Gunmen kill 13 bus passengers in Pakistan

QUETTA, Pakistan: Dozens of gunmen disguised in police uniforms shot to death 13 people they pulled off of a convoy of buses in southwest Pakistan and dumped their bodies in a nearby ravine, officials said Tuesday.

The motive for the attack Monday night was unclear since no one has claimed responsibility. But suspicion may fall on separatists who have been waging a low-level insurgency in southwest Baluchistan province for decades.The buses were headed to central Punjab province, and the separatists have a history of attacking Punjabis who they view as outsiders encroaching on their independence. The province is also home to many Islamic militants who have carried out attacks in the past, especially on minority Shiite Muslims.

Sikh delegation told to remove turbans at Rome airport

NEW DELHI: Delhi's gurdwara management committee president Manjeet Singh GK and other members of a Sikh delegation were not cleared to board a flight from Rome after they refused to take off their turbans at the airport security check on Tuesday.

Manjeet Singh, who is also Delhi chief of Akali Dal (Badal), told TOI that the delegation had offered to let the staff touch their turbans and run a metal detector over it, but the Italian security insisted on them taking the turbans off.

Punjab govt to boost industrial activities

ISLAMABAD: Industries are being set up across Punjab and foreign investors would be provided investment opportunities in a bid to boost the economy.

This was stated by Chaudhry Mohammad Shafiq, Punjab Minister for Industries, Commerce and Investment during a meeting with a delegation of Islamabad Chamber of Commerce & Industry (ICCI).

Fourteen including three security officers, killed in Mach

BOLAN: Rebel separatists Tuesday killed 14 people, including three security officers, after stopping vehicles at a fake checkpoint in Balochistan.

The attack happened in the Mach area of Bolan district, 70 kilometres (44 miles) southeast of the provincial capital Quetta. It appears to have targeted mostly people from the central province of Punjab ahead of Eidul-Fitr.

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.

Mid-day meal deaths: principal absconding, no arrests yet

The principal of the government school in Chhapra whose 23 children died in the midday meal tragedy suspected to have been caused by poisoned food was absconding, as it emerged that the free food served did not undergo any quality checks.

Kuldip Singh Brar's attack in London was premeditated

London: Lieutenant General (retired) Kuldip Singh Brar was followed before his throat was slashed with a knife in a premeditated revenge attack in London, a UK court was told on Tuesday.

78-year-old Mr Brar, who commanded the Operation Blue Star in 1984, was on a private visit to London with his wife Meena when the suspected Khalistan sympathisers attacked the couple.

He sustained serious injuries while his wife escaped unharmed and was instrumental in raising an alarm to call the police.

Couple sentenced to nine months for racially abusing Sikh taxi driver

Melbourne: A couple has been sentenced by an Australian court to nine months in jail for a racial attack in which a Sikh taxi driver's turban was ripped off.

Angeline Kim Sollitt, 44, and Michael John Arbouin, 40, were handed down the nine-month prison-term for the "unprovoked" and "malicious" attack on taxi driver Jagroop Singh, 'NTNews' reported.

"The turban is the crowning glory of the Sikhs. For Sikhs, the head and the turban are sacred, they must not be touched or insulted in any way," Judge Stephen Southwood said.

Narendra Modi is our flag-bearer: Parkash Singh Badal

MADHOPUR (PATHANKOT): Punjab chief minister Parkash Singh Badal on Sunday made a full-throated declaration of support for BJP election campaign committee chairman NarendraModi saying the NDA was a united and ShiromaniAkaliDal would contest the 2014 LokSabha polls under Modi's leadership.

"Punjab and I feel it's a privilege to have you addressing your first rally after taking charge. You are our flag-bearer now," the Akali patriarch said at a rally to mark the 60th 'martyrdom day' of Jan Sangh founder Shyama Prasad Mukherjee.

Pakistan defends allocation of funds to Jamaat-ud-Dawah

LAHORE: The government of Pakistan's Punjab province has justified its allocation of over Rs 61 million to the largest centre of the Jamaat-ud-Dawah, saying the funds are needed to continue the services being provided to people by the facility.

A spokesman of the Punjab government said the Punjab government had taken "administrative control of the welfare institutions being run by (the JuD) in compliance with Security Council resolutions of the United Nations".

