Supreme Court asks Malik to reveal details of dual-national lawmakers

ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court of Pakistan, on Saturday, sought explanation from Minister for Interior Rahman Malik over his claims that there are several members of the parliament and provincial assemblies who hold dual nationalities.
Taking notice of reports that quoted Malik and journalist Umar Cheema on the dual nationalities case, the SC directed for writing letters to Malik, Umar Cheema and Member of the National Assembly Shehnaz Sheikh to furnish details of members of the parliament and provincial assemblies holding dual nationality.
“In pursuance of the news story of Mr. Umar Cheema published in daily The News dated 21.09.2012 under caption ‘Another dual national MNA spotted hiding behind secrecy’ and statement of Mr. A. Rahman Malik published in daily The News dated 22.09.2012 under caption “Many dual national MPs still in assemblies’, the Hon’ble Chief Justice has directed the office to send letters to Mr. Umar Cheema and Senator A. Rehman Malik to furnish details to substantiate the stand taken by them, enabling this court to deal with all of them equally in terms of Article 25 read with Article 5 of the Constitution and to send letter to Begum Shehnaz Sheikh through Secretary National Assembly to confirm the information given in the newspaper,” said a handout issued by the apex court.
“After pronouncement of the short order in Constitution Petition No. 05/2012 (Syed Mehmood Akhtar Naqvi v. Federation of Pakistan through Secretary Law & others), The News International, Islamabad dated 21.09.2012 published a news report under the caption ‘Another dual national MNA spotted hiding behind secrecy’ by Mr. Umar Cheema wherein it is averred that Begum Shehnaz Sheikh, former Minister of State for Health and PML-Q MNA, is an Australian-Pakistani, who has been the Australian citizen at least for 16 years, knowing well that a dual national is not eligible for the position she held in the previous Parliament and the present one,” said the order.
The newspaper, in its issue dated 22.09.2012, carried another report under the caption “Many dual national MPs still in assemblies” wherein the Interior Minister is reported to have said that a number of dual national legislators are still sitting in assemblies and that he will produce evidence to prove the allegation, if asked, said the handout.
Another news report stated that more than 30 members still have dual citizenship. Similarly, the handout said, with reference to Senator A. Rahman Malik, another media report stated that proceedings were conducted against only few of the members of assemblies whereas a large number of members had concealed their dual citizenship and he would produce the list of such members if so directed by the court or the government.
“This court vide aforesaid short order dated 20.09.2012 decided the cases of those parliamentarians and the members of the provincial assemblies in respect of whom either the petitioner or the interveners, M/S Waheed Anjum and Tariq Asad, advocates, had furnished information, whereas no one amongst the persons named hereinabove, including Mr. Umar Cheema or Senator A. Rahman Malik had come forward to assist the court”.
The statement said that Article 5 of the Constitution provides that loyalty to the state is the basic duty of every citizen and that obedience to the Constitution and law is the inviolable obligation of every citizen wherever he may be, and of every other person for the time being within Pakistan. The said article essentially is to be read with Article 25 of the Constitution, which provides that all citizens are equal before law and are entitled to equal protection of law.
“Keeping in view these provisions, it is to be observed that above noted persons, namely, Mr. Umar Cheema, Senator A. Rahman Malik, and all citizens of Pakistan are under a constitutional duty to be loyal to the State of Pakistan and obedient to the Constitution and the law. Thus, they are required to assist the court to ensure that there is no discrimination amongst the parliamentarians and members of the provincial assemblies, who being the holders of dual citizenship under Article 63(1)(c) of the Constitution are disqualified from being elected or chosen as, and from being, members of the Majlis-e-Shoora (Parliament)”.
The court order said that the CJP directed that letters be sent to Umar Cheema and Senator A. Rahman Malik to furnish details to substantiate the stand taken by them as noted hereinabove, enabling the court to deal with all of them equally in terms of Article 25 read with Article 5 of the Constitution.
“A letter be also sent to Begum Shehnaz Sheikh through Secretary, National Assembly to confirm the information given in the newspapers referred to hereinabove. The information so solicited be furnished on or before 27.09.2012, so that further proceedings, if need be, may be initiated on judicial side.”

