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| February 22, 2007 | Thursday | Safar 4, 1428 |
Updated round-the-clock, with major updates after 10:00 PST (05:00 GMT)
Kasuri calls for joint Indo-Pak investigation ISLAMABAD, Feb 22 (APP) Foreign Minister Khurshid Mehmood Kasuri on Thursday stressed the need for a joint Pakistan-India investigation into the Samjotha Express incident. In an interview to an Indian TV channel, parts of which were shown by a local private TV channel on Thursday, he said the possibility of a foreign hand involved in the incident could not be ruled out. He said the tragedy was now a test case for the validity of a joint anti-terror mechanism between the two countries. If the perpetrators wanted to derail the composite dialogue process through this act, it is a good opportunity for both countries to cooperate with each other in the investigation, he added.(Posted @ 19:45 PST)
Kashmiri leaders meet Kasuri NEW DELHI, Feb 22 (APP) A delegation of the All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC) held talks with Foreign Minister Khurshid Mehmood Kasuri here on Thursday regarding the Kashmir issue and the on-going composite dialogue between Pakistan and India. Kasuri briefed the delegation, led by APHC Chairman Mirwaiz Umer Farooq, on the efforts being made by Pakistan to resolve the Kashmir dispute in accordance with the wishes and aspirations of the Kashmiri people. The delegation included Maulvi Abbas Ansari, Bilal Ghani Lone and Agha Hassan Badghami. Later, Mirwaiz Umer Farooq told APP the Foreign Minister informed the APHC delegation that there were focused talks with the Indian side on Kashmir during his current visit here. Referring to the dialogue process, Mirwaiz said he has witnessed progress and the APHC desires that the two countries should move fast on resolving the issue. Mirwaiz urged both governments to facilitate intra-Kashmir dialogue and involve the Kashmiri leadership in the on-going dialogue process.Yasin Malik, Chairman of Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front, Shabbir Shah, Chairman of Jammu and Kashmir Democratic Freedom Party, and Syed Ali Gilani, a senior Kashmiri leader, also met the foreign minister.(Posted @ 19:45 PST)
PM Aziz meets US Congress delegation ISLAMABAD, Feb 22 (APP) Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz said Thursday that all stakeholders in Afghanistan should play their part in a holistic manner to win the hearts and minds of the people of that country. The prime minister said this while talking to a six-member bipartisan US Congressional delegation that called on him here. The delegation comprised of Norman Dicks (Democrat), Marcy Kaptur (Democrat), Rodney Frelinghuysen (Republican), Steve Rothman (Democrat), Christopher Carney (Democrat) and Patrick Murphy (Democrat). The Prime Minister said Pakistan is of the view that a Marshall plan type approach needs to be adopted in Afghanistan to expedite the process of reconstruction and to bring about a meaningful improvement in the lives of the people. Pakistan realizes that a destabilized Afghanistan will inevitably affect Pakistan and impact the ongoing process of massive socio-economic development in the country, he said. Aziz expressed concern over the growing drug production in Afghanistan and the nexus between drug money and terrorism. He said the international community needs to take notice of this menace and take necessary measures to deal with it. (Posted @ 23:40 PST)
Inflation gradually reducing: PM Aziz ISLAMABAD, Feb 22 (APP) Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz on Thursday said that inflation has started to gradually reduce in the country through effective use of monetary policy by the State Bank. He said this during a meeting with the Governor State Bank, Ms. Shamshad Akhtar who called on him here at the PM House this afternoon. The governor presented the prime minister with a copy of the new Rs. 1000 note and briefed him about its several security features designed to prevent counterfeit production. (Posted @ 23:30 PST)
Prince Charles visits British forces in Qatar DOHA, Feb 22 (APP/AFP) Britain's Prince Charles inspected British forces at a military base in Qatar Thursday on the first day of a visit to the Gulf state as part of a regional tour. After arriving from Kuwait earlier Thursday, Prince Charles jointly laid the foundation stone with Qatar's crown prince for a multi-billion-dollar gas-to-liquids project between state-run Qatar Petroleum and Anglo-Dutch energy giant Royal Dutch/Shell. The heir to the British throne is scheduled to hold talks with Qatari leaders and tour old souks and an Islamic museum during his visit. Prince Charles and Camilla will also visit Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates during the tour. (Posted @ 23:05 PST)
