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| July 05, 2007 | Thursday | Jamadi-us-Sani 19, 1428 |
Updated round-the-clock, with major updates after 10:00 PST (05:00 GMT)
Cleric in besieged Lal Masjid offers surrender ISLAMABAD, July 5 (Reuters) - Maulana Abdul Rashid Ghazi holed up in the besieged Lal Masjid in Islamabad said Thursday his followers were willing to surrender. In a telephone interview on a private TV channel he said:“If they are linked to any banned organisation, it can be verified,” adding, that there had been a smear campaign to make people believe that militant groups were among the students. “It can be looked into ... those who are not should be let go,” he said, adding that he was ready to abandon Jamia Hafsa in the compound and needed time to arrange to quit the mosque. (Posted @ 21:32 PST)
Toll from Lal Masjid standoff rises to 19 ISLAMABAD, July 5 (AFP) - At least 19 people have died in three days of clashes at Islamabad’s Lal Masjid, where up to 60 militants are keeping women and children as human shields, the interior minister Aftab Sherpao said Thursday. He said the radicals holed up in the Lal Masjid were armed with Kalashnikov assault rifles, hand grenades and Molotov cocktails. “The total of casualties is 19,” Sherpao told reporters, raising the toll from an earlier figure of 16. “There are 50 to 60 hardcore militants inside the mosque,” he said. “They have AK-47s, grenades and petrol bombs. They are keeping women and children who want to come out of the mosque and are not allowing them to leave.” He did not say how the authorities knew the numbers of people inside the mosque, which troops have not yet entered since the fighting erupted on Tuesday. Clashes flared at the mosque all day Thursday intermittently getting intense to heavy at times but marked by complete lull around the prayer times. (Posted @ 21:22 PST)
Pakistani troops seize eight Lal Masjid militants amid clash ISLAMABAD, July 5 (AFP) - Pakistani security forces Thursday afternoon arrested eight “hardcore” militants who tried to escape from the besieged Lal Masjid amidst heavy exchange of gunfire, a senior military officer said. Several blasts were also heard and police fired tear gas during the most intense of a series of skirmishes since troops surrounded the complex early on Wednesday. “They tried to jump out, and were caught. We are segregating them to discover how they came to be in the mosque,” Colonel Ali of the paramilitary Rangers force told reporters. The militants were blindfolded and had their hands tied behind their backs before being transferred in a van to a nearby government building. Some were asked to take off their shirts, amid claims by clerics at the mosque that it had a squad of suicide bombers. State television said another 22 militants were arrested earlier while posing as parents of the students inside the mosque, but this could not immediately be confirmed. US-built Cobra helicopter gunships made repeated low passes overhead during the clash. “There was firing from the mosque. Some grenades were also hurled and sporadic firing is going on now,” chief military spokesman Major General Waheed Arshad said. “There was no shelling of the mosque by security forces and helicopters did not fire. Helicopters are being used for reconnaissance purposes,” Arshad said. A security official said troops were fired on as they advanced towards the mosque, adding that there were no casualties among security forces. (Posted @ 18:44 PST)
Blasts, fresh gunfire at besieged Lal Masjid ISLAMABAD, July 5 (AFP) - Several blasts were heard and heavy gunfire erupted early Thursday afternoon at the besieged Lal Masjid in Islamabad as armoured personnel carriers moved towards the building. Newsmen at the site said students from the mosque and security forces were engaged in some of the most intense fighting since the crisis began on Tuesday, they said. Local tv channels reported that commandos had also encircled the compound in the heart of Islamabad. Cobra helicopter gunships made repeated low passes overhead. “There was an exchange of fire. The troops made an advance towards the mosque and they were fired at. The troops retaliated, the exchange continued for several minutes,” a security official said on condition of anonymity. “There are no casualties on the government side,” the official added. The blasts were believed to be hand grenades thrown by the students, officials said. (Posted @ 17:36 PST)
