|
| March 13, 2007 | Tuesday | Safar 23, 1428 |
Updated round-the-clock, with major updates after 10:00 PST (05:00 GMT)
Dawn’s ex-chief editor Ahmad Ali Khan dies Karachi, March 13: Mr Ahmad Ali Khan, former chief editor of daily Dawn, died in Karachi Tuesday morning after protracted illness. He was about 83. He leaves behind a widow Hajra Masroor, a noted writer, and two daughters. Funeral prayers will be offered at Sultan Masjid, DHA Phase V, at Asar prayers. Born in 1924, Mr Ahmad Ali Khan started his journalistic career in 1945 with ‘Tarjuman,’ published in Bhopal (India). With Dawn, his association began before the Independence in Delhi in 1946 and ended in Karachi in 2004. In between, he also served as editor of the Pakistan Times, Lahore. On the whole, he was with the daily Dawn for nearly 42 years, 28 of them as editor/ chief editor, while his journalistic career spread well over five decades. Soyem will be held on Wednesday, between Asar and Maghrib prayers, at Sultan Masjid, and at 60-A, 14th Street, Khayaban-e-Mujahid, Phase V, DHA (for women). (First Posted @ 12:35, Updated @ 15:40 PST)
Pakistan's top judge hits back at Musharraf ISLAMABAD, March 13 (AFP) Pakistan’s “non-functional” Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry on Tuesday hit out on the government of President Pervez Musharraf in a written statement to the five-member Supreme Judicial Council. “I will not resign,” Chaudhry's lawyer, Aitzaz Ahsan, quoted the 58-year-old judge as saying as he forced his way through a crowd of around 200 protesting lawyers outside the Supreme Court in Islamabad. “I will contest this case, and I want there to be an open trial.” In his statement, Chaudhry said that Musharraf's moves to dismiss him were “contrary to the constitution” and that the council had no power to stop him from functioning as the chief justice. Chaudhry said he had been “detained for all intents and purposes with my family members including my infant child of seven years” by security forces at his house since Friday. They were left without “basic amenities” and were forbidden from receiving visitors, the statement said. He also alleged that some of his Supreme Court staff had been detained “to fabricate evidence against me” and that files in his chamber had been handed over to the ISI. The case was adjourned until Friday after 90 minutes. Earlier Chaudhry tried to walk to the court from his residence but was stopped by police and taken to an official building where he met former premier Zafarullah Jamali. Opposition MPs -- led by Imran Khan and Qazi Hussain Ahmed -- also staged a protest outside the court. Protests over the judge's treatment continued for a fourth day with lawyers again boycotting courts in Lahore, Peshawar and Karachi on Tuesday. (First Posted @ 17:20 PST Updated @ 22:30 PST)
SJC proceedings adjourned till Friday ISLAMABAD, Mar 13 (APP) The Supreme Judicial Council (SJC) on Tuesday adjourned the hearing of a reference against the Chief Justice of Pakistan (non-functional), Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, for Friday (March 16) at 3 p m. Acting Chief Justice of Pakistan, Justice Javed Iqbal, presided over the meeting of the SJC. The panel of lawyers representing Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry included Justice (r) Tariq Mahmood, Chaudhry Aitzaz Ahsan, Munir A Malik, Hamid Ali Khan and Ali Ahmad Kurd. The proceedings of the meeting continued for one and a half hour. (First Posted @ 17:36 PST Updated @ 23:00 PST)
Cricket: West Indies beat Pakistan by 54 runs KINGSTON, Jamaica, March 13, 2007 (AFP) - West Indies beat Pakistan by 54 runs in the opening match of the 2007 World Cup at Sabina Park here on Tuesday. (Posted @ 03:18 PST)
Britain outlines 'landmark' climate change bill LONDON, March 13 (AFP) Britain on Tuesday became the first country in the world to outline a legal framework for forcing cuts in greenhouse gas emissions, which could see ministers face court action if they fail to comply. Prime Minister Tony Blair said the “revolutionary” draft Climate Change Bill showed Britain was a leader in tackling the issue. If approved by lawmakers, the bill would set legally binding limits to cut carbon dioxide emissions by 26 to 32 percent by 2020 and 60 percent by 2050, against a 1990 baseline. (Posted @ 23:42 PST)