FO confirms death of 23 Pakistani nationals ISLAMABAD, Feb 22 (APP) Foreign Office spokesperson Tasneem Aslam on Thursday confirmed that as many as 23 persons have so far been confirmed as dead while 10 passengers sustained injuries in the ill fated Samjhota Express tragedy. Talking to a local private TV channel, she said that at this juncture it was not possible to ascertain the exact number of missing passengers as India had not yet provided Pakistan with the complete list of passengers. “Perhaps India does not possess the complete list of passengers,” she said. (Posted @ 23:00 PST)
Bomb injures one Pakistani soldier PESHAWAR, Pakistan, Feb 22 (AP) A bomb exploded near a Pakistani army convoy near the Afghan border in Tal, about 150 kilometers southwest of Peshawar, on Thursday, wounding one soldier, police said. (Posted @ 22:45 PST)
India denies holding bereaved Pakistanis after train blast ISLAMABAD, Feb 22 (AFP) India has prevented a Pakistani couple who watched five of their six children die in the weekend's train firebomb attack from leaving the country, a senior Pakistani official said. “Seven injured Pakistanis have boarded the plane but Rana Shaukat and his wife are not in hospital and nor are their whereabouts known,” the Pakistani government official said. However in New Delhi, Indian Foreign Ministry spokesman Navtej Sarna told reporters that a transport aircraft of the Pakistani air force “has been permitted to come and evacuate (the injured) people.” Seven Pakistani nationals will be evacuated by the special flight while two others “have expressed their wish to return via Wagah (the border crossing),”he added, naming the two as Rana Shaukat and his wife Ruksana. (Posted @ 22:40 PST)
US can't stay for long in Afghanistan: Hekmatyar KABUL, Feb 22 (Reuters) An Afghan warlord on a U.S. wanted list has said the United States does not have the capacity to stay for long in Afghanistan and he predicts it will pull out at the same time as it withdraws from Iraq. Denouncing the United States as “the mother of problems”, Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, a former prime minister whose forces operate in southeastern areas, said Afghanistan's turmoil would not end until U.S. forces left the region. “The occupying forces...have only one successful way and ... that is to pull out of Afghanistan as soon as possible,” he added. (Posted @ 22:31 PST)
Palestinians increasingly unable to buy enough food: UN JERUSALEM, Feb 22 (AFP) Nearly half of the Palestinian population is unable, or risks being unable, to access minimum food supplies, warned the first UN report of its kind since the West slapped an embargo on the Hamas-led government. Thirty-four percent of Palestinians were classified as “food insecure” with another 12 percent at risk of becoming food insecure, said a WFP official. The report said 84 percent of Gazans and 60 percent of West Bankers were found to be reducing their living expenditures by the end of 2006. The worst off are now totally reliant on assistance, said WFP. Since the Western embargo on the Palestinian Authority began, the WFP said it was now working to cater for 600,000 rather than 480,000 people.(Posted @ 19:30 PST)
Egyptian cleric in CIA 'kidnap' case alleges torture ALEXANDRIA, Egypt, Feb 22 (AFP) An Egyptian cleric allegedly kidnapped by the US Central Intelligence Agency in Milan and sent to Egypt said Thursday he was tortured in his home country and demanded his return to Italy. Osama Mustafa Hassan showed scars and bruises on his arms and said he had more wounds all over his body. The cleric expressed fear of being arrested and tortured again if a travel ban against him was not lifted and demanded he be given the right to return to Italy and prove his innocence.(Posted @ 19:25 PST)
Egypt jails dissident blogger for four years ALEXANDRIA, Egypt, Feb 22 (AFP) An Egyptian court sentenced a dissident blogger to four years in prison Thursday for allegedly insulting Islam and defaming President Hosni Mubarak, friends and judicial sources said. The case was the first time a blogger was sentenced in Egypt for writings published on the internet.(Posted @ 19:25 PST)
London court says '9/11 pilot' not eligible for compensation LONDON, Feb 22 (AFP) An Algerian commercial airline pilot wrongly held in custody and accused of training the September 11, 2001 hijackers on Thursday lost his legal battle for compensation at the High Court in London. The court said Lotfi Raissi was ineligible because he was detained at the request of the United States in extradition proceedings which were not “in the domestic criminal process”. Raissi, 32, of Chiswick, west London, brought the action after his release from custody after nearly five months and exoneration by a court. The pilot said his ordeal ruined his life, damaged his reputation, lost him his liberty and caused him distress and psychological injury(Posted @ 19:20 PST)
Britain's Prince Harry to serve in Iraq LONDON, Feb 22 (Reuters) Britain's Prince Harry, who is third in line to the British throne, will be deployed to Iraq “over the next few months”, the Ministry of Defence (MOD) said on Thursday.(Posted @ 19:10 PST)
