LAHORE, June 14: The Punjab chapter of Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf has found maximum rigging complaints at women’s polling stations besides lack of cooperation from the administration, polling staff and even returning officers.

The party recorded these observations in its district review meetings regarding its position in the general elections and their outcome.

The Punjab PTI’s nine-member committee led by President Ejaz Chaudhry and General Secretary Dr Yasmin Rashid had so far reviewed 14 districts in western and central Punjab. The committee reviewed Sialkot and Narowal districts on Friday. The review meetings would be completed on June 26.

Talking to Dawn, Dr Yasmin said the committee was recording complaints of party candidates regarding rigging in the elections and collecting solid proof to form a white paper, which would be presented in the National Assembly by party chief Imran Khan.

She said most candidates claimed maximum rigging complaints had been received from women’s polling stations in their respective constituencies. She added other common complaints were that PTI polling agents had been harassed and all complaints lodged with the polling staff as well as administration fell on deaf ears. She said candidates complained even returning officers ignored their complaints.

The PTI leader said the committee was also collecting proof to support the party’s claim the elections had been rigged and were “orchestrated”.

Besides, she said, the review meetings would help PTI assess its shortcomings and organise itself for local body elections as well as by-elections at provincial and National Assembly seats in Punjab.

LAHORE, June 14: The city received heavy rain on Friday night which inundated roads and low-lying areas in no time.

It started raining after 11pm and was on till 12.30am. The Met office has forecast widespread rain throughout the country during the next few days.

LAHORE, June 14: Some PML-N leaders are reportedly advising Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to “drive a final nail into the coffin” of the PPP by solving the Bhuttos’ murder cases.

A former chief minister of Sindh called on the prime minister in Islamabad a couple of days ago and urged him to launch a final assault on the party that ruled the country in the previous term but was confined to Sindh after the May 13 polls, a PML-N official privy to the development said.

Mr Sharif was advised that earliest solving the mystery shrouding the assassination of PPP chairperson Benazir Bhutto as well as deciding the ‘judicial murder’ of late Zulfikar Ali Bhutto could suck the remaining blood out of the PPP in Sindh, he said.

The former chief minister also sought that he should be appointed governor of the province so that the PPP could be ousted prematurely from the Sindh government, he added.

PML-N central information secretary Mushahidullah Khan was not aware of any such proposal being presented to Mr Sharif.

He, however, asserted that the prime minister would never buy any ‘undemocratic’ suggestion like wrapping up the government of a party that enjoyed mandate of the people.

“My leader has showed his democratic mindset by sacrificing his party’s likely governments in Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. I cannot believe that Mr Sharif will distort his image by agreeing to undemocratic proposals,” Mr Khan said.Meanwhile, a PML-N official said governors of Sindh and Punjab would be replaced by the month-end.

He said the prime minister out of decency was not forwarding his advice to the president for replacing the Sindh governor and was giving opportunity to Ishratul Ebad to resign on his own following in the footsteps of Balochistan and Punjab governors Zulfiqar Magsi and Ahmed Mehmood.

“But the decency would not go long.”

He denied that Mr Ebad was being retained for keeping channels open with the MQM for likely cooperation in Sindh politics.

LAHORE, June 14: The City District Government of Lahore on Friday extended ban on Sheesha smoking for one month, directing assistant commissioners and town administrators to continue crackdown against those involved in spoiling the young generation through such a social evil.

Through a notification, issued by the CDGL administrator/district coordination officer, the officials concerned have been directed to not only seal Sheesha cafes but also arrest their owners through registration of FIRs.

“No one should order desealing of the cafes,” says a spokesman for the CDGL.

Meanwhile, the city district government has taken notice of manufacturing fireworks, kites and string and directed the officials to stop this business.

LPG: The CDGL on Friday directed assistant commissioners/town administrators and labour and civil defence officials to avoid taking action against those LPG dealers running their business lawfully and in accordance with the government directions.

The direction was passed in a meeting of LPG dealers presided over by DCO Nasim Sadiq. — Staff Reporter

LAHORE, June 14: Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) workers and supporters staged on Friday a protest demonstration against, what they see, the anti-people federal budget and chanted slogans against the government.

