Fake Degree Holder PPP MNA Praises Acquittal of Rapists!

ISLAMABAD: While there is a hue and cry among NGOs and human rights activists against the Supreme Court judgment in Mukhtaran Mai’s case, there are a few who are ready to welcome the apex court’s decision saying that the courts are dispensing justice even when they are under pressure.

One of them is the fake degree fame PPP MNA Jamshed Dasti from Muzaffargarh who not only praised the SC over the judgment but also criticised the NGOs and human rights activists for not accepting the verdict of the court and propagating against the people of Muzaffargarh. He also termed the Mai episode as a conspiracy to defame Pakistan and Islam and alleged that billions were made by projection of a fake drama.

The PPP MNA swears by God that no such incident ever took place in Muzaffargarh. The brother of Mukhtar Mai, he said, had committed adultery with one of the girls of the Mastoi clan and in the jirga it was held that Mukhtaran Mai may be married to a person from Mastoi clan but this proposal was rejected by a few members.

He says neither Mastois were feudal nor anyone else and it was a wrong projection that feudals had given verdict of gang rape of Mukhtar Mai. When asked that one person had confessed to committing rape with Mukhtar Mai, Dasti said he had to confess to rescue all others.

While hailing the SC judgment and criticizing those who are protesting, Dasti said, “I appeal to the chief justice of Pakistan to take action against those who were maligning the apex court for a thing which could not be proved in the Lahore High Court and then in the Supreme Court”.

“Mukhtar Mai case was a conspiracy against Islam and NGOs have minted billions so far along with Mukhtar Mai, who too has become billionaire by cashing on a fake and concocted drama,” said the MNA adding that the then Lahore High Court, Justice MA Shahid Siddiqui, who is in the SC now, and Justice Ijaz Chaudhry, now the LHC Chief Justice, had penned downed the historic judgment by examining each and every aspect of the case and similarly the Supreme Court verdict also speaks of nothing but truth.

“The courts have proved that they are dispensing justice even when they are under pressure,” said Dasti adding: “The courts have cleaned the blot on Muzaffargarh which appeared as a result of this concocted story.”

Even the NGO mafia had protested against LHC judges in Muzaffargarh in 2005 and now they were protesting against the Supreme Court to prove themselves loyal to their masters. Dasti vowed to register his protest against what he called the NGO mafia in the National Assembly as well.

More time behind bars for Davis

By Rana Tanveer / Rana Yasif

LAHORE: Double murder accusedUS citizen Raymond Davis has been sent on a 14-day judicial remand, while the government has sought three weeks time to file a reply on his immunity.

In the hearing at the Lahore High Court on Thursday, the Punjab government said that contrary to US claims, Davis does not have diplomatic immunity.

The LHC is competent to decide on his immunity regardless of the federal government’s claims, said Advocate-General Punjab Khawaja Haris appearing before the court on behalf of the Punjab government.

The provincial attorney-general said that to date no claim for immunity for Davis on account of his being employed or being a member of the US embassy in any capacity, had been received by the Punjab government.

One of the petitioners’ lawyer expressed apprehensions that as US authorities have admitted that Raymond Davis is not the accused person’s real name, he could be sent abroad under another name.

On this, Chief Justice Ijaz Ahmad Chaudhry directed the federal government not to remove Raymond Davis from the jurisdiction of the court under any name. The judge adjourned the hearing until March 14 as Deputy Attorney-General Naveed Inayat Malik, on behalf of the federal government, requested for three weeks time to file a reply in court.

He informed the court that in compliance of court orders, the name of the accused was put on the Exit Control List (ECL) and the Federal Investigation Agency, Inter-Services Intelligence, Military Intelligence and all other concerned authorities had been informed that Davis cannot be sent abroad.

Filing a written reply on behalf of the Punjab government, Khawaja Haris, defended the charges against Davis and said all proceedings were according to law and tried to convince the court that the accused does not have diplomatic immunity.

