World News

2011-11-28T03:33:00.001-08:00

Custom Search

Webcam Software

2011-11-09T12:36:00.000-08:00

Wonderful Motion Control Tool

’Record from Camera 30fps MPEG stream’
softwaremastertools.com has released a sofware ’ULTRA FANTASTIC WEBCAM STREAM PACK’ is its name.
This sofware is like any sofware you know but has amazing characteristics,first of all you can choose to remote camera or choose camera from another ip address.
Its interface is the most beautiful thing you have encountered in sofware development.As opening some icons appear to help you configure it when using for the first time.Fuerthermore ,user can create a ’circle of administrator’ that means another people using another laptop or desktop can view videos from there and manage it .what it require is just 12.1mp for dowloading and some spaces for your files and its not expensive woooowwwwwwwwwww.

Punjab CNG stations to go on strike

2011-04-12T14:32:00.000-07:00

LAHORE: The CNG association has announced that they will go on strike from Wednesday all across Punjab. The reason is said to be the increase in load shedding throughout the province.

According to the president of the Association Ghayas Paracha, a shortage in Gas supply is highly unlikely during this season and despite the orders of the president and prime minister, the Sui Northern Gas Company is doing what it wants.

The president of the association added that the strike would continue until the government met their demands.

Pakistan’s request for fewer US trainers reflects fear of spying

2011-04-12T14:23:00.000-07:00

ISLAMABAD: Pressure from Pakistani intelligence for a cut in the number of US Special Forces trainers working in sensitive regions is due to fears they are also spying, according to Pakistani sources with knowledge of the request, illustrating the extent to which growing mutual mistrust is hampering security co-operation.

The request was conveyed when Lieutenant-General Ahmad Shuja Pasha, head of Pakistan’s powerful Directorate of Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), visited his counterpart Leon Panetta at CIA headquarters on Monday.

A US military official in Islamabad confirmed that a reduction in the number of Special Forces troops involved in training Pakistanis in counter-insurgency was being discussed.

“Throughout the history of the training mission there have been discussions about the force structure and location of the training,” the official said. “So this should not be perceived as a done deal. … But it’s something that we’re talking about.”

The Pakistani military declined to comment.

About 120 US Special Forces soldiers are in Pakistan’s northwest to train local security forces in counter-insurgency, but given the increasing strain in the US-Pakistan alliance over the past six months, Chief of Army Staff General Ashfaq Kayani now wants those numbers reduced.

A senior Pakistani intelligence official wouldn’t officially comment on the reduction, but said it might be more about appearances than genuine pique, given the sensitivity over foreign troops on Pakistani soil. “It makes it look like the Americans are here conducting operations,” the official said.

Any reduction would impact Washington’s ability to gather intelligence for its drone campaign and Pakistan’s counter-insurgency efforts.

“We want American Special Forces to come and train our people so we can collaborate, but if they get into other activities we don’t want them,” said an instructor at the National Defense University in Islamabad. He works with serving Pakistani officers and is familiar with their concerns.

He said “other activities” could include spying on Pakistan’s nuclear weapons programme or having contact with militant groups. There is a suspicion among the senior military leadership that Americans troops are gathering intelligence on such groups and not sharing the information, or even actively helping them.

“The main suspicion is why are they staying after completing their job? Their job was to train the trainers so they should have gone back after that,” another security official said. “But they are over-staying.”

While it’s unlikely American trainers are explicitly spying as some Pakistanis allege, they do often come across intelligence and report it up their command chain, sometimes sharing it with their Pakistani colleagues, but not always.

Thus suspicion towards the United States runs deeply into the officer corps, and conspiracy theories over plots to seize Pakistan’s nuclear weapons are a common narrative in the army.

REVERSAL OF EARLIER REQUEST

The pressure to pull American trainers out is a reversal of an earlier request in 2009 by the Pakistani military. In a leaked US State Department cable dated Oct. 9, 2009 and released by WikiLeaks, the US Embassy noted previous opposition could only have been overcome by Kayani personally and represented “a sea change in Pakistani thinking”.

According to the cable, American Special Forces were stationed in North and South Waziristan to train Pakistan’s Frontier Corps in counter-insurgency. While not a secret, the Pakistani military has downplayed their deployment because of widespread anti-American sentiment in Pakistan and the extreme sensitivity of stationing American troops on Pakistani soil.

Another small contingent was embedded with the Pakistan Army’s 11 Corps, stationed in Peshawar, as part of a “fusion cell”, which brings together intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) capabilities for the Pakistani military.

“The Pakistanis are increasingly confident that we do not have ulterior motives in assisting their operations,” the cable read.

No longer. In addition to the cutback in Special Forces troops, Pakistan has demanded greater scrutiny and control over CIA activities in Pakistan and an end to drone strikes. Such demands are unacceptable to the administration of President Barack Obama, US officials said.

Pakistan suspended joint operations between the CIA and its Directorate of Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) after a CIA contractor shot dead two Pakistanis in Lahore on Jan 27.

Three MQM men ‘helping’ census staff shot dead in Karachi

2011-04-12T14:19:00.000-07:00

KARACHI: Three activists of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) were gunned down in Mehmoodabad on Tuesday while they were taking a rest during their ‘assistance’ to government staff engaged in a house count under the recently launched census, officials and party sources said.

