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| June 01, 2007 | Friday | Jamadi-ul-Awwal 15, 1428 |
Updated round-the-clock, with major updates after 10:00 PST (05:00 GMT)
Corps Commanders Conference reaffirms full support to Government policies ISLAMABAD, Jun 1 (APP) The President and the Chief of Army Staff General Pervez Musharraf Friday chaired the 101st Conference of Corps Commanders and Principal Staff Officers at GHQ Rawalpindi. Among other professional matters, the Conference reviewed internal situation in the country. The Commanders noted the positive socio-economic developments, and the efforts being made to promote tolerance and moderation in the society. Participants of the Conference strongly reaffirmed Pakistan Army's support for continuity of Government's policies and reiterated support for the pivotal role of the President and the COAS in the ongoing reform process. The Conference took serious note of the campaign against Institutions of State, launched by vested interests and opportunists acting as obstructionist forces to serve their personal interests and agenda. The Corps Commanders and Principal Staff Officers of the Pakistan Army affirmed to stand committed to the security of Pakistan under the leadership and guidance of the President and the COAS. The President appreciated unstinted support of the participants and assured them that nobody will be allowed to bring instability in the country. (Posted @ 18:10 PST)
Lawyers say President Musharraf 'subverted constitution' ISLAMABAD, June 1 (AFP) President Pervez Musharraf tried to subvert the constitution of Pakistan when he suspended the country's chief justice, lawyers for the top judge Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry said Friday. “It was an attempt to subvert the constitution,” Owais Ahmad, a lawyer for the Lahore Bar Association, told the court. President Musharraf was also wrong to have forwarded the charges to the accountability body after they were sent to him by Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz, another lawyer said. “The president should not have acted on advice of the prime minister,” said Akram Sheikh, representing the Lahore high court bar association. He added that the President had acted “with malice in law.” (Posted @ 17:44 PST)
Bomb injures bank manager in northwestern Pakistan, rockets fired at police station ISLAMABAD, June 1 (AP) - A bomb injured a bank manager in Bannu city in the North West Frontier Province (NWFP) on Friday, as insurgents fired four rockets at a police station in the same region, damaging its outer walls, police said. Mohammed Rashid, manager for the state-owned Agriculture Bank of Pakistan in Bannu city, on the edge of North Waziristan tribal region, was in his car when the homemade bomb exploded. The device was probably planted inside his vehicle, Mohammed Rafiq, a local police official said. “The manager is in stable condition at a hospital,” Rafiq said. The explosion came hours after unknown attackers fired at least four rockets at a police station in the same city, damaging its walls, but there were no casualties, said Mohammed Imtiaz, an area police official. (Posted @ 10:33 PST)
Thousands offer Juma prayer led by Imam-e-Kaaba ISLAMABAD, June 01 (PPI) Thousands of people, including women, Friday performed Juma prayer led by Imam-e-Kaaba, Al-Sheikh Abdur Rehman Al-Sudais amidst strict security arrangements here at Faisal Mosque. People from Rawalpindi, Islamabad and adjacent areas came in large numbers and many even on foot due to less travelling capacity in public transports. While delivering his Juma sermon, Imam-e-Kaaba, Sheikh Abdul Rehman Al-Sudais said that Islam forbids from resorting to violence. “Spilling blood is not Islam and we should respect each other by shunning sectarianism. Pakistan is a country of those loving Deen-e-Islam and we stand by it as against its enemies”, he said. He said that Islam was a Deen of peace, tolerance and love and has neither hostility nor enmity. Islam upholds human dignity and we should follow it. Imam-e-Kaaba said Muslims all over the world face threats whether it is in Palestine or Afghanistan, Iraq or Lebanon and urged upon Muslims across the world to get united. (Posted @ 17:30 PST)
