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Monday, August 17, 2009

Arrival of International Lions director Naresh Agarwal at Karachi


Govt asks traders to sell sugar at Rs50/kg


In the aftermath of a crackdown against sugar hoarders, Sindh government and City District
Government of Karachi have asked the wholesalers traders of sugar to supply the white sweetener at Rs48-per
kg while the retail price of the commodity should be Rs50-per kg.
The traders and mills owners have limited the supply of white sweetener in market, resulting in highest ever
increase in the prices of commodity to Rs54-per kg at retail market in the country.
While, the shortage of commodity in wholesale market also been reported in the country.
The artificial shortage of commodity has caused heated debate in Lower House of the Parliament, where
treasury and opposition benches levelled allegations against each other for hoarding.
Due to debate in National Assembly and crackdown against the hoarders’ mafia in Punjab, the Sindh Chief
Minister Syed Qaim Ali Shah on Sunday directed the concerned administration to take action against the
traders involved in the hoarding in the province.
Sindh CM has also issued directives for ensuring supply of the sugar in market at reasonable price.
Meanwhile, a sugar broker Haji Siddique told The Nation that CDGK conducted a meeting of wholesalers, sugar
traders and sugar brokers to ensure the smooth supply of commodity on reasonable price in the City.
The CDGK officials issued directives to the concerned stakeholders to supply sugar at the price of Rs48 per kg
and Rs50 per kg in wholesale and retail markets respectively, he confirmed, adding that CDGK also instructed
for smooth supply of commodity during the holy month of Ramadan.
Dispelling the impression of shortage of sugar, Siddique said that sufficient stocks were available with the
traders, markets and private sector. “If smooth supply of sugar continued, the sugar brokers will supply the

Sunday, August 16, 2009

Lyari residents protest Rehman Dakait's killing


Thousands of people from Lyari gathered to protest the killing of Rehman Dakait Sunday in a massive rally that went from Pakistan Chowk to the Karachi Press Club.

The protest was organised in part by the Peoples Aman Committee.

Rehman Dakait, as he is commonly known, was killed in what the police have said was an encounter last week. Dakait was wanted in over 100 criminal cases and was known as one of Karachi's most dangerous gangsters. Just before his death he had begun to undertake charity work in his area, winning over many of the residents, who are mostly Baloch.

The people who took part in the protest shouted slogans against SP Chaudhry Aslam, the police officer whose men killed Rehman. They demanded his arrest and their arrests for the 'extra judicial killing'.

Some of the protestors, including women and children, showed up wearing Pakistan Peoples Party flags wrapped around their heads. Others held up black flags and shouted 'Jeay Bhutto' [Long Live Bhutto].

Some of them said that Lyari had been neglected and some ministers were to blame.

Saturday, August 15, 2009

President Asif Zardari performs ground-breaking of new Sindh Assembly building


President Asif Ali Zardari performed the ground-breaking ceremony of the new Sindh Assembly building here on Friday.

The ceremony was held within the precincts of the existing building of the provincial assembly.

The estimated cost of the project is Rs 1.9 billion and the completion time is 30 months.

The new building will have a seating capacity of 350 members of the provincial assembly.

The groundbreaking ceremony was attended among others by Senate Chairman Farooq A Naek, National Assembly Speaker Dr Fehmida Mirza, Sindh Governor Dr Ishratul Ibad Khan, Chief Minister Qaim Ali Shah, federal and provincial ministers, members of the diplomatic corps and the elite of the city.

Sindh Assembly Speaker Nisar A Khuhro presented the welcome address.

On the occasion, President Zardari said that Pakistan needs a new vision and a new relationship with the world.

He said that the country also needs a new relationship with its neighbours.

He said that there should be regional ownership to the war in Afghanistan and the regional ownership to the trade of the world which starts from Pakistan and including India, China, Turkey or the neighbour of our region should be a common market.

Zardari said that this process of thought was shared first by Benazir Bhutto in a summit where she had acknowledged SAARC as the future economical zone.

Referring to the ground-breaking ceremony of the new building of the Sindh Assembly, the president said that this honour has been bestowed upon him through the vehicle of Bhuttoism.

He further stated that the Bhuttoism gives us the people's power and the people of Pakistan the sustaining power to fight and act against all dictators.

Zardari said that it was this parliament that passed a resolution that led to the exit of a dictator from the Presidency.

He also referred to the concept of reconciliation that was given by the great leader Benazir Bhutto and said that we can see it working.

