf Raza Gilani and Raja Pervez Ashraf.

“Despite severe security threats, I am… moving in Islamabad without a single security guard,” he said.

Referring to the kidnapping of Ali Haider Gilani, son of Yousuf Raza Gilani, he said the incident was the result of inadequate security provided to the former prime minister and his sons in Multan on Thursday.

“If candidates of a particular political party are unsafe and cannot move out during their election campaigns how can we say a level playing field has been provided to all political parties,” he said.

However, he claimed that the PPP would emerge as the single largest party in May 11 elections and return to power.

Asked if a comprehensive policy had been adopted by the PPP-led government to uproot terrorism would the PPP be targeted the way it had been during electioneering, he said the party was on the hit list of terrorists because of action taken by its government and army against terrorists.

“Before the PPP government there was no writ of the government in tribal areas but now the situation has reversed.” He said they had shattered the network of terrorists, adding that if the PPP assumed power again it would root out remnants of terrorist groups.

Prime Minister Justice (retd) Mir Hazar Khan Khoso addresses the nation over TV and Radio networks in Islamabad on Friday, May 03, 2013. – PPI Photo

ISLAMABAD: Caretaker Prime Minister Mir Hazar Khan Khoso may be having sleepless nights because of concerns for holding elections in an orderly manner, but another trouble is in store for him. The Supreme Court issued on Wednesday contempt notices against him and other senior civil officers for violating one of its judgments.

“Prima facie the premature transfer [and] posting of at least 20 senior government officers seems to violate the Anita Turab case [judgment],” observed a three-judge bench headed by Justice Jawwad S. Khawaja.

Mr Khoso is the third prime minister in recent past to be accused of committing contempt of court.

Earlier, former premier Yousuf Raza Gilani was convicted of committing contempt of court and subsequently disqualified on June 19 last year for not writing a letter to the Swiss authorities to reopen graft cases against President Asif Ali Zardari. His successor Raja Pervez Ashraf faced the same charges but was let off the hook on Nov 14 last year when the apex court withdrew a contempt notice against him after he had written the letter to the Swiss authorities.

The bench took notice of the transfer and posting by the caretaker government of 20 senior officers on a petition filed by senior bureaucrat Shafqat Hussain Naghmi.

In its Nov 12, 2012, judgment in the Anita Turab case, the apex court had held that civil servants were not bound to obey illegal orders of their superiors because they owed their first and foremost allegiance to the law and the constitution.

Besides the competent authority (caretaker prime minister), notices under Section 3 of the Contempt of the Court Ordinance 2003, read with article 204 of the constitution, have also been issued to Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister Khawaja Siddiq Akbar and Establishment Secretary Taimur Azmat Usman. They have been asked to submit within a week a reply explaining why the transfers/postings should not be declared null and void.

The officers posted out to different departments have been directed to appear in person at the next hearing the date of which will be fixed later.

Shafqat Naghmi, a BS-22 officer, was appointed as industries secretary on Aug 23 last year, but on April 3 this year he was removed and transferred to the Capital Administration and Development Division (CADD).

The establishment secretary in a report on transfer of Mr Naghmi had relied on a notification issued by the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) asking for a reshuffle in bureaucracy to ensure that elections were held in a transparent and impartial manner.

But the court observed that the ECP had not given any such instruction.

The establishment division informed the court that transfers/postings had been made on verbal instructions of the competent authority (caretaker prime minister).

Mr Naghmi informed the court that posts of some secretaries had been changed more than once within a month. Punjab chief secretary Nasir Khosa was transferred to the finance division as its secretary, but after eight days he was posted out to the textile ministry.

Similarly, Sami Saeed, chairman of the Planning and Development, Punjab, was appointed as industries secretary, but the notification was withdrawn within a few days.

Shahid Rasheed was transferred from the Board of Investment to the Ministry of Information Technology, but was again transferred to the industries ministry as secretary within 27 days.