Pace of reform and progress in Muslim Ummah needs to be accelerated: PM Aziz ISLAMABAD, June 1 (APP) Addressing the inaugural session of 2-day international conference on “Islam and current economic issues”, organised by Council of Islamic Ideology here at the National Library auditorium Friday, Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz, emphasised upon improving economic conditions of Muslim Ummah, and said there is a need to accelerate the pace of reform and progress in Muslim countries through resolving disputes and working sincerely for a genuine and meaningful cooperation. Aziz said there is a need to impart correct understanding of Islam and the importance of economic uplift as a means of empowering the Ummah. Referring to growing antagonism between the west and the Muslim world, Aziz said it is wrongly projected by some as a clash of civilizations. He said, “We should broaden and deepen our economic relations with giving importance for ensuring our energy, water and food security” along with the need to focus on human development, education and catching up in the fields of science and technology. Aziz said there is a need to adopt an effective action plan under the auspices of the Organization of Islamic Conference to help the least developed member countries come out of poverty and backwardness. Shaukat Aziz said the eventual goal should be to create an Islamic Economic Union by entering into multilateral free trade agreements as well as promoting the free flow of capital, labour, goods and services. (Posted @ 16:21 PST)
Nine killed, 18 hurt in occupied Kashmir SRINAGAR, occupied Kashmir, June 1 (AFP) Six suspected militants and three policemen were killed and 18 others injured in occupied Kashmir, the army and police said Friday. Two suspected rebels and a policeman died and five policemen were injured in a daylight attack by suspected militants near northern Baramulla district's police training school. A grenade exploded killing two more policemen and wounding three in a police camp at Nihama village, 40 kilometres south of Srinagar, police spokesman Prabhakar Tripathy said. Meanwhile troops shot dead four suspected militants in two gunbattles late Thursday in Pulwama and Udhampur districts. In further violence, 10 soldiers were injured in a landmine explosion in Srinagar Friday, the army said. (First Posted @ 10:40 PST, Updated @ 16:31 PST)
Genocide suspect flown to Hague court SARAJEVO, June 1 (AFP) A former Bosnian Serb general facing genocide charges before the UN war crimes tribunal was transferred Friday to the Hague-based court a day after his arrest, NATO said. Zdravko Tolimir departed Sarajevo airport on board a NATO plane, a spokesman for the NATO peacekeeping mission in Bosnia said. Tolimir, one of the closest allies of the tribunal's most-wanted man, former Bosnian Serb military leader Ratko Mladic, was apprehended in a joint operation near the Serbian border by Bosnian and Serbian police Thursday, they said. The 58-year-old faces an indictment from the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia for the 1995 Srebrenica massacre of 8,000 Muslim men and boys - the worst atrocity in Europe since World War II. (First Posted @ 10:10 PST Updated @ 18:40 PST)
Assemblies to be dissolved after presidential election: Sheikh Rashid LAHORE, June 1 (Reuters) Federal Minister for Railways Sheikh Rashid Ahmed said that presidential election would be held between September 15 to October 15 and President Pervez Musharraf would dissolve the present assemblies, the very next day of taking his oath. Addressing a press conference here Friday at Railway Headquarter, he said PML has enough vote bank for presidential election but we do more work for stability of this system. He said that there was no threat for martial law in country. “The situation is going better and army is already playing its role. Army is an organized institution and all these rumours are baseless” he added expressing satisfaction over the prevailing situation. He said that the government was playing its last five overs but some idiots were trying to extend our tenure. He suggested the government should compromise with black coats and black cameras and if media and government would continue the fight against each other, it would be dangerous for both of them. Referring to Pir Pagara's statement he said that there was no threat of martial law in future and government would accept the court decision. He admitted that the government could not handle the Chief Justice issue and said that opposition was trying to cash our mistakes but now the government has taken a stand and the situation was going on national consensus. He said that government has full confidence on courts as well as lawyers. (Posted @ 21:42 PST)