There was also no word from any of the key members of the Sindh cabinet about government efforts to halt nonstop targeted killings.

In the first half of the day, four gunmen riding two motorbikes pulled up at a street in Mehmoodabad No 2 to target the three young men associated with the MQM, and rode away in a flash after executing the job.

“The incident was witnessed near a mosque, Noor Masjid, in Mehmoodabad No 2,” said Inspector Ahsan Zulfiqar, the SHO of the Mehmoodabad police station.

“Witnesses saw two of the four men get off the two motorcycles and fire at the three men engaged in chatting. They fired multiple shots at the victims and sped away.”

Syed Asif Ali, in his late 30s, 45-year-old Muneer Ahmed and 40-year-old Muhammad Naeem were critically wounded in the shooting. They died one after another during treatment in the Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre.

Earlier they were believed to be enumerators engaged in a house count, but the police later found that the victims were actually ‘assisting’ the census staff and were associated with the MQM.

“There was a house count going on in the area and they were with the staff engaged in the exercise,” said SSP Amir Farooqi of Jamshed Town.

“Such an association led to the confusion but later it became clear that they were only assisting the enumerators and one of them was resident of the same locality where the incident took place.”

He said the victims were hit mostly in the head, chest and face while the attackers took a few seconds to meet their target and accelerated away from the scene.

“We found more than 30 casings of spent bullets of 9mm pistol at the crime scene. The bodies have been handed over to the families after medico-legal formalities,” added SSP Farooqi.

Fear gripped the densely populated neighbourhood and businesses were shut down amid frequent crackle of gunfire. Transport on the roads passing through the locality gradually disappeared.

The killing of the activists angered MQM leaders, but they urged party workers to stay calm. They demanded that the government protect activists’ lives.

“The coordination committee has demanded that Sindh Governor Dr Ishratul Ibad Khan and Chief Minister Syed Qaim Ali Shah take notice of the incident and ensure the arrest of killers and their patrons,” said an MQM statement.

The statement also carried a message from MQM chief Altaf Hussain, condoling with the victims’ families and condemning the killings.

“Syed Asif Ali was a former sector member of the party and was a resident of the Mehmoodabad area,” said the statement.

“Muneer Ahmed had retired as a deputy superintendent of the Sindh government’s land and revenue department only two months ago. Muhammad Naeem was a resident of the Surjani Town area and employed with the Karachi Water and Sewerage Board as a fitter.”

Earlier, in the small hours of the day, a tea boy was killed in an armed attack on a roadside restaurant in Gulistan-i-Jauhar. Area police said the armed men on two motorbikes fired at the roadside restaurant near Rabia City that left two youngsters badly wounded.

“One of the wounded, 19-year-old Shamsul Haq, died during treatment. The other, Hazrat Ali, was hit in the abdomen but was declared stable after he underwent a surgery,” said an official at the Sharea Faisal police station.

Though the police remained clueless about the motive and people behind the shooting, the Awami National Party claimed the attack was ethnically motivated.

“The attack was part of the series of attacks targeting people of a particular background and ethnicity. The trend is a serious threat to city peace. And we demand immediate and effective measures by the authorities to curb targeted killings,” said an ANP spokesman.

Pakistan and India cannot afford another war: Gilani

2011-04-12T14:16:00.000-07:00

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani on Tuesday said that Pakistan and India cannot afford another war, DawnNews reported.

Gilani said that Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has shown a commitment to improve relations between the South Asian neighbours and that the issue of Kashmir can be resolved diplomatically.

He added that both countries should spend their resources improving conditions of the common man.

Speaking about the wave of terrorism in the country, the prime minister said that terrorists were getting their instructions from a foreign source.

Relatives of dead hunger striker resume protest

2009-04-21T04:44:00.000-07:00

KARACHI: Over 50 villagers of a Sanghar district village, who had returned to their homes last week after they were assured by the government that their issues would be resolved, came back on Monday and went on hunger strike outside the press club.

A large number of residents of Mohammad Essa Khaskheli village in Sanghar after being harassed allegedly by a local influential, who, they claimed, had wanted to evict them from their lands, had arrived in the city many days ago and had gone on a hunger strike. The villagers wanted that their village be leased out to them.

One of the protesters, Walidad Khaskheli, who was on a hunger strike, had died last week due to cardiac arrest outside the Karachi Press Club.

After his death Sindh Minister Shazia Marri and Tauqeer Fatima visited their camp and announced compensation of Rs100,000, and ordered arrest of the culprits and leasing of their village within a week.

However, after passage of a week, the protesting villagers said that neither they had been paid the compensation, nor those nominated in an FIR were arrested, nor their village had been leased.

They said that they had returned to the city and had gone on a hunger strike because none of the promises made to them by the ministers were fulfilled.

They criticised the government and its ministers for making ‘false promises.’

The protesters are: Madad Ali, Ali Dino, Loond Khan, Anwer Ali, Maula Bux, Ahsan, Qurban, Ghulam Rasool, Ghulam Ali, Ms Saleemat, Ms Hakimzadi, Ms Fatima and others.

