It doesn’t end here. Another major problem with the budget of this sector is the lack of thought and resolve reflected in the proposed schemes. In a province which has seen many brutal incidents against minorities and others, the need to initiate a dialogue and raise awareness on these issues has been completely ignored. Instead the only schemes proposed (and were present in the previous budget) include  “Development Schemes of Minorities” and “Education Scholarships for Minority Students”. The former is allocated Rs 200 million while the latter is scheduled to get Rs 15 million.

Last term, the Rs. 220 million allocated to this area was revised down to Rs 188 million. This year we have a lower figure to begin with. National Commission for Justice and Peace (NCJP) National Secretary Peter Jacob, while commenting on the issue said that the budget plan for this sector is not even a compensatory effort. He said that the government apparently believes that there is nothing wrong with the state of human rights and especially minority affairs, which is disappointing to say the least. There is a dire need to take steps to protect minority rights in the province, yet no tangible step in this direction has been taken.

During the meeting, the Director General apprised the Prime Minister about the working of his organization. Furthermore, matters pertaining to national security and regional stability came under discussion.

On Tuesday night, the law ministry in its press release had disclosed: “As relevant files relating directly to the subject are presently not traceable in the Law and Justice Division, our ambassador in Switzerland was requested to send fax copies of all correspondence available with him.”

Sources in the law ministry confided told local media that it is suspected that some one during the last Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) regime had stolen the February 4 response of the Swiss authorities to the November 2012 letter of the Government of Pakistan which was written following the order of the apex court in the NRO implementation case. The Swiss authorities had given ten-day period to the government of Pakistan to appeal against the February 4 response of the Swiss authorities therefore the incident could have been planned to hinder the progress of the case.

The decision of the Attorney General, Geneva dated Feb 4, 2013 stated that the Public Ministry of Geneva has decided not to review the closure order dated 25th August 2008. This was done on the grounds that the statutory limitation period of fifteen years has expired; no new evidence or facts have been revealed; and the Republic of Pakistan procedures constitute an “abuse of power” inasmuch as it is “demanding resumption of the criminal procedure while maintaining that such resumption could not take place.”

The same decision allowed the government of Pakistan to file an appeal before the Criminal Appeal Court within ten days. But that was not done by the then government. The law ministry officials are of the view that writing a letter to the Swiss authorities was delayed for almost three years despite clear order of the Supreme Court only because the previous rulers wanted to use the 15-year period to get the cases time-barred as per Swiss laws.

For the original report, please see http://www.thenews.com.pk/Todays-News-13-23617-Many-letters-documents-missing-from-law-ministry-files

A man was gunned down in Mauripur. At the same time, a four-day old body was recovered from a house located in Lines Area.

Another limb-tied body was found from Mewa Shah Cemetery.

Furthermore, a school van came under drive-by shooting by assailants in Karachi’s sector 5C-2. The van’s driver 35-year-old Imran was killed in the gun assault. However, the school children escaped unhurt in the attack.

Two more bodies with torture marks were found one each from Juna Market and Mauripur.

Moreover, two youths heading for picnic were abducted at National Highway in the limit of Malir City Police Station. A little later, Raja Pervez’s body with torture marks was found from nearby village and the other abductee was in critical state.

A man was shot dead in Bhittai Colony, Korangi. The body of a woman who seemed to have been tortured was found from a house in Surjani Town’s Khuda Ki Basti.

Police registered cases of the incidents and started investigations.

Officials said the miscreants hurled hand grenades on Mubarak Qazi’s residence located in Pasni, a medium-sized town and a fishing port in Gwadar district of Balochistan.

Qazi remained safe as he was not present in his home at the time of blast, whereas his wife was injured. The house was partially damaged.

According to a Radio Pakistan report, Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Kayani said, “The army is engaged in the area to bring peace and provide protection to the people so that they could live peacefully.”

Kayani was speaking during the inauguration ceremony of 50-kilometre-long road from Wana to Angoor Aadda.

The army chief further said that due to the efforts of the army, the operation against terrorists was completed within a month.

He went on to appeal to the people of the area to return to their homes and resume their life.

General Kayani added that the government was working on a plan to ensure development of the area by providing civic amenities to the people and construction of roads to link the area with the rest of the country.

“The corruption of President Asif Zardari is not limited to Swiss bank accounts. He has set new records of corruption during the past five years,” Sanaullah said in response to a query about Swiss authorities’ letter informing Islamabad that cases against the president were time-barred and could not be re-opened.

