Six JF-17’s to escort Chinese PM into Pakistan

By APP
ISLAMABAD: Six JF-17 Thunder fighters of the Pakistan Air Force will escort the aircraft of Chinese Premier Li Keqiang as it enters Pakistani air space on Wednesday, at the start of his two-day State visit.The JF-17s — a symbol of deep Sino-Pakistan friendship – will guide the special Air China Boeing 747 aircraft of the Chinese dignitary to the Nur Khan Air Base, where a 21-gun salute will herald his arrival.

Read more » The Express Tribune
http://tribune.com.pk/story/552333/six-jf-17s-to-escort-chinese-pm-into-pakistan/

Democracy or dictatorship?

Democracy or dictatorship?: Resolute Gilani paves way for govt resolution

By Qamar Zaman / Zia Khan

ISLAMABAD: Steady nerves and a pointed address.

The premier remained composed on Friday, despite a raring opposition and potentially wavering allies in the face of a deepening row with the military and the judiciary – and the government also managed to introduce a highly-anticipated resolution in the house.

The resolution was moved, symbolically enough, by the PPP’s thus far most steadfast ally, Awami National Party (ANP) chief Asfandyar Wali Khan, amid a protest from opposition benches.

Before the resolution, addressing a special session of the National Assembly, Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani said he would prefer going to the people over begging for the opposition’s support for a fresh vote of confidence in parliament.

“I do not need a vote of confidence,” Gilani said, adding that he was elected prime minister unanimously.

The session, it was widely believed, had been convened in the wake of the Supreme Court warning President Asif Ali Zardari and the prime minister of disqualification over the non-implementation of the National Reconciliation Ordinance (NRO) verdict.

But the prime minister snubbed the notion that his government was afraid of the NRO at the get-go.

“We have not come for the NRO. We do not need your support to be saved from the military and have not come for a clash of institutions. We have also not come to be shaheeds (martyrs),” the premier said, responding to the leader of the opposition’s query seeking a justification for the ‘emergency session.’

“Somebody should tell us the reason for convening this session and what you are afraid of,” the leader of the opposition, Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan, had said earlier.

“We have to decide whether there should be democracy or dictatorship in the country … democracy should not be punished for our mistakes”. ….

Read more » The Express Tribune

Two Young Sindhi Political Workers Ruthlessly Murdered in Sindh, Pakistan

By Khakid Hashmani

The people of Sindh once again woke up to the sad news that two of their young leaders Qurban Khawar and Roplo Cholyani were brutally murdered. They were travelling in a car along with another leader Noorullah Tunio who survived the attack. The three leaders belonged to a leading Sindh nationalist party. The party alleged that the murders were carried out by death squads of infamous premier Intelligence agency of Pakistan. As the news of their brutal murder spread through Sindh, a wave of sorrow and anger rose through many of cities, towns and villages. The shops and businesses closed in the protest and people came out in the streets demonstrating their resolve to continue their struggle for Sindhi Rights.

The surviving leader Noorullah Tunio was interviewed by the local police. In a video posted on YouTube, he is seen saying that two vehicles sandwiched their car and started firing. Once the car stopped, they threw petrol and lighted causing further destruction when the petrol tank blew up.

After the murders, leaders of several Sindh nationalist parties issued statements and demanded justice. One leader said that there is a secret plan to eliminate leaders of patriot Sindhi leaders so that the favorites of the establishment have a free hand in sabotaging Sindh’s rights movement. Another Sindhi leader said that the frequency of killing of Sindhi leaders has leads him to believe that there is a conspiracy to create Balochistan like situation in Sindh in order to eliminate Sindh nationalists and get rid of democratic set-up.