Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry has said constitutional deviations and weak rule of law in the past resulted in the mushroom growth of militant and terrorist organisations and the government should adopt a constitutional way to cope with such organisations. He was addressing the participants of a two-day international conference titled Peace Through Law, organised by the Supreme Court Bar Association at a local hotel. A delegation of Indian lawyers is also in the city to participate in the conference. The chief justice said that breaking the law and deviation from the Constitution have always resulted in a severe crisis for the country. He said the 1971 incident of the fall of Dhaka could not be de-linked from dissolution of the constitutions of 1956 and 1962. He said the current wave of sectarianism, extremism and target killings prevalent in the country were the result of the deviation from the Constitution of 1973 in 1977, and 1999. The News.
A senior US diplomat on Saturday denied his visit to Pakistan was to push for a military offensive in the restive border region of North Waziristan. He said it was up to Pakistan to take any decision on the matter. “No, I am here to continue the conversation we have been having with Pakistani leaders over the past several months,” US special envoy for Afghanistan and Pakistan Marc Grossman said in a talk show on state-run Pakistan Television. “On (the) particular question of North Waziristan (offensive) or any other question, that is the decision for the government of Pakistan and solely for the government of Pakistan,” he said. Grossman, who arrived in Islamabad on Saturday for talks with political and military leaders, had been asked if his visit was aimed at pushing Pakistan to carry out a military operation in North Waziristan. Daily Times, The News, Dawn.
Two roadside explosions occurred in Barra Sheikhan, a suburban area of provincial metropolis. However, no causality has been reported so far, sources said on Saturday. According to details, miscreants planted explosives on Frontier Road and later detonated them with a remote-control device. No loss of life and property has been reported so far. Police have started investigation in this regard. App. Daily Times, The News, Dawn.
Three persons sustained injuries and several shops were damaged in a bomb blast in a CD shop on the Kohat Road in here Saturday. An official of the Badaber Police Station said the militants had placed explosives near the CD shop. Three persons were injured, he said, adding that a few shops were also damaged in the blast. The injured were rushed to the Lady Reading Hospital. A heavy contingent of the police cordoned off the area after the explosion. Earlier, two improvised explosive devices planted on a roadside in Nargis Koroona area exploded in the morning. However, no human or material loss was reported in the incidents. The News.
After heavy shelling by the Pakistan Army gunship helicopters and artillery on Friday, the situation remained tense on Saturday in the volatile North Waziristan tribal region where one person was killed and six others, including two women and a child were seriously injured. Also, North Waziristan remained under curfew for the second consecutive day and all government and private institutions, businesses and commercial centres were closed. Curfew will remain in force for the third day today (Sunday) as the local administration announced on the local Pashto language radio channel in Miranshah that curfew would continue in all parts of North Waziristan. The people were told not to come on the roads, otherwise they would be responsible for any losses.
Residents in Machis Camp near Miranshah said one person was killed and six others, including two women, a child and three men were seriously injured when the gunship helicopter targeted their house. The News, Dawn.
The Karzai administration and Nato here hardly give any sign of launching operation against Maulana Fazlullah as his group again came under focus after the recent attack on Malala Yousafzai. In fact, Afghanistan is in a state of denial about the presence of Fazlullah, a Pakistani Taliban commander who was driven out of Swat Valley in a massive military operation in mid-2009. “We want to assure the Pakistani people that we will not allow any terrorist to use Afghan soil,” said Afghanistan’s Interior Ministry spokesman, Sediq Sediqi, indicating that no “terrorist” was attacking Pakistan from Afghanistan. Maulana Fazlullah, Pakistani officials say, has been maintaining sanctuaries in Afghanistan’s Kunar province for the last few years. His group has organised deadly cross-border raids into Upper Dir, Chitral and Lower Dir districts and has claimed responsibility for suicide bombings and targetted attacks against opponents. Malala Yousafzai, who spoke against his brutalities in Swat, is believed to have been targetted on his behalf and the alleged perpetrator, Attaullah, has reportedly moved to safe havens in Kunar. When Sediqi was confronted that Fazlullah had been operating from Kunar for the last three years, he said: “Well, there are terrorists living on the Pakistani soil for many, many years.” His answer suggested the Afghanistan government had no intention to move against Fazlullah. The News.
A suspected militant was killed and four others were arrested in Mohmandkhel village on Saturday, sources said. The sources said that the security forces were carrying out search operation in Mohmandkhel village when a group of suspected militants fire at them. The soldiers, the sources said, returned the fire killing one of the attackers. The security forces seized two handgrenades from their possession. The identity of the attackers, who were shifted to an undisclosed place for interrogation, could not be ascertained. Missing person found dead in Lakki district: A young man who had gone missing four days ago was found dead in Surkamar village in the limits of Dadiwala Police Station, police said on Saturday. The News.
NAWAF KHAN, SHARAFAT ALI CHAUDHRY
