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PAKISTAN, ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Syed Yusuf Raza Gilani Monday said he had submitted the recommendations by the four chief ministers regarding local bodies system to the President who had further forwarded it to the Law Ministry for comments.
He was talking to media after his visit to the Auditor General of Pakistan where he was briefed about the working of the institution.
The Prime Minister said the process of accountability of both present and previous governments would be initiated simultaneously without any political victimization.
“The government will ensure transparent accountability keeping in view its hairline difference with political victimization,” he asserted.
Flanked by Finance Minister Shaukat Tarin and Chairman Public Accounts Committee Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan, Gilani said it was matter of satisfaction that an elected prime minister was visiting the Auditor General for the first time in support of the leader of the Opposition.
“We want to ensure transparency and good governance in the country which is linked with accountability of public offices,” the Prime Minister said.
Gilani stressed the need for making the Auditor General of Pakistan as an effective institution, adding that an active Public Account Committee of the parliament could make the democratic system more productive.
The Prime Minister said audit reports were being prepared to find weakness of the government.
He said, “We want that accountability of the present government should start right now.”
He said the Chairman of Public Account Committee had assured that audit of previous years as well as present government would be done simultaneously.
Replying to a question, he said, the Auditor General can take decision by himself for setting up more departments of accountability, if needed.
Referring to the importance of impartiality and transparency in the audit report, the Prime Minister said, “I spent five years in jail on audit report on political victimization.”
Chairman PAC Chaudhry Nisar said previously it took almost 10 years for the preparation audit report, however this time three reports have been prepared in 10 months.
He said the reports would be presented before the parliament during the session after Ramazan.
Nisar appreciated Prime Minister Gilani for his complete support which was meaningful for carrying out the process of accountability.

PAKISTAN, KALABAGH: Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Nawabzada Malik Ammad Khan said minus Zardari formula has been made up by media and there are no differences within People’s Party.
Talking to media in Kalabagh, he said only parliament can take action against the former president Pervez Musharraf.
“There is a complete understanding among government, army, and opposition,” the minister stressed, adding, “all major decisions are made after taking the opposition in confidence.”
Only parliament has power to take action against Musharraf which can give a go ahead for any action under Article 6, he added.
Ammad said government is in favour of abolishing the 17th amendment and President Asif Zardari will open-heartedly accept the cutback in his powers.

PAKISTAN, KARACHI: State Bank of Pakistan might cut the discount rate by 1 to 1 ½ percent in its new monetary policy which will be announce today.
Senior bankers told Geo News that the Central Bank would review the discount rate in the backdrop of the fall in inflation rate and it was being hoped that the discount rate would be slashed by 1 to 1 ½ percent in the new monetary policy to be announced on August 15 and inflation new index also indicative of the flexibility in monetary policy.
According to Federal Statistics Department data on inflation rate, which were released in July, inflation fell down to the 19 months lows 11.17 percent as against 13.13 percent in June.

KHAIRPUR: Allama Sher Ali, chief of banned outfit Sipah-e-Sahaba was shot down along with his associate in Khairpur area of Dost Muhammed Abro area near Pir Jo Goth, Geo News reported Monday.
DPO Khairpur Pir Muhammed Shah told Geo News that religious scholar Ali Sher Hyderi was on his way back home from Dost Muhammed Abro to Pir Jo Goth, when some unidentified miscreants opened fire at him, killing him and his associate Imtiaz on the spot.
The attacker also was killed in the retaliatory fire by the guards; however, he could not be identified.
According to DPO, at least six people were injured in the incident. The bodies and injured have been shifted to the Civil Hospital Khairpur.
Tension prevails over the entire area following the killings. Contingents of police have been deployed across the district to avert any potential untoward situation. Police are continuously on patrol in various areas.
Hyderi was the head of a religious outfit, Millat-e-Islamia and patron-in-chief of Jamia Hydri.
Later on, talking to Geo News, DPO Shah said Hyderi’s killing is the result of personal enmity, adding the attacker has been identified as Aushaq Ali Jagirani.

