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I. Gender

II. Democracy Watch

III. Governance at Large

IV.Geo-Political Dynamics

Women & Politics 1. WPS — End of Success Story The only grassroots project of the Ministry of Women’s Development (MoWD), the Women Political School (WPS) will be closed as the Pakistani Government has refused to fund the project. The WPS was a three-year United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) funded project and it was launched in October 2004 with an intention to build the aptitude and capacity of over 40,000 elected women councillors at the district, tehsil and union council levels. UNDP had asked the Government of Pakistan to contribute at least 20 percent of the total cost of the project for further extension. WPS was the only successful project of the MoWD whose achievements were praised in the meeting of the United Nation (UN) General Assembly during the current year while President Pervez Musharraf had also praised the project in his book ‘In the Line of Fire.’ During three years, 23,022 women councillors were trained so that they would be able to advocate for the rights of their constituencies. The Government had claimed that it would restart the project as soon as it had the funds to spare. Unfortunately it would be impossible to begin the project with the current capacity as the major source of funding and support, the UNDP would not be involved. The Government thus far has expressed contradictory opinions about women councillors as the Prime Minister apparently did not find them significant while the President had been insisting on building their capacities and had announced a stipend of Rs 2,000 for them on December 2006 which has not yet been delivered. Despite the personal involvement of Minister for Women’s Development Sumeira Malik and Ministry of Women Development Secretary Saleem Mehmood Saleem, the extension of the programme has not been approved. 2. Kashmala New Commonwealth Women Parliamentarians Association Chief Member of the National Assembly Kashmala Tariq has become Chairwoman of the Commonwealth Women Parliamentarians Association. She defeated Australian nominee Virginia Judge by nine votes in the second round of a nerve-wracking contest. Two Other contestants – Canada’s Sue Barnnes and Dominique Republic’s Alix Boyde Knight – were voted out in the first round when they got just 10 votes. Indian and African support proved crucial for Kashmala succeed South African MP Lindiwe Maseko, who ended her tenure after serving in office for four years. India, which forms the largest region and had remained non-committal, ultimately backed the Pakistan nominee to head the women’s group in the Commonwealth for the next four years. Victory for Pakistan: Emerging victorious from the voting hall, Kashmala, who secured 41 votes against 32 by the Dominique Republic, described it as a victory for Pakistan. Enthused by the response from Asian, African and Indian regions, she promised to come to the expectations of these regions. Addressing delegates earlier, she said that under representation of women had remained a challenge. She called for a full and fair democracy based on equal opportunities for women in the decision-making process. She also demanded legal mechanism to protect the rights of women and building their capacities through social mobilization, technical assistance and providing them micro-finance services. Women & Economics 1. 10 percent Job Quota for Women in Government Departments Urged Speakers in a seminar on September 4 urged the Government to enforce 10 percent job quota for women in its Ministries and Departments. The seminar ‘Female Employment in Pakistan’ was organized by the Pakistan Manpower Institute. Thirty representatives of federal, provincial and Azad Kashmir Government and educational institutions attended the two-day seminar. Addressing the concluding session, Sabur Ghayur, an expert of women issues, regretted that the 10 percent quota reserved for women in Government jobs is not being implemented. He emphasized the Ministries and Departments to offer 10 percent jobs to women. He said the Government’s regional job quota might be relaxed for a certain period to absorb a greater number of women. He said balancing hours with family was an important consideration and the Government should demonstrate best practices in this regard. Flexi hours is a rapidly increasing labour market norm. Balancing work with family is also required for re-entry of women in the labour market. He said the Government could act as a role model in providing an opportunity for re-entry of women in the labour market. Ghayur said the advancement in gender equality could be manifested in women’s participation in the decision-making, transformations in institutions and organisational cultures and collective actions to rectify the gendered practices especially in employment and labour market. He also called for creating better educational facilities for women to bring them in mainstream. Communications Ministry Joint Secretary Firdoos Alam said women empowerment was Government’s top priority, and it was linked to their being socially, spiritually, politically and economically strong. He said the Government should ensure secure and friendly working environment for women. Other participants also called for strict observance of the 10 percent job quota for women in Government departments. They said women should be provided with level-playing field so they could contribute to national development. They recommended creating public awareness on women’s rights and urged for effective role of media in this regard. 2. Pact to Ensure Women Empowerment ActionAid, an international anti-poverty organisation and International Labor Organisation have signed a letter of intent to facilitate national policy formulation for the rights of home-based woman workers, ratification of global convention 177 and will ensure social protection for woman workers operating from within the confines of their homes. Chief Guest of the signing ceremony MNA Mehnaz Rafi, also the Chairperson of Standing Committee on Women Development, said the Government is keen to improve health, education and economic conditions of home-based women workers by giving them skill trainings and marketing their products in national and international markets to attract good prices. This would minimize their dependence on the middlemen and have healthy impact on country's commerce and trade. The new partnership between ActionAid and ILO is being looked at as a landmark for the approval and implementation of Women Protection Bill. ActionAid official Aqsa Khan shared AAPk's involvement in the project pertaining to home-based women workers since 2005 and elaborated the study about deplorable work conditions of women from Sindh, Punjab and NWFP associated with the bangle industry. She also shared future plan of action with the participants and ILO officials. Nancy J Foster, CIDA First Secretary (Development), congratulated the two organizations for forging a formal partnership to ensure women empowerment at all levels. She hoped to see the two CIDA partners work diligently to achieve project objectives. Gagan Rajbhandari, the ILO Acting Director, also spoke at the occasion. 3. PPAF Launches $3 Million Livestock Project for Widows Pakistan Poverty Alleviation Fund (PPAF) on September 17 launched a Livestock Project with the financial assistance of International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) for widows in 34 earthquake-affected union councils of the NWFP and AJK. This initiative is the part of an ongoing IFAD-funded reconstruction and rehabilitation project. Under this initiative, PPAF will provide financing for livestock to widows in the quake-affected areas so that they could have a reasonable livelihood. PPAF, through its Partner Organizations, is also in the process of providing animal transport facility to the communities residing in inaccessible areas. PPAF is the leading institution for direct poverty reduction interventions in the country. Set up by the Government of Pakistan as a fully autonomous private sector institution, PPAF enjoys facilitation and support from the government of Pakistan, the World Bank and other international donors. The outreach of PPAF now extends throughout Pakistan and its micro credit, community physical .infrastructure, drought mitigation and education interventions have expanded to over 27,500 villages of the country. Women & HR 1. Political Parties to Include Child, Women Rights in their Manifestoes Several Political Parties urged that they would include rights of children and women in their manifestoes for the upcoming General Elections during a Seminar organized by Society for the Protection of the Rights of the Child (SPARC). ANP NWFP President and former Chairman of HRCP Afrasiyab Khattak said that his party would include child and women rights in its manifestoes. PPP-S Provincial Leader Faqir Hussain, PML-Q provincial leader Simin Mahmood Jan and JI Naib Ameer Mushtaq Ahmad Khan said that they would include child and women rights in their party manifestoes. 2. Domestic Violence against Women Prevails Unabated Across Pakistan The Database Centre of Madadgaar Helpline for Children & Women (a project of Lawyers for Human Rights and Legal Aid-LHRLA) has reported that 4,548 women were subjected to domestic violence since January 2000 to August 2007 across Pakistan. Out of total number of such cases, 107 cases were reported in 2000, 194 cases in 2001, 665 cases in 2002, 675 cases in 2003, 689 cases in 2004, 719 cases in 2005, 454 cases in 2006 while in current year, from January up until August, as many as 1,045 cases have been recorded. The database is based on cases reported in various newspapers, which is only the tip of iceberg as majority of the people do not report cases of domestic violence because of social stigmas and police officers’ discriminatory attitude against women. The actual number of cases of women victimization by their family members can hence only be imagined to be ten times greater than the reported ones. Number of Cases Province-wise: The Province of the Punjab took the lead in this regard where the number of cases reported were 2,320, Sindh recorded 1,505 cases, NWFP 554 cases and 169 cases of domestic violence against women were reported in Balochistan. Types of Violence: The types of violence against women include 247 physical torture, 618 murders, 254 sexual harassments, 1,763 burnt to death, 251 strangulations, 147 throats slit, 214 acid burns, 102 sexually abused, Psychological violence remains attached with all kinds of physical torture and sexual abuse. Causes behind the Violence: The major causes behind these cases of severe violence were property matters, inheritance matters, quarrel on petty matters, forced marriage, poverty, misunderstandings, husband’s frustrations, suspecting bad character, etc. Out of total number of cases, 3,333 women were married and 1,215 were unmarried. The culprits of domestic violence include husbands, fathers-in-law, brothers-in-law, mothers-in-law and sisters-in-law in a majority of married women’s cases. Parents and siblings also committed violence in many unmarried women’s cases. The above-mentioned year-wise break up of total number of cases clearly indicates that the trend of domestic violence is increasing day by day, and it could, among many reasons, be because of a lack of awareness and non-cooperation of police in rescuing women victims of domestic violence as well as the Government’s failure to control the situation. Books/Reports/Articles on Gender 1. Handbook on Gender and Empowerment Assessment Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation (NORAD) This handbook presents a method for Gender Empowerment Assessment (GEA) which records how development projects and programmes affect women and men. Therefore, this is not a manual for conducting full scale gender and empowerment analysis of projects, but is a guide that will assist the user to identify the need for such analysis. It records the impact on women in relation to empowerment factors; the impact on men in relation to empowerment factors; and the need to follow up the assessment if basic data is missing. For more information, see www.eldis.org/cf/rdr/rdr.cfm?doc=DOC22410