He said that no claim for immunity on account of Davis being employed by or being a member of the US Embassy in any of the capacities mentioned in Article 1 of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations 1961, has been communicated to the Punjab government. He added that contradictory statements were being issued by US officials about immunity of the accused.

Meanwhile, a judicial magistrate sent Davis on a 14-day judicial remand in an illegal weapon case for not submitting a surety bond of Rs100,000 in the court after being granted bail.

The routine proceedings took more than five hours because the staff did not know how to use video conferencing. In such proceedings, the accused is not physically present in court.

Additional-Prosecutor General Abdul Samad appeared before the court. He contended that the accused has not submitted a surety bond of Rs100,000 regarding his bail in the case of carrying illegal weapons. He said the police have yet to submit a charge-sheet against Davis in the abovementioned case.

As the system only worked for five minutes, that’s the duration of time that Davis appeared on the screen. When the judge asked Davis if he wanted to say something, he refused. The court adjourned the hearing until March 3.

Additional Prosecutor also filed an application in the court of Yousif Aujla for jail trial. The prosecutor pleaded in an application that due to security risks, movement of the accused was not possible. Davis’ double murder trial will also be conducted by Yousif Aujla.

Meanwhile, Additional District & Sessions Judge Husnain Qadir has sought comments from SHO Lytton Road Police Station on a petition seeking addition of section 7 of the Anti-Terrorism Act and Espionage Act against Davis by amending FIR of double murder against him. Advocate Ghazi Ilam Din, who has filed the petition, said the police had recovered hi-tech equipment from the accused, which could only be used by spies.

Reacting to the hearings in Lahore, US Ambassador Cameron Munter said the United States is disappointed that the Government of Pakistan did not certify that Raymond Davis has diplomatic immunity. He added that the US has made its position on this case clear.

“Senator Kerry’s visit to Pakistan manifested our intention to work with the Government of Pakistan to resolve this issue.” Ambassador Munter said. “As the Senator said during his visit, we want to work together as two countries that have a common interest in the same goal and find a path forward.”

Davis’ is the missing link of US support for ‘TTP’ terror in Pakistan

RUPEE NEWS

Undoubtedly this is the biggest scandal in US Foreign relations since the US was shot down by the Soviets in the sixties. Then, as now, both sides played out the drama in an iterative manner-neither side letting the other know how much they know.

‘Davis’ is the missing link to US support for ‘TTP’ terror in Pakistan

There are clear indications that there is much more to the “Raymond Davis” affair than the Pakistanis are letting on. THis isn’t about murder and diplomatic immunity. This is mush bigger. Something is very wrong with this picture, and Islamabad is tight lipped because it now has concrete evidence that Mr “Raymond Davis” is linked with the Tehrik e Taliban e Pakistan (TTP) and some of the terror activities that have been happening in Pakistan. The Pakistanis are not stupid. Americans stick out like sore thumbs in Pakistan. When they go running around in their black SUVs laced with Satellite equipment they are tracked, traced and followed. In a cat and mouse game, the contractors can sometimes shake their “tails”. On other occasions they cannot. In fact the ISI gives them enough rope to hang themselves with. In this case, it seems Mr. Davis fell into a trap and his situation is now fully compromised. In panic Mr. “Davis” used the Nuclear option and killed the two Pakistanis who were trailing him-knowing full well that killing Pakistani spies or those who knew his identity would blow up in this face. He doesn’t have to say much-the equipment he carried tells a long and bloody story. All this is irrefutable evidence in a Pakistani court of law. The Pakistanis have already released the pictures of the equipment and the evidence that they have gathered. Of course they are still holding on to the juiciest details.

The US has postponed the Afghan-Pakistan-US Trilateral meeting, dropped hints about postponing the date of Mr. Zardari’s visit to the US, and floated all sorts of other threats. Normally Islamabad would have been cognizant of the the problems of spoiling its relationship with the sole Superpower. However the smirking Pakistanis are so confident in the validity of their cause, that they are letting the US escalate the issue.