Water shortage hits cotton and chili sowing

2009-04-21T04:41:00.000-07:00

MIRPURKHAS: Persisting water shortage has adversely affected the owing of cotton and chili crops at the tail-end of Mirpurkhas, Umerkot and Tharparkar districts.

According to an irrigation official, 9,600 cusecs water is being supplied at the head of Nara Canal against its demand of 16,000 cusecs. Owing to the shortage, water rotation programme in Jamrao, Mithrao and Thar divisions of irrigation department is being strictly implemented to ensure access of water to the tail-end of the canals.

However, reports said that over 100 channels in the command area of Nara Canal were lying dry after the rotation programme. Nara Canal fed by Sukkur Barrage supplies water to Sukkur, Khairpur, Sanghar, Umerkot, Mirpurkhas and Tharparkar districts.

Sindh Farmer Organisations’ Council chairman Javed Junejo and vice- president of the Sindh Abadgar Board, Mirpurkhas chapter, Haji Abdul Ghafoor Maher regretted that due to shortage of water in Nara Canal, tail-end districts were adversely affected as abadgars failed to sow cotton and chilli crops in Mirpurkhas, Umerkot and Tharparkar due to the scarcity.

If these crops were not sown on time, their production would be reduced, they said, adding that water shortage had also hit sugarcane, onion, vegetables crops.

Adversely affected areas include Jhillori, Kot Ghulam Mohammad, Khaan, Patoyoon, Phuladiyoon, Sindhri, Pithoro, Umerkot, Chhore, Samaro, Kunri, Kot Ghulam Mohammad, Mirwah Gorchani, Digri, Tando Jan Mohammad, Jhuddo, Naukot and Kaloi.

They demanded that the government should ensure required supply of water in Nara canal and ensure timely sowing of seasonal crops.

Our Umerkot correspondent adds: Growers of Umerkot took out a procession and staged a sit-in here on Monday against non-provision of water to their land which receives water Sanwari miner canal.

Carrying placards, growers led by Abdul Samad Chandio were chanting slogans against the irrigation department. When they observed the sit-in at the Kunri-Umerkot road, vehicular traffic plying to Umerkot and other towns remained suspended for four hours.

Zardari approves mega projects for Sindh

2009-04-21T04:36:00.000-07:00

KARACHI: President Asif Ali Zardari approved several mega projects for Karachi and other areas of Sindh on Monday, including the mass transit and circular railway plans for the provincial capital and highways, irrigation and drainage schemes.

Briefing journalists after a meeting presided over by the president, Sindh Information Minister Shazia Marri said the Shaheed Benazir Bhutto transit CNG bus project for Karachi had been approved and only women would have the ownership right. Under the scheme, 500 environment-friendly CNG buses will be introduced and 50 per cent of the seats will be reserved for women.

The Karachi nazim will launch and oversee the project and the federal government will provide a subsidy of Rs700,000 per bus. The number of buses will be increased to 4,000 by 2012.

The federal government will provide sovereign guarantee for the Karachi mass transit project which will be built on a build, operate and own basis. International bids will be invited soon.

The Karachi circular railway will be revived at a cost of $1.6 billion with international help. The president said a resettlement plan should be prepared immediately for people living along the route.

The president approved the financing of the Lyari Expressway and asked the governor and chief minister to ensure settlement of people displaced by the project.

President Zardari also approved a rapid (bus) transit system (Bagota model) for Karachi. Three corridors will initially be developed for the plan —Nagan Chowrangi to Cantt Station, Saforan Goth to Numaish Chowrangi and Orangi to Board Office Chowrangi.

The president ordered construction of Karachi-Hyderabad motorway on international standards. It was decided that work on Larkana-Khairpur bridge would be accelerated.

The meeting directed the National Highway Authority to complete work on a priority basis on the Sukkur-Shikarpur-Jacobabad expressway and Ratodero-Sehwan additional carriageway. The Karachi sewerage scheme was also approved.

The president said the Thar coal project should be expedited and development of infrastructure must get the highest priority. Regarding the realignment of Right Bank Outfall Drain-III, the president said consultants should be assigned to propose required changes.

He said a meeting of public representatives of Sindh and Balochistan should be held to resolve outstanding issues. He said a scheme should be prepared for improvement of Phuleli canal in Badin.

The meeting was informed that that the Hyderabad-Mirpurkhas dual carriageway project would be ready for approval soon. The president stressed the need for improvement of the canal system and lining of distributaries and minors to ensure water conservation, supply to tail-enders and equitable distribution of water.

The meeting asked the Water and Power Development Authority to submit proposals to resolve the issues of the Left Bank Outfall Drain and tidal link affecting the people of Badin and Thatta. The president said the Sindh government should prepare projects for drip and sprinkler irrigation to help poor farmers.

2009-04-21T04:33:00.001-07:00

ROJHAN JAMALI: Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani has declared Naseerabad, Jaffarabad and Jhal Magsi as calamity-hit areas.

Talking to media after offering condolences to former Prime Minister Mir Zafarullah Jamali on the death of Taj Mohammad Jamali, Premier Gilani said calamity-hit areas will be exempted from tax.

He announces the name of Changez Jamali as PPP candidate for by-polls. Prime Minister also announced the grant of Rs. 5 billion for roads construction.

