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| June 20, 2007 | Wednesday | Jamadi-us-Sani 04, 1428 |
Updated round-the-clock, with major updates after 10:00 PST (05:00 GMT)
No one can manipulate full court: Justice Ramday ISLAMABAD, June 20 (APP) - Justice Khalil-ur-Rehman Ramday, head of a 13- member bench hearing constitutional petitions filed by Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry and others, said Wednesday that no one could manipulate the full court. He made the observation during discussion on a point raised by Chaudhry Aitzaz Ahsan, counsel of Justice Iftikhar, that a superior court judge against whom a reference has been filed could not be suspended or restrained from functioning. The counsel argued that a chief justice facing a reference could constitute a full court or a bench to hear cases. Raising a question, Justice Faqir Muhammad Khokhar asked whether there would be room for manipulation if a chief justice facing reference could constitute a bench. Aitzaz Ahsan sharply reacted to the observation. Justice Ramday intervened and said, “I withdraw the observation given by my Lord on behalf of the bench. No one can manipulate the full court.” Barrister Aitzaz Ahsan continuing his arguments, said a chief justice was not above accountability but this should be done by a full court. He cited various judgements in support of his contention that a superior court judge cannot be suspended after the filing of a reference.He said according to Supreme Court judgement in Judges Case, a judge of a superior court shall not be removed without invoking Article 209 of the Constitution. There was no provision in this article for suspending or restraining a judge, he contended. The counsel said the two notifications issued by the Referring Authority and the Supreme Judicial Council (SJC) on March 9 for suspending and restraining the chief justice respectively were illegal and unconstitutional.He said the SJC acted even though there was no application before it seeking a restraining order against Justice Iftikhar . Aitzaz Ahsan pointed out that even when an assembly is dismissed the speaker continues his administrative functions until the election of a new assembly. On the direction of the court, the counsel presented a copy of the rules of procedure and conduct of business of the National Assembly and would speak on the point further during the proceedings of the full court on Thursday. Talking about security of tenure, the counsel said independence of judiciary is dependent on security of term of judges. He said security of tenure was vital for a judge to function independently.(Posted @ 18:15 PST)
SC summons interior, defence secretaries in missing persons' case ISLAMABAD, June 20 (PPI)- The Supreme Court on Wednesday summoned the secretaries of defence and interior ministries on June 25 and directed them to explain why they failed to appear before it despite repeated orders in missing persons' case. The Supreme Court bench comprising Justice Javed Iqbal, Justice Abdul Hameed Doggar and Justice Falaksher.was informed that the authorities had found 109 missing persons while efforts were underway to trace the remaining 150. The court took serious notice of the absence of the secretaries of defence and interior ministries and asked them to explain why contempt of court proceedings should not be initiated against them. The bench also ordered the head of the Crisis Management Cell in the Interior Ministry Brig (r) Javed Iqbal Cheema to remain present in the court during each hearing of the missing persons case. The court also issued orders that one Imran Munir, who has been missing, should be produced in chamber if he was facing sensitive charges and he should be allowed to meet his family members.(Posted @ 18:05 PST)
18 foreign nationals among 30 terrorists killed in Waziristan blast ISLAMABAD, June 20 (APP): The political administration on Wednesday confirmed the killing of 18 foreign nationals among the over 30 terrorists who were killed in the blast on Tuesday in Waziristan. Military sources have also confirmed the killing of over 15 foreign nationals in the blast. “It was not a madrassah but a terrorist camp where the blast took place,” the political administration of the area said. He said the terrorist were busy making some Improvised Explosive Devices (IED) for their terrorist activities at the time when the blast occurred in the pre- mature IEDs, he said.(Posted @ 18:25 PST)