Pakistan has ignored some of the US pressure and has not buckled under intense US pressure. Both General Kayani and Former Foreign Minister Mahmood Qureshi were not very impressed by US posturing. In fact right after their threatening phone calls and messages Islamabad formally charged Davis with pre-meditated murder in the Lahore High Court. The Court promptly remanded Mr. “Davis” to prison for another 14 days of interrogation. There were stories that if Mr. “Davis” does not cooperate, the interrogation would have been upgraded to level 3 (a euphemism for torture). There are reports that despite admonitions from the US Embassy, Mr. Davis is singing like a bird, and has already given enough information to the Pakistanis to get him convicted in any court of law.

The Former Foreign Minister Qureshi publicly confirmed that Secretary of State Hillary Clinton pressured him to “publicly confirm diplomatic immunity of Davis. However, I refused to do so because it was against the factual position in the case.” FM Qureshi’s confirmation that Mr “Davis” is not a diplomat was repeatedly discussed on all 80 TV channels with copies of his passports and visas prominently displayed for the audience. Mr. Quresh said that
“The kind of blanket immunity Washington is pressing for Davis is not endorsed by the official record of the Foreign Ministry,” adding that Washington even “threatened that Hillary Clinton would not meet me at the Munich conference on February 6 if the request was not granted.”

The situation is so polarized that even traditional US allies in Pakistan have condemned the intrusive murders. Mr. Pervez Hoodbhoy who almost never criticizes the US has condemned the “Davis” affair. The PMLN is of course threatened the PPP with a vote of no-confidence.

It is clear that Mr. “Davis” shot the Pakistani operatives knowing full well who they were. The Pakistani authorities have informed the the media that they are very well aware that Mr. Davis was in touch with the “Pakistani Taliban” (TTP). There is conjecture that Mr. “Davis” walked into a trap laid out by the ISI. In fact his contacts were actually ISI agents. All that he said and did is in the hands of the Pakistanis. Mr. “Davis” thought that by shooting the two operatives, he would eliminate the evidence against him. In fact, it made matters worse. Other operatives who were in the vicinity had already taken the necessary precautions. The ISI has leaked information to the media that Mr. “Davis” had crossed a “red line”.

Clearly, the Americans have panicked because the know that the Pakistani side knows much more than it is prepared to admit in public. This is typical behavior when spies are caught with their thumbs up their noses. There are clear indications that Mr. “Davis” has broken down after sustained interrogation in police custody, and has spilled his guts-making the Pakistanis aware of explosive stuff. Its not that this stuff has surprised the Pakistanis. When you have 3000 of these guys running around the country-something gives. The ISI is one of the world’s most powerful spy organizations in the world. It has deep roots in Pakistan and Afghanistan. Nothing that crawls or walks in Pakistan is hidden from the ISI and other agencies. On top of this there is a million man Pakistani army. 180 million Pakistanis are also watching the Americans and reporting on them. The panicked Americans have continually given highly contradictory versions about Mr. “Davis’s” identity and the nature of his assignment in Pakistan.

It is very clear that Mr. “Davis’s” discovery and detention has sent alarm bells ringing all the way to President Obama’s White House. In a way the Pakistanis are amused. They know they have the Americans where they want them-right up against the wall. The Americans are fully aware that the “Davis” case is shaking the very foundations of the transactional relationship with Pakistan. While the CIA, the State Department and the White House think that this is a new discovery-the Pakistanis point to a long trail of evidence that directly points to the US consultants and their hirelings in Afghanistan and Pakistan. The ISI and the Army believe that at the right time, the details of what the Pakistanis know will be revealed to President Obama and the world.

