November, 2002

Nov30--Pervaiz Elahi and Akram durrani become chief ministers in Punjab and nwfp...
Nov30--Zafarullah Jamali smashes MQMh in karachi to regain MQMa support in what can be said tobe the most negative attitudes in politics...Clearing out an area from political opponents is not heard of in clean politics
Nov30--In what can be seen tobe strange politics zafarullah jamali releases two JUI leaders from accountability jails to buy the loyalties of the MMA in balochistan...chief minister tobe from teh PMLq while MMA gets speaker and six ministers...
Nov29--The PMLq's decision to postpone the meeting of teh sindh assembly shows that the PMLq is only interested inits own governments and not in majorities of other groups...Is the PMlq really interested in democracy...or just following the militaries orders...?
Nov29--In sindh PPPP cooperation with MQMa seems destined to failure as mqm wants chief ministers slot...which nobody apart from the PMLf wants to give them...
Nov29--Musharaf bedeviling PMLq-MMA cooperation...PMLq seems unable to deliver onits possible agreement with the MMA...Everybody realises that in a democracy a military chief already past retirement with an extremely doubtful legality as president is an anomaly that must be removed as early as possible for a successful return to democracy...
Nov29--Akram Durrani of the MMA to become chief minister in nwfp
Nov29--Shaukat Aziz says pakistan reserves tobe $10 billion by year end..
Nov29--A PPPP-MMA-PMLf government now a possibility in sindh as mqma falls out of PMlq coalition...
Nov28--As The government support dropped to 155 in a 331 member house the PMLq will make another attempt to woo the MMA ..however a vote of no confidence cannot be taken for another two months...
Nov28--PPPP forward bloc product of NAB says Benazir...
Nov28--In the punjab assembly the PMlq speakers bag 243 to 108 votes
Nov28--MMA candidates Bakht jehan/ikramullah win speaker/dy speaker elections in nwfp by 81 to 39...
Nov28--In something that was bound to happen the MQMa jumped out of the Zafarullah bandwagon as the mqmh areas were not handed over to them by the military...
Nov27--Aftab Sherpao to remove army from wapda...?
Nov27---Sialkoti Nasiruddin ahmed made Zafarullah's principal secretary..
Nov27--The PMLq regime deliberately resisting opposition governments in balochistan and sindh...?
Nov27--Good ties with all but India says the new pakistani foreign minister...?
Nov26--The military regime offered to settle MQMh leaders abroad they say...who unlike Altaf refused the honour...
Nov26--PPPP did not form forward bloc says Raza Rabbani...The reasoning of Faisal Saleh that they jumped ship to prevent a crisis is not supported by facts...
Nov26--Literacy rate in pakistan goes up to 48%...?
Nov26--Governors too get a fresh oath as the supreme court judges also seek new oath under teh 1973 constitution...
Nov26--In what is being seen as the first political murder in teh zafarallah-musharaf rule the PPP Gujranwala president and his driver and bodyguards were brutally murdered...many suspect political and personal rivalries...The new interior minister is former PPPP wala faisal saleh...Was he and chaudhry shujaat involved ...many speculate...A relative of shujaat was shot dead in gujranwala not long ago...
Nov26--Both the nwfp and punjab assemblies oppose the LFO
Nov25--making a mockery of his accountability process musharaf set aside a Rs8.2 million excessive official misuse charge against the PMlq's wasim sajjad...
Nov25--Jamali govt hostage to pervez mushraf says maulana fazl ur rehman..
Nov25--Afzal Sahi, Shaukat mazari to become speaker, deputy speaker in punjab assembly as nwfp and punjab assemblies take oath
Nov25---Geo television reports that musharaf seems intent on keeping some powers to himself and the constitution will only be fully restored by December...The addition of sharifuddin pirzada to Zafarullah Jamali's team bodes ill for democracy and the 1973 constitution...
Nov25--In further news the PPPP(FB) is thought tobe forming a seperate party under the name of Patriots party...they also have been thinking of joining the PMLq...Three members of the PPPP in the punjab assembly also have joined the PMLq...? such attitudes will not help democracy in any way ...and zafarullah jamali had better realise that quickly...
