indian affairs: April 2013

Tuesday, 30 April 2013

Hezbollah getting chemical arms: Israel lawmaker

Jerusalem: A former Israeli defense minister alleged on Monday that Syria's chemical weapons are "trickling" to the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah. It was the first such claim by a senior politician in Israel, but he did not supply evidence to support his assertion.

Binyamin Ben-Eliezer, a retired general who is now a lawmaker from the opposition Labor party, told The Associated Press: "The process of weapon transferal to Hezbollah has begun."

He told Israel Radio that he "has no doubt" that Syrian President Bashar Assad has already used chemical weapons and that that "these weapons are trickling to Hezbollah."

Islamabad: Former military ruler Pervez Musharraf was on Tuesday remanded to 14 days judicial custody by an anti-terrorism court for his alleged involvement in the murder of former Pakistan Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto.

Musharraf’s plea for reconstituting the Joint Investigation Team (JIT) was also rejected by the court, as reported by a leading Pakistani daily Dawn.

Experienced all rounder Shahid Afridi has been left out of the Pakistan squad for the ICC Champions Trophy that will be held in England while selectors have warned Kamran Akmal and Shoaib Malik that they are running out of chances.

The 32-year-old, who has played 354 one-day internationals, was the only senior player overlooked for the tournament with chief selector Iqbal Qasim saying Afridi's bowling had cost him his place in the squad.

"Afridi's bowling has not been up to the mark in recent matches," he said in a news conference on Monday.

Electoral candidate killed in Jhal Magsi; polls postponed

NASIRABAD: An independent candidate from Balochistan’s Jhal Magsi area was killed by unknown assailants on Tuesday night prompting the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) to postpone the elections in PB 32.

According to the police and relatives of the deceased, Abdul Fateh Magsi was kidnapped on Tuesday night and his bullet-riddled body was found on Tuesday morning. He was contesting elections as an independent candidate for Balochistan Assembly from Jhal Magsi.

The killing was followed by an announcement by the provincial election commission of Balochistan that elections would be postponed in Jhal Magsi due to the incident.

Police checkpost attack in Hyderabad leaves two injured

HYDERABAD: A police head constable and a pedestrian received bullet injuries after a police checkpost of Tando Yusuf police station was attacked on Monday night by unidentified gunmen.

The policeman, identified as Khair Mohammad and a pedestrian Ali Hassan Zaunr, were shifted to Liaquat University Hospital branch.

The attackers fled away, according SHO Tahir Khanzada. Hyderabad has been in the grip of violence since Sunday night.

An ice cream shopowner, Rehmanullah and his employee Imtiaz Ali were attacked by gunmen in Qasimabad.

KARACHI: President Asif Ali Zardari reiterated on Monday that Pakistan supports all efforts to facilitate a peaceful Syrian solution through a comprehensive political dialogue involving the entire spectrum of Syrian politics, including the government and opposition factions.

According to an official handout, the president stated this while speaking to Syrian Deputy Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad who called on him at the Bilawal House. The meeting was attended by Director Syrian Deputy Foreign Minister Ghassan Dallah, Syrian Chargé d'affaires Islamabad Dr Ali Muhra, Spokesperson to the President, Senator Farhatullah Babar, and Jalil Abbas Jilani,

MUMBAI: The city is set to get its first Darul Qaza or Shariah court to settle civil and marital disputes in the Muslim community. The court, set up by the All India Muslim Personal Law Board will serve to fill a long-felt need of the community.Shariah courts already function at many places in the country, such as Hyderabad, Patna and Malegaon. Here qazis appointed by the AIMPLB hear the community's various disputes, barring criminal cases, and deliver judgements.

AMRITSAR: Blaming the Pakistan government for giving poor treatment to Sarabjit Singh, his sister Dalbir Kaur said she believed that Sarabjit Singh was being artificially kept alive by the doctors.

While talking to TOI over phone from Lahore on Tuesday, Dalbir Kaur said, "Even if Pakistani doctors declare my brother brain-dead, I wouldn't let them remove him from ventilators unless a team of doctors from India arrives and inspects his health."

A civilian cargo plane owned by an American company crashed at Bagram Air Field, north of the Afghan capital, soon after takeoff on Monday, killing all seven people aboard, the US-led military coalition said.

The Taliban quickly claimed responsibility for downing the Boeing 747-400, but Nato said in a statement to The Associated Press that the Taliban "claims are false." The coalition says the cause of the crash was being investigated by emergency crews that rushed to the site, but there was no sign of insurgent activity in the area at the time.

The Shiv Sena on Tuesday came out in support of Samajwadi Party (SP) leader and Uttar Pradesh minister Azam Khan who was last week detained at Boston airport while on his way to deliver a lecture at Harvard University.

Shiv Sena president Uddhav Thackeray said the US must clarify whether the treatment meted out to Azam Khan was because of his surname or because he was an Indian.

Tokyo's outspoken governor, Naoki Inose, who heads the city's bid for the 2020 Olympics, apologised on Tuesday for "inappropriate" comments he made about rival candidate Istanbul and Islamic countries.

The remarks, made in a recent New York Times interview, prompted the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to investigate, while Turkey's sports minister said they were "unfair and disheartening" and "did not comply with the spirit of the values of the Olympic Movement".

"Islamic countries, the only thing they share in common is Allah and they are fighting with each other, and they have classes," Inose, who was elected Tokyo governor last year, said in the interview.

Baghdad:At least 21 people were killed and 78 injured in attacks across Iraq Monday, mostly in the Shiite provinces, an interior ministry source said.

Two people were killed and 12 wounded when a car bomb exploded in Karbala, some 110 km from Baghdad, the source told Xinhua.

Meanwhile, at least six people were killed and 14 wounded in another car bomb attack in the Shiite district of Mahmodiyah, 30 km from Baghdad, he added.

Islamabad: Former Pakistani president Pervez Musharraf, who has returned home after over four years in self-exile, may be kidnapped, the Interior Ministry fears.

The ministry has said that Musharraf should not be taken anywhere, Geo News reported, citing a notification.

Musharraf, who returned to Pakistan March 23 after over four years of self-imposed exile in Dubai, was keen to contest the May 11 general elections. However, his nomination papers were rejected from four constituencies.

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has nominated the dashing Delhi batsman Virat Kohli for the prestigious Arjuna Award for 2012.

Former legendary batsman Sunil Gavaskar's name has also been proposed for Dhyanchand Award for his lifetime achievement.

New Delhi: In a big relief to Congress leader Sajjan Kumar, a special CBI court in Karkardooma on Tuesday acquitted him in a case related to the 1984 anti-Sikh riots in Delhi.

The case pertains to violence in the Delhi Cantonment area. The Congress leader had been charged with murder, robbery, rioting, inciting violence, and damaging public property in that case.

