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The site consists of comments on Pakistans current political scene. It will highlight the controversies, the scandals, the political leaders and happenings vis a vis the countries present day politics.

AFTER THIS TRY PAGES 35 , 34 ,33 and 32. OR CLICK THE NEXT PAGE LINK AT THE BOTTOM OF THE PAGE TO SEE THE PRECEDING PAGE. THE OTHER PAGES CONTAIN COMMENTS ON EVENTS SINCE MAY 1997.THERE ARE LINKS TO INDEXES FOR 1999,1998 AND 1997 AT THE BOTTOM OF EACH PAGE

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Pakistan and Politics

Events,Policies,Views,,Leaders,Reactions,Comments,News,Politics

by ikram ul haq

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APPOINTMENTS AND APPOINTMENTS, P3C ORION

LEADING UPTO THE COUP

COUP, NSC , MILITARY RULES

35 KILLED IN SECTARIAN ATTACKS ALL OVER THE COUNTRY

APPOINTMENTS AND APPOINTMENTS, P3C ORION, ---20-31 OCTOBER 1999

The October coup had already been preplanned and Nawaz Sharifs actions on October 12 may have been a reaction to a report by the ISI chief Lt. Gen Ziauddin Mohib Butt on the militaries planning. It is rumoured that the coup date had not yet been decided and that the coup took place earlier as a reaction . It is also rumoured that Nawaz Sharif's relations with Musharraf had soured right from the start over the appointment of the ISI chief. If that is the case than one wonders how they got along for almost a year.The DG ISI had recently returned from a trip to the USA where discussions included the possibility of a coup and controlling the Taliban
Oct20-Tanwir Ahmed was appointed Secretary establishment vide Afzal Kahut who has been made Secretary Cabinet division.
Key army officers in the Musharraf group are said tobe Lt Gen Mahmood Ahmed, DG ISI, Lt Gen Jamshed Gulzar, Corp Commander, Rawalpindi, Lt Gen Mohd Aziz, Chief of General Staff, Maj Gen Aziz Bajwa,Chief Of Staff To the CE, Maj Gen Shahid Aziz, DGMO and Maj Gen Ehsanullah, DGMI
Oct 20-Maj Gen Rafiullah appointed DG IB. He had apparently been removed from that post apparently for suggesting to Nawaz Sharif that the killing of the Iranian cadets was a dacoity
GDA has backed the agenda of the army chief and called for the restoration of democracy
Pakistan has recalled Mohd Wasim, Ijaz Ahmed, Ghulam Ali and Waqar Younis for the cricket tour to Australia
Oct 22-Former ISI chief Lt Gen Ž Nasim Rana has been made secretary defence
Retired Lt generals Mohd Safdar and Mohd Shafiq have been made the governors of Punjab and Nwfp while Air MarshalŽ DaudPota has been made the governor of Sind and JusticeŽ Amir Ul Mulk Mengal the governor of Balochistan
The PMLn has decided not to oppose the army while differing with its govt removal and has appointed Raja Zafar Ul Haq as the temporary head of the party
Oct24--Dr Zafar Altaf the secretary agriculture has been appointed the head of the countries cricket board. He was for sometime in charge of importing wheat alongwith all the related corruption and implicated in the misappropriation of World Bank donated vehicles and was also the manager of the failed World Cup attempt.
There are an estimated Rs211billion in defaulted loans which the military is going to recover after a deadline of Nov 17. It is stated that about 145 billion of defaulted loans is loaned to about 322 families or groups
18 people were killed in Toba Tek Singh as a massive explosion and fire that took place at a gas pipeline control center
Aziz Munshi appointed Attorney general of Pakistan
Qazi Hussein Ahmed of the JI was banned from entry into the NWFP for thirty days after defying a ban on politicians delivering Friday khutbas
The Mera Ghar scheme has been stopped by the military authorities. About 100 contractors had started work on many sites all over the country to build affordable housing for those who could at least afford it
France confiscated a pakistani Agosta90 submarine which was in France for repairs
Oct 26- The NSC is to consist of the CE, navy and airforce chiefs, Dr Attiya Inayatullah, Dr Mohd Yaqoob, Imtiaz Sahibzada and that inevitable crony of military rulers Sharifuddin Pirzada.Abdul Sattar is tobe Foreign minister and Shaukat Aziz the finance minister.
Hafeez Akhter Randhawa, Abdullah, and Zaheer Qidwai have been appointed Chief Secretaries of Punjab, Nwfp and Sind.Rafik Haider, Saeed Khan, and Aftab Nabi have been appointed the IG's ie police chiefs of Punjab, Nwfp and Sind.
Lt Gen Ž Javed Ahsraf has been appointed secretary Railways.Kamran Rasool has again become Secretary Interior.Maj GenŽ Ahsan Ahmed has become DG Health
Oct 27-Moeen Afzal a retired beaurocrat has been appointed as Secretary Finance
Oct 28--The CE has announced the formation of a national accountability bureau(NAB) tobe headed by Lt Gen Mohd Amjad and Maj Gen Ž Inayatullah Khan.
Oct 30-A navy recconaisance plane P-3C Orion crashed off the Balochistan coast with 21 navy personnel on board.The wreckage was discovered 10kms of the coast in 25 ft deep waters and spread over a two kilometer area. Several bodies have been found.
Oct31-Governors are to have the powers of chief ministers and can call on the army for any sort of assistance
The PMLn has finally condemned the October 12 action and called for the restoration of the constitution, assemblies and govts