President Zardari to move UN over profane film

KARACHI: President Asif Ali Zardari is to arrive in New York on Sunday to lead the Pakistani delegation at the 67th session of the UN General Assembly in which over 120 world leaders are expected to participate.
The President  will raise Pakistan’s concerns at the United Nations over the profane film disrespecting the Holy Prophet (PBUH), senior Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) leader and Governor Punjab Sardar Latif Khan Khosa told reporters on Saturday.
President Zardari will address the 193-member assembly on Tuesday when the high-level debate begins.
The session is shaping up to be one of the busiest general debates ever – with 123 heads of states and governments in attendance and around 50 separate side events.
During his four-day stay, President Zardari will confer, among others, with US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, British Prime Minister David Cameron, Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi and Nato Secretary-General, Anders Fogh Rasmussen.

Demonstrators in Pakistan protest peacefully against anti-Islam film

ISLAMABAD: Thousands of Pakistani protestors staged new demonstrations Saturday against a US-made anti-Islam film, a day after at least 23 were killed and over 200 injured on the government designated Yaum-i-Ishq-i-Rasool.
The protests were peaceful, in contrast to the previous day’s demonstrations.
More than 5,000 protesters marched towards the parliament in Islamabad, including hundreds of women, chanting “We love our Holy Prophet” and “Punishment for those who humiliated our Prophet”.
Some 500 people from the hardline group Jamaat-ud-Dawa staged a protest in front of the US consulate in the eastern city of Lahore, chanting “The US deserves only one remedy — jihad, jihad”.
Religious groups said they were also planning demonstrations in Karachi, the scene of the worst violence on Friday, after the funerals of some of those killed during the protests.
Protests against the film “Innocence of Muslims”, which disrespects the Holy Prophet (PBUH), have erupted across the Muslim world and tens of thousands took to the streets across Asia and the Middle East Friday as Western missions closed amid fears of violence.

