Dec 31: Bomb blast damages kashmir militant group office in karachi
Dec 31: 24 people died as a tractor trolley drowned in the chasma right bank canal
Dec 31: Two killed in karachi sectarian attack
Dec 31: Local Body polls in 18 districts..
Dec 31: Head of the SSP a radical sectarian religious grouping maulana Ziaulhaq Qasmi died of kidney failure...
Dec 31: Hamoodur Rehman report declassified. The report was meant to produce a sequence of events of teh seperation of East Pakistan in 1971 which was caused by in the final stage an inevitable but humiliating surrender by the pakistan army in east pakistan... The report seems to focus on minor issues mostly and does not delve into the actual issues of military weakness,a situation impossible to defend, military rule, a lack of any political infrastructure and obviously the awami leagues 20 year old insurrection and teh bengali desire for independence and seperation.. as well as political, diplomatic and negotiation failures. The report apparently suggests that no order to surrender was issued and blames poor leadership and moral lapses as the main causes and suggest trials of the top 13 military generals and abolition of drinking in army messes... The only other point they make is that the army could have fought on for another two weeks and probably tactical, political and strategic weaknesses in planning , implementation and training caused them to cave in early... The PPP attitude of refusing to sit with the awami league without a share of power for west pakistan in a volatile east pakistani environment and accepting virtual legislative secession was also criticized...PPP accuses the musharraf regime of adding 32 pages to malign politicians..
Dec 31: The govt in a strange decision raised petroleum prices by 7.5% to 22.48% on various products which is not justifiable. Petrol now costs over Rs32.25, Diesel Rs18.25, Kerosene, Rs 16.50 and JP-4 Rs 18.25.. Expected fallout could mean higher transport fares as well as airfares if a reduction does not take place soon...
Dec 31: Australia record 14th successive test win against teh West Indies
Dec 28:Ishaq Dar former finance minister and Nawaz Sharif confidante involved in massive alleged financial irregularities and money laundering released
Dec 28: The FP expects a massive reshuffle in the cabinet after eid in which six ministers might be replaced . Expected in the new cabinet are Moeen Afzal and Lt Gen (R) Hamid Nawaz...
Dec28: Eid Ul Fitr
Dec27: There have been 535 deaths in 233 bomb blasts in the punjab since 1987
Dec 27: The Command and Staff College,Quetta was hit by rockets causing partial damage
Dec 27:Four bomb blasts in faisalabad, kharian, lahore and hyderabad injure over 50
Dec 26 :Two bomb blasts in lahore and hyderabad injure forty
Dec 26: Nawaz advisore Mushahid released from house arrest after 440 days reports Yahoo
Dec 25: Former Balochistan chief ministerZulfikar Magsi released after paying Rs50 million...
Dec 24 : Return to civilian setup by february discussed in asghar khan -- musharraf meeting says the FP. Asghar Khan likely head of new setup . Military usually takes about two months to setup things...
Dec 24: Pakistani politics depends on AAA(allah, america and the army) says PMLn's Zafar Ul Haq
Dec 24: Newspapers reveal that around 182 officers of the pakistan army including two major general and several brigadiers have been removed for trying to change their evaluation marks stored in computer files.Military calls report exxagereated
Dec 24 :Lt Gen (r) Hameed Gul banned from entry into britain
Dec 24: Melody queen Noor Jehan dies after a long illness
Dec 23: Saudi Arabia did not make any payments for the release of Nawaz Sharif considering such matters below its dignity
Dec 23: Three killed as a kashmiri mujahideen group storms Delhis red fort
Dec 22: APHC team to visit pakistan on Jan 15
Dece 21: Musharrafs on off speech caused litle interest apart from his defence of the exile deal and stating that some economic matters were also linked to the exile such as the hubco agreement and possibly the sale of PTCLand the IMF deal. He also refused to budge from his position that there would be no interim setup.