The verdict triggered sharp protests outside the Karkardooma court by various Sikh organizations.

NEW DELHI: In a major relief to Congress leader Sajjan Kumar, a Delhi court on Tuesday acquitted him in a 1984 anti-Sikh riots case while convicting five others for being a part of the mob that killed five Sikhs here.

District and sessions judge J R Aryan acquitted Kumar while convicting five others — Balwan Khokkar, an ex-councillor, Mahender Yadav, an ex-MLA, Kishan Khokkar, Girdhari Lal and Captain Bhagmal — for their involvement in the case.

The pronouncement of judgement witnessed a huge uproar by the protesters one of whom hurled a shoe at the judge soon after he acquitted Kumar in the case of riots that broke out 29 years ago on October 31, 1984, after the assassination of then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi.

MUMBAI: Income Tax officials on Tuesday conducted searches at Balaji Telefilms' facilities and the residence of its promoters — producer Ekta Kapoor and her actor-father Jeetendra — here for suspected tax evasion.

Sleuths from the department swooped down on seven locations across the city, including the yesteryear star and his daughter's residence in suburban Juhu, as part of the searches, which began at 0700 hours, I-T sources said.

PESHAWAR: Three people were killed and 19 other injured in a bomb blast at an election office in Maqsoodabad area, Peshawar on Sunday.

The device exploded outside the election office of independent candidate Nasir Khan, in Maqsoodabad, Landai Sarak in the jurisdiction of Khazana police station. Khan is contesting elections from the constituency of NA-46 and has previously served as a senator.

Saudi Arabia and India have agreed to set up a joint panel “to evolve mechanism” for addressing problems faced by Indian workers hit by the Nitaqat scheme in Saudi Arabia.

The first meeting of the joint panel, which will also discuss ways and means to maximize the availability of alternative jobs for affected workers, will be held in Riyadh on Wednesday.

Addressing a press conference after holding talks with Minister of Labor Adel Fakeih in Jeddah yesterday, Indian Minister of Overseas Affairs Vayalar Ravi, said: “The Indian side has conveyed its concerns to the Saudi officials, who have assured all possible support.”

Iran ready to host meet on Syria

Tehran : Iran is ready to host the next meeting of the quartet group on Syria set to begin in near future, the country's foreign minister Ali-Akbar Salehi has said.

Salehi, during a joint press conference with visiting Guinea- Bissau's foreign minister, here Sunday said that he had contacted his counterparts in the group -- foreign ministers of Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Turkey -- to speed up diplomatic efforts to find a solution to the Syrian crisis, Xinhua reported.

"A foreign ministerial meeting was decided to be held in near future and we voiced our preparedness to host the meeting," Salehi said.

DADU: At least one person died in a fight between workers of the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) and Pakistan Muslim League – Nawaz (PML-N) in Dadu on Sunday, reported Express News.

According to initial reports, the fight broke out over an issue of putting up party banners and flags in an area.

The brawl led to an exchange of fire between the two parties, resulting in the death of one person belonging to the PML-N.

PESHAWAR: At least five people were killed and dozens, including a policeman and a boy, were injured in a blast which took place at Peshawar’s university road on Monday morning, DawnNews reported.

According to sources, suspected militants aimed at targeting a police mobile van in the capital of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.

The explosion also hit a passenger bus which was moving along the police mobile.

MURREE: PML-N chief Nawaz Sharif has said PPP now exists only in newspaper and TV advertisements because of the flawed and anti-people policies of its government.

“The party adhered to the policies of Musharraf and as a result the country is facing the darkest hour of its history,” he said while addressing an election meeting of his party on the Mall Road here on Sunday.

He said President Asif Zardari complained of criticism against him but how could he be praised for his ‘corruption and bad governance’.

RAIPUR: A change in 'home' venue brought about a change in Delhi Daredevils' luck. The team that had lost seven of their eight games before this game, edged out Pune Warriors in a close finish at the swanky Veer Narayana Singh stadium on Sunday as Raipur made its debut on the T20 league map.

After Pune Warriors had made a strong start in chase of a target of 165, Daredevils bowlers hit back in the final overs to help their team clinch the issue by 15 runs, their just the second win of the season. With this win, Daredevils have finally managed to rise in the points table. The bottom place is occupied by Pune now.

OKARA: While Imran Khan is drawing huge crowds on his campaign trail, a senior leader of the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) predicts that his party and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) could form the next coalition government at the centre. He also foresees the PPP and the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz as coalition partners in Punjab.

Union home minister Sushilkumar Shinde on Sunday said that the ministry of home affairs and ministry of external affairs are constantly in touch with the Pakistani government to know the condition of Sarabjit Singh’s health.

Sarabjit, who was attacked by fellow prisoners at Lahore Jail, is battling for life at Jinnah Hospital.

Shinde, who was in Pune to attend a function, told media persons that the Indian government was making every possible effort to get details of Sarabjit’s health.

Pakistan has formed a panel of experts to decide whether Sarabjit Singh should be sent abroad for treatment, according to reports in Pakistani TV channels.

Pakistani doctors treating a comatose Sarabjit Singh on Sunday had said there was no improvement in his condition and chances of survival were "slim" even as his distraught family visited him and demanded that he be sent to India for better treatment.

Sarabjit was admitted to Jinnah Hospital on Friday night with a severe head injury. The 49-year-old Indian prisoner sustained injuries over a widespread area of his head that led to unconsciousness.

New Delhi: The Delhi High Court today deferred its verdict on a plea of Congress leader Sajjan Kumar against a trial court order framing charges against him in a 1984 anti-Sikh riots case in connection with the killings of six persons in Delhi's Sultanpuri area.The court had reserved the order against him in December last year. It has now posted the matter for hearing on May 15.

GAZA CITY: Israel’s air force carried out three strikes early yesterday in the Gaza Strip, targeting radical Palestinian group Islamic Jihad but causing no casualties, witnesses said.

Two airstrikes hit the southern town of Khan Yunis, targeting positions of the Al-Quds Brigade, the armed wing of Islamic Jihad.

The third was near the southern town of Rafah, near the Egyptian border, said the Palestinian witnesses. An Israeli Army spokeswoman confirmed the air force had carried out strikes in the Gaza Strip but told AFP she could not give further details.

BAGHDAD: At least 11 people were killed and dozens wounded when three car bombs tore through public markets in Shia provinces in southern Iraq early on Monday, medics and police sources said.

Sectarian tensions are at their highest since US troops left Iraq more than a year ago and militant attacks have increased as the country's fragile intercommunal balance comes under growing strain from the civil war in neighbouring Syria.

More than 180 people have been killed since Tuesday, when security forces stormed a Sunni protest camp near Kirkuk, triggering clashes that quickly spread to other Sunni areas in western and northern provinces.