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Presidential Elections Schedule of Presidential Elections The Chief Election Commissioner (CEC), Justice (Retd) Qazi Muhammad Farooq, on September 20 th unveiled the schedule for the Presidential Election according to which polling will be held on October 6. The polling will be held from 10 am to 3 pm at the Parliament House in the National Assembly, which is to be declared a polling station by convening a joint sitting of the National Assembly and the Senate. The four Provincial Assemblies will also meet at the same time.The CEC also appointed Chief Justice of the Lahore High Court Mr. Justice Iftikhar Hussain Chaudhry, Chief Justice of the Sindh High Court Mr. Justice Sabihuddin Ahmed, Chief Justice of the Peshawar High Court Mr. Justice Tariq Pervez Khan and Chief Justice of the Balochistan High Court Mr. Justice Amanullah Khan as Presiding Officers respectively for the Provincial Assemblies. The CEC will preside over the proceedings of Parliament in a joint sitting as the returning officer. The Presidential Election result will be announced on the day of polling. SC Hearings of Petition against President Musharraf’s Candidancy On September 28, the nine member bench dismissed six identical petitions challenging the holding of two offices by President General Pervez Musharraf and his candidature for re-election in uniform, declaring them “not maintainable” . After completion of arguments by the counsels for the petitioners, the respondents and the three amicus curiae, the bench announced its short order by a 6-3 vote, upholding the respondents’ arguments. 6-3 vote: Justice Rana Bhagwandas, Justice Sardar Muhammad Raza Khan and Justice Mian Shakirullah Jan said the petitions were maintainable, while Justice Javed Iqbal, Justice Abdul Hameed Dogar, Justice Muhammad Nawaz Abbasi, Justice Faqir Muhammad Khokhar, Justice Falak Sher and Justice Javed Buttar declared them non-maintainable. The court also disallowed a petition filed by Professor Anwarul Haq seeking permission to contest the Presidential Election being a Government servant. Following are the key points discussed during the hearings of SC petitions: Justice Faqir Muhammad Khokhar of the Supreme Court said September 5 that President General Pervez Musharraf apparently could not hold two offices after his term as President expires. Akram Sheikh, Counsel for the petitioner, argued that all Presidents other than President Musharraf were elected under Article 41 of the Constitution and that the state is now being run by a “de facto” President. The President’s lawyer Sharifuddin Pirzada told the Supreme Court (SC) on September 6 that President General Pervez Musharraf’s term will end on November 15 but he will continue to stay “until his successor enters upon his office” according to Article 44 (1) of the Constitution. The SC made AitzazAhsan, S M Zafar and Abdul Hafeez Pirzada “friends of the court” in a constitutional petition filed by the Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) challenging the ‘President to Hold Another Office Act 2004’ and fixed the case for regular hearing from September 17. A seven-member larger bench headed by CJP Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry declared that the assistance of the Attorney General of Pakistan (AGP) was also mandatory and heard formulation points of the counsel for the petitioner, the federation and the president. On September 13, Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry decided that he would not be a part of a nine-member bench formed to hear Jamaat-e-Islami Chief Qazi Hussain Ahmed’s petition challenging the two offices law (President to Hold Another Office Act, 2004) from September 17. Therefore, the second senior most SC judge, Justice Rana Bhagwandas headed the nine-member bench. The other members of the bench included Justices Javed Iqbal, Abdul Hameed Dogar, Sardar Raza Khan, Khalilur Rehman Ramday, Muhammad Nawaz Abbasi, Faqir Muhammad Khokar, Falak Sher, Mian Shakirullah Jan and Javed Buttar. On September 17, 2007,Attorney General (AG) Malik Mohammad Qayyum said that Article 63 (1)(d) of the Constitution, which states that a Government official can retain dual offices if Parliament approves, would be applicable to the Presidential election, but not to any other Government official. Akram Shaikh asked the bench to form a full court. He also told the bench about the changes made by the Election Commission in the rules for the presidential election. SC bench refused to constitute a full court to hear identical petitions by JI chief Qazi Hussain Ahmad, PTI Chairman Imran Khan and others challenging the president’s two offices, and took up the petitions for regular hearing, Irfan Ghauri adds from Islamabad. On September 18, the Government lawyers told the Supreme Court that President General Pervez Musharraf would step down as Army Chief provided he is re-elected as President. Sharifuddin Pirzada, the State Counsel, and Malik Muhammad Qayyum, the Attorney General, submitted a statement in the court stating that General Musharraf would doff his uniform after his re-election and before taking the oath of office. The statement also said that the Chief Election Commissioner should scrutinize the nomination papers of General Musharraf “independently and in accordance with the law”. Sheikh said General Musharraf broke his army oath to not take part in politics, and broke his pledge to the nation to shed his uniform by December 31, 2004, so his latest promise carried no weight. He contended that General Musharraf had already been President for two terms, and the Constitution did not allow anyone to hold the office for more than two terms. On September 26, Aitzaz Ahsan in his capacity as amicus curiae, or ‘friend of the court’, in the two offices case, stated that Army Chief can’t become President: He said there is a constitutional “firewall” around the Chief of Army Staff (COAS), even under the amended constitution. He submitted that the Government counsel had argued that impediments in the way of the President becoming Army Chief had been removed through the 17th Amendment and the two-offices bill, but “impediments” in the way of the COAS becoming President are still in place. He submitted that President Musharraf had secured constitutional and legal cover to continue with the two offices till November 15, but he is not qualified to run for another term as President. He further stated that the parliamentarians who propose and second the nomination of an Army Chief for the Presidential election are liable to 10 years in prison under the Pakistan Penal Code, Chaudhry Aitzaz Ahsan told the Supreme Court. S M Zafar, another friend of the court, contended that the President should step down as COAS immediately after October 6, if re-elected. He submitted that the two-offices bill had a limited life and it would become redundant when a new President would be elected. MMA to File Review Petition The Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal (MMA) on September 28 announced that it would file a review petition against the Supreme Court (SC) decision dismissing petitions against President Pervez Musharraf’s two offices. It termed the verdict disappointing and against the people’s wishes. The SC bench dismissed the Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) petition – along with five identical ones - challenging the two offices of the president and his candidacy for the coming Presidential Election, in a 6-3 split decision. Dual Office of President against Law: Bhagwandas Mr Justice Rana Bhagwandas of the Supreme Court has said that he recorded his dissent from the majority verdict on petitions against General Pervez Musharraf holding two offices on the call of conscience. Talking to journalists after a programme organized by the Shaheed Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto Institute of Science and Technology (SZABIST), he said that he had annulled the act regarding the holding of two offices by General Musharraf. Justice Bhagwandas headed the nine-judge larger bench which gave a majority (six-three) verdict dismissing the petitions challenging the holding of dual offices by General Musharraf. He was among the three judges who held that the petitions were maintainable. Nomination Papers 43 Candidates Filed Nomination Papers Some 43 candidates filed 71 nomination papers with the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on September 27 to take part in the Presidential Election. The nomination papers were submitted to the returning officer and the presiding officer at Islamabad and with each of the presiding officers at Lahore, Karachi and Peshawar. The Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) received the nomination papers at Islamabad, whereas the respective Chief Justices of the High Courts in the provinces received nomination papers from the candidates till 12 p.m. However, no nomination paper was filed with the Chief Justice of the High Court of Balochistan. In all, 14 persons filed as many as 33 nomination papers at the ECP Secretariat in Islamabad. On behalf of President Musharraf 17 (15 were filed with the name of General Pervez Musharraf while two as Pervez Musharraf), Justice Wajihuddin 3, Amin Fahim 3, Senate Chairman Muhammadmian Soomro 1, and Speaker National Assembly Chaudhry Amir Hussain 5, forms were submitted to Chief Election Commissioner Qazi Muhammad Farooq. The nomination papers of President General Pervez Musharraf and Makhdoom Amin Fahim were filed through others while Justice (Retd) Wajihuddin Ahmad himself submitted the papers before Qazi Farooq. 98 nomination papers were obtained from the Election Commission. According to the official statistics, 22 forms were obtained from the ECP Islamabad, 58 from the Punjab, eight each from Sindh and the NWFP and only two from Balochistan. These included men, women, Retired Generals, Government employees and some non-Muslims. Media persons were not allowed inside the Election Commission Secretariat. However, the state-run media i.e. Pakistan Television, APP and Radio Pakistan journalists were given permission to cover the most-important event of the day. Following candidates filed there nomination papers throughout Pakistan: Federal Capital: The candidates whose nomination papers were submitted with the ECP in the Federal Capital are General Pervez Musharraf, Justice (Retd) Wajihuddin Ahmed, Makhdoom Amin Fahim, Mohammedmian Soomro, Chaudhry Amir Hussain, Latif Butt, Sayed Iqtidar Hyder, Maj (retd) Muhammad Ramzan, Chaudhry Javed Mahmood Sahi, Altaf Hussain Bukhari, Khursheed Anwar, Shaukat Hussain, Rai Javed Ali Khan and Ayaz Khan. Punjab: In Lahore, a total of 11 candidates filed their nomination papers. The candidates whose papers were filed with the office of the Presiding Officer/Chief Justice of the Lahore High Court here are Dr Fazal-ur-Rehman Lahori, Moazam Iqbal, Rana Naik Muhammad, M P Khan, Muhammad Ashfaque Chaudhary, Hafeez-ur-Rehman Rana, Zahid Iqbal, Nawab Ambar Shahzada, Dr Zahoor Mehdi, General Pervez Musharraf and Muhammad Shahbaz Khan. The nomination papers of General Pervez Musharraf were filed by MPA Kanwal Nasim without the signature of the candidate. Five candidates filed their nomination papers without proposers and seconders. One candidate’s proposer was “Rooh-e-Quaid-i-Azam” and seconder late Z. A. Bhutto. Sindh: In Karachi, 15 nomination papers were filed in the Sindh High Court. The nomination papers were filed before Chief Justice of the SHC Justice Sabihuddin Ahmed. They were Dr Nawaz Ali Mallah, Syed Sakhawat Ali, Engineer Ubaidullah Khan Achakzai, Ameer