Musharraf orders efforts to rescue women, children ISLAMABAD, July 5 (AFP) President Pervez Musharraf had ordered security chiefs not to raid Lal Masjid yet, because hardliners inside were using women and children as human shields, well placed officials said. “The president said efforts should be made to evacuate the women and children inside the compound,” the official, who attended a high-level meeting chaired by Musharraf on Thursday, told AFP. “Government forces could vacate the premises within 10 minutes but that could entail some loss of life of children and women. That is delaying the final push against the compound,” he added. Musharraf said that the government would not negotiate with deputy mosque chief Abdul Rashid Ghazi and that he should surrender immediately. (Posted @ 18:56 PST)
Pakistan cleric charged with terrorism, kidnapping Chinese ISLAMABAD, July 5 (AFP) – Maulana Abdul Aziz, the captured Khatib of Islamabad’s Lal Masjid, appeared in an anti-terrorism court in Rawalpindi Thursday charged with plotting terrorist attacks and kidnapping people, including seven Chinese nationals, officials said. “He was wanted in 25 criminal and terrorism cases, including plotting terrorist attacks, kidnapping of police and Chinese and snatching of state property,” a security official said on condition of anonymity. He was remanded in police custody for a week, the official added. (Posted @ 17:30 PST)
Thirty 'terrorists' keeping students at Lal Masjid: minister ISLAMABAD, July 5 (AFP) - Up to 30 armed “terrorists” are stopping students inside the besieged Lal Masjid in the heart of Islamabad from surrendering to the government, religious affairs minister Ijazul Haq said Thursday. He said the militants were the bodyguards of Maulana Abdul Aziz who was captured on Wednesday trying to flee the compound in a burqa.(Posted @ 15:15 PST)
Lal Masjid cleric defiant despite brother's arrest ISLAMABAD, July 5 (AFP) Maulana Abdul Rashid Ghazi besieged at Islamabad’s Lal Masjid refused to surrender Thursday, a day after his brother was arrested while trying to sneak away disguised in a burqa. He said there were still 2,000 male and female students with him in the mosque. “We are not terrorists, so why should we lay down our arms?” he told a private television channel. “The students' morale is not down after the arrest (of Aziz). The students came to me and said that our stand was not about one cleric, but about a cause,” he added. Officials said they believe the inmates include about 60 children, aged between seven and 12. Security forces set off “warning” blasts and knocked down the door of the complex before dawn Thursday, prompting students to hurl grenades and open fire. Loudspeaker announcements told those in the mosque to surrender. Ghazi said he had conveyed his demands to Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain, president of the ruling Pakistan Muslim League Wednesday night “and we are still willing to find an honourable solution to the problem.” ”I am at a loss to understand why the government is hell bent on shedding blood,” he added. He also disputed claims that the mosque's leadership had prevented students from leaving. “They can go anywhere if they so desire,” he said.(Posted @ 14:25 PST)
Cleric says 850 in Lal Masjid, 14 with AK-47s ISLAMABAD, July 5 (Reuters) The captured head of Lal Masjid said Thursday there were still around 850 students in Islamabad's besieged mosque, around 14 of them armed with Kalashnikov sub-machineguns. Abdul Aziz made the comments on Pakistan Television the day after he was arrested trying to escape from Lal Masjid clad in a burqa. At the start of the interview, the cleric dramatically lifted the black veil on a burqa to reveal a bushy grey-bearded face and white skull cap. He said there were around 250 male students and 600 females still in the compound after a mass exodus Wednesday. “At least 13 to 14 Kalashnikovs and 250 (male) students are in (the) mosque,” he said. “I wanted to leave.” “Some of our women teachers were of the opinion that some female students should be kept at the mosque. They were politely counselling them to stay as this is the time as a sacrifice,” he said. “They are not used as human shields, we only gave them passion for jihad.” Abdul Aziz said his Taliban-style movement had no links with “our foreign friends”. However, he said that as the confrontation with the authorities in Islamabad deepened, some militant groups had provided arms.(Posted @ 11:33 PST)
Human shield fear grows over besieged Lal Masjid ISLAMABAD, July 5 (Reuters) Small groups of students trickled out from Islamabad's besieged Lal Masjid Thursday, despite warning blasts overnight, raising fears militants were keeping some children as human shields. A colonel with paramilitary forces laying siege to the mosque said: “Definitely, there are children. They're mostly from remote areas…some of those who came out of madrassa told us that they had been locked in a room.” By mid-morning around 60 students had left the sprawling, fortified compound housing the mosque and an adjoining girls madrassa. An intelligence official said one student had been shot dead. “One student is confirmed killed during the shooting early this morning. There are no reports of wounded,” he said.(Posted @ 12:25 PST)