Mumbai: Actress Chitrangada Singh is gearing up for her next film for which she is taking diction and dance lessons.

Chitrangada was last seen in 'I Me Aur Main' alongside John Abraham and Prachi Desai. The film, released in early March, did fairly well at the box office.

Pakistani investigators probing the 2007 assassination of former premier Benazir Bhutto have decided to quiz Rehman Malik after being told by Pervez Musharraf that the former interior minister had decided details of her security on the day she was killed.

Malik was head of Bhutto's security when she returned to Pakistan from self-exile in late 2007.

Pakistani officials today dismissed a report that a medical board was considering a proposal to send abroad Indian death row convict Sarabjit Singh – comatose in a Lahore hospital after a brutal assault – for treatment.

The four-member medical board headed by Jinnah Hospital chief executive Mahmood Shaukat conducted a routine examination of Sarabjit this morning, officials said.

They rejected a media report that the board was mulling a proposal to send Sarabjit abroad for treatment.

Iran's influential former president has expressed a softer stance toward the country's archenemy Israel in sharp contrast to President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad' typical anti-Israel remarks.

Several Iranian newspapers, including the pro-reform Shargh daily, on Monday quoted Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani as saying: "We are not at war with Israel."

Death anniversary of Urdu fiction writer A. Hameed

The 2nd death anniversary of well known Urdu fiction writer A.Hameed is being observed today (Monday‚ April 29).

Abdul Hameed‚ known as A Hameed‚ was born in 1928 in Amritsar (British India).

He passed his secondary education in Amritsar‚ passed intermediate in Pakistan as a private candidate and join Radio Pakistan as an assistant script editor. After working some years for Radio Pakistan‚ he joined Voice of America.

The Supreme Court in its short order has directed that all efforts should be made to facilitate the Overseas Pakistanis to cast their votes in the upcoming general elections

The order was passed by a 3 member bench headed by Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry while hearing this case in Islamabad today. The court also disposed of this case.

PESHAWAR: At least eight people were killed including the son of two-time former Afghan minister whereas 43 others were injured in a blast which took place at Peshawar's university road on Monday morning.

The son of a former two-time minister of Afghanistan and veteran Jihad leader Qazi Muhammad Amin Waqaud, Qazi Hilal Ameen was also killed in the Peshawar blast along with another Afghan national Idrees.

New Delhi: India on Monday appealed to Pakistan to faciliate the return of prisoner Sarabjit Singh who was attacked by his jail inmates on Friday afternoon. In a statement, the Ministry of External Affairs said, "In view of the recent tragic events and present circumstances, we once again appeal to the Government of Pakistan to take a sympathetic and humanitarian view of this case, and release Sarabjit Singh."

Narendra Modi never said 'go and kill people', says SIT

Ahmedabad: The lawyer of the Supreme Court-appointed Special Investigation Team (SIT), which has given a clean chit to Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi in 2002 post-Godhra riots case after investigating complaint filed by Zakia Jafri, on Thursday said that "Modi has never said that go and kill people". Opposing the protest petition filed by Jafri against SIT's closure report, its lawyer RS Jamuar said, "(social activist) Teesta Setalvad and others have falsified the complaint targeting Chief Minister who had never said that go and kill people."

CHENNAI: It was that man MS Dhoni again for Chennai Super Kings. The CSK skipper played yet another blinder of an innings (67, 37 balls, 7x4, 4x6) to take his team home against Sunrisers Hyderabad here on Thursday night.

In what another tight finish, CSK needed 28 from the last two overs and 15 from the final one bowled by Ashish Reddy. Dhoni was equal to the task and took CSK past the post with two balls remaining as Reddy's lack of nerve proved costly for Sunrisers.

KARACHI: True to their declared stance of keeping liberal democratic parties out of the election process, militants continued to mount pressure on MQM and PPP and attacked the election office of the former in Karachi and the office of a candidate of the latter in Nushki in Balochistan on Thursday.

The acts of terror claimed at least eight lives in Sindh and Balochistan, casting a pall of gloom over election activities across the country.

In Karachi, the MQM announced a day of mourning across Sindh on Friday. Traders said they would to keep their businesses shut and schools announced a day of closure and rescheduled some exams.

WASHINGTON: India has formally protested to the US the brief detention of Uttar Pradesh urban development minister Mohammad Azam Khan at Boston airport as he arrived to take part in an event at Harvard University.

Khan, who is accompanying UP chief minister Akhilesh Yadav for the presentation of a Harvard study on the Kumbh Mela pilgrimage, was detained for about 10 minutes for "further questioning" at Boston Logan International Airport Wednesday, according to Indian officials.

MOSCOW:A fire in a psychiatric hospital outside Moscow killed at least 36 people, most of whom were patients confined in the building because of their mental ailments, Russian news agencies reported early Friday.

The building that went up in flames housed Psychiatric Hospital No. 14 in the town of Ramensky near Moscow. Interfax, a news agency, reported it was a “special regime” hospital, meaning that patients were not free to leave.

ISLAMABAD: Former military ruler Pervez Musharraf was on Friday remanded into custody of the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) in the Benazir Bhutto murder case.

The remand which is to last until April 30 was ordered by the Rawalpindi anti-terrorist court which has been hearing the case pertaining to the assassination of the former premier.

Musharraf is to remain at his farmhouse residence at Chak Shahzad during the period of his physical remand.

The death toll in the collapse of an eight-storey commercial building in the Bangladeshi capital today rose to 290, as rescuers looked for last survivors under tonnes of debris at suburban Savar.

"We have retrieved so far 290 bodies and rescued alive some 2100 people... We now look for the last survivors under the debris (of Rana Plaza)," a fire service official told PTI.

He said at least two dozen people were still expected to be alive under the concrete garbage and rescuers now mobilised their efforts to salvage them discarding the dead ones as time was running out for their survival.

Afghan bus crash kills 30, Taliban blamed

KABUL: An official says a bus in southern Afghanistan has collided with the burning wreckage of a truck that was attacked by Taliban insurgents, killing 30 bus passengers.

Omar Zawak, the governor’s spokesman in Helmand province, said the truck was set on fire by Taliban attackers and left burning in the middle of a road, and the bus could not stop in time to avoid smashing into it.

The fiery crash happened about 55 kilometers outside the capital of Helmand province.

Zawak said Friday’s crash also left 11 passengers injured. He said the casualties included men, women and children.

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Peoples Party chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari returned to Karachi from Dubai and was scheduled to address party rallies through video conferencing due to security threats, top party sources told Dawn.com on Friday.

“Bilawal travels frequently between Dubai and Karachi and we do not share his travel plans”, chief of staff to Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, Hisham Sheikh told Dawn.com.Hisham added that “Federal Intelligence Agency (FIA) had informed us in writing about serious security threats posed to the life of Bilawal Bhutto Zardari and we have taken measures accordingly.