Ali Patiwaly, Haider Ali, Rashid Mulji, Naushad Ahmed Umrani, Muhammad Azam Kamal, Muhammad Iqbal Babar, Faqir Hussain Ansari, Riaz Hussain Chandio, Mirza Asif Baig, Advocate, Shakil Ahmed Khan, Syed Habib Ahmed and Faryal Talpur. NWFP: In Peshawar, three candidates filed nomination papers in Provincial Election Commission. Ten persons including a Former Judge of Peshawar High Court Justice Javed Nawaz Gandapur had received nomination forms. Three persons who iled the nomination papers,are Sardar Mohammad Rafique Shahzada, Itebar Khan, Advocate, and Munir Ahmad Sherazi. Some of the candidates who abstained from filing the nomination papers said that since they had no proposer for their nomination, they could not file the nomination papers as all the opposition members in the provincial assembly were of the view that the assembly would be dissolved soon and they would not be members of the assembly, so they could not propose a candidate for the Presidential Election. Balochistan: No nomination paper was filed for the Presidential Election in Quetta. Election Commissioner, Balochistan, Sono Khan Baloch, said that two candidates, Dr Qazi Muhammad Aslam and Khair Muhammad Shaheen, had obtained the nomination papers for the Presidential Election. However, he said that no one turned up to file the nomination papers during the scheduled time. Valid Candidates for Presidential Elections The Election Commission on Saturday rejected objections to the candidature of General Pervez Musharraf for re-election as President and accepted his nomination papers along with five other persons. The opposition and lawyers staged a walkout on this occasion and boycotted the proceedings of the Election Commission. One out of 18 nomination papers filed on behalf of President Musharraf were accepted by the Commission. The one submitted on his behalf by a stranger in Lahore was rejected. Besides, General Musharraf, the nomination papers of Makhdoom Amin Fahim, Justice (Retd) Wajihuddin Ahmed, Mohammadmian Soomro, Chaudhry Amir Hussain and Faryal Talpur were declared valid by the CEC , who is also the returning officer for Presidential Election. Hence, barring these six candidates, the papers of all other candidates were rejected. Re-Election in Uniform Cabinet Supports Musharraf’s Election in Uniform: The Federal cabinet on September 12 unanimously backed the re-election of President General Pervez Musharraf in uniform from the present assemblies. The meeting in this regard was chaired by Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz. Representatives of all Government coalition partners present at the meeting agreed that President Musharraf’s re-election is “essential for the country’s stability, security and growth. Musharraf to be Re-Elected from Current Assemblies: While addressing a high-level meeting on September 16, President General Pervez Musharraf has assured the PML leaders that "the PPP will not create any problem in his re-election as the President while the Government will also not create any hurdles in PPP Chairperson Benazir Bhutto's return to Pakistan. President Musharraf informed the meeting that he may not be very hopeful of a deal with Benazir Bhutto, but the two sides have agreed on some confidence-building measures. The PML leaders reiterated that the PML and its allied parties would fully support President Musharraf's re-election to maintain continuity of policies pursued by the government for the economic stability and prosperity of the country. Meanwhile, President General Pervez Musharraf reiterating that he supports a strong independent judicial system said that he plans to get re-elected from the current assemblies. Chaudhary Shujaat told the President that PML, its allied parties and the entire cabinet wants to see the President get re-elected in uniform from the current assemblies as his presence is vital for the stability and development of the country. He also apprised the President of viewpoints of PML leaders in this regard. Some Noted Treasury MPs May not Vote for Musharraf: Noted treasury leaders like S M Zafar, Nilofar Bakhtiar, Ishaq Khakwani and others may fetch surprises for General President Pervez Musharraf by not voting for him in Presidential Election to be held on October 6. Secret voting for Presidential Election would provide an ample opportunity to the dissenting voices within the ruling coalition to respond to the call of their conscience by not supporting a uniformed President. Although several treasury MPs confirmed in their background discussions about their likely plan to act differently but are not ready to vocalize their position until a solid opposition candidate joins the fray. At least 8-10 treasury MPs are presently abroad with their likely plans to stay there for another month that has resulted in sparking new tension for the Government. A treasury MP told about his plans to go to Saudi Arabia for performing Umrah by the time Presidential Election would be taking place in Pakistan. Whereas Omer Ghumman, who had 'fled' to the US after tendering resignation from the ministerial portfolio, is set to come back at the start of October to cast vote for Musharraf. Since he tendered resignation, it would be Ghumman's first trip to Pakistan where he left behind his constituents in the lurch. Although an MNA, Ghumman seems to be least concerned about his Electorates and more about Musharraf who had changed laws that were barring Ghumman from contesting General Elections in 2002 due to his being a dual nationality holder. As far as the above said personalities are concerned, the views of eminent lawyer, Senator S M Zafar, Senator Neelofar Bakhtiar and Ishaq Khakwani are that they are unlikely to vote for Musharraf. Zafar and Nilofar Bakhtiar are those Leaguers who had voted against a resolution presented in the PML Central Executive Committee meeting to support Musharraf's re-election in uniform. Police to Ensure MPs Presence on October 6: In an unusual move, the Shaukat Aziz Government is secretly using District Coordination Officers (DCOs) and Senior Superintendents of Police (SSPs) all over Pakistan to ensure the presence of ruling party MPs on the day of the Presidential Election on October 6 and cast their vote in favour of General Pervez Musharraf. The troubling signs of rebellion within the ruling party against the election of Musharraf in uniform have frightened the Government authorities to an extent that now they have decided to use the police to keep such elements within their “limits” and, most importantly, to make them available in Islamabad on October 6. Many members of the Parliament who, otherwise, were planning to perform Umrah during the holy month of Ramazan, have reportedly been asked to postpone their departure till October 6. Likewise, those MPs of the ruling party who were already in Saudi Arabia are being contacted and asked to return in the first week of October to vote for Musharraf. After getting instructions from the Government, DCOs and SSPs have started making personal contacts with the ruling MPs of their respective districts. Sources claimed that these verbal instructions to DCOs and SSPs were actually issued by the Prime Minister Secretariat last week after the announcement of the schedule for the Presidential Election by the Chief Election Commissioner. Treasury MNA to Quit Over Uniform Issue A treasury MP has shown rare character by resigning from the National Assembly in protest against the ruling PML-Q's decision to re-elect General Pervez Musharraf in uniform. Dr Saira Tariq has become the first-ever MNA of the ruling party to resign from the National Assembly on the uniform issue. She is set to submit her resignation to the National Assembly. Daughter of a PML-Q leader, Col (Retd) Ghulam Sarwar Cheema who has served as Defence Minister, Dr Saira is critical of the Army's role in politics. She has inherited this from her father who had asked Gen Zia not to meddle in politics. Cheema was among four MNAs of the PML-N who had challenged the authoritarian style of Nawaz during his second term as prime minister. Later, he could not adjust to the working style of the Chaudhrys of Gujrat. Now his daughter is keeping up the family tradition. Amendments in the Rules for Presidential Polls CEC Amends Rules for Presidential Poll The Election Commission has amended the Presidential Election Rules 1988 ahead of the Presidential elections so Article 63 of the Constitution no longer applies to the President. Article 63 lays down various conditions under which a person can be disqualified from being a Member of Parliament. With the amendment in clause (a), sub-rule (3) of rule 5 of the Presidential Election Rules 1988, which says: the candidate is not qualified under the Constitution President. [or is subject to any disqualification from being, a member of the National Assembly]. The returning officer for the election can no longer conduct a summary inquiry or reject any nomination paper if the candidate is subject to disqualification from being elected as, or from being, a member of Parliament as provided in Article 63 of the Constitution. Earlier, this clause allowed the returning officer to conduct such an inquiry or reject nomination papers of a candidate if that candidate was not qualified under the Constitution to be elected as President, or was subject to disqualification from being elected as a member of the National Assembly. Now the words “or is subject to any disqualification from being elected as, and from being, a member of the National Assembly” have been omitted from this rule. The Chief Election Commissioner amended the rules with the approval of President General Pervez Musharraf. The document comprising Presidential Election Rules 1988 can be accessed through following link: http://www.ecp.gov.pk/PElectionsrules.pdf Experts Slam EC Amendment to Presidential Election Rules Legal experts have condemned the Election Commission (EC) for amending the Presidential Election Rules 1988 through a notification, saying it is an unconstitutional and extra judicial step. The constitutional experts termed it a misuse of authority as this amendment was beyond the limits of EC powers. They said the move was a first step in rigging elections by the Government authorities. Pakistan Bar Council member Advocate Hamid Khan said this step of the EC is totally illegal and unconstitutional. He said the EC had no power to make such changes. He said the bar had no trust in the Election Commissioner and accused him of favoring the Government. Justice (R) Wajihudin termed this step extra constitutional. He said the move is above the law, which was not expected from the EC. He said this move had added to the illegalities committed by the Government. Pakistan Lawyers’ Forum President Advocate A. K. Dogar said he would challenge the notification in the Supreme Court (SC). He said the amendment was unconstitutional and the Parliament’s rules should remain applicable. He said that his earlier petition challenging the president’s election in uniform was pending in the SC. Former Law Minister S. M. Masood said the amendment in the Presidential election rules by the EC would complicate the Constitution. He said a case was already pending in the SC regarding the dual offices of the President. He said there was no need to make such amendments. He said only the SC could decide the matter. Masood said Article 63 of the Constitution lays down various conditions under which a person can be disqualified from being a member of the Parliament but the EC had totally declared it irrelevant, which according to him was tantamount to reducing the power of the returning officer. He said that with the amendment in clause (a) sub-rule (3) of rule 5 of the Presidential Election Rules, the returning officer for the election can no longer conduct a summary inquiry or reject any nomination paper if the candidate is subject to disqualification from being elected as, or from being, a member of the Parliament as provided