Supreme Court full bench to resume Monday hearing on maintainability of petitions ISLAMABAD, Jun 1 (APP) A 13-member full bench of the Supreme Court headed by Justice Khalil-ur-Rehman Ramday Friday heard continuing arguments on the question of maintainability of petitions filed by Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry and others. Justice Khalil-ur-Rehman Ramday observed that the court was involved in a serious matter and directed all the counsels to be precise and avoid repetitions. Counsel of the Supreme Court Bar Association, Rashid A. Rizvi, concluded his arguments. Shoaib Shaheen advocate appeared before the court and argued on maintainability of his petitions. He challenged presidential orders for sending the Chief Justice on leave. Counsel for Wattan Party, Barrister Zafarullah Khan, Counsel of Lahore Bar Association, advocate Awais, and an independent petitioner Ch. Muhammad Ali also argued on question of maintainability. The court allowed advocate Akram Sheikh to give his arguments on Monday as the petitioner requested that he should be given more than one hour. Barrister Zafarullah Khan, an individual petitioner, argued on the question of maintainability and will complete his submissions Monday. (Posted @ 21:20 PST)
Contempt of court proceeding against federal, provincial officers Karachi, June 01 (PPI) A division bench of Sindh High Court Friday recommended to transfer contempt proceeding against federal and provincial officers to full bench of SHC for hearing since it was hearing an identical matter. SHC's division bench comprising Justice Sarmad Jalal Usmani and Justice Ali Sain Dino Metlo was hearing contempt of court application against federal and provincial officers filed by Abrar Hassan, President Sindh High Court Bar Association and others. It was alleged federal and provincial officials deliberately violated SHC order with regard to providing security to Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry during his Karachi visit on May 12, 2007. All alleged contemnors including Interior Secretary Syed Kamal Shah, Chief Secretary Sindh Shakeel Durrani, Home Secretary Brigadier (Rtd) Mohammad Mohtram, PPO Niaz Ahmed and CCPO Karachi Azhar Farooqui were present in court. Acting AG Sindh Masood Noorani, AAG Sindh Sarwar Khan and Standing Counsel Mehmood Alam Rizvi, representing federal government were also present. The court directed Registrar SHC to put the application before Chief Justice to refer it to full bench or otherwise. (Posted @ 21:16 PST)
Iran sees progress in talks on India gas pipeline TEHRAN, June 1 (Reuters) Iran, India and Pakistan have narrowed their differences over a planned $7 billion natural gas pipeline in talks in Tehran this week, a senior Iranian official was quoted as saying Friday. Officials from the three countries held talks in Tehran this week and Iran hopes to sign a final deal in Islamabad on June 30. “Finally, there are just four or five items on which we have not reached an agreement yet ... the negotiations over them will continue,” the IRNA news agency quoted senior Iranian energy official Hojjatollah Ghanimifard as saying. “The final meeting on June 30 will be in Islamabad,” Ghanimifard said. (Posted @ 21:10 PST)
Gunmen kidnap eight more foreigners, kill two police in southern Nigeria PORT HARCOURT, Nigeria, June 1 (AP) Gunmen attacked a residential compound Friday in Nigeria's southern oil region of Port Harcourt, kidnapping eight foreigners including women and children and killing two security force members, police said. (Posted @ 21:08 PST)
Austrian police arrest Kazakhstan's Aliyev VIENNA, June 1 (Reuters) Austrian police arrested Rakhat Aliyev, former Kazakh Ambassador to Austria, who was the subject of an international arrest warrant after a spat with his father-in-law Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev. “He was arrested two hours ago,” said police spokesman Gerald Hesztera Friday. “He is now in detention pending deportation and the court will decide about the extradition request.” (Posted @ 21:02 PST)