"Today amongst us sit all the political forces of Pakistan including the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM), the Awami National Party (ANP), Pakistan Muslim League-Functional, the opposition, independents and that they are all here to serve the people of Pakistan," the president added.

He further stated that this is the Assembly where our founding father, the Quaid-e-Azam, gave us Pakistan due to the help of the Sindh Assembly.

Speaking on the occasion, Sindh Governor Dr Ishrat ul Ebad Khan, termed the new Sindh Assembly building project a very significant and historic one.

The governor said that in Sindh, the Pakistan People's Party, the ANP and the MQM are together and this alliance is very strong and its positive impact ensures the stability in the province as well as in Pakistan. app

Thursday, August 13, 2009

Cylinder Explosion In Korangi, Boy Killed


A 12-year-old child was injured as a gas cylinder in a house exploded while a woman, with her two children were hurt here in Korangi industrial area.

According to police, the boy was identified a Aamir while woman and children were identified as Naheed, Samina and Kamil.

Injured were shifted to hospital for medical treatment, hospital sources said.

Wednesday, August 12, 2009

Karachi’s crime world


Amazingly, people in the funeral procession of Rehman Dakait, Karachi’s most well known gangster, began firing on people they identified as enemies. As a result, eight died in the first flush of revenge, some of them pointing to the old political rivalries in the mega-city.

The “police encounter” is already enveloped in doubt, as most encounters tend to be. Rehman, with Rs 50 million on his head, was not in hiding and not returning from Hyderabad but had gone to Gadap Town to try and sell the 50 acres he “owned” there. The gangster was in the habit of travelling openly in the city because of his political “connections”, which included “many ministers”. But somebody at the political apex had made a decision; and Rehman Dakait finally met his comeuppance.

What the TV channels showed during his funeral at Lyari was mind-boggling. The crowd was mammoth and all of them were in tears for “Sardar Abdur Rehman Baloch” and talked of the good that he had done in the vast but officially neglected Lyari They talked of the free dispensaries and training schools that he had opened for them. Women in particular were greatly upset over his death, pointing once again to his involvement in social work in the area. Abdus Sattar Edhi, who was present in the midst of his devotees, called him “mujahid”.

Rehman spread around a lot of unspecified wealth. He could kidnap for ransom and come into a lot of money whenever he wanted. He hitched his power to the politics of the PPP and legitimised himself. Lyari, with its majority Baloch population, has been a PPP stronghold; and politicians have added to their muscle power by protecting his gang. Not much was hidden because the legend of the drug gangs of Lyari is public property; and Rehman Dakait was doing what his father used to do, only with more sophistication.

Rehman was aware of the changing trend in PPP politics. It was becoming apologetic about him, signalling to him to mend his ways. In response, he had begun financing marriages of the poor girls of Lyari and started social service in real earnest. But vendettas kept snapping at his heels; he had killed too many people. He was also not completely free of the new gang wars erupting in the city. A conflict between the Baloch and the Katchi community was fomented in Lyari.

Rehman had escaped from custody a number of times, clearly because of his political connections. He soon developed his network of informers within the administration and was able to terrorise the police too by killing their officers. Only last year a Karachi police officer had recommended “peace talks” — sounds familiar? — rather than arrest and trial of the great dacoit. He was the Veerappan of Pakistan.

But he was not the only one. His death nearly synchronised with the death of Baitullah Mehsud whose funds too came from drugs and kidnapping for ransom and who had a “syndicate” of criminal activities based in Karachi. The chain of madrassas that supported him also did a lot of social service by offering boarding and lodging to the children of the poor. Before his death, it was feared that he could take over Karachi any time he wished.

There is the “international” figure of an Indian don allegedly luking in the backdrop of Karachi, owning properties the same way as Rehman Dakait and disposing of killers he can activate at will. Stories about the gang war that killed some of his close associates have been published in Pakistan to the embarrassment of the government which denies — not very credibly — allegations from India that the gent is in Pakistan. In the case of all the gangsters of Karachi, some direct or indirect linkage with the state has always come to light.