Nov24---While zafarullah Jamali seems to have no principles in breaking party loyalties the PPPP called his appointment of so many PPPP(FB)ministers immoral and unethical..The PPPP did not attend the ceremony..
Nov24--Zafarullah Jamali and a huge 21 member cabinet was sworn in...The surprises include three important ministries for the PPPP(FB)...faisal saleh got interior, rao sikander got defence and nauroz shakoor got petroleum and natural resources...this is the first prime minister who has appointed a defence minister...The PPPP(FB) also got three ministers of state...MQM refused to join teh cabinet...The other surprise were teh advisors...Shaukat aziz, sharifuddin pirzada and neelofer bakhtiar...neelofer is under trial for storming a courtroom and was a loser in her bid to win a seat from rawalpindi...The only minister tobe retained was Zubaida Jalal who was thought to have done a good job and also had some democratic intentions...and attitudes...No finance minister was appointed...
Nov23--A leading kashmiri leader was detained in islamabad...Mushtaq Ahmed Zargar was one of the three islamic militants released by india during teh plane hijacking in December 1999..Another militant released by india Sheikh Omar was arrested and sentenced to death by the musharaf regime in the daniel pearl case... generally thought tobe a coverup......This just confirms musharaf's anti kashmiri , pro indian attitude..They just seem tobe more pro indian than pro kashmiri.....
Nov22--Mir Zafarullah khan Jamali becomes the first primeminister from balochistan...a supposedly ISI backed candidate he becomes primeminister after the support of MQMq and the PPPP forward bloc was supposedly acquired or bought...There are some sources that suggest that the PPPP forward bloc was created after the ARD could not decide on teh candidacy of maulana fazlur rehman...others suggest that Amin Fahim was behind the creation of the forward bloc after his own candidacy was rejected and Benazir Bhutto refused to support the maulana...Amin Fahim was known as an establishment choice and his rejection by the ISI/army has caused him to lose a lot of support amongst his own party...
Nov22--The cabinet formation will obviously be a difficult task as Zafarullah Jamali has bought a lot of support which he will have to pay back in teh form of ministries...he has to accomodate his own party, National alliance, PPPP(FB), mqma, sherpao, the musharaf ministers etc. etc....
Nov22--The supreme court ever a docile organisation when the military is around has announced that the militaries attempted amendments to teh constitution will be handled when a complete trasfer of power takes place...When that happens is unclear as mushraf seems bent upon hanging around and to what extent zafarullah jamali can exert his own political power is yet tobe seen...
Nov22--The speaker Amir Hussein came under sever criticism for supporting the LFO while the members contend that they are serving under the 1973 constitution...maulana fazlur rehman expressed his fears of a repeat of the 1971 catastrophe if the 1973 constitution was not honoured... PPPP's mahmood qureshi now the defacto PPPP parliamentary leader suggested that jamali start by allowing benazir and nawaz back into the country...
Nov22--people whose names are being mentioned as ministers include two from the PPPP(fb), couple of mushraf ministers, humayun akhter, abdur satter laleka, sheikh rashid, khursheed qasuri, sherpao, zubaida jalal and shaukat aziz
Nov22--In sindh teh largest bloc belongs to the PPPP however arbab rahim is supposedly set to become chief minister with teh support of MQMa--41, PML(f)-- 13, PMLq--18, national alliance--16...
News for November, 2002
Nov20--Shaukat Aziz suggests that the US write off some debt(1-3billion dollars) in exchange for pakistani actions to stop money laundering and terrorist financing...pakistan also expects improved access to US markets and greater economic asistance...
Nov20---In an indication of Amin Fahims defeat the PPPP nominated Shah Mahmood Qureshi as its prime ministerial candidate who was shown on the GEO Tv channel begging Faisal Saleh of the PPPP forward block to vote according to the parties orders...Faisal saleh who has been unable to explain his desertion is said tobe expecting a ministry from the PMLq for his rebellion...He suggested that Amin Fahim was slow to handle the PPPP surge in the elections and was yet to appoint parliamentary leaders in the provinces....
Nov20--USA deports over a hundered pakistanis...
Nov20--Huge funeral for Aimal Kasi...
