Seven suspected militants, one elite force man killed in Lahore clash

LAHORE: An armed clash between security forces and suspected militants during a search operation early Thursday in a compound situated in Lahore’s Raiwind Road area killed seven suspected militants while one elite force man was also killed and five others had been injured, Punjab Minister for Anti-Terrorism Col. (retd) Shuja Khanzada said.

Speaking to media representatives, Khanzada said that the exact figure of militants present the area could not be established and several of them appeared to have fled.

He said security forces wanted to apprehend the militants alive, adding that terrorism could not be eliminated in a single day.

Emirates to seek damages over Qadri episode

LAHORE: The Emirates airline plans to file a suit over the damages caused to its reputation by the enforced diversion of its plane carrying Dr Tahirul Qadri on Monday.

Official sources told Dawn that the airline had told the Civil Aviation Authority that it had been upset by the diversion of its flight EK-612 Dubai-Islamabad to Lahore, causing a great deal of inconvenience to passengers on the plane and those waiting at the airport to fly to Dubai.

MQM will offer 'strong resistance' if Qadri arrested: Gabol

KARACHI/LAHORE: Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) leader Nabil Gabol said Saturday that the party would put up strong resistance if Pakistan Awami Tehreek (PAT) chief Dr Tahirul Qadri was arrested, DawnNews reported.Speaking to media representatives, Gabol said Pakistan Muslim League- Nawaz’s (PML-N) authoritative style of leadership was damaging for the democratic system in the country.

Pakistan Police Officers Accused of Chopping off Hand of Thieves

Lahore:  Police officials in Pakistan's Punjab province have been accused of chopping off the left hand of two alleged thieves while they were in custody.

Police arrested Ghulam Mustafa, 30, and Liaquat Ali, 28, from Ghagoo Mandi in Vehari district of Punjab, some 340 kilometres from Lahore, last week in connection with cellphone and electric wire theft.

The police shifted both the accused on Friday evening to Bahawal Victoria Hospital Bahawalpur where it emerged that their left hands had been chopped off.

Pakistan fully capable of defending itself, PM Nawaz

LAHORE: Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on Wednesday gave an address on the occasion of Youm-i-Takbeer and said that Pakistan is fully capable of defending itself against any possible aggressive designs, DawnNews reported.

The premier congratulated the nation on the event and said that the country’s nuclear assets were in safe hands, adding that it was for peaceful purposes.

Waqar Younis appointed new Pakistan head coach

LAHORE: Former captain and fast bowler Waqar Younis has been named as the new head coach by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), the board announced on Tuesday.

The appointment of Younis, who has been given a two-year contract, comes merely days after Sethi's interview to a local newspaper in which he hinted that a deal between the two parties was all but done.

Three killed in blast inside Karachi-bound Shalimar Express

KARACHI: Three people were reported killed in an explosion that took place inside a bogey of the Shalimar Express near Punjab province's Toba Tek Singh district on Monday.

Fifteen people were also injured in the explosion that occurred inside the Karachi-bound train which had begun its journey from Lahore.

Sarwar takes oath as 35th Punjab governor

LAHORE: Chaudhry Muhammad Sarwar was sworn in as the 35th Governor of Punjab on Monday in a ceremony held at the Governor’s House in Lahore.

Chief Justice of the Lahore High Court, Justice Umar Ata Bandial, administered the oath of office to Sarwar.

Punjab chief minister Shahbaz Sharif, ministers at the federal and provincial level, government officials and a number of foreign guests attended the oath-taking ceremony.

Pakistan-India trade: World Bank team discusses facilities at Wagah border

LAHORE: A World Bank (WB) mission visited the Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) on Monday to discuss the issues in Indo-Pakistan trade through land route.

The WB team, headed by Ms Diep Nguyen-van Houtte, senior operations officer of South Asia Regional Integration, discussed the facilities at Wagah border with the LCCI.

She said that the proposals and suggestions given by the LCCI members would help the bank to develop early the much needed infrastructure at the crossing points between Pakistan and India.

Pakistan's minorities have no faith in democracy

LAHORE: In majority Muslim Pakistan, religious minorities say democracy is killing them.

Intolerance has been on the rise for the past five years under Pakistan's democratically elected government because of the growing violence of Islamic radicals, who are then courted by political parties, say many in the country's communities of Shiite Muslims, Christians, Hindus and other minorities.

India to send plane to bring back Sarabjit's body

Lahore/New Delhi: Sarabjit Singh, the Indian who was attacked in a prison in Pakistan where he spent 22 years after being convicted of terrorism, died early this morning at a Lahore hospital after a cardiac arrest.

Pakistan has agreed to send back his body to India for his last rites.  It had turned down India's appeals to let Mr Singh be treated either in India or another country.

Home Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde said that a special plane will be sent to bring Mr Singh's body home.

My brother is being kept alive artificially, Sarabjit's sister says

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."

Tribunal permits Sharifs to contest polls

LAHORE: An election tribunal accepted on Monday Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) chief Nawaz Sharif’s nomination papers for NA-119 constituency and his brother Shahbaz Sharif’s papers for the NA-161 seat, DawnNews reported.Earlier, Nawaz Sharif’s candidacy papers from NA-120 had been challenged before an election tribunal of the Lahore High Court.

Fake degree: Dasti sentenced to three years in prison

LAHORE: A local court in Muzzafargarh has sentenced former MNA Jamshed Dasti to three years in prison in a fake degree case. Dasti was arrested from outside the courtroom following his sentencing.

District and Sessions Judge Abdur Rehman Niazi announced the verdict. A fine of Rs. 5000 was also imposed on the former lawmaker.

On Wednesday, shortly after the court had adjourned proceedings with the verdict expected to be announced the next day, Dasti told a press conference that he had decided against contesting for the two National Assembly seats as an independent candidate.

Fazl toes US line on Iran gas

LAHORE - Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-Fazl staged a show of political force, the first of its kind by the religious party in the capital of Punjab where it has no significant ground presence.

Addressing the participants on Sunday evening, JUI-F Amir Fazlur Rehman claimed that only his party can rid the poor of the slavery of the elite, end power shortages, uphold the Islamic identity of Pakistan, protect its sovereignty and serve the very purpose of its creation.

People from various cities, even from other provinces, came to swell the crowd at Minar-e-Pakistan, where some 30,000 chairs had been arranged. Most of the participants of ‘Islam Zindabad Conference’ were students of religious seminaries, the main constituency of the JUI-F.

Overall, the JUI-F leaders who spoke on the occasion displayed a particularly soft corner for Mian Nawaz Sharif, the chief of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), which ruled Punjab for the last five years and with which the JUI-F has been seeking an electoral alliance.

Journalist becomes Punjab interim CM

LAHORE: Veteran journalist Najam Sethi was on Tuesday selected to head up the interim administration to guide the politically important Punjab province through historic elections.

Follow up:

The provincial parliamentary committee to select the caretaker chief minister finally reached a consensus, approving Sethi for the post after four hectic meetings on Tuesday. Though both the government and the opposition parties had initially announced their disagreement on caretaker chief minister after holding their third consultative meeting at the Punjab Assembly Secretariat in noon, but Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif advised the government team to continue negotiations and approve a name for the slot.

The government team members of the committee, Rana Sanaullah, Mujtaba Shuja and Iqbal Channarr, took the opposition team members of PPP and PML-Q, Major (r) Zulfiqar Gondal, Shaukat Basra and Chaudhry Zaheeruddin, into confidence to restart the negotiations and they finally reached consensus at midnight. The PML-N was hesitating to refer the issue to the election commission.