in Article 63 of the Constitution. Lahore High Court Bar Association’s Former Finance Secretary Rabbiya Bajwa said this step of the EC has exposed the partiality of the Commission. She said the matter is subjudice and that the EC should not have made this move. She said it was the duty of the EC to hold a transparent election, not to interpret the constitution. Dr Khalid Ranjha said the step was totally constitutional and according to the SC decisions. He said under the Supreme Court’s decisions in the Qazi Hussain Ahmad case of 2002 and the Pakistan Lawyers Forum case of 2005, Article 63 is not applicable to the President. Justice Sardar Raza Khan of the Supreme Court observed on September19 that the Election Commission (EC) does not have the power to change basic rules, let alone provisions of the Constitution. The Judge was responding to the plea of Hamid Khan, counsel for Tehrik-e-Insaaf Chairman Imran Khan, asking that the court strike down recent amendments to the Presidential Election rules made by the EC. A nine-member bench headed by Justice Rana Bhagwandas is hearing petitions challenging President’s General Pervez Musharraf’s two offices. Hamid Khan said the EC had amended the Presidential Rules 1988 with the President’s consent so the disqualification clauses laid down in Article 63 didn’t apply to General Musharraf. Justice Nawaz Abbasi observed that the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) hadn’t been made a respondent in the petition. Khan said that in his application he had asked that the CEC be made a party in the main petition. Justice Faqir Muhammad Khokar remarked that if the court decided that Article 43 had become operative, then this EC notification would have no effect, but if the decision was otherwise, the issue should be taken up. FAFEN Flays Changes in Rules The Free and Fair Election Network (FAFEN), noted with concern the announcement by the CEC regarding change in the rules governing the election of the President that nullifies a constitutional provision. In a statement issued, country's leading Civil Society Organizations' alliance on General Elections FAFEN said that it is unclear whether the Election Commission initiated this change in the rules, which enabled the incumbent President to run for office without the constitutionally required two-year waiting period after resigning from Government service. It said that taken together, these developments in advance of the upcoming General Elections raise concerns about the application of the rule of law and the level playing field for all political contestants. It suggested that the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) must not only be neutral in the administration of elections, but must also appear to be neutral in the execution of its duties. Meanwhile, FAFEN said recent political events have distracted attention away from other developments at the ECP that are equally important to the electoral process. During the last month, the ECP had begun to add millions of unverifiable names to the new computerized voters' list compiled this year. FAFEN audited the new electoral roll nationwide in June 2007 through an internationally recognized methodology based on statistically valid random sampling and found that the 2007 electoral roll is highly accurate, though incomplete. Adding names from the 2002 list without verifiable National Identity Cards, as the ECP is now apparently doing, could undermine the integrity of new voters' list, for which billions of rupees have been invested. Instead, FAFEN has advocated consistently to the ECP and the Supreme Court of Pakistan that the new list should be electronically compared to the NADRA database of CNIC holders in order to add as many as 16 million new voters to the electoral roll. It is not too late to take this step. PILDAT Shocked at Presidential Polls Rules Amends Pakistan Institute of Legislative Development and Transparency (PILDAT) an independent advocacy organization which is working for democracy and free and fair elections in the country, has also expressed serious concern at the revelation that the ECP is not free to amend its own rules and it has to seek approval of the President before making any amendment. PILDAT said that the ECP should immediately clarify why it has to seek such permission and what laws bind them to such unnecessary and inappropriate subordination to the President. PILDAT has asked the ECP to take serious notice of the statements of Federal Minister who inappropriately acting as the spokesperson for the ECP which is causing serious aspersions on the independence of the authority. PILDAT called upon the Commission to expressly prohibit Dr Niazi and all others to make declarations on behalf of the ECP. It is further noted that earlier Dr Niazi had announced on behalf of the commission that the commission would announce the schedule of Presidential Election in the next 2 to 3 days. PILDAT demanded that Rules of Business should be immediately amended to make ECP as an independent body and free from any Presidential interference. Electoral College for Presidential Elections The Election Commission (EC) of Pakistan has furnished a list of possible 1,169 members of the Senate, the National Assembly and the four provincial assemblies who will form the Electoral College for the Presidential election in October. The list has been finalized amid speculations and apprehensions about the future of the assemblies and, above all, holding of the Presidential poll in October. Of the 1,169 legislators, 964 are male and 205 female. They include 342 MNAs since bye-elections have not been held following the resignation of Abdul Rauf Mengal of the Balochistan National Party Qazi Hussain Ahmed and Hafiz Hussain Ahmad of the Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal and Dr Amir Liaquat Hussain of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement. Furthermore, Haider Bugti of the Jamhoori Watan Party has not attended the National Assembly session for the last three years and Ayela Malik of the ruling Pakistan Muslim League is another MNA, who last time turned up in 2004 to vote for Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz’s election. The Lower House of Parliament faces a very interesting situation as two MNAs of the ruling PML, Akhtar Kanju and Ali Hussain Gillani, have joined the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz, while another PML MNA, Dr Firdous Ashique, joined the Pakistan People's Party a few weeks back. Musharraf’s Popularity – Survey Musharraf Least Corrupt’ The masses of Pakistan have declared Former Prime Minister and PML-N Quaid Nawaz Sharif as the most corrupt leader. A poll conducted by an international entity from 1st to 15th August from major cities of Islamabad-Rawalpindi, Lahore, Karachi based on 168 persons of Lahore, 680 persons of Karachi, and 287 persons of twin cities, has cited Nawaz Sharif as the most corrupt with a 74 percent aggregate, followed by Benazir Bhutto at 71 percent, while Musharraf has been termed as the least corrupt with 55 percent against him. Among those having the utmost decision making power, in inclement times, Musharraf topped the list with 44 percent, followed by Benazir with 27 percent and Nawaz Sharif at a lowermost ratio of 24 percent. General Elections 2007/08?  Manifestoes Promises to Keep: A Comparative Study of the Manifestos of Leading Political Parties The News published a comparative study of political parties’ manifestoes. Main Points of the major Political Parties’ Manifestoes PML (Q): Political reforms to have a stable democratic government To have independent judiciary to provide justice to all To ensure basic civil rights to all citizens To eradicate poverty through enhanced economic activity To provide more employment opportunities by eradicating unemployment To give special attention to agriculture, industries, education and health sectors Special planning will be done to develop agriculture The role of the 'middle man' will be curtailed to ensure better prices for agricultural produce Better facilities will be provided to transport produce from fields to markets Small dams will be constructed to provide more water for irrigation and generate power To avoid governance through ordinances and to make working of parliament effective through reform in the role of parliamentary committees To preserve the 'Islamic identity' of the State To provide more facilities for education and to raise the standard of education at every level Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM): Revival of the true spirit of Lahore Resolution. All the Constitutions, including the 1973 Constitution, failed to provide fundamental rights, security, democracy, freedom, social justice and equality to the people of Pakistan, especially to the people of smaller provinces. All the defunct constitutions of Pakistan including the 1973 constitution were bereft of the true spirit of the Lahore Resolution The civil and military autocrats have made so many amendments to the Constitution of 1973 without the consent of the people that it has lost its original form, spirit and utility MQM stands committed to strive for complete economic, financial and administrative autonomy and political freedom for provinces Allocate 5 percent of GNP annually for education Education up to matriculation will be compulsory and free Subsidized girls' education in rural areas Allocate 4 percent of GNP for health sector State Bank of Pakistan to be completely autonomous with a Board of Directors having equal representation of all provinces Minimal reliance on foreign loans Revised labour policy Guarantees for security of life and property Eradication of feudal system Pakistan People's Party Parliamentarians (PPPP): If voted to power, the party will undo all constitutional amendments, except for women's representation and joint electorate, introduced by the military rulers Will provide jobs to everyone, protect personal respect and improve law and order situation Will strengthen democratic reforms and provide protection to minorities Support right of self-determination to the people of Jammu and Kashmir and creation of a Palestinian State Support an independent and impartial anti-corruption institution to investigate matters against any citizen irrespective of the office he or she may hold One economy, the PPPP focuses on making the changes that help people make successful business. "Pay as you earn scheme" will be adopted in government corporations and other salaried institutions A credit bank will be established for small and medium size loans to encourage purchase of television, furniture, cars, houses and other household items The party pledges to eradicate poverty by increasing social sector budget For enhancing literacy and standard of education textbooks will be provided to schools Libraries will be promoted and vocational centres will be established. A special credit facility will be available for outstanding students Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz): Resistance to continue till the end of military government Eradication of poverty through enhanced economic activity Education for all by providing more funds for education To create an effective defence committee for solving controversial issues between armed forces and civilian leadershipTo work for the restoration of the prestige of the armed forces by making it a non- political institution and raising its professional expertise in the field of defence To have an open debate on the defence budget, except for confidential expenditures To provide more economic activities for greater employment opportunities To support right of self-determination of the people of Jammu and Kashmir To improve relations with India through bilateralism To have an independent judiciary to provide justice to all To stress on mutual dialogue and debate to reach national consensus on various issues To provide full protection and equal opportunities to religious minorities and other disadvantaged classes To have close friendly relations with the Muslim world To undo all amendments made by Musharraf administration in the Constitution Pakistan Tehrik-i-Insaf (PTI): People's power as the basis of democracy. Strong federation with autonomous provinces, with equitable distribution of resources. To undo amendments in Constitution made by the military government Protect and strengthen local bodies To implement police reforms for the betterment of law and order situation. To have an effective system of accountability to end corruption in all walks of life. Provision of permanent residence to the people living in katchi abadis. To build 5 lakh houses every year. To provide better sports facilities to youth. To improve water resources and build new dams. To provide all employment in government sector through Public Service Commission Eradication of illiteracy. Provide better health facilities. To have tax reforms. Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal (MMA): To implement 'Shariah' in Pakistan and make the Holy Quran and Sunnah the supreme law of the country. To protect ideological boundaries of Pakistan along with geographical boundaries. To end foreign interference in the affairs of Pakistan. To eradicate linguistic, ethnic and regional feelings and create a peaceful society based on Muslim brotherhood. To promote democratic traditions and protect Constitution and federal parliamentary system. To have independent judiciary and rule of law. Eradicate corruption and ensure democratic fundamental rights. To guarantee provincial autonomy and end of concurrent list. Protection of minorities' rights and security of their places of worship. To provide rights to women in accordance with the Holy Quran and Sunnah. To make the education system in consonance with Islamic Ideology. To end unnecessary taxes on agriculture. Eradicate feudalism. Independent foreign policy with stress on better relations with Muslim world. Develop nuclear technology for peaceful purposes. Support to right of self-determination for Kashmiri people. To provide healthy entertainment to youth. To ensure freedom of Press and freedom of expression and bring it in line with religious norms. To work for improvement in economic conditions To enhance employment opportunities. Analysis In education policy, PTI and MMA lead the race with both allotting 5 per cent of the GNP to education While PML-N would allocate 4 per cent and PML-Q 3 per cent which it would raise to 4 per cent in 10 years. PML-N and MMA both would change the use of English as the primary medium of instruction to Urdu. In terms of literacy rate, PML-Q claims 100 per cent can be achieved in tenure. PML-N claims 75 per cent, MQM claims 70 per cent, while PTI claims 80 per cent literacy rate in 5 years. In terms of free education, PML-N would make education free till primary level while PML-Q and MQM would make education compulsory and free till matriculation. PML-N, PTI, and MMA all urge for a common core syllabus for all schools. While all manifestos detail political, economic and social reforms, the points of interest are PML-N's and PTI's commitment to undo all constitutional amendments done by Musharraf. PPP would retain only women's representation and joint electorate, introduced by the military rulers. MMA's claim to implement the 'Shariah' as the supreme law and MQM's demand of funds needed by the federation for defense, foreign affairs and currency to be paid by the provinces on the basis of population. Both PTI and MQM demand for tax reforms as well. All of the manifestos are rather weak on foreign policy. With PML-N, PTI and MMA support the right of self-determination of the Kashmiri people and only MMA stressing for better relations with other Muslim countries. Interestingly, only MQM and MMA talk about eradicating feudalism. Electoral Rolls / ECP/CEC EC Rejects Charge of Non-Transparency The Election Commission has rejected allegations of non-transparency in the preparation of Computerized Electoral Rolls, 2007. A spokesman for the Election Commission, in a statement, said that a national tender was published in newspapers and a very comprehensive ‘request for proposal’ was prepared for inviting proposals from reputed IT firms for the critical task, through an open competition. Professional and transparent proposal evaluation criteria were evolved and followed for awarding the contract. A two-stage evaluation — technical evaluation completed prior to opening of financial proposals of the technically qualified firms — was done by subject matter and IT experts and a committee, comprising representatives of the ECP, UNDP, Pakistan Computer Bureau, ministry of IT, USAID and International Foundation for Electoral System (IFES), supervised and scrutinized the whole process of bid opening as well as evaluation of technical and financial proposals, submitted by various firms. Thereafter the lowest bidder —Kalsoft JV— was awarded the task of preparation of computerization and printing of electoral rolls. The spokesman said all registration officers in the provinces, the federal capital and FATA, were directed to identify the names of all those persons (men/women), who stood enrolled as voters in the existing electoral rolls, prepared in 2002 and updated in 2004, but their names do not appear in the draft computerized electoral rolls of 2006-07, so that these could be merged with the final computerised electoral rolls, to be used for conducting the forthcoming general elections. He rejected the charge about huge expenditure and non- transparency in preparation of the electoral rolls terming them biased, fabricated, misleading, unfair and contrary to the facts. Appointment of CEC Challenged The appointment of Justice (R) Qazi Muhammad Farooq as the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) has been challenged in the Sindh High Court (SHC) on September 28 by local lawyer and Constitution expert Sohail Hameed, on the grounds that the CEC was qualified to be a Supreme Court Judge and was thus not qualified to be appointed CEC. The petitioner stated that Qazi Farooq was appointed a Peshawar High Court Judge in 1996 and was elevated to a Supreme Court judge in February 2000, before completing the mandatory five-year service. Citing Article 177(2a) and Article 213(2) of the Constitution, he maintained that the credibility of the CEC was not aboveboard since he had violated Article 177(2) by assuming the office of a Supreme Court Judge without completing the prerequisite term. The petitioner asked the court to declare the CEC’s appointment a violation of Article 213(2). Exiled Leaders Nawaz Sharif Back to Exile Nawaz Sharif, Former Prime Minister of Pakistan, was arrested on September 10 at Islamabad International Airport before being sent into exile in Saudi Arabia for one more time despite a clear Supreme Court verdict barring such a move. He was arrested when he was stepping into the VIP lounge following a two-hour standoff with police inside the plane. Before taking the flight back home to end his seven years of exile, Nawaz was confident that his party members and those of the All Parties Democratic Movement (APDM) would give him a rousing welcome. But the only people who were visible from the windows of the aircraft were security personnel. The proverbial sea of supporters for whom Nawaz had undertaken the journey, were nowhere to be seen. The Chief of Saudi intelligence, Prince Muqrin bin Abdul Aziz, and Lebanese politician Saad Al-Hariri urged Nawaz Sharif on September 8 not to return to Pakistan and abide by his agreement with King Abdullah which bound him to stay out of Pakistan for 10 years. The appeal was made at a joint news conference they addressed after meeting President General Pervez Musharraf for two and a half hours at his camp office in Rawalpindi. Saudi Ambassador to Pakistan Awadh Al-Asseri was present during the meeting. Both Mr Hariri and Prince Muqrin expressed the hope that Mr Sharif would honour his agreement negotiated by him and guaranteed by the Saudi royal family. The PML-N filed a fresh petition in the Supreme Court on September 11 seeking to start contempt proceedings against the Government and secure an unhindered return for Nawaz Sharif. Petitioners Khawaja Asif and Hamza Shahbaz are representing the PML-N and Sharif, respectively. It was filed through Fakhruddin G Ebrahim. The Federation, Punjab Province, Punjab Chief Minister Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi, Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz, Interior Minister Aftab Ahmed Khan Sherpao, IGP (Punjab), DIG (Rawalpindi), NAB Chairman, Rangers DG, FIA DG, PIA Chairman and the Civil Aviation Authority DG have been made respondents. The petition seeks contempt proceedings against the respondents and others involved in “contemptuous actions”, if proved, under Article 204 of the Constitution. It states the Federation should be directed to immediately arrange for Nawaz’s return and produce him before court. It says the authorities violated the court’s August 23 orders allowing the Sharifs to return to Pakistan unhindered, according to their right as Pakistani citizens, by deporting Nawaz to Saudi Arabia and should be charged with contempt of court. It says the official procedure to stamp Nawaz’s travel papers was ignored and he was illegally abducted before being taken out of the country. Deputy Information Minister Tariq Azim told the BBC that Nawaz Sharif had chosen to return to exile after being served with corruption charges. Sadiqul Farooq of the PML-N rejected Azim’s claim as a “baseless concoction”, saying Sharif had volunteered to be arrested by police after he was served a warrant. Nawaz Sharif to Return It is learnt on good authority that Nawaz Sharif will be allowed to return after the Presidential election, with President Musharraf safe and secure as President of Pakistan for the next five years. Sources close to Sharifs disclosed that an announcement in this regard would be made very soon, most likely after the coming Eid. It is learnt through the more credible quarters that Nawaz would return to Pakistan before General Elections to lead his party with the Government claiming to have provided a level playing field for all the political parties. It is learnt that Nawaz has also stopped his wife Kulsoom Nawaz from going to Pakistan in view of his plans of early return to Pakistan or as per emerging understanding with the Saudis. Before that Kulsoom Nawaz had announced her return to country after Nawaz being despatched to Saudi Arabia on September 10. Sources disclosed that the President Musharraf Government had also conveyed to the Saudi Benazir Coming on Oct 18 Former Premier Benazir Bhutto will land at the Quaid-e-Azam International Airport, Karachi, on October 18. PPP Vice Chairman Makhdoom Amin Fahim made the announcement of Benazir’s return to Pakistan at a press conference at the Party’s Central Secretariat here on September 14. Fahim said the PPP was prepared to face any situation on Benazir’s return. He, however, neither denied nor confirmed the speculative reports of a meeting between Benazir Bhutto and US Assistant Secretary for South Asia Richard Boucher in Dubai. In Lahore, PPP Secretary General Jehangir Badr announced Benazir’s return at a press conference at the local press club. The party has, meanwhile, formed three committees to finalize the arrangements to receive Benazir on October 18. Meanwhile, Information Minister Muhammad Ali Durrani said that Benazir could return home, but the law will take its course. She has to face corruption cases pending against her in the courts. Nominations Abbotabad – 20 Want PML-N Tickets As many as 20 candidates have applied for tickets of PML-N for two national and five provincial assembly seats of Abbotabad District. According to PML-N sources, former Chief Minister Sardar Mehtab Ahmed Khan will contest elections from NA-17 Abbotabad-1, from where he is the only candidate