One killed, two hurt in explosion

2009-04-21T04:32:00.001-07:00

A man was killed, while two were hurt when two armed bandits, after robbing the Ranchor Lane market, lobbed a hand grenade and fled. A case was reported at the Risala police station.

After the incident, residents and shop keepers launched a protest against the police and demanded the arrest of the killers. SSP Amir Ahmed Sheikh of Saddar Town said that on Monday night two armed motorbike riders entered Ranchor Lane area and robbed some citizens and a shop.

Passers-by tried to catch the fleeing bandits and encircled them. The bandits hurled a hand grenade and fled. The grenade killed one person and injured another. A case was reported at the police station concerned.

PPP activist killed: Unidentified armed men killed an activist of the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) in Pakistan Bazaar, while an owner of a kiln was shot dead in the Al-Falah police limits. Twenty-three-year-old Rizwan alias Chaudhry Adil was shot dead in the Pakistan Bazaar police limits. The police said that the deceased was an electrician by profession and was a resident of Bangla Bazaar.

Late Sunday night, Rizwan went out for some work but did not return. On Monday afternoon his bullet-riddled body was found from the roof of Riaz Building situated in Bangla Bazaar. He had been kidnapped and killed. The deceased was an activist of the PPP. A case was registered on complaint of his brother, Abdul Nasir. Further probe is under way.

In another case, 60-year-old Abdul Rehman was shot dead, while his 30-year-old son Aslam was injured by the firing of unidentified armed men in the Al-Falah police limits.

The police said that the deceased was the owner of a kiln situated in Rafee Garden. He was present at his office along with his son when armed men riding on a motorcycle opened indiscriminate fire and fled. Rehman died on the spot and his son Aslam was injured. A case was reported at the police station.

Suspects attempt to kidnap minor girl

2009-04-21T04:30:00.000-07:00

A strange incident was reported in the Baldia police limits, when four bearded suspects attempted to kidnap a minor girl. The girl, however, was rescued by the timely action of a shopkeeper. An Investigation Officer (IO) said that the girl belonged to a middleclass family and residents of the area have refused to record their statements.

The would-be victim was identified as 10-year-old Saba, a resident of Anjam Colony, Baldia-4 1/2. Her father, Mohammed Hussain, drives a Suzuki pick-up in Jodia Bazaar to earn his living.

Hussain said that he came home late at night after he finished work. He asked his wife about the school admission of his two children — Saba and eight-year-old Sheyan. His wife told him that she went to a school situated near Kausar Chowk, Baldia. She met the teachers and administration officers of the school who interviewed the children and agreed to give them admission. Later, she told Saba and Sheyan to go home because she had to find out about their books, uniforms and fees.

When she reached home, Saba and Sheyan told her that on their way home, Sheyan stopped at Rafiq General Store, situated near their house to buy something, and Saba waited outside. Meanwhile, a white-bearded old man came to her and told her to put her dupatta on her head. Right after this, the man suddenly put Saba’s dupatta on her face and tried to kidnap her.

Sheyan saw this and started shouting for help. Rafiq, the shopkeeper, came to her rescue, and slapped the old man in the face. While this was going on, three people in a black car approached them, and the old man rushed towards the car and escaped.

Hussain confirmed the incident with his daughter, and then registered a complaint at the Baldia police station. The police have lodged an FIR.

The IO said that the case was not yet clear. The family was not financially sound, and the police were therefore not sure if the suspects had attempted to kidnap the girl for ransom. The IO further said that the streets in the area where the suspects attempted to kidnap Saba were so narrow that it would take time for any person driving a vehicle to escape. Meanwhile, investigators have made a sketch of the suspect. Further probe is under way.

IJT, ISO clash over NED student’s death

2009-04-21T04:29:00.000-07:00

The University of Karachi (KU) witnessed on Monday yet another bloody clash between activists of the Imamia Students Organisation (ISO) and the Islami Jamiat-e-Talaba (IJT). Three people were injured, the teaching process was interrupted, and an atmosphere of fear descended on the university.

Eyewitnesses said that the clash began after both parties glared at each other and exchanged harsh words.

ISO media spokesperson Qambar Rizvi told The News that there was a misunderstanding on punishing the driver who was responsible for the death of the NED University student Faiza Zaidi. “We wanted to seek quick punishment for the driver and we were talking to university officials. The IJT interfered in our business,” he complained.

IJT spokesperson Noman Burney disagreed with the surmise given by the ISO, and said that the ISO had “begun the offensive for no reason.” Burney accused the ISO of trying to use the death of the NED student to advance their political agenda. “We took Faiza Zaidi to the hospital. We protested against the death and coordinated with her parents. Now the ISO are trying to convert this tragedy into a sectarian battle. For us, Zaidi was a student who met a death she did not deserve,” he said.

A female KU student called The News and complained about the beating of her classmate by the ISO. “I am devastated. I do not belong to the IJT but the merciless thrashing of a student was simply heartbreaking for me and my classmates,” she said. According to university officials five students from both warring parties were injured.

Meanwhile, KU teachers have expressed resentment against the uncivil behaviour of Rangers’ personnel at the gates of the university. In the aftermath of the ISO-IJT clash, Rangers posted at the KU gates resorted to searching the cars of teachers, and that too, in an allegedly harsh manner.

