GILGIT: Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Qamar Zaman Kaira assured holding of free, fair and transparent elections in Gilgit-Batistan.

Talking to Journalists after inaugurating, Pakistan Sweet Home, a center for orphaned children on Monday, said the government does not want to make the elections controversial and would leave no stone unturned in ensuring transparency in election, scheduled on November 12.

The minister asked the people to ensure maximum participation in the election as it would be electing a chief minister, who would utilize his energies for betterment of the people.

Governor Kaira said it is duty of the people to elect those who would serve them and make efforts for the development of the area adding “ the elected people would be your future”.

“There would be your own CM, people of Gilgit-Baltistan would take independent decision and the new system being introduced would not only bring prosperity and development but also empower the people,” he added.

He said that an independent election commission has been established which is conducting the elections in a free and fair manner.

Kaira assured that if their any complaint by the contesting candidate, the governor, secretary and election commissioner would address it on priority.

LONDON: President Asif Ali Zardari has said that the strong army is the need of Pakistan and the entire country would crumble if the institution of armed forces gets dismantled.

The President made this comment in his wide ranging address and discourse with British intelligentsia gathered at London’s International Institute of Strategic Studies (IISS) - a prestigious and one of the high profile Think Tanks, a day after he arrived in the British capital from Dubai.

He said people with Baitullah Mehsud mindset are behind the assassination of Ms Benazir Bhutto.

President Zardari said the extremists and militants were created decades ago by a deliberate policy to employ religious fanaticism for the achievement of certain strategic objectives.

Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi, Spokesman to the President Farhatullah Babar, Secretary General to the President Salman Farooqi, Chairman Pakistan Peoples Party Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, Aseefa Bhutto Zardari, Sanam Bhutto, Pakistan High Commissioner to UK Wajid Shamsul Hassan, writers, intellectuals and diplomats were also present on the occasion.

Militants and militancy were not created in a vacuum, the President said adding, they have been the product of a deliberate policy to fight the rival ideology.

The free world adopted a novel strategy that was based on the exploitation of religion to motivate Muslims around the world to wage Jihad, stated President Zardari.

To drive home the point the President reminded the audience Afghan Jihadi leaders were described as “Moral equivalents of George Washington.”

President Zardari further said that the strategy may have worked well but some serious mistakes were also made as the world abandoned Afghanistan in a hurry and no thought was given to its stability after the withdrawal of foreign forces.

After the retreat of foreign forces, Afghanistan was abandoned and left at the mercy of the warlords and the jehadis which, he said was a grave mistake.

The President also recalled the conversation Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto had with the then American President George Bush Sr. in 1989.

Warning of the grave implications of abandoning Afghanistan in a hurry she told the US President, “Mr. President, I fear we have created a Frankenstein that will come back to haunt us,” President Zardari told the audience.

President Zardari said that Pakistan paid the heaviest price of this policy as it ended up with over 2.5 million drug addicts, stunted economic activity and millions of Afghan refugees on its soil which it has been hosting for decades and is still hosting.

He said that the situation of Pakistan was further compounded when the international community gave material and moral support to dictatorships in Pakistan for its own ends.

The dictatorship in Pakistan has been running with the hare and hunting with the hound and played hide and seek with militants for its own political survival, the President viewed adding, “Years of dancing with the dictator has encouraged the crisis of today.”

About fighting the militants the President said that there was no doubt that Pakistan faced enormous challenges but “greater is our resolve to overcome those challenges.”

He said it was a crisis situation which also offered opportunities. “In times like these we must recognize and seize opportunities, he said and called for taking urgent and bold decisions.

“We can no longer avoid taking firm decisions,” the President said adding also that a decision delayed was “not a problem avoided but a crisis in waiting.”

He said that contrasted with the dictatorship of the past the democracy in Pakistan had taken on the militants head on. “We are determined to fight and we know how to fight,” he said.

He said that democracy in Pakistan had given political ownership to the war against militants as a result of which the Parliament, the state institutions and the whole nation was united against terrorists.

The initial successes against militancy were a great example of democracy at work, the President said.

About the wonders achieved by national consensus against militancy the President said that the dramatic power of national consensus was demonstrated recently in Swat and Malakand where the militants were on the run and the internally displaced persons had started returning their homes in safety.

The President also declared the government’s determination not to allow anyone to use our territory against a third country.

Extremists and militants who challenge the state and our ideology wherever they may be in Pakistan will be chased and eliminated, the President said.

Reinforcing his commitment to end militancy, the President declared, “Let me assure you that we have not come this far at this price, to fail.”

The President also urged the international community for its support and understanding in “our national efforts to fight militants.”

“We expect our friends and allies to make a correct assessment of the challenges we face and to help us,” the President said.

While acknowledging that some support had come from the world community the President said, “This support needs to be reinforced.”

President Zardari also rejected the blames that were being laid at the door of Pakistan and said “We need active regional co-operation and understanding rather than resorting to blame game.”

