London: On 12 March 2009 there was a demonstration outside the UN Human Rights Council which was attended by people of Jammu and Kashmir, Gilgit and Baltistan, Sind, Balochistan, Frontier Province Pakhtoon Khawa and Punjab. The demonstration was organised by Sardar Shaukat Kashmiri and was a big demonstration according to standards of Geneva.

Among those who spoke on this occasion included Senator Sana Ullah Baloch, Munawar Laghari, Col Wajhat Mirza, Nader Mirza, Shaukat Kashmiri, Mumtaz Khan, Nasir Aziz, Abbas Butt, Dr Shabir Choudhry etc.

A summary of Dr Shabir Choudhry’s speech is as follows:

Mingora (Pakistan), Mar. 17: Despite the Pakistan Government’s peace-deal with the Taliban in Swat, women are still afraid to go to markets and shop.

Even a month after the Sharia related deal, the busiest shopping joint in Mingora city, Cheena Market, still awaits female shoppers.

“Business has still not returned to normal despite a marked change in the situation. I used to make a good profit when the Taliban had not banned women from going to markets,” a shopkeeper, Ikramullah Khan told Daily Times.

Lahore, Mar. 17: PCB's chief selector Abdul Qadir has asked pacer Shoaib Akhtar to prove his fitness if he wants to participate in the World Twenty20 Championship in England.

The 2009 World Twenty20 Championship will be held in England in June. The PCB is going to select its preliminary squad by the end of this month, The Nation reports.

Qadir said a ''fully-fit'' Shoaib would prove to be a huge asset for Pakistan, and hence, will certainly be considered for the team going to participate in the prestigious tournament.

Due to poor performance in ODIs against Sri Lanka, Shoaib was ignored for the Test series against Lankans, and also left out from the upcoming Bangladesh tour.

Lahore, Mar.

Peshawar, Mar 17: Tehreek-e-Nifaz-e-Shariat Muhammad (TNSM) chief Sufi Muhammad has warned judges of the Swat lower judiciary to cease their hearings, as sharia courts would start operations in the district from today.

He warned at a press conference that if the judicial officers continued to attend their offices, it would be considered a violation of the peace accord between him and the NWFP Government.

Under the agreement, Sufi said all decisions rendered by lower courts in Swat after February 16 are void, and only the qazi courts are qualified to decide the cases in the district under sharia law, the Daily Times reported.

London, Mar 17: British Foreign Secretary David Miliband hopes that all Pakistani political parties would now come together to consolidate democracy and promote impartial justice in the country after the PPP-led Government decided to reinstate Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry.

“I hope that all parties will now quickly come together around a common agenda to consolidate the political steps made and to agree measures that will strengthen democracy and impartial justice in Pakistan,” British Foreign Secretary David Miliband said.

“The steps, taken to defuse the political crisis in Pakistan, show real political leadership by all concerned,” The News quoted him, as saying.