Karachi University Teachers Society (KUTS) Joint Secretary Asim Ali was searched by the Rangers while he was leaving the campus in his car. The car had the sticker allotted to the teachers and is therefore not supposed to be subjected to such actions. A few other teachers were accorded the same treatment. KUTS Secretary Dr Shakeel Farooqui spoke to the Rangers’ personnel and one Sub-Inspector, Shamim, conceded that nobody had ordered them to frisk teachers or search their cars.

KU Security Officer Arman Ahmed said that the KU administration had not given any orders that allowed searching teachers.

Salis bin Perwaiz adds: Station House Officer (SHO) Mobina Town Shabbir Hussain said around 8.30 am Monday, IJT activists went to the place where KU Point buses were stationed and blocked their way to protest against Zaidi’s death. They stopped the KU buses from moving. He added that in the meantime, ISO activists came to talk to the IJT activists and told them to let the buses go. The IJT refused, and a scuffle ensued. Both groups pelted stones at each other and moved back to their places.

Later the activists belonging to the Pakhtoon Students Federation and the ISO tried to defuse the situation, SHO Hussain said. IJT activists attacked the group and a clash occurred between the three student organizations.

The SHO further said that a contingent of Rangers moved in and arrested six students, including an IJT activist who was armed with TT pistols and was using them for aerial firing. The six were later handed over to the Mobina Town police station. The arrested activists were identified as Faraz Iqbal (from the IJT), Abbas, Rizwan Hyder and Wajid from the ISO, and Husnain and Arif from the Pakhtoon SF. Separate cases were registered.

Jails’ reforms committee soon in Sindh

2009-04-21T04:25:00.000-07:00

The Sindh government will soon form a “jails reform committee” to deal with overcrowding and other problems being faced by thousands of prisoners languishing in 22 prisons, Senior minister Pir Mazhar-ul-Haq told the Sindh Assembly on Monday.

Jails Minister Haji Muzaffar Ali Shujra said that one school will be set up in each prison to impart education to prisoners under the Annual Development Programme (ADP) for the next financial year. Sports Minister Dr Mohammed Ali Shah announced free treatment at his private clinic for prisoners suffering from hepatitis. The jails minister said that 770 prisoners were suffering from hepatitis and 22 prisoners from HIV/AIDS.

In reply to a supplementary question by Marvi Rashdi, the minister said that one female prisoner was diagnosed with HIV while 45 women were suffering from hepatitis B.

Dr Nasrullah, who was a member of a doctors’ team which tested prisoners for Hepatitis and HIV in Sukkur Jail-I and Sukkur Jail-II, said that 50 per cent of the prisoners did not cooperate for tests presumably because of some misconceptions. He said that hepatitis B was increasing among prisoners because they used the same razor for shaving. Dr Mohammed Ali Shah said that contaminated water was also increasingly causing hepatitis among prisoners.

The minister said that 1,200 prisoners in the Prison-I, Sukkur, were tested. He said that 166 prisoners out of a total of 252 in the Prison-II were diagnosed with hepatitis B. In reply to a question from Rashida Panhwar, the minister said that 38 prisoners were suffering from hepatitis B in Dadu jail.

He admitted that the treatment of prisoners had not been given proper attention by successive regimes. Rs120 was being provided to each prison for treatment each month, which was insufficient, he said, adding that the Sindh chief minister had promised to increase medical allowance for prisoners and he had already increased meal allowance from Rs35 to Rs50 per day recently.

Shujra said that he had requested the provincial government to bring salaries of jail staff in Sindh at par with their counterparts in Punjab. Responding to a question from Anwar Mahr, the minister said that there were eight prisons out of total 22 where no primary education was being provided to prisoners.

He said that the prisoners could get postgraduate education through computers. There are a total of 22 teachers in prisons and the minister said he had requested the government to hire more teachers to educate prisoners to make them productive citizens of society. The minister said that one prisoner was giving computer training to his peers at the Central Jail, Karachi.

Responding to question from Heer Soho, the minister said that prisoners who get education are granted remissions in imprisonment. Responding to a question from Shama Mithani, the prisons minister said that as the test of hepatitis was expensive, the Sindh government, under the chief minister’s initiative, was providing funds for it. He said so far, they had tested 10,000 prisoners for hepatitis.

Home Minister Dr Zulfiqar Ali Mirza, in reply to a question from Humera Alwani, said that no senior police officers were getting higher education in the country or abroad on government expenditure.

However, he said that some senior police officers such as Abdul Khalique Sheikh, Irfan Baloch, Javed Jiskani, Allauddin Abbasi and others had received higher education from abroad on scholarships and their performance was relatively better because of their educational background. Responding to questions from Bachal Shah and Bilqees, the home minister said that the Higher Education Commission was helping police officers to get higher education abroad because highly educated and knowledgeable officers will benefit the general public.

Deadline passes for Tamil rebels

2009-04-21T04:20:00.001-07:00

Tamil rebels in northern Sri Lanka faced another possible onslaught from government forces, as a mid-day deadline for them to surrender passed on Tuesday.

There were no immediate reports from northern Sri Lanka where recent fighting has been taking place.

The Sri Lankan army launched an operation against the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Elam in the country's north on Monday, with military claiming to have rescued 35,000 civilians trapped in a government safe zone.