Rehman Malik strikes again

ISLAMABAD, Sept 21: The violence on Friday kept the nation spellbound and hooked to their television sets but despite the rampage it was a very quiet day for many.
The reason for this was the blocked phone service. Cellphones had fallen silent across Pakistan on early Friday morning cutting off nearly half of the 100 million users from the world at the behest of the interior ministry.
Even angrier than the inconvenienced citizens were the telecom industry leaders – they claimed that the blockade across 15 cities caused a loss of over Rs450 million, as the duration of the blockade was longer than last time.
This is not the first time that cellphones services have been shut off to prevent mischief, terrorist activities and violence. On ‘Chaand Raat’ before Eidul Fitr and in Quetta on Aug 14, the ministry of interior under Rehman Malik had ordered the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority to impose a similar blockade. The problems it posed for the ordinary people on Friday were no less than on other occasions.
Dr Farhana Niazi, a physician working at a leading private hospital, was on her way back home when she got caught in the middle of a small mob. Scared she pulled out her phone to call home for help but to no avail.
The 29 years old had a frightening 10 minutes till she managed to escape unhurt.
Similarly, Ghazala Saleem, a software engineer by profession, waited in her office for her father to pick her up.
“He called from home to say he was on his way but he got stuck enroute till six in the evening,” she said. Ms Saleem and her family had no idea where her father was for four hours. “My ailing mother fainted from all the worry and fear,” she added.
Countless such stories were the order of the day across the country.
But the anger in the telecom industry was no less.
“Closing down the mobile phone services is becoming an ‘extortion’ tactic of the federal government. It also shows their lack of regard for international investors and multinational companies,” asserted a senior executive vice president of a mobile phone company. He spoke on condition of anonymity.
His words were echoed by others.
“The government left over 50 million subscribers in trouble while the estimated financial loss is over Rs450 million,” said a senior official of a mobile phone company.
He added that around 100 million active users of mobile phone companies are using the Global System for Mobile communication (GSM) network across Pakistan.“ Half of these mobile users are urban; and on Friday even some rural areas were denied the service till the evening,” he said.
Even essential services suffered because of the blockade. Doctors were out of touch with hospitals on a day that expected to see more than the usual medical emergencies.
“A number of senior physicians could not be consulted on the phone and a few surgical procedures had to be delayed,” one medical officer at the Pims hospital told Dawn.
Another sector badly hit by the closure was security firms.
Major (retd) Sheryar Khan, a senior official of a private security company, told Dawn that “most of our private guards deployed at residences in different parts of city are connected through mobile phones and we found it difficult to manage routine duties and tasks.”According to the data shared by an official of a national mobile phone company the mobile phone services were down in Karachi, Lahore, Islamabad, Rawlapindi, Peshawar, Faisalabad, Multan, Quetta, and a number of cities in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and Punjab, along the Grand Trunk Road. “We started shutting down the service early Friday morning since the entire exercise takes time and it’s easier to do it at night when the phone traffic is less,” a network supervisor of one company told Dawn.
Industry insiders fear that the damage is not limited to the duration of the blockade as the frequent use of this tactic will in the long run impact profits; morale; and investor confidence.
“We are planning to approach the Chief Justice of Pakistan over the high-handedness of the federal government,” said an official of a multinational mobile company.
An industry analyst said that telecom sector’s contribution to Pakistan’s GDP declined in the financial year 2010-11 due to a drop in profits and that such measures would hit it further.
“Eventually, the government will be affected as investors will be less enthusiastic about the upcoming 3G licences auction,” he said.
What has angered the citizens and telecom officials more is that the measure did not help control the mayhem on Friday. The violence still went out of control at a number of spots in different cities.
This is why security operatives are no less disgusted with the interior ministry than the telecom officials.
One security agency official told Dawn: “Our job also became more troublesome. We could not get in touch with each other except those of us who were on wireless communication.”
He then narrated a story from Oct 12, 1999, when the military coup happened.
“The 111 Brigade had taken over the national telecommunication grid and we were considering jamming the cellphone communication also.”
But he added that the military leadership immediately realised that this would be a mistake because the officers were using mobile phones to communicate with each other as federal government installations were being secured.
“Shutting down the mobile phone service means that you are shutting your own eyes and ears. Communication is the backbone of swift intelligence operations in such crisis and rioting,” the official said.
But the question then remains – who is allowing Interior Minister Rehman Malik to get away with the same mistake again and again?

Raja Pervaiz Ashraf nominated for PM of Pakistan

ISLAMABAD: The allied parties on Friday nominated Raja Pervaiz Ashraf  for the new prime minister of Pakistan after Yousuf Raza Gilani was disqualified by the Supreme Court of Pakistan on July 19, DawnNews reported.
The announcement was made by Khursheed Shah of Pakistan People’s Party (PPP), Haider Abbas Rizvi of Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM), and Afrasiab Khattak of Awami National Party (ANP).

Arab League calls on Russia to stop giving Syria weapons

MOSCOW: Russia must stop providing military supplies to Syria, Arab League’s deputy secretary general Ahmed Bin Hilli said in an interview with the Interfax news agency on Thursday.
“Any assistance to violence must be ceased because when you supply military equipment, you help kill people. This must stop,” he was quoted as saying in comments translated into Russian.
He also called for the mandate of UN-Arab League envoy Kofi Annan to be revamped, saying that a new mechanism was needed to enforce the plan.
“To make this plan work, we need to find a new mechanism and the mandate of the special envoy must be reassessed, so we can be sure that all the sides are observing the plan,” he said.
He backed Iran joining the Syria Contact Group meeting expected to be held in Geneva on June 30, while saying that Tehran’s participation was still at the discussion stage.
“In my view, all the players taking part in the Syrian crisis must be part of this contact group,” he was quoted as saying in answer to a question about Iran’s participation.
“The main task at the moment is agreeing the agenda of the first meeting. Then a decision will be taken on who will take part in this conference,” he added.

