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| June 18, 2007 | Monday | Jumadi-us-Sani 02, 1428 |
Updated round-the-clock, with major updates after 10:00 PST (05:00 GMT)
Benazir claims Nawaz agreed to power-sharing deal LONDON, June 18 (AFP) Exiled former Pakistani prime minister Benazir Bhutto said in an interview published Monday that she had reached a “verbal” agreement with fellow exiled political rival Nawaz Sharif in which she would have the first chance at running the country. A senior official within former prime minister Sharif's political party in Pakistan, however, denied that any such agreement had been reached, the Financial Times reported. Speaking to the FT, Bhutto said: “Mr Nawaz Sharif and I agree. Mr Nawaz says, 'You should be the prime minister for the first five-year term,' and after that five-year term he wants to run.” ”So I hope that we can move forward. That's a verbal discussion between us, but that is what he has said to me.” Iqbal Zafar Jhagra, secretary-general of Sharif's Pakistan Muslim League (N), denied, however, that the deal described by Bhutto had been reached, with the FT quoting him as saying: “The people will decide in fair elections who forms the government.” Bhutto also acknowledged in the interview that her Pakistan People's Party had been discussing a potential deal with President Musharraf that would allow him to stay on as president so long as he relinquished his role as head of the army. “We've had discussions, but they have not moved forward ... We've left all options open.” (Posted @ 09:12 PST)
SC resumes hearing on CJ Iftikhar’s petition ISLAMABAD, June 18 (PPI)- The 13-member full court of the Supreme Court on Monday resumed hearing on the constitutional petition of Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry against the presidential reference and formation of Supreme Judicial Council. Chaudhry Aitzaz Ahsan, the lead counsel of Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry in his arguments submitted that no proper and lawful process was adopted in opinion formulation in the reference process. He also argued on mala fide in person and in law and stated that the telephone lines of the Chief Justice's residence were disconnected and vehicles were picked up. His arguments were continuing when the proceedings were adjourned until tomorrow.. The full court headed by Justice Khalilur Rahman Ramday comprises Justice Muhammad Nawaz Abbasi, Justice Faqir Muhammad Khokhar, Justice Mian Shakirullah Jan, Justice M. Javed Buttar, Justice Tassadduq Hussain Jillani, Justice Saiyed Saeed Ashhad, Justice Nasirul Mulk, Justice Raja Fayyaz Ahmed, Justice Ch Ijaz Ahmed, Justice Syed Jamshed Ali, Justice Hamid Ali Mirza and Justice Ghulam Rabbani. (Posted @ 20:02 PST)
Pakistan urges Britain to withdraw Rushdie knighthood ISLAMABAD, June 18 (AFP) - Pakistan's parliament on Monday unanimously condemned Britain's award of a knighthood to author Salman Rushdie and adopted a resolution calling for the title to be withdrawn on the grounds that it offends Muslims. (Posted @ 17:06 PST)
NATO-led operation kills civilians-Afghan official KANDAHAR, Afghanistan, June 18, (REUTERS) - Up to 60 civilians have been killed, mostly in NATO-led operations against the Taliban, in the past three days in Afghanistan's southern province of Uruzgan, a senior provincial official said on Monday. Some 50 Taliban and Afghan forces were also killed in the battles in Chora district of the rugged province, the head of the provincial council, Mawlavi Hamdullah, told Reuters. (Posted @ 23:44 PST)
Cricket: West Indies 83-3 against England CHESTER-LE-STREET, England, June 18, (AFP) - West Indies in their sceond innings were 83 for three against England, a deficit of 30, when bad light ended play on the fourth day of the fourth and final Test at Riverside here Monday. Chris Gayle was 52 not out and Shivnarine Chanderpaul 16 not out. England lead the four-match series 2-0. (Posted @ 23:26 PST)
Cricket-Vaughan quits as one-day captain DURHAM, England, June 18, (REUTERS) - Michael Vaughan has quit as England one-day captain but will continue to be available for selection, the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) said on Monday. (Posted @ 22:52 PST)
Israeli troops shoot dead Palestinian at Erez crossing GAZA CITY, June 18, (AFP) - Israeli troops at the Erez border post with Gaza shot dead a Palestinian man who was trying to cross and seek refuge in the West Bank late Monday, Palestinian hospital sources said. Jihad al-Madun, 45, was killed while three other Palestinians were wounded, the sources said. (Posted @ 22:18 PST)
