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Launching
of a dream
Dear Readers:
This is the Preview of 'South Asia
Tribune', a Web Newspaper for Investigative Journalism,
being launched under the Editorship of Mr. Shaheen Sehbai, a veteran
Pakistani journalist and former Editor of 'The News'.
SA Tribune
will bring you original, exclusive stories written by senior
journalists and emerging reporters alike, with as much evidence and
documentation as is practically possible. We will also have columns
and analysis by seasoned South Asian writers and analysts on current
issues. A full Archives section will be available for ready
reference.
"Producing and
editing a newspaper for Investigative journalism, like the
SA Tribune, has always been my wish and a dream as it was almost impossible
to do so in
Pakistan, despite the so-called freedom available to the media
now," said Mr. Sehbai, after the first issue was put together
by the joint efforts of a dedicated team of journalists, technicians
and well-wishers.
SA Tribune will try to uphold the
highest standards of healthy journalism. By presenting the evidence,
we will let our readers make
their own valued judgment on our stories.
SAT Feature Service (SFS),
a subsidiary of SA Tribune, is being launched simultaneously for print and electronic
media. For a very reasonable fee, SFS would enable its subscribers
to reproduce all the stories and the related evidence,
published in SA Tribune, for their
readers, listeners or viewers.
We seek the cooperation and
support of all friends, well wishers and readers to make this venture a
success.
Together we
can make this forum a real media watchdog.
South Asia Tribune Publication LLC
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| BB ready to fly back with NS |
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By
Shaheen Sehbai
WASHINGTON: Pakistan's self-exiled Opposition leader and two-time Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto is ready to fly back to Pakistan, in the same aircraft before the October polls, with her main political opponent, former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, now exiled in Saudi Arabia. In an exhaustive interview from London to the "South Asia Tribune" on telephone, she said it was upto Nawaz Sharif to make that decision. "I am ready to fly with him. It would have a tremendous political impact on Pakistan," she said.
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The interview covered a wide range of subjects ranging from ban on her politics, charges of corruption against her and Asif Zardari, her reaction to US policies, the prospects of her party, possibilities of a boycott of the elections, Musharraf’s proposed amendments and his performance, her views on killings of innocent
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people in Afghanistan, how Pakistan can forge its way ahead, what dangers face the nation and how to meet them.
Bhutto seemed very confident about her own
participation in the coming October polls and was sure that the judiciary will
strike down the Political Parties Act which has been used to place restrictions
on ex prime minister and other politicians. She repeatedly praised Nawaz Sharif
and his party and hoped politicians would join hands against army's intervention
in politics.
Complete Story
Audio Interview
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| Citibank
reveals over $60m Zardari accounts: BB continues to deny |
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Special SAT Report WASHINGTON: Citibank,
the largest and the most scrutinized US bank, has revealed it operated accounts of millions of dollars belonging to Asif Ali
Zardari, during his wife Benazir Bhutto's second tenure as Pakistan's Prime Minister. In chilling testimony before a US Senate
Committee, Chairman Citibank and other senior Executives conceded that the bank had serious doubts about the source of Zardari's money. Pakistan's
present Finance |
Zardari meditating at Imam Reza Mausoleum in Iran --- SAT
Photo
Minister Shaukat
Aziz, till recently an ex-Citibank top executive also gave written
testimony before the Senate Sub Committee investigating
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money laundering
through banks. Zardari accounts were presented before the Sub-Committee as part
of four Case histories, with other public figures being Raul Salinas (brother of
the former president of Mexico, Carlos Salinas), El Hadj Omar Bongo, the elected
president of Gabon since 1967 and Mohammed, Ibrahim, and Abba Sani, all three
sons of General Sani Abacha of Nigeria.
Complete
Story
Zardari
Case History
Full
Senate Report Benazir Responds
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| Pak Press is corrupt: Gen. Musharraf |
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By Rauf Klasra
ISLAMABAD: New laws are in the works to bring the defiant Pakistani print media under General Musharraf's thumb. The military ruler has made no secret of his hatred against the Press which, a recent Memo issued by his office says, has no scruples. "The real problem why the govt cannot give total freedom (to the Press) is because
the Press has no scruples |
and want to write anything about anyone. They attack even the innocent and can go on doing so unhindered until their demands are met. It is corruption and exploitation of the highest order," says the Memo, which is titled as a 'non-paper' and carries foul language
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against the Press and journalists.
A new Defamation Law is also being prepared and a summary has been circulated for the Cabinet. It
seems balanced on the surface,
but it has provisions which can bring any critic under legal pressure for criticizing the
govt. All official reports, for instance, will have absolute protection under the new law.
View Documents |
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How
Musharraf was fooled? |
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Special SAT Report WASHINGTON:
Shahid Javed Burki, an ex executive of the World Bank who launched a $50m Fund
in 2002 for investment in Pakistan, admitted recently that the Fund was a total
flop, which means Gen. Pervez Musharraf had been fooled into inaugurating the
Fund in New York with fanfare. Chatting with reporters privately at a dinner
hosted by outgoing Pak
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envoy Maleeha Lodhi, Burki candidly said the Fund simply could
not take off. At the launching of the Fund, ex caretaker prime minister Moeen
Qureshi's name was used and everybody who wanted to show his face to Musharraf
and appear on Pak TV had joined in. After some goody goody speeches and a
comment by Musharraf, the few reporters present had grilled the sponsors but
could not get a single convincing reply.
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There were no figures
available and everybody wanted to avoid the awkward questions. It was clear even
then that a new and naive military dictator had been taken for a ride by some
technocrats who churned out some rosy statistics and promises of millions of
easy dollars for Pakistan. Shahid Javed Burki confirmed it was all a
farce.
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Hot Stories in Coming Issues
The
$10b Saudi Mystery:
A mind
boggling story of how a Saudi Prince offered to invest
billions into pre-Sept 11 Pakistan and how an ex-ISI
chief shot the entire project by writing four
little words. Was it a cover to support Al-Qaeda and
terrorism? Why everybody disappeared after 9/11? What
has been the Shaukat Aziz connection to this entire
drama?
View all the
documents of the Saudi offer, including letters of
General Pervez Musharraf and the Saudi Prince.
Spilling
all the beans:
An ex ISI officer
posted at Pakistan Embassy in Washington DC speaks out
about what he saw and how he was booted out in 24
hours when he discovered what was going on
behind the scene in the second Benazir Bhutto Government.
He reveals all about the role played by a Pakistani
Ambassador and her brother to pay F-16 installments to
US, despite the ban on delivery. Does General Musharraf
know about all this? His predecessor, General Abdul
Waheed Kakar did, and was unable to stop the whistle
blower from being booted out on 24-hour notice.
Listen to the ex-ISI
high-up talking to SA Tribune Editor in Real Audio.
Where
is PTCL sale going:
While Finance
Minister Shaukat Aziz is trying his best to ensure that
his friends Hariri and company of Lebanon get the
lucrative and sensitive Pakistan Telecom, when it is
privatised under IMF pressure, other players have also
jumped in, some with former ISI connections. What awaits
the fate of the telecom giant?
View the summaries
now being circulated in Pakistan Government to push and
pull PTCL towards favorites.
Did
Maleeha Lodhi steal a thesis?
Washington
has been abuzz for some time with the juicy story of
whether Pak Ambassador to US, Dr. Maleeha Lodhi stole
large chunks of an American professor's thesis for her
Ph.D at LSE. What are the facts? Who are the main
players in this embarrassing saga as the out-going
ambassador prepares for a political career in Pakistan?
View
all the relevant documents and letters.
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