Malik says ready to brief Senate on Balochistan package

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ISLAMABAD: Interior Minister Rehman Malik says he is ready to brief the House over progress made so far regarding implementation of Aghaz-e-Haqooq Balochistan package.

Speaking at Senate today (Friday), Malik accused foreign interference of creating unrest in Balochistan.

Many countries of the world don’t want Balochistan to be part of Pakistan, he said.

He said neither army nor paramilitary frontier corps are deteriorating law and order situation

Any third power is behind the unrest, he added.

He said that 85 percent implementation has been made on Aghaz-e-Haqooq Balochistan package.

He said no airbase would be allowed to be used for NATO supplies. TrendPK

US committee discusses Balochistan issue

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WASHINGTON: The United States (US) Committee on Foreign Affairs convened a congressional meeting for an exclusive discussion on Balochistan.

Addressing a news briefing here, US State Department Spokesperson Victoria Nuland said her country is not in support of independent Balochistan.

It should be mentioned here the Congressional Committee on Foreign Affairs was briefed on situation in Balochistan and some of the members put forward some proposals, too.

A Republican Congressman Dana Rohrabacher, who recently co-authored an article with Congressman Louie Gohmert expressing support for an independent Balochistan, held the province a strategically vital but, turbulence and insurgency-hit area.

Nuland confirmed the meeting on Balochistan; but, said the US position on Balochistan has not changed, adding her country encourages all the factions involved in the province to tackle all their differences peacefully and under political process. TrendPK

Triple Domki killings: SC suo motu case today

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ISLAMABAD: Supreme Court (SC) will hear today (Monday) the suo motu case against the killing of Baloch leader Akbar Bugti’s granddaughter. The court called Inspector General of Sindh Police and Advocate General to appear before the court today.

Meantime, wheel-jam strike is underway in Balochistan against the triple killings.

It should be mentioned here the apex court turned the plea of Balochistan Bar Association (BBA) into a petition against the killing of MPA Balochistan Bakhtiar Domki’s family and a driver and summoned Sindh’s IG and AG to appear before the court.

Domki’s wife, daughter and driver were gunned down in the wee hours on the morning of January 31 near the Gizri Bridge in Clifton.

The victims were riding their black Toyota Mark II car (ANR-353) when they were intercepted by killers who shot them dead at point-blank range.

The tribe’s spokesman said severe anger and agitation is found among the people of Domki clan over the assassinations. He demanded the Sindh government to immediately arrest the people responsible for the killings. TrendPK

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Tribal leader among three dead in Balochistan

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QUETTA: Three people, among them a tribal leader, were shot dead in an armed assault in a remote area of Baloshistan, TrendPK reports Sunday.

Security officials said the incident took place in Pat Feder area in district Sui where unknown armed men attacked their rivals and gunned down three people of Bugti tribe, including tribal leader Lora Bugti.

Police took the dead bodies into custody and started search operation in the area.

Meanwhile, a security official was killed in a roadside bomb blast in Jandola area of Dera Ismail Khan early on Sunday. TrendPK

Gunmen storm Balochistan checkpost, 6 soldiers dead

QUETTA: Gunmen stormed a checkpost in Balochistan before dawn on Thursday, killing six soldiers, snatching their weapons and escaping in a remote area.

Up to a dozen Baloch rebels attacked the paramilitary Frontier Corps (FC) post in the district of Dera Bugti, about 400 kilometres (250 miles) southeast of Quetta.

“The attackers came before dawn and opened fire on the soldiers after encircling the checkpost. All six soldiers were killed on the spot,” a senior security official told AFP on condition of anonymity.

Another security official confirmed the attack and said that about a dozen gunmen were involved in the attack.

“They came on motorcycles and took away all the weapons after killing all the six FC men,” he said.

Both officials blamed Thursday’s attack on Baloch rebels, who rose up in 2004 demanding political autonomy and a greater share of profits from the region’s natural oil, gas and mineral resources. AGENCIES

CNG supply blocked in Sindh, Balochistan for 24 hours

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KARACHI: The supply of compressed natural gas (CNG) has been suspended in Karachi and other parts of Sindh today (Friday) for the next 24 hours.

All CNG pumps will remain closed during this time.

Under the gas load management plan, CNG supply to gas stations will remain suspended from Friday 9pm to Saturday 9pm.

