Tuesday, June 10, 2008

One killed Kurram Agency

PARACHINAR (APP): One person was killed and another six injured due to firing and mortar-attack incidents at border village Pewar in restive Kurram Agency, political administration sources said here Monday. Iqbal Hussain son of Sultan Ali died of his wounds and another six persons injured after a mortar-shell fell near Ghandikhel mosque. The incident occurred when unidentified miscreants allegedly started firing from the mountains of Mangal and Kharoti near Pak-Afghan border. The injured were immediately shifted to the Agency’s Headquarters Hospital Parachinar where condition of some of the victims was stated to be unstable. Meanwhile, tribal elders Haji Ali Hussain and Nawaz Ali have termed the fresh incident as an attempt to sabotage the ongoing peace talks between elders of both sects of Kurram Agency. They said that tribal were peace loving and demanded of the government to take strict action against elements trying to sabotage peace of the Agency. Meanwhile, President of ANP Kurram Agency, Qurban Ali Tori, General Secretary Syed Jaffar and other elders of Kurram Agency have welcomed the release of jirga members and assured the newly appointed Political Agent, Muhammad Azam Khan of their all out support for maintenance of law and order and peace in the agency.

The Frontier Post
Tuesday, June 10, 2008,
Jamad-i-Saani 05, 1429 A.H.

Foreign hands blamed for Kurram trouble

ISLAMABAD, June 9: Adviser to Prime Minister on Interior Rehman Malik said in the Senate on Monday that some foreign hands might be involved in the law and order situation in the Kurram Agency, Balochistan and some other parts of the country.

Mr Malik was replying to MQM Senator Abbas Kumaili’s criticism about government’s failure to maintain law and order in the Kurram Agency, particularly in Parachinar.

Mr Kumaili said that sectarian clashes in the agency had claimed hundreds of lives and forced thousands of people to move to other places, adding that all routes leading to and from the Agency were being blocked by militants for several months, creating a severe food and medicine shortage in the area.

He alleged that some foreign hands were involved in igniting sectarian clashes and target killings had been taking place in Parachinar and Dera Ismail Khan.

The adviser on interior said that efforts by his ministry to end clashes between Taliban militants and the Shia community in the Kurram agency had started bearing fruit.

He said the situation in Kurram and other parts of the country appeared to be the result of involvement of some foreign hands.

Mr Rehman said he had contacted all major political and religious leaders, including Qazi Hussain Ahmed, Maulana Fazlur Rehman and some other lawmakers to restore normalcy in the agency.

He said several jirgas had been held and their members, who had quarrelled with each other during recent talks in Peshawar, had been taken to Abbottabad to continue their talks to resolve the crisis.

Earlier, lawmakers from both sides criticised law-enforcement agencies for cordoning off the Constitution Avenue which restricted their free movement.

Leader of the House Mian Raza Rabbani said that peaceful protest was the right of the people and the government would not obstruct the lawyers’ march.

PML-N’s Saadia Abbasi, Jamaat-i-Islami’s Prof Khurshid Ahmed and Prof Ibrahim and PML-Q’s Seemi Siddiqi and Begum Tahira Latif spoke against what they called humiliation of lawmakers and other people by security agencies when they entered the Parliament House.

They termed it a conspiracy against democracy by elements who wanted the democratic set-up to be wound up.Ms Nelofar Bakhtiar asked lawmakers to extend full cooperation to lawyers and members of civil society on their arrival at the Parliament House.


Dawn
International
June 10, 2008
Govt warned of disastrous situation in Parachinar
By By Mumtaz Alvi
6/10/2008
ISLAMABAD: The government was warned in the Senate on Monday against the possible national disaster in case the 'explosive situation' in Parachinar was not addressed on war footing.

Conceding the worrying state of affairs in the region, the government assured the House that the problem would be resolved within weeks, as a grand Jirga of the warring groups was planned in 2-3 weeks in addition to a series of steps already taken.

