Appointment of judges to be included in constitution

Constitutional reforms committee of the parliament has started reviewing the judges appointment and instead of making it a part of the rules, the committee has started reviewing it to be made a part of the constitution of the country, Dunya News reported on Monday.
The meeting of the committee was held in the parliament in Islamabad that was presided over by the Chairman of the Committee Mian Raza Rabbani. During the meeting Raza Rabbani said that after the verdict of the Supreme Court, the earlier decision of the committee to include the appointment of judges in the rules would be reviewed to make it a part of the constitution. The verdict of the Supreme Court on the 18th Amendment was wholly analyzed during the meeting of the committee and it was declared that the verdict is a positive move forward towards a better relationship between the judiciary, executive and the legislature. The committee also declared that the verdict has proved that the apex court has respected the stature of the parliament and hence requires a positive response. The committee also considered the recommendations of the Supreme Court and vowed to defend and safeguard the judiciary in accordance with the constitution.
The next meeting of the committee would be held on 10th November this year.

Army chief vows for impregnable defence

BAHAWALPUR: Chief of the Army Staff General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani said the Pak Army is fully capable to defend the national frontiers and the country would be safeguarded at all costs.

Addressing the ceremony in connection with the conclusion of the first phase of largest military exercises Azm-e-Nau-III, he said the country does not have aggressive designs against anyone and Pak Army is fully abreast of its responsibilities for peace and stability in the region.

Pak Army and Air Force are absolutely in sync, he stressed.

Lt. Gen. Shafqat Ahmed briefed the participants of the ceremony about the Azm-e-Nau-III.

The Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani also visited the Khairpur Tamiwali range and inspected the drills.

CJP stresses on eradication of corruption

ISLAMABAD: Chief Justice of Pakistan Justice Iftikhar Muhammed Chaudhry underscored the need to incorporate corruption elimination in the national agenda, Geo News reported Sunday.

Addressing the concluding session of National Judicial Conference, he stressed, ‘We should be surrounded by incorruptible people,’ adding all the stakeholders of the system will have to play their part for the rule of justice.

He elaborated the Legislature, Executive and Judiciary will have to consolidate each other and that all the institutions should work in their specified ambits.

Fortunately, the Constitution is in force in the country with democracy flourishing, he said.

The CJ Chaudhry said the process of improvement has set off in the justice system with the announcement of Judicial Policy and it is now needed that justice should be dispensed with indiscriminately.

The Chief Justice said that the judiciary, which is a vital organ of the state should be bolstered, as independent and strong judiciary can play key role in functioning of the government.

Barack Obama no better than Bush , Iran

TEHRAN: U.S. steps to renew sanctions and seize a New York skyscraper linked to Iran show that President Barack Obama is no better than his predecessor George W. Bush, Iranian parliament speaker Ali Larijani said on Sunday.

Larijani’s statement, which was followed by chants of “death to America” among MPs in the legislature, was the latest from Tehran voicing disappointment in the new U.S. Administration’s policies towards the Islamic Republic.

It came as Obama, during a visit to Asia on Sunday, said time was running out for diplomacy in a dispute over Iran’s nuclear programme, which Tehran says is for peaceful purposes but which the West suspects has military aims.

Since taking office in January, Obama has sought to reach out diplomatically to Iran, but the dispute over Tehran’s atomic activities continues.

“After one year of giving speeches and baseless slogans, it is a disgrace to see the behaviour and the attitudes of this president are not better than his predecessor’s,” Larijani told parliament, the official IRNA news agency said.

U.S. prosecutors filed a civil lawsuit on Thursday to seize control of a New York City skyscraper they say is owned by companies illegally funnelling money to the Iranian government. The suit seeks to revoke the Alavi Foundation and the Assa Corporation’s ownership of a 36-storey building at 650 Fifth Avenue in Manhattan. The original lawsuit filed in December only sought Assa Corp’s building share.

Prosecutors said both companies were sending money to Bank Melli, owned by the Iranian government. The U.S. Treasury has designated the bank as a weapons proliferator and banned U.S. citizens from dealing with it.

Also on Thursday, Obama renewed some long-standing U.S. financial sanctions against Iran. Obama notified Congress that, as expected, he was extending a set of existing U.S. Measures against Tehran for another year, saying: “our relations with Iran have not yet returned to normal.”

The sanctions that Obama renewed, which involve certain frozen Iranian assets, stem from a “national emergency” the U.S. government declared in November 1979 near the start of the Iran hostage crisis. Such sanctions have to be extended annually by the U.S. president to remain in effect.

Larijani said: “Extension of restrictions and sanctions against the Iranian nation for another year, and also blocking the accounts and assets of the Alavi Foundation in America, show how deep are the changes in the United States.”

He also accused Washington of “childish actions” after Iran’s disputed June election as well as “irrational proposals” on the nuclear issue. This showed that the “claimed changes by Obama were nothing but deceiving signals,” Larijani said.

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Barack Obama no better than Bush , Iran was first posted on November 15, 2009 at 9:31 pm.