EU backs Saudi amid efforts to arrange Lebanese meet RIYADH, March 13 (AFP) EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana backed Saudi efforts to resolve Lebanon's political crisis during a visit to Riyadh on Tuesday. “We support all the efforts that Saudi Arabia is making in this field as well,” Solana told reporters after talks with Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal on the second leg of a Middle East tour aimed at easing the stalemate in Lebanon. Solana was due to meet Saudi King Abdullah later on Tuesday. (Posted @ 23:22 PST)
Cricket: West Indies 241-9 against Pakistan KINGSTON, Jamaica, March 13 (AFP) West Indies made 241-9 off their 50 overs in the World Cup Group D match against Pakistan at Sabina Park here on Tuesday. Marlon Samuels top-scored with 63 while Ramnaresh Sarwan hit 49. Live Commentary (Posted @ 23:12 PST)
Pakistan, India hold fresh peace talks ISLAMABAD, March 13 (Reuters) Pakistan and India held wide-ranging peace talks on Tuesday. Pakistani Foreign Secretary Riaz Mohammad Khan and his Indian counterpart, Shivshankar Menon, led the teams at Tuesday's talks, which will continue on Wednesday. Speaking to reporters after Tuesday's session, Menon declined to reveal details of the day's talks, saying a news conference would be held on Wednesday. But he said dialogue had been moving on three fronts -- confidence building, the resolution of disputes including Kashmir, and building cooperation. “The reason this process has moved forward for the last almost three years is because we have done all three things together, and we have avoided getting into saying 'do one first, do the other first' ... we have moved forward wherever we can,” he told reporters. Menon also met Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz and Foreign Minister Khursheed Mehmood Kasuri to discuss relations. “In both these calls, there is a very clear expression of political will on both sides to move the relationship forward and continue the composite dialogue process,” said Menon. (First Posted @ 12:55 PST Updated @ 23:08 PST)
Afghanistan says Pakistan has started fencing border KABUL, March 13 (AFP) Pakistan has started fencing parts of its border with Afghanistan in an area opposite to Barmal, the Afghan defence ministry said Tuesday. Pakistan officials denied they had done any fencing, but said work was set to begin. Pakistan's foreign ministry spokeswoman Tasnim Aslam said “when we say we will not allow our territory to be used for militancy in Afghanistan we are very serious…Our decision to fence some areas on our side of the international border reflects our determination not to allow our soil to be used against Afghanistan.” US Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs Richard Boucher, who was in Afghanistan for talks with officials, said Tuesday he hoped to raise the issue in Pakistan this week. “The US, NATO, Pakistan, Afghanistan need to work together to control the border area and we need to discuss these things...if various steps can be effective, whether they can be acceptable to both sides,” he told reporters. (Posted @ 22:46 PST)
Snow, cold kill 15 in occupied Kashmir SRINAGAR, occupied Kashmir, March 13 (AFP) Five pilgrims trekking to a snowbound shrine high in the Himalayas in occupied Kashmir were found frozen to death on Monday, bringing the death toll from the cold spell to 15, officials said Tuesday. Snowstorms have crippled life in revolt-hit occupied Kashmir, shutting schools, knocking out power and telephone lines and closing the region's main highway, police said. (Posted @ 18:22 PST)
Four Afghan civilians killed in suicide attack on border KANDAHAR, Afghanistan, March 13 (AFP) A suicide bomber blew himself up among a crowd of people just inside the Afghan border with Pakistan Tuesday, killing four civilians, police said. The attacker detonated explosives strapped to his body in the middle of a group of people waiting to be searched by police at the busy Spin Boldak border crossing in the southern province of Kandahar. “Three civilians were killed on the spot. Six injured were brought to hospital on the Pakistan side and a 14-year-old injured Afghan boy died there,” General Mohammad Raziq said. (Posted @ 14:55 PST)
Blast targeting NATO forces wounds two Afghans LASHKAR GAH, Afghanistan, March 13 (AFP) A bomb blast hit a NATO convoy in the southern Afghan town of Lashkar Gah Tuesday, wounding two Afghan civilians, police said, adding that the blast was caused by a roadside bomb while some witnesses said it was a suicide attack. (Posted @ 13:00 PST)