NAWADA: Seventeen people were on Friday sentenced to life imprisonment for killing two persons who did not vote for an influential candidate in the panchayat elections here seven years ago.

While awarding the sentence, Additional District and Sessions court judge Baidyanath also imposed a fine of Rs 5,000 on each of them or six months additional imprisonment.

Haridwar: Religious leaders in Haridwar on Friday welcomed Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi, who is in town to inaugurate yoga guru Ramdev's new school 'Acharya Kulam'. Ramdev, giving a fillip to Modi's Prime Ministerial ambitions, was all praise for him and lauded him for being a great administrator. Ramdev also reiterated that crores of Indians are pinning their hopes on him.

ILIGAN, Philippines:Twelve people were killed in an ambush on a Philippines mayor, officials said on Friday, in the deadliest of a string of violent incidents that have marred the campaign for May elections.

Gunmen opened fire on a truck carrying Mayor Abdulmalik Manamparan and his supporters on southern Mindanao island late Thursday, local military commander Colonel Ricardo Jalad said, adding that several victims were relatives of the mayor.

ISLAMABAD: Pakistani intelligence agencies have warned that the Taliban have made plans to kidnap former military ruler Pervez Musharraf, who is currently being held at his private residence here after being arrested in several criminal cases.

The intelligence agencies have issued an advisory that the banned Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan might attempt to abduct Musharraf while he is being taken from his farmhouse to court, Geo News channel reported today.

The channel quoted its sources as saying that the Taliban was working with other jihadi groups to kidnap Musharraf.

Pakistan: Blast in Balochistan

Five supporters of a political leader were injured when their motorcade was targeted with a roadside bomb in the restive Balochistan province of southwest Pakistan on Friday.

The incident in Bolan district targeted the motorcade of Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam leader Hashim Shahwani, who is a candidate for upcoming polls to the Balochistan assembly.

Shahwani escaped unhurt, security officials told the media. The injured persons were taken to a nearby hospital.

No group claimed responsibility for the attack. Three Pakistani provinces - Balochistan,Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and Sindh have witnessed a spike in violence ahead of the landmark May 11 polls that will mark the first democratic transition in the country's history.

Taliban 'little commandos' in terror camp training video

Kabul: Boys as young as five are seen firing an arsenal of weapons in a video released online by a militant group based in the Waziristan region of Pakistan.

Follow up:

The footage shows children who appear to be as young as five-years-old firing an array of weaponry, including handguns, AK47 rifles and heavy machine guns.

Lined up in neat ranks and dressed in traditional baggy shalwar kameez, some children struggle to absorb the recoil when firing their weapons.

Man killed, 3 injured in landmine blast

PESHAWAR: A tribesman died and three others were injured on Thursday when a roadside landmine exploded near the Sports Complex in Parachinar, the headquarters of Kurram Agency.

Follow up:

According to the political administration, the blast took place when a tractor-trolley hit a landmine. The injured were rushed to a local hospital. The Khasadar Force rushed to the spot and started investigation.

PPP office attacked in Noshki; one killed, another injured

QUETTA: A political worker died while another was injured when unidentified militants attacked an electoral office of the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) in Nushki on Thursday.

According to police, unidentified miscreants hurled a grenade at the electoral office of PPP candidate Sardar Umer Gorgaij in the NA-260 constituency and fled. On getting information, security forces reached the site and started a search operation.

MQM election office bombed; six killed

* Three relatives among dead
* Bomb concealed in motorcycle parked near election office

KARACHI: At least six people, including three relatives, were killed while around thirteen people wounded when a high intensity bomb shattered the election office of Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) located in Nusrat Bhutto Colony, North Naizamabad on Thursday night.

Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) spokesman Ehsanullah Ehsan has reportedly claimed the responsibility for the blast. According to details, the bomb was concealed in a motorcycle parked near the election office of MQM. Although the election office was closed over an order by party chief Altaf Hussain after a blast on Tuesday night, several people gathered outside were wounded and nearby property suffered heavy losses.

TTP distributes threatening pamphlets against elections

KARACHI: The outlawed Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) militants organisation distributed pamphlets in Buner, Peshawar and different areas of Karachi warning citizens not to participate in upcoming elections, DawnNews reported.

Leaflets were distributed in various areas of Karachi warning people against attending political rallies and casting their votes at polling stations.

Local administration and security officials were reportedly unaware of any such incident.

The pamphlets warned voters that they would themselves be responsible for their own lives.

Speaking to Dawn.com TTP spokesperson Ehsanullah Ehsan said that democracy was un-islamic and was the agenda of secular forces in Pakistan due to which they were opposed to it.

If you look at other coalitions, NC and Cong are better off: Omar

Just before the government wound down in Jammu and began shifting to Srinagar, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah spoke exclusively to Editor-in-Chief Raj Chengappa and Resident Editor Arun Joshi on a range of key issues. Excerpts:
What has been the impact of Afzal Guru’s hanging in Kashmir?

Chief Minister Omar Abdullah

Let us not underestimate the impact it has had on people’s psyche. Their suspicions are being proved correct in the way in which you handled his execution as opposed to others. Start with the Veerappan gang members, their mercy petition was rejected by the President and after that they got a stay on the execution by the Supreme Court.

‘Democracy will cease to exist if polls not conducted by November’

General Secretary of Nepali Congress Krishna Prasad Sitaula has said that the freedom and democracy Nepali people have been enjoying will cease to exist if the Constituent Assembly election doesn’t take place as planned within November month of this year.

Speaking at an interaction programme held in the capital on Wednesday, the NC leader said that holding the CA election by November this year is the “last opportunity” for the country to safeguard democracy.

Dahal to seek New Delhi's help in conducting CA elections

UCPN (Maoist) chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal, who is set to visit New Delhi next week, Wednesday said he would seek Indian assistance to conduct the Constituent Assembly elections.

Terrorist bomb attacks claim 21 lives in China

At least 21 persons, including community workers and police officers, were killed in China’s volatile Xinjiang province in a series of “terrorist bomb attacks,” officials said today.

Confirming reports of incidents of “terrorist violence” which took place yesterday in Bachu county near Kashgar city in the Xinjiang province, Foreign Ministry spokesperson, Hua Chunying, in a media briefing here today, said that 21 persons were killed.

She said the area witnessed a series of bomb attacks in which 21 people were killed including six suspects who were shot dead by the police. Eight suspects have been arrested.

State-run Xinhua news agency said that the dead included 15 community workers and police officers. This is the first major attack here since the new leadership headed by President Xi Jinping took over power last month.