Rebel Web site TamilNet reported heavy shelling, rocket fire and gunfire. The rebels reported casualty totals exceeding 1,000.

"Hundreds of dead bodies and wounded civilians were still lying in Maaththa'lan and Pokka'nai," a Tamil correspondent reported.

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said Monday that he remained deeply concerned about the potential for large-scale casualties despite reports that thousands of civilians in Sri Lanka had been freed after being caught in an area between government forces and rebel fighters.

Sri Lanka's U.N. ambassador, H.M.G.S. Palihakkara, also told CNN on Monday that his "government is deeply concerned about the plight of these civilians." The government intended to send more food and medical supplies to the conflict areas, according to the ambassador.

Sri Lanka's government has been battling the Tamil Tiger rebels in a civil conflict that has lasted nearly 25 years. The Tigers have been declared a terrorist organization by 32 countries, including the United States and the European Union. As many as 70,000 people have been killed since the conflict officially began in 1983.
There are an estimated 100,000 to 150,000 people trapped by the conflict in a 5-square-mile patch of land -- a government safe zone -- in the northeast of the country.
The International Committee of the Red Cross thinks it's a recipe for a humanitarian disaster.
"What we are seeing is intense fighting in a very small area overcrowded with civilians who have fled there," Pierre Krahenbuhl, the Red Cross director of operations, said in a statement released Tuesday. "The situation is nothing short of catastrophic. Ongoing fighting has killed or wounded hundreds of civilians who have only minimal access to medical care."
The Sri Lanka military announced Sunday that it had "punctured" the no-fire zone to free civilians trapped by nearby fighting and warned Tamil Tiger rebels that more troop assaults would follow.
video attributed to the military and played on Sri Lankan state television recently showed dozens of civilians wading across a lagoon in an attempt to flee the war zone. Some of the refugees were wounded and bleeding, while others were shown carrying children or injured relatives on their shoulders.

"In the light of the latest outflow of displaced persons, the U.N. is increasing its efforts to provide the required humanitarian assistance, and will continue to do all it can to ensure conditions fully reflect international standards," Ban said.Ban condemned the continued use of heavy weapons near civilians and stressed the "imperative for U.N. staff to be allowed into the conflict zone to facilitate relief operations and the evacuation of civilians. It is also important to ensure the sustainable resettlement of these internally displaced persons as soon as possible."

On Friday, a pro-Tamil demonstration outside U.N. headquarters in New York attracted dozens of vocal supporters of the rebels. On Monday, French news reports said that 210 pro-Tamil protesters were arrested in central Paris.

A two-day pause in hostilities on April 12 allowed the United Nations and its partners to bring in aid and humanitarian supplies, but top U.N. officials called the brief cessation "inadequate."

Flogging video fake, says investigation team

2009-04-18T03:03:00.001-07:00

MINGORA: A five-member team investigating the flogging by Taliban militants of a teenage girl in Swat has said in its final report that the video footage of the incident shown on TV channels is ‘fake and false’.

This was stated by Interior Secretary Kamal Shah at a press conference at the Commissioner’s House in Saidu Sharif on Friday. The NWFP IG Malak Naveed Khan, Malakand Commissioner Mohammad Javed Khan, Swat DCO Khushal Khan and Acting DIG of Malakand Danishwar Khan were also present.

The interior secretary said the probe team, headed by the Malakand DIG, had been formed after the Supreme Court chief took a suo motu notice of the incident.

‘It has completed its investigation and handed over a report to me,’ he said, adding that the report would be submitted before an eight-member bench of the Supreme Court during the next hearing.

According to Mr Kamal Shah, the report said that the video footage was ‘false and fake’ and that no such incident had taken place.

He said the team and Ilaqa Qazi had recorded statements of both the girl and the man who were allegedly flogged and they had disowned the video tap.

‘The people of the area have also expressed ignorance about the incident.’ He said the girl and the man would not be forced to appear in court, but in case court issues any directive, the IG and the administration would be asked to present them before the court.

In reply to a question, he said his visit to the area was in compliance with the directives of the apex court, adding that he had met members of the investigation team and other government officials.

Militants blow up power pylon outside Peshawar

2009-04-18T03:01:00.000-07:00

PESHAWAR: Unidentified men have blown up a power pylon in the Mirza Kalay area of Chamkani in the outskirts of Peshawar suspending power supplies to all the adjacent areas in Peshawar from Tarbela.

Police confirmed some miscreants had planted explosives under the 500 KV tower.

A spokesman of the Peshawar Electric Supply Company (PESCO), Shaukat Afzal said the attack affected a number of areas in the suburbs of Peshawar.

He said the power supply was restored within a couple of hours from the alternate supply channel of Barotha line.

Meanwhile, the PESCO officials have started repair work and the damaged pylon is being replaced.

Talking to Dawnnews, SDO Transmission Line Muhammad Sadiq said, repair work will take a weeks time, and is estimated to cost more than 3.5 million rupees.

He said the attack is third in line in two months and due to which PESCO has suffered huge losses.

‘They had planted four bombs under the tower. We were informed at 5:30 am that power supply has been suspended. So now we have restored power from an alternate line of Barotha and this is the only alternate source.’

