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| April 11, 2007 | Wednesday | Rabi-ul-Awwal 22, 1428 |
Updated round-the-clock, with major updates after 10:00 PST (05:00 GMT)
Pakistan warns U.S. against critical legislation ISLAMABAD, April 11 Reuters) - Pakistani Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz warned the United States on Wednesday against any legislation that makes military aid conditional on its results in fighting terrorism and introducing democratic reforms. Aziz's comments came after leading U.S. Democrats submitted a non-binding resolution to the Senate calling for such steps. “Given the sacrifices Pakistan has made in the war on terrorism any legislation critical of Pakistan would involve a negative public reaction that would prove to be counter-productive,” Aziz said in remarks to a military symposium organised in Islamabad by the Pakistani and U.S. militaries. Aziz told the audience of military representatives from 22 countries that “it is counter-productive to engage in accusations and counter-accusations as these only benefit our opponents.” Quiet diplomacy should be used to settle differences, he stressed.. Aziz said Pakistan's much-criticised strategy of reaching peace accords with tribal elders in the restive Waziristan region bordering Afghanistan was showing signs of success. Tribesmen have been battling to drive out al Qaeda-linked militants from their lands, and scores of foreign fighters have been killed since last month, he said.(Posted @ 16:45 PST)
Govt committed to hold free and fair elections:Musharraf Sialkot, Pakistan, April 11 (PPI) President Pervez Musharraf Wednesday said the Government was committed to hold free, fair and transparent elections this year. Addressing a public meeting in Sialkot after launching the Rs 23 billion Sialkot-Lahore Motorway project he said genuine democracy has been introduced by him through devolution of power at the grass-roots level and empowerment of women and minorities. He said work on Mangla dam upraising and construction of Bhasha dam has begun and reiterated his commitment to build Kalabagh dam as well. Musharraf pointed out that it was due to Rs 400 subsidy on DAP fertilizer that the country was expected to have a record 23 million tonnes wheat harvest this year. Pakistan was fifth largest milk producing country but could not make any impact due to lack of technology, he said and urged people to adopt latest technologies for their own welfare and progress of the country. The President said he firmly believed in independence of judiciary and it was in this context that he separated judiciary from the executive at the grass-roots level. Referring to the Lal Masjid issue he said they were misguided people. The Government does not want any harm coming to the mosque and these misguided brothers and sisters and asked Ulema to guide them to give up this path of extremism. The President announced establishment of women’s university, a medical college,a girls college and a gymnasium in Sialkot. He also announced a package for Sialkot and adjoining areas.(Posted @ 19:25 PST)
Pakistan cleric says mosque has guns, will defend itself ISLAMABAD, April 11 (AFP) – Lal Masjid, the mosque behind a morality campaign in the Pakistani capital, has guns on the premises and will defend itself if the government attempts a crackdown, Maulana Abdul Rashid Ghazi, the mosque's deputy leader, said Wednesday. The mosque management has caused the government headaches with its Taliban-style vice patrols and by issuing a “fatwa” against a female minister (Nilofar Bakhtiar) for being pictured hugging a paragliding instructor. “If it comes to a do-and-die situation we will use our right to self defence,” he told AFP by telephone. “Whatever arms we have are with licences obtained in the past through normal official procedures,” he said when asked to comment on what appeared to be assault rifles carried by young devotees standing guard on the mosque's walls. He refused to respond to comments by intelligence sources that the students of two Madressahs attached to the mosque had stored petrol to make crude firebombs. The government is continuing negotiations with the mosque's leaders but there is no breakthrough yet. (Posted @ 15:58 PST)
Pakistan army says tribal area cleared of militants SHOLAM POST, Pakistan, April 11 (AFP) - Pakistani tribesmen have cleared all foreign militants from an area on the Afghan border in an offensive that is a role model for the rest of the region, a general said Wednesday. But the key Uzbek Al-Qaeda-linked militant Tahir Yaldashev with a five-million-dollar US bounty on his head has not been caught, regional commander Major General Gul Muhammad told international media on a rare trip to South Waziristan. General Gul also confirmed earlier reports that around 200 foreign militants and around 40 tribesmen had died in fierce fighting which broke out on March 19 after a mortar fired by the Uzbeks killed several schoolchildren. “The Uzbeks have been kicked out lock, stock and barrel from the Wana Valley,” he said at Sholam Post, a military checkpost overlooking Wana, the mountain-fringed capital of South Waziristan. Reporters were flown to the remote region by helicopter. “Wana will be the role model for the whole of South Waziristan and North Waziristan,” he said, referring to the neighbouring tribal region where the army fought bloody clashes with insurgents in 2006.. “With the help of the local population we now hope to get rid of the miscreants.”(Posted @ 16:30 PST)