Protesters waved banners and placards bearing inscriptions such ‘Stop economic murder of salaried class’, ‘Decrease power prices’, ‘Decrease GST’, ‘Stop anti-farmer policies’, ‘Decrease tax on pesticides’, ‘Withdraw tax on milk and sugar’ and ‘Withdraw tax on students’ fee’.

PTI Punjab President Ejaz Chaudhry, Secretary-General Dr Yasmin Rashid, Lahore President Abdul Aleem Khan and Umer Zaheer Meer spoke to reporters.

Mr Chaudhry demanded that the federal government refrain from imposing new taxes and instead lessen levied taxes to give a relief to the common man. “If taxes are not withdrawn, the PTI workers and supporters will come to roads,” he said.

He said PTI Chairman Imran Khan would announce future course of action in the National Assembly. He said the PML-N had made tall claims in its manifesto but failed to give any relief to labourers, salaried class and common people. He said development funds being given to MPAs and MNAs would become a source of corruption.

Dr Yasmin said the imposition of sales tax would trigger price hike, while increase in petroleum and electricity prices would devastate common people’s life.

PR workers: Railways workers forced engines of three express trains to stop in the locomotive shed in protest against the PML-N government for not raising salaries in budget.

As soon as the Jafar, Allama Iqbal and Awam express trains reached the railway station, their engines were dispatched to the locoshed for routine maintenance and re-fuelling. The shed employees, who had been observing a two-hour symbolic strike daily since the budget announcement, forced the engines to stop and started chanting slogans against the government. They allowed the engines to move after the high-ups assured them of accepting their demands.

The All Pakistan Clerks Association also staged a demonstration, demanding the government raise their salaries.

LAHORE, June 14: PPP information secretary Qamar Zaman Kaira has said the government should evolve a mechanism to check tax evasion in order to accelerate the revenue generation.

He however cautioned that such pursuit should not be used as a tool of “intimidation and harassment”.

“The proposal in the Finance Bill 2013-14, authorising the Federal Board of Revenue to have an access to the accounts of the account holders, will backfire if a transparent and just mechanism is not evolved and as a result the economy of the country will be hurt badly,” he said in a statement here on Friday.

Kaira said the chances of using the proposed authority by the FBR officials for their personal gains must be curtailed in absolute terms failing which tax evasion would touch the extent of unimaginative proportion. He said the FBR should maintain a balance between the right of privacy and the requirements of the law which indeed was very thin. “The unguarded handling of the subject may fail the very purpose for which the scheme is being launched,” he added.

The former information minister said the ambitious target set by the PML-N government for 2013-14 was indeed an uphill task which required gigantic efforts, transparency and accountability.

LAHORE, June 14: The Lahore High Court chief justice on Friday expressed concern over a US $104 million contract (now terminated) of 75 locomotives awarded to a Chinese firm by the Pakistan government.

Chief Justice Umar Ata Bandial was hearing a petition of the Dongfang Electric International Corporation which challenged the termination of the contract by the government. The company had given the contract for the supply of the locomotives to the Pakistan Railways in December 2008 and the government later terminated it on May 16, 2013.

During the course of hearing, the chief justice observed that prima facie the grievance of the government against the petitioner company was the supply of 69 diesel locomotives rendering “inferior performance” under an old contract signed in 2001.

The CJ remarked that awarding second contract to the petitioner for 75 locomotives when the earlier contract of 2001 for the same locomotives had rendered poor results was tantamount to inviting the government to squander its resources.

Earlier, petitioner’s counsel Sameer Khosa submitted that the chief executive of the company had authorised Mr Sun Zhenping, present in court, to amend the bank guarantee in the amount of US $15.77 million in favour of the Pakistan government which was valid till June 30, 2014.

He offered that the bank guarantee “shall be encashable on the orders of the court or of any authority appointed by the court for the just and fair resolution of the dispute between the petitioner and the government.”

He sought interim order to restrain the government from demanding encashment of the said bank guarantee.

The chief justice observed that the assurance given by the petitioner’s counsel needed to be implemented apart from demonstrating on record the bona fides of the petitioner to establish its credibility for faithful and satisfactory contractual compliance.