Kerry: Pakistan-Afghanistan meetings end ‘on a good track’

BRUSSELS — After meeting for more than three hours here Wednesday with Afghan and Pakistani leaders, Secretary of State John F. Kerry reported progress in relaunching negotiations but warned, “We’re not going to raise expectations or promise results that can’t be delivered.”

Follow up:

Instead, Kerry said before boarding a plane to return to Washington, the leaders agreed to “underpromise but deliver.”

“We’re all going to go home and do our homework,” he said, flanked by Afghan President Hamid Karzai and Gen. Ashfaq Kayani, Pakistan’s army chief. The trio had eaten lunch together and walked the grounds of a secluded estate outside Brussels as part of their meeting.

In model Afghan city, kidnappings surge

HERAT, Afghanistan — Nine-year-old Ali Sena Nowruzee’s disappearance was disturbingly predictable, even in a city largely untouched by the Taliban and often held up as an example of what a peaceful Afghanistan might look like.

As in dozens of other kidnappings targeting Herat’s burgeoning middle class, residents assumed that he would be released once his family delivered tens of thousands of dollars in ransom. Instead, the rosy-cheeked third-grader became famous here after the discovery of his body, hastily buried on the city’s outskirts.

In death, he has become a poster child for an unlikely crisis in an unlikely place.

Ex-bin Laden secretary gets life for 1998 embassy bombings role

NEW YORK: A former personal secretary to Osama bin Laden was sentenced to life in prison on Tuesday, for the second time, for participating in a conspiracy to kill Americans that included the 1998 bombings of two US embassies in Africa.

Wadih El-Hage, a Lebanese-born US citizen and former al Qaeda member, was one of four people convicted in 2001 for their roles in bombings of embassies in Kenya and Tanzania that killed 224 people and injured thousands.

El-Hage, 52, was convicted in 2001 on charges including conspiring to kill US nationals and destroy government-owned buildings, in addition to multiple counts of perjury. He was re-sentenced on Tuesday after a prior life term was reversed in 2008 and sent back to the district court.

Implementation of FATA reforms demanded

* Tribal candidates don’t see any significant change in Khyber Agency following extension of PPO

ISLAMABAD: I don’t see any significant impact after the extension of the Political Parties Order (PPO) in these elections, because the same, biased political administration has remained in place, said independent candidate from NA-45 Israrullah Afridi, during a radio forum broadcast on Wednesday for the FATA constituency.

The participants of the programme were: Hazrat Wali Afridi (Pakistan People’s Party), Israrullah Afridi (independent), Saida Jan Afridi (Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl), Abidullah Kokikhel (independent), Advocate Taj Mahal (independent) and Batoor Shinwari (independent).

The candidates discussed key issues for NA-45, including FATA reforms’ implementation, voting rights for IDP, security at polling stations, vote-buying practices, and violation of campaign spending and other election rules.

String of blasts rocks Pakistan

* Dozens injured as bombs explode in Quetta, Peshawar and DI Khan

Quetta/Peshawar: At least 18 people were injured in three explosions – two of them in Quetta and the third in Peshawar – on Wednesday, as frequent attacks go unabated in Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa ahead of the general election.

As per details, 15 people sustained critical injuries in two different blasts in Quetta. The first blast took place in the Satellite Town area near a private hospital, which left 13 people injured. According to sources in the Satellite Town Police Station, the bomb was planted on a cycle that was parked near the hospital. “Around 13 people, including children, were injured in the blast,” police said. The Bomb Disposal Squad said that explosives weighing around one kilogramme were used in the attack.

Be tough with both China, Pakistan, Omar tells Centre

Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah has asked the Centre to be tough with China and Pakistan in its resolve to sort out the issue of the border intrusions in Jammu and Kashmir.

“We would like the Government of India to take up this issue [of the border intrusions] with both China and Pakistan strongly and on same terms so that no such incident takes place in future”, Mr. Abdullah said while addressing a public meeting in Bani area of Kathua district, around 200 km from here, on Wednesday. He said that the Centre needed to an “unambiguous stand” equally with both the neighbouring countries.

Mr. Abdullah said that people of Jammu, Kashmir, Leh, Kargil and other areas had made sacrifices to protect and preserve the solidarity, harmony and brotherhood in all the territories of the geo-politically sensitive border state. “They want to be free from such intrusions and live in an atmosphere of peace and tranquillity and carry out their day-to-day life activities without any interference from outside”, he asserted.

First American Sikh Congressional Caucus launched

AMRITSAR: The first American Sikh Congressional Caucus that would provide a formidable platform to the community to address its issues has been launched in the US.

The caucus is a giant step forward to address issues and problems confronting the community.

There are Sikh identity issues, issues relating to security of the community members and Sikh shrines in US along with human rights' issues," said coordinator, American Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (AGPC) Dr Pritpal Singh while talking to TOI on Thursday.

President of AGPC JS Hothi called the caucus as a major step ahead for the US based Sikh community. Director of United Sikhs - one of the Sikh advocacy organizations, Hardyal Singh said they look forward to being in direct contact and communication with lawmakers concerning issues that directly or indirectly affect the Sikh community.

On Army’s plea, Baramulla court remits case back to Sopore CJM

The Baramulla sessions court has remitted the 2010 Machil ‘fake’ encounter case back to the Chief Judicial Magistrate (CJM) at Sopore for complying with the orders of the High Court, which had permitted the Army authorities to try Territorial Army (TA) rifleman Abbas Hussain Shah under the court martial proceedings.

Follow up:

Posting the matter for April 29, the CJM, Sopore, is now expected to issue a formal notice to the Commanding Officer of the concerned TA unit before handing over the custody of Abbas to the Army for subjecting him to general court-martial proceedings.

Abbas is currently in judicial custody and his trial was on in the Baramualla sessions court along with two other civilians accused in the Machil ‘fake’ encounter case.

Now, China’s copters violate Indian airspace in Ladakh

Close on the heels of Chinese troops entering the Indian territory in northern Ladakh and refusing to budge from their current position, two Chinese military helicopters have violated Indian airspace at Chumar in southeastern Ladakh, adding to the prevailing tension between the two countries.

With China virtually rejecting India’s demand that status quo be restored along the border, India is planning to set up more permanent posts closer to the Line of Actual Control (LAC) and has pressed in additional unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) to maintain an eye on Chinese movements.

Two Chinese military copters entered the Indian airspace in the Chumar sector on April 21, top sources confirmed. The incident occurred on April 21 and in the middle of the ongoing stalemate near Daulat Beg Oldie in northern Ladakh, where Chinese soldiers pitched a tent on April 15. The Indian side had responded on April 18 by rushing in its troops.

'China, US, India were worried over growing Maoist clout in Nepal'

India, China and the US were worried over growing Maoist clout in Nepal on the eve of the then King's declaration to restore Parliament, in April 2006.