He told Punjab Assembly’s press gallery committee on Wednesday that his party had considered brining the Swiss and new corruption cases under the purview of the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) or setting up a new independent cell to deal with “corrupt elements irrespective of their party affiliations”.

“The proposed cell will not only retrieve the plundered amount but also hold the ruling elite accountable,” he said.

The minister also said that former military dictator Pervez Musharraf was a “national culprit” and he should be tried under Article 6 of the Constitution.

Nevertheless, he said the PML-N would surrender to the Supreme Court verdict on the issue.

About the local body polls, he said opinion of all stakeholders, including parliamentarians, people from different walks of life, voters and the media would be sought before finalising the relevant draft bill. The provincial assembly would further vet the bill before making it a law, he added. He hoped the proposed bill would be passed in the next assembly session after which local government polls would be held within six months.

He clarified that the first stage of the local polls (councillor level) would be held on non-party basis while the second stage (mayors of metropolis, districts and towns) would be party-based.

The minister said the PML-N government was determined to change thana and patwar culture as the process of computerising the revenue record was almost complete.

He said police sub-inspectors would be recruited through the Punjab Public Service Commission exam and graduates would be eligible for appearing in it.

He said the police investigation system would be synchronised with forensic science and policemen would be imparted special training to carry out proper and impartial investigation of cases.

Rana Sana told a questioner that Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif had set up a protest camp at Minar-i-Pakistan lawns during the PPP tenure against ‘unjust’ distribution of electricity. As the federal government had now pledged an end to unjust power distribution, there was no need to set up such camp again, he added.

“Gilani was summoned on Tuesday but he refused to visit the NAB headquarters,” an official of the bureau said.

He said that under the ordinance, a person who had ignored three consecutive notices of NAB was liable to be arrested.

Sadiq, allegedly involved in a Rs82 billion scam, escaped abroad but surrendered on Wednesday.

There are two ways for the arrest of an accused in a NAB case; through an order issued by the chairman and through a court hearing a reference. The signature of the NAB chairman is mandatory in both cases.

NAB spokesman Ramzan Sajid said the bureau would proceed in accordance with its ordinance.

Former prime minister Raja Pervez Ashraf was also allegedly involved in the controversial appointment.

The Supreme Court, where the same case is being tried, has been informed that Ashraf was chairman of the interview board when Sadiq was appointed and Gilani was then the prime minister.

Gilani sent a letter to NAB claiming immunity as a former chief executive of the country.

Under the NAB Ordinance, a person who does not comply with three notices of the bureau may face arrest and heavy fine.

Sadiq has been declared a proclaimed offender as a principal accused in the scam.

He escaped to Abu Dhabi under mysterious circumstances after the Supreme Court declared his appointment illegal on Nov 25, 2011.

He was arrested by Abu Dhabi police on the intervention of Interpol on Jan 28 and a NAB team rushed there to facilitate the arrest but the UAE government refused to hand him over due to legal constraints.

A Dubai court has fixed July 3 for his deportation but given him a right to appeal against the decision. Meanwhile, media reports said Sadiq had sent a letter to NAB, expressing his willingness to return to the country and face his cases, provided he is given justice.

The apex court ordered the Federal Investigation Agency, the ministries of interior and foreign affairs and all other authorities of the government and their subordinate divisions and offices within the country and abroad in February to render full and prompt assistance to NAB in diligently pursuing the absconding accused and to bring him back to Pakistan.

According to media reports, National Accountability Bureau (NAB) officials said that a special team would leave for Abu Dhabi soon to bring the former Ogra chairman back after completing the legal formalities. The development comes after an Abu Dhabi court ordered deportation of Tauqir Sadiq on June 3.

The contents of a one-page handwritten statement of Sadiq, along with the covering letter of Pakistan’s Embassy in Abu Dhabi reads: “I have given in writing to the jail authorities that I am voluntarily surrendering myself to the authorities of Pakistan and Interpol to go to Pakistan and face the cases. I, therefore, quit my right of appeal.” The statement carried his signature dated June 19, 2013.

Pakistan’s Embassy in Abu Dhabi official Arshad Jan Pathansaid Sadiq’s statement was recorded by Counselor Welfare Affairs Farooq Langove, who is posted in Abu Dhabi.

NAB officials confirmed that they received the statement. Sadiq handed over his statement to Langove during the attaché’s routine visit to the ex-chairman at al Wathba Central Jail in Abu Dhabi.

The statement has been forwarded to officials concerned in the UAE through formal diplomatic channels, sources said.