Taliban won't be invited to Pakistan-Afghan tribal elders' meeting ISLAMABAD, Pakistan, June 1 (AP) No Taliban leader or any of their associates will be invited to a proposed grand meeting of tribal elders from Pakistan and Afghanistan, officials from the two sides said after a meeting of top leaders of the Pakistan-Afghanistan Jirga, or council of tribal elders, at Nathia Gali, about 60 kilometres north of Islamabad Friday. The jirga will be held in Kabul in August, and President Pervez Musharraf and his Afghan counterpart Hamid Karzai are to attend, said Pakistan's Interior Minister Aftab Khan Sherpao. Pir Syed Ahmad Gilani, who is heading elders from the Afghan side, told reporters he was optimistic for the jirga’s success, which ''will play an important role in bringing peace'' to the region. ''No Taliban will attend the jirga,'' Sherpao said. (Posted @ 20:58 PST)
Lebanon army battles militants at camp, 14 die NAHR AL-BARED, Lebanon, June 1 (Reuters) Battles raged around a Palestinian refugee camp in north Lebanon Friday, killing 14 people. At least 12 people were killed inside Nahr al-Bared camp as well as two soldiers, security sources said. They said 18 soldiers were wounded. Security sources said elite forces seized several key positions of Fatah al-Islam militants and destroyed sniper nests on the northern edge of Nahr al-Bared while artillery batteries pounded the camp. (First Posted @ 12:18 PST Updated @ 20:26 PST)
Iran says new Iraq talks dependent on change in US policy DAMASCUS, June 1 (AFP) Iran will only hold fresh talks with the United States on stabilizing Iraq if Washington changes its policies there, Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki said Friday. “We are examining the results of those discussions and if there is a real willingness on the part of the US administration to change its policy towards Iraq, we will continue them,” Mottaki said on a visit to Damascus. “The lack of security in Iraq and the continuation of the occupation are the root causes of the crisis,” Mottaki said. (Posted @ 20:22 PST)
Pope stresses religious freedom to Pakistan ambassador VATICAN CITY, June 1 (AFP) Pope Benedict XVI stressed the importance of protecting religious freedom Friday as he greeted Pakistan's new ambassador to the Vatican. “A robust democratic society depends on its ability to uphold and protect religious freedom, a basic right inherent in the very dignity of the human person,” the pope told Ayesha Riyaz, according to a statement from the Vatican. Benedict also commended Pakistan's “recent electoral reforms, which are aimed at facilitating the full participation of all citizens, including those belonging to minority groups.” The pope said he wanted to express “my deep respect and admiration for the religious heritage that has inspired the human development of your country, and continues to animate its aspirations for greater peace and mutual understanding.” ”Christians and Muslims both worship the one God, the Almighty, creator of heaven and earth,” he said. (Posted @ 20:20 PST)
Pakistan's foreign policy supports global peace: Khurshid Kasuri ISLAMABAD, June 1 (APP) Foreign Minister Khurshid Kasuri said Pakistan’s foreign policy is aimed at promoting peace and security at the regional and global level. “We believe that peace and stability provide the best environment for eradicating poverty, accelerating economic growth and also helps in achieving full economic potential of Pakistan,” Kasuri said in his article published in leading German newspaper Sueddeutsche Zeitung. Kasuri said Pakistan was engaged with its neighbours in unprecedented efforts to usher in an era of peace and prosperity and had been the frontline state in the fight against terrorism. “In the area of non-proliferation, Pakistan took several initiatives to bridge the gap of perceptions. We expect the world to help Pakistan acquire nuclear technology for peaceful purposes,” he said. Referring to the agreement between United States and India he said similar treatment should be extended to Pakistan. Analysing the current situation in Afghanistan he said “the abandoning of Afghanistan by the international community after the withdrawal of Soviet forces in 1989 had many negative repercussions for the region,” one of them being the rise of the Taliban and the al-Qaeda which took roots in the country. He said problems within Afghanistan had a way of spilling over into Pakistan which is doing its best to check cross-border infiltration and “to blame Pakistan for Afghanistan's problems would be counterproductive because it will take attention away from the real challenges facing Afghanistan itself.” He said the problems for which Pakistan was so often blamed arose mainly from the presence of more than two million Afghan refugees who remain on Pakistan's soil. “There is no “Quetta Shura” of the Taliban. If there were, the very close intelligence cooperation between Pakistan and the US would have long exposed it,” he said. (Posted @ 19:36 PST)