Dec 21: UN approves more sanctions on afghanistan which include travel restrictions on taliban officials and ask for handover of Ossama within a month
Dec 21: Aftab Sherpao to return from exile to face charges
Dec 21: Pakistan orders some troops to pullback from the LOC while india extends kashmir ceasefire for a few more days
Dec20: 107 elected unopposed in DI khan union elections
Dec 20: Moinuddin Haider the interior minister to vist afghan seeking supposedly afghan based terrorists
Dec 20: Hamood report tobe declassified on 30 December
Dec 20: Javed Hashmi states PML will not interfere in internal army affairs and army should not interfere in politics
Dec 20: Pakistan to abide by but considers UN actions on afghanistan discriminatory and disastrous
Dec 20: Australia extend cricket record with 13th test win over West Indies
December 19: The military regime seems according to the press to be moving faster against top PPP leaders against whom a go slow had been in effect....!!
December 19: Illahi Baksh Soomru the expected PMLn parliamentary leader has apparently dropped out of the race after considering what happens to prime ministers...He now wants Zafar Ul Haq to become the PMLn boss who wont be harmed due to his saudi connections...!!He seems tobe Zia Ul Haq afficionada and says that Musharraf could use a referendum to become president. Really a usurper can become president or whatever anyway he chooses...
December 19: Despite all sorts of restrictions on participating candidates musharraf still wants the people to elect/ bring forth the honest... The people apparently have few choices as there are not too many candidates...
December 19: The military govt and Hubco withdrew 18 cases filed against each other...
December 19: The Dawn reports that the military regime has withdrawn several foreign exchange ghapla cases against Nawaz Sharif which involved Nawaz and his friends using unfair processes in trasferring resources out of the country...
December 19: Six apparently well known LJ terrorists involved in numerous sectarian incidents were arrested by the punjab police and shown to the press blindfolded. The event occurred just a few days after the murder of a police officer and could well be a publicity stunt...
December 19: A former JI leader, MPA, homeopath and religious scholar was shot dead in karachi while on his way to fajr prayers. Such actions have in the past been attributed to sectarian murderers or indian terrorism. However because of the JI having staged protest demos and burnt the effigy of musharraf it could possibly be attributed to govt agencies... generally speaking it could be the work of any terrorist group in karachi belonging to various political and sectarian groups. Shiite groups have developed the tendency to retaliate in karachi where such acts are commonplace..
December 18:APHC wants the current peace process in occupied kashmir to continue. Upto now the indian peace moves donot seem result oriented. The indians on teh other hand want pakistan to stop its involvement in border crossings, terrorism and killings in kashmir while apparently being willing to resume objectiveless negotiations. The only way the indian objectives can be achieved are the handing over to pakistan of the occupied territories....The APHC also needs to issue a clear statement of objectives so that the indians cannot claim a lack of understanding of issues
December 18: Wapda chief Zulfikar Ali Khan calls govt policies on deregulating furnace oil imports a farce. Wapda's own continuous attempts to have electrical tariffs raised seem equally farcical. He says that Wapda which does not have any infrastructure to import furnace oil can get rates of $150 per ton while PSO rates are around $180 per ton... Since it will not cause the provision of cheaper elecricity to consumers nobody is interested in these inter organisationational wranglings......
December 18: The JI held countrywide rallies to condemn the Nawaz exile stating that Pervez Musharraf had become a security risk for the country...
December 18: The local district elections have again become suspect as the EC has announced that ID cards will no longer be necessary for identification.That leaves the field open for returining officers to rig the elections. The lack of voter interest in the elections is already very apparent. The govt moves ( EC, NRB and NADRA)with problematic electoral rolls and supposedly having issued new ID cards to everyone have caused everyone to become suspicious of the militaries real intentions.. Is it real democracy they are after or real dictatorship...