Pakistan and Pakistanis have known for a long time who is behind the TTP (Tehrik e Taliban e Pakistani). Its not that hard to guess. What surprised the Pakistanis was their ability to inflict bloody attacks on the Pakistani military in order to destabilize Pakistani. Mr. Davis is not an isolated incident-there is a history behind much of what is happening in Pakistan-most of which can be correlated to the rise of the US “consultants” and “contractors” in Pakistan. It is pedagogical to note that last year when the ISI put in requests for deep security checks on those coming into Pakistan-the US put up a hissy fit and forced about 500 of these “Davis types” through without any background checks. Is is noted that the ISI became very suspicious of the insistence of the US in getting these guys into Pakistan at short notice. These guys got very special attention-and that has paid off in the arrest and detention of Mr. Davis. This points to the fact that this incident was not just an accident-it was an incident waiting to happen. The ISI was ready to pounce on the situation once it happened.

Pakistan has been very suspicious of these “contractors” especially when Pakistani state institutions were attacked. The attacks on the the Army HQ, and the ISI sent alarm bells among the rank and file of the Pakistani government. The vibrant Pakistani press has also been on the trail and has repeatedly pointed out the facts about the former Afghan intelligence chief Amrullah Saleh (who was eventually fired by Mr. Karzai). However the US security establishment was in cahoots with him.

The Pakistani military and its highly efficient intelligence set-up had concluded a very long time ago that the TTP was being aided by the very sort of free-wheeling “contractors” that Mr. Davis represents. It was just a matter of time when things came to a boil. It is amazing that the Americans are surprised they have finally be caught red-handed. This has happened in the past, but during the reign of President Musharraf, the Americans got away with it and escaped. This time Mr. “Davis” was caught with his hands in the cookie jar.

Over 100,000 American troops in Afghanistan facing the new Taliban “Spring Offensive” are totally dependent on supplies running through Pakistan. The last time Pakistan shut off the spigot, the Americans ran out of toilet paper and had to cut down on food rations. It must have been hard eating food with dirty hands! If the tiff between the US and Pakistan is not resolved the US may face the consequences in Afghanistan. Failure in the Hindu Kush will certainly impact the presidential elections in 2012.

The law and the Raymond Davis case

The case of American citizen Raymond Davis killing two Pakistani youths in Lahore is now with a judicial magistrate, even as the Lahore High Court has seen to it that Mr Davis does not leave Pakistan till the matter is decided under law. To ensure proper adjudication, the Punjab government’s prosecutor before the court has been removed because he had publicly discussed the case in a manner adjudged prejudicial by the high court.

The shootout took place in the midst of growing anti-American feeling in the country. News about American drones killing innocent Pakistanis in tribal areas have been relayed graphically in the media, including coverage of a protest by tribesmen appealing to the government to do something about the attacks. There is a nationwide campaign by religious parties on the question of the blasphemy law and it targets the West, America in particular – the latter is cited, in large part, as applying pressure on the government of Pakistan to change or repeal the law.

Reporting the case, the media has mostly conveyed the feelings of the people and preliminary reactions of state officials, which are negative and tend to speculate that Mr Davis killed the youths without cause and that he should be punished. Passion is aroused by further speculation that the government will let the ‘American killer’ leave Pakistan under pressure from Washington. The general opinion is that Mr Davis should be made an example of how the Pakistani state will restore its sovereignty and self-respect by subjecting him to its law.

Mr Davis has taken the plea of self-defence while the US embassy has claimed diplomatic immunity for him and called his arrest a violation of the regime of treatment of diplomatic personnel between the two countries. The plea of self-defence is based on the claim that the two men killed by Mr Davis endangered his life by pointing their guns at him. No one appearing in the media has confirmed this, although some claim has been made that the two were robbers. Two citizens have also claimed that they were robbed by the two earlier.

The waters have been muddied by the discussion of the law of immunity under the Vienna Conventions. Some legal experts believe that under these conventions, Mr Davis does not qualify for diplomatic immunity – and in this regard, a US news report has been cited in which it has been claimed that Mr Davis worked for a private company as a contractor for the US government. There is also the question of ‘practice’ between the US and Pakistan, on which the Foreign Office in Islamabad has to furnish its considered opinion. In any case, the issue of whether Mr Davis was here on a business visa or a diplomatic visa has not been officially clarified by Islamabad, leading some to wonder about the reason for such reluctance.