He said that Pakistan was doing more not at the behest of anyone else but “in self interest.”

The President also reminded the audience of the struggle in Pakistan for the restoration of democracy. Shaheed Benazir Bhutto made the ultimate sacrifice, so that our nation may live in democracy, he said.

President Zardari said that democracy was gaining ground in Pakistan. Today there was a functional Parliament, an independent judiciary, a vibrant civil society, a fiercely free media and a robust political discourse among political parties, he added.

The President said that the real challenge that lay ahead was “to make democracy sustainable, indeed irreversible.”

“The challenge could be met easily if we demonstrated to our people and the world that democracy indeed was delivering,” he observed.

He said that for the democracy to deliver in a real sense, fellow democracies must support Pakistan in this common cause. Pakistan was also faced with the challenge of consolidating economic stability, he expressed.

The President said that although some difficult decisions had already been taken to stabilize the economy, Pakistan needed greater economic opportunities to better the lot of its teeming millions.

“It is important that Pakistan is allowed market access to the countries of European Union. We need trade and not aid,” he stressed.

About peace in the region the President said that Pakistan was confronted with the challenge of building a peaceful neighborhood.

The government was pursuing a conscious policy of building cooperative relationships with Afghanistan and India, he stated adding, “We believe that regional dialogue and cooperation is the way forward.

The President said that after the Mumbai attacks, Pakistan had bilateral engagements at leadership level. The President stressed the need for revival of the composite dialogue.

“Pakistan is convinced that revival of the composite dialogue process is necessary and in the mutual interest of the two countries,” the President said.

Pakistan also believed that meaningful progress towards resolution of the Kashmir dispute is necessary for durable peace and stability in South Asia, the President said.

The president further said that the terrorist attacks were also directed against the peace process with India.

“Terrorist attacks are always directed at democracy. They are also directed against the peace process with India that we have initiated,” is how the President described the terror attacks.

The non-state actors and supporters of dictatorship have vested interest in fanning conflict in the region, the President said adding, “They (the militants) do not want change in Pakistan to take root.”

The President called upon the international community to beef up support for the democratic government to fight the militants by strengthening Pakistan’s economy and democracy.

President Zardari also appreciated Prime Minister Gordon Brown’s role in the Friends of Democratic Pakistan process and the enhanced economic aid of 665 million pounds to Pakistan over the next four years.

The President pleaded for “trade and not aid” on the one hand and assistance to strengthen “civilian law enforcement and counter-terrorism capabilities” on the other.

He also called for turning the Friends of Democratic Pakistan process into “a truly successful enterprise.”

Voicing hope that the democratic world will play its part in assisting Pakistan, the President assured that “Pakistan will deliver on its part to make the world a safer and better place to live.”

The President said that a democratic Pakistan is the world’s best guarantee for the triumph of moderation among Muslims of the world.

HANGU: District Nazim haji Khan Afzal was killed and several others injured when a bomb blast ripped through a mosque at Shahu Road here on Friday.

The District Nazim was injured in the blast and taken to a hospital where he succumbed to his injuries, hospital sources said.

PESHAWAR: A suicide bomber rammed an explosives-laden vehicle into a hotel in a Kohat market on Friday, killing 33 people and injuring over 50 others in a possible sectarian attack, police and a government official said.

The attack in Usterzai village on the outskirts of Kohat town was the second in two days in the area, which is not far from the Afghan border and has witnessed past incidents of violence between Sunni and Shiite Muslims. A bomb Thursday in Kohat wounded six people.

The small Hikmat Ali Hotel, which was among several buildings badly damaged in Friday’’s blast, is located in a roadside market.

Police official Ali Hassan Khan said Friday’’s bomber was in a vehicle.

The blast destroyed several cars, and several shops at the Kacha Paka market caved in.

Footage from a hospital aired by a local news channel showed some of the wounded in beds and on stretchers. The men were bloodied, bandaged and seemingly in shock.

Kohat is a garrison town around 40 miles (60 kilometers) south of Peshawar. On Thursday, six people were wounded when a bomb planted outside a shop in Kohat exploded.

Pakistani Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani condemned Friday’’s attack in a short press statement.

A four-month-old army offensive against Taliban militants in the Swat Valley has, according to the military, killed more than 1,800alleged militants, while at least three top leaders of the Swat Taliban have been arrested.

Government officials say the army is also closing in on Swat Taliban chief Maulana Fazlullah, whose radio broadcasts long spread fear among residents of the valley.

Search and clearance operations over the previous 24 hours in Swat led to the arrests of seven militants and surrenders of another 13, the Pakistani military said in a Friday statement.

ISLAMABAD: Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Qamar Zaman Kaira Friday said no deal was struck with former president Pervez Musharraf, rather it was a settlement under which he was driven out of Presidency.