Let’s be frank. So dominant is the trend of patronising gangsters in Karachi that it is no longer possible to do politics in the city without an army of killers on your leash. People in Karachi need protection as they do in Swat and Waziristan and Quetta. Their allegiance will go to the person — it no longer matters if he is a gangster or a terrorist — who gives them protection or spares them when killing others. Karachi votes along these patterns; and these days the only mode of political communication there is “target-killing”. (Daily Times)

Tuesday, August 11, 2009

7 killed as Karachi echoes with gunshots

Tension grip the City as the funeral of Rehman Dakait and three of his accomplices including Waja Aqeel, Nazeer Baloch and Aurangzeb Baba was held at Kalakot in Lyari Town on Monday.
Seven people lost their lives in separate incidents of firing, including those who were killed after unknown armed men targeted the funeral participants at different neighbourhoods.
It is important to mention that Abdul Sattar Edhi has also reportedly attended the funeral.
According to details, after offering final prayers at Nawalain, Rehman Dakait’s body was being taken to Mawach Goth cemetery, when miscreants started firing injuring Khair Bux, Naushad and Qadir, who were shifted to the Civil Hospital.
In another incident, two young men Naeem Baloch and Salman Baloch were killed by aerial firing at Old Golimar Manghopir Road within the precincts of Pak Colony Police Station.
The duty officer of the police station say the victims were on their way to attend the funeral of Rehman Dakait when some unidentified men opened fire on them, while some sources in police say that the assailants might belong to the Dakait’s rival group.
Another man lost his live and his friend was injured seriously when armed men resorted to indiscriminate firing at the procession within the jurisdiction of Baghdadi Police Station. Noman (30) and Majeed were rushed to the Civil Hospital where Noman succumbed to his injuries while Majeed’s condition is said to be critical.
One more death has been reported in firing incidents at the participants in different areas. Similarly, an activist of MQM was shot dead within the limits of Baldia Town Police Station along the route of Rehman’s funeral procession.
Police said the MQM activists were sitting near a graveyard when the funeral procession of Rehman Dakait was heading towards Mawach Goth. Some unknown assailants resorted to firing and injured Rafiullah alias Raju, Anwar Hussain and Muhammad Shehzad, who were taken to local hospital in a critical condition where doctors pronounced Raju as dead.

Monday, August 10, 2009

Lyari gangster Rehman Dakait killed


By Kamil Arif

KARACHI: Hundreds of Baloch residents of Lyari attended the funeral of legendary gangster Rehman Dakait Monday evening.

Dakait and Aqeel were buried in Mawach Goth and Aurangzeb and Nazeer were laid to rest in Mewa Shah after their funeral prayers were offered at Cheel Chowk's nearby Eidgah, Lyari. Charity pioneer Abdus Sattar Edhi and the Lyari town nazim attended the funeral.

Most of the day Baloch-dominated areas Malir, Gadap and Pak Colony stayed shut and protests sporadically erupted after Dakait and his three accomplices were shot dead Sunday night in Steel Town.

The seemingly invincible Rehman Dakait, whose legend as a Lyari gangster was so strong that the word ‘dacoit’ had become his surname, was shot dead with three of his men in Steel Town Sunday night at Kathore Morr on Link Road. The bodies, which were being kept at the Edhi Morgue at Sohrab Goth, were finally released after a large crowd protested outside the morgue. The protestors, many of who were women, were family and Dakait supporters who arrived in buses and vans in large numbers. A heavy contingent of police was deployed.

The bodies were taken to Lyari via Mauripur in a procession that passed the Lyari Expressway, escorted by the police, to keep traffic flowing smoothly.

After the shooting, the bodies were taken to Jinnah hospital for a post mortem and so far, the only report that has been released is that each of the dead had been shot three or four times. There has been no report on approximately when they were shot, or from what range. The full report on the post mortem is expected later.

No FIR has been lodged yet, confirmed the Steel Town SHO. The police cited this as the reason for not releasing the bodies to their families. However, the bodies were released after a large crowd protested.

SP Chaudhry Aslam confirmed the news of the encounter to the media at Jinnah hospital along with police chief Waseem Ahmed.

Dakait was notorious as Karachi's most feared gangster who ruled a sprawling network of guns and drugs out of the congested neighbourhood. His main rival Arshad Pappu is in jail.

According to CCPO Waseem Ahmed, Rehman Dakait was wanted in more than 100 cases, including the murders of some 80 policemen and the kidnapping and torture of Inspector Nasir Ali. Ahmed added that Dakait had previously been arrested but had escaped. He termed Dakait’s death an achievement for the police and said that the Sindh governor and the Sindh home minister had announced rewards of Rs 1,000,000 each. The sum will be divided among the members of SP Aslam’s party, according to their involvement in the encounter.