Nov20--In what can be termed as the militaries defeat by the MQMa the regime handed over offices occupied by the MQMh in landhi, malir, korangi and other areas after sealing the mqmh offices and arresting over 200 of their workers...The MQMa was literally defeated in these areas as their leaders and workers were totally frightened to venture into these areas...They have now done so wiith the help of the rangers and police whom they habitually called traitors and punjabis...
Nov19--Is the PPPP on the verge of disintegration as GEO analysts make much of Aitezaz Ahsans not mentioning Benazir in his speech in the national assembly...Amin Fahim who many think was fooled by both musharaf and chaudhry shujaat seems tobe looking like an ordinary leader in danger of losing control as PPPP's punjab mna's become more rebellious...
Nov19--Heros welcome as Aimal Kansi's body arrives in quetta for burial...Benazir Bhutto apparently disapproves of the MMA's hafiz Hussein ahmed's candidature after he calls for a prayer for aimal kansi in the national assembly.....
Nov19--MMA and PPPP fail to vote jointly as Amir Hussein of the PMLq becomes speaker with 167 votes...MMA polls 80 and the PPPP 71...The PPPP's Nahid Khan belatedly calls musharaf an illegal and unconstitutional president...After blank ballots and someone casting two or three ballots together were discovered Tehmina Daultana called teh election rigged and castigated the illegal military rule saying there was no president and that the military would be sent back to the barracks...The PMLq seems tobe buying votes which many think will boomerang after teh cabinet formation....The PMLq majority seems paper thin with 10 PPPP forward block votes and the MQM votes bought by the musharaf regime at teh cost of action against the MQMh which maintained a stranglehold in a few areas in karachi...The MQMh was considered an ISI protege by the MQMa despite its leaders being former altaf hussein associates...Despite total cooperation by the PMLq many are already pointing to preperations in teh musharaf camp to topple the elected government even before its establishment....
Nov18--Asif Zardari was back in jail after teh failure of the regime to soften the PPPP and force them into a farcical coalition with pro military groups...
Nov18--The PPPP is expected to initially expel three dissidents Faisal Saleh, Nourez Shakoor and Rao Sikander from the party for creating a forward block
Nov18--The JI shoora probably the only representative of democrats in the country at the moment has called the fresh musharaf oath a farce..they also stated that the PMLq is hampered inits decision making by having to seek prior approval of teh countries security apparatus...
Nov18--Aimal Kansi being seen by many as a hero is tobe buried in quetta tommorrow...
Nov18--According to the News the general/ISI has succeeded in keeping the establishment party of conservative pro military dictatorship groups from forming a coalition with his main opponents the MMA and PPPP...the breakup of coalition talks has brought three candidates to fight for the speakership which assumes greater significance in the presence of an unelected military president...Liaqat baloch, Aitezaz Ahsan outweigh the PMLq candidate Chaudhry Amir Hussein in reputation, fame and probably ability too however the chaudhry might win as the PMLq claims the support of over 180 members...If the smaller groups can get their speaker elected than the shujaat party or PMLq might have to accept an outside primeminister...
Nov18--In what is being seen as further slippage of the pakistani military towards suppression rather than getting judicial approval an ordinance was issued by the musharaf regime allowing police unprecedented powers to hold terrorist suspects for over a year...such an ordinance might be used by the PMlq to arraign political opponents which is the usual case...since terrorism has already declined in pakistan to a very low level the need for such an ordinance can only be to help the US......It is possible that teh ordinance might specifically be aimed at preventing the release of Dr Amir Aziz an orthopaedic surgeon with suspected links to the taliban...