Attacks on Afghan forces increasing: Karzai

KABUL: Insurgent attacks on Afghan security forces have increased in recent months, President Hamid Karzai said Thursday, a day after a Taliban suicide bomber struck a convoy, killing 21 people.
Taliban-led insurgents target Afghan forces on a daily basis as the fledgling police and army prepare to take responsibility for national security after Nato combat troops leave at the end of 2014.
This week alone militants have staged three major suicide attacks on Afghan-Nato military posts in the troubled east and south of the country.
“I have noticed that these days, in the past one, two or three months, attacks on our soldiers, police and intelligence officers have increased,” Karzai said.
“Every day we have at least 20 to 25 casualties, every day at least 20 to 25 of our youths are making the sacrifice for this country and are being killed.”
The violence has only heightened doubts about the ability of Afghan forces to take over responsibility for security after the bulk of 130,000 US-led combat troops leave.

Arrest warrant issued against Makhdoom Shahabuddin

ISLAMABAD: A non-bailable arrest warrant was issued against Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) leader Makhdoom Shahabuddin in the ephedrine quota case, DawnNews reported.
President Zardari had nominated Shahabuddin as a candidate for the new prime minister.
Warrants were issued against Shahabuddin, Musa Gilani and one other person.
Earlier on June 7, Regional Director of the Anti-Narcotics Force Brig Fahim Ahmed Khan had told the Supreme Court that the ANF had widened its inquiry against Shahabuddin who he said had ordered the local conversion of ephedrine after Berlex Lab International and Danas Pharma (Pvt) Ltd failed to export asthma drugs to Afghanistan.
The ephedrine scam had come to light in April when the ANF informed a three-judge bench of the Supreme Court, headed by Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry, that the ephedrine quota worth Rs7 billion was given to two Multan-based companies on the pressure of an influential person.
The case was registered on October 10 last year after two pharmaceutical companies – Danas Pharmaceutical and Berlex Lab International – were held responsible for obtaining export quotas for the drug in collusion with the health ministry officials that exceeded the limits fixed by the International Narcotics Control Board (INCB).
The INCB had fixed a quota of 22,000kg of ephedrine for Pakistan for 2010-11, but the ministry of health allocated a quota of around 31,000kg after devolution.

Taliban suicide attack hits Nato, kills 21

GARDEZ: A Taliban suicide bomber on a motorbike rammed an Afghan-Nato patrol in the town of Khost on Wednesday, killing 21 people, including three US soldiers, officials said.
Another 37 people were wounded in the blast in the eastern town close to the border with Pakistan, where Taliban and other militant insurgents fighting US-led troops have strongholds, hospital officials said.
It was the second major attack on Nato in Khost in three weeks. The government blamed the Taliban and a spokesman for the insurgent militia later claimed responsibility for the attack.
The bombing will only heighten fears about security as Nato prepares to hand responsibility to Afghan forces and recall the vast majority of its 130,000 combat troops by the end of 2014.
The Taliban, leading a 10-year insurgency against the Western-backed government, have begun their annual fighting season with a series of attacks that forced US Defence Secretary Leon Panetta to admit that violence was rising.
Interior ministry spokesman Sediq Sediqqi said Wednesday’s blast targeted a combined Afghan and coalition patrol passing through Khost, one of the most troubled parts of Afghanistan.
Khost shares a porous border with Pakistan’s tribal belt, which lies outside government control, and where US officials say the Taliban and al Qaeda have carved out bases for operations in Afghanistan.
The Haqqani network, a militant group close to al Qaeda and blamed for some of the most daring insurgent attacks in Afghanistan, is particularly active in the province.
A US official said three American soldiers were killed and several others wounded in the suicide attack. The embassy in Kabul said an Afghan interpreter was also among the dead.
Amir Padsha, the director of Khost city hospital, said the bodies of three police officers and eight civilians, along with 17 wounded were brought in.
Babri Gul, the head of the Babri Gul private hospital in Khost, said he had received six bodies, including four members of the same family, and 20 wounded.
Afghan police and interior ministry officials confirmed that the four dead announced by the Americans were in addition to the 17 Afghan bodies taken to local hospitals.
A Taliban spokesman told AFP by telephone that one of its fighters blew himself up alongside a US military patrol in Khost, killing 10 American soldiers, including a translator, and four Afghan policemen.
The militias are known to exaggerate their claims and did not speak about civilian deaths.
In Khost on June 1, a suicide truck bomber targeted a US-run base in an incident that killed up to 15 people. US media reported that more than 100 American troops were treated for injuries after that blast.
For the past five years the number of civilians killed in the war has risen steadily, reaching a record 3,021 in 2011 – the vast majority caused by insurgents, according to UN figures.
The US-led Nato force is also responsible for hundreds of civilian casualties every year, mostly in air strikes aimed at insurgents in Afghan villages.
In southern Afghanistan, a roadside bomb killed at least six civilians, including women and children travelling on a tractor in Puli Alam, the capital of Logar province, deputy provincial police chief Rahis Khan Sadiq told AFP.
On Tuesday, Taliban suicide attackers struck two Afghan-Nato facilities in the southern province of Kandahar – the birthplace of the extremist movement and the heartland of its insurgency.
The Taliban have waged a bloody fight against Karzai’s administration since they were ousted from power in a US-led invasion in 2001.

