|
|
| June 14, 2007 | Thursday | Jamadi-ul-Awwal 28, 1428 |
Updated round-the-clock, with major updates after 10:00 PST (05:00 GMT)
Gunmen kill 9 soldiers and police in southwestern Pakistani city, police say QUETTA, Pakistan, June 14, 2007 (AP) Gunmen opened fire on government troops in a southwestern Pakistani city considered a hideout for Taliban leaders shortly after the visit of a top U.S. official, killing seven soldiers and two police who were escorting them, police said Friday. The troops were attacked as they drove toward a military cantonment in the city of Quetta just before midnight Thursday, city police chief Rehmatullah Niazi said. He said another five soldiers were wounded. (Posted @ 01:00 PST)
Full Court adjourns hearing of Justice Iftikhar's petition till Monday ISLAMABAD, June 14 (APP):The 13-member full court of the Supreme Court headed by Mr Justice Khalilur Rehman Ramday Thursday adjourned the hearing of the petition of chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry till Monday. On Thursday, the petitioner's counsel Ch. Aitzaz Ahasan continued his arguments and was still on his feet when the court was adjourned to meet again on Monday. The petitioner has challenged the validity of the reference filed against him, the composition and powers of the Supreme Judicial Council and relevant notifications issued on March 9. Aitzaz Ahasan said fundamental rights of his client were violated by keeping him in the Camp Office of the President on March 9 and issuing during that time three notifications without following the rules of business properly. The notifications restrained the petitioner from functioning as judge and chief justice of Pakistan, appointed an acting chief justice, and nominated a judge to administer the oath The counsel contended it was not possible to carry out the procedure from initiation of summary to issuance of notifications within a space of three hours only. Aitzaz Ahsan claimed that all this work had already been done before the meeting of the chief justice with the President at the Camp Office. He claimed that the presidential reference as well as affidavits filed by CoS to the President and the chiefs of MI and IB were meant to just malign his client. The counsel, referring to alleged fake petrol claims of his client of about rupees 24,000, said if he wanted to make money he could have secured billions in Pakistan Steel Mills case. He said according to the CoS affidavit the reference was received by the President on March 8. If the advice of the prime minister was binding then the reference should have been sent to SJC instead of holding a meeting with Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry, he added. Aitzaz Ahsan said, “advice is binding but mala fide advice is not binding.” He said a judge of the superior judiciary is appointed after a lengthy and very careful process but similar careful process is not adopted for removal of a judge. The counsel maintained that a judge can be removed after adopting due process in accordance with the constitution but there is no provision allowing the President to suspend a judge of a superior court. (Posted @ 17:30 PST)
Rs 356 billion Punjab budget presented LAHORE, June 14 (APP)- Punjab Finance Minister Sardar Hasnain Bahadur Dareshak Thursday announced tax-free provincial budget for the year 2007-08 with a total outlay of Rs 356.17 billion. “ Neither new tax has been imposed nor existing ones enhanced,” the minister said in his budget speech. He said current expenditure has been estimated at Rs 243.48 billion while the development expenditure stands at Rs 150 billion. “ The government would provide an amount of Rs 112.68 billion from its revenue plus” Dareshak said. (Posted @ 18:48 PST)
Punjab ADP size Rs 150bn LAHORE, June 14 (APP): The size of the Annual Development Programme of Punjab for 2007-08 will be Rs 150 billion, Punjab Finance Minister Sardar Hasnain Bahadur Dareshak told the provincial assembly in the budget speech on Thursday The ADP would be financed by the following resources: 1) Net Revenue Account: Rs 112.684 billion; 2) Net Capital Account: Rs 14.598 billion; 3) Net public Account: Rs 14.773 billion; 4) Dev Revenue Grants:Rs 45.000 billion; 5) and Foreign Assistance; Rs 7.898 billion.Total: Rs 150 billion. (Posted @ 17:46 PST)