Temporary blips, not to curb record overseas investment: PM ISLAMABAD, Jun 18 (APP) - Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz said Monday the temporary blips are not serious enough to curb record overseas investment, strongly needed to sustain national economic growth. “Despite some blips, which happen in any developing country, we have been vindicated because we have maintained our credit ratings, investment flows and growth momentum,” he said in an interview with Bloomberg on June 17. (Posted @ 21:48 PST)
Musharraf 'modernizing force' in Pakistan: Newsweek NEW YORK, June 18 (APP): Arguing that President Gen. Pervez Musharraf has been a “modernizing force” in Pakistan, Newsweek magazine has warned the Bush administration against abandoning or forcing him out. “When he (Musharraf) took power in 1999, the country was racing toward ruin with economic stagnation, corruption, religious extremism and political chaos. It had become a rogue state, allied to the Taliban and addicted to a large-scale terror operation against neighbouring India,” Newsweek's international editor Fareed Zakaria said in an opinion piece. “Musharraf restored order, broke with the Islamists and put in place the most modern and secular regime in three decades. Under him the economy has boomed, with growth last year at 8 percent. Despite the grumblings of many coffeehouse intellectuals, Musharraf's approval ratings were consistently high around 60 percent,” Zakaria , an American of Indian origin, wrote in the latest issue of the weekly magazine. Describing Pakistan's Army “mostly professional and competent,” Zakaria said, “The only institution that works in Pakistan is the military”.“(With or without Musharraf, as Daniel Markey (senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations) ably explains in the current issue of Foreign Affairs, the military will continue to run Pakistan 's strategic policy,” the article said. “We cannot achieve our goals, or help Pakistan gain stability, by turning our back on military. Back in 18th century, Frederic the Great's Prussia was characterised as not a state with an army but an Army with a state. So it is with Pakistan,” the article said. As regards Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry's case, Zakaria said what Gen. Musharraf was trying to do was not unprecedented. He wrote, “Musharraf's predecessor, Nawaz Sharif, the elected Prime Minister, dismissed his Chief Justice in 1997 and tried to amend the Constitution in equally egregious ways in 1999....” (Posted @ 21:10 PST)
Three soldiers killed as Lebanese army battles militants NAHR AL-BARED, Lebanon, June 18 (AFP) - Lebanese army lost three more soldiers on Monday as it closed in on diehard militants in a camp in north Lebanon while a blast killed two Islamists at a southern camp. The three soldiers were killed while clearing ordnance in the Palestinian refugee camp of Nahr al-Bared where the army has besieged Fatah al-Islam fighters in a battle that has left 138 dead, including 71 soldiers, since May 20. On Monday, two Palestinian members of Jund al-Sham were killed in an explosion near the Palestinian refugee camp of Ain al-Helweh in south Lebanon, hospital sources told AFP. Three more people were wounded by the blast in Sidon's Taamir neighbourhood near Ain al-Helweh. (Posted @ 21:02 PST)
Turk president vetoes government referendum plan ANKARA, June 18 (Reuters) - Turkey's President Ahmet Necdet Sezer dealt a fresh blow on Monday to government efforts to shake up the constitution, vetoing a plan that would reduce the length of time needed to hold referendums. “The confusion that would be created by holding the general elections and referendum together would make it more difficult to reach a healthy result on the issue,” said a statement on Sezer's Web site giving lengthy legal reasons for his veto. Parliament, now in recess ahead of the election, could still override the president's veto by approving the bill a second time unchanged. (Posted @ 20:30 PST)
13 dead, 31 injured in German bus accident BERLIN, June 18 (Reuters) - A tour bus crashed on a highway near the eastern German city of Magdeburg on Monday, killing 13 people and injuring 31, police said. The cause of the accident was unclear. The bus contained 48 people, all adults, they said. (Posted @ 20:16 PST)
Top rebel, 2 others killed in gunbattle in occupied Kashmir SRINAGAR, occupied Kashmir, June 18 (AP) - A rebel leader and two other suspected militants were killed in a gunbattle in the village of Chewdara , 40 kilometers southwest of Srinagar, Monday, police said. Local police chief Ashiq Bukhari identified him as Furqan , one of the top four field commanders of Lashkar-e-Tayyaba, There was no immediate comment from Lashkar and the incident could not be independently confirmed. (Posted @ 18:30 PST)