According to Sui Southern Gas Company (SSGC), there will be no more talks with dealers for gas load shedding.

It said that CNG cut will now be announced in view of gas availibility. TrendPK

Protests in Rawalpindi, Islamabad as CNG strike continues

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Rawalpindi: The CNG dealers continued their strike in Punjab, including Islamabad and Rawalpindi on Monday, triggering protests in various cities, TrendPK reports.

Chairman CNG Owners Association accused government of unfair distribution of the fuel while Secretary Petroleum Ministry claims petroleum prices were raised after consultation with CNG dealers.

The dealers rejected raise in gas prices, saying it would put an extra burden on the masses who were already groaning under inflation.

CNG dealers in the twin cities of Rawalpindi and Islamabad went on an indefinite strike on Sunday at the end of the three-day weekly closure, shutting down filling stations in Punjab and Potohar region.

The strike was observed against latest increase in prices and ban on provision of CNG to public transport vehicles with kits installed on the rooftops or beneath the seats.

The closure multiplied miseries of commuters as they were faced the worst situation, prompting protest demonstrations in Lahore, Faisalabad, Rawalpindi and other cities.

Hundreds of protestors, including transporters and traders, gathered at Adiyala road of Rawalpindi and staged protest demonstration, shutting down markets and business activities.

In Islamabad, the trader community suspended business activities in the federal capital where hundreds of people took to roads in protest against the CNG closure. They urged the government to withdraw the recent increase in prices for both CNG and domestic consumers.

Long queues of vehicles were seen outside filling stations in Islamabad and Rawalpindi, with local residents criticizing both the government and filling station owners for closing supply for five days running.

The government has directed CNG station owners in Punjab to shut down filling stations for six hours a day.

Sources said the decision was taken by Sui Northern Gas Company. In the first phase, they said, it would be implemented in Lahore and Sheikhupura where the fuel supply to gas stations would be suspended for three hours in morning and evening, 6 pm to 9 pm. — TrendPK

Over 600 CNG stations closed in KP

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PESHAWAR: In protest against current hike in fuel prices and other government steps, the CNG Owners Association on Monday shut down more than 600 filling stations of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, TrendPK reports.

They said the stations were closed in connection with the indefinite strike against raise in petroleum prices, low gas pressure at filling stations, import of CNG cylinders and ban on fixing CNG kits in commercial vehicles.

The strike came after a three-day closure of CNG stations in Punjab and Balochistan provinces where filling station owners observed shut down on Sunday, creating innumerable problems for commuters and ruining the business of transporters. TrendPK

UN appeals for $357m for flood-ravaged Pakistan

ISLAMABAD: The United Nations on Sunday launched an appeal to raise 356.9 million dollars under its Rapid Response Plan 2011, which will be spent initially on 91 projects in the flood affected areas of Sindh and Balochistan, due to heavy monsoon rains.

The Rapid Response Plan 2011 was launched here at a local hotel by Humanitarian Coordinator of United Nations, Timo Pakkala at a ceremony where Minister for Information and Broadcasting Dr. Firdous Ashiq Awan was the chief guest.

Representatives of diplomatic community, UN organizations, government departments, National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) and others were present on the occasion in which the UN Humanitarian Coordinator launched this plan.

The Rapid Response Plan has been launched on the appeal made by President Asif Ali Zardari after his visit to the flood affected areas of Sindh when he phoned the UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon for generating funds from the international community to help the victims due to gravity of the devastation caused by unprecedented rains.

It is an initial plan for emergency needs, which will be reviewed after a month to assess the actual needs, when the complete destruction and damage data will be compiled from the affected areas.

Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Dr Firdous Ashiq Awan while addressing the launching of the Rapid Response Plan said unprecedented heavy rainfall have affected  23 districts of Sindh and five districts of Balochistan.

The Minister said the situation further compounded due to a number of breaches in all the irrigation channels and Left Bank Out Fall Drain.

Dr Firdous Ashiq Awan said, unfortunately 342  precious lives have been lost due to the floods while 633 persons were injured and millions of people are vulnerable to different diseases, particularly acute respiratory infections, diarrhea, malaria and  infections.

She said, “More than 7.1 million people have been directly affected out of which 491,000 people have been accommodated in 2618 relief camps.”