SC resumes hearing on CJ Iftikhar’s petition ISLAMABAD, July 05 (PPI)- The 13-member full court of the Supreme Court headed by justice Khalilur Rehman Ramday on Thursday resumed the hearing on the constitutional petition of Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry against the Presidential Reference and formation of the Supreme Judicial Council (SJC). Resuming his arguments, senior counsel of the federation, Malik Mohammad Qayyum, submitted that the opinion of the President was always based upon the advice of the Prime Minister and he is bound to act upon his advice. He submitted that the decision of the Prime Minister and Cabinet is in fact the decision of the President who has no responsibility and thus, cannot be asked about his decision. He contended that the President is not responsible for those acts, which are taken in his name while the President can only send the matter to the Cabinet for reconsideration and if it is not changed he is bound to act upon it. He further argued that advice of the Prime Minister regarding filing of a reference against the judge of the superior court does not need endorsement or approval of the Cabinet. Malik Qayyum submitted that recommendations of the SJC are binding on the President and he has no option to reject or ignore them. He said in fact it is the SJC which has to decide about the removal of the judge and President has no role in this regard. During the course of hearing, Justice Khalil-ur-Rehman Ramday observed that the courts are not enemy of anyone but they are like doctors who diagnose and give prescription. He said we are here to identify the problem and suggest ways and means for collective good. At the end of the day’s proceedings, the court adjourned to meet again on Monday. (Posted @ 20:06 PST)
26 killed in two Pakistan road crashes PESHAWAR, Pakistan, July 5 (AP) - Two jeeps veered off mountain roads and plunged into ravines in separate accidents in northwestern Pakistan on Thursday, killing a total of 26 people, police said. One of the jeeps ran off the road on the way to a village from the nearby city of Mansehra, killing 19 people, said Habib Khan, a police official in Abbottabad, the main city in the mountainous region. The other four people in the vehicle were injured. Seven others died when the second jeep plunged into a ravine as it headed from Abbottabad to the hill resort town of Nathiagali, he said.(Posted @ 16:05 PST)
Gunmen kill four policemen in northwest Pakistan PESHAWAR, Pakistan, July 5 (AFP) Unidentified gunmen with assault rifles early Thursday shot dead four policemen and injured another in Peshawar, police said. The men were patrolling near a tribal area on the outskirts of the city when the attackers pumped bullets into their vehicle around 2.00 am, police official Riaz Khan told AFP. (Posted @ 17:08 PST)
Plane crashes into cars in Mexico, kills nine CULIACAN, Mexico, July 5 (Reuters) - A cargo plane crashed into cars and killed nine people when it lost control during a landing in the northern Mexican city of Culiacan on Thursday, a rescue official said. The plane overshot the runway and ran onto a road, hitting a military vehicle and other cars, said Francisco Diaz, director of civil protection in the state of Sinaloa. Two soldiers, four civilians and three crew members were killed in the crash, he said. (Posted @ 23:52 PST)
Baghdad car bomb kills 17 at wedding: officials BAGHDAD, July 5, (AFP) - A car bomb ripped through guests at a wedding party in southern Baghdad on Thursday and killed 17 people, wounding the bride and groom, security and defence officials said Thursday. The blast erupted outside the Al-Baghdadi cafe in Abu Tchir. (Posted @ 23:18 PST)
Pak-India dialogue process has slowed down: Manmohan NEW DELHI, July 5 (APP) - Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said on Thursday that Pak-India dialogue process had slowed down because of the “situation” in Pakistan. “The dialogue has slowed down, not because of us, but because of the situation in Pakistan,” he told a group of women journalists. When referred to the Lal Masjid situation, he said “fundamentalism is dangerous to any society”. (Posted @ 22:56 PST)
Israel army kills three more Palestinian militants in Gaza GAZA CITY, July 5, (AFP) - The Israeli army killed three more Palestinian militants in the centre of the Gaza Strip on Thursday, taking to 11 the number of militants to have died in the Israeli operation, according to Palestinian medical sources. Since it began on Saturday, the Israeli military operation has claimed 18 lives in the Gaza Strip. (First Posted @ 15:58 PST Updated @ 22:24 PST)
Six die, seven injured in road mishap near Hatian Bala Hatian Bala, Azad Kashmir, July 05 (PPI): Six persons were killed and seven received critical injuries as a jeep met with an accident near Chham Valley in Azad Kashmir. The jeep was proceeding to Chinari from Village Ghal Karharhn near Chham Valley when it plunged into 1000-feet valley. (Posted @ 20:00 PST)