Militants killed, weapons found in Iraq BAGHDAD, March 13 (AFP) In raids across Iraq, US and Iraqi troops killed two militants setting up a roadside bomb, uncovered large caches of weapons and arrested seven people they say are linked to suicide bombing attacks which killed around 120 pilgrims last week. Violence continued however and police reported one policeman killed and three wounded when gunmen attacked a police checkpoint in the northern city of Kirkuk. (Posted @ 12:40 PST)
Pilot killed as Pakistan military jet crashes QUETTA, Pakistan, March 13 (AFP) A Pakistan Air Force fighter jet crashed near the southwestern city of Quetta Tuesday, killing the pilot, officials said. The Chinese-made F-7 jet was on a routine mission when it came down near its base in Quetta, an air force spokesman said. “The crash was fatal and an investigation has been ordered,” he said. Local police and rescue officials said the plane crashed in an uninhabited area and caught fire after hitting the ground. (Posted @ 11:50 PST)
Two killed in Pakistan DERA ISMAIL KHAN, Pakistan, March 13 (AFP) Gunmen shot dead two men in northwest Pakistan Tuesday, police said. Niaz Ahmed, 45, a teacher, was shot dead by unknown assailants on a motorcycle when he was going to school in Dera Ismail Khan. Separately, gunmen on a motorcycle shot dead 40-year-old Maulana Farooq Ahmed in the same city and fled after the killing, local police officials said. (Posted @ 11:50 PST)
Bus falls into gorge in India, killing 18 NEW DELHI, March 13 (AP) A bus carrying a wedding party plunged into a gorge in mountainous northern India, killing at least 18 people and injuring another 28, the Press Trust of India news agency quoted superintendent of police V.P. Singh as saying Tuesday. The bus fell 180 meters after part of a highway where it was parked caved in. The accident occurred in Rudraprayag district, 250 kilometers northeast of New Delhi. (Posted @ 10:40 PST)
Son of Bangladesh ex-PM jailed in graft probe DHAKA, March 13 (Reuters) Police in Bangladesh said Tuesday they had jailed Tareque Rahman, son of Bangladesh's former prime minister Begum Khaleda Zia, after a court remanded him for a month pending full investigation of corruption charges. A Dhaka magistrate's court gave the order late Monday after it rejected Tareque's bail petition. Tareque was arrested March 7 in an army-led drive against corruption and misuse of power. A joint secretary-general of Khaleda's BNP, he is among more than 160 senior political figures detained since Bangladesh imposed a state of emergency on Jan. 11. He is facing charges of amassing huge wealth through corrupt means. Among the accusations before the court is that he took a 10 million taka bribe from a businessman, police said. (Posted @ 10:35 PST)
Free CJP: Human Rights Watch NEW YORK, March 13 (AFP) The “arbitrary detention” of Pakistan's top judge must end, along with the political persecution of lawyers protesting his arrest, a New York-based rights group said Monday. Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf suspended chief justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry on misconduct charges Friday. “By brazenly and unlawfully dismissing, detaining and humiliating the chief justice of the Supreme Court, president Musharraf has created a constitutional crisis at the judiciary's expense,” said Ali Dayan Hasan, South Asia researcher for Human Rights Watch. “The Pakistani government must end the arbitrary detention of the chief justice of the Supreme Court and cease the police crackdown on lawyers staging peaceful protests,” Human Rights Watch said. (Posted @ 09:00 PST)
Karachi Stocks down 3.02 points: KARACHI, March 13: At close of trading, the KSE-100 index was at 11404.85, down 3.02 points. (Bureau Report) (Updated @ 14:20 PST)
Forex update: KARACHI, March 13: The Pakistani Rupee was traded at Rs 60.75 to the US Dollar in the open market. (Bureau Report) (Updated @ 14:20 PST)
Founder: Quaid-i-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah
Editor: Abbas Nasir
The DAWN Group of Newspapers
Haroon House, Dr. Ziauddin Ahmed Road, Karachi 74200, Pakistan.
Phone:+92 (21) 111-444-777 Fax: +92 (21) 569-3995
webmaster@dawn.com
Make sure to reload these pages so you're viewing the current version.
|
|
|
Contributions |