PAKISTAN, ISLAMABAD: US Special representative for Pakistan and Afghanistan Ambassador Richard Holbrooke has said that widening the distance from Nawaz Sharif will hamper the interests of US as he is the popular leader in Pakistan and added that it is not the job of United States to tell Pakistan to launch operation in Waziristan as it is up to the Pakistani leadership to decide when and what it wants to do about it.
Talking to reporters on board the plane, before landing at Islamabad Airport, Holbrooke said his meetings with Pakistani leadership would be focused on how to overcome the power shortage in the country.
Holbrooke said that a task force led by Marry Bethman had been set up to find ways to help resolve the issue of electricity shortage in Pakistan…”people of Pakistan are suffering because of power loadshedding and we got to help them,” he added.
He said Pakistan was neglected as compared to Afghanistan after 9/11 incident by the international community and whatever needed was not done in the power sector in Pakistan. “And now, since we have a little breathing space as far as security situation is concerned, it is time for us to focus on other important issues like power crisis,” he added.
“I cannot tell whether the Taliban were destroyed or dispersed as a result of this operation until I go myself over there and talk to the people on ground but one thing was quite obvious that security forces regained Swat and Buner from Taliban which itself was very significant,” he added.
He said that the political situation here had improved significantly, as on March 15 the PML-N was at odds with the government when it held long march. He that Nawaz Sharif had come out with strong statements against Taliban. “Nawaz Sharif is a popular leader and his party is ruling the largest province of Punjab that’s why I believe that distancing from Nawaz will not be in the interest of the US.”

PAKISTAN, ISLAMABAD: President Asif Ali Zardari on Thursday night announced major legal and political reforms in the Tribal Areas to extricate them from a century of bondage and subservience and usher them into mainstream of national life describing it as a gift to the nation and the tribal people on the Nation’s 63rd Independence Day.
The government has fulfilled its promise and now people in Fata can have an identity as they will participate in political activities and exercise their right to vote, the President said while addressing the nation in a live PTV Special Show held at the Aiwan-e-Sadr on the occasion of Independence Day.
Prime Minister Syed Yusuf Raza Gilani, Chairman Senate Farooq Naek, Speaker National Assembly Fehmida Mirza, Chairman PPP Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, Aseefa Bhutto Zardari, Federal Ministers, Parliamentarians, Diplomats and high-ranking government officials were present on the occasion.
The President said Pakistan’s future lies in democracy and every Pakistani has a right and duty to nurture democratic values.
He said Quaid-e-Azam succeeded in gaining an Islamic country through a democratic struggle.
“Democracy gave Pakistan and democracy saved Pakistan” and now all citizens can live in this country with honour, he said adding the nation should be thankful for a free and democratic Pakistan.
The President said the government will take into confidence all political parties inside and outside the parliament, on national issues.
All parties including PML(N), ANP, MQM and others will be together on national issues and everybody will strengthen each other and stand united, he added.
He said living nations face challenges and recalled when their democratic government took over, the country was near bankruptcy and a handful of extremists wanted to take hold of Pakistan.
He saluted the jawans of Armed Forces who sacrificed their lives to safeguard the nation and people who stood with the government at that critical juncture.
The President thanked the host families for opening their hearts and doors for the dislocated people and said the government would not have met the challenge of militancy without the support of people.
He prayed for the continuity of democracy so that future generations can stay safe from the dangers of dictatorship.
Spokesperson to the President former Senator Farhatullah Babar said that the package of political reforms for Fata hammered out after consultation with all stakeholders had been approved a day earlier in a meeting in the Presidency that was also attended by the Prime Minister and which urged the President to announce it any time he deemed fit.
President Asif Ali Zardari decided to make the announcement in his address to the nation on the eve of 63rd Independence Day, he said.
Farhatullah Babar said that the political and judicial reforms announced tonight by President Zardari envisage extension of the Political Parties Order to the Tribal Areas on the one hand and changes in the century old anachronistic law called Frontier Crimes Regulation (FCR) to make it responsive to the human rights of the people while respecting the local customs and traditions.
The President said that Pakistan was created through a democratic struggle and through democracy it will be made strong and prosperous.