Nov17--324out of 334 members of parliament took oath under the 1973 constitution after the speaker accepted that the LFO is not part of teh constitution...many regard musharaf and the supreme court as having muddied the waters by taking an illegal oath as president despite not having been elected under the 1973 constitution...Only the PMLq seems to be supporting musharaf while other groups have many reservations about him and his refusal to step aside after three years of military rule...The speaker of the assembly will be elected on Tuesday and if the PMLq and the MMA reach an agreement or the PMLq-MMA and PPPP reach an understanding than the speaker could be either Aitezaz Ahsan or Liaqat Baloch..It is unlikely that the three major groups could reach a coalition agreement even though the MMA and PMLq are regarded as quite close despite differences on constitutional matters and who should be primeminister...The main sticking points seem tobe the PMLq's support for dictatorships and military rule...Chaudhry shujaat and his father both preferred military rule to political elections...In any circumstance the PMLq is supposed to have a majority in coalition with smaller groups and might prefer to go it alone in which case one would see the best opposition in countries electoral history...The only point left is how and when the military signals its desire to remove musharaf...The JI would prefer a constitutional musharaf while the PMlq seems to prefer a military musharaf..If things go according to the Zia version than a toppling of the government in a year or two and probably followed by the overthrow/removal of musharaf by some means ...?Others suggest that the discussions between various political groups goto the extent of selecting a consensus choice for the next president of the country...candidates include Aitezaz Ahsan, chaudhry shujaat and shaukat aziz...?planning some say for pulling the plug on musharaf's unending dictatorship is also underway...?
Nov16--The 1973 constitution + LFO has been partially restored...however with musharaf refusing to go the government will have little or no real influence on governance...a sort of repeat of the 1985 scenario when Junejo co- existed with Zia until the 1988 aircrash...
Nov16--two died in hyderabad bomb blast...
Nov16--The ISI apparently refused to produce Dr Amir Aziz before the LHC...he is apparently being questioned by the ISI and the USA...for al qaeda involvement
Nov16---It seems that the MMA might not eventually reach an agreement with the PMLq and the PMlq might form a govt with the mqm and the PPPP forward block...it might be afragile government but the PMLq stance on the LFO and musharaf is not acceptable to many in the opposition...
Nov16--The indians are threatening pakistan with suicide squads...such squads have existed and this is only teh first open admission by the indians...photos show the suicide squads to be indian army soldiers...many regard the terrorism in karachi and elsewhere in pakistan as indian orchestrated...therefore it is nothing new...
Nov16--The new parliament members took oath of office in what many regard as the weakest possible parliament in recent memory with little or no powers to deal with any real issues...
Nov16--In what is being seen by many as a continuation of an illegal military dictatorship musharaf apparently took another oath of office as president despite being an employee of the state of pakistan as teh army chief...while the illegal approval of musharaf by the supreme court was for three years and until new parliamentary elections he is apparently refusing to hand over power to teh countries elected representatives and wants to continue as president and army chief for another five years...he also seems to be hanging onto powers to amend the constitution and is allowing floor crossing at will until his chosen become primeministers and chief ministers....a continuation of what many regard as the musharaf fraud
Nov15--In what maybe a major PPPP split a ten member forward bloc was created by faisal saleh hayat amongst the PPPP's national assembly members......all the members belong to the lower part or southern punjab areas...the reasoning is unclear as there seemed tobe no major conflicts in the PPPP apart from almost total domination by the the sindh PPP.The PPP secretary general raza rabbani denounced the groups creation and termed it a bid to facilitate the PMLq which did not want an open coalition with the PPPP...many others regard it as a seperation between the soft attitude and hardline ppp leaders...how the group behaves in parliament will explain whether it has opted out of the PPPP or is merely a pressure group supporting the punjabi dominated PMLq...
Nov15---Aimal Kansi a pakistani CIA employee who shot dead two other CIA employees was executed in the USA...
Nov15-- GNA--MMA are close to a final accord on government formation as the national assembly meets tommorrow...
Nov15--GEO reports that musharaf is set to continue is illegal occupation of the presidency which might be peppered with a fresh oath of office...Musharaf's three years in power are legally over but it seems that the PMLq is unable to tell him to go home and is mixing democracy with military dictatorship by being willing to accept his presidency if he quits the army...The credibility of the democratic setup will be questioned if they continue with a half baked military sponsored presidency and LFO in any format...The PMLq considered tobe musharaf-ISI sponsored by most people is unwilling to let musharaf go who has facilitated their emergence as the largest group in the national assembly...They might eventually agree to drop the useless concept of the NSC and agree to a partially military overseen democracy...many regard it as a concept similar to a " poodle on a leash" where the military will groom and feed teh dog while it barks at everyone else and whines at the military...The military seems tobe trying to buy the support of benazir and nawaz sharif by releasing zardari on parole and javed hashmi...