Pak cricketers more professional after punishments: Waqar

ST. LUCIA: Coach of Pakistan cricket team Waqar Younis has said that the punishments imposed on Pakistani cricketers in March this year after the disastrous tour of Australia, have made Pakistan cricketers more professional.

Seven Pakistani cricketers were punished by Pakistan Cricket Board over the recommendations of inquiry committee formed to probe the reasons behind the poor performance of Pakistan cricket team in Australia. These players include Mohammad Yousuf and Younus Khan (indefinite ban), Shoaib Malik and Rana Naveed (one year ban and 2 million fine), Kamran Akmal and Shahid Afridi (3 million fine) and Umar Akmal (2 million fine).

It was also learnt that it was the Waqar Younis report which prompted PCB to take action against these players. Waqar Younis was part of Pakistan cricket team’s tour of Australia as a Bowling coach and after the tour; Waqar also appeared before the inquiry committee and submit his recommendations to them. In his meeting with Chairman PCB, Waqar Younis advocated the stern actions against these players.

While talking to the newspaper at St. Lucia, Waqar said “Australia, the boys were a little laidback, not really bothered; they have really started pushing themselves. I wouldn’t say they’re scared but they’ve probably started thinking it’s a professional game and they get paid for it, it’s a country at stake, so I think they’ve started realising that.”

“What we went through in the last three or four weeks, some of the boys are banned, it wasn’t easy to take over this job, it was difficult but I’m managing it OK,” I’ve seen the change from Australia to Pakistan, the boys have really started responding.”, he added.

Waqar also praises Afridi as captain of National team and said “”I think he has probably realised that he wants to do more, and I think he is the best choice as captain, he is an all-rounder and he leads from the front. In the past three years he has been the key for the one-day and Twenty20 side because of his bowling. He is bowling superbly; he is a match-winning bowler. And with his quick 30-odd off 10 balls or whatever, that really puts the game in your favour. Since he has become captain he’s taken the responsibility, he has become more of a leader.”

This column is taken from Sportsencounter.com

Top Indian Maoist leader arrested

KOLKATA, Kurrent News: Indian police have arrested a senior Maoist rebel blamed for an attack on a police camp in the east of the country last month that killed 25 people, officials said Wednesday.

The man, known by the names Deepak and Venkateswar Reddy, is a close associate of the rebels’ top commander Kishenji, West Bengal government official Raj Kanojia told AFP.

A special police team arrested the 45-year-old Reddy late on Tuesday in Kolkata, capital of West Bengal state and one of the many areas across India afflicted by Maoist violence.

“Reddy is a key aide of Maoist leader Kishenji,” Kanojia said, adding that intelligence officials had been shadowing him for several days.

“He is an explosives expert and we think he had a major role in the Silda attack that claimed the lives of 24 policemen and a civilian in a western district of West Bengal,” Kanojia said.

The official was referring to the February 15 attack in restive Midnapore district, in which around 20 rebels attacked a police camp using guns and landmines.

‘Ethiopia aid diverted for rebel arms in 1980s’

LONDON, Kurrent News: Millions of dollars of international aid for victims of the mid-1980s famine in Ethiopia was diverted to rebels to buy weapons in the African country, a BBC investigation reported on Wednesday.Citing former rebels and CIA documents, it said militant leaders posed as merchants in meetings with aid groups who flooded into Ethiopia to help relieve the famine, highlighted by the global Live Aid charity concert in 1985.

“Some funds that insurgent organisations are raising for relief operations, as a result of increased world publicity, are almost certainly being diverted for military purposes,” said a 1985 CIA assessment cited by the broadcaster.

The BBC quoted a Christian Aid worker, Max Peberdy, as saying he took nearly 500,000 dollars into Ethiopia in 1984 to buy grain from merchants, who he believes were genuine.

“It’s 25 years since this happened, and in the 25 years it’s the first time anybody has claimed such a thing,” he told the broadcaster.

But the merchant he dealt with, Gebremedhin Araya, claims he was in fact a senior member of the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF).

Chileans protect, feed themselves

TALCAHUANO(Chile), Kurrent News: One man swings a thick metal chain. Other grips an ax. An older gentleman favors a wooden pole. And a20-year-old spoiling for a fight has prepared a garrote - a menacing wire tied between two handles - to confront any intruders.

These and hundreds of other survivors of Chile’s devastating earthquake have organised neighborhood watch groups, arming themselves and barricading streets to protect their damaged homes from looters. The groups have stepped in as police were overwhelmed by looting and soldiers were slow to restore order after an earthquake and tsunami.

“We take care of ourselves here,’’ said 51-year-old Maria Cortes. She stood watch in Poblacion Libertad – “Freedom Community’’ - a gritty collection of small duplexes along an industrial road in the port town of Talcahuano. About 2,000 people live here around a common area three football fields long.

Most of Talcahuano was destroyed by Saturday’s magnitude-8.8quake and tsunami, which ravaged a 700-kilometer stretch of Chile’s Pacific coast. Downed bridges and damaged or debris-strewn highways made transit difficult if not impossible in many areas. The official death toll reached 799 on Wednesday.

But Poblacion Libertad largely escaped damage. Here, residents talk about the “human earthquake’’ - a growing desperation of people without power, water, cooking gas and food. Many of its residents join the looting, taking food, drinks and anything else they can use from ruined stores - but return home fearful that others will do the same to them.

Others say they’re forced by need to leave their damaged homes for food and water, only to find what little they have left has been stolen.

And so they have organised.

The men got planks of wood from a nearby lumber yard and nailed them to block entryways to the clusters of homes. They erected a barrier along an access road. The crime watch runs 24 hours.

“Each one organizes and protects his own entrance,’’ said Cecilia San Hueza, 28. ``We whistle to advise if there is anythingsuspicious.’’

So far, Poblacion Libertad has had only false alarms. Someone blew a whistle in the middle of the night, prompting hundreds of residents to run into the common. Nearby soldiers enforcing a 6 pm-to-noon curfew fired shots in the air to make everyone go back inside.

Elizabeth Ocampo, a 21-year-old resident of Poblacion Libertad, said firefighters arrived late this week to fight a blaze in the complex because they were busy combating looting and arson elsewhere. Five units burned to the ground.

Throughout the quake zone, survivors live in fear and feed on rumors of roving mobs. Gunfire has punctuated the night in Concepcion, Lota and other towns.

The eruption of banditry shocked the nation and put President Michelle Bachelet on the defensive. Chile’s much-praised urban rescue teams were hampered by slow-to-arrive equipment - and the looting of their local base in Concepcion. Almost everywhere, citizens have banded together to eat, get water and protect damaged or destroyed homes while they wait for the military to restore order and deliver aid.

In Hualpen, a poor community on the outskirts of Concepcion, Sonia Garrido and her neighbours felled trees across a street to protect their neighbourhood.

Volunteer guards sit around bonfires at night. Collectively, neighbours make bread and share it. Some draw brackish, smelly water from a lagoon and grumble about the lack of government aid.