December 18: Both the army and the PMLn seem to have been stung by the sharp criticisms of the govts Nawaz exile strategy.. Musharraf apparently is findng it difficult to explain what he was doing. His cabinet seems fragmented over teh issue and he has apparently postponed his address to the country.The military leadership seems to have no acceptable or logical reason for its secretive deal with Nawaz Sharif and the PMLn sees no way to stop the negative countrywide criticism of its deal with the military...The ARD is almost on teh verge of a breakup without having even started...
December 18: Benazir calls Vajpayee's lacklustre approach on kashmir daring and courageous... acknowledges that Nawaz fooled her in the formation of ARD...Suggests that the next stage of teh PMLn-military patchup could be a restoration of the assemblies with Illahi Bakhsh Soomru as the primeminister who would than pardon Musharraf and Nawaz with teh army chief continuing as the head of the presently ineffective NSC...
December 17:Benazir to return from exile in early 2001...
December 17: The FP inits continuing comment on possible govt changes suggests that the military regime is prepared to offer provincial govts to various political groups such as the PPP, PMLn, NAP, MQMand even to some religious groups in balochistan for unconditional participation in the military govt. Suggesting for example that in sind a PPP chief minister and MQM governor...???
December 17: A police officer DSP Tariq Kamboh and his driver were apparently shot dead by LJ (Lashkar e Jhangvi)s motorcycle riding death squads in lahore. The LJ is an anti shiite organization which also retaliates against police investigators...This is the fourth possible sectarian incident in recent days...which could possibly spark of another sectarian gang war which had subsided in 2000...especially in the punjab...Tariq Kamboh is stated to have eliminated over a dozen sectarian terrorists..27 police officers have been killed by sectarian groups in the last four years
December 17: Wapda and Hubco apparently have resolved their differences on a new tariff structure. The News says that the levelised tariff has been reduced from 6.1 cents to 5.6 cents while the FP reports that the capacity tariff will be 3.25 cents... The new tariff changes are expected tobe marginal and are not expected to convert into lower consumer prices.. the agreement can be said tobe a result of teh IMF agreement and the saudi sponsored nawaz sharif exile. Hubcos main investors are saudi bussinessmen...
December 17: Benazir suggests that Asif Zardari may agree to stay away from politics for a specified period...
December 17: Daily Jang and BBC report that possible changes in the military govt might occurr as early as next month... the militaries advisors ie the ISI have prepared various options of possible changes in teh govt setup including a national govt, revival of assemblies, musharraf taking over the presidency, a presidential system ,a caretaker setup, immediate elections or elections in late 2001 or 2002. Apparently names have also been mentioned.The deliberations focus primarily on safeguarding Musharraf and others from possible future incarceration or legal actions...
December 16: The FP suggests that article 58 2-b of the constitution which dealt with the presidents authority to disolve teh national assemblies maybe restored. The military may do that either to revive the assemblies or permanently dissolve them...
December 16: Bangladesh expels pakistan diplomat Irfan Ur Rehman Raja for controversial remarks
December 16: Aitzaz Ahsan opines that the govt cannot exile or confiscate anyones property...meaning Nawaz Sharif can come back anytime to complete his jail term..
December 16: Benazir Bhutto suggests that Nawaz Sharif was released to please teh indian primeminister
December 15: A NEWS report suggests that Musharraf relies on a few present and former ISI generals for political advice.. That is considered strange for a former commando who spent quite a lot of time in teh field. Almost all of his initial appointments to top military positions came from the ISI. Usually ISI walas never get promoted to plush appointments....
December 15: Six children killed in Bajaur (pakistani border town) bomb blast. The children were playing with an old russian bomb which blew up
December 15: Speculations in the FP point to the probability of a change in the style of the military regime. This could bring about musharraf elongating his stay in power by taking over the presidency.In related moves the PMLn and its dissidents are attempting to agree on Illahi Baksh Soomroo( has close contacts with the military) as its consensus parliamentary party leader who could than become musharrafs primeminister under a possible revival of assemblies. Other military choices include Ijaz Ul Haq, Wasim Sajjad, Fakhar Imam, Mian Azhar etc. In case the assemblies are not revived a possible cabinet head for the musharraf presidency could be either Shaukat Aziz the finance minister or Mian Mohd Soomru the sind governor...