As many as 1.3 million houses have been damaged and over 6 million acres of land including 2 million acres cultivated land has been affected, she added.

The Minister said heavy damages to property, infrastructure, agriculture and livestock have been reported, however, the actual damages could be ascertained after detailed damages and needs assessment is carried out.

The Information Minister said the Government of Pakistan, under the dynamic leadership of President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Syed Yusuf Raza Gilani, despite being faced with resource constraints, has so far mobilized approximately 166,000 tents, over 869,000 family food packs and a large number of other relief items including blankets, mosquito nets, water purification units, medicines and jerry cans etc.

She said, “The government had tried its best to cope with the situation by itself, however, due to the sheer scale of the disaster it came to the conclusion that the situation exceeds the capacity of any single stakeholder.”

She said in view of this President Asif Ali Zardari requested UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon to supplement the Government’s efforts.

The Minister hoped that the people of Pakistan would receive similar generous support as has been extended by friends and international community in the past for the Rapid Response Plan of $356 million.

“We are confident that the Rapid Response Plan – Pakistan Floods 2011, launched today, jointly by Pakistan Government and the UN would receive the required funds from donors,” she added.

The Minister said Pakistan government together with the UN would ensure transparency and accountability in the utilization and delivery of the assistance to the affected people in a most efficient manner.

She said it is natural disaster as people of Pakistan especially living in Sindh are unfortunately once again passing through great hardship due to unexpected and unprecedented heavy monsoon rains.

She said Pakistan is prone to hydro meteorological disasters; however, the frequency and intensity of such disasters have increased in the recent past, primarily due to climate change phenomenon experienced all over the world.

The Minister said a well placed three-tier disaster management system consisting of district, provincial and national disaster management authorities has been evolved by the government.

Referring to the issue of visa and permission to the non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and international community to reach to the flood affected areas, the Information Minister assured that there is no such problem and government of Pakistan has been facilitating the donors in this regard.

She said previous response of international community so far was due to Pakistan’s personal efforts at international level while the UN has launched its campaign today and expressed the hope that there will be good response of this campaign.

Humanitarian Coordinator of United Nations, Timo Pakkala while announcing the Rapid Response Plan said it is basically for the 91 projects identified initially to provide shelter, food, medicines and clean drinking water in the affected areas.

He said the UN has already started supply of food, shelter, medicines and other basic needs of life to the flood affected areas without waiting for the funds to be generated.

Timo Pakkala said this plan is for initial response to the victims and it will be reviewed after 45 days to revise the needs and demands of the people of the affected areas.

Giving some details, he said, with the present resources of Pakistan government, only 30 percent shelter could be provided to the homeless victims.

He said out of 5.44 million affected people there are 2.60 million women and 1.96 million children, while 1.8 million people have been displaced and 1.0 million houses have been damaged.

He said 64 percent people in the flood affected areas are without clean drinking water while 67 percent food stock of the people had been destroyed.

He said 70 percent crops in the area have been damaged while 280,000 families have lost their livestock.

Replying to a question, Timo Pakkala said so far no country has announced its pledge under the Rapid Response Plan 2011 adding that some of the countries have already announced their donations before.

He however clarified that it will be up to the donor countries either they want to contribute directly on bilateral basis or they can contribute through this Rapid Response Plan.

He said Rapid Response Plan is for providing immediate relief and after its revision, a fresh plan would be prepared for reconstruction, rehabilitation and improvement of other basic facilities to the flood victims.

Brigadier Sajid Naeem, representing National Disaster Management Authority explained the contingent plan and ongoing efforts of the NDMA for the assistance of flood victims.

He said NDMA has been coordinating with other departments of the federal and provincial governments and international community to provide best possible help to the flood victims without delay.

He said the NDMA had already prepared a contingent plan according to the reports of Met office, but the rains were much more than the assessments of Met office and beyond the capacity of the canals and rivers that created more damage. AGENCIES

Rain in Punjab, KP and AJK turns weather pleasant

According to Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD), different parts of Punjab, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Azad Jammu and Kashmir received rain in the past 24 hours.

The PMD predicted scattered rains in Punjab, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Sindh, eastern Balochistan and Kashmir. Meanwhile, heavy rain was also expected in some areas.

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