“We’re bad off,’’ said Garrido, 46. “No water, no electricity. They care nothing about us.’’

Garrido’s son armed himself with a garrote and joined a local crime watch whose other members wielded knives and pistols. But it didn’t make Garrido feel much safer. She worries they’ll kill someone.

She also worries that criminals will get in anyway, simply by wearing twisted plastic bags that patrol members use as armbands to identify themselves.

“I’m destroyed,’’ Garrido said. “Last night I heard gunfire all around me. They’re looting things and walking around with rifles doing anything they want. Nowhere is safe.’’

European Union calls for a ‘clear response’

VIENNA, Kurrent News: The United States said on Wednesday there was “no choice” but for “further, deeper sanctions” against Iran over its controversial nuclear drive, as the European Union also called for a “clear response”.

“We hope that Iran will change its current course and seek the path of negotiations,” Washington’s envoy to the International Atomic Energy Agency, Glyn Davies, told the UN watchdog’s 35-member board of governors.

“Not doing so leaves the international community no choice but to pursue further, deeper sanctions to hold Iran accountable,” Davies said. Earlier, the European Union also called for a “clear response” to Iran, saying it was ready to support a further round of sanctions against the Islamic republic.

“Iran’s persistent failure to meet its international obligations require a clear response, including through appropriate measures,” according to a statement read out by Spain to the closed-door meeting.

“The European Union would support action by the UNSC (UN Security Council) if Iran continues not to cooperate with the international community over its nuclear programme. The European Union stands ready to take the necessary steps to accompany this UNSC process.”

The Iranian nuclear dossier was the main focus of debate on the third day of the board’s traditional spring meeting here, after a toughly worded report by the IAEA’s new chief Yukiya Amano two weeks ago. The United States, in particular, is currently spear-heading a campaign for a further fourth round of UN sanctions against Iran.

President Barack Obama’s administration, which has all but abandoned its initial hope to engage diplomatically with Iran, has already increased pressure on a reluctant China to back fresh action. “While the United States has joined its international partners for more than a year in reaching out to Iran through direct diplomacy, Iran continues to resist all efforts to come to a negotiated settlement or to build any confidence in its intentions,” US ambassador Davies told the IAEA board.

“Iran continues to play a cat-and-mouse game with the IAEA,” Davies said. “Far from having resolved the international community’s long-standing concerns, Iran’s provocative actions in further defiance of its obligations have deepened concerns.”

Spain, speaking on behalf of the 27-nation EU, similarly said the European Union “remains ready to engage with Iran in order to reach a negotiated solution to the issue, should Iran take concrete decisions toward that end.” But it was ready to support further sanctions, if necessary.

Western nations fear Iran is covertly developing a nuclear weapon, but Tehran insists the programme is exclusively peaceful.

Spain said Iran’s announcement that it had begun enriching uranium to higher levels, ostensibly to fuel a research reactor that makes radioisotopes for medical purposes, “raise further concerns about Iran’s nuclear intentions.”

Enriched uranium can be used to make reactor fuel, but can also be used for the fissile core of a nuclear weapon. And given the fact that Iran does not appear to have the necessary technology and cannot produce the fuel needed for the research reactor, “it follows that the reasons given for these enrichment activities are questionable,” the EU said.

US ambassador Davies criticised Iran for not signing up to an IAEA-brokered deal that would have seen Russia and France produce the necessary fuel for the reactor out of Iran’s own stockpile of low-enriched uranium.

“We see Iran’s unwilligness to accept the IAEA’s proposal as representing not only a lost opportunity for mutual confidence-building and progress towards a diplomatic solution, but also a missed opportunity for Iran to secure the ability to produce medical isotopes as expeditiously as possible,” Davies said.

Norway asks Iranian diplomat to leave

OSLO, Kurrent News: Norway has asked an Iranian diplomat to leave the country, the foreign ministry said on Wednesday, adding that the move came after Tehran last week requested the departure of a Norwegian diplomat.

“The foreign ministry has ... requested that an Iranian diplomat leave Norway,” it said in a statement without identifying the person in question.

Tehran had summoned the Norwegian ambassador in Iran on February 24, the ministry said, to protest the Scandinavian country’s decision to grant Iran’s former consul general in Oslo political asylum.

Mohammed Raza Heydari was granted asylum in Norway last month after he quit his job to protest the Iranian government’s violent repression of opposition demonstrators.

“In the same meeting, Iranian authorities asked that a Norwegian diplomat leave Iran. This was justified by the decision to grant Heydari asylum in Norway,” it said.

In early January, the diplomat announced he had resigned from his position after Tehran’s crackdown on opposition demonstrators on December 27 left at least eight people dead and hundreds of others either injured or imprisoned.

Heydari lost his diplomatic passport when he quit and said he was seeking political asylum in order to obtain documents that would allow him to travel freely.

“Norway reacts strongly to the fact that Iranian authorities have asked a Norwegian diplomat to leave Tehran due to an asylum case in Norway.

Desperate search for hundreds missing in Uganda mudslide

BUDUDA (Uganda), Kurrent News: Rescuers clawed through mud in driving rain on Wednesday in a desperate bid to find survivors from a huge landslide feared to have killed hundreds in villages in eastern Uganda. At least 80 bodies have already been found on the slopes of Mount Elgon and at least 300 people are missing in the villages.

More torrential rain fell as rescuers dug through the mud with spades and simple tools as mechanical diggers could not get up the slopes. Army helicopters flew up medical supplies to treat the injured.

Regional army spokesman Captain Henry Obbo said the steep terrain was making recovery efforts difficult.

“We are having trouble because of the very big rubble. The terrain is really so, so unfriendly,” he told AFP.” It is the local people and us (the army). We are trying all that we can.”

After days of heavy rain, the mudslide engulfed the villages near the Uganda-Kenya border late Monday. Olyamboka Sam was praying when the disaster struck.

“I was in the church when I saw the landslide coming carrying stones and trees. Everyone was running from the church,” said Sam, who was being treated for a fractured arm at a hospital in Bududa, the nearest town.

The 24-year-old man told how he saw two women, two children and a man carried away to their deaths.

Former UK Labour Party leader Michael Foot dies

LONDON, Kurrent News: Michael Foot, a bookish intellectual and anti-nuclear campaigner who led Britain’s Labour Party to a disastrous defeat in 1983, died on Wednesday morning, officials said. He was 96.

Foot died at his home in north London following a long illness, the Press Association news agency said, citing unidentified sources.

Foot personified the socialist tendency in the Labour Party, which Tony Blair successfully erased when he won power at the head of a business-friendly, interventionist “New Labour.’’ Yet Foot remained a respected, even revered, figure.

“A great man has died. He was the heart of our movement,’’ John Prescott, deputy Labour leader under Blair, said in a Twitter message.

Prime Minister Gordon Brown, Blair’s partner in creating “New Labour,’’ praised Foot as a “man of deep principle and passionate idealism.’’