Salaries of constables, head constables raised by Rs 1,000 KARACHI, June 20 (APP):- Sindh Chief Minister, Dr. Arbab Ghulam Rahim, has enhanced the salaries of police constables and head constables by Rs 1,000 per month, says a.statement of the Central Police Office on Wednesday. It said the Chief Minister took the decision on the request of the Inspector General of Police Ziaul Hassan Khan who called on the Chief Minister. The increase would be effective from July 2007.(Posted @ 18:35 PST)
Foreign Minister Kasuri meets U.S Congressional leaders WASHINGTON, June 20 (APP): Foreign Minister Khurshid Kasuri spent a busy day on Tuesday as he held meetings with several Congressional leaders on Capitol Hill. He met with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and discussed the ongoing cooperation in the area of counter-terrorism between Pakistan and Afghanistan. Speaker Pelosi highlighted Pakistan's importance in creating conditions of peace and stability in the region and said the United States is appreciative of the country's efforts. Kasuri also discussed the regional situation with Congressman Tom Lantos, and Congresswoman Sheila Jackson-Lee, the co-chair of Congressional Pakistan Caucus.(Posted @ 18:45 PST)
Kasuri says expansion in trade, investment to add further strength to US-Pakistan ties WASHINGTON, June 20 (APP) Foreign Minister Khurshid Kasuri described economic growth as a major national objective of Pakistan and voiced the confidence that expansion in trade and investment ties between Pakistan and the United States would add further strength to their close and multi-faceted relationship. He stated in an interaction with representatives of prominent American companies that Pakistan sees a strong linkage between economic growth and national security as upsurge in economic activities brings employment opportunities to people and reduces poverty. The foreign minister informed members of the US-Pakistan Business Council at the US Chambers of Commerce about Pakistan's economic turnaround and its efforts to facilitate foreign investment. Pakistan's ambassador to the United States Mahmud Ali Durrani also attended the meeting where Kasuri spoke of Pakistan's efforts and plans to meet its rapidly growing energy needs, which he said have increased manifold due to high economic growth. In this context, he referred to plans for import of gas from Turkmenistan and Iran-Pakistan-India pipeline. He said the newly built Gwadar port would serve as gateway for trade between landlocked Central Asian states, South Asia and the Gulf. (Posted @ 12:42 PST)
Pakistan post 2nd victory in Asian C.Zone volleyball ISLAMABAD, Jun 20 (APP): Pakistan beat Turkmenstan 3-0 while defending champions Kazakhastan also blanked out lowly Maldives by the same margin on the second day of Asian Central Zone (men's) Volleyball Championship at Liaquat Gymnasium, Pakistan Sports Complex, on Wednesday. In the third match of the day, Iran also recorded victory in straight games over Sri Lanka. India had a rest day in the seven-Nation tournament. Pakistan chalked up their second straight victory when they demolished Turkmenstan 25-15, 25-13, 25-16.(Posted @ 21:30 PST)
Bombs kill three Canadian soldiers, five Afghans KANDAHAR, June 20 (AFP) - A series of roadside bombings in Afghanistan Wednesday killed eight people, including three Canadian NATO soldiers. A district chief in Kandahar province said meanwhile police had killed 21 Taliban who attacked late Tuesday. The governor of Zhari district, Khairuddin, had no proof and said the rebels had taken their dead with them. The three NATO soldiers were killed when a bomb tore through their vehicle, ISAF announced in a statement. Taliban spokesman Yousuf Ahmadi said insurgents had blown up a foreign forces' vehicle in Helmand province. Several of the troops were dead, he claimed. Another bomb blew up a police vehicle in Khost province, killing Qalandar district police chief Ali Mohammad and one of his men. In Zabul province, a bomb ripped into the vehicle of US-based private security company, killing two guards and wounding a third, while another bomb exploded on a road in Ghazni province and killed a man who was cycling home. Taliban overran a district in Kandahar province late Monday, but they were removed less than 24 hours later. They took another Kandahar district Tuesday, police confirmed. In Khost, a man opened fire on worshippers in a mosque during evening prayers Tuesday, killing three people and wounding four others, police said Wednesday.(Posted @ 21:00 PST)