Pakistan proposes raise in allowance to Afghan repatriates ISLAMABAD, June 18 (PPI) Pakistan has proposed increase in the cash subsistance allowance to one hundred dollar per person for repatriating Afghan refugees to make the process sustainable, Foreign Office spokesperson Tasnim Aslam told newsmen at her weekly Press briefing on Monday She said Pakistan has made a donation of five million dollars for the purpose and the UNHCR is approaching the international community to contribute more for the purpose. Pakistan is also urging UNHCR and the international community to ensure settlement of refugees inside Afghanistan at relatively safer places, provide them job opportunities and improve security conditions in Afghanistan. Asked about exclusion of Taliban from the proposed Peace Jirga meeting, the spokesperson said it is for Afghan Government and people to decide about composition of Jirga from their side. Pakistan was concerned at the situation in Palestine, she said and urged the Palestinian groups to exercise restraint, resolve differences through talks and adhere to the understanding reached at Makkah moot. (Posted @ 18:24 PST)
Lawyers protest alleged raid against relative of Pakistan chief justice QUETTA, Pakistan, June 18 (AP) - Dozens of lawyers, dressed in their customary black suits and chanting anti-government slogans boycotted courts and staged a rally here Monday to protest armed men allegedly breaking into the home of a nephew of Supreme Court chief judge Iftikhar Mohammed Chaudhry Sunday-Monday night. The lawyers marched from the district court to the Quetta press club and said a one-day strike paralyzed courts across Balochistan province on Monday. “If the government and its agencies are trying to harass or arrest our lawyers, they can go ahead, but we will continue our struggle for the restoration of the chief justice,” a spokesman told the gathering. (Posted @ 17:36 PST)
Iraq: 20 militants killed, 25 injured in clash Baghdad, June 18 (Reuters) - U.S.-led coalition forces killed at least 20 militants after coming under attack during raids in southern Maysan province on Monday, the U.S. military said. An official in the office of Moqtada al-Sadr in the Maysan capital Amara said 17 members of his Mehdi Army had been killed and 45 wounded. Separately, nine people were killed and 25 wounded when two car bombs exploded in quick succession as motorists queued for petrol in the southern Saidiya district of Baghdad, police said. Eight cars were set on fire. Gunmen killed eight policemen when they attacked their convoy in the town of Mishahda, north of Baghdad, Meanwhile, the bodies of five people were found in different districts of Baghdad on Sunday, (Posted @ 17:32 PST)
No evidence of Al-Qaeda in occupied Kashmir: Indian army SRINAGAR, occupied Kashmir, June 18 (AFP) - The Indian army has found no evidence of an Al-Qaeda presence in occupied Kashmir after claims that the militant network has begun operations, an official was quoted as saying Monday. “Much has been said by the print and electronic media about Al-Qaeda's presence in Kashmir but nothing has been established so far to corroborate these reports,” said Lieutenant General H.S. Panag, head of the army's northern command. I would say we also have no records in the past about Al-Qaeda operatives having being found during counter-insurgency operations in the state,” he was quoted saying by the Excelsior daily. (Posted @ 17:10 PST)
Fourteen convicted for 1989 massacre of Indian Muslims NEW DELHI, June 18 (AFP) - An Indian court on Monday convicted 14 people for their involvement in the killing of 116 Muslims during rioting in the east of the country in 1989. Six of the 24 accused in the massacre had died during the court trial, while another four were absconding. The killings took place in 1989 in Bihar state's Bhagalpur area, where up to 1,800 people -- mostly Muslims -- were killed in nearly a month of rioting. The riots erupted during a procession by Hindu nationalists to drum up support for the demolition of Babri Masjid in Ayodhya which Hindu mobs finally razed in 1992, sparking yet more religious riots in which at least 2,000 people were killed. (Posted @ 17:02 PST)
Saudi king calls for peaceful resolution of Iranian nuclear issue MADRID, June 18 (AFP) - Saudi King Abdullah called for a peaceful resolution of the Iranian nuclear standoff and upheld Tehran's right to civilian use of nuclear energy in an interview published Monday in Spain. “A nuclear programme in the region is an extra weight on her shoulders,” the king told El Pais in an interview published as he opened a week-long European tour. King Abdullah showed sympathy for Tehran's stance in opining that “all countries have a right to peaceful use of nuclear energy in accord with the norms of the IAEA.” But he added, in a thinly-veiled reference to Israel, that “the criterion be applied to all countries in the region without exception.” (Posted @ 16:48 PST)