Attack on checkpoint in Afghanistan kills three policemen

KABUL: Afghan authorities say militants have attacked a police checkpoint in southern Afghanistan, killing three policemen and wounding six others.    
Kandahar province spokesman Javid Faisal says militants attacked the checkpoint in Kandahar city around 6 am Tuesday.
A gunbattle between the police and insurgents lasted for an hour.
On Monday in Kandahar province, three gunmen wearing Afghan police uniforms killed a Nato service member.
Nato did not disclose the location of the incident, but Salim Ahsas, an Afghan police chief for the southern region, says it occurred in Zhari district.
Monday’s attack is among nearly 20 this year that have raised the level of mistrust between the coalition and their Afghan partners as Nato works to hand over security to local forces.

Clinton to continue to press Pakistan on Haqqani network

BRASILIA: US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said on Monday that she will continue to urge Pakistan to squeeze the Haqqani network, as signs emerged it might be behind weekend attacks in Afghanistan.
Recalling that she pressed Pakistan to “squeeze” the Haqqani network when she visited Islamabad last October, Clinton told reporters in Brasilia that she will “continue to make that point, press it hard.”
She added that “there are already indications of Haqqani involvement” in the weekend attacks on Kabul and elsewhere in Afghanistan, adding that the “Haqqani network is a very determined foe.”
Clinton recalled that she had told Pakistani Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar in a telephone call from Brazil on Monday that she “expressed my strong conviction that there has to be concerted effort” in fighting extremism.
She said such effort must involves the Nato-led force in Afghanistan, Afghanistan and Pakistan.

Strong 6.5 earthquake rumbles off Chile coast

SANTIAGO: A strong 6.5-magnitude earthquake struck off the coast of central Chile late Monday but does not appear to have generated a major tsunami, according to US monitors.

The quake sent tremors through the Chilean capital Santiago, sparking concern and causing power outages, but there were no immediate reports of casualties or damage, according to witnesses and local authorities.
The National Emergency Office (Onemi) ordered the precautionary evacuation of coastal areas from the northern town of Coquimbo to the southern region of Maule, but the navy said the earthquake was unlikely to cause a tsunami.
The US Geological Survey said the earthquake struck at 11.50 pm some 48 kilometers from Valparaiso, Chile at a depth of 25.9 kilometers.
The US Pacific Tsunami Warning Center, based in Hawaii, said there was no threat of a “destructive, widespread tsunami.”
“However, earthquakes of this size sometimes generate local tsunamis that can be destructive along coasts located within 100 kilometers of the earthquake epicenter,” it said in a statement.
A massive earthquake off Chile on February 27, 2010 generated devastating tsunami waves, killing more than 500 people and causing billions of dollars in damage.