Suicide bombers knock at varsity

2009-04-18T02:59:00.001-07:00

PESHAWAR: The entry of two suicide bombers in the University of Peshawar on Friday created panic among students and employees inside the campus.

'As the administration learnt about the entry of an explosive-laden car in the university campus the teachers locked the doors of classrooms and directed students to remain indoor till further instructions from officials concerned,’ students told journalists.

The deputy superintendent of police, campus, Gulfat Hussain, said a rider squad of police signalled a suspicious black car to stop near Post Mall and asked its occupants to come down, but one of them showed a suicide vest and a policeman tried to catch him.

However, he said, they accelerated and police opened fire on the vehicle, but they escaped. He said one of the suspected bombers was clean shaven and aged around 24 years and the other was around 20 years old and had a beard.

Police, he said, had made it sure that the bombers had left the university and there was no threat inside the campus.

Soon after spotting the suicide bombers, the police officer said, the constables informed the university administration of the incident. He said the university administration alerted all the departments about the threat and the departments were closed immediately.

The panicked students, who were on the way home, told journalists that at around 12 noon the teachers all of a sudden locked classrooms and strictly asked them not to come out as suicide bombers had entered the campus.

All the main gates were closed but after the security personnel cleared the campus the students and university employees were allowed to leave the campus.

The students said they had never experienced such a situation and had got really panicked when heard about the suicide bombers’ entry in the campus.

Students in different hostels also closed the doors of their rooms and spent most of the time inside and even avoided to go to the mosque for Friday prayer.

Security was beefed up in educational institutions, including the NWFP University of Engineering and Technology, Khyber Medical College, Forest College, Agriculture University, University Public School and different hostels.

Four killed in Khyber blast

2009-04-18T02:58:00.001-07:00

LANDI KOTAL: Four people were killed and another six were injured in a remote-controlled bomb explosion in Shanober area of Tirrah valley on Saturday, DawnNews quoted official sources as saying.

Two among the dead belonged to the banned outfit Ansarul Islam, the sources said.

Taliban execute man, woman in Hangu

2009-04-18T02:56:00.000-07:00

KOHAT: Local Taliban executed a man and a woman on charges of having illicit relations in Hangu district near the border of Orakzai Agency a few days back.

The footage, made available to Dawn on Friday, shows the Taliban shooting the man aged around 40 and a woman, about 45 years, at an open space in the presence of their relatives.

The woman is heard appealing to the Taliban, ‘Have mercy on me, please have mercy; the charges against me are false and no man has ever touched her’.

The Taliban first shoot the woman by firing two bullets in her chest and later open a burst of Kalashnikov fire at both the woman and the man. But the woman is still seen breathing, and the Taliban start yelling that she is alive and issuing orders to ‘kill her, kill her’.

Sources said that the Taliban had asked the relatives of the woman and the man to present the two before them for questioning at a specified place. The relatives brought both of them to the Taliban, who killed them in cold blood.

Shahbaz, Taseer hold first meeting in 10 months

2009-04-18T02:55:00.001-07:00

LAHORE: Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif, during his current 10-month stint, held his first meeting with Governor Salman Taseer on Tuesday when he reached the Governor’s House to attend the oath-taking ceremony of Justice Khwaja Mohammad Sharif as chief justice of the Lahore High Court.

The chief minister, who called on the governor before start of the ceremony, in fact, visited the Governor’s House after 10 months. He had earlier been here to take oath of his office as the 21st chief minister of the province in June 2008.

Chief minister’s senior adviser Sirdar Zulfikar Khosa, law minister Rana Sanaullah Khan and senior minister and PPP Punjab parliamentary party leader Raja Riaz were also present during the meeting which lasted for about 20 minutes.

Officials said that the meeting held in a cordial atmosphere as the two sides discussed the prevailing political situation, besides exchanging pleasantries.

Rice growers not getting official price, NA told

2009-04-18T02:54:00.001-07:00

ISLAMABAD: The government admitted in the National Assembly on Tuesday its failure to ensure payment of official price to paddy growers in Punjab and Irri-6 farmers in Sindh.

Parliamentary secretary for food and agriculture Liaquat Ali Khan informed the house on a call-attention notice that the government had fixed the price of basmati rice at Rs3,000 per 40kg in Punjab and that of Irri-6 at Rs1,500 per 40kg in Sindh, which the government-appointed millers had failed to pay to the growers.

He said that 6.9 million tons of rice had been produced this year -- 100,000 tons more than last year’s production -- but the procurement target was yet to be met. He assured the house that the government would procure the entire wheat crop at the official price of Rs850 per 40kg.

Earlier, lawmakers Rana Mehmoodul Hasan, Ms Nisar Tanveer, Ms Tahira Aurangzeb, Mohammad Hanif Abbasi and Nighat Parveen Mir complained that Passco was not purchasing rice at prices fixed by the government.

Rana Hasan expressed the fear that the government might also fail to ensure payment of official price to the growers of wheat and other grains.

He said the government policy had only benefited the middle man and farmers were being deprived of their rightful share.

He said the matter should be sent to the house standing committee on food and agriculture to find a solution to the problems.

The government, Liaquat Ali said, had decided to pay Rs2,600 for 40kg bag, instead of Rs3,000, to those millers who had failed to pay the fixed price to the growers.