Talking to media here, the Minister said those countries which want to see stability in Pakistan have always extended their cooperation and that their help cannot be described as interference.

He said the incumbent government has received the mandate for five years.

Qamar Zaman Kaira said that Pakistan People’s Party has prepared Balochistan package and consultations are being held with the entire political leadership of the country in this regard.

LAHORE: Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Qamar Zaman Kaira has advised people to cut down use of sugar to force hoarders to bring down its prices.

He said this while addressing a seminar held here on the occasion of President Asif Ali Zardari’s completion of one year in office.

The Federal Minister said there is no shortage of sugar in the country and the crisis has been artificially created by mills owners and hoarders.

He said Punjab government will itself take action against the hoarders whose sugar the government has seized.

Qamar Zaman Kaira said difference between Pakistan People’s Party and Pakistan Muslim League-N are part of the democratic process.

KARACHI: Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Kamaruz Zaman Kaira has said the Local Government issue does not merely involve Hyderabad and Karachi cities and this issue must be resolved through four provinces’ consensus.

Briefing media here at new Sindh Secretariat over the engagements of president Asif Ali Zardari during his visit to Karachi, Kaira said whatever may be the court’s ruling on former president Pervez Musharraf, it shall be accepted.

The coalition parties will be taken into confidence over all issues before reaching any decision including the matter to repeal local governments, Kaira told reporters when asked about the meeting of MQM delegation with President Zardari on district government system.

Federal Minister ruled out possibility to disseminate information to media in regard to every meeting coalition government hold.

GILGIT: Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Qamar Zaman Kaira said the statement issued by the Foreign Office with regards to the demise of Baitullah Mehsud is final but his dead body will cast out doubts about his death.

To a press conference here, Minister extended congratulations to nation over killing of Mehsud adding that his corpse will ascertain his death.

Citing the package of constitutional reforms for Northern Areas, Kaira said the proposed package will also levy new taxes as no government can run country sans taxes.

“The elections of Legislative Assembly of Northern Areas will be held this October at all costs,” he claimed reveling, “The budget of Northern Areas will be unveiled twice a year instead of quarterly”.

Separate colonies will be built in Gilgit and Iskardu for journalists, Federal Minister announced on the occasion.

SEOUL: Hundreds of competing lawmakers screamed and wrestled in South Korea’’s parliament Wednesday as a rivalry over contentious media reform bills descended into a brawl that sent at least one to a hospital.

Lawmakers from the ruling Grand National Party occupied the speaker’’s podium in a bid to quickly pass the bills aimed at easing restrictions on ownership of television networks. Opposition parties responded by stacking up furniture to block ruling party members from entering the main hall of the National Assembly.

The parliament plunged into chaos, as lawmakers scuffled and shouted abuse at each other. Women lawmakers from the rival parties joined in the melee, grabbing each other by the neck and trying to bring opponents to the floor.

The scenes were not unusual to South Korea’’s confrontational and melodramatic politics, where rival parties sometimes resort to violence to get their way. Last year, opposition lawmakers used sledgehammers to pound their way into a parliamentary committee room to block the ruling party from introducing a bill to ratify a free trade pact with the United States.

The opposition strongly opposes the proposed media reforms that would ease restrictions on large businesses and newspapers owning stakes in major broadcasting stations. They claim the move is a ploy by the government of President Lee Myung-bak to get more sympathetic media coverage by allowing large conservative newspapers to get into the broadcasting business.

Despite the opposition lawmakers” attempt to blockade the National Assembly, ruling party legislators managed to get into the hall and rammed through the bills amid angry shouts from their opponents. Some opposition lawmakers unsuccessfully tried to jump on to the speaker’’s podium. They were dragged away by ruling party lawmakers.

As the vice parliamentary speaker announced the passage of one bill, parliamentary security guards rushed to cover him for fears that opposition lawmakers might hurl something, which has happened in the past. The deputy speaker is affiliated with the ruling party.

The main opposition Democratic Party said the voting had procedural problems and it will seek a court injunction to invalidate the move.

“The National Assembly, the hall of the people’’s will, was brutally trampled and infringed upon today,” the party said in a statement.

The ruling Grand National Party rejected the claim and accused the opposition of using violence and of being insincere during negotiations to find a compromise on the bills.

“This kind of tragedy should never be repeated again,” it said in a statement.

The Grand National Party controls the 294-member unicameral National Assembly with 169 seats. The main opposition Democratic Party has 84 seats.

ISLAMABAD: Eighty militants have been killed by security forces in Sultanwas area, Director General Inter-Services Public Relations Major General Athar Abbas said on Wednesday.

He said “Pakistan is facing threats from two fronts, one from militants and other from country’s Eastern border.”

“Six vehicles of militants have also been destroyed in the fighting,” he said.

Abbas said that several landmines laid by the militants were also removed by forces.

The DG ISPR said that one more soldier has embraced Shahadat in the fighting.