Then there is the unavoidable question of relations with a superpower which is an ally and a source of economic assistance to Pakistan. In the past, Pakistan has been making ‘legal concessions’ to the US, handing over terrorists without any trial. (This must be read together with the fact that judges in Pakistan are not protected against terrorist threats and have been observed letting off terrorism suspects.) The National Assembly and the Senate have, therefore, echoed with noisy appeals to let Mr Davis taste the fruits of his act.

Anywhere in the world, the legal process should not be mixed with public passions. Once this happens, everyone comes under pressure and the ability of the state to act wisely is severely curtailed. The best option now is that the court should decide the matter in the light of the law and formal reciprocal understandings should be reached between Pakistan and the US in the case of officials working in each other’s jurisdiction. And in this regard, it is the Foreign Office which must play its role without bowing to any internal or external pressure. The emotion being expressed in the media will ill-serve the cause of justice and adversely affect US-Pakistan relations.

Corrupt should be put to death, says new LHC CJ

The Lahore High Court, Chief Justice Ijaz Ahmad Chaudhry strongly condemned corruption in society, saying that corrupt must be punished with death sentence.
Honourable Chief Justice was addressing a prize distribution ceremony for essay writing, and paintings competition among students on Thursday in connection with the international day against corruption.

The contests as well as the ceremony were organized by National Accountability Bureau Punjab at Alhamra Art Centre.

The Chief Justice said in the past only lower rank officials were arrested for corruption and others were not tried in the court of law. In the past years, dictatorships were imposed to weed out corruption from the society but the rulers of those times themselves indulged in corruption, he regretted.

The Chief justice further said, “We are Muslims but we do not care about ethics and we cheat each other. On the other hand non-Muslims countries follow basic human values”, he said.

He commended NAB for arresting high ranking officials to eradicate corruption from society.

Zardari’s dual office case verdict to have enduring impact: LHC

* Bench postpones hearing for Dec 13
* Appoints three senior constitutional experts as amicus curie
* Federal government representatives fail to appear in court proceedings

LAHORE: A full bench of the Lahore High Court on Wednesday postponed the hearing of petitions against President Asif Zardari for holding dual offices for further arguments for December 13, saying that the case verdict would have an enduring impact.

“The dual office case will prove a landmark verdict and will have far-reaching effects on all such constitutional issues in the country,” the bench said.

The bench also appointed three senior constitutional experts as amicus curie (friend of court) to assist on this important matter pertaining to the eligibility of the president of Pakistan, namely SM Zafar, Abdul Hafeez Pirzada and Abid Hassan Manto.

Only Abid Manto appeared before the court on Wednesday and said that he had to examine the record, adding that so far the records he had seen reflected that the other party was not inclined to attend the proceedings. The bench remarked that it had tried its best to hear the respondent party, but they were not attending the proceedings.

The bench allowed the petitioner counsel to amend his petition. AK Dogar of the Pakistan Lawyers Forum, Ghulam Jillani and Asif Mahmood Khan advocate had moved these petitions. Dogar advanced his arguments, in which he said that a head of state should not hold any political office as it was against the constitution and democratic norms.

Giving examples from the country’s history, Dogar said the founder of Pakistan, Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah, had abandoned the presidency of the Muslim League after taking charge of the country’s first governor general. The bench had already decided to proceed ex parte with the petitions, as nobody had been appearing on behalf of the federal government for several hearings. The bench had also sought the appearance of the federal law secretary and attorney general of Pakistan, but they did not turn up.

Asma says she is not afraid of judges, generals, rulers

LAHORE: Newly-elected president of the Supreme Court Bar Association Asma Jehangir has said that she is neither afraid of judges, generals or rulers nor will she take dictation from anyone.