Sri Lanka says 12 killed in clash, jets bomb rebels COLOMBO, July 5 (Reuters) - Two Sri Lankan troops and 10 Tamil Tiger fighters died in a clash near defence lines in the island's far north on Thursday, the military said, as fighter jets pounded suspected rebel targets in jungle in the east. (Posted @ 19:36 PST)
Iraq: 21 more bodies found Baghdad, July 5 (Reuters) - At least six people were killed, including three police commandos, when gunmen ambushed on Thursday a police convoy in Ishaqi, 100 km north of Baghdad, police said. Two guards were also killed when gunmen attacked a bank in Saidiya district of southern Baghdad, while two Iraqi soldiers were killed by a roadside bomb in Yusufiya, 15 km south of Baghdad, police said. Four other soldiers were hurt in the attack. Separately, at least three people were killed in Samawa during clashes between Iraqi police and the Medhi militia of Moqtada al-Sadr, police said. Clashes began after police tried to arrest a top Sadr official. Two of the dead were police and there were eight people wounded. Meanwhile, Police found the bodies of 16 people across Baghdad on Wednesday, while bodies of five more people were found people in a rural area north of Falluja, police said. (Posted @ 19:30 PST)
Afghan police chief, son among 10 killed in blast KANDAHAR, Afghanistan, July 5 (AFP) - A suicide bomber blew himself up during a lunch to welcome the new Afghan district police chief Thursday, killing a highway commander, his 12-year-old son and eight other people, police said. The blast in the town of Spin Boldak, blew off the roof of a room at the highway police command, reducing a building to rubble, a witness said. Highway police commander, Lal Jan, was killed with his young son and eight others, most of them policemen, Kandahar provincial police chief Sayed Aqa Saqib said. The new Spin Boldak district police chief, the area's criminal investigation police head, and district attorney were among 11 wounded, he said. (Posted @ 18:36 PST)
Rushing flood water threatens Shahdadkot, Kambar Karachi, July 05 (PPI): Sindh Irrigation Department has said there was a huge pressure in Saifullah Magsi branch where breach occured at RD 215. There is threat to Shahdadkot and Kamber towns as water is rushing towards these towns. A Ring Bund is being constructed around Shahdadkot town, an official handout said Thursday. The flood water is flowing towards MNV Drain between outer side of FP Bund and Warah Branch Canal System. The bank of Warah Branch Canal and it's off taking channels (Panwaro Distry) are being strengthened to save towns and areas from further flooding. (Posted @ 18:22 PST)
India approves joining global nuclear fusion plan NEW DELHI, July 5 (Reuters) - The Indian government approved participation in an ambitious global plan to build an advanced nuclear fusion reactor on Thursday, saying it would be a clean source for the country's soaring energy needs. The Indian cabinet said New Delhi would contribute $620 million to build the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER), a deal which was signed by more than 30 countries last year. (Posted @ 17:44 PST)
British PM 'praises Musharraf's role against terrorism' ISLAMABAD, July 5 (AFP) - British Prime Minister Gordon Brown telephoned President Pervez Musharraf on Thursday to praise his efforts to curb militancy and terrorism, a senior Pakistani official said. Brown's contact with Musharraf came as Pakistani security forces were battling to dislodge militants still holed up in Islamabad's Lal Masjid. (Posted @ 17:42 PST)
Cricket: Sri Lanka clinch Bangladesh series COLOMBO, July 5 (AFP) - Sri Lanka defeated Bangladesh by an innings and 90 runs in the second Test here Thursday to take a decisive 2-0 lead in the three-match series. Brief scores: Bangladesh: 62 and 299; Sri Lanka 451-6 declared (Posted @ 17:40 PST)
US air strike kills four in Baghdad's Sadr City BAGHDAD, July 5 (AFP) - US attack helicopters killed four alleged militants in an air strike in Sadr City in northeast Baghdad on Thursday, the US military said. The alleged militants were fleeing after attacking a nearby military base with a rocket-propelled grenade launcher,ite added. Witnesses said the helicopters swept in and fired missiles, destroying three trucks and a small car down the street from a children's hospital. (Posted @ 17:32 PST)
Four Indian villages burnt down NEW DELHI, July 5 (APP): Armed Nagalanders burnt down several villages in the neighbouring state of Assam, BBC reported. Two villagers were killed when hundreds of Nagaland residents crossed the border and torched four settlements in Geleki, in Sibsagar district. More than 20 villagers were injured, police said. Nagaland claims part of Assam as its own territory, while Assam says some of its land has been occupied by Nagaland. (Posted @ 16:26 PST)
