ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani on Friday reiterated that Pakistan desires to have good neighbourly relations with all regional countries, including India, in the larger interest of the welfare of the people of South Asia.

Gilani, who met Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar at the Prime Minister Secretariat, said the continuation of dialogue process would help both countries facilitate discussions on all issues of concern.

The foreign minister briefed the prime minister on her visit to India and outcome of the talks.

The prime minister said that it was an encouraging sign that talks between the two countries were helping develop better understanding of each other’s point of view on all issues, including the issue of Jammu and Kashmir.

He was also pleased to learn that the Indian Prime Minister would be visiting Pakistan at his earliest convenience.

Earlier, Khar had briefed the Prime Minister about the outcome of official talks with the Indian delegation.

She also briefed him about her meetings with the Indian Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh, leader of the opposition and the Kashmiri leaders.

Khar calls on President Zardari

Hina Rabbani Khar also called on President Asif Ali Zardari here at Aiwan-e-Sadr.

The minister briefed the President about her visit to India and her discussions with the Indian leadership.

Expressing satisfaction over the progress made during her visit, President Zardari said, “Pakistan welcomes commitment of the two sides to work together in seeking early and amicable solutions to all issues between the two countries”.

ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court has declared the government notification on Secretary Establishment Sohail Ahmed being made On Special Duty (OSD) null and void and ordered his reinstatement within seven days, Express 24/7 reported on Friday.

The Attorney General of Pakistan, Maulvi Anwarul Haq had informed the court that he had not been able to meet Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani on Thursday as he was busy with official engagements, which is why he was not able to submit his reply on the Secretary Establishment being made OSD.

(Read: Establishment Secretary undermined my authority: PM Gilani)

The chief justice asked the attorney general why the court’s orders were not being honoured.

The court, during the hearing of the Hajj scam case, also directed the government to reinstate Hussain Asghar as investigation officer in the case.

Haq also informed the court that Asghar is in the Kachura area of Gilgit-Baltistan and has been stopped by the chief minister from leaving his charge.

The Supreme Court had given the government one more day to obey its directives, including the reinstatement of a top bureaucrat, a written response by the prime minister and bringing back the chief investigator of the Hajj corruption scam.

Asma Jahangir lashes out at the government for not complying with SC orders

Meanwhile, President of the Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) Asma Jahangir said the country is heading towards lawlessness by not implementing decisions of the Supreme Court (SC), on Friday.

Addressing lawyers at the Peshawar High Court Bar – Asma Jahangir said whether the SC’s verdict is right or wrong – the government should implement it adding that if the government feels the court’s decision is wrong – then it should file a review plea against it.

The SCBA president criticised victimisation of government secretaries who implement court orders. She said making the secretaries, Officer on Special Duty, will not work anymore.

Asma said that lawyers believe in independence of judiciary and superiority of law.

Speaking on the laws made by the government for FATA and PATA, she said she condemned it.

Earlier, on July 27, the five-member bench hearing the Hajj scam had given the government till Thursday to bring back the recently removed establishment secretary Sohail Ahmed and furnish the prime minister’s response to why he was removed to begin with. The court had charged the government with removing Ahmed for obeying the court’s directives.

NEW YORK: The UN Security Council (UNSC) on Friday put the Pakistan Taliban on its international anti-terrorism sanctions list in a move highlighting the growing threat from the group, diplomats said.

The adding of the Tehrik-E-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) group to the sanctions list also comes as the UNSC eases pressure on the Afghan Taliban in a bid to encourage it to join peace moves in Afghanistan.

The Pakistan Taliban has been blamed for attacks that have left hundreds dead in Pakistan but also been linked to an attempted bombing in Times Square, New York last year.

Britain’s UN ambassador Mark Lyall Grant welcomed the addition of the Pakistan Taliban to counter-terrorism list, a moved which has been backed by the Pakistan government.

“It sends a powerful signal of the international community’s solidarity and resolve in the fight against the TTP and international terrorism,” Lyall Grant said in a statement.

ISLAMABAD: The Federal government, on Friday, said the elected Parliament is the mother of all state institutions therefore it is supreme over every institution.

President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani chaired a high level meeting at the Presidency in Islamabad on Friday.

The chief executives reiterated their resolve to ensure respect for all state institutions and that they worked in a spirit of harmony and within the parameters of the trichotomy of power as enshrined in the Constitution.

The meeting was attended by Chief Ministers of Sindh, Balochistan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Gilgit Baltistan and Punjab Governor Latif Khosa and Spokesperson to the President, Farhatullah Babar.

President of AJK Sardar Yaqoob and Prime Minister Chaudhry Abdul Majeed were also in attendance in the meeting.

The meeting dispelled the notion of a clash of institutions, propagated by some, and expressed satisfaction that there was no danger of any clash among institutions.

The meeting also reposed confidence in the leadership of the President and Prime Minister and the steps taken by them to strengthen Parliament and the state institutions.