Taliban deny plan for Saudi talks with Afghan govt

KABUL: The Taliban militia leading a 10-year insurgency in Afghanistan on Wednesday denied that they would soon hold talks with Afghan President Hamid Karzai’s government in Saudi Arabia.
“There is no truth in these published reports saying that the delegation of the Islamic Emirate would meet with representatives of the Karzai government in Saudi Arabia in the near future,” the Taliban said on their website.
Afghan officials, requesting anonymity, had suggested that the two sides would hold talks in Saudi Arabia separate from planned negotiations in Qatar between the Taliban and the United States.
But it was never clear whether the Taliban, who have so far resisted talks with the Afghan government, or the Saudis, who have conditioned involvement on the Taliban renouncing al Qaeda, would come on board.
Taliban negotiators have begun preliminary discussions with the United States in Qatar on plans for peace talks aimed at ending the decade-long war.
They have also announced plans to set up an office in Doha.
On Wednesday, the Taliban said they had not yet “reached the negotiation phase with the US and its allies”.
“Before there are negotiations there should be a trust-building phase, which has not begun yet,” the statement on its website said.
A day earlier, a government spokesman in Kabul cautioned that no steps had been taken to start talks in Saudi Arabia.
“The Afghan government is very clear on talks — we have always preferred Saudi to Qatar,” Akim Hasher, head of the Government Media and Information Centre, told AFP.
“There is a possibility that the talks will take place in Saudi as well — Qatar is definitely not the only option.” On Monday, an Afghan diplomat based in Riyadh said talks would be held in Saudi Arabia, but stopped short of announcing any date.
A member of the Taliban’s leadership council told AFP on Sunday that “the idea” that the Taliban should have a point of contact in Saudi Arabia was being pushed by the Pakistan and Afghan governments.
Analysts have warned that any move to open a second front in peace talks was being driven by fear in Kabul of being sidelined and could sow confusion in the tentative process of “talking about talks” to end the devastating conflict.
“When you have all these different players trying to open up talks with the Taliban it might look to the Taliban like a deliberate ploy, an attempt to divide and rule or to get some advantage,” said analyst Kate Clark.

Security clearance a must before Bangladesh series: ICC

DUBAI: Cricket’s governing body will carry out a proper assessment of security in Pakistan before deciding on sending match officials for a proposed tour by Bangladesh, an official said Wednesday.
International cricket has been suspended in Pakistan since terror attacks on the Sri Lankan team bus in March 2009, which killed eight people and left seven visiting players and their assistant coach wounded in Lahore.
The attacks also injured reserve umpire Ahsan Raza of Pakistan and horrified match referee Chris Broad of England and Australian match umpires Simon Taufel and Steve Davis.
The incident forced Pakistan to play its home series at neutral venues.
Their team is currently playing England in the United Arab Emirates.
Pakistan have invited Bangladesh for a three-match one-day series in April this year in their bid to revive international cricket at home.
The Bangladesh government will send a delegation to Pakistan in mid-February to assess security in the country before clearing the tour.
The International Cricket Council (ICC) had formed a Task Team to revive cricket in Pakistan in 2009.
The ICC chief executive Haroon Lorgat said the ICC will carry out their own assessment before sending match umpires and referees for the Bangladesh series, once it is cleared.
“Safety and security is a serious issue,” said Lorgat in reply to a question whether the ICC will send officials to Pakistan.
“There are grave responsibilities on any of us who send teams or match officials (to Pakistan) and we need to do a proper assessment before we come to any conclusion about touring Pakistan.”
Lorgat said the Board meeting in Dubai did not discuss the possibilities of international cricket returning to Pakistan.
“The board did not discuss international cricket returning to Pakistan as you all know they are presently engaged with a potential tour from Bangladesh and I think we need to see what unfolds before we get into that sort of discussion.

Leaked US document can be “disregarded”: Khar

KABUL: Pakistani Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar said on Wednesday that a leaked US military report claiming Pakistan supported the Taliban insurgency in Afghanistan can be “disregarded”.
“We can disregard this as a potentially strategic leak…This is old wine in an even older bottle,” she told reporters during an official visit to the Afghan capital Kabul.
The US military said in a secret report the Taliban are set to retake control of Afghanistan after Nato-led forces withdraw from the country, raising the prospect of a major failure of Western policy after a costly war.
Khar, whose visit was the first high-level meeting in months between officials from both countries, added that the neighbours should stop blaming each other for strained cross-border ties.
“We must start engaging in the end of blame games,” she said.