who has applied for the party ticket. He will face his archrival and Federal Minister for Petroleum Amanullah Khan Jadoon. On the other hand, three candidates have applied for the PML-N ticket for NA-18 Abbotabad-2. They include former District Naib Nazim Jawed Abbasi, Murtaza Javed Abbasi, younger son of former MNA Haji Javed Iqbal Abbasi (late), and Sardar Muhammad Riaz, a retired bureaucrat who after being annoyed by the ruling PML has decided to join PML-N. Three candidates have applied for PML-N ticket for provincial assembly seat PF-44 which includes former Provincial Minister Ali Afzal Khan Jadoon, Inayatullah Iqbal Jadoon son of former Chief Minister NWFP Iqbal Khan Jadoon (late), and Malik Farooq son of former MNA Malik Abdul Rauf. Sardar Mehtab Ahmed Khan will also contesting elections for provincial assembly seat from PF-45. His son Shmoon Abbasi has also applied for PML-N ticket from the same seat. From PF-46, five candidates have applied which include Malik Manzoor Advocate, Sabir Tanoli, Ayub Afridi, Muhammad Ishfaque and Asad Khan Jadoon Advocate. Waqar Nabi, son of former Minister Gulham Nabi Khan (late), Sardar Hameed Gul, son of former Minister Sardar Gul Zaman, Haji Ahmed Nawaz Khan Jadoon and Masood Abbasi have applied for the party ticket from PF-48, Major (Retd) Fazal ur Rehman, a strong contender, may not contest the elections because of his illness. However, tough contest is expected in PF-48 from where NWFP Minister for Local Government Sardar Muhammad Idrees will also contest the elections on the JUI-F ticket. Interestingly Sardar Idrees had applied for PML-N ticket during 2002 General Elections but after refusal he contested the election as an independent candidate and later joined JUI-F. Parties Finalize Candidates for Dir Different political parties in Dir upper have finalized their candidates for national and provincial assemblies for the upcoming General Elections while some are in the consultation process. The two main rival parties, PPPP and JI, have announced their panel of candidates but other small parties like PPP-S, JUI-F, ANP and ruling PML are still in a fix regarding nominations of their candidates. The PPP has nominated Najmuddin Khan, the Provincial General Secretary of the party for PF-91 Dir and Shah Zubair for PF-93 Wari. Najjmuddin is also expected to contest the NA-33 on the party ticket as he is considered the most powerful candidate for the National Assembly seat. The party workers in PF-92 Kohistan have also been insisting to field Najmuddin from that constituency but candidate for the said constituency would be announced after the consultation with the people of Usheral and Kohistan. The Jamaat-e-Islami Dir Upper has also announced its candidates for the elections. It may be mentioned that the party swept 2002 General Elections in the District apart from winning District Nazim’s slot in 2005. Dir Upper is believed to be the stronghold of JI, as it had been winning seats on regular basis from there. There is a tough competition within the party for getting party tickets owing to high expectation of winning them. According to the initial arrangements, the party had retained all candidates expect Malik Hayat Khan, who would be replaced by his more influential and popular uncle MAlik Bahram Khan. The provincial Health Minister, Inayatullah, is JI’s candidate and will face Najmuddin Khan in PF-91. Fareed Khan is again nominated for PF-92 Kohistan on account of his popularity in that constituency. All the three JI candidates for the Provincial Assembly seats are believed to be very strong and stand high level of expectations to win their seats. MNA Maulana Asadullah is also retained as candidate for NA-33 but there is vociferous opposition to his nomination from a powerful lobby within the party. The lobby has been arguing that he would be the weakest candidate as he had badly failed during his tenure to do something for the people, which carry some weight. Another name is also being deliberated for the candidature of NA-33. ANP is all set to field the well-off Naveed Khan Alias Abdul Haq from the latest two constituencies. PPP-S has announced the name of Muhammad Nisar Khan Wardaq, Tehsil Nazim Dir, as its candidates for PF-91 Dir and is planning to form electoral alliance with other parties to put itself into a strong position. JUI-F has also announced that it would field its District Chapter’s Amir, Maulana Fazl Azim on NA-33 and possibly on a Provincial Assembly seat. However, the ruling PML is yet to decide about its candidates. Sumaira Malik to Contest Election from Peshawar The News on September 8 reported that the women wing of the NWFP Pakistan Muslim League (PML) has welcomed the announcement by Federal Minister for Women Development Sumaira Malik to contest an election from NA-1 Peshawar and reiterated its commitment to work for her success in the election. NWFP PML Women Wing President Tahira Bukhari said that we have launched an election campaign for Sumaira Malik and reorganized the women wing in all the four town councils to play an active role in the coming elections. On hearing the news that Sumaira Malik would contest an election from NA-1 Peshawar, she said their workers, particularly women, became active. Tahira Bukhari said her party leadership had decided to field Sumaira from NA-1 Peshawar and the workers accepted the challenge and were confident that she would win this important seat. She also hinted at contesting an election from PF-5 if her party gives her a ticket. Sumaira announced she would contest the election from NA-1 Peshawar and hoped that Pakhtuns would support her against all other candidates for being a Pakhtun. She said she is making the announcement after consultation with her party leadership. While Daily Khabrain on September 15 reported that Sumaira Malik has showed her intentions to contest elections from Mianwali against Tehreek-e-Insaf Chairman Imran Khan. In this regard, she has also taken permission of PML(Q) high ups. Imran to Contest Polls from Karachi Imran said the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf candidates including self would contest the forthcoming General Elections from Karachi. Imran said the All Parties Democratic Movement was not a political alliance, adding that PTI could make seat-to-seat adjustment with the PML-N and the Jamaat-e-Islami. He said they might make seat adjustments with the local political parties in interior Sindh. He said President Musharraf and his Government would hardly survive till next month. Political Parties’ News APDM Lawmakers ’Decision to Resign Legislators of the All Parties Democratic Movement (APDM) has decided to quit National and Provincial Assemblies on Sept 29 as part of the alliance’s plan to foil President General Pervez Musharraf’s bid to get re-elected in uniform from the present assemblies. The alliance also decided at its meeting held here on Friday to launch a countrywide struggle from Sept 30. MQM Re-Organizing Ranks Ahead of Polls Ahead of the announcement of forthcoming General Elections, MQM, a major coalition partner in the Sindh Government and Federal Government has started re-organisation in the party in Karachi and 19 zones in the province. The MQM’s re-organization has been pending for the last two years and now it has been started on war footing basis and re-organization process would be completed before the announcement of up-coming election. In the Karachi city, which is strong hold of the MQM, it has organized 24 sectors committee out of 26 in the and more then 218 units were also re-organized out of 250 units in the city. The party in the reorganization process inducted new blood and energetic party workers to take the office of the party, which will help, in the forthcoming election and re-organization process also continued in 18 zones of the Sindh, which would be complete before the announcement of up-coming election. The MQM’s organizations in the country have also been reorganized and Mums leadership urged the coordination committee members to give the responsibility for those workers who have good familiarity and known as excellent behavior. The present hurried restructuring in the party was being considered as the MQM’s election strategy to redevelop their structure in grass-root bases and give the chance for energetic workers in the offices, the present spate of the removal of the Town Nazims and know Union Council nazims is also the part of MQM’s election strategy to remove those persons that have not good identification in the peoples and they shows their intolerance and negligence over their work. MQM to Field Candidates All Over the Country The MQM has decided to field candidates from all over the country in the forthcoming General Elections but postponed a decision on electoral alliance with other parties. The MQM Coordination Committee which met on September 22 at the party’s international secretariat with Altaf Hussain in the chair also decided to hold a joint session of the committee in London and Pakistan soon after the decision of the Supreme Court to formulate the party’s future line of action. ANP MPAs Submit Resignations All seven lawmakers of the Awami National Party (ANP) in the NWFP Assembly submitted their resignations to ANP parliamentary leader Bashir Ahmed Bilour at a news conference on September 24 th. ANP lawmakers Yasmeen Pir Mohammad, Farah Aqil Shah, Mukhtiar Khan, Amir Rakhman, Shaukat Habib and Khalil Abbas were also present on the occasion. The ANP had expelled three of its MPAs Sarfaraz Khan Jadoon, Qalb-i-Hasan and Atiqur Rehman on various charges after the Senate elections. ECP Rejects References against Imran The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on September 5 rejected two identical references seeking to disqualify Tehrik-i-Insaf chief Imran Khan as Member of the National Assembly. The references were filed by the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) and Federal Minister for Parliamentary Affairs Dr Sher Afgan Niazi, accusing Imran Khan of moral misconduct. The references’ inadmissibility was announced by Chief Election Commissioner Justice (Retd) Qazi Muhammad Farooq. He was accompanied by members of the commission Justice Naseem Sikandar of the Lahore High Court and Justice Ahmad Khan Lashari of the Balochistan High Court. Imran Khan termed the decision a victory of justice and said the references had no legal basis and the only motive behind them was to exert pressure on him to withdraw the case he had filed against Altaf Hussain. He said the move was clearly a reaction to his decision to fight a legal battle against MQM Chief Altaf Hussain in the United Kingdom, adding that he had “concrete evidence to prove Altaf Hussain’s link to terrorist incidents in Pakistan”. He said there were 234 cases against Altaf Hussain, including those of murder and torture. He said the basis of the reference against him was an ex parte decision of a US Court which had no legal value. “If they want to rely on ex parte judgments, what about the decision of the Canadian Supreme Court which declared the MQM a terrorist organization.” MQM’s Parliamentary Leader in the National Assembly Dr Farooq Sattar told that he was shocked and disappointed by the ECP decision. He alleged that the Election Commission had made his party a scapegoat to improve its credibility ahead of the elections. He said that the ECP decision was politically-motivated and was “not constitutional”. Dr Farooq Sattar said his party counsel’s arguments on the maintainability of the reference were “very powerful”, but he regretted that the ECP did not consider the merits and facts of the case. Other News NGOs Fear Pre-Polls Rigging While addressing a press Conference, an NGOs’ Alliance, Insani Haqooq Ittehad (IHD) said that lawlessness is spreading, citizens being forcibly exiled, judiciary being threatened, state organs are in conflict and Talbinisation is growing as the regime is blatantly violating the Constitution. Strongly