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LEADING UPTO THE COUP AND AFTER---9-19TH OCTOBER 1999

Details of the coup in Pakistan are in the previous report. This report is about other happenings in this period before and after the coup
Corp Commander,Quetta Lt gen tariq pervez was retired after apparent differences with the COAS. He has been replaced by maj gen Mushtaq Hussein who was DG military training. Mushtaq Hussein seems to have superceded major generals anis bajwa and syed amjad
According to the News the GOP has long lists of taliban backed terrorists ,raw backed terrorists and shiite/iran backed terrorists. However they are/were still unsure of how to deal with the escalating terrorism . The GOP however seems tobe backing the US and Indian views that the taliban back terrorists and has requested the help of the afghan govt on this who have shown a partial willingness todo so
A PPP lawyer was shot dead in Burewala
Thirteen federal secretaries were replaced by the nawaz GOP including those heading the deptts of health, petroleum, cabinet affairs, water and power, information, education and labour
A TNFJ leader was shot dead in bhalwal
Five bombs were discovered from hyderabad, one from a bus rack and the others from a Sind University hostel
Five committed suicide in Sind. Apparently over 260 including 180 women have committed suicide in sind over the past 90 days
Govt planning to raise power rates by 15-25% to solve Wapda-IPP-IMF tranche issue
Farmers held rallies and clashed with police demanding a raise in the prices of raw cotton from 550 to Rs1500 which have fallen as a bumper crop is expected
An alleged terrorist belonging to the lashkar e jhangvi was killed in a police encounter near multan while a boy was shot dead in an apparently sectarian incident in muzzafargarh
Opposition leader in the Punjab assembly was denied entry into the assembly building on Sunday and was unable to hold a press conference
The houses of SSP workers and madrassas were raided by police and dozens were arrested in jhang
A possible raise of 15% in POL prices is being projected in the press
Former IG police Yusaf Orakzai was shot dead in Peshawar over a land dispute between the orakzais and Regis
Several borderline politicians such as Kazi Hussein ahmed, Moeen Qureshi and farook Leghari have been talking about interim govts
The Supreme Court says that the upholding of the dissolution order of Benazir Bhuttos govt does not reflect any personal criminal wrongdoing suggesting interalia that the surrey mansion might be hers or not and that they donot know whether legal or illegal funds were used forit or not
The GOP announced a subsidy on raw cotton which would ensure that farmers get a price of Rs825 per 40 kg from ginners
After the coup in Pakistan Pervez Musharraf consolidated his power and there are suggestions that a few top leaders of the PMLn will be tried and sentenced quickly if not hanged
As in the previous govts early days the army govt plans to move against defaulters and tax evaders. The nawaz govt had forbidden CBR to even approach influential and rich tax evaders.The accounts of all leaders of the previous govt have already been sealed
Four were gunned down outside a Lahore court due to a murderous rivalry after a court appearance9happened after the coup)
Pervez Musharraf regards the constitution only as a limb. So Pakistan these days lacks a limb. He did not describe whether he meant a leg or an arm. Some people say that pakistan is either a loola(lacking an arm) or langra(lacking a leg)
The US despite ordering sanctions say they can get along with pakistans military ruler however it will not be bussiness as usual. Why they want to get along with pakistans military leadership is not quite clear since they obviously donot provide any military or financial help and they also do not regard pakistan as too important strategically or as a power in the region except in words
Benazir is suggesting cooperation with the military rulers for at least six months
Pervez Musharraf despite not being too fit physically is a squash , tennis and bridge player. Allows his women to dress in a fairly liberal manner (no head covering necessary) and joins Friday prayers regularly in nearby mosques. Like the Pakistani elite his son is a foreign educated accountant.Daughter an architect. One Brother is with the FAO in Rome and another a doctor in Chicago. Mother worked for a UN agency and father was in the foreign service. His initial education was at the FC College, Lahore. Both he and Vajpayee have links to Lucknow