Foot, a founder of the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament, led the Labour Party from 1980 to 1983 at a time when it was split by factionalism and had lurched to the left. Labour, running on a platform which advocated unilateral nuclear disarmament, abolition of the House of Lords and leaving the European Economic Community, won less than 28 per cent of the vote in 1983, barely holding on to second place, as Margaret Thatcher’s Conservatives won a second term in office.

Labour lawmaker Gerald Kaufman memorably described Labour’s manifesto as “the longest suicide note in history.’’

Foot first made a mark as a writer, as the anonymous co-author of ``Guilty Men,’’ published in 1940, which attacked the Conservative Party’s policy of appeasing Adolf Hitler in the 1930s.

In Parliament, he soon emerged as a leader of the party’s leftwing. He spoke against the rearmament of Germany, the British invasion of Suez and nuclear weapons. As employment secretary, he was a major figure in Labour government of Harold Wilson and James Callaghan in 1974-1979.

“I’m sure that this news will be received with great sadness not only in my own party but across the country as a whole,’’ Justice Minister Jack Straw told the House of Commons as he announced the death. “He was held in very great affection in all sections of the House and across the country.’’

Arabs give Palestinian-Israeli talks ‘final’ chance

CAIRO, Kurrent News: Arab foreign ministers agreed on Wednesday to back one last round of indirect Palestinian-Israeli talks despite scepticism over Israel’s readiness to revive peace efforts, Arab League chief Amr Mussa said.

The move, which came after months of US-led shuttle diplomacy, was swiftly welcomed by Israel but was slammed by the Islamist Hamas movement which controls Gaza as an “excuse” for Western-backed Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to rejoin negotiations that would “only lead to failure.”

Mussa said that the Arab ministers had called for a four-month deadline for the indirect talks. “Despite a lack of conviction over Israel’s seriousness, (Arab foreign ministers) will give indirect talks a chance, for the final time, in order to facilitate US efforts, within four months,” he said.

“There was a consensus that Israel is not interested in peace, the proof being what is taking place on occupied land... acts which are meant to provoke the Arab and American sides,” he added. Negotiations have been on ice since Israel launched a devastating attack on the Gaza Strip in December 2008.

The Palestinians have said they will only return to the negotiating table if Israel first halts all settlement construction in the occupied West Bank. But Israel has agreed only to a 10-month freeze that excludes public buildings and annexed Arab east Jerusalem, failing to satisfy the Palestinians.

US Middle East envoy George Mitchell proposed US-brokered indirect talks as a way of getting around the deadlock. Israel welcomed the Arab ministers’ endorsement of indirect talks.

“We welcome this decision. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been continually calling for peace talks, and we hope that now the talks can move forward,” government spokesman Mark Regev told AFP. Netanyahu said conditions were ripe for talks. “It seems the conditions are ripening for a renewal of talks between us and the Palestinians,” he told MPs.

“In general, the world understands that this government is on the path to negotiations and has taken difficult steps to advance the negotiations,” he said. The Arab ministers said the talks should be based on the principles of a 2002 Arab peace initiative, which calls for full normalisation with Israel in exchange for a complete withdrawal by Israel from Arab land, the creation of a Palestinian state and an “equitable” solution for Palestinian refugees.

They stressed that any direct negotiations could only take place if there is a “complete halt of settlement activity on all occupied land, including Jerusalem.”

“US-proposed indirect talks will not bear fruit if Israeli violations continue, which would lead to the failure of talks,” they said. There has been no let-up in Israeli settlement construction outside the limited 10-month moratorium Netanyahu announced in November.

On Friday, Israeli daily Haaretz reported that the government had given the green light for 600 new homes in a Jewish settlement in east Jerusalem, drawing US criticism. Hamas slammed the Arab endorsement of indirect negotiations as a figleaf to cover a retreat by Abbas on his demand for a freeze on settlement expansion.

Tainted liquor kills 15 Indians

LUCKNOW, Kurrent News: At least 15 people have been killed and six others blinded after drinking toxic home-brewed liquor in northern India, police said on Wednesday.

Eight people died in a village near Ghaziabad, 250 miles southwest of Lucknow, the capital of Uttar Pradesh state, Brij Lal, a senior police official. Seven people died in the nearby town of Bulandshahar, according to police official Neelesh Kumar.

Another six people were blinded and 15 others in the area sickened by the liquor. Police said the demand for alcohol had risen sharply over the last week because of the Hindu festival of colours, Holi, which was celebrated on Monday.

On Feb 27, six people died from drinking tainted liquor in the same area, according to local police.

Most of the victims who drank the tainted brew on Tuesday night were poor farmers and labourers, looking for a cheap means of intoxication.

Deaths from drinking illegally brewed liquor are common in Uttar Pradesh because few poor people can afford legally sold alcohol. The illicit liquor is often spiked with pesticides or chemicals to increase its potency.

Last week, police seized more than 25,000 liters of illegal liquor in the state, according to Brij Lal, a senior police official.

Gilani invites Norwegian investment

ISLAMABAD, Kurrent News: Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani has urged Norway’s pro-active role in the FODP to help Pakistan undertake reconstruction and development of the areas cleared from militants in Fata and the NWFP on fast track basis.

The prime minister was talking to Foreign Minister of Norway Jonas Gahr Store, who called on him along with his delegation, at the Prime Minister’s House on Wednesday.While appreciating the Norwegian assistance in establishment of 350 community schools in Fata and for improvement of basic education in the NWFP, the prime minister underlined the imperative of rebuilding the physical and socio-economic infrastructure in those areas and provision of job opportunities to the people there on immediate basis and underlined friendly countries like Norway’s important role in that regard.

The prime minister said that Pakistan considered Norway an important friend and partner and was keen to enhance and further strengthen the cordial bilateral ties in all areas of mutual interests.

He hoped that the annual bilateral consultations under the framework of bilateral cooperation would be held on regular basis to make progress towards strengthening of political, trade and economic cooperation.

“People-to-people contacts, particularly two-way exchanges of parliamentary delegations and regular high level visits need to be encouraged to give new impetus to deep-rooted relationship”, he added.

The prime minister underscored the need for expansion of bilateral trade to attain its true potential and welcomed Norwegian Company Telenor’s plans to invest $2 billion in Pakistan over the period of next five years.

He expressed the hope that the Norwegian government would also encourage its major companies in the oil and gas, petroleum, chemicals, pharmaceuticals, fertilizers as well as iron and steel manufacturing sectors to invest in Pakistan independently or through joint ventures with their Pakistani counterparts.

While dilating on Pakistan’s role as a front line state in the war against terrorism, the prime minister said that the Armed forces of Pakistan had achieved remarkable successes by clearing vast areas of the Malakand, Bajaur and Fata from the militants in a short span of time.

He said these valiant successes were nonetheless attained at a great human and economic cost. “In spite of these losses Pakistan remained resolute in clearing its soil from the menace of terror,” he added.

The prime minister termed resolution of long outstanding issues like Kashmir with India, a prerequisite for long lasting and durable peace in the region which will enable Pakistan to single mindedly focus on quelling militancy on its western borders.