Two Palestinian boys killed in Gaza GAZA CITY, June 1 (AFP) Two Palestinian boys, aged 12 and 13, were shot dead Friday by Israeli troops firing into the Gaza Strip from across the border, local medical sources said. (Posted @ 18:44 PST)
Top Bush adviser Dan Bartlett resigns as of July 4 WASHINGTON, June 1 (Reuters) Dan Bartlett, a key member of President George W. Bush's inner circle and an aide for him going back more than 13 years, announced Friday he is resigning as White House counsellor effective July 4. (Posted @ 18:42 PST)
Fire guts Kolkata slum, mob violence disrupts traffic NEW DELHI, June 1 (APP) A big fire devoured a cluster of shanties along a canal in India’s Kolkata city Friday, the online edition of an Indian daily reported. Fire brigade sources said the inferno gutted at least 300 shanties at Topsia area behind the Science City campus. No casualties were reported. The slum dwellers set on fire a vehicle of the fire brigade and damaged at least four more engines, alleging that they reached two hours late, an official said. (Posted @ 17:55 PST)
Pakistan bans rallies of more than five people in capital ISLAMABAD, Pakistan, June 1 (AP) Pakistani officials have banned rallies of more than five people in the capital to maintain law and order and avoid hassles faced by the public, an official said Friday. ''We have imposed a ban on rallies in Islamabad. A notification about it has been issued, and this step has been taken to ensure peace and avoid any inconvenience to the general public,'' said Mohammed Ali, Islamabad's deputy chief of administration. (Posted @ 16:20 PST)
Iran ready to talk to IAEA MADRID, June 1 (AFP) Iran is willing to talk with the International Atomic Energy Agency about information access and cooperation, a spokeswoman for EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana said Friday. “Iran is ready to discuss outstanding questions with the agency which are linked to information access and cooperation with the agency,” she said a day after Solana held discussions with Iran's negotiator Ali Larijani in Madrid. (Posted @ 16:19 PST)
Indian troops martyr 51 Kashmiris in May ISLAMABAD, June 1 (APP): Indian troops, in their ongoing acts of state-terrorism, martyred 51 Kashmiris, including two custodial deaths and one child in the month of May in occupied Kashmir. According to Kashmir Media Service, 147 Kashmiris were tortured and critically injured during custody and 84 were arrested, without any provocation, during crackdowns and siege and search operations, while 19 civilians disappeared in troops' incarceration. (Posted @ 12:34 PST)
6 Taliban, 2 women killed in battle, rocket attack in Afghanistan KABUL, June 1 (AP) - A battle between Taliban fighters and police in eastern Afghanistan left six militants dead, while a rocket attack killed two women, Afghan officials said Friday.Taliban attacked the home of a police official in Zurmat district of Paktia province late Thursday, said Ghulam Dastagir, deputy provincial police chief. Police reinforcements were called in, sparking a battle that left six Taliban dead, he said. Five rockets were fired from the top of a mountain in Kunar province, hitting several civilian homes and killing two women, said provincial police chief Abdul Jalal Jalal. Five more civilians were injured. In Khost province , small bombs exploded before dawn Friday outside the houses of six government officials and a man working as a translator for the U.S. military, said Wazir Pacha, a police spokesman. No one was hurt. (Posted @ 12:31 PST)
Families of missing Indian ”POWs” head to Pakistan NEW DELHI, June 1 (Reuters) - A group of Indian families headed for Pakistan on Friday to search for 54 men missing from the 1971 India-Pakistan war. President Pervez Musharraf offered to throw open the nation's prisons to the families of the soldiers to help find them. The families, including wives and brothers, are due to start their two-week mission in Lahore. “This is going to be my last effort. The rest is up to God,” said Damayanti Vijay Tambay, whose husband Flight-Lieutenant Vijay Vasant Tambay went missing after he took off on a fighter plane at the height of the war. They will visit ten Pakistani jails, check prison records and meet all prisoners of Indian origin, an Indian defence ministry spokesman said. Indian government officials, who preferred anonymity, said there is little chance of any POW being found in Pakistani prisons. “If they find even one man, it will be the scoop of the century,” said one official. (Posted @ 12:24 PST)