Construction of mosque on illegal land against Shariah ISLAMABAD, June 14 (APP):- Chairman, Council of Islamic Ideology (CII) Dr. Mohammad Khalid Masood told a Press conference Thursday that construction of mosques on illegal land is unlawful according to Shariah.. Giving details about other recommendations made by the Council during 2004-06, he said the Council recommended that women should not be kept in jails and the women imprisoned under Hudood laws should be released on bail. He said the council recommended that all discriminatory laws against women should be abrogated. He said about women right in inheritance the Council recommended legislation to ensure transfer to ownership of property inherited by them under the law of inheritance. While reviewing the existing laws enacted between 1977 and 1990, the council suggested amendments in these laws where found inconsistent with the Quran and Sunnah. He said for elimination of the practice of so called marriage (of females) with the Holy Quran, the Council declared it a punishable crime and suggested legislation. He said the Council recommended establishment of a fund for financial help of non-Muslims. The Council recommended that the minorities can take their share from Bait ul Baal. (Posted @ 19:22 PST)
Hamas rejects Abbas' decision to fire prime minister GAZA, June 14 (REUTERS) - The Islamist Hamas group said on Thursday it rejected Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas's decrees dissolving the government and declaring a state of emergency across the West Bank and Gaza Strip. “Hamas rejects the Abbas decisions. In practical terms these decisions are worthless. Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh remains the head of the government even if it was dissolved by the president,” senior Hamas official Sami Abu Zuhri told Reuters. (Posted @ 23:54 PST)
Abbas indicates could hold early elections RAMALLAH, West Bank, June 14,(REUTERS) - Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas indicated in a statement on Thursday that he could call early elections if the situation in the Palestinian territories stabilises. “The president is determined to go back to the people as soon as the situation on the ground allows him to do so,” an aide said, reading a statement in which Abbas also said he had dissolved the government and declared a state of emergency. (First Posted @ 23:40 PST Updated @ 23:48 PST)
Hamas poised to seize full control of Gaza GAZA CITY, June 14 (AFP) - Hamas was poised to seize full control of the Gaza Strip on Thursday, overrunning key security strongholds of the rival Fatah movement after days of ferocious gunbattles in the chaotic territory. The PLO called on president Mahmud Abbas to sack the teetering coalition government and declare a state of emergency after the deaths of almost 100 people in less than a week. Hamas gunmen stormed the compound of the preventive security forces in Gaza City and hoisted the green flag on the roof after hours-long battle that left at least 14 dead and 70 wounded, witnesses said. Dozens of Fatah fighters loyal to Abbas were dragged out of the building with their hands in the air as black-clad masked Hamas gunmen stood watch, they said. (Posted @ 20:46 PST)
Thousands protest against chief justice Iftikhar’s suspension LAHORE, Pakistan, June 14 (AFP) - Thousands of lawyers and opposition supporters called on Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf to quit Thursday in fresh protests over the suspension of the country's chief justice. Demonstrators backing top judge Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry have rallied weekly in several cities. Around 3,000 people in Lahore chanted “Go, Musharraf, go” and waved black flags and banners, officials and witnesses said. They also called for free and fair elections to be held as soon as possible. The majority were lawyers but supporters of former prime ministers Benazir Bhutto and Nawaz Sharif, together with workers from the party of former cricketer Imran Khan, also took part. “The lawyers' movement against President General Musharraf will continue until he quits,” said Mohammad Ahsan Bhoon, president of the Lahore High Court bar association. Some 200 protesters formed a human chain outside the provincial assembly in Bal.ochistan province’s capital of Quetta, but were moved away by police because of a visit by US Assistant Secretary of State Richard Boucher. Another 300 lawyers rallied in Karachi, where opposition parties have called for a complete strike on Friday. Small protests were also staged in Peshawar, Multan and other cities. (Posted @ 18:48 PST)
Hundreds of Pakistan vehicles stranded at Afghan border CHAMAN, Pakistan, June 14 (AFP) - Hundreds of vehicles were stranded in this Pakistani border town Thursday after Afghanistan banned private cars and motorbikes from crossing into its territory, witnesses said. Pakistani officials stopped private vehicles about a kilometre from the border on Thursday and about 500 cars and bikes were dumped in a lot reserved for taxis, an AFP reporter said. People were then crossing the border on foot. “This is the Afghan government's decision and we cannot do anything,” said Colonel Nisar Khan, the security chief at the Pakistani post in Chaman. Pakistani tribal elders said they would hold talks with Afghan officials. “We will not accept this. The ban has caused difficulties for women and elderly people,” said influential chieftain Haji Karim Khan. “If they do not revoke it there will be protests on both sides of the border.” (Posted @ 16:36 PST)