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COUP, NSC , MILITARY RULES ---19TH OCTOBER 1999

In what is being seen as a coup not apparently ordered by the COAS the Pakistan army removed the Nawaz Sharif govt as he ordered the retirement of Pervez Musharraf and appointed Ziauddin Mohib the ISI head as COAS. Ziauddin could not complete the takeover as officers apparently loyal to musharraf refused to hand over the reigns of military power and instead initiated a coup after the decision to appoint the new COAS was announced.. There are reports that there had been some signs of the military preparing for a coup in the eventuality of pervez musharrafs removal which could have triggered nawaz to remove musharraf.The military coup plotters apparently decided to continue with pervez musharraf as the COAS despite his being out of the country.Some reports suggest that the military asked Nawaz to resign but he refused. Musharraf cited interprovincial disharmony,lawlessness, political opposition to nawaz , and attempts at dividing the military as reasons for the takeover. There are signs that the military considers itself as more important than anything else in Pakistan.There are indications that the meeting of Pervez with the vice chief of the Indian army in Sri lanka might have had something todo with the coup. Pervez in his policy outlines has shown dovish tendencies and if he can get a proper response from the Indians politically might turn out tobe the best friend that India has in pakistan
After taking over on the 12th of October Pervez announced that he would be the Chief Executive of Pakistan. A provisional constitution followed declaring himself and his appointees above the constitution. A few days later he announced the formation of a think tank controlled National Security Council, a cabinet, and governor led govts in the provinces. The tainted Tarrar was retained as a subordinate president with suggestions that he had previous contacts with the COAS
No other appointments have been announced as yet except for suggestions that a superceded major general anis bajwa will be the Chief Executives chief of staff and that they will setup office in the PrimeMinister's house
There seem tobe at present no indications of the army even thinking of letting the politicians back into power. The country which was heating up politically and violence which was becoming common has calmed down and politicians are waiting to see the future and actual intentions of the military . Pervez Musharraf delhi born and a mohajir seems close to MQM views although some people say he prefers to be considered a punjabi. Other indications show him leaning towards the former president Farook Leghari. According to reports he seems tobe considering the appointment of people who have been in caretaker cabinets.The newspapers which have had problems with Nawaz are supporting the military setup at the moment without reservations.
Pervez was inducted into the army in 1964 being a toddler when he migrated to pakistan . He is from the artillery , has had commando training, served in SSG battalions, was DGMO, commanded an infantry division and luckily became COAS when Jehangir Keramat resigned after differences with Nawaz. He apparently also speaks Turkish.Reports of his differences with Nawaz had surfaced and apparently Nawaz wanted him to resign after the failure of the Kargil operation which Pervez had ordered. Pervez has continually stated that Kargil was a success while it is considered a failure by politicians, the press and independent analysts
Pervez has a relatively successful well educated family which has had exposure to international organizations and diplomats. A photograph released today shows them tobe typically mohajir in appearances. Pervez is now being described as a professional fauji with moderate views on islam and that he defers to the views of his advisors. He seems to have been opposed to dealing with the mqm's terrorism by the military which forced successive govts to rely on the inexperienced police and paramilitary forces.