Then US Ambassador James F. Moriarty said in cable dated Sunday, April 23, 2006 -- and recently leaked by Wikileaks, that then Indian Ambassador to Nepal Shiv Shanker Mukherjee believed that the US fears that "the mob and Maoists might prevent the parties from accepting a transfer of power was justified." Similarly, Chinese envoy Sun Heping was very worried about growing Maoist clout in Nepal.

Moriarty stated that he requested the Indian government to detain some Maoist leaders in India to exercise leverage over the Maoists approached power. "The ambassador further noted that the Maoists would not need to heed India or the US once they seized power, and that India's real leverage was India's ability to detain Maoist leaders currently on Indian soil.

Myanmar, Indonesia sign some economic cooperation accords

Myanmar and Indonesia Tuesday signed some three accords on economic cooperation between the two countries in Nay Pyi Taw, state radio and TV reported at night.The signing of the accords came shortly after talks between Myanmar President U Thein Sein and his visiting Indonesian counterpart Dr. Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono in the capital.Of the accords, the first is a framework agreement on investment and trade, while the rest are two memorandums of understanding on cooperation in human resources development and on rice trade respectively.

United Nationalities Federal Council: Statement on EU review of sanctions on Burma
Mon 22 Apr 2013

Kerry, in Brussels, reaffirms commitment to post-2014 training mission in Afghanistan

BRUSSELS — Secretary of State John F. Kerry joined his NATO counterparts here Tuesday for discussions on the 28-member alliance’s joint operations in Afghanistan and plans to withdraw all combat troops by the end of 2014.

“I reaffirmed our commitment to the Afghan people and to our determination that Afghanistan not ever become a haven for terrorists,” Kerry said in a news conference after the foreign ministers’ meeting. “To that end,” he continued, “we are committed beyond 2014” to a training and advisory mission whose parameters are being negotiated between the Afghan and U.S. governments.

“Obviously, President Obama has yet to make his personal decision about the numbers” of troops for that longer-term mission, Kerry said.

Drones cause ‘growing hatred of America,’ bipartisan Senate panel told

A bipartisan panel of senators held a spirited and unusually public debate Tuesday afternoon about the legality and unintended consequences of America’s targeted killings overseas, a forum convened amid growing calls for stronger oversight of the government’s use of armed drones outside conventional battlefields.

Among those testifying before a subcommittee of the Senate Judiciary Committee was a young Yemeni activist who argued passionately that American drone strikes in Yemen are emboldening the country’s al-Qaeda franchise, embittering Yemenis against the United States and delegitimizing the government in Sanaa.

Just six days ago, Farea al-Muslimi said, a suspected U.S. drone strike was carried out in his native village of Wessab, enraging residents.

Sharp rise in civilian casualties in Afghanistan: UN

KABUL: Civilian casualties in Afghanistan rose by almost 30 per cent in the first three months of 2013, a UN envoy has said, describing a recent Taliban attack on court staff as a “war crime”.

Jan Kubis, UN special representative for Afghanistan, said the “troubling”rise, compared to the same period last year, followed a 12 per cent drop in civilian casualties over the whole of 2012.

He told a Nato ministerial briefing in Brussels on Tuesday that 475 civilians were killed and 872 wounded from January to March.

“I once again call on anti-government groups to cease targeting civilians, using children in suicide operations and attacking public places including places of worship,” Kubis said, in a copy of a speech released by the UN in Kabul.

Gunmen kidnap nine Afghan deminers: officials

KANDAHAR: Gunmen have kidnapped nine deminers in Afghanistan’s restive southern province of Kandahar, officials said on Tuesday.

Follow up:

The men, all Afghans, were being driven back from a minefield Monday when they were seized in Maiwand district, provincial spokesman Jawid Faisal told AFP. “They had just finished their work in the area and were riding in two cars when they were taken by a group of gunmen,” he said.

Afghan negotiators hold talks to free foreign hostages

PULI ALAM: Afghan village elders negotiated with the Taliban Tuesday to try to win the release of a group of foreign hostages, officials said, but no progress was reported so far.

The insurgents seized eight Turks, a Russian, a Kyrgyz man and an Afghan after their civilian helicopter made a forced landing due to bad weather on Sunday in a rugged eastern district part-controlled by the militia.

The Taliban, who are fighting an 11-year insurgency against US-led NATO troops and the Afghan government, initially claimed the foreigners were linked to the US military.

“The Taliban have now realised that the hostages are civilians,” said Arsala Jamal, governor of Logar province where the helicopter came down.

Pakistan must play positive role in Afghanistan: NATO

BRUSSELS: Pakistan must play a positive role in bringing stability to Afghanistan as foreign troops prepare to leave in 2014, the head of NATO said on Tuesday, before a US-chaired meeting that will try to ease friction between often feuding neighbours.

Follow up:

US Secretary of State John Kerry will host talks between Afghan President Hamid Karzai, Pakistan’s army chief, General Ashfaq Kayani, and Pakistan’s foreign secretary, Jalil Jilani and other officials in Brussels on Wednesday, with the aim of calming tension over border disputes and the stalled peace process.

“If we are to ensure long-term peace and stability in Afghanistan we also need a positive engagement of Afghanistan’s neighbours, including Pakistan,” NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen told reporters as alliance foreign ministers met in Brussels to discuss NATO’s mission in Afghanistan.

Explosive-packed car found near Musharraf’s farmhouse

ISLAMABAD: Islamabad police on Tuesday foiled a major terror bid by seizing an explosives-loaded vehicle which was parked near the Chak Shahzad farmhouse of former military ruler Gen (r) Pervez Musharraf.

Follow up:

Islamabad police chief Bani Amin says the explosive-laden vehicle was found parked about 150 metres from the main gate of Musharraf’s house on the capital’s outskirts on Tuesday. The Bomb Disposal Squad defused the bomb after which the vehicle was shifted to Shehzad Town Police Station.

Musharraf in ‘thick soup’

* Former president appears before ATC over murder of Benazir
* IHC issues notices to chief commissioner, IGP for declaring Musharraf’s farmhouse sub-jail

Follow up:

RAWALPINDI: Anti Terrorism Court (ATC) Rawalpindi has ordered inclusion of former president Pervez Musharraf in the investigation into Benazir Bhutto assassination case.

Musharraf appeared before the court in relation to the case and made three requests, including unfreezing of his assets and bank accounts. During the hearing, the court granted him the permission to meet his lawyers and also allowed him a 15-minute meeting with his lawyers inside the court premises. Further, the court admitted for hearing the former president’s request regarding unfreezing of his assets and bank accounts. It also issued a notice to the FIA in this regard.

LeT top militants told to lie low, reveals Fahadullah

Lashkar commanders operating in Kashmir have been told to lie low on the instructions issued from across the Line of Control (LoC).