He stressed that Pakistan was completely sincere in pursuing friendly and cordial relations with all its neighbours, particularly with India. As for Afghanistan he said that the peace, security and stability in Pakistan was intractably linked to a peaceful and secure Afghanistan.

Norwegian Foreign Minister Jonas Gahr Store stated that though he was visiting Pakistan for the third time, it was a matter of pleasure for him to be meeting a civilian chief executive of the country for the first time, during these visits.

He assured the prime minister of his country’s complete support for institutionalization of democracy in Pakistan. He said Norway had become part of the FODP process wholeheartedly and would continue to assist Pakistan in every way possible bilaterally as well as through the FODP and other international mechanisms.

The Norwegian foreign minister paid tributes to Pakistan Armed Forces as well as law Enforcement Agencies personnel for their role and sacrifices in countering the threat of terrorism. He termed Pakistan as the most pivotal country in the war against terror and for restoration of peace and stability in Afghanistan.

While assuring the prime minister of his government’s support in providing greater market access for Pakistani products and higher investment by Norwegian companies, Foreign Minister Jonas Gahr Store said that Pakistani diaspora in Norway will also be encouraged to facilitate strengthening of economic cooperation between the two countries.

Norwegian Ambassador in Pakistan Robert Kvile, Minister for Foreign Affairs Makhdoom Shah Mahmood Qureshi, Senator Sughra Imam, Rab Nawaz Khan, Ambassador of Pakistan to Norway and foreign secretary were also present in the meeting.

Burney renews call to free Pak prisoners from Indian jails

NEW DELHI, Kurrent News: The human and civil rights organisation, Ansar Burney Trust International, has taken up with the Indian government three more cases of innocent Pakistani prisoners who have already completed their prison terms long time ago but are still waiting to be released from jails.

According to the press release on Wednesday, Chairman of the Ansar Burney Trust, Ansar Burney, once again contacted the Indian government for the early release of three more Pakistanis on humanitarian grounds in the greater interest of justice and human dignity.

Meanwhile, Ansar Burney on Wednesday filed another writ petition in the Indian Haryana Punjab High Court at Chandigarh seeking justice for three more Pakistani prisoners detained in Indian jails in most difficult circumstances.

Ansar Burney said that Pakistani national Asghar Ali, son of Mohammad Ali, resident of Jaranwala, district Faisalabad, was arrested in 1994 on immigration act and an Indian court sentenced him to three months imprisonment.

Burney said that Asghar Ali, had completed his sentence 16 years ago the same year his sentence was announced by the Session Court of India in 1994, but unfortunately for unknown reasons authorities failed to release and deport him to Pakistan. For this barbaric act of injustice in the last 16 long years, the innocent prisoner lost his full mental and physical balance, but still has hope in his eyes to be a free man soon.

Ansar Burney said that likewise, another Pakistani national, Fayyaz Ali, son of Rasheed Ali, mistakenly crossed the border and entered India at the age of 15, where he was arrested by the border security agencies and produced before District & Session Court of Rajouri in Jammu and Kashmir, which sentenced him to five years rigorous imprisonment.

No tolerance for those involved in Faisalabad incidents, says minister

LAHORE, Kurrent News: The law regarding the registration of FIR is ambiguous and it needs rectification. Addressing a press conference at the Lahore Press Club here on Wednesday, Minister for Law, Rana Sanaullah Khan said: “The rectification of ambiguity in the FIR law is a federal subject and the Punjab government has written to the federal government in this regard.”

Regarding the Faisalabad incident, he said zero tolerance would be shown towards the people involved in the 12 Rabi-ul-Awwal incidents, which caused loss of life and property. “I appeal Maulana Sahibzada Fazl-e- Karim, Maulana Ahmad Ludhianvi and Maulana Zahir Qasmi to show restraint and tolerance and help the government in dealing with anti-state elements involved in these incidents.î

He said: “Any strike call should not be given since the government has ordered an inquiry into the incident.”

Regarding the allegations of his meetings with terrorists, he said Maulana Ludhianvi bagged 45,000 votes in the last election and questioned if all those voters were terrorists. Earlier, the minister denied that a court had issued orders for registration of an FIR against PML-N MPAs Allah Rakha and Haji Naveed Anjum.

Pakistan, France for enhancing defence ties

ISLAMABAD, Kurrent News: Director, International Development Division of the DGA France, Jacques de Lajugie and Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee, General Tariq Majid on Wednesday exchanged views on ways to bolster defence and security ties between the two countries.

Both the dignitaries also discussed matters of mutual interests, including Pak-India relations and regional security situation during the meeting held at the Joint Staff Headquarters. Lajugie lauded the contribution and sacrifices made by the people and Armed Forces of Pakistan in the war against terrorism and violent extremism and expressed solidarity and full support for Pakistan in dealing with multiple challenges. The JCSC chairman thanked the Government of France for its political support and assistance for capacity-building of the armed forces.

Steps suggested for POF’s economic revival

ISLAMABAD, Kurrent News: The Senate Standing Committee on Defence on Wednesday highlighted the need for adoption of measures aimed at economic revival of the Pakistan Ordnance Factory.

The committee, headed by Lt-Gen (retd) Javed Ashraf Qazi, was given detailed briefing by the POF Board Chairman Lt-Gen Shujaat Zamir Dar during its daylong visit to the defence production complex.

The committee chairman stated that multi-pronged strategy was need of the hour to keep POF’s ball rolling at a pace. Elaborating, he said the POF may be accorded autonomous status as envisaged in the 1961 ordinance. He said the POF complex comprises 24 factories, including 14 of commercial nature with the remaining 10 for defence purpose. He said the complex needs to be given autonomy at individual level and each of its segments should be made bound to run independently and earn profits accordingly.

The committee was unanimous of the view that any political pressure for further appointments in the organization be resisted with the recommendation to the government to immediately impose ban on fresh appointments other than essential posts and for the technical sector. The committee also recommended that a body be formed for rationalization of the existing strength of staff with the aim to decrease financial burden.

The committee viewed that Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani may undertake a visit of this important defence unit and take on-the-spot decisions for remedy of various challenges confronting it.

Earlier, the POF chairman said the complex needs $ 250 million injection for the overhaul of the existing machinery at various factories. “In some of the cases the working age of various machines, installed in factories, has been over 30 years,” he said.

Return looted money or face criminal cases

ISLAMABAD, Kurrent News: The subcommittee of Public Accounts Committee warned the officers of health ministry on Wednesday that criminal cases would be initiated against them if they failed in paying back the embezzled amount drawn on account of project allowance.

According to the audit brief, 41 officials of the Ministry of Health had made unauthorised withdrawal of Rs 1,210,191 on account of project allowance in National Programme for Family Planning and Primary Health Care during the period 1994-95 and 1997-98.

The committee met under chair of Yasmin Rahman and the meeting was attended by Hamid Yar Haraj and Secretary Health Khushnood Akhtar Lashari. It said the PAC, dissatisfied with the reply of the health ministry, had directed the PAO to recover the amount observed by the Audit. Then the PAC had modified its earlier decision on humanitarian basis and had directed that recovery in the case be affected only from concerned officers of Grade 17 and above.