December 15: The PPP leadership has asked Benazir Bhutto to return home to possibly spend the next few years in jail in the hope of reviving teh parties flagging support base.The ridiculing of Nawaz Sharifs exile gives the party hope to revive its fortunes in punjab where Nawaz Sharif had all but wiped it out... The PPP is dominated by sindhis who tend to play teh provincial anti establishment card all the time which causes a negative reaction in the punjab...
December 15: Javed Hashmi, acting PMLN president says that the recourse to cooperation with the PPP had the active support of Chaudhry Shaujaat who now opposes ARD participation as he has reconciled with the military leadership and is no longer afraid of any possible NAB action
December 14: After failing in their coordinated attempts to push up sugar prices further the cane growers and sugar mills in sind have reached an agreement on teh price of sugarcane at Rs50 per 40 kilos
December 14: The Frontier post opines that teh CE isto address the country and maybe restore the assemblies or announce a caretaker setup as well as air details of the Nawaz exile. In the scenario of restored assemblies they suggest a seemingly unlikely scenario of Fakhar Imam as the new parliamentary leader and Mian Azhar as the PMLn party chief whereas all parliamentarians facing corruption charges will be disqualified. They also suggest hard times for Chaudhry Shujaat( and Humayun Akhter) who they say now prefers Ijaz ul Haq as the interim caretaker or head of teh suspended asssemblies. The assembly would be under army supervision in any case. The non PMLn opposition would obviously prefer a caretaker setup...
December 14: Another FP report suggests that an arriving Japanese delegation is to offer $4 billion in loans for signing the CTBT...
December 14: UN staff leaving Afghanistan as tougher sanctions could cause violence in kabul and some say even in pakistan...
December14: The military threatens tougher accountability while considering the release of two top Nawaz Sharif advisors ie Chaudhry Nisar and Mushahid Hussein...
December 14: Regime to publish Nawaz Sharif clemency pleas...
December 14: Musharraf contemplates raising fuel prices as oil prices fall and restarts nawaz projects such as building houses across the country and selling electricity to india says the Frontier Post..
The News suggests that the pro musharraf Shabaz Sharif might return to pakistan after rejecting his families exile deal..Shabaz was acquitted in the plane hijacking case and no other case was filed against him although he is involved in forcibly acquiring the Raiwind Estate land and building a road to his family estate
December 14: Ahsan Iqbal a PMLn coordinator called the dissidents alcoholics and defaulters who amassed wealth thru questionable means while issuing a 14 point agenda for reconciliation and restoration of democracy....
December 13: The Nawaz Sharif appointed acting head of the PMLn Javed Hashmi seems tobe a sharif puppet and is expected to face opposition especially from PMLn dissidents. His initial statement suggests almost subordinate loyalty for Nawaz Sharif and the opinion that Nawaz Sharif will be back soon....!!
December 12: England beat Pakistan in the third cricket test in karachi by bowling out pakistan for a low score and than easily scoring the 176 needed for victory in controversial darkening light. Pakistan were surprised by englands pace bowlers and the turn and accuracy of Ashly Giles. It showed that teh strategy of the pakistan cricket board has failed miserably in producing new pace and spin bowlers and the batting still hinges on Inzamam and Youhanna. Pakistan will have to produce more capable replacements in batting and bowling and not go into a test match with one day strategies and players.
