The Daily News Today

Pakistani senior journalist and anchorperson Hamid Mir attacked in Karachi

2014-04-20T15:59:00.000-07:00

Hamid Mir with his talk show "Capital Talk" rating chart

KARACHI: Hamid Mir shot injured by unknown target killers on Saturday, The Daily News Today reportedWhile returning to his office (Geo TV) from Jinnah International Airport located at Karachi senior news anchorperson and known Pakistani journalist Hamid Mir was attacked by unknown assassins, it was reported that the shooting was carried out by four assassins at Sharah-e-Fasial near Falaknaz Towers however Mir was transported to Aga Khan University Hospital for urgent treatment.

One of eye witness stated that, “There were four attackers in two motorbikes, one of them who was wearing Shalwar Kamez shot on Mir’s car while standing on footpath and later picked by his accomplice right after shooting.

Karachi chief of Police Shahid Hayat Khan informed media that Mir was shot thrice and six bullets were found from his body, three of them has taken out and three bullets remains inside his body, however now he is out of danger.

Aga Khan University Hospital stated that Mir was operated for 150 minutes and now he is stable and out of danger and would be kept under observation for a while.

Chehlum of Begum Nusrat Bhutto at Nodero November 27, 2011

2012-07-11T06:26:00.001-07:00

KARACHI: The chehlum of Begum Nusrat Bhutto will be held on November 27 at Naudero, said provincial minister for law and prisons Ayaz Soomro on Thursday. The event will include a Quran khawani and tributes will be paid to the late PPP leader. Pakistan People's Party PPP chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari with Sanam Bhutto and Faryal Talpur meets MNA Abdul Qadir Patel on the chehlum of Begum Nusrat Bhutto at Nodero November 27, 2011.

PPP respects judiciary: Qamar Zaman Kaira

2012-07-11T06:12:00.000-07:00

ISLAMABAD: Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Qamar Zaman Kaira on Thursday said that Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) respects all the national institutions including judiciary.
“PPP is not against any person or institution, we respect the judiciary and other national institutions,” the minister said.
While talking to a private channel he said that “All the institutions including judiciary, executive, parliament and the army hold the code of conduct and rules of business.”
The Minister said that Parliament also maintains rules of business and code of conduct.
Replying to a question regarding legislation on National Reconciliation Ordinance (NRO), he said “The courts had given verdict on the matter of legislation.”
He said that if Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz had some concerns on the NRO legislation then they should have brought the matter at the time of 18th Amendment for making legislation or abandoning it.
Replying to another question regarding presidential immunity, he stated that in many countries like France the president enjoys the immunity during serving the office.

Federal Information Minister, Qamar Zaman Kaira's Press Conference

2012-07-11T05:59:00.000-07:00

ISLAMABAD: Federal Information Minister, Qamar Zaman Kaira, said on Wednesday that power generation in the country has increased to 3500 MW, claiming that electricity situation has been improved in 15 days, SAMAA reports.

“The target of 3500 MW power generation has been achieved and our next goal is to 15000 MW production,” Kaira claimed while speaking at a news briefing following the Federal Cabinet meeting which held with Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf in chair.

“Punjab’s share is 66 percent in country’s electricity pool with the capacity of 800 MW. Punjab is not being discriminated,” Kaira claimed.

Elaborating the meeting decisions, he said the cabinet has approved Rs 2.5 billion especial budget for subsidies in Ramadan to be given on food items and daily life commodities through 5700 utility stores across the country.

Kaira told reporters that number of especial seats for non-Muslims in assemblies has been increased by the proportion of population in provinces. He said a three member cabinet committee has also been set up to finalize the decision principally taken in today’s meeting.

On the occasion, Federal Minister for Minorities, Ikram Masih, who was accompanying Kaira during the media talk thanked PM and President for increasing the seats. -- SAMAA

Shafay Thobani, 8, youngest IT prodigy

2012-07-11T04:00:00.001-07:00

KARACHI: Shafay Thobani, an eight-year-old child has won the honour of being the world’s youngest Microsoft Certified Technology Specialist, Geo News reported.

Born on March 13, 2004, Shafay grew interested in computers ever since he was a baby.