LONDON: The Quaid Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) Altaf Hussain has appealed to the ruling administration to re-look into the decision of repealing local government system as there lies in it, the welfare of the people of Pakistan.
This Altaf said during telephonic address from London on the inaugural ceremony of newly constructed monument near Mukka Chaowke closely located to MQM’s Nine Zero.
He said the people of Pakistan are suffering from load shedding and inflation menaces on the eve of Independence Day while the government should have made announcement of cut in commodities prices on this glorifying occasion.
“We make fun of our independence every year by doing ethically wrong deeds”, he remarked adding, “The country is undergoing the critical situation.”
He said on one hand the army is countering terrorism in NWFP province while on the other hand the government is suppressing the legitimate demands of the Baloch people.
Altaf Hussain asked government for meeting the lawful demands of the Baloch people and for promotion of policy of love instead of hatred.

Lahore, Pakistan: The nation is celebrating its 62nd Independence Day today with great zeal, enthusiasm and renewed commitment to make Pakistan strong, progressive and prosperous.
The day will dawn with special prayers in mosques for the progress and prosperity of the country.
Celebrations will begin with a 31-gun salute in the Federal Capital and 21-gun salute in all the four provincial capitals. At 7.58 am, all vehicular traffic will stop for two minutes with the sounding of sirens and national anthem will be played at 8:00 am.
A change of the guard ceremony at the mausoleum of Quaid-e-Mohammed Ali Jinnah, Pakistan’s founder, in Karachi would also take place.
A number of events have been chalked out to celebrate the Independence Day in a befitting manner and pay homage to those, who laid down their lives to create an independent motherland for the coming generations.
The main event of the day will be a flag-hoisting ceremony in the Capital.
Prime Minister Syed Yusuf Raza Gilani will unfurl the national flag.
Keeping alive previous traditions, all the government and private buildings have been illuminated. People, all over the country have decorated their houses, shopping centers and offices with national flags, banners, lightings, paintings and balloons.
The ruling Pakistan People’s Party as well as other major political parties are all set to celebrate the historic day in a dignified manner by hoisting national and party flags.
To mark the occasion in a befitting manner, the electronic and print media have planned comprehensive programmes. The electronic media would present various programmes including national songs, talk shows, dramas and children programmes.
The print media would carry out special supplements, features and articles, highlighting the importance of the day and sacrifices rendered by heroes and nation’s forefathers for it.
Rallies, processions and colorful functions under the aegis of various public and private sector, social and political organizations in all small and major towns and cities of the country will be the hallmark of the day.

Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan:- The day on August 14 today has dawned with 21-gun salute here in the provincial capital on the eve of Independence Day early on Friday.
The cadets hailing from Pakistan Army fired 21-gun shots at 5:21am on Friday with the first beacon of sunlight while the slogans featuring ‘Pakistan Zindabad’ were also chanted on the occasion