He said that a new campaign had been launched to meet the procurement target of 0.5 million tons of rice in Sindh, adding that the same target had been almost met by Passco in Punjab.

SC grants bail to Maulana Aziz

2009-04-18T02:53:00.001-07:00

ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court accepted on Wednesday a bail plea of former Khateeb of Lal Masjid Maulana Abdul Aziz in a case relating to the forced occupation of a children’s library adjacent to the mosque.

'There is no sufficient material available against Maulana Aziz and, therefore, bail is granted,’ observed a three-judge bench comprising Justice Javed Iqbal, Justice Sarmad Jalal Osmany and Justice Syed Zahid Hussain.

Earlier, Maulana Aziz was granted bail in 25 of the total 27 cases and in one case he was discharged.The bench was hearing a petition by Maulana Aziz challenging rejection of his bail request by the Islamabad High Court and government’s appeal seeking cancellation of his bail earlier granted by the high court in other cases relating to violence, abduction and terrorism registered under the terrorism act.

Advocate Shaukat Aziz Siddiqui, the legal counsel for Maulana Aziz, told Dawn that his client, who was under detention in a Bahria Town house declared a sub-jail by the authorities, was expected to be released in two or three days after submission of surety bonds of Rs200,000 to an anti-terrorism court seized with the cases.

Chief of Wafaqul Madaris Arabia Pakistan Qari Mohammad Hanif Jalandhari welcomed the decision and said it was a good omen for peace and tranquillity in the country.

He urged the government to immediately start building Jamia Hafsa which was demolished during the Lal Masjid operation on Jan 22, 2007.

On July 7 last year, Maulana Aziz had moved an appeal to the apex court, pleading that he had been under detention since his arrest on July 4, 2007. He said that denial of bail to a person who himself was a ‘victim of state terrorism would mean rubbing salt in to the wounds’.

A division bench of the IHC had granted bail to Maulana Aziz in cases relating to abduction of Chinese nationals, shooting on Rangers, abduction of law-enforcement personnel on duty and terrorism against the state, but rejected his bail request in the case about forced occupation of the children’s library.

On Wednesday, Maulana Aziz’s lawyer said his client was neither involved in the occupation of the library nor had he ordered such an action.

Couple, eight children slain over ‘land row’ in Daska

2009-04-18T02:51:00.000-07:00

SIALKOT: A man allegedly slaughtered his brother along with his (brother’s) wife and their eight minor children over a land dispute at Jhulki village, Satrah, in Daska tehsil in the wee hours of Thursday.

The accused who fled after committing homicides was assisted by his wife and one of his nephews in committing the brutal murders, according to police sources.

Initial police investigation has revealed the murders were committed by more than one person with some sharp-edged weapons in the wee hours when the victims – Javaid, his wife Fehmida and their children Kubra (4), Naveed (9), Rehman Javaid (6), Ibrahim (5), Rimsha (4), Aysha (3), Ismail (2) and eight-month-old Aleena — were in their sleep.

Abdul Rasheed, head of the joint family, who was the first to witness the bodies and inform the neighbourhood of the gory incident, told police his younger son, Zafar Gujjar, committed the homicides over a dispute involving the family land.

Giving details of the dispute, the old man said his accused son had a simmering grudge against his elder brother over the latter’s occupation of the front portion of the 40-acre piece of family land which had already been distributed among his (Rasheed’s) four sons – Javaid, Zafar, Nazeer and Muhammad Husain, who was living abroad.

He said the accused would often quarrel with the victim over the issue. DPO Capt Mohammad Ameen (retired) told journalists the Satrah police had arrested the wife of accused Tahira Bibi and two other people in connection with the murders after registering a case on the report of Fehmida Bibi’s brother Anwarul Haq.

The police had also recovered the blood-stained clothes of the accused, the DPO added. Autopsies of the dead were conducted at Daska THQ Civil Hospital and the bodies were handed over to the heirs who buried them in the village graveyard amid tight security.

Jihadi literature available once more outside Lal Masjid

2009-04-18T02:50:00.001-07:00

LAHORE: The arrival of Maulana Aziz after release on bail coincides with the appearance of militant motivational literature and propaganda videos in front of Lal Masjid, according to DawnNews.

As Interior Ministry informed the National Assembly that publication and distribution of hate literature has been banned, militant videos and pamphlets professing jihad were being sold openly just a few kilometers from there out side the Lal Masjid.

However, just outside the mosque, Saeed, a video seller told DawnNews ‘Now that Maulana Aziz has been restored, all activities will return.’

The motivational militant videos being sold outside the Lal Masjid include scenes from battles of Iraq and Afghanistan showing the attacks on US led coalition forces.

The jihadi films being sold in the heart of the capital shows videos of suicide bombers, and incite others to join in the fight.

In one of the videos, young boys are shown being launched as suicide bombers covered in glory, aiming at motivating young impressionable minds to follow them.

Some of the videos being sold outside the Lal Mosque are brought in from other areas, including the tribal agencies while others are made in local markets.

With the release of Maulana Aziz on bail, it was hoped things will be different from the past. But, the very act of selling militant videos resonated with scenes before the military action against Lal Masjid clerics in July 2007 when militant literature was being sold openly in a similar manner.