The representatives of the health ministry told the committee that despite repeated requests, the four concerned officials did not pay back the amount. They preferred to move the Federal Services Tribunal that had asked the PAC to reconsider its decision and not to recover the amount.

The FST decision infuriated the committee, which said the FST had nothing to do with the case and the subcommittee would endorse the previous decision of the PAC, directing the officers to pay the amount.

According to audit brief, the four officials who owed the amount included Matiullah Khan (JS F&D), Yasin Ahmad (JS F&I), Manzoor Ahmad Malal (DS Budget) and Mujahid Husain Naqvi (SO F&A). However, the chair directed the health ministry to warn the officers below 17-scale through a letter not to recommit such corruption.

“The subcommittee would endorse the PAC’s decision. The recovery would be made according to rules and regulations. The officials of below 17-scale would also face action if they recommit corruption,” said Yasmin Rahman.

The committee assured the ministry of all-out support for the recovery and said if the officers failed to pay the amount back, another directive may be issued and directed the ministry to submit a report on the matter.

Meanwhile, the committee also directed the health ministry to send a summary to the Law and Justice Ministry for deputation of a legal officer to examine day-to-day cases and submit a report to the committee within a month.

Chitral PPP leaders reject ex-nazim remarks

CHITRAL, Kurrent News: District leadership of the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Wednesday rejected the former district nazim’s remarks about cut in the wheat quota for the district.

In a statement, former district nazim Maghfirat Shah had asked the authorities to slash wheat quota for the district. Addressing a press conference, PPP leaders including Muhammad Zahir Shah, Saifuddin and Haji Khan asked the former nazim to better keep quite if can not work in the interest of Chitral. They said that a quota of 0.15 million bags had been set for 200,000 population of the district during the rule of former prime minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto. They said the present PPP government had doubled that quota owing to increase in population.

“It is strange that the former nazim did not raise the issue during the Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal government. Now he is opposing the people’s friendly policies of the PPP government,” Zahir Shah said.

He said Maghfirat Shah remained district nazim for four years and if the quota was misused then he should have raised the issue at some proper forum. The PPP leaders said the increased wheat quota would help resolve the food shortage in the area, the largest district of the province.

Forces kill 30 extremists in Mohmand Agency

ISLAMABAD, Kurrent News: Pakistani security forces killed up to 30 Taliban fighters on Thursday in a counter-offensive after coming under attack in a volatile tribal area on the Afghan border, military officials said.

According to the FC sources, the extremists attacked Marjan-1 Check Post in Lakro tehsil of Mohmand Agency at 4am today, which was duly retaliated by the forces.

Militants killed one soldier and wounded four in an early morning attack on a military checkpost in Mohmand tribal region.

"During fighting, 25 to 30 terrorists were killed," a military official told talking to a UK-based news agency.

There are at least ten bodies with the forces. The FC sources told that a group of ten extremists came from Bajaur; however, they were forced to flee as a result of forces’ action.

Another official said the bodies of five militants were in the custody of the security forces.

The clash erupted two days after Pakistan said it had cleared the Taliban and al Qaeda from nearby Bajaur region after nearly two years of fighting in the area.

Separately, the paramilitary Frontier Constabulary said it had killed 38 militants and arrested 18 in a week-long operation near the northwestern garrison town of Kohat.

Seven Pakistani troops wounded in Darfur

KHARTOUM, Kurrent News: Seven Pakistani peacekeepers were wounded, two of them seriously, in an ambush on Tuesday in Sudan’s war-torn region of Darfur, the joint African Union-United Nations mission and local sources said.

“An ambush took place near the displaced persons camp in El Shereif, around 20 kilometres from Nyala,” the capital of South Darfur state and the most important town in the region, said UNAMID spokesman Noureddine Mezni.

The peacekeepers were in a convoy of four vehicles when they were attacked by unknown assailants, he said. “Seven police were wounded, two of them seriously,” Mezni said.

However, a local source said the wounded were Pakistanis, which would make the first time soldiers from Pakistan have been ambushed in Darfur.

Acts of banditry -- including the theft of vehicles at gunpoint — are common occurrences in Darfur.

The United Nations says up to 300,000 people have died and 2.7 million fled their homes since the ethnic minority rebels in Darfur first rose up against the Arab-dominated Sudan government in Feb 2003.—AFP

Snow and rain wreak havoc, kill 11 in NWFP

PESHAWAR, Kurrent News: Eleven persons were killed and several others injured while dozens of houses and buildings collapsed as heavy snowfall and rains wreaked havoc in upper parts of Frontier province.

The districts of Chitral, Lower and Upper Dir, Swat, and Shangla were disconnected from the rest of the country. The link-roads in these areas were covered with snow or damaged by avalanches and landslide.

The record snowfall also disrupted power and telephone connections in the areas.

The anti-polio campaign was postponed till further orders in Lower and Upper Dir, Bajaur, Swat and Shangla. The local administrations in the affected districts ordered closure of educational institutions for one week. Sources said that at least seven persons were killed when a snow avalanche hit them near the entrance of Lowari tunnel on Chitral side on Tuesday.

Chitral DCO Rahmatullah Wazir told Dawn that three of the victims were workers of the Korean construction company, Sambu. They were identified as Mumtaz Khan from Chitral, Farman Ali from Mardan and Shuaib from Punjab.

The remaining four were employees of a nearby hotel belonging to Upper Dir district. They were identified as Israrud Din, Mohammad Din, Hussain Ahmed and Inayatur Rahman.

The bodies of Sambu company workers were recovered while search was underway to locate the other victims.

Mr Wazir said that more avalanches were reportedly hitting the area intermittently, making the search work difficult and perilous. He said that more rescue teams would be sent to the place of incident to accelerate search work.

Some people present on the site of incidence feared the death toll might rise as more bodies could be found under the avalanche.

The tunnel remained closed for vehicular traffic on Tuesday for the third consecutive day cutting Chitral district from the rest of the country. The roof of a house collapsed in Rahimabad village of Lower Dir, killing four inmates, who were asleep in two separate rooms. They were identified as Hazrat Hakeem his wife, his brother Hazrat Abdur Rashid and his sister-in-law. The children asleep in the third room received minor wounds.

A Pesco official told Dawn that 52 HT lines poles and 70 LT lines poles were uprooted in Lower and Upper Dir, plunging both the districts into darkness. The official said restoration of power could take four to five days.

Several people were injured as a girls school, a dispensary, a factory and several houses collapsed due to heavy snowfall in different areas of Swat valley.

Residents said that in Osho and its surrounding areas a girls school, a dispensary and eight shops collapsed due to snowfall. Six persons were injured when snow hit five houses in Basar and Bew villages.

The Kalam-Mingora road was closed on the thirteenth consecutive day. The mercury has dropped to minus 12 degree Celsius in Kalam. Several houses collapsed in Mingora city and its surroundings.