Yousuf, Saleh, Naveen crash from Asian Snooker KARACHI, June 14 (APP): Pakistan suffered a blow when their experienced trio of Mohammad Yousuf, Saleh Mohammad and Naveen Perwani crashed out in the pre- quarter finals of the 23rd NJI Asian Snooker Championship on Thursday. Khurram Agha was lone local player to advance to the last eight stage of the championship after a hard-fought 5-4 victory over Mohammad Al Joaker of United Arab Emirates. (Posted @ 21:12 PST)
India set to get first woman president as governing coalition picks candidate for top office NEW DELHI, June 14 (AP) - India's governing coalition picked its candidate Thursday for next month's presidential elections, setting the ground for the country's first woman president. Pratibha Patil, 72 and currently the governor of northwestern state of Rajasthan, is the candidate of Congress party and its allies for the post of president, said Congress chief Sonia Gandhi, ending weeks of speculation in the media. The Congress party and its allies have enough lawmakers and state legislators to get their candidate elected to the post. (Posted @ 21:06 PST)
Pakistan tells US it's trying to secure Afghan border QUETTA, Pakistan, June 14 (Reuters) - Pakistan told U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asia Richard Boucher on Thursday it was trying its best to plug its long, porous border with Afghanistan and denied Taliban leaders were hiding in Pakistan. Boucher flew over Pakistan's border with Afghanistan to get a first-hand look at Pakistani measures to control the wild frontier. Boucher will be joined in Pakistan by Deputy Secretary of State John Negroponte on Friday and Saturday. In Baluchistan, Boucher met several Pakistani officials in charge of the effort to curb Taliban movement on the frontier. “We are taking as many steps as possible to secure the border with Afghanistan,” an official quoted the chief minister of Baluchistan province, Jam Mohammad Yusuf, as telling Boucher in the provincial capital, Quetta. Yusuf also rejected Afghan accusations that Taliban leaders were directing the Afghan insurgency from Quetta. “There are no Taliban leaders in our province,” the official quoted the chief minister as saying. (Posted @ 21:02 PST)
Indian families find no trace of kin in Pakistan NEW DELHI, June 14 (Reuters) - A group of Indian families returned from Pakistan on Thursday after finding no trace of 54 relatives who disappeared after the 1971 India-Pakistan war. The families were invited by Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf earlier this year to look for their loved ones. But their fortnight-long trip, which included visits to 10 jails, scrutiny of prison records and meetings with Indian prisoners, did not yield any results. “The cooperation from the Pakistani side was not lacking, but we were taken only to civilian jails, whereas we wanted to see mental asylums and other detention facilities.” 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. (Posted @ 20:02 PST)
India notes improvement in occupied Kashmir situation SRINAGAR, occupied Kashmir, June 14 (AFP) -Security situation in occupied Kashmir was improving, India's federal home secretary, Madhukar Gupta, told a news conference in Srinagar but warned that “ in any situation we have to be careful, watchful,” Gupta is here on a two-day visit to review security in the region, which is in the grip of an 18-year insurgency against Indian rule that has left 42,000 people dead by official count. “The challenges are still there. They have not gone,” Gupta said. “The nature of the challenge remains similar but quantitively there is a difference,” he said. Officials say the daily death toll has come down to two in 2007 from ten in 2001, thanks mainly to a peace process in place between India and Pakistan. Separatists argue that a drop in militant violence should be matched by Indian troop reductions, something that the government and army is refusing to consider. (Posted @ 19:54 PST)
Israeli shell kills four in Gaza GAZA CITY, June 14 (AFP) - Three children were among four Palestinians killed by an Israeli shell fired at the southern Gaza Strip town of Rafah on Thursday, medics said. (Posted @ 19:50 PST)