The Senate resumed business after the break with a delay of almost an hour, at a time, when the government had announced an energy conservation plan and the early timing of both the Senate and National Assembly sittings was part of it. But astonishingly, since the 44th session started, the Senate has not met on time or close to the scheduled time even once.

Muttahida Qaumi Movement Senator Abbas Kumaili during the ongoing debate on law and order drew the Senate's attention towards the troubled zone, where the dangerous situation prevailed for the last 14 months, but the authorities were not serious about addressing it. He made some stunning revelations about the prevailing conditions in Parachinar, where even the basic amenities were hardly available and that too at exorbitant rates. "It is a very dangerous conspiracy from outside. The conditions are no different from 1971. This conspiracy is to spread sectarian strife and hatred in the region, where all the Muslims have been living in peace," he pointed out.

He termed it a conspiracy to break up the country and not a bid to destabilise it. The senator revealed that foreign elements were active in the region: They had been given a free hand there and hence being ignored; they are resorting to target killings, similar to those carried out in Peshawar, Quetta and Dera Ismail Khan. He wanted to know what role the secret agencies had been playing, asking why could they not tap phones of terrorists, as they have been doing of politicians.

Kumaili called upon the religious scholars to issue a 'Fatwa' against taking the life of others in the name of Islam and he also requested politicians to play their role in this connection. "Right now, what we need are peace marches, not long marches," he said.

Adviser to the Prime Minister on Interior Rehman Malik, who was present in the House, rose to concede that the matter was very painful, but insisted that the situation had improved, after the new government had taken a number of initiatives.

He apprised the House of these measures and said that a grand Jirga with representatives from both the warring sides would be assembled at either Kohat or Peshawar to settle the issue within weeks. The adviser confirmed that like in the past, some foreign hands were behind the trouble and wondered, "why are we ready to be used by the foreign hands?"

About Balochistan, he conceded: "We are in trouble in the province, because of our friends and outsiders and we believe in dialogue and reconciliation, we will keep on pushing our agenda through."

Senator S M Zafar said that the law and order was bad, it was reality and that it was worsening was another reality, adding mere sermons could not end the sense of insecurity and fear in people.

He dismissed the government's oft-repeated statement of having been in power for just a few weeks and said the moment, a government takes charge, it is responsible for the life and honour of the citizens.


The News international
Islamabad
10/06/2008

Grand Jirga for peace in Parachinar in three weeks: Rehman Malik

ISLAMABAD, Jun 9 (APP): Advisor to Prime Minister on Interior A. Rehman Malik on Monday said that a grand jirga would be convened within three weeks to ensure peace and order in Parachinar.

Responding to a comment made by Senator Abbas Kumeli, Rehman Malik told the Upper House of the Parliament that the government is committed to resolving the sectarian clashes in Parachinar. However, some foreign elements are involved in igniting such clashes not only in Parachinar but also in other parts of the country.

However, he regretted that some people from both the communities were being used in the hands of foreign elements involved in marring peace of the area.

He said a jirga comprising both communities was convened recently but it could not bring positive results following a clash ignited after they could not reach consensus over certain points.

Rehman Malik told the House that two MNAs are engaged in bringing reconciliation between the two communities over convening jirga on the issue. He said the next jirga would be convened in Peshawar or Kohat.

He said law enforcement agencies have foiled a terrorist plot in the federal capital and also arrested nine alleged suicide bombers along with three explosive-laden vehicles carrying more than 1,000 kg explosive material.

Advisor to prime minister said he had also informed Afghan President Hamid Karzai regarding the elements involved in subversive activities from across the border inside Pakistan. He substantiated his words saying that some phone calls have also been detected from Afghan border in which two persons were dealing about a killing for ransom.

However, he said the government is taking strict security measures to restore peace in the area, adding that a new Inspector General has been appointed and a number of intelligence agencies personnel have been increased.

Malik urged all the political and religious leaders to render their services to resolve the situation, adding that “the solution to the problem lies only in the collective efforts.”


ISLAMABAD, Jun 9 (APP):
Associated Press of Pakistan