Gilani bemoans ‘trust deficit’ with US

DAVOS: Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani said on Saturday there was “a trust deficit” between Islamabad and Washington as he criticised the resumption of US drone strikes on his country’s tribal belt.
Speaking the day after over 100,000 people massed in Karachi to protest the strikes, Yousuf Raza Gilani said they only served to bolster militants.
“Drones are counter-productive. We have very ably isolated militants from the local tribes. When there are drone attacks that creates sympathy for them again,” Gilani told reporters at the Davos forum.
“It makes the job of the political leadership and the military very difficult. We have never allowed the drone attacks and we have always maintained that they are unacceptable, illegal and counterproductive.”
Relations between the United States and Pakistan have deteriorated sharply over the last year, with Islamabad furious about the surprise deadly raid on al Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden’s hideout in Abbottabad last year.
The two sides have also been at loggerheads over a US air strike in November in which 24 Pakistani soldiers were killed.
Gilani said that Pakistan now wanted to agree new rules of engagement with the United States.
“The unilateral action taken in Abbottabad, that was not liked in any quarter … We need assurances that such a unilateral action will not be repeated in the future. There is a trust deficit.”
The prime minister said it was in both countries’ interests to cooperate as partners and Pakistan had paid a high price at the hands of militant groups.
“We want to work together and we are fighting against militants and terrorists. We have paid a huge price for that.”
On the subject of neighbours, Gilani said Pakistan wanted good relation with all negihbouring countries including Afghanistan. He also mentioned the Kashmir issue in his talk and said that dialogue was the only possible way to resolve all outstanding issues with India.
He said that democratic institution of Pakistan should be respected.
Dismissing recent reports of a coup by the military, the PM asserted that democracy in Pakistan was not in danger and that fears of clash between state institutions were baseless.

NA committee recommends ban on “anti-Pakistan” words

ISLAMABAD: The National Assembly’s Standing Committee on Information and Broadcasting on Thursday recommended that no one would be allowed to speak against Pakistan in programmes telecast by private television channels.
It observed that words like “Pakistan will break” must not go on-air and use of such language should be completely banned.
The committee meeting was held at the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA) headquarters.
Members of the NA Samina Mushtaq Pugganwala, Begum Nuzhat Sadiq, Rana Nazir Ahmed Khan, Malik Muhammad Shakeel Awan, Bushra Rehman, Mehren Anwar Raja, Chudhry Saeed Iqbal, Mahboob Ullah Jan, PEMRA Chairman Dr Abdul Jabbar and Minister for Information and Broadcasting Dr Firdous Ashiq Awan also attended the meeting.
The information minister said that an effective monitoring system is in place to keep an eye on the contents being aired by private television channels.
She said around 85 channels were operating in the country while the same number of applications are pending with PEMRA for licenses.
PEMRA Chairman Dr Abdul Jabbar said that PEMRA had so far received 1076 complaints after the establishment of its complaint cell, adding that 90 per cent complaints were regarding the contents of private television channels programmes.

SC admits petition against Sharmila Farooqui

ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court on Thursday admitted a petition for regular hearing against Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) leader Sharmila Farooqui’s eligibility as adviser to the chief minister Sindh as well as a member of the provincial cabinet.
A three-judge bench headed by Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry ordered removal of objections placed by the registrar office on the application and directed it for regular hearing.
The petitioner Habibul Wahab Khairi, chairman Al-Jehad Trust, appeared in person and said that Sharmila Farooqi had taken relief under the annulled National Reconciliation Ordinance (NRO).
The Chief Justice observed that if she had taken relief under the plea bargain, then her case was a continuation of the NRO issue.
He remarked that her eligibility as an adviser in the provincial cabinet should be reviewed as those who got relief under NRO were no longer entitled for such benefits now.
Khairi had made the federation, ministry of law and justice, government of Sindh, chairman National Accountability Bureau (NAB), Director-General National Savings, Usman Farooqui, Aneesa Farooqui, Sharmila Farooqui and the State Bank as respondents.

