Racist Punjab Assembly Objects to Christian MPA Presenting Budget… What’s Next?

LAHORE: Several provincial legislators in Punjab belonging to the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) have objected to Punjab cabinet member Kamran Michael presenting the budget on grounds that he is Christian, sources within the party told The Express Tribune.

Some PML-N MPAs object to faith of fellow party member Kamran Michael.

Sources say PML-N leaders are in a bind trying to figure out who to assign the finance ministry portfolio before the budget is presented before the Punjab Assembly on June 10.

Several party members are reported to have objected to a Christian being given such a prominent position as that of delivering the annual budget speech and fear losing votes amongst some of their conservative, right-wing vote bank. The PML-N is already afraid of losing ground in its heartland of Punjab to other parties that have been making inroads in the province in recent months.

Michael had been given charge of the finance ministry in March, after the PML-N kicked out the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) from Punjab’s ruling coalition. He replaced the PPP’s Tanveer Ashraf Kaira, in addition to retaining his earlier portfolio of human rights and minorities affairs.

However, while Michael was minister in theory, in practise the position has been managed by Sardar Zulfiqar Khan Khosa, senior adviser to Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif. Khosa attended all meetings related to the budget and was the de facto head of the ministry, despite the fact that Punjab government rules prohibit an adviser from heading any departmental business, even those at a department to which he or she has been assigned.

Sources say that Michael was forbidden from even contacting the finance secretary or the chairman of the planning and development department.

Michael holds the finance ministry as an “additional portfolio”, which means that he is authorised to present the budget. However, he has not been assigned the ministry itself. Rule 136 of the Punjab Assembly Rules of Procedure requires the provincial budget to be presented by the finance minister or another minister who has been assigned his portfolio.

According to the rules of the Punjab Assembly, the residual powers of any unfilled portfolios in the provincial cabinet are transferred to the chief minister until a new minister is appointed. Shahbaz currently holds 20 portfolios himself, having failed to appoint cabinet ministers after kicking out the PPP from the ruling coalition.

Sources said that PML-N members have suggested that the “additional portfolio” for the finance ministry be given to Education and Excise Minister Mujtaba Shuja Rehman in order to avoid Michael presenting the budget. A final decision on the matter is expected to be taken at a party meeting on Tuesday (today).

Since the chief minister technically occupies the powers of finance minister, he could present the budget himself, without having to assign the portfolio to any other cabinet member.

Punjab Government spokesman Senator Pervaiz Rashid told The Express Tribune that Rehman is most likely to present the Punjab budget for fiscal year 2012.

Shooting in Lahore – US official quick on the draw, kills two

LAHORE – An American national associated with the US Consulate in Lahore shot two young motorcyclists while another vehicle used by the US Consulate ran over a man in a bid to rescue the diplomat near Qartaba Chowk on Thursday.

The Old Anarkali Police managed to arrest the American, identified as Raymond Davis, after a brief chase following information that the US officials were involved in a shooting and rescue incident. Davis told police that he opened fire at the two motorcyclists – later identified as Faizan Haider and Faheem Shamshad – because he thought that they were going to rob him. He said the men had pointed a handgun in his direction and he believed they were going to shoot him.

Davis, who is said to be a technical adviser in the American Consulate, opened fire at the two men from inside his car, killing Faheem instantly while Faizan died of his injuries at Services Hospital. Witnesses Khalid and Naeem told Pakistan Today that after shooting the two motorcyclists, the American came out of his car and took their pictures from his mobile phone, adding that afterwards he called somebody on his wireless set and “spoke to the person in Urdu”.

Khalid and Naeem said that as they were trying to stop Davis from fleeing, a black Land Cruiser appeared on the scene. “The driver of the Cruiser steered his vehicle onto the wrong side of the road, running over a young motorcyclist, two women and three passers-by,” they said. The motorcyclist, identified as Ubaidur Rehman, died in hospital later.

They said that when the Land Cruiser reached the spot, Davis spoke to the occupants and later got into his Honda Civic car and fled the scene.Lahore Capital City Police Officer (CCPO) Aslam Tareen said that Davis had claimed that he shot at the two motorcyclists while resisting a robbery. The CCPO said that although the police had found foreign currency and two unlicensed pistols from the possession of the two deceased motorcyclists, but “they were not robbers”.

He said Davis used a 9mm pistol and failed to produce permission to carry the weapon, adding that two cases had been registered against Davis under Section 302 and investigations were underway. Haider’s cousin Riaz told Pakistan Today that his cousin was innocent, adding that according to his information, Haider and his friend chased and later stopped Davis’ vehicle because he had knocked down and injured a passer-by.

He said Haider was carrying an unlicenced weapon because “the family had enemies.” Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif has taken notice of the incident and ordered the CCPO to investigate the matter personally. After Davis’ arrest, reports kept making the rounds in the provincial capital that the police had released Davis. However, CCPO Tareen confirmed to Pakistan Today that Davis had not been freed and two murder cases had been registered in the Lytton Road Police Station against him.

He said that Davis would be produced in court today. Late on Thursday night, Faizan and Ubaidur Rehman’s families protested against the US officials in front of the police station. The protesters blocked Lytton Road, burnt tyres and shouted anti-American slogans.