PAGE INDEX

35 KILLED IN SECTARIAN ATTACKS ALL OVER THE COUNTRY ---08TH OCTOBER 1999

Pakistan also exports biscuits over 500 tons of them
The present GOP has doubled the cost of electricity if 1994 is taken as a base. However the almost doubled revenues still donot solve the Wapda problem?
MQM gunmen in a car killed a policeman in Karachi
The US has dismissed any similarities between East Timor and Kashmir.
Imran Farook the mqm secretary general who led the initial mqm terrorist war and who had been in hiding for over seven years has resurfaced in London.
The ANP has parted ways with the PONM a nationalist grouping that it created
The PHC has restored the assembly membership of Giyan Sing who was deseated for changing party loyalties. The CEC has been asked to look at the case again in the light of PHC created rules
A strike was held in Karachi and hyderabad by the mqm to protest extra judicial killings of its workers on 09 Sept
The GOP has reached an agreement with traders annulling the GST and imposing a 0.75% tax on turnover
Gunmen considred tobe SSP terrorists gunned down a TNFJ lawyer turned homeopath in Lahore
Provinces still estimate a 3million shortfall in wheat supply despite a 19million ton harvest
The GOP crushed an opposition alliance protest rally in Karachi on 11 Sept by cordoning of the area, arresting thousands, deportations and teargassing the small gatherings that still appeared
The MQM-PPP alliance started a two day strike in sind. In hyderabad leaders were arrested and protesters teargassed
In military news newly promoted Tuaqir Zia has been made Corp Commander Mangla, Maj gen Shahid Aziz has been made DGMO, Lt Gen Salim haider takes over as MGO and former ISI chief Nasim Rana retires
Mqm activist Rehan Bandhana died in police custody. Police say he suffered a heart attack during interrogation
The PPP expelled its former NWFP chief Aftab Sherpao(a former major) from the party. A relative of Farook Leghari he is seen as opposing party policies, attempting to formulate a separate nationalist stance and attempting to become an alternate primeministerial candidate
Sartaj Aziz has caused a storm of protest from the military by suggesting that India was willing to solve the Kashmir dispute but the army scuttled it by the kargil venture
Nawaz Sharifs orders to transfer water and power secretary Shahid Hussein have been cancelled on intervention by Gohar Ayub
23 were killed and hundreds injured as the Chenab Express crashed into an engine near rawalpindi
Three mqm activists were acquitted in the 1995 murder of American consulate employees
A maulana of the ahle hadith was gunned down in Hyderabad over a disputed mosque site or sectarian or political rivalry
In an unprecedented move the US warned the Pakistan army against a takeover probably after hearing apprehensions of a senior PMLn leader
Oil Truckers suspended oil supplies to rawalpindi after two truckers were killed in gujranwala
Reports from the US suggest the ISI chief Lt Gen Ziauudin is on an unprecedented visit to Washington.The reasons are said tobe parleys on the taliban. Usually the ISI chief is considred too important tobe allowed a foreign visit.The loss of US influence on Afghanistan is being cited as a reason
The GOP which can easily be regarded as the govt of price rises has again raised wheat prices to Rs265 per 40 kgs despite a bumper crop
The brother of PPP mna Wajah Karim Dad was shot dead in Gwadar
Pervez Musharraf the army chief who is known as the king of cakecutters has denied any differences with Nawaz Sharif
Imran Khan has asked the IMF not to loan money to the Nawaz govt
The opposition protest rally planned on the 25th was forcibly prevented by massive arrests and restrictions on movements
two people were killed near Multan by apparently Shiite motor cycle riding terrorists
A TNFJ leader Khurshid Anwer was gunned down in Dera Ismail Khan along with his daughter and gunmen apparently due to sectarian rivalry and despite a police guard. The TNFJ blamed the attack on SSP leaders and in rioting burnt several shops belonging to SSP sympathisers
the GOP has sacked an ATC judge for refusing to follow GOP orders in several zardari cases
A pipe bomb went of outside the civil hospital in Karachi damaging several cars