Butterfingered England allows Pakistan to recover

ABU DHABI: Half centuries by captain Misbah-ul-Haq and Asad Shafiq helped Pakistan recover to 256-7 against butterfingered England on day one of the second Test on Wednesday.
Misbah, who won the toss, was unbeaten on 83 while Shafiq made a composed 58 as scratchy fielding allowed them to put on a century-stand for the fifth wicket.
What was expected to be a batsmen’s pitch turned out to have more life than Pakistan expected. England, despite its missed chances, still made stumps with hopes of bowling out Pakistan for under 300, while the home side could harbor confidence of passing 300 as long as their captain stayed at the crease. He’s already been there for nearly four hours.
Misbah, dropped on 30 by James Anderson, hit five fours and four sixes. Shafiq, dropped on 53 by Alastair Cook close to the wicket, hit seven boundaries and a straight six off recalled spinner Monty Panesar.
Misbah took 142 balls to raise his half century but finished the day with a flourish by hitting Panesar for successive sixes in the last over.
England captain Andrew Strauss contributed to the poor day in the field when he floored a chest-high catch of Adnan Akmal before the batsman had scored, off Anderson’s second delivery with the second new ball.
Pakistan was struggling at 103-4 just after lunch, but Misbah and Shafiq resisted for more than two hours to regain momentum.
Misbah lofted Panesar for two successive sixes over the long on boundary early in his knock, but waited patiently thereafter to hit his first boundary after tea as the wicket eased out for batting.
Shafiq struggled for nearly half an hour but gained confidence with some crisp boundaries on both sides of the wicket.
He brought up his half century with a sharp single off Panesar before he was caught on the back leg by Graeme Swann while attempting a sweep shot.
Earlier, Mohammad Hafeez (31) and Taufeeq Umar (16) provided a steady start of 51 runs.
The openers were little troubled in the first hour and put on 41. Hafeez cut Swann’s very first delivery to backward point for a boundary, but soon the offspinner got his line right and bowled well in tandem with Panesar as the Sheikh Zayed Stadium pitch, which usually is a featherbed for batsmen, began offering assistance to both spinners.
Swann uprooted Umar’s off stump when the left-hander offered no shot to a straight delivery and Panesar bowled Hafeez off a beautifully bowled arm ball, only a delivery after dropping the batsman off his own bowling.
Stuart Broad provided England a sniff of running through the opposition when he sent Younis Khan’s (24) and Azhar Ali’s (24) off stumps cartwheeling in the second session in space of five runs.
Broad, who took 3-47, trapped Akmal for 9, then Swann, with 3-52, brushed the off stump of Abdur Rehman for a duck late in the day.
Panesar, playing his first test since 2009, replaced paceman Chris Tremlett, who has a back injury and will be flying back home.
Pakistan also made one change from the side that won the first Test by 10 wickets, with fast bowler Aizaz Cheema making way for young paceman Junaid Khan.

Gunmen kill three lawyers in Karachi

KARACHI: Three lawyers belonging to Shia community were killed and another was injured when gunmen opened fire on their vehicle here at Pakistan Chowk area on Wednesday, DawnNews reported.
The police sources identified the dead as Shakeel Jafri, Kafil Jafri and Badar Munir whereas Babar Ali, also a lawyer, sustained injuries.
All victims, including father and son, belonged to shia community. The Shia Ulema Council has announced three-day mourning including strike on Thursday.
Four gunmen, riding two motorcycles, opened fire on Lawyers’ car when they were going back home from City Court in Arambagh area.
All four lawyers got injured after shooting and three succumbed to their wounds on the way to hospital.
Sindh Home Minister Manzoor Wassan suspended the SHO Arambagh and ordered an inquiry report within next 48 hours.
“We have noticed a few sectarian killings lately, which are aimed at creating chaos in Karachi,” said Wassan.
The Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) has announced a nation wide boycott of courts on Thursday.
Meanwhile, Governor Sindh Dr Ishrat ul Ebad has vehemently condemned the incident.
He directed the concerned officials for immediate arrest of those involved in the incident.
The governor expressed solidarity with the lawyers’ and Shia community and assured that every possible efforts would be made to bring the accused to justice.