Afghan warlords plan pro-amnesty law demonstration KABUL, Feb 22 (AFP) Afghan warlords Thursday announced plans for a demonstration in Kabul in support of a controversial bill that would give amnesty for crimes committed during the country's years of conflict. “In the gathering, the people will show their support for the jihadi leaders and for the amnesty bill,” said a spokesman for Jamyat Islami, one of the factions involved in the country's 1992-1996 civil war.(Posted @ 19:10 PST)
Kasuri meets Atal Bihari Vajpayee NEW DELHI, Feb 22 (APP) Foreign Minister Khurshid Mehmood Kasuri called on former Prime Minister of India and BJP leader, Atal Bihari Vajpayee, here on Thursday and discussed matters related to bilateral relations. They also discussed the peace process between Pakistan and India. (Posted @ 16:10 PST)
Iran to return to Security Council over nuclear work: Rice BERLIN, Feb 22 (AFP) US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said on Thursday that Iran would be referred back to the UN Security Council with the aim of encouraging Tehran to stop sensitive nuclear work and return to negotiations. Rice said after a meeting in Berlin with German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana that there was agreement over the next steps to take following Iran's refusal to stop uranium enrichment. Rice said: “The hope is that the sanctions show the Iranians the isolation that they are enduring…That isolation is likely to increase over time and... it is time to take a different course.” (Posted @ 15:57 PST)
DNA proves innocent Kashmir carpenter killed in jail SRINAGAR, occupied Kashmir, Feb 22 (AFP) An alleged militant who security forces claimed was killed in a gunbattle in occupied Kashmir last year was instead “beyond doubt” a small-town carpenter killed in custody, police said Thursday. Police said the man, who was exhumed from an unmarked grave in Kashmir this month for DNA tests to determine his identity, belonged to a family that had claimed him missing, and was not a militant as claimed by security forces. The victim, Abdul Rahman Padder, was reportedly detained in Srinagar in December 2006. He was killed and later described by police as a Pakistani militant. Police Thursday said the DNA tests would allow for prosecution in the case. (Posted @ 15:55 PST)
Bangladeshi tycoon arrested on corruption charges DHAKA, Feb 22 (AFP) A tycoon who owns a leading Bangladeshi newspaper has been arrested on corruption allegations as part of a major anti-graft crackdown, police said Thursday. Nurul Islam Babul, the owner of the Bengali-language daily Jugantor, was picked up near the government's anti-corruption office in the capital Dhaka, police said. Babul also owns one of Bangladesh's largest groups of companies with interests in textiles, real estate and soft drinks. (Posted @ 15:50 PST)
Scarlett Johansson visits poor in India NEW DELHI, Feb 22 (AFP) Hollywood actress Scarlett Johansson is in India visiting projects to help the country's poor, the international aid agency Oxfam said Thursday. The actress arrived in the country Monday and met children in slums and schools in New Delhi, an Oxfam spokeswoman said. (Posted @ 15:50 PST)
Palestinians welcome 'positive change' from major powers GAZA CITY, Feb 22 (AFP) - The outgoing Palestinian government welcomed Thursday a “positive change” from the major powers behind the Middle East peace process and said it hoped it would lead to an end to a crippling aid freeze.“We view with interest the Quartet declaration following the meeting in Berlin and we believe that a change, which could pave the way for future cooperation, was noted in its position,” said Ghazi Hamad, spokesman for the Hamas-dominated cabinet that is making way for a national unity government. Following their meeting on Wednesday, the European Union, Russia, the United Nations and United States said they would await the formation of the new broad-based administration before deciding whether to lift the boycott it imposed when the Islamists of Hamas took power last March.“ The Quartet's support of a Palestinian unity government and its refraining from using the terms boycott or embargo mark a positive change in position,” the government spokesman said. (Posted @ 14:35 PST)
No planning under way for Iran attack-UK's Blair LONDON, Feb 22 (Reuter) - British Prime Minister Tony Blair said on Thursday no attack on Iran was being planned and a diplomatic solution to the West's row with Tehran over its nuclear plans was the only “viable and sensible” answer. “Iran is not Iraq. There is, as far as I know, no planning going on to make an attack on Iran and people are pursuing a diplomatic and political solution for a very good reason ... that it is the only solution that anyone can think of as viable and sensible,” he said in an interview with BBC radio. (Posted @ 14:20 PST)
NATO chief in Afghanistan for talks KABUL, Feb 22 (AFP) - NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer was in Kabul on Thursday for talks with Afghan and alliance officials on the Taliban insurgency and reconstruction, a spokesman said. (Posted @ 14:15 PST)