The GOP in a strange move increased the duration of the COAS's initial one year joint posting as CJCOSC til October 2001. That move resulted in the resignation of the navy chief Admiral Fasih Bokhari and his replacement by Admiral Abdul Aziz Mirza.There were suggestions that the navy chief was removed for the atlantic downing and might be on the orders of the COAS or the US
GDA held a huge anti GOP rally in multan on the29th
A TNFJ lawyer was killed in gujranwala on the 30th
In an apparently sectarian attack nine Shiites were killed in a malir imambargah in karachi.TNFJ activists than rioted setting on fire several vehicles.This is the worst incident that has occurred in the current wave of sectarian incidents.Another four people were killed outside two mosques in the buffer zone in an apparent backlash.
A former mpa and Shiite was gunned down in Bhakkar
Another Shiite TNFJ leader was gunned down in multan
In what is being seen as another backtracking by the Nawaz regime a scheduled test for a 3000 km Ghauri-3 missile was cancelled apparently under US orders. There were probably also technical complications as the test would have tobe launched over the the sea
in apparent retaliation for attacks on Shiites, gunmen attacked a religious school in karachi killing five students.Another sunni was shot dead outside his shop. A senior Shiite police officer(AIG) was shot dead in Peshawar and a Shiite leader was gunned down in Bhalwal
To control the violence several hundred SSP members have been arrested alongwith Azam Tariq the SSP leader who was only recently released from jail after an agreement was reached between him and the PMLn
An alleged terrorist of the SSP Khurshid ahmed alias maulvi bomb was killed in a police encounter near vehari
A JUI activist was shot dead in karachi in the continuing war between TNFJ and SSP terrorists
A Burmese maulvi was shot dead in hyderabad after being thoroughly beaten up
JKLF workers were stopped from crossing over into India from the LOC by the police and paramilitary
Two bomb blasts apparently the handiwork of the mqm went of in hyderabad
PPP secretary general Ahmad Mukhtar has resigned over differences with other party leaders on policy. He was a proponent of trade with india and seemed to lack the necessary fire in the oppositions fight with the GOP. The punjab now has no say in the PPP's top heirarchy and amin fahim is becoming benazirs defacto successor
Ehtesab Chairman Saif Ur Rehmans Redco group has been declared a defaulter of over Rs900million in loans by the LHC
armed gunmen attacked a Shiite provincial ministers car in quetta killing his driver and injuring the minister and two police guards.
A Shiite shopkeeper was shot dead in Karachi
A PMLn women wing leader burnt herself to death over non cooperation by the police and the administration
A PTV Shiite official was gunned down in rawalpindi and four doctors were gunned down in Karachi
a heavily attended GDA rally was held in Peshawar
two people died in a bomb blast in a karachi bus
Police gunned down two alleged terrorists in Lahore in what the press alleges was a fake encounter
The current sectarian wave which has seen the killing of over 35 people is the worst in recent history. The main blame is focused on the SSP for attacks on Shiites and on the TNFJ for attacks on sunnis. The PMLn leadership is considered sympathetic to the TNFJ.However while shabaz blames the SSP, the interior minister blames the Indian intelligence agencies and the primeminister and the ISI chief blame the afghan govt. This shows a strange divergence of views in the PMLn. However the main reasons are rivalry between the Shiites and militant sunnis. The Shiites tend to knock of one at a time while the SSP seems tobe moving in waves of targeted attacks. The attack on the Karachi imambargah some say was the handiwork of the mqm as several upcountry workers of different ethnic groups were killed. However the main reason seems tobe the tolerance of sects,fiqhs and unislamic practices by the govt which inter alia allows the fierce inhuman rivalry to continue. The only way out seems to be to declare unlawful all sects and parties that dabble in sectarianism such as the TNFJ and the SSP and their terrorist offshoots