33 militants killed in southern Afghan operations KABUL, June 14 (AP) - Afghan troops killed 33 Taliban militants, including several commanders, in three operations in the country's volatile south, officials said Thursday. Twenty militants were killed in Shah Wali Kot district of Kandahar province on Wednesday, while eight were wounded, the Interior Ministry said. It said two commanders were among the dead. In the nearby district of Zhari, six Taliban fighters were killed, including one commander, the Interior Ministry said. In Ghazni province, seven Taliban were killed and four others detained by police Wednesday, said Mohammad Kazim Alayar, province's deputy governor. The authorities recovered the bodies of the dead Taliban, he said. Meanwhile, Afghanistan's Ministry of Defence said a suicide attacker detonated his bomb near an Afghan army brigade commander in Gereshk district of Helmand province on Thursday. The suicide attacker died but no one else was wounded, said Gen. Mohammad Zahir Azimi. In the western province of Farah, two Afghans doing repair work on police vehicles were killed by Taliban militants. Elsewhere, troops killed a suspected militant and detained three others during a raid on a compound in eastern Afghanistan on Thursday, a coalition statement said. (Posted @ 18:54 PST)
German parliament grants tens of thousands of immigrants right to stay BERLIN, June 14 (AP) - Germany's lower house of parliament passed legislation Thursday allowing thousands of long-term immigrants to stay legally, provided they can find jobs. The law, which passed with 398 legislators voting in favour and 170 against and five abstentions, was the result of several years debate over how to better integrate the estimated 15 million people living in Germany who have a foreign background. Under the agreement, 100,000 migrants whose asylum applications were turned down, but were allowed to remain in the country, will be issued with a work permit. If they find a steady job by the end of 2009, they will be granted the right to stay on indefinitely. “This law will allow for better integration,” Interior Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble said following the vote. Other key points of the bill include raising the legal age that a spouse can enter the country from 18 to 21, in an effort to clamp down on forced marriages; requiring proof of basic German language skills for newcomers; and a requirement that some foreigners entering the country submit a digital photograph and fingerprints. (Posted @ 18:50 PST)
President for greater market access for Pakistani products to EU ISLAMABAD, June 14 (APP):- President General Pervez Musharraf talking to visiting Foreign Minister of Malta Dr. Michael Frendo on Thursday sought greater market access for Pakistani products in the European Union saying it would enable sustained economic growth in Pakistan, reduce poverty, illiteracy and help in the fight against terrorism and extremism. Malta which is a member of the EU and currently holds the chair of the Commonwealth. stood by Pakistan on this issue and would do all it can to realize Pakistan's aim of a Free Trade Agreement with the EU, Dr Frendo said. Earlier, Dr. Frendo called on Foreign Minister Khursheed Mahmood Kasuri. They reviewed bilateral relations with a view to strengthen relations in all spheres and discussed important regional and global issues. (Posted @ 18:46 PST)
Iraq: three mosques burned in Baghdad; 30 more bodies found Baghdad, June 14 (Reuters) - Three mosques were attacked and burned by unidentified gunmen south of Baghdad early on Thursday, police said In other acts of violence mortar bombs and rockets landed in Baghdad's heavily fortified Green Zone, reports said. Smoke could be seen billowing into the sky but there were no immediate reports of casualties. Meanwhile, twenty-five bodies were found shot and tortured around Baghdad on Wednesday, while four more bodies were recovered from different areas of Mosul, and another body was found with gunshot wounds and signs of torture in Latifiya, 40 km south of Baghdad, police said. A suicide bomber wounded three policemen and three soldiers in the town of Riyadh, 60 km southwest of Kirkuk, while gunmen killed two farmers and wounded another three near Balad, 80 km north of Baghdad, police said. (Posted @ 18:44 PST)
Bangladesh court bars ex-PM Hasina from going abroad DHAKA, June 14 (Reuters) - A court in Bangladesh has barred former prime minister Sheikh Hasina, who has been charged with extortion, from leaving for the United States via London on Friday night , police said on Thursday. In April, Bangladesh barred Hasina from returning from an earlier visit to the United States. She was stranded in London for about two weeks, before local and international pressure forced Dhaka to lift the ban. (Posted @ 17:02 PST)
OIC Malaysian meet rejects international force for Gaza KUALA LUMPUR, June 14 (APP/AFP) - The Organisation of the Islamic Conference (OIC) Thursday flatly rejected a UN plan under discussion for international peacekeepers in Gaza, calling instead for stronger leadership from Palestinians. Secretary General of the 57-member OIC, Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu, said the fighting in Gaza was between “the same people” and that leaders within the split Hamas-Fatah government had to take control of the situation. “What is needed is not external forces, what is needed is a better understanding between internal forces,” Ihsanoglu told reporters on the sidelines of an OIC health ministers' conference in the Malaysian capital. (Posted @ 16:32 PST)