“I have been an independent woman throughout my life. I am not scared of the army, establishment, judges, prime minister or president. The relations with all these institutions or persons will be established on the basis of equality. They will be respected if they will respect us,” she said while talking to the media on the Lahore High Court premises here on Thursday.

Dispelling the impression that she was against the judiciary, Ms Asma said she had decades old relations with the judiciary and the propaganda in this regard should be shunned. She said she believed in independence of the judiciary and she had paid a price for the cause in the past when she along with thousands of people was thrown in jail. She said she had been knocking the door of the judiciary even when it was not independent. She said what she and other people had done for cause of independent judiciary should not be reckoned as “sacrifice” rather they were indebted to their country which they had tried to pay back to its people. She pointed out that they were gone to jail by choice and were ready to go again for judiciary or other people-related issues.

Asma Jehangir said a vilification campaign was launched against her and in such circumstance her victory was a great success. She said lawyers could differentiate between right and wrong. She said she strongly believed in the freedom of the press because it ensured protection of people’s rights.

A large number of Asma’s supporters who had gathered there were chanting slogans in her favour. Sweets were also distributed among the lawyers. Agencies add: Asma Jehangir said that an independent bar was vital to the independent judiciary, adding that lawyers had elected an independent and enlightened bar in the election.

“We are neither with the government nor with the judiciary rather, we will play our role in an independent capacity,” she said and vowed to play her role for the provision of justice to thousands of people who were imprisoned and waiting for justice. She said she was thankful that every political leader had congratulated her victory, and said that she was quite.

FBR removes Customs DG ‘for unearthing oil import scam’

Multan traders accused of illegally importing HSD, used oil

By Umar Cheema

ISLAMABAD: In a dramatic move, the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has removed the Customs Intelligence DG, the man who unearthed a mega oil scam implicating the importers from Multan for illegally importing over 1,650 containers of High Speed Diesel (HSD) and used lubricating oil in just six months with the connivance of the Customs authorities, causing massive revenue loss.

The oil scam has so far been kept out of the public eye and it is a unique scandal of its nature where the revenue officials were accused of facilitating the illegal import and Arshad Saeed, the Multan collector, removed under same charges. Nevertheless, the Customs Collectorate was authorised to investigate the scam by the FBR, putting the Customs Intelligence which unearthed it at the backseat.

As the containers were seized from Multan and Karachi ports, the then Chief Collector in Karachi, Munir Qureshi, has now been appointed the Member Customs in the FBR.

On the other hand, Rai Sikandar, Customs Intelligence DG, who dug out this robbery that occurred under the close watch of the Customs Department, has not only been removed but also replaced with Lutfullah Virk, an officer from the Customs group, an appointment that is illegal according to the FBR reforms dictated by the IMF and the World Bank in 2006.

According to the reform programme, the Customs Intelligence DG must belong from a department other than the Revenue Establishment as induction from the same department to examine the performance of his workmates was considered tantamount to setting a thief to catch a thief. Unlike Virk, his predecessor, Rai Sikandar was from the Secretariat Group.

The Multan importers found involved in this illegal business were M/s Yasir Enterprises; Mian Rasheed, the owner of M/s Kamran Oil and M/s The Pioneers. Neither any strict action has been taken against the Customs staff involved in clearance of misdeclared goods nor Customs Intelligence DG, Rai Sikandar, was allowed audit inspection of sales tax and income tax returns of the accused parties.

Background discussions and reading of voluminous documents disclose how the Customs authorities first facilitated this illegal import and when caught red-handed by the Customs Intelligence, the FBR joined hands with the accused Customs officials and cold-shouldered Customs Intelligence DG. The matter is now pending with the Public Accounts Committee that has yet to take it up.

The FBR didn’t offer any comment on a list of questions sent for its version.