Britain won't apologise for Rushdie honour: minister LONDON, June 20 (AFP) -Britain will not apologise for giving writer Salman Rushdie a knighthood, despite protests in the Muslim world, Home Secretary John Reid said Wednesday. He said the government stood by the award.(Posted @ 20:35 PST)
Egyptian parliament condemns Rushdie knighthood CAIRO, June 20 (AFP) - The Egyptian parliament on Wednesday condemned the award of a knighthood to writer Salman Rushdie, author of the “Satanic Verses”, describing it as a worse error than the cartoons of the holy Prophet Mohammed whose publication sparked riots. “To honour someone who has offended the Muslim religion is a bigger error still than the publication of caricatures attacking the Prophet Mohammed,” said parliamentary speaker Fathi Sorur.In a statement, Egypt's parliamentary Arab Affairs Committee, added its criticism: “To honour someone who has become famous because of his hostility to Islam is a rejection of all diplomatic principles and respect for religions.”.(Posted @ 20:30 PST)
India to push gas pipeline deal with Iran, Pakistan NEW DELHI, June 20 (AFP) - India will push for an accord on a multi-billion dollar pipeline to transport gas from energy-rich Iran through Pakistan by mid-July, oil minister Murli Deora said Wednesday. “On (June) 27th there is a bilateral meeting (between India and Pakistan) and on 28th and 29th there are trilateral meetings in New Delhi,” Deora told reporters, the Press Trust of India news agency reported. “We have to strike the deal by mid-July,” he said postponing an earlier date he had set for June. New Delhi and Islamabad will meet to sort out differences on transportation tariff and transit fees first and then follow it up with discussions with Iran, Deora said. Oil ministers of the three countries would then meet in July to ink the framework agreement on the 7.4 billion dollar pipeline, he said.(Posted @ 19:45 PST)
40 suspected Taliban held in Pakistani tribal area KHAR, Pakistan, June 20 (AFP) - Pakistani authorities arrested at least 40 suspected pro-Taliban militants in a campaign to eliminate weapons from a tribal area bordering Afghanistan, officials said Wednesday. The arrests were made over the past two days in Bajaur district, after militants were seen openly displaying their rifles in defiance of a ban, deputy administrator Jamil Khan told reporters. “Nobody is allowed to harass the people with weapons,” he added. Khan said most of the 40 were Afghan nationals.(Posted @ 19:30 PST)
MMA announces countrywide strike on Friday against Rushdie knighthood Lahore, June 20 (PPI): Muttehida Majlis-e-Amal has announced countrywide strike on Friday against conferring knighthood to Salman Rushdie by the Briitish government. The central leaders of MMA Qazi Hussain Ahmed, Maulana Fazlur Rehman, Shah Uns Noorani, Prof. Sajjid Meer, Allama Syed Sajjid Ali Naqvi, Liaquat Baloch, Maulana Abdul Ghafoor and others in a joint statement on Wednesday said the Muslims of entire world had condemned Salman Rushdie for his blasphemous book but the West kept mum, gave him asylum and now the knighthood.(Posted @ 18:00 PST)
Muslims hold new protests against Rushdie knighthood ISLAMABAD, June 20 (AFP) - Anger mounted in the Muslim world Wednesday over Britain's knighthood for novelist Salman Rushdie, with protests spreading to Malaysia for the first time and fresh demonstrations in Pakistan. In Kuala Lumpur, the Pan-Malaysia Islamic party, shouted “Go to hell Britain!; Go to hell Rushdie!”outside the British High Commission. They handed a one-page memorandum to the British envoy during the rare half-hour demonstration, which was watched by police with riot shields and helmets.(Posted @ 17:35 PST)
Burqa-clad Pakistani women rally against Rushdie ISLAMABAD, June 20 (AFP) - Hundreds of women wearing all-covering burqas protested in front of Pakistan's parliament on Wednesday against Britain's award of a knighthood to novelist Salman Rushdie. The female activists from Islamic parties waved flags and banners, blocked the road in front of the parliament building, and listened to speeches delivered through loudhailers by female hardliners and clerics. “He is no writer, why has he been given such a rare title? This is really a move against Muslims,” said Samia Raheel Qazi, an MP and head of the women's wing of the fundamentalist Jamaat-e-Islami party. In Karachi some 300 protesters again torched an effigy of Rushdie, chanted “Death to Rushdie” and “Down with the Queen, down with Britain” slogans, and demanded that Pakistan sever diplomatic ties with London. Two other smaller protests were also held in Karaachi. Earlier more than 150 traders gathered in Karachi’s busy commercial district where they burned a British flag. Another rally in Multan condemned the award and torched an effigy of Rushdie. Jamiat Ulema Islam party staged a separate rally in the city against the award.(Posted @ 19:30 PST)