Six shops, two flats gutted in North Karachi Karachi, June 14 (PPI) Six shops and two flats were gutted and other four apartments damaged in fire in North Karachi township Thursday morning. The fire erupted at a furniture shop in Ayisha Complex market that engulfed the adjacent shops. The building was vacated and firefighters after a two hours struggle extinguished the blaze. Fire department officials told PPI that no casualty occurred in the incident. They confirmed that the fire erupted because of short-circuit in the building’s electrical wiring.(Posted @ 14:35 PST)
Afghan defence minister dismisses U.S. claims that Iran is arming Taliban BRUSSELS, Belgium, June 14 (AP) Afghanistan's Defence Minister Abdul Rahim Wardak Thursday dismissed claims by U.S. Undersecretary of State Nicholas Burns that there was ''irrefutable evidence'' that the Iranian government was providing arms to Taliban. ''Actually, throughout, we have had good relations with Iran and we believe that the security and stability of Afghanistan are also in the interests of Iran,'' Wardak told the Associated Press. Wardak, who is attending a NATO defence ministers' meeting in Brussels, also played down suggestions that Iranian authorities were sending arms shipments to Taliban.(Posted @ 14:30 PST)
Israeli troops kill Palestinian in West Bank NABLUS, West Bank, June 14 (AFP) Israeli troops Thursday shot and killed a Palestinian militant from the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades during a gunfight in the northern occupied West Bank’s town of Qalqilya, local medical and security sources said. (Posted @ 11:59 PST)
NGOs unveil scathing report on impact of US-led war in Iraq UNITED NATIONS, June 14 (AFP) A coalition of non-governmental groups Wednesday took the UN Security Council to task for its “shocking silence” on alleged violations of international law by US-led forces in Iraq and urged an early end to their mandate. In a report, the Global Policy Forum slammed the conduct of US-led coalition forces and their Iraqi government partners who “have held a large number of Iraqi citizens in 'security detention' without charge or trial, in direct violation of international law.” ”No Iraqi is safe from arbitrary arrest and the number of prisoners has risen greatly since 2003,” said the international non-profit body that monitors policy-making at the United Nations. “The Security Council has maintained a shocking silence on (abuses in) Iraq,” James Paul, one of the lead authors of the report, told a press briefing.(Posted @ 10:20 PST)
Irish PM clinches third term as Greens back him DUBLIN, June 14 (Reuters) Ireland's Green Party voted overwhelmingly Wednesday to back a coalition deal that puts it in government for the first time and guarantees a third term for Prime Minister Bertie Ahern. “This, my friends, is the proudest day of my life,” Trevor Sargent, who will step down as party leader after brokering the deal, told fellow Greens. They voted by 441 votes to 67 in favour of joining a government dominated by Ahern's centrist Fianna Fail party that is due to be voted into office by parliament and formally appointed by President Mary McAleese Thursday.(Posted @ 10:15 PST)
Strong quake rocks Central America; buildings shake GUATEMALA CITY, June 14 (Reuters) A powerful earthquake rattled Guatemala and El Salvador Wednesday, forcing terrified residents to flee shaking buildings, but there were no reports of casualties. The U.S. Geological Survey said the earthquake had a magnitude of 6.8 and was centred in the Pacific Ocean some 46 miles south of the Guatemalan town of Escuintla. The quake occurred at a depth of about 40 miles.(Posted @ 09:45 PST)
Man killed, 13 schools burned in Thai south YALA, Thailand, June 14 (AFP) A man was shot dead while insurgents set fire to 13 schools in southern Thailand, police said Thursday. The 44-year-old man was gunned down late Wednesday by militants in a drive-by shooting in Yala province, police said. In nearby Narathiwat, a soldier guarding a vocational college was injured early Thursday when a bomb exploded in front of the school. Insurgents also torched 13 schools in nearly simultaneous arson attacks in Yala and Pattani provinces late Wednesday, police added.(Posted @ 09:10 PST)
Karachi Stocks down 14.78 points: KARACHI, June 14: At close of trading the KSE-100 index was at 13462.46 , down 14.78 points. (Bureau Report) (Updated @ 14:20 PST)
Forex update: KARACHI, June 14: The Pakistani Rupee was traded at Rs 60.95 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 |