“Notwithstanding the maintenance contract that the petitioner entered with the federal government on Sept 28, 2009, the latter’s complaint still persists and there is no material on record to vindicate the petitioner in respect of that allegation,” the CJ remarked.

Justice Bandial further observed that the petitioner’s complaint that the Pakistan government had not established its letter of credit under the contract of 2008 could not be faulted unless it was shown that past performance of the petitioner was satisfactory and compliant with contractual and industrial standards. It was necessary first to enforce the threshold for the relief of stay against encashment of performance guarantee, the CJ added.

He also observed that apart from the petitioner securing advance payment of US $15.77 million through an unconditional escrow deposit or bank guarantee encashable according to determination of the dispute between the parties by the court or authority appointed by it, there also ought to be specific material on record to evidence faithful performance by the petitioner according to contractual and industry standards in respect of the supply of locomotives already made by it to the federal government.

The chief justice adjourned further hearing till June 17 and asked the petitioner company to show material establishing the foregoing elements for relief.

LAHORE, June 14: Punjab will start school enrolment scheme for five to nine years of age children from Aug 14 to achieve education for all target by 2015.

This was decided at a meeting held under the chair of Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif here on Friday to review the pace of implementation of the Punjab School Roadmap and the measures for launching the enrolment campaign.

Education Minister Rana Mashhood, planning and development chairman, secretaries of school education and literacy, British educationist Sir Michael Barbar’s team, representatives of British NGO McKinsey Fenton Whelan, British high commission and the Department for International Development were also present.The meeting was told that services of 50,000 teachers would be acquired for the campaign who would be imparted special training for the purpose.

Ten districts of south Punjab will be focused under the campaign.

The chief minister directed that a comprehensive programme be evolved by the first week of July to make the enrolment drive a success.

He directed that all EDOs (education) should play a vigorous role under the Punjab School Roadmap Programme, and warned them of action if they failed to achieve the targets.

LAHORE, June 14: The PML-Q has filed a resolution in the Punjab Assembly demanding increase in salaries of provincial employees by at least 15 per cent.Submitting the resolution, PML-Q MPA Samina Khawar Hayat said there should be an increase of 50 per cent in the salaries of the employees but owing to weak economy it should be at least 15 per cent.

The resolution said the Punjab government should not make lame excuse while presenting its budget and announce the increase in the salaries of provincial government employees.

PML-Q deputy parliamentary leader Waqas Hasan Mokal also submitted a resolution demanding withdrawal of general sales tax (GST) with immediate effect. He said the All Pakistan Clerks Association had thanked PML-Q’s Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi and Moonis Elahi for bringing a resolution of salary increase of the employees.

Meanwhile, PML-Q information secretary Senator Kamil Ali Agha said the senators would oppose the proposed anti-people budget.

He said the PML-Q was taking feedback from the government employees, educationists, traders, industrialists and farmers. “We will play our effective role both in the lower and upper houses,” he said.

Session: Budget session of the Punjab Assembly has been convened for Monday as Governor Makhdoom Ahmed Mehmood has issued a notification to the effect.

Speaker Rana Iqbal will chair the session to start at 4:30pm. The only business for the day will be tabling of budget for the year 2013-14 by Finance Minister Mujtaba Shujaur Rehman.

Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif has called a meeting of the provincial cabinet before the assembly session to approve various budget proposals, including agriculture tax system, allocations for Rawalpindi metro bus and other mega projects.

QUETTA: Militants attacked the Quaid-e-Azam residency in Ziarat with hand grenades in the wee hours of Saturday, destroying the historical monument where the founder of Pakistan Mohammad Ali Jinnah spent his last days.

A police man outside the Quaid's residency was also killed in the attack.

A police official, who requested anonymity since he was not authorised to speak to the media, told Dawn.com that four militants on two motorcycles entered the residency and hurled hand held bombs.

"All old memorials inside the residency have been destroyed," he said.

He said memorial chairs, beds, and historic photographs of the founder were burnt to the ground in the resulting fire.

Another police official, requesting anonymity, said the wood structure of the residence had been burnt down, however, the exterior concrete structure was still intact.

Bomb disposal squad also claimed to have defused six more bombs planted inside the residency.

Police said the militants escaped unhurt from the spot.