The electricity, gas and telephone lines remained disconnected in Mingora and other areas of the district. “The repair work has been initiated but it may take time,” officials said. The attendance in government office also remained thin and businesses centres were closed.

The tented school in Nawi Kallay and Silk Mills building on Bamakhela road near Mingora also collapsed.

Heavy snowfall also paralysed life in Shangla district where power and telephone system was yet to be restored.

Three killed in drone missile strike in N. Waziristan

MIRANSHAH, Kurrent News: A US drone aircraft fired a missile into Pakistan's North Waziristan region on the Afghan border on Wednesday, killing at least three militants, Pakistani intelligence officials said.

The drone targeted a militant compound in the village of Tapi, about 15 km (9 miles) east of Miranshah, the main town in the region, which is a hotbed of Taliban and al Qaeda militants. It was the second attack on the village this week.—Reuters

Three injured in explosion in Mohmand Agency

PESHAWAR,Kurrent News: Three people have been injured in an explosion in Khozai area of Mohmand Agency on Wednesday.

The explosion occured during the distribution of ration by khasadar forces.

Nato airstrike kills group of Afghan insurgents

KABUL, Kurrent News: Nato forces say an airstrike in eastern Afghanistan has killed more than a dozen insurgents near the Pakistani border, reports AP.

The military coalition said Wednesday that a Nato patrol saw a group of individuals near the border on Tuesday and identified them as insurgents.

The soldiers called in air support and precision-guided munitions were dropped on the location, killing more than a dozen insurgents.

Nato did not disclose the specific location of the airstrike, but it was not related the massive military offensive under way around the town of Marjah in southern Afghanistan.

Bus plunges into river in India, kills 22

LUCKNOW, Kurrent News: A bus crowded with people returning home from a wedding party fell into a river in northern India, killing at least 22, police said.

Brij Lal, additional director general of state police, says 40 other people were injured in the accident early Wednesday in Jalaun district of Uttar Pradesh state. The bride and the bridegroom were travelling separately in a car, he said.

The official said the driver apparently lost control of the vehicle, which crashed against the bridge railing and plunged into the river. The driver was among the dead.

Accidents occur frequently on roads in India and are often blamed on reckless driving, aging vehicles and overloading.

Court rejects bail plea of American terror suspects

LAHORE, Kurrent News: The Anti-Terrorist Court in Sargodha Wednesday rejected the bail plea of the five US nationals arrested on the allegations of having links with banned militant outfits, DawnNews reported.

The suspects were arrested from Sargodha in November 2009 for allegedly plotting terror attacks inside Pakistan.

An FBI team interrogated them before handing them over to a joint investigation team in Lahore.

Their case was being heard by the Anti-Terrorist Court in Sargodha.

Confiscated antiques to be returned to Pakistan

ISLAMABAD, Kurrent News:+ Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani directed the Ministry of Culture on Wednesday to make necessary arrangements for the transfer of confiscated antiques of Pakistan origin from Italy and United Kingdom.

Official sources told DawnNews that Gilani asked the ministry to urgently send a two-member technical delegation to resolve the matter.

Earlier, Italian police confiscated 90 antiques of Pakistani origin and handed them over to the Pakistan mission at Rome.

In a similar smuggling attempt, 198 antiques have also been taken in possession by the UK Custom Department at Heathrow Airport, London.

ISPR confirms Mullah Baradar’s arrest

ISLAMABAD, Kurrent News: The chief spokesman for Pakistan's military Wednesday confirmed that Afghan Taliban No. 2 leader Mullah Baradar has been arrested.

Maj. Gen. Athar Abbas' statement was the first official confirmation that Baradar is in Pakistani custody.

Pakistani and US officials said Tuesday that Baradar was arrested earlier this month in Karachi in what is being interpreted as a major blow to the militant movement in Afghanistan and a boost to US efforts in the war there.

Abbas said in a message sent to reporters that ''detailed identification procedures'' had been completed and that Mullah Baradar was among several people arrested recently. He did not give any other details of the arrest, citing security reasons.

Judges’ Appointment: Govt Likely To Withdraw Presidential Notification

Islamabad, Kurrent News: The impasse between the government and judiciary has been ended, as the presidential notification on judges’ appointment is likely to be withdrawn today.
Source told that the government has planned to address the judiciary crisis and thereby the presidential notification regarding appointment of Justice Khawaja as Supreme Court judge and Justice Saqib Nisar as acting CJ LHC would be withdrawn.
The government would also enhance consultation vis-à-vis judges’ appointment, sources said. The sources added that backchannel interaction was on for the last two to three days in which Aitzaz Ahsan played a role of a mediator.

Appointed Judges on PM Gilani Advice: President Zardari

ISLAMABAD, Kurrent News: President Asif Ali Zardari Monday said I will respect Supreme Court (SC)’s ruling regarding judges’ appointment. An executive order, seeking approval of judges’ restoration, will soon be tabled in joint session of assembly.
There are no imminent of midterm elections in country, he said adding, PPP understands very well how to run democracy and we will respect apex court’s verdict pertaining to appointment of judges.

According to sources, addressing the meetings of Senate and National Assembly’s parliamentary committees of PPP here at Aiwan-e-Sadr, President Zardari said there is a big difference in being exiled and jailed as I lost precious 8 years in imprisonment while some one else remained exiled for the same period.

Referring to latest tremor in political scenario, he said political actors are politicizing issues, as it always happens in politics but they are not going to be allowed to exploit matters of national interests to derail democracy; besides they must be rest assured of the completion of 5-year-term of our government.

Advising the nation, President said people should not turn the attentive ears to negative propagandas of opposition parties, forbidding the activists of PPP from counter protest.

Meanwhile, spokesman to presidency Farhatullah Babar quoted President Zardari saying 2010 is the year of Local Bodies elections.

According to him, the president said PPP will engage its coalition partners in thorough consultation before reaching any decision regarding LB elections.

Parliament Is a Free Body, Asserts PM Gilani

ISLAMABAD, Kurrent News: Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani has said that parliament is a free body, adding that only it has got the authority to rewrite or amend the constitution besides legislation.
The PM said that if a judge is to be appointed by a judge, then the parliament should decide about that and make it known to him. The PM asserted that parliament’s ratification is a prerequisite for any executive order.
Justifying government’s February 13 act, the PM stated that the government wanted to appoint the judges immediately and that was why the executive order was issued sans tabling a motion in this regard in the parliament earlier.
Terming Parliament as a supreme institution of the state, the Premier maintained that only Parliament is entitled to make legislation and constitutional amendments. He added that parliament is a free and none could rewrite the constitution. The PM divulged that Musharraf did consult him before replacing the Punjab Governor.