On April 9, 2012, Shafay appeared in the Prometric test and secured 91 per cent marks, thus making him the world’s youngest Microsoft Certified Training Specialist (MCTS) at the age of eight years and 24 days.

The young man is certified professional in Microsoft Windows 7 Configuration and Microsoft Windows Server 2008 R2. Before appearing in the exam, he remained under training of Microsoft certified trainers for 13 months.

His trainer Faisal Durrani said it was a challenge for him to teach complicated concepts such as Domain Name System (DNS) and Internet Protocol (IP) address to a child as young as Shafay. “So we split the 40-hour course designed for grown-up IT specialists into 13 months for the child. We taught him by giving him easy examples in order to grasp the concepts. Teaching him for three to four hours everyday, we would also allow him breaks to let him be the normal kid that he is, swimming, playing football or rollerblading,” said Mr Durrani.

Speaking of the boy’s main areas of interest, Shafay’s father Dr. Shah Thobani said he liked network and communication programming. “He has already completed 65 per cent of Microsoft Hyper-V virtualization, too,” he added.

“Shafay was born in 2004, the same year Arfa was declared the world’s youngest Microsoft Certified Professional at the age of nine. Arfa was an inspiration for us and I hope that Shafay, too, would be a role model for more children to show their tremendous achievements,” Dr Thobani said.

Shafay said, “I am proud of myself and I will work for Pakistan in any way possible.”

Enmity claims 8 lives in Azad Kashmir

2012-07-11T04:00:00.000-07:00

MUZAFFARABAD: Eight persons including four brothers were shot dead in Bhambar area of Azad Kashmir over old enmity Wednesday, Geo News reported.

According to SP Kamran, the victims were on their way to appear in the court when they were ambushed by the rival group. As a result of firing, eight persons including four brothers were killed on the spot.

LB must for resolving issues, says CJ

2012-07-11T03:54:00.000-07:00

July 11, 2012 - Updated 146 PKT

QUETTA: Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry has said that the problems Balochi people facing could have been resolved, had there been local governments in place.

The Supreme Court (SC) on Tuesday resumed hearing of the Balochistan law and order case at its Quetta Registry.

A three-member bench of the apex court headed by Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry and comprising Justice Khilji Arif Hussain and Justice Jawwad S Khawaja, was hearing the petition filed by the Balochistan Bar Association on the law and order situation in the province.

During proceedings, the CJ asked the former deputy commissioner Khuzdar if the Frontier Corps (FC) informed the civil administration about its actions in 2011. On this, the former DC replied that they were not informed by the FC.

The CJ remarked that nobody knows about activities carried out by the FC in province including commissioner, deputy commissioner and Levies. He said that the court convenes and issues directives but none of those orders are implemented.

Chief Justice asked the FC lawyer Raja Irshad to either produce all the missing persons or summon all the commandants. On this, the FC lawyer pleaded for time till Thursday.

Chief Justice remarked that issues could have been resolved, had there been local government in place.

The CJ then directed Balochistan’s home secretary to produce details of the bodies being recovered in the province.

In Tuesday’s hearing, the SC had summoned the Inspector General Frontier Corps (IG FC) and Commandant Frontier Corps.

FC lawyer Raja Irshad had informed the court that there was not a single person in the custody of the FC, to which the Chief Justice replied that there was evidence contrary to this.

US senators push for Pak be given $1.1bn

2012-07-11T03:52:00.000-07:00

July 11, 2012 - Updated 940 PKT

WASHINGTON: Pakistan should get $1.1 billion in US funds that have been held up for months now that Islamabad has reopened crucial Nato supply lines to Afghanistan, top senators said.

A major obstacle to releasing the money was removed last week when Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton apologised to Pakistan for the killing of 24 Pakistani troops last fall and Pakistan, in return, agreed to reopen the overland supply lines to US-led coalition forces.

Congress has already approved the money to reimburse Pakistan for counterterrorism operations, but it has been on hold for some six months.

Armed Services Committee Chairman Carl Levin, D-Michigan, a Democrat and one of the panel’s top Republicans, Lindsey Graham, said the money should be released, albeit reluctantly.