Frontier Corps and police reached the residency and started investigation into the incident.

The founding father of the country, Quaid e Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah, had spent last days of his life in Ziarat at the historic wooden structure.

Ziarat is considered a tourist point in insurgency-hit Balochistan province. A large number of tourists visit the town and the memorials of the Quaid every summer.

KARACHI: Police in Karachi has reportedly arrested a man suspected to have been involved in the killing of Sindh High Court advocate Kausar Saqlain Abbas and his two sons.

The arrested suspect, who is allegedly affiliated with the banned Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), was arrested from Karachi's Hawkes Bay area.

Abbas, 40, and his two sons, Aun Abbas, 12, and Mohammad Abbas, 18, were gunned down on May 28 in firing on their car on Karachi’s Mauripur Road in what police at the time called a ‘sectarian’ attack.

The advocate was going to drop his children to Sindh Madressatul Islam University school in their car when he was targeted.

According to lawyers’ representatives, Abbas was the 12th advocate killed in the city over the past six months and third during May alone.

Earlier on May 3, a senior lawyer and his son, also a lawyer, were gunned down on Mauripur Road on their way to an Imambargah in Kharadar. — DawnNews

LAHORE: Two people were killed and two others critically injured on Saturday when five gunmen opened fire inside a courtroom at Lahore’s sessions court, DawnNews reported.

The deceased had arrived at the court for a hearing of a murder case when members of the opposing group opened fire on them, killing them on the spot. Two others were severely wounded in the firing.

The incident caused a commotion in the court and a large number of police personnel arrived soon after.

The incident was the result of a land dispute between the groups and two men suspected of opening fire had been identified.

The injured were shifted to the Mayo Hospital and the bodies were taken to a mortuary.

ISLAMABAD: The anti-terrorist court indicted General (retd) Pervez Musharraf in the judges’ detention case on Saturday.

He was indicted during a hearing of the case at his farmhouse residence in Chak Shahzad by ATC judge Kausar Abbas Zaidi.

The charges against Musharraf were read out to him, which the former army strongman refused to accept.

Following which, the court summoned prosecution witnesses for the upcoming hearing of the case.

The case is based on an FIR against the retired general registered in August 11, 2009 on the complaint of Chaudhry Mohammad Aslam Ghumman advocate.

He had asked the police to initiate legal proceedings against Musharraf for detaining over 60 judges, including Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, after proclamation of a state of emergency in the country on November 3, 2007.

The case is one of three against Musharraf in courts within Pakistan. He is also accused of involvement in a conspiracy to murder Benazir Bhutto in 2007 and over the 2006 killing of Baloch nationalist leader Akbar Khan Bugti.

Musharraf returned to Pakistan in March after nearly four years of self-imposed exile to contest the May 11 general election.

KARACHI: A policeman was killed and eight others, including police and Rangers personnel, were injured in two explosions on Manghopir Road in Karachi's Pirabad area.

Those injured in the explosions near Kati Pahari also included a rescue volunteer.

The first explosion was a cracker blast which reportedly targeted a Rangers check post in the area.

The first blast took place when unknown men riding a motorbike lobbed a hand grenade on Manghopir Road.

The attackers escaped, however, a second blast occurred as police and Rangers personnel arrived at the site of the explosion.

A policeman was killed and several were reported injured in the second blast, including Rangers and police personnel. A volunteer who was engaged in the rescue operation was also wounded in the second explosion.

The injured were shifted to Abbasi Shahid Hospital for treatment.

ISLAMABAD: Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly Khurshid Shah on Saturday strongly condemned the attack targeting Jinnah’s Ziarat residence, adding that the opposition would not remain silent on the issue, DawnNews reported.

Speaking to DawnNews outside the Parliament House, Shah said the opposition would register its protest on the matter in the Parliament.

Earlier today, militants had attacked Jinnah’s residence in Balochistan’s Ziarat area with hand grenades. The residence suffered extensive damage and all the memorabilia contained inside the house was said to have been completely destroyed.

Furthermore, Deputy Speaker National Assembly Murtaza Javed Abbasi also condemned the attack on the Ziarat residence of Jinnah.