Shahbaz threatens long march against plunder

JAUHARABAD: Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif on Sunday warned that the PML-N would launch a long march if the plunder and loot of the exchequer by the PPP rulers continued.

He criticised the appointment of Justice (retd) Deedar Hussain as the NAB chairman and said that the PML-N would also stage demonstrations if this appointment was not cancelled. He said this while addressing a gathering after distributing Watan cards among the flood-affected people here on Sunday.

Shahbaz Sharif urged President Zardari to remain in his senses and not to make controversial appointments as had been done regarding Justice (retd) Deedar Hussain Shah. He said if the president continued to make such decisions and the same “obstinate behaviour”

Govt files plea seeking adjournment of NRO verdict

Irfan Ghauri & Zia Khan

ISLAMABAD: The Attorney General of Pakistan has submitted an application on the government’s directives to adjourn the hearing of the National Reconciliation Ordinance’s (NRO) implementation.

For all its sabre-rattling and show of defiance, the government has agreed in principle to remove other beneficiaries of the NRO from key official slots.

The Supreme Court was to resume its hearing on the NRO verdict today (Monday).

According to sources, the petition asks for a postponement citing the Prime Minister’s national and international commitments as well as the ongoing flood crisis.

In the hearing, the Attorney General was also required to present a summary approved by the Prime Minister for writing a letter to the Swiss Government for re-opening the case.

The court had directed him to submit the contents of the summary to the bench at today’s hearing.

Showdown?

A nervy but defiant government threw down the gauntlet on Sunday with Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani questioning the Supreme Court’s powers to amend the constitution ahead of a crucial hearing into cases involving dropped graft charges in Switzerland against President Asif Ali Zardari.

The court will resume hearing on Monday of the case regarding the government’s non-implementation of its verdict on scrapping the ‘controversial’ National Reconciliation Ordinance (NRO), a political-cum-legal deal between former president Pervez Musharraf and slain ex-premier Benazir Bhutto.

A separate bench will also hear several petitions clubbed together against some clauses of the 18th constitutional amendment that the parliament approved early this year including one envisaging the parliamentary scrutiny of judges’ appointments in the higher judiciary.

“The Supreme Court does not have the right to amend the constitution… extra-constitutional steps will not be tolerated,” Gilani told a group of television anchors and senior columnists. The premier also ruled out the possibility of reopening the Swiss cases against the president. Analysts see his remarks as a red flag for a ‘lethal’ confrontation between the executive and the judiciary.

Yet, at the same time, Gilani voiced hope that the court would not issue any order that would destabilise the country politically. “The economic stability of Pakistan depends upon smooth functioning of political institutions,” the premier told reporters during a surprise visit to one of Islamabad’s weekly bazaar.

This indicates that the government is ready to confront the increasingly-assertive apex court should it press the authorities to write a letter to Swiss attorneys for reopening graft cases against President Zardari.

In such an event it will submit a summary in the court, arguing that Zardari, by virtue of being the head of state, enjoyed immunity under the still-uninterrupted Article 248 of the constitution.

Gilani told the Senate last Friday that since parliament was an integral part of the constitution it alone could revoke the president’s immunity from prosecution. “Half of his term is over … and if somebody wants to drag him to court, (they) should wait for another two and a half years,” the premier had said.

But, according to officials close to the rapidly unfolding political developments, Gilani’s government has decided in principle to remove from key official slots the other beneficiaries of the NRO, including some close associates of the president.

It is unclear whether some federal ministers against whom the cases were dropped under the October 2007 ordinance would also be asked to step down.

In Friday’s speech to the upper house, Gilani called upon the top bureaucrats, who had benefited from the NRO and were still holding official posts, to quit themselves. However, he did not say a word about the federal ministers who had extracted similar benefits from the NRO.

Key players and change

In an interaction with senior anchors, Gilani, however, sought to ease speculation that the government might be collapsing. “Those who wish to send the government packing through unconstitutional ways will be disappointed,” he said.

The premier said he met Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry a couple of days ago and would be having another session with him soon. He, however, refused to share with media what transpired between him and Justice Chaudhry in the meeting.

“I have a meeting scheduled with Chief of the Army Staff (General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani) today,” he disclosed.

Also on Sunday evening, Gilani said he talked to Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif over the phone and both agreed to resolve political as well as administrative issues through mutual understanding.

Message to the court

Gilani was not the only one who came up with a carefully-worded message for the Supreme Court not to ‘encroach’ upon parliament’s domain.

Last Friday, a parliamentary committee that crafted together the 18th constitutional amendment cautioned the court against undermining parliament’s supremacy by challenging its decisions.

“The parliament is a sovereign institution. It has the right to amend the constitution and laws the way it wants … no other organ of the state can overrule its decisions,” a participant quoted committee members as saying.

On Sunday, an aide to the premier, Sardar Latif Khosa, questioned on constitutional grounds the extension in the services of higher court judges.

“The Supreme Court did it following the law of necessity,” Khosa said in a veiled message for the higher judiciary, indicating that the government may retaliate if pressed further.

He also rejected a ‘widely-accepted’ notion that the Supreme Court could call the military to implement its decisions, arguing it was possible only with the consent of the federal government.

Separately in Karachi, a parliamentary party meeting of the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), vowed to defend democracy “at any cost”.