LHC Dismisses Plea in Nawaz Sharif Eligibility

LAHORE, Kurrent News: Lahore High Court on Tuesday has dismissed the petition challenging eligibility of PML-N leader Nawaz Sharif. No charges against him were proved. Election Tribunal comprised of Justice Iftikhar Hussain, Justice Sheikh Azmat Saeed and Justice Nasir Syed of LHC heard the petition. Petitioner Shahid Orakzai maintained in the court that Nawaz Sharif finalized a deal in Rs 17.5 million to get support of seven members of Assembly but did not pay all the money. In Supreme Court Attack Case, facts kept hidden from Returning Officer. Lawyer of Mian Nawaz Sharif, Khawaja Arif told the court that charges against Nawaz Sharif were not proved in SC Attak Case.

PM Gilani Surprisingly Joins CJ Banquet

ISLAMABAD, Kurrent News: Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani Tuesday surprised the Chief Justice of Pakistan Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry and other guests by appearing at the farewell reception hosted by the latter in honour of Justice (Retd.) Khalil-ur-Rehman Ramday.

Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry welcomed the Prime Minister when the latter made his surprise entry into the reception space. The CJP thanked the Premier for attending the dinner reception.

The Prime Minister spent some time with the CJP in a pleasant atmosphere where Chaudhry Aitzaz Ahsan was also present.

A large number of judges attended the reception.

People will hear good news: PM Gilani

Lahore, Kurrent News :- Latest development, Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani on Tuesday unexpectedly attended a dinner hosted by Chief Justice of Pakistan Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry in Islamabad in the honor of retiring Justice Khalilur Rehman Ramdey.

Chief Justice greeted PM Gilani amidst the tension prevails in the country on judges’ appointment. Barrister Aitzaz Ahsan and other lawyers are also present in the dinner.

PM Gilani did not comment on taking back the notification of judges’ appointment. He said that all have to work jointly for the progress of Pakistan. He said that people will hear good news about relations among institutions by 3pm tomorrow. He invited CJP Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry for meeting

US drone attack kills three in Pakistan

Missiles fired by a suspected US drone aircraft have killed at least three militants in north-west Pakistan, security officials say.

The attack targeted a compound in Tapi Tolkhel village, 15km (nine miles) east of Miranshah, the main town in North Waziristan, by the Afghan border.

The attack came a day after US officials said a top Afghan Taliban military commander had been captured.

Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar was captured in Karachi by Pakistani intelligence.

A Pakistani security source told the BBC that Mullah Baradar was captured on 8 February.

While security officials have confirmed the arrest, Pakistan's government and top US officials have refused to be drawn, and the Taliban have denied it.

Mullah Baradar's capture comes amid a major Nato-led offensive against the Taliban in southern Afghanistan.

Surge in strikes

Wednesday's drone attack was the second attack on the village this week, officials said.

Two people were wounded in the attack, they said.

However, there was no information about the identity of those killed or wounded in the strike.

The regions of North and South Waziristan are known sanctuaries for al-Qaeda and Taliban militants.

They are frequently targeted by drone attacks, and there have been more than a dozen such strikes in 2010 alone.

The US has stepped up drone attacks in north-west Pakistan since a suicide bomber killed seven CIA agents across the border in Afghanistan in December.

More than 700 people have died in nearly 80 drone strikes since August 2008, with the frequency of strikes increased under President Barack Obama's administration.

Pakistan has publicly criticised drone attacks, saying they fuel support for militants, but observers say the authorities privately condone the strikes.

The American military does not routinely confirm drone operations, but analysts say the US is the only force capable of deploying such aircraft in the region.

Over dozen Afghan militants killed in NATO air strike

KABUL: NATO forces say an air strike in eastern Afghanistan has killed more than a dozen insurgents near the Pakistani border.

The military coalition said Wednesday that a NATO patrol saw a group of individuals near the border on Tuesday and identified them as insurgents.

The soldiers called in air support and precision-guided munitions were dropped on the location, killing more than a dozen insurgents. NATO did not disclose the specific location of the air strike.

An Afghan and NATO offensive against a Taliban stronghold in southern Afghanistan has "significantly dislocated" the insurgents' leadership in the area, a NATO commander said.

Major General Nick Carter, the British commander of NATO forces in southern Afghanistan, said Afghan and international troops had had to deal with home-made bombs, minefields and some determined opposition during the assault on Marjah, one of the biggest against the Taliban since the war began in 2001.

"We have had some significant resistance from isolated groups of fighters foreign fighters have been identified there and of course the area was well prepared for defence and it's taken a while to winkle some of the insurgents out," he told reporters in London by video link from Afghanistan.

PM, CJP meeting likely today

ISLAMABAD, Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Justice Iftikhar Mohammed Chaudhry will likely call on Prime Minister Syed Yusuf Raza Gilani here at 3pm today.

According to sources, in the first phase, out of 72, 42 judges will be appointed on vacant positions in in higher judiciary.

CJP Chaudhry may likely hold meeting with PM Gilani at Prime Minister House at 3pm today, knowledgeable sources expected.

Also, sources insisted that the notification, related to the appointment of two judges of Lahore High Court (LHC), will most probably be cancelled during the meeting.

The formal announcement regarding appointment of judges on different positions, lying vacant in Supreme Court, Sindh and Punjab high courts, may also be made, sources told media.

Biden says Pakistan is biggest worry

WASHINGTON, Kurrent News : US Vice President Joe Biden said Wednesday that his greatest concern was not Afghanistan, not Iraq, nor the Iranian nuclear crisis, but Pakistan.

"I think it's a big country. It has nuclear weapons that are able to be deployed. It has a real significant minority of radicalized population," Biden said in an interview with US television.

"It is not a completely functional democracy in the sense we think about it, and so that's my greatest concern."

Gilani directs CDA, private housing to allocate Quota for low-income groups

ISLAMABAD, Feb 11 Kurrent News : Prime Minister Syed Yusuf Raza Gilani on Thursday directed quota for low-income group in capital’s all new residential sectors and private housing schemes. Addressing a balloting ceremony of plots in the I-16 sector and inauguration of Rs 240 million, 10 km long water conduction main for 16 sectors here at the CDA Headquarters, the Prime Minister said the government would follow Shaheed Zulfikar Ali Bhutto’s manifesto of providing ‘Roti, Kapra, Makaan’ to the masses without discrimination.

The Prime Minister asked the CDA to reserve quota for low-income group, government servants and those belonging to private organizations in all its sectors.
CDA will provide 4,274 plots of 130 and 200 sq yds in the sector that was opened around 18 years back.
He said a plan was under consideration for making payments for land purchase of 5 and 7-marla plots for poor from Prime Minister’s grant to the parliamentarians.
He said the government would also provide plots free of cost for the people with no purchasing power and were living on encroached lands.
The prime minister also took note of the reports of Hepatitis spread in the federal capital and other areas and said these issues be addressed under the PM’s program.
Gilani said the government was cognizant of providing basic necessities of life to all the citizens. He directed provision of all facilities of schools, parks, hospitals, and ensure supply of gas, electricity and clean water in the new sectors.
The Prime Minister stressed the need for devising a strategy on war-footing to overcome water shortage in the capital and provision of clean drinking water to prevent water-borne diseases including Hepatitis.
He announced provision of gas to Saidpur village near Islamabad, and directed that the ‘Rain harvesting project’ be completed on priority.
In a brief chat with reporters, Gilani when asked whether his government was fulfilling its obligations under the al-Jehad Trust Case decision of appointing judges in 30-days, he said the government was working under the law and added; “the Supreme Court also realizes that the government is working [on the matter].”
Regarding talks with India, Gilani said it agreed to hold talks with Pakistan, sans the Kashmir dispute.
“We should not jump to conclusion,” and pointed that the Foreign Secretary was in touch with his Indian counterpart in this regard.
“Composite dialogue is the only way forward between civilized countries,” the Prime Minister said.
About the problems being faced by the common man, Gilani said “the country is facing grave problems and the government has been in power for only two years. We want effective planning and are aware of our manifesto and will fulfill our obligations.”