Shujaat holds another round of talks with administration of Lal Masjid ISLAMABAD, April 11 (APP): President of the ruling Pakistan Muslim (PML) Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain Wednesday held another round of talks with the clerics of Lal Masjid and Jamia Hafsa at his residence. Later, talking to newsmen, he expressed the hope that these talks would be productive and useful. Senator Mushahid Hussain Sayed who attended the meeting said the issue of illegally constructed mosques was also discussed. He expressed the hope that there will be good news within the next couple of days. Chaudhry Shujaat said the government would not allow these madaris to be used for political purposes or to create anarchy .(Posted @ 20:30 PST)
Seven officials indicted for manhandling CJ ISLAMABAD, April 11 (PPI) The Supreme Court on Wednesday framed amended charge against the senior administration and police officials of Islamabad for committing contempt of court by roughing up the “non-functional” Chief Justice of Pakistan, Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry to prevent him from going on foot to the apex court to appear before the Supreme Judicial Council on March 13. The respondents tendered unconditional apology. The Court, however called upon them to explain as to why they may not be punished for the contempt offence. The seven officers facing the amended contempt charge are- Islamabad Chief Commissioner Khalid Pervaiz, Deputy Commissioner Muhammad Ali, Inspector General of Police Chaudhry Iftikhar Ahmad, Senior Superintendent of Police Capt (r) Zafar Iqbal, Deputy Superintendent of Police I-9 Circle Jamil Hashmi, Secretariat Police Station SHO Rukhsar Mehdi and Siraj Ahmad, assistant sub-inspector/security guard of the IGP.(Posted @ 20:25 PST)
US rules out freeing Iranians held in Iraq WASHINGTON, April 11, 2007 (AFP) -The White House on Wednesday ruled out releasing five Iranians held in Iraq, after Tehran warned it was unlikely to attend a May conference on Iraq's security unless they were freed.Asked whether the United States would consider releasing the five, whom US forces detained in a January raid in northern Iraq, national security spokesman Gordon Johndroe replied: “No.”(Posted @ 19:40 PST)
Two Algiers bombs kill 30, stoke security fears ALGIERS, April 11 (Reuters) - Bombs killed 30 people in Algeria's capital on Wednesday.One of the blasts, believed to be a suicide bombing, ripped part of the facade off the prime minister's headquarters in the centre of Algiers. A second bomb hit Bab Ezzouar on its eastern outskirts, the official APS news agency said. Hospital sources put the toll from the two bombings at 30. Earlier, the news agency said 82 others were wounded. No one has claimed responsibility for Wednesday's attacks. The blast at the prime minister's headquarters gouged a gaping hole in the six-storey building Prime Minister Abdelaziz Belkhadem, who was not harmed, described the blast as a terrorist attack.( First Posted @ 17:30 PST Updated @ 18:50 PST)
US airstrike kills 13 Taliban in Afghanistan KABUL, April 11 (AFP) - US warplanes bombed Taliban militants who had attacked coalition and Afghan troops in southern Afghanistan, killing 13 and destroying a vehicle and bunker, the coalition said Wednesday. Taliban had attacked with mortar rounds and rocket-propelled grenades in Sangin district of southern Helmand province on Tuesdayt. “The ANA (Afghan National Army) and coalition force returned mortar fire, then manoeuvred to an observation position to request close air support,” it said. One enemy compound, a bunker and a vehicle were destroyed i8n the air strike. There were an estimated 13 Taliban fighters killed during the engagement.” There were no civilian casualties, it said.(Posted @ 18:05 PST)
Cricket: Lara looking to one-day retirement ST GEORGE'S, Grenada, April 11 (AFP) - West Indies captain Brian Lara has said he is likely to retire from the one-day game in the wake of his side's disappointing World Cup campaign. “I think this is the end of my one-day career, for sure,” Lara said. “I honestly feel that my game is over and we should give it to one of the younger players. It's really tough playing one-day internationals out there.” “We are all disappointed and we are very sorry for the way we have performed in this World Cup,” said Lara. “All we can say is that we are sorry to our people. West Indies will tour England in June and Lara said he would “love to sit back and watch and see the team do well”. “I want to leave a team that plays better,” he said. “And that is still my hope. These might be my last two one-day internationals but I still want to see the team moving out of this competition learning something from it and that's all I can hope for.” Lara has played 297 ODIs and scored 10,354 runs at 40.60 with 19 hundreds and 63 half-centuries.(Posted @ 18:00 PST)
Two killed, 11 injured as tractor falls into ravine GILGIT, April 11 (APP): Two persons were killed and 11 injured when a tractor fell into a deep ravine in remote Jaglote town, some 65 km from here, SSP Gilgit, Rana Faisal said.(Posted @ 17:25 PST)
