APPEAL FILED AGAINST PRIME MINISTER OF PAKISTAN YOUSUF RAZA GILANI CONTEMPT CHARGES

ISLAMABAD: An intra-court appeal requesting the Supreme Court to suspend its decision of framing contempt charges against Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani was filed on Wednesday.

On Feb 2, the apex court had issued summons for the premier for Feb 13 for him to be indicted with contempt over his refusal to pursue corruption cases against President Asif Ali Zardari. The announcement significantly escalated pressure on the embattled prime minister, threatening to plunge his weak government deeper into crisis and force early elections within months.

The appeal, filed by the prime minister’s counsel, Barrister Aitzaz Ahsan, requested the court to postpone the indictment. It moreover said that the ruling was given without the premier being given an opportunity to defend himself directly.

MASSIVE HIKE IN GAS TARIFF ON THE CARDS

ISLAMABAD: The government has decided to increase natural gas tariff by 15 per cent for domestic consumers and between 18 per cent and 96 per cent for different categories with effect from Friday (the first day of the new financial year) and spread uniform gas loadshedding across the country starting early winter.

Petroleum Minister Dr Asim Hussain confirmed to reporters on Wednesday that a gas tariff rationalisation plan would be submitted to an emergency meeting of the Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) of the cabinet on Thursday for approval.

In the absence of Finance Minister Dr Abdul Hafeez Shaikh, who is currently in the United States on holidays, Water and Power Minister Syed Naveed Qamar is expected to preside over the meeting. Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani is reported to have given green signal for the tariff increase during a meeting he had with the petroleum minister earlier in the day.

Authentic sources told Dawn that the petroleum ministry had recommended to the ECC to increase natural gas prices for all domestic consumers by 15 per cent, 18 per cent for industrial consumers, 36 per cent for power sector, including Wapda, KESC and independent power producers, and about 96 per cent for fertilizer feedstock for older plants.

The summary also seeks to gradually eliminate all cross-subsidies in gas tariff. Also, the prices for transport sector through compressed natural gas (CNG) would be increased to 65 per cent of petrol price from the current 45 per cent. The proposal was immediately rejected by CNG stations’ association. The sources said the overall objective of the gas price rationalization was to bring in uniformity in fuel prices and remove all subsidies so that full cost of gas was recovered from consumers.

Officials said the increased gas prices would not be notified on June 30 as required under the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (Ogra) law in view of a case pending with the Sindh High Court against proposed increase in prescribed prices. They said the court was expected to take up the case on July 1 and decide the matter to pave the way for Ogra to provide prescribed prices for the gas utilities that would be reflected in consumer tariff in a matter of two-three days.

Dr Asim said the government planned to increase gas rates by 10-15 per cent for domestic, 15-20 per cent for industrial and 100 per cent for fertilizer sector on the advent of the next financial year. He said the notification to this effect would be issued after the SHC disposed of the case. In what seems to be a departure from the current government policy of providing maximum gas to the province it produces, Mr. Hussain said the loadshedding this winter would be uniform in all the provinces. He said the two-day loadshedding would also be applied this winter to the CNG sector and industry in Sindh.

This change in policy, however, has a caveat. The gas saving of about 200 million cubic feet per day (MMCFD) achieved through closure to the CNG sector and industry in Sindh would be diverted to the Karachi Electric Supply Company to ensure uninterrupted electricity supply by the KESC. He said the gas contracts with four IPPs (independent power producers) were expiring on June 30 and a summary had been sent to the ECC, whether the supplies should continue or not. He added that personally he was against provision of gas to IPPs which should be run on furnace oil. He did not agree with a suggestion that gas saved in Sindh would be diverted to other provinces.

Abdullah Ghias Piracha, chairman of the All Pakistan CNG Owners Association, said the agreement to supply 152mmcfd of gas to four IPPs was ending on June 30 and the gas thus saved should now be supplied to the CNG sector to end its two weekly closures.

ABBOTTABAD RAID AND SALEEM SHAHZAD COMMISSIONS SET UP

ISLAMABAD, June 21: Acting rather swiftly after the Supreme Court had named the heads of inquiry commissions on the killings of Osama bin Laden and journalist Saleem Shahzad, Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani announced on Tuesday the names of their members.

According to a handout, Prime Minister Gilani approved summaries sent by the ministry of law, justice and parliamentary affairs proposing the constitution of inquiry commissions. The complexion of the Abbottabad commission would remain the same as earlier announced by the government, except Justice (retd) Fakhruddin G. Ebrahim who had refused to be its member. Justice Javed Iqbal, senior puisne judge of the Supreme Court, will lead the probe into circumstances under which OBL was killed in a covert US military operation.

Other members of the commission are Lt-Gen (retd) Nadeem Ahmed, former inspector general of police Abbas Khan and former ambassador Ashraf Jehangir Qazi, with Cabinet Division Secretary Nargis Sethi as its secretary. The ministry of interior will provide secretarial support.

The terms of reference of the commission are: (a) to ascertain full facts regarding the presence of Osama bin Laden in Pakistan; (b) investigate circumstances and facts regarding the US operation in Abbottabad on 2nd May, 2011; (c) determine the nature, background and causes of lapses of authorities concerned, if any; and (d) make consequential recommendations. A couple of changes have been made in the commission proposed earlier on the killing of Saleem Shahzad. Instead of the additional inspector general (investigation) of Punjab and deputy inspector general of Islamabad police, the inspectors general have been made part of the new commission.

It will be headed by Justice Mian Saqib Nisar and include Federal Shariat Court Chief Justice Agha Rafiq Ahmed Khan and the president of the Federal Union of Journalists (PFUJ). This commission has been asked: (i) to inquire into the background and circumstances of abduction and subsequent murder of Saleem Shahzad; (ii) to identify culprits involved in the abduction and subsequent murder; (iii) recommend measures to prevent recurrence of such gruesome incidents against journalists in future and (iv) to probe the matters of conduct which are in derogation of Articles 4,9,17, 19 and 19A of the Constitution and investigate in-depth such background facts. The secretary for information and broadcasting will act as secretary of the commission.

Unlike the Abbottabad commission whose terms of reference don’t include any timeframe, the tribunal on the killing of the journalist will submit its report within six weeks. The information ministry will provide secretarial support to the commission. The PML-N, the main opposition party, has once again rejected the constitution of the Abbottabad tribunal, terming it an insult to the May 14 resolution of a joint sitting of both houses of parliament that had called for consultation with the leader of opposition before its announcement.

The party’s spokesman Ahsan Iqbal said an inquiry through national consensus was needed, but the government appeared to have decided to condemn the parliamentary resolution to dustbin. Meanwhile, talking to reporters at a function held by the Benazir Income Support Programme the prime minister said the Supreme Court had given its ruling on the constitution of the commissions and no one should question their credibility.

He said the government had earlier made Justice (retd) Ebrahim a member of the Abbottabad commission on the recommendation of the leader of opposition in the National Assembly, but he had withdrawn his name, saying he had not been consulted by Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan. The prime minister said the government had been consulting all political parties on important national issues. “Since the Abbottabad commission has been put in place, nobody should jump to conclusions,” he said. He said state institutions, including intelligence agencies, should be supported.