June2002

Jun28--In further attempts to restrict two key opponents from returning to power musharaf amended the Political parties Act to restrict political parties from opposing the military thru threats of being banned...trying to regulate political parties thru the beaurocracy has been a permanent facet of military rule and many regard that as result of the militaries dictatorial attitude at who can and who cant...
Jun27--In what is being seen as the military and musharafs mania to topple, control and politically victimise opponents/ politicians/ parties the musharaf regime initiated consultation on 73 constitutional amendments which would at best destroy the 1973 constitution and turn pakistan into a permanent military dictatorship... The amendments include: (1) unprecedented powers to topple the provincial and national governments and assemblies..The national assembly can be dissolved by teh president, primeminister, itself and if it refuses to accept the president or primeministers advice...or on the advice of the military controlled NSC (2) Amendments in the qualifications clause that may restrict opponents of musharaf from participating in elections as well as restricting non graduates, dismissed governments servants, criminals, those who are being politically victimised and loan defaulters (3) A senate tobe elected on a proportional representation basis...It could make it difficult for any government law tobe passed and would become a house for the one seat political parties that military interference has engendered..Senate votes doubled in a presidential election...The original aim of the senate was to protect teh rights of the provinces... (4) a consultative NSC consisting of president, primeminister, chiefministers and army chiefs...It would be a musharaf controlled apparatus as he would appoint and have the powers to remove any of them...The NSC responsibilities..suggesting government removals... strategic, security, governance and security matters (5) The primeminister tobe appointed by musharaf without regard to majority support...turns a party based election system into a non party system.. (6)Four year government tenure, increased seats in parliament with interim governments appointed by musharaf to hold elections The PPP and PMLn have rejected the amendments. The amendments seek to create a docile party based dicatatorial system without any democratic credentials..the amendments show that they are work of people and groups who have no chances of being elected and thus have an inherent hatred of electoral power...it seems that teh pakistan military is impressed by military dictatorships in teh arab world that have almost subdued their populations into docile animals...and ruled for decades....
Jun27--10 pakistani soldiers killed in alqaeda/tribal attack in tribal areas of pakistan
Jun27--Bugtis ask government to vacate gasfields
Jun27--Suggestions in the press that Omar Asghar Khan murdered...His body apprently found hanged with foot on chair and hands restricted at the back..?
Jun26--According to the DailyNews musharaf attempting to bring back shahbaz sharif to lead PMLn and thus provide a buffer against a PPP and PMLq sweep...?
Jun26--Police continue to arrest sunni militant organization members of outlawed LJ, SSP and JM..This supposedly based on the arrest of two LJ members Attaurrehman bokhari and Fazal karim..
Jun26--The News suggests that the military regime is contemplating increasing musharafs powers by removing the 13 &14 amendments to the constitution and requiring political parties to hold elections...
Jun26--A former musharaf minister Omar Asghar was found dead under mysterious circumstances in karachi..he supposedly committed suicide by hanging himself from a fan with a bedsheet...A difficult undertaking at best...When police arrived he was lying on his bed dead...Belonging to a controversial airforce/ahmedi(presumed) family he supposedly was attempting to remarry...The inlaws/wife...kicked the chair..? Others cite the refusal of the ISI/CIA to provide promised funds... ?He was also a former military officer..?
Jun25--Musharaf who had started to show some fight has again buckled under american pressure on the infiltration issue...One day he supports infiltration for kashmir's liberation the next he agrees to stop all such infiltration...?...such bravery...?
Jun25--The pakistan army regime has lodged a formal protest on the abduction and murder of a sindh ranger by indian forces...No protest was however lodged at the numerous civilians killed by indians in teh present conflict...Are civilian deaths less worrisome than a single fauji death...?
Jun25--Hafeez Randhawa made chief secretary punjab
Jun25--Supreme Court backsout in riba elimination case and asks Shariat Court to reexamine the issues surrounding riba...The pakistani banks and government have won a reprieve as they donot consider application of riba restrictions as advisable...
Jun24--Musharaf who is generally considered pro shiite has launched raids at 36 places in lahore to apprehend LJ/SSP activists...The LJ is especially devastated by teh death of Riaz Basra and arrest of Akram lahori one of their main terrorists...The musharaf regime is blaming teh recent wave of terrorist attacks on indian intelligence as well as sunni extremists...
Jun24--6 killed as rains and thunderstorms lash peshawar
Jun24--Al Qaeda apparently issues warning of more attacks against teh USA
Jun24--Musharaf now says that he did not assure USA of stopping infiltration across LOC..he only said that nothing is happening on the LOC...?Suggests denuclearization and kashmir solution..
Jun24--Vajpayee backtracks and says infiltration continues and that there are 60-70 military tarining camps for mjahideen in azad kashmir...