Two weeks ago, the Council of Islamic Ideology (CII) declared that DNA tests should not be used as primary evidence in rape cases.

Although its recommendations are not binding on the government, the CII is a Constitutional body that interprets Islamic injunctions and advises the government on religious affairs.

The CII’s alternative is the religious injunction of producing four male witnesses against the rapist – creating a furore in civil society.

Meanwhile, Sharmila Faruqui, a Pakistan Peoples Party MPA in the Sindh Assembly, moved a resolution demanding the provincial government arrange for DNA tests in all rape cases.

As far as the implementation of the CII’s controversial recommendation is concerned, the Supreme Court had already decided last year in favour of DNA tests in rape cases. “The apex court has declared DNA evidence as admissible in rape cases. Now there is no ambiguity about it,” observed Barrister Salman Akram Raja, who was part of the case.

“Defying apex court judgments amount to contempt of court. In case the CII makes recommendations against the court judgement, it will be open for challenge,” Raja added.

He explained the CII recommendations were not binding on the government. So the burden of taking up or rejecting the recommendation would be on the federal government.

Allama Tahir Ashrafi, a member of the CII, on the other hand, refuted that any decision had been made by the coucil, saying: “The media created a storm out of nothing. There were reports and analyses as if they had a copy of our decision. The CII only discussed the matter. There was no decision, I can assure you.”

He added: “We have never declared DNA tests as un-Islamic. What we discussed was whether such evidence is admissible in rape cases.”

Ashrafi said the CII will meet again in the first week of July to finalise its recommendations on the matter. The council will also invite DNA experts to get their opinion on how effective the tests can be to determine the crime of rape.

His argument against the DNA test was based on an apprehension that the situation might be exploited by one party or another. Ashrafi said DNA would not be able to determine whether a crime had actually occurred or whether the act was consensual. “Therefore, we must adhere to the Quranic injunction of producing four witnesses to prove the crime,” he argued. The condition, he contested, benefits women more than men because no one can accuse them of a sinful act on flimsy grounds.

Asked how a woman could produce four witnesses to testify in her favour before the court, Ashrafi merely said the issue should be taken to the Qazi Court. The CII leader asserted that circumstantial evidence could be examined by the Qazi Court which could decide the matter without demanding four witnesses.

Ashrafi contended that DNA evidence could only be admissible if rape cases were dealt under “Ta’zir” and not under “Hadd.” The punishments under Hadd are those ordained by the Holy Quran or Sunnah. Ta'zir is simply defined as any punishment other than Hadd.

Sharmila Faruqui, on the other hand, completely disagreed with the CII’s recommendations. 'Although the CII recommendations are not binding, but [by saying DNA evidence is secondary] they have supported the rapists,” the Sindh MPA said.

She also pointed out that the CII comprises 20 members and of them only one is woman.

'Under the Women Protection Act, cases of rape should be tried under the Pakistan Penal Code, not under Hudood ordinance," she added, explaining: “The victims’ families are not familiar with DNA tests. They need to be educated and helped by the government.”

Not every religious scholar agrees with the condition of producing four witnesses in rape cases. Dr Javed Ghamdi, another prominent religious scholar, for example, interprets rape as “a crime falling in the category of Hiraba” that includes offences of robbery, harassment, terrorism or promoting terror. Hiraba does not require four witnesses to prove the offence. Circumstantial evidence, DNA and other relevant tests and testimony of experts and victims may be enough to prosecute the accused.

According to the scholar, Islamic jurisprudence also provides another way to deal with rape cases under the law of Jirah (wounds). The two logical frameworks, given by Islam, do not call for producing four witnesses to establish the crime of rape, Ghamdi says.

Shahzad Raza is a freelance contributor. His twitter handle is @shahz79.

QUETTA: Balochistan Chief Minister Abdul Malik Baloch on Saturday took serious notice of the attack on Quaid-i-Azam’s Ziarat residency on Saturday.

"I strongly condemn this act", Baloch told Dawn.com.

He said the perpetrators of the attack on Jinnah’s Ziarat residence would be brought to book.

The chief minister assured that Jinnah's residence would be restored in its original condition.

"I would even call foreign experts to restore the Ziarat residency in its original form," he said.