This has been revealed by Lashkar-e-Toiba commander and Pakistan national Qari Naveed, alias Fahadullah, who was arrested on April 17 in north Kashmir’s Sopore area.

Sources said Fahadullah told the police investigators that there were clear directions that top commanders should not get into the limelight. The Lashkar militant disclosed that till last year Muzamil Amin Dar, alias Urfi, alias Abu Hushaam (shot dead in October last year), was heading the LeT operations in the Valley. Fahadullah worked under Urfi’s command. Urfi was told from across the border that he should not come into the limelight as his family might be harassed by security men, revealed Fahadullah.

China and South Korea criticize visits to shrine

Beijing and Seoul urged Tokyo on Monday to face up to its history of aggression, and objected to a ritual offering made by the Japanese prime minister to a controversial shrine which honors Japanese war criminals from World War II.

Calling it a "negative act", Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said at a daily news conference that China has made solemn representations to Japan.

In protest, South Korea on Monday also shelved a proposed trip by Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se to Tokyo.

China-US shared interests emphasized

Kerry to Host Afghans and Pakistanis

BRUSSELS — Secretary of State John Kerry will host a meeting in Brussels on Wednesday with top Afghan and Pakistani leaders to try to foster cooperation over the stalled reconciliation process with the Taliban and other thorny issues, American and Afghan officials said Monday.

The meeting will be held the day after NATO foreign ministers gather to discuss the alliance’s role in Afghanistan after 2014, among other issues.

President Hamid Karzai and Defense Minister Bismillah Khan Mohammadi will represent the Afghan side. Pakistan will be represented by Gen. Ashfaq Parvez Kayani, the Army chief, and Jalil Abbas Jilani, Pakistan’s foreign secretary.

“This is the year of transition,” Mr. Kerry told a gathering of American diplomats here, referring to NATO’s plans to progressively hand over the responsibility for security by the end of 2014. “This is the critical year in Afghanistan.”

Two Are Accused in Canada of Plotting Train Derailment

OTTAWA — The Royal Canadian Mounted Police on Monday announced the arrest of two men who are accused of planning to derail a passenger train in an Al Qaeda-linked plot.

The police, saying the investigation was continuing, offered little in the way of details or evidence at a news conference in Toronto. Canadian politicians and government officials were similarly reticent.

Assistant Commissioner James Malizia said that the two suspects had received “direction and guidance” from “Al Qaeda elements living in Iran,” but that there was no evidence that the effort had been sponsored by the government of Iran.

He declined to explain how the link to Al Qaeda had been made.

The suspects were identified as Chiheb Esseghaier, 35, who has been living in Montreal, and Raed Jaser, 30, of Toronto. The police said the men were not Canadian citizens, but declined to identify their nationalities or to describe their immigration status in Canada.

Taliban Abduct 11 Civilians After Their Helicopter Goes Down in Afghanistan

KABUL, Afghanistan — An emergency landing by a helicopter ferrying foreign engineers in eastern Afghanistan turned into a mass abduction by the Taliban, officials said Monday, offering a stark reminder of the insurgents’ continuing hold on significant parts of the countryside.

The aircraft was forced down late Sunday because of a storm, according to the Afghan transport company that operated it, and it had to land in Azra District, a mountainous area of Logar Province that is almost entirely controlled by the Taliban.

In all, 11 people were abducted, according to reports from the Turkish Foreign Ministry and Afghan government officials. They were eight Turkish engineers, one Afghan man and the two pilots of the Russian-made helicopter. One pilot was confirmed to be Russian. The other was either Russian or from Central Asia; there were conflicting reports of his nationality.

Karzai links post-2014 US-NATO role to peace

KABUL (PAN): NATO on Friday said it will not proceed with training and support mission in Afghanistan past 2014 without an agreement with the Afghan government, but President Karzai links such an arrangement to establishing a lasting peace in the country.

NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen told a news conference in Brussels the alliance’s post-2014 training and support mission will not proceed without an agreement defining the status of international troops.

“We are still in the planning phases, and I would expect more detailed decisions to be made later this year,” Rasmussen said, adding any involvement in Afghanistan after 2014 hinged on a status of forces agreement between Afghanistan and the alliance.

Court acquits Baba Jan, Iftikhar Hussain in treason case

GILGIT: A court in Gilgit on Thursday acquitted progressive leaders Baba Jan and Iftikhar Hussain in a treason case.

“The two men were acquitted by a civil court in Gilgit in the case 64/2012 filed against them on April 28, 2012 by the government,” said Wajidullah, a spokesman for the Progress Youth Front (PYF), a party that Baba Jan belongs to.

Advocate Ehsan Ali, who fought the case of Jan and others, said that earlier the case was filed in an anti-terrorism court [ATC], which however rejected it because there was nothing in the case to substantiate the charges levelled against them.

Aid workers targeted?: Armed men storm Khwendo Kor office

PESHAWAR: Armed men stormed the office of Khwendo Kor in suburban Mathra early on Saturday morning.

Around 10 armed men entered the Khwendo Kor office, a non-government organisation (NGO) that works for the welfare of women, and overpowered the guard Ahmad Nawaz before taking him hostage.

Mariam Bibi, Khwendo Kor’s founder and chief executive, confirmed the reported theft and clarified what had been stolen. “Three of our vehicles, two air conditioners, a generator and an LCD screen have been stolen by the armed men,” she said. This was not the first time the organisation had been targeted. “An improvised explosive device was found near our office at Jalozai Camp, and other offices belonging to the NGO have been bombed in the past,” Bibi said.

Caretakers refuse to try Musharraf

Islamabad - The caretaker government on Monday flatly refused to initiate treason trial of former military ruler Pervez Musharraf, telling the Supreme Court that it was beyond its mandate to take any ‘controversial’ step that is ‘irreversible’.

In a statement read out before a three-judge bench, the interim administration noted that less than three weeks were left to the elections, and overseeing the vote was a full-time job, given the threat level against candidates.

Expressing his resentment, bench head Justice Jawwad S Khawaja said: “The federation had taken no action in the past and today (April 22) it has been revealed that no legal action will be taken against the former Chief of Army Staff in future as well.”

SC releases list of journalists paid ‘secretly’

ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court made public on Monday a list of journalists and media-men who were allegedly paid by the information ministry through its secret fund.

The list contains itemised particulars of those expenditures for which the information ministry now does not claim privilege or secrecy.

The list of disbursements, totaling up to Rs 177.98 million, was uploaded on the apex court’s website in accordance to its directive issued earlier during the day.

The apex court had also ordered for the list to be made public on its website.

The journalists named in the list are yet to respond to the list.