Jun23--The Supreme Court reserved its judgement in the Riba case..The court seemd unclear on teh definition of Riba...Supposed scholars seem to suggest that interest on banking loans is not Riba while that on Qarz e Hasna is...Others stated that all forms of interest are riba..In the present day economy interest is the cornerstone of all economic transactions...Without interest an economy can only be run on partnership or equity participation and teh government would be unable to seek foreign loans...Infact nobody would want to give a loan..?
Jun23--The pakistan military has besieged the Qilla Bugti area with tanks, helicopters and around 10000 soldiers..The Bugti tribesmen have also started to dig in and conditions in the area are becoming tense and food shortages are being reported...Musharaf who seems to lack a basic aptitude of talking to political opponents should consider talking to Akber Bugti rather than attacking..Akber Bugti a maverick who spoke in balochi in the national assembly was considered for the position of president by the previous PPP government but Benazir backed out at the last moment and picked a party sardar...who than proceeded as is usual for pakistani presidents to stab her in teh back...
Jun23--The military has formally announced that around 80% percent of the countries populace will not be able to even think of standing in elections for the national assembly...by instituting the graduate condition...While having educated candidates might be a lesser evil the notion of democracy suffers as without the power to participate the people will have a much lesser interest in elections...
Jun23--Musharaf and the military seem unable to understand that their illegal mandate and power usurpation will be over after the October elections and that an imposed illegal president cannot be tolerated by an elected assembly...The military too needs to understand that and musharaf had better start looking for a place to spend his exile..
Jun22--A military operation against Bugti tribesmen led by Akber Bugti seems imminent as both sides prepare for a military clash...
Jun22--In the opinion of the News the military regime is moving to create another Zia style government with the possibility of nominating even an unelected primeminister... and a renactment of the 8th amendment in which the president had usurped powers of appointing military chiefs and the primeminister as well as removal of the primeminister, cabinet and national/provincial assemblies... The removal of previous elected governments which has caused much criticism of the military will now be on the reccomendation of the NSC which could possibly include Chief ministers...The issue of almost total presidential/military control on the government seems tobe a typical penchant for all military chiefs and coup leaders...Such a government can never last as it will always try to remove such unnatural controls...
Jun22--Israel reoccupies palestine areas and arafat urges an end to war suggesting that he can reach an agreement with the anti palestinian Sharon...
Jun22--India refuses further military deescalation and also refuses to allow APHC visit to pakistan...the general impression that emerges is that india is refusing to recognize the essence of the kashmir issue...
Jun21--The musharaf regime seems bent upon useless privatisation...They are trying to sell off UBL still one of teh countries major banks with a 9% share of countrywide banking for a paltry Rs8.5 billion to MCB..The government has apparently written of all bad UBL loans and invested over Rs30 billion in the bank over the last few years...In another chakarbaz deal musharaf is attempting to sell of PTCL to a lebanese crony..the lebanese and musharaf seem tobe conniving in this deal and PTCL is now priced at a very low $1billion..PTCL's annual profit is around Rs.16billion..The purchaser can recover the investment in just four years...?
Jun21--Another News report points to musharaf's continuous attempts to amend teh constitution to extend his personal rule and power over the future elected assembly via the NSC and probably an NRB which would only be subordinate to the NSC...
Jun21--The News reports that shaukat aziz will continue as finance minister after the elections although no asociation with any particular political party is mentioned...
Jun21--Indian defence minister states that infiltration has stopped but militant training camps have moved from concrete camps to tented camps and unless they are dismantled they refuse to pull back their forces from the border...he also indicated that there is no change in situation inside occupied kahsmir..APHC offers to visit azad kashmir and negotiate with militant leaders on behalf of indians...?
Jun20--Most of musharafs ministers may resign before the elections...The News reports that Sind governor Mian Soomru will resign to participate in elections and will be replaced by Hafiz Sheikh...
Jun20--India to acquire israeli anti missile Arrow system and Green Pine radars
Jun20--Eleven indians killed in the first exchange of fire in teh bhawalpur rajasthan range as a pakistani lance naik was captured and killed by the indians...
Jun20--Unable to find a real foreign minister... secretary foreign affairs Inamul haque made Minister of state for Foreign Affairs...Riaz Khokhar made secretary foreign affairs..Maleeha Lodhi to quit in protest and Jehangir Ashraf qazi to be made ambassador to the USA..?
Jun20--Musharaf ends the National Cadet Corp scheme in which students were given military training...Musharaf thought that it caused militancy amongst pakistani students which led to islamic extremism...
Jun19--19 killed as suicide bomber blows up israeli bus
Jun19--18 die in kohistan bus accident
Jun19--The GOP is interested in improving wapda finances but not in providing cheaper low cost electricity...The goverments new plan is to generate coal and gas generated electricity first initiated in the PPP government in the early nineties...More gas is tobe provided to wapda...