He claimed that with Dakait gone, the police will be able to bring law and order to Lyari and create a sense of normalcy for the residents of the town. SAMAA

Sunday, August 9, 2009

Govt can take action against Musharraf by invoking Article 6: Aitzaz

Former President Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA), Aitzaz Ahsan has said that the government can take action against Pervez Musharraf by invoking Ariticle-6 of the constitution, saying he (Musharraf) was a coward person.

Addressing in Karachi City Court on Saturday and later talking to media, Aitzaz Ahsan said that the former President had played a role regarding to remove evidences in murder of Benazir Bhutto and Karsaz tragedy.

He said that its up to court to give punishment to former President Pervez Musharraf.

Praising the role of media in the movement for the restoration of the judiciary, Former President Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA), Aitzaz Ahsan has urged lawyers’ fraternity to change thinking of people by following principles to be based on non-violence.

Addressing in Karachi City Court on Saturday, Chaudhary Aitzaz Ahsan said that after the start of historical lawyers movement, the people had started to see a dream of welfare state and lawyers objectives to be achieved when Pakistan to become as a welfare state.

He said that July 20 was a historical day but a dictator had arrested 60 judges and suspended the constitution, saying Pervez Musharraf had taken decision whatever he wanted but the denial of CJ Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhary had changed Pakistan’s scenario.

According to Aitzaz, it was the lawyers’ movement which created hope of Pakistan to be a welfare state, adding, all institutions of the country were following Musharraf’s orders and Musharraf were making laws on his choice.

Paying tributes of martyrs of May 12 incident, Aitzaz Ahsan said that it has brought revolution in Pakistan and people who were responsible for violence now writing letters to the Chief Justice of Pakistan.

Mentioning the sacrifices rendered by Karachi lawyers, the former President SCBA said that lawyers belonging to Karachi rendered most sacrifices and they had traveled from miles away to the capital in the long march, saying the struggle by Karachi’s lawyers had guaranteed the success of the movement.

Commending the role of media, Aitzaz Ahsan said that the media played an important role for the independence of the judiciary, adding media men and lawyers are inevitable for each other and urged journalists to support lawyers in achieving their objectives, adding out of 17,000 lawyers in Lahore, only 10 or 15 following violence.

The veteran lawyer specially mentioned the services of cameramen who with their heavy equipments covered long marches and rallies in scorching heat.

He said that lawyers in small number involved in violence do not represent the lawyers’ community.

Saturday, August 8, 2009

Special tribunals for land grabbing cases in the offing

By Razzak Abro

The Sindh government plans to set up special tribunals for awarding strict punishments to those involved in encroachment of government land through summary trials, keeping in view that this issue is one of main reasons behind the incidents of target killings in Karachi.

Senior member of the Board of Revenue, Ghulam Ali Pasha, said this while briefing the Sindh Minister for Revenue, Jam Mahtab Dahar, who has recently been assigned the portfolio of the revenue department.

“A summary is being prepared for the approval of the Sindh chief minister. It would be sent to the provincial assembly that will envisage the establishment of tribunals, summary trials and punishment for those involved in encroaching government land”, he said.

Dahar was previously the provincial population minister. Sindh Chief Minister Qaim Ali Shah while introducing changes in his cabinet had allotted him the revenue ministry replacing Jam Saifullah Dharejo.

Talking to the media on the occasion, the revenue minister said that the land grabbing business in the city is not a secret and it has continued since a long time.

He added that it was one of the main reasons behind the current bloodshed in the city. The minister said that his department has also prepared a bill for presenting it in forthcoming session of the assembly under which an anti-encroachment force would be established to curb this menace.

The revenue minister said that he has set three priorities after taking the new task. They include computerisation of the revenue record, regularisation of villages falling under the Gothabad Scheme, and making the relief department more active and effective.

He said the computerisation of the revenue record would minimise land disputes, land grabbing and encroachment in the province, especially in Karachi. He directed revenue officers to take steps for early computerisation of the record.

Mahtab also stressed for early completion of the probe into the general complaints, which the department had received about distribution of substandard wheat in Thar. The minister said that he has accepted the new responsibility as a challenge, and he would welcome all suggestions and proposals for succeeding in his goals, and for the betterment of the department and relief to people.

Earlier while presenting his briefing senior member BoR, Ghulam Ali Pasha informed the minister about the composition, functions and working of various sections of the department.

He said that more service centres would be established at taluka registration offices. He also informed the minister about the relief camps set up for facilitating the displaced people of Swat and others parts of the NWFP and FATA in Karachi and Hyderabad, and about their return process to their native areas.