criticizing the Musharraf led Government, the leading civil societies of the country alleged that Pakistan is being pushed into chaotic and anarchic situation as the State sovereignty had been sold out to international forces. The Alliance comprised Aurat Foundation, Bedari, Center for Peace and Development Initiatives (CPDI), Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP), Pattan, Potohar Organization for Development Advocacy (PODA), Rozan, Strengthening Participatory Organizations (SPO), Sungi Development Foundation and Sustainable Development Policy Institute (SDPI). Addressing the press conference, Nasreen Azhar, Sarwar Bari, Aimal Khan, Shabana Arif, Malik Shahbaz and Saleem Malik jointly said that there is a dire need of providing a level playing field to all political leaders to lead their parties and to participate in the upcoming General Elections. They demanded President General Pervez Musharraf to doff uniform if he wants to contest elections. They also urged the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) to use its Constitutional powers to ensure free and fair elections. SC Moved to Revise National Assembly (NA) Seats’ Allocation A citizen has filed a petition with the Supreme Court praying that a new allocation of the National Assembly seats be carried out in accordance with the last census before the General Elections. In his petition filed under the Article 184 (3) of the Constitution, Shahid Orakzai contended that under the Article 51 (3) of the Constitution, NA seats should be allocated to each Province, the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) and the Federal Capital on the basis of population in accordance with the last census. Under the 17th Amendment, he said, the number of the lower house seats was allocated on a permanent basis, which was ultra vires. Orakzai said that this allocation deprived women in FATA and Islamabad of their share in special representation and all 60 women seats added to the National Assembly were distributed among the four provinces. Additional Allowances and Grades for the Teachers of Punjab Punjab Chief Minister Chaudhary Pervez Elahi has announced an incentive package of 4 billion for the teachers throughout the Province. The package includes increased salaries, transport allowances, promotion to up Grades of the teachers and Principles of Primary, Elementary, Higher and Secondary Schools have been increased. While announcing the package the Chief Minister said that we are giving respect to the teachers and now it is their responsibility to make PML-Q successful in the upcoming elections. Option of NA Dissolution In case of any adverse ruling by the superior courts on President Pervez Musharraf’s candidature for next Presidential election, the Government has decided to immediately dissolve the National Assembly to avert the Presidential election by the present assemblies. The sources termed it as “Plan B” which will be executed by Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz who will advise the President to dissolve the National Assembly under article 58 (1) of the Constitution. The dissolution of the National Assembly will be followed by the dissolution of Provincial Assemblies of Punjab, Sindh and Balochistan as the Chief Ministers of these provinces will advise the Governors of the respective provinces to dissolve the assemblies. In case the National Assembly remains intact till October 15, 2007 the Election Commission has to announce the schedule and hold election under article 41 (4) of the Constitution which the most vocal member of the Cabinet Dr. Sher Afgan has been terming as binding and any violation of the article would amount to breach of the Constitution. Article 41 (4) of the Constitution reads: “Election to the office of President shall be held not earlier than sixty days and not later than thirty days before the expiration of the term of the President in office; Provided that, if the election cannot be held within the period aforesaid because the National Assembly is dissolved, it shall be held within thirty days of the General Election to the Assembly.”

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Changes in the Key Army Positions President General Pervez Musharraf on Septmebr 21 st made some changes in key army positions, appointing a new head of the Inter Services Intelligence and commander of the Rawalpindi-based 10 Corps from among six Major-Generals promoted to the rank of Lieutenant-Generals. Major General Nadeem Taj, once regarded as General Musharraf’s eyes and ears as head of the Military Intelligence, has been made Director-General of the ISI and Major-General Mohsin Kamal, who is little known in non-military circles, has been appointed as Corps Commander of Rawalpindi. As a Brigadier, General Nadeem Taj had served as General Musharraf’s military secretary. He was later promoted as a two-star General, but he continued to serve in the same capacity when the Army Chief became the President. Later, he was appointed head of the Military Intelligence and apart from performing his routine job, he played a key role in overseeing the 2002 General Elections and, at a later stage, in initiating a back-channel dialogue with Benazir Bhutto, Chairperson of the Pakistan People’s Party. Major-Gen Kamal served as the Commandant of the Staff College, Quetta, and was currently posted as Force Commander of Northern Areas. The two officers will take up their new assignments in October. Nadeem Taj will take over from Lt- General Ashfaq Pervez Kiani and Mohsin Kamal from Lt-General Tariq Majid. The announcement of the two appointments has highlighted the importance of both Lt-General Kiani and Lt- General Majid as being front-runners for the two posts of four-star Generals which will fall vacant on Oct 8 with the retirement of the Chairman of Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee (CJCSC), General Ehsanul Haq, and Vice-Chief of Army Staff (VCOAS), General Ahsan Saleem Hayat. Some keen followers of defence-related matters are of the view that after the appointment of the new ISI chief and the 10 Besides Major-General Taj and Major-General Kamal, an ISPR announcement says, Major- General Shujaat Zamir Dar, Major- General Javed Zia, Major- General Muhammad Asghar and Major-General Jamil Haider have also been promoted to the rank of three-star Generals. Major-General Dar has been appointed Director-General of the Anti-Narcotics Force. As a brigadier, he served as Deputy Chairman of the National Accountability Bureau, commander of the Infantry Division and head of the counter-insurgency operation in Balochistan as inspector-general of the Frontier Constabulary. During his Balochistan assignment, Major- General Dar and his Deputy, Brig Saleem Nawaz, were injured when their helicopter came under fire in the Kohlu area. Major- General Zia, currently Commander of Rangers in Sindh, and Major- General Zamir Haider have been posted to the General Headquarters. Their posts are yet to be announced. Lt-General Asghar has been appointed Rector of the National Institute of Science and Technology. NA Unlikely to Complete 130-Day Proceedings in its Last Year The Government will commit another constitutional violation as it appears well-nigh impossible for it to complete a total of 130 days proceedings in the last parliamentary year that ends on November 15, 2007. The National Assembly has to ensure another at least 52 days proceedings in the rest of 57 days that are left in completion of five years of the present Assembly. Parliamentary Affairs Minister Dr, Sher Afghan Niazi conceded that it was very difficult to complete 130 days requirement in the last Parliamentary year. Under the sub section 2 of the Article 54 of the Constitution of Pakistan, it is mandatory that the house conducts proceedings not less than 130 working days in each year. The Article further provides that there shall be at least three sessions of the National Assembly every year, and not more than 120 days shall intervene between the last sitting of the Assembly in one session and the date appointed for its setting in the next session. The Presidential Address to the joint sitting of the Parliament is also a constitutional requirement in every parliamentary year under Article 56 of the Constitution. At the same time the sub-section 2 of the same Article reads that the President may send the messages to either house, whether with respect to a bill then pending in the Parliament or otherwise, and a house to which any message is so sent shall with all convenient dispatch consider any matter required by the message to be taken consideration. Parliamentary Affairs Minister Dr. Sher Afghan Niazi referred to the Article 254 of the Constitution to justify his argument that there is a way out within the Constitution in case some sort of breach. The said Article titled “failure to comply with requirements as to time does not render an act invalid”. Niazi claimed that the Article 254 provides exemption and therefore it cannot be described if the proceedings is met. Access to Dr. A. Q. Khan – Remarks by Benazir Bhutto The Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) leader, Ms Benazir Bhutto, has made a statement in Washington which constitutes a break from the “national consensus” over Dr AQ Khan. She said on September 25 that if voted into power a PPP government would give the Vienna-based UN nuclear watchdog International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) access to Dr Khan who is currently under house arrest in Islamabad. She however made a distinction: the IAEA has the right to question Dr Khan in Pakistan, but not the US or any other country, in or out of Pakistan. In fairness to her, she said that she would do this in order to defuse suspicions in the West about Dr Khan’s culpability in any AQ Khan network of proliferators. Will this sell in Pakistan? Pakistani Government on September 26 condemned ex-premier Benazir Bhutto for her above mentioned remarks. The Pakistan People’s Party has clarified former prime minister Benazir Bhutto’s remark about letting Dr AZ Khan be questioned by the International Atomic Energy (IAEA), saying that is not what she said, when that was exactly what she said. A voice-script of the Middle East Institute, which makes nonsense of the claim made by the PPP secretariat that her words were distorted. The statement issued by the party after the surprise caused by Bhutto’s was asked the hypothetical question whether a government led by her would cooperate with IAEA in investigating charges against Dr AQ Khan. She responded by saying that a PPP government would extend full cooperation to the International Atomic Energy Commission. This position is not very different from what the current Government says or any other responsible Government in Pakistan would say. It is unfortunate that Mohtarma’s words are being distorted to imply that she promised any unlawful handing over of anyone to foreigners. The News in this regard opined that the access to AQ Khan would expose many sacred cows It said that the former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto’s offer to the world community to allow its investigators to probe Dr AQ Khan once she returns to power in 2007, might produce terrible results for several former generals of Pakistan Army who were allegedly part of the infamous proliferation network of AQ Khan but were conveniently let off the hook as part of a secret deal between General Pervez Musharraf and Richard Armitage in 2004.Dr AQ Khan is on record having said that all the top army generals since 1985 knew about the proliferation activities of his network. However, he could never find an opportunity to give to the media or the judiciary the names of the generals who were part of his network once he was put under house arrest by his captors. Daily Times observed on particular issue that in the current anti-military mood in the country, it will only sell by recasting the debate as an anti-military