India urges Sri Lanka not to shop for arms in China, Pakistan CHENNAI, India, June 1 (AFP) - India is asking Sri Lanka not to buy weapons from China and Pakistan to fight Tamil rebels, New Delhi's national security advisor said. “We are the big power in the region. It is very clear,” M. K. Narayanan told reporters Thursday evening. “Whatever their requirements, they (Sri Lanka) should come to us. We will give what is necessary,” he said after meeting Tamil Nadu state chief minister M. Karunanidhi. At the same time, Narayanan insisted that India would not provide any “offensive” weaponry to Sri Lanka, where fighting has escalated between government forces and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam. Sri Lanka blames its inability to track down low-flying Tamil Tiger aircraft on a “faulty” radar supplied by India. Sri Lankan officials have also said that New Delhi objected to Colombo trying to secure a better radar from China. China and Pakistan are key suppliers of small arms to Sri Lankan security forces. Islamabad supplied multi-barrel rocket launchers to Sri Lankan troops in 2000 when Tiger rebels were on the verge of capturing the northern Jaffna peninsula. (Posted @ 12:18 PST)
Helicopter dropped off dozens of U.S. troops just before crash in south Afghanistan KABUL, June 1 (AP) - Up to 40 U.S. soldiers from the 82nd Airborne division streamed out of a CH-47 Chinook in an air assault on a Taliban position in Helmand province shortly before the helicopter was shot down, killing seven, officials said. Maj. John Thomas, an ISAF spokesman, said Thursday the helicopter had just dropped off a full load of troops before it went down. He did not know how many troops were on board but said it would likely have been between 30 and 40. (Posted @ 10:49 PST)
Cricket-ICC committee does not support return of Zimbabwe LONDON, June 1 (Reuters) - Zimbabwe should not return to the test arena until it shows it can perform at the required standard, an International Cricket Council committee said on Thursday. The ICC chief executives' committee will consider the recommendations of the committee, chaired by former India captain Sunil Gavaskar. (Posted @ 10:22 PST)
China launches communications satellite BEIJING, June 1 (Reuters) - China launched its 100th Long March rocket on Friday, lifting a communications satellite for radio and television broadcasting into orbit, the official Xinhua news agency said. (Posted @ 10:20 PST)
11 soldiers killed in Thailand's south YALA, Thailand, June 1 (AFP) – Eleven soldiers were killed late Thursday when their truck was bombed and ambushed by suspected separatist rebels in Yala, one of Thailand's Muslim-majority provinces bordering Malaysia. “This was the biggest single attack yet,” an army spokesman said. Earlier Thursday five young men were gunned down in a mosque in Saba Yoi district of Songkhla province, while two people, including another soldier, were shot and killed, and nine troops were wounded in a series of bomb blasts elsewhere in the south. (Posted @ 09:59 PST)
Nine killed in restive northeast India GUWAHATI, India, June 1 (AFP) - At least nine people including a paramilitary soldier have been killed in rebel violence in India's northeastern state of Manipur, officials said Friday. Militants shot dead three volunteers working for a non-profit anti-drugs organisation on Thursday near the town of Wangoi outside the state capital Imphal, police official B. Singh said by telephone. In a separate incident, a paramilitary trooper died in a gunbattle with rebels from the outlawed Kuki Revolutionary Army. Meanwhile, the separatist Kuki National Front said in a statement that it had shot dead five of its own members on Thursday for desertion. More than 10,000 people have lost their lives to insurgency in Manipur during the past two decades. (Posted @ 09:42 PST)
Karachi Stocks down 27.60 points: KARACHI, June 1: At the close of trading the KSE-100 index was at 12933.66, down 27.60 points. (Bureau Report) (Updated @ 16:02 PST)
Forex update: KARACHI, June 1: The Pakistani Rupee was traded at Rs 60.93 to the US Dollar in the open market. (Bureau Report) (Updated @ 16:02 PST)
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