Two grade-21 acting secretaries — Zafar Qadir and Abdul Khaliq — were transferred but after three weeks they were taken back. Mr Qadir, acting finance secretary, was transferred but brought back as special finance secretary within three weeks.

The ministries and departments which saw massive transfers include establishment, CADD, food security, communications, water and power, textile, finance, economic affairs, statistics, interior, national heritage, information technology, industries, production, Board of Investment, narcotics control, parliamentary affairs, national harmony and states and frontier regions.

Doctors treating Rana Sanaullah Haq, also known as Sanaullah Ranjay, at a government hospital in Chandigarh said the 52-year-old died of multiple organ failure after suffering severe head injuries in last week’s attack at a prison in Jammu.

The chief minister of India-held Kashmir said that an inquiry would identify those responsible for any lapses that led to the May 3 attack on Sanaullah, calling it a “matter of deep regret”.

But Pakistani officials said they would not be satisfied by an Indian inquiry into the “extra-judicial killing”, calling instead for an international-level investigation.

A spokesman for the Pakistani High Commission said: “This is an extra-judicial killing of an innocent citizen of Pakistan right under the noses of the Indian jail authorities.” “We have demanded an inquiry of international level to find out the culprits and expose the connivance,” Manzoor Ali Memon said.

The foreign ministry said the brutal attack was “a matter of deep concern”. “We have conveyed our concern to the government of India in this regard and demanded that an investigation into the incident be held and perpetrators of this heinous crime be brought to justice,” it said in a statement.—Agencies

According to sources, displaced supporters of Maulvi Jamaluddin Mehsud had gathered at his election office in Mirali to be transported to Tank district for casting votes on Saturday. Three buses, arranged by the candidate, were parked in front of it.

The bomb placed near the building’s wall was detonated by remote control when they were about to leave for Tank.

A voter, Maulana Azim, was killed and six others were injured. They were taken to the Mirali hospital.

Supporters of various candidates held rallies in parts of the tribal agency on the final day of electioneering.

Our Correspondent in Buner adds: A brother of Sardar Hussain Babak, ANP candidate for PK 77, and two workers of the party were injured in an armed attack on their car in the Durmai mountainous area on Wednesday night.

According to police, Mr Babak’s brother Mohammad Ali and other party workers were returning from a rally.

The driver sped the car away after the attack, Mr Babak told police in the Totalai Civil Hospital.

Gloom enveloped the city after a special plane carrying the body of Sanaullah from Chandigarh landed at the Sialkot airport at 6:45pm. According to DCO Mohammad Shakeel,  the body was taken to Government Allama Iqbal Memorial Hospital where a board of senior doctors carried out a post-mortem.

The DCO said some officials of the Pakistani High Commission and two relatives of Sanaullah, who had visited the comatose patient on Wednesday, also travelled to Sialkot from Chandigarh.—Abid Mehdi

Retired Lt Gen Zahid Ali Akbar, a former chairman of Wapda, was detained on charge of making Rs267 million assets beyond his known sources of income.

According to NAB spokesman Ramzan Sajid, the detention was made possible with the cooperation of international agencies and the government of Bosnia.

All legal formalities, he said, were being completed to bring him to Pakistan.

A reference against him has been pending since July 2006 before the Accountability Court in Lahore.

He was declared a proclaimed offender by the court on May 10, 2007.

Gen Akbar was made Wapda chairman by former military dictator Gen Zia-ul-Haq in 1987 and in 1992 he was appointed chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board.

“He remained involved in corrupt practices during his service in Wapda and the PCB,” the NAB spokesman said.

The NAB also claimed that it had traced 77 local and offshore bank accounts of Gen Akbar, his family members and business concerns.

Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan  leader Hakimullah Mehsud, in a message to the group’s spokesman, outlined plans for attacks, including suicide blasts, in all the four provinces.

“We don’t accept the system of infidels which is called democracy,” Mehsud said in the letter, dated May 1, and obtained by Reuters on Thursday.— Reuters

Hawkers did not distribute newspapers and trading centres remained closed in Nushki, Chagai, Mastung, Kalat, Khuzdar, Awaran, Hub, Panjgur, Gwadar, Kharan, Machh, Sibi, Dera Murad Jamali and Dera Allahyar.