Afghan peace process: Pakistan, US in a bid to break the deadlock

ISLAMABAD: Senior officials from Pakistan and the United States held talks on Sunday to break the apparent deadlock in efforts to reach out to the Afghan Taliban for a peaceful end to a decade-long war.

Follow up:

A high-level US delegation, led by US acting special envoy for Pakistan and Afghanistan David Pearce, travelled to Islamabad to meet senior Pakistani civil and military officials. He was assisted by Special Assistant to US President Lt Gen (retd) Dagulas Lute, Principal Assistant Secretary of Defence for Asian and Pacific Security Affairs Dr Peter Lavoy and Ambassador Richard Olson.

The American delegation met with Army chief General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani in Rawalpindi. Foreign Secretary Jalil Abbas Jilani was also in attendance. The meeting came at a time when tension is running high between Pakistan and Afghanistan.

FBI looks at Waziristan link in Boston bombings

ISLAMABAD: The Waziristan-based Islamic Jehad Union (IJU) has come under the FBI scanner for its alleged links with Tamarlan and Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, two brothers of the Chechen descent who allegedly carried out the deadly bombings in Boston on April 15, killing three people and injuring over 180 others.

Rooted in Central Asia and primarily based in the Mir Ali area of North Waziristan, the al-Qaeda and Taliban-linked Islamic Jehad Union is an offshoot of Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan (IMU), which was founded by the late Uzbek commander, Tahir Yuldashev.

Going by the American media reports, the alleged contacts of the Boston bombers with the IMU have come under intense scrutiny of the US Federal Bureau of Investigation which has already admitted having missed vital clues in 2011 that could have prevented the Tsarnaev brother from conducting the Boston attack. The FBI has admitted having interrogated Tamarlan Tsarnaev in 2011 at the request of a foreign government, most likely Russia, which was concerned that he was a follower of radical Islam. The FBI said it did not find any terrorism activity and appears not to have had any further contact with him since.

Taliban execute man in public

DERA ISMAIL KHAN: The Taliban executed an Afghan in the Kari Kot village, about 10km south west of Wana Rustam Bazaar, in South Waziristan.

Mai-u-din, belonging to the Zedran tribe of Afghanistan, was brought handcuffed into an open place near the small bazaar of Kari Kot. The Taliban then fired him from the back and killed him in front of the public. The Taliban confirmed that the incident occurred on Monday.

Mai-u-Din was arrested by the local Taliban about a week back. When investigated, he confessed to the killing of a member of Commander Khali Mullah Taliban Group. Khali Mullah is commander of a sub-group of the Mullah Nazir Taliban Group. Khali Mullah was later on killed in drone attack.

Taliban execute man in public

Pak-US-Afghan talks on April 23

ISLAMABAD: Renewed efforts by Pakistan and the United States to focus on Afghanistan have resulted in a meeting of the Trilateral Core Group, where the three main players will meet on April 23-24 in Brussels.

“Pakistan has consistently endeavoured to facilitate an Afghan-led and Afghan-owned peace process. Pakistan remains committed to continue its positive and constructive role towards a durable peace in Afghanistan. Pakistan is convinced that a peaceful, stable, prosperous and united Afghanistan is in the interest of Afghanistan, Pakistan and the region”, said the spokesman at the Foreign Office while announcing the meeting.

Earlier, a key role was played by senior Afghan military officers who flew in to meet with the Pakistani military leadership in General Headquarters, where an exercise in damage control took place. The Afghan visit was important as it came against the backdrop of some very hawkish allegations by President Hamid Karzai against Pakistan. Clearly, Karzai’s government and his military were not on the same page.

Shabir seeks Rs 30 lakh compensation for ‘illegal’ detention

Hurriyat Conference leader and Democratic Freedom Party (DFP) chairman Shabir Shah has sought Rs 30 lakh compensation from the government for what he termed as his “illegal detention” at a Jammu jail.

The J&K High Court has taken his plea as a habeas corpus petition which came up before the single bench today. The HC has given the government and other official respondents two weeks’ time to file their objections in this regard.

The police had arrested Shah on February 9 and lodged him in Central Jail, Srinagar, to ward off protests in the wake of Afzal Guru’s hanging in Tihar.

Shah, who is also a senior executive member of the Hurriyat Conference led by Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, was later shifted to the Kotbalwal jail in Jammu from Central Jail on March 16. He was released on April 16 after two months of the preventive detention.

After LeT militant’s arrest, police claims multiple attacks solved

Days after the arrest of Lashkar-e-Toiba’s top commander in north Kashmir, the police today said it had solved multiple attacks, including the killing of a sarpanch and a former counter-insurgent.

Follow up:

The arrest of Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) commander Qari Naveed, alias Fahadullah, a Pakistani national, last week and subsequent arrests of his accomplices has helped the police to create a map of over a dozen attacks carried out in north Kashmir in recent months.

A senior police officer said the arrests had helped solve a dozen grenade attacks and the killing of a youth inside a mosque in March and provided “crucial clues” regarding the killing of sarpanch Ghulam Mohammad Yatoo of Palhalan and former counter-insurgent Bashir Ahmad Ganaie of Kunzer in Tangmarg. All these attacks took place in various parts of north Kashmir’s Baramulla district.

Troops still camped, but China denies LAC crossing

China on Monday rejected reports in India that People’s Liberation Army (PLA) troops had set up a tented post on Indian territory in Ladakh, but reliable sources in Delhi stressed that the place where Chinese troops had been camping for a week was Burthe.

Follow up:

Trying to play down the incident, the Chinese said its frontier patrols had “never trespassed” the Line of Actual Control (LAC).

In Delhi, the sources who identified the place as Burthe admitted that the Chinese were technically correct from their standpoint. But from New Delhi’s perspective, the land where the PLA came across huts which Indian security forces abandoned and put up a tent was Indian.

Cops' Action Against Women Protesters Insult to India: SC

Taking strong exception to a police officer slapping a young girl during a recent protest against rape of a minor, the Supreme Court today sought explanation from the Delhi Police chief on the incident.

A bench headed by Justice G S Singhvi directed the Police Commissioner to file an affidavit to explain why a young girl was beaten up during the protest against the rape of five-year-old here.

Also taking cognisance of another incident of police brutality in Aligarh where a 65-year-old woman was assaulted, the bench directed the Uttar Pradesh Chief Secretary to file an affidavit on the incident.

NEW DELHI: Army chief Gen Bikram Singh on Thursday briefed defence minister A K Antony on the Chinese incursion issue in Ladakh and the present situation there.

After reviewing the situation in Jammu and Kashmir and the Ladakh area with military commanders in the Northern Command, Gen Singh briefed the defence minister on the incursion issue today, Army officials said.

The Army chief had returned from Jammu and Kashmir yesterday evening after reviewing the situation there with Northern Army Commander Lt Gen K T Parnaik, they said.

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