“They don’t deserve it. What they’ve done is presumably earned it by the amount of money they’ve laid out in terms of their anti-terrorist activity and protecting our lines,” Levin told a group of reporters.

He said he would vote to approve the release. The Pentagon intends to submit $1.1 billion in approved requests for reimbursement of money the Pakistan government has spent on counterterrorism operations that were incurred largely along the border.

“If our commanders believe that releasing the funds helps the war effort yes. I don’t want to second guess these people,” Graham said. “Pakistan on a good day is very hard. It is an unreliable ally. You can’t trust them, you can’t abandon them. The biggest beneficiary is the men and women fighting the war. And I want Pakistan to be stable and if the money helps them become more stable, good.

“If you cut the money off, what leverage do you have? There may come a day when we do that, but not yet,” he said. Sen Rand Paul, a Republican, is pushing for a vote later this month to cut off future funds.

That vote is contingent in part on what Pakistan does in the case of Shakil Afridi, the doctor who helped the United States track down Osama bin Laden but was convicted and sentenced to 33 years for high treason.

Afridi ran a vaccination program for the CIA to collect DNA and verify bin Laden’s presence at the compound in Abbottabad where US commandos found and killed the al-Qaeda leader in May 2011.

His appeal trial is scheduled for 19 July. Moira Bagley, a spokeswoman for Paul, said it was unclear whether the Senate would get a vote on the reimbursement money because the funds have been appropriated.

Olympics: China unveils London team

2012-07-11T03:51:00.002-07:00

July 11, 2012 - Updated 1516 PKT

BEIJING: China has announced a far smaller team for the London Olympics than the one that topped the gold medal table at home four years ago, but expectations are high of another dominant performance.

Just 396 Chinese athletes will go to London, down from a record-breaking 639 in Beijing and fewer even than the 407 who competed at the Athens Games in 2004.

But sports officials emphasised that the London-bound team, unveiled at a ceremony in Beijing on Tuesday, was still China's third-biggest for an Olympics and urged the athletes to bring their country glory. "The Chinese athletes must get fully prepared and ready to face the challenges. We have to fight for each gold," Sports Minister Liu Peng said at the announcement ceremony.

In Beijing, China as the host country could be represented in every sport, however it failed to qualify in a number of events for London. These included the men's volleyball and soccer tournaments, which would have added dozens of athletes to the delegation. Nevertheless, pressure is building on the Chinese team to cement the country's status as an Olympic powerhouse.

"In the gold-medal rankings, China will for sure end in the top two," said Wei Jizhong, former secretary-general of the Chinese Olympic Committee, according to the China Daily newspaper. China has long dominated in sports with a lower profile in Western countries, such as table tennis, badminton, diving, shooting, gymnastics and weightlifting.

Thirty-eight of China's table-topping 51 gold medals in Beijing came in these sports. But in London, China is also looking for success in what are considered more prestigious Olympic sports, including swimming and track and field. Among those with huge expectations on them in this regard is Sun Yang, who is tipped to become China's first male Olympic swimming champion. Sun, who smashed Grant Hackett's decade-old 1,500m world record last year, ranks number one in the 400m, 800m and 1,500m.

Tennis superstar Li Na, who won China's first Grand Slam title at last year's French Open, will also be in London. One of the other high-profile athletes going to London is 110m hurdler Liu Xiang, who famously won China's first track gold medal in Athens but then sensationally pulled out of the first heat in Beijing with an Achilles injury.

Australia also announced a streamlined team for London on Wednesday, with a similar explanation of not being able to qualify in enough events. The Australian team of 410 is the lowest since Barcelona in 1992 and well down on the 632 who took part on home soil at the 2000 Olympics in Sydney.

An Australian Olympic Committee official said the team was the smallest for years because it failed to qualify for three of the 26 disciplines fencing, football and handball. "The team being smaller than previous Olympics is all based on qualifications, it's not a financial decision," the official said.

South Korea also announced it would send just 245 athletes to compete in 22 events in London Olympics, the smallest number since 210 attended the 1984 Los Angeles Games. But the Korea Olympic Committee (KOC) remained upbeat about its target of securing at least 10 golds and a finish inside the top 10 in the overall medal tally. "We have trained and prepared very hard to achieve our goal," said team chief Lee Ki-Heung as he was presented with the national flag in a ceremony at Olympic Hall in eastern Seoul. The South failed to qualify in basketball, tennis, equestrian events and canoeing. Its national sport, baseball, was dropped as an Olympic event.