Traffic was thin and transporters announced that till Sunday there would be no service from affected areas to Karachi, Taftan and Jacobabad.

The organisation of hawkers decided not to distribute newspapers in Quetta and striking areas between May 9 and 11.

The BNF has appealed to Baloch people to make the strike successful by boycotting the elections.

While the former OGDCL chief has challenged his sacking and termed it a violation of corporate rules of Pakistan and the United Kingdom — the company is listed on the stock exchanges of both the countries — the minister has said that his appointment about a year ago had been made in violation of government rules.

Masood Siddiqui has written letters to the OGDCL board of directors and the Supreme Court, seeking an independent inquiry into the issue. He said no reasons had been given for his removal.

The minister, on the other hand, said Masood Siddiqui did not have the qualification required for appointment as managing director of the company.

Questioning the experience of former OGDCL chief, the minister said he had served in oil and gas sector on mid-tier management posts of small companies.

“Before his appointment to the critical post of MD, Mr Masood had served in his family-run real estate business — Maymar Housing Services — for four years and had been jobless for six months when he was inducted.”

He said Mr Masood Siddiqui has been “managing the affairs of the OGDCL in a partisan, selective, arbitrary and non-transparent manner” and had arbitrarily hired a bullet-proof vehicle for his use in Karachi at a hefty rent of Rs1.2 million per month. Also, he quashed the findings of two inquiries against a senior officer of the logistics department in a Rs320m diesel theft case in which his involvement had been established, he said. The former OGDCL chief also outsourced the investigation to a private security company at Rs2.2m. The minister said Masood Siddiqui had taken on the payroll of the company over 3,000 workers hired through third-party contractors who would automatically become regular employees and also increased the pay and allowance by 40 per cent with additional impact of Rs3 billion per year.

However, Mr Masood Siddiqui claimed: “I stopped all avenues of corruption in the company that was not acceptable to certain vested groups, including Sohail Wajahat.”

Replying to a question, he said he had graduated at the age of 20 years and gained 26 years of oil and gas sector experience before his appointment as MD of the OGDCL. He said that age required in the first advertisement for the post was 55 years but not in a second advertisement.

He said the company had acquired the bullet-proof vehicle after the approval of the board of directors because he was receiving threats.

He said the 3,000 workers had been put in the work charge cadre because the contractors were getting full payments from the company but had been holding back their salaries for over six months.

The contractors charged Rs10,000 per head from the company but hired workers at Rs6000, so there was no additional burden on the company.

He alleged that the minister had not only chosen to mistreat, insult and ridicule him publicly but had started interfering in the day to day affairs of the company when he refused to allow misuse of its funds.

The company’s employees “were instructed to purchase furniture worth Rs250,000 for his (minister’s) use, selected by his wife.
On finding it out, I advised him that since he was not entitled, I was instructing the staff to retrieve and return the furniture to the shop”, he said.

When the staff went to retrieve the furniture, they were threatened and forced to leave, he said, also alleging that the minister had started taking an unusual interest in procurement contracts that were finalised after completing all procedures and approvals from the board.

A powerful blast took place at the gate of the house of ANP leader Syed Abdul Manan, alias Kaka Jee, where a party meeting was under way, witnesses and administration officials said.

Kareemullah and Manan were killed on the spot and Rahibullah suffered injuries.

Local people and ANP workers took the bodies and the injured to a hospital in Khar. Levies personnel cordoned off the area in search of the assailants.

An official said the improvised explosive device used in the attack had been detonated by remote control.

Sources in the party said Mr Gul Afzal Khan, ANP candidate for the NA-44 seat, was the apparent target. They blamed militants for the attack.

This is the first attack in Bajaur agency on the party which has suffered a series of deadly strikes since the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan’s announcement that it would target secular parties, including the ANP, during their election campaigns.—Anwarullah Khan