Foreign Minister Kasuri arrives in Washington WASHINGTON, June 18 (APP) Foreign Minister Khurshid M. Kasuri arrived in the US capital Sunday evening for talks with Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice and other senior officials in continuation of high-level contacts to further consolidate wide-ranging US-Pakistan relations.The Foreign Minister will hold talks with Secretary Rice Monday on a wide spectrum of US-Pakistan relationship with a thrust on political, economic and security ties, officials said. (Posted @ 15:02 PST)
Bomb injures 14 in Thai south YALA, Thailand, June 18 (AFP) Fourteen people were wounded Monday when a bomb exploded inside a busy teashop in southern Thailand, police said. The bomb was planted under a table in the shop in Yala. Four men were seriously injured by the blast while another 10 customers were slightly wounded, police said. Meanwhile two soldiers were injured by a roadside bomb in nearby Narathiwat province. (Posted @ 15:00 PST)
Lightning, floods kill 16 in eastern India KOLKATA, India, June 18 (Reuters) At least 16 people were killed and dozens injured by lightning and flash floods in eastern India as heavy monsoon rains lashed the region, police and witnesses said Monday. Ten people, including four women and two children, were killed when lightning struck them in different parts of West Bengal state since Sunday, officials said. In the neighbouring state of Bihar, six people were drowned as flash floods inundated farmlands and devastated villages, a senior official said. (Posted @ 13:48 PST)
Seven Afghan children killed in coalition air strike KABUL, June 18 (APP/AFP) Seven children were killed in an air strike against a religious school in eastern Afghanistan that also left several militants dead, the US-led coalition said Monday. (Posted @ 10:38 PST)
Suspected rebels attack Agadez in northern Niger NIAMEY, June 18 (Reuters) Suspected Tuareg rebels in Niger attacked the airport of the Saharan town of Agadez Sunday, military sources and residents said. “Armed men attacked Agadez from the airport side, there has been firing with heavy weapons,” one military source said. The gunfire later subsided. (Posted @ 10:32 PST)
Three US soldiers killed in Iraq BAGHDAD, June 18 (AFP) Three US soldiers were killed in Iraq at the weekend, two in Baghdad, the US military said early Monday. “Two soldiers with Task Force Lightning died from their injuries after a bomb exploded near their vehicle during operations in Baghdad Saturday,” the army said in a statement. Another soldier was also wounded in the incident. Another soldier died from his injuries in the northern province of Kirkuk, while two more were wounded. (Posted @ 10:02 PST)
Mongolia helicopter crash kills 14; eight survive ULAN BATOR, Mongolia, June 18 (AP) Fourteen people were killed and eight survived when a helicopter belonging to Mongolia’s defence ministry crashed into a mountain in north-central Mongolia while on a firefighting mission, a government official said Monday. The crash site was found Saturday after the Russian-made Mi-8 helicopter was missing for several days, and rescuers were still trying to retrieve survivors, Emergency Minister S. Otgonbayar said. (Posted @ 10:00 PST)
US astronauts complete shuttle mission's final spacewalk WASHINGTON, June 18 (AFP) US astronauts Sunday finished their fourth and final spacewalk enabling two new solar arrays on the International Space Station and setting the stage for the shuttle Atlantis' return flight later this week, NASA said. During their six-hour-29-minute spacewalk ending at 2254 GMT, mission specialists Patrick Forrester and Steven Swanson activated a power generator on a new truss segment on the ISS that tracks the Sun, and successfully completing all tasks assigned to them. (Posted @ 09:32 PST)
Drag-racing stunt kills six in Tennessee NASHVILLE, Tennessee, June 18 (Reuters) State police in Tennessee investigating a drag-racing stunt that killed six people and injured 18 were seeking photographs and video Sunday of the accident at a charity event for children. The dragster car, with professional driver Troy Critchley at the wheel, went out of control Saturday while performing a “burnout” - sending up clouds of smoke by spinning the tires. The accident happened during a parade at the Cars for Kids fund-raising event in Selmer, about 80 miles east of Memphis. (Posted @ 09:08 PST)
Karachi Stocks up 128.93 points: KARACHI, June 18: At the close of trading the KSE-100 index was at 13567.40, up 128.93 points. (Bureau Report) (Updated @ 14:17 PST)
Forex update: KARACHI, June 18: The Pakistani Rupee was traded at Rs 61.08 to the US Dollar in the open market. (Bureau Report) (Updated @ 14:17 PST)
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