The chief minister said the damaged portion of the residency would soon be reconstructed.

Moreover, Chief Secretary Balochistan Babar Yaqoob Fateh Muhammad and Inspector General Balochistan Police Mushtaq Sukhera visited Ziarat on the directives of the chief minister.

The two top officials of the province directed the local administration to double its efforts to ensure security for buildings of national significance.

QUETTA: At least eleven women were killed on Saturday when bomb ripped through a bus inside the Women University campus in Quetta, the capital of Balochistan.

Less than an hour later, sounds of explosions and firing spread panic and chaos through the Bolan Medical Complex where most of the wounded had been taken.

At least three explosions and constant gunfire were being heard from inside the hospital, where police sources reported eight gunmen had taken positions restricting security personnel from entering the premises of the complex.

According to the latest reports, three soldiers were also said to have been lost their lives in the still continuing gun-battle between security forces and the militants.

Capital City Police Officer Mir Zubair Mehmood confirmed Deputy Commissioner Abdul Mansoor Khan, who was wounded earlier, was also killed by shots to the head and chest.

A journalist from a local television news channel was also wounded with a bullet to his leg.

A DawnNews correspondent reporting from the hospital confirmed the second blast occurred inside the emergency ward of the hospital. The nature of the blasts at the hospital and the extent of the resulting damage were still unclear.

Several people, including journalists and relatives of dozens wounded in the bus blast, were stranded inside the hospital, with reports of up to eight gunmen inside the premises.

Frontier Corps and security personnel were still unable to enter the hospital premises, where exchange of gunfire and explosions were still being heard at frequent intervals.

The exact number of casualties so far was unclear, but at least 12 people have been killed in the attacks in the Balochistan capital.

Capital City Police Officer Mir Zubair Mehmood confirmed reporters that the first bomb went off inside the bus at Quetta’s Sardar Bahadur Khan Women University, killing eleven women.

“The bomb exploded just when female teachers and students gathered inside the bus around 3 pm to proceed for Quetta city from the university,” he said.

The CCPO said that most of the victims were female teachers and students. He said the bus caught fire after the powerful blast.

Mehmood said all of the wounded were rushed for medical treatment to Bolan Medical Complex Hospital, where an emergency had been imposed.

Earlier on Saturday, militants attacked the Quaid-e-Azam residency in Ziarat with hand grenades, destroying the historical monument where the founder of Pakistan Mohammad Ali Jinnah spent his last days.

A policeman was killed in the attack on the Jinnah’s monumental residency.

Officials had confirmed that most of the old memorials inside the monument were destroyed, with historic photographs of the founder burnt to the ground in the resulting fire.

No group has so far claimed responsibility for any of the attacks on Saturday.

This is a developing story and will be updated as reports keep coming in.

ISLAMABAD: President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on Saturday condemned the bus bombing in Quetta.

Moreover, Chief Minister Balochistan Abdul Malik Baloch, Chief Minister Punjab Shahbaz Sharif, chief of Pakistan Tehrik-i-Insaaf (PTI) Imran Khan and chief of Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) Altaf Hussain also condemned the bombing that targeted the bus of a women only university in the provincial capital.

At least eleven women were killed on Saturday when a bomb ripped through the bus.

Less than an hour later, sounds of explosions and firing spread panic and chaos through the Bolan Medical Complex where most of the wounded had been taken.

Following which, at least three explosions were heard from inside the hospital.

Television reports said Deputy Commissioner Abdul Mansoor Khan, who had earlier been wounded, was killed by shots to the head and chest.

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on Saturday telephoned Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan and sought details of the security situation in Quetta.

The prime minister conveyed his directives to the interior minister to immediately extend maximum assistance from the federal government’s law enforcement agencies to the Balochistan government in order to manage the situation.

At least 15 people, including 11 women, have been killed in Quetta in a series of blasts which began with an attack on a bus transporting students and teachers of a women only university in the provincial capital.

Following the blast, the injured were shifted to the Bolan Medical Complex which was taken over by attackers. Three explosions took place within the hospital’s premises and Deputy Commissioner Abdul Mansoor Khan and three security forces personnel were killed in the situation that ensued the first bombing and the siege of the hospital.