December 12: The military govt is looking increasingly odd as it seems to have shown partisanship in pardoning and releasing Nawaz Sharif compared to teh PPP's Asif Zardari who has been behind bars for over five years on generally trumped up charges. The interior minister has hinted they could make similar deals with other opponents however teh PPP has rejected the offer. The country has several politicians in exile that include Abdullah Shah, Benazir Bhutto, Altaf Hussein, Aftab Sherpao and teh entire Nawaz Sharif family
December 12: Zafar Ul Haq has taken over as the chairman of PMLn and says that Javed Hashmi will be working on his orders
December 12: The spokesman for the CE issued a statement that Nawaz and his family had requested clemency several times and that Nawaz Sharif will not return although Kulsoom Nawaz denied that and said that they were being forced into exile. However it has obviously been done with the families agreement as they left after vacating their model town house and took along 101 suitcases of belongings..
December 11: Further details of the Nawaz Sharif exile are emerging. Apparently many of his assetts in pakistan including five industrial units, five houses, various plots of agricultural/ housing lands and Rs300 million in bank deposits have been confiscated. The industries confiscated seem tobe those that were failing or were in trouble financially. The liabilities of these industrial units will be taken care of by the Sharifs. The industries are Brother Steel Mills, Ilyas Enterprises, Hudaibya Paper, Hudaibya Engg and Hamza Spinning. The houses are two in Lahore and three in Murree. The agricultural lands include 41 acres in Sheikhupura and other small properties.It seems that this is the culmination of the appointment of Khalid Maqbool as NAB chief and the offer of Nawaz Sharif in a televised speech before his removal to hand over his industries to the state in lieu of banking loans of over Rs 6 billion. This step seems to take care of the corruption side of his accusations and obviously it does not settle the matter of the sharif family loans which will probably be dealt with seperately. Saudi Arabia has apparently stepped in to take Nawaz Sharif out of Musharrafs hair. The exile is for an indefinite period and will probably end after a civilian govt comes into power which might depending onits constitution see things in a different light.The pardon to Nawaz Sharif is not a blanket amnesty and probably extends to the sentences in the hijacking and helicopter cases.However one assumes that the confiscation of assetts covers all or any corruption charges.
December 11: The reactions in teh press mainly The News express shock at the sudden exile and dismay that Nawaz Sharif and the Army/ Musharraf took the easy way out. Others ridicule NAB and the accountability process. However my own reaction is that one has to end such situations in the best possible way and not drag them on forever otherwise politics in the country will never return to normal. Other views conclude that personal contacts with the saudis, qataris, emirates and Bill Clintons efforts helped the Sharif clan as they say escape from the accountability net. Some also suggest that teh formation of the ARD with a known potential for street action was the last straw for the army and they acted immediately to stem the opposition from gaining further strength.
December 11: Another minor news item which is overshadowed by the exile suggests that Britain is to freeze all assets of Benazir and Asif Zardari . While generally the British are not expected to take steps without reason and legality it would be quite difficult to provide legal cover for such acts in britain
December 11: Akber Bugti's Jamhoori Watan party joined the ARD
December 10: The exile of the entire 18 member Nawaz Sharif family to saudi arabia under an agreement with the military regime dominates the entire front page of The News. According to the press medical ailments combined with a lack of public support and dissensions in the PMLn support base has forced the entire sharif family into exile leaving behind just two shabaz sons hamza and suleiman to manage the family estate. The president has apparently pardoned the sentences of the sharif family and they have handed over the model town residence, hudaibiya paper mills and four seasons hotel in london to cover their fines and liabilities.They shall remain in exile for ten years.
December 10 : Former JI student leader Javed Hashmi has reportedly been appointed the acting head of the PMLn. Matters of dissidents and future relations to teh ARD are now up in the air...
December 10:The sudden exile of the sharifs and their pardon has certainly caused a change in the thinking about the military regime as well as the sharifs. While the sharifs were not really great political fighters and gained government and political prestige under the tutelage of the ISI their sudden collapse is being seen as an inherent weakness in the punjabi psyche which can never really resist the establishment. The musharraf govt on the other hand can only be regarded as lacking resolve and is probably on the way out. They have shown an inability to tackle a political party without as they say hacking it to