Lawyers boycott courts, take out peaceful rallies LAHORE, July 5 (APP)- The lawyers throughout the country Thursday boycotted the courts and took out rallies to protest in support of suspended chief justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry. In Lahore, the rally led by the office bearers of Punjab Bar Council, Lahore High Court Bar Association and Lahore Bar Association started from Aiwan-e-Adl and terminated in front of Punjab Assembly building. Similar rallies were held in other major towns of the country (Posted @ 16:20 PST)
Turkish troops kill five Kurdish rebels in clash TUNCELI, Turkey, July 5 (Reuters) - Turkish soldiers killed five Kurdish guerrillas, including two women, in clashes in eastern Turkey, military sources said on Thursday.Two female rebels from the separatist Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) were killed on Wednesday evening as they tried to plant a roadside bomb, sources said. Security forces killed at least three more militants after engaging a group of some 15 PKK fighters in Tunceli countryside early on Thursday. Fighting was continuing in the region.(Posted @ 15:45 PST)
Detained Bangladesh party leader quits politics DHAKA, July 5 (Reuters) - Abdul Jalil, the detained general secretary of Bangladesh's biggest party Awami League has decided to quit politics for health reasons, his wife announced on Thursday. Jalil,, currently in jail charged with corruption and abuse of power, conveyed his decision to quit politics considering his poor health and the future of his family and children,” Rehana Jalil told reporters. In a statement read out by Rehana, her husband criticised Hasina Wasjid for her “authoritarian leadership”. (Posted @ 15:35 PST)
German freed in Afghanistan: interior ministry KABUL, July 5 (AFP) - A German national abducted in southwestern Afghanistan about a week ago was freed on Thursday, the interior ministry told AFP.(Posted @ 15:20 PST)
Another NATO soldier killed in Afghanistan KHOST, Afghanistan, July 5 (AFP) A soldier with the NATO-led force was killed and two wounded Thursday when a bomb struck a vehicle in southeastern Afghanistan’s Kandahar province, the alliance said.(Posted @ 14:18 PST)
25 dead, 33 injured in Chinese karaoke bar explosion BEIJING, July 5 (AFP) Twenty-five people were killed and 33 injured in an explosion at a karaoke bar in northeast China, the Xinhua news agency reported Thursday. The blast occurred Wednesday evening in Tianshifu town, Liaoning province, Xinhua said, citing local authorities. (FirstPosted @ 09:05 PST, Updated@11:00)
Ayman al-Zawahiri calls for more attacks DUBAI, July 5 (AFP) Osama bin Laden's right-hand man Ayman al-Zawahiri issued a vehement video Wednesday calling for attacks on western interests worldwide and regime change in Egypt and Saudi Arabia. “The struggle against the corrupt regimes and the corruptors is in two phases .. In the short term, one must take aim at the interests of the Crusaders and Jews,” Zawahiri said in the 95-minute video from Al-Qaeda's As-Sahab Media. “All those who have attacked the (Islamic) nation must pay the price, in our countries and theirs, in Iraq, in Afghanistan, in Palestine and in Somalia, but above all where one can strike a blow against their interests,” he said.(Posted @ 09:50 PST)
Two US soldiers killed on US independence day BAGHDAD, July 7 (AP) Two U.S. soldiers were killed Wednesday in separate incidents, including one who died when a helicopter ''went down'' in Ninevah province north of Baghdad, the U.S. military reported. The second fatality occurred during combat operations in south Baghdad, the military said. A brief statement by Multinational Corps-Iraq said another soldier was wounded in the helicopter incident.(Posted @ 09:30 PST)
Landslide buries at least 40 on Mexican mountain road ELOXOCHITLAN, Mexico, July 5 (AP) Rescue crews pulled a dead body from a crumbling hillside that buried a bus carrying at least 40 passengers on a mountainous road in central Mexico. About 500 soldiers and rescue workers dug through tons of rock and dirt on a winding road near Eloxochitlan town in Puebla state, where heavy rains triggered the landslide, the operations director for the state civil protection department said. The bus was headed to the nearby Tehuacan town Wednesday morning when the side of a mountain gave way.(Posted @ 09:10 PST)
Karachi Stocks up 59.18 points: KARACHI, Jul 5: At close of trading the KSE-100 index was at 13869.03 , up 59.18 points. (Bureau Report) (Updated @ 14:20 PST)
Forex update: KARACHI, Jul 5: The Pakistani Rupee was traded at Rs 60.9 to the US Dollar in the open market. (Bureau Report) (Updated @ 14:20 PST)
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