Respect sovereignty on islands: China

2012-07-11T03:49:00.000-07:00

July 11, 2012 - Updated 1424 PKT

PHNOM PENH: China told Japan on Wednesday it should respect Beijing's "indisputable sovereignty" over disputed islands in the East China Sea as tension flared again between the countries.

Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Liechi met with Japanese counterpart Koichiro Gemba in Phnom Penh where he "reaffirmed China's principled position" on the islands known as Senkaku in Japanese and Diaoyu in Chinese.

"He stressed that Diaoyu Islands and their affiliated islets have always been China's territory since ancient times, over which China has indisputable sovereignty," said a statement from the Chinese delegation.

Hockey team to fly for Olympics tomorrow

2012-07-11T03:47:00.000-07:00

LAHORE: Pakistan hockey team will leave for London Olympics tomorrow (Thursday), Geo News reported.

The players would be joining a training camp in Birmingham, prior to the Olympic contests.

The 18-member Pakistan hockey team led by the captain Sohail Abbas will be leaving Thursday morning to arrive Birmingham in the evening. The national team until July 22 will be training itself at the Cannock hockey club and will play practice matches against the host club and Scotland teams. Thereafter, the national team will leave for the Olympic village.

Pakistan Hockey Federation has authorized the team management for short listing the two players.

Loadshedding to be uniformed nationwide

2012-07-11T03:46:00.000-07:00

ISLAMABAD: The federal Cabinet has decided to implement a uniform loadshedding schedule across country and uninterrupted supply of electricity during Iftar, Sahar, and Taraveeh, Geo News reported.

The Cabinet met here today with Prime Minister Syed Raja Pervaiz Ashraf in the chair and deliberated upon the prevailing energy crisis in the country.

The meeting also decided to increase the number of seats of minorities according to their population.

Federal Secretary Water & Power briefed the ministers about the power generation. The Cabinet was informed that shortfall has reduced to 3500 MW and by the end of this year at least 2000 MW would be added to the national grid.

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2012-07-10T07:10:00.002-07:00

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Rehman Malik resigns from Senate

2012-07-10T06:45:00.001-07:00

July 10, 2012 - Updated 1246 PKT - THE NEWS INTERNATIONAL

KARACHI: Adviser to the Prime Minister on Interior Rehman Malik Tuesday said he has tendered resignation from Senate membership.

“I wanted to quit as advisor too but was stopped by Prime Minister,” he told media. “I resigned from Senate to express solidarity with the overseas Pakistanis, however, my offer to tender resignation as advisor on interior has been rejected'.

“Media can verify my resignation from Senate Chairman,” Malik said adding, “I told the Prime Minister that I want to tender resignation from adviser’s office but he advised me to continue.”

Malik told that he would act according to the leadership’s advice in future.

To a question, Rahman Malik said he tendered resignation to the Senate Chairman on Monday. “Now, nobody should suspect that Dual Citizenship is being presented just to benefit me.

He thanked MQM chief Altaf Hussain for supporting the dual nationality bill.

Malik told that he had applied to surrender his British citizenship in 2008 and also left his business on President Zardari’s advice.

It is pertinent to mention that the Supreme Court has already suspended Rehman Malik’s Senate membership for holding dual nationalities. -

Pak-US trying to mend relations: FO Spokesman

2012-07-10T05:48:00.003-07:00

June 14, 2012 - Updated 1546 PKT - GEO TV

ISLAMABAD: Foreign Office spokesman Muazzam Khan said Thursday that efforts were underway to mend the strained relationship between Pakistan and the US.
Speaking to reporters during a weekly news briefing, Khan said that the decision to restore the NATO supply route would be made by the political leadership. The FO spokesman dispelled the impression that Pakistan was raising the tariff on the supply route adding that there were several other issues involved.
“Pakistan will not allow its territory to be used as terrorist safe havens,” Khan said.
The FO spokesman also provided details of upcoming talks between Pakistan and India. Talks on Sir Creek would be held on 18-19 June in New Delhi while
Foreign Secretary level talks would be held in July.
The Foreign Ministers of Pakistan and India are also scheduled to meet in July in Islamabad and review the composite dialogue process. Commenting on Siachen, Khan said that both countries understood the importance of this difficult issue and wanted to resolve it.