The Customs Intelligence seized 14 containers on Multan Dry Port in April 2009, carrying imported HSD but was misdeclared as residue of petroleum and initially had been cleared by the Customs Multan.

According to rules, HSD can only be imported by Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs) and the rest of them are unauthorised. On further information, the Customs Intelligence detained as many as 363 containers at Karachi ports under the same suspicion and it was discovered the containers belonged to the same importers.

In both cases, relevant Customs authorities were accused by the Intelligence Directorate of conniving with the importers and the FIR was also registered against some staffers.

Rai Sikandar, the then DG Customs, who was shocked to notice how colossal loss being incurred to public exchequer, wrote to the FBR chairman that ‘over 1600 containers of the same product have been cleared by the MCC (Model Custom Collectorate in Karachi) during last six months and not a single case was detected through physical examination or the lab test’.

Besides customs officials, government labs were also found involved in facilitating this racket. For example, the petroleum products discovered from containers in Multan were sent for test in Hydrocarbon Development Institute of Pakistan (HDIP) in Lahore and Multan and produced different results. Multan Lab declared the product as High Speed Diesel and Lahore lab reported otherwise: “Test result of the sample is comparable to HSD but contains water and sediment and is not suitable for use in diesel engine”.

As the issue of FIR emerged, Customs Intelligence and Customs Collectorates in Multan registered parallel FIRs. The accused importers went to court, challenging the jurisdiction of Customs Intelligence that was rejected by the Lahore High Court. Nevertheless, the FBR through a letter dated April 15, 2009, gave precedence of Customs Collectorate’s FIR, drawing protest from the Intelligence Directorate. Separately, a joint investigation team was formed for Multan episode but Dr Arsalan, an official recommended by Customs Intelligence, was not made part of the team and instead inducted another Customs officer, Mukarram Jah.

Likewise, the suspected containers in Karachi ports were also seized on the information of the Customs Intelligence DG that also discovered collusion of the customs staff. A joint examination committee was formed under the leadership of Customs Collectorate Karachi. The Customs Intelligence was first made part of investigation but later excluded from the process, said a letter written by Rai Sikandar, DG Intelligence to chairman FBR.

The questions sent to FBR for version, are being reproduced below:

1) Is it true that Directorate General Customs Intelligence seized containers in Multan and Karachi for mis-declaration of HSD/ Used Oil as Residue Oil/ Bitumen?

2) Is it true that 14 containers seized in Multan were initially cleared by the Customs Collectorate but later detained by DG I&I and found that Diesel being imported in unauthorised manner under the pretext of residue oil/bitumen?

3) Is it true that DG I&I and Customs Collectorate registered FIRs under different offences?

4) Is it true that Collectorate’s FIR was given precedence over Customs Intelligence DG’s FIR?

5) Is it true that FBR gave precedence to the Collectorate’s over Customs Intelligence DG’s FIR through a letter on April 15, 2009 when the Lahore High Court had already rejected objections on April 10, 2009 of the accused parties that had objected the Customs Intelligence DG ‘s investigation into the matter?

6) Is it true that Collector Multan was removed on the Containers’ issue?

7) If yes, it means the FBR admitted Collectorate’s involvement in clearance of such mis-declared consignments, nevertheless the investigation into the scandal was assigned to the Collectorate?

8) Is it true that Mukarram Jah, a Custom Officer serving with DG Custom Intelligence, was made member of investigation team notwithstanding the opposition of DG Rai Sikandar who had recommended Dr Arsalan’s name for the purpose?

9) What’s the status of Hafiz Anis-led inquiry into the matter and what were the findings of his report?

10) Is it true that Arshad Saeed, Collector Multan, was removed from the position after Hafiz Saeed’s inquiry report but no action has so far been taken against Arshad Saeed?

11) There were 363 containers seized in Karachi. How many have been cleared and under what pretext? How much duty tax was received from the importers? How many are still parked there, unclaimed? In how many containers, diesel was detected by HEJ, a testing lab in Karachi.