argument, indirectly exposing the GHQ to accountability through a UN institution. But the obstacle in such a recasting would be the generalized charisma of Dr Khan included in the pantheon of Pakistani nationalism. President General Pervez Musharraf wants to join this national consensus when he dubs Dr AQ Khan as a “national hero”, but the fact is that the current intense romance of the opposition with Dr Khan stems from the “politicisation” of the “maltreatment” of the Father of the Pakistani Bomb at the hands of Musharraf “on orders from the United States”. Therefore Ms Bhutto’s “exclusion” of the US from the list of those who would be allowed by her Government to question Dr Khan will not prevent yet another negative fallout from her stance — adopted in her revised autobiography — on the question of Pakistan’s role in nuclear proliferation. The Post termed Benazir Bhoutto’s statement about IAEA’s access to Dr. A Q Khan as ‘careless remarks’ and stated that if Benazir Bhutto's motive was to present herself as a firm adherent of nuclear non-proliferation, Pakistan is equally committed to it. Pakistan tested its nuclear bombs in 1998 only in response to India's, and is abiding by non-proliferation, despite the US's move to grant India the unofficial status of a nuclear power with all concomitant benefits without the latter's signing the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty ( NPT). Pakistan has also set up a nuclear command and control system. Who is the Most Popular Figure in Pakistan A recent poll done in Pakistan for a US anti-terrorism group, Terror Free Tomorrow, showed that 46% approving Osama bin Laden, compared to 38% for General Musharraf and just 9% for US President George Bush. But Musharraf’s main rival, the former Prime Ministers Benazir Bhutto and Nawaz Sharif, enjoy favourable opinions of 63% and 57% respectively. Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, whom Musharraf tried to sack earlier this year, had a 69 per cent favourable rating. The survey also shows 74% of those interviewed were against US military action against Al-Qaeda and the Taliban inside their country. Meanwhile only 13 per cent of people here said they would support US military strikes without Islamabad’s cooperation - a threat issued by several US officials in recent months. But a majority back the Pakistani military, without US support, pursuing Al-Qaeda and Taliban fighters inside Pakistan, the poll showed. Free Elections, Free Press & Independent Judiciary (53%) was considered top priority that Pakistani think is very important for their Government followed by improving the economy (45%), resolving Kashmir (50%), implementing strict Sharia Law (41%), better western trade and relations (28%), defeating Al-Qaeda, Taliban and other Jihadi Groups (18%). For survey purpose interviews with over 1,000 Pakistanis were conducted in all the four provinces of the country. Ken Ballen, Head of the Group said that they have conducted 23 polls all over the Muslim world, and this is the most disturbing one. He said that Pakistan is the one Muslim nation that has nuclear weapons, and the people who want to use them against us — like the Taliban and Al-Qaea — are more popular there than our allies like Musharraf. Annual Corruption Perceptions Index and Pakistan’s Ranking Berlin-based Transparency International (TI) said in its Annual Corruption Perceptions Index covering 180 countries that some of the world’s poorest nations were seen as having the most dishonest political and business elites. Corruption is rampant in Pakistan and it has rated at No 138 out of the 180 countries analyzed by a respected anti-graft watchdog in a report released on September 26. The report showed that Pakistan, which is tied at No 138 with Ethiopia, Paraguay, Cameroon and Syria with a corruption rating of 2.4, has “rampant” corruption. The index score relates to perceptions of the degree of corruption as seen by business people and country analysts. It ranges between zero, which is highly corrupt, and 10, which is very clean. However, the group said that even countries believed to be the least corrupt — named this year as Denmark, Finland and New Zealand — needed to do more to combat corporate graft. According to the report, the corruption in war-ravaged countries such as Iraq and Somalia is hobbling their recovery efforts. Corruption Perceptions Index 2007 can be accessed through following link: http://www.transparency.org/policy_research/surveys_indices/cpi Below is the score of top 15 transparent countries and the score of least transparent countries: Top 15 Transparent Countries Rank Country /Territory CPI Score 1 New Zealand Denmark Finland 9.4 9.4 9.4 4 Singapore Sweden 9.3 9.3 6 Iceland 9.2 7 Netherlands Switzerland 9.0 9.0 9 Norway Canada 8.7 8.7 11 Australia 8.6 12 Luxembourg United Kingdom 8.4 8.4 14 Hong Kong 8.3 15 Austria 8.1 Least Transparent/Most Corrupt Countries 179 Somalia Myanmar 1.4 1.4 178 Iraq 1.5 177 Haiti 1.6 175 Uzbekistan Tonga 1.7 1.7 172 Afghanistan Sudan Chad 1.8 1.8 1.8 168 Laos Equatorial Guinea Guinea Congo , Democratic Republic 1.9 1.9 1.9 1.9 162   Bangladesh Papua New Guinea Turkmenistan Central African Republic Cambodia Venezuela 2.0 2.0 2.0 2.0 2.0 2.0 Pakistan Topped List of Arms Purchasers in 2006 According to a report issued by the Congressional Research Service on September 26, Pakistan ranked first among all developing world recipients in the value of arms transfer agreements in 2006, concluding $5.1 billion in such agreements, with India ranking second in agreements at $3.5 billion. Arms transfer agreements with the top 10 developing world recipients, as a group, in 2006 totaled $22.2 billion or 77.1 percent of all such agreements with the developing world. India was the leading developing world arms purchaser from 1999-2006, making arms transfer agreements totaling $22.4 billion during these years (in current dollars). The total value of all arms transfer agreements with developing nations from 1999-2006 was $188.9 billion in current dollars. India alone accounted for 11.9 percent of all developing world arms transfer agreements during these eight years. This report is prepared annually to provide Congress with official, unclassified, quantitative data on conventional arms transfers to developing nations by the United States and foreign countries for the preceding eight calendar years for use in its policy oversight functions. Developing nations, the report said, continue to be the primary focus of foreign arms sales activity by weapons suppliers. During the years 1999-2006, the value of arms transfer agreements with developing nations comprised 66.4 percent of all such agreements worldwide. US tops arms transfer agreements: In 2006, the United States ranked first in arms transfer agreements with developing nations with $10.3 billion or 35.8 percent of these agreements. Russia was second with $8.1 billion or 28.1 percent of such agreements. The United Kingdom was third with $3.1 billion or 10.8 percent. In 2006, the United States ranked first in the value of arms deliveries to developing nations at nearly $8 billion, or 40.2 percent of all such deliveries. Russia ranked second at $5.5 billion or 27.7 percent of such deliveries. The United Kingdom ranked third at $3.3 billion or 16.6 percent of such deliveries. UK Launches £6.8 Million of Support for NWFP & FATA The United Kingdom’s Department for International Development (DFID) on 4 th September launched a three year programme of £6.8 million to support the NWFP Provincial Reforms Programme (PRP) and Capacity Building of the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) Secretariat in Peshawar. DFID support for the PRP includes assistance to improve NWFP’s financial management system, Human Resource Management systems development, strengthening of monitoring and statistics, and help in planning and coordinating policy reform both within the government and between the government and donor agencies. The programme includes DFID support of up to £1million to improve the ability of the FATA Secretariat to manage its resources effectively to develop the region and to provide high quality public services. Oxford Policy Management (OPM), a UK-based company, is engaged with a consortium of Pakistani companies to implement this programme. Dr Yusaf Samiullah, Head of DFID Pakistan, said "The UK has a long-standing partnership with the Government of NWFP and is committed to helping it provide effective essential public services, such as clean water, healthcare, and education for all. DFID believes that improved governance is essential to reduce poverty. Our support will focus on this, including helping NWFP and FATA to make the best use of funds being provided by the international community." DFID’s core objective in Pakistan is to work with the Government of Pakistan, Provincial Governments, the international community and other donors to bring enduring and sustainable benefits to the poor. In November 2006, Prime Ministers Tony Blair and Shaukat Aziz signed a 10-year Development Partnership Arrangement and the UK announced a doubling of aid to Pakistan to £480m for the period 2008-2011. The GoNWFP Provincial Reform Programme II sets out a plan to accelerate human development, address disparities in the province, Promote private sector-led growth, and improve governance (including in the efficiency of public expenditure). The FATA Secretariat has launched its Sustainable Development Plan 2006-2015. This Plan requires robust systems, capable human resources and flawless financial mechanisms for effective delivery. DFID’s support will help FATA Secretariat to address these challenges. Performance of the 12 th National Assembly The Pakistan Institute of Legislative Development and Transparency (PILDAT) has released the Citizens’ Report on the performance of the 12 th National Assembly of Pakistan during the past four years from Nov 16, 2002 to Nov 15, 2006. Following are the main points of the report: According to the report the National Assembly passed just 43 laws during the past four years with an average of around 10 per year as compared to 73 Presidential Ordinances issued during the same period. The report pointed out that the Indian Lok Sabha passed 216 laws during the past four years but the Indian President issued only 28 Ordinances indicating a more stable Parliamentary system and a more active and assertive Parliament. The report also indicated that the Assembly met for an average of 82 actual working days per year calculated by disregarding the two-day break which is counted as working days by the Assembly to fulfill the constitutional requirements of the meeting for MINIMUM 130 DAYS PER YEAR. The Assembly just met for three hours per day on average. The Government could answer only 22 percent of the 40,000 questions asked during the four years. The rest of the questions were either ruled out of order or elapsed. 43 Standing Committees worked harder by holding about 200 meetings per-year excluding the first year when these were not even constituted. The report criticized the lack of effectiveness process of the Budget process of the Assembly as its debate remained superfluous and short. The Standing Committees remained indifferent to Budget process like the past assemblies. The Defence Budget was also kept under the wraps in keeping with the past traditions of the Executive. Members failed to effectively scrutinize the Budget or even prevent disguised legislation as a part of the money bill – a rather unethical tradition started by the present Government since 2005-06 Budget. The report expressed disappointment over the apparent lack of interest by Members in general and Minister and the Prime Minister in particular. The report noted that the Prime Minister seldom attended the Assembly and when it did, most of his time was consumed by listening to party members’ complaints and signing their applications instead of paying attention to the proceedings of t