India to take up with Pak financial aid to JuD: Khurshid

India today said it will take up with Islamabad the allocation of over Rs 61 million in Pakistan's Punjab province budget to a centre of Jamaat-ud-Dawa, the parent body of terror group LeT that had carried out the 2008 Mumbai terror attack.

"I can't comment on what the state government in Pakistan is doing. Whatever comes to our knowledge and is a concern for our security will be taken up with Pakistan federal government," External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid said.

Hafeez Saeed group gets 61 mn from govt

The government of Pakistan's Punjab province has allocated millions of rupees in its budget for fiscal 2013-14 for the largest centre of the Jamaat-ud-Dawah, considered a front for the banned Lashkar-e-Taiba.

Besides a grant-in-aid of over Rs. 61 million for the JuD centre known as

'Markaz-e-Taiba', the provincial government has allocated Rs. 350 million for setting up a "Knowledge Park" at the centre and other development initiatives.

Details of the allocations were presented in budget documents tabled in the Punjab assembly on Monday by the PML-N government led by chief minister Shahbaz Sharif.

SGPC deposits Rs 10-cr fee in Operation Bluestar lawsuit

The SGPC has deposited a court fee of Rs 10 crore in the 28-year-old legal battle seeking Rs 1,000 crore in compensation from the Union Government for the damages caused to the Golden Temple during the 1984 Operation Bluestar.

SGPC president Avtar Singh Makkar said they had deposited the fee in the Delhi High Court, which admitted their plea and fixed the next date of hearing in October.

Chief Justice takes suo motu notice of Gujrat tragedy

ISLAMABAD: Chief Justice of Pakistan Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry took suo motu notice of the tragic explosion in a school van in the outskirts Gujrat on May 25 which had claimed the lives of at least 15 children, DawnNews reported.

Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry taking notice of the tragic incident fixed June 4 as the date of hearing over the case.

Core committee: PML-N huddle to pick top slots

LAHORE: Pakistan Muslim League – Nawaz (PML-N) decided on Monday to convene a core committee meeting before June 1 in which names for members of the cabinet, speaker and deputy speaker for the National and Punjab assemblies would be finalised, The Express Tribune has learnt.

During a party meeting, PML-N members decided against appointing the incumbent Punjab Assembly Speaker, Rana Muhammad Iqbal, and Deputy speaker Rana Mashood Khan to the posts in the next term.

LDA plaza catches fire, 30 people trapped in building

LAHORE - Lahore Development Authority (LDA) plaza on Thursday caught fire.According to details, the fire erupted on the seventh floor of the building. Rescue officials reached the scene and efforts were being made to evacuate people from the building. However, officials said that the rescue efforts were hindered because of the amount of smoke in the building.

David Miller special fashions Punjab's thrilling win over Bangalore

David Miller scored the third-fastest century in Indian Premier League history and single-handedly powered Kings XI Punjab's remarkable chase and keep alive their hopes of qualifying for the playoffs. His unbeaten 101, off just 38 balls, helped Punjab to a six-wicket victory over Royal Challengers Bangalore at the PCA Stadium in Mohali on Monday.After being asked to bat, half-centuries from Chris Gayle and Cheteshwar Pujara ensured that Bangalore put up 190 for 3. But, in response, Punjab couldn't string together a big enough partnership.

Protest against Sajjan Kumar's acquittal in a 1984 anti-Sikh riots case

New Delhi: About 500 protesters blocked the high-security Vijay Chowk access to Parliament House in New Delhi for about an hour today, forcing MPs arriving for the session to either turn back, or get off their vehicles and walk.

The protesters later courted arrest following which the cops cleared the area. They were taken to the Parliament Street Police Station.The police had barricaded the area, which also houses the President's residence, Rashtrapati Bhawan, and important ministries, including the Prime Minister's Office in the North and South Blocks.

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.

Pak activist Ansar Burney demanded Rs 25 crore to save

New Delhi: Indian prisoner Sarabjit Singh's sister Dalbir Kaur said Pakistan has murdered her brother and alleged that Pakistan human rights activist Ansar Burney had demanded Rs 25 crore to help Sarabjit. "Had I paid Rs 25 crore to Ansar Burney, Sarabjit would have returned to India. I am poor so could not pay him. Burney had told me that at least pay Rs 2 crore to get Sarabjit. He told him that if I will give him the money in the morning, Sarabjit will be released by evening," she alleged.