India ready for talks sans any preconditions: Shahid Malik

Islamabad, Feb.11 Kurrent News : Pakistan's High Commisioner to India Shahid Malik has said that India is ready to hold talks with Pakistan on all issues sans any precondition.


Buzz up!Speaking during a high level inter-ministerial meeting, which was convened to discuss New Delhi's proposal to resume foreign-secretary level talks between two countries, Malik said it is ready to hold talks on all bilateral issues without any preconditions.


"India is ready to move forward and discuss all issues ... they have dropped their previous stance that talks with Pakistan would just focus on terrorism," The Daily Times quoted Malik, as saying.

Sources privy to the meeting said that Malik told the inter-ministerial meeting that Indiaas just "posturing" to please the domestic audience in claiming that talks would focus on the Mumbai terror attacks and cross-border terrorism.

He said Indian officials had assured him of their readiness to host unconditional talks on all issues.

The meeting was presided over by Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi.

Later, briefing a high-level meeting at the Presidency, Qureshi said the inter-ministerial meeting had suggested that Pakistan enter talks with India without any delay.

Suicide Attack Kills 17, Mostly Police, in Pakistan

ISLAMABAD, Kurrent News — In one of the bloodiest days for Pakistani security forces, at least 17 people, including 13 police officials, were killed Wednesday when a suicide bomber attacked a convoy in the northwestern tribal area of Khyber, local news outlets reported.

Khyber is strategically located next to North-West Frontier Province and its capital, Peshawar, and serves as one of the main supply routes for the American forces inside Afghanistan. Convoys of trailers carrying supplies for NATO troops have repeatedly been attacked in Khyber by Taliban fighters.

According to initial reports, the suicide bomber was on foot and detonated his explosives as the police convoy passed through a market on one of the main roads of the area.

The powerful blast ripped through the convoy and also damaged several civilian vehicles. Local television networks broadcast images of the charred wreckage and damaged mud houses nearby. The wounded were taken to hospitals in Peshawar.

Pakistani news outlets reported that a rescue team sent from Peshawar to the scene, in the town of Tirah, was then ambushed as well. The army brigadier leading the rescue was killed in the attack, and a major and a lieutenant were wounded, the army confirmed.

The suicide attack came hours after a Pakistani Army Cobra gunship helicopter crashed in the Tirah Valley in Khyber. The pilot and gunner were killed, the army said.

A military spokesperson said that details were being gathered to ascertain the cause of the crash. The remote terraced valley of Tirah has long been known as a hide-out and escape route for Al Qaeda and Taliban militants.

SC Rejects Govt Report on Missing Persons’ Case

ISLAMABAD, Kurrent News: The Supreme Court of Pakistan refused on Thursday federal home ministry’s investigation report in the case of missing persons, describing it fulfilling of formality.
Justice Jawed Iqbal in his remarks while hearing the case termed the government report mere a ‘paperwork’ by the federal department. He ruled out the impression that the apex court can’t enforce its decisions.

On the occasion, Attorney General of Pakistan Anwar Mansoor again suggested to the court to constitute a commission for the recovery of missing persons.

Justice Iqbal expressed his dissatisfaction over the proposal, saying “from 1947, 31 commissions have so far been set up, but not even a single body can be termed satisfactory except the Hamoodur Rahman Commission Report of 1972.”

On Saturday, Interior Minister Rehman Malik has asked officials of law enforcement agencies and provincial governments to expedite investigations into the cases of missing persons after registering FIRs.

Chairing a meeting to discuss the issue at the interior ministry, the minister has said that fresh investigation reports on missing persons would be presented in the SC.

Malik had reiterated that the federal government, in coordination with provincial governments, would make serious efforts to trace the whereabouts of all missing persons.

A three-judge bench, comprising Justice Javed Iqbal, Justice Raja Fayyaz Ahmed and Justice Sair Ali, has been hearing the cases of missing persons for four years on petitions filed by the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan, Defence of Human Rights and former PPP senator Farhatullah Babar.

Missing Persons’ Case: SC Dismissed Govt’s Reports

Lahore, Kurrent news:- Terming it a paper work only, Supreme Court has rejected the government’s reports vis-a-vis missing persons’ case today.

During the hearing, Justice Javed Iqbal warned that the court should not be mistaken as a weak institution, adding that it could order action against the culprits with strike of pen only. The Attorney General told the court that the government was considering to form a judicial commission in this regard. Justice Javed told the AG that he had seen many commissions being formed, and posed a question before him to tell whether any of the commission worked. He asked that why the constitution was being breached when the rules and regulations have been set. He observed that the government has not even bothered to even change the words in the missing persons’ case reports. Justice Javed noted that the court would issue verdict in the above said case within fortnight, adding that action would also be ordered against the culprits in this regard. Justice Sair Ali has said that the reports showed the level of interest the government was taking in the case and its proceedings. AG Anwar Mansoor has said that he would consult the Prime Minister in this regard.

Indefinite Curfew on Mingora-Saidu Road

MINGORA, Kurrent News: The security forces enforced indefinite curfew on Mingora-Saidu road in the Swat valley on Thursday morning and blocked the road with iron barrios and concrete barricades.

District Court, government offices and educational institutions have also been closed due to the curfew besides deploying a large number of troops at Mingora-Saidu Sharif road, sources said.

India Ready to Talk But Not on Kashmir: PM Gilani

ISLAMABAD, Kurrent News: Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani said on Thursday that India was not willing to hold dialogues on the disputed Kashmir.
“Though India is agreed to resume the dialogue process but it’s not willing to include Kashmir issue in the agenda,” said the premier while addressing a draw ceremony of Capital Development Authority’s pilots in Sector I-16.

Taking to newsmen afterwards, Gilani said “we should not make haste but wait for India’s reply on including the Kashmir issue in composite dialogue process.”

On Wednesday, in an interview to a private news TV, Gilani said Pakistan has always favoured dialogue against a war and appreciated India’s “intention” to resume dialogue.

Reiterating Pakistan’s stance for resumption of dialogue Gilani said “politicians make bridges not walls” and noted the consent of the Indian Congress party to resume the four years old stalled peace process.

“I appreciate India’s intention to resume talks,” he said and added the “threat perception” regarding India necessitated the need for a dialogue to resolve all outstanding issues between the two countries