South Waziristan operation was a compulsion: COAS

2012-07-10T05:47:00.003-07:00

WANA: Chief of Army Staff General Ashfaq Parvezy Kayani said Monday that the army was compelled to conduct an operation against militants in South Waziristan.

General Kayani who was visiting South Waziristan said that the no army wanted to fight within its own borders. “The army is concentrating on health and education facilities,” Kayani said.

According to sources, General Kayani inaugurated the Cadet College in South Waziristan following which he met with tribal elders and discussed development and public welfare projects.

COAS Kayani assured the tribal elders of the complete support of the Pakistan army. During a news briefing General Kayani said that with the help of the army 124 welfare projects had been set up in FATA and Malakand. - Geo TV

Pak-US ties

2012-07-10T05:45:00.004-07:00

Pakistan-US ties touched the lowest ebb following the Salala attack that killed 24 soldiers. Source: Geo TV

No new agreement with Pakistan on NATO supply: Hoagland

2012-07-10T05:43:00.003-07:00

ISLAMABAD: Deputy Chief of Mission for the US Embassy, Richard Hoagland said Friday that there was no new agreement with Pakistan regarding the reopening of the NATO supply route.
Speaking to the media following the orientation for Fulbright scholarship recipients’, Hoagland said relations were resumed from the point where they had been left in November last year.
Hoagland added that the reopening of the supply route would help eliminate the trust deficit in Pak-US relations.
“There are differences on the issue of Dr Shakil Afridi and the work of US diplomats but these issues were not part of the recent negotiations between the two countries,” Hoagland said. - Source: Geo TV

Russia sends naval flotilla to Syrian port

2012-07-10T05:19:00.004-07:00

MOSCOW: Russia has sent a naval flotilla of six warships led by an anti-submarine destroyer to its naval base at the Syrian port of Tartus, the Interfax news agency reported Tuesday.

The Admiral Chabanenko and three landing craft have left their home port of Severomorsk in the Arctic Circle on their way to the Mediterranean where they will be joined by the Russian patrol ship Yaroslav Mudry as well as an assistance vessel, a military source told the agency.
"The programme of the voyage includes a call in the Syrian port of Tartus," the unnamed source told the news agency.
The source said the trip was taking place in line with the plans of military readiness of the Russian fleet.
According to Interfax, the source insisted that the deployment "was not linked to the escalation of the situation in Syria."
"In Tartus the ships are going to top up on supplies of fuel, water and foodstuffs," the source said, adding that their deployment in the Mediterranean would last until the end of September.
Russia has been bitterly criticised by the West for failing to cut military ties with Syria despite the conflict between the regime and opposition rebels that has claimed thousands of lives. (AFP)

Dual nationality bill opposed in Senate

2012-07-10T05:18:00.001-07:00

ISLAMABAD: The dual nationality bill faced opposition from all quarters when it was presented in the Senate. The PML-N, coalition partners and some members of the PPP expressed their reservations over the bill.
The bill was presented in the Senate by Law Minister Farooq H Naek. The PML-N and ANP which is a coalition partner of the government staged a walkout in protest to the bill.
Earlier during the session ANP Senator Haji Adeel said that Pakistan’s agreements with 16 countries regarding dual nationality should be presented. Adeel also asked if someone who also had Pakistani nationality could become the US president or a parliamentarian in another country.
Senators Aitzaz Ahsan and Raza Rabbani from the PPP also expressed their reservations over the bill. Ahsan said that when someone takes oath as an American citizen, they have to renounce other nationalities. “It is written in the US citizenship oath that a person can also take up arms in defence of the country.”
Senator Rabbani asked for a review of the dual nationality agreement with the US.
Reservations were also expressed by the MQM. Senator Tahir Mashadi said he would inform the standing committee about his reservations. - Courtesy Geo TV