Bodies lie in Baghdad street after US and Iraqi troops battle gunmen BAGHDAD, April 11 (AP) - Bodies lay scattered across Baghdad neighbourhoods of Fadhil and Sheik Omar Wednesday after a raging battle that left 20 insurgents and four Iraqi soldiers dead, and 16 U.S. soldiers wounded, witnesses and officials said. The U.S. military said the battle began after American and Iraqi troops came under fire around 7 a.m. during a routine search operation. Helicopter gunships then swooped in, engaging insurgents with machine gun fire, the military said in a statement. Some Arab television stations reported an American helicopter was shot down in the fight, and showed video of a charred piece of mechanical wreckage that was impossible to identify. The U.S. said an attack helicopter suffered damage from small arms fire but returned to base. A senior U.S. military official said that 30 insurgents were also wounded. In other violence Wednesday, a roadside bomb killed one policeman and wounded three others in Hillah, about 95 kilometers south of Baghdad. Another roadside bomb targeted a police patrol in Mosul, killing another policeman and wounding two others, police said. Six civilians were also hurt.(Posted @ 17:10 PST)
Suicide attack on NATO convoy wounds eight Afghans KANDAHAR, April 11 (AFP) - A suicide attacker blew himself up near a NATO-led military convoy in Afghanistan's main southern city of Kandahar on Wednesday, injuring eight Afghan civilians, police said. The NATO headquarters in Kabul confirmed an “explosion” and said its troops did not suffer any casualties. (First Posted @ 15:12 PST Updated @ 15:46 PST)
Pakistan says danger of nuclear weapons use as high today as during cold war UNITED NATIONS, April 11 (APP) Pakistan has warned that the danger of the use of nuclear weapons today was as high as during the cold war due to the lack of political will to advance the disarmament and non-proliferation agenda. Speaking in the U.N. Disarmament Commission on Tuesday, Pakistan's U.N. Ambassador Munir Akram said the consensus on disarmament and non-proliferation had broken down, and called for evolving a “new security consensus” to address those objectives in a balanced manner. In order to reach a new consensus on disarmament and non-proliferation, Akram said there should be a basic premise, namely recognition of the right to equal security of all States, which could only be promoted collectively and multilaterally. (Posted @ 13:23 PST)
Iraqi mother and son killed in crossfire MOSUL, Iraq, April 11 (AFP) An Iraqi mother and her son were killed Wednesday in crossfire between police officers and gunmen in Mosul city, police said. A roadside bomb also ripped through a police patrol in Mosul's central Al-Shifa district, wounding 13 people, including three policemen, police said. The bodies of four women and three Iraqi soldiers were found dumped with a bullet to the head in various parts of Mosul. While south of Baghdad, a roadside bomb attack killed one police man and wounded another three as they were patrolling the city of Hilla, police said. (Posted @ 12:47 PST)
Indian chopper crashes on Siachen glacier SRINAGAR, occupied Kashmir, April 11 (AFP) An Indian airforce helicopter crashed Wednesday on the Siachen glacier leaving the two pilots missing, an army spokesman said. “An Indian airforce Cheetah helicopter has crashed in Siachen glacier after it left the base camp on a routine sortie,” said the spokesman, who asked to remain unnamed. “The fate of two pilots in the helicopter is not known yet.” (Posted @ 12:47 PST)
Sri Lanka military, rebels say clashes kill 30 COLOMBO, April 11 (Reuters) Sri Lanka's military said Wednesday it had killed “at least” 20 Tamil Tigers in retaliation for mortar attacks, while the Tigers said they killed up to 10 government troops in overnight fighting elsewhere. “There was mortar fire to the forward defence line in (the north), which killed one soldier and wounded four. We have retaliated and their communications prove at least 20 killed,” said Lieutenant Colonel Upali Rajapakse, a spokesman for the media centre for national security. (Posted @ 11:05 PST)
Bangladesh cuts freedom of outgoing premier DHAKA, April 11 (AFP) Bangladesh's military-backed government has severely restricted the freedom of former prime minister Khaleda Zia hours after she warned the country was at a “crossroads,” media reports said Wednesday. With the country under emergency rule since January, law-enforcing agencies had imposed the ban on Zia meeting anyone except “four designated persons,” the UNB news agency said. “Those who can meet with Khaleda (Zia) are her younger brother Sayeed Iskander and his wife, Khaleda's personal physician and former MP Mushfiqur Rahman,” UNB said. The ban was reported just hours after the head of the previous government warned Bangladesh was at a “crossroads” and called for “unity.” (Posted @ 10:34 PST)
Woman killed in Thai south YALA, Thailand, April 11 (AFP) A womn was shot dead and her body set ablaze early Wednesday on the outskirts of Yala town in southern Thailand, police said. The province of Yala has seen a surge in attacks this year, with 10 people killed on Monday alone. More than 2,000 people have been killed in three years of unrest in the southern region along the border with Malaysia. (Posted @ 09:57 PST)
Moroccan bus crash kills 12, hurts 43 RABAT, April 11 (Reuters) At least 12 people were killed and 43 others were injured, nine seriously, when the bus they were travelling on overturned outside the Moroccan capital Rabat Tuesday, government officials said. The passenger bus tipped over on the highway linking Rabat to the central city of Meknes, 560 km west of Rabat, they added. (Posted @ 09:30 PST)
Karachi Stocks up 121.17 points: KARACHI, April 11: At the close of trading the KSE-100 index was at 11895.07, up 121.17 points. (Bureau Report) (Updated @ 14:18 PST)
Forex update: KARACHI, April 11: The Pakistani Rupee was traded at Rs 60.84 to the US Dollar in the open market. (Bureau Report) (Updated @ 14:18 PST)
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