WASHINGTON: US special envoy to Afghanistan and Pakistan Richard Holbrooke has said that the apparent death of Mehsud appears to have thrown Taliban militants in Pakistan’s tribal regions into disarray.
Speaking at the liberal Center for American Progress, the U.S. envoy said: “Everyone is thrashing around. There are unconfirmed reports of a shootout during a leadership meeting.”
Holbrooke said the reported killing of Pakistan-based Taliban leader Baitullah Mehsud by a CIA drone was a major victory for the U.S., Pakistani and Afghan governments.
“The end of Baitullah Mehsud, as we all know, is a very big deal,” Holbrooke said. “Baitullah Mehsud was sort of like an independent subsidiary of Al Qaeda.”
Regarding upcoming elections in Afghanistan, he warned that Afghanistan’s closely watched presidential election may have a muddled result.
“There’ll be disputes, as there are in American elections. We only picked a senator from Minnesota just a few weeks ago after rather lengthy delay,” Richard Holbrooke said.
If neither Afghan President Hamid Karzai, who’s seeking re-election, nor any of the other candidates gets 50 percent of the vote, the Afghan constitution requires a run-off. But it could take days or weeks just for the first count of the first round of votes in the largely undeveloped country, which Holbrooke noted is the world’s poorest outside of Africa.
The U.S. envoy said that thousands of outside observers will be in Afghanistan to assess the vote, but that some level of disagreement about the results is still likely.
“Will there be challenge to the elections there are in every other democracy? I think we should assume those,” he said.
Asked who’ll ultimately assess the legitimacy of the election, Holbrooke said, “It ends up being the media…All of what happens in any distant places is, in the end, reduced to the simple headlines of media.”
Holbrooke declined to comment on reports that U.S. commanders in the region are on the verge of requesting more troops. A “vast array” of civilian programs to boost economic development, agriculture and the police are waiting for the election to be settled, he said.
On the subject of timelines, Holbrooke seemed to take a different tack than a British military official who recently suggested NATO troops might remain in Afghanistan for decades.
“The military part of this struggle with American troops is not an open-ended event,” Holbrooke said. “But our assistance – our civilian assistance is going to continue for a long time.”
The Obama administration is about to announce formal benchmarks to assess progress in Afghanistan, but Holbrooke suggested that the focus on so-called “metrics” had gotten a bit excessive.
“I would say this about defining success in Afghanistan and Pakistan,” he said: “We’ll know it when we see it.”
The effort to strengthen the central and regional governments in Afghanistan against the Taliban insurgency would be aided by the Obama administration’s decision to lift some security rules that made it difficult for U.S. diplomats and development personnel to leave the fortified U.S. embassy compound in Kabul, Holbrooke said.
“You no longer need 72-hour prior permission to leave the compound,” Holbrooke said. “You don’t need any permission at all – you just notify people where you’re going.”
“It made no sense to any of us when we came in,” he explained. “We send people over there, and we put them under restraints—they can’t work…We have to protect them, but we are doing it to give them much more discretion.”

PAKISTAN, ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani has said that no future Parliament would be succeeded in the country if the sitting one failed to perform its duties.
Addressing a special session of the National Assembly held Thursday in connection to Independence Day celebrations, the PM said that the parliamentarians crossed the bloodbaths to bring the country where it is at present.
He facilitated the judiciary saying that it has acquired its rights in result of its struggle.
The PM asked the parliamentarians not to mind the criticism by the media.
“We should be thankful to the media on their criticism instead of minding it. We are seeing a lot of criticism at present but I hope soon the media will start understanding its due responsibility.”

PAKISTAN, MIRPUR MATHELO: Nine persons were killed and several injured in traffic accidents near Mirpur Mathelo and Khairpur.
According to hospital sources, four persons Iqbal Qureshi, Barkat Malik, Ilyas and Jabbar killed and 37 others wounded when a bus travelling from Sehwan to Sahiwal overturned at National Highway. The first aid of injured had been delayed because of no-availability of doctors in district hospital Mirpur Mathelo. Seven critically injured were shifted to Rahim Yar Khan.
In another road mishap, two motorcyclists were killed when a coach hit their motorbike at Dharki National Highway. Another accident happened near Khairpur where a Sehwan- bound bus had overturned due to brakeage of tie rod in Tandi Masti Khan. Two persons and a child were killed and 22 injured. The wounded rushed to Gambat and Khairpur hospitals.

MOGADISHU: Six Pakistanis were killed by unidentified gunmen on in Somalia’s semi-autonomous Puntland region, witnesses said.
Two other people were wounded in the attack at a mosque inGalkayo, residents said, adding that the foreigners came from Pakistan on Tuesday and were dressed as Islamist preachers.
“Masked gunmen opened fire in the mosque, killing six Pakistanis and injured two others,” resident Sheikh Abdiqadir Ali told foreign news agency.
“Puntland forces have reached the mosque to carry away the dead bodies,” the elder Mohamed Hussein told the agency by phone from Galkayo.
“These foreigners, mostly Pakistanis, were 25 in number and arrived from Pakistan yesterday.”