12) Is it true that DG Customs Intelligence disclosed in a letter that over 1,600 such containers have been cleared by Customs Authorities in six-year period?

13) What were the findings of the HDIP (Lahore) and HDIP (Multan) on samples sent from the containers seized in Multan?

14) I understand the importers moved the court and succeeded in securing stay. What departmental action has been taken against the accused held responsible in Karachi and Multan?

15) Is it true that Chief Collector Southern Zone, Munir Qureshi, under whose administration comes Port Qasim and PICT where containers seized, has been appointed as Member (Customs) in FBR?

16) Is it true the seizure in Karachi took place on intelligence of DG Customs Intelligence?

17) Is it true that investigation in Karachi was led by the Collectorate staff, giving DG Customs Intelligence a subordinated role?

18) Is it true that parties brought shipment in Multan, had also their stuff seized in Karachi?

19) Is it true that DG Customs Intelligence was not allowed an audit of sales tax and income tax of the accused parties?

20) Is it true that Customs Intelligence Director General Rai Sikandar was removed from his position after he unearthed this scam?

21) Is it true he has been replaced by a customs group officer?

22) Isn’t it the violation of restructuring plan of the FBR that said a customs officer cannot be DG Customs Intelligence?

SC asks foreign secy for report on citizens incarcerated abroad

* Orders foreign missions to ensure prisoners’ release
* SC told inquiry commission to meet next week to prepare list of all missing persons

By Masood Rehman

ISLAMABAD: A three-member Supreme Court (SC) bench on Monday directed the foreign affairs’ secretary to submit a complete report on Pakistanis imprisoned in various jails abroad.

Hearing the missing persons’ case, the bench – comprising Justice Javed Iqbal, Justice Muhammad Sair Ali and Justice Anwar Zaheer Jamali – also ordered Pakistani ambassadors on foreign missions to work towards getting the Pakistanis released, especially those imprisoned in Thailand.

Defence of Human Rights Chairwoman Amna Masood Janjua informed the SC that a large number of Pakistanis were jailed in Thailand’s prisons, out of which three had turned insane. Therefore, the government should be instructed to get them released as soon as possible, she stated.

Appearing on notice, Additional Attorney General KK Agha told the apex court that the government had appointed retired SC judge – Justice Kamal Mansoor Alam – chairman of the Commission of Inquiry on Enforced Disappearances in place of Justice (r) Sardar Muhammad Raza Khan, who had refused to head the commission citing personal reasons.

He said the other members of the commission are Justice (r) Nasira Javed Iqbal – former judge of the Lahore High Court – and Justice (r) Fazalur Rehman, a retired judge of the Balochistan High Court.

Evidence: Agha said the commission would hold a meeting next week and it would prepare a comprehensive list of the missing persons with all relevant information about each case.

Agha said the commission would recommend appropriate procedures for tracing out the missing persons and appropriate compensation for the victims of the ‘enforced disappearances’. It would also fix responsibility on individuals or organisations for the enforced disappearances and suggest ways and means to prevent the recurrence of such incidents in the future, he added.

Agha said the commission would have power to summon any concerned man, demand any records to be submitted and could also record evidence. He said the non-compliance of the commission’s directions shall be punishable, adding that it is also empowered to order a police investigation into any related matter.

He said the commission would start hearing the missing persons’ case on May 10.

Agha also submitted a report on the people who went missing in the Lal Masjid incident. He said police have taken DNA samples of the 23 bodies collectively buried in a mass grave, but no one had come forward to claim any of the bodies so far.

Ikram Chaudhry – counsel for some of the missing persons’ families – however dismissed the report, saying the figures provided in the report were old. He said that according to his information, at least 400 to 500 people are still missing since the Lal Masjid tragedy.

Missing jihadis: Kamran Dost, the Sindh home secretary, informed the SC that the authorities concerned had traced six of the nine people missing from the province. The remaining three people have links with jihadi organisations, he added.