Budget a manifestation of govt's commitment to prosperity: PM Aziz ISLAMABAD, June 20 (APP): Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz Wednesday termed the budget a manifestation of the government's commitment to bring development and prosperity in the country. Addressing the parliamentary party meeting of PML and coalition partners at Parliament House he said the record PSDP allocation of Rs.520 billion would bring qualitative change in the life of common man in terms of better facilities of health, education, drinking water, and infrastructure while the subsidy of Rs. 111 billion on diesel, kerosene, fertilizers, electricity and food items would shield the people from price hike. PML President Ch. Shujaat Hussain talked about the party matters, next elections and the programmes for mobilizing various segments of society. He said conventions of youth and women would be held in different parts of the country during the next few months.(Posted @ 19:00 PST)
Crew saved as Panamanian ship sinks off Yemen SANAA, June 20 (APP/AFP)- All 19 crew aboard a Panamanian ship which sank in the Arabian Sea on Wednesday in bad weather were rescued by another passing Panamanian vessel, the official Yemeni news agency Saba said. The ship, a chemical transporter, heading to Europe from an unspecified Asian port, sank between Socotra Island and the south coast of Yemen when it was battered by high waves and winds.(Posted @ 18:30 PST)
Indian troops martyr two civilians in occupied Kashmir ISLAMABAD, Jun 20 (APP): In occupied Kashmir, Indian martyred two innocent civilians and injured three others when they blasted a house in Bandipora district on Wednesday morning. The house of Ghulam Nabi Zargar was blasted by the personnel of Indian Border Security Force, 56-battalion during siege and search operation at Muslamabad area of the district, KMS reported.(Posted @ 18:25 PST)
Latest floods kill 36 more in China BEIJING, June 20 (AP) - Floods and landslides triggered by heavy rain have killed 36 people and left 13 missing in southwest and central China, state media reported Wednesday. The deaths are in addition to the 128 who died last week from flooding in other parts of southern China.(Posted @ 17:55 PST)
Kazakh president dissolves Parliament, declares elections in August ASTANA, Kazakhstan, June 20 (AP) - President Nursultan Nazarbayev dissolved the lower house of parliament Wednesday and called early general elections in what the opposition called a maneuver to secure his grip on power in Kazakhstan.(Posted @ 17:45 PST)
Israel FM in first public contact with new Palestinian PM JERUSALEM, June 20 (AFP) - Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni spoke to new Palestinian prime minister Salam Fayyad by telephone on Wednesday in the first public contact since the emergency cabinet was sworn in at the weekend. Livni reiterated Israel's position that the formation of the new Palestinian government in the occupied West Bank without the Islamist movement Hamas would help pave the way for renewed peace talks, her ministry said.“The formation (of your government) will enable progress on questions which were blocked during the national unity government and the relaunching of the peace process,” the ministry quoted her as telling the premier.(Posted @ 17:25 PST)
2 mosques attacked south of Baghdad BAGHDAD, June 20 (AP) - Gunmen blew up two Sunni mosques Wednesday south of Baghdad, causing heavy damage but no casualties, police said, in an apparent retaliatory attack a day after a suicide truck bombing devastated a revered Shiite mosque in the heart of the capital, killing at least 87 people. (Posted @ 16:10 PST)