Jun19--In what is being considered tobe part of teh governments nazim politics...Zardaris sister the PPP backed nazim of nawabshah Faryal Talpur has asked musharaf to release Asif Zardari on parole...Asif has been in jail on mostly concocted charges for over six years...The zardaris have apparently warmed up to the musharaf regime despite Benazirs instructions to sideline PPP nazims that cooperate with teh government..The elder Zardari was also released on payment of over Rs200million...
Jun19--Musharaf orders action against rebel bugti and marri tribesmen who frequently attack the sui gas fields with rocket launchers...Akber Bugti suggests that no locals are hired by teh gas companies creating a sense of deprivation and teh government operation is politically motivated..Apparently all the roads have been blocked... power/telephone lines and food transportation to the area have been stopped..
Jun19--Remmittances from overseas pakistanis till May2002 totalled almost $2.1 billion up more than 200%..Pakistan reserves are now over $6.1 billion...
Jun19--maleeha lodhi and zubaida jalal amongt eighty prominent persons selected by Imran Khan to contest elections under the PTI banner..Imran khan recently received Rs20 million from musharaf for a karachi cancer hospital..? Others include TV personalities, Faryal gauhar, khushbakht shujaat,etc..
Jun18--Government besieges akber bugti residence and arrests 300 bugti tribesmen..Frontier constabulary and bugti tribesmen lineup for a fight..
The State Bank has purchased over $4 billion from the kerb market...?
Jun16--Rs742 billion budget announced with taxes of Rs460 billion..Little interest from the the public
Jun15--Bomb blast outside US consulate in karachi, 11 pakistanis killed, several vehicles blown up...possibility that suicide bombers were women...
Jun15--Pakistan also withdraws its navy from the high seas ...
Jun15--pakistani foreign minister resigns over differences in policy...
Jun15--PMLn leaders lathi charged arrested in rawalpindi while staging a rally
Jun14--The governments economic survey suggest 5.4% growth based on increase in foreign remmittances which increased to almost 2.2 billion dollars..Defence budget overshot allocations of 131billion by Rs18 billion while the lacklustre public development fell from allocated Rs130 billion to Rs105 billion. 28.2% live below poverty. Those earning less than Rs650 per month are deemed poor...?Population is estimated at 145.96 million while there seems to have been a substantial decline in revenues compared to estimates...
Jun14--Governor Nwfp's camp attacked with missiles in North waziristan
Jun14--india to maintain troops on teh border upto October..?
Jun13--pakistan now wants denuclearization of south asia after achieving its nuclear detterent..
Jun12--India withdraws it navy from an aggressive posture of teh coasts of pakistan..
Jun12--Blasphemy convict shot dead in jail by another death cell resident...
Jun11--India says infiltration into occupied kashmir has decreased and it will allow pakistani civilian aircraft to overfly indian terrirtory..
Jun11--MCB offers a mere Rs8.5 billion for 51% of UBL
Jun10--India to announce tension easing measures such as announcing an ambassador to pakistan, oveflight rights and restore bus and rail links..?
Jun10--pakistan to purchase another 285 tank engines from Ukraine for its main battle tank
Jun8--Pakistan airforce shoots down israeli made drone near kasur
Jun8--18 indian soldiers killed in retaliatory firing on the LOC as indian fire kills five civilians
Jun8--The LHC gave a convicted Brigadier Imtiaz bail ...Formerly of the ISI he was a close aid of Nawaz Sharif and involved in literally all dirty tricks associated with the Nawaz regime
Jun7--Musharaf refuses to giveup his illegal positions of army chief and president even after three year judicial mandate..Since the PCO will cease to exist after the elections musharaf's position will become inconsistent with political and constitutional realities and he will have to go one way or the other...
Jun7--ARD suggests an end to army/ politicians confrontation thru a general amnesty and appointment of an army chief...
Jun6--17 israelis killed in a suicide attack
Jun6--Indian embassy staffer expelled on charges of spying...
Jun5--musharaf and vajpayee refused to even look at each other at teh almaty conference..while teh russians try to arrange a meeting between the two supposed peaceniks....
Jun5--Eight indian soldiers killed and two pakistani civilians in LOC firing..
Jun3--43 die as bus falls into ravine near Sohawa
Jun2--India abducts pakistan embassy staffer in retaliation for the arrest of an india embassy staffer
Jun2--Musharaf backs away from nuclear conflict preferring small scale conventional warfare..later suggesting that having nuclear arms suggest that they will be used...
Jun1--pakistan navy chief says india cannot besiege karachi
Jun1--Almost all the political parties feel that Justice(retd) Irshad hasan Khan's controversial role in the referendum makes his removal as CEC necessary as his attidude towards polling irregularities amounted to accepting total lies.. otherwise he and musharaf may do teh same in teh coming elections