Fifteen killed in Indonesian ferry fire JAKARTA, Feb 22 (AFP) - At least 15 people, including three children, were killed Thursday when a ferry carrying 228 passengers caught fire shortly after leaving the Indonesian capital, officials said. More than 200 people have been rescued so far, dozens of them suffering burns. The blaze broke out early hours of Thursday when the ship was about 80 kilometres from shore in the Bay of Jakarta. (First Posted @ 09:20 PST; Updated @ 14:10 PST)
Second makeshift gas bomb kills 3 in Baghdad BAGHDAD, Feb 22 Reuter) - Militants detonated a device in Baghdad that released toxic fumes, killing at least three people, in the second such attack with a makeshift “chemical bomb” in two days, police and officials said on Thursday. The bomb exploded in Bayaa, in southwest Baghdad, on Wednesday. A police source put the death toll at three with 35 more hospitalised. An Interior Ministry source said six were killed and 73 wounded, including many sickened by a gas thought to be chlorine. “We were in the shops working when all of a sudden it exploded and we saw yellow fumes. Everybody was suffocating,” a man at a local hospital said. On Tuesday, a bomb destroyed a truck carrying chlorine north of Baghdad, killing at least five people and spewing out fumes that left nearly 140 others sick, Iraqi police said. (Posted @ 13:05 PST)
Bodies of 7 victims of Indian train bombing arrive in Karachi KARACHI, Pakistan, Feb 22 (AP) - The bodies of seven Pakistanis killed in the bombing of a train in neighboring India arrived Thursday in Karachi, including the remains of six members of the same family. The bodies of three men, two women and two children arrived at an air force base on a C-130 military cargo plane before dawn, said Rauf Siddiqi, home minister of Sindh province, of which Karachi is the capital. Waiting ambulances took the bodies to two neighborhoods of Karachi. The seven were among 68 people killed in the bombing Sunday of the Samjhauta Express. (Posted @ 12:55 PST)
Taliban commander captured in east Afghanistan KHOST, Afghanistan, Feb 22 (AFP) - Afghan security forces backed by NATO-led troops captured a “known” Taliban commander and one of his associates in eastern Afghanistan, a military official said Thursday. The militants, Mullah Khair Gul and his deputy Mullah Amin Gul, were captured following a brief exchange of fire in Gayan district, eastern Paktika province late Wednesday, local military commander General Akram Sameh said. He said that an unknown number of militants who resisted Gul's capture fled the area and that security forces were chasing them into nearby mountains. (Posted @ 12:48 PST)
India returns bodies of 12 Pakistanis killed in train blast WAGAH, India, Feb 22 (AFP) - India on Thursday handed over the bodies of 12 Pakistanis killed earlier this week in deadly blasts on the cross-border “Friendship Express”. Families waiting at the Wagah border post with Pakistan broke into tears as the bodies were returned. Two women fainted as the coffins were laid out. The coffins contained six women, four men, and two children -- a boy and a girl. Officials of the Indian Railways who were present gave families 85,000 rupees (1,920 dollars) in cash for each person lost in the terror attack. (Posted @ 11:20 PST)
Cheney vows no retreat in Iraq ANDERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Guam, Feb 22 (AFP) - US Vice President Dick Cheney on Thursday reiterated that the American people would not back a policy of retreat in Iraq, a day after Britain announced a large-scale troop pullout. “We'll be flexible, we'll do all we can to adapt to conditions on the ground, we'll make every change necessary to do the job and I want you to know that the American people do not and will not support a policy of retreat,” he said in a hanger at Anderson Air Force Base in the US Pacific territory of Guam, where he made a brief stop en route from Japan to Australia. (Posted @ 10:10 PST)
Diplomatic Quartet backs renewed political process in Mideast - Ban Ki-moon UNITED NATIONS, Feb. 22 (APP)- The diplomatic Quartet on the Middle East has reaffirmed its determination to promote dialogue between Israelis and Palestinians, while urging both to refrain from any actions that may adversely affect negotiations. In a statement read by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon following the meeting, the Quartet expressed hope that “the result-oriented dialogue initiated between Israeli and Palestinian leaders will continue in the framework of a renewed political process, with the aim of defining more clearly the political horizon and launching meaningful negotiations.” (Posted @ 10:05 PST)
Karachi Stocks up 22.37 points: KARACHI, Feb 22: At close of trading, the KSE-100 index was at 11542.99, up 22.37 points. (Bureau Report) (Updated @ 14:18 PST)
Forex update: KARACHI, Feb 22: The Pakistani Rupee was traded at Rs 60.7 to the US Dollar in the open market. (Bureau Report) (Updated @ 14:18 PST)
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