Britain to stay engaged in Afghanistan for 'decades' LONDON, June 20 (AFP) - Britain will need to stay involved in Afghanistan for “decades” to help restore stability, London's ambassador in Kabul said Wednesday. In an interview with BBC radio, Sir Sherard Cowper-Coles put greater stress on Britain maintaining a “long-term development” presence rather than a military one. “I wouldn't say my picture is gloomy, I would say it's realistic,”Cowper-Coles said. “It's a marathon rather than a sprint. We should be thinking in terms of decades”. (Posted @ 16:08 PST)
Israel in first deadly clash with Gaza fighters since Hamas takeover GAZA CITY, June 20 (AFP) - Deadly clashes erupted between the Israeli army and Gaza militants on Wednesday for the first time since Hamas' takeover of the Palestinian territory. At least four Palestinian militants were killed and an Israeli soldier was wounded in the fighting that broke out in the southern Gaza Strip, sources on both sides said. The Israeli soldier was wounded after troops moved several hundred metres into the central Gaza Strip west of the Kissufim border crossing, an army spokeswoman said. (Posted @ 16:07 PST)
Thailand calls elections for November BANGKOK, June 20 (AFP) - Thailand on Wednesday announced it would hold general elections on November 25 in a bid to speed up the return to democracy in the kingdom after last year's coup. The polls -- originally scheduled for December -- would be preceded by a referendum on August 19 on the new constitution, which was drafted by a body appointed by the junta that seized power last September, election commission chairman Apichart Sukhagganond said. (Posted @ 16:05 PST)
U.S. says 30 militants killed in big Iraq offensive BAGHDAD, June 20 (Reuters) U.S. and Iraqi forces killed at least 30 al Qaeda militants and found numerous weapons during the first full day of a big offensive against a militants group north of Baghdad, the U.S. military said Wednesday. The offensive around the city of Baquba in Diyala province, launched before dawn Tuesday, is one of the biggest military operations in Iraq since the invasion in 2003. (Posted @ 13:42 PST)
Investigation urged after Pakistan missile strike kills 30 MIRANSHAH, Pakistan, June 20 (AFP) Human Rights Watch called on Pakistan Wednesday to allow an independent investigation into a suspected missile strike that killed around 30 militants. A massive blast Tuesday destroyed a seminary in the North Waziristan tribal area bordering Afghanistan. “The Pakistani government should immediately allow independent investigators and journalists access to the Datta Khel area of North Waziristan to ascertain exactly who and how many have died, at whose hands and under what circumstances,” HRW South Asia researcher Ali Dayan Hasan said in a statement. (Posted @ 12:12 PST)
Sri Lanka says three Tigers killed in fresh clash COLOMBO, June 20 (AFP) Sri Lankan troops clashed with Tamil Tiger forces in the island's eastern Batticaloa district late Tuesday, killing at least three rebels after a deadly sea battle with the separatists, the defence ministry said Wednesday. The ministry said troops found the dead bodies of three rebels after the confrontation, which came just hours after a clash between naval craft and a flotilla of Tiger boats in the north of the island. “The navy suspects that around 40 LTTE Sea Tiger cadres would have been killed in the battle,” the ministry said. (Posted @ 11:22 PST)
Shuttle Atlantis leaves station, heads home HOUSTON, June 20 (Reuters) Space shuttle Atlantis began its long trek home Tuesday after a nine-day stay at the International Space Station in which crew members installed new solar energy panels and battled balky computers. Atlantis undocked from the station, then performed a final inspection of its heat shield before its scheduled return to Earth Thursday. (Posted @ 09:22 PST)
Russian special forces attacked in Ingushetia MOSCOW, June 20 (AFP) A base belonging to Russian interior ministry special forces in Ingushetia was attacked early Wednesday with small-arms fire and rocket-propelled grenades, the RIA-Novosti news agency reported. Several police were wounded in the 40-minute firefight at the Karabulak base, a security official told the news agency. At least five attackers were captured. (Posted @ 09:18 PST)
Karachi Stocks up 61.90 points: KARACHI, June 20: At the close of trading the KSE-100 index was at 13556.73, up 61.90 points. (Bureau Report) (Updated @ 14:17 PST)
Forex update: KARACHI, June 20: The Pakistani Rupee was traded at Rs 61.23 to the US Dollar in the open market. (Bureau Report) (Updated @ 13:17 PST)
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